Hoops

NCAA March Madness

How sweet it is...the Gaels are into the Sweet 16!

Saint Mary's biggest win of the season was arguably against Gonzaga in the WCC tournament final, however the Gael's probably topped that effort in a stunning upset win over #2 seed Villanova this morning.

The Gael's continued to ride the outstanding form of centre Omar Samham as they held off Villanova to win 75-68. Samham had 32 points and 7 rebounds to lead all scorers. However it was a high arcing long three from guard Mickey McConnell that put the Gael's ahead for good at 68-65 with just over minute left to play.

Samham had great support from Matt Dellavedova who had a distinctly better game, scoring 14 points on 4/11 shooting, hitting 2/5 from downtown a a perfect 4/4 from the line. He also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers in playing out the full 40 minutes. Hopefuly the highlights show a great play by Delly who late in the game lost his balance and fell over dribbling the ball, he regained his feet under pressure and then pulled up nailing a big trey!

Ben Allen scored 6 points on 1/3 shooting that included 1/2 from long range and 3/4 from the line. He also had 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block but 5 turnovers in 34 minutes of action.

After a good shooting night in the opening round, Clint Steindl had a quieter game this time around, scoring 4 points on 1/5 shooting that incorporated 1/4 from three-point range and 1/2 from the line. He also recorded 3 rebounds and no turnovers in 29 minutes on court.

Jorden Page provided some energy off the bench although did not score in going 0/1 from the field on a three-point attempt and did not record any other stats in 11 minutes.

Mitchell Young only played 1 minute in coming off the bench, scoring 1 point on 1/2 shooting from the free throw line.

Saint Mary's is now headed to Houston to play in the South Regional's Sweet 16 and will play the winner of Old Dominion and Baylor, a game which is set to be payed later this morning. Old Dominion boast an Aussie of their own in Trian Iliadis, so I'm hopingthe Monarchs get up for the win.

Vanderbilt lost to Murray state this morning. Ogilvy's stats are in the Ogilvy Watch thread.

Old Dominion upset Notree Dame, Aussie Trian Iliadis only played 2 minutes.

Saint Mary's playing against Richmond right now. Live on ESPN Australia and online here: http://linky.com.au/m58gs

Just confirmed that One HD is broadcasting LIVE NCAA tournament games yet again commencing from 4:45am (AEDST) Friday (tomorrow)!.

This from the TV Guide:
4:45am to 8:00am
LIVE first round coverage of March Madness may include Florida v BYU, Notre Dame v Old Dominion, Villanova v Robert Morris, Vanderbilt vs Murray State, Kansas State v North Texas and Richmond v Saint Mary's.

3:15pm to 5:30pm
First Round March Madness continues with possible coverage of Kentucky v East Tennessee State, UNLV vs Northern Iowa, Marquette v Washington or Georgetown v Ohio.

And with the NBA double-header from 10am to 3:15pm, it is a basketball smorgasboard this Friday on One HD!

Don't forget ESPN Australia is showing games also...

Saturday morning at 4:45am, the NCAA Tournament coverage continues on One HD as well! With the free online coverage, One HD, and ESPN coverage on Foxtel, there is no reason to miss a game!

I've played ESPN's online games and have my thoughts, but in all seriousness it is really wide open this year.

Syracuse are the weakest #1 seed and look really vulnerable right now and their recent form is not good. But they still have the tools to make a run. I think that Duke look good but have a tougher draw. Kansas State have all the tools but they seem to get done when things get tight.

I think that a smokey or two could make their way through the draw to the Elite 8 if not the final 4 this year. I'm hoping that Saint Mary's could be one of those teams for obvious reasons ;). I honestly think it is pretty tough to pick a winner this far out this year, whereas last year was a lot easier.

I can't wait for the action to start! Will be watching online this Friday morning but then have to go to work where I do not have access :(. I guess there is always Saturday and Sunday too...

I think Syracuse will make a run to the elite 8. They have an experienced team

Which big east team do you guys think will make it the furthest in the NCAA tourny?? http://www.msg.com/collegehoops/ I'm voting for West Virgina. they are looking really good after becoming the Big East Champs..

NCAA Tournament Draw

4 teams featuring Australian’s have been drawn to play in the NCAA tournament, with Old Dominion and Saint Mary’s gaining automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. Vanderbilt and Richmond received at-large tickets to the tourney based on their very good season records.

Friday 19 March Games (Australian time):

- #4 Vanderbilt vs #13 Murray State (Ogilvy)
- #11 Old Dominion vs #6 Notre Dame (Iliadis)
- #7 Richmond vs #10 Saint Mary’s (Duinker, Allen, Steindl, Dellavedova, Young & Page)

Today is "Selection Sunday", and all of the NCAA tournament teams and brackets will be announced.

Does social basketball at the dome still continue during the school holidays?