Not sure if anyone saw that basket interference call on Thabeet a few minutes back...but it might have been the worst call I've ever seen.

For people who missed it...he grabbed the ball a solid foot and a half below the rim.

How much do the ticket sales come from corporate support (mainly in the Regionals and Final Fours)?

Dixon missing the dunk on the breakaway was amusing.

It looked like the Pitt player got knocked in the head with a forearm on that out-of-bounds call against him before Xavier knocked down the 3.

Haha... I think Dixon was envisioning his "One Shining Moment" on that dunk attempt. :)

First team to 54 wins.

Should be a great final minute.

Xavier oughta go two for 1 here so they don't have to foul. Pitt is not such a high percentage offensive team ...you can stop them.

Big play by Fields.

I bet Xavier has turned the ball over more than 12 times this half. If they cannot pull back ahead, they are going to be kicking themselves for a long time over their second half ball control.

Incredible play by Fields. Xavier isn't winning this one in regulation unless somebody on Pitt gets stupid.

That might've been a game-changer.

Bone headed foul by Blair there.

If I'm anyone associated with the Xavier program, I'm not sleeping tonight.

damn - mouseketeers just couldn't quite pull it off *sighs*

They played tentative down the stretch. It seems all of these mid-major teams don't have that killer instinct that allows them to win late in games like this, even when they should.

I don't know if you can attribute that solely to their schedule or something else.

But oh well...if nothing else, Pitt keeps finding ways to win.

My bracket survives a scare for now.

Why isn't Mizzou/Memphis available on the web MMOD?

...and just as I say that, the link finally appears. Never mind!

No kidding... has a team ever won the title without ever looking that good?

Whatever high pressure situations Xavier has faced can't compare to getting tazered for trying to take a police officer's gun outside of a bar. This is all child's play for Levance Fields.

I think it's simpler than that. Xavier doesn't have a great PG and at the end they couldn't move the ball.

Pitt reminds me of the Ohio State football team the year they beat Miami for the title. They don't blow anyone out, but they always find a way to win. They could wind up winning the title with a rather small point differential.

That team always looked controlled, this one looks tight. I might be practicing revisionist history, but this team doesn't seem relaxed.

Man I hope Memphis and Mizzou can keep up this pace. This is fun so far

GO MIZZOU (and nova)

My goodness stop half reaching on defense fifty feet from the basket!

Duke looks like they have lead in their shoes.

I was curious hether Duke would try to play slow, it looks like they are going to. I think this plays to Nova's advantage because they are used to playing bigger teams who aren't as quick as they are. That's called the Big East schedule.

Hey Guys!

Coach said I might get in the game tonight, so be sure to watch.

oops...Wojo said I have to put away my iphone.

Back soon.

That's actually not completely true. Pitt was in the final four in 1940s.

If I'm Jay Wright I press with this bigger lineup out there for Duke...

such a good half for Mizzou, this is awesome.

Aww...I totally thought I was going to get to shoot that free throw cuz it looked like his hand was really hurt. More from the locker room at the half (but Collinsworth might make carry towels).

WOW. 60 foot prayer as the half expires for Missouri to go into the locker room up 49-36.

What can you say? Just not our not night. Great game Mizzou. You just came out and took it to us. What else can I say? Good luck against UConn.

christ its halftime dude

I think that was some sort of reverse psychology.

It's funny, after that big dunk my actual thought process was, "Well, at least that will give them something good to take into halftime, unless................(swish)."

Coach should have put me in on that last shot. I totally could have turned the ball over like that.

If I'm Duke, I think I'm pretty happy down 3 since I think Nova outplayed them that half. I expected this game to be played at a higher score but both teams have lacked on the offensive end.

Junior year starter, senior year dnp-cd. :(

Where was that foul?

What in the hell. That is, like, six fouls against Missouri in the last minute and a half.

This was one of those games where they are hitting everything, and nothing Memphis does is going to work well (Mack's "dunk").

I do think people tend to short change Memphis' history in college basketball. If you look at total Final Fours, Memphis is among a handful of teams to have more than 2. Additionally, they traditionally make deep runs into the NCAAs every 4-5 years (Elite 8 type run). In the 80s and early 90s, they were one of the best programs in the country. They made some poor coaching decisions in the mid-90s, but things are rolling again now that Cal is here.

Another item to remember is that Memphis produces an awful lot of college talent. Sure, its not on the level of Chicago, New York, or LA, but they Memphis produces quite a lot of talent. Arkansas' run in the early 90s was largely based on Memphis talent (Mayberry, Day, and I think Huery were all Memphis products). Let's not forget that Memphis also had plenty of talent at the time as well behind teams led by Penny Hardaway and Elliot Perry.

scary run for memphis here. Come on mizzou, no collapse here.

Couple huge turnovers by Missouri, couple of questionable foul calls (I think Memphis had three straight possessions for five points just on fouls during this run).

But the bigger issue is Memphis starting to push Missouri around on the glass. If you keep getting second chance putbacks, you're going to keep earning trips to the stripe, whether you make the putback or not.

Dude! You're in!

Missouri needs to knock it off with the fouls.

out of breath guys. i totally had to run to call that time out.

Some things never change, huh? Memphis 12-24 from the line.

wow, Duke sucks. I'll admit it, I haven't really followed college basketball for a while now, partly bc Duke is my favorite team, and, well, they've sucked for a few yrs now....but man, I guess some things never change, Coach K just doesn't believe in an inside game anymore, huh?

I had to sit down and start contributing in other ways. Coach is all mad at me for not protecting the basketball.

I'm going to start slapping the floor a lot.

Come on now!

1-2-3-4! Ev'rybody slap the floor!

slap slap slap slap

Is it just me or does Duke look like they're running a lot of their set offense in a shoebox?

I mean, it looks like they're afraid of the low block like there's a force field around it or something. Never mind whether you do anything down there, they're not creating any room for their cuts, screens, anything, they're too bunched up & it's making things even easier for Villanova. Granted, I haven't watched them 20 times this year or anything but this looks odd enough to me that I would think I would have noticed it before now.