NCAA SWEET SIXTEEN DAY #2

First...

DUKE WINS!!!!

(#1 seed) Duke toughed it out against a very tough (#4) Purdue team. The first half Prudue caused Duke to turn the ball over and Duke never got into the offense except for Singler, who kept them in the game. Half-time was Duke 24, Purdue 23. But in the second half Duke pulled away as Scheyer and Smith got hot for a 70-57 win. It was very much like the first Duke-Clemson game where the game was tied 23-23 at half time then Duke pulled away to win it 60-47.

So DUKE IS IN THE ELITE EIGHT!!!!

Their opponant will be Baylor (#3) who destroyed fan favorite St. Mary's (#10). Baylor looked awesome. It will definitely be a tough match up for Duke. While Duke has had a big size advantage against their opponants so far (although they didn't really go down low against Purdue often on offense, they dominated the boards), this Baylor team is big and deep and good. Should be a heck of match.

Other games --

(#6) Tennesee upset (#2) Ohio State. A close game, Oh-St had a chance to tie, but Evan Turner's game tying 3 was blocked and the Vols won. A great game.

(#5) Michigan State def. upstart (#9) Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa actually had a 29-22 halftime lead, but Michigan State pulled it out with a big second half.

So let's see where things are going into the Elite Eight:

In a year where people talked about three teams being dominant (Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky), only Kentucky is still around. People thought of the three teams KY would be the most vulnerable to an upset since they played in a weaker conference and relied on freshmen. Instead the SEC actually is the only conference with two teams still playing (Kentucky and Tennessee).

Of course people also talked about parity this year and it shows in balance between the conferences: 1 ACC (Duke), 1 Big East (West Virginia), 1 Big 10 (Michigan State), 1 Horizon League (Butler), 2 Big 12 (Baylor, Kansas State), 2 SEC (Tennesse, Kentucky)

And how great is it to see a non-Big 6 team get in there with Butler representing the Horizon League?

The two sides of the brackets are an interesting contrast. On one side, the brackets have held close to seed. (#1) Duke will play (#3) Baylor and (#1) Kentucky will play (#2) West Virginia. On the other side it has been all upsets as (#5) Michigan State will play (#6) Tennessee and (#2) Kansas State will play (#5) Butler. So automatically a seed below a #4 will make the final four.

So who has the best chance now to win it all?

Kentucky. They just look head and shoulders above everyone else. But they will also have a tough road, playing West Virgian, then Duke/Baylor just to make it to the championship game.

After them, I would say Kansas State. I think Baylor and Duke might be just as good as K-St (although K-State looked VERY good), but K-State definitely has the easier road. In fact, they won't play a team higher than a #5 seed until the final game. And if they get upset in either the Elite 8 or the Final Four, it means a #5/#6 will be playing for the National Championship.

Only two games tomorrow. The two games Sunday.

Go Duke!!!