Andy Rautins scored 24 for Syracuse (30-4), which has won its first two games in the West Region by a combined 45 points. The top-seeded Orange beat Vermont by 23 in the first round and will next face Butler in the regional semifinals on Thursday in Salt Lake City.

Johnson, the Big East Player of the Year, and Rautins combined to make 9-of-15 three-point tries for Syracuse, which finished 12-of-25 from beyond the arc. The Orange again played without center Arinze Onuaku, who also sat out Friday's contest because of a quadriceps injury suffered during the Big East Tournament.

Evans injured his jaw and suffered a slight concussion in a 114-108 double- overtime loss versus the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday in the finale of a five- game homestand at ARCO Arena. An X-ray and CAT Scan came back negative for a fractured jaw and will be re-evaluated Monday. He is averaging a team-leading 20.3 points, 5.6 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.45 steals per game.

Beno Udrih paced Sacramento with 26 points and nine assists, while Carl Landry and Spencer Hawes both netted 16 points for Sacramento, which has dropped six of its last eight games.

The top-seeded Cavs have won six in a row overall, six straight as the host and 28 of their last 30 home games, averaging 105.2 points on .509 shooting in that time on the home floor. They just handed the Chicago Bulls a 92-85 loss in the Windy City on Friday, as superstar LeBron James pumped in 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland, which is 12-1 in its last 13 games overall and got 18 points from Mo Williams.

"We couldn't find our rhythm offensively tonight," James said one game after becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score 15,000 points (25 years, 79 days in 540 games), surpassing Kobe Bryant at 27 years, 136 days and 657 games.

The Spurs have also won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Atlanta, which hasn't defeated tonight's opponent since a 94-84 triumph back on December 10 of the 2005-06 campaign.

San Antonio is unbeaten in its last three visits to Dixie and leads the all-time series 40-35, with the Hawks holding a 23-14 advantage in home games.

The Pacific Division-leading Lakers opened the homestand with a 104-96 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves, as Kobe Bryant scored 22 points, dished out 13 assists and had four steals to lead the way. Pau Gasol registered 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won five in a row and lost center Andrew Bynum to a strained left Achilles' tendon in the third quarter.

An MRI revealed no tear and just a strain, though the Lakers big man will miss at least one week's worth of action.

Houston will also visit the Bulls and Thunder, and is 15-17 as the guest this season.

The Rockets can use a boost right now since they're 5 1/2 games off the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference.

Durant is second in the NBA with 29.7 points per game and is coming off a 31- point performance in a 115-89 win at Toronto on Friday. Durant has scored 30 or more points in an NBA-best 38 games this season, with the Thunder going 27-11 in that stretch. Durant has already set the franchise-record for most 30-point games in a season and leads the NBA with a 31.2 ppg since Christmas.

He is nine points shy of becoming just the second player in NBA history to score 2,000 points through 68 games under the age of 22. LeBron James reached the 2,000-point mark in his 65th game during the 2005-06 season at 21.

Portland is currently seated in the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference -- just a half-game behind No. 7 San Antonio -- and made it five consecutive wins with Friday's 76-74 home victory versus the Washington Wizards at the Rose Garden. Brandon Roy's leaner from just inside the three- point line with 0.9 seconds lifted the Blazers, as he ended with 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting.

"I was just thinking 'finally,'" Roy said of his big shot. "I took a lot of shots tonight. The majority of them felt good, a couple of them felt like I was a little off balance but I was just laughing, you know, finally, I made a shot. It was the one to help us win an important game for us." LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in 19 points and

The top seed in the West Regional, Syracuse will be heading to Salt Lake City if the team wins today for Sweet 16 action. Head coach Jim Boeheim, who guided the Orange to the national championship in 2003, won his 43rd NCAA Tournament outing on Friday with a 79-56 victory against Vermont, the same Vermont that stunned Syracuse in the first round of the tourney only a few years ago.

Boeheim, who is now eighth on the all-time wins list in NCAA Tournament history, has directed his program to seven wins in eight tries against nationally-ranked programs this season and now has his squad showing a tremendous 51-32 record in the tournament over the years.

Prior to yesterday, Xavier was one of four teams that was shooting for the round of 16 for the third year in a row, but both Kansas and Villanova were shown the door by Northern Iowa and Saint Mary's, respectively. The sixth- seeded Musketeers are into the second round of the tourney for the fourth straight year and the 12th time overall, thanks to a 65-54 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday.

As for the third-seeded Panthers, they started out a bit slow two days ago against Oakland in the first round, but then picked up steam and ended up crushing the opposition by a final of 89-66. A win today would send Pittsburgh to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the last nine sea

The winner of this East Regional matchup will advance to the Sweet 16 to do battle with 11th-seeded Washington.

Missouri outplayed seventh-seeded Clemson in the second half of Friday's first-round game, and the result was an 86-78 victory. This marks the 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance for Missouri, which owns a 22-22 record at the event. Last season, the Tigers reached the Elite Eight, and the fact that they have returned to the Big Dance despite losing three 1,000-point scorers from that squad is a credit to head coach Mike Anderson and his staff. Overall, Missouri is 23-10 and finished 10-6 versus Big 12 Conference opposition during the regular season.

The winner of this game will do battle with top-seeded Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

Cornell was far superior to fifth-seeded Temple in Friday's 78-65 triumph. The Big Red are now 28-4 overall and cruised to the Ivy League title. They have tied a record set by the 1970-71 Penn Quakers for most wins in a season by an Ivy squad (28) and can obviously claim sole possession of the record today. Cornell is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and had an 0-5 record in the event prior to the triumph over Temple.

The Aggies pushed through to the second round for the fifth straight season, after opening the tournament with a convincing, 69-53 victory over Utah State in the first round. Texas A&M, which finished with a 23-9 record during the regular season, is now 9-11 all-time in this event, and 6-4 in the Big Dance over the past five seasons.

After an embarrassing loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament, the Boilermakers redeemed themselves with a solid, 72-64 victory over Siena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Purdue, which is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, is now 32-23 all-time in this event.

The Golden Bears posted their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2003 with a 77-62 decision over Louisville in the first round on Friday. It was the largest win for Cal in the "Big Dance" since 1960 when the Golden Bears pounded Oregon, 70-49. The Golden Bears, who claimed their first Pac-10 regular-season championship in 50 years, are now 24-10 on the season, and pushed their all-time ledger in this event to a respectable 19-15.

The Blue Devils had no trouble in their first-round matchup, as they pounded the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, 73-44. The Blue Devils are no strangers to playing as a number one seed, as this will be the 11th time in the s

Winners of 10 of their last 12 outings, the Terps took care of business in first-round action on Friday, notching an 89-77 victory over 13th-seeded Houston. It marked the 10th straight first-round win for Maryland, which improved to 38-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. With another win today, the Terps would move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003.

As for Michigan State, it had its hands full with 12th-seeded New Mexico State on Friday, but hung on for a 70-67 first-round win. The Spartans, making their 13th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, are trying to duplicate last year's run when they advanced to the Championship Game.

The Yellow Jackets continued their late-season charge on Friday, as they upended Oklahoma State, 64-59, in the first round. Georgia Tech, which needed a good showing in the ACC Tournament just to earn an at-large bid to this event, improved to 5-0 in NCAA Tournament games played at the Bradley Center. The program is now one victory away from moving on to the "Sweet 16" for the first time since 2004.

On the flip side, the Buckeyes had a much easier time in their first-round game, posting a 68-51 win over 15th-seeded UC Santa Barbara on Friday. OSU, which won a share of the Big Ten regular-season title and then claimed the league tourney championship, are now 38-20 all-tim

Victoria Dunlap added 15 points and eight rebounds for Kentucky (26-7), while Keyla Snowden also contributed 15 points.

Devon Brown netted 24 points for Liberty (27-6), while Avery Warley posted a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds in the loss. Kylee Beecher tallied 16 points, while Jelena Antic chipped in 10 points.

Onuaku suffered the injury in the team's loss to Georgetown in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. It is unknown whether he will be available to play should the top-seeded Orange advance to the Sweet 16, where they would face Butler.

The 22-year-old posted averages of 10.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest this season.

Carlos Delfino added 21 and seven rebounds for the Bucks, who won for the eighth time in nine games and sit at fifth place in the Eastern Conference, six games behind Atlanta.

Salmons said it was great to win in Denver after a double-overtime victory at Sacramento on Friday.

Angel Robinson recorded a double-double in the win for Georgia (24-8) with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Roshaunda Barnes netted 17 points in the loss for Tulane (26-7), while Chassity Brown added 13.

Ogwumike, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, got some help from Jeanette Pohlen, who pitched in 16 points for Stanford (32-1). The Cardinal, who got 15 points from Kayla Pedersen, will take on eighth-seeded Iowa in the second round.

TreShont Nottingham tallied 10 points in defeat for UC Riverside (17-16).

Kelli Griffin netted 14 points in the win for Baylor (24-9), while Melissa Jones added 11 points.

Hayley Munro and Emma Andrews scored 13 points apiece in the loss for Fresno State (27-7).

Tiffany Shives added 16 points for Gonzaga (28-4), which will take on second- seeded Texas A&M in the second round.

Chay Shegog tallied 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor in the setback for North Carolina (19-12).

Jaime Printy and Kamille Wahlin netted 15 points apiece in the win for Iowa (20-13).

Morgan Johnson and Kelly Krei contributed healthy efforts as well, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Denis Clemente added 19 points, and Curtis Kelly scored 10 for the second- seeded Wildcats (28-7), who advanced to Salt Lake City to play in the Sweet 16 against the winner of Sunday's game between third seed Pittsburgh and sixth seed Xavier.

Pullen, who made all 11 of his foul shots, went 7-of-12 from three-point range.