Day 2

Day two is officially over, and in general it was much more exciting than Day 1. There weren't nearly the amount of blowouts, actual contested games, upsets, and buzzer beats - something March Madness is made of.

The day started off with one of most entertaining games we'd seen thus far of the tournament in Davidson/Gonzaga. Now it wasn't exactly a secret that Stephen Curry was a very good player and one of the best shooters in the country, but I'm not sure anyone knew he was this good. He was impressive in the first half with a nice 10 points, but in the second half he took over, scoring 30 of Davidson's 46. Every single time he touched the ball you just knew he was going to score. It was that type of game for this kid - he was unconscious. Clearly one of the purest strokes around, it amazes me that no other big time D-I school discovered this kid, especially given that his dad, Dell, was one of the better shooters the NBA has ever seen. He was smooth, he was calm, and he lulled Gonzaga to sleep with his seemingly lackadaisical attitude before hitting shot after shot after shot. At the 14:50 mark in the second half, with Davidson down just 11 with the ball, Billy Packer was quoted as saying "this is a dangerous time for Davidson, they can't let it slip away too fast!". First off, there was way too much time to say that, and second, when you have a shooter like Stephen who is liable to go off at any time, you can never put them to rest. And he proved exactly that.

By the way Gonzaga, would you stop losing so early in the tournament? I mean, I don't mind it, and there was a reason you were slept on this year unlike in years past, but stop trying to make a claim as being one of the top programs in the country when you struggle so heavily so often in the tournament. You're a cut above a high level mid-major team, but nothing else until proven otherwise.

Western Kentucky-Drake was the game of the tournament, no question. It was a blowout for much of the way. Down 16 with 11 minutes left, Drake started hitting shots and clawed their way back slowly. Western Kentucky was careless with the ball and tried everything to give the game away, allowing Drake to force overtime. In overtime it looked like Drake had finally taken control of the game and was ready to put it away until a few big shots by Tyrone Brazelton (who was on fire all game, putting up 33) and the final play run to perfection to Ty Rogers, of all people, who connected from way, way out to win it. An unbelievable game, involving a record 30 combined 3 pointers made, by 2 of the top mid-majors in the country all year long. Although I dislike how the committee pairs up mid-majors in the first round every year, this certainly made for an epic battle, and was well worth it.

Butler was clearly pissed about their seeding. They embarrassed a team who was a trendy upset pick and who many even had advancing over Tennessee...well so much for that. This team is a scary match-up for Tennessee, who has struggled so badly all year long both defending and scoring in half-court sets. Butler thrives at both of these. It will be interesting to watch the talent and athleticism of Tennessee face up with the smarts and patience of the Bulldogs. An upset here wouldn't be surprising in the least.

An awful showing by Connecticut. Props to San Diego for the upset, who has been a rather underrated team ever since their abysmal start in the non-conference, but this was bad. I understand AJ Price is their leader, their front man, their point guard, and the guy who creates the opportunities for everyone, but guys like Austrie and Wiggins needed to step up in his place. San Diego is a solid team, no doubt, but there's no way Thabeet and Adrien should have been relatively shut down by guys like Pomare and Jones. Those guys are decent talents, but it was clear when Adrien and Thabeet got the ball, they couldn't be stopped. UConn looked heartless once Price went down. Rather than giving themselves a chance to win it for him, to prove it's not all about Price, they widdled away slowly. They let the game slip away as San Diego seemed to care so much more than Connecticut did. I don't know what the problem was, but it was ugly, and Calhoun can't be very happen - AJ Price or not.

I'd like to again express my disdain for Vanderbilt. They proved the point I've been trying to make all year: away from Memorial Gymnasium this team is worthless. They can't shoot, they can't defend, and they play afraid. They play so passive, let the other team determine the tempo and they go along with it. It's quite entertaining to watch, as it is so predictable to watch Stallings team look so unprepared for what's to come. Siena completely and utterly dominated this game. Vanderbilt did not lead one time. Wonderful Vanderbilt. Props to Siena for the win, as Hasbrouck and Fisher presented two problems that couldn't be stopped. Vanderbilt never seemed to even give an effort. Congrats Vandy.

Speaking of teams who barely seemed to give forth an effort, heres to Indiana for looking asleep and to Eric Gordon for regressing more and more as it got further and further into the season. Gordon looked awfully content taking unnecessary 35 foot three's when he can step forward a good 2 or 3 full steps, being passive when he needed to be aggressive, and still having no clue how to get his teammates involved. He's eventually going to be a very good player, no doubt, but for what he was billed to be he was by far the most disappointing player all year.

Indiana followed Gordon's path as they coasted their way to a lose, allowing Arkansas to dictate the tempo all game long and never figuring out how to handle Arkansas' athleticism and penetration. 33 FT attempts to Indiana's 12 sounds like your typical Big Ten officiated game, but this was more a case of Arkansas knowing how to exploit Indiana's lazy defense. I feel bad for DJ White who went down fighting, along with Bassett who you felt would never miss a shot, but this team was not supposed to win. Half of them reeked of a team with no heart, no passion, and didn't seem to care one bit about whether they won or lost. Once Sampson was given the axe and Dakich took over, they felt they had nothing to play for. No pride, no dignity. I feel for Indiana fans, as Kentucky fans had felt this for the last 2 years. It's pathetic, and I hope for them they get a coach who will bring back the fire and pride that Indiana is made of.

Good win by Villanova, but my lord how bad are Oliver Purnell and Terence Oglesby? Villanova's weakness is in their frontcourt, yet they don't attack it at all. Mays and Booker, who combined for 34 and 11 in a big win over Duke last weekend (who also lacks anything resembling a frontcourt, apologies to Brian Zoubek) combined for 10 and 7 on a total of 6 shots. Yeah, you heard that right. Purnell decided to rely on his own backcourt, which isn't quite as quick or as talented as Villanova's, and his lame trapping attempts to beat them. It worked at the beginning, but Villanova fought back, and once it was apparent to Clemson that Nova wasn't going away, they folded - not surprising however, as this has been a common theme for the Tigers all year. Purnell just never knew how to tap into this teams potential. Sure, they got a 5 seed, but this team is talented at every position and is incredibly versatile.

And about Oglesby? He had the classic case of "let's see how far I can make this three from" that has plagued guys like Chris Lofton and Eric Gordon. It was hilarious to see him take shot after shot early in the shot clock, contested, and never running any sort of offense before attempting. In 19 minutes he fired up 11 shots, making just 1-8 from 3. Wonderful. The saying is "shooters keep shooting", but once it starts killing your team, it needs to stop. Bad decisions plagued this Clemson team, as they did all year.

It was an entertaining round 1. Not one of the best, that's for sure, but it had its moments - but I'm ready for round 2. The Saturday of the second round seems to be the most consistently fun day of the tournament. Don't ask why, but it does. A bunch of great games tomorrow, and I know I'm ready. Hope you are too.