First-Round Order Restored

UCSB's Justin Joyner and Ohio State's Evan Turner. Photo courtesy the NY Daily News.

I generally don't post on the weekends, but March Madness is in full swing. With the first round complete, Friday's games went about as expected. If Thursday was a day of chaos, Friday was mostly a snoozer. Top seeds Syracuse and Duke were on cruise control and Ohio State and West Virginia dominated in their second halves to beat UCSB and Morgan State, respectively. The expected upset of Cornell over Temple happened, while the popular picks of Siena over Purdue and Utah State over Texas A&M didn't. As for the Big East/ACC clash, the Big East went 1-1 (West Virginia won, Louisville lost) while the ACC went 3-2 Friday.

Here were the highlight games of the day:

Xavier's Dante Jackson. Photo courtesy the NY Daily News.

6 Xavier def. 11 Minnesota, 65-54
After a first half tie at 26, Xavier's Jordan Crawford took over, scoring 17 of his 28 points in the second half to lead the Musketeers to victory.

10 Missouri def. 7 Clemson, 86-78
This was a popular upset pick, so not terribly unexpected. The teams were tied at 39 at the half, but Mizzou went on a 47-point surge in the second, which proved to be the difference. Simply put, the Missouri Tigers had a balanced offense (four players with 10 or more points) and an aggressive defense, forcing 20 turnovers.

Gonzaga's Robert Sacre blocks Florida State's Derwin Kitchen. Photo courtesy the Merced Sun-Star / Associated Press.

8 Gonzaga def. 9 Florida State, 67-60
At halftime, this game looked like a Bulldogs blowout, but the FSU Seminoles came storming back, scoring 41 second-half points, mostly on the back of Deividas Dulkys, who was money from beyond the arc. However, the Gonzaga trio of Robert Sacre, Steven Gray, and Matt Bouldin proved too much for Florida State.

8 California def. 9 Louisville, 77-62
The Pac-10's second team to beat a Big East team in as many days (Washington surprised Marquette Friday), and Cal dominated for the bulk of the game. Louisville, known for being above average defensively, was down early 22-4. Not a good day to be Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who earned himself a technical that helped kill any chance of a Louisville comeback late in the second half.

Maryland's Greivis Vasquez blocks Houston's Aubrey Coleman. Photo courtesy the Annapolis Capital Gazette / Associated Press.

4 Maryland def. 13 Houston, 89-77
Probably the most entertaining game of the night with two up-tempo offenses going at it and CBS' Tim Brando making ridiculous calls (After a 3-pointer by Houston star Aubrey Coleman: "The bank is open late!") Maryland's Greivis Vasquez had a great second half, but it was Maryland's freshman forward Jordan Williams who had the career game. The Terrapins simply wore down Houston in the second half and made enough defensive stops to win.

10 Georgia Tech def. 7 Oklahoma State, 64-59
This was a predicted upset, but it was a tight game the whole way through. The Yellow Jackets were down 36-31 at the half, but held OK State's James Anderson, the nation's third-leading scorer, to only 11 points. Considering the seesaw season Georgia Tech had in the ACC, the win could be considered a mild surprise.

From left to right, Michigan State's Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen, and Delvon Roe. Photo courtesy ESPN.

5 Michigan State def. 12 New Mexico State, 70-67
The game of the night. New Mexico State was down big at halftime, but rallied back in the second until two controversial calls effectively decided the game. The first was a lane violation that was called correctly, according to NCAA officials postgame. That led to a 70-67 score, in favor of the MSU Spartans. The second call was atrociously bad, and where New Mexico State fans have a legitimate beef. The ball went out of bounds at 0.9 seconds, but it didn't register with the officials until 0.3 seconds, shaving off precious time and forcing a desperation three-point shot that didn't go in for NMSU. The officials should have been keeping an eye on the clock when the ball went out of bounds. Michigan State got out of a close one.