Duke, UCLA, Stanford Advance

G R E E N S B O R O, N.C., March 18, 2001 -- 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

The round of 16 in the East will feature a match-up ofbig-time schools with impeccable NCAA championship credentialsas Duke takes on fourth seed UCLA, which coasted to a 75-50rout of 12th-seeded Utah State.

Jason Kapono, who was not allowed to start after missingstudy hall Friday, scored 19 points and made five 3-pointers asUCLA wore down Utah State to advance to the "Sweet 16" for thefourth time in five years under coach Steve Lavin.

Dan Gadzuric had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Bruinsand Earl Watson also scored 16 for UCLA.

Lavin knows his team will have its hands full with Duke. "Duke is coached by a Hall of Famer and have been asdominant program as there is in the last 20 years," Lavin said."They are as talented a group as we've faced all year."USC Upends Boston College

East sixth seed Southern California pulled off the day'slone upset in Uniondale, New York, scoring a thrilling 74-71victory over third seed and Big East power Boston College.

David Bluthenthal scored 20 points and Jeff Trepagnieradded 18 for USC, which overcame 27 turnovers to advance to the"Sweet 16" for the first time since 1961.

Troy Bell scored 21 of his 32 in the second half for BC, rallying the Eagles from a nine-point deficit, but USC refusedto fold.

Boston College had the ball with a chance to tie the gamewith a 3-pointer in the closing seconds, but a double teamforced Bell to give up the ball and Kenny Harley inexplicablydrove to the basket and missed a runner from the lane.

"This is the greatest win I've ever been involved in,"gushed USC coach Henry Bibby, a member of three NCAAchampionship teams with UCLA in the 1970s. "The kids perseveredthe whole time. The kids deserve the credit."

Southern Cal faces another powerhouse in the next round insecond seed Kentucky.

Tayshaun Prince followed a 27-point effort in the firstround with a career-high 31-point performance to lead Kentuckyto a comfortable 92-79 victory over seventh seed Iowa.

Marquis Estill also had a big game for Kentucky with 22points off the bench— 15 points above his season average --on 9-of-11 shooting.Maryland Beats Former Coach

In the West Region in Boise, third-seeded Maryland beatformer coach Lefty Driesell and 11th seeds Georgia State 79-60to reach the "Sweet 16" for the second straight season.

Lonny Baxter led Maryland 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Driesell coached Maryland for 17 years before getting firedin 1986 after the cocaine overdose death of star Len Bias.

Georgia State was coming off a first-round upset ofsixth-seeded Wisconsin, a Final Four team last year. But theycould not handle Baxter and the Terrapins, who used a 16-2second-half run to break open what had been a tie game.

Maryland will next face 10th seeds Georgetown, a 76-57conqueror of 15th-seeded giant killers Hampton.

Hampton had pulled off the shocker of the tournament bystunning second seed Iowa State in the first round, but ran outof magic against the Hoyas.