3/20 NCAA Tournament Game Thread

[SoCal Pinstriper]

CBS is killing me already. Georgia/Xavier, and MSU/Temple are tight games, and they are force feeding us Kansas.

[RhodyYanksFan]

CBS is killing me already. Georgia/Xavier, and MSU/Temple are tight games, and they are force feeding us Kansas.

At least you're home and can watch at your leisure. Try cbssportsline.com. Live video of all the games free. Just gotta wait on line to get into a "viewing room".

[CptCrunch]

Xavier's coming back.

[yankswn23]

Xavier won. No upsets yet.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Xavier won. No upsets yet.

Georgia looked tired in the second half. Xavier played great defense, and the Dawgs run is over.

[CallOfTheCrow]

Im 3/3 in my yahoo bracket so far.

[BonusCantos]

DirecTV users can see CBS College Sports on 610 as well. Anyone who has this channel, they occasionally do live look-ins so you can possibly see 2 at once, as I just saw right now.

[26 and counting]

At least you're home and can watch at your leisure. Try cbssportsline.com. Live video of all the games free. Just gotta wait on line to get into a "viewing room".

With a horrible fuzzy picture. I've got to watch these games in HD.

All of the top seeds have won easily so far, although the Georgia/Xavier game was interesting for a while. That's OK though. If you have few upsets in the early rounds, it makes for a great second week. That's when you get to see the 1's vs. 4's and 2's vs. 3's. As much as people like upsets, a #1 vs. #12 Sweet Sixteen matchup isn't that compelling, because you know that the #1 is going to win easily.

[RJ44]

Georgia looked tired in the second half. Xavier played great defense, and the Dawgs run is over.

Good thing I only picked GA in 1 of my 3 brackets.

[dabomb2045]

I really expected better showings from both Kent St and Baylor

[CallOfTheCrow]

I really expected better showings from both Kent St and Baylor

I picked Kent St in the office pool, thinking "could be a good one" & we also get bonus points if an underdog wins. So much for that.

[Game4Tino]

Stupid UNLV screwed my shot at perfection this year!

[CptCrunch]

Getting really ugly for Cornell.

[26 and counting]

Getting really ugly for Cornell.

Maybe the Ivy League should have sent Penn or Princeton, like in the past twenty years. It might have been a closer game.

For the most part, the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament is boring and predictable. Sure, you get a couple of upsets here and there, but most of the games are 20+ point blowouts. Games like Vermont-Syracuse and Northwestern State-Iowa are the exception rather than the rule, and those 13/14 seeds always get knocked off in the next round anyways. The 2nd round is where the fun really starts. There have been some great 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, and 4-5 games in the past.

And Georgia was way underseeded. They may have been 4-12 in the SEC, but a team who wins the tournament of a major conference needs to be seeded higher. I was suprised when they got a #14. I thought they would be a #10 or #11. Xavier was forced to play a much tougher 1st round opponent than they deserved.

[YanksFan1992]

Not too many good games so far, although both Georgia-Xavier and Marquette-Kentucky were entertaining.

Results so far:
Xavier beats Georgia
Purdue beats Baylor
Kansas beats Portland State
UNLV beats Kent State
Pitt beats Oral Roberts
Michigan State beats Temple
Marquette beats Kentucky
Stanford beats Cornell (77-53)

I am 6 for 8 so far in my bracket (I picked Kentucky and Kent State). Happily, none of my Sweet 16 teams have lost so far...


Upcoming Games:

Around 7 Eastern:
USC-Kansas State
Duke-Belmont
Winthrop-WSU
Texas A&M-BYU

Around 9:40 Eastern:
Cal State Fullerton-Wisconsin
Arizona-West Virginia
Notre Dame-George Mason
UCLA-Mississippi Valley State

No upsets so far, so hopefully we will see a few tonight

[Panamaniac42]

All I want to see is Beasley vs. Mayo and I have to sit here and watch Dook vs. Belmont. Ugh.

[YanksFan1992]

All I want to see is Beasley vs. Mayo and I have to sit here and watch Dook vs. Belmont. Ugh.

I would have been stuck with WSU-Winthrop, but I have an HDTV as well as a regular tv so I can watch two games at once

Hopefully for you Duke will run away with it and you will get to see the entire second half.

Kansas State looks very good so far though, however I have to work at my school until 6 after this so I might miss the entire game...

[CptCrunch]

Beasley picks up 2 quick fouls. Bah.

[Panamaniac42]

Beasley picks up 2 quick fouls. Bah.

Were they legit?

[jlw1980]

Arizona-West Virginia

Go, Wildcats, Go!!!!

[CptCrunch]

Were they legit?

I missed the first one, but the 2nd was legit. It was just an incredibly stupid foul on Beasley's part.

[dabomb2045]

Belmont is hanging in there so far

[CptCrunch]

Great game from Bill Walker so far.

[dabomb2045]

OJ Mayo is so overrated its not funny. I dont know about anyone else but I got tired of hearing everyone say that USC is dangerous cuz Mayo can pull a Carmelo Anthony and lead his team deep into the tournament etc etc

Beasley's the guy who can carry a team. Mayo isnt anywhere near as good as alot of people make him out to be.

[CanoForPresident]

OJ Mayo is so overrated its not funny. I dont know about anyone else but I got tired of hearing everyone say that USC is dangerous cuz Mayo can pull a Carmelo Anthony and lead his team deep into the tournament etc etc

Beasley's the guy who can carry a team. Mayo isnt anywhere near as good as alot of people make him out to be.

I don't disagree that he's a little overrated but you're selling him short.

[26 and counting]

Belmont is putting up a valiant effort and fighting hard, but I don't think they have enough to beat Duke, and will fall short at the end.

[dabomb2045]

Belmont is putting up a valiant effort and fighting hard, but I don't think they have enough to beat Duke, and will fall short at the end.

Probably true....but this also shows that Duke is overrated. I have Arizona beating them in the 2nd round.

[26 and counting]

Probably true....but this also shows that Duke is overrated. I have Arizona beating them in the 2nd round.

I have Duke losing to Xavier. Which is why I'm glad Xavier survived Georgia today.

I told myself a month ago, Duke is going down in the Sweet Sixteen no matter what. And I still feel the same way today.

[CanoForPresident]

Belmont LOL!

[dabomb2045]

I have Duke losing to Xavier. Which is why I'm glad Xavier survived Georgia today.

I told myself a month ago, Duke is going down in the Sweet Sixteen no matter what. And I still feel the same way today.

I'm high on Xavier too....I have them losing to UCLA in the Elite 8. I was nervous early but Xavier played in the 2nd half they way I expected them to.

Belmont takes the lead!!

[dabomb2045]

Belmont is playing like they want it more....getting offensive boards and winning all the loose ball battles. The crowd is beginning to feel it!

[MassNYYfan]

Belmont is playing like they want it more....getting offensive boards and winning all the loose ball battles. The crowd is beginning to feel it!

[26 and counting]

I can't stand it when these huge underdogs are tied or even leading late in the game, and then they get so excited that they can't even control themselves. They start taking low-percentage shots and commit dumb fouls. TAKE YOUR TIME AND SET UP YOUR OFFENSE! Arrrrgh.

[26 and counting]

Belmont won at Cincinnati and at Alabama earlier this year. So this team can play.

[dabomb2045]

I can't stand it when these huge underdogs are tied or even leading late in the game, and then they get so excited that they can't even control themselves. They start taking low-percentage shots and commit dumb fouls. TAKE YOUR TIME AND SET UP YOUR OFFENSE! Arrrrgh.

To be fair....the kids on these underdog teams are not used to playing in a situation like this. Big crowd, national TV, against a big program. Sometimes the "OMG we are only 3 points behind Duke with 4 mins left" thoughts will take over. Duke players are used to this kind of stuff--they play in these types of games all the time. It'd be hard to expect the Belmont kids not to get caught up.

[BonusCantos]

This is a win-win game for me...if Duke wins, then my bracket stays perfect, and if they lose, well hallelujah.

[dabomb2045]

Apparently Winthrop forgot that basketball games have two halves. They've been outscored 38-5 in the 2nd half after being tied at halftime.

[26 and counting]

To be fair....the kids on these underdog teams are not used to playing in a situation like this. Big crowd, national TV, against a big program. Duke players are used to it--they play in these types of games all the time. It'd be hard to expect the Belmont kids not to get caught up.

That's where the coach has to call a timeout and tell the kids to calm down. After Belmont took a 2-point lead, Duke built a six-point lead, but Belmont got it back to three points. So maybe they did calm down a little.

No matter what, the Belmont kids can be proud after this game.

[MassNYYfan]

The guy throws his hands up and then the ref blows the whistle for a hold.

This is why I can't watch the end of this.

[MassNYYfan]

Damn you, USC. Why did I change my mind at the last minute. It always screws me.

[BonusCantos]

Apparently Winthrop forgot that basketball games have two halves. They've been outscored 38-5 in the 2nd half after being tied at halftime.

That's really rough. Kent State only had 10 at the half today as well.

[dabomb2045]

Cmon Belmont!! Do this!!

[MassNYYfan]

That was a charge.

[26 and counting]

I was upset before that the East Coast would be seeing Duke-Belmont instead of KSU-USC. But it looks like CBS made the right choice, no matter the outcome.

[dabomb2045]

I was upset before that the East Coast would be seeing Duke-Belmont instead of KSU-USC. But it looks like CBS made the right choice, no matter the outcome.

Agreed. Ive watched every second of this game....and its been a very entertaining game to watch.

[dabomb2045]

Gotta run a good possession here and get yourself a quality shot....lets go Belmont

[26 and counting]

Agreed. Ive watched every second of this game....and its been a very entertaining game to watch.

Could you imagine if Gus Johnson announced this game? It's too bad he got two blowouts earlier today.

[MassNYYfan]

I missed most of it because we had to take my kid to the pedi. Every cold he gets with a cough turns into a need for albuterol (sp?) treatment.

Finally this time they give us a machine to bring home.

I didn't even wanna turn on the game, but I did and it was 51-50 Dook and I nearly choked to death on my own saliva.

I still say the "jump stop" is a travel.

[njdhockey]

These refs really seem to like Duke. Too bad, Belmont made it interesting.

[dabomb2045]

Damn...bad shot on one end and then nobody picks up the ballhandler and allows him a free run at the basket

71-70 Duke 4 secs left for Belmont