Tulane Is Overrun by Kentucky, 82-60 : Southeast: Wildcats’ 18-0 first-half spurt flattens the Green Wave.

Kentucky saw to it that Tulane’s worst fears were realized. As a result, the top-seeded Wildcats are in the Southeast Regional semifinals.

Kentucky blitzed the Green Wave with an 18-0 first-half run and went on to an 82-60 victory Saturday afternoon. During the run, which lasted 8 1/2 minutes, Tulane missed nine shots and four free throws and committed seven turnovers.

“In watching tapes of them, they have shut people down for long periods of time,” said Tulane Coach Perry Clark. “We got so wrapped up in how we were going to handle the pressure, we didn’t focus on running our offense.”

Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino seemed unfazed by the surge, which allowed the Wildcats to breathe easily the rest of the way.

“It happens all the time to Kentucky,” he said. “It might not be 18-0, but it’ll be a 12-2 run or 14-0. What you hope for during the course of a game is two or three runs.

“It’s like a shark feeding to them (Wildcat players) when they get on that kind of run.”

The Wildcats (27-4), who were upset by Marquette in the second round last year, will play in the regional semifinals against fifth-seeded Arizona State, which beat Manhattan, 64-54, Saturday.

Rayshard Allen scored 29 for Tulane (23-10), but Jerald Honeycutt, the team’s leading scorer with a 17.6-point average, was bothered by foul trouble and finished with only nine points.

“Kentucky is the first team that has ever pressed us like that,” said guard LeVeldro Simmons. “You might beat your first guy on the initial drive, but another guy is waiting for you. They just come at you so many ways.”

The Wildcats saw Tulane get within 67-54 with 4:35 to play in the game, but a dunk by Rodrick Rhodes and two free throws by Jeff Sheppard ended the Green Waves’ hopes for a comeback.

Rhodes scored 14 points to lead six Kentucky players in double figures. The Wildcats turned the ball over 16 times, but Pitino wasn’t complaining about the sometimes ugly play.

“If you’re looking for Claudia Schiffer, she’s not out there,” he said. “We’re a hard-working team.”

Tulane has seen all three of its NCAA tournament appearances end in the second round.