[The Poet]

Louisville has opened up an 8-point lead in OT with 49 ticks left, and looks like they will dodge a bullet here. Meanwhile:


Marquette 79 - U Conn 64 = The Huskies tried for a time to make a game out of this, but ran out of steam in the last 10 minutes.

Wichita State 91 - Davidson 74 = And the Queen City 'Cats were only down one at the half, but didn't manage to find their way out of their own lockerroom for the second stanza.

Also, New Mexico has started to open up a nice lead over UNLV with 8 minutes left. St. John's is up a few possessions over UCLA in The Garden, Memphis is in a dogfight with UTEP, and Florida State is flat-out skinning Jerry's Wolfpack with time running low.


Sunday's games include:


Michigan State vs. Purdue = The Boilermakers are capable of giving the Spartans a good game at home, but I can't really see them winning. They've not been consistent enough for that. Still, it would not be a HUGE upset if they could pull it off.

Syracuse vs. Rutgers = Now this would be one for the Scarlet Knights. It's been a long time since wins in Piscataway against Florida and an over-rated U Conn team, and of late RU's lost 7 of 9. Make that 8 of 10 tomorrow.

Vanderbilt vs. Georgia = If the Commodores can't beat this "meh" Bulldog team in Athens, their trip back to The Athens Of The South (that's Nashville, for you unenlightened) will be long and sad . . . as it should be.

Penn State vs. Wisconsin = As anyone would be foolish to bet on a Lion win or Badger loss, or find somebody foolish enough to take a bet, your best one would be the over-under: Will these two team collectively score 100 points?

Duke vs. Boston College = If you haven't seen the trend here so far, please note that there's not a lot of top-flight competition scheduled.

Indiana vs. Iowa = But this could be an exception. Yeah, the Hoosiers are likely superior to the Hawkeyes, but of their 6 losses they've had 5 on the road. And Iowa's not a bunch of total stiffs either. Keep an eye on this one for a half or so, as it could turn into a battle.

Oregon vs. Stanford = And this one better be a battle, since both teams need to win here. As mentioned previously, the NCAA may not go all that deep into the Pac-12 this year, and their 18-8 records (9-5 Ducks and 8-6 Trees conference) do NOT insure an at-large so far. Me, I think they are both Field of 68 quality, but I don't get a vote.


Only one more final while typing the above, though some are getting close . . . or are almost over anyway, such as that FSU/NCSU debacle, or the one developing in Charlottesville, with UVA outscoring the Terps nearly 4-1 in the second half. And that final? :

Louisville 90 - DePaul 82 (OT) = I'm unsure whether I should give the Blue Demons props for hanging so tough, or bash Pitino's boys for being such wussies . . . again. Yet a win is better than a loss, so I guess he'll take it, like it or not.


Lunchtime. I'll probably be back with some more finals for you, but if not, enjoy.