NCAA: Texas A&M-Utah State take the floor; Missouri, Wisconsin advance to weekend play

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NCAA: Texas A&M-Utah State take the floor

Texas A&M and Utah State are under way in the South Regional in a battle of Aggies. Both teams like a methodical pace, and Utah State has plenty of long-range shooters. Watch the Aggies — A&M, that is — to try to outmuscle their opponent.

Jon Leuer made both foul shots to give Wisconsin a 53-49 lead with 4.2 seconds left, and the Terriers simply ran out of time. Good showing for Wofford, which couldn’t overcome 6 of 13 shooting from the free throw line.

The stars showed up for the Badgers, with Trevon Hughes scoring 19 and Leuer 16.

Missouri advances with an 86-78 victory over Clemson. Big game for Kim English.

Wofford called a timeout with 17 seconds left, trailing fourth-seeded Wisconsin 51-49 in its first NCAA tournament game. Perhaps the nerves got to the Terriers. They never got into an offensive set and turned the ball over, forcing them to foul with 4.2 seconds left.

Ironically, it has been a cleanly played game. Wofford had only nine turnovers up to that point, and Wisconsin has five for the game.

Wofford can point to foul shooting if it loses: 1 of 7 in the second half.

Keaton Nankivil makes a key rebound after a missed shot for Wisconsin, giving the Badgers another shot in a tie game. Jon Leuer then knocks down a jumper from the baseline to make it 51-49 with 17 seconds remaining.

Demontez Stitt isn’t letting Clemson go quietly. His 3-pointer with 39.8 seconds left gets the Tigers within four of Missouri. The gritty guard has 21. Timeout on the court.

How good is Trevon Hughes? He forces a turnover and converts a layup to give Wisconsin a 49-48 lead over Wofford as the clock melts away. Less than 90 seconds to go in Jacksonville.

Missouri appears ready to hand Clemson coach Oliver Purnell a familiar outcome. His teams have been bumped from the first round of the NCAA tournament the past three years at Clemson, his two teams at Dayton lost in the opening round, and his only team at Old Dominion to make the field lost in the first round.

Think there is another coach in the nation that craves winning an NCAA tournament game more than Purnell? He has 394 career victories — and none in the big dance.

One of the great things about the atmosphere at NCAA tournament games is that, even though a small school like Wofford may not have a lot of fans, if they can hang around the fans on hand to see the other game of the double-header jump on the bandwagon.

That’s what is happening in Jacksonville, where fans are applauding the effort of the 13th-seeded Terriers, who lead Wisconsin 46-45 with 5:22 remaining.

Missouri leads Clemson 71-60, its largest lead of the game, with about 6 minutes left. The 10th-seeded Tigers from the Big 12 continue to be a pain on defense, causing 18 turnovers.

Clemson has a healthy advantage on the boards, but it needs to make some kind of run to get back into the game. Trevor Booker and Tanner Smith are a combined 2 of 14 from the field.

Anybody still awake at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee? Pittsburgh has methodically put away Oakland, leading 51-33 with 14 minutes left. The Golden Grizzlies haven’t lost since Jan. 28 at IUPUI, a span of 13 games.

His earlier run-in with Gary McGhee’s elbow hasn’t slowed Derick Nelson, though. The Oakland forward missed the last 10 minutes of the first half with a large gash over his left eye, but returned to start the second half. He’s got a big bandage and what looks like surgical tape over the cut, but he just challenged Pitt’s Brad Wanamaker for a ball, almost flying into media row.

Tim Johnson takes a seat for Wofford with his fourth foul and 9 minutes still remaining. The Badgers are already in the bonus, and Jon Leuer made both foul shots. The teams are tied at 42 with 8½ minutes left.

After fourth-seeded Vanderbilt went down at the hands of Murray State on Thursday, No. 4 seed Purdue — a trendy upset pick — survived a big run late from Siena, advancing to the second round with a 72-64 victory.

JaJuan Johnson came up huge for the Boilermakers, with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Edwin Ubiles led Siena with 18 points.

Oakland certainly is giving it the old college try, and that includes its fans. There’s six guys and a girl high in the lower level with O-A-K-L-A-N-D spelled out in body paint over their chests and shirts, but only the “O” has been standing in the opening minutes of the second half with the Golden Grizzlies’ trailing Pittsburgh 47-31.

The Saints are trying to extend the game with fouls, but Chris Kramer is probably a bad guy to send to the line. He’s a 74.6 percent foul shooter for the Boilermakers, and knocked down a pair to make it 70-63 with 33.9 seconds left.

Lewis Jackson back to the foul line for Purdue, and he tossed up a brick that managed to clank through. After a deep breath, the Purdue guard dropped the second foul shot to make it 68-63 with about 40 seconds left, and Ryan Moore misfired from deep at the other end.

The Boilermakers are headed back to the foul line with a good chance to finally put away Siena — and finally answer all those critics.

No. 13 seeds aren’t showing much compassion for fourth seeds. Wofford has made its first eight shots of the second half to take a 38-37 lead with just under 13 minutes to go against Wisconsin. Rough day for the heavy favorites.

Siena used 10-0 to get within 66-61 with 1:17, and the Saints wisely fouled Lewis Jackson, a poor free throw shooter who missed the front end of a one-and-one. Ryan Rossiter scored at the other end to make it 66-63 with 1:02 remaining, and Purdue called a timeout when it couldn’t inbound the ball.

Edwin Ubiles is leading Siena on a big comeback in Spokane, Wash. He scored six straight points during an 8-0 run that has the Saints within 66-59 with 2:27 remaining.

Does Siena have enough time left to pull another 4-13 upset? Can the Saints make President Barack Obama look positively prophetic?

Clemson and Missouri are waging a heavyweight fight, standing toe-to-toe in Buffalo. They’ve swapped the lead nine times with 16 minutes left, and Clemson currently leads 46-45, trying to reach the second round of the NCAA tournament after consecutive first-round exits.

The last time Clemson made it to the weekend, the Tigers survived to the round of 16, where they lost in overtime to No. 1 seed Minnesota. That was in 1997.

Wofford bolted out of halftime on a big run to knot the game at 31-all with Wisconsin. The Terriers are accustomed to winning games ugly: They beat Samford 59-54, Furman 57-46, The Citadel 44-42 and Appalachian State 56-51.

As if the Terriers weren’t doing everything else right, Terry Martin took it upon himself to knock loose a ball that became wedged among same cables above the backboard. First, he used a mop handle, then tried a broom, and after three tries knocked it loose — to some nice applause from the crowd in Jacksonville.

JaJuan Johnson already has 20 as Purdue leads Siena 59-45 with 8:33 left. He also has 10 rebounds, four of them offensive. The rest of the Boilermakers are 16 of 36 from the floor.

Wofford shot 28 percent in the first half against Wisconsin to trail 27-19 at the break. The Terriers had only scored fewer points in the opening 20 minutes once this season, Jan. 21 against The Citadel. They trailed 26-17 then, but came back to win 44-42.

The Boilermakers turned a 32-29 halftime deficit into a 54-39 lead — that’s a 25-7 run out of the break. Without Robbie Hummel, Purdue has turned to balanced scoring: JaJuan Johnson, Keaton Grant and E’Twaun Moore are already in double figures, and five different players scored in the first 8 minutes of the second half.

Trevon Hughes has been hot for Wisconsin, scoring 14 first-half points on 4 of 6 shooting and 5 of 5 from the foul line. Jon Leuer also has eight for the Badgers, who lead tiny Wofford 27-19 at the break.

The referees called a foul on a loose fall right at the buzzer, and Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan wanted to head to the locker room. The guys in stripes intercepted him, making sure that nobody should shoot free throws — both teams were well below the bonus — before the teams finally left the floor. Ryan seemed none too pleased.

Since Oakland lost Derick Nelson to a large cut over his eye from an errant elbow, it has been outscored 22-6. Smaller schools simply don’t have the depth to lose one of their key players, and Pittsburgh has pushed its lead to 10 points.

The Golden Grizzlies are still shooting just 26.1 percent from the field.

Missouri has forced Clemson into 13 first-half turnovers with its annoying, pressing defense, but they’re tied 39-all at halftime. Keith Ramsey is 5 of 7 from the field to lead Mizzou, while Andre Young has scored 13 off the bench for Clemson.

Turnovers figured to be plentiful for both teams, but Missouri has only coughed the ball up six times while generating 10 steals.

Purdue may have taken all of those prognostications — from President Barack Obama, no less — quite personally. Siena went scoreless for first 3 minutes of second half as Purdue embarked on a 13-0 run to take a 42-32 lead.

Pittsburgh is still struggling in its school-record ninth straight NCAA tournament appearance. Ashton Gibbs still does not have a field goal for the Panthers, who are shooting 33.3 percent from the field. The poor shooting must be contagious, though, because Oakland is firing at a 27.8-percent clip.

Wofford, the smallest school in the NCAA field, insisted it wouldn’t be overwhelmed during its NCAA tournament debut. But the Terriers missed 13 of their first 15 shots against the Badgers and trail 19-11 with about 7 minutes left.

Tubby Smith says a report that he is close to taking over at Auburn is “just talk,” and he’s looking forward to returning to Minnesota. CBSSports.com reported Friday that Auburn is “close” to hiring Smith, citing unidentified sources.

Smith brushed off the rumors after Minnesota’s 65-54 loss to Xavier.

Keaton Grant finally hits his first field, about a minute into the second half, and Purdue leads Siena 37-32 with 18:33 to go. The Boilermakers are on an 8-0 run out of the break, forcing Siena coach Fran McCaffery to call a timeout.

Oakland’s Derick Nelson walked off under his own power, with dried blood all over both of his arms and a headband holding a compress over his left eyebrow. Workers cleaned the blood off the floor from the elbow that landed from Pitt’s Gary McGhee.

Nelson would be a significant loss for Oakland, which leads Pitt 14-10. He’s a co-captain and the team’s second-leading scorer.

Oakland guard Derick Nelson took an elbow from Pitt’s Gary McGhee and crashed to the floor with a huge gash over his left eye. Blood spilled all over his hands and floor, and several trainers have gathered around him.

Teammates are sitting on the bench with their hands over their eyes and mouth as the staff tries to get the cut to stop bleeding.

Nobody could miss during the first game in Jacksonville, when Cornell and Temple were lights-out from the field. Now, nobody can make a shot between Wofford and Wisconsin.

Both teams play good defense, but the Badgers are 5 of 13 from the field and the Terriers just 2 for 15. Wisconsin leads 15-7 with about 9 minutes left.

Jason Bohannon may end up being crucial to Wisconsin, an excellent 3-point shooter with a propensity for hitting big shots. He’s still reviled in the state of Iowa for choosing the neighboring Badgers over the Hawkeyes, but it’s looking like a good move.

Wisconsin is still playing, while Iowa is searching for another coach after Todd Lickliter failed to emulate the same success he had at Butler in Iowa City.

Johnathan Jones, the winningest player in school history, needs to get on track for Oakland against Pittsburgh. Ditto for Keith Benson, the Summit League player of the year, and Derick Nelson, who unloaded for 36 points against IUPUI in the league title game.

Both teams are starting off cold, with Oakland leading 10-8 after about 8 minutes.

Travon Hughes has 10 of first 12 points for Wisconsin, while Wofford is just 2 of 13 shooting and has gone 5 minutes without a field goal. The Badgers lead 12-7 with about 12 minutes left. Tim Johnson is 1 of 5 for Wofford.

Oakland has an early lead over third-seeded Pittsburgh in the West Regional, no doubt aware that a No. 14 seed has already advanced and that Big East schools are struggling.

Then again, the Summit League champs lost five games by a combined 140 points against teams from the so-called power conferences this season.

There may not be a softer touch in any game Friday afternoon than Siena’s Kevin Downey, whose rainbow 3-pointers have helped the Saints lead Purdue 32-29 at halftime. His brother Kevin played at Canisius and was All-MAAC for three years.

Clemson can’t seem to miss, but it also can’t seem to hang onto the ball. The Tigers are on pace for close to 25 turnovers against Missouri. It will be important for guards Tanner Smith and Demontez Stitt to provide some leadership and keep their teammates composed against that relentless press.

Wisconsin and Wofford have tipped off in Jacksonville, Fla. Wofford is the 13 seed, and already those teams are causing bracket problems. Murray State beat Vanderbilt, and Siena is giving Purdue all it can handle.

The Terriers will rely on hardworking post player Noah Dahlman, the Southern Conference player of the year after averaging 16.8 points.

Gene Keady in the house to see Purdue against Siena out in Spokane, Wash. Keady is no stranger to playing in March, leading the school to 18 NCAA tournaments, five rounds of 16 and the final eight twice. He won 512 games at Purdue before giving the job to Matt Painter, who hasn’t missed a beat.

Purdue is playing a school from the MAAC for the first time since 1975 and might not want to again if Siena keeps hitting from the field. The Saints lead 27-24 early, and Alex Franklin has 10 points and seven rebounds.

Siena beat Ohio State as a No. 9 seed last year, the big reason it’s a trendy upset pick in brackets everywhere. But forgotten is that Siena also took Louisville to the wire in a 79-72 second-round loss. Louisville went out the next round and trounced Arizona, 103-64.

Back-to-back turnovers by Clemson turned into five quick points for Mizzou, and already the ACC’s Tigers are finding out what the pressing Big 12 version of the Tigers are all about. Clemson has coughed the ball up three times in the first 4 minutes.

Missouri averaged 77.6 points during the regular season, 27th nationally, while Clemson was not far behind at 73.3.

Siena used a 10-2 run to take the lead against the Boilermakers at the media timeout, with Alex Franklin scoring six during the spurt. JaJuan Johnson had the only bucket for Purdue, and he could be critical if the Boilermakers want to survive the popular upset bid.

Clemson and Missouri are under way in Buffalo, and those watching the game might get whiplash watching them run up and down the court. Both teams tend to forsake defense to get out on the break.

Clarence Jackson unable to go for Siena, by the way. The 6-3 guard sprained his ankle last weekend and did some light jogging and shooting the past few days, but coach Fran McCaffery decided he wouldn’t be able to elevate on his jump shot and sat him.

Jackson was a game-time decision and took layup drills with his teammates while wearing a brace on his left ankle. He’s averaging 13.6 points.

Siena has missed 10 of its first 14 shots against Purdue, and desperately needs to make field goals against a tough team from the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are physical — what team from that league isn’t? — and want to try to muddy the game as much as possible.

The Saints’ leading scorers, Alex Franklin and Edwin Ubiles, are a combined 2 for 6.

Everybody wants to know how Purdue will fare without star guard Robbie Hummel, and the Boilermakers are a trendy upset victim. But remember that they were nearly without guard Lewis Jackson, who contemplated taking a medical redshirt after breaking his left foot.

Jackson opted to return and made his season debut Jan. 28 against Wisconsin, and Purdue won eight straight games — until losing Hummel on Feb. 24 at Minnesota.

Jackson has been bothered by the foot but made the start against Siena, and knocked down two of his first three shots to help the Boilermakers to an early 11-8 lead.

The second wave of games is already under way in Spokane, Wash., with Siena taking on Purdue. Due to start in about 30 minutes are Missouri-Clemson, Pittsburgh-Oakland and Wofford-Wisconsin.

Some pretty generous rims in Jacksonville, Fla. Cornell shot 56.3 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers in its 78-65 win over fifth-seeded Temple. The Owls shot 51.9 percent, but made just 5 of 17 3-point tries.

Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale were the stars, scoring 20 and 21 points, respectively. Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez scored 14 each for Temple.

Xavier hasn’t missed a step since former coach Sean Miller left for Arizona. The Musketeers have made it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year, beating No. 11 seed Minnesota 65-54.

Xavier reached the round of 16 last year, the final eight in 2008 and the second round in 2007. The Musketeers will get Pittsburgh or Oakland on Sunday.

Someone must have cut all the ivy off this aging streak: Cornell has moved into the weekend with a 78-65 win over Temple, the first Ivy League school to win an NCAA tournament game since Princeton in 1998.

Temple coach Fran Dunphy has now lost 11 straight tournament games and is 1-12 overall.

Jordan Crawford may have ended Minnesota’s comeback hopes with a 3-pointer, his fifth of the game. He let it go with Paul Carter’s hand in his face, giving Xavier a 63-54 lead.

Xavier has shot 56 percent from the field in the second half. Crawford has 28 points, while Jamel McLean has 14 boards.

Interesting move by Minnesota coach Tubby Smith to put sharpshooter Blake Hoffarber on the bench trailing 60-52 with 1:20 left. The Gophers get a stickback to make it 60-54 with 1:12 remaining in Milwaukee.

Lawrence Westbrook made a runner in the lane, but a foul was called before the shot. He made both foul shots to get Minnesota within 59-52 with 1:39 remaining. Westbrook has 19.

West Virginia has beaten Morgan State 77-50, keeping its late-season surge going. The Mountaineers lost to Dayton in the first round of last year’s tournament, but will now play Clemson or Missouri on Sunday.

Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman have a nice little competition going between themselves, now that Temple has decided to stop playing defense. Wittman has four 3s for Cornell and 20 points, and Dale has three 3s and 19 points.

The lead reached 18 briefly, although the Owls trimmed it back to 68-54 with 6:49 left.

No heroics needed from Da’Sean Butler this time. West Virginia has put away Morgan State, leading 72-41 with 2:56 left, despite the school’s third-leading scorer managing only nine points on 4 of 12 shooting.

Butler has 2,025 points in his career, and could surpass Hot Rod Hundley for second place if the Mountaineers make a big run in the NCAA tournament. No chance of catching Jerry West for the top spot, though.

Xavier has its largest lead over Minnesota (55-44), Cornell has its largest lead over Temple (63-48), and West Virginia is blowing out Morgan State (70-38). So much for more close games after a terrific slate on Thursday.

Temple may rue the NCAA selection committee for sticking it with 12th-seeded Cornell in the opening round of the tournament. The Owls haven’t lost since traveling to Richmond on Feb. 6, a span of 10 games, although several of them were close.

The Big Red has extended their lead to a game-high 15 points, 63-48 with 10½ minutes to go. Coach Steve Donohue is giving his big guys a break before the final push to the buzzer.

Jordan Crawford isn’t the only Musketeer with some moves. Mark Lyons scored his first bucket of the game on a layup after a nice spin move around Blake Hoffarber, and Xavier leads 52-44 with 7:33 remaining.

There are a lot of fans who made the short trip from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee, and they’re not getting a whole lot to cheer about aside from Lawrence Westbrook. He has 15 points, while the next highest scorer for the Gophers has six.

Jordan Crawford is trying to add his name to BYU’s Jimmer Fredette as potential breakout stars of the NCAA tournament. The Xavier swingman has 20 points on 8 of 17 shooting as its lead over Minnesota remains 47-42.

Crawford sat out last season after transferring from Indiana. The Detroit native’s older brother Joe played for Kentucky and was drafted by the Lakers.

Cornell continues to lead Temple 54-44, and Ivy League alums everywhere are preparing to rejoice. No school from the league has won an NCAA tournament game since 1998, when Princeton stuck around for the weekend.

Temple fans are cheering “Ole, Ole, Ole” every time Juan Fernandez, a guard from Argentina, scores. It’s been about the only thing the Owls have to cheer about in Jacksonville, Fla.

Fernandez has 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting.

Cornell and Temple both have short benches, and it will be interesting to see who has legs left as the game (and tournament) press on. Subs in the game have combined for just eight of the two teams’ 80 combined points with about 18 minutes left.

Ryan Wittman is heating up — and his mom is standing and cheering — after consecutive 3s gave the Big Red a 46-34 lead.

What do the following teams have in common: Cornell, BYU, Marquette, Utah State and Saint Mary’s? They’re the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation, and they’re all in the NCAA tournament. Marquette is the only team to go down so far, falling to Washington on a buzzer-beater Thursday night.

Hot shooting usually lasts only so long, though.

West Virginia has found the soft spot in the Morgan State zone, and it happens to be in the paint. They have a 26-10 advantage there behind Kevin Jones, Devin Ebanks and Da’Sean Butler driving to the basket.

The Mountaineers have also ratcheted up their shooting percentage above 45 percent.

The Mountaineers are a trendy pick to win the national championship, but keep in mind that No. 2 seeds haven’t always had a lot of success. Only one (Michigan State) has even reached the Final Four the past two years.

The last No. 2 seed to win the title was UConn in 2004, when it beat third-seeded Georgia Tech. Kentucky won as a No. 2 in 1998, but you have to go back to Louisville in 1986 to find the next team to win from the second line of the bracket.

Xavier has dominated the offensive glass, 16-6, against Minnesota. It’s surprising since the Musketeers are a smaller team, but not as much when you consider the foul trouble that has plagued the Golden Gophers’ big men.

West Virginia is starting to put away Morgan State after a sluggish start, and doing so on the offensive end. The Mountaineers already have 10 offensive boards, a category in which they led the nation this season.

Da’Sean Butler is finally finding his stroke, but Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks are the guys who are making everything move.

Cornell shot 68 percent in the first half to lead 37-29 at the break over fifth-seeded Temple. The Big Red are balanced on offense, too. Louis Dale has 11 points, and Ryan Wittman and Jeff Foote have scored nine each.

By the way, they’re not just hot from the field: Cornell is 9 of 10 from the foul line.

Everybody likes to joke about the dreaded 5-12 matchups, especially after fifth-seeded Butler easily handled UTEP on Thursday. But Temple is giving fellow No. 5 seeds Michigan State and Texas A&M something sobering to think about before their games later Friday.

Lawrence Westbrook has 15 first-half points for the Golden Gophers, who are tied with sixth-seeded Xavier 26-all at the break. Westbrook has drained three 3-pointers and is 6 of 9 from the field.

Xavier finished the half with six assists to only one turnover, numbers that would make any basketball purist proud. Too bad the Musketeers are 9 of 41 from the field (22 percent).

Minnesota has gone with a small lineup with its big guys riding the bench with two fouls each, and it seems to be working out. Blake Hoffarber knocked down a 3, and the quicker Gophers are hitting the offensive glass late in the first half.

There’s something about those big guys today. Xavier’s Jason Love also headed to the bench after picking up his second foul.

Xavier has turned the ball over only once in the first half, but only leads 22-19 with 2½ minutes to go in the first half. The Gophers have turned it over five times, and all three of their big men are in foul trouble. Uh-oh.

Tubby Smith finally put 6-foot-10 Colton Iverson and 6-11 Ralph Sampson III in the game together, something Gopher fans have been clamoring for all season. It didn’t last long, though, with Iverson taking a seat after picking up his second foul.

Sampson also has two fouls, which could spell trouble in the second half.

Cornell, the best 3-point shooting team in the country, missed its first four shots from behind the arc against Temple. Both teams have been good from the field overall, though.

The Big Red led 27-18 with 5½ minutes left on the strength of 10 of 15 shooting, and did not miss a shot from inside the arc for 16 minutes. Temple, meanwhile, is 8 of 16 from the floor.

Da’Sean Butler is just 1 for 6 in the first half for West Virginia, one of the reasons that Morgan State hasn’t been blown out by halftime. The Mountaineers lead 38-27 at the break, with Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks going 9 of 12 from the field for 23 points.

Lawrence Westbrook scored seven points as Minnesota rattled off a 9-0 run, giving the Gophers a 17-15 lead with 7:48 left in first half.

Westbrook is the cousin of former Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who is probably watching the game somewhere. A few teams have expressed interest in the free agent, but he’s yet to sign anywhere.

Kevin Jones is still perfect from the field, 5 for 5 for 11 points, and also has pulled down four first-half rebounds for West Virginia. Morgan State scored the first 10 points, but has been outscored 26-11 since then.

Cornell has opened by hitting 9 of 11 shots from the field, while Temple has nearly as many turnovers (four) as field goals (five). The Big Red had a 22-11 lead before Juan Fernandez — the only guy shooting for Temple — knocked down a 3.

The Gophers have gone the last 5 minutes without a field goal since Ralph Sampson’s reverse hook at 16:43. And in case you were wondering, yes, it’s that Ralph Sampson. His father was the first overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft and a four-time All-Star.

___There are a couple of streaks to keep an eye on in the Temple-Cornell game. Owls coach Fran Dunphy’s teams have lost 10 straight NCAA games and are 1-11 overall, while Cornell is 0-5 with quick exits the past two seasons under Steve Donahue.

Ryan Wittman is the star for Cornell, and has the Big Red out to a 19-11 lead at the second media timeout.

Kevin Jones is keeping the Mountaineers in the game against Morgan State. He’s 4 for 4 from the field and has nine of their 14 points. Jones averages only 13.5 per game.

Xavier is off to a rocky start. With 4 minutes gone, the Musketeers are 2 of 8 from the field and leading scorer Jordan Crawford has missed his first two shots.

Crawford is the guy who became an internet sensation when his YouTube dunk over LeBron James went viral.

Royce White was dismissed from the team, Trevor Mbakwe is sitting out during a criminal investigation, and Al Nolen is out because of academics. And yet Minnesota still reached the NCAA tournament against No. 6 seed Xavier in the West Regional.

The Gophers have an early 8-6 lead over the A-10 heavyweight.

Among the intriguing plot lines in the Temple-Cornell game is the matchup between the Owls’ Fran Dunphy, a candidate for national coach of the year, and Cornell’s Steve Donahue — Dunphy’s former pupil.

Devin Ebanks finally hits West Virginia’s first field goal after 11 straight misses, just before the second media timeout. Morgan State still leads 14-5.

This game could come down to who can make jump shots. The Bears are in a 2-3 zone to cover the court against better athletes, while West Virginia coach Bob Huggins will stick with his vaunted 1-3-1 zone.

Leave it to Da’Sean Butler to finally get West Virginia on the board with one of two free throws at 14:36 of the first half. Still, the Mountaineers are 0 for 10 from the field.

Most of the West Virginia lineup is back from last year’s team that lost to Dayton in the first round of the NCAA tournament. That could begin to weigh on their minds if the game remains close in the second half.

Morgan State has scored the first 10 points against the Mountaineers, bringing up the question: Can the Big East really lose another first-round game?

West Virginia can’t afford to get behind by too much, either. It shoots only 43.7 percent from the field, making it difficult to fight back into a game.

Todd Bozeman finally gets the feeling of the NCAA tournament again, now that Morgan State has tipped off against second-seeded West Virginia. He was banned by the NCAA for eight years after he admitted to paying a recruit while coaching at California, where he led those Bears to three tournament appearances.

Already Reggie Holmes has knocked down a 3 for the Bears’ first basket. He’s the school’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Marvin Webster earlier this season.

Minnesota came out for its shootaround before playing sixth-seeded Xavier in Milwaukee wearing shirts that say “RESPECT” on the back.

The Gophers have won seven of their last 10 games to play their way into the first round, but lost to Ohio State by 29 in the Big Ten tournament finals.

Cornell forward Alex Tyler has his right calf heavily taped for the Temple game in the East Regional. He practiced Thursday for the first time in two weeks, then said, “They’ll have to kill me to keep me off the court.”

The opening day of the NCAA tournament shocked the Big East — three teams lost and another won in overtime. It thrilled double-digit seeds — three of them won. And it wore out fans with three games going overtime, including BYU’s 99-92 double-overtime win against Florida.

Can the second day live up to the madness?

Things get started with Morgan State and West Virginia in the East Regional, followed by Minnesota-Xavier in the West and the game a lot of folks are keeping an eye on: fifth-seeded Temple against No. 12 seed Cornell, two teams that most people consider under-seeded.

Let the games begin.