Ohio State Defeats Syracuse, 77-70, Heads to New Orleans

East Regional Final

(2) Ohio State 77, (1) Syracuse 70 - Despite playing only six minutes of the first half due to two early fouls, Jared Sullinger scored 15 of his game high 19 points during the second half, turning a 29-29 tie at the break into a win and trip to the Final Four for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Sullinger was 5-for-9 from the field, made nine of 12 free throws and pulled down seven rebounds, leading four Ohio State starters in double figures.

The game was tight throughout, with Ohio State maintaining a narrow lead through most of the second half. Syracuse committed a number of crucial turnovers late in the contest, but overall the game was a statistical draw, except on the boards, where the Buckeyes held a 37-22 advantage and at the foul line, where Ohio State was 31-42 compared to 20-25 for the Orange. Two Syracuse players fouled out of the game and three others finished with four.

Ohio State will advance to the Final Four next Saturday to face the winner of Sunday's Midwest regional final, pitting top seed North Carolina against the region's #2 seed, Kansas.

Louisville Reaches Final Four with Comeback Win over Florida

West Regional Final


(4) Louisville 72 (7) Florida 68 - Russ Smith came off the bench for 19 points, sparking the Louisville Cardinals to a win over Florida and a trip to the Final Four. The Cardinals were outshot, 50% to 45% and out-rebounded, 32-27, but won the turnover battle, 13 to 6, overcoming as much as an 11-point deficit to rally back against the Gators for a hard-earned victory.

Smith added five rebounds and Chane Behanen had 17 points and seven boards for Louisville. Florida, which led most of the game and took a 41-33 lead into the half, made eight three-pointers in the first half but none in the second.

It was the seventh time Louisville coach Rick Pitino had faced his protege, Florida coach Billy Donovan. Pitino's teams have prevailed in all seven meetings.

Louisville will meet the winner of Sunday's South region final between Kentucky and Baylor in the Final Four, Saturday, March 31, in New Orleans.

Elite Eight Regional Final Previews, Saturday and Sunday Games

You've seen the games and heard all the commentary from Digger and Clark and the bloviating Vitale. You're maxed out on previews and predictions, so College Basketball Daily is here to cut through the noise and present some really brief snippets of what to watch for in the four weekend games.

Saturday, March 24

West: (4) Louisville vs. (7) Florida, 4:30 pm EDT - Pace wins the race. Florida wants to go fast; Louisville wants to control the flow and the clock. It's also Obi Wan Kenobi (Rick Pitino, Louisville) against Luke Skywalker (Billy Donovan, Florida). They've engaged in light saber duels six times in the past. Obi Wan has won all six.

East: (1) Syracuse vs. (2) Kansas, 7:05 pm EDT - One of two 1-2 match-ups (Midwest is the other). Syracuse 2-3 zone faces the double headed monster of Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State front men. The team that keeps their hands up and active on defense the most wins. Back court duel between Kraft and Trish/Jardine will be epic.

Sunday, March 25

South: (1) Kentucky vs. (3) Baylor, 2:20 pm EDT - Size matters, but Kentucky's interior players are bigger and more active than Baylor's. The Bears have done well so far, but they'll need more back court contributions ot stay in this. Kentucky coach John Calipari has been close before, but this is his best chance to win a national championship.

Midwest: (1) North Carolina vs. (2) Kansas, 5:05 pm EDT - Without Kendall Marshall, the Carolinians are wounded ducks. Thomas Robinson needs to step up for the Jayhawks and overpower Zeller and Henson in the paint. Elijah Johnson can play a huge role in the back court as disruptor, distributor and scorer. May be close, but only Kansas wins if it's a blowout.

NCAA Tournament Conference Scoreboard:

With just eight teams remaining after Thursday and Friday's regional semi-final games, all of the smaller conferences have been ousted, leaving only the ACC (North Carolina), Big Ten (Ohio State), Big East (Syracuse, Louisville) Big 12 (Kansas, Baylor) and SEC (Kentucky, Florida).

Regional final match-ups include only one scenario that could produce a Final Four meeting within the same conference, that being the potential South-West game that could come down to an all-SEC showdown between Florida and Kentucky.

Suffered the worst in regional play was the Big Ten, which entered the week with five teams still in the hunt (Wisconsin, Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan State and Indiana), but was decimated in the semi-finals, leaving only the Buckeyes to fend for the conference.

The Big East, which sent nine teams to the tournament, still has two left - Syracuse and Louisville. Syracuse could eliminate the Big Ten completely with a win over Ohio State on Saturday, while the Cardinals hope to whittle the SEC down to one with a win over Florida, also on Saturday.

Two potential meetings in the championship game could involve teams from the same conference. Syracuse could face Louisville in an all-Big East final or Kansas could meet up with Baylor, a Big 12 championship assured.

The SEC, which sent only four teams to the tourney, leads the way with a 7-2 record. Alabama went down ot Creighton in the opening round, while Vanderbilt won one game before falling to Wisconsin in the sub-regional round of 32.

Through games of Friday, March 23

Conference	W	L
Atlantic-10	4	4
ACC	6	4
Big East	13	7
Big Ten	10	5
Big 12	8	5
Conf-USA	0	2
Missouri Valley	1	2
Mountain West	1	4
Ohio Valley	1	1
PAC-12	1	2
SEC	7	2
West Coast	2	3
All others	7	20

Tyler Zeller Bails Out Tar Heels in OT Win over Ohio

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 23, 2012

Without their playmaker, Kendall Marshall, North Carolina barely survived their regional semi-final tilt with the Ohio Bobcats, Friday night, having to go into overtime to eventually conquer their upset-minded opponents, 73-65.

Marshall suffered a fractured wrist in the Tar Heels' previous game, an 87-73 win over Creighton this past Sunday (March 18) that set up the Sweet 16 meeting with the Bobcats. Coach Roy williams was forced to start freshman Stilman White in his place, and, while White was an adequate replacement, North Carolina still turned the ball over 23 times against Ohio.

What the Tar Heels lost with Marshall's absence was compensated for by the steady play of senior forward Tyler Zeller, the ACC player of the year, who tallied 20 points and 23 rebounds. Zeller's 20+ double-double was the first time any player in the NCAA tournament had accomplished such a feat since Tim Duncan did it when playing for Wake Forest in 1997, putting Zeller and his accomplishment in elite company.

Besides the scoring and glass-cleaning, Zeller was a powerful force in the middle, with four blocked shots and numerous others altered as Ohio players tried in vain to penetrate the middle against him and fellow front court stalwart John Henson.

Carolina's win sets up a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Kansas, the #2 seed in the Midwest region. The winner will earn a trip to New Orleans and the Final Four.

NCAA Tournament Regional Semi-Final Results and Recaps, Late Friday Games

South Region

(1) Kentucky 102, (4) Indiana 90 - The Kentucky Wildcats prevailed in a game played at a breakneck pace from start to finish and avenged one of just two losses suffered this season by taking Indiana out of the tournament.

The Wildcats advanced to a Sunday regional final against third-seeded Baylor, which took down Xavier in the region's earlier semi-final.

Indiana's Christian Watford led all scorers with 27 points, but Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist equalled his career high with 24 points and had 10 rebounds.


Midwest Region

(2) Kansas 60, (11) NC State 57 - Elijah Johnson scored a layup off an inbounds pass to put Kansas up 60-57 with 13.5 seconds to play, and NC State could not respond in the final seconds as the Kansas Jayhawks advanced to the regional final to face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday.

Thomas Robinson led the Jayhawks with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Jeff Withey had a career high 10 blocked shots. Kansas barely survived a poor shooting night, making just one of 14 three-pointers and shooting only 37.5% for the entire game. The Jayhawks were only 11-20 from the foul line, but held the Wolfpack to 28% from the field.

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Friday Early Games Results & Recaps

South Region

(3) Baylor 75, (10) Xavier 70 - Baylor looked like they would blow out the Musketeers, opening up an 18-point lead in the first half, but Xavier closed with a 13-3 run to go into the break down 36-29. Baylor shot 53% in the opening half, but tailed off in the second half as Xavier closed the gap to four points, and finally to three with 22 seconds left, but Brady Heslip nailed down the win with four free throws in the final seconds for the win.

Xavier's Tu Holloway led all scorers with 22 points, but the game ball belonged to Baylor's Quincy Acy, who had a monster game with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Acy was 8-for-11 from the field and made all four of his free throws. The Bears advance to the regional finals where they will face the winner of tonight's Kentucky-Indiana regional semi-final.


Midwest Region

(1) North Carolina 73, (13) Ohio 65 OT - The David vs. Goliath match-up of the tournament went to... Goliath, but David forced North Carolina into overtime.

The Tar Heels were clearly out of sorts without point guard Kendall Marshall, who was in street clothes due to a fractured wrist suffered in Carolina's win over Creighton. Freshman stillman White started in Marshall's place, but Carolina committed 13 first half turnovers and, despite leading by 15 at one point, took a 29-22 lead into intermission. North Carolina turned the ball over 23 times in the game, allowing Ohio to remain close and eventually tie the game late, sending it into an extra five-minute session.

North Carolina scored the first five points in OT, and outscored the worn-down Bobcats, 10-2, for the hard-earned win. Walter Offutt scored 26 for the Bobcats, but North Carolina's Tyler Zeller owned the night, with 20 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks. It was the first time any player had scored 20 points with 20 or more rebounds since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan did it in 1977.

NCAA Tournament Conference Scoreboard: SEC Rising

With Florida's 68-58 win over Marquette in the West region semi-final, the SEC - which sent just four teams to the tournament - suddenly is looking pretty good, especially since, beside the Gators, the only other remaining team from the conference is Kentucky, the #1 seed in the South and the tournament's overall #1 seed.

The Wildcats face Indiana (one of just two teams to beat Kentucky this season) on Friday, while the Gators have a Saturday date with Louisville for the right to advance to the Final Four.

Elsewhere on Thursday night, the Big Ten and Big East took turns beating up each other. Syracuse took out Wisconsin, and Louisville beat #1 West seed, Michigan State. Ohio kept the Big Ten looking good with a win over Cincinnati. The Big East won two and lost two, while the Big Ten won just one, and lost two.

The SEC's .750 winning percentage is better than either of those two conferences.

Through games of Thursday, March 22

Conference	W	L
Atlantic-10	4	3
ACC	5	3
Big East	13	7
Big Ten	10	4
Big 12	6	5
Conf-USA	0	2
Missouri Valley	1	2
Mountain West	1	4
Ohio Valley	1	1
PAC-12	1	2
SEC	6	2
West Coast	2	3
All others	7	19

Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas Lead Buckeyes Past Bearcats

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 22, 2012

Ohio State's 81-66 win over Cincinnati in the East region semi-final was the largest margin of victory of the four games played Thursday night.

The primary reason that the #2 seeded Buckeyes were able to put away the Bearcats so handily was their dominance in the paint, on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

Jared Sullinger recorded yet another double-double, his second - in three games - of the tournament and his 16th of the season, with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Sullinger was 7-for-13 from the field and made nine of 10 free throws. Five of his rebounds were offensive.

His front court running mate, Deshaun Thomas, poured in a game high 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting, including three of five three-pointers. Four of Thomas' seven rebounds were of the offensive variety.

If Ohio State reaches the Final Four (they face East region #1 seed Syracuse on Saturday for the right to advance), Thomas could be looking at tournament Most Outstanding Player. He scored 31 points with 12 rebounds against Loyola (MD) and dropped in 18, with seven boards, in Ohio State's win over Gonzaga.

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Results & Recaps, Thursday Late Games

East Region

(2) Ohio St. 81, (6) Cincinnati 66 - The Sweet 16 battle of Ohio became Cincinnati's Waterloo as the Ohio State Buckeyes cruised past the Bearcats and onto the regional final against Syracuse.

Buckeye forwards Deshaun Thomas and Jared Sullinger led the charge with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Point guard Aaron Craft's heady defense and 11 points, six steals, five assists and four rebounds were a huge contribution to the success of Ohio State.

The East region will conclude with a chalky complexion, as the #1 and #2 seeds battle for the right to advance to the Final Four in New Orleans.


West Region

(7) Florida 68,(3) Marquette 58 The Florida Gators will face the region's #4 seed, Louisville, in Saturday's regional final after taking out Marquette Thursday night.

Florida freshman Bradley Beal led all scorers with 21 points on 8-for-19 shooting, along with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Billy Donovan's efficient Gators held the edge in rebounding and assists and made 13 of 15 free throws.

NCAA Tournament: Results & Recaps of Thursday Sweet 16 Early Games

East Region

(1) Syracuse 64, (4) Wisconsin 63 - 32-2 Syracuse survived their second one-point victory of the season, advancing to the regional final as the #1 seed. Wisconsin, forced to foul with 18 seconds to play and down by a point, put Kris Joseph on the line for a one-and-one. When Joseph missed the front end, Wisconsin had their opportunity for the upset, but Jordan Taylor's heave from well beyond the three-point line did not catch iron and the clock expired on the Badgers.

The only other one-point win for the Orange this season was a 52-51 nail-biter at Louisville, on February 13. Wisconsin stayed in the game by hitting an amazing 14 of 27 three-point shots (52%). The two teams combined for just 12 turnovers, six by each team. Jared Berggren and Jordan Taylor each had 17 points for the Badgers. Syracuse had four players in double figures, led by CJ Fair's 15 points. The Orange shot 55% from the field, including five of nine from three-point range and the same (5-9) from the foul line.

West Region

(4) Louisville 57, (1) Michigan St. 44 - Louisville's defensive effort produced an easy win over Michigan State, the first #1 seed in the tournament to taste defeat. The Cardinals held the Spartans to a mere 29% from the field and 24% (5-for-21) from three-point range. Louisville was superior in the paint. Chane Behanen was the game's leading scorer with 15 points, along with eight boards. Center Gorgui Dieng scored just five points but blocked seven shots and ripped down nine rebounds.

Louisville has run off seven straight wins, including four in a row to capture the Big East championship.

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Previews, Thursday Games

East Region

(1) Syracuse (33-2) vs. (4) Wisconsin (26-9), 7:15 pm ET - A serious contrast in styles awaits fans at the TD Garden in Boston. The Syracuse attack is predicated on turnovers and fast break points out of their 2-3 zone defense that most teams have trouble penetrating successfully. Wisconsin, however, does have advantages in three-point shooting and their own steady, heady defense on the opposite end.

While the Orange haven't seemed to have missed their center, Fab Melo, they also haven't played a team as disciplined as the Badgers, who don't turn the ball over very often. In their 60-57 win over Vanderbilt, Wisconsin suffered only eight turnovers and despite coming up on the short end in rebounds, shooting percentage and free throws, still managed to prevail. It gets tougher in the round of 16, and even though Syracuse has played well enough to win their previous two games, they'd better not get down early, because the Badgers have a way of milking leads and making others pay for their mistakes.

(2) Ohio St. (29-7) vs. (6) Cincinnati (26-10), 9:45 pm ET - The all-Ohio regional semi-final will be a gut-check for both teams, though if the Buckeyes get hot, they may be able to romp home with a win here because the Bearcats are not a great shooting team, relying more on defense to survive low scoring games. Cincinnati's wins in the tournament were both in the 60s, and, during the Big East regular season, they topped 80 points only twice.

By contrast, the Buckeyes have the players and system that can put up points in a hurry. Through their Big Ten season, they scored 80 or more four times and had a slew of wins in the 70s. Their two tournament wins were both in the 70s as well, and they won them by comfortable margins - 19 points over Loyola (MD) and seven better than a solid Gonzaga team.


West Region

(1) Michigan St. (29-7) vs. (4) Louisville (28-9), 7:47 pm ET - Both West regional semi-final games will be played at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ, so there won't be any perceived home advantage for any of the contestants. Both Michigan State and Louisville have been impressive through the first two games of the tournament and play very similar styles, though the Cardinals depend more on penetration by point guard Peyton Siva, whereas the Spartans have a go-to guy in Draymond Green, who registered a triple double in Michigan's opening win and a double-double taking down St. Louis to get to this point.

This is likely to be the defensive struggle of the night, as neither team is blessed with an abundance of offensive talent. A score with both teams in the 60s would not be surprising. Louisville, which ended their regular season with four losses in six games, has turned things around nicely, winning six straight, including the Big East tournament.

(3) Marquette (27-7) vs. (7) Florida (25-10), 10:17 pm ET - The Gators are arguably the faster team in this Big East-SEC match-up, but the Golden Eagles are a determined, consistent bunch who are difficult to label. They are surely among the best defensive teams remaining in the tourney, but they can go cold for long stretches on offense, which will hurt them badly if they don't score well against Florida.

Marquette made a shambles of their first two opponents in the tourney - BYU and Murray State - but Florida has big school credentials and demolished Virginia, 71-45 and Norfolk State, 84-50, making the Gators the tournament's biggest margin-of-victory team remaining. They have big time scorers in Kenny Boynton, Bradley Beal and Eric Murphy. Either team will be a tough out, but Florida has coaching expertise in Billy Donovan and the scoring punch that could turn this into a catch-up game for the Golden Eagles, a condition at which they do not excel.

NCAA Tournament Conference Scoreboard: Big Ten Send Four to Sweet 16

With Indiana, Wisconsin, Oho State and Michigan State winning their weekend games, the Big Ten has four teams heading into the round of 16. Three of the upcoming match-ups involve teams from the Big East, as Wisconsin faces Syracuse and Ohio State meets Cincinnati in the East, while Michigan State matches up with Louisville in the West. The other meeting will be a rematch of the Kentucky-Indiana rivalry. Indiana handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season back in December. The 73-72 setback was one of just two losses suffered by the Wildcats this season.

Through games of Sunday, March 18

Conference	W	L
Atlantic-10	4	3
ACC	5	3
Big East	11	5
Big Ten	9	2
Big 12	6	5
Conf-USA	0	2
Missouri Valley	1	2
Mountain West	1	4
Ohio Valley	1	1
PAC-12	1	2
SEC	5	2
West Coast	2	3
All others	7	19

Walter Offett and DJ Cooper Lead Upstart Ohio Bobcats into Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 18, 2012

In the search for the tournament's most broken bracket, the Midwest region comes up a winner and it could have been worse had Purdue been able to hang on against 2nd-seeded Kansas Sunday night.

While the Jayhawks moved onto the Sweet 16, as did #1 seed North Carolina, the middle of the bracket became a mess as #11 NC State stopped #3 Georgetown and #13 Ohio prevailed over the 12 seed from South Florida. While the Bobcats may be accused of bottom-feeding, they still managed a to make the round of 16, no mean feat for a school from the Mid-America conference, whose teams are supposed to genuflect and gently give way to teams from the power conferences.

Ohio may be a small school without much of a basketball pedigree, in sharp contrast to their upcoming opponent, North Carolina, a programs whose legendary players and coaches - like Michael Jordan and Dean Smith - fill the record books and are woven into the fabric of March Madness.

What the Bobcats do have is a sound back court, a small detail that may come in handy against the Tar Heels, who may be without point guard Kendall Marshall in their upcoming meeting (Friday, March 23, 7:47 pm, TBS) after Marshall suffered a fractured bone in his right wrist in the Tar Heels' win over Creighton.

In Ohio's 62-56 triumph over South Florida, the champions of the Mid-America conference were led by their back court duo of Walter Offett and DJ Cooper, who scored 21 and 19 points, respectively. Offett was 7-for-9 from the field, 4-for-4 on three-pointers and had three rebounds and four steals. Cooper was 7-for-9 from the foul line, with seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals.

With a pair of guards with that kind of capability, Ohio is a threat whenever and wherever they play. North Carolina had better not be looking past the surprising Bobcats.

NCAA Round of 32 Late Sunday Game Results and Recaps

Midwest region

North Carolina 87 Creighton 73 - Hailing from the Missouri Valley conference, the Bluejays of Creighton were no match for #1 seed North Carolina, who grabbed an early lead and expanded it to as many as 19 points in the second half. Doug McDermott had 20 points for Creighton, but little help from his teammates. Kendall Marshall led the Tar Heels with 18 points, 11 assists and four rebounds. Harrison Barnes scored 17 as North Carolina had five players in double figures and got 18 points from their bench. John Henson returned from a two-game absence and scored 13 points with 11 rebounds and four blocks.

It was reported after the game that point guard Kendall Marshall had suffered a fractured right wrist. No further details were immediately available.

Ohio 62 South Florida 56 - The Bobcats, champions of the Mid-America conference, advanced to the Sweet 16 with a victory over #12 seed South Florida. The Bobcats, seeded 13, were led by their back court of Walter Offett and GJ Cooper, who scored 21 and 19 points, respectively. Offett was 7-for-9 from the field, 4-for-4 on three-pointers and had three rebounds and four steals. Cooper was 7-for-9 from the foul line, with seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals.

Awaiting the Bobcats in the next round is top seed North Carolina.

Kansas 63 Purdue 60 - #2 seed Kansas pulled out a victory of 10th-seeded Purdue, in a game the Jayhawks trailed until Elijah Johnson hit a three pointer with 5:01 left to give Kansas a 57-56 lead. The Boilermakers jumped out to an eight-point lead and maintained it nearly for the duration. After Johnson's bucket, Purdue scored, but Kansas came up with a late steal and dunk by Tyshaun Taylor which left Purdue with just 2.5 ticks. Purdue's Ryne Smith had a chance at the buzzer, but the ball glanced off the backboard and caromed off the rim.

Kansas meets 11-seed North Carolina State in the next round.


West region

Florida 84 Norfolk State 50 - As it turned out, Norfolk State's "one shining moment" was just that, as they could not rekindle the fire that led them to their upset of #2 seed Missouri, Friday night. Florida registered the largest margin of victory in the tournament to date. None of the Spartans scored in double figures, while the Gators had five, led by Kenny Boynton's 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Florida, the region's 7 seed, gets #3 Marquette in the next round.


East region

Cincinnati 62 Florida State 56 - In a game that was close throughout, Cincinnati, down, 50-49, scored seven straight points late, keyed by a steal and dunk by Dion Dixon and a short jumper from Cashmere Wright that put the Bearcats ahead for good. Sean Kilpatrick was the top scorer in the game with 18 points and six rebounds. A tenacious defensive struggle, both teams shot at just a 38% rate. Cincinnati, the region's #6 seed, became the fourth team from the state of Ohio to reach the Sweet 16, where they will face the 2nd-seeded Buckeyes of Ohio State for the right to advance.


South region

Xavier 70 Lehigh 58 - Lehigh raced out to an early 15-point lead, but Xavier chipped away, trailed 37-33 at the break and quickly evened the score in the second half. Lehigh didn't score a point from 8:08 to 1:03 left in the game as Xavier widened their unassailable lead. Xavier center Kenny Frease scored 25 points and tore down 13 rebounds. Tu Holloway chucked in 21, including four threes. Lehigh became the sixth 15 seed to defeat a #2 seed when they toppled Duke Friday night, but like the five before them, failed to win their following game. The 10th-seeded Musketeers move on to face #3 Baylor.

NCAA Round of 32 Sunday Early Game Results & Recaps

Midwest region

North Carolina State 66 Georgetown 63 - The 11th seeded Wolfpack pulled off the upset of 3-seed Georgetown. The game was closely contested throughout, and came down to a final chance to tie on a three-point attempt by Georgetown's Jason Clark, but the late heave at the buzzer came up short, sealing the win for NC State, who will play the winner of Sunday night's Purdue-Kansas tilt. Kansas, the 32 seed in the region, is heavily favored over the 10th-seeded Boilermakers.


West region

Michigan State 65 St. Louis 61 - #1 seed michigan State led nearly throughout, but a resolute St. Louis team did not make their advancement to the next round an easy one, tightening the game and making the Spartan hit key free throws late.

Draymond Green has his usual big game with 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but point guard, Keith Appling, was the game's high scorer with 19 points. Michigan Stat moves on to a round of 16 meeting with Louisville.

NCAA Round of 32 Sunday Game Previews

12:15 pm ET, Midwest region: (3) Georgetown vs. (11) NC State - A pretty even match-up overall as both teams are playing their best basketball at the right time, though especially NC state, which will be seeking their second straight upset win (topped #6 San Diego State in their opener). The battle will be likely won or lost by Wolfpack big men, who have a bit of a size advantage over the Hoyas, but either team could benefit from hot shooting by the guards. Looks like a wide-open, fun affair.

5:15 pm ET Midwest region: (1) North Carolina vs. (8) Creighton - Two questions immediately arise upon looking at this game: 1) Will John Henson suit up and play?, and 2) Will Harrison Barnes of the Tar Heels or Creighton's Doug McDermitt have the bigger game. Barnes and McDermott were teammates in high school when the two won state championships together in Iowa. Henson, the lanky, shot-blocking forward, sat out North Carolina's opening win over Vermont and is still nursing a sore wrist, suffered in the SEC final against Vanderbilt.

Whatever the outcome of those questions, North Carolina has been a dominant team all season and are the pick to prevail over the last survivor from the Missouri Valley conference, though Creighton has a solid attack and is one of the better defensive teams in the tourney. How well McDermott performs will be key.

6:10 pm ET West region: (7) Florida vs. (15) Norfolk State - The Gators had an easy time getting past Virginia, while Norfolk State upset Missouri in their opener. Florida may not have an answer (does anybody?) for the spartan big man, Kyle O'Quinn, though they'll surely do better than Missouri did handling him. The other question is whether Norfolk St. can maintain their poise, hot shooting and emotion after the biggest win of their program. No 15-seed winner over a 2 seed has ever won their following game. The spartans have a chance to make some more history.

7:45 pm ET, South region: (10) Xavier vs. (15) Lehigh - Like Norfolk State, the Mountain Hawks can make NCAA history if they take out Xavier, who upset 7-seed Notre Dame in their opener. After beating back #2 seed Duke, Norfolk State will need to stay focused on defense, lest Tu Holloway goes off for 30+ points and the Musketeers ride his hot hand. The Mountain Hawks are probably still hungry following the Duke win and Xavier looks like they could be another victim in a weak draw.

9:40 pm ET, east region: (3) Florida State vs. (6) Cincinnati - The opening weekend of the tournament concludes with a real hard-knocking contest. Both teams are primarily defensive-oriented, but have managed to find enough offense to reach this point. The battle in the paint and on the boards may be ferocious, but the feeling is that the Seminoles are battle-tested after beating North Carolina in the ACC final and then rallying to beat a very similar-looking St. Bonaventure team in their opening game. A hot hand for either team could decide this. Keep a close eye on Cincy guard Cashmere Wright, who, as the name implies, has a smooth game.

Brady Heslip's Nine 3-Pointers Lift Baylor into Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 17, 2012

On a good night, a sharp-shooting, three-point specialist will make four or five shots from beyond the arc. Any more than that generally deserves special mention by the basketball press. Six is great, seven is rare, but when a player goes off for nine from deep - especially under the pressure of the NCAA tournament - it is extraordinary.

That's what Brady Heslip did in Baylor's 80-63 ejection of Colorado and the PAC-12 from the tourney. Heslip took just 13 shots - 12 from outside the three-point line - and made nine of them, helping the Bears forge a round of 32 rout.

A native of Burlington, in Ontario province, Canada, Heslip fell two short of the tournament record 11, hoisted by Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer back in 1990. Heslip became the ninth player in NCAA tournament history to make nine or more threes. The win was Baylor's second straight in the tournament and their 29th overall against six losses. To reach 30 wins, the Bears will have to wait until Friday night, when they face the winner of the Xavier-Lehigh contest in the South region round of 16.

That should allow Heslip plenty of time to practice those long-range jumpers.

NCAA Tournament Conference Scoreboard; Big Ten Rocking, PAC-12 Out

With all but eight games left to be played over the opening weekend of the tournament, the Big Ten has clearly outclassed all other conference competing, having lost just one game (Michigan), while what may be the conference's best team, Michigan State, is up against St. Louis on Sunday.

The PAC-10, which only sent two teams to the tourney, is now completely out, after Baylor downed Colorado on Saturday night. Additionally, the three Westernmost conferences - PAC-12, WCC and Mountain West - have all been dismissed, after Louisville polished off the last of the four Mountain West teams, New Mexico, in Saturday's last game.

Those three conferences sent a total of nine teams, and none have survived the first two rounds. The results speak for themselves. The best basketball is being played almost overwhelmingly East of the Rockies and the majority of that, East of the Mississippi River.

Here's the breakout of conference records through Saturday, March 17:

Conference	W	L
Atlantic-10	3	2
ACC	3	2
Big East	10	3
Big Ten	8	1
Big 12	5	5
Conf-USA	0	2
Missouri Valley	1	1
Mountain West	1	4
Ohio Valley	1	1
PAC-12	1	2
SEC	4	2
West Coast	2	3
All others	6	17

NCAA Round of 32 Results and Recaps, Late Saturday Games; Big Ten Huge, West, Out

East Region

Wisconsin 60 Vanderbilt 57 - The Big Ten notched another victory as the Badgers knocked off another SEC squad. Sharing the ball well, Wisconsin put five players in double figures and won the turnover battle, 8-12. The Badgers, who only went to the foul line eight times and made four, hit 10 three-pointers on 33 tries. The four seed in the region, Wisconsin will face top seeded Syracuse in the next round. It's the fifth time that Wisconsin has reached the Sweet 16 round under head coach Bo Ryan.


West Region

Marquette 62 Murray State 53 - Marquette, the 3 seed, put away #6 Murray State in a hotly-contested, defensive struggle to advance to the next round where they will meet the winner of the Norfolk State-Florida game.

The Golden Eagles out-shot Murray State, 38% to 31% and made 16 of 21 free throws. Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom each scored 17 points to pace the victors. Isaiah Canaan scored 16 for the Races, but his scoring came off a 4-for-17 effort.

Louisville 59 New Mexico 56 - The Cardinals led by a point at the half, 26-25, opened up a big lead and nearly let it slip away, but held on for the win. Russ Smith, who was 5-12 overall, but 4-5 from the field, paced Louisville.

New Mexico's loss marked the elimination of the last of the three Westernmost conferences, the PAC-12, WCC and Mountain West, a total of nine teams, none of which lasted two rounds.


South Region

Indiana 63 VCU 61 - Indiana added another win to the Big Ten's impressive total with a gutsy victory over a game VCU unit. The Hooisers took their only lead since very early in the second half on Will Sheehey's short jumper that left the Rams with just 12.8 seconds to play. Bradford Burgess, who led 12-seeded VCU with 15 points, had a good look at a three with time running out, but the ball bounced off the rim as time expired. Cody Zeller and Christian Watford, Indiana's powerful front court duo, led the scoring with 17 apiece. Indiana will face Kentucky in the round of 16.

The Big Ten has a 7-1 record in the tournament through Saturday, with Michigan State, the #1 seed in the Midwest, facing 9-seed St. Louis on Sunday.

Kentucky 87 Iowa State 71 - Kentucky took a 38-27 lead into intermission, but a determined Cyclone squad brought the game to a 42-all tie early in the second half. The Wildcats countered with a 20-2 run for a 62-44 lead and eventually led by as many as 24.

The game's leading scorer was Marquis Teague, who scored 24 points on 10-14 shooting, to go with six assists and three rebounds. Three other Kentucky players finished in the teens. Freshman sensation Anthony Davis scored 15 points with 12 boards, five assists and two blocks. Kentucky will face 4th seeded Indiana in the next round. The Hoosiers were one of just two teams to defeat the Wildcats this season.

Baylor 80 Colorado 63 - Behind Brady Heslip's 27 points on nine three-pointers, Baylor advanced to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in school history. The Bears broke open a close game late as Colorado went into a scoring funk in the closing minutes.

Heslip was 9-for-12 from beyond the arc and missed the only shot he took inside the three-point line. The 3rd seeded Bears will face the winner of Sunday's Xavier-Lehigh tilt in the next round. With the Buffaloes' defeat, the PAC-10 has no more teams in the tourney, as the only other representative from the conference, Cal, was taken out in a play-in game.