The first day of the tournament is over and some great games were played along with some typical first round blowouts. No real big surprises so far though with only a handful of upsets taking place, perhaps that will change on day 2. Here's a quick recap of yesterday's matchups.

East Region:
(2) Duke over (15) Binghamton, 86-62
(3) Villanova over (14) American, 80-67
(6) UCLA over (11) Virginia Commonwealth, 65-64
(7) Texas over (10) Minnesota, 76-62

South Region:
(1) UNC over (16) Radford, 101-58
(2) Oklahoma over (15) Morgan St., 82-54
(4) Gonzaga over (13) Akron, 77-64
(8) LSU over (9) Butler, 75-71
(10) Michigan over (7) Clemson, 62-59
(12) Western Kentucky over (5) Illinois, 76-72

West Region:
(1) UConn over (16) Chattanooga, 103-47
(2) Memphis over (15) Cal State Northridge, 81-70
(4) Washington over (13) Mississippi St., 71-58
(5) Purdue over (12) Northern Iowa, 61-56
(9) Texas A&M over (8) BYU, 79-66
(10) Maryland over (7) California, 84-71

Current Bracket Standings:
Scott - 13-3, Devin - 11-4, Amanda - 11-4

Today's schedule includes 16 more games, and I'll do my best to bring updates throughout the day again. Here's the list of games and scheduled start times.

12:15pm-12:30pm Starts:
(3) Syracuse vs. (14) Stephen F. Austin
(8) Oklahoma St. vs. (9) Tennessee
(6) Marquette vs. (11) Utah St.
(3) Kansas vs. (14) North Dakota St.

2:45pm-3:00pm Starts:
(6) Arizona St. vs. (11) Temple
(1) Pittsburgh vs. (16) East Tennessee St.
(3) Missouri vs. (14) Cornell
(6) West Virginia vs. (11) Dayton

7:10pm-7:25pm Starts:
(1) Louisville vs. (16) Morehead St.
(5) Utah vs. (12) Arizona
(7) Boston College vs. (10) USC
(4) Xavier vs. (13) Portland St.

9:40pm-9:55pm Starts:
(8) Ohio St. vs. (9) Siena
(4) Wake Forest vs. (13) Cleveland St.
(2) Michigan St. vs (15) Robert Morris
(5) Florida St. vs. (12) Wisconsin

2:40pm
- A couple of great early finishes so far, as (8) Oklahoma St. and (9) Tennessee battled back and forth right to the buzzer. The Cowboys ended up grabbing the victory 77-75. OSU shot nearly 57% and needed every bit of Byron Eaton's 20 points. This was my main TV game and I'm hoping I don't get any more from Dayton today simply for the fact that Bill Raftery is horribly annoying to listen to. People complain about Dick Vitale, but I'd take him over Raftery any day.
- (6) Marquette had their hands absolutely full with (11) Utah St. as well, holding them off at the end for the 58-57 win. Lazar Haywood poured in 26 points to go along with 8 rebounds for the Golden Eagles as All Big East 1st Teamer Jerel McNeal struggled to find his shot. The Aggies had 3 men leading the way for them with 15+ each and finally grabbed the lead for the first time with about 5 minutes left, but couldn't hang on.
- (3) Syracuse never trailed (14) Stephen F. Austin, nor was it really ever close. The Orange ran out to a 20-4 lead to start the game and were able to put into cruise control from there. Star point guard Johnny Flynn lead the way with 16 points for Syracuse, while Paul Harris dominated the glass with 16 boards. The Lumberjacks shot under 25% and never had a chance in this one. I do love these small schools though because you always find some interesting stories along the way. SFA had both a 27 year old on the court at one point as well as a 5'3 guard, who quite honestly looked like he got lost on his way to Saturday Morning Basketball. Actually, I think a lot of kids I knew at 12 years old were already taller than that.
- (3) Kansas was thought by many to possibly have a struggle on their hands with first year D-1 team (14) North Dakota St., and that seemed to be the case for most of the game. The defending national champion Jayhawks began to pull away a bit late in the first half, but had trouble shutting the door before finally hanging on to the 84-74 win. This game featured quite the scoring duel as the Bison were lead by Ben Woodside's 37 point effort. On the other side, Kansas' star guard Sherron Collins dropped 32, along with 8 assists. The Jayhawks also had the benefit of getting 23 points and 11 rebounds from big man Cole Aldrich.

2:57pm
- (6) Arizona St. is out to an early lead on (11) Temple, 20-14, just about mid way through the first half.
- My pick to win it all, (1) Pittsburgh will be taking the court in a few minutes and shouldn't have much trouble against (16) E. Tennessee St.
- (6)West Virginia is another of my teams to watch for, as I think they can be one of the lower seeds to make a run beyond what their expected. They take on (11) Dayton in Minneapolis, Minnesota starting at 3:05pm.
- All 3 of us are now at 15-5 in opening round games, while somehow my dad continues his march to perfection, as one of his brackets is currently 20/20, while two of his others are also 19/20.

3:55pm
- Arizona St. still leads Temple, 40-34 with 14:24 to go in the game. The Owls are lead by Dionte Christmas as usual, who has 19, while the Sun Devils' Derek Glasser and Jeff Pendergraph have combined for 30 of the team's 40.
- Elsewhere, my pick of Pittsburgh is looking a little more scary as they have struggled with E. Tennessee St. so far, leading 26-23 at halftime. DeJuan Blair has 11 points and 11 boards so far, and the Panthers have held the Buccaneers to just 24% shooting. Since I haven't seen a second of this game on TV so far, I'm not really sure what Pitt's problem is so far, but hopefully they turn it around in the 2nd half.
- Lower seeds seem upset minded in this set of games as (14) Cornell is giving (3) Missouri a run for their money so far. The Tigers lead by 4, 29-25 at the half in Boise. Neither team is shooting the ball particularly well so far, and the Mizzou seems mired down, not unleashing their infamous "fastest 40 minutes" in basketball so far.
- Dayton keeps the trend going as they lead West Virginia 33-28 at the half. The Mountaineers are shooting the ball poorly, particulary from 3 pt land (2/10) and have been playing from behind throughout in this one. The Flyers have gotten 11 points and 6 rebounds from sophomore Chris Wright in the first and look to maintain their lead and earn the right to face Kansas on Sunday.

4:45pm
- Arizona St. was able to hold off Temple, 66-57 despite Dionte Christmas finishing up with 29 points for the Owls. Pendergraph and Glasser each ended up with 22 for the Sun Devils, who shot over 51% for the game. Up next for ASU is Syracuse on Sunday.
- Elsewhere, West Virginia is hanging tough against Dayton, down 51-47 with 9:36 to go. Missouri has ran away from Cornell in the second half, up 58-43 with 9:01 remaining, and Pittsburgh continues to struggle against E. Tennessee St., leading 46-44 with 9:41 left. No 16 seed has ever beaten a 1 and this game is far closer than it should be. History could be in the making here, and my bracket is supremely screwed if that happens.

5:20pm
- In a game that was closer than the final score would indicate, Pittsburgh held off E. Tennessee St. 72-62 to avoid becoming the first ever 1 seed to lose in the opening round. DeJuan Blair deserves much of the credit with his 27 point, 16 rebound performance, as nobody else really showed up for the Panthers. Pitt played uninspired for the most part and will definitely need to be more motivated when they take on Oklahoma St. on Sunday if they want to see the Sweet 16.
- Missouri used a 49-34 second half to propel themselves past Ivy League Champ Cornell, by the final score of 78-59. Leo Lyons had 23 points and 10 boards, including 5 on the offensive end to lead the way for the Tigers. The Big Red shot just 36.5% for the game and simply couldn't hang with Mizzou after the break. The Tigers will take on Marquette in the 2nd round.
- Dayton became the first lower seed to win a game today as they held off West Virginia late to win 68-60. Sophomore forward Chris Wright lead the way for the Flyers, scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Dayton's tough defense proved too much for the Mountaineers to handle as they became the first of the 7 Big East teams to lose a game. Dayton advances to face Kansas next.

5:30pm
- Devin and Amanda have moved out in front after a lousy day of picks for me. They are each 18/24 so far, while I'm at 17/24. West Virginia's loss also signifies my first Sweet 16 team being knocked out so far. Some how my dad still has a bracket at 23/24!

7:51pm
- Earlier today I said I hoped I didn't have to listen to Bill Raftery all day, well, instead I've had mostly games from Minnesota, which Gus Johnson is calling. Gus along with Steve Tasker is my least favorite combination for NFL games by far. Johnson is probably as annoying as Raftery, but for some reason I can't help but crack up when he spazzes out and starts yelling about everything. I think it's because I envision him as about 12 years old, having drank 3 Red Bulls and eating like an entire bag of candy. I bet he sits there bouncing up and down in his chair for the entire game and tries not to start spinning in his chair.

9:30pm
- (1) Louisville knocked off (16) Morehead St. 74-54 after letting them hanging around for the first half.
- (12) Arizona was favored by many to take down (5) Utah despite being one of the last teams to make the field, and they did just that, picking up the 84-71 victory.
- (10) USC had a tight battle going on with (7) Boston College for awhile, but pulled away in the 2nd half and cruised to a 72-55 win.
- (4) Xavier beat (13) Portland St. 77-59, shooting nearly 54% along the way and dominating the rebound battle.

9:35pm
- USC has a forward by the name of Leonard Washington, probably best known for getting ejected against Oklahoma for hitting Blake Griffin in the groinal region. Every time I hear his name however, I can only think of Chappelle's Show.