Kansas City, Mo ? Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton chewed out the Cowboys at halftime.

They got the message.

Opening the second half with a 12-2 run, the No. 2-seeded Big 12 Conference champions overcame a surprising halftime deadlock Friday and rolled past pesky Eastern Washington, 75-56.

“There were some profane words,” Sutton said. “I told them from now on, there’s no such thing as an upset. The biggest thing is to try to convince your players that everyone deserves respect. But I don’t think we’ll have to give any more Knute Rockne speeches.”

The Eagles (17-13), making their first NCAA appearance, enjoyed 12 first-half points from Gregg Smith, their 6-foot-10, 285-pound center who had 2 inches and 48 pounds on Ivan McFarlin, the Cowboys’ biggest starter.

But Smith, who averaged 2.6 points this season, had only four points against the Cowboys’ tough defense in the second half, sitting out the first 41/2 minutes after halftime.

“That was just bad defense,” Sutton said. “I could score if they were giving it to me in there like they were giving it to him. That’s a no-catch zone. The ball should not be caught down there.”

In the second round of the East Rutherford Regional on Sunday, the Cowboys will meet No. 7 seed Memphis, a 59-43 winner over South Carolina.

“We came out sluggish, and coach warned us that it would be a good game if we took them lightly,” Oklahoma State’s Tony Allen said. “We did, and it was.”

Oklahoma State forward Ivan McFarlin (23) grabs a rebound over Eastern Washington's Gregg Smith. The Cowboys beat the Eagles, 75-56, Friday at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

The Cowboys and Eagles were tied at 36 at half, and Oklahoma State (28-3) didn’t pull away until Allen keyed a 14-2 spree late in the second half that turned a seven-point lead into a 69-50 bulge with 4:05 to go.

McFarlin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma State, and Allen had 17 points. John Lucas, the Big 12 player of the year, scored 15.

“The first half was the worst half of basketball we’ve played defensively,” Sutton said. “We weren’t alert at all. In the second half, the whole difference was us playing alert.”

Alvin Snow, the Big Sky Conference player of the year and Eastern Washington’s leading scorer with a 15.2-point average, missed his first seven shots. He did not score until he made a layup with 2:10 left that cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 73-56.

“When he got the ball, we just tried to contest every shot he put up,” Allen said. “And then we took it from there.”

Memphis 59, South Carolina 43

Kansas City, Mo. — Memphis’ NCAA Tournament drought is over.

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Rodney Carney hit six three-pointers and scored 26 points, both career highs, and added 10 rebounds to lead Memphis.

Anthony Rice added three three-pointers and 12 points for the Tigers (22-7), seeded seventh. Memphis reached the third round in 1995, but was eliminated in the first round in 1996 and 2003.

Tenth-seeded South Carolina (23-11) has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973.

Wisconsin 76, Richmond 64

Richmond's Tony Dobbins, front, holds off Wisconsin defender Freddie Owens. The Badgers beat the Spiders, 76-64, Friday in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee — Wisconsin got 18 points from Mike Wilkinson and a career-high 16 from Boo Wade in overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit. Jamaal Scott and Skrocki each scored 12 to lead the Spiders (20-13).

Pittsburgh 53, Central Florida 44

Milwaukee — Pittsburgh played its worst game of the season Friday night, barely managing to hold off scrappy Central Florida.

The Panthers shot a season-worst 29.5 percent and had their fewest field goals (13) and assists (seven). Carl Krauser led Pittsburgh with 18 points, and Chevon Troutman added 13 on 5-for-5 shooting, but the rest of the squad went 4-of-26.