First round of games delivers the Cal State Northridge surprising performance

The first three games of the NCAA tournament delivered some March Madness excitement! The Cal-State Northridge team, despite all its troubles, following the leadership of their veteran head coach managed to give Memphis all it could handle for the first 32 minutes. Infact, the Matadors won the first 32 minutes of the game.

But ultimately, the size, length, depth and athleticism of Memphis rose to the surface, and the jumpers were not falling as the Matadors started running out of juice.

But our hats are off to the Matadors for an impressive performance that put the fear of elimination deep inside the hearts of the Tigers.

And one player that has earned every single penny of his scholarship in just one game is the one and only Roburt Sallie, managing to sink a total of ten (10) three-pointers for a 35-point performance. Yes, a 35-pointer that saved Calipari's 2009 NCAA tournament.

The game that was expected to be a close game was a close game, but LSU punched the Butler in the mouth at the start of the game, and that punch was enough for LSU to carry through the game, and despite an inch-by-inch comeback by the Butler bulldogs and their 19-year-old coach, the LSU Tigers kept them at bay, making them the second group of Tigers to march to the second round.

The last game of this block was not competitive, as the Texas A&M Mark Turgeons took an early lead and never looked bad. Tavernari et al were not able to hit the wild threes they needed to make this game interesting, and the Ole Roy disciple is going to make Aggies fans forget all about the great escape of "Clyde".

Stay tuned to this blog for another recap after the end of each block of games!

And one more thing, to sort through the March Madness games available on TV and online, be sure to check out our March Madness 2009 TV Guide. This include pointers to not just the NCAA, but also NIT, CBI and CIT! (Yes, CIT is a new post-season tourney for mid-majors).