PORTLAND, Ore. – JaJuan Johnson and Purdue just rejected Washington’s desperate attempt to stay in the NCAA tournament. Now comes top-seeded Connecticut.

Johnson scored 22 points and had two huge blocks in the final minute as fifth-seeded Purdue held off a frantic charge to beat the fourth-seeded Huskies 76-74 Saturday to advance to its first regional semifinals since 2000.

E’Twaun Moore scored 14 points and made the clinching free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining.

Memphis 89, Maryland 70

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Memphis didn’t need a record-setting performance from Roburt Sallie in this one.

Tyreke Evans scored 19 points and the Tigers shot a sizzling 70 percent in the first half, awakening from their first-round slumber and belting 10th-seeded Maryland 89-70,

Villanova 89, UCLA 69

PHILADELPHIA – Rollie Massimino sat on the edge of his seat, rooting on his former team from behind the bench.

No need to sweat this one out, Coach. The Wildcats had it all the way. Dante Cunningham scored 18 points, helping Villanova reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in five years with an 89-69 victory over UCLA.

Oklahoma 73, Michigan 63

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Blake Griffin picked up a head of steam and launched himself skyward. He soared over Michigan’s Zack Novak for a monstrous one-handed slam, then stood there for a second, chest heaving. Even the Michigan fans rose up to cheer – Griffin is that good.

Bulling through double teams and soaring in for vicious dunks, he finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds to power Oklahoma to a 73-63 victory over Michigan in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Still sore from being dumped by Morgan State’s Ameer Ali, Griffin dominated the undersized Wolverines to help the second-seeded Sooners (29-5).

North Carolina 84, LSU 70

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Ty Lawson got back just in time for North Carolina, saving the top-seeded Tar Heels from a stunning NCAA tournament loss in their home state.

Lawson scored 21 of his 23 points after halftime, and his three-point play sparked the decisive second-half run as North Carolina held off LSU 84-70 in the South Regional. Wayne Ellington scored 23 points to lead the Tar Heels (30-4).

Gonzaga 83, Western Kentucky 81

PORTLAND, Ore. – Freshman Demetri Goodson streaked the length of the court and made a short, running bank shot with 0.9 seconds left, lifting fourth-seeded Gonzaga over Western Kentucky 83-81 Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Steffphon Pettigrew hit a tip-in for the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers (25-9) that tied it at 81 with 7.2 seconds left. But Goodson took the inbounds pass and went straight to the basket, hitting from close on the left side.

Duke 74, Texas 69

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Gerald Henderson finally will find out what the second weekend of the NCAA tournament is like.

Henderson scored 24 points and hit three free throws in the final minute to help Duke beat Texas 74-69 in the second round of the East Regional. Kyle Singler added 17 points and Jon Scheyer added 13.