College Basketball Reference

By Adam Kiefaber

WKU’s Ty Rogers hits a 3-pointer at end of the first OT to knock off No. 5 seeded Drake in the most memorable moment of the NCAA Tournament

If you went with CBR’s picks for the first two days of the NCAA Tournament - I’m sorry - You can’t be winning your office pool.

However, you still might be in it and as a fan you couldn’t ask for a more entertaining first couple of days of the NCAA Tournament.

Hopefully everyone was able find a way to skip work to see the finish of the Western Kentucky/Drake game (video above), if not I’m sure the highlights will run from now to the end of time.

Fortunately it is the weekend now and most people are able to watch from their own house instead from their office computers, which brings me to one of the more interesting facts about the NCAA Tournament - it amounts to $1.7 billion in lost productivity for American business.

Hopefully you saw this - San Diego sophomore De’Jon Jackson hits game winner to knock out a talented UCONN team

Let discuss the schedule for Saturday in the NCAA Tournament.

No. 2 Duke over No. 7 West Virginia (2:10 p.m.)
The Blue Devils barely escaped No. 15 seed Belmont on Saturday, while West Virginia was impressive in its win over No. 10 seed Arizona. Belmont shared the basketball and had many open three-point opportunities, which is scary because WVU was on fire hitting 11 of 19 (58 percent) of its three-point attempts against Arizona. The knock on Duke all season was that they couldn’t match up with a team that featured a solid big man, but that could change when Duke faces a team full of shooters this Saturday. The game should be close, but I’m taking Duke because I have them advancing in my personal bracket.
No. 11 Kansas St. over No. 3 Wisconsin (4:20 p.m.)
Again I won’t lie, I have Kansas St. winning this game in my personal bracket. Wisconsin’s stingy defense could give freshman Michael Beasley fits. When Beasley struggles, this team struggles because he won’t stop shooting. Against USC, Bill Walker (22 points, five rebounds), Jacob Pullen (11 points) and Ron Anderson (10 points, eight rebounds) provided Beasley with some solid support. I can see KSU having a bad game considering the hype surrounding its first-round game, they might be satisfied getting that win. However, I have to pick against the Big Ten every time.
No. 6 Purdue over No. 3 Xavier (4:40 p.m.)
Did I just say that I have to pick against the Big Ten every time? Well, I know this doesn’t make sense, but I have to go with Purdue on this one. Xavier has the experience, but isn’t playing well. On the other hand, Purdue doesn’t have the experience, but looked impressive in its 90-79 win over a hungry Baylor team. The Boilermakers played Baylor’s uptempo game and outscored their hungry opponent 46-27 in the first half. Previously, I picked the more experienced Baylor team to beat Purdue and I had Georgia upsetting Xavier, so my bracket isn’t influencing my pick here. I’m picking Purdue, but this game should go either way and could end on a memorable last shot.
No. 4 Washington St. over No. 5 Notre Dame (6:40 p.m.)
Like the first two games on Saturday, I have to pick the team that I have moving on in my bracket. However, I must add that is was one of the few games that I had a hard time picking when I initially filled out my bracket. ESPN’s Digger Phelps told everyone to watch out for an upset when WSU played Winthrop in the first round and the Cougars responded by winning 71-40. Notre Dame also looked impressive in its 68-50 win over George Mason. Notre Dame sophomore Luke Harangody (20.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg) was impressive as always, scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in the win. This game is a toss up, both teams are playing great right now, the outcome should be interesting.
No. 3 Stanford over No. 6 Marquette (6:45 p.m.)
In my personal bracket, I have Stanford advancing to the Final Four, so I obviously have to go with them to beat Marquette on Saturday. The Golden Eagles can’t like this matchup, Stanford has two 7-footers (twins) in the middle and most Marquette fans worry about their team’s chances when it is paired up against a towering big. On the other hand, Stanford might have trouble matching up with Marquette’s athletic trio of guards in Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. Personally, I think Stanford will win and I need them to win for my bracket, but the fan in me wants to see Marquette pull off the upset.
No. 1 Kansas over No. 8 UNLV (6:50 p.m.)
Recently, Kansas has a history of being knocked out early in the NCAA Tournament. In 2005 and 2006, the Jayhawks were knocked out in the first round. This year they cruised to a 85-61 win over Portland St. and looked poised to make the Final Four. UNLV made the Sweet 16 last year and lost most of its roster, but it continued to play well in the tournament by beating up Kent St. by a score of 71-58. The Rebels outscored Kent St. 31-10 in the first half. Kansas just has so much talent that it is impossible to pick against them here. I also have them winning the whole thing in my personal bracket, so I have go with them.
No. 4 Pittsburgh over No. 5 Michigan St. (9:10 p.m.)
Again, I have to pick against the Big Ten. Pittsburgh is fresh off a Big East Tournament championship and an 82-63 beatdown of Oral Roberts. I think the Panthers should cruise to a win against Michigan St. However, I expected MSU to lose its first-round game to Temple and they looked impressive in a 72-61 win. The Spartans have the talent to win here, but Pittsburgh seems to be the better team.
No. 1 UCLA over No. 9 Texas A&M (9:15 p.m.)
I look at my bracket and I see Kansas vs. UCLA in the championship, so I have to pick the Bruins to beat Texas A&M in the late game on Saturday. UCLA’s 70-29 win over Mississippi Valley St. was impressive, while the Aggies held off BYU 67-62. Texas A&M has the talent to make this game close, but UCLA should run away with this one.

I will try to preview Sunday’s games, but I might not have time - Here is Sunday’s schedule of the NCAA Tournament.

This entry was posted Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 4:25 am and is filed under NCAA Tournament. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.