East Region

It is becoming a BIG DEAL that North Carolina does not lose games that are geographically placed in North Carolina. That was certainly true in this region.

North Carolina 68 - Washington State 47

During the game, much was made of the Tar Heels ability to play defense. All season they have been acknowledged as one of great scoring machines in recent memory, but the defense has not gathered the accolades nearly as much. That is unfortunate, because Roy Williams has always been about great team defense. The numbers tell a grim story. WSU shot only 31.2% for the game, and 12.8% from 3pt range.   They had more turnovers than assists, 10 – 9. UNC out rebounded WSU 48 – 32. But the real story of the game was North Carolina's demonstration of the ability to alter speeds to suit themselves. Washington State would have been very comfortable in an 80+ point shoot out, as would North Carolina. Roy Williams had his team play the game more at a Big 10 or Big East pace, running only in spurts, and playing to their strength at the post. Tyler Hansbrough had 19 points and 9 rebounds, leading 4 players in double figures. .

Louisville 79 – Tennessee 60

This game matched up a former number one team, against a team that spent nearly half the season out of the Top 25. Watching the game, it would be easy to switch the teams. Louisville has been playing outstanding basketball for about 6 weeks, following the return of David Padgett, who missed several weeks with an injury. The final score is indicative of the control the Cardinals had during much of the game. Only a Tennessee run at the start of the second half, closing a 16 point gap to a single point, made the game exciting. Louisville answered with a 12 to 3 run, and was never threatened again. For the game, Louisville held Tennessee to 33.9% shooting, and dominated the rebounding 42 – 24. Reserve Earl Clark led the way for Louisville with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 blocked shots.

West Region

While the East Region winners dominated, the West Region had better games, despite lower seeded teams.

UCLA 88 – Western Kentucky 78

This was a good game. After being stretched to the limit by Texas A&M in the sub regional, UCLA began with another team that pushed them to the limit. It should not have been difficult. Based on a big size advantage under the basket, UCLA built a 21 point lead at the half. But, they slowly lost ground through the second half, fueled by some sloppy, which resulted in 17 turnovers for the game. It took UCLA making 13 of 14 free throw shots in the final 90 seconds to ice the game. High point man for the game was WKU's Tyrone Brazelton with 31 points and 5 assists. Kevin Love answered with 29 points and 14 rebounds, leading UCLA to a 49 – 33 advantage on the boards.

Xavier 79 – West Virginia 75

The best game of the third round matched the only remaining Mid Major team against one of the last teams to win into the tournament. Xavier dominated the first half, but the second half was a lead changing classic, and so was the over time finish. The hero of the night was B.J. Raymond, who scored all his points in over time, and buried a pair of 3pt shots in the final minute and a half. Three point shots were decisive. Xavier made 11 of 19, 57.9%, while West Virginia made only one of 11, 9.7%. Josh Duncan led the way for Xavier, with a career high 26 points. Joe Alexander kept West Virginia close with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

South Region

Cinderella sent one team to the West, but the door was slammed in their face. All three games were blow outs.

Texas 82 – Stanford 62

Going in, this looked like a nice match up, the “Twin” towers vs. the Texas guards. It did not work out that way. Texas' big men held their own, and D.J. Augustin dominated. Texas led from opening tip off, but the game stayed close until six minutes into the second half. Stanford's Brook Lopez would lead all scorers with 26 points. When he came out, Texas reeled off a 20 – 3 run, putting the game out of reach. Augustin had 23 points and Damion James added 18 for the Longhorns.

Memphis 92 – Michigan State 73

It was not that close. Memphis utterly dominated most of the game, building a 34 point lead at one point, but had a six minute dry spell, while freshman star Derrick Rose was getting medical attention. This allowed the Spartans to climb back, briefly, to single digits. Goran Suton had 23 points and nine rebounds, many in the push. Rose led the Tigers with 27 points and 5 assists, while Chris Douglas-Roberts added 25.

Midwest Region

This is where Cinderella finally danced, and showed a baby face. Interestingly, Greg Oden and Stephen Curry are both 20. By looks alone, there could be 20 years between them.

Kansas 72 – Villanova 57

It was at least as bad as it looks from the score. Kansas' trademark defense held Villanova to 35.6% shooting, and 17.6% on 3pt shots. A big part of this was Villanova had only 5 assists for the game, mostly late, and all the Wildcat starters went without an assist. In a typical night, Brandon Rush led Kansas with 16 points, followed by Russell Robinson with 15 and Mario Chalmers with 14. Scottie Reynolds led Villanova with a mere 11 points.

Davidson 73 – Wisconsin 56

The Glass slipper belongs to Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats. Curry, as everyone knows by now, is the son of NBA 3pt specialist Dell Curry. The genes run true. After a back and forth first half, but Curry alone outscored Wisconsin in the second half 22 – 20. Curry had 33 points, including 6 for 11 3pt shots. Max Paulhus Gosselin added 13 assists, many to Curry. Significant in the game was Davidson's ability to compete on the boards with the much bigger Badgers.