The Real March Madness: Day 10

Everyone loves the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Four straight days jam-packed with 12 hours of do-or-die college hoops is more than most people can handle.

But for junkies like us, the next 13 days are just as good, for it is when the true Madness takes place. Over the course of these two weeks, we whittle some 347 teams down to 30 conference champions (the Ivy doesn't have a tournament). Auto-bids will be won. Bubbles will be burst. Buzzers will be beaten. And most importantly, a 65 team bracket will be made.

Here's what happened on Thursday (Ed. Note: Late start today as it was a third straight late night at MSG. Dump coming in a bit.):


Game of the Day: Akron 97, Eastern Michigan 89 2OT

Akron and Eastern Michigan played a thriller in the MAC quarters on Thursday. Carlos Medlock, who had 42 points for the Eagles, hit a three with 58 seconds left to cap and EM comeback and give the Eagles a 71-69 lead. But Brett McKnight scored on a layup with 38 seconds remaining and Zeke Marshall blocked a layup attempt to force OT. The first overtime period was back and forth, but with eight seconds left EM's Jay Higgins buried a three to break a 78-all tie before Steve McNees beat the buzzer to force a second extra frame. Akron scored to fist nine points of that second overtime to advance.

They were good too

• West Virginia 54, Cincinnati 51: Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson banged a three with 42 seconds left to tie the game after the Bearcats were down by as much as 14 in the first half. After West Virginia missed at the other end, Dion Dixon turned the ball over in the back court, giving the Mountaineers a chance. And Da'Sean Butler capitalized, banking in a three at the buzzer, his fifth game winner of the season.
• Houston 66, Memphis 65: Willie Kemp scored five straight baskets for Memphis late, bring the Tigers back from eight down late to give them a 65-64 lead. But the nation's leading scorer Aubrey Coleman went the other way, split two defenders, and scored off the glass with 5 seconds left. Willie Kemp turned it over on the ensuing possession as the Cougars advanced.
  

Player of the Day: Jimmer Fredette, BYU

BYU's star point guard seemed to be a bit off down the stretch, as he never really got it going during the Cougars last three games. But boy, did he catch fire against TCU. Fredette was impossible to defend on Thursday night, as he went for 45 points and 6 assists. Fredette did not shoot all that well (10-23 from the field, 2-10 from deep), but he hit 23-24 from the line as BYU advanced to face UNLV.

They were good too

• Chris Wright, Georgetown: The Hoyas knocked off one seed Syracuse in the Big East tournament, and Chris Wright was the biggest reason why, as he finished with 27 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists in the win.
  
• Armon Bassett, Ohio: Bassett, the former Indiana and UAB player, finished with 38 points, 7 assists, and 5 boards as the Bobcats upset Kent State in the MAC quarters.
• Jamar Samuels, Kansas State: Samuels came off the bench to o for 27 points and 10 boards as the Wildcats knocked off the Pokes in the Big XII quarters.
• David Kool, Western Michigan: Kool had a game-high 26 points as the Broncos beat Central Michigan in the MAC quarters.
• Jamel Guyton, Louisiana Tech: Guyton was the best player on the floor last night for a talented Tech team as he finished with 31 points and 11 boards to lead the Bulldogs to a win over Fresno State.
• Trey Thompkins, Georgia: Thompkins finished with 23 points, 14 boards, and 6 assists as Georgia beat Arkansas to advance to the SEC quarterfinals.
  

Team of the Day: Georgetown Hoyas

The Hoyas advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournamentas with an impressive come back win over Syracuse. Georgetown has been struggling a bit of late, dropping from top ten in the country down to the 8th seed in the Big East tournament. But the Hoyas proved today why they are still a threat in the NCAA Tournament. Chris Wright, Greg Monroe, Jason Clark all played great, and Austin Freeman simply played extended minutes, which is as important as anything. The Hoyas will play Marquette in the semis tonight at MSG.

They were good too

• Southern Mississippi: The Golden Eagles were hot too finish the regular season, winning three in a row, and carried that over into the first round of the C-USA tournament. USM jumped out to a 16-2 lead over UAB, and held on to beat UAB 58-44.
  
• Notre Dame: The Irish just keep winning. Today, they hung on to beat Pitt 50-45 to advance to the Big East semis with a 50-45 win.
• Miami: The Hurricanes dominated a listless Wake Forest team from the jump, cruising to an 83-62 win over the Demon Deacons. Can the Canes knock off Virginia Tech as well?
  

Thursday's Tournament Results

Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
First Round (Greensboro, NC)
#9 Virginia 68, #8 Boston College 62
#12 Miami 83, #5 Wake Forest 62
#7 Georgia Tech 62, #10 North Carolina 58
#11 North Carolina State 59, #6 Clemson 57

Big East Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (New York City, NY)
#8 Georgetown 91, #1 Syracuse 84
#5 Marquette 80, #4 Villanova 76
#7 Notre Dame 50, #2 Pittsburgh 45
#3 West Virginia 54, #11 Cincinnati 51

Big Ten Conference Tournament
First Round (Indianapolis, IN)
#8 Michigan 59, #9 Iowa 52
#7 Northwestern 73, #10 Indiana 58
#6 Minnesota 76, #11 Penn State 55

Big-12 Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Kansas City, MO)
#1 Kansas 80, #9 Texas Tech 68
#4 Texas A&M 70, #12 Nebraska 64
#2 Kansas State 83, #7 Oklahoma State 64
#3 Baylor 86, #6 Texas 67

Big West Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Anaheim, CA)
#3 Long Beach State 79, #6 Cal-Poly 69
#4 UC-Davis 68, #5 CS-Fullerton 65

Conference-USA Tournament
Quarterfinals (Tulsa, OK)
#7 Houston 66, #2 Memphis 65
#6 Southern Mississippi 58, #3 UAB 44
#5 Tulsa 80, #4 Marshall 64
#1 UTEP 76, #6 Central Florida 54

Mid-American Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Cleveland, OH)
#7 Western Michigan 69, #2 Central Michigan 60
#3 Akron 97, #6 Eastern Michigan 89 2OT
#9 Ohio 81, #1 Kent State 64
#4 Miami 73, #5 Buffalo 59

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Winston-Salem, NC)
#3 South Carolina State 59, #6 MD-Eastern Shore 53
#5 Hampton 73, #4 Norfolk State 70

Mountain West Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Las Vegas, NV)
#1 New Mexico State 75, #9 Air Force 69
#4 San Diego State 72, #5 Colorado State 71
#2 BYU 95, #7 TCU 85
#3 UNLV 73, #6 Utah 61

Pac-10 Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Los Angeles, CA)
#5 UCLA 75, #4 Arizona 69
#1 Cal 90, #8 Oregon 74
6:00PM - #3 Washington vs. #6 Oregon State
#7 Stanford 70, #2 Arizona State 61

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Bossier City, LA)
#3 Alabama State 56, #6 Alabama A&M 45
#5 Texas Southern 66, #4 Prarie View A&M 49

Southeastern Conference Tournament
First Round (Nashville, TN)
#4W Alabama 68, #5E South Carolina 63
#3E Tennessee 59, #6W LSU 49
#4E Florida 78, #5W Auburn 69
#6E Georgia 77, #3W Arkansas 64

Southland Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Katy, TX)
#2 Stephen F. Austin 60, #3 Texas A&M- Corpus Christi 53
#1 Sam Houston State 88, #4 Southeast Louisiana 85

Western Athletic Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Reno, NV)
#1 Utah State 84, #8 Boise State 60
#4 Louisiana Tech 74, #5 Fresno State 66
#2 Nevada 87, #7 Idaho 71
#3 New Mexico State 90, #6 San Jose State 69


Friday's Slate of Tournament Games
Most of the fat has been trimmed from the conference brackets and we are now left with only the most deserving teams. Only one ticket to the dance will be given out: to the winner of Patriot League, being contested between #3 Lafayette and #1 Lehigh.

Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals
12:00PM - #1 Duke vs. #9 Virginia
2:00PM - #4 Virginia Tech vs. #12 Miami
7:00PM - #2 Maryland vs.
9:00PM - #3 Florida State vs.

Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals
12:00PM - #1 Temple vs. #8 St. Bonaventure
2:30PM - #4 St. Louis vs. #5 Rhode Island
6:30PM - #2 Xavier vs. #7 Dayton
9:00PM - #3 Richmond vs. #11 Massachusetts

Big East Conference Tournament
7:00PM - ESPN - #5 Marquette vs. #8 Georgetown
9:00PM - ESPN - #3 West Virginia vs. #7 Notre Dame

Big Ten Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals
12:00PM - ESPN - #1 Ohio State vs. #8 Michigan
3:00PM - ESPN - #4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Illinois
6:30PM - BTN - #2 Purdue vs. #7 Northwestern
9:00PM - BTN - #3 Michigan State vs. #6 Minnesota

Big-12 Conference Tournament
Semifinals
6:00PM - #1 Kansas vs. #4 Texas A&M
8:30PM - #2 Kansas State vs. #3 Baylor

Big West Conference Tournament
Semifinals
6:30PM - #1 UC-Santa Barbara vs. UC-Davis
9:00PM - #2 Pacific vs. #3 Long Beach State

Conference-USA Tournament
Semifinals
3:00PM - #6 Southern Mississippi vs. #7 Houston
5:30PM - #1 UTEP vs. #5 Tulsa

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament
Semifinals
6:00PM - #1 Morgan State vs. #5 Hampton
8:00PM - #2 Delaware State vs. #3 South Carolina State

Mountain West Conference Tournament
Semifinals
6:00PM - #1 New Mexico vs. #4 San Diego State
8:30PM - #2 BYU vs. #3 UNLV

Pac-10 Conference Tournament
Semifinals
6:00PM - #1 California vs. #5 UCLA
8:30PM - #7 Stanford vs.

Patriot League Tournament
Finals
8:00PM - #3 Lafayette at #1 Lehigh

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament
Semifinals
3:30PM - #2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. #3 Alabama State
9:00PM - #5 Texas Southern vs. #8 Grambling State

Southeastern Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals
12:00PM - #1E Kentucky vs. #4W Alabama
2:15PM - #1W Ole Miss vs. #4E Florida
6:30PM - #2W Mississippi State vs. #3E Tennessee
8:45PM - #2E Vanderbilt vs. #6E Georgia

Western Athletic Conference Tournament
Semifinals
6:00PM - #1 Utah State vs. #4 Louisiana Tech
8:30PM - #2 Nevada vs. #3 New Mexico State