As alluded to above, California took care of the Cardinals 77-62, in a game that was closer than the final score. The Bear lead was down to 4 with plenty of time left, but once they got it back up to double-digits an intentional foul call, coupled with a T slapped on Rick Pitino, put it out of reach for good. Hey, 4 from the stripe, PLUS the ball, will end a chance quickly. I'm pleased with this, for two reasons: First, although I reported on it frequently on this thread, I never bought into the experts who said the Pac-10 was as weak as they believed. Hell, I felt the Sun Devils deserved a bid also! And second, even though I like Pitino a little - and I do mean a LITTLE - bit better than I liked Denny Crum, I still cannot stand Louisville. Props to the Pac-10 for going 2-0 so far . . . as opposed to the 4-4 for the Big East.
As for the back half of that point above, Duke beat up on AR Pine Bluff 73-44. Surprise, surprise. But again, though the margin was OK, it still seems the scoring was a bit meagre for a 1-16 matchup.
Speaking of which, Syracuse took out Vermont 79-56. One might excuse the low scoring as being a partial product of the Orange zone D, but the - relatively - slim margin in this 1-16 has to worry the 'Cuse faithful if their week+ layoff hurt their chemistry.
As I tend to ignore the obvious, I found 3 other scores to note:
Georgia Tech 64 - Oklahoma State 59 = All year long we heard how great Big 12 ball was, and how poor was the ACC. Well, take that!
Maryland 89 - Houston 77 = The magical run for the Cougars ends against a clearly superior team. Props to them for even making the tourney, and more props for hanging tough. Yet despite a poor shooting night for Vasquez, the Terps grabbed control and held it.
Michigan State 70 - New Mexico State 67 = Last year's runner-up for the championship needed a controversial lane-violation call, plus a reported fark-up with the clock that cost the Aggies a third shot to send the game into OT, in order to get the win. Well, boo-hoo. Hey, $#!+ happens. If you don't want the game decided by the zebras, then go out and dominate.
I'll be back later, after I check back on that OTHER half of last season's championship. My Heels too a 3-point lead over Miss. State into the lockerroom, and I want to see when they lose it.
