Running Commentary for Friday's Games

1222pm Yup, got up a bit late this morning. Virginia and Albany are underway in the most overseeded pod in tournament history. Georgia Tech and UNLV tip off at 1225 and Memphis faces another worthless opponent in a few minutes. As a side note, we'll have the previews for five of today's biggest games.

111pm Georgia Tech is stinking up the United Center. I thought their athleticism would overcome UNLV's quality. I am so dead wrong on all of the 7/10s and 8/9s. UVa is coasting. As for Memphis, they're having all they can handle against North Texas - down a point late in the first half. The Mean Green are just taking the ball to the hoop with authority and acting like they're supposed to be on the same court as the Tigers.

119pm Georgia Tech has a pulse. 7 straight points. Let me restate. 7 points.

133pm Memphis leads by 9 at the half on the heels of a 14-2 run. UVa is playing hard at both ends of the floor - something I haven't seen since the middle of February. They're nearly doubling Albany (58-30). Tech down 7 to UNLV at the half following an abysmal showing, who looked absolutely lost whenever Crittendon wasn't on the floor. UNLV surprisingly holds the rebounding edge.

221pm UVa wins 84-57 over Albany. Memphis firmly in control at the under-8 timeout. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has tied, fallen again, and fought back to cut the lead to 1 at the under-4 timeout. They'll be at the line for two shots.

230pm Four games set to start with Notre Dame and Winthrop being the headliner. We have a tie at the United Center between UNLV and Georgia Tech. UNLV has had 3 offensive rebounds and makes it count with an and-1.

235pm UNLV just outhustling Georgia Tech late. The Jackets shot themselves in the foot all today on the defensive boards. Runnin' Rebels up 4 with 36.6 left.

239pm Tech is done for. Another 7-10 loss for me. Why I go against a team that I projected to be a 4-seed is beyond me. Congratulations to UNLV on giving some legitimacy to the Mountain West.

249pm CBS is starting to annoy me. The Winthrop-ND game is supposed to be shown on the local affiliate, so it's blacked out on the March Madness package; however, CBS put the last couple minutes of the UNLV-GT game (understandable) and Memphis-N. Texas (blasphemous).

322pm Quick updates. Most surprising, A&M-CC up 10 nil against Wisconsin with three minutes gone. I'm waiting for the 15-0 run stretched over 9 minutes for the Badgers. Winthrop takes a 4-point lead into the break after a 15-4 run. Nevada and Creighton are underway in the latest purging of the mid-majors, brought to you only by the NCAA.

346pm The Islanders are now up 23-7 against Wisconsin. This is pretty insane. Bucky is winning the Habitat for Humanity award for its bricklaying capabilities. In other games, Winthrop has pulled away and Tennessee put up a 57-spot against Long Beach State.

404pm Notre Dame is on the comeback trail. They've cut Winthrop's lead in half - now 10. Wisconsin has reeled off 8 straight and cut the lead to 10, make that 12. Long Beach State can start heading back now.

409pm Rob Kurz on Notre Dame has backne.

424pm Winthrop and Notre Dame is quite the game. In the final minute, Winthrop up 4, but that means nothing. Kurz has fouled out and a host of others with foul trouble. Craig Bradshaw with a man's jam to lock it up. Great effort by Notre Dame, who are the victims of a very poor draw. Tennessee also wins and will play UVa on Sunday.

609pm Plenty has happened. Possible upset brewing in Spokane - Oregon up 3 with the under 12 approaching. Aaron Brooks needs to get some buckets.

652pm Miami-Ohio hits a buzzer-beating three pointer!!! But they were down by five. Oregon escapes the upset. In just a few minutes, the Kevin Durant show begins against Hang Time.

901pm Saltiness abound in the Virginia Tech-Illinois game. Controversial technical where an Illini player takes a swipe at a Tech player and the non-retaliation results in a tech.

1105pm The farcical tech galvanizes the Hokies comeback in their win over Illinois, a team that I still contend should not have been in the field. My third team out, Purdue, gave me some of my own medicine in a solid win over Arizona. Great coaching job by Lute. I've been on his ass all year. Maybe some of the unrealistic 'Cats fans might open their ears. Also, no Hang Time reunion - they lost to the Durants.

1143pm Kentucky should be in good shape to win with 3 minutes left and a 9-point lead. SIU up 6 against Holy Cross - two of the nation's 10 best scoring defenses. This one will go down to the wire unless the Salukis can hit a couple shots and play their trademark defense under the tutelage of Keenan Thompson, er, Chris Lowry. Meanwhile, Arkansas angering people who didn't have them in their field of 65 and Team Lightswitch just flipped it after the break.