Day: March 19, 2006

This is the time of year that college basketball fans are in their glory. After completing three straight days of upsets and predictable results (yesterdays complete results) there are still 8 more games today. The first game starts at 12:10 p.m. and the last one at 5:00 p.m(full schedule).
After today’s games, you will have a 3 day stretch to catch your breath and update your brackets. There will be sixteen teams remaining and the tournament resumes Thursday.

The Duke Blue Devils and Gonzaga held their seed and continued on to the next round.

The Blue Devils started off with some hot shooting and never looked back, advancing to the sweet sixteen for a record ninth straight year. They beat George Washington 74-61 in a game that was never even close. J. J. Redick had 20 points and Shelden Williams added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Blue Devils who so far look like a strong candidate for the finals. Coach K and his two stars looked sharp and confident as Duke put this game away early.

The Zags showed everyone in the tournament that this team is more than just Adam Morrison by defeating Indiana 90-80. The Hoosiers swarming defense held Morrison to 14 points and watched his Gonzaga teammates pick up the slack and lead them to a hard fought victory. Mike Davis, coaching his last game for Indiana, put together a great game plan to slow down the Zags star. Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, stressed the fact that the only was to advance in this tournament is for everyone to contribute. He got his wish and they are in the sweet sixteen.

The Tennessee Volunteers are the most recent favorite to fall in this unpredictable NCAA tournament. The Wichita State Shockers stayed hot and moved on to the sweet sixteen for the first time in 25 years with an 80-73 victory.

The Illinois Fighting Illini also lost a close game after coming back from a 14 point deficit in the first half. The Washington Huskies defense was too strong and shut down Illinois’s two stars for the last part of the second half and won 67-64.