Team of the Day

(Late)Sunday Honors: Close but no cigar for Davidson

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:09:01 -0700

Well, we now know who is on their way to San Antonio next weekend, and unlike the New England Patriots we actually get treated to some history. For the first time in the 64/65-team era of the NCAA Tournament, all four top seeds will make it to the season's final weekend. In Sunday's action, Memphis made short work of Texas in Houston to reach their first Final Four since the days of Keith Lee in 1985. In the Midwest, Kansas gets Bill Self to his first Final Four and the first for the program since 2003. Who will they meet? Of course it's the man (Roy Williams) who led them to said appearance. Looks like Clark Kellogg was right after all. Here are a few honors for Sunday's action. Team of the Day: #1 Memphis Result: Defeated #2 Texas 85-67 in the South Regional Final. Two. As in the numbers of opportunities left for experts to be right about the idea that Memphis can't win a national title due to their foul shooting. Although it didn't come with the same vigor as it is now with the Tigers, didn't people suggest the same in regards to Connecticut back in 2004? And we all know what happened there as the Huskies rolled over four opponents and survived Duke in the Final Four before whipping Georgia Tech in the final. The Tigers did what few expected them to do in knocking off the Longhorns in Houston, essentially dominating the game from wire to wire. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the scoring with twenty-five (14-17 from the line), and Derrick Rose racked up 21 points, 6 rebounds and nine assists. Texas point guard D.J. Augustin struggled from the field, making just four of his eighteen shot attempts. But the best part of this win...they shot 30-36 from the line, showing that their trend of improving their free throw percentage come tournament time may be back in effect after a below 50% effort on Friday. UCLA will pose quite a challenge on Saturday night, but nothing is easy this time of the year. Two...but the "guarantees" are starting to sound a lot like pleas as this point. Player of the Day: Memphis guard Derrick Rose Numbers: 21 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. "The Great Poohdini" made Houston his own personal stage this weekend, which I guess is fitting when the NCAA decides to go with the "raised court" (please don't do this next year; not only does the middle of the arena setup take away from the atmosphere, the idea of the raised court is dangerous when you consider that few teams are used to it). For all the debate over the likes of Augustin, Darren Collison and others when it comes to the nation's best lead guard, maybe this freshman from the Windy City is the best. With Saturday bringing UCLA, we'll have one more piece of evidence one way or the other. Honorable Mention: Davidson guard Stephen Curry The sophomore gave the nation one more virtuoso performance, going for twenty-five in the Wildcats' 59-57 loss to Kansas. The entire world knew exactly who wanted the last shot...and that the Jayhawks were not going to let him take it. Memphis forward Joey Dorsey Mr. Dorsey has shown up consistently in the Tournament, posting a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Don't expect him to rile up Kevin Love like he did Greg Oden last year in San Antonio either. Kansas center Sasha Kaun In twenty minutes off the bench, the senior racked up thirteen points and six rebounds. And KU needed every one of those points and rebounds. Their depth has been a strength all year long, and Kaun made sure it was again today. Saturday's Schedule UCLA vs. Memphis (6:07 PM EST) North Carolina vs. Kansas (approx. 8:47 PM EST)

Saturday Honors: Is the third time a charm for UCLA?

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:16:09 -0700

UCLA and North Carolina become the first two to punch their ticket to San Antonio thanks to regional final victories over Xavier and Louisville, respectively. One thing that may help out the Bruins in their quest for a twelfth national title is the fact that Florida won't be in town next weekend. The Gators are the only team to beat UCLA in NCAA Tournament play the last two-plus seasons. And with Kevin Love being a double-double machine (23 on the season), things could very well remain that way. As for the Tar Heels, Saturday's win was an exorcism of sorts, with the motivation for this entire season being their loss to Georgetown in last season's East Regional Final. But thanks to Tyler Hansbrough and nineteen Louisville turnovers (eleven in the first half to help Carolina take a double-digit lead into the locker room), Coach Williams heads to San Antonio in search of his second national title. Two more bids will be decided tomorrow with Memphis/Texas in the South and Kansas/Davidson rounding out the field in the Midwest. Here are a few honors for Saturday's action. Team of the Day: #1 UCLA Result: Defeated #3 Xavier 76-57 in the West Regional Final. The game hovered around a one-possession affair until the Bruins went on a run to close out the half with a nine-point lead. But any hopes of a Musketeer comeback were vanquished with a 14-0 second half run that put the game on ice. From there, it was all about taking care of the basketball and contesting shots on the other end. UCLA limited Xavier to 36.2% shooting from the field for the game, and guards Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook combined to shoot 14-23 from the field after Thursday's subpar performance against WKU. While Kevin Love was named region MOP, and rightfully so as the Musketeers had no answer for him inside, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute went for thirteen points and thirteen rebounds after a quiet night on Thursday. So now comes a third straight trip to the Final Four, and to say the least Ben Howland's experienced crew has been through plenty of battles in March the past three years. But can they get that elusive national title? I don't see why not. Player of the Day: Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) Numbers: 28 points, 13 rebounds in UNC's 83-73 win over Louisville. "Psycho T" got it done in a big way down in Charlotte, racking up yet another double-double in the victory. Be it on the block or outside with a couple of jumpers, Hansbrough was the guy that Louisville had no answer for all night long. His scoring tonight moves him into second place in the illustrious history of Carolina Basketball, with only Phil Ford left ahead of Hansbrough in the record books. Sunday's Games South Regional Final (2:20 PM EST): #2 Texas vs. #1 Memphis (Houston) Midwest Regional Final (5:05 PM EST): #10 Davidson vs. #1 Kansas (Detroit) I know that I was among the many who thought that Clark Kellogg was an absolute fool for picking all four top seeds to get to the Final Four. But he may have been on to something. I think that by the end of the day he will be proven correct in his prediction, with Memphis and Kansas moving on to San Antonio.

Friday Honors: Stephen Curry is unreal

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:16:53 -0700

The Elite Eight is now set, with none of tonight's games offering anything in the way of drama. In addition to that, only Xavier's overtime win last night gave viewers a final margin of fewer than ten points. Davidson was the surprise of the evening, defeating Wisconsin in shockingly easy fashion to move on to Sunday's Midwest Region final where they will meet the Kansas Jayhawks. In the South, top seeds Memphis and Texas took care of business to move on to Sunday's final in Houston. Now here are some honors for Friday's action. Team of the Night: #1 Memphis Result: Defeated #5 Michigan State 92-71 in a South Regional semifinal. If the pundits continue to peg the Tigers as the first one seed to fall then eventually they should get it right. But a good way to make sure foul shooting doesn't have an impact on the game is to take out your opponent early, and this is exactly what John Calipari's team did, taking a 50-20 halftime lead into the locker room. Derrick Rose was unstoppable on this night, going for a team (and career) high twenty-seven points. And the defensive work put in by the likes of Antonio Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts (among others) on Spartan stars Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan was a sight to behold. If you're a fan of the other three top seeds, then the experts finally being right will mean that you're team is on its way to San Antonio since Memphis is playing the late game on Sunday. But those experts are running out of opportunities to get this one right. Player of the Night: Stephen Curry (Davidson) Numbers: 33 points, 4 assists in Davidson's 73-56 win over Wisconsin in a Midwest Regional semifinal. I seriously considered putting backcourt partner Jason Richards in this spot (11 points, 13 assists), but Curry's night was amazing. Clearly the top line in any team's scouting report by this point, the sophomore guard still went for 30-plus while hititng half of his shots. You think about some of the great individual performances throughout an NCAA Tournament and names like Glen Rice and Danny Manning immediately come to mind. Mr. Curry may be well on his way to joining those ranks if he hasn't already. Kansas will pose quite a challenge with their perimeter depth, but I wouldn't be stunned if Stephen put together another virtuoso performance on Sunday. Honorable Mention: Davidson guard Jason Richards As I mentioned earlier, the senior put up a double-double and controlled the flow of the game throughout for the Wildcats, who head to their first regional final since 1969. Memphis guard Derrick Rose 27 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists for the freshman point guard. For all the talk about freshmen guards in BCS conferences, Rose is the one still playing. But given his game, not a surprise at all. Texas guard D.J. Augustin 23 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for Augustin, a man who Stanford had no answer for all night. His matchup with Rose on Sunday will be an entertaining one for sure. Saturday's Games West Region final: #3 Xavier vs. #1 UCLA (6:40 PM EST) East Region final: #3 Louisville vs. #1 North Carolina (9:05 PM EST) BONUS! If possible, check out the Division II National Championship between Winona State and Augusta State (2:30 PM EST, CBS). Last year's game featured a finish for the ages, with Barton coming back from a seven-point deficit with forty-five seconds remaining to pull out the win at the buzzer. Last year's victim: Winona State. I'm sure there will be at least one mention of last year's game, but it's good to see Winona State back with a chance to win it all.

Thursday Honors: Four more head home

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:56:21 -0700

After Thursday's games we're down to twelve teams with a shot at being the final scene in CBS' "One Shining Moment" montage. In Charlotte, North Carolina and Louisville took care of business in defeating Washington State and Tennessee respectively. Out in Phoenix, there was more suspense but in the end it was UCLA and Xavier winning to move on to Saturday's regional final. Here are some honors for Thursday's action. Team of the Night: #1 North Carolina Result: Defeated #4 Washington State 68-47 in Charlotte. The only bone to pick (by some pundits) with the Heels after their dominating weekend in Raleigh was the fact that they'd given up more than seventy points to both Mount St. Mary's and Arkansas. Well, how about limiting the Cougars to forty-seven points, forcing them into a 31.6% shooting night? Tyler Hansbrough led the Heels with eighteen points, and next up is Louisville. Can they put together the same defensive effort? Maybe, maybe not. But I'd advise people to pay more attention to the field goal percentage defensive category than simply the points allowed. Their pace dictates allowing points, so if they can limit their opponent's quality shots then they'll be in good shape. Player of the Night: Kevin Love (UCLA) Numbers: 29 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists in an 88-78 win over Western Kentucky. Love is one of the most fundamentally sound players to hit the college basketball scene in some time, and his effort against the Hilltoppers was just one more example of such. Be it through a key basket, rebound or outlet pass to spark a break, he was one of the main reasons why the Bruins were able to hold off that hard-charging WKU squad. UCLA's guards were mediocre for a good portion of the second half, but it was Love (he had help, which I'll get to a little later) and the frontcourt that got this one home. Honorable Mention: Josh Duncan (Xavier) The senior forward went for 26 points in the Musketeers' overtime win against West Virginia. He's been their most consistent scorer in the Tournament, something that isn't really a surprise since he led the team in scoring in the regular season. Tyrone Brazelton (Western Kentucky) In a losing effort, Brazelton closed out his collegiate career with a thirty-one point night. Without his outside shooting in the second half, there's no way WKU gets that game to within four points late. Earl Clark (Louisville) A starter for most of the season, Clark has adjusted quite well to coming off the bench. In the Cardinals' 79-60 win over Tennessee, he went for a solid 17 points and 12 boards. Unsung Hero of the Night: James Keefe (UCLA) Numbers: 18 points and 12 rebounds. Before tonight's game, the season high in points for the sophomore from Rancho Santa Margarita was eight (against Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament final). But with limited production from the struggling backcourt, it was Keefe who put up highs in both points and rebounds to help pull out the win. It's performances like this that helps crown champions when it's all said and done, and the more that Coach Howland can get out of Keefe the better. Friday's Games: Midwest Regional (Detroit) #10 Davidson vs. #3 Wisconsin (7:10 PM EST) #12 Villanova vs. #1 Kansas (to start 25-30 min. following completion of first game) South Regional (Houston) #3 Stanford vs. #2 Texas (7:27 PM EST) #5 Michigan St. vs. #1 Memphis (to start 25-30 min. following completion of first game)

Sunday Honors: Two twelves, a ten...and Memphis survives

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:04:46 -0700

We're now down to the Sweet 16, and to say the least there are some surprises. Ten seed Davidson, after knocking off Georgetown in Raleigh, moves on to Detroit thanks in large part to guard Stephen Curry. The brutal non-conference schedule they played early in the season clearly has paid off for the Wildcats. Another set of Wildcats, these hailing from Villanova, will also be in the Motor City as the twelve seed in the Midwest. Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes proved to be too much for the cold-shooting Siena Saints. Also in Tampa, the West's twelve seed Western Kentucky moves on after holding off a furious second-half rally by thirteen seed San Diego. The story of the final set of games: Memphis surviving sketchy foul shooting to hang on and defeat Mississippi State 77-74. After losing Joey Dorsey to his fourth foul the Tigers actually increased their lead, gaining the separation they ended up needing in the end. Friday's matchup with Michigan State promises to be a physical affair, and Mr. Dorsey needs to stay on the floor in that one as the Spartans have a couple different post options from which to choose. Here are the honors for the final day of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Team of the Day: North Carolina, top seed in the East Result: Defeated #9 Arkansas 108-77 in Raleigh. Wow. There really isn't much more you can say after watching a team put together back-to-back 100+ point games, something that hasn't been done in the NCAA Tournament since 1990. The Tar Heels were ready from the opening tap, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in a fashion similar to what a young Mike Tyson did to people back in 1985. Carolina, led by Wayne Ellington's twenty points, had five players reach double figures and shot 67.7% from the field. If they play like that from this point forward, everyone else may be playing for second place. They were that good today. Other performances of note: Louisville The Cardinals became the third Big East team to reach the Sweet 16, blowing out Oklahoma by thirty in Birmingham. Their win stopped the bleeding for the league, which took four straight hits after West Virginia beat Duke in Saturday's first game. Davidson The ultra-tough early season schedule, which included close losses to UCLA, North Carolina and Duke, has paid dividends for Bob McKillop's squad. We'll see them in Detroit next weekend. Villanova The key for Jay Wright and his team was to simply make the tournament. And once they found out they were in, it was time to make a move after a roller-coaster regular season due to their youth. Kansas will be a prohibitive favorite on Friday, but the Cats can give them all they want and then some. Player of the Day: Davidson guard Stephen Curry Numbers: 30 points, 5 assists in a 74-70 win over #2 Georgetown. The sophomore guard has been the player of the tournament to this point, bouncing back from foul trouble to score twenty-five of his thirty points in the second half to send home one of the picks to possibly get to San Antonio. Curry has a basketball acumen that gets him to open areas of the floor, and even if the defender is right there his release is quick enough to render that moot. And he's been doing this for most of the year with an injured right (shooting) wrist that needs surgery when the season ends. The young man has been amazing all year, it's just that now he's got a national stage on which to strut his stuff. Three other noteworthy performances: Texas guard A.J. Abrams Abrams went for twenty-six, and the Longhorns ended up needing all of those as they hung on to defeat Miami 75-72 in North Little Rock. Western Kentucky guard Courtney Lee Lee didn't have his best showing in the Hilltoppers' overtime win on Friday, but he definitely made up for it with twenty-nine points and seven rebounds in WKU's 72-63 win. Mississippi State guard Jamont Gordon The Bulldogs fell short in their rally against Memphis, but Gordon was one of the main reasons as to why they still had a chance late. He racked up 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, but I'm sure he'd take a less impressive stat line if that meant a reversal of the 77-74 result.

Saturday Honors: Pac-10 goes 3-0 for the day

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:42:02 -0700

The field has now been trimmed down to twenty-four, with another eight unlucky squads headed home after Sunday's action. A day that began with West Virginia knocking off Duke in D.C. ended with UCLA coming back to beat Texas A&M in Anaheim. Here are some honors for Saturday, and a couple of key games to watch Sunday. Team of the Day: Washington State (East Region #4) Result: Defeated #5 Notre Dame 61-41 in Denver. I have to admit that on every one of my brackets I picked the Irish to beat the Cougars. And for that serious error in judgement, I apologize. Wazzu, one of the nation's best defensive teams, held Notre Dame to their lowest point total since the 1970s and 25% shooting from the field. The other key to Washington State's domination was the fact that no answer could be found for one Kyle Weaver. The stat line of fifteen points, nine rebounds and three assists may be par for the course in regards to one of the Pac-10's (and nation's) most versatile players. Add to this effort the Cougar big men harassing Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody into a 3-17 shooting performance and you have all the makings of a beating. Player of the Day: Brook Lopez (Stanford) Numbers: 30 points, 4 rebounds and the game-winner in an 82-81 win over Marquette. The sophomore center was one of the primary reasons why head coach Trent Johnson is now off the hook for getting run in the first half. As expected, the Golden Eagles had no answer inside for Brook and twin brother Robin, who went for eighteen points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Twenty-eight of Brook's thirty came in the second half and overtime, the last two as a result of an off-balance shot from the right baseline with 1.3 seconds remaining. There has been criticism of Stanford's backcourt for much of the season (Mitch Johnson went for nine and sixteen assists by the way), but if you can't slow down Brook Lopez you'll have a much tougher time exploiting that area. Three other noteworty individual performances: Michigan State guard Kalin Lucas: 19 points in a 65-54 win over Pittsburgh. Drew Neitzel ended up leading the Spartans in scoring, but he did have a long stretch early in the second half without a point. Into the void stepped the freshman Lucas, who proved to be a handful for the Pitt guards thanks to his speedy forays to the basket. Marquette guard Jerel McNeal: 30 points and 8 rebounds in an 82-81 loss to Stanford. They may have lost by even more than one point if not for McNeal's offensive effort. Dominic James went 4-16 from the field, and Wesley Matthews only took six shots for the game, depositing much of the offensive burden upon McNeal's shoulders. And he nearly carried the Golden Eagles to the win thanks to his scoring and rebounding. UCLA center Kevin Love: 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks in UCLA's 51-49 win over Texas A&M. He didn't finish as the Bruins' leading scorer, but the freshman pivot dragged his team out of serious danger during the second half. Down ten in front of a partisan crowd that seemed to get a little worried, Love put his team on his back with his work on both ends of the floor. The Aggies, who dominated inside in the first half, had no answers for Kevin and as a resuly have to ask "what could have been" on their trip back to College Station. Three games for Sunday (one for each time slot): Midwest Region: #13 Siena vs. #12 Villanova (Tampa), 12:10 PM The first of two 12/13 matchups in Tampa will determine the opponent for top seed Kansas, and the backcourt play in this one should be worth the viewing. Kenny Hasbrouck pretty much did whatever he wanted against Vandy on Friday, lighting them up for thirty points. Tay Fisher went 6-6 from downtown and Kenny Moore was solid at the point. Villanova will counter with Scottie Reynolds and a plethora of freshmen guards, so the Saints will have the experience edge. The perimeter ability of these two teams should lend itself to an uptempo game. East Region: #7 Butler vs. #2 Tennessee (Birmingham), 2:30 PM This one is pegged by a few to be an "upset special", given the wealth of experience that the Bulldogs possess along with the fact that the Volunteers of late haven't been defending as well as they were earlier in the season. Guards Mike Green and A.J. Graves are more than capable of handling the Tennessee pressure, but will they be able to deal with their depth? If Butler controls the pace to this one, they're more than capable of moving on to the Sweet 16. East Region: #9 Arkansas vs. #1 North Carolina (Raleigh), approx. 5:20 pm While many were expecting Indiana to be playing in this game, in terms of overall depth (especially inside) and the desire to be on the court the Razorbacks may be the tougher test for the overall top seed. Sonny Weems, an athlete who can score from just about anywhere on the floor, will be a tough match for whoever gets the assignment. And bigs such as Darian Townes, Steven Hill and Charles Thomas will surround Tyler Hansbrough at every opportunity. I don't know if John Pelphrey's bunch can win this de facto road game, but they can take this one down to the wire.

Team of the Moment: UT-Arlington

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:39:44 -0700

Texas-Arlington 21-11 (7-9 Southland) Computer numbers (through Saturday; courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI 149, SOS 212 Result today: Defeated Northwestern State 82-79 to win the Southland Conference title. Make way for another NCAA Tournament first-timer, with the Mavericks of Texas-Arlington punching their ticket to the Dance with a hard-fought win over Northwestern State. Junior forward Anthony Vereen led the way with 25 points and nine rebounds, but the biggest development in regards to next week may be the health of guard Rog'er Guignard, who went down late with an apparent ankle injury. Guignard, who comes off the bench, is an "instant offense" type of player who can give teams fits when on his game. Now, where does this team go? Their overall record is a bit deceiving when you account for the fact that the Mavericks have four wins over non-Division I teams this season. Hello Dayton? We'll find out in a matter of minutes who will play Coppin State on Tuesday, but I think it's a toss-up between the Mavericks and Mount St. Mary's. But the only thing that matters right now to UT-Arlington is this: they're making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. On the clock: Georgia and Illinois. If your team happens to be on the bubble, you'd better cheer like you-know-what for opponents Arkansas and Wisconsin. If the Bulldogs and Fighting Illini complete their magical runs, someone (or someones if both win) will be staying home.

Team of the Moment: Georgia

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:52:46 -0700

Georgia 15-16 (4-12 SEC East) Computer numbers (through Friday; courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI 141, SOS 47 Results today: Defeated Kentucky 60-56 in an SEC quarterfinal and Mississippi State 64-60 in an SEC semifinal. You can't make this stuff up. Thanks to a serious storm that made its way through the Atlanta area last night (what we now know included a tornado), the Georgia Bulldogs had to play two games in one day if they wanted to play for the SEC title on Sunday. Well, where there's a will there's a way and the Dawgs live to fight another day. What makes the two wins all the more amazing is that the leading offensive option, guard Sundiata Gaines, fouled out of both contests. Freshman guard Zac Swansey won the quarterfinal against Kentucky with his tenth three-pointer of the season. And in the nightcap they hang on with the help of a Charles Rhodes techincal foul with 7.6 seconds remaining. So all you bubble teams get on out and purchase your hog hats; if Arkansas doesn't end this miraculous story one of you is staying home.

Team of the Moment: Temple

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:31:22 -0700

Temple 21-12 (11-5 Atlantic 10) Computer numbers (through Friday courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI 56, SOS 49 Result today: Defeated St. Joseph's 69-64 to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Temple Owls, a mere afterthought in all this bubble talk the past few weeks, have punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with tonight's win over Big 5 rival St. Joseph's to win the Atlantic 10. Dionte Christmas led Fran Dunphy's Owls with 22 points, and guards Chris Clark (10 points) and Ryan Brooks (15 points) made up for the subpar offensive night experienced by Mark Tyndale (1-8 from the field, 8 points). But Tyndale's complete stat line seems to be a microcosm of what the Owls have done during their last twelve games (10-2 record) to get to this point: whatever it takes. Tyndale finished with nine rebounds and seven assists, and Temple went 9-18 from behind the arc while holding the Hawks to 5-21 from distance. Now that they're in, the question regards city rival St. Joe's: are they suddenly on the outside looking in? In my opinion, they're currently one of the 34 best at-large teams in the country. But I'm not in that room. The Hawks will have a long 21 hours ahead of them. On the clock: UNLV. One at-large bid could now be off the table thanks to Temple, so the Runnin' Rebels would be best served to knock off BYU in the Mountain West final. They currently lead 50-47 with about ten minutes remaining.

Team of the Moment: UMBC

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:22:57 -0700

UMBC 24-8 (13-3 America East) Computer numbers (through Friday courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI 91, SOS 270. Result today: Defeated Hartford 82-65 to win the America East Tournament. In a game matching two programs who had never even played in a conference tournament final, the homestanding Retrievers rode 59% shooting from the field to wrap up their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Four players reached double figures, led by Darryl Proctor's 23 points. How hot were the Retrievers in this one? They outrebounded the Hawks 29-15, which underscores just how well they shot the ball. So where does this leave UMBC in regards to seeding tomorrow? I'd say a 15, with an outside shot at a 14 depending on what happens in the Big West, for example. If UC Irvine upsets Cal State Fullerton, that could create an opportunity for a team like UMBC to slide up a seed line. But hey, enjoy the moment. Congrats to the Retrievers on their title. One the clock: Virginia Tech. The Hokies are currently locked up with North Carolina in the day's first ACC semifinal. Tech currently leads 38-36 with about a minute left in the first half. Win and you're in. Lose...who knows what happens.