We got most of the good games out of the way early.  Butler-South Alabama is a fun matchup, otherwise, lambs to the slaughter.  Certainly no match for the early session.

UPDATE 2:55 PM: Texas-Austin Peay... notable only for Austin Peay's cheer.  Let's Go Peay!  Otherwise, ugh.  UMBC was lucky to get a 15 seed, and G'Town will crush them.  San Diego and U Conn is fun because the Reverend Jim Jones' Grandson is on San Diego.  Barring some leftover Flavor-Aid to stick in the Huskies cooler, however, the Toreros have no shot.

UPDATE 3:00 PM: USA-Butler has tipped off. A J Graves hits his first shot for 3... when he's hitting, Butler is tough to beat.

UPDATE 3:04 PM: Apparently, there was a mix up, and South Alabama has to wear its JV uniforms... oh, what, those are their unis?  *gulp*... oof.

UPDATE 3:10 PM: Hope to find out soon what game we actually get on TV...  hopefully we stay on Butler-USA... USA looks legit so far, but it's wicked early... When AJ Graves doesn't get a touch on a trip down the court, brad Stevens, Baby Jesus and I all cry.  Get him the ball, run the O through him.

UPDATE 3:13 PM: The 3 point shot...  I wish I had a jump shot.  I swear there's always a mid to low-major with a place for a slow white guy who shoots lights out from outside.

UPDATE 3:16 PM: UMBC-GTown and Texas-APSU are underway.  Billy Packer is off of suicide watch as he gets to announce a major conference team.  The Retrievers are tied with the fightin' John Thompsons early.  Texas has gotten off to a 9-0 run to start.  Say good night, Governors.

UPDATE 3:20: Yeah, they're up 20-19, but Butler has to be alarmed by the pace of play.  20-19 with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half is too fast for the Bulldogs.  I've noticed that the younger/less experienced coaches this year have really had trouble with the opposing teams dictating the flow of the game so far... Keno and Winthrop's new coach have had serious pace issues.

UPDATE 3:26 Austin Peay will not be playing Sunday.  Texas is dangling their corpse in their teeth.  The Governors are getting gored by the Longhorns.  UMBC is hanging in early... I went to a UMBC home game once... their venue is odd.  Half convocation center, half high school gym.  And the Brown and yellow color scheme is not exactly pleasing to the eye.  At some point, Roy Hibbert is gonna get like the Chief in One Flew Over The Cookoo's nest and throw a Retriever guard through a nearby window.  Yeah, he's that tough.
UMBC is outrebounding* them so far.

UPDATE 3:30 PM: UMBC is using the Matchup Zone...  smart move if you can play it well, so far so good.  Butler USA has slowed down a bit, which has to please Butler Coach Brad Stevens, whose allowance will be raised to 15 dollars a week if he makes the Sweet Sixteen.  The contrast of styles, with both teams making the effort to dictate pace, make this one a very interesting game from a purist standpoint... the mental game is fun.

UPDATE 3:36 PM: I think Texas just removed Austin Peay's heart from its chest showed it to it, and then impaled it on a pike.  Yeah, APSU is toast. Texas appears to have better size and speed at all five spots on the board.  Butler has some cute cheerleaders.

UPDATE 3:40 PM: I think I'm gonna slow down here for a touch.  Butler-USA demand attention, as this is just a really fun game. UMBC has fallen back, and APSU is mud... barring an early San Diego lead, I want to watch some Butler-USA and see if I can find something pithy to say about it.

UPDATE 3:47: Wow, Butler has taken the initiative... having dudes who hits 3 after 3 after 3 will do that.  Butler will be around 50 for the half, so unlike them... and they are up 14.  certainly not what I would have imagined for this game... USA shows no signs of giving up tho, on a positive note.  Problem is, if Butler stays this hot, it doesn't matter.

UPDATE 3:50:  San Diego is discovering that stopping a 7'3" guy isn't easy.  They're hanging in quite well tho, especially considering the pace and feel of the game are par more Big East than WCC.  Physical play, and the officials are swallowing the whistles so far.  And halftime is coming just a bit too late for South Alabama... You tell me pregame that they score 30 in the first half, I'd bet they're within 5 points, ahead or behind.  They're behind by 17, as Butler cannot miss.

UPDATE 3:52: Despite my Big East honkdom*, I'm rooting for San Diego over UConn... I want Rob Jones to hit the gamewinning bucket, and then hear the announcers accidentally make a cult-related joke.  It has to happen.

UPDATE 3:58: San Diego is certainly outworking UConn... and the lack of quickness of UConn is a little evident.  San Diego up 2 with 11 min. left in the First half...

UPDATE 4:06: TOREROS +D is one of my fave eights.  AJ Price just came up injured, which is not good at all for UConn.  TOREROS takes SAD POM, which is probably offensive somehow in ways I'll never know. 
San Diego's Big guy, Pomare, is continuing the great play he exhibited in the WCC tournament.  If he can be a force, UConn is beatable. USD by 3, 7:52 in the 1st.

UPDATE 4:10: Dude, I want you gone.  I'm not kidding.  I've had enough of your stupid commercial.    The fact that you are not homeless saddens me.

UPDATE 4:15: USA-Butler back in action.  Butler starts with two turnovers, which USA converts for 4 points... Butler by 13, USA still with hope.

UPDATE 4:18: AJ Graves nails a three... oh well, so much for USA building momentum.  USD maintains a lead, which despite my above joke, is not unreasonable... San Diego has some horses, and UConn overachieved this year... I had Drake beating them next round for a reason.

UPDATE 4:20: G'Town and UMBC are back in action.  I think that UMBC was as close as it will get... certainly didn't embarrass themselves, but the Hoyas are too much.

UPDATE 4:35: San Diego has the five point halftime lead... who can resist the urge to say that Billy Grier has his guys drinking the Kool-aid so far today?  In all seriousness, Grier was the long time 1st assistant/future head coach presumptive at Gonzaga, and the influence in style of play and type of players recruited is evident.  Otherwise, the three other games in progress are all ugly.  Butler is shooting at an unreal pace, which has left USA vulnerable (couldn't resist, sorry).  UMBC has run out of fight, and the APSU Governors couldn't bring back memories of their late eighties Sweet Sixteen run, where they got jobbed by young guard Billy Donovan's Providence team and the officials... who gave the Friars a Time Out when they didn't have possession of a loose ball, awarded them possession, and Providence scored to win.

UPDATE 4:47:  I just want to pull EYE-an Eagle aside and scream in his face "Pronounce your name correctly!"  Really, a guy that dorky has no right to try to link his clearly fake name to a Louis Gossett, Jr. Movie.  The Cincy Contingent should know him, as he and Solomon Wilcots were the pair perennially assigned to games between the 5-11 Bungles and whoever they were playing.  They just showed the end of the Hampton/ISU classic... Steve Merfeld rocked.  AJ Price is out for UConn.

UPDATE 4:51: The Georgetown UMBC game is at that nebulous point where you'd like to believe the dog can come back (down 13, 7:14 remaining), but you're afraid to become emotionally invested in the possibility, because it's so remote.  Big Up to the Retrievers for a fantastic effort against their neighbors.  How much gas was wasted in having the Suburban Baltimore School and the Wash. DC school travel to North Carolina...

UPDATE 4:54: San Diego wants it, UConn seems rather blase about it all...USD by 9 early in the second.  I think that UCONN better change thinks fast, or their toast, especially without Price.  San Diego is playing UConn's game, and playing it much much better.

UPDATE 4:59: Pomare is good, UConn not so much.  The other three games have entered laugher territory.  Butler may have made the biggest statement of any team in the tourney so far with their destruction of South Alabama.  Butler need not fear any team in the tournament.

UPDATE 5:03: UConn finally starts to show a trifle bit of intensity... maybe Jim Calhoun threatened to make them stop stealing laptops... whatever it was, it was necessary.  Problem is, they've let San Diego get confidence...  and this is not a 16 seed like Albany a couple years back that will be helpless to the comeback... USD has the goods to hold on... whether they will remains to be determined, but the comeback, if it happens, will not be easy.


UPDATE 5:05: Thanks everyone... I think I'm done blogging for this tournament, at least til the Finals (a Finals liveblog seems in order, I think.)  If Pitt makes the Elite Eight, I might hit that too.  Hope y'all liked it, sorry I can't do tonite... enjoy this weekend; it's the best of the year.  Any ideas, comments, complaints, thoughts, etc?  leave em here or email me at petezeigler A T gmail D O T com.

12:15 PM American- Tenn. is the first to tipoff, so we get the start of it.  Jeff Jones, former failure of a coach at UVa, now coaches AU.  Good to see him do well in the Patriot League... he and Ralph Willard are reclaiming their reps.  Tennessee certainly appears to outclass AU tho.  and the UT headbands are intimidating.

UPDATE 12:20:  By this point (16 minute mark) in the UT- Memphis game, I think the teams had combined for thirty points.  AU has dictated a slow down game quite nicely.  Speaking of WASP sounding names, their lead guard is named Harrison Carr.  Did you know Jared weighed 425 pounds in college?

UPDATE 12:25: Woohoo!  We get Gonzaga-Davidson.  I picked Davidson, because the Zags break my heart and my bracket every year.  I still love them tho.  I love what the success of Gonzaga says about the state of College Hoops.  A little school in the boring half of Washington, from a podunk conference of private religious schools, has become a national power.  But Davidson is good, and in Stephen Curry, they have the best player on the floor, which means a lot in the tournament.

UPDATE 12:30:  Davidson really does deserve note.  So far, they and Butler been the closest schools to being able to replicate Gonzaga's success at building a consistently strong Mid-Major.  Davidson is hampered by a criminally weak conference, and intense competition for players in the Carolinas.  But their success has been fun to watch.  McKillop is one heck of a coach.

UPDATE 12:33:  American is holding on to a lead.  These are hustlers with good court sense.  And Tennessee appears to be show boating a bit.  Not as exciting a game to watch as the run-and-gun Davidson-Gonzaga matchup, but American is starting to believe.  UT better crush them soon, or they may have the game of their lives today.

UPDATE 12:35: Austin Daye of Gonzaga is gonna be crazy good, and will probably be a 1st round pick if he declares for the draft.  He may also be anorexic.  I've met crackheads less skinny than him.  Have a sandwich, dude.

UPDATE 12:45:  Billy Packer is announcing Zags-Davidson.  Billy Packer HATES mid majors... I'm shocked he hasn't stormed off the air for being forced to broadcast this one.  "But neither of these schools have a D1 Football team!"  The Zags have a talented kid names Micah Downs.  He transferred from Kansas after some "issues."  Apparently Micah has a little bit of thug in him.  Note to parents:  if you suspect your son may have to spend time in prison, do NOT name him Micah.  He'll get unmercifully messed with in the joint.  There may be a less intimidating name than Micah, but I can't think of it.

UPDATE 12:48: Miami- St. Mary's, at least tempo-wise favors Miami right now.  Or would, if Miami wasn't sloppy and undisciplined.  Geez, sound like their football team.  Graham, Miami's Center, is an early favorite in the Charlie Villanueva Memorial "Player who looks most like a lizard" award.  And if I see the guy in the "Dude" commercial in real life, I will cut him.  I'm not kidding.

UPDATE 12:52: Three fun, uptempo games... I shoulda gone to a place with satellite and wifi.  GU-DU is the best game, but AU-UT is fun, and Drake-WKU is interesting as well... Drake is the consummate team, while WKU goes as far as Courtney Lee takes them.  great clash of philosophies.  Drake has Kyle Korver's little bro, Klayton.  The Zags have gone on a bit of a run to build an 11 point lead.  Gonzaga is a very run-oriented team, and has been throughout the Few era.  At their best, they are near-unstoppable... just can't get there consistently.

UPDATE 12:58: Davidson and Gonzaga are both sweet sixteen teams... seeing them face each other here is sad... but it's a fantastic game.  American is down by 6, and if they don't buck up here, Tennessee will extend before the half, and remember that they're the #1 team in the RPI.

UPDATE 1:02 PM:  This is not the most talented Zag squad in recent years.  But this year's team is interesting in that they create mismatches at all positions.  Their bigs are fast and can shoot.  Their guards are tough and quick, and can defend.  Micah Downs (6'10) has done a passable job when he's covering Curry (4'7").  And David Pendergraft hasn't let his status as a ginger, and his lack of athletic ability or real basketball talent keep him from being a solid player.  Think Brian Cardinal without the shooting stroke.

UPDATE 1:13 PM:  My chili is better than yours.  Drake can't like the pace the game is being played at... they're at a 80's or 90's pace, which definitely plays into WKU's hands. The Miami-St. Mary's game is being broadcast by Ian (Eye-an) Eagle and Jim Spanarkel.  Guess which one uses their real name professionally.  Halftime in Zags-Davidson... 5 point Zag lead, but this game is far from over... both teams playing reasonably well, and if Davidson start hitting more shots from the outside, this comes down to the wire.

UPDATE 1:18 PM: Drake WKU is a fun fun game.  too much good basketball at once.  Mascotology: Drake WKU.  The Hilltopper is essentially a less manly and unarmed Mountaineer, from what I can gather, except when he's a giant blob.  Either way, Davy Boy Smith or the Dynamite Kid would probably suplex him from the hilltop to the valley below.  Advantage: Drake.

UPDATE 1:22 PM: I'm officially sick of Jackie Moon.... hasn't that movie let the theatres yet?  And tell me, is weak stream such a bad problem that it requires prescription drugs?


UPDATE 1:30 PM: Everyone but AU-UT is at half.  Tennessee is so cocky... they're showboating and messing up.  AU's within 4, they believe... and Tennessee deserves to lose.  They probably won't, but they're playing like they deserve to.  There's a reason I have Butler beating them in round 2.

UPDATE 1:34 PM: I can't help but like this American team.  Not very athletic, but they play smart basketball and hustle.  They've made a few sweet passes to set up open looks, and they work very hard on defense.  They win the battles for loose balls.  Go Eagles.  Gonzaga-Davidson is back as well.. Davison hits an open three to kick things off.  This one will be fun.  God Bless America, and God Bless the NCAA Tournament.

UPDATE 1:42 PM: As much as I respect Bruce Pearl and the job he's done restoring the Tennessee program, this job is disgraceful today.  The UT guys are playing like it's a playground.  American is within a bucket.  Tennessee isn't good enough to be as flashy as they're trying to be.  Bruce Pearl is not gonna have a fun news conference after this one.

UPDATE 1:46 PM: Tennessee has started pressing, but AU has been breaking it quite effectively.  Sign of a well coached team.  AU just hit a huge three to tie the game.  It's not Evil losing or anything, but who can root against a 15?  Really?  Especially from the Patriot League.  Rooting against American aids the terrorists.

UPDATE 1:51 PM: Drake was down by low double figures, but with the pace of play what it is, they never appeared out of it, and now the Bulldogs are on a mini-run, down seven with Emmenecker on the line for two... this should be a great game til the end... the CBS producers will be having fun with cutaways today.

UPDATE 1:55 PM: One well timed Bruce Pearl timeout has swung momentum... Tennessee has scored 8 straight to take a 48-40 lead.  AU best answer fast, or they're done.

UPDATE 2:00 PM: Davidson is certainly hanging in nicely against the Zags.  They seem to love the hand-off play for the deep three, which seems set about three feet too deep to give a truly good shot.  WKU continues to run, Drake looks disorganized and out of it.  They are trying to run with them rather than play Drake Basketball... Keno is getting outcoached by Darrin Horn here.

UPDATE 2:02 PM: Just when you think they're dead, American makes a 9-2 run to pull within one... Tennessee quickly answers to push it to 4.  Tennessee has to be scared... the announcers have started rooting for AU, the real sign of "Upset alert."  Meanwhile, Davidson has tied it up.  They shoot so well, it's unreal.

UPDATE 2:05 PM: is Every Gonzaga NCAA tourney game an instant classic?  So many great Zag games over the years.  I'll never forget their amazing double OT game as a 9 seed against #1 Arizona.  Blake Stepp missed a last second runner to win it.  The crowd in Birmingham has gotten behind AU...  Davidson has taken the lead, so much great hoops.

UPDATE 2:08 PM: As I feared, the pace is killing St. Mary's... the slow down game is not their strength, and a mediocre Miami team is schooling them with tough D and somewhat plodding offense.  Keno and Drake just look outclassed right now.  A shame... the right matchup, and Drake could have done some damage.

UPDATE 2:11 PM: Stephan Curry has absolutely no conscience.  Most little people aren't quite as confident as him on a basketball court.  He's trying turnaround jumpers from 23 feet.  You can't teach the heart of a shooter... AU within six, the announcers are loving it... I'm afraid Verne Lundquist may have a heart attack or an orgasm (perhaps both).

UPDATE 2:15 PM: Davidson may be onto something.  I've never seen a team more dependent of 24 to 26 footers, yet if you give them to Davidson, they'll nail them.  I'm gonna station my sons 25 feet from a hoop and make them shoot till they hit every time.  And have you noticed that no one can make free throws anymore?  A strange and dangerous trend.

UPDATE 2:18 PM: The dream dies, I think...Tennessee up 9 with 1:24 to play.  Great effort by the Eagles, and I hope the Tennessee team is appropriately humiliated by their poor showing.  I don;t think they're long for this tournament.

UPDATE 2:23 Drake again showing signs of life... they've pulled within single digits with 5 minutes left.  Davidson Gonzaga is a blast.  Watching Davidson set up open threes is a clinic.


UPDATE 2:25: Stephan Curry with 37 points and a huge three to give Davidson a 3 pt lead with a minute left.  Unreal... he's fewer inches than that tall. And now St. Mary's has pulled back within single digits... no one dies today.

UPDATE 2:27: Just cut to a shot of Adam Morrison, looking disappointed and Jesus-like.  He was such a great college scorer... hopefully after this year off (injury), he'll become a good solid NBA player.  Drake pulls within 5, WKU charges back with a layup and one.

UPDATE 2:33:  I think Davidson has done it.  A fantastic game by two programs that represent why I love this game, and this weekend.  Stephan Curry is now a Carolina hero, and a bunch of ACC recruiting coordinators are getting their resumes in order.  Still hoping for a run by Drake and St. Mary to put the games  from kinda in range to in range.

UPDATE 2:36: Miami hits a clutch 3 to finish off St. Mary's... tough day for the WCC today.  Only 13 seed San Diego remains to defend its honor.  GTown has its hands full Sunday with Davidson.

UPDATE 2:37: Drake's pulled it within 6.  If the choices were keep playing basketball or go back to Des Moines, I'd fight like heck to keep playing too...

UPDATE 2:42 PM: Great pass by Emmenecker and a nice finish to pull within 6.  A turnover and foul later, Drake's within 4 with the ball... now within one after a Davidsonesque 3.  Wow.  The composure of this team is unreal... there's no accounting for it... they are not a telented team... but the intangibles are sky high in this bunch.  WKU looks down... they're ahead, but they sure don't look it

UPDATE 2:45: Wow, what a charging call that was... Not sure about it, but well done by Adam E.  The drama is sweet.

UPDATE 2:47: However it ends up, Drake gets much props for staying alive... First OT game this Tournament.  Darrin Horn and WKU must feel like a train hit them the last five minutes.  They looked like they thought the game was over.

UPDATE 2:53:  Brazelton has taken over the entire Offense for WKU... and since he's not the likely 1st Round Pick, that's a bad thing.  Even the announcers have noticed that they hadn't said Courtney Lee's name in ten minutes or so.  Drake by one, and Keno calls time out.

UPDATE 2:56: If the announcer makes another play on words involving Young's name, I'll retch.

UPDATE 2:57:  Hank Azaria, er, Darrin Horn is mad about that least foul... bad decision by his player, but I like having the last chance to win the game... bad decision by Brazelton to take it to the hoop, gets bailed out by an offensive rebound, and now to the line, down one, shooting 2... drama!

UPDATE 3:02:  After and Adam E miss and 7 second chances, WKU gets called for a loose ball foul.  Cox hits the first free throw to tie it, then Horn ices him with a TO.  No pressure kid.

UPDATE 3:06: He hits... Drake by 1, five seconds left. WKU with one last chance... see if Brazelton can pull a Hendersonesque flying knee to some innocent Bulldog.

UPDATE 3:07: Well, that was unexpected... the one random whitey on WKU buries a thirty foot jumper like it's a layup as time expires.  Game of the tournament so far.   My second Sweet 16 team goes down.  Boo.  Well, time to move on to Session 2.  Amazing afternoon.

Well, my picks suck, Belmont broke my heart, and Coach K and Evil are still classless gits.  My chili is being made as we speak (beef and pork with onions, shallots and green chiles Texas style... oh yeah).   There are some fun games this first session...  It's the Mid major session... Gonzaga-Davidson and Drake-Western Ky. are my games to watch.  St. Mary's Miami should also be a fun one to watch (If St. Mary's dictates the pace, they win.  They'll dictate the pace.)  Only Tennessee- American appears at first glance to be a snoozer, but never count out the Patriot League. 

Nothing annoys me more than the committee matching up mid-majors vs. mid-majors.  I really believe that this is done to avoid embarrassing the BCS conference schools more than necessary.  The big boys in college hoops really are sissies. 

WKU will have the best player on the court this morning.  Courtney Lee is phenomenal. 

If Tennessee- American is the TV game here, I will be very sad.

What should we be watching for?  Lemme know in the comments.

10:12 PM Sorry for my prolonged absence... scrabble, and then the boss calls, ass me to met him at BW3.  I walk in the door just in time to see Gerald Henderson throw a flying karate kick at a Belmont Bruin with position while making a layup.  If the jerseys had been reversed, Belmont would have been charged with at least the offensive foul, and probably a T for making Coach D cry.  The sickening double standard Evil gets from his working the officials is disgusting.  There is no justice in basketball.  Kinda like scrabble, without five vowel eights.  And Evil is Patrick Hodges.

Chase Budinger just passed up an easy layup to throw a pass to Bob Huggins.  Maybe a bit to unselfish, surfer boy.

George Mason's glass slipper must have gotten broken on the way to the ball, Notre Dame is beating them like red-headed stepchildren.  Luke Harangody remains unbelievably ugly.  He has a career as an extra-large troll waiting for him if hoops don't work out.

Wisconsin 17, CSFullerton 16 with 10:30 left in the first half.  A higher scoring pace than the Badgers want, I'm pretty sure.  That could be a sign of some drama to come.  Or it could be nothing.

UPDATE 10:20 PM: Arizona is such a poorly coached mess without Lute Olson.  I swear Kevin O'Neill has the world's largest collection of embarrassing photos of people who hire basketball coaches.  He's never been better than below average as a coach, and quite often horrid.  Yet here he is again, underachieving as usual.  UCLA is the only Pac 10 team with more talent than Arizona, and yet they were a win or two away fro being in the NIT.  I want his agent.


UPDATE 10:25 PM: It's uncanny... Wisconsin is on a run. Bye Bye Fullerton.  The Badgers aren't a team to fall behind.  The Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State are predictably being swamped.  One can't help but feel bad for the historically black colleges and universities.  The MEAC and SWAC are so weak, and their teams get destroyed.  The only reason both HBCU Conference Champs don't make the play in game most years is that the Committee refuses to put both of them in there.  It's kinda sad.  I remember Jackson State with Lindsay Hunter being a tough tough out... those days are gone..

UPDATE 10:33 PM: Well, shut me up again... Fullerton is within 2... Mason is barely hanging within range, down 12 at the half.  West Virginia's tall skinny balding white guy amuses me for some reason... I think his effectiveness comes from his ability to remind his opponent's of their own mortality.  He really should consider a hairpiece or something...

UPDATE 10:45 PM:  I think this is the last bit for the night.  Miss Valley State just broke into double digits to cut UCLA's lead to 25 late in the first half.  Go CSFullerton (Some double digit seed has to win, might as well make it good.)  Dick Enberg has returned from the dead, having told Carter Blackburn that his ascot is askew and to get off his lawn.  Everyone once in a while anymore, Enberg has a senior moment... they're usually quite fun... Bilas is the perfect guy to cover them up tho... Mason needs as run early in the second half, and quickly forces a turnover, only to fail to capitalize.  Next possession, a wicked block by ND.  Notre Dame has a certain wicked stepmother quality to it.    Thanks everyone, day 1 was fun... see ya tomorrow.

Pete

3:21 PM- Disaster averted for the Xmen, as they have a great second half to put away pesky Georgia.  My Perfect Bracket dream dies hard as Michigan State embarrasses Temple.    The 3:00 games look great so far,  except of course for the one I have on TV, Kent State and UNLV.  Kent State is about 45 minutes away from me, so as much as I have a rooting interest, it's there.  In Mascotology, A have to give the Golden Flashes an edge over the Runnin' Rebels, as the Flashes lack an apostrophe (or physical mass) to weigh them down in a race.  I don't care how fast the Rebels run, they're slower than the speed of light.

Pitt ORU looks like a game, which is good and bad.  It would officially destroy my bracket, and knock out my fave team, if ORU wins, but I love the dogs.  Marquette Kansas should be a fun game... and Baylor Purdue has  no real story behind it whatsoever, altho the idea of Purdue doing well upsets me, as they aren't a good team. 

Well, Hopefully Pitt will start to play basketball.  Did I mention that Jared Fogle sucks?  Really, I'm sick of the ten years of Jared Commercial.  Maybe if I could afford to spend twenty dollars a day to eat subway all the time, I'd be 180 lbs too... but we don't all have a spokesperson deal.  Douche.  Reminds me of the Jared Has Aides episode of South Park... speaking of which, South Park Studios has every episode available online... southparkstudios.com 

This will continue through the afternoon games... I'll miss out on the one 4:45 game (although I have to do that Mascotology, because it's the toughest in the tournament), and scrabble club will take me away until the last batch of games... look for your updates till then here.

UPDATE 3:35- Pitt has Woken up, and put the clamps down defensively on ORU... Gotta love 18-0 runs.  If Oral Roberts doesn't break 20 in the first half, God will call him home.   Meanwhile, no one informed Kent State that they have a game today, and some random cats are on the court in dark unis acting like cones to run layup drills around.  Halftime has mercifully arrived.  Meanwhile, as soon as I trash Purdue, they go on a run, and Baylor looks like they're in real trouble.  Kentucky-Marquette is at the half, and looks like the game to watch.

UPDATE 3:44 The Marquette- Kentucky game is being announced by a guy named Carter Blackburn.  Should he find a yachting regatta to provide commentary for? I mean, he'd be less WASPy if he had a restrictive covenant in the deed to his house.  Mascotology: Wildcats vs. Warriors... Gotta go Wildcats-  that Tiger in San Diego really f'ed that kid up... and the Ultimate Warrior hasn't been a factor in the WWE since it was the WWF.  Easy call.

UPDATE 4:00 PM: They need to switch from the Kent State game.  It's embarrassing, really.  It's setting the MAC back a generation.   UNLV has looked surprisingly good, and  Kansas may be in for a more difficult round 2 game than expected.  Marquette may be starting to put the heel down on Kentucky's neck.  Mascotology: Panthers vs. Golden Eagles.  I think this one would be close, except that after gilding the Eagle, it loses mobility, although the gold coating does give the Panther a tummyache.

UPDATE: 4:10 PM:  UNLV continues to sweep the leg... at this point, a trip to Kent, Ohio is actually looking good to the team, which, if you've ever been to Kent, is something. A kent State Player just got kneed in the head while dunking, so I'm intrigued again.  Pitt deserves some more love here.  They are playing with such toughness and intensity that I think it takes a special team to beat them... there's a whole lot of more talented teams, but they lack the toughness to deal with a team like Pitt.  Mascotology: Bears vs. Boilermakers:  I don't like the odds of a skilled tradesman, not trained in the ways of bearhunting, taking on our ursine friends.  I think that the Boilermaker would be mauled and slashed into pieces...  tough day to be a human so far...

UPDATE 4:20 PM: Wow, these games certainly lack a certain excitement right now...  Even Marquette appears to be coasting.  How long until they're trying to run Billy Gillespie out of Lexington?  Mascotology (4:45 edition): Big Red vs. Cardinal.  If Cardinal were the bird, it would be the victor, easily... unfortunately, Cardinal refers to the color, a shade of red.  Against the Big Red, which is clearly a bigger shade of red.  In a battle like this, size is a critical factor when matching up two otherwise equivalent competitors.  Advantage Big Red (I shoulda done these before I filled out my bracket).

UPDATE 4:30-  They refuse to switch away from Kent State (woohoo finally did!).  I just watched a 5 minute delay as the referee's tried to figure out if they could retroactively award free throws they forgot to award.  In a 20 point game. And Kentucky will not die, as they hit a clutch 3 to pull within 5.

UPDATE 4:35- They just switched us back!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH*.   UNLV is wiping the floor with Kent, we get the point... we saw them deliver the coup de grace, do we need to see the burial in an unmarked grave?  And once the Marquette game is done, I may just call it a session, as the other games are frightful.  Baylor is playing like an NIT team, which a good argument could be made that they should have been (yet I picked them for the sweet 16... moron).

UPDATE 4:40- And people are saying Dominique James can play at the next level?  He couldn't defend me, I don't think.  Every time I look, his jockstrap is in the second row.  As a Big East honk, I've always felt he was more hype than game.  Kinda like Tom Crean, while we're at it...

UPDATE 4:43- They's sent us back yet again... although this time, there's no good option.  Marquette held on.  Kent just missed an easy uncontested dunk.  Hope they enjoy the gift package on the flight back.  Otherwise, I think I'm done for now.... I'll be back after Scrabble tonight.  Don't be surprised if Cornell gives Stanford a day, although at the end of the day, the greater intellect of Stanford will carry the day (no backdoor into the School of Agriculture at Stanford).

Note:  Updates will take place in text.  I'll start a new entry for each new session of games.

11:56 AM
The first three games....  actually, two games that have the potential to be interesting (Xavier-Georgia, Michigan St.- Temple) and one rout (Kansas-Portland State).  I'm curious to find out which game gets put on the air here in suburban Cleveland... I'd think Xavier-Georgia, but neither of the others is out of the realm of possibility.  Thank heavens for March Madness On Demand. 

UPDATE 12:07 PM: Here in the Cleveland Media Market, we get Michigan State- Temple.  I guess Big 10 loyalty trumps the in state team.  Not that people up here think of Cincinnati as being in the same state as them, but still...

Twenty minutes til tipoff of Xavier-Georgia. 
Mascotology
Gotta think a guy with a Musket could easily off a Bulldog, but if the musketeer were distracted, and the Bulldog were a pitbull, I suppose it could pull off the upset.

UPDATE 12:20:  And it begins: Tipoff of the 3-14 Xavier-Georgia matchup.  The 3 seed for Xavier says a lot about what a renaissance year this was for the A10.  The A10 for a couple years has looked as if it were going to fall down to the level of C-USA and be primarily a one-bid conference year in, year out.  This year, with Xavier, Temple (auto bid) and St. Joe's in, and Dayton and UMass in the discussion until very late, this is a year for the conference to build on.  A Xavier run would help clinch this...
Can't help but be a bit of a Xavier fan... Sean Miller, former Pitt guard, is the coach... Miller was one of those guys who seemed to stay in school forever... I swear he played for 11 years.

UPDATE 12:25: Xavier up 5-2, clearly the more talented team... and Georgia has already resorted to playing Dave Bliss, Jr, whose dad is best know for helping to engineer the downfall of Baylor Basketball, as head coach at the time of the Patrick Dennehy murder.

UPDATE: 12:30 PM- switch to the MSU-Temple Game... most significantly, Gus Johnson is announcing (with Len Elmore).  cool.

UPDATE 12:33 PM- Safely into MSU Temple.  I miss the John Chaney matchup zone,  I know ran Dumphy knows what he's doing, and it's certainly making Michigan St. look sloppy on offense... but the Temple Matchup Zone was iconic, and always made Temple play above talent level and above seed in March.

UPDATE 12:40 PM- Thanks for coming, Portland St.  KU up 12-3 early, and they've missed some easy baskets or it would be worse.  One sixteen down.  UGA up by three, as if to embarrass me for the 12:25 Update.

UPDATE 12:45 PM- Drew Lavender, 5'7", just had an alleyoop lob thrown for him.  I am speechless. He remains really short.

Update 12:52 PM- Give Portland St. their props... not only would a Viking do serious damage to a Jayhawk... they're hanging in.  Unfortunately, KU is shooting well from the outside, which you can't stop when trying to keep from giving up easy inside baskets.  Meanwhile Georgia missed the memo that they aren't very good.  Way to save Dennis Felton from the unemployment line, guys.

Update 1:00 PM- If Brandon Rush can hit 3's like this, I like my pick of them getting to the championship game.  Georgia-Xavier screams that it'll go down to the last second.  And then, Xavier's superior guards vs. Georgia's superior Karma... who knows.  I love this game so far tho.  and since KU has snapped Portland St.'s little neck, I can focus my In Demand watching on UGA-XU.  Note: Michigan State looks better than expected.  Drew Neitzel is good, I guess.

Update 1:05 PM- Drew Neitzel is competing with Kirk Heinrich, and Joe Smith for the Basketball Player name that sounds the least like a Basketball Player Name Award.  (Lifetime achievement award for the opposite award: God Shamgod, Providence) And of course, in Mascotology, A Spartan would catch, cook, and eat an Owl's nocturnal little ass.  XU best wake up, or they could get run outta the gym.

UPDATE 1:15 PM- Halftime of XU-UGA and KU-PSU.  UGA's late run has me concerned.  They kinda remind me of the Missouri team from a few years back that made a miracle run in the big XII tourney to make the field as a 12 seed, and then made the Sweet 16.  Xavier is good enough to come back tho... 9 points is not insurmountable.  Temple needed halftime to come about 6 minutes ago.

UPDATE 1:25 PM- the 16 is dead, and the 12 and the 3 are underperfoming.  I way have been a bit quick to praise the Atlantic 10.  Can I change my St. Joe's pick?  In all seriousness, Xavier is anything but dead.  Xavier needs to take advantage of its advantage in the backcourt, and maybe, just maybe, find a way to not get dominated on the boards.  I think Temple needs a great start to the 2nd half for even a chance to get back in it.

UPDATE 1:35 PM- XU-UGA and KU-Portland St. are back on the court.  Georgia has got off to a very sloppy start, and Drew Lavender remains really short.  Portland State has a Washington Generals look to them. 

UPDATE 1:37 PM- Whatever I write about UGA-XU, just assume the opposite will happen in the next few minutes.  The amount of NBA-level talent on the Kansas team may be unmatched in this tournament; when they're hitting shots (and when their coach doesn't get outcoached) they may be the best team in the country.

UPDATE 1:40 PM- There is a white guy on the floor for Temple.  In the John Chaney days, that would NEVER have happened.  occasionally he'd have a white walk-on at the end of the bench, but in years of seeing Temple hoops, I don't remember him ever playing a white guy.    At this point, I think Temple needs Bird, Bill Walton and John Stockton to keep it competitve.  They've just done the game switch; they've moved us to XU-UGA.  Unfortunately, they don't send us Gus Johnson too.

UPDATE 1:55 PM- There's some unexpected guests here, so I'm calling this session over, from a liveblog perspective.  I'll answer any comments after they leave, and I'll start on the second session in my next entry.
Fun So far... I love this game.

10:10 AM EDT
Welcome to my NCAA Tournament Day 1 Live blog.  Today is, by far my favorite day of the sporting calendar.  No day combines the sheer amount of action with the dazzling array of story lines and opportunities for history to be written.  My day, with the exception of Scrabble Club tonight, is dedicated to college basketball.

College basketball has been my favorite sport since high school, at least.  Perhaps it was a way of overcompensating for my inability to play the game.  Later, as a college student, and an employee of a D1 Athletic Department, I really came to understand just how great an institution college basketball, and especially the NCAA tournament, really is. 

For so many of the schools involved, making the tournament is, in and of itself, an affirmation of their effort and hard work.  The reward for a season of long bus rides and guarantee games is one chance to stand on the same court with a national power, and hope their slingshot has enough magic in it to take down a Goliath.  And we watch, because every once in a while, it does. I am, and will always be, a Pitt fan... but a part of me, even today, is rooting for Oral Roberts.

My games to watch today: 
Pitt-ORU- The first step for the Panthers, but unlike previous first round matchups for the Panthers, ORU has tournament experience, and will not be intimidated.
BYU-Texas A&M- Why? 1. I'm Mormon.  Go Cougars.  2. An interesting matchup, between a strong non-major that doesn't get the respect it deserves, and a major that's really not as good as the record suggests. 
Xavier-Georgia- Can Xavier recover from a disappointing A10 Tourney exit?  Can Georgia continue their miracle run?  On pure talent, Xavier should run away with this... but it's March, it's tourney time, and sometimes, you can't help but root for Cinderella.

And of Course, My  Bracket Picks:






*Style note:  There is a pestilence on the college basketball landscape.  It is at a school in Durham, North Carolina, and I refuse to refer to it by its name (scrabblers:  this is analogous to my use of J.W. Smith).  It will go by the name Evil in all live-blogging efforts.  Today, I am the biggest Belmont Bruin fan around.

So my final four is UNC, KU, Pitt, and UCLA.  KU and UCLA play for the title, and UCLA cuts down the nets on April 7th.

Any comments ideas or thoughts are welcome.  See ya at Noon.

You've found the home of my live blogging experiment.  The experiment begins Thursday March 20.  See ya then.

Pete