NCAA

Day 2 of the 2nd round:

(5)Tennessee outlasts (4)Virginia 77-74

(1)Florida over (9)Purdue 74-67

(7)UNLV ousts (2)Wisconsin 74-68

(4)Southern Illinois keeps it going over (5)Virginia Tech 63-48

(3)Oregon punches Cinderella's ticket (11 Winthrop) 75-61

(2)Memphis outruns (7)Nevada 78-62

(1)Kansas beats (8)Kentucky 88-76

(5)USC kills (4)Texas (and man-child Durant) 87-68

I watched most of these games (I should have been sleeping) and the Tenn./Virginia game was a classic. Of course I'm a big UT fan, but it would have been a classic regardless. Two teams battling to make it (hot shooting, timely defense and free throws) with one eventually having to take a bow.

The rest of the games had their moments, but most were decided long before the final buzzer. Florida showed it is still the team to beat. Turning up the offense and defense seemingly at will in the 2nd half against a game Purdue squad. UNLV showed that Wisconsin may have had a good year, but they aren't that good of a team. (Show of hands for all the people that thought Wisconsin was a final four or championship team... ok the guy in the back can leave). Southern Illinois stifled Virginia Tech all day, of course after what Illinois did to them, this is what happens when you play a team with good defense that actually has an offense. Virginia Tech should have been a 7-seed.

The 'experts' all thought Winthrop would be playing in the Sweet 16 after today, I wonder if any of them have seen Oregon play this year? A very fast team with size that can play a little defense against a 'feel-good' story and a natural-born star from New Zealand, it's easy to see how they missed this one. I thought the Nevada-Memphis game would be good (up-and-down scoring, loose defense; but with full-court presses) and for most of the game it was good. It was alot like the Tenn./Virginia game without the suspense at the end. Memphis just had too much for the senior-laden Nevada squad. Kentucky upset me. Here's a good shooting team with a monster inside force (Morris) who thinks it's a 3-point team with a great transition defense. Kansas exposed Kentucky for what it really was.

Finally the man-child. Kevin Durant is (almost) everyone's POY in college basketball this year (with votes going to Oden at OSU also) and expected to be the #1 or #2 pick in next year's NBA draft. He is awesome, but Texas finally figured out that this is a TEAM sport. At least that is what they should take away from the USC vs Durant game today.
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March Madness