COLLEGE BASKETBALL

March Madness has begun.  Okay, not the 64-team tournament, but the conference tourneys are now in full spring.  And we’ve already seen some incredible upsets.   Here were a few from last night.

Oklahoma, loaded with their incredible superstar, Blake Griffin, took on the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  And the game took place in the new Oklahoma City Thunder stadium.  And while both teams played well, Oklahoma didn’t play like the juggernaut they’re supposed to be.  The game came down to the final play when James Anderson got fouled with the Cowboys down by one.  Then — he hit both clutch free throws to give Oklahoma State a one point lead, and seal the victory. Wow, huge upset.  Oklahoma State 71, Oklahoma 70.

Next — it was the Kansas Jayhawks turn to fall.  They took on an unranked Baylor team that looked feisty as ever.  The Baylor Bears were led by what might be the coolest name in sports right now.  That’s right, LaceDarius Dunn had 24 points to beat the Jayhawks last night.  LaceDarius — now that’s a name.  With this win, Baylor improved their overall wins against Kansas in school history to… two.  The Bears need to essentially win this conference tourney if they want a birth in the big show. Baylor 71, Kansas 64.

The #2 Pitt Panthers — they weren’t safe either.  This team is good, but also one of those teams that really struggles when their best player goes out of the game.  In this case, it’s DeJaun Blair.  Pitt isn’t a high-scoring team, and there’s a lot of concern that they just won’t score enough points to go deep in the tournament.  DeJuan Blair puts up the points, but not many other contribute in a big way.  And in March Madness, you need to score at will, or else you are prime to be upset by a team that gets the hot shooting hand.  Well, last night Pitt got crushed by West Virginia (who looks great by the way).  Now, Pitt will have a chance to rest up and refocus before the tournament begins.  They could be ripe to be upset early.

Finally, an amazing game in Madison Square Garden between #4 UCONN and #20 Syracuse. Eric Devendorf hit a three pointer with 0.01 seconds on the clock to give Syracuse the lead.  But, um, no — the officials ruled that he didn’t get the shot off in time, and we were headed to overtime.   And they just couldn’t settle it in one overtime.  Or two.  Or three.  Not even four.  Five?  Nope.  They need six OVERTIMES to decide a winner.  And at the end, Syracuse prevailed.   Jonny Flynn led Syracuse with 34 points, and Syracuse advanced in the Big East tourney.  As for UCONN, they need to follow Pitt’s lead and figure out what they want to accomplish come tournament time.  Syracuse 127, UCONN 117.