NCAA Tournament Wrap-Up: Day 5

March Madness just got a little bit crazier as Michigan State

becomes the first #1 seed to be ousted in this year's tournament.

Thursday's Scores

#1 Syracuse def. #4 Wisconsin 64-63

#4 Louisville def. #1 Michigan State 57-44

#2 Ohio State def. #6 Cincinnati 81-66

#7 Florida def. #3 Marquette 68-58

There's always going to be those games where the other team just won't miss.  After Wisconsin's Josh Gasser tied the game at 53 with 8:39 to go, Syracuse fans began to sweat.  However, C.J. Fair's 15 points & 7 rebounds proved to be the difference maker in this Sweet 16 match up.  This game also marked the end of the road for Badger Point Guard Jordan Taylor.  The Bloomington, Minnesota star averaged 11.1 ppg over his career & 3.4 assists.  This season he almost single handedly led Wisconsin to a 4 seed in the Big Dance.

I've made the mistake way too many times of picking against a Rick Pitino led team.  Needless to say that I got burned again on Thursday evening.  The seemingly inferior Cardinals controlled much of the game, and Michigan State never recovered.  Spartan hero Draymond Green continued his dominance, though.  His 13 points & 16 rebounds were the only bright spot for MSU in this game.  Their 5-21 three point shooting was also a heavy burden to carry all game long.





NCAA Tournament Wrap-Up: Day 4

Great teams find ways to win.  Kansas did

exactly that on Sunday night.

Sunday's Scores (3rd Round)

#11 North Carolina State def. #3 Georgetown 66-63

#1 Michigan State def. #9 Saint Louis 65-61

#1 North Carolina def. #8 Creighton 87-73

#7 Florida def. #15 Norfolk State 84-50

#13 Ohio def. #12 South Florida 62-56

#10 Xavier def. #15 Lehigh 70-58

#2 Kansas def. #10 Purdue 63-60

#6 Cincinnati def. #3 Florida State 62-56

The Sweet 16's final eight tickets were punched on Sunday.  Cinderella runs were ended, top seeds escaped, and the elite separated themselves. 

After their upset victory over Mizzou on Friday, Norfolk State was completely overmatched by a talented Florida team.  Dominating from the beginning, the Gators finished off the Spartans by 34.  The other 15 seed fell as well on Sunday.  Lehigh was simply no match for Xavier down the stretch.  Kenny Frease, mostly famous for being a victim in the Cincy/Xavier brawl, put together an impressive 25 point, 12 rebound performance.  Tu Holloway also added 21 points for the Musketeers.

Doesn't it seem like every year there's an 11 seed clinching a spot in the Sweet 16?  A team that nobody bothered to glance twice at makes an appearance in college basketball's second weekend?  That 11 seed this year will be N.C. State.  After an upset win over Georgetown, the Wolfpack are peaking, and will face second seeded Kansas in St. Louis. 

Robbie Hummel's career had to end one day.  That day was Sunday for the 5th year senior.  After two torn ACLs, Hummel led his team to this year's NCAA Tourney, and even helped deliver them to an "upset" victory over 7th seeded St. Mary's.  Unfortunately for him, his 26 points & 9 assists weren't enough on Sunday night.  Elijah Johnson's go ahead layup delivered Kansas to victory, and helped them escape a scrappy Purdue team in round three.

The team that everyone thought would crumble after the brawl only got closer together.  The Bearcats of Cincinnati are now headed to the Sweet 16 after defeating Florida State in the round of 32.



NCAA Tournament Wrap-Up: Day 3

Is Baylor a true Final Four Contender after

Saturday's victory over Colorado?

Saturday's Scores (Thrid Round)

#4 Indiana def. #12 VCU 63-61

#1 Syracuse def. #8 Kansas State 75-59

#2 Ohio State def. #7 Gonzaga 73-66

#3 Marquette def. #6 Murray State 62-53

#4 Wisconsin def. #5 Vanderbilt 60-57

#1 Kentucky def. #8 Iowa State 87-71

#3 Baylor def. #11 Colorado 80-63

#4 Louisville def. #5 New Mexico 59-56

Without star big man Fab Melo, Syracuse somehow found a way to persevere in its second round match up against a defensive minded Wildcat team.  After leading by one at the break, the Orange threw salt in Kansas State's wounds throughout the second half, busting what was a close game wide open for a sixteen point victory.  Syracuse will now face Wisconsin in the Sweet 16.  The Badgers escaped with a close win against talented Vanderbilt to punch their ticket to Boston.

In the Ohio State/Gonzaga game, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Craft made an impact on the offensive end of the floor.  His double double (17 points, 10 assists) helped Ohio state overcome several late Gonzaga rallies to hold on for the seven point win.  They'll face a surprising Cincinnati team in Boston for the right to play the Syracuse/Wisconsin winner in the regional finals. 

Jae Crowder continued his dominance to end Murray State's season Saturday.  After being the last undefeated team remaining in college hoops this season, the Racers were simply not talented enough to compete with a Marquette team that has flown a bit under the radar all season long.  While the Racers head home for the season, Marquette travels to Phoenix for their Sweet 16 match up against 7th seeded Florida.

Knowing that they could very well be on upset alert, Baylor never let their guard down against an athetic Colorado team.  Brady Heslip nailed an incredible nine three pointers to help his team blowout the Buffaloes.  They will now move on to Atlanta to meet 10th seeded Xavier.

Louisville & Kentucky also advanced by virtue of victory on Saturday.

NCAA Tournament Wrap-Up: Day 2

And just when I thought that this would be the tournament where no one 

would be upset... enters Norfolk State.

Friday's Scores (Second Round)

#15 Lehigh def. #2 Duke 75-70

#6 Cincinnati def. #11 Texas 65-59

#11 North Carolina State def. #6 San Diego State 79-65

#8 Creighton def. #9 Alabama 58-57

#7 Florida def. #10 Virginia 71-45

#3 Florida State def. #14 St. Bonaventure 66-63

#3 Georgetown def. #14 Belmont 74-59

#1 North Carolina def. #16 Vermont 77-58

#15 Norfolk State def. #2 Missouri 86-84

#9 Saint Louis def. #8 Memphis 61-54

#13 Ohio def. #4 Michigan 65-60

#10 Purdue def. #7 Saint Mary's 72-69

#1 Michigan State def. #16 LIU-Brooklyn 89-67

#12 South Florida def. #5 Temple  58-44

#10 Xavier def. #7 Notre Dame 67-63

#2 Kansas def. #15 Detroit 65-50

After a Thursday full of predictability, I don't think that anyone could have saw what happened on Friday coming.  While North Carolina State upset San Diego State, I don't think that most people truly viewed that as an upset.  Moreno Valley, California product and leading Florida State scorer Michael Snaer had an "off game."  Snaer finished w/ zero points, four rebounds, and an assist in 23 minutes of playing time.  Thankfully for him (and all die hard Seminole supporters), Bernard James picked up the slack by accounting for 19 of FSU's 66 points & 9 of their 29 total rebounds.

Alabama vs. Creighton provided some excitement as well for the fans in Greensboro.  After blowing an 11 point second half lead, the Crimson Tide simply disintegrated down the stretch.  After poor clock management left only 2.4 seconds on the game clock, Trevor Releford had his three point attempt denied by Josh Jones and Creighton was able to escape w/ a one point victory.

South Florida, one of my sleeper teams, picked up a surprise victory over Juan Fernandez & Temple.  Victor Rudd Jr. & Anthony Collins scoring 17 points respectively highlighted an athletic Bulls team victory.  They will now face 13th seeded Ohio in the round of 32.  Ohio won its second tournament game in three years last night as they upset Tim Hardaway Jr. and #4 seeded Michigan.

Missouri, one of the more popular picks to advance to the final four, was in action against 15th seeded Norfolk State.  15 vs. 2 match ups are supposed to be tune up games for second seeds.  Did Missouri play a bad game?  No.  The Spartans shot 52.7 % from the field, made 13 three pointers, and committed less than 10 turnovers.  Still, Norfolk State's Kyle O'Quinn stole the show.  The 6'10" senior from Jamaica Queens, NY grabbed 14 rebounds along with pouring in a game high 26 points.  Although he missed two clutch free throws that gave Misssouri a chance to win, his hustle, emotion, and effectiveness made all of the difference.  After Phil Pressey, or as Marv Albert would call him "Pressley" had his potential game winning shot bounce off the rim, Norfolk State celebrated in the middle of the court.  Tiger fans looked on with stunned looks on their faces.

In an upset that was anticlimactic, Lehigh defeated duke in Greensboro to become only the sixth 15 seed ever to defeat a second seed, and the second in a span of only about three hours.  Ryan Kelly's injury gave Duke less of a perimeter threat, but Lehigh deserves all of the credit in the world.  C.J. McCollum destroyed the Blue Devils for 30 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds.  Despite Duke rallying in the end, the Mountain Hawks held on for a hard fought and shocking 75-70 victory over Duke.

NCAA Tournament Wrap-Up: Day 1

Is your bracket busted yet?

Thursday's Scores (Second Round)

#4 Indiana def. #13 New Mexico State 79-66

#6 Murray State def. #11 Colorado State 58-41

#8 Kansas State def. #9 Southern Mississippi 70-64

#4 Louisville def. #13 Davidson 69-62

#4 Wisconsin def. #13 Montana 73-49

#3 Marquette def. #14 BYU 88-68

#1 Syracuse def. #16 UNC-Asheville 72-65

#5 New Mexico def. #12 Long Beach State 75-68

#5 Vanderbilt def. #12 Harvard 79-70

#1 Kentucky def. #16 Western Kentucky 81-66

#12 VCU def. #5 Wichita State 62-59

#7 Gonzaga def. #10 West Virginia 77-54

#3 Baylor def. #14 South Dakota State 68-60

#8 Iowa State def. #9 Connecticut 77-64

#2 Ohio State def. #15 Loyola (Maryland) 78-59

#11 Colorado def. #6 UNLV 68-64

If you were looking for a day of March Madness buzzer beaters, game winners, and "One Shining Moment" shots, then maybe you shouldn't have watched the NCAA Tournament yesterday.  Dominating the headlines were "questionable" calls by referees, blowouts, and predictable results.  Only one game was decided by three points or less, and a lower seed triumphed only twice.  About three hours into last year's tournament, there had been two game winners, including Louisville being upset when a Morehead State prayer was answered.  But, through it all, the first day of the 2012 dance brought drama nonetheless.

Let's start with the Syracuse/UNC-Asheville game.  Up at halftime by four at halftime, the Bulldogs had the city of Pittsburgh on its side, hoping to be the first ever 16 seed to upset a #1.  Once Syracuse caught up and took the lead, Asheville still wouldn't go away.  J.P. Primm's game high 18 points helped keep Asheville in it.  Then, with just over 35 seconds remaining, a ball that clearly (as proved by instant replay) went off of the Orange's Brandon Triche, was called out on Asheville.  The game was never the same after that, and the Orange went on to win by seven.  However, the Bulldogs can't completely blame their hard fought loss on the men in striped shirts.  The Orange dominated the offensive glass for numerous second chance points.  If UNC Asheville was simply able to grab a rebound when they had a chance to extend the lead, maybe the Bulldogs could have escaped with what would have been the biggest upset in college basketball history.

Just a quick piece of advice:  If you make seven brackets like I did, don't have a twelve defeating a five in five of the seven brackets.  Along with 18 & 13 for Drew Gordon, Greenwood & Wlliams made an impact in this game with two threes respectively.  They were the five seed for a reason, and evidently I forgot to acknowledge that.

UCONN is talented, so what happened?  They are well coached, so why are they making a second round exit a year after winning the title?  Iowa State is a very good team, led by Chris Allen & Royce White, but why did UCONN collapse so greatly this season?  It is still mind boggling when you think of it.  A team with two potential top ten draft picks earning a disappointing 9 seed and exiting after one game?  With no chance of playing in the NCAA Tourney next year, will Calhoun need to build from the ground up starting in 2013-14?

Colorado impressed me, and I believe that their athleticism could give an inconsistent Baylor team some trouble as well.