Writetweetup to date with our live tournament bracket 6.06pm GMTUNC Asheville 41-54 Villanova; 12:31 2nd halfAfter a promising start,Asheville has not been able to manufacture a dent in Villanova’s defense. The 3s believe started to descend for the Wildcats. So far five Villanova players believe hit 3-pointers. Asheville does not believe the size to near back in this one. 5.59pm GMTSyracuse 56-35 Dayton; 6:20 2nd halfThis is a terrible performance from Dayton, who has been so good in the tournament in past years. They believe scored just seven points in the moment half after trailing by just two. This game is over. 5.57pm GMTVCU 21-20 Oregon State; 7:05 1st halfThis is a back-and-forth fight so far but actually pretty entertaining. Oregon State has hit on 3-of-5 3-pointers to hold in against VCU’s half-court defense. 5.48pm GMTSyracuse 47-33 Dayton; 11:42 2nd halfSyracuse is clobbering Dayton on the boards apt now. They believe a 32-17 advantage. That, or mixed with Dayton’s inability to hit a shot (30 percent) has this game teetering on the verge of a blowout. 5.43pm GMTVCU 11-5 Oregon State: 14:07 1st halfI don’t like Oregon State’s seed,I think its too high for a team that has struggled for long periods this season. So far VCU is patiently exploiting Oregon State’s soft defense, working the ball for early layups. 5.36pm GMTSyracuse 39-29 Dayton; 14:56 2nd halfstill kind of a sluggish game, and especially for Dayton who cannot hit a basket. The Flyers are shooting just 29 percent. Half the shots they’ve hit are 3-pointers otherwise they would really be behind by more. A lot of people -- myself included didn’t think Syracuse should be here -- but the Orange provide a tricky matchup for Dayton who has been outscored 9-1 so far in the moment half. 5.30pm GMTUNC Asheville 26-40 Villanova; halftimeVillanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono hits a 3-pointer apt at the buzzer to blow this one open. The Wildcats tightened their defense in the final minutes of the half,holding Asheville to just one basket in the last 2 minutes. Meanwhile, Villanova has figured out Asheville’s perimeter defense and has started to hit some 3s. The shot at the buzzer was a killer, or it’s going to be tough for Asheville to near back from 14 against a team like Villanova. 5.19pm GMTUNC Asheville 24-26 Villanova: 3:15 1st halfSo far The Bulldogs are doing exactly what they do best -- keeping a team from shooting well from the external. Villanova’s greatest strength is their 3-point shooting. Villanova is only 3-for-12 from 3=point range. This is a significant red flag. 5.03pm GMTSyracuse 30-28 Dayton; HalftimeDayton is really struggling with the length of Syracuse and the Orangemen’s zone. Dayton just worked the clock for one last shot,which turned out to be an ill-advised long 3-point attempt by Charles Cooke that was off-mark. 4.57pm GMTUNC-Asheville 12-15 Villanova; 13:01 1st halfI sustain saying this... Asheville is going to give Villanova a game today. The Bulldogs (I just learned this) believe responded to every run Villanova has effect up so far. Attempts by Villanova ro press them early believe not worked so far. Asheville’s players are small but they will challenge Villanova’s external shooters the way most low level Division I teams will not. 4.51pm GMTSyracuse 28-23 Dayton; 2:37 1st halfThe Orange are heating up. Senior Michael Gbinije just hit an NBA-length 3-pointer to relieve push Syracuse past Dayton for their first genuine lead of the game. Two things Dayton should be concerned about: they are still not shooting well (34 percent) and are getting out-rebounded by the Syracuse frontcourt 4.47pm GMTUNC Asheville 7-10 Villanova: 15:54 1st halfAsheville has two players worth watching in freshman Dylan Smith and Dwayne Sutton. Sutton has a kind 3 and Sutton has a basket early as Asheville withstood an early Villanova 10-2 run. Smith and Sutton can play in almost any conference in the country. They will manufacture Villanova work today. 4.41pm GMTSyracuse 18-2o Dayton; 7:44 1st halfMust be the nets, neither team is shooting well. The score makes this appear to be a defensive struggle but both teams are getting good looks. They’re just missing wide open shots. Dayton is actually shooting better from 3-point range (42.9 than overall 42.1). Syracuse has only made 35 percent of their shots. 4.33pm GMTSyracuse 8-14 DaytonL 10:56 1st halfCBS is taking credit for saving the St. Louis region. During workouts yesterday, and analyst Steve Smith noticed that the nets on the basket were significantly longer than regulation length. This could be an issue for teams who like to win out and run -- the longer net will slack the ball coming through the basket and potentially hold up a fastbreak. Apparently regulation nets were not available inside the Scotttrade middle and arena workers had to scramble around trying to find the proper nets. Apparently they were located at nearby Fontbonne University,a Division III school and installed late last night. 4.26pm GMTSyracuse 4-6 Dayton; 13:50 1st halfLike most Syracuse teams this one is long and can create some outlandish matchup issues near the rim. Dayton worried about this and Archie Miller quickly inserted freshman middle Steve McElvene who has immediately had an impact on this game with a basket and three rebounds. 4.12pm GMTJust listened to a itsy-bitsy of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim’s press conference yesterday. He was asked what he learned from his suspension at the start of this year, he said he learned that when he retires he’s going to need a plan. He didn’t believe one and was miserable sitting around all day. He said the “plan” was to play golf every day but laughed and said: “It’s tough to go play golf when your team is getting beat by 10-15 points.” 4.06pm GMTHello everyone and welcome to Day 2 of our Liveblog of the NCAA Tournament. For those of you who find your brackets intact after Day 1 today is the day that all might change. If you are like me and had your bracket blown up (Baylor to the Final Four) then today is a lustrous original day. We believe some spirited early first games. Villanova plays UNC Asheville (going to believe to remember to win that “e” in there), or Oregon State and VCU promises to be a good game and Cal-Hawaii at 2 eastern has upset written all over it. But first up will be seventh seed Dayton against the No. 12 Syracuse. 1.59pm GMTLes will be here shortly to kick off day two of the NCAA tournament. In the meantime here’s a look at today’s schedule.
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Source: theguardian.com