Ali Farokhmanesh, aka The Sultan of Swish, helps Northern Iowa upset Kansas

I don't think that I was the only one that assumed Kansas was going to win this game.

I'm not talking about in the pregame either.

I'm talking about after Northern Iowa had controlled the first 30 minutes of the game. I'm talking about after the Panthers had built a lead that grew as big as 12. I'm talking about after a Johnny Moran three with 4:07 left in this game put an end to a Jayhawk run and pushed the Panther lead back to 59-53. I'm talking about after an Adam Koch dunk in traffic made the score 63-56 with 1:17 left on the clock.

The biggest shot of Ali Farokhmanesh's life.
(photo credit: Gazette Online)

The Panthers, for 30 minutes, looked so poised and so composed, immune to the pressures of playing the No. 1 team in the country in March.

They controlled the pace of the game, calmly running their offense and protecting the ball. They routinely found the open man and, more importantly, hit shots when they were there. Defensively, they took the Jayhawks out of everything they wanted to do, stymieing an offense that was as efficient as any in the country this season.

That all changed in the last 10 minutes.

Kansas, clearly the more athletic team (and its not even close), threw on a press that rattled the Panthers. Instead of a slow-paced battle based on the ability to execute on both ends, the game turned into a haggard, up-and-down, glorified AAU game.

UNI lost their ability to play with the poise that allowed them to build the lead.

And the Jayhawks took full advantage.

The Panthers were unable to get the ball over half court. Every pass seemed destined to end up in the Jayhawks hands. There was no chance UNI was going to be able to hang on to this game.

That all changed thanks to the "Sultan of Swish".

Before I go any further, let me rewind to Thursday. UNI and UNLV were locked in a great game that was overshadowed by a day's worth of fantastic finishes. UNI had blown a late nine point lead against the Rebels, allowing UNLV to tie the game on an Oscar Bellfield three. On the ensuing possession, the Panthers didn't call a timeout, instead working the ball around UNLV's pressure before Ali Farokhmanesh found himself open 28 feet from the basket.

Yes, he was 28 feet from the hoop. Yes, he was open.

So he fired.

Swish.

Farokhmanesh buried the three with 4.9 seconds left and UNI would hold on to beat the Rebels and advance to face Kansas.

Fast-forwarding back to today, Kansas had scored six points in the blink of an eye to trim a 63-56 deficit to 63-62 on a Sherron Collins floater with just 42 seconds left on the clock. Following a Bill Self timeout, Kansas put their press back on. If you don't call Cedar Falls home, you probably expected the worst.

But Northern Iowa broke the press. Jake Koch inbounded the ball to Adam Koch, who avoided a trap sending the ball right back to his brother. Jake nearly threw the ball away as he hit Kwadzo Ahelegbe who then found Farokhmanesh up the sideline. Farokhmanesh was wide open on the three point line and, well, as they say, the rest is history:



Now lets call a spade, a spade.

That shot was idiotic.

Up one, 35 seconds left in the game, 28 on the shot clock, no offensive rebounders.

Simply put, you DO NOT take that shot.

But the "Sultan of Swish" did. And he swished it.

It takes stones to take that shot. It takes stones to make that shot. Shots like that are the reason that March Madness is called March "Madness". Shots like that are what makes this month the best month of the year. Shots like that are what makes legends out of Iranian-Americans playing for a mid-major team in a state known for their corn, not their hoops.

Farokhmanesh is not going to be on an NBA roster. Ever. A six-foot-nothing guard that can't do much other than shoot it is not a pro prospect. He doesn't have agents knocking down his door. Draft Express not only doesn't have a profile for Farokhmanesh, they probably have never heard of him.

Ten years down the road, there may be 30 guys playing in this tournament that will be cashing NBA checks.

But Farokhmanesh's shot -- well, shots -- are going to be what people remember from this tournament.

And if they're not, then we all have something to look forward too.
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St. Mary's ridiculous threes

It doesn't matter what seed you are, if you win in March, odds are good that you got a couple of fortuitous bounces along the way.

If you're Michigan State or Villanova, it might be the aid of a friendly call or two. If you're Old Dominion, it might be the result of a Carleton Scott three rimming out. If you're Georgia Tech, it may be because you hit on a 1-in-4,338 chance of going 24-25 from the free throw line.

And if you're St. Mary's, it may be a result of hitting two of the more ridiculous threes I've ever seen in a game.

Matthew Dellavedova has some crafty handle, but is he a Harlem Globetrotter? Mickey McConnell is one of the best shooters in the country, but do you think he called bank?

(H/T CHJ)

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Enter Samhan...

...into the Sweet 16?

...into NCAA Tournament lore?

...into the NBA?

However you want to put it, the one thing that is clear is that Omar Samhan and his St. Mary's Gaels have solidified themselves as the leader's in the clubhouse for this year's tournament darling.

The Gaels weren't supposed to be in the Sweet 16. Hell, if they hadn't won the WCC conference tournament, SMC may very well be playing in the second round of the NIT right now. Three-loss WCC teams don't get at-large bids.

You think the Gaels proved they belonged today?

College hoops fans around the country are going to spend the next few days harping on the Big East's (the Big Least? The Big Easy?) struggles in this year's tournament. Rightfully so. This was supposed to be one of, if not the best conference in the country, and here we are one game into the tournament's second round, and just three Big East teams remain -- Syracuse, West Virginia, and Pitt.

In regards to Villanova, the overrated tag may just be correct. The Wildcats struggles defensively have been well documented this year, they don't have any size inside, and their talented group of guards relies solely on their ability to go one-on-one. Play tough, disciplined defense, force their talented back court to take difficult, low-percentage shots, and they can be beaten.

The secret was out on Villanova. That's why they lost seven of their last ten games.

And St. Mary's took advantage of that.

But don't call it an upset. Is it possible that the better team won today?

Villanova simply had no answer for Omar Samhan. Frankly, few have this season. Samhan came into today's game averaging 21.2 ppg and 11.0 rpg while shooting 55% from the floor. In two games this tournament, he's upped those numbers 30.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg while hitting 24 of his 32 FG attempts. That's 75% from the field.

On Saturday, Samhan was as impressive as he has been all season long. He ran the floor hard. He sealed hard. He blocked a few shots. And, most importantly, he was unstoppable when he caught the ball on the block. Samhan has an impressive variety of moves, from powerful drop-steps to charminny-soft turnarounds to jump hooks to nifty spins along the baseline.

And they were all on display this afternoon.

But as is usually the case when you see a player have a performance as impressive as Samhan's was today, you tend to forget the other four players on the court.

Doing so would be doing the Gaels an injustice.

Matthew Dellavedova doesn't have an ounce of athletic ability. His shaggy hair, mouth guard, and ugly looking jump shot make him look like the guy that doesn't get picked at open gyms. But he's crafty, is an excellent passer, and that ugly jumpshot goes in more often than not. Mickey McConnell barely leaves the ground when he shoots and his jumper comes close to hitting the Dunkin Donuts Center's roof, but you'll take it from a guy that hits over 50% from deep and averages 5.3 apg.

Ben Allen, Clint Steindl, Jordan Page, Beau Levesque. St. Mary's has size, they have shooting, they have a go-to post scorer, and they certainly aren't playing scared on the sports biggest stage.

Is it possible that St. Mary's is the best team in the South Region?

Well, no. Probably not.

But it doesn't mean they can't play like it.
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We may never see a 16 beat a 1

There were a lot of story lines heading into the Syracuse-Vermont first round game.

Syracuse's Kris Joseph and Vermont's Maurice Joseph are brothers. Vermont's Evan Fjeld playing through despite losing his mother a little more than a week ago. The Big East's struggles in the NCAA Tournament. The last time these two played in the tournament gave us one of the most memorable calls in college basketball history, and Gus Johnson was once again manning the play-by-play.

But the one that didn't get enough publicity is that this match-up very well could have been the last 1-16 game. Ever.

The latest news on NCAA Tournament expansion is that it will "likely happen" in the 2011 season.

You all know my feelings on this. (I hate it). You also should know that all the warning signs from the past week all point towards expansion. Thursday's fantastic day of games no doubt brought in enormous ratings and internet traffic. As it should have, because the day was amazing to follow.

Conspiracy theorists believe that Duke's generous region is another sign of expansion. Duke is like the Yankees in that you either love them or hate them. There is no middle ground for college basketball fans. But like the Yankees, the Blue Devils command attention, whether it is from the media or the fans. Attention brings TV ratings. The thinking goes that if Duke makes the Final Four, the ratings will be that much higher. And if the ratings are that much higher, than the NCAA is selling a better product. Higher ratings mean that the NCAA can sell their television rights at a higher price, enabling them to opt out of their current contract for a more lucrative one.

You still with me?

Like I said, I hate the idea of expansion to 96 teams. (Although I would be on board if they wanted to expand to, say, 68 or 72 teams, increasing the number of play-in games and allowing all those teams on the bubble's cut line a chance to play their way into the dance.) As good as the first day of the tournament is, making it take two weekends to trim the field down to the Sweet 16 is, simply put, too much of a good thing.

Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream is my biggest weakness, but there's no way I'm going to eat a gallon of it in one sitting.

And while losing this first weekend of the tournament would be a disaster -- seriously, its like a national holiday; are we going to do away with President's Day next? -- perhaps the biggest loss here is that we will never see a 16 seed topple a 1 seed.

Only four times in the history of the 64/65 team tournament have we seen a 15 upset a 2. All four should be firmly engrained in your memory. In 1991, the Richmond Spiders became the first 15 seed to beat a 2 seed as they upset a Syracuse Orange (then the Orangemen) team led by Billy Owens and Dave Johnson. In 1993, the Steve Nash-led Santa Clara Broncos knocked off Arizona. In 1997, Coppin State beat South Carolina by 13 points. And lastly, in 2001, the Hampton Pirates knocked off Marcus Fizer's Iowa State team, providing us with one of the Tournament's most lasting images.

Imagine the celebration if a 16 seed ever beat a 1 seed.

Would we every forget it? How many Pontiac game-changing performance commercials would be made out of it? Hell, Princeton's 50-49 loss to Georgetown in 1989 has gone down in history simply because the Tigers came that close.

But with expansion, we will never see it.

(Sigh).

I guess I better enjoy this tournament while it lasts.

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2010 NCAA Tournament: Day 2 recap

So today wasn't nearly as exciting as yesterday.

But as my college roommate always said, "they can't all be supermodels." Yes, we may have been lacking the buzzer beaters and the overtimes and the 30 point comebacks. This was still a day with 12 hours of basketball. Brackets were still busted. Legacies were still cemented. Lets not let a spin in a Ferrari make us forget that a 1994 Toyota Camry will still get you where you need to go, and use less gas.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, lets get on with the recap:


GAME OF THE DAY: Michigan State 70, New Mexico 67

The sad thing about this game is that the excitement of it will be marred by some questionable officiating late. Before that, this game was quite exciting. Michigan State built up a big first half lead, going into the break up 42-29. But New Mexico State can score, and they caught fire coming out of the break, hitting 10 of their first 12 shots. They took their first lead at the 11:41 mark on a three pointer from Aaron Castillo, but Michigan State would push back. A putback dunk from Raymar Morgan gave Sparty a four point lead a the two minute mark, but a three from Troy Gillenwater cut the lead to one with 22 seconds left. That's when the real craziness started.

Raymar Morgan got fouled on the ensuing inbounds, hitting the first free throw but missing the second. But Gillenwater committed a lane violation -- and he did, it was the correct call -- giving Morgan another chance, which he capitalized on pushing the lead to three. New Mexico State missed two desperation threes before the ball got knocked out of bounds off of a Spartan player with 0.3 seconds left. It looked like some time could have been put back on the clock, but the refs didn't check the timing, and New Mexico State didn't get another shot off. Kalin Lucas finished with 25 points to lead the Spartans.

They were good too

• Georgia Tech 64, Oklahoma State 59: The Yellow Jackets took control in the second half, pounding the ball into their big men inside. Perhaps the most surprising result of today's games, Tech, who usually shoots 64.2% on free throws, went 24-25 from the free throw line -- scoring their last 13 points from the charity stripe -- to seal the win. James Anderson struggled in this one, going just 3-12 from the field and 0-6 from three, including missing a tough layup with the Pokes down three in the final 20 seconds.


• Wisconsin 53, Wofford 49: In the ugliest nail-biter you will see, both the Terriers and the Badgers struggled down the stretch, blowing opportunity after opportunity to take control of this one. The game-changing play came at the two-minutes mark. Down 48-47, Jordan Taylor poked the ball away from Jamar Diggs and right into the arms of Trevon Hughes, who scored on a layup. After a Wofford free throw -- they were just 1-7 in the second half -- Wisconsin got a huge offense rebound from Keaton Nankivil before Hughes found Jon Leuer for an open 15 footer with 15 seconds left for what would prove to be the game-winner.
  

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Jamal Crawford, Xavier

Crawford was sensational in the second half today. He scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half as Xavier pulled away from Minnesota. Crawford came out gunning, as he is known to do, but didn't really get it going until the second half. The Gophers just had no answer for the Indiana transfer in transition. He beat Minnesota down the floor for a couple of acrobatic layups, scoring 11 points as Xavier turned a 30-29 deficit into a 47-39 lead.

This game was really a microcosm of Crawford as a player. I stop short of calling him a volume shooter, but Crawford is definitely the kind of player that shoots his way out of a slump. And he was off in the first half, but when Crawford gets hot he has the capability of carrying the Gophers. He showed that in the second half today. Crawford finished with 28 points, 6 assists, and 5 boards.

They were good too

• Jordan Williams, Maryland: Williams is going to be a very, very good player for Maryland, and he showed why today. Williams is not the most athletic big man, but he takes up a lot of space in the paint and can score around the rim. Greivis Vasquez was having a bit of an off-night, and the Terps needed their role players to step up. Williams was the best of the bunch, leading Maryland with 21 points and 17 boards as they beat Houston and advanced to face Michigan State.
• JaJuan Johnson, Purdue: Johnson was the difference in the second half for Purdue. Sure, his 23 points, 15 boards, and 3 blocks were nice, but just as important was the defense he helped play on Alex Franklin. Franklin had 10 points and 8 boards in the first half, but went scoreless in the second half as Purdue pulled away from Siena to advance.
• Keith Ramsey, Missouri: Mizzou won the battle of the Tigers 86-78, and Ramsey's play was a huge reason why. Averaging just 6.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg, Ramsey went off, outplaying Clemson's formidable front line and finishing with 20 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
  

TEAM OF THE DAY: Cornell Big Red

Cornell put together an unbelievable performance against Temple. They sliced up the vaunted Temple defense, taking control early to the tune of 68% shooting in the first half. They continued that hot shooting in the second half, going up by as much as 18 on the Owls.

I don't think people understand how impressive this performance was by Cornell. Temple is third in the country in defensive efficiency and leads the country in defensive effective FG%. There is a very valid argument to be made that the Owls are the best defensive team in the country. And Cornell lit them up. The only time this season that Temple had allowed a team to score more than 1.11 points per possession was when Kansas came into Philly and whooped the Owls 84-62, scoring 1.26 ppp. Today, Cornell scored 1.35 ppp. It was Cornell's fourth best offensive performance of the season, with the other three coming against Dartmouth, Yale and Brown. Yes, those are some advanced numbers I'm throwing at you, but just know this: Cornell's performance was unbelievable today.

They were good too

• Purdue Boilermakers: Purdue has to be given credit for what they did today as well. not many people gave Purdue a chance, not after they lost Robbie Hummel and had a pitiful performance against Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. But the Boilermakers came out and whipped Siena in the second half, scoring the first 15 points of the second half to put away the Saints.
• Cal Bears: Cal is in the same boat as Purdue. No one gave the Pac-10 any credit this season, but the Bears put on a sterling performance against Louisville, jumping out to a 22-4 lead and never allowing the Cardinals to really mount a threat.
  

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Weekend Dump

It's the first weekend of the tournament. Did you really think we would just sit on our butts and watch hoops all day?

- So what if Friday wasn't as exciting as Thursday

- Your guide to Saturday's action

- They keep dropping like flies: Norm Roberts out at St. Johns

- I hope you don't think that Cornell's win was a fluke

- The european experiment doesn't work for Jeremy Tyler, quits Maccabi Haifa and comes home

- Georgia Tech does better with no cell phone reception

- The loss to Ohio causes question for concern at Georgetown

- Iowa State gets comittment from 6'9 center

- Rumor has it Auburn and Tubby Smith are interested in each other

- It seems like every year Xavier makes the secon round

- Gamecocks head coach Darrin Horn insists they aren't rebuilding

- John Calipari is a fan of New Orleans

- Does Northern Iowa stand a chance?


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BIAH Blogger Bracket Challenge: Day 2

We know that every living breathing organism on the planet has drafted up a bracket this week and we here at BIAH thought it would be interesting to see just how smart the blogosphere and related media experts are. We invited a handful of the brainiest college hoops brains to take part in our first ever BIAH Blogger Bracket Challenge.

After every session we wil update you, our faithful readers, with a top-5 and a not-so-top-5, so you can see just how smart/dumb we are.

Here is where we stand after day 2:


There isn't a huge difference between the top and the bottom of our list, but a few people banked on Georgetown making to Indianapolis. That will surely comeback to haunt a few participants.


Top 5

1. Boiled Sports - J. Money - 25/32
1. BleacherReportTimC, T. Cary - 25/32
3. zhayes9 - Z. Hayes - 24/32
3. AnchorOfGold - A. Webb IV 24/32
3. SearchingForBillyEdelin - N. Fasulo - 24/32

Bottom 5

23. TC-TomahawkNation - M. Haupt - 20/32
23. MarchToMadnessAndCo 1 - G.W. - 20/32
23. Boise State FTW - K. Lee - 20/32
23. RTMSF 1 - R. McClure - 20/32
29. WBroncos_Rule 1 - R. Butler - 19/32

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Friday's buzzer beaters

We had no game-winning buzzer beaters on Friday.

That doesn't mean we didn't have buzzer beaters.

For those of you that started you Friday night drinking binge early, here's what you missed in the late games:

Jerome Randle hit a running 35 footer at the half against Louisville



Not to be outdone, Houston's Adam Brown hit a shot from just inside half court while coming very close to falling on his face



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The refs in the NMSU-MSU game blew it, but would it have really made a difference?

Friday was a pretty uneventful day, at least in terms of this year's tournament.

But if there is one talking point coming out of today, it is the officiating at the end of the Michigan State-New Mexico State.

There are two issues at play here. The first is what will go down in New Mexico State lore as 'the lane violation'. Down by two with 19 seconds left, Troy Gillenwater was called for a lane violation on a missed free throw by Raymar Morgan. Morgan would hit the next attempt, pushing the Spartan lead to three. The second problem involved clock management. After a scrum for a rebound, the ball went out of bounds off of Michigan State with 0.3 seconds left, but it looked like there should have been more time on the clock. The referees didn't use the monitor to check the time.

There's no video up of it yet (hopefully it will be up by tomorrow, and we will be sure to post it when it is), but anyone that has an issue with the lane violation call is wrong. On the video, it is clearly visible. Gillenwater stepped over the hash mark on the lane before Raymar Morgan shot his free throw. That is the absolute definition of a lane violation. No one should have a problem with the referees making the right call in crunch time. If that ref doesn't make the call, then Michigan State has a legitimate beef.


The clock issue is the bigger problem. I don't understand how the referees don't go check the monitors to make sure the time on the clock is correct. While the difference between 0.3 seconds and 0.6 seconds (which it seemed like would have been the correct amount of time left based on the replays I saw) is minimal, it is the difference between being able to catch-and-shoot and having to tip a ball in.

That said, even with 0.6 seconds left, it would have taken a miracle for the Aggies to tie this game. Crazier things have happened, I know. But lets call a spade a spade. New Mexico State had very little chance to win this game after missing two threes on that final possession.

New Mexico State fans can't be upset about the lane violation call that was made. It was correct.

They can be upset about the refs not checking the time left on the clock, but in all likelihood it didn't make a difference.

Don't tarnish this game by complaining about the refereeing. Celebrate the fact that your team was able to come back from down 14 against a coach and a program that has been one of the best in the country the last decade.

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Cornell's performance was better than you think

There have been quite a few impressive performances thus far in the tournament. Ohio dominated third-seeded Georgetown en route to a 14 point upset. Butler and St. Mary's both used dominating second halves to beat UTEP and Richmond, respectively, and advance to the second round.

But the most impressive performance of the first round may end up being Cornell's domination of the Temple Owls.

No, I'm not an idiot. While its true that I didn't pick Cornell to win this game, its not because I didn't Cornell was good. Its because I thought Temple was that much better.

The numbers don't lie. According to Kenpom, Temple is the third best team in the country in terms of defensive efficiency and first in the country in defense effective FG percentage. (For those that are new to tempo-free stats, defensive efficiency is the number of points a team allows per possession, while effective FG percentage factors in that going 2-6 from three is equivalent to shooting 3-6 from inside the arc.)

In other words, there is a good argument to be made that Temple is the best defensive team in the country.

And Cornell carved up the Owl's defense with the surgical precision of Dexter Morgan.

Seriously, I don't think you understand how impressive this performance was by Cornell. The Big Red shot 68.4% in the first half, and were still over 60% late in the second half. They hit nine threes.

It gets better.

Coming into the game, the Owls had only allowed an opponent to average more than a point per possession (an efficiency over 100) six times on the season, and only once was that number above 111 -- when Temple was manhandled 84-52 by a Kansas team that would have beaten the Nets that day. Cornell finished the game with an offensive efficiency of 135.4, the fourth best performance by the Big Red on the season. They were only better against Dartmouth, Brown, and Yale. Not exactly a murderer's row.

Cornell's eFG% was 65.4%, which was their fifth best performance of the year and the second-worst given up by Temple on the season.

Tempo-free numbers are what they are: numbers.

Anyone watching this game knows that Cornell thoroughly dominated this game.

But looking at those tempo-free stats should tell you just how impressive the Cornell performance was.

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Early games recap

So today isn't quite going as well as yesterday in terms of excitement. Of the seven games that have been played, only three were single-digit finals, and two of those were eight point games. The closest game of the day -- Wisconsin's 53-49 win over Wofford -- saw more dumb decisions down the stretch than it did great play.

Yesterday was ripe with upsets and mid-majors victories. Today, the only "upsets" were teams that many thought would win. Maybe the biggest upset of the day was Purdue, the favorite, knocking off Siena.

With that in mind, here's a quick recap of the early games for those of you just getting home from work:


WEST REGION

Xavier 65, Minnesota 54: These two played an ugly first half, combining for almost as many rebounds as points as they went into the break tied at 26. But in the second half things started heating up. Well, by things I mean Jordan Crawford. Crawford took over, scoring 17 of his 28 points in the final 20 minutes -- including a number of nifty acrobatic layups in transition -- while leading Xavier to the win. Crawford's three with 39 seconds left was the dagger.

Pitt 89, Oakland 66: The Panthers found themselves down early, trailing 18-13 before an accidental elbow split open Derick Nelson's eye. Pitt would proceed to go on a 26-4 run, taking a commanding lead and never looking back. Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown led the way with 17 points apiece.


EAST REGION

West Virginia 77, Morgan State 50: The Bears scored the first 10 points of the game, but from then on it was all Mountianeers. WVU used a 38-17 run to take an 11 point halftime lead, and eventually buried the Bears. Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks combined for 33 points.

Missouri 86, Clemson 78: Missouri's pressure was just too much for Clemson. Clemson kept it close for a while -- thanks to some otherworldly three point shooting -- but 20 turnovers and 15 steals did in Clemson. Trevor Booker was a no-show in his last game. He finished with 11 points and 11 boards, but most of that came with the game already decided late. Kim English and Keith Ramsey both had 20 in the win.

Cornell 78, Temple 65: In what was arguably the most surprising outcome of the NCAA Tournament to date, Cornell gave Temple a pretty solid whooping as they advanced to face Wisconsin. The result wasn't the surprise -- many people thought Cornell could win this game -- the surprise came in the fact that Cornell picked apart what many believed was one of the best defenses in the country. The Big Red shot 57% from the game on a team in the top five in the country in defensive field goal percentage. That's pretty impressive.

Wisconsin 53, Wofford 49: Arguably the ugliest game of the day. Wisconsin was up eight at the half, but Wofford hit their first five shots of the second half, and this thing became a one possession game the rest of the way. Neither team really got anything going on the offensive end of the floor after Wofford's spurt. In fact, down the stretch it seemed as if neither team wanted to win. Wofford was missing shots, overdribbling, and turning the ball over. Wisconsin was too. The Badgers caught a break, however, taking their final lead of the game when Jordan Taylor tapped the ball to Trevon Hughes, who scored to go-ahead bucket. Wofford, who was 1-7 from the line in the second half, would tie it up from the line. But Hughes for Leuer in the corner for a jumper with 17 seconds left, and the Badgers advanced.


SOUTH REGION

Purdue 72, Siena 64: Siena looked like the better team in the first half. Purdue had no answer for Alex Franklin (10 points and 8 boards). In the second half, however, Keaton Grant caught fire. He scored 11 points early as Purdue used a 15-0 run to open up a 10 point lead. They would push that lead to as much as 17 -- thanks in large part to the play of JaJuan Johnson, who had 23 points, 15 boards, and 3 blocks. Siena made a run late, cutting it to three, but Fran McCafferty made an interesting decision to foul Lewis Jackson down by three with a minute left on the clock. Jackson -- who was just 2-6 from the line on the season and had just missed a front end -- got a lucky bounce on the first and hit the second and Siena wouldn't get close again.

Texas A&M vs. Utah State

A&M is currently up 42-29 on Utah State at the half.


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BIAH Blogger Bracket Challenge: Day 1

We know that every living breathing organism on the planet has drafted up a bracket this week and we here at BIAH thought it would be interesting to see just how smart the blogosphere and related media experts are. We invited a handful of the brainiest college hoops brains to take part in our first ever BIAH Blogger Bracket Challenge.

After every session we wil update you, our faithful readers, with a top-5 and a not-so-top-5, so you can see just how smart/dumb we are.

Here is where we stand after day 1



Top-5

1. Boiled Sport - J. Money - 12/16
1. Lowly Ol' Wake Forest - M. Rickman - 12/16
3. BIAH Yours Truly - T. Machir - 11/16
3. PurdueBBallBlog - P. Pete - 11/16
3. Blogging the Bracket - C. Dobbertean - 11/16


Bottom-5

15. MarcoSTF - M. Anskis - 9/16
15. RTMSF 1 - R. McClure - 9/16
27. SearchingforBillyEdelin - N. Fasulo - 8/16
27. RobDauster99 1 - R. Dauster - 8/16
27. MarchtoMadnessGabbyandCo 1 - G.W - 8/16


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NCAA Tournament Live-chat Day Two

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NCAA Tournament Day Two Coverage Maps

Once again, here are the CBS coverage maps for today's four sessions.

Session 1:

• #15 Morgan State vs. #2 West Virginia: Gus Johnson/Len Elmore, Buffalo, Blue
• #11 Minnesota vs. #6 Xavier: Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel, Milwaukee, Green
• #12 Cornell vs. #5 Temple: Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg, Jacksonville, Light Blue

Session 2:

• #10 Missouri vs. #7 Clemson: Gus Johnson/Len Elmore, Buffalo, Green
• #14 Oakland vs. #3 Pittsburgh: Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel, Milwaukee, Purple
• #13 Wofford vs. #4 Wisconsin: Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg, Jacksonville, Blue
• #13 Siena vs. #4 Purdue: Tim Brando/Mike Gminski, Spokane, Light Blue

Session 3:

• #9 Florida State vs. #8 Gonzaga: Gus Johnson/Len Elmore, Buffalo, Blue
• #10 Georgia Tech vs. #7 Oklahoma State: Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel, Milwaukee, Purple
• #16 Arkansa-Pine Bluee vs. #1 Duke: Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg, Jacksonville, Green
• #12 New Mexico State vs. #5 Michigan State: Tim Brando/Mike Gminski, Spokane, Light Blue

Session 4:

• #16 Vermont vs. #1 Syracuse: Gus Johnson/Len Elmore, Buffalo, Light Blue
• #15 UC Santa Barbara vs. #2 Ohio State: Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel, Milwaukee, Purple
• #13 Houston vs. #4 Maryland: Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg, Jacksonville, Blue
• #9 Louisville vs. #8 California: Tim Brando/Mike Gminski, Spokane, Orange

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2010 NCAA Tournament: Day 1 recap

Well, now.

Wasn't that fun?

Let me do the math for you. 16 games on the day. Three went to overtime. Five others were decided by one possession. Four were won on shots made in the final five seconds. Five double digit seeds advanced, and both nine seeds won. Eight of the teams that advanced are from a mid-major conference (nine if you count Washington in the Pac-10), and four of those mid-majors beat major conference teams.

And I'm supposed to break all that down into one post? Yeesh.


GAME OF THE DAY: Washington 80, Marquette 78

There is not right answer here, but I have to go with the Huskies dramatic win over Marquette here. This game was about as entertaining as you are going to find in the first half. An uber-glorified AAU game, there was never a big man to be found on the court today. Both teams spread the floor, allowed their players a chance to show off what they can do, and us viewers reaped the benefits. Washington went 9-14 from three, shooting 54.5% from the floor and assisting on 21 of their 30 baskets. Marquette was 12-19 from deep, hitting on 52.9% of their shots and assisting on 16 out of 27 field goals. Hell, Washington was so hot, Isaiah Thomas was knocking down 65 footers.

Offensive clinic, yes, but for a while it looked like the Golden Eagles were going to pull away with this one. They used a 17-3 run to open the second half and take a 60-45 lead, but Washington wasn't going away. A 20-6 run brought them back into the game, and a three from Elston Turner put Washington ahead 72-71 with about five minutes to go. The two teams would trade buckets back and forth, eventually setting up this:



They were good too

• BYU 99, Florida 92 2OT: Great game. BYU took a 13 point second half lead, but Kenny Boynton went bonkers in the second half to lead the Gators back. Florida missed on two chances to win the game on a final possession, Michael Loyd led the Cougars back at the end of the first overtime, and Jimmer Fredette took over in the second OT. Got all that?


• ODU 51, Notre Dame 50: The Irish let a 30-22 lead slip away in the second half, as the Monarchs and Irish played a tightily contested game. A 6-0 spurt gave the Monarchs a 46-43 lead, and after trading threes, Notre Dame had two chances at a game-tying three, but Tory Jackson and Carleton Scott both missed.


• Murray State 66, Vandy 65: After Vandy was finally able to mount a comeback and take the lead on two Jermaine Beal free throws, Murray State was able to win this one in dramatic fashion.


• Northern Iowa 69, UNLV 66: UNLV overcame a late nine point deficit, tying the game at 66 after cutting the lead to a single possession with four straight baskets. It set up this:

• Wake Forest 81, Texas 80 OT: Wake and Texas went back and forth for 45 minutes, as Texas twice rallied back from double digit deficits, before Ish Smith put a cap on what was an insane day of hoops:

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Omar Samhan, St. Mary's

The big fella came to play today, going for 29 points and 12 boards in an 80-71 win over Richmond. Samhan dominated the first half of play in this one, scoring 12 of the first 14 Gael points and finished with 17 in the first half. He was unstoppable. He scored off of offensive rebounds. He scored on drop-steps. He scored on little turn-arounds in the lane. There was nothing Samhan couldn't do tonight.

Samhan scored seven of the first nine second half points for the Gaels, and it forced Richmond to really start focusing on him inside. As a result, the perimeter opened up, and the Gaels caught fire. They pushed their lead as big as 15 in the second half. The Gaels will get Villanova on Saturday, and without a big man to match him once again, don't be surprised to see another performance like this against.

They were good too

• Jimmer Fredette and Michael Loyd, BYU: The two combined for 63 points (Jimmer had 37, Loyd 26) and took turns taking the game over. The first overtime belonged to Loyd, as he was unstoppable in transition to bring BYU back from a early deficit. Fredette owned the second OT, as his two deep threes sealed a BYU win. Also deserving credit in this game was Kenny Boynton, who scored 14 straight at one point in the second half, bringing Florida back from 13 down. He had 27 on the afternoon.


• Shelvin Mack, Butler: Mack had 25 points and 4 assists to lead Butler, but it was the second half that earned Mack mention. He hit 6-7 from three in the second half, scoring 18 of his 25 points. Four of those threes came in the first six minutes, sparking a 28-6 run that put away the Rebels.


• Ishmael Smith, Wake Forest: While he did have some turnovers in this one, Smith looked like an all-american, finishing with 19 points, 12 boards, and 7 assists. The biggest shot he hit today was an overtime game-winner, pulling up from 17 feet on the wing and burying a shot with a ton of arc.
  


• Armon Bassett and DJ Cooper, Ohio: See below.
  

TEAM OF THE DAY: Ohio Bobcats

Ohio came into this game playing well, having won 12 of their last 17 games, including four straight to win the MAC tournament, but I don't think anyone expected this. Georgetown, while maddeningly inconsistent, is still a team with Final Four caliber talent that came into this game having made a run to the finals of the Big East Tournament. But today, Ohio went Hoya clubbin'. Georgetown simply had no answer for the Bobcat's back court duo of Armon Bassett and DJ Cooper, who combined to go for 55 points and 11 assists while hitting 10-18 from deep in a 97-83 win.

This game was really never all that close. Ohio took their final lead with 9:33 left in the first half, got up by 12 at halftime, and pushed that lead to as much as 19 in the second half. They hit 13-23 from deep and shot 58.2% from the floor. As poorly as Georgetown played defensively, they can probably rest assured that Ohio might have beaten the Clippers tonight. As JT III said after the game, "sometimes players just makes plays."

They were good too

• Murray State: The Racers have to be mad at Ohio. If it wasn't for the Bobcats, Murray State would be the upset of the day, and their thrilling, buzzer-beating upset of Vanderbilt would be the talk of tomorrow's water cooler. As it is, they'll have to settle for playing second fiddle, which isn't all that bad considering they're still playing.


• Butler, Washington, and Tennessee: The Bulldogs, the Huskies, and the Vols all came into today knowing that most "experts" thought that they were going to lose. Well, so much for that. Butler blew out UTEP, Washington beat Marquette on a late basket by Quincy Pondexter, and Tennessee survived San Diego State.
  

SCORES

East Region:

• #1 Kentucky 100, #16 ETSU 71
• #9 Wake Forest 81, #8 Texas 80 OT
• #11 Washington 80, #6 Marquette 78
• #3 New Mexico 62, #14 Montana
  

South Region:

• #11 Old Dominion, #6 Notre Dame 50
• #2 Villanova 73, #15 Robert Morris 70 OT
• #3 Baylor 68, #14 Sam Houston State 59
• #10 St. Mary's 80, #7 Richmond 71
  

Midwest Region:

• #9 Northern Iowa 69, #8 UNLV 66
• #14 Ohio 97, #3 Georgetown 83
• #1 Kansas 90, #16 Lehigh 74
• #6 Tennessee 62, #11 SDSU 59
  

West Region:

• #7 BYU 99, #10 Florida 92 2OT
• #13 Murray State 66, #4 Vanderbilt 65
• #2 Kansas State 82, #15 North Texas 62
• #5 Butler 77, #12 UTEP 59
  

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Friday Morning Dump

- Great article from KSR about Kentucky.

- Florida make NCAA tournament return short-lived

- Gary Parrish looks back at the day that was

- What we learned from day 1

- It was a good 50th birthday for Bruce Pearl

- Onuwaku won't play on Friday

- Wofford's Noah Dahlman can get the job done

- Great-read on the importance of Murray State's victory

- Baylor notched their first tournament victory in 60 years

- The picture and caption says it all; Some possible good news

- Omar Samhan is a colorful guy

- Thursday was not a good day for the Big East

- Derick Roland wishes he could be party of the madness

- Does the slipper still fit Tom Penders aging feet?

- The keys to victory for Utah State

- Top recruit C.J Leslie gives us his top five

- If Marquette was to lose, you had to know it was going to be at the buzzer

- A final preview of Minnesota vs. Xavier

- So after day 1, what's the general concensus on tournament expansion?

- A blog-a-thon? What a novel idea

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Isaiah Thomas would beat you at horse

We had one buzzer beater, three other game winners, and countless other big shots during the course of what may go down as the most exciting day of college basketball in, well, forever?

Taking all of that into consideration, is it possible the craziest shot of the opening day of the big dance didn't even count?

Take a look at this from Isaiah Thomas:

I love his reaction afterwards.

Yeah, today was awesome.

(h/t Matt Zoolander Norlander)

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Give credit where credit's due: Cooper and Bassett came to play

Yes, Georgetown got smoked.

Yes, Ohio was the ninth place team in the MAC, which is worse than where the Hoyas finished in the Big East (eighth).

No, Georgetown didn't play a lick of defense in 40 minutes, giving up 97 points to the Bobcats.

Georgetown deserves all the criticism you want to throw at them. They didn't show up defensively. They played without emotion or fire all season long. They proved how inconsistent they can be, getting flogged by a team that needed to beat Ball State in Cleveland in overtime just to qualify for the MAC Tournament. They embarrassed themselves on national television during the NCAA tournament.

But as poorly as Georgetown played, let's make sure we give credit where credit is due.

Georgetown's defense may have been as porous as an afghan, but the Hoyas weren't the ones getting to the lane at will. Georgetown might have been late on their rotations, but they weren't the ones that hit seemingly every open jumper. Georgetown played like this was a Sunday Morning church league game. Ohio played like, well, you saw the game.

The Bobcats were not a good team this year. Let me repeat, they finished in ninth place in the MAC.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that Ohio is devoid of talent.

In fact, the Bobcats probably have a back court better than a lot of teams in the tournament. Armon Bassett averaged double figures at Indiana before transferring out after the 2008 season. DJ Cooper was a top 20 point guard nationally that a lot of teams backed off of because of his 150 lb frame.

And boy, did those two show out tonight.

The two combined for 55 of the Bobcats 97 points. Bassett had 32 points, hitting big shot after big shot -- including 5-10 from deep -- down the stretch as Georgetown tried to mount a comeback. Cooper started the game by "raining spunk", as Raftery termed it, and finished it by slicing up the Georgetown defense to the tune of 23 points, 8 assists, and 5-8 shooting from deep.

Those two caught fire. They outplayed a very good Georgetown back court. They created the open shots that the Bobcats hit all game long. They play of Cooper and Bassett was a very big reason that Georgetown's defense struggled.

I'm not trying to say this wasn't an upset. It was.

I'm not trying to say that Georgetown played well. They didn't, at least not on the defensive end.

All I'm saying is that this is an Ohio team with some talent that has clicked and gotten hot at the right time.

They played out of their minds, and they deserve to get a large part of the credit.

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No more Gody

With six seconds left in a 51-48 first round game, Carleton Scott watched as his three from the corner rimmed out and Luke Harangody tipped in the miss as the buzzer sounded.

And thus, with a whimper, came an end to the career of Notre Dame center Luke Harangody. The buzzer beating layup was just his second basket of the game.

So I ask you, how will you remember Harangody?

It is not possible to argue that Gody wasn't a talented basketball player. You don't average the numbers that he was averaged the last three years, especially when you play in the Big East, without talent.

But despite the numbers, Notre Dame never won anything. They never won a Big East title. They never made any noise in any postseason other than the NIT. Hell, even this season, this Irish team -- Gody's team -- has been better when he was on the bench with an ankle injury.

So, obviously, Gody is not going to be remembered as a winner.

But why can't we simply think of him as a producer; as a guy that gave you 20 and 10 every night. Why can't we praise how he has changed himself from a chunky freshman to a stream-lined, svelte forward? Gody's development into a player that can score in the low-post, the high-post, from the wing, and knock down a three is the reason that he put up sensational numbers the past three seasons.

You can remember him as you will.

I'll remember him as one of the most productive players I've ever seen at the collegiate level.
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Early games recap

This was one of the most exciting starts in NCAA Tournament history. Three overtimes, two one point finishes, and a buzzer beater.

What more could you as for?

SOUTH REGION:

Old Dominion 51, Notre Dame 50: Luke Harangody was no where to be found for the Irish, but Ben Hansbrough and Carleton Scott helped carry the Irish to an early lead and seemingly control of this game. But in the second half, ODU started executing better offensively, using a 9-0 run to take a 31-30 lead. It would be close the rest of the way. The key swing came with two minutes left. After an and-one lay-up by Frank Hassell, Darius James buried a three to give the Monarchs a three point lead. Scott answered with a three of his own, but Gerald Lee would score the next three point for ODU to give them a 49-46 lead. ND had two chances to tie, but Tory Jackson missed and Carleton Scott had a three rim out as the clock wound down. Gody hit a layup at the buzzer for the final margin, just his second field goal of the game.

Baylor 68, Sam Houston State 59: It may have been nerves, it may have been the expectation of a win, but Baylor came out flat against SHSU. Lace Dunn and Tweety Carter both were off, but Ekpe Udoh played very well, finishing with 20 points, 13 boards, and a handful of blocks and assists. Dunn got it going a little bit late as the Bears used a late run to put away the Bearkats.

Villanova 73, Robert Morris 70 OT: Jay Wright benched Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher to start this game, and it may not have been the best decision. Bobby Mo started gaining confidence, taking control for much of this game. Up 55-47 with just over three minutes left, Scottie Reynolds took over. He attacked the rim, drawing fouls (some questionable) as the Wildcats were able to force overtime. In the OT, Nova jumped out to a six point lead, and (again on the benefit of a questionable foul call -- it looked like the Colonials had forced a jump ball, but a foul was called) but barely hung on. After Karon Abraham hit a 28 footer to cut a four point lead to one, Nova hit two free throws. Bobby Mo missed a three at the buzzer that would have tied it.

St. Mary's 80, Richmond 71: The Spiders had no answer for Omar Samhan, who had 29 points and 12 boards in this one. He was unstoppable in the first half. In the second half, once the rest of the Gaels started to get it going from three, SMC took control of this one.


West Region

BYU 99, Florida 92 2OT: What. A. Game. BYU opened up a 13 point second half lead, but Kenny Boynton took over. He scored 14 straight points and had 17 in a run that eventually ended up Florida taking a 71-68 lead. Vernon Macklin would give the Gators a 75-73 lead with 25 seconds left on a free throw, after Fredette tied it with a layup, Parsons missed a shot that would have won the game. In the first overtime, Florida jumped out to a quick four point lead, but Michael Loyd, BYU's back up point guard who had 26 points, took over, out running Florida's defense and bringing the Cougars back. Florida once again blew a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime. In the second OT, BYU had a four point lead when Fredette buried a deep three. He would hit another a minute later, this time from about 26 feet, and finished with 37 points. It was BYU's first tournament win in 17 years.

Kansas State 82, North Texas 62: North Texas hung with the Wildcats for about 10 minutes before the Wildcats took this one over. Denis Clemente had 17 points, and Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly both added 15 as K-State advanced to face BYU in the second round.

Murray State 66, Vanderbilt 65: Murray State was ahead for much of the second half before Vanderbilt was able to string together a couple of jumpers from John Jenkins as they took a 60-56 lead. But the Racers would hit back-to-back threes, retaking the lead. A back and forth finish, AJ Ogilvy hit Jermaine Beal for a back door cut with 12 seconds left. Beal was fouled and hit both free throws, setting up this.

UTEP vs. Butler: This game is just finishing up, but it looks pretty safe to say Butler will win. They are currently up by 17. After trailing 33-27 at the half, the Bulldogs caught fire from three in the second half as they went on a 28-6 run to take control.
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Bill Raftery gives us another gem

Omar Samhan went absolutely bonkers as St. Mary's handled Richmond in their first round South Regional game.

And as Raft tends to do, he dropped a gem midway through the first half.

Some background first. This layup by Samhan made the score 14-11 early on. Samhan had 12 of those points. One of the things CBS harped on during their coverage of this game was the song "Mr. Sandman" by the Chordettes, where the line that everyone knows is "Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream."



There's a reason everyone loves Raftery.

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Danero Thomas, welcome to "One Shining Moment"

Murray State and Vanderbilt played what might turn into the best game of the tournament (although, that could be said about four or five of the early games).

But the biggest shot of the tournament came from Danero Thomas. Take a look:



First off, what a shot Thomas hit. That's an 18 foot fadeaway with two hands in his face. Not an easy shot to hit in practice, let alone at the end of a game in the NCAA Tournament.

I was also very impressed with Murray State's awareness of the clock. At this level, how often do you see a team fire up an off-balance 25 footer with two seconds left. The Racers didn't panic, got a decent look at the rim, and came away with the win.

Lastly, Spero Dedes. Never heard of the guy, but was very impressed. His call on the final shot: "Its Thomas, one second ... Got it at the buzzer!" He's no Gus Johnson, but no one is. I enjoyed him.

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Duke's bracket looks easier than it did six hours ago

There were a number of aspects of this year's bracket that people were critical of.

The A-10 teams were seeded too low. West Virginia should have been a one seed. Kansas and Kentucky got stuck with loaded brackets.

But perhaps the biggest issue people had with the bracket was with Duke's region. Namely, it seemed as if the Blue Devils had been handed a Final Four trip. I'm not usually one to agree with the consensus, but its true. Villanova was probably the weakest two seed, and Baylor the weakest three seed.

They lived, well, down (?) to those expectations today. Jay Wright benched Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher today as a "teaching point", but instead teaching them a lesson, the move seemed to give Robert Morris confidence. The Colonials jumped out to an early lead against the Wildcats, and they started to believe they could play with Nova. The Colonials defended, they outworked the Wildcats on the glass, and they hit just enough jump shots to keep them in front.

If it wasn't for a couple calls going against them late, may have won this game. And it wasn't because they had someone go for 40. It wasn't because they hit 17-20 from three. It was because, at least today, Robert Morris was simply the better team.

Unfortunately, Villanova got all the breaks and made all the plays late, as they were able to hold on for a 73-70 win

Baylor had their own problems against Sam Houston State. Simply put, the Bears just didn't come to play. Think about this: Baylor beat the Bearkats by nine, but they were tied under the four minute mark as Sam Houston State, a team that makes a living shooting from three, was just 6-31 from beyond the arc.

And Baylor is supposed to be a team that can make the Final Four?

The Bears have talent. Their back court has a couple of all-league performers, and they have a long, athletic frontline anchored by a guy that will be a lottery pick. But Baylor is not good enough to just show up and win, unless, or course, they are playing a team from the Southland that isn't doing what they do best. If they give this effort against Old Dominion, they are going to make my South Region Final Four selection look pretty silly.

Do I need to mention that the Robbie Hummel-less Boilermakers are the four seed in this region?

If Duke can't make the Final Four this year ... I'll let you finish that sentence.

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So that first round of games was fun, huh?

Did anyone else run into the problems that I did?

Yes, I have three different screens going to watch games right now, but whent here are three games coming down to the wire on at the same time, which one do you watch?

That's exactly what happened at the end of the first round of games this year. We had an upset, a 15 seed take a 2 seed into overtime, and a double OT thriller.

Old Dominion caught a break as a three from Notre Dame's Carleton Scott rimmed out. Luke Harangody scored on a put back as time expired. The Monarchs were down for much of the first half before taking control. A Darius James three with two minutes left gave Old Dominion a three point lead, their biggest of the game. ND would answer with a three of their own from Scott, but Gerald Lee scored on a bucket in the paint and hit a free throw, and the Irish were never able to tie it.

Out in Providence, Robert Morris gave Villanova all they could handle, and more. The The Colonials were in control for the majority of the game, completely shutting down Nova offensively. But Scottie Reynolds started to take over. And by Scottie Reynolds taking over, I mean that the refs started buying into Reynolds' acting ability. He drew fouls left and right, and they overcame a 55-47 deficit in the final three minutes to force OT. In the overtime, Nova took control early, but Bobby Mo wasn't going away. A 28 foot three from Karon Abraham cut the Nova lead to one with nine seconds left, but Nova hit two free throws and RMU missed a three at the buzzer. nova advances.

BYU and Florida played the game of the day. The Cougars opened up a 59-46 lead midway through the second half, but Kenny Boynton led them back. He scored 14 straight poaint and had 17 in Florida's run to tie the game. But at the end of both regulation and the first overtime, the Gators were unable to get a good look at the rim on the last possession. In the second OT, Michael Loyd finished his takeover. The sophomore and back up point guard finished with 26 points, scoring on a number on breakaways in the extra periods and helping the Cougars pull away for a 99-92 win.

So, yes, as you can see, it was an exciting start to the 2010 tournament.

The one question I am left with is how good is the Big East? Notre Dame was upset by Old Dominion, a good team but not a Big East team. Villanova deserved to lose to Robert Morris.

The NIT may have offered some foreshadowing. Seton Hall was blown out at home by Texas Tech. South Florida lost in a nailbiter, while UConn needed a stroke of luck to hold on against Northeastern. St. John's lost at the buzzer to Memphis. This was the best conference in the country? It hasn't looked like it in March yet.
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NCAA Tournament Live-chat Day One

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Ray Floriani's tempo-free look at St. John's-Memphis

By Ray Floriani

LYNDHURST, NJ- A final second Wesley Witherspoon penetration punctuated by a spinning motion around the rim before the ball finally decided to drop, ended St. John’s season. The Red Storm dropped a heartbreaker, 73-71 to Memphis at the FedEx Forum. The first round NIT game was one of the more hotly contested and entertaining of the opening round.

In a 63 possession game the four factors (Off. Eff.; eFG%, FT Rate, OReb%, TO Rate
St. John’s: 112, 49, 16, 37, 13
Memphis: 118, 63, 30, 21, 18

Both teams protected the ball with the TO rates under 20%. This was a game of wills. Would Memphis’ three point touch or St. John’s rebounding win out. As noted Norm Roberts has had the Red Storm play hard all year so the edge in offensive rebounding percentage was not a surprise.

Memphis was lights out, 10 of 13 from three the first half. They were 1 of 7 the second half. The lone trey a big one by Witherspoon (who else?) who shared scoring honors with st. John’s DJ Kennedy (18 points). Even with that cooling off the last twenty minutes, Memphis finished with a 55% (11 of 20) mark from three. Those treys played no small part in the Tigers’s gaudy 63% eFG mark.

Memphis coach Josh Pastner, who looks young enough to get ‘carded’ in one of those Blues clubs ESPN had shots of during time outs, did a great job changing defenses to try to keep St. John’s off balance. To their credit, the Big east reps hung around until the final possession.

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NCAA Tournament Day One Coverage Maps

Everything you could ever need for your NCAA Tournament viewing pleasure can be found here. Which announcers are calling your game? What time is your favorite team on?

And now we have some coverage maps. Take a look to see whether you need to go to the bar to see your squad play.

Session 1




Session 2




Session 3




Session 4



Butler vs. UTEP will go to AREA OF NATURAL INTEREST ONLY
WISH/Indianapolis, WLFI/Lafayette, KDBC/El Paso, WANE/Ft Wayne, WTHI/Terre Haute
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Thursday Morning Dump

- Another one bites the dust: Gonzo out at Seton Hall; Gary Parrish weighs in; even more on this bizarre situation; Recruiting concerns; Jeff Goodman already misses him; Bobby Hurley Sr. interested

- Rutgers gives head coach Fred Hill one more year

- The best and worst case scenario for every tournament team

- The best and worst teams of each seed

- A who's-who of media bracket predictors

- How to maximize entertainment during tournament time

- The least-likeable NCAA teams, Part 1

- Jeff Goodman wrote an excellent peice on St. Mary's Omar Samhan

- Billy Donovan thinks Jimmer Fredette is as dangerous as John Wall

- So are you saying that with 96 teams in the tournament, we wouldn't have had five six coaches get fired already?

- This writer must not like Calipari

- I can't tell if this is for college hoops or against college football

- What size bracket are we looking at this time next year?

- This is that last thing the tournament selection committee wants

- I guess this is one way to weed out bubble-teams

- Graduation rates from Division 1 programs

- A good-read about the ACC in Buffalo

- Former Vermont coach Tom Brennan talks about his team's upset over 'Cuse back in 2005 (input obligatory Gus Johnson quote here)

- The president makes his picks; Can't spell Syracuse; now with video

- Orange need to play shut-down-defense in the tournament


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The Little Dances: Day 2

We all know that March Madness is all about the real NCAA tournament. But while those lucky souls that managed to earn themselves a bid to the Big Dance sit back and wait for Thursday, the rest of the country takes part in what I like to call the Little Dances -- the NIT, the CBI, and the CIT.

Here is what happened on Tuesday:


Game of the Day: Memphis 73, St. John's 71

A back and forth game, Memphis took a 44-35 halftime led on the strength of 10-13 shooting from three. But the Tigers couldn't keep the hot shooting going, allowing St. John's to rally and take a lead late in the game. The last few minutes were back and forth, and after Anthony Mason Jr tied the game at 71, Wesley Witherspoon drove from the left wing and put up a tough, floating layup that bounced around and in for the win.


Team of the Day: Nevada Wolfpack

Luke Babbitt scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half as the Wolfpack went to Wichita State and knocked off the Shockers 74-70. In the only upset of the day in the NIT (Nevada was the six seed, Wichita State the three seed). Making the win all the more impressive, it was the first time all season that the Shockers lost at home.


Player of the Day: Troy Cotton, Green Bay

Cotton scored 36 points, hitting on 9-16 threes, as the Pheonix went into Akron and knocked off the Zips in the first round of the CBI. Green Bay was down seven with just over five minutes left, but that is when Cotton caught fire, scoring 17 of his 36 over that stretch to lead the comeback. The 36 points and the nine threes were both career highs for Cotton.


NIT

7:00 pm - #4 Kent State 75, #5 Tulsa 74
7:00 pm - #3 Dayton 63, #6 Illinois State 42
7:00 pm - #2 Rhode Island 76, #7 Northwestern 64
7:00 pm - #2 Cincinnati 76, #7 Weber State 62
7:00 pm - #1 Virginia Tech 81, #8 Quinnipiac 61
8:00 pm - #2 Ole Miss 84, #7 Troy 65
8:05 pm - #6 Nevada 74, #3 Wichita State 70
9:00 pm - #3 Memphis 73, #6 St. Johns 71
10:00 pm - #1 Illinois 76, #8 Stony Brook 66


CIT

7:00 pm - Appalachian State 93, Harvard 71
8:05 pm - Missouri State 87, Middle Tennessee State 79
9:05 pm - Northern Colorado 81, Portland 73
10:35 pm - Pacific 86, Loyola Marymount 76


CBI

7:00 pm - Princeton 65, Duquesne 51
7:00 pm - Green Bay 70, Akron 66
7:00 pm - Charleston 82, Eastern Kentucky 79
7:00 pm - IUPUI 74, Hofstra 60
9:00 pm - Morehead State 74, Colorado State 60
10:00 pm - Boston U 96, Oregon State 78

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What is going on at Seton Hall?

Yesterday, we wrote about how Herb Pope's meltdown in Seton Hall's first round NIT loss was an embarrassment and a sign of bigger issues within the program.

We had no idea.

It started when reports leaked that Bobby Gonzalez had been fired has head coach of the Pirates. While the timing was a little bit sudden, it really comes as no surprise that Gonzo got the axe. He rubbed people the wrong way, was verbally abusive to just about anyone that crossed him, and he brought in player's with questionable backgrounds.

Despite that, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. These kids weren't that bad, right? I don't condone drinking and driving or physically assaulting another man's jewels, but in the grand scheme of things, those are relatively minor infractions. These kids weren't slinging crack, they weren't putting fellow students into comas, and they weren't involved in academic scandals (that we know of, I'm sure Pete Thamel already has a story in the works) like the team up at Binghamton.

Well, that thought lasted about an hour, when news leaked that Robert Mitchell, who had just been kicked off the team on Sunday, was arrested.

For BREAKING INTO A HOUSE AND DUCT-TAPING EIGHT PEOPLE TO HOLD THEM HOSTAGE AT GUNPOINT while he and a partner-in-crime stole their money, jewelry, and anything else of value.

Sticks Mitchell's mug shot.
(photo credit: NJ Ledger)

That sure spiraled out of control pretty quickly, now didn't it?

For what its worth, SHU is saying they fired Gonzo before they found out about Mitchell's arrest. Mitchell was kicked off the team on Sunday, committed the crime on Monday, and was arrested Tuesday afternoon.

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The NCAA Tournament Starts Tomorrow Pt. 8!!!

So today is St. Patty's Day, which means one of three things: you are going to be getting very, very drunk tonight; you are leaving work early to get very, very drunk this afternoon; or you are my hero and are very, very drunk right now.

Anyway, today is a waste of a day for anyone in an office. Between celebrating the holiday with a refreshing pint of Guinness and putting the finishing touches on your brackets, where are you going to find the time to, you know, work?

So to distract you today, we've put together a few -- or eight -- youtube heavy posts to help get you in the mood for the greatest four days of the year.

And for any last minute bracket help, be sure to check out our regional breakdowns (East, West, South, Midwest) and out sleeper picks.

Here is Pt. 8:


Ty Rogers beats Drake:



San Diego beats UConn:



Brook Lopez beats Marquette:



Steph Curry:



Steph Curry:



And Steph Curry:



Mario Chalmers sends the game to overtime:



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The NCAA Tournament Starts Tomorrow Pt. 7!!!

So today is St. Patty's Day, which means one of three things: you are going to be getting very, very drunk tonight; you are leaving work early to get very, very drunk this afternoon; or you are my hero and are very, very drunk right now.

Anyway, today is a waste of a day for anyone in an office. Between celebrating the holiday with a refreshing pint of Guinness and putting the finishing touches on your brackets, where are you going to find the time to, you know, work?

So to distract you today, we've put together a few -- or eight -- youtube heavy posts to help get you in the mood for the greatest four days of the year.

And for any last minute bracket help, be sure to check out our regional breakdowns (East, West, South, Midwest) and out sleeper picks.

Here is Pt. 7:


Amazing finish to the D2 national title game:



The Bryce Drew shot, but the actual TV broad cast. Pretty cool to see:



Tate George beats Clemson:



Trajan Langdan travels:



Scotty Thurman beats the shot clock:



Chris Webber calls timeout:



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