SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Kansas’ run through the NCAA tournament was slowed to a crawl by scrappy Southern Illinois.

The Jayhawks got up just in time to move to the brink of the Final Four.

Brandon Rush scored 12 points without missing a shot, and Kansas eked out a 61-58 victory over Southern Illinois in the West Regional semifinals Thursday night.

Darrell Arthur and Russell Robinson scored nine points apiece to help the Jayhawks (33-4) barely avoid yet another Saluki surprise and another disappointing exit from the tournament. Kansas won its 14th straight game by nursing a small lead through the final minutes against a defense that made the Jayhawks’ future NBA stars work exceptionally hard for every basket.

When Tony Young missed a desperate 3-point attempt from half-court at the buzzer, Kansas also dodged its second straight tournament loss at the hands of the Missouri Valley Conference, which takes the “mid” out of mid-major with each passing year. Bradley beat the Jayhawks last season, but Kansas advanced to face UCLA on Saturday.

Jamaal Tatum scored 19 points in his final college game for the fourth-seeded Salukis (29-7), who couldn’t get the break they needed to reach the round of eight for the first time in school history with just their second loss in 17 games.

Rush’s driving layup with 25 seconds left provided the game’s final points, but Tatum missed a chance to tie it on a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left. Randal Falker got the rebound for Southern Illinois, but lost the ball.

Kansas’ Julian Wright then missed two potential clinching free throws, but Young couldn’t hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night on the run, sending Kansas into a subdued, relieved celebration.

Southern Illinois decisively won the matchup’s clash of styles, forcing a deliberate tempo on the high-flying Jayhawks while keeping the possessions long and the score low. The Salukis’ defensive aggression and offensive rebounding were complemented by just enough big shots from its struggling scorers to keep it close.

UCLA 64, Pittsburgh 55

The way UCLA and Pittsburgh play tenacious defense, the best way to score is when the opponent can’t contest the shot.

That’s just what Arron Afflalo and the Bruins did. Afflalo made all 10 of his free throws and UCLA shot 23-for-26 from the line to knock off the Panthers 64-55.

The game between coaching buddies Ben Howland of the Bruins and Jamie Dixon of the Panthers was played in the style they employed in their years together at Northern Arizona and Pitt.

Nearly every shot being contested and neither team able to generate any kind of offensive flow as neither team cracked 43 percent shooting from the field.

But the second-seeded Bruins (29-5) were able to win at the line, scoring 12 of their final 18 points on foul shots to advance to play Kansas (33-4) in Saturday’s regional final in a matchup of two of college basketball’s most storied teams. The top-seeded Jayhawks beat Southern Illinois 61-58 in the first game in San Jose.

Third-seeded Pitt (29-8) cut a 12-point lead down to five when Levance Fields hit a pair of 3s and Ronald Ramon added another in an 88-second span, but Michael Roll’s baseline jumper with 51.5 seconds left put the Bruins up 58-51.

Afflalo finished with 17 points despite going 3-for-11 from the floor in another poor shooting night. Josh Shipp added 16 and Darren Collison had 12 as the Bruins advanced to regional finals in consecutive years for the first time since 1979-80.

Ramon scored 12 points to lead the Panthers, who lost in the regional semifinals for the fourth time in six seasons. They haven’t been to the round of eight since 1974, when it took only two wins to get there. Fields added 11 and Aaron Gray was held to 10 in his final college game.

AP-ES-03-23-07 0012EDT