Thursday, March 17, 2005
THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR 3/17/05
FINAL UPDATE at 9:40 P.M.
Post anything NCAA Tournament-related in the comments box. If you have to post anything that isn't NCAA Tournament-related, you can comment as well. We aren't huge sticklers on off-topic comments, like other sites are. We're Sports and Bremertonians, dammit!
The road to St. Louis begins today. Hopefully for the teams that advance to the Final Four, they don't get run over by Leonard Little. Yes, I hate the Rams.
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#1 Washington 88, #16 Montana 77
Washington defeated Montana 88-77 in Boise.
The Huskies started off the game on an 18-4 run. Brandon Roy led the Huskies with 17 points. Tre Simmons had 15 points while Nate Robinson scored just 9 points. While the Huskies only defeated the Grizzlies by 11 points, it's all about surviving and advancing in the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies will face Pacific on Saturday (12:20 p.m. Pacific)
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#3 Gonzaga 74, #14 Winthrop 64
It was the Adam Morrison Show at the McKale Center in Tucson.
The sophomore from Spokane scored 27 points as the Bulldogs were able to hold off Winthrop 74-64. J.P. Batista scored 14 points while Ronny Turiaf had 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Gonzaga will face the winner of #11 UCLA-#6 Texas Tech Saturday (10:10 a.m. Pacific)
If you aren't fired up for the tournament yet, then this little CBS diddy should do the trick. I believe in the power of that one shining moment.
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AUSTIN REGION
#2 Kentucky 72, #15 Eastern Kentucky 64
Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azubuike each scored 16 points as Kentucky defeated Eastern Kentucky 72-64 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
The Wildcats will face the winner of #10 Iowa-#7 Cincinnati Saturday (2:40 p.m. Pacific).
AUSTIN REGION
#3 Oklahoma 84, #14 Niagara 67
Oklahoma defeated Niagara 84-67 in Tucson. My local affiliate showed maybe 2 minutes of this game, tops.
The Sooners will face the winner of #11 UTEP-#6 Utah Saturday (12:40 p.m. Pacific)
CHICAGO REGIONAL
#12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 83, #5 Alabama 73
We've got our first 5/12 upset of the tournament, with Bruce Pearl's Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers upsetting Alabama 83-73 in Cleveland.
The Panthers were 12-of-27 from 3-pt range (57%), as they took an early lead in the 1st half and never let the Crimson Tide get into the flow of things.Wisconsin-Milwaukee will face the winner of #13 Penn-#4 Boston College Saturday (2:30 p.m. Pacific)
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#8 Pacific 79, #9 Pittsburgh 71
The Pacific Tigers have defeated their 2nd Big East foe in as many years in the NCAA Tournament, eliminating Pittsburgh 79-71 in Boise.
Big West Conference Player of the Year David Doubley scored 17 points as the Tigers will face the winner of #16 Montana-#1 Washington Saturday (12:20 p.m. Pacific)
My thoughts on the first window of the tournament:
---I love the top-of-the-screen scoreboxes CBS is using this year.
---WHEN SHE'S HOT, SHE'S SEXY! WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU STINK!
---They should just rename the Dasani sideline reports the "Dasani Water Breaks".
---Coach K is everywhere.
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ALBUQUERQUE REGION
(Montana-Washington recap has already been covered)
CHICAGO REGIONAL
#4 Boston College 85, #13 Pennsylvania 65
Boston College was led by Jared Dudley's 18 points as they defeated Penn 85-65 in Cleveland.
The Eagles will face Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday (2:30 p.m. Pacific)
AUSTIN REGION
#7 Cincinnati 76, #10 Iowa 64
Bob Huggins' squad finally shows up in March, defeating Iowa 76-64 in Indianapolis.
The Bearcats will face Kentucky Saturday (2:40 p.m. Pacific)
AUSTIN REGION
#6 Utah 60, #11 UTEP 54
Andrew Bogut scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Utah defeated UTEP 60-54 in Tucson.
The Utes will face Oklahoma Saturday (12:40 p.m. Pacific)
My thoughts on the second window of the tournament today:
---I am already looking forward to Saturday's matchup between Utah and Oklahoma. The Utes' Andrew Bogut and the Sooners' Kevin Bookout are two of the best big men in college basketball. I have the Utes coming out of the Austin, I mean South, region. So go Utes!
---I hate Cincinnati. I also hate Kentucky. May both of these teams get locked in
their hotel rooms in Indianapolis, giving the winner of Utah-Oklahoma a free pass to the Elite Eight in Austin.
---I'm not worried about the Huskies. They should beat Pacific, although there's no doubt that the Tigers are a very good squad. We're no strangers to Pacific, considering that fellow Bremertonian Miah Davis was a Tiger last season.
---Would it kill CBS to allow the broadcasters to give the viewers analysis during the timeouts? Hell, I'd love to see more crowd shots during the timeouts as well. Gotta get that money, though.
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ALBUQUERQUE REGION
(See above for Winthrop-Gonzaga recap)
CHICAGO REGION
#9 Nevada 61, #8 Texas 57
Hook this.
For the second straight year, the school from the biggest little city in the world has knocked off a major conference team. This year, Nevada defeated Texas 61-57 in Indianapolis. Kevinn Pinkney scored 15 points for the Wolf Pack. Nick Fazekas, Nevada's leading scorer, was held to just 10 points, but grabbed 13 rebounds.
Nevada will face the winner of #16 Farleigh Dickinson-#1 Illinois Saturday (5:10 p.m. Pacific)
CHICAGO REGION
#3 Arizona 66, #14 Utah State 53
Salim Stoudamire and Channing Frye each had 17 points as Arizona advances to the second round, defeating the Big West Conference tournament champion Utah State 66-53 in Boise.
The Wildcats will face the winner of #11 UAB-#6 LSU Saturday (2:50 p.m. Pacific)
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#2 Wake Forest 70, #15 Chattanooga 54
Chris Paul scored 20 points as Wake Forest held off Chattanooga 70-54 in Cleveland.
The Demon Deacons will face the winner of #10 Creighton-#7 West Virginia Saturday (5 p.m. Pacific)
My thoughts for the first evening session:
---Thousands of Americans are thanking God that Wake Forest and Gonzaga won their games tonight.
---My head won out over my heart when deciding to pick Arizona over Utah State. Head > heart, at least in this instance. Cue Queensryche "Hand On Heart".
---Screw Texas.
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CHICAGO REGION
#1 Illinois 67, #16 Farleigh Dickinson 55
After leading by just 1 point at halftime (32-31), Illinois went on a 14-2 run to start the second half, propelling them to a 67-55 victory over a gritty Farleigh Dickinson squad in Indianapolis.
Dee Brown led the Fighting Illini with 19 points.
Illinois will play Nevada Saturday (5:10 p.m. Pacific)
CHICAGO REGION
#11 UAB 82, #6 LSU 68
Marvett McDonald scored 21 points as UAB dominated LSU 82-68 in Boise.
UAB will play Arizona Saturday (2:50 p.m. Pacific)
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#6 Texas Tech 78, #11 UCLA 66
Texas Tech was led by Ronald Ross' 28 points as they defeated UCLA 78-66 in Tucson.
The Red Raiders will take on Gonzaga Saturday (10:10 a.m. Pacific)
ALBUQUERQUE REGION
#7 West Virginia 63, #10 Creighton 61
In a game full of 3-pointers, how did Tyrone Sally win the game for West Virginia?
A dunk.
The Mountaineers knocked off Creighton 63-61 in Cleveland.
West Virginia will play Wake Forest Saturday (5 p.m. Pacific)
My thoughts on the final portion of the first day of the tournament:
---You want to know who #1 for Creighton is? If you guessed Jeffrey Day, you are correct. Day played his high school ball at Seattle Prep before going to Washington. He left Washington, went to a junior college in California (he did not play basketball at the JC) before transferring to Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska. That's right, Creighton is in Omaha, Nebraska.
---Screw the SEC. I'm sick and tired of the SEC homers shoving their stuff down my throat. Face it, it is an overrated conference. Especially this season. The top two teams in the SEC West, Alabama and LSU, just got beat by teams from the Horizon League and Conference USA. Yes, that's the almighty SEC, folks. I feel stupid for picking Alabama and LSU. Believe me, my mouth is very dry right now.
---Somehow, I don't think we're going to see any stories on the wire proclaiming that Illinois is not worthy of their #1 seed.
---Screw the SEC!
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That does it for the first day of the NCAA Tournament.
I went 11-5 today. Losses include Alabama, Iowa, Creighton, LSU, and UCLA. Is my bracket a "stinky bracket"? I'll let you know tomorrow night.
My throat is feeling very dry right now.
Thanks, LSU. Really. Great performance on the Rainbow Brite court in Boise.
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