Reserve Keon Clark scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds last night to lead the Runnin' Rebels to a 66-62 come-from-behind victory over Finch's Tigers.
UNLV (21-9) will play host to Hawaii (21-7) in the second round at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday night. Hawaii beat Oregon, 71-61, in the first round.
Tyrone Nesby added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Rebels, who outscored the Tigers, 26-7, after Memphis (16-15) took a 15-point lead early in the second half.
Clark and Nesby teamed up for 22 points and 15 rebounds in the second half.
Finch, forced to announce his resignation effective at the end of the season on Jan. 31, finished his 11-year coaching career at Memphis with a 220-130 record.
"I'm pretty bitter about what happened on the floor," he said. "I'm not taking anything away from UNLV, they shut us down in the second half. But if you don't score points you are going to get beat."
Keldrick Bradford's 3-point shot with 14:22 remaining gave Memphis a 55-40 lead -- largest in the game. But the Tigers managed very little after that.
The Rebels scored 15 straight points to make it 55-all. Jermaine Smith had six of UNLV's 15 points in the run and 14 in the game.
The Tigers went scoreless for more than eight minutes before Chris Garner made a running bank shot with 6:10 left, putting Memphis ahead 57-55.
Kevin James gave UNLV its first lead of the second half at 59-57 when he made two foul shots with 5:19 remaining.
Nesby's foul shot with 2:24 left snapped a 61-all tie and put the Rebels ahead for good. A layup by James with 1:44 remaining -- his only field goal of the game -- made it 64-61.
Sunday Adebayo's foul shot with 1:13 to go proved to be Memphis' final point. Smith's two free throws with 3.5 seconds to play completed the scoring.
Florida State 82, Syracuse 67: At Syracuse, N.Y., Randell Jackson scored 20 points and LaMarr Greer added 16 as the Seminoles won.
The Orangemen (19-13), who reached the NCAA title game last season, failed to win 20 games for only the second time in Jim Boeheim's 21 years as coach.
Florida State (17-11), making its first postseason appearance in four years, will play Michigan State in the next round.
Otis Hill led Syracuse with 16 points. James Collins scored 14 points and Kirk Luchman had 13 for Florida State.
Connecticut 71, Iona 66: At Storrs, Conn., Richard Hamilton scored nine of his 25 points down the stretch as the Huskies (15-14) held off the Gaels (22-8). Kevin Freeman added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Huskies, while Bryan Matthew led Iona with 19 points.
Michigan St. 65, George Washington 50: At East Lansing, Mich., Ray Weathers scored 18 points as the Spartans (17-11) defeated the Colonials (15-14). Shawnta Rogers led GW with 18 points, but the 5-foot-4 guard was only 6-for-18 from the field.
West Virginia 98, Bowling Green 95: At Morgantown, W.Va., Seldon Jefferson scored 29 points as the Mountaineers (20-9) beat the Falcons (22-10). Bowling Green had a chance to tie, but Antonio Daniels missed a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
Pittsburgh 82, New Orleans 63: At Pittsburgh, Vonteego Cummings scored 25 points and the Panthers (18-14) used their height advantage to beat the Privateers (22-7).
Notre Dame 74, Oral Roberts 58: At South Bend, Ind., Admore White scored 18 points and Pat Garrity added 16 to lead the Fighting Irish (15-13) over the Golden Eagles (21-7). Tim Gill led Oral Roberts with 21 points.
Arkansas 101, N. Arizona 75: At Fayetteville, Ark., Pat Bradley scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half as the Razorbacks (16-12) downed the Lumberjacks (21-7). Andrew Mavis led Northern Arizona with 26 points.
Nebraska 67, Washington 63: At Lincoln, Neb., Mikki Moore and Bernard Garner hit free throws in the final 12 seconds to give the defending champion Cornhuskers (17-14) the victory over the Huskies (17-11).
Texas Christian 85, Alabama-Birmingham 62: At Forth Worth, Tex., Mike Jones scored 18 points and reserve James Penny added 17 as the Horned Frogs (22-12) routed the Blazers (18-14). Carlos Williams and Cedric Dixon each scored 16 points for UAB.
Bradley 66, Drexel 53: At Peoria, Ill., Anthony Parker scored 15 points and the Braves (17-12) held the Dragons (22-9) to 32 percent shooting from the field.
North Carolina St. 77, SW Missouri St. 66: At Raleigh, N.C., Danny Strong scored 25 points, including seven free throws in the final 69 seconds, as the Wolfpack (17-14) beat the Bears (24-9).
Nevada 97, Fresno St. 86: At Fresno, Calif., Faron Hand scored 27 points as the Wolf Pack (21-9) beat the Bulldogs (20-12). Richard Brown added 22 points for Nevada. Chris Herren and Daymond Forney each had 20 for Fresno State.
Yesterday's results
Connecticut 71, Iona 66
Florida State 82, Syracuse 67
Michigan State 65, George Washington 50
West Virginia 98, Bowling Green 95
Pittsburgh 82, New Orleans 63
Notre Dame 74, Oral Roberts 58
Bradley 66, Drexel 53
Arkansas 101, Northern Arizona 75
Nebraska 67, Washington 63
Texas Christian 85, Alabama-Birmingham 62
North Carolina St. 77, SW Missouri State 66
Nevada 97, Fresno State 86
UNLV 66, Memphis 62
Hawaii71, Oregon 61
Today's games
Miami (16-12) at Michigan (19-11), 2 p.m.
Tulane (20-10) at Oklahoma St. (16-14), 3 p.m.
Second Round
March 17 or 18
Bradley (17-12) at Connecticut (15-14)
Pittsburgh (18-14) at Arkansas (16-12)
Texas Christian (22-12) at Notre Dame (15-13)
West Virginia (20-9) at N.Carolina St. (17-14)
Michigan St. (17-11) at Florida St. (17-11)
Nevada (21-9) at Nebraska (17-14)
Miami-Michigan vs. Tulane-Okla. St. winner
Hawaii (21-7) at UNLV (21-9)