March Madness Day 2

Day Two Picks: Synopsis and Scores to Follow. Higher Seed listed first.

Syracuse/Stephen F. Austin - Syracuse

Syracuse 59, Stephen F. Austin 44. 1-0 for Day 2. No surprise here. The Orange were on a large role coming out of the Big East and this game as never in doubt.

Oklahoma State/Tennessee - Tennessee

Oklahoma State 77, Tennessee 75. 1-1 Day 2. A rough loss for the Vols who played very well, but came up just short. Oklahoma State, however, proved to be the only eight seed to move on during this tournament.

Marquette/Utah State - Marquette

Marquette 58, Utah State 57. 2-1 for Day 2. Marquette struggled down the stretch in the Big East, but I figured they had enough power to get through the first round. And the did - barely. Utah State was a strong team and gave Marquette all they could handle.

Kansas/North Dakota State - Kansas

Kansas 84, North Dakota State 74. 3-1 for Day 2. I very good showing for North Dakota State who just moved into Division I this season. They put a small scare into the defending champions, but in the end the Jayhawks pulled it out.

Arizona State/Temple - Temple

Arizona State 66, Temple 57. 3-2 for Day 2. I thought it would be another Christmas showing in the first round. I watched Dionte Christmas put on a show in the A-10 championship game, but he alone couldn't get the Owls past Arizona State.

Pittsburgh/East Tennessee State - Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh 72, East Tennessee State 62. 4-2 for Day 2. Horrible. That is all I can say for my Panthers' performance. A team that prides itself in taking care of the basketball had 13 turnovers in the first half, compared to just eight field goals. They snuck by upset minded East Tennessee State, and hopefully this scare wakes them up.

Missouri/Cornell - Missouri

Missouri 78, Cornell 59. 5-2 for Day 2. I am putting a lot of my eggs in Missouri's basket, so this was a good showing and held my faith with them.

West Virginia/Dayton - Dayton

Dayton 68, West Virginia 60. 6-2 for Day 2. This was a gut pick for me. For some reason I felt the Flyers could get past West Virginia - despite how great West Virginia looked in the Big East tournament. And I was glad my gut was correct for once.

Louisville/Morehead State - Louisville

Louisville 74, Morehead State 54. 7-2 for Day 2. Louisville also received a scare as a number one seed, but not as big of one as Pittsburgh. The winner of the play-in-game, Morehead State, played very well in the first half and even held a few leads before the Cardinals pulled awau in the second half.

Utah/Arizona - Arizona

Arizona 84, Utah 71. 8-2 for Day 2. Arizona had no right even making this tournament, as St. Mary's, Creighton and Penn State had better resumes - but they did receive a favorable matchup in the first round so I felt they could get the upset.

Boston College/USC - USC

USC 72, Boston College 55. 9-2 for Day 2. This game scared me because I had USC going pretty far in the tournament. I thought they had finally matured and woken up in the Pac-10 tournament - but the Eagles held close for most of the contest.

Xavier/Portland State - Xavier

Xavier 77, Portland State 59. 10-2 for Day 2. Another pretty easy game for the higher seed. They got the lead early and never relinquished it.

Ohio State/Siena - Siena

Siena 74, Ohio State 72. 11-2 for Day 2. It took two overtimes and multiple comebacks but the Saints managed to pull off another upset in the first round - their second in as many years. This game was great to watch - and even better as I picked Siena.

Wake Forest/Cleveland State - Wake Forest

Cleveland State 84, Wake Forest 69. 11-3 for Day 2. If you thought Pittsburgh played horribly - no one laid a bigger egg than Wake Forest in the first round. I had the Demon Deacons making it all the way to the finals this year - so that side of my bracket is destroyed. Wake Forest was the lowest (No. 4) seed to lose in the first round.

Michigan State/Robert Morris - Michigan State

Michigan State 77, Robert Morris 62. 12-3 for Day 2. Robert Morris pulled North Dakota State or a Binghamton and got off to a good start against Michigan State. However, the Spartans proved to be too much and pulled away for a 15-point win in the end.

Florida State/Wisconsin - Florida State

Wisconsin 61, Florida State 59. Day Two: 12-4. First Round: 25-7. In another overtime contest the Badgers and Seminoles played a pheomenal contest that came down to a spinning layup and free throw to give Wisconsin the victory.