March Madness: and then there was one

Kansas wins national championship; defeats Memphis 75-68.

I didn't expect much of a game. But with Mario Chalmer's three point shot to tie the game in regulation, you couldn't have asked for a more exciting game. Both teams deserve a great deal of credit. You don't get that close to a national title without doing something right. Kansas just did the one more thing right. Congratulations.

For the record: This was the first the championship was won in overtime. It was also the first time all the #1 teams made the Final Four

March Madness: Day Four

Well, the first long basketball weekend is over. And we're down from the original 64 teams to the "sweet sixteen." The two biggest losers were #2 Duke which lasted into the second round this year (unlike last year when they went out in the first round) before losing to #7 West Virginia and #2 Georgetown which was upset by #10 Davidson

Of the other upsetmakers, only #12 Villanova and #12 Western Kentucky survive. Otherwise all the other top seeds are still alive (#1s: North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA and the remaining #2s: Tennessee and Texas). I continue to root for Ann's alma mater, Texas.

Well, that's it for basketball till Thursday when it all starts up again. Meanwhile there's lots of stuff to talk about.

March Madness: Day 3

Everything went as expected except for one major upset.

What little Belmont couldn't do Thursday, #7 West Virginia did today: knocked off #2 Duke, 73-67. All the other favorites are intact. Tomorrow (Sun.) is another day.

March Madness/Day 2: College basketball

Today (Fri.) was much more interesting than yesterday. Four outright upsets, all in Tampa, and one more in Raleigh. In Raleigh, #10 Davidson downed #7 Gonzaga, 87-75. In Tampa, for the first time in the history of the tournament, there were four upsets at one site: #13 Siena (83) over #4 Vanderbilt (62), #13 San Diego (70) eliminated #4 UConn (69) in OT, #12 Western Kentucky (101) snuck by #5 Drake (99) in a buzzer-beater and, in the day's last game, #12 Villanova (75) came back to beat #5 Clemson (69). Everything else went pretty much as expected.

So on to the round of 32. Which starts tomorrow (Sat). Go Texas (Ann's Alma Mater).