Second round of March Madness has begun.  Here were some choice highlights:

The #1 seed UCONN Huskies don’t seem to be struggling much, even without their best player Jerome Dyson. Many thought they weren’t the same team without him, but those critics failed to realize just how much talent UCONN has on the roster.  Texas A&M looked great on Thursday, but they were nothing but chum to UCONN.  With their head coach, Jim Calhoun, back on the sidelines, The Huskies absolutely crushed the Aggies, led by guard A.J. Price, who scored 27 points.  These guys look VERY tough to beat right now.  Their next challenge… a healthy, rejuvenated Purdue team.  UCONN 92, Texas A & M 66.

At the bottom of that region, it was #2 Memphis vs. #10 Maryland in what many thought might be a close game.  Nope.  Memphis has corrected whatever ills they experienced during the close game against UC-Northridge.  They steamrolled over a Maryland team that just didn’t see it coming.  Memphis’ star guard Tyreke Evans led the way with 19 points.   If there is a face-off between #2 Memphis and #1 UCONN, it will be a battle to remember.  Memphis 89, Maryland 70.

Another #1 seed, North Carolina, had a tough time with #8 LSU early.  The Tar Heels just couldn’t find their rhythm, and the LSU Tigers finally started playing like the team that dominated the SEC in the regular season.  What many thought would be a blowout, was actually pretty close.  Fortunately for UNC, however, they had their star point-guard, Ty Lawson, back on the floor.  Ty put up 23 points on the day as UNC pulled away in the second half to storm into the Sweet Sixteen.  UNC 84, LSU 70.

Up next for the Tar Heels, a very formidable opponent in #4 Gonzaga.  Gonzaga had a pretty safe lead throughout most of their game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (one of last year’s Cinderella teams).  But, at the end, W. Kentucky came surging back, and with just 7 seconds left on the clock, they tipped in a bricked 3-point attempt to tie the game.  That left Gonzaga with just 6.9 seconds to do something, and they passed the ball to Demetri Goodson who rushed down the court, and hit a bank shot lay-up with just 0.9 seconds remaining.  Western Kentucky’s coach was yelling “Timeout, Timeout”, but nothing was called or granted.  W. Kentucky couldn’t do anything, and the game was over.  After the game, their coach complained to the ref that he had called Timeout so they could at least try to get one last shot off.   This will surely be a topic of controversy today.  Gonzaga 83, Western Kentucky 81.