San Diego — Close calls and low-seeded surprises were suddenly at a premium as the NCAA Tournament moved into the second round Saturday.
St. Joseph's, the ninth-seeded team in the West, threatened to disrupt an otherwise routine slate of games by taking a five-point lead over No. 1 Stanford with 8:25 left in San Diego.
But the Cardinal responded, retaking the lead and making their free throws down the stretch to seal a 90-83 victory and head to the West Regional semifinals in Anaheim, Calif.
Stanford lost in the second round the previous two years.
"It's a relief to me," Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery said. "Now I won't have to answer that question again."
Elsewhere, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland and UCLA all breezed into the round of 16, while Cincinnati and Georgetown both are headed there for the first time in five years.
Saturday's games in the East and West Regionals were decided by an average margin of about 15 points. It was a stark contrast to the two days of first-round action, when 12 of the 32 games were decided by four points or fewer, and 13 teams seeded ninth or lower won the most since the field expanded to 64 schools in 1985.
Third-seeded Maryland overpowered Georgia State 79-60 in Boise, Idaho. The game was far less compelling than the story line pitting Panthers coach Lefty Driesell against Maryland, which fired him 15 years ago in the wake of Len Bias' cocaine-related death.
The Terrapins advanced to a regional semifinal against neighbor Georgetown. The Hoyas picked up a 76-57 victory over 15th-seeded Hampton, which stunned No. 2 Iowa State in the first round.
"We knew before the game that the crowd would be pulling for Hampton," Georgetown's Ruben Boumtje Boumtje said.
Stanford 90,
St. Joseph's 83
San Diego Ryan Mendez, the nation's best free-throw shooter, and Jarron Collins were a combined 10-for-10 from the line in the final 45.1 seconds as Stanford (30-2) tied the school record for victories in a season.
Jason Collins, Jarron's twin, scored 22 points and All-American Casey Jacobsen added 21 points.
Marvin O'Connor tied his career high with 37 points for St. Joseph's (26-7) before fouling out with 11.9 seconds left.
Cincinnati 66,
Kent State 43
San Diego Jamaal Davis had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Cincinnati (25-9) beat fellow Ohio school Kent State (24-10) with strong rebounding and a top-notch transition game.
Maryland 79,
Georgia State 60
Boise, Idaho Lonny Baxter had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Maryland (23-10), which hasn't reached a regional final since Driesell led it that far in 1975.
"Maryland don't mean anything to me," said Driesell, who spent 17 years at the school. "I didn't have any emotions at all. I was trying to win a basketball game."
Shernard Long led Georgia State (29-5) with 20 points.
Georgetown 76, Hampton 57
Boise, Idaho Kevin Braswell scored 15 points and Nat Burton had 13 for Georgetown (25-7).
Tarvis Williams, who hit the game-winner against Iowa State, scored 16 to lead Hampton (25-7) but was kept in check Saturday by Georgetown's 7-foot Boumtje Boumtje and 6-11 Wesley Wilson.
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