The March Madness Blog

Updated 9:30 p.m.

I feel so unsatisfied.

I wanted Eric Maynor to hit that shot. He’s been hitting that shot his entire career. It would’ve been such a fantastic moment -- a buzzer-beater in what has been a pretty anticlimactic day of basketball.

The stage was set -- VCU down one after an amazing Maynor-led comeback. UCLA’s previous offensive possession ended in a shot-clock violation as a result of a clutch Larry Sanders block. Maynor got the ball with 10 seconds left, drove on Darren Collison, pulled up, then hesitated.

The hesitation is where the game ended.

Maynor threw up an awkward fade-away and left it well short. 65-64 UCLA, and Maynor’s outstanding college career ends in heartbreaking fashion.

We did have a 12-over-a-five upset tonight, but Western Kentucky made it much more interesting than it should’ve. The Hilltoppers were ahead by double digits well into the second half, but Illinois made a valiant comeback. Thanks to a handful of head-scratching officiating maneuvers, this game turned into a one-possession game late, but WKU held on for a 76-72 win. I wish I could brag about this one in my bracket, but I think just about everyone had the Hilltoppers winning this one.

The 2-versus-15 games were total blowouts, as expected. Duke throttled Binghamton 86-62 in a game that was never competitive.

Oklahoma blasted Morgan State 82-54 behind an All-American performance from Blake Griffin, before Morgan State started to thug things up in the second half. Ameer Ali grabbed Griffin’s arm and flipped him onto his back. It looked like a pro wrestling move. Griffin was lucky to be athletic enough to flip over in the air to land on his back, because he appeared poised to land on his head. Ali got ejected and Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman is thankfully out of the tournament.

How Bozeman got another head coaching job after the stuff he pulled at California, I’ll never know. He was hammered for illegal payments and sexual harassment, yet here he is, coaching Morgan State in the tourney. Now, his team will forever be known as the squad who attempted to intentionally injure the best player in college basketball.

Anyway…

That’s it for today. Twelve hours of basketball down, three more days to go. Let’s hope tomorrow has more buzzer-beaters and more Cinderella teams who play a full 40-minute game instead of 33 inspired minutes, followed by a total collapse. I’ll be periodically posting my thoughts tomorrow, with the fully detailed Wildcat Live Blog making its grand return for the 4:10 p.m. game.

Updated 6:45 p.m.

The American dream? Denied.

The Eagles had Villanova down, but not out. It took the Wildcats a while to figure out that, yes, they were the most talented team on the floor, but once they did, wow. After trailing by double digits for most of the game, Nova went on to win 78-65 -- one of the few outcomes that actually benefited my bracket.

Only one of the two 7-10 games came down to the wire. Michigan rolled up a double-digit lead on Clemson, but inexplicably forgot to give Manny Harris the ball down the stretch. The Tigers clawed their way back and had a shot to tie it with the clock winding down, but they didn’t get a good shot at the buzzer. Michigan held on for a 62-59 win.

The Texas-Minnesota game was tight for a while, but A.J. Abrams buried three triples in the span of a minute to open up an insurmountable lead. Final: 76-62. Abrams finished with 26 points, including eight threes.

Akron spent most of the late game in upset mode, but Josh Heytvelt finally imposed his size advantage and carried Gonzaga to a game-clinching 13-0 second-half run. Another bracket-saver, although I was secretly hoping Akron could close the show.

That’s been the story today. We’ve seen some enthusiastic upset bids (American, Northridge, Akron, and so forth), but none of them had enough gas in the tank to take down Goliath.

The slate of late games looks like it could be a good one: I’ll make a half-hearted leap onto the Binghamton bandwagon before Duke puts them away. Blake Griffin and Oklahoma should be too much for Morgan State.

However, I love No. 12 Western Kentucky to take down Illinois (who is missing do-it-all guard Chester Frazier). Granted, I don’t know a whole lot about WKU, but I do know that they always seem to make some noise in the first round. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth is a popular upset pick against UCLA. After three straight Final Fours, the Bruins haven’t looked the same this season. Darren Collison has been there night in and night out, but the team’s overrated group of freshman (led by the disappointing Jrue Holiday) haven’t performed as expected. VCU’s terrific point guard Eric Maynor is no stranger to March heroics, either. I can’t wait for that game.

Updated 5:10 p.m.

The pair of 7-10 games have played out as advertised. Solid fundamentals, with neither team taking much of a lead. Michigan is up 27-24 over Clemson in a defensive struggle (read: a snoozer) and Texas is ahead 39-35 over Minnesota in a very decent, watchable game. Lawrence Westbrook is a lot better than I thought, and Arthur Abrams ended the half with an outrageous three.

The big shocker right now is American shooting the lights out against Villanova. At the time of this posting, the small Patriot League school has the powerful Big East squad completely out of sorts. Each time CBS cuts over to this game, it seems as if Villanova is committing another turnover. Nova is shooting very well (53 percent), but Scottie Reynolds is currently scoreless and American is flying all over the court. In addition, the Eagles have hit 7-14 from three -- a ridiculous number for one half of basketball.

What’s even crazier about this American/Villanova game is it’s essentially a home game for the Philadelphia-based Wildcats. No matter, as the underdogs have completely won over the crowd. Nova doesn’t know what hit it. Derrick Mercer -- Patriot League MVP -- is carrying himself like he’s the best player on the floor. And you know what? He is fully entitled to do so right now.

American went into halftime leading 41-31. Seriously. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see Brian Gilmore bury that three with my own eyes.

In the fourth afternoon game, Akron is giving Gonzaga all it can handle. Gonzaga’s main flaw is a lack of toughness, so if the Zips can hang in and keep the game close down the stretch, it’s entirely conceivable that the Zags will wilt. However, the Zags might have too much raw talent for Akron to handle.

Check back later this evening for a wrap-up on these four, as well as a look ahead at the evening slate.

Updated 4:10 p.m.

The Huskies salvaged some pride for the Pac-10.

Washington made it look easy in its 71-58 win over a mediocre Mississippi State squad. Well, I’m guessing they did. CBS has been running a lot of Rachel Ray, Oprah type junk.

According to the box score, Quincy Pondexter had the game of his life (23 points, eight boards) and the Bulldogs couldn’t put the ball in the ocean (20-59 from the field). Anyway…

This batch of games could be spectacular. The Michigan/Clemson and Texas/Minnesota games are too close to call. Those 7-10 match-ups are typically competitive, which means they could get wild at the end. I think I have Clemson and Texas in my brackets, but I don’t like those picks at all. Michigan and Minnesota are those typical defensive-minded Big Ten schools who succeed in the tournament, despite a lower seed. Plus, Tubby Smith has the Golden Gophers playing very well together.

Elsewhere, we have Villanova getting ready to blow the doors off American and Gonzaga looking to kick-start a Final Four run against Akron. The No. 4-seed Zags didn’t look too great when Arizona took them down earlier this year, but they looked like a title contender with the way they dismantled Saint Mary’s. If Gonzaga ever makes that deep tourney run, this has to be the year, doesn’t it?

As for Nova, I love this team. Jay Wright always fields a terrific squad who can shoot the lights out. It wouldn’t surprise me if Wright’s name starts popping up when Arizona resumes that highly publicized coaching search. Scottie Reynolds (who’s seemingly been at Villanova since 1995) leads a bombs-away squad who can beat anyone in the field. However, if the Wildcats go cold from the perimeter, they can lose to anybody -- even Patriot League champs American. However, I wouldn’t bet on it.

Check back later this evening for a halftime update.

Updated 2:15 p.m.

Well, there goes my bracket.

I blame myself. There’s no way I should’ve trusted Cal. Any team who relies on the three-ball like the Bears do is prone to some terrible stretches of basketball if the shots aren’t falling.

Today, the shots weren’t falling.

Maryland blew open a nip-and-tuck game midway through the second half. Toss in some embarrassing mental lapses and overwhelming foul trouble, and that adds up to an 84-71 Maryland win.

Oh, well. I’ll be pulling for Maryland against Memphis on Saturday. I think Greivis Vazquez gives them fits.

Earlier, the Northern Iowa versus Purdue game turned into a nail-biter. NIU battled back from a 12-point Boilermaker advantage and nearly took control of the game. However, Purdue -- just like every solid Big Ten team -- maintained its composure and made every key play down the stretch to hold on 61-56. I really like what Purdue does. They play terrific defense and share the ball extremely well.

Not surprisingly, North Carolina and UConn rolled to some huge victories. Tar Heels by 43, Huskies by 54. Those types of games need some sort of “mercy rule.”

No. 4 Washington versus No. 13 Mississippi State takes center stage for the next two hours, thanks to an unfortunate scheduling quirk. A lot of people are picking Mississippi State to pull off the upset, but the SEC was just terrible this year. The Bulldogs wouldn’t even be here if they didn’t get hot during the SEC tourney. This is a de facto home game for Washington, with the game taking place just down the road in Portland, as well.

However, Pac-10 fans can’t be feeling good about how terrible Cal looked down the stretch against Maryland. Will that be an omen for how the rest of the Pac-10 performs in this tournament?

I’ll have one more post today, which will go up just before the quartet of 4 p.m. games tip off.

Updated 1 p.m.

In this quartet of games, it looks like the Maryland-California contest is the one most likely to come down to a buzzer-beating finish.

It hasn’t been the prettiest game (both teams shooting below 40 percent), but the teams have battled to a near-stalemate at the half, with the Terps ahead 34-31. Maryland’s star guard Greivis Vazquez leads the way with 11, but he’s been playing with two fouls for the last nine minutes of game time. He’s a very intelligent, crafty player, but his aggression and emotion can sometimes get the best of him. Maryland’s chances in this game will rest squarely on Vazquez’s ability to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble.

As for Cal, its greatest strength -- three-point shooting -- has turned into its greatest weakness thus far. The Bears have hit only 3-13 from beyond the arc, but Cal has been surprisingly effective on the offensive glass. Jerome Randle has 11 points, and he’s been the only Cal perimeter star to play up to his potential. It stands to reason that Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson (combined 4-13) will heat up in the second half.

At the moment of this post, Northern Iowa is hanging tough with Purdue midway through the second half, and the two No. 1 seeds have taken control of their games. North Carolina blew up for 53 points on a shell-shocked Radford squad in the first 20 minutes, and Connecticut -- who understandably came out sluggish after the devastating Jim Calhoun news -- opened up to a 35-17 lead behind A.J. Price and Haseem Thabeet.

I’ll post again after Maryland-Cal goes final.

Updated 11:38 a.m.

Well, they had a good run.

With 10 minutes to go, the No. 15 seed Cal State Northridge held an unlikely six-point lead. It looked like the first major upset was going to happen VERY early on.

Then Memphis finally woke up.

Unheralded bench player Roburt Sallie exploded for 35 points to help the Tigers stay in the game when all of his teammates were playing terrible basketball. Once the rest of Memphis’ roster woke up, it overwhelmed the Matadors. Tip of the hat, Cal State Northridge. Great effort.

As for the other two early a.m. games, Butler made a furious comeback attempt, but LSU hit enough free throws to win 75-71. Marcus Thornton (the only SEC player I really like) took over, scoring 30 points on 10-15 shooting. That guy is a legit talent.

BYU found a bit of a rhythm in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Five Aggies scored in double figures to take home a 79-66 victory. Even with an off-game from Josh Carter, the Aggies had more than enough firepower to take down the Cougars.

The next slate of games includes an underrated Purdue team squaring off against the upset-minded Northern Iowa, the No. 1-seeded North Carolina likely rolling over Radford by at least 20 (unless this Ty Lawson injury completely destroys the Tar Heels), and what should be a terrific game between Maryland and my tourney dark horse, the California Golden Bears. Perhaps I’m overrating Cal because I watched Jerome Randle knock down eight threes against the Wildcats at McKale Center, but the Bears can really shoot it.

Quick tip: For maximum tournament enjoyment, be sure to get up and walk around every once in a while. So much college hoops can get kind of hypnotic, so you want to get the blood flowing with a nice, brisk walk around the neighborhood during these breaks in the action. Back in roughly an hour with another update.

Updated 10:30 a.m.

Go Northridge!

The game of the morning has definitely been Cal State Northridge’s upset bid over the wildly overrated Memphis Tigers. It’s 34-31 Memphis at the break, but the Tigers look dreadful. Without Robert Sallie (17 points, 5-7 from three), Northridge would be winning in a blowout. Everyone else for Memphis is 5-20 from the floor, with three major players in foul trouble.

I wish I would’ve had the courage to pick Northridge in my bracket. I really don’t like this Memphis squad. The Tigers have gotten fat on a terrible Conference USA squad and spent the last couple days complaining about not being a No. 1 seed. Had Memphis played in the Big East, it would’ve been a No. 6 seed -- at best. Conversely, Georgetown (who missed the tourney) would’ve won C-USA in a walk.

Elsewhere, Butler really did a nice job steadying the ship after the LSU onslaught and trails by only six at the half. Maybe it’s time to dig my bracket out of the trash.

In the third game, Texas A&M started out on fire, hitting its first 10 shots. BYU isn’t the most formidable defensive squad, and the Aggies did a terrific job getting the ball inside and working their offense. The Cougars are getting terrible performances from leading scorers Lee Cummard and Jimmer Fredette (combined 2-12), so if they get back on track, BYU could start cutting into A&M’s 42-30 advantage.

During the halftime show, Greg Gumbel dropped this bombshell: Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun has been taken to the hospital and won’t be coaching his Huskies’ opening-round game later this evening. George Blaney will be coaching in his absence. Calhoun missed UConn’s Jan. 3 game against Rutgers and has been dealing with some health issues during the past couple years. This is stunning news. Can the top-seeded Huskies maintain their focus while their coach is in the hospital? Here’s wishing for a quick recovery for Calhoun.

Back in an hour.

Updated 9:30 a.m.

You have to love west-coast time. There’s nothing quite like waking up, getting some breakfast, flicking on the television and having the best sporting event in the world greet you. Traditionally, I’m not a morning person, but this could be enough to snap me out of my nocturnal ways.

CBS brings us Butler versus LSU, with Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg on the call. “From the opening tip to ‘One Shining Moment,’ here we go,” says Nantz. He’s a quality play-by-play guy, but he can get awfully corny from time to time. I’m just glad Nantz finally has a broadcasting partner who actually enjoys calling college basketball games.

I picked Butler to win this, based on my “don’t trust any SEC teams” bracket philosophy. Of course, LSU jumps out to a 5-0 lead. Check that, 7-0 on a ridiculous turnaround jumper that nobody in the SEC hit all year. Wait, it’s 9-0 Tigers now. The tournament is only three minutes old and I might as well throw my bracket in the trash.

We’re about to be switched over to the Texas A&M versus BYU match-up. Wildcat fans might remember the Aggies from that Dec. 5 game, when Arizona blew an 11-point halftime lead to lose 67-66. Nic Wise fouled out with about seven minutes remaining, forcing Chase Budinger to play point guard. The offense did nothing down the stretch.

Anyway, my two favorite things to do as a fan is 1) watch March Madness, and 2) root against BYU. As a University of Wyoming alum, I can’t stand the Cougars. Go Josh Carter!

Back in about an hour for more updates.