KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Second-seeded Memphis beat Cal State-Northridge 81-70 Thursday to avoid what would have been one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
Roburt Sallie had the game of his life with 35 points.
Sallie, who was averaging barely 4 points for the Tigers (32-3), sank 10 of 15 3-pointers, a first-round tournament record.
The Matadors (17-14), 19-point underdogs who overcame a sequence of tragedy and off-the-court problems just to reach the tourney, took advantage of miserable shooting by most of the other Tigers and led by six points with 10:08 to play.
But a few minutes later, Antonio Anderson led the Tigers on a 9-0 run and last year's NCAA national runners-up finally took control.
Since the NCAA went to a 64-team format in 1985, only four No. 2 seeds have lost to a No. 15 in the first round.
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