Penn State Sends North Carolina Packing

N E W  O R L E A N S, March 19 -- Titus Ivory and Joe Crispin each scored 21points as Penn State beat North Carolina 82-74 to advance to theround of 16 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the firsttime since 1955.

Second-seeded North Carolina outshot the seventh-seeded Lions 47percent to 44 percent and outrebounded them 44-33 on Sunday. ButPenn State had 18 steals and only 11 turnovers, compared to the TarHeels’ five steals and 22 turnovers.

It was the first time this season North Carolina lost whenoutshooting an opponent.

Julius Peppers led North Carolina with 21 points and 10rebounds. Brendan Haywood had 13 points and 13 rebounds. JasonCapel and Kris Lang each had 12 points.

Gyasi Cline-Heard had 19 points for Penn State.

The Tar Heels staggered at the end of a season that once lookedso promising. They were ranked No. 1 and had an 18-game winningsteak when they lost 75-65 to Clemson, the worst team in theAtlantic Coast Conference, on Feb. 18. That sent North Carolinainto a tailspin that saw the team head into the NCAAs with fourlosses in eight games.

Illinois 79, Charlotte 61

D A Y T O N, Ohio — Top-seeded Illinois made sure there would beno 3-point barrage and no big upset in an arena where the NCAAtournament played true to form all week.

The Fighting Illini won a second-round game for the first timein 12 years by using a balanced attack and pesky perimeter defenseto beat Charlotte 79-61 on Sunday.

Charlotte, second only to Duke in 3-pointers made this season,missed 13 of its first 14 tries and never recovered.

Illinois will play Kansas, the Midwest Regional’s fourth seed,in a semifinal Friday in San Antonio. Like the Fighting Illini, theJayhawks ended a run of second-round disappointments by drubbingSyracuse 87-58.

Illinois hadn’t been to the round of 16 since 1989, the onlyother time it’s had a No. 1 seed. The Fighting Illini reached theFinal Four that year, but had failed to make it past the secondround in their last seven appearances.