March Madness never seems to disappoint. After just the first few hours of the actual tournament (those play-ins don't count), the upsets and down to the last shot finishes are already underway. I mean, Princeton is giving Kentucky a run for their money as I write this. It doesn't get any better than that.
As I mentioned it would be in my previous post, the Temple vs. Penn State matchup was one to watch. It was close throughout, and with just a second left, Juan Fernandez hit a leaner to give Temple a victory over their in-state foe. Fernandez and Ramone Moore both scored 23 to give the Owls their first tournament win since 2001. Highly praised coach Fran Dunphy had lost his previous eleven tourney games at Temple and Penn, an NCAA record, before today's win.
Last year's unexpected finalists, the Butler Bulldogs, needed a buzzer-beating tip-in by big man Matt Howard to advance past Old Dominion. Most people picked ODU in their brackets, but Butler got the bounce they needed this time as they were able to prevail. If they had gotten it last year, they would be the defending champs. Howard's last-second shot was over the 6'11" Frank Hassell, who led the Monarchs with 20 points.
The first upset came at the expense of the Louisville Cardinals, who fell to the Eagles of Morehead State. In a game tied at halftime and tightly contested throughout, it took a 3-pointer from Demonte Harper with 4.2 seconds left to seal the deal. Louisville's last desperation attempt was a Mike Marra three attempt that was rejected by Morehead star and NBA-bound center Kenneth Faried.
And it's now official. Kentucky was able to hold off Princeton 59-57. All of these games exemplify why March Madness is the greatest event all of organized sports has to offer.
I've been incredibly busy lately and haven't written in five weeks, but I can guarantee there will be a new post early this week and regularly after that.
Louisville deserved to lose today! They failed to recognize the situation at the end. With a two point lead and time winding down, they should have fouled Demonte Harper before a shot was attempted. That would have resulted in a one-and-one, and the game most likely would have gone into overtime at the worst.
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