Tuesday N.I.T. Turmoil 3/24

We have hit our first dry stretch of the NCAA tournament. It's a good thing the N.I.T. provides a descent helping of interesting matchups to get us through the week.

Creighton, the NCAA's odd man out, hosted the Billie Gillespie Farewell Tour in front of a packed house, and two of the elite scoring guards in the country went toe-to-toe in the nightcap.

No. 4 Kentucky—65, No. 1 Creighton—63

The Qwest Center in Omaha was entirely sold out, and I would guess that a majority of the tickets were sold to students, because it was loud...very, very, very loud.

With every shot that Creighton made, the place erupted like it was a buzzer-beater.

Second Team All-American guard Jodie Meeks was shut down most of the night, but hit the game-winner on a nice dribble drive to the basket and converted on the three-point play.

Perry Stevenson had 13 points and grabbed 10 boards, while Patrick Patterson chipped in with 12 points of his own. Booker Woodfox led the Blue Jays with 18 points, but shot a dismal 9-for-23 from the field.

This game had all the makings of an NCAA Tournament game. Neither team led by more than five and there were 11 lead changes. I think the Wildcats need two more postseason wins to salvage their season—and Gillespie's coaching status.

No. 2 St. Mary's—80, No. 6 Davidson—68

Steph Curry vs. Patty Mills. Not much else needs to be said.

Oh yeah, this was the fastest sell-out in the history of St. Mary's College.

At the half, Mills had 17 points to Curry's 12. The pace of this game was set by the two speedy guards.

St. Mary's had a better team performance, getting excelent play from forward Diamond Simpson (12 PTS) and center Omar Samhan (18 PTS).

There were also stretches of this game that looked like a consistant fast break drill with both guards running the floor, leading to some beautiful finishes.

Curry finished with 26 points, but Mills had the more complete game, logging the double-double of 23 points and 10 assists.