ST. LOUIS — Highly touted freshmen are becoming an endangered species in the NCAA Tournament.
On Friday, Duke’s Jabari Parker was the first prized youngster to exit the Big Dance. Andrew Wiggins of Kansas followed suit on Sunday, each leaving without making an impact.
Wiggins and the second-seeded Jayhawks were stunned by No. 10 Stanford, 60-57, in a South Regional third-round contest at the Scottrade Center.
The Cardinal (22-12), which needed a strong finish just to reach the field of 68 and upset No. 7 New Mexico in the third round, are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2008 — the last time they made the tournament.
Stanford will face No. 11 Dayton, another Cinderella team, in the South Regional semifinals Thursday in Memphis.
It was a nightmare of a game for the gifted 6-foot-7 Wiggins, projected by many to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. He was hesitant and badly off target, scoring just four points — his second lowest scoring output of the season — on 1-of-6 shooting. He had four times as many turnovers as made field goals.
After this performance, those NBA teams who have been tanking for his services must have been shaking their heads.
Senior forward Tarik Black kept Kansas (25-9) in the game, scoring 18 points and grabbing six rebounds, but Kansas’ starting backcourt again struggled mightily. Naadir Tharpe and Wayne Selden Jr. combined for seven points on 3-of-13 shooting. The Jayhawks erased a seven-point second-half deficit once coach Bill Self went to a fast lineup and pressured Stanford, leading to turnovers and run-outs.
Perry Ellis’ putback slam pulled Kansas even at 49 with 5:11 left, but Stanford answered with poise and precision, reeling off nine of the next 11 points. Dwight Powell (15 points, seven rebounds) hit the biggest shot, a tough bank shot in the lane, on the ensuing possession and Josh Huestis’ offensive rebound and basket extended the lead to 53-49 with 3:15 left.
It was 58-51 before Conner Frankamp, Kansas’ best guard in its two tournament games, hit a pair of 3-pointers to make it 59-57 with 14.8 seconds left. His heave at the horn to force overtime after an Anthony Brown free throw didn’t draw iron.