Three overtime battles, with an incredible five of eight games decided by five points or less
Ron Lewis kicked off the party and it never stopped.
Lewis' clutch three with two seconds to go in regulation sent Ohio State to overtime versus Xavier, and propelled them to victory, 78-71. A collective sigh swept through Buckeye nation with Lewis' ice-water trifecta.
In overtime, the dynamic freshmen point guard Mike Conley Jr. carried the squad to victory without superstar Greg Oden. Oden fouled out in regulation; however, Conley Jr. dropped 11 points to keep the Buckeyes' national championship hopes and the Oden era alive at least one more game.
In the process, Ohio State extended their winning-streak to 19 games with their last lost coming all the back on Jan. 9th at then-No. 4 Wisconsin, 72-69. Lewis finished with 27 big-time points, Conley Jr. tallied 21, while Oden finished with 14 points and 12 boards. Xavier led by as many as 11, but failed to put it away when Justin Cage miss the potential game-sealing free throw with 9.8 seconds left. Ohio State will take on the high-powered Tennessee Volunteers Thursday night in the sweet 16.
Later on that night, Vanderbilt and Washington St. needed double-overtime to decide who would taste the joys of the sweet 16.
Vandy led by fifth-year senior and SEC player of the year, Derrick Byars, managed to pull out this fantastic battle, 78-74. Byars led the Commodores with 27 points including five 3-pointers in the second half against the vaunted Cougar D. Despite being down 33-25 at the half, the Commodores turned outward and managed to pull out this gritty ballgame. Vandy will take on Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green, and the rest of the dog pound when they take on Georgetown this Friday.
Almost simultaneously as Vanderbilt-Washington St. came to a thrilling conclusion, Cinderella lost her glass slipper, but this time there was no prince charming, Eric Maynor, to put it back on. After being down 41-26 at the half and as many as 19, Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) came storming back to force Pittsburgh to settle things in overtime. However, Pittsburgh displayed their true ability and sent Cinderella home packing, 84-79 thanks to Levance Fields, Aaron Gray, and Sam Young.
Fields had a chance to seal the game in regulation, but clanked two free throws when the game was tied at 69. However, he totally redeemed himself in overtime by nailing a big three and then set-up sharpshooter Ronald Roman for yet another three in consecutive possessions. VCU was led by Jesse Pellot-Rosa and B.A. Walker, whom tallied 20 points each. Their sophomore star point guard, Maynor, was unable to rekindle the magic that enabled VCU to knock off Duke in the first-round, 79-77.
Despite VCU's heart-wrenching lost, their feisty, gritty performance showed America yet again that the mid-major can always play the role of David when trying to slay a Goliath, the Pittsburgh Panthers. Pittsburgh will face the UCLA Bruins Thursday night with the winner advancing to the elite eight.
If Saturday's action was any indication of the excitement March Madness brings then all those fans out there better fasten their seat belts, make sure their tray tables are in the upright position, and prepare for take-off because these next four days are going to just as sensational.
Is there any better sporting event in the world? I think not.
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