NCAA TOURNY - Day 1

With my MEGA MARCH MADNESS on DirecTV....I watched every game.  I have the ol' three TV setup going on so I can catch all the action [one TV is on a channel that has three games on at once].  So...here is what I saw on Day 1.

I WAS 11-5:  I lost my upset pick, San Diego State.  I also lost the Nevada, Oklahoma, Syracuse [crap, I knew that one!] and UNC-Wilmington. 

WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE DOES IT AGAIN:  For the 2nd straight year, Wisconsin-Milwaukee wins in the first round of the tournament.  For the 2nd straight year, they beat a team wearing red uniforms on a green court.  Eeerie.

BRUCE PEARL DOES IT AGAIN:  Well, last year, Pearl was the coach at UW-M....but moved on to Tennessee in the summer.  He got his Vols into the dance and played a great, great game against Winthrop.  Winthrop didn't score in the final 3:30 of the game.  In fact, they scored just THREE points in the final 9:10 of the game.  And it cost them, as Chris Lofton hit a fade away shot from just inside the arc....with a man right in his grill....to win the game.  Best shot of the dance thus far. 

DUKE NEEDS SOMEONE ELSE TO STEP UP:  I know this isn't a new nugget of info....but Redick scored 29 and Williams scored 29 in Duke's 70-54 win over Southern.  That means that those two All Americans score 58 of the Devils' 70 points [83%].  That's good enough to beat Southern, but that won't cut it as they get deeper in the tournament.

OH...AND THIS GUY:  Nice mohawk!!!

                       

SYRACUSE GAVE AT THE OFFICE LAST WEEK:  Gerry McNamara tried, but his groin injury prevented him from being effective [for the first time in his Syracuse career he failed to hit a FG].  The Orange were ousted by an equally hot Texas A&M team.  Nothing to be ashamed of, however.  Just 10 days ago, Syracuse was on the outside of this tournament looking in.   Next thing you know, they are a 5th seed in the NCAAs!   Their magical 4-game run for the Big East title was just something to behold....and something every one of those players and fans should cherish forever.  You gave it one heck of a run guys!

THE BIG EAST LAYING EGGS:   Well, 3 of the 8 Big East teams that made the field played on Thursday...and all 3 of them lost.  TWO of which were the better seeded team.  As I just noted, Syracuse was beaten by Texas A&M.  Also, Marquette was upset by Alabama, 90-85 [the Eagles were down by 14 at the half].  And, in the most experimental of the games, Seton Hall was shalacked by Wichita State 86-66.  That game was interesting because it matched up a MVC team against a Big East team.  As ya see what happened [there are two more MVC-Big East matchups].  Tomorrow, the Big East should inflate that record a bit....as UConn and Villanova both play #16 seeds.  But Pitt, Georgetown and West Virginia need to watch out.  ALL of them play really tough teams [Kent State, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois, respectively]. 

THE SEC LOOKED GOOD, THOUGH:  Alabama, LSU and Florida looked darn good in advancing.  Bama upset Marquette....while LSU beat a game Iona team and Florida handled South Alabama. 

OKAY, MAKE THAT 20 TIMES IN 22 YEARS.....:  For the 20th time in 22 years, a #12 seed beats a #5 seed.  Oh...and this year it happened TWICE!  This time, it was Montana beating Nevada 87-79.  I watched most of this game, and Montana looked like a seasoned ACC team.  Their offense was fluid, their big man dominating, and their defense was [at times] stellar.  Boston College better look out!  Then, later, it was that Syracuse-Texas A&M defensive battle. 

SPEAKING OF BOSTON COLLEGE:  The Eagles escaped with a win over Pacific.  The game went to TWO overtimes before Boston College pulled away in the third largest margin of victory for a team that won an NCAA tournament game in overtime [88-76]. 

LEAVE AIR FORCE ALONE:  Look, I was very critical of their inclusion into the dance over Cincinnati.  But, the Academy put up a darn good fight with Illinois. 

MIKE DAVIS FIGHTS ANOTHER DAY:  The Indiana-San Diego State game was blistering.  How about a game filled with runs that made 10 pt leads evaporated in the thin air??   Indiana got a huge shot drilled in by Robert Vaden as the Hoosiers outscored the Aztecs 8-2 to close out the game with a four-point win. 

                           

GONZAGA TAKEN TO THE LIMIT:  Xavier owned this game...but just wore out as it went along.  The reason I picked the Zags to be in the Final Four was because of what happened in this game!  They have a guy that can take it over when everyone else is struggling.  Adam Morrison poured 35 points in...and made some huge shots down the stretch [and good defensive plays, too] to will the Zags to this win. 

BEST GAME OF THE DAY:  How about George Washington??  The Colonials were dead....down by 18 in the 2nd half.  Well, they erased that by going on a 19-0 run of their own....and the game finished with dueling big shots [in eventually went into overtime].  UNC-Wilmington had a 85-81 lead in overtime...but didn't score again.  G-Dub went on a 7-0 run to end the game...and UNCW's season. 

THE WORST GAME OF THE DAY:  This was easy.  It was UCLA's complete dismantling of Belmont.  The Bruins....uh, the UCLA ones....beat the Bruins....uh, the Belmont ones...78-44.  Belmont's leading scored had just 8 points [not the leading scorer for the season...the leading scorer for the GAME!!!].  Belmont actually held an 18-12 lead early in the game....but a 23-5 later by UCLA ended it [you could say it was a 66-24 run]. 

THE BOMB SCARE:  Thank goodness it was just that.....a scare. 

                          

THE BEST ARENA:  I'd have to say Cox Arena in San Diego.  Looked nice and everything on TV looked really colorful.

THE WORST ARENA:  Salt Lake City.  It's dark and just looks like a weird place to play.  I also love the lumberjack feel to it...lol.  Why don't they play the games in the Delta Center????

   

Read NCAA Tournament: Day 1 for more breakdowns..