Memphis gave me a scare. They pulled away from Cal State Northridge at the end of the game to keep my predicted champion alive. In all, I did not do very well, only guessing 11 out of 16 correctly. Fortunately, I did not lose even a Sweet Sixteen team.
American and Villanova was an interesting matchup. Villanova is used to being the smaller team. They didn't know how to handle a squad shorter and quicker than themselves. It showed in the first half. The Wildcats were not used to dumping the ball down low. It wasn't natural for them. The result was a 41-31 deficit at the half. American's senior-filled perimeter-oriented team stretched the lead out to 14 thanks to excellent shooting and scrappy defense. Villanova finally realized that it is legal to score in the paint and flew by American for the win.
VCU hung tough with UCLA throughout the game. A last second shot by Eric Maynor that literally came up short sealed their fate. Larry Sanders got into foul trouble toward the end of the first half and UCLA took advantage, which was really the difference in the game. Maynor didn't have a great shooting game. UCLA dominated VCU with points of off turnovers, which largely occurred when the ball was out of Maynor's hands. Joey Rodriguez proved yet again that he doesn't deserve to play or even be on this level. He looked like a little kid getting bullied. He can make an occasional open three, but guess what, so can I.
I correctly predicted a Western Kentucky victory. They almost blew it and an unfortunate call on an inbounds pass with 1:21 left didn't help them any. But this ain't your father's Jordan and Illinois couldn't pull off the miracle. In other news, Blake Griffin is really good. I'm a believer.
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