I’ve only got to get up at 6 a.m., so this seems like the right thing to be doing.

10:00 - Louisville-Tennessee is underway and I’ve got my peanut butter and banana sandwich on Italian bread. Life’s fine.

10:05 – “OK, time to rekeyap our skidyules…” I have Sven in my head. Not a good thing.

10:16 – Both Louisville and Tennessee are a little too sloppy for my liking so far. I will say that David Padgett’s ability to be a factor in this game despite his knee issues really speaks to his overall talent and basketball psyche.

10:24 – Had to do the mandatory night recap with the girl. We’ve got UCLA-WKU underway now, too. Louisville is suddenly all over Tennessee. Seriously, I walk away for five minutes. But I’m back for good now, I swear.

10:28 – UCLA is missing a lot of easy shots (WKU must have at least five turnovers already). The Hilltoppers simply must be making shots now if they want to be in the game later.

10:34 - “Oh-boy-ya is right the way they’re doing the job defensively,” Raftery says after another WKU turnover. UCLA can’t score (surprise), but you can’t keep gambling with this kind of house money.

10:40 – Tennessee is trying to streetball their way back into this game with a lot of acrobatic, unnecessary shots around the rim. (Seems like UT has plenty to say before this one’s over.) WKU only trails by two (15-13) at the under 12 timeout, so that’s keeping my interest on MMOD. Meanwhile, I love Enberg, but he just called that there was a foul on Padgett when it was merely knocked out of bounds by him.

10:43 – I’ve just realized that I’m rooting for every team wearing red this weekend except for Wisconsin (Davidson by default).

10:49 – It is times like these that you can see the difference between Big 6 schools and the smaller guys: Western Kentucky is not taking advantage of any of the opportunities that UCLA is giving them. It’s quite frustrating for someone who has Xavier as a Final Four pick.

10:55 – We’re at the half in Charlotte. Louisville leads 37-30. Good job by Pearl’s guys to get back into this very physical-yet-sloppy game. UCLA is getting some separation after Josh Shipp puts the Bruins up 28-15. In other news, my housemates have left to go to a beach-themed party. I have the house to myself. Glorious. I love screaming like a madman with no one around—I really do.

11:02 – “That’s every man’s dream: to have love lurking” – Raftery. Definitely acceptable.

11:12 – UCLA has more than doubled up on WKU at the half, leading 41-20. Disappointed.

11:20 – I have gotten some flack for giving Chris Lofton a hard time (read: writing that he’s overrated) in recent weeks. CBS just proved my point: In Tournament play so far, Lofton has scored less than 20 points in two-and-a-half games. I’d say he needs to start stepping up soon or his college career will be over.

11:22 – It was probably official a few weeks ago, but the “Dude” commercials have passed their prime. Of course, that won’t stop Bud Light from shoving them down our throats.

11:30 – It needs to be said: Wayne Chism’s headband fashion statement is just not needed. It feels like that thing’s going to pop off of us his head a tensioned rubber band.

11:33 – I realized where I recognized this Tennessee team from: the Memphis game. Will they sneak out a similar win? They are forcing the damn issue, that’s for sure. Cards lead 49-39 and someone on Louisville just got a T.

11:42 – UCLA leads by 16 and they seem perfectly content in allowing the Hilltoppers to chase them around and cling to this lead on the back of Darren Collison’s back-to-the-defender dribbling and Love’s beastliness inside.

11:50 – Waiting for someone to make a move in either one of these games…

11:54 – UGH. WKU has a 3-on-2 opportunity that converts to nothing after a traveling violation. 53-38, Brown Bears.

Midnight – We’ve hit midnight. UCLA leads 56-43 with 10 to go, Louisville’s pacing themselves and leading 60-51 with 5:16 to go.

12:01 – “Welcome to Friday morning, here in the East.” – Enberg. G’morn, Dick.

12:03 – Just for the record, the Hilltoppers have cut it to single digits with 9:47 to go.

12:08 – And we’re down to SIX points difference between No. 1 UCLA and No. 12 Western Kentucky after a couple of steals and Brazelton hits a three! Just over seven minutes to go and it’ll be WKU’s ball after the commercial. Thank you for making this worthwhile, WKU!

12:14 – Collison fouls out on a shoddy call, but that’s some karma for UCLA.

12:18 – Western Kentucky cannot let Love beat them. No trash rebounds. Wow. Huge 3 from Josh Shipp makes it 68-59. That stings. Louisville has officially dispatched of Tennnessee, winning 79-60.

12:21 – A 74-62 Bruins lead with 3:10 to go. UCLA comes up big in the tight spot again, not letting the Hilltoppers taste a tie. Damn, they make you pay for any mistake in the final minutes.

12:24 – “Tough minded. Good for them. That’s what it’s all about.” – Raftery. That’s code for “I don’t think these guys can pull this out, but it’s nice to see them not give up.

12:29 – It’s 77-71 with 1:25 to go. In order for Western Kentucky to win this thing it’s going to take some 3-pointers and UCLA to miss a lot of free throws.

12:31 – Kevin Love stuffs Courtney Lee’s penetration attempt and that will probably do it. Love is so fucking solid.

12:37 - Westbrook and Love don’t make it interesting, sinking their freebies. Western Kentucky’s ride comes to an end. As for the Bruins, they aren’t winning easily and are begging to be beaten by Xavier. Bruins win, 88-78. I’m going to try and get five hours of sleep.

Tweet This Post