Here are today's games in the NCAA Mens' Basketball Tournament (all times Central) (ratings by Ken Pomeroy):
Philadelphia:
11:15 A.M.: # 6 Duke (27-5) v. #143 Albany (24-10 (CBS)
1:45 P.M.: #17 Creighton (27-7) v. # 40 Cincinnati (22-11) (CBS)
5:50 P.M.: #13 Georgetown (25-6) v. # 124 Fla. Gulf Coast (24-10) (TBS)
8:20 P.M.: # 31 San Diego St. (22-10) v. # 54 Oklahoma (20-11) (TBS)
Dayton, Ohio:
12:40 P.M.: # 34 N. Carolina St. (24-10) v. # 63 Temple (23-9) (TBS)
3:10 P.M.: # 3 Indiana (27-6) v. # 166 James Madison (21-14) (TBS)
6:15 P.M.: # 5 Ohio St. (26-7) v. # 94 Iona (20-13) (CBS)
8:45 P.M.: # 29 Notre Dame (25-9) v. # 36 Iowa St. (22-11) (CBS)
Kansas City:
11:40 A.M.: # 8 Wisconsin (23-11) v. # 35 Mississippi (26-8) (truTV)
2:10 P.M.: # 32 Kansas St. (27-7) v. # 49 LaSalle (22-9) (truTV)
6:20 P.M.: # 28 N. Carolina (24-10) v. # 43 Villanova (20-13) (TNT)
8:50 P.M.: # 7 Kansas (29-5) v. # 184 W. Kentucky (20-15) (TNT)
Austin, Tex:
1:10 P.M.: # 16 Miami of Fla (27-6) v. # 130 Pacific (22-12) (TNT)
3:40 P.M.: # 42 Illinois (22-12) v. # 47 Colorado (21-11) (TNT)
6:27 P.M.: # 2 Florida (26-7) v. # 132 Northwestern St. (23-8) (truTV)
8:57 P.M.: # 44 UCLA (25-9) v. # 22 Minnesota (20-12) (truTV)
There are a lot of teams with double-digit losses playing today.
Further observations in the comments.
Today, on "According to Jim," Cheryl is trying to get Jim to do stuff as a couple. Cheryl's brother recalls that when his mom tried this, their dad suggested that they go ice fishing. The mom had such a miserable time that she never asked for couples' time again.
ReplyDeleteJim thinks this is a great idea.
So now Jim, Cheryl, and Cheryl's sister (Brad Paisley's wife) are going to do paintball.
ReplyDeleteJim says: "I LOVE the smell of paintball in the morning. It smells like -- paint!"
You will not be surprised to learn that this scene ends with Jim and his buddy trapped in a mudhole, as Cheryl and her sister blast them with paintballs.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a bad show.
ReplyDeleteThere are only two true SEC teams (Florida, Ole Miss) and only three true ACC teams (Duke, UNC, and NCSU) in the bracket -- and none of those teams played yesterday. Instead, the day was largely dominated by the A-10 and the Metro 7.
ReplyDeleteBut today's match-ups are more interesting from my perspective. Here are the current scores:
Duke 52, Albany 38 (12:47 to go in 2d half)
Wisconsin 27, Ole Miss 22 (Halftime)
Temple 12, NCSU 4 (15:14 left in 1st half)
UK fans won't be surprised to learn that Marshall Henderson of Ole Miss is 1-11 from the field so far against Wisconsin. If he stops taking dumb shots, the Rebels may have a chance.
ReplyDeleteThat's how he rolls.
DeleteOn the UK Message board they have posted the following attendance figures from two recent games at Rupp Arena:
ReplyDeleteLouisville v. N. C. A & T: 16,632
Lou. Ballard v. Madison Cent: 17,315
As of next week, I'll have a brother-in-law who is an Ole Miss grad, so I'm rooting for them, too.
ReplyDeleteHenderson is now 3-18 from the field, but Ole Miss leads 45-41 with 4:20 left.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that impressed me about Ole Miss when UK played them was that the Rebels are not discouraged by all of Henderson's misses. They pretty much expect him to miss, and they just go and get the rebound.
I think that's actually part of the plan ... my guess is that the coach decided to take his chances with Henderson's herkyjerkiness throwing off the opponent and his other guys' ability to offensive rebound and score on putbacks (versus traditional set offenses that continually seek to distill from good to better shots).
DeleteI still think it's impressive that the rest of the team bought into this style of play.
DeleteSEC fans who remember Mark Gottfried's years at Alabama will not be surprised to learn that Temple leads NCSU 38-22 at the half.
ReplyDeleteOn the strength of his performance in that ESPN movie, I think N.C. State should rehire Sidney Lowe as its coach. Or Derek Whittenburg. Or Thurl Bailey.
DeleteThey should hire Shaka Smart, but I have long since given up on the NCSU Athletic Department.
DeleteWhen Tubby left UK, there was a strong rumor around Raleigh that he was headed to NCSU, and I could've totally seen that one happening.
DeletePresumably, whoever it is in Chapel Hill that has to approve all the Wolfpack hires refused to sign off on Tubby.
DeleteDuke beats Albany 73-61.
ReplyDeleteHey, Will Purdue is doing the radio commentary for the Ole Miss game. Good for him!
ReplyDeleteOle Miss leads 50-46 with 1:50 to go.
ReplyDeleteHenderson is 5-20 from the field.
That one Wisconsin kid really liked those Carrottop commercials that were on TV all the time when he was about 6.
ReplyDeleteOle Miss leads 53-46 with 1:25 to go, but the Rebel point guard just fouled out.
ReplyDeleteThe officials just gave Wisconsin an extra possession, and they still couldn't score.
ReplyDeleteOle Miss leads 55-46 with 39.6 seconds left.
Henderson is slapping his chest. Will Purdue is appalled. He says, "Son, you're 6-21 from the field . . . You're not the reason Ole Miss is winning this game."
WILL PURDUE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WILL PURDUE!!!
Do you think he's right? I don't.
DeleteHe's absolutely right. I think Henderson is their biggest problem.
DeleteWith Ole Miss up 11 and 16.4 seconds left, Henderson makes a silly pass and almost loses the ball.
ReplyDeleteWill Purdue: Henderson "just paid the price for being a hot dog."
WILL PURDUE!!!
"Being a hot dog"? I honestly don't believe I'd heard that one since being in the Heath gym listening to some old dude talk about some hot shot from Lone Oak.
DeleteWILL PURDUE!!!
DeleteOle Miss wins 57-46 despite Henderson's ragged play. I refuse to consider Missouri as a true member of the SEC, so my by account the old conference is now 1-0 in the tournament, and 1-0 against the Big 10.
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled that we don't have to watch Wisconsin any more.
ReplyDeleteWill Purdue does say that Ole Miss rolls with Henderson, and that the Rebels started doing better once he finally hit a three-pointer with about 11 minutes to go in the game.
ReplyDeleteI think he's the only reason Ole Miss is in the upper half of the SEC. I can't wait for the ESPN Classic "60 for 60" on Marshall Henderson.
DeleteI thought he was a major part of UK's victory over Ole Miss earlier this year.
DeleteNext up, Ole Miss will get either Kansas State or LaSalle. I could see them winning that game, too.
ReplyDeleteWith 3:37 to go in the first half, Miami leads Pacific 29-13.
ReplyDeleteI thought the new Big East should have gone after LaSalle.
ReplyDeleteI wanted them to go after LaSalle and St. Joseph's.
DeleteYeah I had thought about St. Joseph's as well. I guess Villanova doesn't want them getting any other Philadelphia teams.
DeleteYeah, but that's lame.
DeleteI'm so glad that Wisconsin is out. They seem to go out early every year. That style just doens't translate well in the tournament it seems to me. Especially since a lot of teams outside the Big East actually recruit shooters.
ReplyDeleteKornheiser by the way was going on and on about how bit an upset the Robert Morris win was over KY and how devistated he figured the UK fans were.
ReplyDeleteUpdates:
ReplyDeleteTemple beat NCSU 76-72.
Miami beat Pacific 78-49.
At the half, LaSalle leads Kansas St. 44-26.
At the half, Creighton leads Cincy 32-27.
Update:
ReplyDeleteMarshall Henderson has apparently made it back to the hotel, and he's Tweeting in all-caps.
K-State has come roaring back. With 10:50 to go, LaSalle leads by only 52-46.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Fant is my favorite college-basketball player.
ReplyDeleteHe ranks right up there on Courtney Lee's list, too.
DeleteWith 30 seconds to go, LaSalle makes 2 FT's to take a 62-61 lead.
ReplyDeleteK-State ball.
In another stirring game, Creighton has beaten Cincinnati 67-63. Up next, they play Duke.
ReplyDeleteK-State misses! LaSalle rebound. LaSalle is fouled with 9.6 to go.
ReplyDeleteJerrell Wright, LaSalle's leading scorer, makes 1 of 2 FT's. 63-61 Explorers.
K-State comes down, doesn't call timeout, has a somewhat chaotic possession, and ends up taking a bad shot. LaSalle wins!
ReplyDeleteK-State's coach, Bruce Weber, is going nuts. He says he was trying to call time at the end, but the officials wouldn't give it to him.
LaSalle moves on to face Ole Miss in a rare match-up of 12 v. 13 seeds.
ReplyDeleteOnly two afternoon games left:
ReplyDeleteAt the half, Indiana leads James Madison 43-22.
With 3:39 to go in the first half, Illinois leads Colorado 31-21.
The round-of-32 match-ups in the Midwest Regional are now all set. It looks like the Metro-7 invitational:
ReplyDeleteLouisville v. Colorado St.
Saint Louis v. Oregon
Michigan St. v. Memphis
Duke v. Creighton
The old Big XII members are doing very poorly so far:
ReplyDeleteOklahoma St. lost to Oregon
Missouri lost to Colorado St.
Kansas St. lost to LaSalle
And now Colorado is losing to Illinois.
Could this be a bad omen for the Kansas Jayhawks?
Yeah, Go Heath! YEAH!
DeleteAt the half, Illinois leads Colorado 37-21.
ReplyDeleteWhy have only 2 games been played so far in the South region? That is so odd to me.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was odd, too.
DeleteIt's heartbreaking that the Google News archives for Bowling Green's Daily Newshas only two issues from all of 1971--both in December.
ReplyDeleteHow is it that the Internet doesn't have everything ever yet?
ReplyDeleteMan, I really do love me some George Fant. From a Randy Covitz story in today's Kansas City Star:
ReplyDeleteWestern Kentucky is one of only 25 teams in the nation with wins in three of the last five NCAA Tournaments, but even toiling in the shadow of the powerful Louisville and Kentucky programs, the Hilltoppers’ 41 20-victory seasons rank sixth in NCAA history, and they entered the season ranked eighth in winning percentage (.667) and 17th in victories with 1,659.
“Those two schools have great tradition, along with us,” Fant said. “They’ve been winning for a long time. They have great fan bases … they’re in big cities. We’re just in little Bowling Green. We get great players that come through Western.
“We’re not really worried about Louisville or Kentucky. We don’t try to live in their shadow, outdo them or anything. We just play basketball.”
Have they quit keeping score in this Colorado-Illinois game? I feel like I've looked up a half-dozen times in the last 30 minutes and one team has led the other 44-42 every time.
ReplyDeleteThese two teams finally quit playing their game. I'm pretty sure that Illinois was the one leading by 44-42 when I last looked up at the score.
DeleteSo WKU's first NCAA-tournament appearance was 1940. It was an eight-team tournament. It was an eight-team tournament. The Hilltoppers were part of the East Regional at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. On March 20, Duquesne edged WKU, and Indiana beat Springfield. The next day, Indiana beat Duquesne. Kansas advanced from the West Regional at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. On March 30--back in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium--Branch McCracken's IU thumped Phog Allen's KU, 60-42, for the title.
ReplyDeleteWKU finished 24-6 on the season, winning its ninth-straight Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and fourth-straight Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship.
The KIAC is an NAIA conference founded in 1916. It was once made up of only Kentucky schools but now includes teams from other states, as well. Nonetheless, it's based in Berea, and it deserves a lot more love than the Kentucky desk has ever given it at the HP. The cubs at the Twitter desk are now following the KIAC for leads, so we'll see what happens. Here's our first report: Good jobs news from Midway.
The SIAA was, basically, the original Southeastern Conference. Says Wikipedia, "With the departure of most of the major colleges, the SIAA became a de facto small college conference in 1923. In the 1920s and 1930s, the SIAA increased its membership with the addition of many additional small universities. The conference eventually disbanded in 1942 with the onset of American involvement in World War II. League archives were kept at Vanderbilt, the league's founding school, but the building housing the archives was eventually gutted with fire, taking countless irreplaceable items pertaining to the SIAA's history with it."
This is an HP Special Report, courtesy of John Herndon at The Anderson News, and it's awesome.
ReplyDeleteOK, here is an update:
ReplyDeleteIndiana beat James Madison 83-62.
Illinois beat Colorado 57-49. The old Big XII is now 0-4 in the tournament (Mo, K-State, OK-State, Colorado)
With 11:41 to go in the second half, Ohio State leads Iona 71-49
With 11:52 to go in the second half, UNC leads Villanova 47-45
With 17:45 to go in the second half, Florida leads NW State 42-36
And with 2:36 to go, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles lead Georgetown 64-55
With 2:25 to go, FGCU commits a foul. Georgetown makes 1-2 FT's and the score is 64-56.
ReplyDeleteGeorgetown is 5-22 from three-point range in this game.
All year, Georgetown has won games with a staunch defense and outstanding play from Otto Porter. But their defense has been shaky (FGCU has scored 43 points in the second half so far), and Otto Porter has been dreadful (5-15 from the field, 13 points).
ReplyDeleteWith 1:48 to go, FGCU leads 67-58.
Hooray!
ReplyDeleteIn what is (I think), the first double-digit win by a number-15 seed, FGCU is putting the final touches on their victory over Georgetown. They lead 78-68 with 5.1 seconds to go.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's it. Florida Gulf Coast 78, Georgetown 68.
Otto Porter went 5-17 from the field and finished with 13 points.
Ohio State becomes the first team in the tournament to break 90 -- they beat Iona 95-70.
ReplyDeleteUNC pretty much always beats Villanova, and today was no exception. The Tar Heels take out the Wildcats, 78-71. They now await the winner of tonight's main event -- the WKU/KU game.
ReplyDeleteGeorgetown, by the way, went 7-27 from three-point range against FGCU. Ever since UK was eliminated by West Virginia in 2010, I've thought that teams trying to come from behind tend to shoot too many threes.
ReplyDeleteThe old SEC is 2-0, as Florida rolls over Northwestern State 79-47. The Gators advance to the Round of 32, where they will face the winner of the big UCLA/Minnesota showdown.
ReplyDeleteThere are only four games left in the first round:
ReplyDeleteSan Diego St. v. Oklahoma
UCLA v. Minnesota
Notre Dame v. Iowa St.
Kansas v. W. Kentucky
The old Big XII is 0-4 so far, but they have three chances left to pick up a victory.
DeleteGO, TOPS!!!
ReplyDeleteGO, TOPS!!!
DeleteOK, I don't plan to comment on the WKU game (that might be too close to live-blogging). But here's what's going elsewhere:
ReplyDeleteWith 10:15 left in the first half, Notre Dame leads Iowa State 18-14.
With 7:43 left in the first half, Oklahoma leads San Diego State 27-19
Minnesota and UCLA are about to tip off.
The Round-of-32 games for the East Region are set:
ReplyDeleteIndiana v. Temple
Syracuse v. California
Marquette v. Butler
Miami (Fla.) v. Illinois
Colorado's in the Pac-10?
ReplyDeleteIt's now the Pac-12.
DeleteI'm pretty sure that the last game Tubby Smith coached in Austin, Texas was UK's double-overtime loss to Michigan State in the 2005 Elite Eight. I've never forgotten that game, and I'm sure Tubby hasn't either.
ReplyDeleteWith 15:49 to go in the first half, Minnesota leads UCLA 2-0.
ReplyDeleteTUBBY!!!
Minnesota and UCLA are a combined 0-11 from the field so far.
ReplyDeleteThey've combined for 8 fouls.
DeleteAt the half, Oklahoma leads San Diego State 33-31.
ReplyDeleteWith 2:27 left in the first half, Iowa State leads Notre Dame 28-21.
Suddenly, Minnesota is hitting from everywhere. The Golden Gophers have spurted out to a 33-19 lead with 4:25 left in the first half.
ReplyDeleteIn other action:
ReplyDeleteIowa State leads Notre Dame 41-26 with 17:50 to go.
San Diego State leads Oklahoma 40-38 with 15:33 to go.
Note to UCLA: if a player can't win for Roy Williams at UNC, he's got major problems.
ReplyDeleteMinnesota goes to the locker room with a 35-25 halftime lead.
The Big East is going to finish 3-5 in the first round, as Notre Dame will join Georgetown, Villanova, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh on the sidelines. The Irish and their silly lime green uniforms trail Iowa State 51-35 with 13 minutes to go.
ReplyDeleteIn the round of 32, the SEC (Fla, Ole Miss) will have almost as many teams as the Big East (Louisville, Syracuse, and Marquette).
With 9:28 to go, San Diego State leads Oklahoma 50-48.
ReplyDeleteUCLA went 8-30 in the first half.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Notre Dame is getting KILLED. They trail Iowa State 71 to 47 with 5:41 to go.
UCLA's first possession of the second half ends with a shot clock violation.
ReplyDeleteTUBBY!!!
Meanwhile, San Diego State has spurted out to a 61-51 lead on Oklahoma with 2:35 remaining in that game.
ReplyDeleteUCLA is 2-10 from three point range, while Minnesota is 5-9. It's hard to beat Tubby with numbers like that. Minnesota leads 42-29 with 17:19 to go.
ReplyDeleteShabazz Muhammad, UCLA's best player and perhaps the best freshman in the country, is starting to heat up. He has 12 points (on 3-10 shooting), and the Uclan has closed to within 44-36 with 15:36 left.
ReplyDeleteMuhammad was 0-7 in the first half, and is now 3-3 in the second half.
DeleteIowa State finishes off a very easy 76-58 win over Notre Dame. Having watched UK play the Cyclones in the round of 32 last year, I would advise Ohio State to bring its A game on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteSan Diego State has finished off Oklahoma 70-55 -- another bad result for the old Big XII. So far, only Iowa State has reached the round of 32.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't look good for Gonzaga either who got all their important non-conference wins over big 12 teams.
DeleteThis was a great point.
DeleteThe Round of 32 is now set for the West Regional:
ReplyDeleteGonzaga v. Wichita St.
Mississippi v. LaSalle
Arizona v. Harvard
Ohio St. v. Iowa St.
Minnesota leads 54-42 with 12:17 to go. The Golden Gophers are playing very solid, textbook-quality basketball -- which is how Tubby's system looks when it works properly.
ReplyDeleteIf this were a UK game, I would be a nervous wreck. As it is, the Golden Gophers really seem to have UCLA in hand.
If Minnesota wins, that would set up a very intriguing second-round game between Tubby and his old rival, Billy Donovan.
Minnesota is just shredding UCLA's defense. The Golden Gophers are 8-13 (!) from three-point range, and they lead the Bruins 60-49 with 9:14 to go.
ReplyDeleteMinnesota is now shooting the lights out. They are 9-15 from three-point range, they are beating UCLA up and down the floor, and they are heading into the next round. They lead 69-54 with 6:48 to go.
ReplyDeleteThe Big 10 has done very well. Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, and now Minnesota are all headed to the Round of 32. I think Wisconsin is the only Big 10 team to lose, but of course they were the only Big 10 team that had to play an SEC team.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the last Big 10 team to go all the way was Michigan State in 2000. But this may be their year.
ReplyDeleteHeck.
ReplyDeleteWe will hope that Eric has more to report.
DeleteI am sorry, Eric. I really wanted you guys to win.
DeleteI can't jinx WKU now, so I will report that the Hilltoppers lost a heartbreaker in Kansas City, falling to Kansas 64-57. The Tops went 3-20 from three-point range.
ReplyDeleteStill, it was another strong March for WKU, and it will be interesting to see how they do next year.
We will hope that Eric has more to report.
Minnesota is really putting on a clinic in this game. They lead 83-63 with 1:37 to go.
ReplyDeleteYou have to wonder if this is Ben Howland's last game as the UCLA coach. He's really on the hot seat out there.
I had forgotten that Minnesota beat UCLA in the 1997 Elite Eight. They just showed some clips of that game, and it was great to see Clem Haskins again.
ReplyDeleteThat Minnesota team lost to UK in the Final Four, and that was the last game Rick Pitino won as the UK coach. I don't remember much about the game, although I do remember thinking that it was extremely violent.
Minnesota wins 83-63, so the Round of 32 for the South Region is now complete. This is quite a region:
ReplyDeleteKansas v. N. Carolina
Michigan v. Va. Commonwealth
Florida v. Minnesota
San Diego St. v. Fla. Gulf Coast
Six of the eight coaches in this region have been to the Final Four, and four of them have won the National Championship.
That's all for me. Go Heath out.
ReplyDeleteAnother great showing for the once again overrated Big East. Every year it's the same thing.
ReplyDelete