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MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Too big, too physical. Craig Smith and his Boston College teammates fulfilled Utah's worst fears.
The Eagles took advantage against the poor-shooting Utes, winning 58-51 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday.
Smith scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the sixth-seeded Eagles (24-9), who advanced to the second round of the St. Louis Regional, where they'll play the Georgia Tech-Northern Iowa winner Sunday.
Utah (24-9), seeded 11th, got just eight points from senior sharpshooter Nick Jacobson, who made just 3-of-18 shots and was just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Boston College, snubbed by the NCAA selection committee last year, won at at-large bid after losing to Pittsburgh in the Big East semifinals. They quickly proved they belonged here, outmuscling the Utes inside and closing off all lanes to the basket.
Led by Smith, a wide-bodied forward who packs 255 pounds on his 6-foot-7 frame, the Eagles' swarming man-to-man defense kept the Utes out of any rhythm. And when Utah found its range late in the second half, the Eagles double-teamed Jacobson and kept him from hurting them.
Jacobson missed a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left after Smith's putback gave Boston College a 54-51 lead.
The Utes still had a chance when Smith missed the front end of a 1-and-1. But the Eagles' defense befuddled freshman Andrew Bogut, who led the Utes with 16 points but lost track of the shot clock, passing the ball to teammate Richard Chaney as the buzzer sounded with 12 seconds remaining.
Smith and Jermain Watson each sank two free throws and Jacobson missed two more 3-pointers after that.
Jacobson couldn't get away fast enough, quickly shaking hands with the Eagles, then sprinting off the court and into the locker room.
The Utes were one of the country's top 20 teams from 3-point range this season, but their inability to hit open jumpers doomed them to just their third first-round exit in 24 NCAA appearances.
The Eagles outshot Utah 52 percent to 38 percent and made 3-of-4 3-pointers to the Utes' 3-of-18.
Jacobson's shooting got the Utes into the NCAA tournament and on Friday his errant shots took them right out.
He missed all 10 of his first-half attempts, including six from long range, and the Utes fell behind 29-20 at the break.
Utah finished 9-4 under interim coach Kelly Rupp, a 50-year-old rookie head coach who took over in January when Rick Majerus, who has a history of heart problems, decided sudden chest pains and the stress of coaching were a sign that he needed to get his obesity under control.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
