Early games recap

So today isn't quite going as well as yesterday in terms of excitement. Of the seven games that have been played, only three were single-digit finals, and two of those were eight point games. The closest game of the day -- Wisconsin's 53-49 win over Wofford -- saw more dumb decisions down the stretch than it did great play.

Yesterday was ripe with upsets and mid-majors victories. Today, the only "upsets" were teams that many thought would win. Maybe the biggest upset of the day was Purdue, the favorite, knocking off Siena.

With that in mind, here's a quick recap of the early games for those of you just getting home from work:


WEST REGION

Xavier 65, Minnesota 54: These two played an ugly first half, combining for almost as many rebounds as points as they went into the break tied at 26. But in the second half things started heating up. Well, by things I mean Jordan Crawford. Crawford took over, scoring 17 of his 28 points in the final 20 minutes -- including a number of nifty acrobatic layups in transition -- while leading Xavier to the win. Crawford's three with 39 seconds left was the dagger.

Pitt 89, Oakland 66: The Panthers found themselves down early, trailing 18-13 before an accidental elbow split open Derick Nelson's eye. Pitt would proceed to go on a 26-4 run, taking a commanding lead and never looking back. Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown led the way with 17 points apiece.


EAST REGION

West Virginia 77, Morgan State 50: The Bears scored the first 10 points of the game, but from then on it was all Mountianeers. WVU used a 38-17 run to take an 11 point halftime lead, and eventually buried the Bears. Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks combined for 33 points.

Missouri 86, Clemson 78: Missouri's pressure was just too much for Clemson. Clemson kept it close for a while -- thanks to some otherworldly three point shooting -- but 20 turnovers and 15 steals did in Clemson. Trevor Booker was a no-show in his last game. He finished with 11 points and 11 boards, but most of that came with the game already decided late. Kim English and Keith Ramsey both had 20 in the win.

Cornell 78, Temple 65: In what was arguably the most surprising outcome of the NCAA Tournament to date, Cornell gave Temple a pretty solid whooping as they advanced to face Wisconsin. The result wasn't the surprise -- many people thought Cornell could win this game -- the surprise came in the fact that Cornell picked apart what many believed was one of the best defenses in the country. The Big Red shot 57% from the game on a team in the top five in the country in defensive field goal percentage. That's pretty impressive.

Wisconsin 53, Wofford 49: Arguably the ugliest game of the day. Wisconsin was up eight at the half, but Wofford hit their first five shots of the second half, and this thing became a one possession game the rest of the way. Neither team really got anything going on the offensive end of the floor after Wofford's spurt. In fact, down the stretch it seemed as if neither team wanted to win. Wofford was missing shots, overdribbling, and turning the ball over. Wisconsin was too. The Badgers caught a break, however, taking their final lead of the game when Jordan Taylor tapped the ball to Trevon Hughes, who scored to go-ahead bucket. Wofford, who was 1-7 from the line in the second half, would tie it up from the line. But Hughes for Leuer in the corner for a jumper with 17 seconds left, and the Badgers advanced.


SOUTH REGION

Purdue 72, Siena 64: Siena looked like the better team in the first half. Purdue had no answer for Alex Franklin (10 points and 8 boards). In the second half, however, Keaton Grant caught fire. He scored 11 points early as Purdue used a 15-0 run to open up a 10 point lead. They would push that lead to as much as 17 -- thanks in large part to the play of JaJuan Johnson, who had 23 points, 15 boards, and 3 blocks. Siena made a run late, cutting it to three, but Fran McCafferty made an interesting decision to foul Lewis Jackson down by three with a minute left on the clock. Jackson -- who was just 2-6 from the line on the season and had just missed a front end -- got a lucky bounce on the first and hit the second and Siena wouldn't get close again.

Texas A&M vs. Utah State

A&M is currently up 42-29 on Utah State at the half.