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."

Continue reading "Tampa sweet for Western Kentucky, Villanova" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 06:04 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)

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)

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)

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)

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:

Continue reading "Halftime stat bonanza" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 03:40 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)

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)

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)

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)

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:

Continue reading "WKU-San Diego tips off" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:56 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)

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)

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)

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).

Continue reading "Siena-Nova on tap" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:32 AM | 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.

Continue reading "Tampa doesn't disappoint" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:00 AM | 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.

Continue reading "Cats complete Upset Day with comeback win" »

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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.

Continue reading "Siena beats Vanderbilt, when will this end?" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 09:12 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)

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)

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)

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.

Continue reading "Airball alert!" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 08:33 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.

Continue reading "Can the Saints withstand a Vandy run?" »

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.

Continue reading "Siena stretches lead before half" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 08:03 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.

Continue reading "Vandy's secret weapon" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:53 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.

Continue reading "What is going on here? Siena by 11" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:40 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.

Continue reading "Vandy comes out sloppy, similar to UConn" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:34 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.

Continue reading "Siena takes early lead" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 07:23 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.

Continue reading "Can Vandy-Siena match the others?" »

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.

Continue reading "San Diego Torerrorizes Huskies" »

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.

Continue reading "Overtime, again" »

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)

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.

Continue reading "Finally, UConn makes a run" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 05:04 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.

Continue reading "Pomare leading Toreros" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "Toreros up 5 at halftime" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "Toreros giving Huskies a fight" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "UConn trails early" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 04:03 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.

Continue reading "Toppers win at buzzer" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:51 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)

Western Kentucky is still in control, but they may have looked up for a second, similar to what Belmont did last night in its loss to Duke. The Hilltoppers stopped playing to win and just looked to kill some clock, and it cost them a few points.

Continue reading "Drake on the ropes, down 7" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Drake seems to be resting its fate in the hands of Klayton Korver. That's who they look to when they need quick points, and he is 5 of 9 from the field, all 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs have started getting their hands dirty too, scrapping for rebounds and keeping WKU off the glass.

Continue reading "'Tops up by 15" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My bracket is crying out to Drake to put together a run.
The Hilltoppers are playing at a much higher level in every aspect right now, shooting, rebounding, passing and defense.

Continue reading "WKU in control" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It looks like both teams are a little tired, but they're keeping up the frantic pace from the first half. Drake favors quick possessions to open up a jump shot, while the Hilltoppers are trying to feed it down low to Magley and Evans.
Magley nearly got fouled on a layup and then got called for one himself on the other end. That's three, and he went back to the bench after just 3 minutes.
Uh-oh.

Continue reading "Fouls piling up on WKU" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is crazy. Drake's shot chart includes just one 2-point shot besides layups. Klayton Korver has taken a few shots from the Gulf of Mexico that, needless to say, didn't go in.
Leonard Houston leads Drake with 11 points, while Courtney Lee and Tyrone Brazelton have 9 each for WKU.

Continue reading "Halftime: Foul trouble for WKU" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Are the refs playing favorites?
Maybe. Drake has shot 16 free throws compared to NONE in the first half for WKU. The Hilltoppers got called for 13 fouls to Drake's 6.
Tyrone Brazelton doesn't care, he just keeps shooting 3's, including a desperation heave at the buzzer that nearly dropped from half court. If they keep going in (he's 3-6) then it won't matter how many fouls are called.

Continue reading "Playing favorites?" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Emmenecker looks a little frustrated. He's off his game and trying to drive, which isn't his strength. The Bulldogs need him functioning in his normal capacity of dishing assists and just being efficient.
Both teams have made it clear that they'll shoot from anywhere. WKU's Courtney Lee drilled about a 24-footer, and Korver tried the same but missed on the other end.

Continue reading "Back and forth we go" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The forum is getting pretty rowdy now. It's almost full, with a lot of fans who look like they're trying to figure out who to root for.
Hilltoppers' fans are pretty ticked off at the officiating. D.J. Magley was looking pretty solid in the paint, but two early fouls forced him to sit. They're in an odd position, an underdog team playing Drake, who was an underdog all year beloved by most. WKU doesn't seem to be getting any love as the little guy - from fans or refs.

Continue reading "Who's the underdog?" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Leonard Houston came out of the break, hit a 3, then put back his own missed layin. Jon Cox followed that with another 3 to cap an 11-0 run, making the Bulldogs 3 of their last 3 from deep.
Magley is still posing a problem for Drake though. He looks like former UNC star Sean May the way he's controlling things down low.
As soon as Magley took a seat, Drake went straight to the paint. It's easy to see he's having a big impact right now, but it's a bit concerning for WKU for him to have two fouls after just 6 minutes.

Continue reading "Drake gets hot" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Great start for WKU's Jeremy Adams. He had a dunk on the first possession and then blocked a Drake layin. The Hilltoppers are dominating down low and keeping their fans in a frenzy.
Drake is mostly staying outside, trying to pick the right opportunities to go in the paint. The Hilltoppers have a definite size advantage, so it looks like the Bulldogs will need to get hot from outside.

Continue reading "Hilltoppers contol the paint" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First off, I don't have an assigned seat so I'm a bit of a drifter today. My apologies if I disappear for a half.
We're about to tip off between Drake and Western Kentucky, and there's a lot of blue here in Tampa. No, not Drake fans, empty blue seats in the St. Pete Times Forum.
I'm sure it will fill up more as the game goes on, and as of now both Drake and Western Kentucky have a rowdy few sections of supporters.
(FYI: The Hilltoppers' band is playing 'You Give Love a Bad Name' by Bon Jovi. Major points there)

Continue reading "Greetings from Tampa" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Tampa regional may lack some of the marquee matchups of other regionals, but since the two teams that emerge from the Sunshine State will likely get a crack at two No. 1 seeds in the Sweet 16, there may be a few giant killers present Friday.

Here’s a look at the games that will tip off inside the St. Pete Times Forum Friday:

Continue reading "Tampa: Giant Killers In The House?" »

Posted by Mike McCall at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)