Day 2 At The Tourney

Well my 2nd day at the tourney was a lot more fun than the first day, thanks to 2 pretty solid games and a rowdy crowd of mostly Memphis fans. Mississippi State brought a lot of people with them as well, but I'm guessing half the house was full of Tiger blue. It felt like a home game for them I bet.

In game 1 we got plenty of chances to boo Texas again as they led Miami by 17 points with just under 5 minutes to play but just hung on to win 75-72. The Longhorns actuall dominated most of the game but just couldn't put it away at the end. Texas made 13 of 26 from beyond the 3-point line and it seems like all 5 starters can knock it down from out there with ease. Jack McClinton, who had 38 on Friday, finished with "just" 18 for Miami. A.J. Abrams scored 26 for Texas, including 6 for 10 on 3s. He's just awesome to watch. Damion James had 16 pts and 16 rebs.

In the 2nd game, Mississippi State hung with Memphis until the final buzzer, when a desperation 3 that would have tied it missed the mark. It was a rough game with 2 solid defenses and featured a lot of blocked shots (18 to be exact) and plenty of round inside play. Memphis' Joey Dorsey ended up with the biggest game as the big man put up 13 points, snagged 12 rebounds and swatted 6 MSU shots. He was bumpin' and bangin' around the entire game. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts finished with 17 pts a piece. Memphis was terrible at the free throw line, 15 for 31, or they would have put MSU away a lot sooner. Jamont Gordon had a great game with 21 points and 11 rebs and Ben Hansbrough 19 points for MSU, who just kept hanging in there. I like Hansbrough's style of play as he's gritty and fearless it seems. He plows right into the land of trees. Memphis is a really exciting team to watch though as you never know when a highlight pass or dunk is going to happen.

All-in-all the first NCAA Basketball Tournament to grace central Arkansas went pretty well I thought. The crowds were huge and fairly well behaved and I don't think there were any major mishaps. I'm hoping we'll get the tourney again in a few years and I definitely be there.