Day three of the tourney is about to begin, and I'll cover the games from Buffalo running-diary style. As for day two, well, we'll save that one for another time, since I didn't manage to see anything past 9:00. And so we go live to Buffalo, NY for the Saturday games...

5:18 Saw the cut-away from the Gonzaga game. Glad I didn't pick them to go to the sweet sixteen. Unfortunately, I had Michigan State in the elite eight. We settle in the seats for Texas Tech / St. Joes. Not much to cheer for here since I dislike both coaches.

5:20 I see Mark has brought binoculars to the game. Since binoculars rank right up there with forty year olds who wear baseball gloves to games and old women with foam “number one” fingers, I feel obliged to call him a woman. Of course, he has the only thing close to an acceptable excuse: “It’s strictly for the cheerleaders.” So be it, I’ll be watching though.

5:22 St. Joes takes the floor. That crazy hawk is still flapping his arms.

5:24 Tech takes the floor. Some boos. Interesting.

5:28 During the intros I notice Tech has a player named Mikey Marshall. Isn’t “Mikey” the nickname you lose when you hit college?

5:30 Opening tip. I’m sure it’s the distances from Buffalo to the respective cities, but the crowd is definitely pro-Joe’s.

5:31 Nelson hits a three. Right where he left off…

5:33 Andre Emmett throws one down. Nelson and Emmett provide a great opportunity to see two of the games premier players. That’s the one bad part of being a sports fan in Buffalo: no hoops. Football? Sure, we have the Bills, and eight times a year we have what only thirty other cities in the UsofA have: pro football. Hockey? Check. Sabres are here, and all the big guns roll through town at some point. Baseball? No pro team, but AAA is the next best thing. I do regret not being able to see a major league game any time I want, but I can still get my fix. It comes down to hoops. No pro team, and our college teams are average teams in mid-major conferences so we see one or two premier players a year at best. That’s why this tourney sold out all three sessions at almost 19,000 people a crack; the chance to see something we almost never get to see. A premier basketball event with premier players.

5:43 Nelson passes up a wide open three to drive and dish. Ultimately it turns into a missed three. Tech then goes down and hits a three. Tech 19-12. Nelson needs to take control.

5:46 Tech goes up 21-12. Joes TO.

5:50 Tech gets a TO after one of those WTF sequences. West just went off for seven straight points to cut the Tech lead to 24-21.

5:52 The St. Joes spirit squad comes out, led by the ever-flapping hawk. 3-1 odds Knight drills the Hawk before the game ends.

6:03 St. Joes is just pouring it on. Nelson hits a fade away three to go up 34-23 with 4:09 left in the half.

6:03 A West runner makes it a 24-2 run.

6:04 Tech scores! 36-25.

6:05 3:00 TV timeout. 36-27 St. Joes. I see Wake beat Manhattan 84-80. Niagara lost a tight one to Manhattan in the MAAC championship. Nice showing for another small school.

6:12 Halftime. St. Josephs 36-31.

6:41 14:40 left. Joes up 47-41. The teams are trading threes with some impressive shooting. One thing to note: there are NO replays shown on ANY play. It’s frustrating watching a Nelson or West make a spectacular play and not be able to see it again. My well-informed bro tells me there are no replays on orders from the NCAA.

6:48 Foul on Emmett. Where has he been? This is the part of the game when you start to realize that St. Josephs is going to win. Nelson and West, the guys who are supposed to get it done for Joes are making plays. The main man for Tech has been non-existent.

6:57 Nelson drives and hits a sweet underhand scooper. I love watching this kid. I never would have realized how talented he is if I was watching this on the tube.

6:58 Tech pulls to within four, Nelson comes back and drains a three.

7:05 Tech goes to the line down three. Suddenly, Joes has gone cold from the outside, and they can’t, or won’t, go inside. This sequence points out the fundamental flaw of this St. Joes team. They have two (or three) excellent guards, and absolutely no inside game. If they go against a team with a premier perimeter defender with some inside guys with any size Joes will be in real trouble. Tech hits both throws to cut the lead to 60-59 with 5:17 left.

7:06 There he is! Big steal by Emmett, and he’s fouled. He hits one to make it 60 all.

7:14 Nelson chucks an airball three with 1:40 left and Joes leading 66-62. Joes gets a steal and Nelson hits two throws. 68-62 with 1:15 left.

7:19 A quick peek at the out-of-town board shows the Cuse is up 54-40. Kevin happy. Emmett steps up and hits two throws. 68-65 Joes.

7:22 St. Joes gets the ball with :45 left and kills clock. Why isn’t Tech fouling? Joe’s hits and Tech gets the ball down five with 12 seconds left. Tech misses the three and that’s game. Why didn’t Tech foul???

7:57 Man, the halls were packed with people trying to get a look at the Syracuse game. Back in the seats for the player intro’s for UConn and DePaul.

8:01 Alabama over Stanford? Brackets around the country are being shredded, unless you were aware that picking any PAC-10 team is usually suicide. Syracuse won 72-70. Nice to see the local boys win, and prove some experts wrong in the process.

8:02 A basket! 3-1/2 minutes in and UConn goes up 2-0.

8:08 Ummm, plenty more baskets as UConn is up 11-0. What bar are we going to and how soon can we leave?

8:11 DePaul hits a three to get on the board with 5-1/2 minutes gone.

8:19 Deiner misses a twenty-five footer. I know you’re white and wearing number 33, but its time to check yourself dude. 22-7 UConn.

8:24 TV timeout with 7:50 left in the half. 24-7 UConn. Are we sure DePaul beat Dayton? You know the Dayton guys are sitting in their dorm rooms right now swearing.

8:32 Deiner hits a 22’ three. 29-12.

8:42 DePaul goes on a nice little 8-0 run to cut the lead to 15.

8:44 39-20 at the half. Time for some observations. I watch quite a bit of Big East ball thanks to Syracuse, but I can’t believe how balanced UConn is. A very athletic team with solid guard play. Okafor has been non-existent on the scoreboard, but I think DePaul has zero points in the paint. If Okafor can stay out of foul trouble they can win it all.

9:12 Hey, Mark. Bored yet? There’s another game on in a bar somewhere…

9:50 I have a Labatts Blue in hand at the Wellington Pub. The UConn game is still going…and ugly. At least Carolina is on as well. And since I told the missus I’d be home “around 11:00” this night is only getting better. And they have Golden Tee…