Thursday, March 15

WEST REGION
Hampton 58, Iowa State 57: Following in the footsteps of fellow MEAC member Coppin State, which upset South Carolina in 1997, 15th-seeded Hampton upset second-seeded Iowa State in the biggest shock of the day.

Give credit to Tarvis Williams for hitting the winning shot inside. He's a big-time player. Steve Merfeld did a terrific job getting Hampton to the winner's circle. It's Heartbreak City for Larry Eustachy, whose Cyclones were never the same after losing at Texas late in the regular season.

Kent State 77, Indiana 73: The Mid-American Conference is Upset City once again! Western Michigan toppled Clemson in 1998, Eastern Michigan beat Duke in 1997, Herb Sendek led Miami (Ohio) over Arizona in 1995 and Eastern Michigan marched to the Sweet 16 with Ben Braun at the helm in 1991.

This year Kent State shocks Indiana with an unbelievable performance from Trevor Huffman. Kirk Haston had 29 for Indiana but it wasn't enough as Kent State was able to contain Jared Jeffries. Gary Waters' stock rises up and up on the wings of tournament success.

Georgetown 63, Arkansas 61: Mike Tranghese's gotta be jumping for joy as the Hoyas join Boston College as first-round winners! Down by 10, the Hoyas battled and battled to stay in the game. Nat Burton made a brilliant driving layup to win the game, beating both the shot clock and the game clock to avoid overtime and secure the win for Craig Esherick.

Maryland 83, George Mason 80: Maryland notched a hard-fought win over George Mason and marches on to meet the Left-hander and Georgia State in the second round. Lefty Driesell, the Terps' former coach, proclaimed Maryland "the UCLA of the East." Now he gets the chance to face the school he led for 17 years.

Maryland prevailed over the Patriots because the Terps went 24-for-27 from the free-throw line. At one point in the game they were 21-for-22 and were able to hang on and ice the game from the line.

Georgia State 50, Wisconsin 49: There was excitement galore as Lefty Driesell's 11th-seeded Georgia State team came back to upset sixth-seeded Wisconsin. The Panthers had their lowest scoring first half of the season, 19 points. Shernard Long and Thomas Terrell had the big zero, Shutout City -- no points in the first half. Georgia State missed eight of its first nine trifectas, and things looked bleak.

The second half was a different story. The biggest play of the game came when Georgia State, down 49-44, got a four-point play from Darryl Cooper. He hit the trifecta and then the free throw after being fouled by Roy Boone.

Georgia State got the lead on a Long basket, 50-49. The Badgers had a shot to take the lead back. Mark Vershaw went to the foul line, and missed both free throws. You had to feel for Vershaw, who played so well in the first half when Wisconsin built the lead.

The Left-hander said his team was seeded too low, and his team proved him right.

EAST REGION
Missouri 70, Georgia 68: Get ready for another big matchup in the second round, like Lefty Driesell facing his old Maryland team. We now have the pupil against the mentor. Coach K -- the teacher, motivator and Quin Snyder's inspiration in coaching -- will face Snyder's Missouri Tigers after a great finish against Georgia.

A Clarence Gilbert baseline jumper finished off the Georgia Bulldogs, who battled back from a 15-point deficit. In the end, Mr. Gilbert was the PTPer who brought a smile to Quin Snyder and Missouri fans. But will they be smiling after round two and a date with the Dukies?

USC 69, Oklahoma State 54: The Trojans were simply too quick and athletic for an Oklahoma State team that showed resilience after enduring terrible tragedy this year. USC's win sets up a great showdown with Boston College in the second round. I can't wait to see what happens when Jeff Trepagnier goes up against super-soph Troy Bell and the Eagles.

Boston College 68, Southern Utah 65: BC, a No. 3 seed, was really challenged by Southern Utah. That's right, Southern Utah, out of the Mid-Continent, proving again that when you get from the third seed down there is so much balance in college basketball.

Hitting the offensive boards allowed Al Skinner's club to survive and march on.That is the theme, baby! It's not about the margin of victory. As the late Jimmy V used to say, you survive and advance.

Troy Bell really exploded in the second half after being contained in the first. But it was 30 offensive rebounds that got the Eagles to the winner's circle against a gutty Southern Utah team.

Duke 95, Monmouth 52: Duke against Monmouth was Blowout City, as expected. The good news is that Jason Williams was at full force, knocking down threes with a healthy ankle. Duke got 22 big ones from Williams and 21 from Shane Battier before Coach K pulled the starters. The 1-2 punch was simply too much for the Northeast Conference winners. No surprise -- Duke marches on.

Iowa 69, Creighton 56: The Hawkeyes are getting it done, baby! Steve Alford has turned into a great tournament coach, leading Iowa to four straight wins in the Big Ten Tournament and coaching the Hawkeyes to victory over Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament without Luke Recker.

Dean Oliver and Reggie Evans gave the Hawkeyes a dynamite 1-2 punch inside and out. But they won this game, like Maryland, at the free-throw line. They hit 30-of-35 from the line versus 9-of-12 for the Blue Jays.

UCLA 61, Hofstra 48: The Bruins found a way to stop the longest winning streak in college basketball by using their strength in the middle against Hofstra. Dan Gadzuric had 14 points and 13 rebounds as he muscled his way to dominance over the smaller Pride players. Hofstra stayed in contention well into the second half, but the bigger, badder Bruins wore them down and cruised at the end.

Hofstra coach Jay Wright will be on a lot of hit lists for job openings. One in particular, the University of Massachusetts, is going to make a serious run at Wright. UMass will also talk to Ralph Willard, who did a great job Thursday leading Holy Cross to a narrow loss to Kentucky.

Utah State 77, Ohio State 68: 12th-seeded Utah State shocked No. 5-seed Ohio State thanks to a good job with the zone defense. Ohio State didn't get Ken Johnson enough chances to score. The Buckeyes also suffered through Turnover City, and that was costly.

Bernard Rock was sensational. The point guard played brilliantly and was a major reason Utah State had only five turnovers to the Buckeyes' 21. Teams that can handle the rock survive and get to the winner's circle.

Kentucky 72, Holy Cross 68: Tayshaun Prince took over for Tubby Smith's second-seeded Wildcats in crunch time. With the score tied at 58, Prince hit a pair of monster 3-pointers. Prince also made the big runner in the lane with 30 seconds left which helped locked up the hard-fought W.

Give Holy Cross credit for playing hard and hitting the three to stay in the game. In the end, Smith's team got to the winner's circle thanks to Prince and Keith Bogans.