STF Session Two Recap

Game of the Moment

South Region: #6 Marquette 74, #11 Kentucky 66. The only exciting game of the second session, the Wildcats and Golden Eagles went punch-for-punch most of the game. About midway through the second half, however, Marquette started to take the lead for good behind clutch shots by shooting guard/cyborg Jerel McNeal. A Herculean effort from Joe Crawford kept Kentucky within striking distance, but Marquette managed to keep their opponent at arm’s length until the final whistle. The Golden Eagles will face the winner of Stanford/Cornell in the next round.

The Other Games

#6 Purdue 90, #11 Baylor 79

#4 Pitt 82, #13 Oral Roberts 63

#8 UNLV 71, #9 Kent State 58.

Might as well pile these three games together, as all of them were over by halftime.

Purdue’s victory was a textbook example of total team effort. Five players scored in double figures, and everyone who played any minutes scored at least 8 points. The Boilermakers will move on play Xavier.

For Oral Roberts, today’s lesson was from the Book of Job. After leading 3-0, and holding their own in the opening minutes, the Panthers went on a huge run and never looked back, nearly doubling up on their opponent at the half. Lavance Fields led the way with 23 points, and Pitt moves on to face Michigan State.

Kent State’s first half can best be described as record-breaking offensive futility. Their 10 points were the fewest for a half in the NCAA Tournament since the shot clock era began. UNLV blew them away, and Lon Kruger’s giant killers will now face Kansas in the second round.

And it looks like the Stanford game is also over by halftime. Take a breather, and enjoy the night games.