Saturday Morning Shootaround: Did You Stay Up For The Late Games?

As was true in 2008, Friday's slate of games was much more exciting than Thursday's. Twice, in the first round of games and in the last round of games, we had two nailbiters coming to a finish at the same time, which meant that at every break, commercial, timeout, or free throw, CBS was throwing us back and forth between the two locations.

All in all, I think CBS has done a very good job so far broadcasting the tournament. I haven't been stuck watching many blowouts (the longest they stayed with one was Wake-Cleveland State, for obvious reasons) and I have been able to see the ending of all the exciting games. MMOD has also been great this year - it is very easy to switch between games and the streaming video is damn near flawless. My only word(s) of advice - split screen.

Let's get into yesterday's best:

GAME OF THE DAY: Wisconsin 61, Florida State 59 OT

Once again, the best game of the night was the last game of the night. Wisconsin played a horrid first half, heading into the break down 31-19 after an 11-0 Seminole run to close the half. But the Badgers were not about to roll over. They held Florida State scoreless for almost six minutes to start the second half, going on a 13-0 run to take a 32-31 lead. Toney Douglas, who finished with 26 points but didn't even attempt a shot in the first 11 minutes, would respond. An 11-2 Seminoles run, spurred by 9 points from Douglas, gave FSU a 46-39 lead with 4:38 left, but Wisconsin would score the next seven points, setting up the exciting finish.

Trevon Hughes tied the game at 46 with a three, but at the other end, Douglas drew a foul and hit both shots. Jason Bohannon responded at the other end with a three with two minutes left, giving Wisconsin the 49-48 lead, but Derwin Kitchen got to the rim and scored to give FSU the lead back. That set up one of the strangest plays I have seen in a while. After Marcus Landry missed a three, Kitchen grabbed the board and started racing up court. As he got near midcourt, he jumped and turned to the ref, trying to call a time out. His momentum carried him out of bounds, and the ref ruled that Kitchen was not allowed to call a timeout in the air while going out of bounds. Wisconsin ball. The Badgers would respond, as Bohannon drilled a three from about 26 feet as the shot clock expired, and Wisconsin took a 52-50 lead with under a minute left. Douglas, however, managed to get into the lane and draw a foul, hitting both free throws and forcing overtime.

Trevon Hughes takes the game-winning shot.
(photo credit: Paul Sakuma/AP)

In the OT, Wisconsin would open the scoring with another Bohannon three, but FSU would respond with a 7-1 run, capped by a three from Douglas. The Badgers would cut it to one with 48 seconds left, and after getting a stop, they had the ball, down 59-58 with 14 seconds left. Trevon Hughes got it, isolated on the wing, and drove to the rim, finishing a spin move by banking a shot in off the glass with 2 seconds left, and the foul. He would hit the foul shot, and a Douglas prayer was off the mark.

Bohannon led the Badgers with 16 points, while Hughes added 10. Chris Singleton was the only other Seminole to reach double figures, going for 12 points.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Ronald Moore, Siena

Moore did not overload the stat sheet Friday night, as he finished with 11 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, and 3 steals. He did not shoot all that well, going just 4-13 from the floor and 2-6 from three. What did he do well? He was 2-2 from three with under 15 seconds on the clock.

Siena advanced to the second round for the second straight year as they knocked off Ohio State 74-72 in 2OT. The biggest reason for the win was not the 20 points from Kenny Hasbrouck, and was not the double-double's posted by Ryan Rossiter and Alex Franklin. It was the big shots that Moore hit. Hasbrouck forced the first OT with a free throw, but Siena found themselves down 65-62 with just 9 seconds left on the clock. But Moore brought the ball up court, and calmly drilled a three in the face of PJ Hill, who was supposed to be fouling, forcing the second OT.

Moore is mobbed by teammates after hitting the go-ahead three.
(photo credit: Skip Peterson/AP)

In the second OT, Moore hit a free throws with 57 seconds left to give the Saints the lead, but Evan Turner scored on a lay-up at the other end to take the lead back for the Buckeyes. On the ensuing Saints possession, Edwin Ubiles drove middle and drew three defenders, kicking the ball out to Moore, who buried another three with 3.9 seconds left on the clock. Turner would miss a 15 foot runner at the buzzer, and the Saints were advancing.

They were good too (there were so many great performances Friday):

• Byron Eaton, Oklahoma State: Eaton had 20 points and 7 assists, including the game winner, as the Cowboys beat Tennessee.
• Sherron Collins, Kansas: Collins had 32 points and 8 assists as the Jayhawks outlasted Ben Woodside and the NDSU Bison.
• Ben Woodside, NDSU: Woodside finished with 37 points in his duel with Collins, likely playing his way into the NBA Draft.
• Lazar Hayward, Marquette: Hayward had 26 points and 8 boards as Marquette came back to beat Utah State.
• DeJuan Blair, Pitt: Blair was the lone bright spot in Pitt's win against ETSU, going for 27 points and 16 boards.
• Evan Turner, Ohio State: Turner finished with 25 points, 9 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, all team highs, in the Buckeye's loss.
  
• Chris Wright, Dayton: "Top Flyght" had 27 points and 10 boards, earning his moniker with a number of thunderous dunks.
• Nic Wise, Arizona: Wise scored 29 points in the Wildcats "upset" over Utah.
• Taj Gibson, USC: Gibson had 24 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 3 blocks, shooting 10-10 from the floor, as USC knocked off BC.

TEAM OF THE DAY: Cleveland State

Is it obvious? The Viking pulled off the biggest upset of the first round by torching the Demon Deacons 84-69. Wake Forest was never really in this game, as CSU raced to a 9-0 lead out of the gates and a 29-12 lead midway through the first half. Wake would get as close as 55-49 with 11 minutes to go in the second half, but an 11-2 run triggered by 5 points from Cedric Jackson and 6 points from Norris Cole all but put the game away.

Jackson and Cole were sensational in the game. Cole had 22 points, but Jackson was the one that took over for about a four minutes stretch in the second half, nailing tough jumpers and getting to the rim whenever he pleased. Jackson finished with 19 points, 7 boards, 8 assists, and 3 steals. The two also linked up on the play of the day (keep in mind that this was off of a sideline out of bounds.



Cleveland State advances to face Arizona in the second round.