Round 1 Action

The first 16 games are in the books. Some close ones and some disappointments for me. Lets break the games down a little.

Notre Dame v George Mason--Notre Dame jumped on George Mason early and never looked back. This one was never really close as Notre Dame finally wins a first round game. Final score--Notre Dame 68, George Mason 50. My pick--ND, I'm 1-0 so far.

Washington State v Winthrop--Someone forgot to tell Winthrop that there was a second half. After going into halftime tied at 29 the Winthrop Eagles score a pathetic 11 points in the second half and get blown away by Washington State. Final Score--Wash St 71, Winthrop 40. My pick--Wash St, 2-0.

Kansas v Portland State--KU became the first team to hold off the upset. They jumped all over Portland State right from the start and held on to win by a measly 24 points. Final Score--KU 85, Portland State 61. My pick--KU, 3-0

UNLV v Kent State--The real Kent State left Ohio late and they had to pull 5 guys from the stands to play the first half for them. The result....a 31-10 halftime deficit. By the time the real team showed up, the UNLV players were relaxing in a hot tub back at their hotel. Final Score--UNLV 71, Kent State 58. My pick--Kent State, 3-1.

USC v Kansas State--Who the fuck is Bill Walker? I know, I know...he averaged 16 points during the season, but was never talked about. All anybody ever talked about was Michael Beasley. Beasley wins this contest against Mayo. Next time they play each other will be in the NBA. USC was never in this one thanks to Walker in the first half and Beasley in the second. Final Score--KSU 80, USC 67. My pick--USC, 3-2.

Hhmmm...USC was a team I had beating Wisconsin in the next round....shit.

Wisconsin v Cal St Fullerton--Wisconsin played some tough D and took control of this one early. One of the many yawners of the day. Final Score--Wisconsin 71, Cal St Fullerton 56. My pick--Wisconsin, 4-2

Michigan State v Temple--Michigan State keeps Christmas from coming to early for Temple in Denver. They keep the Temple star from being even a remote factor in this game and rough up the Owls. Final Score--Michigan State 72, Temple 61. My pick--Temple (I switched to Temple just before the brackets closed...dammit), 4-3

Pittsburgh v Oral Roberts--Rough and tumble Pittsburgh man-handled the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts was out-played from beginning to end. Final Score--Pitt 82, Oral Roberts 63. My pick--Pitt, 5-3

Good thing Pitt looks like the Pitt from the beginning of the year since I have them going to the Finals.

Marquette v Kentucky--Kentucky made it close behind the fantastic play of Joe Crawford. It wasn't enough as Marquette hit their free throws late in the game and hold off a feisty Kentucky team. Final Score--Marquette 74, Kentucky 66. My pick--Marquette, 6-3

Stanford v Cornell--YAWN!!!!! What a terrible game. Cornell tried hard, but couldn't keep up with Stanford. Final Score--Stanford 77, Cornell 53. My pick--Stanford, 7-3

UCLA v Miss Valley St--There was absolutely no doubt in this one. MVSU might as well have saved there bus money as they score a paltry and pathetic 29 points. That is the fewest points in like 50 years and the fewest in the shot clock era. UCLA looked good. Final Score--UCLA 70, MVSU 29. My pick--UCLA, 8-3

BYU v Texas A&M--Texas A&M rode the play of Josh Carter to the second round. They held off a spunky BYU team with some late free throws. Final Score--Texas A&M 67, BYU 62. My pick--Texas A&M, 9-3

Xavier v Georgia--Xavier looked ugly in the first half and trailed Georgia by 9 at halftime. They composed themselves and came out a different team in the second half and dominated Georgia, who couldn't keep their magical run going. Final Score--Xavier 73, Georgia 61. My pick--Xavier, 10-3

Purdue v Baylor--Baylor ran a lot of teams into the ground during the regular season, while Purdue use a good back-court game to control the pace. Purdue decided to play Baylor's style of game and ran away from the Bears from the get go. Final Score--Purdue 90, Baylor 79. My pick--Baylor, 10-4

This loss sucked. I really thought the Baylor Bears had a better team than this.

West Virginia v Arizona--West Virginia wore down the under-manned Wildcats. Final Score--WVU 75, Arizona 65. My pick--WVU, 11-4

Duke v Belmont--WOO HOO!!!! What a game. By far, the best game of the first day. Belmont blew the chance of a fucking lifetime. They led by 1 with about 20 seconds remaining. However, they could not close the deal and allowed Gerald Henderson to go end-to-end for an easy layup to give Duke the victory. Final Score--Duke 71, Belmont 70. My pick--Duke, 12-4

Too bad, I would have taken the loss to see Duke get upset as a 2 seed in the first round.

So my record through the first 16 games is 12-4. Hopefully the second set of 16 games will be better for me.