Reviewing the second block of Thursday's games

No Lawson, no Calhoun, no problem! After a few minutes of getting "acquainted" with the opponents, both UNC and UConn managed to run by them and put them in their "place" as 16th seeds. Not much to say here, expect of course, waiting to find out what's the latest update on Lawson and whether he plays against LSU and if so, will that mean that he won't be able to play next week?

There were two exciting games however, Purdue was supposed to be having a comfortable slugfest win over Northern Iowa, but the purple uniforms managed to make the game interesting in the second half and give Matt Painter and crew an ulcer or two. But Purdue managed to hold on to the "W" and advance to the second round.

The other interesting game, a classic #7 vs #10 was the vindication of "The Gary". We are big fans of "The Gary", and apparently so is President O'bama. Maryland had a slight lead through the game, but in the last quarter the Terrapins were able to pull away, after Gary's defense was able to contain the #1 three-point shooting team in the country. You better watch it Roburt Sallie, you won't put 10 three-pointers on the Turtle!

Bay Area fans are no strangers to early exits by Mike Montgomerry, although this year's team over-achieved just by being in the conversation for the NCAA tourney, let alone actually being in it. So I'm sure Cal420 fans will forgive him this year.

This also sets up an interesting Memphis vs Maryland matchup. We hope it won't turn into the slugfest it was 2-3 years ago when the two teams met during the regular season.

Now in progress, Mississippi State vs Washington on CSTV (CBS College Sports)... Our next update will come after the third block of games finishes later today!