Today's College Basketball Thread

[fishwax]

The first round of the NCAA tournament starts in just about 15 minutes and there are 16 games on tap today :woohoo:

You can watch all the games online for free at http://mmod.ncaa.com/ and you can follow scores at http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/scoreboard or http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/scoreboard. If you're quick, there's still time to get in on the DU Bracket Pool started by LynneSin: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8618945

One game is already in the books: Moorehead State beat Alabama State in the play-in game on Tuesday.

So what game are you most looking forward to? What's the most likely upset? I figured I’d start a subthread below for each of the games. Feel free to add your predictions, general thoughts, etc., either about specific games or teams and the tournament in general.

Games today:

Early Session Games
Butler (9) vs. LSU (8) (12:20)
Cal State Northridge (15) vs. Memphis (2) (12:25)
Texas A&M (9) vs. BYU (8) (12:30)

Northern Iowa (12) vs. Purdue (5) (2:30)
Radford (16) vs. North Carolina (1) (Approx 2:50)
Maryland (10) vs. California (7) (Approx 2:55)
Chattanooga (16) vs. UConn (1) (Approx 3:00)

Mississippi State (13) vs. Washington (4) (Approx 5:00)

Evening Session Games
Minnesota (10) vs. Texas (7) (7:10)
Michigan (10) vs. Clemson (7) (7:10)
American (14) vs. Villanova (3) (7:20)
Akron (13) vs. Gonzaga (4) (7:25) (Zips vs. Zags)

Binghamton (15) vs. Duke (2) (Approx 9:40)
Morgan State (15) vs. Oklahoma (2) (Approx 9:40)
Virginia Commonwealth (11) vs. UCLA (Approx 9:50)
Western Kentucky (12) vs. Illinois (5) (Approx 9:55)

[fishwax]

1. Butler Bulldogs vs. LSU Tigers

Today's first game pits Butler, from the Horizon League, against LSU from the once-mighty SEC. The winner will most likely play North Carolina in the second round ...

[fishwax]

11. LSU leads 35-29 at halftime

LSU led by about ten for most of the half, but Butler hit a 3-pointer at the end of the half to close the gap a bit ...

[TZ]

2. Maryland vs. Cal

Playing while I'm at work..sigh...I don't dare listen to it here in cube land either..I make too much noise watching my Terps...:banghead:

[fishwax]

5. that's a drag, TZ

I've been there before :(

Perhaps they'll get through Cal and you'll be able to catch their second round game on Saturday :)

[PRETZEL]

3. Early games,

I like Maryland.

Evening games I have VCU and W. Kentucky.

[fishwax]

4. Cal State Northridge Matadors vs. Memphis Tigers

If the Matadors can pull off the unlikely upset today, they keep alive the exceedingly slim possibility of a Matadors versus Longhorns national championship game :rofl:

[fishwax]

7. Cal State is making a game of it -- they're up 17-16 with 11:48 left in the 1st

[fishwax]

12. Memphis 34 -- CS-Northridge 31 at halftime

Impressive half for the Matadors. They played tough defense and got the Tigers in foul trouble by pushing the tempo on offense and getting the ball inside throughout the first half.

[fishwax]

16. tied at 40 with 15 minutes left

:applause:

[fishwax]

18. Matadors now up by 6 with 10 minutes left

:wow:

[WolverineDG]

20. Up 13 w/2:07 left

:wow:

dg

[fishwax]

23. Memphis sure turned it on in the last five minutes or so

I don't know where that team was for the first 30+ minutes of the game, but it looks like they got the wake-up call.

[tigereye]

30. literal wake-up call - surprised that Memphis had to make that much effort

:wow:



But you know what, I always think that at this level, and at this time of year after so many games, almost any competent team can knock off even the high-rollers. And it often does come down to the last 5 minutes and all those fouls...

[WolverineDG]

42. Yeah, dammit nt

[WolverineDG]

19. ...

:spray: :rofl:

Sounds like the way I crafted my brackets.....

dg

[tigereye]

28. Memphis seems likely for that one...

just a guess...

[fishwax]

6. Texas A&M Aggies against the BYU Cougars

BYU was one of only four mid-majors to get an at-large bid this year ...

[fishwax]

13. Aggies lead 42-30 at the half

They were up 20 at one point, and BYU fought back to within 5 or 6, but the Aggies finished the half strong.

The winner gets UConn, assuming UConn gets past Chattanooga.

[tigereye]

29. wow, if UConn can't get past the 16 seed, they probably shouldn't have

received the 1 seed....

What is Chatt. known for?

I'm looking at that game now -kid's spring break co-incided nicely with the NCAA tournament. My eyes will probably be bugging out by the end of the week... :rofl:

[tekisui]

8. Bookmarking, and thank you!

Go Heels!

[lies and propaganda]

9. Geaux Tigers!

They are kicking ass right now!

[fishwax]

10. they sure started strong

A couple of times it has looked like Butler would get hot and fight back into it, but LSU has done a good job keeping them in check ...

[pokerfan]

14. The NCAA doesn't like the name 'Play-In' Game

They stress that it is only to be referred to as the 'Opening Round' Game.

In other news, the NCAA are a bunch of sticky beaks.

[fishwax]

17. The NCAA has a point

after all, the teams are in the tournament, so I can see their point. But then again opening round game sounds silly, and means that the first round isn't the opening round, which is also silly.

[1gobluedem]

15. Go Blue!

I really think Michigan can beat Clemson if we keep our poise and don't turn the ball over too much.

[fishwax]

21. I think Michigan can win that game too

I've seen a lot of people picking Clemson to go to the Sweet 16, but I think they might lose to Michigan tonight.

Whoever wins, though, I'll be hoping for my Sooners to bring them down in the second round :)

[taterguy]

22. LOL

And why are you pulling against Harvey Gantt's alma mater?

[fishwax]

24. Northern Iowa Panthers against the Purdue Boilermakers

The champs of the Missouri Valley Conference take on the champs of the Big 10 tournament.

[Wapsie B]

35. That was a good game.

Much closer than some might've first thought. Good season Panthers!

[fishwax]

25. The Radford Highlanders have just tipped off against the North Carolina Tar Heels

UNC likely won’t have Ty Lawson, while the Radford Highlanders (champions of the Big South Conference) likely won’t have a prayer.

[fishwax]

26. Maryland Terrapins vs. California Golden Bears

Maryland out to a quick 6-0 lead.

Winner gets Memphis ...

[TZ]

32. Maryland wins 84-71!

:woohoo:

[fishwax]

41. Congrats to your Terps

continuing that bit of a hot streak from the end of the season :toast:

[fishwax]

27. Chattanooga Moccasins against the UConn Huskies

UConn head coach Jim Calhoun will miss the game, as he has apparently been taken to the hospital. Here’s hoping he’ll be okay.

[tigereye]

31. oh no! Hope he is ok.

The game looked a little tight and then UConn started to pull away with a bunch of 3s.



Maryland-Cal looks like the real competition now.

[fishwax]

63. I wish I could have seen that Maryland-Cal game

I only caught a bit of the first half and then I had to go off to class, so I missed most of it.

UConn didn't struggle for long, did they? I came back to find they'd won by 50 :rofl:

[tigereye]

69. no, UConn surged ahead with amazing rapidity!

I looked up after about 5 minutes and they were starting to pull away, and then it just took off! It was kind of bizarre! And folks thought they would be in and out...



I'm checking out UCLA now - one of my favorite teams.

[LynneSin]

33. I'm better than Barack - WOOHOO

:woohoo:

He's miss 2 so far - I've only missed one!

[tigereye]

34. hmm, I haven't looked at mine yet...

there are so many intangibles to consider... I think it's cool that the Pres. was so interested!

[fishwax]

43. woohoo

I am too at the moment ... I got the Butler/LSU game wrong along with him, though :)

[fishwax]

36. Michigan Wolverines against the Clemson Tigers

It's the Wolverines first tournament appearance since 1998, the year after the big scandal under Steve Fisher.

[fishwax]

51. Michigan holds off to beat Clemson by 3

This was a pretty good game--Michigan was up one at the half, and then dominated the first 12-14 minutes of the second half, holding a 15-20 point lead. Clemson fought back to make it close at the end, and even had a couple of chances to tie the game, but the Wolverines held on.

[1gobluedem]

52. Yay!

I was a little tense at the end but my guys came through. Go Blue!

[DevonRex]

37. I really wanted Butler to defeat LSU. That's my only miss so far.

[fishwax]

38. Minnesota Golden Gophers against the Texas Longhorns

Texas started the season ranked in the top 10, and they were even in the top 5 at one point I think, but they struggled in conference play and slipped out of the rankings. Minnesota was once 15-1 and ranked in the top 20, but like Texas they slipped a bit in conference play.

[fishwax]

39. American University Eagles versus the Villanova Wildcats

American University is located in Washington, D.C., but where is American State University? :shrug:

[fishwax]

44. Upset Alert: American is ahead by 10 at the half

[fishwax]

40. Akron Zips against the Gonzaga Bulldogs

In case you're wondering, Zips is short for Zippers, which is a type of rubber overshoe made by BF Goodrich.

But their mascot, for some reason, is a kangaroo ...

[fishwax]

47. The Zips have a 3-point lead at halftime

This would be a pretty big upset, considering Gonzaga is playing fairly close to home and Akron has never won a tournament game before. (Their only other appearance was back in 1986, when they lost to Michigan in the first round.)

[Missy Vixen]

45. Where is the love for my University of Washington Huskies?

:woohoo:

[fishwax]

46. Very true -- Washington beats Mississippi State 71-58

Unfortunately I missed that entire game :(

But congrats on the win :toast:

[Sebastian Doyle]

65. FUCK YEAH!!

DAWGS WIN!!!!!!:bounce: :toast: :beer:

[SoxFan]

48. Hey, my brackets weren't wrecked in the first three hours

That's better than usual! Most of the time I lose a Final Four team by the end of the first day.

I'm sticking to my Western Kentucky over Illinois and VCU over UCLA upset specials.

Oh, the Final Four? Louisville, UConn, Duke, and UNC.

[GOPisEvil]

49. Take that AGAIN, BYU!

:bounce:

Gig 'em!

[fishwax]

54. four years in a row now

that the Aggies have won a game in the tournament. Impressive, given how bad things were for a while in the 90s :toast: ...

[GOPisEvil]

55. No kidding!

This year we almost didn't make the tournament at all.

I wonder how the nice people at Kentucky like that Gillispie hire now. :evilgrin:

[Gabi Hayes]

57. watch out for Vanardo

if you're UW, you could be in big trouble

[Gabi Hayes]

58. ha.....not so much, eh?

just saw the score...didn't realize they already played.

too bad for....is it Boilers.

no Big Ten team will make it into the SS, except, perhaps, Mich State.

[Gabi Hayes]

50. anyone else have a constantly horrible feed from CBS? same thing

has happened for awhile on their Bball games

clearly a digital problem

picture freezes, followed by loss of continuity....

just missed most of the second free throw by Mich with ten seconds left

GO big TEN!

hahaha

[fishwax]

53. that's weird -- I didn't get have a glitch here

Perhaps it's a problem at the station or the cable provider ...

But congrats to the Wolverines! Now if they can just find a way to lose to Oklahoma I'll be thrilled with them :D

[Gabi Hayes]

56. Oklahoma is NOT OK! Go Boilers!!! Go Illini!!! (I went to both)

Willie Warren is awfully fun to watch, though.

will he go pro after his first year, along with Griffin?

I'm going to switch to local antenna to see wtf is going on, but it's not happening on other cable channels

VERY annoying

it's not happening during commercials, btw

[fishwax]

59. I hope the Illini can get the win tonight

I guess Frazier isn't going to play, but I hope he'll be ready to play Gonzaga Saturday if they win today. Ideally I'd like to see the Illini and the Sooners in the Elite 8, but that's a longshot, I'm afraid ;) Either way, it's been nice having the Illini performing up to standards again :)

I've heard different things about Warren--earlier this year he said he was planning to stay, and I think the one extra year could help him out the same way it has Blake. But just in the last week or so I've seen people saying that a lot of mock drafts have him as a potential top 10 pick, so it's hard to tell what his thinking will be after the tournament ...

[Gabi Hayes]

64. thanks....I've seen enough to know Illinois is going to lose. Frazier's absence

will kill them

bad turnovers already

hard to watch already

I usually tape the games and don't bother watching when I find out they lost....goes back to 89 when they gagged against Mich

[fishwax]

68. sure started poorly, but they've fought back some

It's a 9-point game at halftime now. I thought they'd get it a bit closer but the Hilltoppers hit a coupla free throws.

You're right about Frazier's absence. It's kind of painful seeing him there on the bench ... Alas ...

[fishwax]

60. Binghamton Bearcats against the Duke Blue Devils

Binghamton out to a quick 2-0 lead ... can they hang on? :rofl:

[fishwax]

61. Morgan State Bears against the Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners, of course, have the best player in the country in Blake Griffin and one of the best freshman in the country in Willie Warren. The Morgan State Bears were the champs of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and are making their first NCAA appearance.

[fishwax]

67. 18 points and 7 rebounds for Blake Griffin in the 1st half

That's a good game for most folks ...

[fishwax]

71. Finished with 28 and 14

He also was the victim of a very flagrant foul, more worthy of professional wrestling than college basketball, but that's not unusual for Blake, who has taken plenty of abuse this season.

At least he didn't get hit in the junk, like he did in the game against USC when Leonard Washington went all "that's my purse" on him for no reason at all: http://www.faniq.com/blog/Video-Leonard-Washington-Hits-Blake-Griffin-In-The-Groin-During-The-Oklahoma-Vs-USC-Game-Blog-15457

[fishwax]

62. Many people are picking the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams to beat the UCLA Bruins

That's the upset pick I've seen touted most frequently for this first round ...

[Gabi Hayes]

66. groupthink.....not going to happen

If I were a betting man.....

[fishwax]

72. great game at the finish, though ...

one point game with a minute to go ...

[tekisui]

70. Western Kentucky looking to upset Illinois.

40-30 at the start of the second half.

[fishwax]

73. the biggest upset of the day if they can hold on ...

And it looks like they will. They're now up 15 with about four minutes left.

I always love to see the upsets, but as an Illini fan I wish this wasn't one of them :) :(

[tekisui]

74. Turned into a game!

3 point game.

[tekisui]

75. W. Kentucky advances, upsets Illinois.

[fishwax]

76. what a finish!

An exciting end to the first full day of games, for sure.

Congrats to Western Kentucky :toast: