Let The Madness Begin: Thursday’s LIVE BLOG

I will be blogging live during today’s daytime action, so if you’re stuck in the office, and unable to watch the games, MOS is your up-to-the-minute home for the inside scoop on the Tournament’s best action.

Today’s Schedule (my picks are in bold):

12:20 Georgia (14) vs. Xavier(3): Can the Bulldogs keep up the magic that got them here in the first place?  Drew Lavender’s hampered ankle keeps the possibility open, but extremely unlikely. 

12:25 Portland State (16) vs. Kansas(1): The Jawhawks should have no trouble covering the 23 1/2 point spread.

12:30 Temple (12) vs. Michigan State(5): Tom Izzo’s team has struggled offensively outside of the Breslin.  With Temple on a roll, this one could get interesting, but I like the Spartans.

2:30 Kentucky(11) vs. Marquette (6): Marquette reminds me a lot of Vanderbilt and Tennessee, two teams with barely existent post-games and strong guard play.  Kentucky faired pretty well against those two teams.  They better pull this out, or else I’ll be hearing it from ESPN Milwaukee’s and Marquette pbp man Steve “The Homer” True, who is convinced the ‘Cats are out of gas…

2:50 Baylor(11) vs. Purdue (6) Another 6/11 upset could be in the works when the seldom tested Boilermakers go up against the Bears, who are looking to get things right after an embarrassing loss to Colorado.

2:55 Kent State (9) vs. UNLV (8):  If it wasn’t for a loss to Bowling Green, the Golden Flashes could have been a 7 seed.  They’re a ligit team with the ability to win away from home. 

3:00 Oral Roberts (13) vs. Pitt(4): With Lavance fields back in the line-up, the Panthers are a dangerous team right now.

5:00 Cornell (14) vs. Stanford (3): The Big Red live outside the arc, and could keep this one competitive if they catch fire, but they’ll have no answer for the Lopez twins in the end.

12:35 ‘Bout them ‘dawgs!

Georgia’s magic isn’t dead yet.  The Bulldogs lead Xavier by one a little more then 6 mins in.

12:37 Rock-Chalk Jayhawk

4 minutes in Kansas is in complete control of Portland State.  Temple has an early lead on Michigan State up 7-6.

12:51

Georgia’s not even starting to go away.  They lead Xavier 23-17 with 7 and some change remaining in the 1st.  Temple/MSU tied at 11, KU up 27-18.

1:23 State, KU in Control

You can go ahead and pencil Kansas into the second round already; Bad news for Temple fans, you’re down 9 at the half, and Drew Nietzel didn’t even score until the last minute of the first half, and you know he’s due to catch fire.  The one suprise thus far is Georgia, who is following their SEC Championship strongly and lead Xavier by 9 at the break.  Should be interesting to see how the Muskateers come out and attack the Bulldogs in the second half…

1:52 – Xavier on a run

After fallin behind by double digits, the Musketeers are back within 6 after a mini-run.  46-40 w/12+ left.  MSU, KU both up big. 

The announcers for this Georgia/Xavier game are horrible…

1:57 – 46-42 ‘Dawgs

I think it’s safe to say Georgia’s one of the best 14 seeds we’ve seen in quite a while, but are they good enough to pull this off?

2:06 Tie Game

Xavier nails a 3, tied 49 all….

scratch that, Xaveir nails ANOTHER 3, now up 52-49 with 7+ remaining…

2:16 – X-men starting to pull away

What a difference 20 minutes makes, as Xavier is now up 8 and pulling away…

2:21 – 5 point game

It’s 61-56 at the under 4 time out, can the ‘dawgs make another march madness memory, or will the Musketeers experience pay off in the end?

2:25 KU goes final, barely covers

Gambling attics everywhere were sweating it out as Kansas barely covered the 23 1/2 spread, knocking off Portland State  85-61. 

Xavier up 3 with 90 seconds left…

2:33 Looking to ice it…

Xavier heads to the line, up 5 with 51.1 left…

2:37 The Finishing Touches

3 games down, and no-upsets as Kansas, Michigan State and Xavier all advance.  Kentucky up early on Marquette (please, please help me look smart!)

2:51

Marquette back up by two, UNLV/Kent State about to top off in an the first 8/9 matchup of the tournament.

2:56

Purdue/Baylor tip set for 3:09…

3:11

Marquette is noticably quicker then Kentucky, but the game is being played at Kentucky’s pace.  It’s 21-19 Golden Eagles, as Marquette is trying to turn this into a track meet, but Kentucky won’t let them.

UNLV up  11-4 on Kent State about 8 mins in, Pitt/Oral Roberts and Butler/Purdue just starting…

3:20

UNLV’s all over Kent State right now, 18-8 10 mins in; Oral Roberts trying to pull the tourny’s first upset, up 8-6 on Pitt early; Baylor - one of my upset picks – down 13-11 to Purdue 5 mins in…

3:40

Marqette heads to the half up 4; Kent State can’t score right now, as the MAC Champs trail UNLV 31-10 at the half;  Purdue’s giving it to Baylor right now, as the Boilers lead by 14; Pitt’s is on an 18-0 run, and lead ORU 16-13.

3:45

Kentucky and Marquette are back at it, and the Wildcats have taken the lead, up 34-33.

3:55 – boooooooooooring

Three of the four games right now are pure snoozers – Purdue is up 19 on Baylor, Pitt’s up 23 on ORU, and UNLV/Kent State still at the half at 31-10.  Meanwhile, Marquette and Kentucky is quite entertaining, with the Eagles holding a 41-36 lead…

4:03

Yesterday on the “The Greatest Sports Show Ever” with Steve ‘The Homer’ True, homer and I agreed the only way Kentucky could win today’s game is if it ended somewhere in the 50-46 range.  They’re in the high 40s with 12 left, not a good sign for the ‘Cats….

4:26

Apologies for the delay. Occassionly I am required to actually work…

At the under-4, Marquette leads Kentucky by 6, setting up what should be a great finish.

Meanwhile, you can go ahead and pencil Pitt, Purdue, and UNLV are up big in the 2nd half…

4:30 – DAGGER!

A Jarel McNeal fade-away just may have sucke the life out of Kentcky, as the Golden Eagles now lead 63-55 with 2:11 left…

4:33 – by the way…

I would vote CBS Sportsline’s March Madness On Demand just above The Wheel as the greatest invention of all time…

4:38 - No Joe Schmoe

Joe Crawford’s back must hurt from carrying Kentucky’s tournament lives.  The Senior from Detroit just nailed a well defended 3, as the ‘Cats now trail Marquette by 3 with a little over 38 seconds left… do you foul here, with no timeouts?

4:45 – Marquette Advances

Down 4, Kentucky turned the ball over with 10 seconds left, sealing thier fate.  Final: Marquette 74, Kentucky 66

4:58 – UNLV Advances, easily

After an amazing defensive first half, UNLV advances to the second round with the 71-58 win.

5:08 – Pitt Advances

The Panthers move on will take on Michigan State saturday, a game I have picked Pitt to win.  Meanwhile, Purdue is putting the finishing touches on Baylor, as Stanford and Cornell are ready to get things started.

5:19 – Purdue Advances, and I’m out for the night

The Boilermakers will play Xavier on Saturday. 

Stanford up early on Cornell in the only game left before the night’s action.

I’m out for now, and may have a couple updates throughout tonight’s action, but I will have a summary of the night’s action up tomorrow, and then more live blogging during Friday’s action!