Day One Recap of the 2011 NCAA Tournament

by Joseph Landini
High Heat Network

Here is a recap of all of day one's action in the NCAA Tournament.

East Region
(5) West Virginia 84, (12) Clemson 76- Despite a strong game overall put together by Clemson, Mazzula and Co. were too much to handle. It seemed like the short time between the first round and second round was too much for Clemson, as they ran out of gas in the second half.

(4) Kentucky 59, (13) Princeton 57- Freshmen Brandon Knight was the hero as he hit a running layup with less then 3 seconds to go in the ball game. Princeton stuck with, and even were leading the Wildcats during points of this game. Kentucky will move on, while the IVY League will be sent home packing early again. Kentucky will face West Virginia in the next round.

West Region
(6) Cinncinnati 78, (11) Missouri 63- Despite a slow start from the field, the Bearcats open up this game behind Yancy Gates 18 points. Cincy also shot 52% from the floor which is impressive on any night, let alone a tournament game.

(3) UConn 81, (14) Bucknell 52-Kemba Walker and Connecticut continue to roll, as they started hot from the field and stayed hot. The Patriot League winner played there worst game of the year, and for that they will go home. The Big East will battle again in the next round as Cinncinnati will face UConn.

(7) Temple 66, (10) Penn St 64- In one of the wilder endings of the day Juan Fernandez hits the game winning jumpshot with minimal time remaining. The possession before that saw star Talor Battle hit a deep three to tie the game. Fernandez and Battle scored 23 points each, while Ramone Moore so Temple also bucketed 23.

(2) San Diego State 68, (15) Northern Colorado 50- It was never a game as SDSU continues there hot streak, and gains there first tournament win. Kawhi Leonard led with 21, and San Diego State will now go on to play Temple Saturday.

Southwest Region
(12) Richmond 69, (5) Vanderbilt 66- Kevin Anderson scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half as Richmond continued to roll after winning the Atlantic 10 tournament to get into the Big Dance. Jenkins and Ezeli both scored 21 points for Vanderbilt.

(13) Morehead St 62, (4) Louisville 61- Morehead State shocked the world by going for the win in the final seconds by taking a three point shot, and then shocked the universe when Demonte Harper hit it. Morehead State wins the shocker of the day as they down one of the Big East elite, and send Pitino and the Cardinals packing. Morehead St will now move on to face Richmond in the battle of the underdogs.

Southeast Region
(1) Pittsburgh 74, (16) UNC ASHEVILLE 51- Simple recap here. The only number one seed to play on Thursday dominated on Thursday.

(8) Butler 60, (9) Old Dominion 58- Who said Cinderella can't come by twice. Well the tournament started in Cinderella format as Matt Howard beats the buzzer with a layup. Butler showed why senior leadership, and teammate basketball succeeds over talent. Butler will go on to play Pittsburgh in the next round.

(5) Kansas State 73 (12) Utah State 68- Despite a second half comeback by Utah State, Kansas Sate wins this game and advances. Jacob Pullen scores 22 for KSU.

(4) Wisconsin 72, (13) Belmont 58- Coming into the tournament the consensus upset seemed to be that Belmont would prevail. Wisconsin had something to say about that though. Jon Leuer scored 22, while star Jordan Taylor goes for 21. Belmont will go home, while Wisconsin will face off against KSU next.

(11) Gonzaga 86, (6) St. John's 71- St. John's was exposed on the biggest stage. They could not run or shoot with Gonzaga's athletic lineup. They could not be the giant killer away from Madison Square Garden. The absence of DJ Kennedy made a difference. Gonzaga proves again to be a tournament team. As for St. John's look for a brand new team as most of the Red Storm is headed for graduation in the spring.

(3) BYU 74, (14) Wofford 66- Despite a strong effort by Woff, it was Jimmer time again. 32 points later all you can say is JIMMER JIMMER JIMMER.

(7) UCLA 78, (10) Michigan State 76- Despite a heroic type comeback by Tom Izzo's crew, UCLA finishes a well played game and defeats Mich St. UCLA hit on all cylinders and held Kalin Lucas to 4-14 shooting.

(2) Florida 79, (15) UCSB 51- From start to finish Florida played with a chip on their shoulder. After being granted with a number 2 seed last Sunday, all the critics (including myself) said they did not deserve it. I'm not saying yet that they do, but this is the correct step in the right direction.