Round 2, Day 1

Seems to be the most consistently exciting day every year...not sure why, but it has been for awhile now, and today didn't disappoint. My bracket is an absolute wreck at this point, but by now I just want to see some good basketball regardless of the outcome.

Xavier/Purdue - Well, Xavier proved something to me. I thought Purdue's size, along with the amount of shooters they possess, would be able to handle Xavier. The Musketeers used their quickness and ability to get out in transition off of forced turnovers to keep Purdue in check. Although Xavier has never been known for their frontline, they were even able to take advantage of Purdue with their dominance in size relative to both teams. Not having an interior post presence was heavily missed on Purdue's defensive sets, as Xavier continued to pound it inside for easy baskets without much of a contest. I'm sure Painter will have this problem covered.

Duke/West Virginia - It never gets old seeing Duke go out early in the tournament. 2 years ago they go out as the #1 overall seed to a much more athletic team in LSU. A year ago they go out as a 5 seed in the first round to a much quicker, athletic team in VCU. This year they go out as a 2 seed in the second round to a team who again exploited the total lack of anything resembling a post presence on both sides of the floor. Joe Alexander is a tough match for anyone, as he has the skills of a guard in the body of a power forward, and he used this to his advantage wisely. Duke relied heavily on the perimeter shot all year long, and the saying "live and die by the three" had never been truer than it was in this game, as they missed shot after shot after shot, leading to WVU transition points and long droughts of scoring. You would think after awhile you would get the ball to the two players who West Virginia would easily have the toughest time matching up with - Henderson and Nelson - yet he stuck with the game plan; not much of one. It was only fitting to see yet another overrated Duke team go out early, as Coach K's teams are becoming known for their reputation for flaming out in February and on full burn out in March. It never gets old.

Marquette/Stanford - After an odd sequence in which Trent Johnson was given a double technical and thrown out of the game, Stanford struggled heavily. Marquette used their quickness in the backcourt to try to run the Lopez twins out of the game, and for awhile it worked. They were hitting outside shots (not you of course, Dominic James) and were able to use this ability to counteract whatever Stanford threw at them. Brook Lopez had early foul trouble in the first half, and was held to 2 points, allowing Marquette to jump out to an early 11 point lead, but once he got started it never stopped. Scoring 28 of his 30 points in the second half and overtime, he presented a problem Marquette couldn't fix. No one could guard him, but how many can? Barro tried. Hayward tried. Burke tried. But nothing worked. The only thing that worked was backup coach Doug Oliver taking out the Lopez twins for a 4 minute stretch in the second half that allowed Marquette right back into the game when it looked like they had it put away. Stanford's game plan to get it to the Lopez twins works, and they run it to perfection every game. It's simple really, and Mitch Johnson surely understands it (16 assists).

Kansas State/Wisconsin - Bo Ryan is a great coach. His teams never look like they're very good, but I challenge you to find a team who is as efficient as they are on both ends of the floor game in and game out. They may not have the most talent, but a guy like Bo Ryan has the rare ability to get the absolute most out of it. I also challenge you to find a team who hits more big shots at key moments in the game than this team does. It astounds me, as they consistently hit these big time shots and every time it's a different guy. Whether it's Hughes, Flowers, Butch, Bohannon and etc. someone can do it. Their ability to stop Beasley from doing whatever he wanted down low and allowing Kansas State (a poor 3 point shooting team) to take as many three's as they wanted was what won this game. As boring as his teams may be to watch, it's fascinating to watch a team as well-coached as they are.

Notre Dame/Washington State - The fact that Harangody shot 3/17 from the floor, a guy as consistent as he has been all year, is the only thing that needs to be said about this game. Washington State, who lacks a true force down low, was able to force Harangody out of his comfort zone - whether it was double teaming him, forcing him away from the basket, or making him play as a face-up forward, it worked. He's the anchor for Notre Dame, and once he stopped going, so did Notre Dame. This allowed Wazzu to dominate from beginning to end. I will be the first to tell you I underestimated WSU's defense.

UNLV/Kansas - Not much to say about this game really. Kansas rolls, as is expected, and will continue to roll as they face the winner of Villanova/Siena, neither of which presents any sort of match-up problem or anything resembling an issue. The only thing to mention is that when fully healthy, Sherron Collins is highly underrated.

Pittsburgh/Michigan State - I know Michigan State is fairly athletic and Izzo's teams have always been known for how well they perform on the glass, but how in the world did Pittsburgh allow themselves to be outrebounded 33-20? No one was in foul trouble or anything. Sam Young grabbed just 1 rebound, as this set the tone for the entire game. It seemed out of reach for Pittsburgh almost the entire second half, as Michigan State rode Kalin Lucas' and Drew Neitzel's shooting to victory. Not to pinpoint anything, but Ronald Ramon's shot selection has been and was a problem for Pittsburgh, as he took three's way out of his range at times when they were not needed. Also, it didn't help that they had just 4 assists on a mere 17 field goals made. With guys as big as Young and Blair down low, it shouldn't be very tough to get them the ball - but Michigan State's quickness was able to shut down this area of their offense. And it worked.

Texas A&M/UCLA - Yes, UCLA won this game, but for a team most have coined a team meant to win it, they sure didn't look like it. All game long they struggled to score in long stretches, and luckily for them A&M was just as bad. Why did Josh Shipp only get 4 shots? For a guy who is a very capable scorer and has been all year long, presenting a match-up problem with someone who possesses his size and his athleticism, they sure looked like they didn't know how to use him. That's not going to work when they get deeper into the tournament and play teams who have actually proven themselves to be a very good team (no offense A&M, but you've been horrible all year). UCLA's defense is still outstanding, as Ben Howland's teams are known for this, and their talent can win plenty of games by itself, but their continued trend of playing to the level of their opponent is something I would be worried about if I were a Bruin fan. I have them winning it all and don't see that changing, but I would not be surprised at all if they fall earlier than expected.