First round recap

The games in last night's final group were far and away the best games of the tournament so far. The least entertaining was that of 15th seed Robert Morris and Michigan State, and that's is a stretch to call it that. Robert Morris lost by 15 points eventually but they played MSU much tougher than that score indicates.

The second most boring game was probably the biggest upset so far. Cleveland State ran away from Wake Forest. The 13th seeded Vikings looked like the power conference team while the 4th seeded Demon Deacons looked like what they are, a quite young and sporadic team. WF is so talented it is embarrassing they lost in the first round, but they are an inexperienced team and should be a force in years to come...just not this one I guess. Kudos to the Vikings.

One of, if not the, last teams in the field was the Wisconsin Badgers. The 12 seed was 19-12 on the year and really surprised me when their name was called last weekend. They took on a Florida State team that was 25-9 heading into the tournament which is no small feat in a very competitive ACC. Well, when two teams as seemingly uneven as these two meet in the month of March you know what that means, just throw out statistics and papers and let them play the game. FSU asserted themselves early on but the Badgers battled 'til the end. Mounting a comeback late in the fourth Wisconsin tied the game and would need extra basketball to knock off the 5th seeded Seminoles. This was a great game and one heck of an effort from the Badgers.

Siena and Ohio State is the game of the tournament so far and we may not beat it later on either. The teams were only separated by 2 points in the final score and it took two extra frames to decide that slim margin. The Siena Saints were the lower 9th seed in this 8/9 match-up so by seed this wasn't a huge upset. However, most experts had the Buckeyes winning in the first round so this was likely to be considered something of a surprise. Either way it was the greatest game played in this years tournament so far and even though it is no SyraConn game it will likely be on ESPN Classic in the coming days. Nice win for the Siena Saints.

The updated bracket looks like this (click for larger image):


Games I am looking forward to on today, March 21, 2009 include:

Purdue versus Washington - I am going to give a slight edge to the Huskies of UW as this game is being played in Portland, OR.

Maryland versus Memphis - Should be interesting to see how Memphis responds to being tested by Cal State Northridge in the first round. The Turtles are dangerous but inconsistent.

Western Kentucky versus Gonzaga - Two well known mid-majors meet to end one's tourney run. Gonzaga should win this game, and really needs to to solidify their spot as THE mid-major program in the country.

Texas versus Duke - Playing in Greensboro, NC is a distinct advantage for the Dukies but Texas will be no push over and Duke has struggled at time with their younger players playing such large roles in the offense. I'll go with Duke here, but it's going to be close.

Other games being played:

UCLA versus Villanova - Should be a decent game though Villanova is more talented and should win it if everyone plays as they are capable.

UNC versus LSU - Lawson is a game time decision and the Tar Heels are a decidedly differently paced team with him healthy. I think they can beat the Tigers without him but if he plays they run away with it, if not they get to sweat it out.

Michigan versus Oklahama - Oklahoma will assert themselves down low with Griffen in this game. It may take a little while to build their lead but they will build it and they will build it big.

UConn versus Texas A&M - Huskies should own this game and the paint with Thabeet. A&M will try to get up and down on UConn but they can run some too and the Aggies won't have an answer for the Connecticut talent.