Duke, UCLA, Stanford Advance

ByABC News
March 18, 2001, 4:53 AM

G R E E N S B O R O, N.C., March 18 -- Top-ranked Duke proved toomuch for ninth-seeded Missouri Saturday as coach MikeKrzyzewski watched his team hold off a side coached by hisformer player and protege Quin Snyder to advance to the NCAATournament's "Sweet 16" round with a 94-81 victory.

But West top seed Stanford narrowly avoided a stunningupset at the hands of ninth seed St. Joseph's at San Diego.

Widely expected to reach the Final Four after being rankedfirst or second nationally for most of the year, Stanford wason the verge of a premature exit before going 10-for-10 fromthe foul line in the final minute to edge the tiny school fromPhiladelphia 90-83.

Behind a tournament-best 37 points by junior MarvinO'Connor, St Joseph's had played Stanford to an 80-80 tieheading into the final minute.

Jason Collins had 22 points and nine rebounds to helpStanford survive for a meeting with tough fifth seedsCincinnati, which cruised to a 66-43 rout of 13th-seeded KentState.

Missouri played the East Region top seeds close for most ofthe game until Duke's top players took over.

Jason Williams and Naismith Award winner Shane Battierstepped up big time for Duke, combining for 56 points,including 16 in the final 10:24.

"This was a great game. Wow!" said Krzyzewski. "There weresome big-time performances by a number of kids. Duke andMissouri played a helluva game today. I'm proud of what (QuinSnyder) has done with his team and I'm proud of my team."

Williams finished with 31 points and nine assists for Duketo help offset the stellar performance of Missouri's KareemRush, who hit five 3-pointers and finished with 29 pointsdespite playing with a soft cast on his injured left thumb.

The emotional Snyder, who participated in five Final Fourswhile at Duke— three as a player and two as an assistant toKrzyzewski— tried not to be awed by his mentor.

"A couple of times I found myself looking down at the Dukebench and thinking, 'Wow, that's Coach K down there,"' admittedSnyder. "It was part strange and part scary."Duke, UCLA Showdown