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University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio

Greensboro Coliseum Complex - Greensboro, NC

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Metrodome - Minneapolis, MN

Wachovia Center - Philadelphia, PA

Rose Garden - Portland, OR

The early action had Texas A&M (9) dominating BYU (8) and BYU never got their game on. The game is over, and the Aggies advance.
LSU (8) scoring the first 9 points and leading Butler (9) for the entire first half. LSU had 11 first half turnovers but Butler kept them in with fouls and rebounding. The Butler Bulldogs came out strong against the Tigers in the 2nd half taking the lead for the first time with 14 minutes to go...The game is tight and credit should go to Butler's Matt Howard shooting from all over the court and the free throw line... Howard gets pulled by the ref bothered by the bleeding from a scraped knee... with 5 minutes to go. Plenty of padding and Howard is back on the floor... but fouls out with 35 seconds left. Butler put on a great show, but LSU brings it home. Credit for the win goes at least in part to Marcus Thornton and his 30 points...
The game to watch was definitely the 15 seed CSUN battling Memphis. The CSUN (15) vs. Memphis (2) matchup was tight. Everyone expected Memphis to come on strong after the sting of being seeded #2 with what many think is the best defense in the tournament... Robert Sallie did his best - setting a Memphis school record for points scored... but CSUN kept up in every area - only down by three at the half... and taking the lead going into the second half... Memphis offense tripping over the zone defense of California State U Northridge. Anyone who picked Memphis to go all the way might consider rethinking their brackets... even with the win, a struggle like this in the first round has to make you rethink the Memphis chances for making the Final Four.
MEMPHIS, TEXAS A&M and LSU advance to the second round
Purdue, seeded # 5 in the West, took an early lead against Northern Iowa and set the pace for the entire first half. This was not a blow out, but Purdue was the dominant team in this match up. Midway through the 2nd half the Panthers gained some momentum and cut the Purdue lead to 6 from a 12 point high and tightened up the game. Hopes were dashed by a No Iowa foul with 30 seconds to go... Purdue sunk one basket but Northern Iowa came back with a 2 pointer bringing it to a 2 point game with 17 seconds left. Another two fouls gave Purdue three more points... Northern Iowa brought it back to a three point game... one more foul gave Purdue 2 more points... and the game.
U Conn's head coach, Jim Calhoun, was in the hospital and missed the opening game of his teams 5th visit to the Tournie as a #1 seed. Their last championship was in 1997. They started off slow against the 16th seed Chattanooga Mocs - named for the state bird, the mocking bird... but they couldn't mock the UConn team. AJ Price led scoring for the Huskies with 20 points from the outside. Hasheem Thabeet took over in the second half adding 20 from the inside.
(1) North Carolina playing against (16) Radford was also a slow start, but UNC pulled their game together after a bit of warm up play and looked formidable... Ty Lawson is out for the next two weeks, but the Tar Heels are keeping the pressure on. Tyler Hansbrough set the Atlantic Coast Conference career scoring in the first minutes of the game adding a total of 22 to the win. Wayne Ellington led the UNC scoring with 25 points to help win this game. They play against LSU next and the star player's absence may make a bigger difference, but so far the rest of the team is filling the void just fine. A Tar Heels vs. Huskies face off should be a great game. Think these will be the two in the final?
The Maryland (10) vs. California (7) game was a nail biter from the start. Plenty of fouling by Maryland was evened out by their defense keeping the California Bears from shooting much in the 1st half. Neither team was hitting three pointers until the Terrapins found theirs midway through the second half. Vasquez led the scoring for the Terps with 27 points. Maryland will face Memphis... and unless the Tigers get motivated, may be moving on to the Sweet Sixteen...
Purdue, U Conn, UNC, Maryland and Washington advance to the second round.
American and Villanova spent the first half trading three pointers which had to be making American very happy. That's American's squad of small guards game - Villanova is happier getting inside and getting a chance to block the other team. Midway through the first half, the game was tight - with Villanova giving up the lead towards the end of the first half. This may be the upset fans have been hoping for... at the end of the first half with 8 for 15 outside the line, the Eagles are soaring with a 10 point lead over 'Nova... 8:34 left in the second half and a foul shot brigs 'Nova within 3... No free throws by American in the second half... with just over 5 minutes to go 'Nova gets the lead and moves up by 5 points... Villanova pulls out a win...
All of the second sessions games that started around 7:00PM are tight in the first half. Good defense matched with strong offense, excellent ball handling and shooting are making for a good evening for the fans in the stands...
The Wolverines of Michigan (10) blasted into the second half with a 9 point run against (7) Clemson and they kept up the pressure through the half... the first upset of the Tourney... Michigan squeaks by Clemson by three points to advance to the second round.
Texas (7) pulls to a lead in the 2nd half against the 10th seeded Minnesota Vikings behind the three point shooting of Abrams... Four unanswered baskets from outside in two minutes... and continued to the win...
Michigan, Villanova and Texas advance to the second round.
The final set of four games in the second session were all well played with steady play from all teams. Binghamton (15) started the game with Duke (2) by committing a series of fouls giving Duke the free throws and the lead. They never recovered and Duke held a steady lead throughout the game. Morgan State (15) and Oklahoma (2) took a couple of minutes to get a score up then traded baskets for a few minutes. Oklahoma began to dominate early in the first half and continued through the game.
UCLA (6) held a steady lead, but with no room for error and they made plenty. VCU threatened in the 2nd half, coming within 3 with under 3 minutes left...but couldn't turn UCLA's errors into enough points to win until the clock ran down to under 2 minutes... 2 foul shots brought VCU within one point. With 57 seconds left UCLA sank two free throws bringing them back to a three point lead... With 48 seconds to go VCU gets fouled and adds two.... back to a one point difference... with 13 seconds to go — the shot clock runs out on the Bruins giving the VCU Rams a chance to win but they miss the shot... UCLA advances to the second round... what a great way to end the next to last game of a very long day of March Madness!
Someone should have told Western Kentucky (12) they were the lower seeded team. Remember last year, when 12th seeded WKU made it past the first two rounds in heart stopping games? We may be in for a round two treat... They held a steady lead against Illinois (5) through the first half with a no muss, no fuss attitude. It seemed less like an upset in progress than an expected result until the last 2 minutes when a series of misplays allowed Illinois to narrow the lead 17 point lead down to three. With 32.8 seconds to play in regulation time, WKU gets fouled and extends their lead back to 5. Illinois hits a two pointer and it's back to a three point game. With 16.3 seconds to go... WKU gets fouled again... only one throw is good. Then another foul with .9 seconds --- the free throw is good - WKU will advance... watch out Gonzaga!

(14) North Dakota St 74 vs. (3) Kansas 84
Minneapolis

(11) Dayton 68 vs. (6) West Virginia 60
Minneapolis

Day two begins with Syracuse (3) facing off against Stephen F. Austin (14). Syracuse has the height and SFA needs to figure out how to get around the bigger men. The 14th seed team has a record of only 33% from the outside and is fouling while the Orange played an impressive game to move on to the second round.
The Utah State (11) vs. Marquette (6) game off to a good start for the #6 seed. Utah State is outscored from the outside and having a hard time penetrating the defense. Coming back from the half, Utah Sate pulls within 1 of Marquette and keeps the heat on - tying the score with 5 minutes to play and taking a 6 point lead with 4:39 to go... The Golden eagles of Marquette have a 3 point lead with 5.1 to go... Utah State misses a three pointer and fouls. Marquette brings it to a 4 point game. Utah sinks a three pointer but comes up one short... Marquette advances!
Number 3 seeded Kansas is getting matched by 14 seed North Dakota. Kansas does better when they control the game, but NDS has been impressive at overlaying their rhythm on the play. NDS's Ben Woodside is dangerous from the outside consistently sinking the three pointers going head to head with Collins, the Kansas point guard. .
Oklahoma State (8) scored 5 team fouls in the first 6 minutes of play against Tenn (9). Otherwise the teams are pretty fairly matched. The Vols have size, but the Cowboys play the perimeter well. These two teams battle to the finish. Tied with less than 2 minutes to go... Oklahoma State pulls it out to advance.
Syracuse, Marquette, Kansas and Oklahoma State advance to the second round.
Arizona State (6) and Temple (11) come out ready to play. Temple owes the pace of play to Dionte Christmas 29 from both the foul line and the floor... if he could have hit his three pointers they might have won. Pendergraph scored over 27 for the Sun Devils with Harden barely pitching in to keep the slim lead.
East Tenn State U (16) is playing Pitt (1) totally unaware that a number one seed can't lose to a number 16 in first round play. In 98 games, a first seed had never been sent home by a number 16... and only four close calls... now 5. The score has gone back and forth and been tied through the first half and the action in the second half is just as hot. There were nine lead changes and six ties and no double digit leads by either team... until 20 seconds before the final buzzer. Great game!
Dayton (11) against West Virginia (6) was in upset territory through most of the game. Midway through the second half WVU brought the score within three but after they lost the lead (at 3 to 2 seconds into the game) they could not get the game going. The Flyers advance.
Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Missouri and Dayton advance to the second round.
Time for the evening games. First up the Morehead State (16) vs. overall top ranked Louisville. No one expected much of a game... well, surprise. Morehead State Eagles had a 2 point lead over #1 ranked Louisville... after 6 minutes of play... anyone predict that? Amazing. March madness... they probably won't be able to keep up the level of play, but passing, shooting, blocking? The Eagles brought their game. The second half was more to the Louisville team's expectations, and Morehead started slipping back on the scoreboard despite a heroic effort on the boards.
Portland State (13) vs. Xavier (4) is a good game, but Xavier has the edge in shooting and perimeter defense making Portland work for every basket. The game was close in the first half, but Portland dropped back in the second half and Xavier advances.
Upset time? Boston College (7) and USC (10) both started with hot games, but BC ran into early fouling trouble that impacted the later game. Midway through the 2nd half the Trojans tied the score then went up by two. Each team led by as many as 7 but the end of the second half was all USC and the 10th seeded Trojans go on to the second round.
Arizona (12) playing Utah (5) has the edge on rebounding, shooting and blocking. At least one 12th seed has advanced in every tournament and it looks like Arizona, who dropped 5 out of their last 6 games and were a surprise for many to even be in the tournament, will be the 12th seed team that advances this year.
Siena(9) and Ohio State(8) started pretty even - playing to an 8 - 8 tie before Ohio State took control. Somehow, in the second half, with an 11 point lead, Ohio State went dry. Fouling, failing to connect from inside or outside... their game just stalled. Siena pounced and brought the score up to a 47 - 47 tie with less than 5 minutes left in regulation time. Ohio Sate managed to pull ahead by a slim margin, but a free throw by Siena ties them with 8 seconds left... OT. Trading leads through the OT - with 3 seconds.... a basket for Siena... 65-65 2nd OT... Both of these teams have heart and neither wants to go home... Siena is down by 1 with 10 seconds to go. Ronald Moore sinks his second three in the second OT and makes it a two point game for Siena with 3.9 seconds. Can the Buckeyes make the shot? No... Siena wins!
Wisconsin (12) and FSU (5) looked like an even game, but FSU had control until the end of the second when Wisconsin caught fire. A basket at the buzzer brings them to a 52-52 tie and OT... Wisconsin drops a 2 pointer to make it 60 - 59 with 2 seconds and a foul free throw makes it 61 - 59 Wisconsin... 2 seconds.... long throw misses and the 12th seed advances....

UCLA(6) and Villanova(3) started off the action in the second round. The first half belonged to 'Nova. UCLA faced with the more athletic Wildcats team was stopped by the defense and couldn't seem to block the shots without fouling. UCLA could not score in the paint and Villanova was scoring from inside and outside. The Bruins ended the half with a basket from the inside and a free throw - narrowing the 'Nova lead to 13. The first 5 points of the second half went to 'Nova and continued the march to the Sweet Sixteen. UCLA made most of their points at the free throw line - the Wildcats owned the rest of the court.
Terrace Avenues pointed his Memphis teammates to the Final Four goal they have on their minds. Maryland was determined to leave the Tigers in the dust and go on to the Sweet Sixteen - despite their #10 rank, but Terrace had 11 in the first 5 minutes. With Terrace taking a break, Maryland put some points on the board late in the 1st half. The Tigers continued to dominate in the second half.
UConn coach, Jim Calhoun returned with a clean bill of health to run the team from the sidelines. The Aggies are playing man to man against the Huskies who are driving inside. With just a few minutes of play, Hasheem Thabeet seems like the man to beat in this game taking UConn to a big lead at the end of the 1st half. Calhoun pulls Thabeet with 3 fouls a few minutes into the 2nd half and the Aggies takes advantage to shave a few points of the Huskies lead but UConn rallies back and shows that the team can do just fine with the star on the bench. AJ Price is hot today leading UConn scorers with 27 points.
Good news for UNC - Ty Lawson started today. His play was not up to standard, but even at 75% he was impressive. LSU came out strong taking the first 2 points - answered by the Tar Heels... for the first 5 minutes they traded inside baskets. UNC began to pull ahead, but Lawson hurt his bad foot and LSU took advantage to grab the lead. Lawson returned and UNC was back in stride. LSU returned from the half time break on fire - scoring 8 (spearheaded by Tasmin Mitchell's efforts) bringing the Tigers lead down to 1. WIth 5 minutes gone in the second half LSU tied the score and then scored a three for the lead. In the second half, the LSU Tigers dominated the glass and brought their lead up to five. The Tar Heels took the lead back with just under 11 to go and the lead switched back and forth... it looked like a Tigers rout of the Tar Heels until Lawson, hurt foot and all, spurred his team back into the lead and on to the Sweet Sixteen... let's hope for UNC's sake that his toe is OK to play in the next game.
Another tight game in the early session was Michigan(10) vs. Oklahoma(2). Bumps, bruises and a bit of blood were shed in the first half but with just under 4 minutes left in the half, Michigan took the lead away from Oklahoma with a three point effort. Oklahoma rallied back to end the half with a one point lead and keep the edge, just enough to move on to join the sixteen in the next round.
The Purdue(5) vs. Washington(4) game seemed like a lock for Purdue until midway through the 2nd half and an 11 - 2 run by Washington brought them within 2 of the Purdue lead. The rest of the game was a nail biter with Washington in reach of a win until the final buzzer. Purdue pull through and goes on the the Sweet 16 on Thursday where they will meet U Conn. Better bring more game to win that one..
WKU(12) playing Gonzaga(4) was a tight game. WKU lead by as much as 3 - and the Zags by as much as 6 - with a few ties thrown in in the first 10 minutes of play. If Gonzaga expected to meet an intimidated team... they must have forgotten WKU's win against Louisville during the regular season. They are good and they want to move on - no ranking differences will discourage these young men. Mendez-Valdez collected many of the WKU points during the first half and continued during the 2nd. With 24 seconds... WKU 79 - Zags 81... With 7 seconds left the score is tied... the Zags score a two pointer... and take the game by 2 points... The Gonzaga Bulldogs go to the Sweet Sixteen.
Footnote - a timeout was called by the WKU coach and at least one WKU player with 49 seconds left on the clock. The refs and the rest of the players did not see it. Play continued and the buzzer sounded. The time out could possibly, perhaps... have changed the final score of the game giving WKU the win ... rough, but still... the Bulldogs have the win and go on while WKU packs up and - hopefully - will come back and play again next year. Despite the sour note, it was a great game.
Texas(7) vs Duke(2) another fight. AJ Price and Chapman playing for Texas were two big reasons the lower seeded team was giving Duke nightmares. In the second half, Duke did better at creating scoring opportunities and blocking the Texas rush. With 1:36 to go in regulation time, the score is tied at 67 all. Squeaking through - the last 5 points from the line - Duke advances to the Sweet Sixteen.

(11) Dayton 43 vs. (3) Kansas 60

Most of the experts picked Syracuse(3) to win against the Arizona St(6) team and with Syracuse leading by 15 it looked like they were right... but this was March Madness and Arizona wasn't going home without a fight. With 5 minutes left in the 2nd, Pendergraph on the bench with fouls, the Sun Devils picked up the pace and brought their school within 5 of the lead - sending their fans hopes and hearts racing. The Orange answered with a pair of treys to put some breathing space between the two teams - Syracuse goes on to the Sweet Sixteen to play Oklahoma.
The Wisconsin(12) vs. Xavier(4) team was off to a slow start with scoring. It took a while before the Badgers sunk the first 2 point basket and a few minutes more for the Xavier Musketeers to answer... with 5 minutes played a 2 - 2 tie. But the score didn't reflect the action in the paint. This was a physical, high action game from the tip off. Wisconsin played hard, but the Xavier defense kept them at bay.
Dayton(11) playing against Kansas(3) had trouble keeping the higher seeded Jayhawks out of the paint from the start.
The Cinderella matchup, Cleveland(13) against Arizona(12) will end the hopes of one and send the other on to the Sweet Sixteen. The Arizona Wildcats are favored to advance and, with a 10 point lead at the half, unless Cleveland has some magic in the second... it will be pumpkin time for their Cinderella dreams. The Cleveland Vikings are keeping the heat on, but can't catch Arizona. A rally 5 minutes into the second half brought Cleveland State within 4... but Arizona had the answer with double teaming at the basket and picked up the pace. Jamelle Horn played a great game - outstanding at the free throw line. Anyone still asking if Arizona should have been invited?
Oklahoma(8) was quick to score against number 1 seeded Pitt and took the early lead, but with just over 15 minutes to play in the first half, Pittsburgh caught up... but the Cowboys went out in front again by 8 points. Senior, Byron Eaton, playing for Oklahoma State is all over the field outstanding in both defense and offense. Pitt lags in rebounds and shots from the outside and has twice the number of turnovers. The Cowboys are hot from three point range and Pitt is having trouble keeping up, but perimeter guarding is missing from both teams playbooks. At the half... Pitt ties it up and comes out pumped to take the lead against the Cowboys. They maintained a solid lead until the end of the second. A 9 point unanswered run with just under 4 to gives Oklahoma the lead for seconds, but Pitt answers with a two - and the Cowboys come back with two. At the end of regulation play... it's anyone's game ... Pitt scores a three and the spread is 5... 40 seconds to go Pitt sinks a two... Oklahoma State played a great game against the number 1 seed, but effort only counts if it shows on the scoreboard. Pittsburgh goes on to the Sweet Sixteen.
(10) USC Trojans take on (2) Michigan State Spartans with Lucas and Walton. The Spartans take the first two points, but Michigan doesn't have a runaway. USC came to play and they are keeping up with the number 2 seed. Coming out of the half, the Trojans collect a three to go up by one the Spartans answer to tie at 42. The Trojans make it a 4 point lead and the score stays tight with the lead waffling back and forth between ties. Under 5 left to play..
The depth of the Missouri Tigers against the Marquette team may be the tale of this game. Marquette comes out strong with the first 4. Dominic James is back a month after surgery on a broken foot and his presence may spur Marquette - his play is definitely a plus, even though he is not at 100%. Mizz met Marquette in 2003, the last time Missouri was in the Tournament - they met in second round play and the Tigers were eliminated after a thrilling OT game. They do not plan on repeating that scene today. Marquette is solid from the line and Mizz just can't get up the momentum to pull away. Under 5 to go and the Golden Eagles pull ahead. 2:59 to go - Marquette is ahead by one. 1:50 - Matthews adds another two to make it a four point lead. The Tigers get 2 points - 76 to 78 for the Golden Eagles. A shot clock violation brings McNeal to the line - he misses both leaving the game tied with 19 seconds to play. Both teams go to the basket Tiller has the foul, but is injured in the play - they substitute English who gets the 2 points. 5.5 seconds and Mizz had a two point lead. Marquette possession. A foot steps inbound and the foul is called. Lyons makes one... another bucket - a four point lead... 0.05 seconds left... The Missouri Tigers are going to the Sweet Sixteen.
Ninth seeded Siena may not have dominating (1)Louisville, but they kept up and gave the fans a great game. A 9 - 2 run midway through the first half brought Siena within six. The Cardinals end the first half with a final buzzer beater to leave up by 7. With 8 minutes left Siena brought the game to a tie and then a 4 point lead. Louisville brings it home with a final score of 79 to Siena's 72... The number one seed advances to meet Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen

(3) Kansas 62 vs. (2) Michigan St 67