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Message: [QUOTE="Travelman6, post: 3091113, member: 7597"] Day two: UC Irvine - I did not see the entire game, but for the parts I did see, they looked comfortable on the court, not the least bit scared to play the B12 champ. Offense looked fluid and I was impressed with how these kids carried themselves down the stretch. Liberty - They could have easily folded after going down 10 late in the second half. Instead Liberty methodically chipped away at the deficit and were amazing in the closing seconds. Again, tons of poise, great execution. I think Liberty is a threat to upset VTech who seemed to slow down a bit in their second half, after a fast first half vs St. Louis. Miss. St had something like half a dozen blocks in the 2nd half but Liberty kept plugging away and Homsley was the key, as well as hitting nearly all their freethrows in the final minute, similar to Uconn's stunning free-throw shooting in 2014 in March. Pac12 - The conference looked weak all year. Not yesterday. Oregon ran past Wisconsin in the closing minutes, powered by an 18-2 run, taking a game that was once a tie and putting it easily out of reach as the lead ballooned to over 20 at one point. After starting 14-12, Oregon is finally putting everything together, now winners of 9 in a row. Will they be a threat to make the sweet 16? Perhaps not, but the future seems bright for the Ducks, starting next year. Washington also looked dominant in their 8/9 matchup vs a solid Utah St. team. For a lot of the time, Washington was firing on all cylinders and you just knew there was no way USU would keep it close, never mind win. Honorable mention: Friday 16th seeds - What Gonzaga did is what is expected of a one seed. Now granted all three 16 seeds lost on Friday, of course, but they weren't even supposed to keep it close right from the tip. Nevermind being in the game for the first 25 minutes or so. Duke, UNC and Virginia may very well make the final four, but the first 20 minutes or so were very uninspiring and they struggled to create breathing room between far inferior teams for too much of the game. Inferior, but for sure not lacking in heart. All three teams better not sleepwalk for such a long stretch starting immediately and especially in the s16. Extra kudos to Colgate who made a nice run and actually looked like a threat to win after being down double digits in the second half. Disappointing Cincinnati - I don't want to pile on too much more, but the Bearcats are not known for March success over the past two decades. Five losses in the first round and a 2-11 record in the second round over the past 20 years. Still, the Bearcats were facing a very ho-hum Iowa team on the decline, having lost 5 of their last six including losses to a very poor Rutgers team and Nebraska. The Bearcats were given a great first round draw, had a 13 point lead late in the first half and squandered everything. All the good will Cincy seemed to build up in the win vs Houston quickly dissipated vs the Hawkeyes. Iowa St - A team with so much talent and potential battled for the entire game in a very tightly contested game, but fell to a very average 11th seed in Ohio St. This was a very fun game to watch. A missed freethrow and tough/questionable 3 in the closing seconds doomed Iowa St in the end in a game they probably should have won by at least 10. Ohio st. made sure the B10 remained perfect (edit: my bad, Wisconsin) in the first round and move on to face Houston, who will hopefully change that. Overall, lower seeds were solid in the first round this year from 9 to 16, minus a few teams. [/QUOTE]

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