DETROIT - Fifteen minutes or so after the Kansas win, the celebration continues. The nets are being cut down.

Strangely though, no chant of Rock Chalk Jayhawk has gone up yet. In fact, I heard that more in Denver than I have here, and Kansas wasn't even in Denver.

After the game, Davidson left with their heads held high, but Curry and Richards were obviously a little frustrated.

Curry might be hungry. He should be. He played the whole game.

Self had an extended talk with Richards afterwards.

Davidson's fans sing Sweet Caroline one more time before hitting the buses.

Davidson leaves the floor, beaten but unbowed.

A happy bevy of Jayhawks

Oh, there goes the Rock Chalk chant.

I expect my hotel to party all night long tonight - if anyone is still there. A lot of people checked out already.

The all-regional team has been announced.

From Kansas, Sahsa Kaun, Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers.
From Davidson, Jason Richards, and the Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player, Stephen Curry.

The PA announcer, after getting his name right all weekend, mispronounced it Ste-fahn when he announced him as the MOP.

It is a bit unusual to have the MOP from the losing team, but there really was no choice.

I'll have a wrap of the Detroit experience on the Hangtime blog tomorrow, including any useful quotes from the postgame.

Also, the Hangtime blog has the details of my excellent adventure from yesterday.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Kansas defeated a more-than-gritty Davidson squad 59-57 to earn a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio next week. Jason Richards missed a long three at the horn that would have won it. On the final play, Kansas defended Curry well and forced him to give up the ball to Richards.

Kansas reaction to winning seemed to be more relief than celebration. Richards was fighting back tears afterwards. Heck, even I'm shaking. What an effort by Davidson.

So we now have our first ever Final Four with all four number one seeds.

Back with more in a bit.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Stephen Curry may finally be running out of gas as Davidson trails by 6 with 59 seconds left and the ball coming out of a timeout.

He has missed two straight threes, one in transition after a steal by Richards. He also had a shot blocked from behind by Rush in the lane.

Chalmers also had a big block from behind on Lovedale before Lovedale fouled out seconds later. He was shown a lot of love in the form of a standing O from the DC crowd.

There is no panic at all in the Davidson huddle during the timeout. It's all business.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - A Kaun layup has KU back up three with 3:31 left and they have the ball when we come out of the timeout.

The hero for Davidson today hasn't been Curry, but Barr, who has 11, all in this half, but with 4:17 left, this is where you could find him.

What am I doing here?

He has been the only reliable option besides Curry and gave Kansas someone else to guard. Without him, Davidson would be toast already.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Yet another three by Barr had Davidson up four with the ball, and it looked like Kansas was starting to pucker. But Chalmers got a steal and made the layup this time, then after a Curry miss, Collins buried a three, and now Kansas is back up 1 with 6:11 to go.

This is going all the way to the wire, as the DC band kick into 'Sweet Caroline," the theme for the team. The fans behind me are in full voice.

SWEET CAROLINE!! OH OH OH!!!

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Bryant Barr has come off the bench to bury a couple of threes to help push Davidson back into the lead with 10:30 left and force Kansas to use another timeout.

Curry blew a chance to make it bigger when, after a steal, he got his pocket picked from behind and it went the other way for a dunk.

That's the only two KU points in a 8-2 Davidson run.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Brandon Rush hit a three, then a couple of minutes later, drove to the hole for a layup and one. If he heats up, it could be trouble for Davidson, who now trails 43-38 at the 12-minute timeout.

It could have been worse Chalmers blew a chance when he got a steal but missed the layup at the other end.

Kansas seems more aggressive on defense this half, using a mix of man and box-and-one to shadow Curry. Since those first five, he hasn't scored, or even really had a good look.

Most useless sign of the day - Davidson cheerleaders holding up signs that say "Stand up and Cheer" and "Make Some Noise". DC fans have been doing that the whole game.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Curry scored the first five points of the half for Davidson, and we are tied at 35 at the first timeout.

Really though, he's been the only semi-reliable offensive option. Kansas is doing a good job on the other guys.

Rush seems to be short-arming everything for Kansas, which is a sign of feeling the pressure.

Kansas finally got an alley oop to work to Kaun, with an and one. Kaun missed the FT though, and when Rush rebounded the miss, McKillop turned to Stephen Rossiter on the bench and says, "Get him (the player missing the box out) the very bad word out of the game."

Arthur and Kaun have each picked up their third foul already in this half. Lovedale also has three for Davison, and he and Kaun remain in the game.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Collins dished to Jackson for a layup late in the first half to give the Jayhawks a two point lead at the break.

Kansas probably has to feel pretty good about its position considering how badly they have played. They have too many unforced turnovers (9 total turnovers to just 3 for the Wildcats), and shot only 13-28 for the half, which doesn't sound so bad, but a lot of those misses were pretty good looks.

McKillop probably feels the same way. He's still hammering his team about rebounds. Late in the first half, he turned to the bench and yelled, "We have got to get the loose balls and rebounds! We should have had that one down there and we should have had that one down here!"

A minute or so later, he pulled Archambault, and McKillop got in his face on the bench with , "It's very simple, you either give me the body, or I give you the bench!"

McKillop is right. KU leads the rebound battle 22-13, although they only have five offensive boards.

KU switched to box and one late in half to try to slow down Curry, and generally, Kansas has had success defensively. Curry has 15 on 5-12 shooting from the floor and 3 freebies.

Chalmers leads Kansas with 11.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Kansas has had to use two timeouts to bail out of bad situations due to good defense by Davidson, and then ran out of time on the shot clock anyway. We're tied at the four-minute timeout.

We don't have LeBron James tonight, but we do have former Chicago Bull Bill Wennington

Wennington played for McKillop at Long Island Lutheran HS

Davidson's cheerleaders provide a pleasant distraction during timeouts.

Pay attention to the coach, boys.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Stephen Curry scored eight straight points for Davidson to give the Wildcats a one-point lead at the 8-minute timeout.

Chalmers answered with a couple of threes to help keep it close.

One thing I've never understood is why there has to be a coaches' meeting at every timeout.

But there always is, while the players cool their heels. You don't see coaches go right into the huddle anymore.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - It's still tough going for the shooters here. Davidson has hit two in a row to take a 9-6 lead at the second timeout, but they are only 4-15 from the floor for 27%. KU is only 3-14 for 21%. It's been so rough that one of the shots that went in for Kansas took two laps around the rim before falling. Even their one alley oop attempt, while resulting in a basket, didn't work as drawn up.

Both teams have missed a bunch of layups and open shots, and neither has done a particularly good job of taking care of the ball, although Kansas has more turnovers at this point.

So far though, this is the kind of game Davidson needs.

Right after the timeout, and two Darnell Jackson misses from the line, the clock went nuts and lost three minutes and all the points.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Detroit has a lot of nicknames like Motor City and Rock City, but so far, it's Brick City in this game. It's only 2-2 at the first timeout as each team has only hit one of its first six shots. Included in those is a miss by Curry and a block by Lovedale of an Arthur layup in transition.

Russell Robinson is on Curry initially.

Davidson coach McKillop is his usual, intense self. He turned to the bench and yelled, "C'mon! We gotta box out!" after a Kaun tip-in, as if any of those guys were in a position to box out.

And after a reach in foul on Richards, he got after the ref with, "C'mon, that's a cheap foul, Randy!"

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Davidson's players and coaches are all smiles as we get ready for the tip. Assistant Matt Matheny is jokingly taking deep breaths, trying to relax and signaling to folks in the crowd.

Let's have a clean fight, men.

If there's any pressure on these guys, it's not showing before the tip.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, Davidson fans are pumped up and ready to go. We are over a hour from our tip and the only people here are these guys:

Davidson fans think you can't be here too early.

Davidson is a school of 1700 students, or roughly the size of both my high school and my dorm at Purdue. And it seems like they're all here. I bet it's a ghost town today.

Actually, many of those folks got on buses at 3 AM this morning for the roughly 12 hour trip to Detroit. Davidson sent seven buses full of students up here on Friday, and five more made the trip today.

I asked one of the students who made the trip when they were leaving and she said, "Tonight after the game. We have classes tomorrow. I hope we get back in time for my 8:30, but I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

Some more drove up on their own. I talked to another girl who said she made the trip late yesterday, and it took her a little more than 10 hours. "It would have been faster, but we ran into traffic in West Virginia of all places. Who knew that many people would be on the roads in West Virginia?"

Actually, Gus Johnson and Len Elmore are working already also.

I'm ready for my closeup!

Both teams have arrived on the floor for warmups. Kansas walked in to silence because their fans are still getting lubed up for the game.

One of the keys for Davison today is the play of Jason Richards, the point guard who had the ridiculous line of 13 assists and no turnovers in the game against Wisconsin.

With Memphis cruising, Davidson has the last chance of preventing the first Final Four with all #1 seeds.

The lineups are in, and here they are.

Davidson will start:
G Jason Richards, Stephen Curry, Max Paulhus Gosselin
F Thomas Sander, Andrew Lovedale

Kansas' lineup is:
G Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush
F Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson

Our refs are Tony Greene, Randy McCall and Doug Sirmons.

The only starter on either team from the school's home state is Curry, who is from Charlotte. The teams collectively start three foreigners. Gosselin is from Quebec, Lovedale from Nigeria, and Chalmers is from Alaska.

Note to editor, yes, I know Alaska isn't technically a foreign country.

A couple more shots of Davidson fans:

The Curry family nervously awaits

Sign of the times

Posted by Jerry Palm at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Fans started chanting "One More Year" upon the news that Derrick Rose was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player.

Joining him on the all-regional team are Brook Lopez, DJ Augustin, CDR and Joey Dorsey.

. . . Calipari to the crowd: "Thank you to all the Memphis fans. How about this basketball team? What a great day for our univeristy and our city."

Posted by David Scott at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Memphis played its basketball of the season in this two games of the regional and because of it they now advance to San Antonio next week where they will meet UCLA in the national semifinal. The Tigers won this one, 85-67, and, much to the dismay of many, were able to hit free throws down the stretch. CDR was 12 of 15 from the line, Rose was 7 of 8 and the Tigers were 30 of 36 from the stripe.

Memphis shot 26 of 52 from the field . Texas began the Hack-a-Tiger assault with about four minutes and left and Memphis leading by 20 to no avail.

It was another never-ending Gobstopper for the Tigers as Texas stretched the game with 3-pointers and fouls in the final four minutes.

. . . Calipari pointed to his family as time wore down which started Erin crying on Ellen's shoulder. Derrick rose waved goodbye to the Texas fans with a huge smile on his face.

. . . Abrams and Augustin both helped their numbers with some 3-balls down the stretch, but the job the Memphis guards did on them, coupled with the big man scoring in the paint for Memphis (40-24) was the real story of the game. Abrams finished with 17 points on 6 of 16 form the field (5 of 10 from 3-point land). Augustin had 16 points (4 of 18 and 2 of 6).

. . . Dozier fouled out with 3:36 left in the game. He had two points and seven rebounds and was 1 of 6 from the field.

. . . Mason fouled out for Texas with 2:47 left in the game. He had 7 points, 7 rebounds and three assists. James fouled out with 46.2 seconds remaining. he had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

. . . We'll stick around for the awards presentation and then work the post-game interviews and have a regional wrap-up for you in our final Hang Time Office Hours of the year later tonight. be sure to check it out and we'll be back with you from San Antonio on Thursday afternoon sometime.

Posted by David Scott at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Appearing in its third straight Elite Eight, the Memphis Tigers are on their way to the school's third-ever Final Four and the first since 1985. Memphis leads 67-48 with 3:56 left and the Memphis fans are on the verge of total celebration amidst the burnt orange, and some of that burnt orange is heading to the exits.

Abrams and Augustin are now a combined 5 of 25 from the field and have 16 points between them (11 for Augustin).

Joey Dorsey has a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

. . . Not looking like I get an all-regional ballot but my team would be CDR, Rose, Dorsey, Augustin and Justin Mason. Rose will be my regional MVP.

. . . Today's attendance is announced at 32,798. Friday was 32,931.

Posted by David Scott at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - With 8:07 left in the game, Memphis is up 59-43 and Texas is going to need to really turn things around to get back in this one.

Memphis remains at 50 percent shooting from the field (24 of 48) while Texas has dropped slightly since halftime to 17 of 47. Both teams have hit just one 3-pointer this half.

Paint points are now 38-20 in favor of Memphis while rebounding remains close at 30-27 for Memphis.

. .. DJ Augustin is 3 of 14 from the field and AJ Abrams is 2 of 8.

. . . Taggart has had a very solid game off teh bench for the Tigers with 12 points on 5 of 7 from the field. he had four points in the first half.

. . . Dozier picked up his fourth foul with 8:32 left in the game, he was replaced by Dorsey. Pittman missed the free throw that would have given him the 3-point play on the foul.

Posted by David Scott at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Memphis has weathered an early second half run by Texas to extend its halftime lead by one point, 50-38 with 12:53 left in the game. Joey Dorsey will go to the line to shoot one after being fouled on a basket to put the lead at 12.

The Texas run got to 12-0 as they scored the first six points of the half to trim the lead to 39-34. Taggart ended it with a jumper in the paint over Atchley. Memphis quickly got it back to nine on a Rose dunk.

Damion James scored four of first six points of the half for Texas. He now has eight points and Augustin has 11 to lead Texas.

. . . Rose defedning Augustin, Anderson on Abrams.

. . . Anderson banked in a 3-pointer just under 15 minutes left to put memphis back up by 12.

Posted by David Scott at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - With the the exception of Texas's 6-0 run to end the half, Memphis has to be v ery happy with the way things played out in the first half.

Calipari was able to use eight players for five or more minutes and despite having been outscored 8-4 by the Texas bench, the Longhorns trio of guards had to play all but four minutes of the half (20 for Augustin, 18 each for Abrams and Mason). That wearing down of the gaurds is definitely part of teh Memphis strategy as they have been able to shuttle in Andre Allen, Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp.

No one is any real foul trouble and only 15 total fouls were whistled in the first half, something that definitely favors the Tigers.

. . . Rose was 5 of 6 form the field in the first half, his only miss coming from 3-point land on a shot that rimmed out.

Mack and Kemp are 0 of 4 from 3-point land.

. . . The Tigers met in a circle at halfcourt after watching Dorsey hit a free throw attempt and raised arms and fists in unison.

. . . Texas cheerleaders are in chaps, as is the halftime custom, and we are once again happy for such rituals.

. . . Well, there is a Bish in the house, but it's former President Bush not the sitting one.

Posted by David Scott at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Texas re-gained a bit of composure toward the end of the half with a couple of sloppy plays by Memphis and now trail 39-28 at the break.

Some quickie stats:

Tigers led in scoring by CDR with 11 and Rose with 10.
Longhorns led by Mason and Augustin with seven each.

Joey Dorsey leads all rebounders with seven.
Mason has six for Texas

Memphis shot 15 of 31 from the field (48 percent) and 2 of 9 from 3-point land.
Texas shot 10 of 27 form the field (37 percent) and 2 of 8 from 3-point land.

Paint points are in favor of Memphis 24-12.
Rebounds are Memphis 18-17.

Turnovers are 8 for Texas, 3 for Memphis.

Rose has four assists to lead all dishers.

Dorsey dunked with 2:40 left on an alley-oop from CDR, then pointed to the Memphis rooters who responded with a chant of "Joey, Joey, Joey."

Posted by David Scott at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - With each attempt to get back in it by Texas and their fans, Memphis seems to have an answer. It got especially loud after Texas trimmed the lead to 12 with just over 4:00 left on a dunk by Pittman, but Memphis answered with a Shawn Taggart bucket off the galss. The score is now 34-20 Memphis with 3:45 left in the half.

. . . Rebounding battles is going to Memphis, 17-15.

. . . Texas has eight turnovers to three for Memphis.

. . . Paint points are 22-8 in the Tigers favor.

. . . A DJ Augustin trey off a block from Clint Chapman trimmed the Memphis lead to 29-18 with 6:26 left in the half, prompting a Calipari timeout.

. . . The daily Dorsey dunk-o-rama came on a leak-out after some great Tiger defense in transition and led to Dorsey two handing a monster flush all alone. It brought the Memphis lead to 13.

Posted by David Scott at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - It's not quite Friday night when Memphis stormed out to a 30-point lead, but with 7:40 left in the half, the Tigers are up 29-13 and have been on a 11-2 run over the last seven minutes.

CDR now has 11 points for Memphis and Rose has 10 points. Mason continues to lead Texas with 7.

The length of Memphis is certainly affecting the shot selection of the Longhorns who are now 5 of 19 from the field (26 percent). Memphis is 11 of 24 (46 percent). Both squads are 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.

. . . It went to 24-13 on Rose steal and dunk at 10:00 mark, then 26-13 8:56 on alley-oop in transition from Rose to Dorsey and finally 29-13 with 8:10 left, CDR lay-up in transition and foul.

. . . Memphis switching up with man-to-man and then zone.

Posted by David Scott at 02:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - With 11:56 left in the half, Memphis is up 20-13 and Texas will have the ball coming out of the timeout.

Memphis is being led by CDR's eight points and Rose's eight. Texas is led by Mason's seven points.

The Tigers are shooting 47 percent from the field (7 of 15) and Texas is at 36 percent (5 of 14).

Paint points are 10-6 in favor of Memphis.

Texas has three turnovers to two for Memphis.

. . . Rose started off 4 of 4 from the field. Not sure he had hit anything but net until his first trey attempt rimmed out in the 12:30-area.

. . . Biggest lead so far is 18-8, Memphis.

. . . Texas has switched to a 2-3 zone.

. . . Barnes inserted Dexter Pittman and Calipari countered with Pierre Niles. That, friends, is some texas-sized beef in the paint. First battle goes to Niles who deflected a rebound off Pittman. Niles stayed for just a miunute.

Posted by David Scott at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - A wonderful start with great intensity at both ends as Memphis leads 13-8 with 15:49 left in the half. CDR has seven early points, Derrick Rose has four, including a rebound and coast-to-coast lay-in that was breathtaking in its speed and control.

Justin Mason has four for Texas. Memphis is 5 of 8 from the field, Texas 4 of 9.

. . . A 5-0 start by Memphis. Ended by Connor Atchley dunk.

. . . A preponderance of burnt orange engulfs the Stadium, but a strong showing by the Tiger faithful as well. But when Texas made a run, it got very loud for the 'Horns.

. . . Calipari and Barnes exchanged a hug pre-game during lay-up lines and then another after line-ups were announced. Looked like Cal made a funny. Nice moments, both of them.

. . . Derrick Rose has a bandage over his right here where he was cut on Friday night. He checked out at 18:37 favoring the eye and was tended to immediately by Memphis medical staff. Andre Allen replaced him. Rose was re-inserted 1:03 later

. . . Texas starts out in man-to-man defense. Memphis also man-to-man but showing some match-up zone it appears.

. . . Calipari using the coacing stool, Barnes not.

Posted by David Scott at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Some familiar names and faces on the officiating crew this afternoon with veterans Mike Kitts, Bob Donato and Patrick Driscoll. Kitts was in Little Rock last week and had Texas but not Memphis. Donato was in Birmingham last week and Driscoll was in D.C.

. . . Analysis:
This is one of those games that won't be about the Xs and Os as much as it will be the Jimmys and the Joes (cliches work, whaddya want from me?). Both teams are going to run, both have exceptional talent level and both are capable of scoring bursts.

Our two deciding factors in our pick of Memphis (by five or less) are this:

1. The Tigers are likely going to start out in their usual man-to-man defense and will force Texas to make outside shots. The hope being that DJ Augustin had his one breakout game on Friday and they can contain AJ Abrams enough to keep things managable.

2. The depth factor: Memphis has it, Texas doesn't and especially at the guard spot. If Memphis's bulky guards acan wear down the 'Horns, it will be the end of Texas.

. . . Memphis mascot Pouncer has broken out the ref jersey. Nice.

. . . Our CSTV.com Road Trippers are in the house. They're tired but feisty and it brings all new levels of excitement to have them courtside. We love those guys.

Posted by David Scott at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - One of the many interesting tales that came out of John Calipari's extended press conference yesterday was one about a text message he received form former UMass guard Edgar Padilla, who was part of Calipari's Final Four team at UMass.

"It's funny, Edgar Sent a text and said, 'I hope you live that experience all over again, that was one of the greatest experiences of my life,'" said Calipari. "I hope these young men get to experience it , because one of the things I've told them is that they are a Dream Team. I handed out alist to them a couple of weeks ago about what a 'Dream Team' is and there were 15 things on it and I read to my players, and they meet every one of those statements.
And I said, basically, you're a Dream Team. You may never play on a team that gets along this way ever again in your life. You're a Dream Team. And what I'm saying to them now is, let's keep playing just so we can stay around each other for another two weeks, and let's just do it. The experience of going one more step, they will talk about it the rest of their lives."

. . . Probable starters as listed on the stats monitor to our right:

Memphis
Robert Dozier
Joey Dorsey
Anotnio Anderson
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Derrick Rose

Texas
AJ Abrams
Damion James
DJ Augustin
Justin Mason
Connor Atchley

. . .Memphis assistant John Robic just stopped by for some pre-game talk. He appeared relaxed and did everything but say, "The hay's in the barn." But it is and the Memphis coaching staff is comfortable with its gameplan.

Robic said the court configuration wasn't a big issue on Friday night aside form the fact that from the opposing bench, it is near impossible to see the other bench. That becomes a factor when coaches try and see what calls are being made by the opponent but doesn't have that big of an effect on the game itself. Especially in this contest where both teams are mostly about running and not running a whole lot of set plays.

. . . Memphis has taken teh court for pre-game stretching at 12:17 local time. They are in blue shooting jerseys with white uniforms underneath. Antonio Anderson is shwoing some dance moves as he slides onto the court. JOey Dorsey is in all black warm-ups and wearing long pants as has become his custom. He is the lone Tiger in long pants.

. . . Calipari children, Bradley and Megan are already in their seats and have just been joined by Erin. They are in Row 2 behind press row a bit off center-court.

Posted by David Scott at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Welcome back to Reliant Stadium for today's Regional Final between No. 1-seed Memphis and No. 2 seed Texas. A smattering of fans has begun to filter into the seats and Jim Nantz and Billy Packer are working on some pre-recorded voice-overs just in front of the Posting Up perch (we've been upgraded to the 2nd row today, indicating we behaved well on Friday in the third row).

There had been rumors that President Bush was going to be in the house today, but judging from the way our bags were lightly inspected coming in, we're guessing G-Dub will be watching this one on the White House's flat screen.

. . . The NCAA's Greg Shaheen has been spotted in the building, as he and Committee Chair Tom O'Connor are scheduled to complete their four sites in four days tour of the Sweet 16/Elite 8.

. . . The Tigers have been installed as slight 3 1/2 point favorite by the wiseguys.

. . . Two great columns on today's game that we'll leve you with for now:

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe.

Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal.

Posted by David Scott at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Big players know how to step up in big games.

But you don't need to tell Tyler Hansbrough that -- not after the way he played Saturday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

So with hopes of avenging last season's disappointing loss to Georgetown in the Elite Eight, the junior forward put No. 1 seed North Carolina on his back and carried his team past No. 3 seed Louisville with a game-high 28 points and 13 rebounds to secure a convincing 83-73 victory and a trip next week to San Antonio for the Final Four.

"My feelings right now are great," Hansbrough said afterward. "It takes all of those past experiences away. But also, at the same time, I feel like we want to accomplish more. It feels like we did something big, but we can also do something bigger."

The Tar Heels will have more work to do next Saturday against either No. 1 seed Kansas or No. 10 seed Davidson out of the Midwest Region, but for now they can enjoy the fact that they're two steps closer to a national championship.

"They are focused young men," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of his players. "They have dreams and hopes. I've said many times this year, we don't deal in other's people's expectations...They are focused, they're tough kids."

While Hansbrough certainly was much of the show for North Carolina (36-2), Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson did the job in the backcourt throughout the game, combining for 24 points and seven rebounds. Lawson, meanwhile, dished out a game-high nine assists and knocked down all six of his free throw attempts in showing that he's back to full strength after missing time during the regular season with a sprained ankle.

"It feels good to get the weight lifted off us from last year," Lawson said. "We had that tough loss to Georgetown and it fueled us throughout the whole year. So it feels good to this win and head on to San Antonio next weekend."

Louisville, in the meantime, fell short of a goal that many pundits at the beginning of the season thought would be attainable, yet it was mistakes -- 19 turnovers to be exact -- down the stretch that hurt the Cardinals' chances of moving on to college basketball's biggest stage next weekend.

"I'm real proud of our guys," Louisville coach Rick Pitino offered after coming a win short of the Final Four. "They had a few turnovers down the stretch that really shots us in the foot. Some guys were giving everything they had, giving their hearts and souls, trying to get a victory."

The Cardinals showed that fight to the bitter end before finally surrendering defeat, and while Louisville didn't have been enough to topple the might giant that UNC has consistently been this season, it has nothing to be ashamed of after hitting 52.7 percent of their field goals (29-for-55 for the game) and forcing UNC to commit 14 turnovers and shoot just 27. 3 percent (3-for-11) from three.

Of course, it wasn't enough to stop Hansbrough, who showed the entire country watching on national television that he's worthy of winning this year's Naismith Player of the Year award.

"He is a heck of a basketball player," Pitino said of Hansbrough. "I've coached against Michael [Jordan] in his prime, [Charles] Barkley in his prime, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] when he left, Magic [Johnson] and all the great ones. I've been fortunate enough to watch and observe all those guys...Every NBA coach woul love to have a player not only that works hard but has a lot of talent. The shots he made were unbelievable because they were under duress and he had very little time to get it off. He came up big and you got to give credit to a great basketball player."

A classy thing to say from a classy coach, something that Pitino has always been no matter what the result may be.

But that wasn't the only praise Hansbrough received from his opponents after his stellar, all-tournament team performance.

"I've never seen a player like that," confessed Louisville forward Terrence Williams, who dropped in 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting in addition to four rebounds and three assists. "He deserves everything he gets."

"He deserves all the success he gets," repeated senior center David Padgett after battling with Hansbrough for much of the night and finishing his collegiate career with six points, eight rebounds and six assists. "Like coach said, I've never played against someone that hard. Big-time players make big-time players and he made two big-time plays at the end."

One of those plays came with the shot clock running down and North Carolina needing a basket to put the final dagger in Louisville (27-9), leaving the stage wide open for Hansbrough to bail out the Tar Heels with a 18-foot jumper from the left wing that was heavily contested.

"They were unbelievable," Juan Palacios said of Hansbrough's two final field goals. "We played great defense and he still made the shots."

"The young man is the most driven, most focused youngster I've ever seen in my life," Williams admitted about his All-American forward. "He's not a rah-rah individual. When he says something, [his teammates] listen to him. Last week week he was in the gym two and a half hours on an off-day...But that's Tyler Hansbrough. And that's Tyler Hansbrough at practice every day. That's Tyler Hansbrough in the off-days. It's what he is."

And if Psycho T continues to make those kind of shots next weekend in San Antonio, you can bet he and his teammates will be cutting down the nets and celebrating with the Carolina faithful on hand, who at this point are quickly jumping on their computers and booking whatever airplane tickets are still available to Austin (there aren't any left for San Antonio).

"We know that this is not our last step," UNC forward Marcus Ginyard asserted following his six-point, seven-rebound effort. "We're very excited to get to this point but we continue to have that same attitude that we have more work to do.

"This team has continued to show that when we need to dig deeper and play better and play harder and play smarter, we do. And I think that just shows how good this team really is."

While they've managed to show that from November all the way to March now, the Tar Heels will have to do even more in April to ultimately capture what they've envisioned for the past five months.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With a minute left, North Carolina looks like it will be moving on to San Antonio for the Final Four after securing a 77-66 lead.

Tyler Hansbrough is playing out of his mind, hitting an 18-foot jumper from the left wing with two seconds left on the shot clock to put a dagger in Louisville's heart and most likely send the Cardinals back home to the Bluegrass State.

The Tar Heels now just need to hit free throws down the stretch here and with the way Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington stroke it from the charity stripe, that shouldn't be a problem for Roy Williams' team.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With a little more than five minutes remaining in what's been an entertaining Elite Eight matchup here at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, North Carolina is holding onto a slim 68-64 lead thanks to the inside play of player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough and frontcourt mate Deon Thompson.

Hansbrough has already recorded his usual double-double, having done that by the 9:30 mark in the second half, and efficient shooting from long range (3-of-7 from three) by Louisville has Rick Pitino's team in the thick of things as we head into crunch time. UNC, on the other hand, has missed all four of its three-point attempts this half after making just 2-of-8 in the first 20 minutes of play.

But with the way Hansbrough has been playing this game, stepping up in crucial times after Louisville baskets, it's going to be hard for the Cardinals to overcome the junior forward's big play and upset the NCAA Tournament's overall No. 1 seed.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In what's been a turn of events of sorts, No. 3 seed Louisville is giving No. 1 seed North Carolina all it can handle by coming out strong in the second half after trailing by 12 at halftime.

The Cardinals now trail by just three, 58-55, with 11:13 left, and Jerry Smith seems to have the hot hand for Rick Pitino's ballclub, hitting seven of his 10 shots for a game-high 17 points. After really struggling before falling out against Tennessee, sophomore point man Edgar Sosa is having a much better game here tonight against the Tar Heels.

Tyler Hansbrough has nearly matched that effort with 16 points of his own, and Wayne Ellington has been stuck on 11 for what has seemed like a long time (since the first half).

Louisville has continued to be efficient shooting the ball from the perimeter, making now nine of its 15 shots this half and turning the ball over much less than it did in the first half. Carolina, meanwhile, has almost matched the Cards' mistakes with 11 turnovers.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- As expected, it was the total team balance of scoring that won the game. But the odd thing is that the balance was on UCLA's side, not Xavier's. And less surprisingly, it wasn't just on offense, but on defense as well. Add both ends of the floor together and you get a 76-57 Bruin victory and a third straight trip to basketball's Land of Oz.

(Coach Ben Howland with the fruits of his defense's hard work)

Four Bruins ended up with scoring totals in the teens and their swarming hornets-nest defense on the other end was just as manic as it has been all season.

Coach Howland was quick to point that out with his opening statement. "I thought our defense was tremendous tonight. That was the difference, to hold them to 36% shooting, they're a very good shooting team. And we also held them to seven offensive rebounds in last 35 minutes of the game. It was a great overall team effort."

I'll sign that memo.

With a tenuous one-point lead of 16-15 at the 9:25 mark of the first half, UCLA cranked up the defense a couple of notches, finishing the half outscoring the Musketeers by a 17-9 margin, including a two-point jumper with five seconds left by Darren Collison, that seemed to take a gasp out of the Xavier steam engine.

Even Xavier coach Sean Miller could sense trouble when Collison proved he was back on his game, after a four-point effort vs. Western Kentucky. "At the end of the (shot) clock, he's incredible. He's got that dagger ability, which he displayed tonight. He's got such ease and confidence when the clock winds down."

But even still, XU wasn't out of the game with a 33-24 deficit at the half. In fact, the Muskies cut into the Bruin lead, chopping it down to six a minute into the second frame.

But that's when the Bruins cranked the defense up to 11 (because you know their defensive intensity goes that high). A Kevin Love blocked shot led to a Collison layup and then a Josh Shipp block and a Russell Westbrook steal led to a couple more baskets and slicker than a mayonnaise sandwich, UCLA was back up by double-digits again at 40-28.

From there, you could feel the Bruins confidence start to rise and the Muskies shoulders start to dip. When Collison connected on another three-pointer at the buzzer of the shot clock with 13:32 remaining, the Bruins had their biggest lead at 51-30. It was Taps City from there. The Musketeers had their hearts lanced by the more athletic Bruin defenders.

"To win today's game, we would've had to have had a lot of things to line up for us, because UCLA is a great team." Coach Miller chimed. "I hear people talk about high pressure the further into the tournament you go and it's true. We weren't ourselves today. Again, UCLA had a lot to do with it and they just had that look of a team that is used to this."

The X never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. And the one instance when the Musketeers did? A couple of Josh Shipp free throws was immediately followed by... you guessed it, a Collison three at the end of the shot clock.

From there the Bruins ran out the clock in this game and started their clock on a third straight Final Four trip. "Obviously it's unbelievable." Howland stated. "It's a real credit to how good our players are and how they perform under pressure."

As for this year's run to the promised land? "It's our best team we've had in the last three years because we have a big player that can score and rebound like nobody else can."

Unless you've been living under a rock, the player Coach Howland is referring to is Bruin bruiser Kevin Love, who ended up with a double-double once again, going 19 and 10, while also adding two blocked shots and four assists. Collison the catalyst tied the game high with 19 as well, connecting on all three threes he shot, most of them being of the deflating variety of course.

Howland couldn't stop beaming about his two biggest stars on the floor tonight, "Darren did a great job in running the show and Kevin Love getting a double-double, we're just getting spoiled with that. They're both very special players."

Unlike much of the last few weeks, the Bruins seemed to play with a purpose today. It's like they heard everyone talk about how they were vulnerable and just said to each other, "Okay, time to prove these blowhards wrong."

They only forced nine turnovers on the night, but added six blocks, six steals, unyielding pressure and most of all, playing hard, aggressive defense in general. The Bruins ended up with 19 fouls on the night, but not a single Bruin player was in foul trouble for the game.

That's balance. And that's balance that UCLA had this time, and unfortunately Xavier could keep up.

Key Play:
After making their second straight dunk to cut UCLA's first half advantage to 31-24, Xavier allowed Darren Collison to knock down a jumper with five seconds remaining before halftime that put a charge back in the Bruins and seemed like just another reason for Xavier to wonder what it had to do to pull this thing off.

Key Player:
Darren Collison.
Again, he only connected on three three-pointers, but each one seemed to use every second of the shot clock and take every smidge of hope out of Xavier. Collison ended the game with 19 points and five assists.

Key Stat:
I'll quote Ben Howland here, because he couldn't be more correct - UCLA's defense held Xavier to 36% shooting for the game. The perimeter defense was sparkling as well, holding the Musketeers to 4-for-19 shooting beyond the arc.

Other quotes of note:

Sean Miller on his Xavier team:
We have three seniors that have done everything we've asked as a coaching staff. They led their team to 30 wins and the Elite Eight. To be honest, I don't think there was a single player on our team that thought it would end here. I really though that we were prepared to beat UCLA. We all believed we could beat them.

On Kevin Love:
Kevin Love is so mobile for a big guy, he amazes me. He might be the missing part to UCLA winning it all that they didn't have the last few years. He looks like he's 25 years old when he's playing. He makes the game look easy. Good hands. Smart. No ability to get rattled. For a freshman, that's incredible.

On his future:
I will be at Xavier. I'm really looking forward to coaching at Xavier and continuing on with what we've done here for years and what we've done this year. We're anxious to recruit to the very best we can, to have the opportunity to get back here. When you are watching a team cut down the nets, you have an incredible desire to be here again.

Coach Howland on his defense, particularly tonight:
The key is we have players with quick feet. We don't play defense with our hands or arms, but with our feet and that makes the big difference.

On Kevin's leadership:
He's a great player. Deservedly the MVP. He's very very mature. He's an outstanding leader. And he leads with his competitiveness and his toughness. He does whatever it takes to win. He's also very verbal, intelligent and bright. And he earns the respect of our players with the way he plays.

The All Tournament Team:

Tyrone Brazelton, Western Kentucky
Russell Westbrook, UCLA
Josh Duncan, Xavier
Darren Collison, UCLA
Kevin Love, UCLA

MVP: Love, UCLA

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Louisville is doing its best to make things interesting early in the second half at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, as the Cardinals have cut North Carolina's lead to 50-43 with 15:14 remaining.

Louisville guard Preston Knowles just got a nice look on a backcourt cut to the basket and laid one in as he was fouled in the process.

The Tar Heels, meanwhile, have two players in double figures now as Tyler Hansbrough has recorded 12 points to go along with Wayne Ellington's 11. Louisville has yet to have a player reach the double-digit mark, but three players -- Terrence Williams, Jerry Smith and Earl Clark -- each have nine for Rick Pitino's squad.

What's helped, however, get the Cardinals back in this one has been a 5-for-7 start (71.4 percent) from the field, as North Carolina has struggled in the opening minutes of this second half with a 3-for-9 shooting performance.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- We're at halftime here at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, where top-seeded North Carolina has jumped out to a sizable 44-32 lead through the first 20 minutes of play.

Wayne Ellington is pacing the Tar Heels with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Tyler Hansbrough has provided the spark down low with eight points and four rebounds. Marcus Ginyard is leading the effort on the glass for UNC with five boards.

But the Tar Heels are up big in part due to their 58.1-percent clip from the field along with Louisville's game-high 11 turnovers, something that needed to be a concern for seventh-year coach Rick Pitino after the way the Cardinals coughed up the ball on 20 occasions in Thursday night's Sweet 16 win over Tennessee.

Ty Lawson, on the other side, has been impressive in running the show for UNC so far, dishing out seven assists despite having only two points on a pair of free throws. Danny Green has continued to play off the bench for Roy Williams, hitting two of his first three shots and all four free throws for nine points.

For Louisville, Earl Clark has eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and Jerry Smith has dropped in seven in 14 minutes of action. David Padgett, in the meantime, has been extremely quiet with 0 points and just three attempts from the floor as well as Juan Palacios, who has yet to take a shot in his seven minutes of floor time.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 3:53 before halftime here at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, No. 1 seed and hometown favorite North Carolina is in control of things with a 31-24 lead.

Tyler Hansbrough is off to a good start for UNC with a team-high eight points, while shooting guard Wayne Ellington and forward Deon Thompson have each tallied six.

The Tar Heels have dominated the boards early on with a 15-7 edge and have gotten the turnover-happy Cardinals to already commit nine mistakes. If that continues, Louisville could well surpass its game-high 20 turnovers from Thursday night's Sweet 16 win over No. 2 seed Tennessee.

Both teams, meanwhile, are shooting it well from the perimeter, as North Carolina has hit 53.8 percent of its shots (10-for-19) and Louisville has come in at 52.6 percent (14-for-26). The Cards have hit two threes -- one from Terrence Williams and one from Jerry Smith -- and Carolina has one from Danny Green, who got into a rhythm from beyond the arc in the first half against Tennessee.

And whether or not North Carolina coach Roy Williams wants to believe it, the crowd, dominated almost completely by Carolina powder blue, is certainly playing a factor through the first 16 minutes of this thrilling Elite Eight matchup.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 9:46 left to play in the first half, North Carolina has charged back to take a 21-14 lead on Big East regular season runner-up Louisville.

Rick Pitino's kids grabbed the early lead in this one, but Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels have taken control on some nice drives to the basket.

And the tempo has started to pick up at both ends of the floor as both UNC and Louisville have been looking to get out and run in hopes of earning easy transition baskets.

UNC has hit half of its field goal attempts (9-for-18) while Louisville has hung tough with a 6-for-13 shooting performance so far, but the Tar Heels have been dominate on the glass with a 11-5 advantage, one particular aspect we mentioned in our pre-game post that would be critical to either teams' success tonight.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- At our first timeout with 15:05 remaining in the first half, third-seeded Louisville is out to a 9-8 lead on top-seeded North Carolina.

The Cardinals are shooting the ball well early on at a 66.7-percent clip -- on 4-of-6 shooting -- and getting some fine play early on from their backcourt in Jerry Smith and Terrence Williams, who swished a fade-away jumper in the opening moments to give Louisville a 4-2 lead.

North Carolina has burned Louisville's full-court press a couple times to start the game, getting an easy dunk by Marcus Ginyard, and a couple of buckets from First Team All-American and player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- UCLA wins 76-57

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- The Bruins are now up 69-49 at the four minute mark. The UCLA fans are starting to get a little bit louder with every tick of the clock. They've been to the Final Four a lot, so they know when these things are about to happen. Call it a Final Four fan's 6th sense.

(Sean Miller can't find the answers to a Bruin team that's playing with a purpose today.)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- So I meant to write about this guy before, but this UCLA fan that's wearing one of those Finding Nemo fish heads and "Cat in the Hat" oversized gloves on his hands, was up and dancing during every time out during today's game. His seat was in the 5th row, right behind the basket.

Well a little while ago, the security here ushered him out of his "seat" and next thing you know he's up in the rafters still doing his thing up there. So this picture is from my court side seat on the opposite end zone way up to section 212 where he is now.

Bruins lead 53-39 at the 10:45 mark.

(UCLA fish-head, no longer getting hassled by The Man)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- It's now UCLA 48-28 after a pair of threes by Darren Collison and Kevin Love, along with a put-back by Love that had the Bruin bench jumpin' up...

Just as Xavier feared, UCLA has raced out quick here in the second half, outscoring the X by a 15-4 count here in the first five minutes of the second half. And by the way, do you find it weird that Xavier hasn't employed some of the Western Kentucky philosophy and put more full court pressure on the Bruins? To my recollection, that seemed to work well on Thursday.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- That was the message that the Xavier huddle had going on just before entering the arena for the last 20 minutes of today's game.

(Xavier players before going out on the court for half #2)

It's 33-24 UCLA at the mid-point break. A late run pushed the Bruin lead to nine after it had been within two or four points all half long.

Xavier needs a good push here in the second half to keep this from getting ugly. Then again, remember what Western Kentucky did? They cut a 21-point lead to fou in the second half.

Coach Sean Miller just told Derrick Brown that "we have no chance if you're not playing smart!" after Brown picked up an early foul here.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Good evening everyone as we make our return to Charlotte Bobcats Arena for our East Regional semifinal between No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 3 seed Louisville.

The Tar Heels, who earned the top overall seed coming into the NCAA Tournament, has cruised easily in their first three games, winning by at least 20 and putting up over triple digits in its first two games. On Thursday night here in the Sweet 16, Roy Williams' club ran past No. 4 seed Washington State and never was really challenged by the Cougars. Tyler Hansbrough led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds, but it was a balanced scoring attack that included three other double-digit scorers for UNC. Sixth-man Danny Green gave the Heels an early spark with 12 points at halftime before finishing with 15 on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point land.

Louisville, similarly, showed its own sort of scoring balance in its dominating win over No. 2 seed Tennessee in Thursday's Sweet 16 contest. Sophomore forward Earl Clark had a huge second half against Volunteers before ending up with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes. But four other Cardinals registered double figures as well, including 13 points from Andre McGee and Jerry Smith, and Louisville took care of things on the glass with a commanding 43-28 edge. And with the frontcourt powers that both North Carolina and Louisville possess, the battle on the glass will certainly be a crucial factor in tonight's Elite Eight matchup.

Turnovers will be just as important after the sloppiness that Louisville exhibited against Tennessee with a game-high 20 turnovers. North Carolina also had a few issues taking care of the ball against Wazzu with a game-high 13 turnovers, but the Heels didn't let that hurt them with a 46-32 rebounding advantage. If they do that tonight against the Cardinals, Williams and his players won't have any trouble getting past an experienced and talented Louisville squad that many predicted had enough power to reach the Final Four.

That prediction could still come true, but it will take a monumental effort from the Cardinals and every bit of support by the over-matched Louisville faithful to push Rick Pitino's team into that position next week.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- Last year, among the UCLA traveling team was this quirky juggler, who always wore a bright blue suit with shiny blue high tops and a "fat guy" hat. Well apparently his scholarship ran out because he's not with the Bruins contingent this year.

(Yes, this guy had a scholarship... meanwhile college baseball is only allowed 11.7 scholarships to split up among 35 players. WTF?!)

UCLA is now up 31-22 at the 1:35 mark of the first half. Still a great, evenly-played game for the most part. Although UCLA is going on a late half sprint here and XU needs to be careful.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- The pundits have been correct so far, as XU has stayed consistently with UCLA through the first 12 minutes and change of this game.

It's now UCLA by a shade, 18-15 at the 7:38 mark. Xavier's run-and-jump style of defense, where they also double off of any screens at the top of the key, seems to be making things touch for the Bruins to utilize their inside game as much as they'd like to.

(Miller doing the grease board thing with his team during a time out)

Both defenses have been spot-on so far, frustrating the other teams designs and knocking a lot of loose balls around.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- I don't give a whole ton of credence to the fact that this is a "home" game for UCLA, or any team in the NCAA tournament.

But I will say this, you might not be able to tell on TV, but there is a much more palpable energy to today's game than there was on Thursday. Sure there are probably more UCLA fans here, but everybody loves an underdog, so there is a very vocal crowd pulling for Xavier too.

Of course, the energy could also be high for both teams since the game started with three electrifying dunks in the first four shots made.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- Before they hit the floor today, the UCLA Bruins huddled together in the bowels of the stadium and received a short pep talk.

I heard the voice say, "C'mon guys! This is the Elite Eight. Leave it ALL on the floor today. This is what you came to UCLA for, so go out there and get it!"

They broke the huddle and I saw that the guy in the middle of it all, giving the speech was the well-suited Michael Roll. He's the Bruin sharpshooter who is redshirting this season because of an injury.

'Bout to tip off here in the Valley of the Sun.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- Okay Xavier, just about everybody and their brother think you've got a better-than-average chance to pull this one out. I'm not going to doubt your chances either.

In the West Regional Final, it's 30-6 Xavier vs. 34-3 UCLA.

(Do B.J. Raymond and coach Sean Miller have any more magic left in them?)

Game time is about an hour away. Here are a couple of interesting notes going in:

- UCLA is shooting for its third straight Final Four appearance and has been in 17 Final Fours in its history. Xavier is looking for its first Final Four appearance ever.

- Eleven times an Atlantic 10 team has advanced to the Elite Eight over the years, but only one has won its way to the Final Four, that was the '96 UMass team led by Marcus Camby and coached by John Calipari.

-Three players in this game are coming off of career-best games on Thursday. Xavier's Josh Duncan scored a career-high 26 vs. West Virginia. UCLA's James Keefe came off the pine to score a career-high 18 and Frosh phenom Kevin Love scored a career-high 29 vs. Western Kentucky.

- Xavier has five players averaging double figures in scoring. Duncan leads the way with a 12.4ppg average.

- Both teams have established a school record for wins in 2008. The 2008 Musketeers with 30 and the Bruins with 34.

- Of the 21 players that average a double-double in college basketball this season, only two are freshmen, Michael Beasley of K-State and Kevin Love of UCLA (17.6 and 10.7)

- Typical of Ben Howland's philosophy, UCLA is holding opponents to 58.5ppg. This is the third straight year the Bruins have held opponents to less than 60 points.

- Big key for the Bruins: Darren Collison must get back into the swing.
He had more fouls than points against WKU (five fouls, four points) and was continually frustrated by the quick, lateral ability of the Hilltoppers guards. Guess what Xavier's biggest attribute is? Quick, lateral movement, especially of their guards Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell.

- Big key for the Musketeers: Must continue to hitting threes like crazy.
The X went 11-19 in treys vs. West Virginia, including two by Raymond that salted the game away in overtime. UCLA was just 4-for-9 in its game with Western Kentucky, so their game doesn't rely on the shots from beyond the arc.

- Key matchup to watch: Stanley Burrell vs. Darren Collison
The 6'3" Burrell will have the assignment of covering lightning-quick Collison today. Burrell was named the A-10 defensive player of the year this season and as mentioned, Collison is coming off of one crappy performance vs. Tyrone Brazelton.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - We have just concluded the day-before interviews here at Reliant Stadium and we can't say we heard any ourageous comments or taunting from either the Memphis or Texas side.

No real feel for how each team will perform tomorrow, but it is pretty safe to bet that this game will be quite an up and down battle. John Calipari joked that the score could be in the 100s for each side. Or maybe he wasn't joking.

Responded Rick Barnes: "Who did he say was going to win? (Laughter) Did he say? Well, I don't know. We're going to play the way we've played. I think that at this point in time, I think teams are who they are, and both teams -- Stanford, they ran (Friday) night. We knew they were going to run. I think every team that we've played all year has had the attitude that you have to get out and try to get easy baskets; I think so much depends on how you take care of the ball. What you don't want to do is to allow teams to get out from your turnovers, but we are going to run. There's no doubt they are going to run and they are not going to change what they do and we are not going to change what we do. In terms of a score, I don't know. But like our guys were saying, we've got to this point playing a certain way, and we are going to continue to do that."

Said DJ Augustin: "Like Coach said, we are not going to change anything we have been doing all year, we are going to push the ball up and down and we have to do the same thing in defense. It's going to be an up-and-down game but we are just going to play our game."

. . . The cut above Derrick Rose's right eye showed no signs of swelling and despite an early morning headache, Rose said he is fine and the cut won't affect him tomorrow.

. . . A big part of the Texas presser was dedicated to the unsung hero-ness of "glue guy" Justin Mason. Several questions were asked about Mason - who was sitting there sort of bemused by all the attention. You can expect the Mason storyline to be a big one for tomorrow's game. As will the DJ Augustin-Rose storyline. The two played against each other over the summer at an adidas camp and Rose said Augustin got the better of him.

. . . We're working on a column about the two coaches in tomorrow's game and it will be posted at Hang Time in a couple of hours. Please be sure to check it out.

In the meantime, you can venture over to our good friends at ASAP Sports for transcripts of the day's pressers.

Posted by David Scott at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Davidson is looking to become the second double-digit seed to go to the Final Four in three years when it takes on Kansas here Sunday night.

Stephen Curry had another big game against the Badgers, and there is no reason to think he can't light up Kansas as well. Defending Kansas may be another issue for the Wildcats.

The Jayhawks run up and down the floor as well as anybody, and are one of the quickest teams in transition in this tournament. They also try to move quickly after made baskets. They are able to get easy shots inside, or threes for Robinson, Rush and Chalmers by beating teams down the floor.

Davidson had some success pressuring Wisconsin, and I look for them to do more of that against Kansas to try to force some turnovers and get some easy hoops.

Athletically, the Wildcats are wildly overmatched, much more so than they were against Georgetown. I don't see any way they can run with them, but Davidson isn't much of a slow down team either.

Like Davidson, Kansas likes to create turnovers, so taking care of the ball will be critical. The Wildcats have done a good job of that so far.

Kansas is also motivated to get its coach, Bill Self, to the Final Four for the first time and get that monkey off his back.

For the fourth time in a row, I'm picking against Davidson. That is good news for Wildcat fans. I also picked against Mason every time out in 2006.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Memphis wins it 92-74 and will meet Texas on Sunday at 1:20 local time.

Rose finishes with 27 for Memphis, CDR has 25. Suton with 23 and Allen with 20 for State.

We'll be back with you from interview day, tomorrow (Saturday) in the early afternoon.

Posted by David Scott at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Despite missing much of the second half with an eye injury, Derrick Rose leads all scorers with 25 points and Memphis is up 83-66 with 1:56 left.

We're being assured by the NCAA that this game will actually end at some point.

. . . Tip for Sunday's South region championship game was just announced as 1:20 CT (2:20 ET). That's slightly odd because we thought with Billy Packer and Jim Nantz at this site, they would have had the natural lead-in to "60 Minutes" and be able to set the complete Final Four field. Instead, it will be Cinderella Davidson and Kansas that get the fill the final spot.

. . . Neitzle hit his first field goal of the game with 1:45 left. He is 1 of 7 from the field., with all but one attempt a 3-pointer.

Posted by David Scott at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Kansas finished off Villanova 72-57. Both teams called off the dogs with about 30 seconds left.

Not exactly the raucous celebration like when Davidson won.

KU finished with 54% shooting on 24-46. Rush had 16, Robinson 15 and Chalmers 14 for the Jayhawks.

Nova got the shooting percentage up a bit to 36%, but it wasn't nearly enough. Reynolds had 11, and Clark and Cunningham had 10 each.

KU fans aren't even doing the Rock Chalk thing yet. Maybe they all went home.

So we have Davidson vs Golaith again on Sunday at, it was just announced, 5:05 ET.

The beggars are out behind me. Some pre-teen boys are hitting us up for media guides and, I'm not sure this is a good idea, used towels from the Nova bench.

Time to find the Davidson party. See you on Sunday.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - If this game were a candy, it'd be a Gobstopper.

Michigan State has, much to Tom Izzo's credit, been able to extend this one and wring out every last second. With 3:58 left in the game, Memphis leads 78-62 and the parade to the free-throw line is going to continue.

Neitzel has still not scored for State.

. . . There's no way you can blame Memphis for its second half lapse. It's too hard to keep up the kind of intensity they brought in the first half and with a 30 point lead at halftime, there's a certain expectation that the game is over, even though 20 minutes still needed to be ticked away.

That said, Calipari will gladly use the second half as further motivation for his Tigers as he tries to convince them that the world is against them on Sunday. And few do such motivtaional games better than the Tiger mentor.

Posted by David Scott at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - With 6 minutes left, it appears that Tom Izzo will foul on every Memphis possession.

Calipari has said he will have his players try and run away and hide, but so far the technique has led to two trips to the line for Rose and Kemp. Rose missed one, Kemp made two.

Posted by David Scott at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Jay Wright and Nova never gave up. He coaches all the way to the end. He pulled Stokes with about 1:45 left and let him having it for blowing a defensive assignment. "You gotta get out on that man! We're down very bad word 15!"

Now, they're down 12 with just over a minute left.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Jay Wright was trying to get Weed (I'm pretty sure) to do something, but what exactly that was remains a mystery. He just kept yelling 'C'mon Weed!" over and over until he got sick of it and turned to his bench to send in a sub with, "Go get Weed." I'm also pretty sure that he was not placing a take-out order.

Anyway, Weed, that is Dwayne Anderson, is out.

So is Nova, trailing by 17 with 3:30 left.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - It's not a game, but State has done it's best to make it one after Memphis dozed off for the past ten minutes of game time.

Memphis leads 69-48with 7:39 left in the game.

. . . Drew Neitzel still has not scored in the game. He is 0 of 5 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point land.

. . . Rose returned for Memphis with 8:45 left in the game. He is sporting a bandage over his right eye. He score four straight points. Guess they missed him a bit.

Posted by David Scott at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Memphis is having a hard time creating a flow in this latter portion of the game, understandably so. But Calipari is not happy despite a 61-39 lead with 11:55 left in the game.

Derrick Rose is nowhere to be found and has definitely left the bench area.

. . . Text Message of the night, received at 10:23 CT with Memphis up 61-36, from a weisenheimer friend of Posting Up (FOPU): "Geez, I hope Memphis's free throw shooting doesn't hurt them down the strecth of this one."

Why can't I come up with gold like that?

. . .Memphis Media Moron is now eating my media room-procured Snickers and M&Ms. The chewing seems to keep him quiet, which is nice. Wish they had Laffy Taffy.

. . . Every game tonight has the potential to be double-digit blow-outs. Not exactly what the mothership of CBS was looking for to boost sagging ratings.

Posted by David Scott at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

DETROIT - It isn't getting any better for Villanova as they still trail by 19 at the 12-minute timeout.

Much of the crowd has headed for the exits.

Jay Wright is starting to lose his optimism and show some frustration at his team's inability to stop the alley oop, of which Kansas has about six.

The Wildcats haven't quit though. They're pressing and trying to get back in it, but KU is toying with them.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - We're not going to insult your intelligence by continuing to post at every media timeout. If the game gets below 20, we'll check in. Otherwise just assume the Tigers are maintaining a helathy double-digit lead. It's now 61-29 with 15:56 left in the game.

. ..Derrick Rose got poked in the eye and was taken out of the game when the official stopped play. He doesn't appear to be on the bench - not sure where he is currently.

. . . Tigers went up 34 within first minute of half.

. . . Attendance for this session was 32,931. There were approximately 43,000 seats available, but thhe bulk of those remaining 10,000 are way up in the eaves.

. . . Dozier picked up his third foul of the game a minute into the half, but remained in the game.

. . . A moron media member from Memphis is trying to get his wife to see where he's sitting by waving his hand in the air each time the camera comes down this end of the court. He may need to be beaten. By Joey Dorsey. And Pierre Niles.

. . . Calipari is going to use the rest of the half to get some rest for his starters in preparation for Sunday against Texas.

Posted by David Scott at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Michigan State could not get anything going in the first half and the stats don't lie in this one:

Memphis won the board battle, 22-6.

Memphis shot 20 of 32 from the field (63 percent).
State shot 9 of 23 (39 percent).

Memphis hit 4 of 10 from 3-point land.
State hit 1 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Suton led State with 11 points.
Rose led Memphis with 12 and four assists (Neitzel led State with four assists).

Just four State players scored (two with 2 points each).
Eight Tigers scored.

Memphis had 3 turnovers.
State had 9.

Memphis had 6steals.
State had 1.

Memphis scored 24 points in the paint to 12 for State.
Memphis netted 16 points off turnovers to 2 for State.
Memphis has 13 second-chance points (10 offensive boards), State has zero.

. . . Tough night for the Big Ten with Wisconsin falling to team from a mid-major conference and State looking at a 30-point deficit to a team from a Mid.

. . . State's last field goal of the half came with 6:17 left in half.

Posted by David Scott at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MEMPHIS - Memphis beat writers are already finished with their game stories. Columnists will have no trouble meeting deadline. This one is a joke. Memphis leads 50-20 at half, a score that was punctuated by a breakaway, between the knees dunk by Derrick Rose.

Michigan State may be boarding the bus right now for all we know.

. . .Big fella Pierre Niles checked in for Memphis with a little over two minute sleft in the half and proceeded to take an alley-oop and lay it in for two. if this thing goes this way and Memphis meets texas, we're proposing a sumo match at halftime on Sunday between Niles and Texas's Dexter Pittman.

. . . Back with stats when they get to us.

Posted by David Scott at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - This is getting ugly. Jeremy Case drained a three late to extend the Kansas lead to 41-22 at the break.

Kansas cooled off from their torrid start, but is still shooting 59%, while Nova is a putrid 25%. Russell Robinson has 13 and Brandon Rush 11 to lead KU. Scottie Reynolds' six paces a very balanced Wildcat attack, such as it is.

Jay Wright is still keeping a positive outlook though.

Just talked to Brent Stover from the Big Ten Network, who reports that the Wisconsin locker room was like a morgue. No surprise there.

We actually got a little halftime entertainment this time. The Kansas Dance team performed, but because my cell phone takes mediocre pictures at distance, I don't have one, which will disappoint our colleague, Eric Sorenson.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Playing their best half of basketball in the NCAA Tournament, Memphis has taken a commanding 41-20 lead with 3:46 left in the half.

Drew Neitzel looks especially frsutrated and has yet to score for the Spartans. Memphis is lead by CDR's eight points.

. . . Incredibly, Memphis is shooting 67 percent (16 of 24) and State is shooting 9 of 19 (47 percent). But the difference has been on the boards, where Memphis has 14 rebounds to just 4 for State.

. . . A Joey Dorsey steal and tomahawak slam with 5:41 left in the half put Memphis up 37-20. It also started chants of "Joey, Joey, Joey" from the Tiger faithful.

. . . Raymar Morgan picked up his second foul with 7:05 left in the half.

Posted by David Scott at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Memphis has built up a 13 point lead with 7:32 left in the half and now lead 31-18.

Goran Suton has half of State's points with nine, while Memphis has seven players with at least two points, led by Dozier and Rose with seven each.

. . . Willie Kemp with two early 3-pointers for Memphis. The Tigers are 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.

. . . The Tigers have so many student managers that five of them have been relegated to auxiliary seating in the abandoned Stanford band section.

. . . The Memphis mascot is in its Elvis costume, a personal favorite of ours.

. . . With Anderson out, Rose picked up Neitzel on defense for Memphis.

. . . The video board that had been distracting Memphis players during yesterday's shoot around gets turned off during free throws.

. . . Robert Dozier picked up his second foul with 7:32 left in the half.

Posted by David Scott at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Kansas has finally stopped Nova's run with a 7-0 run of its own to extend the lead back to 15 with 3:45 to go.

Jay Wright had Scottie Reynolds out of the game for a minute, and when he sent him back in, he told him, 'When he's outside the three point line, keep your hands off him." Not exactly sure who he meant, but my guess is Robinson.

Also, after a Reynolds walk, Wright turned to one of his assistants and said, "Don't say anything. Just don't."

Sasha Kaun tried a goofy-looking, two-handed tip that looked more like he was trying to set a volleyball than tip in a basketball. It didn't work.

When Wright called timeout here, a manager grabbed a couple of stools for the players to sit on, and a priest sitting with the team grabbed a couple also. I guess he doesn't just provide moral support.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

DETROIT - The Villanova bench is lively at the 8-minute timeout because they have cut the lead to 10 and KU just threw the ball away.

Scottie Reynolds has a couple of threes to spark this 8-2 run.

Remember how I said that little schools have cheesy mascots. Here's a cheesy big-school mascot.

More of a jaychick than a Jayhawk. The number on the jersey is 1/2.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

HOUSTON - The Tigers lead 19-13 with 11:42 left in the half. Both teams are shooting well with Memphis at 7 of 10 and State at 6 of 12. Memphis holds a slight 5-2 rebounding edge. Rose has 7 points to lead Memphis and Chris Allen has 5 to pace the Spartans.

. . . State is in a 2-3 zone to start.

. . . A trey by Rose gave Memphis a 10 point lead right around the 15-minute mark. Biggest of the game.

. . . Idong Ibok picked up his second foul with 13:58 left in the half.

. . . Texas players have just entered the arenadium and are sitting down to scout their next opponent. Big cheers all around.

Posted by David Scott at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Kansas is on fire to start the game. The Jayhawks have hit 9 of their first 11 shots, including three dunks and three long balls by Russell Robinson to get out to a 24-10 lead with 11:42 left. Kansas also has at least four steals already.

Villanova coach Jay Wright is staying positive and encouraging. He's not nearly as animated, or to this point, negative as McKillop is on the sidelines.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Memphis leads 11-6 with 15:36 left in the half. Michigan State has already committed four fouls to zero for the Tigers. Four different Tigers have scored in the first 4-plus minutes, led by freshman Derrick Rose.

. . . Antonio Anderson starts out defending Drew Neitzel as expected. Anderson hit his first 3-point attempt. Neitzel missed his.

. . . John Calipari is utilizing the stool provided by the NCAA. Tom Izzo is too. Neither coach in the first game was a stool sitter.

. . .Joey Dorsey became the first player to run off the side of the stage/court when he saved a ball from going out of bounds. It led to a breakaway from Chris Douglas-Roberts, who travelled as he made his lay-up.

. . . The building has lost some energy for sure after the first game despite the fact that most of the burnt-orange rooters have remained.

Posted by David Scott at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Kansas is getting up and down the floor all they want early on as they have jumped out to an 11-6 lead at the first timeout.

The Jayhawks already have two alley oops, and almost got a third. They are very quick in transition, but even after made baskets.

That must be way coach Self seems so relaxed.

All he needs is a bar to go with his stool

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - A few issues with the final box from the first game, but they seem to have been corrected.

DJ Augustin led Texas with 23 points on 10 of 18 shooting. Brook Lopez led Stanford with 26 points and 10 rebounds (game-high).

Rebounding wound up even at 42-42.

Texas shot 49 percent for the game and Stanford shot 34 percent.

Texas won the points in the paint battle 40-30 and the points off turnovers 14-4.

Posted by David Scott at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - On our way back to the media room, we passed by Tom Izzo's good friend, Steve Mariucci, the ex-NFL head coach of the San Franccisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Nice support for his pal.

. . . The officials for the second game will be Karl Hess, Bert Smith, Tom O'Neill.

. . . Probable starters look like this:
Michigan State
Kalin Lucas
Drew Neitzel
Goran Suton
Raymar Morgan
Drew Naymick

Memphis
Antonio Anderson
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Derrick Rose
Robert Dozier
Jey Dorsey

. . . Slightly more blue in the crowd than green, but we're guessing all those burnt orange fans are going to be Green Teamers.

. . . Okay, we'll give you a prediction in this one - close throughout and Memphis wins by five or less.

Posted by David Scott at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - While the Hoops Odyssey boys are off doing the postgame rounds, let me clean up some garbage from the last game.

Davidson came back on the boards to finish within 3. It seemed worse than this, but the turnover margin was only +5 for Davidson, but they had nine steals.

We don't get info like second-chance points.

Now, the lineups for game two, which is five minutes away.

Kansas starts:
G: Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson
F: Darnell Jackson, Darrell Arthur

Nova counters with:
G Scottie Reynolds, Cory Stokes
F Antonio Pena, Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham.

Our ref, Doug "Show of" Shows (pardon me for channeling Berman for a moment), Pat Evans and TV Teddy Valentine, who I may have to report for stalking me. He's like Visa, everywhere I go.

Danny Manning just came out onto the court. His famed championship run in 1988 came through Detroit. Back then, they played in the Pontiac Silverdome. They beat Vanderbilt and Kansas St to get to the Final Four. The 4th team in that regional was Purdue, which is why I was there. The Boilers were the top seed, but lost to Mitch Richmond and KSU.

Not that I'm bitter.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Davidson comfortably finished off Wisconsin 73-56 and will play the winner of Kansas-Villanova on Sunday. I wonder if they thought to bring the white unis, which they would need if Nova wins.

How do they look in white?

Curry was spectacular with 33, but unlike Davidson's other games in this tournament, he wasn't really the story.

The story was Wisconsin's gross incompetence at the offensive end, where they didn't do, and rarely even tried to do, what they do best. They were sloppy with the ball (and Davidson forced some problems there to be sure), but the real crime was failing to try to take advantage of their size inside. Wisconsin did some of that in the first half, but as soon as they got down in the second half, that part of their game was done.

And when they did get shots, they didn't fall. Wisconsin was a woeful 5-20 in the second half, 1-6 from long range, and even 9-16 from the line.

Tom O'Connor, the George Mason AD, just congratulated Davidson's AD, who was sitting in front of me.

This game was so bad, even LeBron left early.

If there are any other final stats of note, I'll pass them along.

Meanwhile, our "luxury porta johns" have, um, crapped out here. Water is flowing down the ramp. It's not quite like the pictures you saw from the Georgia Dome during the SEC tournament, but no less unpleasant.

Not caused by a leaky toilet.

Back with Game two in a bit.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Texas wins, 82-62.

We'll be back with final stats in a bit and a look ahead to the second game between Memphis and Michigan State.

Posted by David Scott at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Texas has extended to a 19 point lead, its biggest of the game and the 'Horns are Elite 8-bound and riding high. The 'Horns lead 77-56 with 2:07 left.

DJ Augustin has been simply marvelous and now has 20 points on 9 of 16 from the field. We wouldn't hate you if you headed over the Hang Time to check out our column on Augustin from this morning, because the competitive part of thsi one is O-V-A, over.

Four Longhorns are in double-fgures scoring and just one (Brook Lopez) has reached double digits for the Cardinal.

. . . Looks like we know where the POTUS will be on Sunday afternoon. Wonder if he'll bring his daughters?

. . . Trent Johnson's been doing the stare-down with a couple of the officials, but it's too late for that. Maybe he should've gotten tossed again?

. . . No matter who advances from our seocnd game, Texas should be a few point favorite on Sunday. the homecourt advantage is worth at least four points in our opinion.

Posted by David Scott at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - If Brook Lopez were to get say a smidgen of help, the Cardinal would still have a chance in this one. But he's not and his 26 points are almost exactly half of the Cardinal output as they now trail 63-53 with 7:58 left in the game.

Texas's is being bouyed by its virtual home crowd and some re-energized play in the last five minutes. It will take a monumental effort by Stanford to come back in this one.

. . .In the first half it was Clint Chapman who gave Rick Barnes valuable big man minutes. Now it's Dexter Pittman, who has been a revalation in this NCAA Tournament.

. . . Stanfoird's Mitch Johnson has such a strange jump shot and it's betraying him tonight as he's 2 of 8 from the field, including a clanked 3-pointer that would have cut the lead down to seven.

Posted by David Scott at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Texas is clinging to a 54-51 lead with 11:43 left. DJ Augustin has scored just two pooints this half for the Longhorns after netting 12 in the first half. Stanford now has a plus-11 on the boards, 34-23 (9-4 in the second half)>

. . . A trey by Landry Fields cut the texas lead to one, 52-51. It was the closest the Cardinal had been since leading 2-0 to start the game.

. . . Robin Lopez back into the game with 12:29 left in the game and his three fouls.

. . . Love that Davidson score - Jerry Palm must be in Heaven.

Posted by David Scott at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - McKillop finally gave Curry a break after a three point play on a reverse layup with the Wildcats up 63-46 and about 9 minutes left. He can sit him the rest of the night. Wisconsin is done. They will not score 63 points.

The Badgers can't hit a layup, can't hit a free throw, can't run an alley oop, can't hardly complete any pass, can't defend, can't tie their shoes, etc. I'm worried they'll get lost going back to the locker room after the game.

It's so bad, that if Davidson left the floor, Wisconsin still wouldn't score 63.

Of course, now they need 65, because it's 65-48 Wildcats at the 8-minute timeout.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Wisconsin has no idea what it's doing. They can't handle the ball. On the rare occasions they do, they can't shoot. They can't defend, but it's gotten so that even when they do, Davidson is outhustling them for the rebounds. we'll see how much resilience they have, but they aren't showing much so far.

Michael Flowers went down hard on an out-of-bounds play, and came up rubbing his elbow, but he stayed in.

LeBron was showed on the screen, and boos rained down. I didn't know that many locals were here.

It's a 12-point Davidson lead with 11:16 left.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - The Cardinal trimmed to the lead to four points and now trail 50-44 with 15:34 left in the game. Brook Lopez has seven of Stanford's 10 second half points and now has 22 points in the game.

If Texas can find a way to stop BLop, they will be fine. But that's a big a IF.

. . . Robin Lopez picked up his third foul of the game with 17:07 left in the game. It was his second of the half. He was replaced by Taj Finger.

. . . Texas dance team has made the chaps change. Thank you, ladies.

Posted by David Scott at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - I guess the refs got their whistles back from the shop. After calling a total of eight fouls in the first half, they have already called 13, and both teams were in the bonus with 13:51 to go.

There have been so many fouls, that there was a foul on a free throw attempt, and Davidson committed four on one Wisconsin possession.

However, due undoubtedly to fatigue, the refs failed to blow a whistle for 50 consecutive seconds, which allowed Curry to bury back-to-back threes and extend Davidson's lead to nine.

It is not looking good for the Badgers at the moment.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Davidson has come out strong to start the second half even though Curry hasn't done much himself. He missed four of first five shots, but the Wildcats lead by six with 15:57 left.

Wisconsin's first half problem getting back on D hasn't fixed. Davidson beatsUW down floor twice already, although they failed to convert one of them.

UW has another problem. They have six fouls already, meaning Davidson is shooting from here on out. The Badgers only had two in first half.

Wisconsin also has four turnovers already, so it's been pretty much a disaster so far.

On top of that, Trevon Hughes hasn't played much and looks a little gimpy out there.

McKillop pulled Lovedale out after a minute or so and read him the riot act for blowing a defensive assignment. Davidson got the stop anyway. He's back in now.

I asked LeBron why he came, and he said it was to see Curry. I asked if he had ever played with him before, he said no, but that he just wanted to see him because, "he's good."

Yes, he is.

We have waitress service here apparently. Someone walked by with water and snacks.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - The numbers do appear to be lying in this one as Stanford lead sthe rebound battle 25-19 bu trails by nine.

The Cardinal do have five more turnovers (7-2) and have been very reliant on Brook Lopez who has 15 points and 8 rebounds to lead everyone.

DJ Augustin has 12 points on 5 of 9 from the field and both he and Justin Mason have four assists each.

Stanford is shooting 13 of 33 from the field (39 percent) while Texas is at 18 of 38 (47 percent). The Horns are 4 of 12 form 3-point land and Stanford is 2 of 7 from beyond the arc.

. . . Mason, a guard, leads the 'Horns in rebounding with five.

. . . Twelve of Stanford's 25 rebounds have been on the offensive glass.

. . . Seemed like a lack of intensity on the Cardinal's part in the first half. that will have to change as they try and overcome the decided homecourt advantage.

Posted by David Scott at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Texas leads 43-34 at the half and DJ Augustin has 12 points to lead the Longhorns. Brook Lopez leads Stanford with 15 points. A late 3-pointer by Micth Johsnon boosted Stanford's hopes going into the locker room.

. . . Texas's Clint Chapman who hasn't scored in the 'Horns' prior four games and has four total points in his last seven appearances has four points tonight and has played some important minutes.

. . . We'll be back with halftime stats.

Posted by David Scott at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Texas continues to outplay the Cardinal and now leads 31-22 with 3:51 left in the half.

DJ Augustin leads Texas with seven points and Brook Lopez leads all scorers with 11 points. Stanford is actually plus-four on the backboards (19-15), but they are 8 of 26 from the field (31 percent) and Texas is 13 of 28 (44 percent).

Posted by David Scott at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Butch hit one of two, so we're tied at 36 at the half. That's a lot of points for UW to give up in a half, but that can be chalked up to some hot shooting. Davidson was 14 for 26 for 53.8%, and that's only because they went cold at the end, missing five of their last six. The Wildcats are 8-14 from long range, and four different players have threes. Curry leads them with 11 points, his best first half total of the tournament so far. Keeping him under 25 after the break will be a key for Wisconsin.

Flowers has 11 also for UW, which shot 48% (12-25) and almost matched Davidson with 7 threes. Butch has nine and Bohannon has 8, but Trevon Hughes has yet to score.

Another problem for Wisconsin is that they got beat down the floor on at least four occasions for easy baskets, which will not please Bo Ryan. I have to believe he will spend most of the halftime break addressing defensive breakdowns.

...

The stats have finally arrived. Wisconsin is killing Davidson on the boards, not surprisingly, with a 17-7 lead. The Badgers have 8 offensive rebounds. Davidson is winning the turnover battle 5-2, but most of those Wisconsin turnovers came in the first few minutes.

When I walked up to go get some pop (which I didn't get because I have to go up to the second floor to get it, and there's no time for that trip - I'd never get a cab), I saw the Badger mascot walking around with his head off, and all I can say is it must be really in there because he was a puddle of sweat.

We got no halftime entertainment. No dance teams, no stupid pet tricks, nothing.

LeBron James has disappeared for now. If I get a chance, I'll ask him why he's here.

The teams found their way to the floor, so we must be close to second half action.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Stanford is really struggling form the field in the early going while Texas has found a nice early groove. Texas leads 23-16with 7:52 left.

Stanford has started to feed the post, and specifically Brook Lopez, with increasing success as they have . Brook Lopez has nine points, including the last seven in a row for Stanford.

Stanford is 5 of 19 from the field and Texas is 10 of 23. Five Longhorns have three or more points led by James.

. . . A very competitive battle between our two cheer and dance squads. The Cardinal dancers wear white gloves that bring a nice flair to the uniform. You already know our feelings for the Texas ladies form last week in Little Rock. We eagerly await the chaps changeover that comes around halftime.

. . . The raised court set-up allows for the head coach to stand above the bench on the carpeted apron. Each coach - Trent Johnson and Rick Barnes - are utilizing the space, but it doesn't appear the carpet is designated with the coaching box line. The line does appear on the actual hardwood, but they should have taped it off on the carpet for continuity.Looks odd, but we're getting used to it.

Posted by David Scott at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - We just got our last media timeout of the half with four seconds left after Butch got away with another walk and was fouled going up for a shot.

It was about time he went inside. He's been playing on the perimeter too much in the first half. The biggest guy on the floor needs to post up some. He can shoot the three, but he's hunting it too much.

Bryant Barr's three is the only made shot for Davidson in its last five, which include misses by Curry on a layup and a forced three.

We'll have a tight game at the half either way.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Brian Butch got slapped in the face, switched pivot feet, found Krabbenhoft inside for a layup to tie the game, at which point, we finally got our 8-minute media timeout with 2:43 to go.

The refs are generally letting them play. Besides Butch complaining about getting hit in the face, UW players complained at the last timeout about getting pushed in the back in the post. I don't have as good a look at the other end of the floor, but I'm sure stuff isn't being called there either.

This place is so open that sound just sort of disappears. The UW band at the opposite corner of the floor from us is barely audible here.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Davidson is pretty hot from the floor so far, shooting 10/17, but Wisconsin is matching them blow for blow and leads 28-25 with 6:02 left. By my count, we already have 11 made threes in the game between the two teams.

Davidson coach McKillop is a pretty animated guy. Recently, when Landry was posting up on Boris Meno, McKillop kept yelling, "Don't let him push you Boris!" over and over. He's always up and yelling something, or turning to the bench to shout instructions there.

Davidson has, like many smaller schools, a pretty cheesy looking mascot. They are the Wildcats, but the mascot looks like a dog, with some glued on whiskers.

Wilddogs?

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Texas is up 10-4 with 15:22 left in the half. The homecourt advantage that everyone assumed would be the Longhorns' is certainly proving to be true. Just about the whole place is in burnt orange and it's near impossible to find any maroon in the crowd. But that crazy Cardinal tree sure is an active piece of lumber.

Damion James leads all scorers with six points.

Posted by David Scott at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Davidson's letting it all hang out, but it's not quite enough for their coach yet. After an offensive rebound, the one area in which Wisconsin is excelling at the moment, Bob McKillop turned to his bench and screamed at his players, "GET THE LOOSE BALLS!!!!"

Already a player has flown off of the raised floor in pursuit of a ball. Michael Flowers went flying off the end by the UW bench a moment ago.

It's 13-10 Davidson at the 12 minute timeout thanks to three long balls, two by Curry. The Wildcats have done a good job of pressuring the ball defensively and not giving UW too many good looks.

The Wildcats would do well not to awaken the ferocious, sleeping Badgers, lest the knaw their faces off.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Rumors of a Tiger Woods appearance have circulated through the building and we believe they are emanating from CBS's Jim Nantz. He would certainly know.

Also supposed to be another Penny Hardaway evening as the ex-Memphis Tiger continues to follow his school.

Lastly, we just got word that should Texas advance, George Bush the Younger will be in the building on Sunday. That could make for a huge headache in terms of security and entrance to the building, so we just became Stanford fans.

. . . Memphis assistants John Robic and Derek Kellogg are scouting the game from the socut seats in the row in front of us.

. . . The NCAA has announced that "more NCAA . . . fans will attend this weekend's regionals than at any time in the event's 70-year history. As of Noon on Thursday, over a quarter of a million fans were expected at the four venues over eight sessions."

. . . Houston hosts the Final Four in 2011, Detroit has next year's - thus the dual experimentation in the stage-court.

Posted by David Scott at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - Wisconsin's ball security has been pretty questionable in the first four minutes. We don't have live stats, but I'd say they have three or four turnovers already, at least two of which came because of quick hands by Davidson players. That's why the Wildcats lead 7-5.

Here's how close I am to the Davidson huddle:

Davidson players getting last minute instructions.

Wisconsin players shook hands with the UW scorer before taking the floor. Must be some kind of tradition.

Guess who just sat down behind me.

Not as good as his picture on the cover of Vogue, but LeBron is taking in tonight's action.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - The starting lineups have been presented for game one, so here they are.

For the Badgers:
G Michael Flowers, Trevon Hughes
F Marcus Landry, Joe Krabbenhoft
C Brian Butch

Davidson starts:
G Jason Richards, Stephen Curry
F Max Paulhus Gosselin, Thomas Sander, Andrew Lovedale

Our refs are David Hall, Tom Eades and Paul Faia.

If you get a look at the Davidson pep band (I tried to take a picture with my cheesy phone camera, but it didn't turn out so well), you'll see a lot of graybeards in the group. I asked the director about that, and he told me that the school is so small that they can't field a pep band, so they recruit some local pros to fill in. I'd say it's about 1/3 pros, 2/3 joes. And janes.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Those kooky kids with the Stanford Band have arrived with their pin-festooned hats and West Coast joei de vivre. No sign of the Tree yet.

. . . Tonight's officials for Game 1 are John Cahill, leslie Jones and J.D. Collins.

. . . NCAA Committee Members on-site are Lynn Hickey (Texas-San Antonio AD) and Laing Kennedy (Kent State).

NCAA Staff members on site are Jeanne Boyd (the former Florida Gator mascot) and Byron Hatch. We also saw and spoke to David Worlock of the NCAA.

. . . Jim Nantz just went into the bowels of the stadium to put on his yellow tie. Billy Packer, who has been doing research at a second row table, is in his blue CBS sports blazer. You know, we'd like a blue CBS sports blazer too - we are part of the family, ya know?

Clock-til-game time is approaching 30 minutes, which means it's time for us to go get some nourishment. Back in a bit.

. . . Ex-Texas footballer and Houston native, Vince Young, just appeared being escorted by John Bianco from the Texas Media Relations staff. If we were cool like Eric Sorenson, we would take a picture and post it. We're not so we'll tell you VY is wearing a blue and white striped SeanJohn golf shirt, jean shorts and currently signing some autographs and posing for pictures with fans. he has black Reebok sneakers with black RBK socks. His entourage includes three friends, one in a Tracy McGrady Rockets jersey.

. . . We're also scheduled to be sitting next to Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware who is with Sports Radio 610.

Posted by David Scott at 06:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Welcome back to Reliant Stadium where we're about an hour from tip of our first contest between No. 2 seed Texas (30-6) and No. 3 seed Stanford (28-7).

We finally have identified what the raised stage/court design reminds us of - especially for those in the front row bordering the edge of the court: A gentleman's club (or what we would think the set-up of a gentleman's club's stage and apron seating area would look like). Yes, folks, the NCAA has created the world's largest dancer's paradise with its hoops-in-the-round concept that is being utilized here and in Detroit.

We will refrain from Joey Dorsey making-it-rain jokes and move on to matters of basketball.

. . . Fans are just being allowed in and as expected there's a lot of burnt orange already on display.

. . . Stanford has take the floor and are shooting at both ends. They are in their maroon shooting jerseys with maroon uniforms underneath. Texas, as the higher seed, will be in home whites.

. . . A report in the Houston Chronicle indicated that Texas assistant coach Rodney Terry interviewed with Rice University (locate dhere in Houston) for its vacant head coaching job (previously held by Willis Wilson).

Terry is one of a group of assistants in this regional who will be getting looks at some of the vacant jobs around the nation. Texas assistant Ken McDonald saw his name pop up in discussion for the Providence job and John Calipari's lead assistant (and recruiting demon) Derek Kellogg is also a hot name for some of the mid-major jobs that are open or will be coming open.

. . . Lots of concern in Houston over the status of Tejano rock star Emilio Navaira. We were not familiar with Navaira's work but our thoughts go out to him after watching the outpouring of support for him, as shown on local newscasts.

. . . Probable starters listed on the big screen are:
Stanford
Mitch Johnson
Anthony Goods
Brook Lopez
Robin Lopez
Fred Washington

Texas
AJ Abrams
Damion James
DJ Augustin
Justin Mason
Connor Atchley

. . . Our bus driver on the way over - who told us some things that didn't make the Houston tourism board's brochure - was and ex-Pittsburgh Steeler and NFL player who is now 62 years old and says he still bench presses 500 pounds. We didn't doubt him, but we also can't find his name anywhere. We will investigate further.

Posted by David Scott at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT - It's still a good hour and a half before the tip here in Detroit. Folks are starting to trickle in - mostly from Davidson, who still can't believe they're here. Me either. More when you click "more" below.

This guy never doubted it. Curry lubes up before he warms up.

I got here early this afternoon and check into my hotel, which is in suburban Dearborn. It turns out that I am staying at the Kansas team hotel, which means the place is basically painted blue.

Our hotel also has a psychopathic elevator, which does what ever it wants, regardless of what buttons you push. I found that out as I was trying to get up to my room with armfuls of stuff. Thankfully, the person I rode the elevator with manned the useless controls and eventually got us there. She introduced herself as Gwen Perkins, the wife of KU AD "Big Lew" Perkins. If I don't see her here soon, I'm calling hotel maintenance, because she's probably still stuck there.

Ford Field reminds me a bit of the Cell in Chicago, where the White Sox play. Within about two blocks of the stadium, you're OK, but don't wander off much from there. There is a lot of construction going on as they try to rebuild the area, and what isn't being torn down should be. I'm a walker and I like to wander teh streets of the cities I visit. I don't think I'll be doing much of that here.

Right across the street from Ford Field is Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. They open the season here on Monday, just as I'm getting out of town. Rats.

Future home of a World Series champion?

I got downtown early so I could get the lay of the land, find a place to park, and so I could pick up my credential. I tried to find out that info in advance, but it's apparently a secret, and the media support people here are not nearly as responsive as they were in Denver.

I suppose befitting the area, security is a little tighter here than in Denver. Out there, they checked our ids and did a cursory check of our bags. Here, we get ID checks and a pat down.

Fored Field is huge, and a bit maze-like. I often feel like a mouse looking for the cheese. Fortunately, we have these helpful little notes on the floor.

Going my way?

Even still, the media work room is two floors up from us, which means about a half-mile walk to an elevator and then a ride up.

Of course, it could be worse. I could have these seats.

Sitting with Uecker

I went to check these out before the game and they wanted to see my credential and my passport.

The Hoops Odyssey guys just arrived, and they are going to try to find a worse seat than that.

The set up here is interesting as well. We have basketball in the round. The court is pretty much in the center of what would be the football field, and a lot of temporary seats have been brought in, so the place now holds about 70K.

Also, the floor is elevated, like Williams Arena at Minnesota. the elevation, according to NCAA Hoopmaster Greg Shaheen, is 30", which is also the height of the table in the front of press row. The Tables are about 10' back from the floor, and the folks in the front row are hoping that's far enough away to protect them from flying balls and bodies.

The view from the scorers table side of the bench.

I will have the Davidson and Villanova bench in front of me tonight instead of being across the way, so hopefully I can get some insights from that.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Welcome back to the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, where today we haven't been watching any basketball but sure have been talking about it a lot.

Press conferences for both North Carolina and Louisville just finished up, and there's a sense among the press scattered throughout the media room that tomorrow night's East Regional final will feel more like a Final Four matchup than a game to reach that stage next week in San Antonio.

Ask Pitino's players about their matchup with the top-seeded Tar Heels, in fact, and they'll tell just what they'll be facing in their Elite Eight contest.

"We have not talked about them at all to be honest," senior center David Padgett said after last night's win over No. 2 seed Tennessee. "Obviously they are pretty good. They are the No. 1 team in the country."

The No. 1 team in the country and the No. 1 seed overall in the NCAA Tournament, that's what North Carolina has come to be accepted as. For any team, particularly Louisville, that's a challenge that's certainly intriguing at a time when one minute you're playing and the next minute you could be headed home.

"I think that they are the best matchup as far as each position goes," said sophomore forward Derrick Caracter, who tallied nine points and five rebounds in the win over the Volunteers. "They are not the No. 1 team in the country for nothing. We just have to gout there and see their strengths and weaknesses and go from there."

The strengths are quite evident for North Carolina, but it's the Tar Heels' weaknesses that have been extremely difficult for teams to exploit over the last five months.

That's because there haven't been a lot of weaknesses to find in Williams' club, one that has now rattled off 14 straight victories since its last loss to arch-rival Duke back on Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill.

"They're a great basketball team," Pitino said of North Carolina. "They played a tough schedule, [and] they're ACC champions. They're the premier team in the college basketball right now, and they've earned everything by taking on good competition and beating them."

Add in the fact that the Tar Heels haven't had to leave the state of North Carolina yet, and it's a nice feeling for Williams' players knowing that they'll have their fans there in full force when they take the floor against a spirited and energized Louisville squad.

"It seems like we are playing home games sometimes with as many fans as we have here," UNC point guard Ty Lawson explained. "But once you get to the NCAA Tournament, I don't think that fans are much of an advantage, just because the level of your opponent is so high, you really just have to play."

Yet even with the drive to Chapel Hill less than three hours away, not all of Carolina's players see their run to the Elite Eight as an easy road so far.

"I don't think it has been an easy road," asserted sophomore Wayne Ellington, who tallied 13 points and eight rebounds against Washington State. "I just think that we are playing well right now. We are coming off of injuries and are really playing well as a team."

For many teams, Lawson's ankle sprain would have been the end to a season that began with an 18-0 start and finished with an ACC regular reason and tournament title.

"We've got great kids who enjoy playing the game and have a goal of trying to get better," Williams remarked. "We believe the way to get better is to work hard every day, and over the course of time you will better in January than you were in December and you'll be better in February than you were in January."

And in March, the Tar Heels have been even better.

Whether they're better than Louisville will be determined in tomorrow night's game, a game that no matter how you slice it or dice it, could give UNC its toughest test so far this season.

"We definitely think that Louisville will be the best team we've played so far this year," junior forward Marcus Ginyard offered. "It's going to be a challenge, no doubt, but it still comes down to the fact that Louisville is going to try to play its game and we're going to try to impose our will just like we do on any other opponent that we have."

But if they're able to do to the Cardinals what they did to Washington State Thursday night in the Sweet 16, the Heels will have a lot more will to impose on three other teams that could be joining them in San Antonio.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- UCLA fans had to be thinking, "Here we go again." Either that or, "Honey, check my EKG."

Only this UCLA team, in this post-season full of bumbling its way to win after win - read: failing upwardly - could blow a 41-20 halftime lead like this to a 12-seed and live to tell about it with a harrowing 88-78 win over a game Western Kentucky squad.

Can you say, "Charmed team?" There you go. I knew you could.

(Ben Howland and James Keefe look relieved, don't they?)

After Western had cut the Bruin lead from 21 all the way down to four at the 5:39 minute mark of the second half, the Bruins turned to some unlikely stars, including a three-point dagger at the buzzer of the 35-second shot clock by Josh Shipp that put the Bruins up 68-59, allowing for some breathing room. Or maybe we should say some relief room.

On a night when the blue and gold appeared to be in hibernation time and time again, seldom-used forward James Keefe came up big, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 caroms. including a put-back at the 3:10 mark to put the Bruins up by 12. Long and lean, he gave the Bruins an extra punch all game long in what can only be described as a career night.

And this from a guy that came THISCLOSE to getting red-shirted this season

"This is why I came back." Keefe explained as he talked about his "redshirt" destiny he thought he was headed for. "We had foul trouble and we know you have to have depth to get far in this tournament. So it was nice to help out and get the win tonight."

Now the gutty young Toppers have to wonder what could've been. One thing's for sure, they didn't leave their hearts back in Bowling Green. These guys put them all out on the floor here in Phoenix. Can you imagine any other team getting brow-beaten by 21 points at halftime and having the hubris to think it was capable of coming back to win? That team of die-hards was the Hilltoppers here in Phoenix.

"This isn't surprising to me." Coach Darrin Horn would say. "We've shown great character all season long. But we dug ourselves too big of a hole, especially against a team like UCLA."

Tyrone Brazelton put on the biggest show of the NCAA tournament so far, as the Tops guard went for 26 points in the second half, finishing with 31 overall. Along the way, he played a major role in Darren Collison fouling out of the game and keeping Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp in foul trouble as well (both finished with four fouls).

Ty Rogers would make mention of the different style of play that helped the Toppers make the second half comeback possible, "I think we created a good tempo for us. We got up and down the floor and it helped us. We were able to relax and play better. Play our game."

It's too bad the Hilltoppers lost. This was the most exciting group of basketball players I've seen in a long, long time. No quit. Absolutely ballsy play. When Coach Horn decided to go to a full court press in the second half, it was just the tonic this team needed. They fought and scratched and pressured. In the end, they eventually teared up as well. But who could blame them.

"I tried to impress upon our guys that they weren't going away." Howland said of the comeback. "They have a lot of character. A lot of fight. I thought we got tentative, instead of attacking. We also took a lot of ill-advised shots that gave them the ball. But that is typical of us. It makes me lose more hair."

Key play:
With a 65-59 deficit at the 5:10 mark of the second half, Ty Rogers got an open three with a good look that had the entire arena hitting a crescendo. But the ball just missed the mark, which was followed by a groan from the crowd. Seconds later Bruin guard Josh Shipp nailed a three-pointer that put an end to the Western rally. "Huge. Huge. That in a nutshell was the game. If we cut it to one, it would've changed everything." Coach Horn would mention.

Key player:
Kevin Love.
Yeah, I know James Keefe played like never before. But let's face it, Love was still the man, scoring a career-high 29 points with 14 rebounds. Now if HE had fouled out... it's Taps City for the Bruins.

Key Stat:
UCLA free throws.
Lost in all the hype of the comeback and the wicked press and all that, was the fact that the Bruins went 19-for-23 from the free throw line. Had they not knocked down their freebies, this game would've gone down to the wire. No doubt.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 01:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When the 2007-08 season first commenced, Rick Pitino thought he had a Final Four caliber team on his hands coming into the year.

But injuries and off-the-court issues hurt Louisville as the Cardinals struggled in November and December and frustration began to kick in for Pitino and company with the Big East regular season about to start.

That's when things, however, started to turn around for Louisville, taking second in the conference standings behind Georgetown and earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Now the Cards are on to much bigger and better things after shutting down No. 2 seed Tennessee Thursday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena to score a convincing 79-60 victory in the Sweet 16 and advance to Saturday night's Elite Eight matchup with top seed North Carolina.

"It's not easy to lose at this stage of the season, but they've got a lot to be proud of," Rick Pitino said of Tennessee. "They're a terrific basketball team. You've got to fight every possession to beat them."

After leading by seven at halftime, Louisville turned it on right after the break on the play of sophomore Earl Clark, who finished with game-highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds and ignited the Louisville faithful on hand with several highlight-reel dunks.

"Earl is very young," Pitino said. "Earl just turned 19. He's extremely young. When he first came to us, Earl did not have the ability to work very hard.

"He's always had great skills, now he's acquired a work ethic. He's really worked hard for the first time in his life up to not his potential but our potential, what we think of him. I'm real proud of him because he's come on. He's very young. Young, young man, but loaded with talent."

But the 6-foot-8 guard-forward combo wasn't the only one to play well for Louisville (27-8), as four other players registered double-digit points against the Volunteers. Two of those Cardinal players included backcourt mates Andre McGee and Jerry Smith, who both tallied 13 points and contributed on the glass with a combined seven rebounds (three for McGee and four for Smith).

"Coach has talked about denial, pressure, trying to force steals and turnovers," McGee said about his team's improvement on defense. "But today as far as offense we did a terrible job in the first half. We had a lot of turnovers. Their denial and pressure was pretty good, but we stepped it up in the second half...[our defense] has gotten better, but by no means is it the best."

Terrence Williams, meanwhile, also had a solid game in contributing 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and eight rebounds in 38 minutes. And afterward, you could hear the excitement in the 6-foot-6 junior's voice as he celebrated with his teammates on the sideline and repeatedly told them that they were headed to the "Sexy Eight," his own terminology for Saturday's East Regional final.

That's certainly what the Cardinals' matchup with No. 1 seed North Carolina could be, particularly with the way the Tar Heels have blown out all three of their NCAA Tournament opponents. Of course, Roy Williams' club didn't hit the century mark for a third straight game, but to beat a veteran Washington State team that's been through the trenches of the Pac-10 this season is certainly a testament to the way UNC is playing right now.

Louisville also seems to be playing on a high level, and the Cardinals showed that during the second half as Tennessee worked to get back in the thick of things. But every time the Volunteers would try to make a run, Clark or Williams was there to answer for Louisville.

"When we played on the road this year in the Big East it makes you really tough, and you can't give in," Pitino said. "But we developed a physical and mental toughness because of the type of teams we had to play. So it's made us tougher, and we knew this team will not go away...They've been down before, and they're not going to give up and our guys knew that."

The two forwards were just as impressive on the defensive end, too, blocking six shots combined and holding Tennessee senior Chris Lofton to a quiet 15 points, a team-high nevertheless.

"Their length bothered us on the perimeter, getting the ball to the post, as well as under the basket," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl explained. "The size bothered us when we got close to the basket. We probably didn't drive it as well as we could have, but that's what zones do."

"It was great to be here for the last four years," added Lofton. "I wish we could have gone farther, but I guess it's the way it goes sometimes."

JaJuan Smith and Tyler Smith were the other Volunteers to hit double-digit points, yet the two Tennessee natives seemed to be stuck on 12 and 11 points for much of the second half.

That seemed to the story most of the night for Tennessee, which shot just 33.9 percent from the field and only 25 percent from three. The Cardinals weren't much better from long range at 28.6 percent, but overall, Louisville shot the ball much better than Tennessee, connecting on 26 of its 50 field goal attempts (52 percent).

"Tonight's game doesn't take much away from the finest season in the history of Tennessee basketball," Pearl asserted. "No team has accomplished what this team accomplished this year. We struggled all night long and Louisville deserves a great deal of credit for that. We were in foul trouble all night long.

"The guys battled all night, but it wasn't enough against a team as talented and well-coached as Louisville."

That differential from the field can't get overshadowed by the dominance that Pitino's kids demonstrated on the glass, grabbing 15 more rebounds than Tennessee with a 43-28 advantage.

"The last three games our offense and defense have been all clicking," the seventh-year Pitino offered. "We told our guys this game is going to be won on the backboard. They had 19 offensive rebounds against Memphis, and I said whichever team outrebounds the other one is going to win this ballgame."

The Cardinals did, however, show that they can be careless at times with a game-high 20 turnovers, and that will need to change Saturday if they hope to reach San Antonio and the Final Four with a win over UNC.

"They had 14 turnovers at halftime and probably turned the ball over several more times early in the second half," Pearl recalled. "Then they didn't turn the ball over at all. It was a good adjustment that they made, and they got to the rim and got to the foul line."

And if Louisville does happen to pull off what would a big-time upset in a matter of 48 hours, Pitino will have every reason to smile after what he and his team has been through over the last five months.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 12:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- What the hell can you say? Tyrone Brazelton scores 24 second half points and this Big Red team just never quits. UCLA winning 86-76 with 37 seconds left. But I'm much more impressed with the Hilltoppers tonight.

(Brazelton has put on a show tonight)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- The press is working people. It's now 61-55 Bruins. This game hasn't been this close since it was 18-13 at the 10:23 mark of the first half. It's now just over seven minutes to go. In the words of Dick Vitale, stay tuned baby!

(Just over Bill Raftery's head you see Fox Sports and CSTV's Sean Farnham looking nervous as his alma mater has it's lead shrink to just six with seven minutes remaining)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With less than five minutes to go, Louisville is trying to move on to the Elite Eight with a win over No. 2 seed Tennessee, and the third-seeded Cardinals are inching closer with a 64-52 lead at the moment.

The story of the second half has really been the play of Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, who have both got active on the offensive end and carried the Cards with some big-time plays.

On one of the last possessions down the floor, Williams turned the corner on his defender and drew another one before finding David Padgett with a beautiful over-the-shoulder, no-look pass for an easy flush.

That play got the Louisville faithful up in a tizzy as they can start to sense a victory and a chance to face top seed North Carolina back here on Saturday in the East Regional final.

Chris Lofton has hit a couple of threes in this second half and now has 13 points, but it hasn't come without taking 10 shots from downtown, 13 total, and connecting on just three of them. The Vols, meanwhile, have surpassed Louisville in the turnover department, committing 19 to the Cardinals' 16.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- Coach Darrin Horn has employed a full court press to try to force UCLA to up the tempo and make some mistakes. Right now, the Tops have made it a 48-32 game at the 15:53 mark. So it's worked a little bit.

(Coach Horn's pressure D is helping, but can it last?)

I have a feeling that WKU, despite it's good speed as well, is going to run out of gas at about the eight minute mark or so. Just a prediction, not a promise. Kevin Love is still making minced meat of the Tops on the inside with a game-hight 18 points.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 11:14 to go in the second half of our second game tonight, Louisville is still out in front of Tennessee by a 52-44 score.

The Cardinals have got a big boost after halftime from swingman Earl Clark, who now leads all scorers with 13 points, the last two coming on a jam and foul off a backdoor cut right to the rim. Tennessee seems to be having trouble slowing down the 6-foot-8 sophomore, who's shown a nice mix of length and quickness in getting by his defenders.

The Volunteers, on the other side, are getting a taste of their own medicine as Louisville continues to push the tempo and put pressure on the ball in the backcourt. There hasn't been a lot of ink to lay on sharpshooting senior Chris Lofton, as the 6-foot-2 guard has managed only seven points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field (and 0-for-5 from three) so far. If the Vols want to come back and win this game, though, they'll need Lofton to step up down the homestretch here.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- A 13-13 tie at the 12:06 mark quickly became a 41-20 blitzkrieg for UCLA here in the first half.

(Bruin girls are happy. Thus, so are Bruin fans)

After Tyrone Brazelton put up a three that made it a tie game, UCLA cranked up the defense a notch and left WKU wondering what happened to its chances here in the first half. WKU went until the 4:30 mark before it would make another basket from the field.

At the halfway point, WKU is 6-for-32 from the field, while UCLA is 16-for-31. Both teams have made a pair of three pointers.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 15:24 remaining in the second half, Tennessee has climbed back and trails Louisville by just two, 41-38, after a three-point play by Duke Crews.

The Volunteers are still shooting a miserable 20 percent from three-point range but have hit four of their first seven shots of the second half, recording a 57.1-percent clip after halftime.

JaJuan and Tyler Smith are the two Tennessee players in double figures at 12 and 10 points, respectively, and Andre McGee is pacing Louisville with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

The Cardinals, however, are still having issues taking care of the ball with 16 turnovers to this point, and you certainly have to wonder how much that will hurt Rick Pitino's club down the stretch here.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- Xavier sends WVU to the mat with 79-75 overtime win.

What hurts more, this loss to Xavier today? Or the football team's loss to Pitt back in December?

Well nobody has been able to capably explain that football loss. But say this at least, tonight the Mountaineers definitely should have won. No bones about it. And it will all come down to the fact that their missed free throws were THE reason. Sure, for the game, WVU had a better free throw percentage than the Musketeers, 67% compared to 57%. But it was all about timing and pressure. WVU had neither of those factors.

When Joe Alexander missed what could've been the game-winning freebie with 14 seconds left in regulation, it was a troubling sign. Instead of completing that old-school three-point, this game was going overtime instead.

Once there, the Mountaineers went 5-for-9 from the charity stripe, those four coming after they had taken a 71-69 lead. The Musketeers would tie it up with a three-pointer from Drew Lavender a few seconds later. The 'Neers would only score three more points the rest of the way.

But guard Alex Ruoff didn't see the free throws as that big of a big deal. "That's one thing. But you can't really blame free throws. You're going to miss free throws during games. I guess a lack of communication down the stretch hurt us more."

His feeling was not unanimous for the guys in the dark jerseys, "Guys have to make free throws down the stretch and unfortunately we weren't able to." Said Wellington Smith.

Xavier used a trio of threes and a key steal by Drew Lavender to ice the game down the wire.

Coach Sean Miller would provide the "whew!" factor in the post-game press conference. "Well, obviously anyone who watched the game here tonight saw a phenomenal game. You need a little luck when it is this tight with so much at stake and we got a couple of balls to bounce our way."

B.J. Raymond, who scored all eight of his points in overtime, admitted his three-point bomb that put the screws to WVU with 30 seconds left, wasn't supposed to be his to take. "The play was actually to give Josh (Duncan) a lob. But my man kind of dropped off on him to take away the lob. Stan (Burrell) saw me and made a great pass."

Instead, Raymond backed up beyond the arc and drained a painful three that made it a two-possession game with half a minute left. It was XU's third three-pointer of the extra period. And it also seemed that without Alexander in the game, the continuity that keyed the West Virginia comeback late in the first half and early in the second was suddenly missing.

"It was just miscommunication. Coach stresses that we can't take a play off and that was the consequences of taking plays off at the wrong time."

Indeed, now the Mountaineers find themselves treating their fans to another "What it?" scenario. And that's a painful thing to rehash for this group.

Key play:
B.J. Raymond's three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining from the right side put the X up by two possessions, 78-74. That, and a little defensive pressure here and there down the stretch put the game away.

Key player:
Josh Duncan
Unlike the Mountaineers, Duncan made his foul shots when they counted, going 9-for-10. He also crashed the middle and shot it well from the outside, going 7-for-15, including three treys. Duncan finished the game with 26 points.

Key stat:
The 14 fouls by the WVU frontcourt.
Joe Alexander didn't play for most of the overtime period and center Wellington Smith also fouled out. Da'Sean Butler's effectiveness was limited as he finished the game with four fouls.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With one half left to play, No. 3 seed Louisville has run out to a 37-30 lead at halftime on No. 2 seed Tennessee with Andre McGee dropping in a running layup right before the horn sounded off.

While Tennessee has managed to make things close after going down by more than double digits, the Cardinals are getting it done with nine points each from Andre McGee and Jerry Smith. Louisville is also in charge of the rebounding battle with a 23-15 edge, and Rick Pitino's team has shot the ball at a decent 41.4 percent from the field, including a 4-for-12 mark from three-point range.

The Volunteers, in the meantime, have got a third of their points from Tyler Smith, who has 10 in 14 minutes of action, and another Smith, JaJuan, has dropped in eight to go along with three boards and three steals. Bruce Pearl's club, though, is shooting just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) for the game, and that will need to improve tremendously if it hopes to reach Saturday's regional final against top-seeded North Carolina.

On another note, both teams have played relatively sloppy, combining for 25 turnovers in the first half with 14 coming from Louisville. Eight of those have come as steals for Tennessee, which has tried to get the Cardinals out of rhythm by pressuring the backcourt and speeding up the game as much as possible.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- It's UCLA 20-13 at the eight minute mark, but it's been the story of the Bruin defense coming to play, but their offense having butterfingers and slippery feet (no, not in the Roy Williams sort of way). The Bruins just pushed further ahead on a spinning layup by super-frosh Kevin Love.

(Jim Harrick from his seat in the UCLA section)

By the way, that Collison-Brazelton matchup is a beauty to watch. Wish I had that kind of speed man. Keep an eye on that the rest of the game.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With five minutes to go before halftime, Louisville is in control of things with a 28-19 lead on Tennessee.

Getting to sit behind the Louisville bench, we're getting to see how Rick Pitino operates on the sidelines in a game that will be sending one team home. Pitino is certainly hoping its not his team after all the adversity that its overcome at the beginning of the season, and the Cardinals have shown that they're a Top 10 team for much of the second half of the year.

But Louisville is having its own issues on offensive right now, as the former Kentucky coach just walked over to his players on the bench and complained about their lack of patience on the offensive end, telling them that they've been making one pass and shooting on possession after possession.

With 3:14 left to go before halftime, it's Louisville now leading Tennessee, 30-23.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Louisville is looking like the Final Four team that many projected it to be at the beginning of the season, beating Tennessee at both ends of the floor and running out to a 24-8 lead with nine minutes remaining before halftime.

The Cardinals are getting the Volunteers to force some bad shots on the offensive end, and it's created a lot of good scoring opportunities for David Padgett, Terrence Williams and the rest of the Louisville squad.

Tennessee, on the other side, has really struggled from the perimeter, hitting just three of its first 13 shots for a 23.1-percent clip. The Vols are also 0-for-5 from three, while Louisville has hit 3-of-6 from long range.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With five minutes gone in the second Sweet 16 matchup of the night, No. 3 seed Louisville is out to a 11-7 lead on No. 2 seed Tennessee.

Juan Palacios has knocked down a three to start the game and Andre McGee has four points after a field goal and a pair of the free throws.

Tyler Smith has tallied three points so far for Tennessee, which has forced the Cardinals to commit five turnovers but hasn't been able to capitalize on them.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are getting good looks at the basket and are making sure to knock down their shots, with three of the first four going through the net.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's the heavily wrapped left ankle of Bruin forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute...

He badly twisted it last weekend and had an MRI on it on Tuesday. Apparently it's all good to go since he is listed in the starting lineup of tonight's second game. Keep an eye on his aggressiveness, or maybe lack thereof, in this game.

Tip time is in about seven minutes.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After getting to see North Carolina advance to the Elite Eight with a relatively easy win over Washington State, we what could and should be an even better Sweet 16 matchup as No. 2 seed Tennessee and No. 3 seed Louisville hit the floor for the second of our two contests tonight at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

The Volunteers are coming off a tough 77-72 overtime win over No. 7 seed Butler and Bruce Pearl's team will be looking to move on to Saturday's regional semifinal with a big-time win over the Cardinals. The Vols have done it all year along with their three Smiths -- Wayne, JaJuan and Ramar -- but Chris Lofton really remains the key for the SEC champs. The senior is the all-time three-point leader in the SEC and can put his team in the Elite Eight if he can get hot from the perimeter and open up things down low for his teammates.

Rick Pitino's team, however, has other plans in mind after dismantling No. 6 seed Oklahoma by 30 points last weekend. The Cards are led by senior center David Padgett, who has made a tremendous comeback during the second half of the season after fracturing his kneecap midway through the season, as well as junior forward Terrence Williams.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. --B.J. Raymond's three-pointer with just under 20 seconds remaining proved to be the fatal blow to West Virginia's hopes of reaching the Elite Eight. Xavier wins

(Raymond and the Musketeers celebrate his three-point shot)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- Joe Alexander just fouled out. Is that a bad omen? WVU still leads by four here in OT

(It was a weak call Joe)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- No. 1 seed North Carolina wanted to get back to the Elite Eight after last year's disappointing loss to Georgetown, and the Tar Heels will now get that opportunity after taking care of business against No. 4 seed Washington State with a convincing 58-37 victory in the Sweet 16.

"We're ecstatic," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said afterward. "We played really, really well during stretches. You have to congratulate Washington State. When there are only 16 teams left, you have to feel really good about that."

So do the Tar Heels, who led from start to finish and never really looked threatened by the Cougars in their first trip to the Sweet 16 after wins over Winthrop and Notre Dame.

"That was not the way we wanted to go out," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said, "but I told the guys in the locker room, what a run for their careers...and I'm thankful for that."

For UNC, it all started with Danny Green shooting the ball well from long range. The junior finished with 15 points, making three of his five three-point attempts, and Tyler Hansbrough led all scorers with 18 in addition to his nine rebounds.

"Just making one basket really gets me going," Green said of overcoming his recent struggles from the perimeter. "One shot gives me confidence to make the next one. Once I got going things really went my way."

The North Carolina backcourt also had its way in getting 25 points from shooting guard Wayne Ellington (13) and point man Ty Lawson (12), as the Tar Heels took charge on the glass with a 46-32 advantage. And while UNC actually committed three more turnovers than Washington State, it was poor perimeter shooting that ultimately did the Cougars in.

"We were trying to contest everything," Williams asserted about his team's defense. "One of the things we wanted to be is tough enough, patient enough, poised enough. There was a huge emphasis for us to keep them off the backboard and not allow them to get second-chance opportunities. We tried to challenge everything."

Tony Bennett's team, in fact, hit just two out of 16 three-point attempts for a dismal 12.5-percent clip. Derrick Low and Aron Baynes both tallied a team-high 14 points for Wazzu, which finishes the season at 26-9, and Kyle Weaver was the third WSU player in double figures with 10 in what will be his final collegiate game.

"They're good," Bennett said of North Carolina. "We didn't represent the Pac-10 as well as we should. We did get shots. We did do things. They keep coming at you for 40 minutes. UNC is a special team. Their defense is better than people think."

"I thought I got all the looks I wanted, and it was just hard to get it to drop," added Low. "In most games, my team would be making shots. But tonight it just didn't fall. Sometimes you have those nights."

The Tar Heels, on the other hand, move to 35-2 on the season and are looking like they can get to San Antonio with the way their playing right now. It still won't be easy, as they'll have to win Saturday against either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 3 seed Louisville to advance to the season's final weekend.

"We have a good balance," Williams admitted. "We have to relax a bit more in the NCAA Tournament. We want to play aggressive and play the way we like to play. When we did attack, we sometimes didn't finish the play. Offensively, we have a chance at times to put pressure on people."

With the way the Tar Heels have blown out all three of its tournament opponents so far, that's certainly plenty of pressure for whomever they'll face next.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With five minutes remaining in the second half, North Carolina looks to be moving on to Saturday's Elite Eight matchup against either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 3 seed Louisville, a game that we'll see shortly after this one concludes.

The Tar Heels are very much in control with Danny Green continuing to shoot the ball well, leading UNC with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three. Ty Lawson has dropped in 12 points, and Wayne Ellington and Tyler Hansbrough have 11 and 10, respectively.

The Cougars, meanwhile, have already lost center Aron Baynes after the junior committed his fifth personal, though WSU has improved its three-point percentage slightly from our last post, thanks to a second three by Derrick Low.

But Wazzu is shooting just 2-for-13 from beyond the arc, something that certainly couldn't happen if Tony Bennett and his players expected to leave tonight with a win over what's been argued by some to be the best team in the country.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- The gullywashing red Gatorade dump right behind the West Virginia bench has turned the entire carpet red and full of ice.

(No more ball in the house! It's all fun and games until somebody ruins the shag carpeting)

It's now Xavier 57-55 with 6:47. Hot damn, it looks like I'll finally be able to see a white-knuckler here in Phoenix.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- West Virginia forward Joe Alexander had a whisper quiet first half:

3 points.
3 rebounds.
2 fouls.
2 turnovers.

So far in this second half the 'Neer mountain man has already got nine of WVU's 22 points and is a lot more active on both ends of the court. He's been the difference as the Mountaineers look to make a big push in the second half.

I don't know what Huggins was saying during that last time out, but he was looking almost exclusively at Alexander and doing a lot of pointing. Not angrily, just informatively.

Right now it's still Xavier, 50-49 with 10:44 remaining.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 12 minutes remaining in the second half between North Carolina and Washington State, it's all Tar Heels, as they lead by a 46-27 margin.

UNC, the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, has continued to score the ball at will against a scrappy WSU team after putting up over 100 points on both Mount St. Mary's and Arkansas in Raleigh, N.C., last weekend.

That could also be the case tonight against Washington State, as Roy Williams' club has now upped its lead all the way to 55-31, and there's little hope of a comeback from Tony Bennett's squad, which is making its first Sweet 16 appearance.

And if things progress the way they have for the first 30 minutes of this contest, the Cougars will be headed back to Pullman with a disappointing finish to their historic season.

One state to note: Washington State is shooting 8.3 percent (1-for-12) from three, while North Carolina has hit four of its nine attempts (44.4 percent) from long range.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With five minutes gone in the second half, No. 1 seed North Carolina is controlling things with a 41-25 lead on No. 4 seed Washington State.

The Tar Heels are continuing to attack the basket and the WSU defense, and it's helped extend the lead to 16 on the Cougars. Tyler Hansbrough got a tough transition basket over Aron Baynes, falling to the ground as his shot went in, and Derrick Low has also shown some spark after the break with a nifty left-handed layup on a drive to the basket.

The scoreboard monitor just showed an old highlight of the 1992 Duke team, and that got the North Carolina-based crowd booing throughout the stadium for a good 10 seconds. Even with the Blue Devils already out of the tournament, the Tobacco Road rivalry never dies, nor should it really.

But back to the action, where North Carolina is looking to reach the Elite Eight for a second straight year.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- Two things I noticed about those in these two teams' traveling circles.

No. 1:
Xavier's girl cheerleaders are taller than their male cheerleaders...

No. 2:
I don't know why, but it's pretty cool. WVU has a band member that is obviously older, maybe into his upper 50s, low 60s or so. And he also looks sorta like Paul Newman and uses a hearing aid...

It's now XU up 43-40 as West Virginia has made another push here to start the second half. I don't know what Huggins said to his team during the last time out, but most of the players came away laughing as they went to sit back down.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After 20 minutes of play in our first regional semifinal here at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, it's No. 1 seed North Carolina holding a commanding 35-21 lead on No. 4 seed Washington State.

The Tar Heels got out to a fast start behind the hot shooting of junior Danny Green, who is leading all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. But UNC gained even more momentum before halftime with a three-pointer from point guard Ty Lawson along the left wing.

Tyler Hansbrough, meanwhile, has been rather quiet so far with eight points after dropping in a pair of free throws before the break, but it's been the perimeter shooting of Green, Lawson and Wayne Ellington that has really got the job done for Roy Williams' ballclub right now. Ellington has nine points on 3-of-6 shooting in 15 minutes, and Carolina has also controlled things on the boards with a 19-14 rebounding differential.

For Washington State, Aron Baynes kept the Cougars early on and leads the team with six points, along with Kyle Weaver, but the barrage of threes that UNC put in hurt Tony Bennett's team toward the end of the half. Whether Wazzu will be able to rebound after halftime will certainly be a factor if WSU hopes to pull off the upset and advance to Saturday's Elite Eight game. Shooting just 34.6 percent (9-for-26) from the field and 1-for-5 from three won't get it done, and neither will UNC's 48.1-percent clip and even better 4-for-6 mark from downtown. Both of those statistics will have to turn in the favor of WSU if the Cougars hope to continue their season.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ -- It's now XU 32-25 at the midway point.

But early on in the game, we saw a lot of these kind of reactions from coach Huggins as the Mountaineers built up a big 28-12 lead. But the Mountaineers have been chipping away and playing good defense to make it a game at the half.

Jarrett Brown has come off the pine to lead WVU in scoring with eight points. Josh Duncan also has eight to lead the X.

The score could be much worse if the Musketeers were able to convert some inside layups. But to WVU's credit, they've had a lot of hands in XU's grills early. For the game, XU is 11-for-27 and the WVU is just 9-for-27.

Biggest stat of the game so far? Three-point shooting.
XU: 6-for-11
WVU: 0-for-6

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In what's been an exciting first half, North Carolina has extended its lead to nine points with 2:42 remaining before halftime and the scoreboard reading 27-18 in favor of the Tar Heels.

Danny Green seems to have his stroke tonight, as the junior guard-forward combo has already tallied 10 points after knocking down a three from the left wing to give UNC its biggest lead of the game.

But Derrick Low responded, draining a three of his own for his first three points of the game. Aron Baynes remains Wazzu's top scorer with six and Kyle Weaver has dropped in five in 15 minutes of action.

The Cougars have cut the deficit on the boards to just two at 16-14 but are still struggling from the field with a 33.3-percent clip on 8-of-24 shooting.

UNC, in the meantime, has hit 11 of its first 25 shots from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and that's certainly why the Tar Heels have been able to capture this early lead.

That, and of course, the hot shooting of Green, who is 4-for-6 from the field at the moment.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Riding six points from Aron Baynes, Washington State has managed to keep things close early, trailing only by a 17-14 margin, but North Carolina looks to be the quicker and more dynamic team right now, pushing its lead up to five with another hoop.

Both teams are shooting nearly exactly the same. At the 7:17 mark in the first half, both UNC and Wazzu were shooting 7-for-18 (38.9 percent) from the field. The Tar Heels, however, have hit one three -- from Danny Green -- while WSU has missed on both of its long-range attempts from senior sharpshooter Derrick Low.

North Carolina, meanwhile, is also controlling the rebounding battle with a 13-9 edge but has struggled taking care of the ball with seven turnovers already (Washington State has four). Tyler Hansbrough has accounted for three of those, something that you don't see too often from the two-time All-American.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- West Virginia has been able to cut into XU's massive lead, chopping it to 28-20.

Maybe it's because this guy is in the crowd cheering on the Mountaineers. Although the whole time Nick Lashay has been here all he's done is check his text messages, send text messages and check out hot chicks sending text messages.

Xavier still looks like the much better team so far. And by the way, when did Mr. Bandwagon Lashay become a West Virginia fan anyway?

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In the early moments of our first Sweet 16 matchup between No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 4 seed Washington State, it's the Tar Heels holding a two-point advantage thanks to a couple of baskets by sophomore forward Deon Thompson.

Thompson has given UNC another frontcourt presence aside from player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, and that's something that Roy Williams has been able to lean on throughout this season. And with Washington State having its own frontcourt power in Robbie Cowgill and Aron Baynes, Carolina will need to dominate the paint to ensure a win tonight. The Tar Heels' backcourt will also need to play well, though, as Wayne Ellington and Danny Green need to have strong shooting performances if they hope to reach Saturday's regional semifinal against either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 3 seed Louisville.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ. -- The reason West Virginia didn't score its first bucket from the field until the 14:59 mark of the first half...

The look in Drew Lavender's eyes says a lot here as the Musketeers have been all in the jock of the Mountaineers from the opening tap here in Phoenix. As witnessed by the fact that Bob Huggins didn't even wait until the first media time out to yell at his team about its lackluster play thus far.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, AZ.-- We're about five minutes before game time and this arena is not even half full at the time. Not a lot of intensity/fire to the surroundings here in Phoenix. Just seemed like things were more of a "happening" in Omaha last week. Well as long as the games are more competitive here, I'll be alright with everything.

(Sean Miller and Bob Huggins talk just prior to the national anthem)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- We're live from the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, where tonight we'll see two fantastic Sweet 16 matchups in No. 1 seed North Carolina taking on No. 4 seed Washington State followed by No. 2 seed Tennessee meeting No. 3 seed Louisville.

Our first matchup features the overall top seeded Tar Heels, who won the ACC regular season and tournament title on the shoulders of point man Ty Lawson and power forward Tyler Hansbourgh.

Hansbrough, who is being considered the nation's player of the year by many pundits, is coming off two strong performances in tournament wins over No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's and No. 9 seed Arkansas. Lawson also got in the mix with 21 and 19 points, showing that he's back to full strength after spraining his ankle during the regular season against Florida State.

While UNC will be looking to speed the game up by creating turnovers and scoring in the 80s and 90s, Washington State is looking to slow things down with its half-court approach. That will be the job of Taylor Rochestie, the junior point who has done a fine job over the last couple weeks during the Pac-10 Tournament as well as in wins over No. 13 seed Winthrop and No. 5 seed Notre Dame.

Tony Bennett has to proud of the way his club has been playing after the Cougars missed the Sweet 16 last year with a second-round loss to Vanderbilt as the No. 3 seed. While Wazzu has already made giant leaps and bounds this year with a top five national ranking and now the school's first Sweet 16 appearance, Bennett and company would like to take things a step further tonight with a monumental win over the No. 1 overall seed and in front of a crowd that is looking mostly Carolina blue. Washington State does have its own section of fans in the house, but it's nothing compared to the Tar Heel faithful, which makes up about 80 percent of the fans in attendance.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - A big dunk from Joey Dorsey but nothing from Derrick Rose who electrified the open session crowd in Little Rock last week.

The Tigers are winding things down and so will we. We'll be back with you tomorrow night before the first game tips at 6:27 CT and you can also chekc the Hang Time blog on Friday morning for a column on Texas's DJ Augustin.

Thanks for joining us and be sure to stick around Posting Up for all the game action tonight.

Posted by David Scott at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Calipari has the bigs at one end and the littles at the other and has switched ends to allow for both sets of players to adjust to the shooting background. All players are going through several minutes of shooting drills in rotation.

. . . Andre Allen, who suffered a shoulder injury in the Mississippi State game appears to be fine and Calipari said earlier today that he is expected to play. He's draining 3's from the corner.

. . . Worldwide Wes has been spotted in the bowels of the stadium. Memphis AD RC Johnson is also hovering along press row. Tough to say who's more important to Memphis hoops. We kid, we jest.

. . . Joey Dorsey was complaining about the video screens behind the basket as he shot some free throws. But Dorsey made three shots and Packer - who had the Tigers in a game for CSTV - applauded the big fella. Packer had told Calipari that his team had good form and that the free throw shooting wouldn't be a problem for the Tigers.

. . . All of the Tigers are taking free throws.

Posted by David Scott at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - The No. 1 seed Memphis Tigers have taken the floor for their open practice session. John Calipari was the first man out and a handful of Tiger fans cheered for their team. Robert Dozier was the first player on the court.

The Tigers will have a real practice at the Rockets practice facility immiediately after this open session, so they will just have a light workout for the crowd.

Calipari's son, Bradley, 11, has already adjusted to the backdrop and is draining some deep shots.

. . . There is one stool on the carpeted fringe of the court in front of each bench where, we presume, the head coach will be able to sit if he chooses. Calipari looked at the stool and shook his head.

We looked at the stool and got thirsty for a beer.

Posted by David Scott at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - The Longhorn guards continued to strictly shoot around while the big men were working on some low post moves, taking feeds in the paint and instruction from Coach Barnes.

With 15:30 left on the session clock, Texas left the floor, leaving team managers to entertain the crowd. Players fanned out and signed autographs and posed for pictures with session attendees. Nince touch.

. . . Some CBS staffers are looking for optimum position for the ever-present yellow CBS banners along the railing behind the scorer's table.

. . . Memphis will be out at 3:10 p.m. CT and we'll re-join you at that time.

Posted by David Scott at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - One half of the lower "field seats" are filled with on-lookers enjoying the light workout that the Texas Longhorns are currently going through.

Texas coach Rick Barnes is sitting between Jim Nantz and Billy Packer for his CBS interview and players are getting used to the raised floor and the black curtain backdrops. With the raised floor, the traditional table banners are not in use at this site. There is a an overhead octagonal rigging above center court that holds huge video screens as well as video screens in each endzone. Believe it or not, it's actually an intimate setting - but only in the lower section. By the time you start getting up to the upper levels, we're guessing it's not very easy to see what's going on courtside.

. . . We did some time in the Texas locker room and will be able to offer up a column on DJ Augustin at Hang Time for your Friday morning reading pleasure.

. . . We also got some time with Memphis coach John Calipari, who is sort of enjoying the fact that his Tigers are being portrayed as underdogs. Calipari was able to stop the golf cart carrying Rick Barnes back to his locker room and the two chatted for a while. Tom Izzo passed by on a different golf cart on the way to his presser and Calipari bemoaned the fact that he didn't have any golf carts. "They got me walking everywhere," laughed the at-ease coach.

. . . We were also able to say hello to our fellow Peabody, Mass. native, Todd Wright, who is the Texas strength coach. Wright's dropped his Peabody accent and now has a hybrid Peabody/Austin twang that will not soon be duplicated.

Posted by David Scott at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOUSTON - Welcome to Reliant Stadium for the South Regional games, being hosted by Rice University and the Univeristy of Houston. This is one mammoth stadium and it sits next to the building that used to be called the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Houston Astrodome. Reliant, by that logic, is the Ninth Wonder.

The set-up for this regional is a first-time experiment by the NCAA (also being used at Ford Field in Detroit, where Jerry Palm will describe the action for Posting Up and CSTV.com). The court is elevated and placed in the middle of the football field with seating brought down close to the court. The endzones have been draped off with black curtains, but the rest of the seating under the retractable roof (which is closed, wiseguy) is available for fans and tickets still remain for the three games on Friday and Sunday.

Interviews start shortly with Stanford going at 1 p.m. CT, followed by Texas, Michigan State and Memphis. Stanford has just finished its open practice in front of a small crowd and they are being followed by Michigan State, Texas and Memphis (3:10-4 p.m.)

We'll try and liveblog the latter two open practices after we work some of the interviews.

. . . In the official regional media guide, there is a reference to Memphis as "Memphis State University," a moniker they have not used in some time. Very old school.

. . . Some notes on Houston from our handy downtown pocket map distributed by the host committee for souls like us who get lost going to the bathroom:

* Houston is the only city to boast two retractable roof stadiums - Minute Maid Park where the Astros play and Reliant Stadium where the Texans play.

* The Galleria is the fourth largest shopping center in the nation with 375 stores.

* The Zagat survey shows that Houstonians eat out more than residents from any other city, and the average price of a meal is $5.02 less than the national average. (That will be duly noted on my expense report.)

Posted by David Scott at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After the first weekend of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, we're on to the Sweet 16, and it's the East Regional that has two must-see matchups for us to witness Thursday at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. In many ways, in fact, the four remaining teams -- the four highest seeds -- in the East Regional could provide the most intriguing regional semifinal action this March.

Sure, styles differ when you look at No. 1 seed North Carolina facing off against No. 4 seed Washington State, but you know the quality of competition that's going to be put forth in this one is going to be top-notch. At least from Tyler Hansbrough, who has been waiting for this moment again after missing out on the Final Four with a loss to Georgetown in the Elite Eight.

This year, however, the 6-foot-10 All-American doesn't want the Tar Heels' run to end there, as he and the rest of his teammates seem set on getting to San Antonio and giving head coach Roy Williams his second national championship at his alma mater.

"You say what you want to say," Williams remarked during his news conference. "If my team plays well, we got a chance to win in Serbia. If my team plays poorly, we got a chance to get our butts beat in Chapel Hill, which happened twice this season."

So far things have looked pretty good for Williams and company after UNC blew out No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's, the tournament's opening round winner over Coppin State, by a 113-74 margin and then followed that up with another triple-digit performance, spanking No. 9 seed Arkansas, 108-77, in the second round to advance to tomorrow's regional semifinal in Charlotte, N.C., a mere three hours from the Tar Heels' Chapel Hill campus.

But Williams doesn't believe that the game's location and its proximity to home will be a factor when the two schools step on the floor at 7:27 ET.

"You guys things it's a much bigger advantage than I do," Williams said of the crowd factor. "I don't believe that crap. You gotta play on game day."

The Tar Heels will have to play one of its better games of the season tomorrow night because Tony Bennett's team has already made history by cracking the top five in the AP poll earlier this season and now he's making more history by getting the Cougars to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever.

Washington State missed out on that opportunity in last year's tourney when it lost to No. 6 seed Vanderbilt in the second round, but this is a more experienced team now with three seniors and two juniors in its starting lineup. Two of those seniors -- shooting guards Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver -- are the two best scorers on the team, while Weaver's 5.2 rebounds per game is second to Aron Baynes' 5.9 boards. Baynes will have a very tough task in going up against Hansbrough, and the Australian native will need to avoid foul trouble to really give the Cougars a good chance of competing with UNC down low.

"I really like the Bennett," Williams said. "Tony's done a great job with that team this year. I used to love watching his dad's teams play. I think they got off to a 14-0 start this year, so they're really good."

While Low and Rochestie will need to shoot the ball well from the perimeter and limit their turnovers against a quicker North Carolina team, the Tar Heels will have an advantage at the top of the key with Ty Lawson running the show. It's taken the sophomore awhile to recover from that ankle sprain that he suffered back during the ACC regular season, but he's finally back up to 100 percent and showing it with 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds and no turnovers in UNC's win over Arkansas. Against Mount St. Mary's

"He is so gifted," Williams said of his point guard. "But I do believe his work habits are better. He got much better as the season went along last year. Last year down the stretch he was sensational for us."

With Lawson back up to speed and Hansbrough causing havoc down low, many are still looking at the No. 1 overall seed Tar Heels as the team to beat.

But it won't be an easy road for Carolina, not with a potential Elite Eight matchup against either No. 2 seed and SEC champ Tennessee or No. 3 seed and Big East runner-up Louisville. Those two square off following the Heels' game against Wazzu at 9:57 ET in what could be the best Sweet 16 game of the tournament.

That's because both teams have experience at all spots on the floor and know how to put great defensive pressure on the ball, particularly Tennessee, which has gained a reputation for Bruce Pearl's constant full-court press.

The Cardinals, on the other hand, know how to get after it as well and are led by senior David Padgett, who was recruited by Williams at Kansas but transferred to Louisville after one season in Lawrence. Williams, nevertheless, still would have loved to have the 6-foot-11 center on his team, though with Hansbrough manning the middle, the former KU coach can't really complain. Padgett led the Cardinals in scoring at 11.4 points per game but was closely followed by junior Terrence Williams at 11.0. Earl Clark and Jerry Smith are the other two double-digit scorers, while sophomore Edgar Sosa runs the point for Rick Pitino.

For Tennessee, senior sharpshooter Chris Lofton is the big-time player that Pearl will need to step up if the Volunteers have hopes of reaching the next round in Charlotte against either North Carolina or Washington State. Those are both challenges that Tennessee should feel comfortable facing after upsetting in-state rival and then-undefeated Memphis on the Tigers' home floor.

But if the Pearl and the Knoxville faithful want to pay a visit to San Antonio next week, they'll not only need Lofton to be on his game but also JaJuan and Tyler Smith, who average 14.5 and 13.7 points, respectively, and play a factor on the boards as well. So will Louisville's Derrick Caracter, who cleaned up his act after being suspended near the beginning of the season and leaving Pitino doubtful of even a return from his power forward.

With those kind of battles down low and stellar backcourt play from all four teams, we'll have the privilege of watching two spectacular games tonight and another one Saturday in the Elite Eight in what could be the best games of the entire weekend.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to the South Regional, an experiment in both seating and seeding.

Reliant Stadium (in addition to Ford Field) will be guinea pig sites in the NCAA's latest plan to get more fannies into the game. That seating issue - no matter how the experiment in "Hoops in the Round" goes over - is quite secondary to the seeding issue.

No. 1-seed Memphis is suddenly the least liked 1-seed in the history of 1-seeds - taking slings and arrows from all sides. No. 2-seed Texas finds itself with a decided homecourt advantage. Even if Texas coach Rick Barnes doesn't it see that way.

"The bottom line is that in the two games we played in San Antonio (en route to the 2003 Final Four), we had to fight for our lives," said Barnes of his team's wins over UConn and Michigan State. "At this point and time in the season, (playing in Houston) is probably going to be made a bigger deal that it really is."

Still, there is evidence that Everything's Bigger and Better in Texas for the Longhorns. They are 9-4 in NCAA Tournament play in the state of Texas and are undefeated in such games under Barnes(6-0, twice in Dallas and once in S.A.). In fact, Barnes is .500 (9-9) in NCAA games outside the friendly borders, as the Texas head man.

In other Houston seeding intrigue the site also gives us the slightly under-seeded duo of Michigan State (5) and Stanford (3). The Spartans are more of a "4" and Stanford feels like a "2.5." Both - at the very least - are playing their best ball at the most opportune time and quite deserving of playing on the next-to-the-last weekend of the season.

After the jump, some South Regional tidbits that will help you pass the time between now and Friday night's tip from the Texans' home.

Be sure to join us for live-blogging from Media Day on Thursday afternoon from Houston (as well some open practice live-blogging) here at Posting Up.

On the Air:
CBS sends the A-Team of Jim Nantz and Billy Packer to Houston, meaning that the final, Final Four team will come from this foursome.

Brad Sham (play-by-play) and Reid Gettys (analyst) will have the call for Westwood One Radio.

The early game of Stanford and Texas is set for 6:27 CDT tip and the Memphis-Michigan State contest is slated for 8:57 p.m. (CDT) or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

Texas wins if. . .
They can negate the Lopez Twins.

Stanford wins if. . .
The Texas guards simultaneously have off-nights.

Memphis wins if. . .
Joey Dorsey does what Joey Dorsey did against Mississippi State.

Michigan State wins if. . .
Drew Neitzel continues with his 20.0 ppg average in the post-season.

Texas Reserve to know:
Dexter Pittman

Stanford Reserve to know:
Lawrence Hill

Memphis Reserve to know:
Willie Kemp

Michigan State Reserve to know:
Idong Ibok

Leaders of the Pack
The Houston site will a few of the 2008 Tournament's top performers to this point performing at Reliant:

AJ Abrams, Texas, 3rd in scoring with 52 points in two games
Damion James, Texas, 2nd in rebounds with 26 (16 vs. Miami. 3rd best of tournament so far)
Joey Dorsey, Memphis, 4th in rebounding with 21
Mitch Johnson, Stanford, 1st in assists with 21 (16 vs. Marquette, best of tournament so far)

Media Notes That Make You Go, Hmmmmm. . .

. . . Texas Junior A.J. Abrams has averaged 26.0 ppg while converting 17-of-29 (.586) field goals, including 12-of-20 (.600) from three-point range, during UT’s first two NCAATournament games.

. . . For the first time since 2001, Stanford (28-7, 13-5 Pac-10) has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. The Cardinal picked up its first tourney victory in four years with a 77-53 rout of Cornell and followed it up with a thrilling 82-81 overtime win over Marquette in the second round.

. . . Tom Izzo ranks fourth among active coaches for the best NCAA Tournament winning percentage at .743 (26-9). Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski ranks first at .767 (69-21), followed by Florida’s Billy Donovan at .759 (22-7) and Louisville’s Rick Pitino at .756 (34-11). Of those four, Izzo and Krzyzewski are the only coaches to appear in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments.

. . . In the Memphis Tigers’ last two trips to the NCAA Final Four, their path went through Houston, the site of this year’s NCAA Tournament South Regional. In 1973, Memphis defeated South Carolina and Kansas State in regional play in Houston to advance to the Final Four. The Tigers’ 1985 ride to the Final Four started with the first and second rounds in Houston. Memphis defeated Penn and UAB (in overtime) to advance to regional play in Dallas.

For purely entertainment purposes:
The Wise Guys in Vegas have installed Texas as a 2-point favorite and Memphis as a 5-point favorite.

We'd say both games are closer to 3-point spreads.

Over/Unders for both games sit at 134 1/2.

Leftovers
. . . The CBI disaster experiment continues to wend its way to the 3-game championship series and C-USA is the guaranteed a spot in the inaugural CBI finals series. Tulsa faced Houston on Wednesday night and according to the incomparable Courtney Morrison-Archer of C-USA, two league teams have never met in a post-season game outside of the conference tourney. (The two teams met earlier this year when the Cougars defeated Tulsa 92-81 at home, as Robert McKiver tallied 33 points.)

Tulsa gave some headaches to league members before it joined C-USA and old Great Midwest Conference foes Cincinnati and Memphis (both charter members of C-USA) played each other in the 1992 Elite Eight with UC advancing to the Final Four with an 88-57 win.

. . . Some props to the alma mater as UMass made a phenomenal comeback at Syracuse to become the first team since 1923 (Penn State) to beat the Orange twice in one season at Syracuse.

. . . Wasn't a huge shocker to see Ben Braun let go by Cal and it won't be a surprise to see Mike Montgomery get back in with the Berkeley job. But a better choice in our minds would be Mark Few or San Diego's Bill Grier.

Posted by David Scott at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DETROIT -- The Detroit regional features two of the three double-digit seeds remaining in the tournament. It's not likely either will still be there when the dust clears on Friday.

The first game Wisconsin against Davidson. The Wildcats pulled off a remarkable comeback against Georgetown to get here. They trailed by as much as 17 in the second half, but rallied to win 74-70. They got a lot of help from the Hoyas in the form of 20 turnovers, compared to only four for Davidson.

Wisconsin will not be so helpful. The Badgers are as fundamentally sound as any team in the field. They are in the top 25 in the nation in turnovers and rebounding, and lead the country in scoring defense. And they do that without fouling much. UW is sixth nationally in fouls per game.

6'11" Brian Butch figures to be a big matchup problem for Davidson, although they did manage Roy Hibbert all right. Butch, unlike Hibbert, shows up to play every night and can beat you in the post or on the perimeter.

Wisconsin will try to find a way to slow down the tournament's leading scorer, Stephen Curry, who has 70 points in two games, 55 of which have come after halftime.

Our nightcap pits top seeded Kansas against the 12-seed Villanova. Unlike Davidson and Western Kentucky, the other double-digit seeds remaining, they are used to seeing talented teams like Kansas because they play in the Big East. That doesn't necessarily mean the Wildcats can beat teams like that, but they do have high-major athletes, so they are less likely to get flat-out run off the floor.

Scottie Reynolds has been carrying Nova to this point, averaging 23 points per game the first weekend. He'll have his hands full with Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers though. And Darrell Arthur should have a big advantage inside against Villanova's post players Dante Cunningham and Ed Pena.

Kansas is loaded. The Jayhawks may have best best top seven in the country. Sherron Collins and Sasha Kaun would start for 95% of the teams in D-I, but come off the bench for KU.

Expect a lot of blue and red in the stands in Detroit as both Kansas and Wisconsin have large and rabid followings. If this were football, the UW crowd would be bigger by far, but it's hoops, so we'll probably see more Kansas fans. Unless Badgers fans are confused because the game will be played in a football stadium. Either way, it's a safe bet that Wisconsin's fans will be tailgating in the parking lot, because that is what they do best.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- So Bruin fans... you nervous?

Did the A&M game scare the bejesus out of you? It should have. Look, you guys have been a little on the spoiled side the last few years. Getting Ben Howland. Pac 10 titles. Final Four runs. But now things aren't looking so hot, having to get a handful of fortuitous referee calls (or non-calls) to pull out nip-tuck wins over Cal, Stanford, USC and, of course, Texas A&M over the last few weeks.

(Ben should be doing less howling this weekend in Phoenix. Emphasis on "should")

Well I've got good news for you, this weekend should go a little bit easier. You've got three teams from two or three time zones away coming out West and none of them are named Duke. Or maybe I should say, none of them are named "Duke when they're playing like Duke."

This is where Coach Howland usually puts his best foot forward. And to be honest, if the defense he preaches so well keeps holding opponents to under 70 points - as they've done in 11 of the last 12 games - the offense will figure it out better and UCLA should move on.

Then again, I don't mean to suggest that West Virginia, Xavier and Western Kentucky have no chance here. These are all great teams. As Coach Howland put it, "All that stuff about us having an easy road? That's a bunch of baloney. There's no easy road when you get to this point in the post-season. Anybody can beat anybody. That's all there is to it."

Yep, there is a reason this is called March Madness.

Here's how the field for Phoenix stacks up this weekend:

.
- West Virginia, 26-10
No. 7 seed.

The Good News:
A couple of things jump out at you.
1- Most everybody in the college basketball world is loving WVU right about now because the 'Neers are the ones that eliminated Duke. So they'll have most of America behind them.
2- Coach Bob Huggins. He's got the post-season pedigree and will have his boys ready to play at their best. Plus, Hug or no Hug, this is the third time in the last four years that the Mountaineers are in the Sweet 16. Strong work boys.
3- The Mountaineers are playing their best ball of the season. WVU has won 10 of 13 and to say their on an uptick after beating Duke is an understatement. Out-rebounding the Devils by an absurd 47-27 margin? Gah! Confidence abounds.
4- Joe Alexander has become Mr. March, averaging 25 points per game in his last eight games.

The Bad News:
As Josh Herwitt said on the Lazer Show, WVU has beaten two teams that didn't have much in the inside presence department. Xavier may not have a lot either, but there's little to no chance of avoiding UCLA's inside guys. So if that matchup comes about, look for some frayed nerves on the Mountaineer inside game. Also, WV is so-so from the charity stripe, hitting just 67%. Other than Alexander (82%) and Alex Ruoff (83%), the rest of the team hits 70% or less.

Key Player:
Joe Alexander.
He's been on a hot streak down the stretch, including a double-double (24 and 11) against Duke and a 34-point performance against UConn in the Big East tournament. He's the reason this team has been on such a hot streak as well. If XU doesn't contain him right from the get-go, his hot hand and energy can easily push the Mountaineers to the finals on Saturday.

.
- Xavier, 29-6
No. 3 seed.

The Good News:
Balance. Balance. Balance. That's the best news of all for the X-men. Consider that for a team that is ranked in the top 10, not one of their players averaged over 12 points a game nor did any of them make first team All A-10. Their senior guard play of Drew Lavender (5'8" in heels) and Stanley Burrell (tenacious defense) is a huge reason they're making a Final Four run. Those two, along with forwards Josh Duncan and C.J. Anderson provide the senior experience that coach Shawn Miller loves. The X led the A-10 in free throw percentage at 75%, which is always huge this time of year. has won 20 or more games in 20 of the last 25 years, so they aren't going to be intimidated.

The Bad News:
The defense doesn't apply enough pressure to please coach Miller, getting less steals than their opponents do. Still, the Musketeers are more about making you run up and down the court. Like a lot of mid-majors, the inside game isn't as strong as it needs to be. A point of concern going up against Alexander of WVU or Love of UCLA. Lavender has a knack of playing quiet at times, so he must continue his A-game like he has in the wins over Georgia and Purdue.

Key Player:
C.J. Anderson.
Coach Sean Miller called Anderson the "toughest, most physical, most fearless player on the team." He is also the best rebounder on both ends of the floor, which will come in handy against taller lineups. How he plays to compliment Derrick Brown in the blocks will be a tell-tale sign of XU's success.

.
- Western Kentucky, 29-6
No. 12 seed

The Good News:
So who here thinks Tyrone Brazelton and Ty Rogers are clutch players? I see a lot of hands because we are all believers now. Brazelton has been described as the fastest player in the country, which could give the Bruin guards a run for their money. With that speed, the Hilltoppers like to press and pressure to force turnovers, usually to good results. Swingman Courtney Lee is an NBA type that will get his points no matter what. Three senior starters give them an experience advantage against most teams. Four of their regulars hit 40% or better from three-point land. So, if WKU continues in hitting their threes, it will make UCLA sweat it out to the end... again.

The Bad News:
C'mon, they've beaten Drake and San Diego, a pair of mid-majors. Should UCLA be that scared? The big question is whether the Bruin big men - okay, Kevin Love - will feast on the 'Toppers in the paint. D.J. Magley will need to play beyond his years to provide an inside presence, especially on defense. Jeremy Evans is a little on the wispy side and will need to do more than just block shots on defense. And by all means, Brazelton must stay out of foul trouble.

Key Player:
Courtney Lee.
He can dominate a game with his athleticism and will hold his own against the Bruins. If he gets hot and helps WKU control tempo, the UCLA game could be another one that goes down to the wire. If he shows nerves against the big-wig Bruins early on, it's going to be a Bruin-style blowout.

.
- UCLA, 33-3
No. 1 seed

The Good News:
There is so much NCAA tournament experience here, it's ridiculous. After the last two seasons, you KNEW the Bruins would be back in this position again this year. And can we talk about the defense? I mean, 78 stinkin' points in two NCAA tournament games? It seemed like the Bruins had seven guys on the defensive end down the stretch against the Aggies. It just looked like there were too many arms and legs for A&M to go through. Big props to the addition of Kevin Love too, who coach Howland claims it was his defense that really won the game vs. A&M. Because of that emphasis on defense, and the shooting, athleticism and post-season savvy, these guys could be favorites the rest of the way until net-cutting time in San Antonio.

The Bad News:
This team has had more great escapes than Steve McQueen. Have you been seeing them nudge out wins over Texas A&M, USC, Cal and Stanford here in the last three weeks? Bruin fans are on heart failure alert. Don't you figure you can only push your luck in that department for so long before it bites you in the hind-quarters? The Bruins certainly seem to be playing down to the level of their competition lately. And in March, that's not a good thing.

Key Player:
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
Even with key ingredients like Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook, Josh Shipp and Kevin Love, it's still the nursing of Luc's sore ankle that is most important. His availability/effectiveness will be a huge difference in how deep the Bruins can go. He's also not normally one to turn the ball over eight times like he did against the Aggies. The big key will be rebounding and ball movement this weekend.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Well, the server gremlins thwarted our attempts to summarize the final couple of minutes of this battle but we'll try and give you the same splendid in-game commentary that we had been executing before the snafus occurred.

Memphis won, by the way, 77-74, depsite missing 17 of 32 free throws and despite having several opportunities at the line to avoid having to hold their breath as Jamont Gordon launched what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired.

Joey Dorsey - The Bear - did indeed awaken from his slumber with a yeoman's effort of 13 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for Memphis. It was the senior's 25th career double-double. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Tigers with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists while Derrick Rose had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

"Joey was just a monster today," said Calipari.

"When he plays like that, our team is so much better. He was everywhere. He was helping everybody. He was great today," said CDR.

Jamont Gordon led State with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

. . . Calipari was flat-out exhausted after the game. He coached much of the final portion of the contest with all three of his big men saddled with four fouls each. He would eventually lose Robert Dozier and Dorsey to disqualification but was able to deftly rotate his four-foul trio in and out to allow for presence in the paint.

It's pretty clear that Calipari won't be receiving the National Coach of the Year honors that will likely go to Keno Davis, but the arguments that Calipari is all recruiter and no bench coach need to stop and they need to stop now. You don't have three consecutive 30-win seasons, including a 35-1 record this year, without being able to handle the X's and the O's.

. . . The Tigers shot 5 of 13 from 3-point land in the first half and just 1 of 3 from beyond the arc in the second half. State was 8 of 19 for the game (3 of 8 in the second half).

. . . Andre Allen, who hurt his right shoulder in the first half, did not return to the game and played just four minutes all game. Willie Kemp saw 13 minutes of game action and was huge with 12 points and 4 of 5 form 3-point land. "I met with him (on Saturday) and we talked and I told him I had to play him more," said Calipari. "All we've done is win since he's been here and he's been a big part of it."

. . . When it's all said and done, there were at least five pros on the court during crunch time: For Mississippi State, they were Jarvis Varnado, Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes. For Memphis, they were Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose.

. . . Barry Stewart had an awful night form the field for Mississippi State, going 1 of 12 and 0 of 6 from 3-point land. Antonio Anderson likewise sturggled for the Tigers as he was 1 of 5 and 0 of 3.

. . . The 11 team blocks by Memphis equalled a season-high.

. . . CDR is nursing a heel injury, according to Calipari. He was seen getting electric stimulus on it during the off day. "You could see that today that it was bothering him."

. . . Memphis out-rebounded State 45-37 and 19 of the Tigers' rebounds came off the offensive glass. State coach Rick Stansbury said that stat alone was huge in deciding the outcome. Memphis had 23 second-chance points. "That's the total difference in the game," said Stansbury.

. . . All right, that will do it from the arena. We're going to head back to the hotel and work on our first weekend Grade Book for the Hang Time blog. You can check it out Monday morning and then we'll be back toward the end of the week with a preview of the Houston regional where Memphis will face Michigan State in the round of 16 and Stanford will take on Texas.

The Tigers and Spartans have faced each other once before, in the 1967-68 season with Memphis winning 73-57 in the Sugar Bowl Tournament in New Orleans. (Memphis also faced Sweet 16er Davidson in that tournament in the schools' only meeting).

Texas and Stanford have met twice before, splitting the meetings with a Cardinal win in 1963 and a Texas win, 83-75 in OT, in 2002, at a tournament called the Dell Classic for Kids in Chicago.

Posted by David Scott at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina sure seems to like being close to home. For the second straight game here -- just a short way down I-40 from Chapel Hill -- the top-seeded Tar Heels enjoyed a mammoth blowout.

This time the victim was ninth-seeded Arkansas, who fell to Carolina 108-77.

The Tar Heels opened up a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back, building a 25-point halftime lead and expanding the advantage to as many as 36 in the second half.

"It doesn't feel like the Dean Dome," UNC point guard Ty Lawson said, "But it's a great place to play."

The best Arkansas could do in the second half was cutting Carolina's lead to 21 points several times.

But the UNC offense had far too much octane for the Razorbacks to handle, so it seemed like each Arkansas basket was answered by one (at least) from Carolina.

For the second game in a row, Carolina was just putting up ridiculous numbers, hitting the 90-point plateau with just inside of eight minutes remaining in the game.

"We know we're capable of it," Wayne Ellington said. "When we have everyone contributing the way we are, we can do that night in and night out."

The Tar Heels were shooting 61 percent at the half when they enjoyed a 51-26 lead.

Carolina was up by as many as 27 in the first half, led by 13 points from Ellington and 10 apiece from Lawson and Deon Thompson. Arkansas, meanwhile, missed 10 of its first 15 shots and struggled to get anything going on offense.

Carolina had back-to-back 100-point NCAA Tournament games for the first time since 1987 and back-to-back 30-point NCAA wins for the first time in school history.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - They say act like you've been there before.

Well, Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals have been to the Sweet 16 before, and that's exactly where they're headed after handing a sound thumping to the Oklahoma Sooners.

They knew what it took to advance, and they made it look easy in a 78-48 victory over the Sooners.

"We played a good game against Boise State, but we played a great game tonight," Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said. "Offensively, defensively, we just played a complete game. You really can't find a weakness in the way the guys played tonight."

Louisville took a 44-22 lead into halftime. Will Scott hit a long 3 at the buzzer that just summed up the night for the Cardinals.

"It looked like it was going to be our night when that went in," Pitino said.

The Cards posted another balanced scoring attack with Earl Clark leading the way with 14 points. Jerry Smith had 12 points. David Padgett has 8 points, and three Cards had 7 points.

David Godbold once again led the Sooners with 15 points.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Tar Heels just hit the 100-point mark, going up 101-67 ... with four minutes left. Something tells me this will be the last post necessary until post game.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Might be time for North Carolina to rest the starters. Once again they hit the 90-point mark quite fast, and they have a 33-point lead with 6:31 to go. Carolina's walk-ons are going to remember these two games for a long time. Assuming Roy gets them in the game soon, which he would be a little crazy not to.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - They say act like you've been there before.

Well, Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals have been to the Sweet 16 before, and that's exactly where they're headed after handing a sound thumping to the Oklahoma Sooners.

They knew what it took to advance, and they made it look easy in a 78-48 victory over the Sooners.

I'll be back with quotes.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Antonio Anderson missed two free throws that would have salted this one away for the Tigers. It's now 75-72 after a State dunk.

Tigers in-bound and get the ball to Derrick Rose, who is fouled by Stewart.

Rose hits one for the four point lead. State scores again and then CDR is fouled with 3.2 seconds left.

CDR at the line to seal it. He misses the first, hits the second. A Jamont Gordon 3-pointer rattles off the backboard and the rim and Memphis advances to face Michigan State in Houston, 77-74.

Posted by David Scott at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Joey Dorsey has now fouled out for Memphis with 24.7 seconds left, sending Rhodes to the line for one shot. He misses, Taggart gets the rebound and goes to the line for two with Memphis up 73-67.

Taggart hits them both. Tigers up eight with 22 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Jamont Gordon cuts the lead to five with 18.5 left.

. . . A State scoundrel has snuck in a cowbell, whihc is banned by the NCAA for Tournament games. Cheaters!

Posted by David Scott at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Again, not much has changed here with the Tar Heels up 74-51 now. It's incredible how easily the Tar Heels can score. Each time Arkansas manages to work for a bucket, UNC just speeds down the court and quickly answers it. Even when Arkansas went to the full-court press a moment ago, it was three passes and a Deon Thompson jump shot for Carolina as they added some more points to their ever-growing total. Keep in mind, they have 74 points and there are still more than 11 minutes to go.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville has extended its lead to 29 points at 70-41 with just under 7 minutes to go.

The Cardinals will advance to its 16th Sweet 16 since 1975, a mark that is 5th among all schools. The 3-seeded Cardinals will tangle with 2-seed Tennessee in Charlotte.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Memphis is hangin on my the skin of its teeth and leads 72-65 with 49.1 seconds left.

Free throw shooting will again be key.

Posted by David Scott at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Some issues with the server, it appears.

I'll do my best to finish this off strong, but the elements are conspiring against me.

Posted by David Scott at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas has knocked down a couple of jumpers early in the second half to cut North Carolina's lead to 21. Not that the Tar Heels look worried. But Roy Williams would probably prefer if his team didn't get lackadaisical here with the big cushion, since that has been a problem for the Heels all year.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - It took six contests here in Le Petite Roche to get it right, but this one has had all the elements. It's been a battle of epic proportions and we're going back and forth now with Memphis leading 66-59 with 4:35 left.

This one feels like an Elite 8 game and every Tiger basket is being answered with a Bulldog bucket. Just tremendous competition and an electric environment.

. . . Dorsey picked up his fourth foul with 8:33 left on a made basket by Varnado. The free throw tied the game at 52-52. The Tigers now has three players with four fouls (Dorsey, Dozier and Taggart). State has two players with three each (Hansbrough and Bailey). Varnado has four.

. . . Hansbrough dove out of bounds and rolled up the NCAA banners on the scorer's table. He almost got wrapped like a pig in a blanket. Great hustle by 'lil Psycho T.

. . . Memphis's missed free throws have been costly, but they have grabbed at least three offensive boards off those misses.

. . . Dorsey has 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Posted by David Scott at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - It took six contests here in Le Petite Roche to get it right, but this one has had all the elements. It's been a battle of epic proportions and we're going back and forth now with Memphis leading 68-59 with 3:35 left.

This one feels like an Elite 8 game and every Tiger basket is being answered with a Bulldog bucket. Just tremendous competition and an electric environment.

. . . Dozier has now fouled out.

. . . Dorsey picked up his fourth foul with 8:33 left on a made basket by Varnado. The free throw tied the game at 52-52. The Tigers now has three players with four fouls (Dorsey, Dozier and Taggart). State has two players with three each (Hansbrough and Bailey). Varnado has four.

. . . Hansbrough dove out of bounds and rolled up the NCAA banners on the scorer's table. He almost got wrapped like a pig in a blanket. Great hustle by 'lil Psycho T.

. . . Memphis's missed free throws have been costly, but they have grabbed at least three offensive boards off those misses.

. . . Dorsey has 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Posted by David Scott at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Charles Rhodes is jujst abusing Robert Dozier inside. With four fouls on him and Taggart, the Bulldogs are just going to continue to go inside with each possession and dare Memphis to stop Rhodes. It's 50-49, Memphis with 9:29 left.

Buckle your seatbelts, folks.

Posted by David Scott at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - An Earl Clark three-pointer and Jerry Smith layup has built the Cardinals lead out to 23 with just under 15 minutes to go in the game.

Oklahoma had cut it to 18 before a quick flurry of points by Louisville. The Cards look really, really good right now.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Getting down tot he nitty gritty here at the Alltel as State has made a nice comeback to trail by just three, 48-45, with 11:04 left in regulation.

Jamont Gordon is starting to carry the Bulldogs back into this one. He drove the length of the floor for a lay-up then on the next possession hit a trey to cut the Memphis lead to five. A Charles Rhodes dunk cut the Tiger lead to three, where we now stand.

Taggart has been awful for Memphis on its past two possessions with two straight turnovers and the "Mr. Fumbles" hands that Calipari abhors.

. . . Free throw shooting is hurting Memphis. They have connected on 5 of 14 and 0 of 4 in the second half.

. . . Foul trouble is plaguing the Tigers as Robert Dozier picked up his third foul of the game when he fell into Barry Stewart on a 3-point attempt just under 15:00. Stewart converted two of three from the stripe. Dozier then picked up his fourth with 14:14 left. He was replaced by foul-plagued Taggart.

. . . Varnado picked up his third foul a few seconds later when he got Dorsey who hit the lay-in.

Posted by David Scott at 06:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Friday night's 19-point halftime lead for North Carolina pales in comparison to this one. Against Arkansas, the Tar Heels are up 25 points at the half, and are running the Razorbacks off the floor with its offense. Wayne Ellington has 13 to lead the Tar Heels at the break, and they are shooting better than 60 percent.

Arkansas on the other hand, is shooting just 35.7 percent and getting beat bad on the glass. Looks like Carolina is well on its way to another blowout win.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Memphis had extended to 13 points early in the half, but State was able to climb back in and now trails 42-36 with 15:31 left in the game.

. . . Dorsey picked up his second and third fouls in the span of a minute and had to go to the becnh with 17:12 left in the game. He was replaced by Shawn Taggart. Taggart then picked up his fourth a minute later and Dorsey was re-inserted into the game with 16:38 left. Dicey times for the Memphis big men.

. . . Memphis has been called for four personal fouls in the first four minutes of the half. State has one. In the first half, both teams were whistled for seven fouls each.

. . .Rose to Dorsey on the back door lob dunk on Tigers' first possession of half put them up 38-27.

Posted by David Scott at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Not much has changed here, other than the fact that Arkansas coach John Pelphrey's facial expressions have gone from angry to somewhat bemused. But it's not because his team is doing any better. North Carolina now has a 42-18 lead with under five minutes to go.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - At the half, the Cardinals have a 44-22 lead on the Sooners.

The Cardinals have come out with a balanced offensive attack, getting production from David Padgett and Earl Clark on the inside and stellar shooting on the outside from Jerry Smith, terrence Williams and others.

They have also played suffocating defense, which has led to points off turnovers.

As exciting as the first game of the day was, it looks as if this one is ging to follow suit with most of this tournament in Birmingham.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Wow. The North Carolina offense is clicking on all cylinders. Danny Green just had a great dish inside to Deon Thompson, who jammed the ball down to give the Tar Heels a 33-11 lead, and we're not even 10 minutes into the game yet. Nobody in the nation can keep up with Carolina offensively.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - As expected, Memphis was able to use a lot of bodies with the hope of wearing down the fairly shallow Bulldogs. Seven Tigers scored and had 12 bench points. State had five players score and got only 5 points from its bench.

. . . Report from the locke room is that Andre Allen has a slightly sprained right shoulder but will play in the second half. There was nothing physically wrong with Doneal Mack, Calipari probably thought the game was too rough for the lithe guard.

. . . Rebounding edge, Memphis - 27-17 (12 of Memphis's rebounds were on the offensive glass)

Tigers shot 36 percent (13 of 36, 5 of 13)
Bulldogs shot 33 percent (9 of 27, 5 of 11)

Jamont Gordon led State in scoring with 11 points (3 of 8, 2 of 4)
Rose and Kemp led Memphis with nine each (Rose, 3 of 8 and 1 of 3; Kemp 3 of 4, 3 of 4)

Turnovers were State with 4 and Memphis with just 1.

Memphis missed 5 of 10 free throws, State hit 4 of 6.

. . . Taggart is the lone player with 3 fouls.

Posted by David Scott at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- 13 years ago, Darrin Horn helped take Western Kentucky to the Sweet 16 as a player.
Now, he has done it as a coach.
The Hilltoppers advanced with a 72-63 win against San Diego and will now face top seed UCLA on Thursday in Phoenix.
"I'm just unbelievably happy for these kids," Horn said. "These guys have worked hard. They're great kids and they deserve it. I'm really happy for our players and our program."

The Tops were led, as usual, by Courtney Lee. Lee scored 29 points to give him 2,220 for his career, just 18 shy of the school record. Lee is projected by some as a first-rounder in the NBA Draft.
"This kid is as good as there is in America at his position," Horn said. "He's a phenomenal teammate, and what gets overlooked when he doesn't get 29 points is the big rebounds, blocks and stops like he got tonight in the last few minutes when we needed it."
Tyrone Brazelton added 15 points and five assists to go along with Lee's play.
For San Diego, Gyno Pomare scored 20 on 7-10 shooting and Brandon Johnson fueled a second-half comeback with 13.
The Toreros trailed by as many as 15, but came back to take the lead on a 3-pointer with 6:35 left. The lead lasted all of 18 seconds, as Lee answered with one of his four treys on the other end and the Hilltoppers never looked back.
"Our team just stepped up tremendously," Lee said. "We were just out there having fun, playing for each other."

The games in Tampa gave us fantastic finishes, Cindarellas and upsets throughout. Villanova advances after sitting on the bubble for most of the season, and they emerge a more battle-tested team that is playing its best ball at the right time.
The Wildcats will get a crack at top seed Kansas on Friday, and if their play here was any indication, both the Cats and Tops won't be intimidated by the number next to their opponent on the bracket.
It has been a great week here at Tampandemonium, and I hope you enjoyed my posts as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Posted by Mike McCall at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - With just over 5 minutes to go, Louisville has taken a commanding lead over Oklahoma. They are dominating defensively, in the paint and from deep. They just look 10 times better than the Sooners right now.

They lead 33-16 with 5:24 to go. They've been rotating guys pretty regularly as well, so they look fresh. I'm not sure they will let off the pedal at all.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville maintains a 7-point lead with just over 7 minutes to go in the first half. Jerry Smith has connected on another 3-pointer to give him 8 points already.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Ty Lawson is on fire, and Tyler Hansbrough is in his usual bruising mode to help the Tar Heels to open up an 18-4 lead here six minutes in. Arkansas coach John Pelphrey was furious at his squad for not boxing Hansbrough out a minute ago, allowing UNC's big man to rebound his own miss, score and draw a foul.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville has jumped out to an 18-12 lead on the heels of an 11-3 run. Jerry Smith has 5 and David Padgett has 4 for the Cards.

Still working on that UT game story...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The Tigers used an 11-0 run to close out the half and lead 36-27 at the break.

Andre Allen returned to the bench but did not re-enter the game before half.

Memphis's Doneal Mack didn't see action until 1:12 remained in the half. he replaced Shawn Taggart who has three fouls. Mack hit his first show, a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Posted by David Scott at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Some very intense action as Memphis holds a 27-25 edge with 3:07 left in the first half.

Willie Kemp and Derrick Rose each have nine points for Memphis. Gordon has nine for State.

Rebounding is still in favor of the Tigers, 22-16. Varnado has been credited with five blocks and Dorsey with four.

. . . Andre Allen took a hard foul driving to the hoop from Charles Rhodes and went back to the locker room with a trainer. he was replaced by Chris Douglas-Roberts who made on of two free throws.

. . . Dorsey dunk with 6:20 left, another of the monster variety.

. . . Willie Kemp with back-to-back 3-pointers and State looks like they were allowing him to take both. Kemp can storke it, so that strategy could be quite faulty. he hit his third with 4:27 to go and Hansbrough contesting late.

. . . Calipari yanked Antonio Anderson after Jamont Gordon stuck a 3-pointer in his face. Rose then picked up the Gordon assignment.

. . . Derrick Rose is taking it to the hole on almost every catch. he picked up the second foul on Varnado with 4:56 left in the half. Varnado remained in the game.

. . . Taggrt picked up his second foul with 5:35 left in the half and Calipari will have to stcik with him.

. . . State has a staffer on the bench who is wearing pink pants and a sky blue shirt. Think the dude wanted to be easy to pick out on TV? "Hi Mom, it's me your vibrant son."

Posted by David Scott at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - David Godbold picked up right where he left off.

The senior guard for Oklahoma had a career-high 25 points Friday for the Sooners, and he his 3-for-3 from deep right from the start. The Sooners have a 9-7 lead with just under 15 minutes to go.

I'm working on a final recap from the UT-Butler game that had the crazy finish. Should be up in a few minutes...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - After that great upset to start the day, we're ready to tip off the second game here, between the top-seeded Tar Heels and No. 9 seed Razorbacks. This game will be all about Arkansas throwing a ton of big bodies at Tyler Hansbrough to try to slow him down.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Mississippi State has taken the lead 18-12 on the strength of an 10-3 run. Gordon, hansbrough and Brian Johnson each have 5 points for State. Derrick Rose leads Memphis with six points. The rebounding gap has closed and Memphis now holds just a 15-12 edge.

. . . Memphis is shooting 20 percent from the field (4 of 20) and State is at 41 percent (7 of 17).

. . .Dozier picks up his second personal foul with 8:24 left in the half. He's replaced by Shawn Taggart.

. . . Dorsey has four blocks in the first 12 minutes of the game

Posted by David Scott at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - We're knotted at 11-11 with 11:16 left in the half. State's Ben Hansbrough just picked up his second personal foul of the game, but it apears Stansbury will keep his sophomore guard in the game.

Memphis has 14 rebounds already (8 on the offensive glass) to 6 for State.

. . .Dozier with a nice block in the lane on Rhodes.

. . . Gordon's first three of the game made it 9-8 Memphis with just under 13:00 left. A three by Hansbrough with 11:45 left tied the game at 11-11.

. . . State in a 2-3 zone, Memphis going man-to-man.

. . . Great win for Davidson and a near-miss for Butler.

Posted by David Scott at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Memphis leads 6-5 with 15:43 left in the half.

Encouraging signs for the Tigers that both Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey appear focused and ready to play.

The Tigers have opened with some full court pressure and trapped the sideline at halfcourt to force an early State timeout with a minute and a half gone by.

. . . Ben Hansbrough and Jarvis Varnado each have one foul each for the Bulldogs. Keep an eye on Varnado's situation, if he gets in foul trouble that would be a bad thing for State fans.

. . . World Wide Wes is in the house, sitting about 20 rows behind the Tiger bench.

. . . It's an all-adidas sneaker battle in this one.

. . . Good energy in the building and we're sensing a slight edge in blue-clad fans.

. . . Found some egg shaped candies in the media buffet room and they're tasty little treats and likely to amp me up for another 12 hours. They are from Judson-Atkinson Candies and have a hard outer shell and a soft, sugary inside.

Posted by David Scott at 05:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Even as his star was being newly minted by virtue of leading Davidson to its second-straight NCAA Tournament upset, Stephen Curry was calm.

He urged his teammates to settle down and avoid premature celebration before he went to the line to knock down the free throws that would help seal Davidson's 74-70 win against No. 2 seed Georgetown.

Curry scored 30 points as 10th-seeded Davidson overcame an 11-point halftime deficit and pulled out another huge upset to win its 24th game in a row.

It was the Wildcats' second upset win in three days, following Curry's 40-point performance against Gonzaga on Friday.

A 3-pointer by Jessie Sapp at the 6:35 mark made it 57-52 Hoyas, but Curry answered with a three of his own to cut the lead back to two. Not long after, Max Paulhus Gosselin tied the game with a pair of free throws.

Davidson got the lead when Curry scored a layup and foul, with his free throw putting Davidson up 60-58. But Curry picked up his fourth foul at the other end with more than four minutes to go.

Curry hit a tough underneath layup to go up 62-60. Then, after a Georgetown miss, he hit another three to make it 65-60 with just under three minutes to go.

It was Curry's fourth 3-pointer of the second half.

Even when it didn't go right for Curry, it went right for Davidson. When Curry had a three blocked with two minutes left, Lovedale cleaned up to make it 67-60.

But it wasn't going to be an easy finish for the Wildcats.

DaJuan Summers dunked for Georgetown to cut Davidson's lead to two, 69-67, with 25 seconds remaining.

It wasn't until Curry finally knocked down the free throws that the game was sealed and the Wildcats could enjoy an on-court celebration.

The Wildcats haven't lost a game since before Christmas, when they fell to N.C. State -- in this very same building -- on Dec. 21.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Survive and advance.

That's the name of the game this time of year, and that's just what Tennessee did.

Tennessee got a layup in overtime from Ramar Smith with just 27 seconds left, and Jujuan Smith made all four of his free throws in the final seconds to ice the game and give Tennessee a 76-71 win Sunday in Birmingham.

Tennessee will meet the winner of the Louisville-Oklahoma game in the Sweet 16 in Charlotte, N.C.

"I'm very pleased to survive and advance," UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "I thought the way we rebounded early set the tone. We sent a message that we were going to represent the SEC and be physical."

Tennessee led the entire way, but Butler remained right with the Vols.

Willie Veasley tied the game with 35 seconds left in regulation off a putback on a missed layup. J.P. Prince had a chance to give UT the lead, but he traveled with 4 seconds left. Prince, however, stripped MIke Green of the ball to prevent a game-winning shot from ever being released.

Both teams had to deal with foul trouble throughout the game's entirety. Mike Green and Matt Howard fouled out of the game in overtime for Butler. A.J. Graves had to play with four fouls for the entire overtime period.

Wayne Chism, Tyler Smith and Ramar Smith all played with four fouls for Tennessee.

UT was 4-of-9 from deep in the first half, but connected on just 1-of-10 the rest of the way. Chism had 16 to lead Tennessee, while Tyler Smith had 15.

Graves had 21 for Butler, while Green had 15. Butler ends it season at 30-4, while Tennessee picked up its 31st win of the season.

It was the first time two 30-win teams have met this early in the tournament.

"It's unfair, and unfortunate to who lost this game," Pearl said. "This is usually a regional final type of game. This is the best Butler team I've seen, and how many times have they been in the 5-12 game. I just don't understand it."

Posted by Dan Sellers at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - We got all caught up in the press room watching the fantastic finishes but our responsibility is to you the valued Posting Up reader, so we're back for the tip of this one.

We expect a tight game but ultimately we think the depth of Memphis will wear down the Bulldogs.

Great sign for the Tigers on State's first possession as Joey Dorsey rose above the fray and swatted a shot to set up a Memphis fast break that led to a free throw by Derrick Rose.

Posted by David Scott at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Ramar Smith made a layup with 27 seconds left and Jujuan Smith made free throws to give the Vols a 4-point lead in overtime.

Julian Betko fouled Jujuan Smith after making one of two free throws with 5 seconds left. Jujuan again made both free throws to stretch the lead out to 5 with just 4 seconds remaining to ice the game.

UT wins 76-71.

More to come from this crazy opener in Birmingham...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - After a ridiculous layup, Stephen Curry banged down another 3-pointer to put Davidson up 65-60 with less than three minutes to go. He now has 25, and the crowd is in a frenzy.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Brazelton hit a huge 3 to stretch the lead to 6, but De'Jon Jackson answered with a layin as the shot clock expired.
With WKU up 4, Brazelton made a cut to the basket, drew three defenders and dished to an open Jeremy Evans, but he lost the ball out of bounds. Big mistake there, would have made the lead 6 with a minute to go.
A.J. Slaughter hit two free throws for WKU to make it 66-60 with 45.3 left, and the Tops got the ball back and were fouled. Lee hit another pair of free throws, and it's Tops by 6, 33.6 seconds left.
It looks like the WKU has it under control so I'll be back with quotes later.

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Wayne Chism made a basket, and Tyler Smith blocked an A.J. Graves layup with 35 seconds left. UT has a 70-68 lead with 33 seconds left.

Tennessee has the ball out of a timeout.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Western Kentucky is leaning on its three big seniors to carry it to the Sweet 16. Brazelton and Lee are handling the scoring load with 12 and 23 each, and Ty "Hero Boy" Rogers is the spark plug, providing a steady hand in tight spots.
Lee and Rogers both got hit with their third fouls, but they should stay on the floor for the rest of the contest.
The Hilltoppers are taking long possessions to run the clock out, a smart move but it concerns me that they're trying to run out the clock instead of putting some distance between them and San Diego.
D.J. Magley fouled out for WKU, no suprise there.
This game is going to come down to Brandon Johnson/Gyno Pomare vs. Brazelton and Lee. It's that simple.
61-58 WKU with 3:28 to go.
Scores just got announced here, with the Butler-Tennessee overtime game drawing a loud "OOOHHH" from the crowd.

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Max Paulhus Gosselin just tied the game at 57 with a pair of free throws for Davidson with a little more than five minutes to go.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - A look at some of the pertinent final stats from Game 1:

Texas won the board battle, 41-30

Texas shot 43 percent for the game (25 of 58 and 8 of 24 in the second half)
Miami shot 40 percent for the game (22 of 55 and 11 of 24 in the second half)

AJ Abrams finsihed with a game-high 26 points. Damion James had 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Jack McClinton had 18 points to lead Miami, Hurdle had 11 and Raymond Hicks had 10 points including 2 of 3 from 3-point land, with both makes coming in the final seconds. McClinton was 5 of 14 from the field and 4 of 10 from 3-point land.

DJ Augustin had 12 points and 8 assists and 3 steals.

Texas shot 12 of 21 from the free throw line and Miami was 19 of 22.

. . . Officials for the next game are Reginald Greenwood, Ted Hillary and Frank Scagliotta. Our tip will be at 4 p.m. local team.

We're going to (Austin) Peay (can't get enough of the sub-regional-themed joke) and we'll be back for the nightcap.

Posted by David Scott at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- We've got a serious ballgame here now folks.
Pomare cut the lead to 2 points with a short hook shot, and on the WKU inbound, Courtney Lee never saw the ball coming and it bounced out of bounds.
Devin Ginty then hit a 3 to give the Toreros a lead, and Lee answered with a 3 of his own.
The momentum was squarely with SDU until Lee's shot and the atmoshere is just electric.
Pomare and Johnson are on the floor and are fired up now, this should be a good finish.
60-55 WKU with 5:32 to go.

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Willie Veasley had a putback layup after J.P. Prince committed a turnover with 35 seconds left to nod the game at 63. Tennessee played for one shot, but Prince traveled to turn the ball over. Without a timeout, Butler couldn't setup a play. Mike Green and Prince battled down the court and Prince was able to knock the ball free and deny Green a shot as time expired.

We're headed to an extra period in Birmingham... Don't go away.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Willie Veasley had a putback layup after J.P. Prince committed a turnover with 35 seconds left to nod the game at 63. Tennessee played for one shot, but Prince traveled to turn the ball over. Without a timeout, Butler couldn't setup a play. Mike Green and Prince battled down the court and Prince was able to knock the ball free and deny Green a shot as time expired.

We're headed to an extra period in Birmingham... Don't go away.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Finally, the Toreros are making their move.
San Diego has cut into the Western Kentucky lead and now trails by just 6 at 54-48 with 7:47 to go. We could be headed for another fantastic finish here in Tampa.
SDU is on a run but Pomare is on the bench. The question is whether the Toreros can cause turnovers and get out on the break where they thrive. It's not easy to crack this tough WKU defense in a set offense.

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry just had a steal and then buried a 3-pointer at the other end to pull Davidson within four, 50-46, with nine minutes to go. Georgetown called timeout in hopes of settling back down and regaining control of a game that looked like theirs only minutes ago.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Miami made a spirited, late comeback but Texas had built too big of a lead in the game's first 36 minutes for the 'Canes to be able to come all the way back. Texas holds on and advances with a well-earned 75-72 win. Miami's Raymond Hicks hit two monster 3-pointers in the final 12 seconds that cut the lead to two, but after a monitor review of time left, the 'Canes were left with 1.8 seconds to try and foul Texas, pray for misses at the line and then score. DJ Augustin airballed the first, hit the second and a baseball pass from Hicks found no receiver as Texas hung on.

Some nice hugs and handshakes as the teams exited the court - lots of commonality and overlap between the two staffs and players.

Free throw shooting down the stretch almost cost the 'Horns the win, but two big ones from AJ Abrams with 9.5 seconds remaining helped to seal the deal.

. . . We'll be back in a bit with final stats and a look ahead to the second game of our doubleheader here at Alltel.

Posted by David Scott at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Butler had a chance to take the lead, but Mike Green committed a charge.

The turnover led to a missed shot, but J.P. Prince was there for the follow to flush it down and give UT a 3-point lead. It's 58-55 UT with 3:26 left in the game.

This one is going down to the wire... stay tuned.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry got a four-point play in transition, and the Wildcats fans here are hyped up again, as Davidson trails 48-37. Georgetown has turned the ball over two straight possessions, and Davidson is doing work on the offensive glass after misses. John Thompson III meanwhile is working on the refs during the timeout, which has led virtually the entire building to shout for JTIII to get a technical. No dice.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals are trying to improve their impressive NCAA Tournament resume and advance to the Sweet 16 Sunday afternoon.

Standing in their way: the 6-seed Oklahoma Sooners.

Pitino is 33-11 in the Tournament after the first round win over Boise State. Pitino trails only Mike Krzyzewski and Billy Donovan is tournament winning percentage among active coaches.

His Cardinals are trying to advance to its 16th Sweet 16, which is fifth in the nation since the Tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1975.

They trail only North Carolina (21), Kentucky (20), Duke (19) and UCLA (17).

The Cardinals used a balanced 3-point attack to dispose of the Broncos Friday as seven different players connected from deep.

Oklahoma, who is trying to advance to its 9th Sweet 16 since 1975, got a career performance from David Godbold to take care of St. Joseph's. Godbold scored 25 points and shut down the Hawks' biggest threat of Pat Calathes to catapult the Sooners to the second round.

It will be a tougher assignment for Godbold tonight, since the Cardinals are so balanced at the guard position. However, it should be interesting to see if super-frosh Blake Griffin can take control of the game down low against David Padgett and the Louisville bigs.

It should be another exciting second round game from two pretty storied programs.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Hoyas hit a couple of threes in the early minutes of the second half to give them some real breathing room against Davidson. The Wildcats aren't going away, but now that it's a 46-32 game, it's a lot harder to see them overtaking the Hoyas.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The 'Canes have cut the Texas lead to six with 1:37 left in the game and the crowd, which had fallen asleep, is suddenly behind Miami in a big way.

Texas leads 68-62 with 1:34 left in the game.

McClinton has come on late and now has 18 points.

. . . Texas will need to make free throws and they'll survive.

Posted by David Scott at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Tennessee just had a 7-point lead cut down to four with a three-pointer from Julian Betko as we have just under 8 minutes to go here in Birmingham.

Tennessee had 3 possessions to create a double-digit lead, but couldn't do it. Now, Butler is still very much in the game.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - It's starting to look like a 1990s Knicks reunion at the RBC Center. In addition to having Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers on hand, Pat Riley is also in the stands, currently having a halftime chat with Ewing.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The rebounding edge tells you all you need to know about this one as Texas has a plus-18 edge on the boards (40-22). Texas leads the game 66-52 with 3:30 left in the game. The 'Horns are in cruise control to Houston where they will meet Stanford next Friday night in the round of 16.

The game was tied 8-8 with 16:33 left in the first half and since then it has been all Texas.

. . . James Dews has been one of the lone bright spot for Miami. The sophomore has 8points

. . . McClinton's first field goal of the second half came on a jumper with 5:12 left in the game. He now has 8 points and is one of three 'Canes with 8. Texas has four players in double figures scoring, led by Abrams' 20.

. . . Damion James has 14 rebounds and 15 points for Texas.

. . . Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury got some cheers from the Bulldog faithful as he approached press row to do his pre-game radio show. Most coaches pre-record such things in the bowels of the building, so the sight is a bit odd.

Posted by David Scott at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Butler just got a big three pointer from Drew Streicher to cut the deficit to five points.

Tennessee is still in control, but the Bulldogs are hanging tough with 13:24 to go.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Butler just got a big three pointer from Drew Streicher to cut the deficit to five points.

Tennessee is still in control, but the Bulldogs are hanging tough with 13:24 to go.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry, coming off a 40-point game in round one, has just five points at the half against Georgetown. In fact, none of the Wildcats are doing much on offense, with the team shooting under 30 percent for the half. Georgetown on the other hand, has hit better than 65 percent of its shots and leads 38-27 at the half.

The Hoyas are killing Davidson from outside, knocking down 5 of 6 3-point attempts. In the second half, when Roy Hibbert returns from foul troubles, Georgetown could quickly salt this one away.

Then again, Davidson made a mini-run near the end of the half to prevent things from getting ugly before the teams hit the locker room, so they could bring that back out with them for the second half.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - A jumper from Tyler Smith and a dunk by Wayne Chism has UT up 8 right out of the gates on a 4-0 run.

Chism also picked up his 3rd foul and is now out of the game.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - AJ Abrams now has 20 points and is 6 of 9 from 3-point land. His latest trey gave the 'Horns a 58-43 lead with 11:52 left. Defending the 3-ball must've been overlooked in Frank Haith's gameplan.

Abrams also had six treys against Austin Peay in the opener.

. . . McClinton continues to struggle from the field and is now 2 of 9 and 2 of 6 from 3-point land.

Posted by David Scott at 03:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's halftime and Western Kentucky leads San Diego 39-27.
The Hilltoppers are undefeated this season when leading at the break.
Big Red, the WKU mascot, is entertaining fans during the break by attempting backward shots from the free throw line. To its (no way to distinguish the sex of this character) credit, it hit one.
Here's a Stat Breakdown:

Courtney Lee leads WKU with 19 points, giving him 2,210 for his career, not far behind the school record of 2,238 held by Jim McDaniels.
The Hilltoppers are shooting 56 percent, 33 percent from 3-point range. The long-range numbers aren't bad, but they are below the team's average.
Tyrone Brazelton scored 6, but his four assists were more crucial. His ballhandling is opening up doors for WKU in its set offense, and don't expect SDU to get any easy baskets by pressuring him.
Gyno Pomare is pacing San Diego with 15, but he has two fouls so he'll have to be careful down low. WKU's D.J. Magley is good at drawing and commiting fouls inside - he has two as well - so maybe Coach Darrin Horn will send Magley in to get Pomare out.
Brandon Johnson has 5, that's going to have to change in a hurry if the Toreros want to come back.
His team is 1-5 on 3s (he is responsible for the 1). With WKU's solid ballhandling and scoring, it's going to take some 3s to pull this one close.

Posted by Mike McCall at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry just returned to the game after spending quite a few minutes on the bench, and this game is starting to look like not even his shooting can bail out Davidson. It's far from a blowout yet, but the Hoyas are starting to score at will and now hold an 11-point lead with less than four to play in the half.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Our string of mediocre games here in Little Rock continues with this one as Texas leads 49-36 and Miami doesn't appear ready to mount any kind of real comeback. We have 15:33 left in the game.

A 3-pointer by James with just over 16:00 left gave Texas its biggest lead of the game at 16.

. .. Rick Barnes has now put AJ Abrams on McClinton. It's probably part of a rotation, but Mason should still get most of the checking assignments on the Miami scorer.

. . . The first chaps-clad routine of our favorite dancers was a rousing success. Tough to say if it's the white frilly vests that get us or the brown chaps or a combination of both. Hook 'em horns, indeed.

Posted by David Scott at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Western Kentucky leads San Diego 33-23 with 3:49 left in the half. The Toreros better get going soon because the Tops haven't blown a halftime lead all season long, even though they came close in Friday's overtime win against Drake.
Lee and Pomare are leading their squads with 15 points a piece, WKU is shooting 56 percent and SDU 47.
Pomare does have two fouls though, so he's on the bench.
Good time for WKU to make a run.

Posted by Mike McCall at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry finally scored his first points of the game on a baseline floater with 9:30 to go in the half, but Georgetown has gotten hot in the meantime. A 3-pointer just put the Hoyas up 22-15 with less than eight minutes to go in the half.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Hilltoppers just look like they're having fun. They are spreading the ball around and making great cuts on offense. Brazelton is they key to this with his slick ballhandling and Courtney Lee has a whopping 15 points.
Jeremy Evans absolutely demolished a shot from SDU's Gyno Pomare in the paint, but Pomare has still been pretty good, 13 points and just two misses.
Magley has two fouls now for WKU and has checked out.
The Toreros have only taken two 3s - that isn't the San Diego team we all know and love. Right now they don't need to shoot from outside with Pomare having his way down low. If that goes sour, look for Brandon Johnson to start ripping some nets.
27-19 WKU with 6:52 to play.

Posted by Mike McCall at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - This one is going according to script for the Longhorns who are getting production from all their key contributors. Some key lines:

AJ Abrams - 14 points, 5 of 8 form the field, 4 of 7 from 3-point land
Damion James - 9 rebounds, 7 points
DJ Augustin - 5 points, 5 assists and 3 steals

Texas has dominated the boards, 22-15.

Miami shot 11 of 31 from the field (36 percent) and 3 of 11 from 3-point land (27 percent)

Texas shot 17 of 34 from the field and 9 of 16 from 3-point land (56 percent)

Texas has 12 assists on its 17 field goals, Miami has 4 on its 11

. . . Gary Johnson, coming back from an injury for the Longhorns, logged four minutes and picked up two fouls. Big fella Dexter Pittman, who had a great first game, played four minutes for Texas and had two points and three rebounds.

. . . Anthony King was 4 of 5 from the field for his 8 Miami points. McClinton was 2 of 7 from the field.

. . . As expected, hoped for and embraced, the Texas dance teams has chnged into their chaps.

Posted by David Scott at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Georgetown fans are a little upset with the officiating, and there have been a few calls where that anger was justified. But what the Hoyas can be happy about is that Stephen Curry still doesn't have a basket for Davidson, having a pair of 3-point attempts go halfway down before rimming out.

The troubling thing for the Hoyas is that big man Roy Hibbert already has two fouls, and if he is not in the game, it significantly evens out the whole size problem that Davidson was no doubt worried about. Right now, it's 14-13 Georgetown with 11:32 to go in the first half.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Bruce Pearl pulled Chris Lofton and Wayne Chism out of the game on what was thought to be the last possession of the half. Someone missed an assignment and Pete Campbell was left all alone on the wing.

Campbell drained the trey to cut it down to 1, but Pearl subbed Lofton back in the game.

On cue, Lofton came off a ball screen to nail the trifecta and push the UT lead out to 4 at the half, 38-34.

There were 23 fouls in the first half -- 13 on UT, 10 on Butler. Lofton, Chism and Tyler Smith have 2, while Ramar Smith has 3. Campbell, Mike Green and Matt Howard have 2 for Butler.

After starting 0-for-4 from downtown, A.J. Graves has hit his last three 3-balls to boost Butler back into the game. Campbell hasn't lost his stroke since Friday as the sharpshooter is 3-for-5 from deep and has 10 points at the half.

Lofton only logged 9 minutes due to the foul situation, but he was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Jujuan Smith, normally know for his 3-point barrages, made a couple of baskets in the paint. He has to lead Tennesee. UT is 4-of-9 from 3-point land, while Butler is 6-of-14.

UT led by as may as 13 early in the game. Butler cut it to 1 with Campbell's 3 late in the half before Lofton pushed it back to 4.

J.P. Prince has taken over as the lead man at point guard for UT. Yesterday's starter, Jordan Howell, has not even played. Prince has five points, four assists and three turnovers in 16 minutes of action.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Western Kentucky isn't having any trouble scoring.
The Hilltoppers are driving and scoring at will, with Tyrone Brazelton and Courtney Lee chipping in a few highlight reel moves. They have 6 and 7 points, respectively.
The Tops are superior in every aspect of the game right now, but it's still close - nothing a few possessions can't fix for San Diego.
Gyno Pomare looks good again for the Toreros, he has 5 points.
17-11 WKU with 11:41 to play in the first half.

Posted by Mike McCall at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Looks like I was wrong about my foul trouble strategy. Butler has gotten 5 points from A.J. Graves and a 3 from Pete Campbell to bring them closer to Tennessee.

Jujuan Smith answered the 7-0 run with a nice move in the lane for a shot of the glass, but the Bulldogs are definitely back in it with just under four minutes to go.

UT leads 29-23.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - With remarkable proficiency from the 3-point land, Texas has built an 11-point lead at the half, 43-32. The Longhorns are 9 of 16 from beyond the arc and 17 of 33 form the field. They have effectively contained Miami's Jack McClinton, who has six points in the first half. of course, McClinton also had half a dozen in the first half on Friday against St. Mary's and then exploded for 32 in the second. That's not a realistic expectation today, but it is worth keeping in mind.

Abrams has 14 to lead Texas and King has eight for Miami.

. . . The arena is just about all filled up as most of the second game's fans have made their way off of Main Street in N. Little Rock and into their seats.

. . . It appears the Texas dancers have gone in for a wardrobe change. We're giddy in anticipation.

Posted by David Scott at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's back and forth early. Great sign.
Courtney Lee is off to a good start for WKU. He's their leading scorer but wasn't that great on Friday. So far, 5 points including a 3.
D.J. Magley picked up his customary early foul, and Hero Boy (Ty Rogers) also got one. The Hilltoppers aren't very good with fouls. Against Drake they shot zero free throws to the Bulldogs' 17 in the first half. That wasn't all their fault, but still.
This is going to be a fast-paced game and I fully expect it to be awesome. Fouls would muddle that considerably.
With 15:40 to go, WKU leads 9-7.

Posted by Mike McCall at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - So far Davidson is only down two (and about to go to the line) against Georgetown in the opening minutes. And the Wildcats have the crowd on their side, since all the Carolina fans here are rooting against the Hoyas, who knocked the Tar Heels out last year.

Speaking of the fans, there's quite a former-NBA contingent here. Obviously, proud dads Dell Curry, Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers are here to watch their sons' teams square off, with Pat Ewing, Jr., and Jeremiah Rivers playing for Georgetown and Stephen Curry a Wildcat.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Look out UCLA, Cindarella is in the house. We just don't know which one yet.
San Diego and Western Kentucky just got underway, here's a look at the starters:

San Diego:
Brandon Johnson - G
Trumaine Johnson - G
De'Jon Jackson - G
Gyno Pomare - F
Rob Jones - F

Western Kentucky:
D.J. Magley - F
Jeremy Evans - F
Tyrone Brazelton - G
Ty Rogers - G
Courtney Lee - G

Jackson and Rogers are the heroes. They both hit last-second shots to get their teams here.
Brazelton and Lee are the threats for WKU, with Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare leading the way on the other side.

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - The fouls are starting to mount, and it looks like that's going to hurt the Bulldogs more than the Vols.

Both teams have key players with two fouls -- Butler's Mike Green and Pete Campbell and Tennessee's Chris Lofton and Wayne Chism.

Josh Tabb has come off the bench for Tennessee and just recorded a nice steal off an in-bounds pass and converted the layup to keep UT's lead at 10.

Butler, while deeper than your normal team from a mid-major conference, don't have the man-power to get into an attrition war with Tennessee. UT has also gotten solid post play off the bench from Brian Williams, who has 3 points and some key rebounds.

Bruce Pearl is having to really shuffle his guys around and strategically use Lofton and Chism.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - The fouls are starting to mount, and it looks like that's going to hurt the Bulldogs more than the Vols.

Both teams have key players with two fouls -- Butler's Mike Green and Pete Campbell and Tennessee's Chris Lofton and Wayne Chism.

Josh Tabb has come off the bench for Tennessee and just recorded a nice steal off an in-bounds pass and converted the layup to keep UT's lead at 10.

Butler, while deeper than your normal team from a mid-major conference, don't have the man-power to get into an attrition war with Tennessee. UT has also gotten solid post play off the bench from Brian Williams, who has 3 points and some key rebounds.

Bruce Pearl is having to really shuffle his guys around and strategically use Lofton and Chism.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Miami has mounted a bit of a comeback and they too are using the three-ball to do it. With 6:38 left in the half, Texas leads 35-26, as Miami has cut into a 14-point deficit.

McClinton's first hoop came on a trey with just under 10 minutes to go in the half. A minute later he hit another to cut the 'Horns lead to eight. he is now 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. A s ateam, texas is 7 of 13 from international waters.

. . . Your daily Texas dance team outfit update: The ladies have started off in a orange sequin halter tops (I think they're halters - they show a lot of belly whatever they are) and black velour, form-fitting pants. We eagrely await the wardrobe change into chaps.

Posted by David Scott at 02:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry was a monster for Davidson in the team's first-round game, pouring in 40 points to lead the Wildcats past Gonzaga.

But now he's got to try to work his magic against a Georgetown team that leads the nation in field-goal percentage. The Hoyas are more athletic and tenacious on defense than Gonzaga, so guys other than Curry might have to step up if Davidson wants to stay in the game.

The other big issue for Davidson is whether or not it will be able to handle Georgetown's size, most notably 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert.

We'll see if the Wildcats have the magic to make it 24 wins in a row. The game tips off in about four minutes.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 02:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Fresh off a tremendous performance in game one, A.J. Graves has been shut out so far in game two.

The senior guard is 0-for-4 from deep as the Vols maintain control of the game with under 12 to go. Tennessee leads 17-6.

Butler's Mike Green is also 0-for-1 from deep, and Pete Campbell has finally missed guys. Of course, it wasn't before he tickled the twine. Still, Butler looks sloppy on offense with a lot of careless turnovers.

Post man Matt Howard has missed a couple right around the basket, and they just can't find the stroke from deep.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Texas is out to a blazing start and they have used the 3-pointer to take a 19-8 lead with 13:51 left in the half.

Texas is 5 of 8 from 3-point land and four different Longhorns have hit three balls (James, Atchley, Augustin and Abrams). McClinton is 0 of 3 form the field this far as King leads Miami in scoring with six points.

. . . Texas's best defender, Justin Mason is guarding McClinton. Barnes mentioned yesterday that the No. 24 would now be reserved for players who exhibit the grit and tenacity of Mason and his predecessor in the number, Royal Ivey.

. . . Our sneaker battle is between two Nike schools.

. . . Looks like the Memphis and State fans in the house are 'Cane fans for this one.

. . . If forced to chose between burnt orange and bright orange, I will take the burnt orange. This is true mainly because I got a burnt orange fleece from my sister for my birthday. So, really, it's Karen that prefers burnt orange.

Posted by David Scott at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- After sweating it out to even make the tournament, Villanova has advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Wildcats (22-12) beat Siena 84-72 to move on and face top seed Kansas on Friday.
"Coach always said that we had to be the best team at the end of the season," guard Scottie Reynolds said. "We went through some ups and downs during the season, but we always stayed consistent with what we were trying to accomplish. The last two or three weeks, we have been playing our best basketball."
Reynolds lead the way with 25 points, hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers.
The Cats didn't allow for much suspense in the game, jumping out early and holding the lead throughout.
"We were scared to death to get behind them early because we weren't goint to be able to press them and force turnovers," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "Once you get that lead, it's so hard to keep playing every possession and not take a break. It's the hardest thing to do in sports, I think. Harder than coming back."

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- One minute left, Villanova leads the Saints 83-69.
I think it's safe to call this one now. Tay Fisher is checking back in to jack up some 3s, pretty much Siena's only chance right now.
Unless there's a miracle, I'll see you later with a wrapup of this one - probably early in the Western Kentucky-San Diego game.
That one promises to be a real fight, with scrappy guards, good shooting and two intriguing big men. San Diego has Gyno Pomare down low, and he can spot up from nearly anywhere. It took quite a while for him to miss against UConn. For WKU, there's D.J. Magley, a Sean-May type but a little rough around the edges.

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- They're still behind, but the Saints are hanging around like that annoying aunt who's probably at your house right now for Easter.
There has been a slight momentum shift in the building, and a few Siena spurts have put some life into the casual fans (not to mention those of WKU and San Diego) who are rooting for the underdog.
Siena's shooting has improved, but they can't really get any closer than 10. They have also missed quite a few shots around the hoop.
Tay Fisher has pretty mich been a nonfactor in the game. His 6-6 shooting from 3-land yesterday was crucial for the Saints, but he is 1-3 today and hanging around on the bench. Ubiles has 10 now, and Hasbrouck 13.
With 7:15 left, Nova leads 67-54

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Happy Easter and welcome back to the Alltel Arena for today's second round games. Our first game, tipping at 1:15 local time, features Texas and Miami. the follow-up will be a mid-south battle with Memphis and Mississippi State.

Things were buzzing in the North Little rock area surrounding the arena as fans pre-lubed for the day of basketball. Tickets are fairly tough to come by because of the local interest with Memphis, State and Texas (which always travels well).

. . . Officials for today's game will be Mike Kitts, Joe Lindsay and Patrick Adams.

. . . Probable starting line-ups look like this:

No. 2 seed Texas (29-6)
AJ Abrams
Damion James
DJ Augustin
Justin Mason
Connor Atchley

No. 7 seed Miami (23-10)
Lance Hurdle
Jack McClinton
James Dews
Dwayne Collins
Anthony King

The feature players to watch are, of course, McClinton who is coming off his 38 point effort on Friday and DJ Augustin. But the interesting thing to us will be the post play, especially that of 'Cane big man Jimmy Graham and King. If they can do damage in the paint, Miami will be able to open up the outside game a bit and be able to stay in it.

Still, despite both teams employing similar tactics from the Rick Barnes/Frank Haith coaching tree, the Longhorns are likely to advance to Houston next weekend and they should do it easily.

Posted by David Scott at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Hopefully that last post was legible. It's amazing how awful things look without punctuation or numbers, but Hewlett-Packard clearly has something against me.
Kenny Hasbrouck came out of his first-half coma and is hitting some shots. He has 7 points already this half. Edwin Ubiles, the other Siena scoring threat, is still having difficulty. He makes great moves to the basket or to get open shots but can't convert. At least he is drawing fouls though. The last one was on Scottie Reynolds, who has an absurd 20 points for Nova.
Even wilder, freshman Corey Stokes is right behind him with 18.
Nova up 55-39, 15:19 to go

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - The Tennessee Volunteers couldn't buy a 3-point shot in Round 1, but they cannot miss out of the gates.

They are 3-for-4 out of the gates and control an 11-2 lead. Wayne Chism, Chris Lofton and Jujuan Smith have nailed trifectas, and Butler has made several uncharacteristic turnovers. Just under 16 to go...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA Fla My capslock key is mysteriously stuck right now so Im going to try to navigate through this post bear with me
Things don"t look very good right now for Siena
The Saints shot a pitiful twenty seven percent from the field in the first half and leading scorer Edwin Ubiles was oh for six from the floor
Second leading scorer Kenny Hasbrouck didnt help much either going two for seven with six points
So far he lacks the flair he had Friday against Vandy
On the other side Scottie Reynolds are tearing it up
Theyre shooting a combined eleven for seventeen and have accounted for all five of Novas threes
The Saints will probably start launching threes now and the good news is that they are hanging around even with cold shooting
Second half just underway fiftyone to thirty seven Nova

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Get ready to witness a little history.

In the NCAA Tournament, never have two 30-win teams met as early as the second round. That's what Tennessee and Butler will do in about one hour at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham.

On paper, the game looks to be the most exciting of the Birmingham bracket, with both teams able to throw up points in bunches.

The Vols are hoping to shake the offensive struggles they showed against American on Friday, while the Bulldogs are looking to continue the usual firepower they displayed against Butler.

Tennessee's star guard Chris Lofton was virtually non-existent in the close win over American, getting shut out from beyond the arc for just the fourth time this season. Key games from Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism helped Tennessee pull away late, but you wouldn't think the Vols could survive another around if the 3-point shooting doesn't pick up.

Butler's star guard Mike Green also wasn't much of a factor, but he didn't have to be. Green was forced to sit on the bench after two early fouls, but A.J. Graves and Pete Campbell more than picked up the slack.

Campbell was 8-for-10 from deep, including 6-for-6 in the second half to finish with 26 points. A.J. Graves moved over the point guard position after Green's foul troubles and orchestrated the game beautifully and chipped in with 18 points.

It will be interesting to see how Tennessee tries to attack Butler if things start bad early, as they sometimes do for the Vols. Graves, Green and shutdown defender Drew Streicher should provide defense against Chris Lofton, Jujuan Smith and J.P. Prince, who UT coach Bruce Pearl hinted may take over the point for the Vols.

There's no question that if Tennessee wants to move on to the Sweet 16, Lofton has to be a factor today.

Until then, get strapped in. It should be a fun ride to the Sweet 16 for one of these teams...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- After hitting a 3 and blocking a shot, Siena had a chance to get some momentum going into the half but a traveling call cost the Saints their last possession.
Villanova is hot from outside (5-8), and was fouled on two of those misses.
Siena is having problems on offense, not really running any kind of set or forcing Nova to really buckle down on defense. Nova is having success down low, but Dante Cunningham and Caiem Drummond have three fouls each so that advantage might not last long.
Scottie Reynolds has 17 and Corey Stokes 14 at the break, while Hasbrouck has a quiet 6 for Siena.
At the half, it's 42-32 Villanova.

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's still early, but this isn't the same Siena team that beat Vanderbilt. The Saints are cold from the field and having triouble with the Cats' press.
Antonio Pena brutalized Siena on Nova's first possession but missed an open shot. It's a tough matchup inside for the Saints.
Hasbrouck got whistled for two early fouls, which is the worst possible news for the Saints. They need him on the floor.
Reynolds drained a 3 from deep - the same spot on the floor that Western Kentucky's Ty Rogers hit his buzzer beater from against Drake - and then hit another shortly afterward. He's 3-4 from deep and has 17 points.
Overall, the Cats are 5-8 from 3-point range. Siena brought Tay Fisher in to counter, and sure enough, he did, making his first and getting fouled on a second.
39-27 Nova with 2:39 til the half.

Posted by Mike McCall at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's still early, but this isn't the same Siena team that beat Vanderbilt. The Saints are cold from the field and struggling to beat the Cats' press.
Antonio Pena brutalized Siena on Nova's first possession but missed an open shot. It's a tough matchup inside for the Saints.
Hasbrouck got whistled for an early foul (just more than a minute in), which is the worst possible news for the Saints. They need him on the floor.
Reynolds drained a 3 from deep - the same spot on the floor that Western Kentucky's Ty Rogers hit his buzzer beater from against Drake - and then hit another shortly afterward.
Overall, the Cats are 3-4 from 3-point range. Siena brought Tay Fisher in to counter, and sure enough, he did, making his first and getting fouled on a second.
21-10 Nova with 11:01 left and three shots coming for FIsher.

Posted by Mike McCall at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's a beautiful Easter Sunday here in Florida, and we're stuck inside. Hopefully, the two games today can match the excitement of those from Friday as four underdogs try to secure bids to the Sweet Sixteen. First up is Siena (23-10) vs. Villanova (21-12).

Siena and Nova tallied the most convincing wins friday, with the Saints rolling fourth-seeded Vanderbilt and Nova erasing an 18-point defecit to defeat Clemson.
Here are a look at today's Starting Lineups:

Siena:
Ronald Moore - G
Kenny Hasbrouck - G
Josh Duell - F
Edwin Ubiles - F
Alex Franklin - F
Just like on Friday,Tay Fisher won't start, but if that means he'll duplicate his 6-6 performance from 3-point range, I don't think there will be any complaints. Expect Hasbrouck to shoulder most of the scoring load. He is their most versatile offensive threat.

Villanova:
Scottie Reynolds - G
Corey Stokes - G
Antonio Pena - F
Dwayne Anderson - F
Dante Cunningham - C
Reynolds is the key here, he kept the Cats around almost all by himself against Clemson. He can get hot from outside, and he's good at making timely shots to quell runs from the opposition. Nova will also have a size advantage on Siena, but they need to stay out of foul trouble. The Saints were overmatched against Vanderbilt too, but that didn't seem to slow them down.

What's at stake:
A berth in the Sweet 16 and a date with top seed Kansas on Friday.

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- This is supposed to be the home of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. This is supposed to be the "happiest place on earth."

But on Saturday, the happiest place on earth got overtaken by suspense. It got overtaken by Darren Collison and Kevin Love and UCLA's smothering defense in the end.

It wasn't pretty, but somehow, some way, the Bruins are moving on to the Sweet 16. And yet, it certainly didn't come without a few deep breathes from fifth-year coach Ben Howland.

Despite trailing by as many as 10 points with 18:27 left in the second half, the top-seeded Bruins in the West Regional are headed to Phoenix thanks to Darren Collison's team-high 21 points, Kevin Love's back-to-back field goals in the final three minutes and a crucial block by Josh Shipp on a last possession drive by Donald Sloan in securing a 51-47 come-from-behind victory over No. 9 seed Texas A&M at the Honda Center.

"That was reminiscent of a lot of games we seem to be in lately, where we're having to make dramatic comebacks in the last few minutes," Howland said afterward in his post-game press conference, "but the one thing I love about our team is that they know in their heart they're always going to win the game."

It's clear that UCLA didn't play it's best game, but the Bruins did enough to win, and in the NCAA Tournament, that's all that really matters.

"We did not play well the first 35 minutes," Howland continued. "That had a lot to do with Texas A&M and how well they played. They are a very, very good team and very well-coached."

So with their backs against the wall and third straight Final Four appearance in jeopardy, UCLA found it's rhythm with its freshman star taking over and carrying the Bruins on his back when it counted most in crunch time.

"Your season's on the line, and you can step up and make those plays," Howland said of Love, who finished with 19 points, a game-high 11 rebounds and an impressive seven blocks. "That's why he is a great player...These are the kind of games you have to come out on top to be able to advance in this tournament. The seedings mean absolutely nothing in the NCAA Tournament...The margin between these two teams that played today is very, very slight."

A play here, a play there, and the Bruins could have very well been headed back up to Westwood for the rest of the season. Instead, they're headed to desert for the third round, where either No. 12 seed Western Kentucky or No. 13 seed San Diego will meet them.

"I feel like we were in control of the whole game," Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "It just came down to Collison and Love at the end making plays...[I] wouldn't change a thing.

"I just hate to see it end, because I think we were just really coming on."

Turgeon's certainly right.

Had the Aggies been able to upset UCLA, A&M would have had as good a chance as anyone in the West Regional to reach San Antonio -- a three-hour drive over from College Station -- after No. 2 seed Duke was ousted by No. 7 seed West Virginia out in Washington, D.C., earlier in the day.

"It look them a long time, but I finally had them playing the way my teams play," Turgeon further explained. "We're not playing as fast as I'd like to play, but I thought our execution was at a much better level...and we were going to win the national championship."

But that dream has ended for A&M and remains for UCLA, which showed it can win even when things aren't necessarily going right, when Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp combined for seven points -- all from Westbrook -- and when Luc Richard Mbah a Moute struggled with foul trouble in his return from an ankle sprain last week in the Pac-10 Tournament.

"You are always going to have games where certain players may have an off night, but when you have a good defensive team, you stay in games and you find a way," Howland said. "Some people only see things from an offensive standpoint, whereas I see the complete game. And at the end of the day these guys helped us win."

Sure, it wasn't pretty, but Howland will take it.

Any coach would, because in March, it's all about surviving and advancing.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - It took six games, but we finally got a competitive one. Michigan St beat Pitt 65-54 to move on to the South Regional in Texas where they will face the winner of Memphis and Mississippi St.

Neitzel led the Spartans with 21 points and hit 5 of 8 from three point range. Kalin Lucas also had a great game with 19.

Pitt got 19 from Levance Fields, who shot 6-12 from the floor. The rest of the team was ice cold, shooting a combined 11-42. Sam Young did mange to squeeze out 15 points though.

So much for me being Pitt's lucky charm. I hadn't seen them in person all year before the Big East tournament, but they had won five straight in my presence.

Meanwhile, our attention turns to UCLA and Texas A&M. UCLA came back to win, much to the head-shaking relief of Dan Guerrero. I caught up with him after the game and asked if he got to see much of the game here. He told me he watched each game with one eye. He also wasn't surprised to see UCLA come back to win. They have done a lot of that kind of thing this year.

Also, our attention turns to the regionals in Detroit, where I will be next week. But first, tomorrow I'll have my bests and worsts of Denver.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Kevin Love has awoken.

With three minutes remaining, the freshman forward just hit back-to-back shots to give UCLA its first lead at 47-45 since 3:18 in the first half.

One of the shots, in particular, was a beautiful fade-away that brought the house down here at the Honda Center, and it's pretty clear that UCLA has gained momentum in this one.

Texas A&M, though, has been tough all along, and I wouldn't count the Aggies out at all. Mark Turgeon's team has played a heck of a ballgame so far in staying right with the No. 1 seed out in the West Regional, and the Aggie fans are pushing hard for their team to stun the three-time Pac-10 champs on what's as close as it comes to a home floor in the NCAA Tournament.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With less than eight minutes remaining, Texas A&M is still UCLA, 44-38, as both teams battle hard on the defensive end.

UCLA is still struggling from the field at just 37.8 percent, and Darren Collison is managing to keep the Bruins close with 17 points.

Josh Carter and Donald Sloan have taken care of business for A&M, tallying 10 points each as the Aggies regain the rebounding battle with a 24-22 edge.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Drew Neitzel has scored the last eight Michigan St points and the Spartans are now up 55-50 with 3:38 to go.

Dixon got into it with the referees when two of them called fouls on different guys when two ran into each other. After a conference, the call went against Pitt and Dixon, not surprisingly, got hot.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

DENVER, Colo. - The Spartans have pulled back ahead by three at the 8-minute timeout.

On press row, the attention is on the UCLA game. No place does that seem to be more true than across the way from us, where UCLA AD and committee member Dan Guerrero seems engrossed in something on a monitor in front of him. I'm guessing he's not watching Dancing with the Stars.

A couple of minutes ago, Neitzel tried to take credit (is that the right word) a foul that was on Morgan. The ref blew the whistle, and Neitzel's hand went up in the air immeidately, yelling after the ref, "that's on me!" It wasn't.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Pitt has gone on a 10-2 run to cut the Spartans lead to two at 42-40. Levance Fields had four points during the run.

Despite the run, Pitt fans are sitting on their hands, while Michigan State's fans behind us are up and active. They should have plenty of energy since they didn't use any up on Thursday.

We have Texas A&M-UCLA on the monitor next to us as pretty much everyone hopes for their brackets' sake that UCLA makes a comeback.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After one half of play in our second game tonight at the Honda Center, it's No. 1 seed UCLA trailing No. 9 seed Texas A&M by a 29-26 deficit.

While Darren Collison leads all scores with 14 points, the Aggies have got eight points each from Bryan Davis and Donald Sloan in what's been the one-two punch so far for Mark Turgeon's game.

Kevin Love has eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, but the Bruins are shooting just 39.1 percent for the game. Texas A&M, on the other hand, has got its shots from inside the arc to drop, knocking down 56 percent even with an 0-for-5 performance from three.

The Aggies are holding a 14-12 advantage on the glass and Love has grabbed the most so far with five rebounds.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With four minutes gone in the second half, UCLA is still trailing Texas A&M by five at 36-31.

The Aggies made a big run after halftime to push their lead all the way up to 10, but the Bruins responded with a Luc Richard Mbah a Moute putback and a three-pointer from the top of the key by Kevin Love.

UCLA has started out the second half shooting the ball a little bit better, hitting five of 12 shots after halftime while A&M is 3-for-5 from the floor and 1-for-6 from three after Josh Carter's first three of the game from the right corner.

The Bruins have had a hard time taking care of the ball, committing 10 turnovers already with A&M having six.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With four minutes gone in the second half, UCLA is still trailing Texas A&M by five at 36-31.

The Aggies made a big run after halftime to push their lead all the way up to 10, but the Bruins responded with a Luc Richard Mbah a Moute putback and a three-pointer from the top of the key by Kevin Love.

UCLA has started out the second half shooting the ball a little bit better, hitting five of 12 shots after halftime while A&M is 3-for-5 from the floor and 1-for-6 from three after Josh Carter's first three of the game from the right corner.

The Bruins have had a hard time taking care of the ball, committing 10 turnovers already with A&M having six.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Jamie Dixon's timeout after Michigan St scored the first four points didn't work. The Panthers turned the ball over again, and the Spartan run got to 8-0 before Blair pounded home a couple of layups.

Goran Suton has a couple of baskets for Michigan St inside. He's been very effective today, but he's out of the game right now.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Michigan St has scored the first four points of the second half. The first few possessions were empty for each team, but Suton cleaned up some garbage and Morgan went baseline for a dunk to put the Spartans up six.

Here's a picture of Neitzel and Lucas making a plan right before inbounding the ball to start the half. Whatever it was, it didn't work.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE. -- Two things KU had going for it over UNLV tonight was a big disparity in height and a much deeper bench.

Well it turns out they didn't really need either of them.

KU used a 14-3 run midway through the second half and some lock-down defense for all 40 minutes to quell any upset hopes for the Runnin' Rebels tonight, in a 75-56 win in Omaha.

The four-guard rotation of Russell Robinson, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins led Kansas by combining for 52 of the 75 points on the night. In fact, those four were the only four players in double-digits for the Jayhawks.

"We didn't play small all that often this year, but we did tonight and it worked really well." said Self. "Our four-man rotation scored most of our points. And it was encouraging to see us play a different style and succeed at doing it."

Coach Self only shuffled in eight players all night. That is, until things turned into garbage time to run out the clock. Eight is the same number of players that Lon Krueger had, or more specifically, the only players he's really been able to use for most of the season.

Yet, in a Wisconsin-like clamp down, KU held the Rebs to just 27% shooting on the night, including an arctic 5-for-22 from three-pointland. That's as cold as that haunting "rock-chalk-jay-hawk" chant those KU fans have. Tonight it seemed like the chant more fitting for a mausoleum to the flash-and-dash Rebels.

Wink Adams hit for 25 points, 15 coming from the charity stripe. But elsewhere sharpshooter Joe Darger was mostly ineffective, scoring just nine points and Curtis Terry went nearly ghost-like in half No. 2, getting just three points. For the game, Terry actually didn't have a single assist. Talk about getting a player out of their game, that's a telling stat.

"We thought the key to their team was Terry and Adams," Self proclaimed. "Controlling them was really big."

Two places the KU height and length DID come into play was their 36-26 rebound advantage and the gathering of long limbs that seemed to clog the Rebel passing lanes all night long. That kept UNLV's offense starting farther and farther from the basket and was a key factor in the Rebs poor shooting percentage.

Much like game one, it was just a matter of KU wearing down the UNLV charges possession by possession in the second half. Every time the Rebels seemed to have a run in the works, a Kansas three or a Rebel brick-shot or a defensive stop put the kaibosh to that.

Self seemed giddy about the way his team adapted, "Our defense was pretty good, but they missed some looks that they just didn't make. I felt like we tried to really pressure them until we got all those fouls called on us at the beginning of the second half. So then we backed off a little bit and went to more of a contain defense. And that worked out for us pretty well."

Kansas outscored UNLV 38-10 in the paint and held the Rebels to just 22% shooting in the grinding second half.

Now, KU fans have to be wondering if they're in for post-season heartbreak again, now that Self has his team in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time. "I've had confidence every year to get to this point. When you get to the round of 16 there really aren't any upsets, every team is good at this point. I think we do have a really good team, it has the talent to be as good as any team we've had before. But I'm not going to say they're the best we've had yet, I'll evaluate that at the end."

Key Play:
With the score at 50-42 with just over 10 minutes remaining, a Joe Darger turnover and then a three-pointer by Russell Robinson pushed the cushion to double-digits. Thirty seconds later, Darger picked up foul No. 4 and his game went ineffective from there.

Key Stat:
UNLV Curtis Terry not dishing out a single assist on the night. Ouch,

Player of the Game:
Mario Chalmers.
The Kansas guard finished with a game-high 17 points, but the real reason he was the best player on the court tonight was because of his defense, especially since he spent a good portion of the night facing off with Terry.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With four minutes remaining before halftime here at the Honda Center, it's No. 1 seed UCLA leading No. 9 seed Texas A&M, 24-21.

The Bruins are getting some stellar shooting from Darren Collison, and if it wasn't for a few rim-outs, UCLA might have a larger lead than three.

But give credit to the Aggies, who have really battled so far and are staying right with their opponent as we near halftime.

That's thanks to 12 points already from Collison along with eight from freshman star Kevin Love, who has also pulled down five boards.

Bryan Davis is the high scorer for Texas A&M with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and the Aggies are winning the battle so far on the glass with a 13-10 edge.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - MSU sent six players onto the floor coming out of a time out right before the break, then promptly threw the ball away for a game-tying layup by Fields. However, Kalin Lucas went coast to coast right after that to give the Spartans a 30-28 lead at the half.

Pitt has hung in there in spite of pretty miserable shooting. They are 9-31 from the floor for 29%. The Spartans are shooting 50% even. Pitt still has an 8-point lead at the free throw line though.

Lucas has 10 points to lead MSU, while Fields' 11 leads the Panthers.

Our halftime entertainment was the Michigan St band. MSU has a dance team, but they didn't perform. Pitt had a dance team on Thursday, but they haven't been seen tonight.

For a while, I didn't think I'd make it back for the second half. I had to wait quite a long time to wash my hands in our small bathroom as the sinks were occupied by one guy scrubbing for surgery and another guy fixing his makeup. Someone fixing their face is something you don't see much in a men's room. He said he was a TV guy. Yeah, right.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With half of the first half gone between UCLA and Texas A&M, it's the Bruins leading by five at 20-15 after a jumper from the left elbow by senior Lorenzo Mata-Real.

Darren Collison has been on fire to start this game, as the preseason All-American point guard knocked down a three from the top of the key to open the game and give UCLA a 3-0 start before canning another one from way downtown.

Texas A&M has been able to get its points inside between DeAndre Jordan, Bryan Davis and Joseph Jones, but the Aggies have missed all three of their three-point attempts, including two from Dominique Kirk.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Neitzel just hit his third three-ball of the half to put Michigan St five and Jamie Dixon has called timeout.

Goran Suton also has six points for MSU.

Ronald Ramon is still having trouble finding the hole, as are his teammates. They are only 5-19 from the floor, but have hit eight free throws.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- We're underway in our second game of the evening out at the Honda Center, as No. 1 seed UCLA takes on No. 9 seed Texas A&M in what should be a war between the Pac-10's best and a physical Big 12 team.

The Bruins are coming off a 70-29 spanking of No. 16 seed Mississippi Valley State on Thursday night here, but Ben Howland's club will have a much tougher time with an Aggie team that has a big front line with senior center Joseph Jones and freshman 7-footer DeAndre Jordan.

It's a good thing that UCLA (32-3) will have Luc Richard Mbah a Moute back after the junior forward re-sprained that left ankle that he hurt back in January against cross-town rival USC. Even so, the Bruins have got it done without Mbah a Moute's presence in the last two contests, in large part because of James Keefe's improved play. The 6-foot-9 reserve forward was actually going to red-shirt the season after injuring his shoulder during the offseason, but Howland is sure happy he didn't with all the big minutes that he's been playing of late.

For Texas A&M, Josh Carter will need to have a big game as he did against BYU on Thursday, posting a season-high with 26 points on 6-for-10 shooting from three-point range. Donald Sloan will also need to contribute from his point guard spot, and Dominique Kirk will certainly need to be a factor if Mark Turgeon's team wants to upset the two-time Final Four participant Bruins and reach the Sweet 16 in Phoenix.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - I think you can tell that the PA guy may not watch a lot of college hoops. He just mispronounced Drew Neitzel's name as "NEET-zel" instead of "NEYET-zel'

Raymar Morgan already has two foul for Michigan St, and Pitt already has six points at the line.

Young got a break away dunk, and was still whooping it up when he got back down the floor to play defense.

Michigan St is ahead though 13-12 with 10:20 left in the half. The Spartans have two shot clock buzzer-beating baskets.

It looks like the Michigan St coaching staff got together and decided on pastel ties. Izzo is sporting a light blue, while two of his assistants opted for lavender.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- If there was any question about who Stanford's go-to guy is, there shouldn't be any more.

Not with Brook Lopez dressed in a Cardinal uniform.

The sophomore 7-footer made the game's winning shot with a turn-around leaner on the right block with one tick left on the clock, giving No. 3 seed Stanford an 82-81 overtime victory over No. 6 seed Marquette and a trip to the Sweet 16 next weekend in Houston.

Afterward, Stanford coach Trent Johnson admitted that he was "out of line" when it came to his ejection late in the first half after receiving two technical fouls in a matter of 10 seconds by stepping out on the floor and continuing to argue a foul call when the officials had asked him to return to the bench.

Johnson further went on to say that if the Cardinal lost the game, that it would be his fault and that he was very fortunate to still be coaching his team this season.

"I was out of line," Johnson offered. "Bottom line I was trying to fight for my kids, and there was no profanity or anything like that used, but I had been warned prior to that, and I put our team in a bad situation, and it's unacceptable."

That's in large part to Lopez's team-high 30 points, which featured 28 in the second half and in overtime after the Cardinal trailed, 36-30, at halftime.

"I just had to put the first half behind," he said. "We were basically down 6-0. We knew we had to get back in the game without Coach, so I was just attacking the basket and playing defense."

Twin brother Robin, meanwhile, wasn't too shabby himself, leading the way in the first half for Stanford (28-7) before finishing with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

"We knew that we had to win that game from that point on," Robin said. "We weren't going out like that."

Jerel McNeal was quite the player for Marquette (25-10) despite the loss, knocking down 13 of his 25 field goal attempts, including a 4-for-12 mark from three, for a team-high 30 points in addition to eight rebounds and two assists.

Wesley Matthews also finished with a solid game for the Golden Eagles with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Dan Fitzgerald added 11 points in his 17 minutes of action. Point guard Dominic James just missed double figures with nine points, but he did drop 10 assists on the Cardinal.

Even better, however, was Stanford's Mitch Johnson, who dished out 16 assists against just one turnover, and managed the game from start to finish.

"We just talked about staying together," Johnson explained after the Cardinal lost its coach for the game. "It's kind of been the theme of our team for whatever reason this year. We just really wanted to stay together. We came in at halftime and kind of got that emotional high and kind of regrouped a little bit and took a deep breath and just got back to playing basketball."

And while Marquette won the rebounding battle in the end with a 45-38 advantage, it was the Golden Eagles' 33.3 percent mark from three that hurt, particularly in comparison to Stanford's 50-percent clip from downtown.

"We worked as hard as we could, all 40 minutes and overtime," McNeal said. "Everybody gave it all they had. This time of year, you need to be at your best. We were shooting jump shots in overtime and they were shooting lay-ups. They got the final shot. Lay-up. Game over."

Shooting 62.5 percent in overtime certainly seemed to be the difference for Stanford as Marquette shot 42.9 in the extra session.

"It was the type of game that we've experience this year, time and time again," Stanford assistant coach Doug Oliver, who took over as head coach once Trent Johnson was ejected. "We've been in close ball games. For the most part, we were able to keep the game in the half court, and it was just it was a hell of a basketball game."

That's at least one way to describe what took place for 45 minutes.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - It's taken a lot of shots, but both teams are finally on the board here. MSU leads 4-2 at the first TV timeout. Neitzel and Morgan have tried and failed from the floor for MSU, and Ramon is 0-3 for Pitt.

At least it's not a blowout. Yet.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE. -- Yep, I'm calling my shot now. There's only four minutes left in UNLV's season. It's now 65-51 KU and from this rather dark picture below you can see that people are already heading for home en masse. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

(Wait! Wait for me!)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE. -- With 7:33 remaining, the Jayhawks have built up a 60-46 advantage. UNLV's best shouter, Josh Barger has exited the game with five fouls and the Reb fans behind me are starting to blame the refs more and more... just like good fans are supposed to do.

Yep, this one is nearly over. But I'm saving room for a blistering comeback by UNLV. But that light at the end of the tunnel is very likely an on-coming train.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - We have the lineups for the Michigan St-Pitt game.

The Spartans start
G Drew Neitzel , Kalin Lucas
F Raymar Morgan, Goran Suton
C Drew Naymick

Pitt counters with
G Levance Fields, Ronald Ramon
F Keith Benjamin, Sam Young
C DeJuan Blair

On Thursday, Ramon was listed as a forward in the lineup, and Benjamin was a guard.

Our refs are Dick Cartmell, Scott Thornley and Michael Eades.

Meanwhile, we're all transfixed on the Stanford-Marquette game, which is in OT. We never did get the CBS feed, but the local affiliate switched to it. They also inform us that a local highway is closed due to heavy smoke from a haystack fire. We don't even have that in Indiana.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Robin Lopez wishes he had another chance.

The 7-foot sophomore went to the foul line with Stanford trailing, 71-70, but was only able to convert one of two attempts, leaving the score tied with eight seconds left.

Jerel McNeal got the inbound and had a chance to win it for Marquette, but his three-point attempt was wide left, clanking off the backboard and rim and leaving Stanford with control of the ball.

Fred Washington's heave from halftime sailed short of the rim and both teams are about to play an extra five minutes of basketball. The fans will certainly appreciate the free basketball after the way this one has played out so far, and with Ousmane Barro gone with his fifth foul for Marquette, you'd think the Cardinal would have a clear advantage inside.

Still, you never know with those big, burly and physical Big East teams...The Golden Eagles today have seemed to control the Lopez twins just enough to have a good shot at winning this game.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Washington St advances to the East regional in Charlotte with a win over Notre Dame. The Cougars will very likely face top seed North Carolina. That might be a better matchup than you think.

WSU held Notre Dame to its lowest output of the season. The Irish only shot 24% from the floor. It seems like every game we've had here, one team doesn't quite make it to 30%. McAlarney has 12 for ND and Harangody had 10.

Wash St was led by Low's 18 and Weaver's 15.

Michigan St came out for warmups while Low was finishing up a radio interview and MSU G Drew Neitzel gave Low a warm greeting as he passed by.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How did these ne're-do-wells get seats at mid-court, five rows up?

Really now, Mr. Pirate.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With 1:46 remaining, Marquette senior forward Ousmane Barro has just picked up his fifth and final foul and is headed to the bench for the rest of the game. That could be a big turning point in this game, as Brook Lopez hit both free throws to give Stanford a 70-69 lead.

And it's certainly been an exciting one all the way throughout with both teams trading baskets back and forth for much of the game and particularly during this second half.

Who will take the big shot now for Marquette and Stanford is the real question, as this is the time when you find out what kind of guts and smarts your players really have.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - When Catholics are trying to sell a house, they'll sometimes bury a St. Christopher's medal upside down in the yard. When Notre Dame's trying to change their luck on the basketball floor, they try this...

It's not working so far. Harangody just got stripped from behind trying to dribble end to end. I guess he'll never be a point center.

Notre Dame still trails by 19, and we are now 0-5 trying to get a good game in Denver.

Meanwhile, I'm seeing a lot of this...

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE. -- It's still KU's game... but there's still hope for a good finish.

The whole arena can feel ole Mo' putting on Jayhawk white. Their energy is still much better and are filling the passing lanes very well. Long and lean Sasha Kaun just came in to give Darnell Jackson a breather. He's got fresh legs, so it won't be a drop off.

After a timeout, it was deflating for the Rebs to give up an easy layup to Sherron Collins. That puts KU up 46-37 with 13 and a half remaining.

Again, if UNLV can just hit more of their shots (still shooting just 31% compared to KU's 56%, this could still become a game.). But UNLV is having to work much harder for their points, being outscored 22-8 in the paint.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - A few plays ago, Weaver missed a layup, ended up in the WSU cheerleader section and picks up a megaphone in disgust.. He was fouled on the play by McAlarney, and it was ruled intentional.

Weaver hit those free throws, then one more on the ensuing possession, then stole a pass that led to a Low three ball and the Cougars are back up 17 at 52-35.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM -- At the seven-minute mark, it's Marquette leading Stanford by just one now.

Jerel McNeal has really come on strong in the last couple of minutes, hitting a couple big shots to keep the Golden Eagles on top with his 15th point. Wesley Mathews has had added three more to his stat line for 14 points, and Dan Fitzgerald has dropped in six more for 11 points.

For Stanford, Robin Lopez is carrying the load at 16 points and brother Brook has 12, as the Cardinal continue to hit from three-point range at 50 percent.

Marquette, meanwhile, is shooting a dismal 27.3 percent from downtown yet somehow managing to stay in front of Stanford, for now at least.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - After Derrick Low scored four straight to stop the Notre Dame run, the Washington State fans got on their feet and cheered on the defense. It didn't work though. Rob Kurz got a layup and WSU's lead is down to 9 with 10:55 left.

The WSU dance team is on the floor again. It seems like every time I look up, there they are. None of them look like Derrick Low though, so I must just have their image burned into my eyes.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE. -- The Omaha Regional really needs a ball game. No, I mean one of those Ew-mah-Gawd! finishes. Maybe this will be the one that goes down to the wire. Right now, KU leads - expected - by 34-29 - unexpected.

(UNLV point forward Curtis Terry leads the Rebs with nine points so far)

And get this... if UNLV would just hit a few more shots, they'd be ahead in this bad boy. So far UNLV is just 8-for-27 from the field, including just 3-for-13 from beyond the arc.

KU is using its significant size advantage to garner 16 points in the paint. It's been pretty even scoring for KU as well since Mario Chalmers leads them with a team-high nine points. But Darnell Jackson is the beast under the glass, grabbing a game-high nine caroms so far. Fourteen of the 18 KU rebounds have come on the defensive end.

No one is in serious foul trouble so far. KU has only made one three-pointer.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - The Irish offense has finally found some life. They are on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 38-31 with 13:49 left.

The ND fans behind me are getting louder now also. They've been sitting on their hands for a while.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Here are post-game quotes from the Purdue side:

Coach Matt Painter
First of all I thought our guys gave a good effort tonight. Probably I think the silver lining of the game -- we had some shots not go down that we normally make but I thought a lot of that had to do with xavier’s defense -- we just gave them to many and-one plays.

Something we talked about -- we cannot put them at the free throw line. They were able to get to the free throw line and make their free throws.

At times, we simply couldn't stop them.

Keaton Grant
Definitely their experience showed. The expression on their faces didn't change much.

Chris Kramer
Their team has great togetherness. They really just stayed together and their experience just showed. They just kept on doing what they do, kept on trying to make plays.

Keaton Grant
Pretty much every team is going to make a run. ... They made that run to get back in the game. We just had to make a run and counter it.

Chris Kramer
We came out and punched them in the mouth first and then they came and punched back.

You know we did have a great season but any time you are a competitor and you are used to winning you want to try and extend the season as long as possible. ... We thought we were in good position to advance.

Keaton Grant
We had a good season, we had ups and down, we fought through it, it just shows the character of our team, we could have wilted during the season.

Chris Kramer
They're so balanced, they're so hard to defend. ... When you have so many shooters and so many different guys who can make plays it's kind of hard.

Keaton Grant
We're just going to be even better on defense next year.

Matt Painter
I didn't think the and-ones were the reason for the matchups. I didn't think our guys did a good job getting their bodies there. ... Just did too much reaching.

You can't play this game reaching all the time. You have to play with your feet. You have to play good team defense.

Hopefully our bodies are like that [Xavier]. We got knocked around a little bit coming around screens. ... But we outrebounded them by three. ... They are a very good team, they have a lot of balance. ... The one thing we'd like to take from Xavier is just to have a more physical approach.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - This are getting worse instead of better for ND with the lead now up to 16 and 16:06 left. Washington St is getting just about any shot they want, and Notre Dame is missing about every shot they take.

Notre Dame's points in this half came on a three-pointer by McAlarney, and he was fouled on the shot, but indicitive of how this day is going for the Irish, he clanked the freebie.

Still can't see Stanford-Marquette on our little TV, but we have four views of this brick-fest.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- In the first few minutes of the second half, Stanford has climbed back to cut Marquette's lead to just one at 47-46.

The Cardinal are shooting it pretty well from three so far at a 50-percent clip (4-for-8) while Marquette has hit 44.7 of its field goals but just 33.3 percent of its threes.

Robin Lopez is leading the way for Stanford with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and twin brother Brook, the First Team All-Pac-10 selection this spring, has dropped in 10, making four of his 11 attempts. On the other end of things, Dan Fitzgerald and Wesley Matthews are pacing the Golden Eagles with 11 points apiece.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Here's some of the numbers that tell the tale of the first half.

ND shot 25% from the floor, and looked every bit like a team that didn't know how to get a shot off. Washington St shot 13-28 for 46%. Neither team did much from long range, with ND 1-8 and WSU 2-10.

Wazzu won the turnover battle 6-1, but the Irish have a four rebound lead.

It will be interesting to see what adjustments Mike Brey made at halftime. The second half will start here in a few minutes.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- At halftime here at the Honda Center, it's No. 6 seed Marquette leading Stanford by a 36-30 margin.

The Golden Eagles are getting a solid game from Wesley Matthews, who is leading all scorers with 11 points after hitting those big free throws at the end of Thursday's win over Kentucky to help UM reach today's second round.

Stanford, meanwhile, is shooting the ball well from the perimeter despite trailing by six at the break, as the Cardinal have knocked down 40 percent of its shots (12-for-30) and hit 42.9 percent of its threes.

Robin Lopez is leading his team with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Mitch Johnson has canned a couple three-pointers for six points. Jerel McNeal is leading the UM backcourt with seven points.

Surprisingly, Marquette has really controlled things on the glass with the Golden Eagles holding a 24-16 rebounding edge, and if that continue to happen, Stanford will certainly be in trouble with head coach Trent Johnson already hitting the showers after getting hit with two technical fouls at the 3:36-mark for unsportsmanlike conduct. In the statement issued by today's officiating crew working the game, Johnson was out on the playing floor and out of the coach's box disputing calls. When the former Nevada coach failed to comply with instructions to return to the bench, he was issued a second technical.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Postgame quotes from Xavier follow:
Sean Miller:
I want to commend Purdue for not only a great season but its amazing what they were able to do with that many freshmen playing the roles they did. ... Two similar teams in that we take pride in our defense.

These three seniors a year ago went through a very difficult loss in this same game. Its been a motivating game for us to see if we could get back to this point....

[Points to C.J. Anderson as the difference for this year's team.]

Very very happy for Xavier University.

Stanley Burrell
Experience is everything because in that moment we could have panicked. ... We stayed poised like we have all year. ... Experience has been great for us throughout the whole year. Whenever you get in tough situations just stay together and you;ll be fine.

Josh Duncan
Just be confident and aggressive and let the game come to us.

Drew Lavender
Basically we wanted to go in there and not let the same thing happen to us. ... When they took the lead by 1 we could have gotten rattled and taken some crazy shots but we stayed poised.

Josh Duncan
We've been in so many tough situations we just try not to get rattled. ... We just know how to handle those tough situations.

Stanley Burrell
We just kept saying that eventually we were going to be where we wanted to be if we kept working behind the scenes. ... I love this team because we play for each other, we don't do any kind of individual things.

C.J. Anderson
Just being aggressive made those opportunities. Coach wanted us to be aggressive and attack. Coach said the way they play defense would allow us to get to the free-throw line.

Drew Lavender
My ankles 100 percent right now. I'm not going to let my team down so I'm just going to go out there and give 100 percent.

C.J. Anderson
Yeah I knew the whole time even sitting out last year that coming to Xavier was the right choice. ... I knew coach miller was a fantastic coach and I just wanted to come and be part of something special.

Sean Miller
One of the misleading things about our team this year is our very difficult non conference schedule we played. ... We played Kent State, the winner advanced, and we were fortunate to play Indiana...and we beat Indiana and came away a four team tournament with the championship.

We knew it was going to be a tough two games and that's what makes getting to the Sweet 16 so special.

I really believe we've gotten better each year and more prepared for what we've gone through.

I am. We had a tough matchup for Purdue at times. Josh Duncan is a difficult matchup for young big guys. ... Now that Drew is back to his old self, from an offensive standpoint we've regained where we were early in the year. ...

We have a number of different guys who can answer the bell at times.

C.J.'s style is unique. I'm not going to give the scouting report away because its obvious he isn't going to shoot beyond 10 feet.

C.J.'s been a great addition to what we've done this year and I thought his play especially in the second half was a big key to us winning.

It gives us confidence but we've had confidence entering the tournament. ... When we got a number 3 seed, keep in mind the company we're keeping. I thought that was a great tribute to the season we've had. ... We have a veteran team in that we have three seniors. ... I can't say enough about our team's togetherness.

I know who their coach is. We know we're going to be in for a very tough game. ... I think we all have a contract with ourselves to enjoy the moment. Clearly in the next few days we're going to have to prepare for a very good team from a great conference.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE. -- Because the post-game press conference after the Wisconsin-Kansas State game went so long (and still nothing of real worth was said) I didn't get to this Kansas-UNLV game until halfway through the first half

(As you can tell by his sleepy eyes, press conferences bore Michael Beasley too)

Anyway, UNLV is not just hanging with the top-seed Jayhawks, they're leading the Big 12ers by a 19-17 margin here at the eight minute mark of the first half. Maybe THIS will be a ballgame. Since we haven't had any here in Omaha worth cooing about. Dammit.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - This was expected to be a battle of styles, and the Cougars are imposing their will on the Irish. Notre Dame only has 19 points at the half, the last two of which came from Kurz as the clock wound down. That was right after Low drained a rainbow three with the shot clock expiring.

Washington St is frustrating ND in every way imaginable on the defensive end. Notre Dame leads the rebounding battle, but still isn't getting a lot of second chances. They also have turned it over half a dozen times.

At halftime, we're trying to figure out how to get Stanford and Marquette on our little TV at courtside while the Wash St dance team performs. We've had every CBS channel before so we could watch whatever we wanted, but once the Purdue game ended (and it seemed like it never would), we tried to find Stanford-Marquette, but instead we have the game we are watching on three channels.

We heard that Trent Johnson, the Stanford coach, was ejected.

More stats and stuff in a bit.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.--Kansas State had the better players. Wisconsin had the better team.

The Badgers used a steady, pass-first offense and its usual suffocating perimeter defense to bury Michael Beasley University here in the first game of the Omaha Regional's second round 72-55.

A six-point Badger halftime advantage slowly but surely ballooned as the second half trudged on. K-State's shooting percentage went from 44% in the first half and dropped to 34% in the second stanza.

According to head coach Bo Ryan, there was no magic dust to containing the K-State offense. "We didn't change anything tonight. We've been doing it for some 30 years now. You have to be in unison on defense. All in sync. You can't rule the universe with satellites doing their own thing. We just stayed with our system. "

Beasley and Bill Walker were once again the show for KSU, garnering 23 and 18 points in what could be their last appearances in a college basketball game, since both are expected to be high-round NBA picks.

The lack of an outside attack came back to haunt the Cats. It turned out to be the first time in 348 games where KSU didn't connect on a single three pointer. They slashed and passed inside ad nauseum, producing an impressive 40 points in the paint, compared to the taller Badgers getting just 26.

"I thought 11 of the 13 threes we took were exactly the shots we wanted. But they just didn't fall today." Coach Frank Martin said.

In addition to the shots not falling, the Cats also seemed to be as the Wildcats also fell victim to the referee's whistle, many of them coming as they tried to pound things into the paint as well, fair or not.

On the offensive end, Hughes led the Big Red attack with a career-high 25 points and Michael Flowers chipped in 15. Those two also paced the three point offense with four and three treys respectively. Leading scorer Brian Butch took a willing backseat to concentrate on the defensive end and finished with just nine points. The biggest surprise contribution came from Greg Stiemsma, who went all point-a-minute on us, getting 14 points in 14 minutes on the floor. He also accounted for seven rebounds.

While Beasley went off in the first half, scoring 17 points, half No. 2 was a much rougher road for the future millionaire, as he got just two shots from the field to fall in the final 20 minutes of the game. Again, that's just Udub practicing what they preach.

"In order to be a champion, you have to play defense." Michael Flowers would affirm. " We've already got a Big 10 championship, so now we're focusing on another championship. And now we have another chance to get even better. We just stuck to our rules and stayed within the Wisconsin system."

Yeah, and pythons have a system of crushing their opponents too. And it looks eerily similar to the Wisky style.

Notes:

The REST of the story:
K-State's Beasley and Walker combined to go 15-for-30 from the field. The rest of the team went 6-for-23.

Beasley on turning pro:
As of right now I'm still a Kansas State Wildcat. I'm still a student. You're asking me this right after a loss. I haven't had no time to think about my decision. I won't think about that for a couple more weeks.

Wisconsin, the Big 10's Team of the Decade:
This season marks the fourth trip to the Sweet 16 for the Badgers since 2000. In addition, the 31 wins this season is a new school record.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Kyle Weaver just made what I'm sure will be the steal of the day, even though we have a little more than 60 minutes of basketball left. Tory Jackson tried to throw a pass, and Weaver jumped and blocked it with his right hand, and ended up cupping the ball and coming down with it.

WSU maintains an 8-point lead with 3:44 left.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Hasta luego Trent Johnson.

For you non-Spanish speakers, that means good-bye Trent Johnson.

The Stanford coach just picked up two technical fouls in a matter of 10 seconds and has just been ejected after arguing a foul call on Lawrence Hill that he believed to be a traveling violation.

Then when the TV timeout came at 3:38, Johnson walked on to the middle of the court to contest the call, earning himself the first technical before mouthing off to earn another one just a few seconds later.

You have to wonder what the guy is thinking losing his temper like that in an NCAA Tournament game and in a game that Stanford could very well lose.

But Johnson has been known to get pretty fiery on the sidelines, and as we watch him from across the court, the coach has still not left the building, hanging around in hopes maybe of getting an explanation from the officials of the previous call that he was trying to contest.

After a couple minutes, Johnson is now making his exit from the arena and the Marquette faithful is chanting "Left, Right, Left, Right" as he heads to the locker room.

With 3:38 remaining in the first half, it's Marquette leading Stanford by one, 25-24.

And while this game certainly has been a good one so far, so will this post-game press conference now...

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Xavier made enough of their free throws down the stretch to come away with a seven-point win over Purdue. C.J. Anderson and Drew Lavender each scored 18 for the Musketeers, while Josh Duncan added 16 in the win. Walking off the court, Xavier looks to be showing an appropriate mixture of joy and confidence. There is no one play you can point to in this one and say that is why Xavier one; there isn't really a player you can say that about either (though Lavender was so steady at the point). Really, this one came down to consistency, the ability to hit a shot when it mattered, and fundamentals, whether that was rebounding, foul shooting, or what have you.

That Xavier-West Virginia matchup next weekend will be a good one.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 07:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Washington State's defense has been smothering during a 10-0 run, which was just stopped by a Harangody layup. Wazzu is getting hands on just about every pass and shot attempt. They are making it very uncomfortable for ND to run their offense.

The Cougars lead 17-9 a the 12-minute timeout, which comes with 8:34 left, so we'll be due for another one real quick.

All five WSU starters are on the scoreboard, led by Low with 6.

Dick Bennett, Tony's dad, is in the house tonight seated about four rows behind the WSU bench.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- The last minute here at Verizon Center is going to take us about 20 minutes to play, with Purdue fouling every time Xavier touches the ball and the referees doing their best to add to the confusion by reviewing just about anything they can review. Xavier just threw their inbounds out of bounds, so Purdue has the ball with 44 seconds and a five-point deficit.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 07:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Drew Lavender has made a floater and single-handedly broken the Purdue press in the last minute, the press break leading to a dunk for Josh Duncan. Keaton Grant just drilled a three for Purdue, but the margin is still six. During the last timeout, Xavier fans started cheering "Father Graham" in honor of their university president, Michael Graham (who was not the Michael Graham on Georgetown's 1984 title team, in case you were wondering).

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Chris Kramer, Purdue's best defender and the definition of a glue guy, just fouled out. Purdue Coach Matt Painter let the referees have it, to no avail. Kramer finished with six points, three boards, and at least two steals.

After a pair of free throws by Keaton Grant, however, Purdue is within four.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- With 12 minutes go in our first game of two this afternoon and evening, it's sixth-seeded Marquette answering Stanford's early run to knot things at 11-11.

Robin Lopez is leading the way for the third-seeded Cardinal, hitting all three of his shot attempts so far for six points.

Anthony Goods has also knocked down a three for Stanford, who sits at 27-7 overall this season after Thursday's demolition of No. 14 seed Cornell, a 77-53 loser.

Marquette has got four points from Jerel McNeal and a bucket each from Dominic James and Ousmane Barro. The Golden Eagles are looking good so far coming off that grind-it-out victory over Kentucky two days ago.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Notre Dame scored the first five points on a Tory Jackson three and a layup by McAlarney, but WSU responded inside with Baynes and outside with Rochistie.

Derrick Low is on the board as well, as we're tied at 7 at the first timeout.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- The sense I've gotten all afternoon is that both of these teams here are pretty good teams but neither has quite enough firepower to go into that next gear and put the other away. After a C.J. Anderson floater just now as the shot clock expired, Xavier got about as fired up as the Muskateers have been all day, throwing up crossed arms in the shape of an X and screaming towards the bench. Perhaps the momentum from that play can help Xavier pull away from the Boilermakers, who as pesky as they have been, simply don't seem to be able to make enough baskets to win. They've been good enough to keep it close....but have not shown they can seize the game.

Xavier by 6 with 3:25 to go.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 06:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Welcome back to the Honda Center for today's second round action, which features two quality tourney games that should have the stadium packed.

In our first game, it's No. 3 seed Stanford taking on No. 6 seed Marquette, and both teams are looking to get to the Sweet 16. For the Cardinal, it would be the first time since 2001.

For the Golden Eagles, it would be the first time since 2003, when the program reached its ultimately height by reaching the Final Four. That would be a long climb back for Tom Crean's club, which has talent in the backcourt with point man Dominic James and Jerel McNeal but will have to match Stanford's physical presence inside today with 7-foot twins Brook (First-Team All-Pac-10) and Robin Lopez. The Golden Eagles should have the advantage on the perimeter and Stanford should its advantage inside, so it should be interesting which team's strengths get utilized and is able to play through its weaknesses. That's why this game should be a good one this afternoon.

Some more notes to mull over about this game...

In the all-time series between the two schools, there have only been four occasions, and Marquette has certainly had the upper hand having won all four dates. But UM's most recent win came more than 26 years ago during the 1981-82 campaign, and there's no doubt that Stanford is probably a better team now than they were then or even since the Cardinal nearly went undefeated during that the regular '01 season.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - The CBS guy in front of me just let the radio folks know that the tip of our first game has been pushed back 10 minutes, so we'll tip at 6:50 ET instead of 6:40.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Drew Lavender, on an out-of-bounds play along the baseline, just threw a sweet ally-oop to Derrick Brown for the flush and the eight point lead. Xavier now leads by 10 after two free throws from Josh Duncan. As an aside, Gilbert Arenas is watching this one from the tunnel. If he had played for West Virginia earlier, he'd have scored 84 or 85, I'd guess. Gilbert is sporting some absurd looking red and white checkered capris. From the looks of it, he's trying to get someone to let him into the Wizards locker room, where I hope he'll throw on something a little more reasonable if he is going to come out here and watch the game.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - With the Purdue-Xavier at the half, I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you a little pregame info on our first game, which is still a half an hour away.

Once again, it looks like a late arriving crowd, although a section of WSU fans is mostly here already.

We already have the starting lineups, and they are the same for each team as they were on Thursday.

Notre Dame is going with
G Tory Jackson, Kyle McAlarney
C Luke Harangody
F Rob Kurz, Zach Hillesland

Washington St counters with
G Derrick Low, Taylor Rochestie
C Aron Baynes
F Kyle Weaver, Robbie Cowgill

Our refs are Mark Whitehead, John Hughes, and TV Teddy Valentine.

The bands and cheerleaders are already in place, and while the Irish and Wazzu band do a good job, we're going to miss this guy today.

I don't know if they do this, but I think the Wazzu band should have a song where they play Kazoos.

I got a chance to meet Xavier AD Mike Bobinksi, who is here as part of his orientation for going on the men's basketball committee next season. Naturally, a fight broke out over the Purdue-Xavier game. No, I'm kidding of course. UCLA AD Dan Guerrero is the official committee rep at this site. Tom O'Connor, I believe, has headed back to Indy, which is where the chair usually stays for the tournament.

Also, the Fonz is in the house. No, not Henry Winkler. LaPhonso Ellis, the former Notre Dame star, is part of the Irish radio team, and the tallest guy on press row, edging out CBS announcer Len Elmore.

ND has broken out some new warmups and unis for this game. The warmup has a clover on the chest, and the uniforms are black. You might be able to see that here.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.-- As you can tell by this picture, the blood-loving media just LOVE when there's an injury. Notice all the cameras pointed at Kansas State's Bill Walker as he lay on the floor?

(What is this, Princess Di or something? Tame your cameras paparazzi)

Wisconsin does what they like to do, squeeze the life out of people. They bled the clock down to the four minute mark and hold an insurmountable 72-53 lead. That loud slamming sound you just heard was the sound of a door slamming.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

WASHINGTON -- Stanley Burrell, a 6-foot-3 senior guard from Indianapolis, spent his first two seasons at Xavier as the team's leading scorer. Now, though, Burrell has taken a back seat offensively and settled into his role as a defensive stopped and role player.

Burrell was only the third freshman ever to lead the Musketeers in scoring. The next year, he increased his scoring average from 12.7 to 14.4, scored 20 points nine times, in double figures 28 time, and led the team in assists with 105. Last year, however, with the addition of Derrick Brown and the emergence of Justin Doellman as a scorer, Burrell transitioned to the secondary guy and committed himself on defense.

This year, he has continued that transition, finishing sixth on the team at 9.8 points per game and second on the squad with 131 assists. On the other end of the court, he won the Atlantic 10's defensive player of the year award, following in the footsteps of James Posey (Celtics) and David West (Hornets).

Today, he's got a quiet six points as his Musketeers lead by six.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Xavier shot 50 percent in the first half and leads by 3.

Some statistics of note:

Chris Kramer, the Big 10 defensive player of the year, has two steals. No surprise there.
E'Twaun Moore Purdue with nine points on 4-for-7 shooting. Tarrance Crump added seven on 2-of-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
As a team Purdue shot 12-of-29, 41.4 percent. The Boilermakers connected on 3-of-8 threes and 5-of-9 free throws.

C.J. Anderson scored nine for Xavier. He was 3-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the line. As a team, the Musketeers are a perfect 6-for-6 from the sin stripe.
Xavier shot 13-of-26 overall, including 3-of-7 from three. It assisted on seven of 13 baskets.

Purdue outrebounded Xavier 17-14. Both teams had seven turnovers and two blocked shots.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.-- As an unbiased observer in the game, I gotta say, it looks like Kansas State is getting the shaft on a handful of calls in this second half so far. They've been whistled for eight fouls, while Udub has just four.

But I will say that double-technical call was warranted, Bill Walker appeared to be innocent, but I've noticed he's been hacking and hand-checking a bit more than should be allowed. Still, these calls need to even out a bit for the Cats.

(Bill Walker giving the zebra the business after a questionable double-technical)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Drew Lavender spent 19 minutes and 58 seconds of the first half scoreless, but as the clock was set to expire, he nailed a three to give his team a three-point victory heading into the break.

Xavier has been clearly better for the last ten or so minutes, but Purdue was good enough out of the gate that we have ourselves a good ball game. Back shortly with some half time stats.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.-- Apparently the governor of the great state of Kansas, Kathleen Sebilius, is a K-State fan, as you can tell by her purple attire for today's game:

(the governor of Kansas getting interviewed by a writer that just won't leave her alone to enjoy the game)

My guess is that she'll be changing to a blue blazer for game two today.The honorable gov is sitting in the first row right behind the two rows of press peeps.

It's now Wisconsin 49-35 on the strength of a 3-point jumper by Trevon Hughes. He's making up for that last ill-advised rush at the end of the first half.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

WASHINGTON -- Just like on Thursday against Georgia, Xavier fell behind early, stuck with what they were doing, and clawed its way back into the game.

The Musketeers trailed 12-2 and 18-10, but since that point, they've gone on a 13-2 run to take the lead. Josh Duncan has hit a couple big shots, including a three in transition. Watching Drew Lavender give instructions to Duncan, who is 14 inches taller, is rather amusing.

Purdue was hitting everything early but has gone cold of late.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Drew Lavender, Xavier's explosive point buard, has been checked for much of the early going by Purdue's Keaton Grant. The reason thats notable is that Lavender is 5-foot-7 and Grant is 6-foot-4.

So far Lavender is scoreless, although he just had a nice dish to Jason Love in the post. Still, Grant's length seems to be frustrating the diminutive transfer from Oklahoma.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.-- As the Badgers were exiting through the bowels of the stadium, one of the UW players said this to another player regarding Trevon Hughes' length-of-the-court drive and subsequent three-point attempt at the end of the first half.

(Coach Ryan, so angry his eyes are devil red, consults with Hughes about his last second shot to end the half)

At the half it's Wisconsin 39, Kansas State 33. But really, it's Udub's three-point shooter 21, Beasley 17. THAT'S the story of the first half of the game. Overall, the Badgers are 7-for-15 from beyond the arc while KSU is 0-for-4, choosing to pound the ball inside instead. State has 24 points in the paint, UW has just 10. KSU is also leading the rebounding at 17-12.

Wisconsin has to like the pace of the game so far, however.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Purdue came out with a ton of energy and scored the first nine points. Keaton Grant has five of those, including a nice transition three. Xavier, meanwhile, has been careless with the ball.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.-- It's now 26-18 at the 6:36 mark .

But during the previous timeout, while the Cats were huddling, Michael Beasley was way down at the end of the bench getting his left ankle re-taped. He hasn't looked gimpy or anything - to say the least - but it's something to keep in mind as the game goes on.

(Beasley getting a quick tape job during a timeout)

Meanwhile, Beasley is 4-for-9 with 10 points and the rest of the Cats are 2-for-10. Wisky is now 4-for-10 from three point land and their ball movement has been incredible. If Bohannon heats up, look out.

Also, there have been some huge ovations from the Badger fans for Krabbenhof, Stiemsma and Butch every time they've come out of the game. Their fans are saavy enough to know they are the key to containing Beasley.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Here are some West Virginia quotes:

Joe Mazzulla
We knew Dukes a great team and we knew they were going to make runs. one thing we wanted to do was sustain their runs and we also wanted to answer back. ... we just wanted to play our style of basketball in the second half.

Joe Alexander
That shot in particular was part of a run that gave us a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence. ... It made it easier for us to get into the lane.

Cam Thoroughman
No not really. I never know when I'm going to have the chance to come in, so I'm always ready.

De'Sean Butler
We noticed that Duke gives up a lot of offensive rebounds and we kind of took advantage of it. Coach talked about it yesterday. ... Honestly we took care of it tonight. Joe was on the offensive glass and the defensive glass.

Joe Alexander
If you want to understand how we are outrebounding people, just look at Joe Mazzulla and Cam Thoroughman, undersized but still getting rebounds. We just work harder than people.

Joe Alexander
Playing in the Big East tournament makes every other tournament seem like nothing. Playing in the Big East every day you're facing the best competition in the country.

Joe Mazzulla
The lanes were open for penentration as well as kick outs [with three guards in the game].

Alex Ruoff on whether Duke's style reminded him of their own...
I think we matched up really well. ... I think they might look for the three more than we do. We just tried to get out on their shooters.

Joe Alexander
Duke is a great team, but I think they fit in well in the Big East but thhy definitely wouldn't dominate in the Big East. I think the top six or seven teams are right on par with Duke.

Alex Ruoff on his three as shot clock expired...
It was just an answered prayer.

Bob Huggins
The Big East is a great league. When you've got schools with the tradition that schools have and schools with the players that there are in the Big East its a great great league and i think it probably does help you prepare for NCAA tournament runs.

I think Duke does as good a job putting pressure on the ball as anyone does and they really take you out of what they want to win and Joe is our best guy at straight line driving to the hole. ... I thought he had a chance to relieve some of the pressure and just drive it to the hole.

I'm really happy for our guys. Two weeks ago Cam Thoroughman really thought about having surgery and I said to him if you can go we need you and that is the kind of guys we have. I'm happy for Darris, I'm happy for Jamie. Jamie texted me last night and said Coach, it's a better matchup if I don't start. ... How many teams have guys like that?

I'm certainly happy for the university. [Reporter], you know better than most people know how much this means for our state.

We made some subtle changes but not too much.

Four of their five losses they had under eight threes and we thought that was key. We thought it was key to limit how many threes they get off. ... They do make threes and they get to the foul line more than their opposition does. ... You have to kind of pick your poison and we wanted to do a better job not letting them score from behind the three.

It's what they do. Its not so much being able to back cut them its being able to handle the pressure so you can deliver the ball. They have better ball pressure than probably anyone in the country. ... Honestly I think it helps because that is what we do in practice everyday.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Washington -- We're waiting for West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins and a few Mountaineers to come out to the dais, and we're also waiting for stats, but here is my question: What was Duke doing on offense?

They never really got into their run-and-gun frenetic pace. But in the half court offense, they never really got anything consistent going, never seemed to run any real plays, and couldn't hit the shots off of the drive and kick. The impact of the offense was less than the sum of its parts.

And, after starting 2-of-3 from deep, the Blue Devils missed 11 in a row. That will do it.

But the real story here is West Virginia, which rebounded the ball as well as any team, and got clutch performances up and down the line. I've said it before but I'll say it again: Joe Mazzulla! He averages less than 20 minutes a night...and he very nearly goes for a triple double.

Someone called this the biggest upset of the tournament. Couldn't be further from the truth. This was not an upset. The best team won.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.-- Wisconsin either seems alright with Michael Beasley getting his points or they can't stop him, because he's slashed, dashed aand fallaway jumpered to eight of his teams points and taken seven of the Cats' 13 offensive shots.

But UW just hit another and got an old school three-point play by Greg Stiemsma to surge ahead 16-12.

(Look at all the different types of shoes that K-State players wear. Does Nike approve?)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- A strong second half performance which saw the Mountaineers outscore Duke by 11 gives West Virginia a big upset over the second-seeded Duke Blue Devils. Joe Alexander scored a game-high 22, Alex Ruoff added 17, and Joe Mazzulla had an amazing 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Back with more shortly.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- With Joe Mazzulla (the undisputed player of the game) at the line to put the Mountaineers up 12 with less than a minute left, the WVU players got on their feet and started raising the roof. They seem to sense that the upset is imminent. Each team has one timeout remaining as there are now 55 seconds left and a 10-point game.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Duke has missed three of its last four free throws after not missing in the first half. They're fortunate to be getting to the line; they can't keep missing.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- On a broken play, Joe Mazzulla, trapped in the paint, somehow muscled a pass through three Duke defenders to little-used Cam Thoroughman who kissed in a layup to put WVU up 11.

Unofficially, Mazzulla is up to 9 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He may actually have more nine rebounds or eight assists. Either way, he is quickly approaching a triple-double. What an effort for the sophomore.

Duke, meanwhile, needs to keep giving the ball to Gerald Henderson (11 points) and letting him drive to the bucket. Three minutes left -- lots of time.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- With play stopped to correct a timing error, Duke fans started their customary Let's-Go-Duke cheer. Quickly, West Virginia's John Flowers got up off the bench and started waving to the Mountaineer fans to get a Let's-Gooo-Mountaineers rendition started.

So each fan base got going and and got loud with the WVU fans just a bit louder. But with both groups going (and the Xavier and Purdue fans both presumably joining in with the Mountaineers), it got pretty loud in Verizon Center.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Joe Mazzulla is quietly putting together one of the most well-rounded performances we've seen in D.C.

For starters, he can get to the basket almost at will. He has eight points.

Then, there's his hustle. He has seven rebounds, including an offensive rebound just now off of a Joe Alexander miss where he had two run past two Duke defenders. He just wanted the ball more than they did. Now, he's just drawn a charge which has him shook up pretty good.

There is also his passing ability; he's got seven assists. Nothing fancy, no no-looks, but just very in-control. He didn't have a turnover in 14 first-half minutes.

West Virginia has a six-point lead and the ball. The next Duke foul will have the Devils join the Mountaineers in the double bonus. So, once again, be prepared for plenty of free throws down the stretch.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE.-- Today is day two of the Omaha Regional and the two biggest questions going into today's action have to be...

1- Will K-State revert to typical freshman form and play great one day, but awful the next?
When you consider they'll be going against the best defensive team in the country in Wisconsin, this could be the case.

2- Will Kansas be pushed at all by the much-shorter, matchup-challenged UNLV Walkin' Rebs?

Judging by the looks of things, my guess is that Kansas will come out looking better than anybody in today's action. Just my hunch of course.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- There's only nine minutes gone by in the second half, but already both teams are dealing with foul trouble.

For Duke, which has been whistled for four fouls this half, Kyle Singler is on the bench with four. That is a blow to the Blue Devils' offense.

For West Virginia, Wellington Smith (who started in place of Jamie Smalligan) and De'Sean Butler each have four, while Alex Ruoff has three. The Mountaineers need at least one and probably two of those guys on the court at all times. It will be interesting to see how Bob Huggins managed his bench for the next 11 minutes.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, NE-- For a dude that's worth something like 65 billion dollars or so, he sure does live modestly. He lives in a house just East of UNO which cost him $31,000 when he bought it back in the 1970s.

I drove by it this morning to see if I could hop the fence, ring his doorbell and run away in time, before the hounds were released. You know, like Montgomery Burns always does on the Simpsons.

Instead, I found this quaint little abode that's not all that big and has NO security fence or security personnel of any sort. Here's the multi-billionaire's house.

Day Two of the Omaha Regional is about an hour away from tipping off.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Joe Alexander is taking over this game.

First he gave West Virginia its first lead on an old-fashioned three-point play 5:22 into the second half.

Then, after Duke tied it again, he gave the Mounties a lead on a three from the left side a minute and a half later. Afterwards, he sprinted down to the other end and absolutely rejected a DeMarcus Nelson 5-footer.

Then Alex Ruoff hit a two and Joe Mazzulla scored on a drive and now WVU leads by seven. Their fans are really getting into it now.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Until Kyle Singler missed the second of his two free throws moments ago, both teams were perfect from the line. The Blue Devils made their first 13 freebies, while West Virginia is 3-for-3.

Darris Nichols just nailed a three right before the 16 minute TV timeout to pull West Virginia within three. Have the Mountaineers found their touch?

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- The Mountaineers shot uncharacteristically poorly in the first half but trail by just five.

The normally sure-handed Alex Ruoff is 1-for-4 (0-for-2 from three) struggled and Darris Nichols 1-for-3 (0-2) wasn't any better. Joe Alexander carried the load with 11 points and five boards. As a team, they shot just 36 percent.

For Duke, which shot 40 percent, Paulus and Jon Scheyer led the way with eight points. Paulus did it with two threes and a two, while Scheyer did his damage on a layup and six free throws.

The Mountaineers are in this because they outrebounded Duke, 22-16.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Shortly before this game started, Brendan Haywood meandered down the hallway near the media work room heading towards the workout room here at Verizon Center. A member of the arena security personnel, who evidently doesn't watch a whole lot of Wizards basketball, tried to direct him to either the Duke or WVU locker room before he flashed his ID.

Gilbert Arenas and Roger Mason Jr. have also been spotted carousing about, but I didn't see either.

In this game, WVU is within five in no small part because of their ability to rebound. Duke isn't getting any second chance points, which is good because tehy are doing a much better job than WVU scoring on their first chance. The Mountaineers aren't an especially big team, but boarding is a skill they say they've slowly acquired through Bob Huggins' first season in Morgantown.

West Virginia can't buy a bucket from beyond the arc. Normally reliable shooters are clanking everything. Unofficially, they're 0-for-5. You've got to figure that won't last forever. Joe Alexander has picked up the slack, at least in part, with nine points, mostly on midrange jumpers and contested layups.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - We're on our in-between day here in Le Petite Roche and Miami players and coach Frank Haith are starting their press room/locker room interviews. They will be followed by Texas at 2:15 local time; then Mississippi State at 3:10 and finally Memphis at 3:50.

All practices are closed today at the arena.

We'll plan on filing a column over at the Hang Time blog late this afternoon. if any news breaks here, we'll also be on top of that. In the meantime, enjoy the live-blogging here as half the Sweet 16 is filled out today. We'd also encourage you to check out Jerry Palm's Hang Time re-cap of his off-day game watching. The Palmist captured a wild day form the perspective a bar-sitter and he did it quite well.

Enjoy the action.

Posted by David Scott at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- The refs didn't forget to pack their whistles for Washington, D.C.

Led by veteran Referee Ed Hightower (whose accolades are well documented here), this afternoon's crew has called 13 fouls, a technical, three travels, and a double dribble. Hightower has something of a reputation for taking over the games he referees, so it will be interesting to see if this one continues to be so closely regulated.

Eight of the 13 fouls have gone against West Virginia, but this crew (which also includes Mike Sanzere and Tom Eades) doesn't really seem afraid to whistle the Blue Devils for an infraction. Still, Duke will be shooting for the next 11:45 and the Mountaineers will be doing the same pretty soon. So brace yourself for a long half of basketball.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Greg Paulus, who finished 2-of-7 from three against Belmont, made his first two threes, one off a screen, one off the dribble, and Duke leads 10-4. After Paulus' second three, WVU Coach Bob Huggins tried to get a 30-second timeout, didn't get it, and at the next stoppage of play, was hit with a technical.

The Mountaineers have been charged with 10 fouls in the first 4:24, compared to only two against Duke. Huggins has been upset over each of the foul calls, but it may have been the missed timeout that set him over the edge. The WVU coaches (not Huggins) are still talking it over with referee Ed Hightower. Jon Scheyer made both technical free throws for the Blue Devils.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON -- Welcome back to the nation's capital where Duke and West Virginia will tip at 2:10 to officially get the second round underway. The Mountaineers will be looking to build on the Big East's early round success and to garner their 26th win of the season. The Blue Devils are trying to get back to the Sweet 16, somewhere they've been 23 times ... but not since 2006, which is like an eternity in Durham.

West Virginia is here because they can rain threes -- they nailed 11 of them against Arizona on Thursday, including five from Alex Ruoff and four from Darris Nichols. They'll have plenty of opportunities to fire it up from deep against Duke, which will try to force an up-and-down pace. The Blue Devils surrendered eight threes to Belmont in the first round, although it felt like a lot more than that.

For their part, Duke threw up 21 long balls, connecting on just six of them. Against WVU, the Devils will need to be more accurate than that. West Virginia doesn't play at quite the tempo that Duke does, but I can't imagine they will protest too much. They'll take the opportunity to get out in the open floor and do what they do best -- fire up bombs. If Ruoff, Nichols, and De'Sean Butler get hot again, West Virginia has a good chance for the upset.

That is to say nothing of Joe Alexander, who had a relatively ho-hum 14 points (4-of-12) against Zona. It was the second-straight pedestrian game for a guy who, if the Big East season had continued for a week, may have won the league's player of the year award. Against Georgetown in the Mountaineers' Big East tournament loss, Alexander was 5-of-16 for 16 points. The Mountaineers need him to step it up against the second-seeded Blue Devils.

Is Gerald Henderson up for another 21-point effort? He'll need to be unless the Duke threes start dropping.

Duke, predictably, sent a strong fan contingent to D.C. for the game. Sounds as though many of those fans headed over to the Georgetown campus this morning to see their No. 1 Blue Devils' lacrosse team take on a previously-underachieving Georgetown squad. Well, the Hoyas pulled off a big upset, 11-7. Let's see if the Duke hoops team can give its fans at least one win today.

Back with more once we are underway.

Posted by Bailey Heaps at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Call it Tampandemonium.
After all of Thursday's games yielded just one upset that wasn't an 8-9 game, Tampa gave us four in a row on Friday.
If you're religious, today was Good Friday. If you're a hoops fan, it was great.

First of all, the St. Pete Times Forum is amazing. It baffles me that a place this nice is used for hockey in Florida.
All the jumbotrons are crystal clear, the place is clean, weather great and the area outside pristine.
The food was even good. A spaghetti and shrimp meal that left me wanting nothing and all the Coke products you can stomach (just not in a can).
Here's a quick recap of Friday's Action:

First (and most dramatically), Western Kentucky took an early lead against Drake and held it until late in the second half, when the Bulldogs came roaring back. Jon Cox nailed a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime.
There, it looked like Drake had escaped elimination when it had a 1-point lead with 5 seconds left. Instead, WKU's Tyrone Brazelton fooled everyone by not taking the last shot, and Ty Rogers reminded us he was on the floor with a buzzer-beating 3 to clinch the win.
Next, San Diego jumped all over a sloppy Connecticut team early and made the Huskies pay for overlooking them.
As in the first game, the favorite came back late and had the lead in overtime, but the Toreros' fourth or fifth offensive option, De'Jon Jackson, hit a jumper with a few seconds left to clinch that upset.
The San Diego-Western Kentucky matchup should be a great one. With scrappy guards to burn and plenty of 3-point shooting to go around, it should be as uptempo and exciting as the games the teams won to get there.
Also, look out for the matchup down low with WKU's D.J. Magley and SDU's Gyno Pomare. Pomare can shoot from all over the floor, but Magley may require his attention inside instead.
By the third game, I was sure things would calm down. Vanderbilt is the most talented team in the pool here, and certainly they could handle Siena.
On the contrary, Siena crushed the Commodores, rolling to a 21-point victory. The combo of Kenny Hasbrouck and Tay Fisher ruled the backcourt as Hasbrouck had 33 and Fisher was 6 of 6 on 3's.
Next, Siena faces Villanova, which pulled off the fourth upset win in beating fifth-seeded Clemson XX-XX. Scottie Reynolds was extremely impressive in the Cats' comeback win, and it should be another great guard matchup between he and Hasbrouck. The Saints don't see themselves as underdogs in this one, and if they play the way they did today, they shouldn't.
Well, Sunday's games should have plenty of 3-point shooting and Cindarella-talk. I'll see you then for the fireworks.

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Memphis wins 87-63 and I get to go take some sleepy time cold medicine. All's well that ends well.

We'll check in from interview day on Saturday, but it will be pretty light. Be sure to join in with all the live-blogging form the nation's other sites with the able-bodied posse of CSTV.com live-bloggers.

. . . Pouncer, the Tiger mascot, has whipped out his blue Elvis jumpsuit costume. We get a big kick out of that outift for some reason. There's a special hole in the rear for the tail to protrude through. We wonder if Elvis had a similar trap door.

. . . Amazing sub-regional in Tampa. Two 12-13 games on tap for Sunday. Incredible.

Posted by David Scott at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - It has not been pretty and it is definitely the kind of game that John Calipari will use to motivate his troops, but Memphis continues to lead comfortably, 73-55 with 7:45 left in the game.

. .. To go with his monster dunk, Dorsey now has a monster rejection on one of the UTA guards that led to tiger free throws at the other end.

. . . Sitting very close to the same seat that the Austin Peay iron lung band member sat, is now a UTA female band member with lungs of steel. Even the dude next her on clarinet had to shake his head at the latest screech from the basketball-face-painted co-ed.

. . . Rod Epps has fouled out for UTA. he had zero points

Posted by David Scott at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Indiana's season, with all of its turmoil that followed the Kelvin Sampson situation, is over. Arkansas, the No. 9 seed, knocked the eighth-seeded Hoosiers out with an 86-72 win to close out the first-round games at the RBC Center.

"This game was special," Arkansas forward Darian Townes said. "We got it done tonight."

Sonny Weems had a great shooting night, knocking down 12 of 14 attempts, including 3 of 4 3-pointers, on the way to a game-high 31points.

Down the stretch, his 3-pointers were demoralizing blows to the Hoosiers, as they attempted to stay in the game. It was a refreshing change of pace for Weems, who struggled during the SEC Tournament.

"Those games were behind me," he said. "I kept my confidence. The guards did a great job of finding me, and I just knocked down open shots."

Pretty much everyone in a Razorback uniform did that in the second half.

Arkansas shot 68.2 percent after the break, missing only seven field goal attempts. Indiana shot 50 percent in the second half but didn't look to be in the same class as the Hogs.

Armon Bassett, who had 21 points for Indiana (second to D.J. White's 22), hit a pair of threes to help Indiana claw back within two points of the Razorbacks, but Arkansas had an answer.

And not long after, Weems was burying a three of his own to make it 58-49 and force Indiana to take a timeout with 9:06 to go.

Weems did the same thing with four minutes to go, when Indiana again looked like it might be closing the gap to make a late push.

"It feel s great," Weems said. "We played one of our best games."

Posted by Evan Markfield at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- If you like upsets, this is the place for you. Tampa was Upset City on Friday, and Villanova capped it off with a 75-69 win against fifth-seed Clemson.
After trailing by as many as 18 in the first half, the Cats stormed back and took the lead for good with 11:00 remaining.

"In the first half, when they got it to around 36-18, I was just wondering if they could keep it up for 40 minutes, and they did," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
The frantic pace of play benefitted the guards who could penetrate or shoot from outside in transition.
"It was a track meet out there," said VU guard Scottie Reynolds, who led all scorers with 21 points and made play after play to keep the Cats in contention. "For them to keep it up for 40 minutes and for us to stay with them, I think that was impressive."
The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field for the game, and a whopping 64 in the second half compared to Clemson's 25. Nova was also perfect from 3-point range in the closing half, going 4-4.
They now turn their attention to Siena tomorrow in a matchup of 12 and 13 seeds. The Saints defeated fourth-seeded Vanderbilt earlier Friday.
"(Siena) played a heck of a game just before us," Reynolds said. "That's about all I know."
The Saints should know plenty about the Wildcats though, as Andrew Francis, an assistant at Nova last season, is now at Siena.
"That's probably going to be the best scouting that anybody's going to get," Reynolds said.

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Scottie Reynolds has made play after play to fuel Villanova's comeback, and now his efforts are building a lead.
Reynolds has ceased to be the shooter and become the dealer. His latest assist came from his knees while recovering a loose ball. He scooped it to Antonio Pena for an and-1 layup.
Clemson has gone stagnant on offense, and they need some kind of a spark to reclaim the lead.
As of now, the Cats are running away.
It's 63-55 VU with 5:28 on those cool, flatpanel clocks here at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Lousiville head coach Rick Pitino was focused on not letting Boise State get hot with the deep shot, but it was his team that torched the nets and stamped its spot into the second round.

The Cardinals shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from long range with seven different players making a trifecta.

"I told our guys that we were going to make a lot of threes tonight, because they were going to try and take away our interior," Pitino said. "We got great movement on offense and took advantage of it."

The three-point barrage was crucial since the Cardinals main inside presence, David Padgett, went to the bench with two fouls early in the game. Derrick Caracter stepped in and provided nine points in 19 minutes to keep the Broncos respecting the inside presence.

"He does a lot of good things out there," Pitino said. "I could have gambled and left David out there, but if it was going to be a close game, we would have needed David down the stretch."

Earl Clark came off the bench to lead Louisville with 15 points. Jerry Smith recorded 12 off of four 3's, and Juan Palacios posted 13 points.

Matt Nelson led Boise State with 17.

I'm signing off from Birmingham now. I will see you guys Sunday for the second round action. Tennessee vs. Butler to get things started and Louisville and Oklahoma to finish it.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The Mavericks are still hanging around and trail 65-50 with 11:56 left in the game. Again, Memphis isn't in danger of losing this one, but they also aren't putting it out of reach the way their fans would like.

The Tigers continue to get beat on fast breaks and hustle plays, not to mention put backs. The Tigers also have 5 turnovers this half in 8 minutes. they had five all of the first half.

. . . There are rim rattlers and then there are rim rattlers. What Joey Dorsey threw down with just over 14 minutes left in the game was one for the books. How the basket withstood the trauma, I'll never know.

. . . Taggart picks up his third foul with 11:56 left as Vereen gets after it inside the lane and scores a hard-earned bucket.

Posted by David Scott at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Corey Fisher hit a 3 as the shot clock hit zero to break a 52-all deadlock. (It's a good day to shoot 3's if you're a Fisher).
Then he drove and drew a foul on the next possession that sent Trevor Booker back to the Clemson bench with four fouls.
He slipped up on the ensuing Tigers drive by fouling Terrence Oglesby (who is actually white) on a 3-point attempt. Oglesby hit all three shots.
Dante Cunningham answered with a driving layin to make the Nova lead 3, Clemson threw away a fast break and that's where we stand, 58-55 Villanova with 6:53 to play.

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - A rather ho-hum continuance of this onw and Memphis is now up 55-40 with 15:52 left in the game.

It's clear Memphis is going to win, but they are not doing it in the fashion the other No. 1 seeds have and it will ikely give rise to more talk of the Tigers being a soft 1-seed.

. . . The Tigers are getting beat on long outlet passes and back door cuts, two things that don't sit well with the coaching staff. Memphis also isn't finishing well around the bucket. Lots of missed bunnies and lay-ups and put-backs.

. . . Dorsey picked up his third foul with 16:25 left and was taken out for Dozier.

Posted by David Scott at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - It's another 3-pointer for Sonny Weems, who looks like cannot miss. He's got 29 points now. Indiana's offense on the other hand looks like it was installed yesterday. Dan Dakich keeps yelling instructions and his players are looking at him like he's speaking Swahili. It's Razorbacks by 10, and I can't see Indiana coming back in these last four minutes.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Louisville handled its first round test easily Friday, posting a 79-61 victory over Boise State. The Cardinals were red hot from 3-point land in the first half and that carried over for the entirety of the game.

Louisville will face 6-seed Oklahoma in the night cap of Sunday's action in Birmingham.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - The public address announcer just announced a crowd of over 14,000, but they are all heading for the exits here at the BJCC.

Louisville has a 14-point lead. They've shown no signs of letting it get under a 10-point lead, and BSU hasn't showed that they're capable of cutting the lead down.

The Broncos also look like they're starting to get worn down...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- We've got some solid competition here now.
Reynolds banked in a 3 on his way back to the ground after getting fouled to give Nova the lead, 50-49 with 11:56 left.
A quick recap of the last few minutes:
Reynolds hit an unbelievable double clutch layup to bring Nova within 1 at 44-43.
The Cats then got the ball back and had momentum, but a traveling call sent it back the other way.
VU center Dante Cunningham picked up his fourth foul. He only has 4 points, but it's good to have a big body inside anyway, especially the way Clemson likes to attack the basket.
Stitt hit a 3 for Clemson, and Antonio Pena responded with a layin on the other end.
Pena hurt his leg a few plays later. He was limping and wincing for the next minute or so and Jay Wright subbed him out.
Then, Dwayne Anderson got hurt after getting fouled on his way to the basket. Another leg injury and two Nova big men are sitting.

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Some pretty remarkable numbers form the first half, to wit:

Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field.
Both teams shot 50 percent from 3-point land.
Memphis held just a 16-13 edge in rebounding despite a noticeable size advantage.
Both teams had 10 or more assists (10 for UTA, 12 for Memphis)

UTA had 10 turnovers, while Memphis had just five. Memphis converted the ten turns for 12 points and has 11 second-chance points as well.

. . . Memphis just didn't play with the intensity that Calipari expects from his team, but the numbers are pretty impressive and they executed well when they had to. UTA probably can't play much better and they're still down 14. There's been too much "Mr. Fumbles" from the Tigers - especially Dorsey and Dozier - and that drives Calipari bonkers.

Posted by David Scott at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Nova keeps cutting Clemson's lead to 5 or so, but the Tigers always answer.
Scottie Reynolds is heating up from 3-land. He has hit two in the second half to give him 13 points on the day.
The crowd is really getting into it now, and the back-and-forth scoring is starting to create quite an atmosphere.
This game doesn't have that underdog edge to it, but there's nothing like a shootout.
44-39 Clemson with 15:55 to go.

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Hoosiers had a chance to tie the game on a runner by Jordan Crawford, but it came off the rim and went out of bounds to Arkansas. It will be interesting to see Indiana's response, now that it has gotten so close to the Razorbacks on the scoreboard. There are still guys struggling to hit shots, but tying the game or taking the lead could set this game up for a momentum swing.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - At the 11 minute mark of the second half, the Louisville Cardinals are showing no signs of a letdown, as they still hold a 63-44 lead.

Boise State strung together consecutive baskets, but David Padgett and Juan Palacios answered with baskets of their own.

Another game in Birmingham, and another without much edge-of-your-seat excitement that we've come to know and love in March. The first game of the day was good between Tennessee and American, but after that one, it's pretty much been a snooze-fest.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Here come the Cats.
Nova came out of the gate and scored 5 quick points to cut Clemson's lead to 7, 39-32.
Scottie Reynolds just hit a 3 with 18:59 left, and we've got a ballgame.
A dart to the staff member who made the stomach-painted Nova girls who were standing behind press row go back to their seats.

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Give UTA some credit, they kept this thing from getting out of hand despite a 57 percent shooting half for the Tigers. UTA shot 54 percent (13 of 24) from the field. Both teams were also 50 percent form 3-point land as Memphis hit 5 of 10 and UTA hit 3 of 6.

. . . CDR leads all scorers with 14 and Moffitt and and Vereen each have seven for UTA.

. . . UTA cut the lead to single digits with 2:20 left in the half, 38-29.

Posted by David Scott at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Indiana offense -- formerly known as "D.J. White and only D.J. White" just got a boost from Armon Bassett, who hit back-to-back threes. Now the Hoosiers are within three points, 45-42 with 15 minutes to go. Indiana needs more of this, which is to say diversified offense, to combat the Razorbacks.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Andre McGee became the 7th Louisville player to make a three-pointer, and the junior has given the Cardinals a comfortable cushion.

McGee nailed two straight threes to stretch the lead out to 19. That's where it stands now with the Cards leading 54-35 with just under 16 minutes to go in the game.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Memphis leads 36-21 with 3:52 left in the half. The Tigers aren't playing great, but CDR has 13 points and UTA continues to turn the ball over (10 so far this half).

. . . The five for five thing appears to be over as Shawn Taggart replaced Robert Dozier after the under-8:00 media timeout. More regular one-for-one and two-for-two substitution patterns have ensued.

. . . No mention of whether Anthony Vereen of UTA is related to Ben Vereen, the entertainer. No idea why I would care, either. he reminds me of a former Calipari player at UMass, Will Herndon. But Herndon could jump out of the gym, not to mention over cars.

Posted by David Scott at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas went into the locker room leading by seven, 37-30, thanks in large part to holding Indiana under 40 percent shooting.

D.J. White is the only offense the Hoosiers can seem to muster, and he has 11 points. Indiana's star freshman Eric Gordon is 1 for 7 from the field, and lots of the Hoosiers' outside shots seem to not only miss but miss ugly. Sonny Weems and Darian Townes have 13 and 10, respectively, for the Razorbacks.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Memphis is out ot a 12-point lead but UTA is certainly kepeing it within reason. Memphis leads 27-15 with 7:41 left in the half.

Memphis has forced six UTA turnovers and only holds a slim 10-9 lead in rebounding.

. . . As we indicated pre-game, Calipari is using the hockey line change approach once again. The second-teamers came in with 13:29 left in the half and was made up of Willie Kemp, Doneal Mack, Jeff Robinson, Andre Allen and Shawn Taggart. The players said they like the pattern of subbing because they are used to playing with each other that way in practice.

The First Five checked back in with 11:38 left in the half and look like they'll remain in.

. . . There's got to be a "Top Gun" joke in here somewhere with the 'Mavericks' involved, but I'm a little weak on that movie. How about: UTA has lost that lovin' feelin after starting out hot.

Yeah, I know. But you try live-blogging for 12 straight hours, you haters.

Posted by David Scott at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Clemson's up 12 at the half.
The Tigers have taken 17 3's now and hit seven. They are led by Demontez Stitt with 9 points.
This one is far from over, it has just been pretty boring. There were a few big plays, but not a whole lot of competition.
Villanova almost converted a full-court alley-oop at the halftime buzzer.

The Table Leaper award goes to the Tigers' James Mays:
Chasing a loose ball, Mays leaped onto the first table on press row, jumped to the second and then jumped on each of the first three rows of seats (empty of course). It was the most impressive thing I've seen yet in this game, which is quickly becoming a snorer.

Posted by Mike McCall at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Boise State still trails 44-31 at the half, but Tyler Tiedeman has caught fire to keep the Broncos close.

He has 12 in the game and rattled off 7 in the last two minutes.

However, it would be totally stretching the story if I told you Boise State was in control of the game.

Ever since its brief 8-0 run early, Louisville has been in control. The Cardinals got a little sloppy at the end of the half, and Tiedeman made them pay, but Louisville is still (by far) the better basketball team in Birmingham tonight.

Cardinals big-body Derrick Caracter took had to be helped off the court after colliding with teammate Terrence Williams, but he should be good to go. Caracter came in for Scott Padgett when he exited early with foul problems.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- I'm gonna switch to autopilot for a little while. It's late, I'm emotionally drained and this game isn't living up to the others. Clemson leads 29-16 with 7:36 left.
They're more energetic, making shots and just generally better than Villanova right now.
Raymond Sykes had a big follow-up jam a second ago. There was noone even remotely close to blocking him out.

Posted by Mike McCall at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The Tigers have been back on their heels a bit to start out but lead 10-6 with 15:19 left in the half.

UTA won the game-opening tip a true moral victory. They even took a 4-0 lead on two buckets from Jermaine Griffin.

But a 3-pointer by Antonio Anderson gave Memphis an 8-6 lead and probably ended the Mavericks' hopes of staying in this one.

. . . Rebounding is even at 4-4. Let's see how long that lasts.

. . . UTA lists on ten players on its roster. Most teams have 14.

. . .UTA is clearly loose and easy for this one. Widebody Larry Posey has been bouncing and smiling since well before the game started.

. . . Two strong sections of UTA fans directly behind the Posting Up Perch, including a string of shirtless dudes spelling out UTAMAVS. The "M" is quite a specimen, as is the "V."

. . . Our sneaker battle is between adidad (Memphis) and Nike (UTA).

. . . With a No. 16 seed basketball team comes a No. 16 seed cheer and dance squad. That's just how it is. The dance portion of the Mavericks' rooters is especially, shall we say, "M" and "V"-like.

Posted by David Scott at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - As I posted my last entry, Earl Clark drained a trey. He is the sixth Cardinal to make a 3-point basket tonight as they lead by 12 with just under four minutes to go.

Keep in mind that David Padgett has only logged two minutes, and still, the Cardinals are rolling.

I think they have 50 by the half..(35-23 now)

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas seems to be relying a bit heavily on the outside shot, but if it's working, hey, why not? Back-to-back threes to get a 10-point lead, 35-25, over the Hoosiers says might as well keep putting them up.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Clemson has more fans here than Nova, but it remains to be seen which side the casual viewers will take. In the Drake-Western Kentucky game, fans basically rooted for overtime and then whoever was behind.Clemson is clearly enamored with 3-point shooting, but that's no surprise. The Tigers have hoisted 3's like they're going out of style all season. Right now, they're 4-8 and hold a 22-12 lead with 11:31 remaining.

Posted by Mike McCall at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas seems to be finding its shooting touch a bit here midway through the first half, while Indiana seems to be forcing things a bit. Not that any of that has accounted for any separation between the two teams. Right now the Razorbacks are up 23-19.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Apparently irritated by my previous blog post, Louisville retaliated.

After a 8-0 run by Boise State, Louisville ran off 10 unanswered to regain complete control of the game. They lead by 11 with 7 minutes to go. At this stage in the game, the Cards have 3's from Terrence Williams, Preston Knowles, Juan Palacios, Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith.

It's basically been an aerial assault with an occasional drive to the basket.

Boise State is scoring, but it seems they're laboring to put up any kind of points, while Louisville makes it look so easy...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - After trailing by 11 in practically a road game, Boise State is showing signs of life, and they're doing it without production from star forward Reggie Larry.

After a Juan Palacios 3-pointer pushed the Cardinal lead to 11, Boise State's Tyler Tiedeman and Jamar Greene stroked treys, and now BSU trails by just 5, 18-13.

11:50 to go in the first half. Also, Louisville's David Padgett picked up 2 quick fouls and hasn't been on the court since the first two minutes of the game.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - We're about 15 minutes from tip of the nightcap her at Alltel.

Probable starters look like this:

No. 1 seed Memphis (33-1)
Robert Dozier
Joey Dorsey
Antonio Anderson
Chris Douglas-Roberts (leading scorer with 17.2 ppg)
Derrick Rose

No. 16 seed UTA (21-11)
Rog'er Guignard (leading scorer with 13.0 ppg)
Rod Epps
Tommy Moffit
Larry Posey
Jermaine Griffin

. . . Officials for the game are Reginald Greenwood, John Hampton and Wallace Rutecki.

. . . UTA started shooting around at the wrong end of the floor and had to be shuffled off to the other end when Memphis took the court. rookie mistake.

. . . Look for Memphis to revive its platoon system of five in-five out that worked so well in the C-USA Title game against UAB.

Posted by David Scott at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - It's a 10-9 Indiana lead right now, a little less than five minutes into the second half, but honestly that's not the only way the teams are close together. It's these colors. Look into the stands and it's really hard to tell who is here pulling for the Razorbacks and who is here for the Hoosiers.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 09:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - A pretty strong contingent of red is in the building, or at least it sounds like it. It also could be because the Cardinals -- mainly Terrence Williams -- is on fire to start the game.

Wiliams has all 7 of Louisville's points and the Cards are up 7-1 early.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 09:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Well, there go the Oregon cheer and dance teams back to Eugene. Little Rock is poorer for the loss. Mississippi State put together an outstanding second half to win this one, 76-69.

Rhodes led all scorers with 34 and Hairston had 22 for the Ducks.

. . . Jamont Gordon had nine assists for the Bulldogs, one off his career high. He laso had six turnovers.

. . . We'll be back with pre-game info for the night cap between Memphis and UTA.

Posted by David Scott at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The last game of the day here is underway, and Arkansas has a 5-3 lead. Hopefully this one's a little closer than the North Carolina-Mount St. Mary's game.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Senior guard David Goldbold scored 25 points, provided baskets at clutch times and held St. Joseph's leading scorer to just 6 points as Oklahoma defeated Saint Joseph's 72-64 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Oklahoma (23-11) will play the winner of the Louisville-Boise State game Sunday.

"Blake Griffin and Longar Longar always get double-teamed, you have to respect them," Godbold said. "I just made sure I hit the shots when they were kicked out to me."

Oklahoma led by as many as 18 in the second half after a flurry of Godbold trifectas, but the Hawks came storming back late to make it interesting. They cut the deficit to as little as four points in the final minutes, but freshman forward Blake Griffin provided 2 key baskets to stretch the lead back out.

"We knew they were going to make a run, we just didn't know when," Oklahoma guard Austin Johnson said. "We kept our composure and made plays."

St. Joseph's had just 22 points at the half, and most of that was because of the stellar defensive play of Godbold. He guarded Pat Calathes and shut the big guy down. Calathes, brother of Florida guard Nick Calathes, had just 6 points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Longar Longar had 14 points. Griffin had 12 and Austin Johnson chipped in with 10.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - With 1:14 left in the game, Mississippi State has the ball and a 68-63 lead.

Oregon is 1 of 16 from 3-point land in the second half, after hitting 7 of 17 in the first half. State is now 4 of 17 from beyond the arc (4 of 7) in the second half.

. . . This building will be electric on Sunday if Memphis and State meet in a border war. The teams have not met since 1984-85.

Posted by David Scott at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- I feel like I'm in basketball's Disneyworld.
Three upsets in three games, and this game is supposed to be the exciting one.
Clemson leads Villanova 12-7 with 14:58 to go in the half.
The Tigers have already taken six 3's (they made two) but are 3-3 from the rest of the field.
Let's see if this can live up to the other games. At this pace, Nova should be considered a heavy favorite.

Posted by Mike McCall at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Oregon is struggling mightily form the field, as they have hit just 5of 21 in the second half while State is 12 of 19 in the second half. State leads 63-58 with 3: 46 left in the game.

Hairston is leading Oregon in scoring with 21, while Rhodes is trying to match McClinton's afternoon tally (38) - Rhodes has 33, a career high, surpassing the 30 he had against Auburn earlier this year.

. . . Foul trouble will be an issue down the stretch, meaning foul shooting will also come into play. Catron has already fouled out and six other players have three or more fouls on the two teams. State is 16 of 24 from the line in the game and Oregon is 12 of 14.

. . . Tajuan Porter is either shrinking as the game goes along or we're over-caffeinated. The Detroit-native is listed at 5-6, 150. He may be 5-5 in shoes and 140 with a wet parka on.

Posted by David Scott at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Three's a party.
Siena pulled off the third upset of the day here in Tampa against Vanderbilt, the top team in town, and didn't even need overtime to do it.

"We wanted to be the first upset of the day," said guard Kenny Hasbrouck, who led all scorers with 30 points. "It just shows that midmajor teams are coming up. There are great players all around the country, and they are all focused during the tournament."
Guard Tay Fisher, the squad's lone senior, provided a much-needed spark in the contest, connecting on 6 of 6 3-pointers, his only shots of the game.
Fisher also provided slick ballhandling for the Saints, who never trailed.
"I really don't consider it an upset because I have confidence in my team," Fisher said. "I knew we could hang with anybody the country. When people say Cindarella, it doesn't really come to my mind because I know we can hang with anybody."
Siena took a 12-point lead into halftime, and never allowed the Commodores to come within 7 for the rest of the game.
Whenever VU put together a few baskets, Hasbrouck was ready with a drive to the basket or Fisher spotted up from deep, two threats that greatly complemented each other.
"I was telling the team that we have to act like we're down," Fisher said. "That's kind of hard to do when you can look at the score."
There were no last-minute heroics here, Siena just plain beat fourth-seeded Vanderbilt. They held the Commodores to 20 percent shooting from 3-point land, taking away a staple of VU's diverse attack.
Instead of frantically trying to distance themselves from a favored opponent as Western Kentucky and San Diego did in their upset wins, the Saints spent that time high-fiving and dunking, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
They owed that peace of mind to a hot start that propelled them throughout the contest. They built a cushion as large as 16 points in the first half.
"I thought one of the most critical things that was going to happen tonight for us to win was how we came out at the start of the game. We jumped on them a little bit, and I thought that was very important," Siena coach Fran McCaffery said.
Siena will face the Clemson-Villanova winner on Sunday.

Posted by Mike McCall at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - On the strength of a 29-16 second half run, State has taken the lead and brough tthe crowd with them as we have 7:42 left in the game and the Bulldogs leading 57-54. A monster Rhodes dunk with just under 10 minutes left in the game gave State a 53-52 lead.

Varnado has now picked up his fourth personal foul and will need to sit until after the final, under-4:00 media timeout.

A trey by Barry Stewart with 10:50 left cut the Oregon lead to three points. Stewart has six points in the game. The Dogs are now 3 of 16 from 3-point land and have connected on 3 of their last 4.

. . . Hansbrough picked up his third foul with 10:30 left in the game. Varnado picked up his third just two seconds later. Leunen has four for the Ducks (8:01 left in the game) and Catron also has four (picked up with 10:15 left). they are both on the bench.

. . . In other Hansbrough family news, UNC is up 40-plus in the final seconds of its first round game. Oklahoma and Siena also have comfortable leads, but no Hansbrough brothers.

Posted by David Scott at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Blake Griffin only had 12 points for Oklahoma,but four of them came when St. Joe's had life left in them. His 2 baskets under the goal took some life out of the St. Joe's surge and preserved a 72-64 win for the Sooners.

Be back with more later...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The free throw swished, the crowd cheered, and the bench emptied. And that probably best sums up No. 1 seed North Carolina's 113-74 win against Mount St. Mary's.

After a pair of Alex Stepheson free throws put the Tar Heels over the 100-point mark, UNC coach Roy Williams emptied his bench to give his walk-ons some burn and put an official stamp on this first-round victory.

Tyler Hansbrough led the Tar Heels with 21 points, but by the time the crowd was on its feet to cheer the Tar Heels' 100th point, Psycho T had long since been on the bench.

But even the UNC walk-ons got into the act when Surry Wood threw down a two-handed dunk on an alley-oop pass from Marc Campbell in the final two minutes.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Siena's lead is still 14 with 3:58 left, and they had a chance to add more before the TV timeout. Instead they got called for traveling and blew a big momentum opportunity. Nonetheless, the Saints are still in control of the game, and there isn't much time left for the Commodores to lay around and still think they can win this game.
Graham had a great follow of an Ogilvy miss. For a 5-11 guy, he has great ups. Stallings must really love Graham's effort. He isn't much of a scoring threat, but he's logging a ton of minutes.
Graham also had an incredible pass to Oglivy under the basket, but he missed two or three times and then dropped the next pass from Graham. Ouch. Ogilvy is making Graham look like the star, not himself.

Posted by Mike McCall at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - With an Alex Stepheson free throw, North Carolina has hit the 100-point mark and now leads the Mount 101-58 with 4:39 to go.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The Bulldogs hit their first 3-pointer of the game with 13:10 left on a corner trey by Barry Stewart that cut the Ducks' lead to six. It was State's first make in 13 tries. With 11:44 left in the contest, Oregon clings to a 51-43 lead.

. . . Leunen picked up his third foul with 13:45 left. he hacked Varnado as he converted a lay-up. Ernie Kent decided to leave his heady senior in the game for a couple of trips up the court but then replaced him with just under 13 minutes to play.

. . . State is 6 of 10 from the field in the second half while Oregon is 1 of 8 from 3-point land (after hitting 7 of 17 in the first half).

Posted by David Scott at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tay Fisher can't miss. Seriously, he's 6 for 6 from 3-point land, tying a career high for bombs in a game. Odds are he'll break that, and if he goes much further he could break the Commodores' back as well.Ogilvy had a great block on a Hasbrouck drive, but it was negated due to a foul on Shan Foster.
After faltering a bit, Siena has grown its lead to 65-51 with 7:15 to go. My bracket is crying again. I've got the 'Dores in the Sweet 16.

Posted by Mike McCall at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - St. Joe's keeps coming. Rob Ferguson just knocked down a 3-pointer and St. Joe's trals by just four points.

3:30 left and it's 65-61 OU. Don't go home just yet....

Posted by Dan Sellers at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The pro-Bulldog crowd is getting back into this one as they have started the half on an 8-3 run to cu the Ducks' lead to 41-36 with 15:15 left in the game. Rhodes now has 22 for State and 6 of its 8 in the half.

. . . Rhodes with back-to-back buckets to trim the Ducks' lead to 9 with 16-plus left in the half.

. . . Maarty Leunen had two fouls in the first half and only played 11 minutes but scored nine points in that limited action.

. . . Oregon's Joevan Catron picked up his third foul less than two minutes into the game. He was saddled with two in the first half and limited to 11 minutes.

. . . Alltel is filling up with a lot of Tiger blue for the second half of our double-header in le Petite Roche.

Posted by David Scott at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Rumors abound that actor Mark Wahlberg was here earlier, and that country music singer Vince Gill is behind the Vanderbilt bench. That puts Gill at two games in two days, since he was at the Duke-Belmont contest last night. Props. Also, sounds like quarterback Jeff Garcia and shortstop Derek Jeter were here as well. Where was I for all of this?
Meanwhile, VU coach Kevin Stallings just screwed up nicely, earning a technical foul that yielded 3 points.
The technical came just after Kenny Hasbrouck had a great drive down the middle of the lane for an and-1 layup to make the score 53-43. There was a foul called on Shan Foster that Stallings took exception to, and bam.
Tay Fisher has finally checked back in after resting the first 7:00 or so. Time for him to crank out some more 3's and get this lead back up.
Sure enough, as I type this, he drains one. 5-5 on the day.
It's 58-47 Siena, 11:16 left.

Posted by Mike McCall at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Tar Heels already have 86 points, and there's still more than 10 minutes to go. They have a 34 point lead as well. Other than that, there really is absolutely nothing to report from the RBC Center. Now it's just a game of wait-and-see (how fast they get to triple digits).

Posted by Evan Markfield at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - I think I jinxed Oklahoma.

As soon as the last entry was posted, St. Joe's has made a run and just forced OU to burn a timeout. Rob Ferguson and Pat Calathes have nailed 3's during that stretch and SJU has cut it to a 9-point deficit with 10 minutes to go.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- We've got our first airball of the day! Courtesy of Vandy's Jermaine Beal missing a 3-pointer by a mile. A possession or two later, Ogilvy was open at the top of the key, but Vandy fans yelled 'No!' at the big man in unison, probably saving another airball. Instead, Ogilvy dunked.

Siena has a bunch of lanky, quick players that are causing problems for the Commodores on the drive. The Saints still need an outside shot to stay ahead though, and Fisher hasn't played most of the second half, keeping his magic bag of 3's on the bench with him.
Siena still leads 48-38 with 15:50 to go, but there's a VU onslaught in the making.

Posted by Mike McCall at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Cue up the extended garbage time. Carolina is now up 29 points, and there are still 15 minutes to go. But that doesn't mean we won't get highlight moments, like when UNC's Marcus Ginyard attempted an uncontested dunk and front-rimmed it. Ouch. Roy Williams has already given Ginyard grief over his horrendous layup percentage. This is way worse.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Charles Rhodes was 5 of 7 from the field, 6 of 8 from the free throw line, had three rebounds and an assist in a monster first half for State to kepe them in the game.

State shot 0 for 10 form 3-point land which Oregon got 21 of its 38 points (7 of 17) from beyond the arc.

Rebounds were fairly even with Oregon holding a 19-18 edge.

Oregon had 10 assists on its 14 field goals while State had 5 on its 10. Porter leads all dishers with four assists for the Ducks. Oregon also has four steals. Turnovers were 5 for Oregon and 6 for State.

Posted by David Scott at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - As the clock ticks down here in Birmingham, the Hawks cannot seem to gnaw into the OU lead.

The Sooners lead by 18 with 13 minutes left. The offense continues to escape Phil Martelli's squad, and to make it worse for St. Joe's fans, the Sooners are actually scoring this half.

This one is headed for a blowout...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - OU's David Godbold put an end to first half that happened primarily under the basket for OU by nailing a trio of three-pointers out of the break. Godbold now has 18 points in the game and has surged the Sooners to a 19-point lead.

If St. Joe's can't find a way to score some points quickly, this one will wind up just like the Butler-South Alabama game we witnessed a few hours ago -- UGLY!

Posted by Dan Sellers at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - A 3-pointer by Porter with the shot-clock expiring and the half winding down gives Oregon a 38-28 lead going into the locker room.

Charles Rhodes led all scorers with 16 points and Porter had 12 for the Ducks.

We'll be back with halftime stats after we, ah, go Peay.

Posted by David Scott at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Siena has fourth-seeded Vanderbilt right where they want them, but this one is far from over. Expect Vanderbilt to come out with some serious intensity after the half, and if Siena can't keep up its hot shooting the Commodores can chip away at that 12-point lead.

Tay Fisher's career high for 3-pointers made is six, a number he tied in his last game.
He already has four tonight, and he hasn't missed yet. At this point, the Saints are living and dying with their (Fisher's) 3-point shooting.
The more they (he) make(s), the more things open up elsewhere in addition to the obvious point benefit.

Posted by Mike McCall at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- We have the makings of another upset.
"All" Tay Fisher is hot as a pistol from 3, and he hit another in the waning seconds of the first half to give the Saints a 46-34 lead. This is really incredible here. All the games have followed nearly the same pattern and Siena might be the quickest team yet.

I was wondering why Jamie Graham wasn't listed in Vanderbilt's media guide, and now I know. He's a two-way player on the football team, and the Nashville native didn't join the hoops squad until late in the season. The kid has energy to burn and is a terrific athlete.
Kenny Hasbrouk hit a 3, then had a steal and breakaway dunk for Siena to stretch the lead back to 15. He has 10 points.
Shan Foster is starting to click for Vandy, and he teamed with Ogilvy to undo Hasbrouk's work on the next three possessions.
Edwin Ubiles then had a high-flying alley-oop jam to put Siena up 11. That's the dunk/leap of the day. Dual honors.

Posted by Mike McCall at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The early pace that had us heading for a shootout as slowed considerably as Oregon maintains a seven point bulge, 30-23 with 5:01 left in the half.

Oregon continues to shoot well, at a 48 percent clip, while State is at 38 percent. The Bulldogs have started off 0 of 7 from 3-point land.

. . . The sneaky good Oregon dance and cheer squad is at No. 3 with a bullet after the Texas and Memphis squads. Green and yellow never looked so good.

. . . Just realizing that the names on the back of the Oregon shirts are in that special invisible ink as well. Depending on the angle you look at them from you can either read the name or see nothing but green.

. .. There is no question the State Bulldog mascot is on some kind of performance-enhancing substance. We saw him last year at the SEC Tournament and his jowls were not nearly as filled out. His hind paws have also bulked up a bit. Someone get Arlen Specter on the horn, would ya? We need to launch another (money-wasting) investigation.

. . . (First sign that we're losing it is the immediate preceding note. You have been warned.)

Posted by David Scott at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Think the Tar Heels are dictating the pace much? They've got 60 points at the half and lead by 19. Tyler Hansbrough already has 17, and Mount St. Mary's is living off of 3-pointers and 3-point plays.

Expect Roy Williams to have a word or two with his troops about defense in the locker room after they allowed Mount St. Mary's to shoot 49 percent in the half. Of course, on the flip side, the Tar Heels shot 58 percent and had just two turnovers. I bet if you told the Mount's players that they'd have 41 at halftime, they wouldn't have guessed they'd be down almost a 20-spot.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - As I said earlier, the first half was a battle to 30 and Oklahoma won. The Sooners went on a 14-2 run to close out the half. They lead St. Joe's 34-22.

The Hawks have committed 8 turnovers in the game, and that was a big part of its offensive struggles. They never seemed comfortable. They haven't played bad defense, but it's easy to get behind when you can't score. Those 8 turnovers led to 14 OU points.

Rob Ferguson WAS the offense for St. Joe's with 13 points. Ahmad Nivins had a couple of nice baskets inside to post 6, but as of now, Ferguson was the only Hawk that decided to get off the bus.

OU has a balanced attack with Longar Longar leading the way with 8 poins. Stud freshman post man Blake Griffin posted 7 points, including the a fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired and with just 3 seconds on the game clock.

David Godbold and Austin Johnson have connected from long range, but the Sooners have yet to pose a consistent threat there. Their bread and butter is in the post, and was where they went for most of their offense in the first half. Twenty of OU's points have come in the paint compared to just 6 for the Hawks.

As you might have imagined by my words above, St. Joe's leading scorer Pat Calathes has been non-existent.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Vanderbilt just unleashed Jamie Graham, and he's harassing any Siena player who dares to touch the ball. If the dreadlocked guard looks like he's trying to make the squad by over-hustling, that's not far from the truth. He averages 3.9 minutes per game.

Graham is diving on the floor and just being a general pain in the you-know-what, and it's helping a lot. Great move by Coach Stallings to get someone in there who can be aggressive and risk a few fouls.
The Saints have cooled off a bit, but they still lead by 10, 36-26 with 3:47 to go.

Early indication is that this will be a pro-Clemson building tonight for the Tigers game with Villanova. There are already a ton of orange shirts in the Forum.

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Mount St. Mary's briefly cut the UNC lead to eight points, but a Wayne Ellington 3-pointer pushed the advantage back to 15, 48-33, with 3:43 remaining in the half. And Tyler Hansbrough just got fouled on the ground while getting a loose ball, so the lead could grow bigger.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIMRINGHAM - Omar Leary just made 2 free throws and Blake Griffin converted a layup off a steal and OU is up 7 with just over 3 minutes to go. St. Joseph's has looked really sloppy in the second half of the first half.

Aside from Ferguson, there has been virtually no offense for the Hawks. They're really struggling to get into a rhythm the offensive side of the ball.

As I type, St. Joe's breaks the dry spell, but it was Ferguson who nailed the 18-footer. He now has 13 of the 22 Hawk points. 29-22 after a OU layup with 1:45 left.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The best two-way action of the day in this building as we go back and forth, up and down and the Ducks hold a 24-19 lead with 10:16 left in the half. State is 8 of 16 from the field (0 of 4 form beyond the arc), Oregon is 9 of 17 (including 4 of 10 from 3-point land).

Rebounding is even at 8-8 and Rhodes leads all scorers with 10 points and has missed just one shot from the field (4 of 5).

. . . Varnado with a great swat of Taylor on the baseline. There's a reason the dude averages 4.6 bpg.

. . . Leunen with a great up and under move to put Oregon up 4, 19-15. Kid's a player.

Posted by David Scott at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Despite North Carolina getting hot a few minutes ago, they aren't putting any real distance between themselves and the Mount. Sure, it's a 12-point game, but the teams are just trading baskets now, and the crowd sounds more like it's interested in personal conversation rather than intense March basketball excitement.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tay Fisher is a marksman. The Siena guard came off the bench and has hit 3 of 3 3-point attempts. The Saints are 5-7 overall from outside - a great total but it makes you wonder what will happen when they stop falling.

The 'Dores have a new strategy to stop Fisher: foul him. Good idea, he only hit one free throw and odds are he would have hit the 3.
Siena also seems to love those little up and under layups. They keep getting position directly beneath the basket and confusing the Vandy defenders on which way they will go.
Credit the Commodores. Kevin Stallings is keeping his team under control. They aren't getting crazy and hoisting 3s all over the place, Klayton Korver style. This is a veteran squad that will keep its cool.
Alex Gordon just nailed a trey, Siena leads 31-20 with 7:13 to play in the half.

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Neither side can buy a bucket. Looks like the first half will be a struggle to get to 30. OU up 23-20 with 3:42 left in the half. Longar Longar has 7 points for the Sooners.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Vandy looks like UConn. Nine times out of 10, that's a complement, but not today. The Huskies didn't take San Diego seriously and it cost them big. The Commodores look sloppy early against the Saints, but they have more firepower than Connecticut, which could save them if this goes sour. Siena is hot from outside and leads 20-13 with 11:48 to go.

Siena doesn't matchup that well down low, but that hasn't stopped them. They're hitting 3s (3-4) and executing well on cuts through the lane. (Remind you of anyone? The Toreros perhaps?)
A.J. Ogilvy could have a really big game tonight if he stays clear of fouls. He usually has a four-to-six inch height advantage against his opponent.

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTTLE ROCK - Oregon is out to an 11-4 lead with 15:19 left in the half and has connected on 3 of 7 3-pointers to start out. Hairston, Taylor and Porter each have a trey for the Ducks.

Early on, it appears the Ducks will settle for the long-ball and State will look to pound it inside. We'll see what adjustments are made by both coaches to counter.

. . . Oregon is wearing unifrom combination 8,655 or thereabouts. At least it's not the black sequin variety they tried during the season. Those were just awful with the invisible ink OREGON across the chest.

. . . Our sneaker battle is between Nike (Oregon) and adidas (State).

Posted by David Scott at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - After allowing the Mount to come back from an early deficit to get within three points, North Carolina has turned up its defense and scored seven in a row to make it 22-12 with 11:28 to go. Mount St. Mary's just doesn't have an answer for any of Carolina's inside players. Even with Hansbrough on the bench, Roy Williams must be happy watching late-season underachievers Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson flourish against the shorter competition.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's actually kind of empty right now, which surprises me. After those great early games, I can't imagine not coming back for more.
Siena is looking to provide some more entertainment too. They're out to a 10-6 lead with 15:16 to go in the first half.

Siena hasn't allowed the Commodores much, save for a thunderous dunk by Ross Neltner.
VU guard Alex Gordon is in his element. He always plays well when the state of Florida is involved. He's from Pensacola and always gets up for games against the Florida Gators. There's quite a cheering section on hand for him tonight -- he got the loudest cheers during introductions.

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - St. Joseph's forward Rob Ferguson is carrying the Hawks at the moment. He has 9 of their 19 points as the Hawks hold a 1-point lead with 7 minutes to go in the first half. The senior is well on his way to his average of 12 points per game.

Very exciting game. Lot of back-and-forth scoring. No team has grabbed a big lead yet.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - So much for the crowd having a big impact. So far the Mount St. Mary's contingent is far louder than the many Tar Heel fans here. And despite the fact that Carolina jumped out to a 7-0 lead 80 seconds into the game, the Mount is hanging around, trailing 15-10.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - We're near tip time for the evening session.

Memphis assistant coaches, John Robic and Derek Kellogg stopped by the Posting Up Perch on their way to their "scout seats" where they will watch their potential next opponent in the Oregon/Mississippi State winner. Both coaches said the Tigers had a very good shoot around this afternoon at UALR. "Guys we're reall focused in tuned in," said Kellogg, who is starting to see his name be tossed around for some of the open head coaching positions. Like Tony Barbee before him, Kellogg is now ready for his own program, but he's smart enough to know you don't just take any job.

. . . Probable starting line-ups for this one look like this:

No. 9 seed Oregon (18-13)
Malike Hairston - 16.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg to lead team in scoring
Bryce Taylor
Maarty Leunen
Tajuan Porter
Joevan Catron

No. 8 see Miss. State (22-10)
Ben Hansbrough
Barry Stewart
Charles Rhodes - 16.9 ppg 7.7 rpg to lead team in scoring (second in rebounding to Varnado's 7.9rpg)
Jarvis Varnado
Jamont Gordon

. . . Officials are Mike Kitts, Pat Admas and Steve Skiles.

. . . Big pro-Mississippi State crowd for sure.

Here was a question we asked State coach Rick Stansbury during yesterday's presser, regarding the constant sight of his young sons Isaac, 8, Luke, 3, and Noah, 5.

POSTING UP: Totally off subject, you always have your two little boys with you on the bench? Is that going to be allowed during the NCAA Tournament? And how did that come about, and why is it important for you?

COACH STANSBURY: You know, just it's happened over the years when I had one kid. I didn't know I was going to have three, number one. I don't know what I'm going to do with the other one. I told the second one when he gets five, he could sit down there. Told him that when he was two. All of a sudden, he turned five and didn't forget that.
You know, it's just part of it. They've been with me, go with us on every trip, every road trip, my wife and my family and they're just part of this team, and I think it's helped myself as a coach, maybe bite my tongue sometimes and don't say some things in the locker room I would normally say, and I think it's helped the players. I think it gives them something sometimes to break the tension with, and I just think it's been good for our whole program.

Posted by David Scott at 07:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DENVER, Colo. - Today has been a day of rest at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Well, not for the teams. They had closed practices and press conferences.

At other sites today, we've had riveting basketball. We had exactly the opposite of that here on Thursday, and we're hoping for better tomorrow.

Our first game, which starts at 4:40 Mountain time, features #4 seed Pittsburgh and #5 seed Michigan St. There are a lot of similarities between these teams. Both are pretty physical teams, rebound well, and get good play from their guards.

Pitt happens to be on fire at the moment. The Panthers won the Big East tournament, then stomped Oral Roberts on Thursday.

Michigan St has generally not played well away from home this year, but you wouldn't know that judging from the pounding they gave Temple.

Both teams play essentially three guards, although Michigan State's Raymar Morgan is a little big for a guard. That is the matchup that will likely be key for Michgan St. They need production from the guards, but Morgan in partcular.

Drew Neitzel did not have a particularly good game against Temple, but he wasn't needed. He will be be tomorrow.

Levance Fields of Pitt had a huge game against ORU with 23 points. It's probably not reasonable to expect that again, but if the team has the balance that they had the other night, with five players in double figures, that will be the omen of a good night.

The matchup that might be the toughest for MSU is Sam Young. Young had a quiet 14 against the Eagles, but his size and ability to play inside and out could cause problems for the Spartans.

Say what you want about MSU, they will be prepared. They toughened themselves up by, "beating ourselves up with game film," according to coach Tom Izzo. That has to hurt.

I like the hot Panthers in this game.

Game two will have another Big East team, Notre Dame taking on Washington St from the Pac 10.

WSU shut Winthrop down completely in the second half of their game on Thursday, which is befitting their top 5 ranking in scoring defense.

Notre Dame will provide some challenges. It will be up to Aron Baynes to try to contain Luke Harangody, while Derrick Low and company on the perimeter try to slow down Kyle McAlarney.

Notre Dame averages about 80 points a game, but WSU gives up less than 55 and only gave up 80 once all year.

On the other end, Low needs to find a way to get his offense going before the halftime break. He was 0-5 against Winthrop in the first half, but 4-5 in the second.

Good offense vs good defense. I'll take good defense and the Cougars.

Tonight, I am watching games from the Blake St Tavern, just north of Coors Field in Denver.

There have been a lot of competing interests here today. I've seen shirts from Purdue, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio St, Kansas, UCLA, Georgetown, Oklahoma and Oregon, Everybody has a dog in the fight. Except Ohio St.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Mount St. Mary's leading scorer Jeremy Goode is no doubt happy to be playing an NCAA Tournament game in his home state. But that's probably about all of the fun the Charlotte, N.C., native is going to have tonight as his team takes on top-seeded North Carolina.

The Tar Heels are led by Tyler Hansbrough, who will no doubt cause big problems for The Mount's forwards, the tallest of whom is 6-foot-7. Then of course there's the matter of the 20,000-odd folks in this building, most of whom will be wearing Carolina blue. Odds are this game gets ugly -- and fast. We'll know for sure when it tips around 7:10 p.m.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The biggest Oregon booster of 'em all is currently watching his Ducks go through pre-game shooting and stretching, as Nike founder Phil Knight is sittingon the home bench taking in the scene.

Night - shockingly - is wearing black Nikes, black jeans, a bacl shirt, gray sport coact and from what we sae, no socks. What up? Nike doesn't provide foot coverings for the guy?

. . . We're about 40 minutes from tip and the Alltel Arena, which had been cleared following the afternoon session, is once again slowly filling in

. . . Texas Coach Rick Barnes on facing former assistant, Frank Haith, in Sunday's Round of 32 match-up:

"I've watched them play. . . it's going to be a lot like playing ourselves. Frank's done a great job with that program. I told him the other night, 'I hope we win, so we can play each other.' It'll be a hard fought game just because we know each other so well."

. . . How great has the Tampa site been so far? Two OT games and the tournament's two signature upsets to this point.

Posted by David Scott at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - The Sooners and Hawks have opened the game on a fast offensive pace, with OU holding a 12-10 lead 5 minutes in.

Longar Longar has 4 points in the paint for OU, while Austin Johnson has 5. Rob Ferguson has 5 for St. Joe's.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Game three of first round tournament action in Birmingham is set to tip in 30 minutes.

Six-seed Oklahoma (22-11) will battle 11-seed St. Joseph's (21-12) for the right to play the winner of the Louisville-Boise State game that follows this one.

The Sooners are out stretching now as the fans are starting to trickle into the stands. The Sooners are already the target of some taunting by some St. Joe's fans.

The crowd will likely not be as large or energetic for the second session, because of the school's distance from the Steel City. Louisville is by far the closest team to Birmingham with St. Joe's coming from the Northeast, Oklahoma the Midwest and Boise State clear across the country.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the rest of the night.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- There's no way the second session games in Tampa can match the drama of the first. Right?
Vanderbilt and Siena are about to tip off, and if the earlier matchups are any indication, we're in for a doozy.

We've already seen two overtime games here, and it will take a bigtime effort from Siena to make this a third.
Vanderbilt is loaded, the most talented team in the building today. Here are a look at the Starting Lineups:

Vanderbilt (26-7)
Jermaine Beal - G
Alex Gordon - G
A.J. Ogilvy - C
Shan Foster - F
Ross Neltner - F

Siena (22-10)
Ronald Moore - G
Kenny Hasbrouck - G
Josh Duell - F
Edwin Ubiles - F
Alex Franklin - F

What to Watch For:
Vandy has the ability to score in many ways, from Ogilvy and Neltner down low to Foster and Gordon outside. Foster is a deadly 3-point shooter who can also score off the dribble. Stopping him is a must for the Saints.

Posted by Mike McCall at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- There's no question, Tampa is the place to be.
San Diego ended the second overtime game of the day in dramatic fashion, pulling a shocking upset of fourth-seeded Connecticut.
After traveling with just over a minute left to open the door for UConn to take the lead, De'Jon Jackson redeemed himself with one shot, a jumper that clinched the Toreros' 70-69 victory.

"I knew when the ball was in his hands at the end that he was going to make a play to win the game for us. Just like we drew it up I guess," San Diego coach Bill Grier said.
In fact, it was far from the last shot one would have expected.
Gyno Pomare and Brandon Jackson, who led the Toreros with 22 and 18 points, respectively, seemed the likely candidates for a last shot, especially since Pomare was 10 of 12 from the field.
Instead, both of them were on the bench after Pomare fouled out and Jackson had leg cramps, so the duty fell on Jackson, who had just 2 points to that point.
As he readied for the final play, Jackson said he overheard UConn players discussing his route, a break off a double screen.
"I was like, 'Man, they know the play. Whatever, I'll just do it,'" he said. "I got the ball and saw the opening coach was talking about to the right, so I just drove to the right and it went in."
The shot was the best medicine for Johnson and Grier, who is battling a cold.
"I don't feel (the cramps) any more after that shot," Johnson said. "I was cool then."
Grier: "I'm sure this will make me feel a lot better."
The shot came after Rob Jones hit a runner to make the score 68-67 Toreros, but the Huskies answered with 9 seconds left as Jerome Dyson was fouled on the drive and made both free throws.
San Diego then took the ball down 1 with 5.2 to play, and Jackson sealed the game with the jumper.
Dyson had 14 in the losing effort, while Jeff Adrien led the way with 18 points.
The Toreros will now advance to face Western Kentucky on Sunday in a battle for the region's Cindarella moniker. Both squads seem to have hit their strides at just the right time, especially 22-13 San Diego.
"I think our team is playing the best ball it ever has," Johnson said.

Posted by Mike McCall at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- After a Thursday that went the way of the chalk, we've had plenty of excitement already in Tampa. After Western Kentucky topped Drake in overtime, San Diego has taken Connecticut to an extra frame.

Down 4 with 50 seconds to play, Hasheem Thabeet put in a layup to cut the lead to 2. Then, the Huskies started fouling to stop the clock, but it took a lot of work since they only had three team fouls.
Four fouls later, the Toreros went to the line with a chance to ice the game.
Devin Ginty went to the line first with 28.7 remaining and made one, leaving the door open for Jeff Adrien's layin on the other end.
SDU led by 1 when Jerome Dyson was called for a blocking foul before an inbounds pass that sent Ginty to the line again with 17.1 left. Ginty hit the first but missed the second again, and UConn went the length of the floor.
Dyson was fouled and made both free throws.
The Toreros had another chance as De'Jon Jackson shot a layup with around 4 seconds left, but he missed.
More bonus basketball!

Posted by Mike McCall at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- It looked like Connecticut had swung the momentum in its favor after a Doug Wiggins 3 gave them the lead. Then Gyno Pomare answered and Rob Jones hit an amazing reverse layup, followed by a one-hander to put the Toreros up 4 with 50 seconds to go. The Toreros might actually pull this one off.

Posted by Mike McCall at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- San Diego's possessions are taking much longer now. The Toreros are having a hard time cracking Connecticut's defense, often settling for outside shots late in the shot clock. That's fine with Brandon Johnson, as his three as the 35-second timer expired dropped through the net to give SDU a 49-46 lead.
Toreros by 3 with 7:08 left.

Posted by Mike McCall at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Butler's star point guard Mike Green only had five points.

It didn't even matter. The 7-seeded Bulldogs got 26 from Pete Campbell and 18 from A.J. Graves as Butler crushed 10-seed South Alabama 81-61.

Green got into early foul trouble and was on the bench for most of the half. The 2-guard, Graves, slid over to play the point, and his job was simple: Give it to Campbell.

"It was a unique situation with Mike being out," Graves said. "Pete came off the bench and made some huge shots."

Campbell was 8-of-10 from 3-point land. Asked jokingly if Butler liked playing in Birmingham because of the friendly rims, Graves said, "I don't think any of Pete's shots hit the rim."

Butler made its Sweet 16 run in 2003 with two wins in Birmingham.

"I've heard people say that A.J. is a catch-and-shoot guy, but he was a great point guard his first two years here," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "It's just when MIke Green came in [to Butler], we moved A.J. over, because they complement each other so well."

South Alabama's leading scorer Demetric Bennent was held to just 6 points on 2-of-7 shooting. Stevens said Drew Streicher did a great job defending Bennent.

"Drew has guarded the other team's best statistical player in almost every game this season," he said. "What he did today was unbelievable."

Butler made 15 3-point baskets, just six shy of the NCAA Tournament record. The win was Butler's 30th of the season, a school record.

Butler plays Tennessee, a team they beat last season, in the second round Sunday.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

LITTLE ROCK - Austin Peay made it respectable but Texas finished this one without any problems as the Longhorns move on with a 74-54 win. The Govs did manage to stay with five of texas in the second half (35-30), but texas was too much from the get-go - when they jumped out 9-0 and never looked back.

Abrams finished with 26 for Texas to lead all scorers. Having him and Miami's McClinton on the same court on Sunday could be quite troublesome for the scoreboard operator at the Alltel, not to mention the official scorer. Dexter Pittman had 11 points and ten rebounds in 16 minutes of play for Texas.

Ernest Fields led AP with 14 points.

. . . Rick Barnes emptied his bench with 1:23 left in the game and the 'Horns up by 20.

. . . We're going to get some chow, maybe some fresh air and be back with you for the evening session when Oregon and Mississippi State face off in the first game, followed by No. 1 seed Memphis and UT-Arlington.

Posted by David Scott at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Georgetown got 13 points apiece from Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert but relied on its defense to get a 66-47 win against UMBC in the first-round of NCAA Tournament play.

The 15th-seeded Retrievers had kept the game close longer than many expected, but in the second half Georgetown finally began to pull away when UMBC's shots stopped falling. The Hoyas held their opponent to 32 percent shooting, including 4-of-18 combined from UMBC's starting guards.

And it all started with shutting down Retrievers point guard Jay Greene.

"We saw him on film and knew how good he was and how he can control the game," Wallace said. "We focused on keeping pressure on him."

On the other side of things, the Hoyas shot 51 percent, including 6 for 8 by Hibbert. With UMBC having to focus on Hibbert and his 7-foot-2 frame left plenty of open jumpers available for the Hoyas.

Not that it was anything new for them.

"A lot of teams focus their defense around him," Wallace said. "That allows us, as perimeter players, to knock down shots."

The Hoyas' size also helped them to an 11-rebound edge and 16 more points in the paint than the Retrievers.

But after the game, Georgetown's players weren't delusional about having a 19-point win. They know that UMBC wasn't easy to put away.

"They're real scrappy," Hibbert said. "They like to throw a lot of different stuff at you."

Posted by Evan Markfield at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- The tide is starting to turn here in Tampa, albeit a bit slower than I expected.
Connecticut has scrapped within 3 at 44-41, and with 11:19 left there is plenty of time to make this a rout.
The Huskies are starting to get the ball deep into the lane for easy looks and have put together a 6-0 run, all on layups.

UConn is getting good shots around the basket but having a hard time finishing. Meanwhile, San Diego's slick ballhandlers have done a good job creating open shots all over the floor.
The Johnson & Johnson backcourt isn't intimidated at all, and you can tell the Toreros see this as their game. SDU is altering the Huskies' shots and not giving up easy baskets.
Still, UConn is missing a lot of easy shots, and they are bound to start falling.

Foul situation:
De'Jon Jackson has 3 for San Diego, the most for any player. The rest of the Toreros' starting five has two a piece.
For UConn, Jeff Adrien and Jerome Dyson have two each.

Posted by Mike McCall at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - UMBC certainly didn't make things easy on Georgetown, but it looks like the Hoyas have taken firm control of this one, building a 19-point lead with less than five minutes to go. The life has been pretty well sucked out of the UMBC fan section by now, with everyone sitting down and merely watching the finish.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Near ecstasy form the AP fans as the Govs cut the Texas lead to 26 with just over eight minutes play - they're playing for little victories now as Texas leads 68-42 with 7:04 left in the game.

Texas has been able to rest a lot of starters as Rick Barnes prepares for the Round of 32 showdown with ex-assistant, Frank Haith and Miami.

. . . Texas is led by Abrams' 23 points and Babington has 11 to pace the Govs, who are now being out-rebounded 37-27.

. . . An iron-lunged Austin Peay band member of the female persuasion continues to relentlessly harangue the officials in this one. Someone should explain to the young co-ed that when your team is trailing by 30, the officials have very little to do with the events. "They're playing dirty, Ref!" she screams. No, they're playing well.

Posted by David Scott at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- The crowd here is certainly pulling for an upset. After the drama from Western Kentucky's overtime win against Drake, who could blame them?
They might just get some more drama in the form of San Diego, whose Gyno Pomare is essentially having his way with Connecticut.

The redshirt junior forward has 16 points, already more than his season average of 13.7. He's spotting up for jumpers as well as banging down low with surprising ease against the nation's top shotblocking team.
An alley-oop dunk gave the Toreros an 11-point lead, but it's still way too early to get out of your seat.
I like San Diego's swagger though. They aren't intimidated at all by the fourth seeded Huskies and they aren't letting UConn get away with making mistakes.
The Torero's guard combo of Brandon and Trumaine Johnson has been effective passing the ball, and they've done it with flair, throwing no-look passes left and right.
Brandon is the team's leading scorer on the season, but he has struggled from the field today (3 of 11). That needs to change as Pomare is drawing double teams.
Toreros up 8 with 15:47 to go.

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Wow! A UMBC player just got absolutely yanked down on a rebound attempt near the sideline, and there was no call whatsoever, leading to a chorus of boos from the section of Retrievers fans. But they're not giving up hope yet, with UMBC trailing by just 13 now with under eight to go.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - It wasn't even close. Pete Campbell and A.J. Graves led Butler to a 20-point win in the first round of the tournayyment. Butler will face Tennessee Sunday.

I'll be back with quotes and notes.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

RALEIGH, N.C. - After Roy Hibbert grabbed a rebound and was fouled by UMBC's Darryl Proctor, Hibbert swung his elbows around to shake loose and then stepped menacingly toward Proctor before being restrained by teammates. Retrievers' fans in the stands almost immediately started a chant of "Let's Go Proctor!" With all due respect to Proctor, it wouldn't be much of a fight, with UMBC's forward giving up 10 inches and 45 pounds to Hibbert.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - The Longhorns lead 51-29 with 15:48 left in the game. The Govs have been outsocred 12-5 to start the half and there are very few signs that they can make a real comeback in this one.

. . . Costume change for the Texas dance team. They are now out of their black velour dance pants and into their brown chaps and white vests. Thought you'd like to know.

. . .Our sneaker battle is between two Nike schools.

Posted by David Scott at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - UMBC kept scrapping -- to the point that neither team had a field goal for the first three minutes of the second half -- but eventually, Georgetown was going to use its talent advantage to build on its lead. Finally a three dropped for the Hoyas, and they opened up a 15-point advantage. Shots just keep falling for Georgetown, while UMBC is having to work for every bucket. And there's still 15 minutes to go.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Butler had a 17-point lead at the half, and they haven't even blinked.

Pete Campbell has 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the 3-point line. A.J. Graves had 18 points. Now, all the reserves are in for the Bulldogs as they lead 70-45 with 8 minutes to go.

Barring a historic comeback, it should be an exciting second round game between the Vols of Tennessee and Butler, who has played almost error free today. A really solid game all the way around for the Bulldogs.

I'll post some postgame notes and quotes after the press conferences. If anything exciting happens here, you'll know about it.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

TAMPA, Fla. -- I'm still not ready to say Connecticut is in trouble, but they had better wake up because San Diego is playing right with them.

Jeff Adrien has been the bright spot for the Huskies, hitting 5 of 9 shots for 11 points, but he has two fouls.
The Toreros' have made 15 of 32 shots, a number that would be better if guard Brandon Johnson wasn't 3 for 10. Gyno Pomare has 14 at the break with just one foul, surprisingly low since he has been pretty aggressive.
UConn has used its size well inside to make seven layups but has converted just one other 2-point basket.
On the other side, San Diego has faired well with jump shots, 3s and layups, a diverse attack that leaves them options for the second half.
At this point, it's a matter of whether or not San Diego can keep this up. A Connecticut run is overdue, just as a Drake run was due and delivered in the last game here.
Can the Toreros sustain UConn's runs and not get jittery?

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Texas shot 16 of 36 from the field (44 percent) and Austin Peay shot 7 of 28 (25 percent). The 'Horns out-rebounded the Govs 25-17.

Both teams were 4 of 11 form 3-point land and Texas had three turnovers to just four for AP.

AP hit all six of its free throw attempts and Texas is 3 of 5 from the line.

Abrams is 6 of 8 from the field, 3 of 4 from trey-land.

Fernandez Lockett has three personal fouls for AP.

. . . It seems the AP Governor only has four fingers on each hand. Gotta be hard to govern that way.

. . . The AP logo is strikingly similar to that of the Associated Press.

. . . Best cheer and dance squad of this sub-regional goes to Texas so far, but my advance scouting on Memphis indicates they could give the Burnt Orange ladies a run for their money(makers).

. . . Attendance here for the session is 16,060.

Posted by David Scott at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - The frustration is obvious on the faces of the USA Jaguars.

After a quick 4-0 start, Butler has answered with 9 points off of three 3-point baskets. A.J. Graves has his running total to 16 points with a couple of treys and Julian Betko scratched his scoring card with a long-range 3.

USA looks demoralized. This one could get uglier than it already is...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

TAMPA, Fla. -- UConn isn't exactly impressive right now, although according to the scoreboard here in the Forum, they are beating Austin Peay in addition to facing San Diego.

Gyno Pomare has led the Toreros with 12 points, while Jeff Adrien has 11 for the Huskies.
Connecticut came out a bit flat, and they haven't been able to put any kind of run together on San Diego, who isn't just hanging around because of 3-pointers. The Toreros are actually scoring inside and getting through the Huskies defense.
With 3:17 til the half, it's San Diego 30, UConn 27.

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - USA's Domonic Tilford has consecutive steals and fastbreak layups to get the Jags off to a quick 4-0 start in the second half. They still trail by 13, but they forced Butler to use a quick timeout.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tampa, Fla. -- Sorry for the delay. I'm still catching my breath from that Drake-Western Kentucky finish, and the Connecticut-San Diego game seems a great chance to do so.
The Toreros are showing some fight, although they are at a definite physical disadvantage.

UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 center, dwarfs even SDU's tallest player (Nathan Lozeau, 6-foot-10). The nation's second-leading shotblocker took the opening tip with ease, drawing laughter from the crowd.
It hasn't exactly been a fun time for the Huskies though, as San Diego is taking advantage of just about every UConn mistake. It doesn't exactly look like the Huskies came out ready for this one, but once they get under control this shouldn't be a contest.
With 11:02 left in the first half, San Diego leads Connecticut 16-14.

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Texas gave back some of its early lead but still leads comfortably going in to the locker room, 39-24.

The Govs started to hit some 3-pointers to get back into a bit. They are 4 of 11 from beyond the arc, after starting off 2 of 8. AJ Abrams has 15 points and Damion James and Dexter Pittman each have eight points and seven rebounds. for Pittman, the seven boards match his career high.

Austin peay was led by six from Todd Babington.

Posted by David Scott at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - It looks like UMBC is already tired from trying to keep up with Georgetown. All of those defensive rotations and knocked down shots seem like a distant memory at halftime, with the Hoyas leading 34-22 after Chris Wright buried a three at the buzzer.

The Retrievers are by no means done -- they even knocked down another trifecta in the final minute of the half -- but ever since about the five-minute mark of the half, the Hoyas have looked like they're starting to get their act together. Jonathan Wallace leads Georgetown with 11 points, and he's more and more open each time he shoots it. Roy Hibbert has eight, and you know he'll get plenty more looks in the second half.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Okay, we've got our GameTracker up to speed and the ugliness of the score - 32-14 with 3:52 left - is backed up by the ugliness of the box score. The Govs are 5 of 23 from the field and the 'Horns are 13 of 29.

AJ Abrams leads all scorers with 13 points and has been perfect from beyond the arc for Texas (3 of 3). Damion james already has seven rebounds for Texas, which is up 22-14 in the board battle.

The anti-Texas crowd has had nothing to get on the 'Horns about as Rock Barnes's bunch has come out focused and furious.

Posted by David Scott at 03:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - UMBC coach Randy Monroe just had a tremendous flip-out, stalking down the sideline in exaggerated fashion, with arms and legs flailing, after his team threw the ball away. It was sort of like the Carlton Banks dance from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" but without as much precision and slightly less dance-y. If that helps you picture it. Things got worse when G'town buried a three to make it 26-17 with four minutes to go in the first half.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - With 7:19 left in the first half, Austin peay is showing signs of life, but it may very well be too late as the Govs trail 25-10. We appear to be having some technical issues with GameTracker so our stats are a bit outdated, but Austin peay strated off 1 of 13 from the field while texas was 8 of 15.

The 'Horns held an early 12-7 rebounding edge.

Posted by David Scott at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Butler reserve forward Pete Campbell is putting the Bulldogs on his back. With leading scorer, MIke Green out for most of the first half, Campbell has drained six 3-pointers and has 20 points in the first half. Butler leads 47-30 at the half.

The Bulldogs have stretched the lead out to 42-28 after consecutive threes from Campbell and Shawn Vanzant with just over 2 minutes to go.

Demetric Bennent scored his first bucket of the game with just over 2 minutes to go, but Butler's 3-point barrage has left the Jags stunned.

Campbell spurred a big run midway through the half and put an exclamation point on the half with a long-range bomb as the first-half buzzer sounded.

After the 8-minute mark, it's been all Butler...

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Retrievers hit a three again moments ago to cut Georgetown's lead to one, though it is now back to four points, which is about as healthy an advantage as the Hoyas have had. They really need to just get the ball into Hibbert's hands every time down the floor. Even if he misses some, the fouls are bound to start piling up for UMBC. Also, UMBC's mascot, "True Grit K 9" is flipping out at every opportunity. Right now, he's dancing with pom poms in a way that can only be described as "seizure-like." Someone get this guy a milk bone.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Almost 15 minutes into this game, the leading scorers for both teams have not recorded a point.

Butler's Mike Green is on the bench in foul trouble, and South Alabama's Demetric Bennent has played, he just hasn't scored.

Green averages 14.9 per game, while Bennent averages over 20. Other guys like Butler's Pete Campbell has stepped up with 11 points, and South Alabama's Daon Merritt has 11.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Texas stormed out to a 9-0 lead and now leads 11-3 with 15:34 to go in the half.

. . . Best part of the Governors' mascot's costume is the monocle he sports on his right eye. He's sort of a poor man's Mr. Monopoly dude.

Posted by David Scott at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - Man, Georgetown can not seem to shake UMBC. The Retrievers are playing great defense right now -- staying in front of guys, rotating over on switches and screens -- and generally making things very difficult for the Hoyas. Granted, it's going to take a lot more of that to keep it up, but right now, with 11:25 to go in the first half, it's a tie game at 12.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Daon Merritt now has 10 points for USA as the Jags lead 20-19 with 10:36 left in the half.

USA is controlling Butler on the boards early with a 9-2 rebounding advantage. Also, Brandon Davis and Ronald Douglas have 4 points each for USA in the low blocks.

Graves tacked on another sweet lay-up to give him 7 points already.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - When Matt Spadafora hit a three to put UMBC up 7-5, the crowd here went wild. Not only are the fans keen on an upset, the many North Carolina fans here remember Georgetown knocking the Heels out in last year's Elite Eight. They certainly wouldn't mind seeing the Hoyas go down. But UMBC still has to stop Roy Hibbert, which it doesn't look like they can. For now, it's a 7-7 tie.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - We obviously got caught up in the remarkable ending of Western Kentucky and Drake. What a shot!

The Governors of Austin Peay and the Longhorns of Texas have just tipped off.

Your officials for this one are Frank Scagiotta, Rich Batsell and Joe Lindsay.

. . . Great showing og Peay fans and all the fence-sitters seem to be going with AP as well - am Arkansas anti-Texas bias pervades.

Posted by David Scott at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Daon Merritt has 7 of South Alabama's 11 points with just under 15 minutes to go in the first half, as the Jags lead Butler 11-7.

A.J. Graves has 5 of the Bulldogs' 7 points. It's a very up-tempo game with a lot of running up and down the court.

As I type, of course, Butler's Pete Campbell has made two 3's, and South Alabama got basket from Ronald Douglas and a 3 from DeAndre Coleman. 15-13 Butler

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RALEIGH, N.C. - The second game of the day here should be decidedly less competitive, with No. 2 seed Georgetown taking on No. 15 seed UMBC. Then again, the 15 seeds (notably Belmont and American) have been less than pushovers so far in this tournament. We'll find out in about four minutes when this game tips off.

Posted by Evan Markfield at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BIRMINGHAM - Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl said his Vols just out-manned American, literally.

American's star guards Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer played 40 and 39 minutes, respectively, while Tennessee only had 3 guys plays 30 minutes or more.

"I don't think we played more effectively in the second half," Pearl said. "I think they just got fatigued. We played a lot more guys than they did."

American head coach Jeff Jones agreed.

"Ultimately, they wore us down," Jones said. "I thought we stepped up the challenge, but we just weren't quite up to it."

The critical play for UT came when Tyler Smith swatted an easy lay-up and the Vols ran the break to perfection. Wayne Chism was found in the low blocks for a 3-point play to put a cap on it.

Jujuan Smith had 19 points to lead UT. Chism had 16 and Tyler Smith scored 14 to pick up the slack from Chris Lofton. Lofotn had just 5 points and was 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. It's just the fourth game of the season that Lofton did not make at least 1 three-point basket.

Garrison Carr had 26 in the loss for American.

Tennessee will take on the winner of the South Alabama and Butler game on Sunday.

Posted by Dan Sellers at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TAMPA, Fla. -- What a finish.
Just when it seemed that Drake had put away pesky Western Kentucky, Hilltoppers' guard Ty Rogers drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to seal a 101-99 upset win.
The shot came after Drake's Jon Cox, who sent the game to overtime with a 3-pointer near the end of regulation, hit two free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining in overtime to give his team a 1-point lead.
WKU's Tyrone Brazelton brought the ball down court, and it looked like he would take the last shot. With 33 points already behind him, why not? Instead he dished to Rogers, who send the red-clad Toppers' fans into complete bedlam.

"We knew 5 seconds was enough time to get to the basket," Brazelton said. "Coach said we should get the ball to the rim, and during the timeout, Ty Rogers came up to me and said, 'Don't be afraid to kick it to me.' I saw him over there, and when the defense collapsed on me I kicked it to him."
Rogers' shot kicked off a massive celebration as he and his teammates raced around the court and the WKU fans celebrated in the stands.
It was a fitting end to a game the Hilltoppers led by as many as 16 points in the second half.
"I think what you just saw out there is why this is the greatest show on earth," WKU head coach Darrin Horn said.
"We were fortunate that we got the ball last."
Drake's gutsy comeback probably would have ended in the Bulldogs' favor if not for Brazelton. The guard his 6 of 10 3-point attempts, and he was matched by DU forward Klayton Korver, brother of NBA player Kyle, who nailed 6 of 14 3's and helped his team sustain many Hilltoppers onslaughts.
After Brazelton's performance, it seemed a safe bet that he would take the last shot. Drake's defense flocked to him, leaving Rogers a sliver of space to hit the last shot.
After a Cindarella season, Drake must now pass the slipper on to WKU, a squad Rogers believes is one of destiny.
"The reason I wanted the ball is because I have faith," Rogers said. "I think everybody on this team has faith. It's something we talk about, and it didn't have to be me that shot the ball. Whoever shot it, it was going down, in my opinion."

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LITTLE ROCK - Looks like Stephen Curry from Davidson is out-doing McClinton, as the super sophomore led his Wildcats past Gonzaga with 40 points. But McClinton isn't done yet, as he nails a trey to match his career high with 34 points and then hits two free throws to make it 74-61 Canes. McClinton finsihed with 38 now after just six in the first half.

The Canes advance with a 78-64 win.

We'll be back with the next game's probables and officials in a bit.

Posted by David Scott at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Drake isn't giving up without a fight.
Josh Young hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bulldogs within 1, and the roof barely stayed on the St. Pete Times Forum.
Of course, Tyrone Brazelton answered with a 2 for WKU, but Jon Cox went down the other end and drained a 3 to tie the score at 88, with 24.6 seconds to go.
Emmenecker missed a chance with about 8 seconds left for Drake, and WKU's desperation heave didn't go, so we'll head to overtime tied at 88.

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)