The Army has an expression – SNAFU – Situation Normal, All Fouled Up. That is the polite version, of course. The NCAA tournament bracket is SNAFU. Only two #2 seeds remain, and a #1 seed was pushed to the limit, but three double digit seeds are still playing.

Saturday's Action

One highlight of the first round had been Duke's struggles with #15 Belmont. Against #7 West Virginia, they met their match, losing 73 – 67. It was not that close. Duke trailed by a dozen with 30 seconds to play. The star of the game was Bob Huggins' trademark defense, which held Duke without a basket for a six and a half minute stretch of the final ten minutes. West Virginia also dominated the boards, leading the rebounding 45 – 19. Leading the way for WVU was  Joe Alexander with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Having almost as hard a time of it was #1 seed UCLA, against Texas A&M, pulling one out 51 – 49, behind 21 points from Darren Collison and 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots from Kevin Love. The Bruins had to scratch and claw their way back into the game, after trailing by 10 points two and a half minutes into the second half. Defense was key, particularly Love's shot blocking, as Texas A&M would miss 13 of 15 shots in an eight minute stretch.

The third nail biter of the day featured Stanford and Marquette, Stanford winning 82 – 81 in over time. The game matched two 30 point performances, by Stanford's Brook Lopez and by Marquette's Jerel McNeal. Mitch Johnson had a near record game for the Cardinal, with 16 assists, second most in NCAA tournament history. The game was competitive throughout, matching Marquette's three guard offense against Stanford's twin, literally in this case, seven foot post players. In the end, Brook Lopez had the deciding shot, a leaner with 1.7 seconds to play. McNeal had put Marquette ahead with the third of his three 3pt shots in over time.

The other close game featured Michigan State and Pittsburgh, MSU winning 65 – 54. Drew Neitzel starred for Michigan State, scoring all 21 of his game high points, as the Spartans pulled away in the final minutes. The 11-point margin wasn't indicative of how close this game was for a long time. Pitt trailed 40-30 with 15 minutes left, but went on a 14-2 run to take a lead. At that point Neitzel and Kalin Lucas, 19 points, took over the game. Michigan State made six consecutive free throws in the final minute to ice it.

The other #1 seed, Kansas, had an easier time, rolling over 75 – 56. High point man for the game was Wink Adams, with 25  for UNLV. However, Kansas defense limited the Rebels to 26.7% shooting, and 22.7% from 3pt range. High man for the Jayhawks was Mario Chalmers, with 17, leading 4 players in double figures.

Also cruising, Wisconsin shut down everyone but Michael Beasley, 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Bill Walker, 18 points, in route to an easy 72 – 55 win. The rest of Kansas State's players were a combined 6 of 23 shots, and 0 for 7 3pt shots. Wisconsin was led by Trevon Hughes 25 points, leading three players in double figures.

#3 Xavier rolled over #6 Purdue 85 – 78. C.J. Anderson and Drew Lavender each scored 18 points, Josh Duncan had 16 to lead the Musketeers. Also noteworthy is Xavier's defense, which held the Boilermakers to 38.8% shooting

The biggest blowout of the day was Washington State's 71 – 51 dismemberment of Notre Dame. The Cougars limited the Irish to 24.5% shooting, including 17.6% from 3pt range. This was the 5^th lowest ever in tournament play. Leading the way for Washington State was Derrick Low's 18 points, while Kyle Weaver had 15. The bad loss overshadowed Luke Harangody's 22 rebounds.

Sunday's Action

As in the first round, the real fireworks was on day two.

The big upset to date is #10 Davidson's 74 – 70 win over Georgetown. Shockingly, Georgetown out-shot Davidson 63.4% – 38.6%. A big part of the picture is the 16 point differential from the foul line, where Davidson converted 24 of 30, while Georgetown was a mere 8 of 17, or 47.1%. As in the opening round, the star for Davidson was Stephen Curry with 30 points. Curry recovered from a 2 for 12 start, hitting 6 of his last 9, including three 3pt shots. Down by 17 with 2 ½  minutes gone in the second half, Davidson's swarming defense produced turnover after turnover, forcing 20 on the game, taking the lead with 4:40 remaining. Curry made four consecutive free throws in the last 30 seconds to ice the win.

The other #2 team, Tennessee had almost as much trouble, escaping Butler 76 – 71, in over time. Starring for the Volunteers was their front court tandem of Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism, who combined for 31 points and 13 rebounds, leading to a 43 – 34 rebound advantage. Tennessee led 13 in the first half, and by 10 early in the second, but Butler kept coming back, led by A.J. Graves 21 points, and a tenacious defense that forced 20 turnovers. In the end fatigue may have been the deciding factor, as foul plagued Tennessee was fresher down the stretch.

The final #2 had the easiest time, though the final score does not show it. Texas maintained a double digit lead for much of the game, before surviving a late rush, to beat Miami 75 – 72. A.J. Abrams led Texas with 26 points, while Damion James added 16 points and 16 rebounds. Texas had a 13 point lead with 2:44 to play, but Miami scored the next seven points to make it tight down the stretch. The final margin was as close as they ever came.

In the first of two match ups of double digit seeds, #12 Villanova rolled over #13 Siena 84 – 72. Scottie Reynolds scored 25 points and Corey Stokes added 20 for the Wildcats, as they lead by ten points or more, almost wire to wire.

Western Kentucky had a similar run, except that San Diego made a run at them in the second half, before falling 72 – 63. Leading the way for the Hilltoppers was Courtney Lee, with 29 points and 7 rebounds. The Troeros, behind Gyno Pomare's 20 points and nine rebounds, overcame a 15 point deficit to take their first lead 55 – 54. But Lee followed with back breaking 3pt shot, and Western Kentucky never trailed again.

In perhaps the best game of the day, #1 Memphis held off Mississippi State 77 – 74. Leading the way for the Tigers was Chris Douglas-Roberts, with 17 points and Joey Dorsey's 13 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocked shots. Mississippi State was paced by Jamont Gordon with 21 points and Ben Hansbrough with 19. Mississippi State trailed by 13 early in the second half, but closed to a point on two occasions and stayed close to the end.

At the other extreme, North Carolina toyed with Arkansas 108 – 77. The Tar Heels put on a passing clinic, amassing 28 assists, and shooting 67.7% for the game. Wayne Ellington led 5 players in double figures with 20 points.

Just as impressive was Louisville's demolition of Oklahoma 78 – 48. It is hard to find a star on Louisville's team, as six players had from 7 to 14 points. High man was reserve Earl Clark with 14. In all it was a clinic in team play, both offensively and defensiv