Through the day I’ll add what I see and like:
-Every time I see Jimmer Fredette’s name I assume it’s a misprint. That’s one awkward name.
– Villanova is a mess. They are down by six at the half to Robert Morris. I assume that they’ll win this one, but they are not long for this world. Reynolds is supposed to be the savior, but he has been terrible in the half.
-Not at all impressed with Luke Harangody today. Not scoring at all, and not even bothering to try on defense. If the Irish lose he’ll have a lot to answer for.
– Impossibly terrible game by Harangody in the loss. He was MIA all game, then scored the two at the end instead of dishing out for a last three when they were down by three. Brainless play by a guy who had to have hurt draft status with a performance that incredibly poor when the pressure was on. Good riddance Notre Dame.
– Villanova just doesn’t care. What a humiliating performance.
– I have BYU going fairly deep, so I’m going to choose to interpret that game as a wake-up call and not a reason for concern.
– Karon Abraham of Robert Morris is my new hero. He was absolutely everywhere all game. He scored, he defended like crazy, and he was the smartest guy on the court. Absolutely incredible. It’s seeing guys like him step up that makes the first round so freaking great. Great, great effort by Robert Morris.
– What a finish in that Murray State win. They were just as good and as tough as advertised. They are going to be a tough, tough out.
– St. Mary’s looked exceptionally good in the second half of their easy win over Richmond. If they play that well again on Saurday then I hope they don’t already have plans for next weekend.
– Strangely, that Kansas State win doesn’t seem like a great thing in my eyes. They cruised against an outmatched team, but they won while sinking every single shot possible no matter how or where they took it. It didn’t make me confident that they are tournament ready if they aren’t so lucky.
– I was worried in the first half, but I love how Butler has bounced back in the second half. They are showing UTEP who is boss. I have Butler going fairly deep, so I am glad that they remembered how good they are before it was too late.
– Georgetown woke up finally and are now down by just nine with six minutes left. They look like they stand a good chance of pulling it off, and they need it badly – for their conference if not for them. With Villanova needing overtime and Notre Dame losing this has not been a prime day for the Big East.
– Tough way for UNLV to lose a good game – on a late, off balance three from Northern Iowa. Fun game.
– Wow. Just wow. Instead of collapsing when Georgetown started their charge, the Ohio Bobcats – a 7-9 regular season team that won their conference tournament as a nine seed – just got better. Georgetown should be extremely embarrassed.
– And it just keeps getting worse and worse for the Big East. The Marquette loss means that the conference has now lost three times to a lower seed – two 11s and a 14 – and got taken to overtime by a 15. That’s as bad as a day can be for a major conference. I wrote a few times that I had a bad feeling about the Big East in the weeks before the tournament, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.
– Good job for Lehigh to keep that one against Kansas close for as long as they did.
-Montana was impressive in that loss. They are a good team. It’s a shame they landed as low as a 14, because they could have really tested a team not quite as good as New Mexico.
– Thrilling win by Wake Forest. What an amazing set of finishes that was today.
– If tomorrow is half as good as today it will be one heck of a day of basketball.
Good night!
