Earnest Shelton scored 22 points to inspire eighth-seed Alabama to an 80-71 upset win over fifth-seed Syracuse at the NCAA tournament. Alabama (20-12) pulled away from the defending national champions in the second half, five days after stunning top-ranked Stanford.
In other Thursday games, Connecticut cruised to an easy 73-53 win over sixth-seed Vanderbilt to reach the "elite eight" stage.
Oklahoma State beat Pittsburgh 63-51 and will next face top seed St Joseph's on Saturday for the right to go to San Antonio for the Final Four.
St Joseph's were hard pressed against Wake Forest but recorded an 84-80 victory.
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