Another great day of first round action! Let's look at what happened today.
BIG EAST DID OKAY: After the panic of the Big East's 1-3 showing on Thursday, Syracuse, West Virginia and Pittsburgh did the conference proud and (with Louisville's loss) put the Big East at an even 4-4.
THREE ACC GAMES AT THE SAME TIME: I know that it is tough to schedule these games. You try not to have the same regional teams playing at the same time. But the ACC, which had six teams in this tournament, had three of their teams on at the same time. As an ACC fan, I was flipping back and forth between Ga Tech-Oklahoma State and Florida State-Gonzaga (I barely watched any of Duke's dismantling of Arkansas Pine Bluff).
NEW MEXICO STATE GOT SCREWED: Yesterday, it was Robert Morris which was robbed. Today, it is New Mexico State. Down by two points, Michigan State had one more free throw. It was missed, but the refs called a lane violation on NMSU. The player got his foot in the lane a split second too soon ... something that should never be called. The Spartans got another shot, made it, and forced NMSU to have to gun up a 3-pointer instead of a shot anywhere.
Since that game, I've noticed "lane violations" like that on pretty much every free throw attempt. Not one of them was whistled. Great call, ref!
GEORGIA TECH COULD BE SCARY: I admit that I've not been sold on the Yellow Jackets. But this team has talent all over the place and it seems to finally beginning to gel. Tech made a magical run through the ACC Tournament last week (eventually losing to Duke in overtime for the title) and they really stood up against a very good Oklahoma State Cowboys squad. Their next game against Ohio State could really, really, really be good. If they get to the Sweet 16, they can beat the Tennessee-Ohio winner. A win there and they'd most likely get Kansas ... which is a tough order. But, hey, they just beat the team that had spanked the Jayhawks earlier this season.
Speaking of that, since 1994 there have been seven ACC teams that have been seeded 10th or higher. Six of them pulled the first round upset.
CLEMSON, NOT SO MUCH: I had picked Missouri to upset Clemson in my bracket. Why? Well, I live by the belief that you can never trust Clemson. Right when you think they are good, they slump. And despite being the better seeded team this year, it was the fifth straight one-and-done for the Tigers. By the way, Mizzou has now won five straight first round games.
NOT AS THRILLING A DAY: Unlike yesterday, which featured three OT games and a couple of last second shots, Friday didn't have that kind of drama. Morgan State got us buzzing by climbing to a 10-0 lead on West Virginia ... then the Mountaineers blew 'em out by 27. Really, only three games were really "thrillers". One was the aforementioned Michigan State win over New Mexico State. Another was Georgia Tech's win over Oklahoma State. That game was tight throughout with the Jackets making the big plays at the end.
The game of the day was Wisconsin's four-point win over Wofford. Wofford, making their first tournament appearance, had the Badgers on the ropes.
Both Siena and Florida State came back from big defecits just to get the game close enough to keep an eye on. Everything else today was pretty controlled by one team.
CONGRATS TO CORNELL: The Big Red got their first NCAA Tournament win in their 17th try. The win is also the Ivy League's first since Princeton in 1998.
CONGRATS, PAC-10: The Pac-10 was ridiculed this season for its poor play. Well, they are 2-0 in this tournament with Cal's convincing win over Louisville. They'll join Washington in the second round.
MY SATURDAY UPSET: When you get to this point in the tournament, it's rare to see some shocking upset. The only one that would is if Northern Iowa beat Kansas. So my pick for an upset? Washington over New Mexico. I like the Lobos, but Washington's Huskies are rolling right now and finally reaching some of their potential.
BIG EAST DID OKAY: After the panic of the Big East's 1-3 showing on Thursday, Syracuse, West Virginia and Pittsburgh did the conference proud and (with Louisville's loss) put the Big East at an even 4-4.
THREE ACC GAMES AT THE SAME TIME: I know that it is tough to schedule these games. You try not to have the same regional teams playing at the same time. But the ACC, which had six teams in this tournament, had three of their teams on at the same time. As an ACC fan, I was flipping back and forth between Ga Tech-Oklahoma State and Florida State-Gonzaga (I barely watched any of Duke's dismantling of Arkansas Pine Bluff).
NEW MEXICO STATE GOT SCREWED: Yesterday, it was Robert Morris which was robbed. Today, it is New Mexico State. Down by two points, Michigan State had one more free throw. It was missed, but the refs called a lane violation on NMSU. The player got his foot in the lane a split second too soon ... something that should never be called. The Spartans got another shot, made it, and forced NMSU to have to gun up a 3-pointer instead of a shot anywhere.
Since that game, I've noticed "lane violations" like that on pretty much every free throw attempt. Not one of them was whistled. Great call, ref!
GEORGIA TECH COULD BE SCARY: I admit that I've not been sold on the Yellow Jackets. But this team has talent all over the place and it seems to finally beginning to gel. Tech made a magical run through the ACC Tournament last week (eventually losing to Duke in overtime for the title) and they really stood up against a very good Oklahoma State Cowboys squad. Their next game against Ohio State could really, really, really be good. If they get to the Sweet 16, they can beat the Tennessee-Ohio winner. A win there and they'd most likely get Kansas ... which is a tough order. But, hey, they just beat the team that had spanked the Jayhawks earlier this season.
Speaking of that, since 1994 there have been seven ACC teams that have been seeded 10th or higher. Six of them pulled the first round upset.
CLEMSON, NOT SO MUCH: I had picked Missouri to upset Clemson in my bracket. Why? Well, I live by the belief that you can never trust Clemson. Right when you think they are good, they slump. And despite being the better seeded team this year, it was the fifth straight one-and-done for the Tigers. By the way, Mizzou has now won five straight first round games.
NOT AS THRILLING A DAY: Unlike yesterday, which featured three OT games and a couple of last second shots, Friday didn't have that kind of drama. Morgan State got us buzzing by climbing to a 10-0 lead on West Virginia ... then the Mountaineers blew 'em out by 27. Really, only three games were really "thrillers". One was the aforementioned Michigan State win over New Mexico State. Another was Georgia Tech's win over Oklahoma State. That game was tight throughout with the Jackets making the big plays at the end.
The game of the day was Wisconsin's four-point win over Wofford. Wofford, making their first tournament appearance, had the Badgers on the ropes.
Both Siena and Florida State came back from big defecits just to get the game close enough to keep an eye on. Everything else today was pretty controlled by one team.
CONGRATS TO CORNELL: The Big Red got their first NCAA Tournament win in their 17th try. The win is also the Ivy League's first since Princeton in 1998.
CONGRATS, PAC-10: The Pac-10 was ridiculed this season for its poor play. Well, they are 2-0 in this tournament with Cal's convincing win over Louisville. They'll join Washington in the second round.
MY SATURDAY UPSET: When you get to this point in the tournament, it's rare to see some shocking upset. The only one that would is if Northern Iowa beat Kansas. So my pick for an upset? Washington over New Mexico. I like the Lobos, but Washington's Huskies are rolling right now and finally reaching some of their potential.
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