NCAA Day Two Thoughts

-- What a gutsy performance from Wisconsin tonight. You may not like their style of play, you may get bored with what they do on the floor, but boy, do they execute when it gets to crunch time. Bo knows, as in Bo Ryan, and Wisconsin showed that experience in the NCAA goes a long way, opposing a Florida State team that hadn't been to the Dance in 11 years. Junior guard Trevon Hughes put up a prayer layup with 2.5 seconds left to give Wisconsin an overtime upset over another ACC opponent. Essentially, that's what it was -- a prayer. With the clock winding down, Hughes penetrated into the lane, spun and unorthodoxly banked the ball in off the glass with his left hand... AND got fouled. Jason Bohannon made some huge shots and relative unknown Keaton Nankivil was very impressive off the bench.
Next Up: No. 4 Xavier. This is a winnable game for Wisconsin. They've got to be riding high after this win and if they can make Xavier play at their pace, they've got a shot to make it to the round of 16.

-- Unfortunately for Ohio State, they were on the losing end of a gutsy performance, dropping a double-overtime heartbreaker to Siena. This was essentially a home game for Ohio State, playing just a short drive away in Dayton, but the Buckeyes had no answer for Siena's clutch shooting down the stretch. In the waining seconds of the first overtime, Siena's Ronald Moore hit a game-tying three to force a second overtime and five minutes later, hit an uncontested triple with 3.9 seconds left from nearly the same spot. Ohio State's Evan Turner, who turned in another fabulous performance (25 pts, 9 rebs, 8 asst) had a chance to tie the game, but his off-balance jumper hit iron.

-- As expected, Michigan State rolled to a first-round victory over Robert Morris. Raymar Morgan finally looked like the player of old, leading the Spartans with 16 points. Goran Suton added 17 rebounds and utilityman Draymond Green also added 16 points. From what little of this game that I saw, Michigan State looked in sync in every aspect and more importantly, looked healthy. This team is dangerous when Tom Izzo has his full compliment of players.
Next Up: No. 10 USC. The Trojans could provide Michigan State with some match-up problems and are playing well of late. This should be a classic case of athleticism vs. athleticism.

In other news, Florida beat Miami (FL), 74-60. Penn State, with the availabilities of Talor Battle and Jamelle Cornley seriously in doubt, will travel to Gainesville Tuesday to take on the Gators in the NIT Quarterfinals. Winner goes to Madison Square Garden.