Fresno State Athletics
Road Runs Through Fresno
3/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | General
March 21, 2012 By Theresa Kurtz
tkurtz@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Tournament have concluded with Stanford, South Carolina, St. John's and Duke all making it through to the Sweet 16 of the Fresno Regional being played at the Save mart Center.
This is the third time the NCAA Tournament has been played in the Save Mart Center and the second time Fresno has hosted a regional championship, the last being in 2007. The first game of the Fresno Regional features No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 St. John's on Saturday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m. PT.
Duke received its 18th straight NCAA Tournament selection and defeated Samford in the first round 82-47. Duke conquered Vanderbilt 96-80 advancing to the Sweet 16's. It is the 14th regional semifinal in 15 seasons for the Blue Devils, who are 26-5 on the year.
Duke faces the Red Storm of St. John's in the round of 16. St. John's has an overall mark 24-9. The Red Storm headed to Norman, Okla. for its third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. St. John's beat No. 14 Creighton 69-67 in the first round and advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating Oklahoma 74-70.
This is the first Sweet 16 appearance for the Red Storm and first trip to the Save Mart Center. St. John's enters the weekend as the No. 3 seed in the Fresno Regional.
The second game of the Sweet 16 round is between No. 1 Stanford and No. 5 South Carolina on Saturday, March 24 at 8:30 p.m. PT.
Stanford, who is the No. 1 overall seed in the Fresno Regional, is headed back to the Save Mart Center for the second time this season. The Cardinal played Fresno State in December, beating the Bulldogs 93-59. Stanford is 33-1 on the year with their only loss to Connecticut 68-58 early in the season.
The Cardinal, led by head coach Tara VanDerveer, coasted to their fifth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance after defeating West Virginia 72-55 in the second round and Hampton 73-51 in the first round. Stanford is looking for its fifth-straight bid to the Final Four.
Stanford faces South Carolina in the second game of Saturday's Sweet 16 round. The Game Cocks are making their third-ever Sweet 16 appearance in program history. South Carolina entered the tournament for the first time since 2003 and earned a No. 5 seed.
The Game Cocks beat Eastern Michigan 80-48 in the first and round and advanced to the regional semifinal with a 72-61 win over No. 4 Purdue. Under head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina is 25-9 on the year.
The winners of the round of 16 meet in the regional championship on Monday, March 26 at 6 p.m. The winner of the Elite Eight game advances to the Final Four in Denver, which begins on April 1.
