Of the 16 teams playing today for a berth in the Sweet 16, just two pulled an upset in the first round. Kansas State, the 11th seed in the Midwest Region, ousted sixth-seeded Southern California, 80-67, and ninth-seeded Texas A&M knocked off eighth-seeded Brigham Young, 67-62, in the West Region.
The other 14 teams were all seeded higher than their opponents, and with the exception of Duke, which escaped Verizon Center with a 71-70 victory over 15th-seeded Belmont, all had very little trouble in the first round.
Today, eight teams will make take the next step toward San Antonio and the Final; the other eight head home. Here?s what to watch for when games begin when Duke and seventh-seeded West Virginia tipoff at Verizon Center this afternoon at 2:10.
“Nothing,” Duke junior Greg Paulus said, “is given in this tournament.”
UPSET ALERT
DUKE (28-5) vs. WEST VIRGINIA (25-10)
Washington, D.C., 2:10 p.m.
Duke avoided being upset in the first round for the second consecutive year ? by a Hare.
Belmont?s Justin Hare missed a running one-hander from just across midcourt as time expired to enable Duke to hold on for a 71-70 win in which the Blue Devils? Gerald Henderson made the game-winning layup with 11.9 seconds remaining.
“I’ve coached in 89 of these [NCAA Tournament] games now and I told the guys as far as game pressure goes, this has to rank in the top three or four,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “And hopefully the people at Belmont take that as a real compliment because they should be complimented.”
Duke clearly struggled against the small school from Nashville that won the Atlantic Sun title. Up next for the Blue Devils is West Virginia, which is much more formidable than the Bruins (25-9).
The Mountaineers feature a potent attack ? and it was on full display in a 75-65 victory over 10th-seeded Arizona. Junior guard Alex Ruoff scored 21 points, sophomore forward Da?Sean Butler added 19, and most impressively, West Virginia went 11-for-19 from three-point range.
“Those are easy shots to make,” Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins said. “When you grow up in your driveway, that’s kind of what you do. You shoot step-in shots. Al made some step-in shots and kind of got on a roll.”
The Mountaineers, looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons, but first under Huggins, will need a big game from Joe Alexander. The junior forward from Mt. Airy, who averages 16.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game after posting 14 and 10 against Arizona.
GAME OF THE DAY
No. 11 KANSAS STATE (21-11) vs. No. 3 WISCONSIN (30-4)
Is this Michael Beasley?s final collegiate game? The freshman scored 23 points to go along with 11 rebounds for his 27th double-double of the season in an 80-67 victory over USC ? the Wildcats? first NCAA Tournament win in 20 years.
Beasley, who is regarded by many analysts as the player who will be taken with the first pick in the NBA Draft this summer, leads the Wildcats against the Big 10 champion Badgers.
It?s Kansas State?s prolific offense that averages 78.7 points per game against Wisconsin?s suffocating defense that has allowed opponents to average just 53.8 points per game after posting a 71-56 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the first round. Wisconsin lost to UNLV in the second round last year.
It will be imperative Beasley gets help from freshman forward Bill Walker (16 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and freshman forward Jacob Pullen (9.8 ppg), who scored 22 and 11 points against the Trojans.
Wisconsin features four players who average at least nine points per game, led by senior center Brian Butch (12.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and junior forward Marcus Landry (11.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
KEEP AN EYE ON
LUKE HARANGODY, NOTRE DAME
vs. Washington State, 6:40 p.m.
The 6-foot-8, 251-pound sophomore center known simply as “Gody” dominated the Big East this season, averaging 20.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game en route to being named the league?s Player of the Year.
Harangody has been held to fewer than 10 points just once this season for the Fighting Irish (25-7) ? and that was in a 76-33 victory over Monmouth in the second game of the season.
He was superb in the fifth-seeded Fighting Irish?s 68-50 victory over 12th-seeded George Mason, scoring 18 points to go along with 14 rebounds.
But he?ll be tested today by Washington State?s 6-foot-10, 270-pound junior center Aron Baynes (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg), who posted 19 points and eight rebounds in a 71-40 victory over Winthrop in the first round.
vs. Michigan State, 9:10 p.m.
The junior forward from Clinton in Prince George?s County has fueled the fourth-seeded Panthers? six-game winning streak entering their second-round game against fifth-seeded Michigan State.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pounder has scored at least 10 points in 30 of the 31 games. He averages 18.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game after recording 14 and six in the Big East champions? 82-63 victory over Oral Roberts.
Young will need to exploit sophomore forward Raymar Morgan (14.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) if Pittsburgh (27-9) is going get past the Spartans (26-8).
vs. Texas A&M, 9:15 p.m.
Love is definitely in the air in Westwood. The freshman center who averages 17.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game likely will be among the first players chosen in the NBA Draft if he decides to turn professional. Love had 20 points and nine rebounds in the top-ranked Bruins? 70-29 victory over 16th-seeded Mississippi Valley State, improving UCLA to 32-3.
“No mercy out there,” he said. “We didn?t feel too bad for them.”
UCLA, which is seeking its third straight trip to the Final Four, looks to extend its winning streak to 12 games against the Aggies (25-10) and forwards Josh Carter (12.3 ppg) and Joseph Jones (10.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg). The 6-foot-7, 200-pound Carter matched his career-high with 26 points and the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Joseph added 10 in the ninth-seeded Aggies? 67-62 victory over BYU.
TODAY?S GAMES
No. 7 West Virgina vs. No. 2 Duke, 2:10 p.m.
No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 3 Wisconsin, 4:20 p.m.
No. 6 Purdue vs. Xavier, 4:40 p.m.
No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Washington State, 6:40 p.m.
No. 6 Marquette vs. No. 3 Stanford, 6:45 p.m.
No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 1 Kansas, 6:50 p.m.
No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh, 9:10 p.m.
No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 UCLA, 9:15 p.m.
? All games on CBS
