March Madness Live Blog
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Usual Rebel starters of Rhett, Saiz, Newby, Moody & Summers. Sporting the red unis today.by Ole Miss Basketball via twitter 3/19/2015 8:15:36 PM -
Bad news for the Butler Bulldogs: Roosevelt Jones, Butler's junior guard who missed all of last season with an injured wrist, has left the game with a leg injury. The Bulldogs barely have a bench and Jones has played over 87% of the available minutes so far this year.
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If Georgia State wins again, Ron Hunter may end up in intensive care.by Pat Forde via twitter 3/19/2015 7:57:03 PM -
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So yeah GSU 57, Baylor 56. Final. See you Saturday #MarchMadnessby #NCAABound via twitter 3/19/2015 7:53:21 PM -
And, yes, it has to be said: Baylor indeed gonna Baylor.by Pat Forde via twitter 3/19/2015 7:52:53 PM
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Everyone on deadline in Louisville, incl. @nrarmour and @YahooForde run into kitchen to watch Georgia St hit game-winning 3. Madness!by joshabner via twitter retweeted by YahooForde 3/19/2015 7:52:05 PM -
Georgia State. R.J. Hunter. Ron Hunter tipping over. Cmon. Is this tournament any good?by Pat Forde via twitter 3/19/2015 7:51:32 PM
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A concise history of Steve Alford and March
UCLA's Steve Alford has a 7-8 record all-time in nine NCAA tournament appearances as a head coach.UCLA head coach Steve Alford has mastered the March mantra of "survive and advance" for his own professional gains, but his teams have yet to nail down the process.
Let's face it, the man is perhaps one of the greatest faller-uppers of all times. As a player, he managed to never be decapitated by a Bobby Knight-launched chair. As a coach, he landed a job at New Mexico after badly bungling sexual assault charges against one of his players (also, not winning) at Iowa. He then got one of the most coveted basketball jobs in the country, the seat once held by John Wooden, right after his Final-Four-favorite No. 3 Lobos were upset by Harvard in the first round of the 2013 tournament.
Which brings us to today: Of all the teams in the 2015 NCAA tournament field, the No. 11 seed Bruins' place in the bracket has been the most criticized by the sprawling #hottake punditry industrial complex — and with good reason. Alford's Bruins made the field of 6̶8̶ 64 after going 20-13 in the regular season, including an abysmal 2-8 record on the road, a 2-4 record on neutral courts and a 40-point blowout at the hands of Kentucky. UCLA beat only one ranked team all season, then-No. 11 Utah, at home in late January, and will face No. 6 seed Southern Methodist University today.
It's not like The Selection Committee™ could justify the Bruins' gift berth on Alford's track-record alone: Nine of the coach's teams have made the Big Dance, compiling a 7-8 record overall, with only two Sweet 16 appearances, one in 1999 with Missouri State and one in 2014 with UCLA. But Bruins Nation does travel and probably will buy tickets in Louisville en masse, so the NCAA does have that going for it, which is nice.
None of this is to say UCLA can't or won't win. Bryce Alford, the team's second-leading scorer with 15.1 points per game, could live up to the time-honored tournament tradition of Bryce-named coach's sons doing things. Of the nearly 14 assists UCLA averages per contest, five of them come from Alford the Younger. The Alfords are very good at playing basketball.
The Bruins will face American Athletic Conference tournament champions SMU, led by an interesting foil for Alford in Larry Brown. Brown is a guy whose college basketball success — albeit, like a quarter century ago and at UCLA and Kansas, no less — is unquestionable in terms of wins, even if the means have raised a few eyebrows. The Dagger wrote in January about Brown's quixotic return to college hoops and the NCAA's notice of investigation into potential academic improprieties at SMU.
The Mustangs are an efficient offensive team, ranking 22nd in the nation in field goal percentage and 21st in assists (for the best stat nerds among you, KenPom ranks SMU at 19). Junior guard Nic Moore is the player to watch, leading the team in points and assists, all while being listed officially at 5-foot-9.
But as you're watching the game, remember this — if today's matchup proves anything about college basketball, it is that the one real requirement to getting a head coaching job is having been a head coach previously. -
UPDATE Georgia State 42 Baylor 49, 7:45 remaining in the game: Baylor's Royce O'Neale drains a 3-pointer to cap-off a 7-0 run that begins to create separation for the Bears from a chippy Georgia State squad. Taurean Prince has the other four points in the run and leads all scorers with 18.
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Eight Arizona players have attempted a shot, and only Gabe York (0-1) isn't shooting at least 50 percent. Almost every shot at the rim too.by Jeff Eisenberg via twitter 3/19/2015 7:14:02 PM -
UAB celebrating in the locker room after their 60-59 win over Iowa State! http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CAe1HJ3WoAAfERD.jpg
by UAB Athletics via twitter 3/19/2015 7:10:24 PM -
At least Iowa State fans have some experience with this level of sports sadness.Congratulations to everyone who jumped on the Iowa State bandwagon.. It took only one game for you to get the full Cyclone experience.Mar. 19, 2015
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T.J. McConnell just went all Tyus Edney to ... put Arizona up 21 at halftime.by Jeff Eisenberg via twitter 3/19/2015 7:03:19 PM
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UAB is the 19th 14-Seed to beat a 3-Seed since 1985. The prior 18 are 2-16 in the next game (Cleveland State '86 and Chattanooga '97).by Jay Bilas via twitter 3/19/2015 7:03:17 PM -
UPDATE: Baylor 40, Georgia State 35, 14:46 remaining in the second half: Baylor is starting to really show off their athleticism, demolishing the Panthers on the boards and converting a nice little alley-oop for a lay-in. The Bears are still leaking turnovers, with four in the first five minutes of the second half. Georgia State star R.J. Hunter is struggling, with two points on 1-for-5 shooting.
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Pro-Arizona crowd here in Portland as you'd expect but not nearly as overwhelming as Las Vegas last weekend.by Jeff Eisenberg via twitter 3/19/2015 6:08:45 PM
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FWIW, loss would be worse than my worst-case scenario for Iowa State. Had Clones losing in round of 32.by Pat Forde via twitter 3/19/2015 6:08:33 PM
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UAB is destroying Iowa State on glass, which it has to do because it cannot make jump shots. But neither can the Clones. UAB up 3. Look out.by Pat Forde via twitter 3/19/2015 6:07:41 PM
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Notre Dame 65, Northeastern 57, 3:53 remaining in second half: Scott Eatherton and David Walker are doing their best to keep the Huskies in it with 29 combined points, but the Northeastern defense has no answer for the Irish attack, which is shooting just under 70% in the second half. It will be Huskies basketball when the game returns from the media timeout, so things could get very interesting.
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You guys, @WSJSports did an amazing thing.The 63 best NCAA tournament games since 1985 by their corresponding seeds, round and region. http://t.co/x2CbqrfDCr http://t.co/Qjwo3x7HbQ
Mar. 19, 2015- Reply
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UAB plus-10 on boards so far. Niang hasn't scored since first 8 minutes of game (sat last 12 of first half).by Pat Forde via twitter 3/19/2015 6:02:59 PM
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A little serious counter-programming coming up for viewers who are interested in what happens in NCAA basketball off the court as well as on it.OTL 3p ESPN @therealboeheim assails his NCAA discipline. @hbryant42, @BrentAxeMedia with me. Also - @dallascowboys sign @OverlordKraken.Mar. 19, 2015
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Iowa State pitching a shutout through first 5:15 of second half, only partially due to good defense (McKay). UAB also can't shoot. ISU 34-31by Pat Forde via twitter 3/19/2015 5:57:17 PM
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Notre Dame 56, Northeastern 47, 8:05 remaining in second half: Irish center Zach Auguste is having one of his best game of the season with 21 points so far, while his main interior antagonist on the Huskies, Scott Eatherton, is battling with four fouls. Jerian Grant is doing Jerian Grant things, with 13 points, 4 assists and 3 boards, while Northeastern's David Walker is countering with 13 points, 5 assists and 3 boards. Northeastern is scoring, but they're going to need to get some stops on the hyper-efficient Notre Dame offense if they want to pull off the first upset of the tournament.
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Georgia State will get bludgeoned on the glass, so its only hope was to make up for it with strong guard play. Not likely without Harrow.by Jeff Eisenberg via twitter 3/19/2015 5:49:41 PM
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Brutal for Ryan Harrow to finally make it to an NCAA tournament after five years and three schools only to have to sit out with injury.by Jeff Eisenberg via twitter 3/19/2015 5:48:41 PM
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Ryan Harrow is out with injury for Georgia State against Baylor. Tough luck for one of the best mid-major guards in this field.by SB Nation CBB via twitter 3/19/2015 5:45:26 PM
