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The first two days of the NCAA Tournament saw some wow-worthy, spectacular, unbelievable occurrences.Worlds were flipped, turned upside down. Jamaica, Queens' Kyle O'Quinn made a name for himself, dominating Missouri as Norfolk State took out the #2 seed 86-84.
Lehigh took it to the soft, defensively questionable Duke team with a 75-70 win and a whole lot of C.J. McCollum - a star of the Lehigh team St. John's defeated earlier this season. "They were very bold the entire game," coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game. "They were bold throughout and bold won."
Will we see more shocks today, with Kentucky facing a bold Iowa State, with VCU trying to make another deep run, and with Murray State trying to prove they are deserving of a high ranking against Marquette?
The Rumble's picks, and matchups and times for Saturday's games, below the fold.
First - the Norfolk State Spartans' celebration.
| Location | Day | Time | Station | Game |
Pico
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Quinn
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Tim
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| Consol Energy Center (Pittsburgh, PA) | Saturday, March 17 | 12:15 PM | CBS | Kansas St. #8 E | x |
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| vs. Syracuse #1 E |
|
x
|
x
|
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| Consol Energy Center (Pittsburgh, PA) | Saturday, March 17 | 2:45 PM | CBS | Gonzaga #7 E | x |
|
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| vs. Ohio St. #2 E |
x
|
|
x
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| KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, KY) | Saturday, March 17 | 5:15 PM | CBS | Murray St. #6 W | x |
|
|
| vs. Marquette #3 W |
x
|
|
x
|
||||
| The Pit (Albuquerque, NM) | Saturday, March 17 | 6:10 PM | TNT | Vanderbilt #5 E | x |
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| vs. Wisconsin #4 E |
x
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|
x
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| Rose Garden (Portland, Ore.) | Saturday, March 17 | 7:10 PM | TBS | VCU #12 S | |||
| vs. Indiana #4 S |
x
|
x
|
x
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| KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, KY) | Saturday, March 17 | 7:45 PM | CBS | Iowa St. #8 S | |||
| vs. Kentucky #1 S |
x
|
x
|
x
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| The Pit (Albuquerque, NM) | Saturday, March 17 | 8:40 PM | TNT | Colorado #11 W |
x
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|
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| vs. Baylor #3 W | x |
x
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| Rose Garden (Portland, Ore.) | Saturday, March 17 | 9:40 PM | TBS | New Mexico #5 E |
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x
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| vs. Lousville #4 E |
x
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x |
Pico's pick: Colorado Buffaloes over Baylor Bears.
The Baylor Bears struggled with the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State until the Bears athleticism took over. Yes, Baylor has only lost to elite teams; but Colorado is tougher than one thinks, plays a heady game, and will make Baylor's athletes frustrated.
Quinn's don't get excited warning: Don't get excited about the Syracuse Orange.
They'll beat Kansas State on Saturday, but that's where the certainty ends. Not only are things starting to turn on Syracuse on the court, but America is turning on them. Basketball fans know that the officials aided the Orange in their close win over UNC-Asheville on Thursday. They know that Syracuse isn't as good without their big fellow, Fab Melo. They know that the team that finished the Big East regular season with just one loss fell to Cincinnati without much fight. There is one punch that is on Syracuse's side - Dion Waiters. If Waiters is able to pick up the slack, Jim Boeheim's squad could still get to the Final Four. But one sub-par performance, and it could all be over.
Quinn's Game to watch: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Va. Commonwealth Rams
Can the Shaka magic continue? VCU, who shockingly made the Final Four a year ago, is now only three wins from New Orleans. After fulfilling the classic #12-over-#5 upset over Wichita State, the Colonial champions will be ready to give the Hoosiers all they can put up with on Saturday. VCU is no longer that team trying to do the 'unthinkable.'. They've been there before. And, in this Tournament, that means more than you think.
For Indiana, it will be difficult not to look ahead at a potential Sweet Sixteen clash with Kentucky. You may remember how their first go-round fared back in December. If a potential rematch in the Big Dance has any shot at equaling "Watford for the win!," I'm going to look ahead too. But Tom Crean and his boys know that there is no such thing as looking over an opponent. Ask Missouri. Ask Duke. Ask Michigan. This one should be fun.
Tim's Game to watch: Syracuse Orange vs. Kansas St. Wildcats
Both teams just got into the next round but Syracuse looked like the more concerning team. UNC-Asheville really played them tough all the way to the end. And if there wasn't that ghost of a call by the ref's on the out of bounds play, it could have been a whole lot closer - possibly an upset. Kansas State comes in with a win over Southern Miss. Frank Martin and his interior guys will have to go to work down low on Syracuse who showed that the loss of Fab Melo really hurt them inside. They gave up 10 offensive rebounds which could be killer for a team way better then UNC-Asheville.
Tim's Game NOT to watch: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Iowa St. Cyclones
Kentucky started off a bit slow versus Western Kentucky so you know they will want to come out strong from the get-go against Iowa State, a more formidable matchup for the Wildcats. I have a feeling this will be the blowout of the tournament. Though Iowa State gave UConn a hard time, Kentucky is no UConn and Iowa State doesn't have the fire power to match the NBA-caliber Wildcats.
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Schedule recap, with links to the Rumble St. John's game recaps and links to re-watch games