What a way to start the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
We had an upset by Old Dominion that left Notre Dame and the Big East with their first loss of the tournament. BYU and Florida had to go into double overtime to decide their game and 2-seed Villanova was given everything they could handle from 15-seed Robert Morris in their own overtime battle that left the Big East with some questions to answer.
(6) Notre Dame-50 vs. (11) Old Dominion-51
Old Dominion provided the first upset of the day with a 51-50 victory over 6-seed Notre Dame from the Big East. It was a close game throughout as Notre Dame led by as many as nine with just under three minutes to go in the first half. After that, it was all Old Dominion as they closed in on the Irish and the first upset of NCAA Tournament.
Notre Dame power forward Luke Harangody struggled mightily, scoring just four points on 2-of-9 shooting. He did have seven rebounds, but it was far from enough to keep the Monarchs from getting back into the game late.
Old Dominion forward Frank Hassell was outstanding for the Monarchs, pouring in 15 points to go along with his nine rebounds and two assists. Forward Keyon Carter also chipped in with 11 points and it was his two late free-throws that sealed the deal for 11th seeded Old Dominion.
The Monarchs will play the winner of Baylor/Sam Houston State, which will take place Saturday.
(7) BYU-99 vs. (10) Florida-92
It took two overtimes to decide the victor in this highly anticipated matchup, but it was BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Michael Loyd Jr. who pushed the Cougars past Florida for a chance at a second round victory.
Fredette, one of the more unheralded stars in college, was one fire all day, accounting for 37 of BYU’s 99 points. His dead-eye shooting provided a spark, as he went 50% from the field while draining three three-pointers and going 8-10 from the free throw line. Loyd Jr. didn’t disappoint either, scoring a career high 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 9-of-10 from the charity strip.
The SEC’s lowest ranked team in the tournament—Florida—was valiant in their effort to get back in the game. At one point it looked like BYU had the Gators packing, but behind the play of Kenny Boynton and Chandler Parsons, Florida fought back. With the Cougars up 10 with just eight minutes to go, Boynton and Parsons made things interesting. Boynton finished with 27 points with Parson chipping in 20.
BYU now stands a chance to take out 2-seed Kansas State in the second round on Saturday.
(2) Villanova-73 vs. (15) Robert Morris-70
In the most interesting game of the day, 15-seed Robert Morris had Villanova on the ropes, leading by as many as nine points just before halftime.
Robert Morris guard Karon Abraham scored a team 23 points while making five three-pointers on the day. What was most impressive was the Colonials ability to defend down the stretch and keep Villanova in check as they made their comeback run with just minutes left to play in the game.
I took an overtime period to seal the deal for the Wildcats, but behind the senior leadership of Scottie Reynolds and freshman Mouphtaou Yarou, Villanova squeaked out a very close first round game. Yarou poured in 17 points and eight rebounds to go along with Reynolds 20 points, 15 of those coming from the free-throw line. Another headline of the game was the fact that head coach Jay Wright decided to sit Reynolds and teammate Corey Fisher to start the game because of disciplinary reasons.
Villanova will either face St. Mary’s or Richmond in the next game, but it looks as if ‘Nova will be the ‘worst’ 2-seed of the tournament if they continue to play uninspired basketball.
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