Shelvin Mack Shines as Bulldogs Advance

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 26, 2011

Over the past two seasons, the Butler Bulldogs have gone 9-1 in NCAA tournament games, the only loss coming by two points to Duke, in last year's finals.

Last season, the Bulldogs were led by Gordon Hayward, since gone to the NBA, so this year players - particularly seniors Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack - have had to step up their games. Butler plays extremely solid defense, but scoring usually falls to their leaders, but it is Mack who has the pure stroke to know down threes and open jumpers.

In Saturday's 74-71 overtime win against Florida, Mack provided a hefty share of offense, scoring a game-high 27 points, making four three-pointers, including a couple of key ones when Butler was making it's comeback late in the contest.

Mack has been money in Butler's four tourney wins. He scored 15 against Old Dominion, 30 against Pittsburgh and 13 in the Bulldogs' win over Wisconsin.

Elite Eight: Butler Serves Notice; Huskies Mush Toward Houston

Half of the Final Four was determined on Saturday as Butler and Connecticut advanced through to the gathering in Houston.

Butler 74 Florida 71, OT - Rallying from a nine-point deficit late in the game, the Bulldogs tied the Gators in regulation and completed their upset win in overtime, advancing to the Final Four out of the Southeast region.
Butler, the Cinderella of the 2010 tournament, lost in the final to Duke, and is repeating the historic run a year later. The Bulldogs, seeded eighth in their region, has won three games in nail-biting fashion, beating Old Dominion, 60-58 in the opening round, then knocking off #1 seed Pitt, 71-70, before topping Wisconsin, 61-54. The win on Saturday was their 13th straight, currently the longest winning streak in the country.

Shelvin Mack came p big for Butler, scoring 27 points to lead all scorers. The Bulldogs will face the winner of Sunday's VCU-Kansas match-up on Saturday in Houston.

Connecticut 65 Arizona 63 - Once again, the superlative Kemba Walker nailed a jumper that proved to be the winning score, lifting the Huskies in a hard-fought battle over Arizona.

Walker knocked down a 12-foot jump shot to give Connecticut a two point lead with 20 seconds left. The Wildcats had two chances at the win, opting for three-point shots, but missed both and ran out of time.

Walker finished with 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Freshman Jeremy Lamb contributed with a productive game, scoring 19 points, with four rebounds. Lamb also had a key steal late in the game that put UConn up by five points momentarily, late in the action.

This marks the third time Connecticut has reached the Final Four as a representative of the West region. The two previous times, they won the national championship.

Tyler Zeller Is North Carolina's Front Man

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 25, 2011

In North Carolina's 81-63 elimination of Marquette from the remaining tournament field, Tyler Zeller was just plain scary, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor, glowering and scowling his way to a game high 27 points.

Zeller, a junior on a team full of underclassmen, may be the elder statesman on the team, but his playing time at North Carolina isn't much more than that of many of his younger teammates, since he spent much of his freshman and sophomore years on the bench with injuries.

Now fully healthy, the lanky 7-footer has brought the Tar Heels to the brink of history. He had 32 points in North Carolina's tourney opener over LIU, then scored 23 in the nail-biter over Washington in the second round. In Friday's outing, Zeller tied teammate John Henson for top rebounding honors, with 12, grabbing 7 on the offensive end.

With his front court running mate Henson checking in 6'10", but with the reach of a man 7'3", the Tar Heels are as imposing and threatening up front as any team in the tournament.

Sweet 16 Results and Recaps - Friday Games

East

North Carolina 81 Marquette 63 - The Tar Heels used a swarming, oppressive defense to disrupt Marquette early and score frequently inside, racing to a 40-15 half time lead. Marquette held their own in the second half, but it was much to late to keep North Carolina from advancing. Tyler Zeller had another enormous game, notching 27 points to go with 17 rebounds, none of them on the offensive end.

Kentucky 62 Ohio State 60 - Brandon Knight's 15-foot jumper with 5.4 left broke a 60-all tie and Will Buford's 3-point heave at the buzzer fell short as the Wildcats pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. A hotly contested game throughout, neither team led by more than seven, and there was no margin of more than four points in the entire second half.

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger had his usual monster game with 21 points and 17 rebounds, but Kentucky's Josh Harrellson battled well inside, scoring 17 points and ripping down 10 boards on his own. DeAndre Liggins was lightning in a bottle in the latter stages of the second half, finishing with 15 points and 6 rebounds. He and Harrellson were the only Wildcats in double figures.

Kentucky's win left Kansas as the sole remaining #1 seed in the tournament.

North Carolina will play Kentucky on Sunday, for the right to play in the Final Four.

Southwest

Kansas 77 Richmond 57 - Simply too big, too fast and too talented for the Richmond Spiders to handle, Kansas quickly established a lead and expanded it over the first 20 minutes, leading 41-22 by half time. This was pretty much a team effort blowout, led by Brady Morningstar's 18 points. Nine different Jayhawks showed up on the scorer's sheet, evidence they are probably the deepest team remaining in the tournament.

VCU 72 Florida State 71 - In what had to be the most physical game of the tournament, the Seminoles and Rams found themselves stalemated at 65 through the first 40 minutes and forced into overtime to settle their differences.

The game boiled down to the inability of Florida State, the best defense in the nation, to defend an inbound pass under their own basket. With 7 seconds left, Joey Rodriguez triggered the ball into Bradford Burgess, who laid it in to give the Rams a one-point lead. Florida State players raced down court, but could not get off another shot.

Bradford, who had five of VCU's seven points in overtime, finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including six of seven from 3-point range.

Kansas and VCU square off Sunday, the winner advancing to the Final Four in Houston.

Derrick Williams Leads Wildcats Past Duke, Into Elite 8

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 24, 2011

On a night in which the three leading candidates for NCAA player of the year were all in action, Arizona's Derrick Williams outdid Kemba Walker, Nolan Smith and Jimmer Fredette.

Williams, only a sophomore, but possessive of enormous talent, led his youthful Wildcats to a stunning 93-77 rout of reigning national champion, Duke.

Hitting on 11 of 17 shots from the field, Williams showed both his inside and outside game, making 5 of 6 three-pointers en route to a game-high 32 points, also his career high. Duke had no answers for him on the boards, either, as Williams hauled in 13 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end.

The Wildcats, winners of the PAC-10 regular season and carrying a 30-7 record overall, advanced to the West region final on Saturday against the Connecticut Huskies.

Sweet 16 Results and Recaps - Thursday Games

Four teams moved on in the tournament on Thursday, setting up match-ups for Saturday's games, the winners advancing to the Final Four in Houston, Texas.

Southeast

Florida 83 BYU 74, OT - Jimmer Fredette had one of the worst shooting performances of his life and it cost the Cougars dearly. Fredette scored 32 points, but he hit just 11 of 29 shots, including 3-for-15 from beyond the arc. Florida's Alex Tyus, however, had the game of his life, scoring 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting and ripping down 17 rebounds, both tops for Florida. Florida had a chance to win it in regulation, but Chandler Parsons' short jumper at the buzzer never really had a chance.

Butler 61 Wisconsin 54 - The Badgers shot just 30% from the field and had just 17 field goals overall, allowing the Bulldogs to build on their lead in the second half. Late-game sloppiness by Butler allowed Wisconsin to close to within four points, but they could not complete the comeback. Matt Howard was at his usual best, leading Butler with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Florida faces Butler on Saturday at 4:20 pm ET, the winner advancing from the Southeast region to the Final Four.

West

Connecticut 74 San Diego State 67 - The Kemba Walker road show rolled on, and now includes his sidekick, Jeremy Lamb. Walker was sensational, and may have locked up player of the year with his 36-point performance as his two main adversaries - Jimmer Fredette and Nolan Smith - both were bounced from the tourney. Lamb, a freshman out of Norcross, Georgia, tied his career high with 24 points, on 9-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-3 on treys. Lamb has notched double figures in each of UConn's last nine games, all wins. His emergence as a second scoring threat and the overall exceptional play of Walker have propelled the Huskies to the brink of greatness.

Arizona 93 Duke 77 - Coach K will have to wait until next season to shatter Bob Knight's all-time NCAA wins record of 902. The Blue Devils were stopped in their tracks by the surprise team of the tournament, Arizona, who now have blasted through Memphis, Texas and Duke thanks to their sensational sophomores, led by Derrick Williams, who led the way with 32 points and 13 boards.

Arizona and Connecticut hook up on Saturday at 6:55 pm ET to determine the Final Four entrant from the West region.

Joey Rodriguez and Bradford Burgess Deliver VCU to the Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 20, 2011

For a team which many analysts said didn't belong, the VCU Rams certainly look pretty good. Not only did they absolutely hammer USC in the opening round, 59-46, but then expanded their margin of victory to 18 points in their next two games, whipping Georgetown, 74-56, and Purdue, 94-76, on Sunday.

The win over the Boilermakers put them into the Sweet 16, along with a host of other high seeds, like Richmond (12) and Marquette (11). VCU came in as an 11.

Fueling the offense is one of the smallest players on the court, Joey Rodriguez, the jitterbug who weaves through defenders to deliver pinpoint passes to his teammates. On Sunday, Rodriguez was at his best, distributing the ball for 11 of his team's 24 assists and scoring 12 points to add to the onslaught.

A good number of those passes found their way into the capable hands of Bradford Burgess, who hit on 8 of 12 shots, including 3 three-pointers for 23 points. Burgess also snatched 8 boards.

VCU Florida State, a 10 seed, in the next round of the Southwest region, one that has seen more than its fair share of upsets.

Round of 32 Results and Recaps - Sunday Games

East

North Carolina 86 Washington 83 - Proving once again that size matters, Washington cold not contain the Tar Heel big men - Tyler Zeller (23 points) and John Henson (10 points, 10 boards) - but little Isaiah Thomas and the Huskies took them to the limit.

Ohio State 98 George Mason 66 - the Buckeyes continued to decimate anything in their way, as they smothered the Patriots. David Lighty was 9-for-10 from the field for a game-high 25 points.

Marquette 66 Syracuse 62 - the Golden Eagles soared once again, doing to Syracuse what they did to them during the Big East regular season. The lead changed hands frequently, but Marquette made the plays down the stretch. An 11 seed, Marquette is a surprise from the Big East, which has now seen more than half of their 11 teams gone in the first weekend.

Southwest

VCU 94 Purdue 76 - VCU took a ten-point lead into half time and extended it through the second half, dominating all aspects of the game and distributing 24 assists as a team. Bradford Burgess had 23 points and 8 rebounds for the Rams and 5'10" Joey Rodriguez distributed 11 assists to go with his 10 points.

Kansas 73 Illinois 59 - The Jayhawks had little trouble beating coach Bill Self's former school, getting 24 points and 12 rebounds from Markieff Morris and 17 and 12 from twin brother Marcus.

West

Duke 73 Michigan 71 - Duke survived a serious scare from the Wolverines when Darius Morris missed a runner in the lane with two seconds left after erasing most of a 15-point Duke second half lead. Nolan Smith led all scorers with 24 points, and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski notched his 900th career win.

Arizona 70 Texas 69 - Texas trailed nearly the entire game, but had two close-in chances to win the game as time ran down. Arizona continued the Longhorns' frustrations in the NCAA tournament by ousting them in an early round again.

Florida State 71 Notre Dame 57 - The Seminoles stunned Notre Dame, smothering them with the nation's best defense and advancing to face VCU in the Sweet 16. Florida State held the usually high-scoring Fighting Irish to just 32% shooting. Bernard James had 14 points and 10 boards for the Seminoles.

Notre Dame was the 9th of 11 teams from the Big East to lose on the opening weekend, leaving just Marquette and UConn from the conference, widely considered to be the best in the nation. Not any more.

Cougars Blow Away Zags, Fredette Scores 34

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 19, 2011

Plenty of fine individual performances were on display Saturday as eight teams made their way into the Sweet 16, but what Jimmer Fredette did for his BYU Cougars was pretty special.

Fredette poured in 34 points and dished out 6 assists to lead the Cougars over Gonzaga, 89-67. The blowout win was mighty impressive considering how well Gonzaga played in their opening-round win over St. John's.

Fredette directed the BYU offense for the most part, but stepped up and shot the lights out when needed or drove the ball to the hoop. The senior guard was 11-for-23 from the field and hit 7 of 12 three-pointers. He also was 5-for-5 from the line.

BYU took a seven-point lead into intermission and ballooned that advantage in the second half to produce the blowout result. The 22-point margin of victory was easily the largest of the 8 games played on Saturday. BYU topped Wofford, 74-66, in their first game of the tourney and are now 34-4 on the season. They face the Florida Gators in the Sweet 16 game next week.

Round of 32 Results and Recaps - Saturday Games

East

Kentucky 71 West Virginia 63 - Brandon Knight scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Wildcats into the Sweet 16. Kentucky's next task will likely be against the Ohio State Buckeyes, who face George Mason on Sunday for the right to advance.
West

San Diego St. 71 Temple 64, 2OT - Temple pushed the Aztecs to the limit, but came up short in the second overtime. Billy White and Kawhi Leonard each had 16 points to pace San Diego State.

Southeast

Florida 73 UCLA 65 - The Bruins made a game of it but they could not check Erving Walker late, who finished with a game-high 21 points.

Butler 71 Pittsburgh 70 - In a bizarre finish which saw two personal fouls in the final 1.4 seconds - one each against a player from each team - Matt Howard hit a free throw with 0.8 seconds left for the win. Shelvin Mack scored 30 points to pace the Bulldogs, who knocked off the #1 seed in the region.

BYU 89 Gonzaga 67 - Jimmer Fredette scored 34 points as the Cougars shot 52% from the field and made a shambles of Gonzaga's upset plans.

Wisconsin xx Kansas St. XX - The Badgers survived a poor shooting night (2-for-17) by Jordan Taylor, by slowing the pace of the game and hitting key three-pointers and free throws down the stretch. Jacob Pullen scored 38 points in a losing effort. Jon Leuer paced the Badgers with 19 points and seven boards.

Southwest

Richmond 65 Morehead St. 48 - In a battler between a 12 and 13 seed, the lower seed prevailed with a workmanlike effort. Justin Harper had 19 points to lead all scorers. The Spiders rung up 18 assists.

Connecticut 69 Cincinnati 58 - Kemba Walker fought through the pain of a sore left wrist to lead the Huskies over Big East rival Cincinnati. Despite the injury, Walker tallied a game-high 33 points and was perfect from the foul line, going 14-for-14.

North Carolina Trio Unstoppable in Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 18, 2011

While there were many exceptional performances on Friday, the second full day of the Round of 64, it's hard to compare with effort of this trio of Tar Heels: Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson, who accounted for 84 points in North Carolina's 102-84 win over Long Island.

Barnes scored 24 points and was only the third highest scorer for the Tar Heels, though he did chip in with 16 boards. Zeller led the way with 32 mostly-uncontested points and John Henson had 28, 20 in the first half.

The numbers were career highs in scoring for both Zeller and Henson, and Barnes set a personal mark for rebounds.

North Carolina moves on to face Washington in the Round of 32.

Round of 64 Results and Recaps - Friday Late Games

East

Marquette 66 Xavier 55 - Lightning quick, Marquette's Golden Eagles stymied the Musketeers and scored in transition regularly to knock off the #6 seed. Darius Johnson-Odom led all scorers with 19 points. Marquette shot 53% for the game.

North Carolina 102 LIU 87 - thhe Tar Heels rolled up the biggest score of the tournament thus far, as LIU could not handle their size and speed. Tyler Zeller: 32 points; John Henson: 28; Harrison Barnes: 24.

Washington 68 Georgia 65 - Surviving a furious last-minute rally by Georgia, the Washington Huskies moved on to face North Carolina in the next round. Isaiah Thomas was brilliant, scoring 19 points and dishing seven assists.

Syracuse 77 Indiana St. 60 - the Orange got more game than they expected from Indiana State, but tightened up their 2-3 zone and kept the Sycamores at bay for most of the game. Rick Jackson was superior inside. His23 points led the way for the Syracuse advance to the next round against Marquette.

Southwest
Kansas 72 Boston U. 53 - The Jayhawks overcame some early jitters to advance easily past Boston U., outscoring the Terriers, 39-24 in the second half for the easy win. Marcus and Markief Morris combined for 31 points and 17 rebounds.

Purdue 65 St. Peter's 43 - Never a contest as the Boilermakers ushered St. Peters out of the tournament. JaJuan Johnson had 16 points and 16 boards.

Illinois 73 UNLV 62 - The Runnin' Rebels were ice cold early and Illinois built an insurmountable lead. Mike Davis topped the scoring list with 22 points.

VCU 74 Georgetown 56 - Virginia Commonwealth used superior size and tight defense to dismantle Georgetown into a quick exit. Brandon Roselle hit six threes and scored 26 points in the win. The Rams face Purdue next.

Round of 64 Results and Recaps - Friday Early Games

East

George Mason 61 Villanova 57 - George Mason kept chipping away at Villanova's 10--point lead and finally caught the Wildcats in the closing minutes, holding on for the win, snapping a five-game tournament losing streak for the Patriots.

Ohio State 75 UTSA 46 - The tournament's top overall seed, Ohio State, easily rolled past UTSA, hitting at a 56% clip while holding the Roadrunners to a paltry 34% shooting. The Buckeyes taken on George Mason on Sunday for a trip to the Sweet 16.

West

Duke 87 Hampton 45 - West region top seed, Duke, produced the largest margin of victory in the tourney thus far, eclipsing Michigan's 30-point win over Tennessee earlier in he day. All ten Blue Devils who saw action scored, including Kyrie Irving, back for his first game since December. Irving not only put up points, but led all scorers with 14 points. Not a single Hampton player reached double figures in scoring.

Texas 85 Oakland 81 - Second win for the Big 12 so far, as the Longhorns couldn't quite shake free from upset-minded Oakland, but kept a safe lead late in the game. Reggie Hamilton went 10-for-19 for 25 points with 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Michigan 75 Tennessee 45 - The Wolverines produced the largest margin of victory in the tournament thus far, a 30-point beat-down on a team that has suffered through a rough season. Many of the Vols' players and fans are probably happy the pain is finally over, but it ended very badly. A team effort, Michigan had five players in double figures.

Arizona 77 Memphis 75 - In one of the most contentious games of the round of 64, the Wildcats knocked out the lone representative of Conference USA. Derrick Williams swatted away a potential game-tying shot just seconds after hitting a huge three-pointer. Williams finished with a game-high 22 points.

Southwest

Notre Dame 69 Akron 56 - The fighting Irish used seven players and they all contributed points, but Carleton Scott was a monster inside with 8 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The Fighting Irish didn't seem at all hung over from St. Patrick's Day, taking an early lead and cruising to the win.

Florida State 57 Texas A&M 50 - The Seminoles trailed by three at the half, but outscored the Aggies, 34-24, in the second period. Once Florida State assumed the lead, A&M could only stay close and did not challenge in crunch time. Florida State held their opponents to 31% shooting.

Kemba Walker is Tourney's Top Choice on Round of 64 Day One

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 17, 2011

Determining a Player of the Day on the first full day of action in the Round of 64 was no easy task, as Butler's Matt Howard, BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Florida's Chandler Parsons all were worthy participants, but the nod goes to UConn's suprelative Kemba Walker, who willed his team to a wide-open, 81-52, win over Bucknell, the largest margin of victory of the tournament thus far.

Walker didn't do a lot of shooting, hitting 5 of 11 shots from the field, but he nailed a pair of three-pointers, was 6-for-6 at the foul line, dished 12 assists and hauled in 8 rebounds for a true all-around fine performance.

The win was Connecticut's 6th straight, a run that includes a record five wins to capture the Big East tourney. The Huskies move into the next round against some familiar faces, the Cincinnati Bearcats, a team they've already handled, 67-59, on the Bearcats' home court.

Round of 64 Results and Recaps - Late Games

Southeast

Florida 79 UC-Santa Barbara 51 - Chandler Parsons scored 10 points, had 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Gators rolled to an easy win. Ten different players Gators scored as coach Billy Donovan emptied his bench late.

BYU 74 Wofford 66 - The Cougars proved a bit too fierce for the Terriers. Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points for BYU, the highest point total of the first day.
Wisconsin 72 Belmont 58 - Jon Leuer scored 22 points and Jordan Taylor had 21 to push the Badgers to the next round.

UCLA 78 Michigan State 76 - The Bruins built a 24-point lead only to give most of it away as Michigan State fought back in the second half. UCLA will face #2 seed Florida on Saturday.

Gonzaga 86 St. John's 71 - Gonzaga broke open a close game early on and kept the Red Stom at bay, cruising to a surprisingly easy first round win. Marquise Carter poured in 24 points for the Zags. Seeded surprisingly low at #11, Gonzaga faces #13 BYU in the next round.

Kansas State 73 Utah State 68 - Utah State's Tai Wesley got into early foul trouble and the Wildcats took advantage, building a working lead and staying safely ahead of the the Aggies. Jacob Pullen fought through flu-like symptoms to top the scorer's sheet with 22 points.

West


Connecticut 81 Bucknell 52 - Connecticut opened a big lead early, coasting to an easy opening round win. Kemba Walker led all scorers with 18 points, to go with 12 assists and 8 rebounds.

Cincinnati 78 Missouri 63 - Yancey Gates led all scorers with 18 points and ripped down 11 rebounds to lead the Bearcats over the Tigers. Gates was 7-for-8 from the floor, including 2-for-2 on three-pointers.

Buzzer Beaters and Bracket Busters: Round of 64 Results, Early Games

East

West Virginia 84 Clemson 76 - the Mountaineers trailed early but rallied and led most of the second half, cruising to the win. They will face Kentucky in the next round.

Kentucky 59 Princeton 57 - John Calipari's youthful Wildcats survived an opening game scare from a very game Princeton squad. Josh Harrelson scored 15 points with 10 rebounds and 4 steals.

West

Temple 66 Penn State 64 - The Owls snapped a losing streak at the NCAA winning a nip-and-tuck battle with Vandy. Next up, San Diego State.

San Diego St. 68 Northern Colorado 50 - As expected, the powerful Aztecs cruised in their opening game. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 21 points.

Southeast

Butler 60 Old Dominion 58 - senior Matt Howard tipped in a loose ball as time expired to escape a close call with a very capable senior-led Old Dominion team. Howard played the majority of the second half with three fouls and, as usual, was in the right place at the right time.

Pittsburgh 74 NC-Asheville 51 - No match here, as the Panthers dominated. Ashton Gibbs led all scorers with 26 points, including 6 0f 9 from three-point range.

Southwest

Morehead State 62 Louisville 61 - In the upset of the day, Morehead State, the #13 seed from the Ohio Valley conference, knocked off #4 Louisville on a daring three-pointer by Demonte Harper with time running down and the Eagles behind by three. Louisville was left with lees than 3 seconds and could not get off a shot.

Richmond 69 Vanderbilt 66 - The Spiders, the region's #12 seed, hung with the Commodores throughout the second half, took a late lead and held on for the win over a badly over-seeded (#5) Vanderbilt team. Point guard Kevin Anderson was a thorn in Vandy's side all day and had the go-ahead bucket on a short runner from the left of the hoop and finished with a game-high 25 points.

Rams Defy Critics, Dump USC; UTSA wins, to Face Ohio State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Widely criticized for entry into the NCAA field, considered not worthy of playing with the nation's best teams, the VCU Rams left no doubt that they belonged, smashing the USC Trojans with a stifling defense and a dominating second half.

After the first half ended with the score tied at 22-all, Jamie Skeen and his band of upperclassmen went to work, limiting the Trojans to 24 points, while scoring 37 of their own, mostly on the inside and at the free throw line for the 59-46 victory.

Skeen led all scorers with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting with a pair of three-pointers. He also had nine rebounds and was the only Ram in double figures.

VCU, seeded 11th in the Southwest region, faces the Georgetown Hoyas on Friday with the opportunity to advance further into the field.

In the earlier "First Four" contest, UTSA dropped Alabama State, 70-61. The Roadrunners face the daunting task of taking on the tournament's top seed, Ohio State, in the next round on Friday.

Primm, Dickey Lead NC-Asheville Bulldogs in NCAA Opener; Clemson Cruises

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Nothing like kicking off the NCAA tournament on the "Ides of March" with the warning for favorites to beware.

The first victor and victim was, respectively, the University of North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs over the Arkansas Little Rock Trojans, in overtime, 81-77, with the Bulldogs advancing to face #1 seed Pitt in the Southeast region.

Led by J.P. Primm and Matt Dickey, the Bulldogs forced overtime on Dickey's three-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation. Primm nailed a series of free throws in regulation and five in the overtime period to seal the deal.

Both players scored 22 points to share the game-high-scoring honors and each played exceptional all-around games. Dickey hit 7 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 3 three-pointers and added 6 of 7 free throws to go with five boards and three assists. Primm went 4-for-11 from the field with a pair of treys, added 12 of 14 from the foul line and had four rebounds, five assists and three steals.

NOTABLE: Clemson cruised past UAB, 70-52 in the nightcap of the first day of the "First Four" play-in games. The Tigers led all the way and were never threatened by the Blazers, who were completely out of their depth. With the breezy win, Clemson, a 12 seed, will face East region #5 seed, West Virginia in a Thursday game.

Bracket Madness: Tuesday and Wednesday Play-in Games Preview

OK, so nobody has to actually pick these Tuesday and Wednesday play-in games. That's the good news. The bad news is that no matter what, the NCAA tournament committee will believe that college hoops fans actually like the idea of having an extra four teams added for no other reason than to make the field larger or more competitive, when all along the idea was just to fill empty space in some network's otherwise dull content.

These games offer nothing to the brocketologists out there except to make their lives a little more difficult. All of the bracket challenges, in either online form or though your work or office are set up to just include the winner of these games, no matter which team wins. The problem is that one or the other may win, and set up a completely different match-up in (what now is) the second round. It's just confusing and the NCAA should go back to the straight 64-team format that has worked so well for so long.

Actually, adding these extra teams and games somewhat backfired on the NCAA selection committee only because they chose the wrong teams! Colorado should be in the tournament, along with Harvard and probably Virginia Tech and St. Mary's.

Whatever the outcome of these games, they're unnecessary and will likely have almost no impact on the overall tournament, so, be that as it may, let's analyze what we've been given.

Tuesday, March 15:

Play-in Game 1: North Carolina-Asheville vs. Arkansas Little Rock (Southeast Region) 6:30 pm ET - this gets a really, really big WHO CARES? because the winner will be up against the tp seed in the region, the Pittsburgh Panthers and they will lose, badly. If it's any consolation, the NC-Asheville Bulldogs got the automatic bid by winning the Big South tournament over Coastal Carolina in the final. They are however one of the dreaded 13-loss teams in the tournament and show pretty substantial losses to North Carolina, Georgetown and Ohio State. The Buckeyes nearly doubled them over, winning 96-49 back in December. The Bulldogs beat Auburn the first game of the season. Big whoop! They are, however, on a six-game winning streak.

Their opponent, Arkansas-Little Rock snuck into the tournament by beating North Texas in the Sun Belt tourney final, 64-63. The Trojans won four straight in the tournament and shocked even themselves and their coaches. Making these guys even more improbable, is their 19-16 record, not even a game against a ranked opponent and they finished with the 8th best record in their conference, at 7-9.

ADVICE: Take the kids from Asheville. At least they lost fewer games. Pitt will murder either of these teams.

Play-in Game 2: Clemson vs. UAB (East Region) 9:00 pm ET - This one is even worse. The Blazers blazed their way through the most overrated conference in America, Conference USA, winning the regular season with a 12-4 record. They lost to East Carolina, 75-70 in OT in the first round of their conference tournament (eventually won by Memphis). The Blazers did finish the season with a 22-8 record, though the bulk of those wins were over weak C-USA competition.

Clemson (21-11, 9-7) had a pretty solid season and sports a fine back-court, led by point guard Demontez Stitt, who led the Tigers in scoring, assists and steals. Clemson should be able to dominate the Blazers inside as well and it's a wonder the line is only -4 1/2. Clemson has an idea about winning tournament games and could easily advance in the next round, against a leaderless West Virginia squad. We'll have to wait and see.

ADVICE: Take the Tigers here and over WVA in the next round if you are playing some wide open brackets.

Wednesday, March 16:

Play-in Game #3: UTSA vs. Alabama State (East Region) 6:30 pm ET - Seriously, Alabama State was 17-17. There should be a rule that you can't get in if your team is .500 or worse, but the Hornets won the SWAC Tournament, so they get to play another game. The UTSA Roadrunners (let's hope there are no Wile E. Coyotes in the field) won the Southland tournament and here they are, complete with 19-13 record.

ADVICE: Hope the game is cancelled and Ohio State is given a bye, because neither of these teams stands a change against the Buckeyes.

Play-in Game 4: VCU vs. USC (Southwest Region) 9:00 pm ET - This game is at least interesting in that either team can win and have a chance against Georgetown, the #6 seed in the East, because Georgetown faded in the stretch and while they will have the services of point guard Chris Wright, but he has been out of action since mid-February and the Hoyas lost five of their last six, beating only South Florida.

VCU finished 4th in the Colonial Athletic and lost in the tourney final to Old Dominion. They sport some senior leadership and and compiled a 23-11 record over mostly nobody. They did beat UCLA and Wofford, though, and merit some respect. USC finished 4th in the PAC-10 with a 10-8 record and managed to beat both Texas and Tennessee and lost by just two points at Kansas. The Trojans have been up and down, but they're far more athletic than VCU and should win this one going away. Oddsmakers have them as a 4 1/2 point favorite, but they probably did that to encourage more people to take VCU.

ADVICE: USC played spirited ball down the stretch, winning six of their last seven and lost to Arizona in the conference tourney. They are surely well-rested and should also give Georgetown fits n the next round.

Check back tomorrow and every day for frequent updates on the Road to Houston and the Final Four.

Nolan Smith Leads Duke Past Tar Heels for ACC Crown

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 13, 2011

Like his co-player of the year candidates, Kemba Walker and Jimmer Fredette, did the previous two days, Duke's exceptional Nolan Smith rose to occasion and willed his team to a win on Sunday, avenging a regular season finale loss to North Carolina, to capture the ACC tournament title, 75-58.

Smith, who was far from perfect from the floor, hit just 6 of 18 shots, but he did score a game high 20 points and distribute 10 assists to his teammates. As far as Smith and the Duke program are concerned, it was a beautiful team effort, with Seth Curry and Kyle Singler scoring 11 points each and three other players finishing with nine apiece.

Following the game, the NCAA tournament committee made Duke the number one seed in the West region, a fitting reward for their season-long exploits.

Three other games decided tournament titles, and thus, automatic bids. Ohio State beat Penn State, 71-60, for the Big Ten crown, Kentucky subdued Florida, 70-54, in the SEC and the Richmond Spiders took home the Atlantic Ten hardware with a 67-54 win.

Ohio State was awarded the #1 seed overall, in the East region. Pitt was the top seed in the Southeast and Kansas took #1 in the Southwest.

Beginning Monday, check this space for frequent updates with game recaps, previews and top performances for the duration of March Madness.