NCAA Championship Game 2011: UConn Huskies Defeat Butler Bulldogs, 53-41, To Win The National Title

Butler's season ended the same as last with a loss in the title game, but this year's game against Connecticut did not come down to a last second shot as it did against Duke. UConn used a strong second second half to pull away from Butler to win 53-41. 

In the pregame show analysts were saying that whoever would get to 70 points would win the game, and then Charles Barkley chimed in by saying whoever got to 60 points would win. The game was even a lower scoring game then Barkley thought himself.

The first half was a low scoring game, but the teams were exchanging baskets with the half ending on a Butler three-pointer by Shelvin Mack, giving Butler a 22-19 lead. Then the second half began and UConn started making shots and adjusted their game, pulling away to a double-digit lead and never looking back. 

Butler had their worst shooting game of the year as they ended the game shooting only 18 percent from the field and their star Matt Howard shot a woeful 1-of-13 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line to score seven points. UConn was not doing much better, but when shooting 34 percent nearly doubles what your opponent is shooting, UConn looks much better.

With approximately two minutes left in the game and Butler trailing by 14 points, Butler's Shelvin Mack scored his first points of the second half by sinking two straight three-pointers to cut the lead to eight points. It looked like Butler was going to make a final run to get back into the game, but UConn squashed the comeback attempt with four free-throws by Kemba Walker to seal the win.

Walker, who had a poor shooting night by going 5-of-19 from the field, did lead all scores with 16 points. The last team to score less then the 53 points and win the NCAA tournament was the 1949 Kentucky team, which scored 46 points in their win over Oklahoma A&M. 

This win by Connecticut gave the Huskies their third national title in school history, and all three have came under legendary head coach Jim Calhoun.

NCAA Championship Game 2011: Butler Vs. UConn

For the second straight year, the Butler Bulldogs are once again playing in the NCAA championship game, having lost to Duke, 61-59, last year. Meanwhile, the UConn Huskies seek their third tournament title, last having won it in 2004. Can the No. 8 Bulldogs overcome the No. 3 Huskies?

Butler entered the 2011 NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak and a Horizon League championship. It took several tough games to reach this point. In the second round, the Bulldogs defeated Old Dominion by two points, 60-58, which put them in a third-round game against No. 1 Pittsburgh. They squeaked by the Panthers, 71-70, and then had their easiest win of the tournament against No. 4 Wisconsin, 61-54. In the Elite Eight, head coach Brad Stevens' team ran into the No. 2 Florida Gators and needed overtime for the 74-71 victory. Butler then faced perhaps the hottest team in the tournament, the VCU Rams, in the Final Four. A close game for the most part, the Bulldogs came away with the 70-62 victory.

Butler's leading scorer is Matt Howard at 16.7 points, though followed closely by Shelvin Mack at 16.1 points. Howard leads the team in rebounds as well with 7.8 per game. Mack has picked things up during the tournament to average 21.8 points over five tournament games.

The story of the Huskies has been Kemba Walker, who made shot-after-shot, key play-after-key play for the Huskies in the Big East Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, Walker continued his hot streak with big games against Bucknell and Cincinnati. Having scored 33 points against Cincinnati, Walker put up 36 points on the No. 2 San Diego St. Aztecs in a 74-67 victory. With the help of Jeremy Lamb's 19 points, Walker added an additional 20 points to defeat Derrick Williams and the Arizona Wildcats to advance to the Final Four. Against Kentucky, Walker's 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists helped the Huskies to a 56-55 victory.

SB Nation's Andrew Sharp says go with the Huskies for the victory, but expect Butler to cover the spread. I'll also go with UConn because of Walker's presence, but think the Huskies can pull off a five- or six-point victory.

CBS will have the broadcast starting at 7:00 p.m. MT, but tip-off won't take place until 7:23 p.m.

Final Four: UConn Edges Out Kentucky For Trip To Title Game, 56-55

Most of the first half was a low scoring ugly game, but then Connecticut picked up their game and ended the half on an impressive 20-10 run to take a 31-21 led at intermission. During that run UConn's defense stepped up as well and held Kentucky to a cold stretch of 4-of-17 to finish the half. To start the second half Kentucky starting heating up by going on a14-2 run coming out of halftime and to secure 39-38 lead at the 12 minute mark. During that stretch Kentucky made three three-pointers. 

From that point on the game was a back-and-forth affair until the final buzzer, and it was, of course, UConn's Kemba Walker who led the Huskies to victory by leading all players with 18 points. Kentucky's Brandon Knight did his best to keep Kentucky in the game during the second half and ended up with 17 points.

In the final moments of the game Kentucky had a chance to win when UConn's Shabazz Napier turned the ball over with 16 seconds left, but Kentucky's DeAndre Liggins was able to get off an unsuccessful three-point shot off. Napier was able to grab the rebound on the miss shot, was fouled and then made the ensuing free throws to secure the game for Connecticut. 

Connecticut takes on Butler for the national title Monday night.

Final Four: Butler Defeats VCU 70-62 For A Return Trip To NCAA Championship Game

Butler's 70-62 win puts them back into the NCAA title game for the second year in a row and it marks the first time a team from a non-major league reached the title game since the 1983 and 1984 Houston team. The battle between Butler and VCU was a back-and-forth game throughout the evening, and the main difference in the game was the rebounding advantage that Butler had. The Bulldogs out rebounded VCU 46 to 30 overall and 15 to five on offensive rebounds. Even with that disparity VCU was able to keep this game close and have the outcome in doubt until about one minute left in the game.

VCU made their run in the tournament and after starting hot in the first half they cooled off and eventually ended up shooting 36 percent from three-point range. Butler was in the same boat as well and was shooting even worse then VCU, but they made up for it from the free throw line where Butler had 26 attempts compared to VCU's 13 attempts. 

VCU's Jamie Skeen did all he could to keep his team in the game as he scored a game high 27 points and was only one of two VCU players to score in double-figures. Brandon Rozzell who had been having an excellent tournament for VCU had one of hi worst games of the year by scoring only two points and five rebounds. 

To start the second half both VCU rushed out to a 7-0 lead, but that was the last time they would take the lead as Butler responded witha 10-2 run of their own to take a 56-52 lead. Butler kept onto that lead and when Butler seemed to have the game won with a 61-54 lead, but then VCU guard Jamie Skeen hit a three-pointer to make it 61-57 and was fouled with 2:34 left in the game. After a television timeout, Skeen missed the golden chance of converting on a four-point play and cut the lead to three. That was the end of the game as Butler's Matt Howard scored the next four points to put the game out reach for VCU.

Butler now takes on Connecticut in the national championship game Monday night.

NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: Connecticut Vs. Kentucky, A More Traditional Final Four Matchup

Connecticut against Kentucky is what fans are used to seeing in the Final Four and is the complete opposite of Butler vs. VCU. UConn and Kentucky have already played once this season, but the game was played all the way back in November at the Maui Invite and ended with UConn destroying Kentucky 84-67.

The two teams were much different back then as Kentucky was still meshing in a new group of talent to replace the four first round picks they lost in the 2010 NBA Draft. At the time UConn was just known for Kemba Walker and were not ranked at the time of their win over Kentucky.

Back to the present and UConn won the Big East tournament as a nine-seed and has made their fourth Final Four run under head coach Jim Calhoun. Kentucky did not win the regular season or post season in the SEC and was not expected to make a Final Four run this year, but here they are as a completely different group of talent from last year's team.

The obvious player to watch for UConn is All-American Kemba Walker who has the ability to take over games with his scoring, especially from three-point range. Teams have tried to use a zone defense to limit Walker's ability to drive to the bucket, but that did not work as he just shot over the zone regardless if it was a 2-3, matchup zone or really any type of zone opposing coaches would throw at him. Since the Big East tournament, Walker has been aided by the scoring of Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier. Lamb is also does a great job of getting Walker the ball in position's where he can catch and shoot, and Napier is a pure scorer who can not knock down the deep shot.Outside of those three the Huskies are not that deep and their front court is where could have issues.

As for Kentucky, they are led by Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones. Knight is a player that must be guarded at all times on the court as he has the type of range that must be respected as deep as 30-feet from the basket. The freshman also has a knack for draining big time shots and Kentucky wants him to have the ball when the game is on the line. Jones is one heck of a talent, but if he is not on his game then he is just a decent player. He has the versatility to shoot the three-point shot and can post up smaller defenders down low. Jones can create mismatches for the opposing team and could be the difference for Kentucky. Center Josh Harrellson has perhaps been the reason that Kentucky has made it to the Final Four. He has been playing out of his mind

Perhaps the most important player to the Wildcats down the tournament stretch has been Josh Harrellson. The unheralded senior center has played out of his mind in the last two weeks. He has had two double-doubles in the tournament so far and has doubled his scoring average from just over seven per game to 15 per game.

Both of these coaches are two of the best over the past 20 years and the game will come down to who can out coach the other and create the matchups to their advantages.

NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: VCU Vs. Butler Is A Historic Final Four

VCU comes into the game as the biggest Cinderella story in the history of the NCAA Tournament since many experts felt they should have not even made it into the field of 68, and some fans have even retaliated with t-shirts against ESPN's Jay Bilas. While, Butler is trying to become the first non-major school to make it to back-to-back trips to the title game since University of Houston's Phi Slama Jamma made the title game in 1983 and 1984.

Butler has two key players that VCU needs to look out for and the are forward Matt Howard and guard Shelvin Mack. Both players were in the title game last year and have become the leaders of this team now that last year's star Gordon Hayward is in the NBA with the Utah Jazz.

Howard is a power forward who is capable of scoring down low as well being able to step back and shoot the long-range jumper, including being able to make the occasional three-pointer. So far in this tournament Howard has hit two game winning points, first against Old Dominion in their first game and then again to beat PItt to advance to the Sweet 16..

Shelvin Mack has taken advantaged of Howard's newfound outside shot which has allowed Mack to have a more free flowing game. Mack was able to use the open space all season, and especially against Florida due to the threat of Howard's improved outside shot. 

As for VCU they are led by Bradford Burgess and Jamie Skeen who run an exceptional inside-and-outside game. The two average just under 30 points per game as well as 13 rebounds between the two. VCU is a deep team with Brandon Rozzell and Joey Rodriguez who round out the scoring as each average in double figures. Rozzell has been the key to the Rams tournament success as he is shooting about 53 percent from three-point range, and is the teams third scorer.

Butler has the experience by being in this situation last year and is a very smart team, but they do have their own issues in this game. The Bulldogs have had turnover issues with three of their four games where they had more then 10 turnovers and almost blew a 20-point lead against Wisconsin. 

VCU has made it through the tournament by playing above their heads during this Final Four run as has Butler, but with the experience Butler has VCU will still need to force their way against Butler and take control of the game early to make it to the championship game.

No. 11 VCU vs. No. 8 Butler, 6:09 p.m. ET, CBS (Nantz/Kellogg/Kerr/Wolfson)

Final Four 2011: Kentucky Joins Butler, UConn, VCU In Final Four

The No.4 seed Kentucky Wildcats entered the Final Four of the 2011 NCAA Tournament following their 76-69 victory over the No. 2 seed North Carolina Tar Heels. Brandon Knight led the Wildcats with 22 points, part of a balanced offensive attack. He shot 7-of-18 from the field (5-of-11 from beyond the arc), pulled down seven rebounds, dished the ball out for four assists and stole the ball three times.

Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins each scored 12 points, and Terrence Jones and Darius Miller each added 11 points for Kentucky.

Tyler Zeller led the Tar Heels with 21 points and nine rebounds. John Henson added nine rebounds, helping North Carolina outrebound Kentucky, 35-30. They couldn't hit the trey all game long, making only three on 16 shots. Kentucky, on the other hand, made 12-of-22.

Here is the remaining schedule:

April 2
Final Four, Houston
No. 11 VCU vs. No. 8 Butler, 6:09 p.m. on CBS
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 3 UConn, 8:49 p.m. on CBS

April 4
National Championship, 9 p.m. on CBS

Final Four 2011 Update: VCU Upsets No. 1 Kansas, 71-61, Will Face Butler

The No. 11 seed Va. Commonwealth Rams defeated the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, 71-61, on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Final Four of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Rams led by as many as 18 points in the contest before earning passage to the next round with a 10-point victory.

In the first half, the Rams finished with a 14-point lead, 41-27, and then saw it shrink to 46-44 with 12 minutes left to play. However, Kansas' poor shooting ended their chances at a comeback. The Jayhawks shot 35.5 percent from the field and made only 2-of-22 from beyond the arc. Marcus Morris gave his best in the game, but 20 point and 16 rebounds weren't enough. Markieff Morris finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

VCU's Jamie Skeen hada game-high 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds. He shot 6-of-17 from the field (4-of-7 from beyond the arc). He was successful 10 out of 12 times from the line. Bradford Burgess and Joey Rodriguez combined for 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Brandon Rozzell scored 12 points off the bench.

With Kansas' loss, there will be no No. 1s in the Final Four, the first since 2006.

George Mason in 2006 and LSU in 1986 were the only previous double-digit seeds to make the Final Four. Neither team advanced to the championship game. Can the VCU Rams turn the tides and do it? Find out on April 2 when the Rams face the Butler Bulldogs.

NCAA Basketball Tournament 2011 Bracket Update: UConn Heads To Final Four With Butler

Following Butler's lead, the UConn Huskies also booked a trip to the Final Four in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Huskies held off the Arizona Wildcats, 65-63.

Kemba Walker led UConn with 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Jeremy Lamb also proved pivotal in this game with 19 points and four rebounds. Shabazz Napier contributed greatly off the bench with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 30 minutes.

Arizona's Derrick Williams didn't have any last-second heroics as he did in previous games. He and Jamelle Horne each missed a three-point shot to potentially win the game in the last 10 seconds of the game. Horne, however, did make the three to bring the game within two points.

Williams finished with 20 points, but made only 1-of-6 threes. Solomon Hill pulled down 10 rebounds. They did outrebound the Huskies, 39-28.

The Huskies will face the winner of North Carolina-Kentucky.

You can view the current 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket here at SB Nation.

Butler Vs. Florida Final Score: Butler Defeats Florida In Overtime, 74-71, Heads To Final Four

The Butler Bulldogs advanced to the Final Four of the 2011 NCAA Tournament following their 74-71 overtime victory over the Florida Gators. This is the second year in a row the Bulldogs will be in the Final Four. They reached the championship game in 2010, but lost to Duke.

The Bulldogs battled back in the second half of the game with the Gators, losing by as many as 11 points, to tie the game at 60 at the end of the second half. Florida's Erving Walker attempted a three-pointer to win the game in regulation, but his miss sent the game into overtime.

Shelvin Mack scored five of his 27 points in the overtime, and those five points were the last five scored by Butler. He did it on a trey and two free throws. With eight second left, Erving Walker tried for a three to tie the game, but missed. Ronald Nored pulled down the rebound, but then had the ball stolen by Kenny Boynton, who attempted and missed the three as time expired.

Matt Howard and Khyle Marshall added 14 points and 10 points, respectively. For the Gators, Vernon Macklin finished with 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while Alex Tyus put up 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kenny Boynton finished with 17 points.

Butler now waits for the winner of Kansas-Va. Commonwealth in the Final Four.

Butler Vs. Florida Score: Shelvin Mack, Vernon Macklin Battling In Tight Contest

The No. 1 seed Florida Gators enter halftime of their Elite Eight contest against the No. 8 seed Butler Bulldogs with a 33-32 lead. Butler's Khyle Marshall made a jumper at the end of the half to bring it to a one-point lead for the Gators. However, Florida had as large as a 10-point lead during the first half.

For the Gators, the scoring has been dominated by Vernon Macklin, who tallied 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and one free throw. Alex Tyus leads the team with five rebounds. The Gators are shooting 48.0 percent as a team. The Bulldogs are lead by Shelvin Mack and his 14 points. Zach Hahn and Khyle Marshall each have six points off the bench. Matt Howard has just four points, but has pulled down three rebounds and dished the ball out for two assists.

Florida will need Erving Walker to find his scoring touch, having just four points on four free throws. Momentum appears to be on Butler's side, but do the Gators have an answer?

NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: Kansas, North Carolina Advance To The Elite Eight

Both the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks and the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels easily handled their Sweet 16 games on Friday night and advanced to the Elite Eight. They await their opponents on Sunday.

The Jayhawks sent the No. 12 Richmond Spiders home with a 77-57 victory. Kansas had no problems shooting, making 48 percent of its shots. Brady Morningstar scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting (4-of-7 from beyond the arc). Marcus Morris added 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Thomas Robinson provided huge support off the bench with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Justin Harper led Richmond with 22 points, but couldn't add to his team's list of impressive wins, which came against No. 5 Vanderbilt and fellow underdog No. 13 Morehead State.

The Tar Heels followed Kansas' success with an 81-63 over No. 11 Marquette. They held the Golden Eagles to just 15 points in the first half to overcome their usual slow starts offensively. Tyler Zeller (27 points, 12 rebounds) and John Henson (14 points, 12 rebounds) finished with double-doubles, and Harrison Barnes fell one rebound short of joining them, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Jimmy Butler led Marquette with 14 points, while Jae Crowder had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

The Jayhawks play the winner of Florida State-Va. Commonwealth, and the Tar Heels take on either Ohio State or Kentucky.

SBNation.com has an updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket for you each morning.

NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: Arizona, Butler, UConn, Florida Reach Elite Eight

Four teams booked trips to the 2011 NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight on Thursday night. Arizona, Butler, UConn and Florida all will play on Saturday in hopes of advancing to the Final Four.

The Connecticut Huskies were the first team to book their trip, defeating the San Diego St. Aztecs, 74-67. The Aztecs kept it close a few times late in the game, but Kemba Walker was just too much. He dropped 36 points on the Aztecs on 12-of-25 shooting (4-of-8 from beyond the arc) and 8-of-10 free throws. Jeremy Lamb added an additional 24 points for the Huskies. San Diego State had four scorers with 10-plus points, but Kawhi Leonard finished with only 12 points and nine rebounds. He had four fouls and played only 29 minutes.

Connecticut will contest the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona played a thrilling game against Duke and ended the Blue Devils' hope for back-to-back national championships with 93-77 win. Derrick Williams dominated this game for the Wildcats. He finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds. He made 11-of-17 shots, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Despite a 28-point game from Kyrie Irving, the Blue Devils were outscored 55-33 in the second half. Williams' teammates, Lamont Jones and Solomon Hill, combined for 29 points.

The Florida Gators booked their trip to the Elite Eight with an overtime victory over Jimmer Fredette and BYU, 83-74. Fredette, injured and cut on the chin, scored 32 points, but none of his teammates scored more than nine points. Fredette put up 15 threes but made only three. The Gators' potent offense had four scorers with at least 16 points. Alex Tyus had a huge game for the Gators with 19 points and 17 rebounds.

The Butler Bulldogs will play Florida following their 61-54 victory over Wisconsin. Matt Howard led Butler with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Taylor came on strong for the Badgers in the second half, but his 21 points were not enough. His team shot 30.4 percent from the field.

SB Nation has you covered with an updated NCAA bracket.

Sweet 16: BYU, Jimmer Fredette Ready For More NCAA Tournament Action

The NCAA Tournament gets underway again on Thursday evening with four Sweet 16 games. The Mountain West Conference will be well represented with two games today.

The first game of the day pits No. 3 Connecticut up against No. 2 seed San Diego State. Much attention will be given to UConn's Kemba Walker given all the last-minute and -second heroics he had during the Big East Tournament. And in two NCAA Tournament games, Walker put up 18 points and 12 assists against Bucknell and then 33 points against Cincinnati. He leads the team with 23.6 points, while the second-leading scorer, Jeremy Lamb, has just 10.5 points.

The Aztecs enter the game battle-hardened, having advanced to this round by way of a two overtime victory over the Temple Owls. They also had to play a close first half with Northern Colorado in the opening round before pulling away in the second. The offense offers four scorers who average at least 10 points, none better than Kawhi Leonard's 15.6. He also leads the team with 10.6 rebounds, which is followed closely by Malcolm Thomas' 8.1. Winner plays either No. 5 Arizona or No. 1 Duke.

Jimmer Fredette leads the No. 3 BYU Cougars against the No. 2 Florida Gators. Fredette is averaging 33 points in two games so far, better than his 28.8 season average. Will Florida be able to contain him? Jackson Emery is the second-leading scorer with 12.6 points and the rest below him are below 10 points. And will the lack of Brandon Davies hurt the Cougars in this game? He led the team with 6.2 rebounds before his dismissal. Meanwhile, the Florida Gators' Erving Walker headlines a four-headed offense with 14.7 points, scoring 18 and 21 in two games in the tourney. He's been deadly from beyond the arc, making seven of 11 shots. Winner plays No. 8 Butler or No. 4 Wisconsin.

Predictions: The winners of these games are on opposite sides of the bracket, so they'd need to meet in the national championship game for meeting to happen. But as two of the Final Four teams, I'll go with UConn and BYU.

Sweet 16 Bracket: Marquette, Richmond, VCU Advance

When the 2011 NCAA Tournament starts up again on Thursday, who would have thought that Florida State, Marquette, Richmond and Va. Commonwealth, all 10-seeds or higher, would be playing in the Sweet 16? And the Butler Bulldogs upset No.1 Pittsburgh to make it to the regional semis. It's been an exciting tournament so far, and it shouldn't let up when action resumes later in the week.

This round of games now shifts to the regional host sites of the Honda Center (West), the New Orleans Arena (Southeast), the Alamodome (Southwest) and the Prudential Center (East).

Here is the complete bracket for the Sweet 16:

West Region
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Arizona, March 24, CBS
No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 3 Connecticut, March 24, CBS

Southeast Region
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 BYU, March 24, TBS
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Butler, March 24, TBS

East Region
No. 1 Ohio St. vs. No. 4 Kentucky, March 25, CBS
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 11 Marquette, March 25, CBS

Southwest Region
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 12 Richmond, March 25, TBS
No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 11 VCU, March 25, TBS

NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: Sweet 16 Includes Underdogs Marquette, VCU

In the 2011 NCAA Tournament, the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels will be joined in the Sweet 16 round by two No. 11 seeds: Marquette and VCU. Duke and UNC played early games on Sunday to clinch spots in the Sweet 16, but the underdogs took the spotlight in the later games.

No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth, coming off a win over USC to enter the field of 54 and then a second round victory over Georgetown, absolutely stunned No. 3 Purdue in a 94-76 victory. The source of heated debate over their inclusion in this year's tournament, the Rams have definitely shown that they belonged in it. Six VCU players scored in double digits, but none better than Bradford Burgess' 23 points. The Rams play the winner of No. 2 Notre Dame-No. 10 Florida State.

No. 11 Marquette played a much closer game with No. 3 Syracuse, but pulled out the 66-62 victory. With 27 seconds left in the game, Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom hit a three that broke the tie and gave the Golden Eagles a 62-59 lead. Syracuse fouled Marquette twice, and all four free throws were successful. Jae Crowder was key off the bench with 16 points and seven rebounds. They will face the UNC Tar Heels

No. 5 defeated No. 4 Texas, 70-69, on what has erupted into a controversial call when the ball was not in play. Texas called a time out and then failed to inbound the ball within the allotted five seconds. You can check out video of the five-second score here. Arizona will play No. 1 Duke.

No. 1 overall seed Ohio State manhandled George Mason, 98-66, to advance to the Sweet 16. They will play Brandon Knight and No. 4 Kentucky. No. 1 Kansas sent No. 9 Illinois home for the season with a 73-59 victory. They will play No. 12 Richmond

And make sure you visit SB Nation each morning for an updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket. That way, if you want to predict the games each day because your bracket has already been ruined, SB Nation has you covered.

NCAA Bracket Update 2011: Duke, North Carolina Book Trips To Sweet 16

Duke and North Carolina both booked trips to the 2011 NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 with Sunday victories. North Carolina played the No. 7 Washington Huskies in the first game of the day and escaped with an 86-83 victory. Tyler Zeller led the Tar Heels with 23 points, but the story at the end of the game was John Henson.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore, Henson had 10 rebounds at the final buzzer and several interesting plays in the final seconds. First he touched a ball that was about to go out of bounds and give North Carolina possession. With Washington getting one more chance, Isaiah Thomas took one last shot, which Henson may or may not have interfered with. SB Nation has video for you to determine if John Henson committed goaltending. The referees did not make a call and UNC escaped with a victory. The Tar Heels play the winner of Marquette-Syracuse

No. 1 Duke held off a late No. 8 Michigan charge and had to sweat out the final 90 seconds of the game. Duke held a 70-69 lead, which Kyrie Irving increased with a jumper. Darius Morris countered for the Wolverines with a layup, but then fouled Nolan Smith, who made only one of the two free throws. Morris made one last shot with five seconds left, but Smith, who scored 24 points pulled down the rebound as time expired. Duke escaped with the 73-71 victory. The Blue Devils face the winner of Arizona-Texas.

NCAA Bracket Update 2011: Butler's Upset Victory, San Diego State's Two OT Victory, Jimmer Fredette Highlight Day's Action

We have one day of game left to determine the Sweet 16 teams. Here are the teams that have already booked their trips on Saturday:

No. 1 Pitt lost to No. 8 Butler, 71-70, in the final seven seconds with a late foul call on Pitt. Butler will play Wisconsin

No. 2 San Diego State needed two overtime periods to do it, but they defeated No. 7 Temple, 71-64. The Aztecs overcame poor shooting and costly turnovers with plenty of help from Kawhi Leonard's and Billy White's 16 points each. Lavoy Allen (12 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double and Rahlir Jefferson was a presence around the glass with 12 rebounds. The Aztecs play the winner of UConn-Cincinnati.

No. 2 Florida sent No. 7 UCLA home for the season following their 73-65 victory. Erving Walker scored 21 points for the Gators. They will play No. 3 BYU.

No. 3 BYU easily took care of No. 11 Gonzaga, 89-67, on the strength of Jimmer Fredette's 34 points. Fredette sank seven three-pointers. They will face No. 2 Florida.

No. 4 Wisconsin played a back-and-forth game with No. 5 Kansas State and emerged with the 70-65 victory. Jacob Pullen scored 38 points for the Wildcats, but the Badgers' Jordan Taylor had the key move of the game when he blocked Pullen's three-point shot with two seconds left in the game. The Badgers will play Butler.

No. 4 Kentucky didn't need last-second heroics in this round, soundly defeating West Virginia, 71-63. Brandon Knight, who hit the game-winning shot against Princeton, scored 30 points. Kentucky will play the winner of Ohio State-George Mason.

No. 12 Richmond dominated No. 13 Morehead State, 65-48. Kenneth Faried's 11 points and 13 rebounds were not enough for Morehead State to overcome the Spiders. The Spiders shot 47.3 percent from the field with Justin Harper scoring 19 points. Richmond must wait until Sunday to find out if they will play Kansas or Illinois.

And make sure you visit SB Nation each morning for an updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket. That way, if you want to predict the games each day because your bracket has already been ruined, SB Nation has you covered.

NCAA Bracket Update: Butler Upsets No. 1 Pitt, 71-70

The No. 8 Butler Bulldogs upset No. 1 Pittsburgh, 71-70, with a last-second victory after having an eight-point lead at halftime. With seven second left, Butler was down, 69-68, but Andrew Smith made a layup to give the team the lead. Then Butler committed a foul that put Pittsburgh at the free throw line for two.

Gilbert Brown made the first free throw to tie the game, but missed the second one. On the ensuing rebound attempt, Pitt's Nasir Robinson committed a foul on Matt Howard, sending Howard to the line. He made the first free throw to make the score 71-70, but missed the second. Pitt got the rebound but time expired, giving Butler the victory.

Shelvin Mack scored 30 points for Butler, hitting 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. Matt Howard added 16 points, the only other Bulldog to score in double digits.

Pitt's Gilbert Brown led the team with 24 points, while Brad Wanamaker pulled down six boards and dished the ball out for six assists. They outscored Butler 40-33 in the second half.

Butler will face the winner of the Wisconsin-Kansas State game

NCAA Bracket Update 2011: Florida Downs UCLA, 73-65

The No. 2 Florida Gators pulled away from the No. 7 UCLA Bruins in the final one-and-one-half minutes of play to win, 73-65. The Gators had only a one-point lead, 66-65, after UCLA's Joshua Smith made a layup. However, Erving Walker sank a three-pointer 15 seconds later and then made four free throws when the Bruins went into foul mode.

Walker led the Gators with 21 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and making eight of ten free throws. Alex Tyus was around the glass all day with a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Bruins had four of their five starters score in double digits. Reeves Nelson led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Joshua Smith added 16 points and grabbed six boards. Tyler Honeycutt put 13 points on the board, blocked four shots, dished the ball out for four assists, pulled down three rebounds and stole the ball twice.

The Gators will play the winner of tonight's game at the Pepsi Center between No. 3 BYU and No. 11 Gonzaga.

The rest of Saturday's schedule:

No. 13 Morehead State vs. No. 12 Richmond, In Progress, CBS
No. 7 Temple vs. No. 2 San Diego State, 4:00 p.m. MT, TNT
No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 8 Butler, 5:00 p.m., TBS
No. 3 BYU vs. No. 11 Gonzaga, 5:30 p.m. MT, CBS
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Kansas State, 6:30 p.m., TNT
No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 6 Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. MT, TBS

NCAA Bracket Update: Kentucky Avoids Last-Minute Heroics, Defeats West Virginia, 71-63

The No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats didn't need any last-second shot by Brandon Knight on Saturday afternoon to defeat the No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers, 71-63. However, Knight did score a game-high 30 point, hitting 9-of-20 shots (3-of-8 from beyond the arc) and making nine free throws. Josh Harrellson added 15 points and pulled down eight boards. Terrence Jones put up a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Mountaineers' Joe Mazzulla and Darryl Bryant gave it their all with 20 points and 15 points respectively, but with Knight racking up the points it was too hard to overcome the Wildcats. Casey Mitchell added 11 points off the bench.

Kentucky plays the winner of Sunday's Ohio State-George Mason game.

Here is the remaining schedule for today:

No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 UCLA, In progress, CBS
No. 13 Morehead State vs. No. 12 Richmond, 3:15 p.m. MT, CBS
No. 7 Temple vs. No. 2 San Diego State, 4:00 p.m. MT, TNT
No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 8 Butler, 5:00 p.m., TBS
No. 3 BYU vs. No. 11 Gonzaga, 5:30 p.m. MT, CBS
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Kansas State, 6:30 p.m., TNT
No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 6 Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. MT, TBS

NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: George Mason, Michigan, Florida State Led Exciting Slate Of Games

The second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament continued on Friday and featured upsets, close games and expected victories--the usual for March Madness.

Perhaps the most exciting game on Friday was No. 8 George Mason rallying to defeat No. 9 Villanova. The Patriots were down six points at halftime, but outscored the Wildcats by 10 points in the second half to pull off the 61-57 victory. Luke Hancock hit a pivotal three with 20 seconds left to put the Patriots in the lead and Mike Morrison added a dunk to make the lead just a bit wider.

No. 8 Michigan destroyed No. 9 Tennessee with a 30-point victory, 75-45. The Wolverines Zack Novak scored 14 points and pulled down 10 boards. With Tennessee's season over, head coach Bruce Pearl's future with the program must be decided.

No. 10 Florida State upset No. 7 Texas A&M, 57-50, for its first win the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Derwin Kitchen scored 15 points for the Seminoles, grabbed seven boards and stole the ball twice.

No. 5 Arizona fended off No. 12 Memphis, 77-75, when Derrick Williams blocked the game-tying Memphis shot with only seconds left in the game. Williams finished the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

No. 11 Marquette sent No. 6 Xavier home following their 66-55 victory. Marquette did it by keeping Tu Holloway, the Musketeer's leading scorer at 20.2 points, to only five points and a combined 34 points by Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler.

Duke, Kansas and Ohio State, all No. 1s, advanced to the next round. North Carolina (2 seed), Notre Dame (2), Purdue (3), and Texas (4) all advanced. In late game action, No. 9 Illinois defeated No. 8 UNLV.

And make sure you visit SB Nation each morning for an updated printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket. That way, if you want to predict the games each day because your bracket has already been ruined, SB Nation has you covered.

NCAA Bracket Update 2011: Michigan Destroys Tennessee, Texas Escapes Oakland With Four-Point Victory

In the early games for the 2011 NCAA Tournament, the scores seemingly got mixed up. In the first contest of the day, the No. 4 Texas Longhorns squeaked out an 85-81 victory over No. 13 Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies' Reggie Hamilton put up 25 points and Keith Benson and Will Hudson combined for 21 rebounds, but that wasn't enough to overcome the Longhorns. Tristan Thompson and Jordan Hamilton led the way with 17 points and 19 points, respectively, and 10 rebounds each. Texas will play the winner of No. 5 Arizona-No. 12 Memphis.

The other early game involved No. 8 Michigan and No. 9 Tennessee in a lopsided game. The Wolverines sent Tennessee to a 30-point defeat, 75-45. Michigan took complete control in the second half of the game, outscoring the Volunteers, 42-16. Tobias Harris was the only Tennessee player to score in double digits (19), while the second-leading scorer had only six points. The Wolverines had five players score in double digits, including Zack Novak, who scored 14 and pulled down 10 rebounds. The Wolverines will play the winner of No. 1 Duke-No. 16 Hampton.

Now Tennessee fans must wait to see if Bruce Pearl will still be the team's coach.

March Madness 2011 Schedule: Third Round Games At The Pepsi Center Set

The Pepsi Center will be rocking with more 2011 NCAA Tournament on Saturday with two more games before the winning teams head off to other regional host sites. On Thursday, No. 13 Morehead State upset No. 4 Louisville and No. 12 Richmond sent No. 5 Vanderbilt back to Nashville, Tenn. The two teams will play each other on Saturday for the right to claim on of the Southwest region's spot in the Sweet 16.

In the Southeast region, No. 3 BYU beat No. 14 Wofford and will play No. 11 Gonzaga, who defeated No. 6 St. John's. The winner of that game will play the winner of the No. 2 Florida-No. 7 UCLA matchup in the Sweet 16.

According to Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight Forecast for the New York Times, Richmond has a 68 percent chance of advancing to the Sweet 16 over Morehead State, while BYU has just a 56 percent chance of moving past Gonzaga.

Here are the game times:

Morehead St. Eagles Vs. Richmond Spiders, 3:00 p.m. MT, CBS
BYU Cougars Vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs, 5:45 p.m. MT, CBS

You can get the latest printable NCAA Tournament 2011 bracket here.

NCAA Bracket 2011 Update: Upsets, Exciting Finishes Aplenty On First Day

The 2011 NCAA Tournament had its real start on Thursday when the field of 64 began play, and there was plenty of excitement to go around. The upset of the day was No. 13 Morehead State defeating No. 4 Louisville, 62-61. But No. 12 Richmond sent No. 5 Vanderbilt home with a three-point victory, 69-66. And No. 11 Gonzaga was clearly the better team in their 86-71 victory over St. John's.

Higher seeds that survived scares include No. 8 Butler with a game-winning tip-in over No. 9 Old Dominion, 60-58. No. 7 Temple's Juan Fernandez made a desperation shot as time expired to lead the Owls 66-64 over No. 10 Penn St. The No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats almost joined Louisville in the "lost to a No. 13 seed" category, but freshman Brandon Knight made his first bucket of the game to give the Wildcats a 59-57 victory. No. 7 UCLA coughed up a 23-point second half lead to No. 10 Michigan St., but stayed in the lead and finished with a 78-76 lead.

San Diego St., a No. 2 seed, picked up their first NCAA Tournament win after dropping their first six. They defeated the Northern Colorado Bears, 68-50, who played a tough first half but depended too much on Devon Beitzel. Outside of him, there was no real other scoring option.

Pitt, Florida, BYU, UConn, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Cincinnati all advanced to the third round. Will Friday's games be as exciting?

Morehead State Upsets Louisville, 62-61, In NCAA Tournament 2011

The No. 13 Morehead St. Eagles pulled off the upset over the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals, 62-61. Down by two points with several seconds left to play, Morehead State's Demonte Harper made a three-point shot with four second on the clock. On the inbounds pass, Louisville got the ball down to the other end of the court, but Morehead State's Kenneth Faried got the team's first block of the game to give the Eagles the victory.

Faried, who suffers from asthma, scored 12 point and pulled down 17 boards. Guard Terrance Hill had a game-high 23 points and was second on the team with eight rebounds. Harper's game-winning three-pointer was the first one he hit all night, missing the previous five.

Chris Smith, brother of the Denver Nuggets' J.R. Smith, led the Cardinals with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. That performance helped the Cardinals overcome a slow start that saw the team open up with 10-0 deficit and eventually a 13-point deficit at 15-2 with 12 minutes left in the first half. Terrence Jennings had six blocks.

This was not a well played defensive game as the two teams combined for 26 steals and 34 turnovers. Morehead State will play the winner of the No. 12 Richmond-No. 5 Vanderbilt tilt.

NCAA Tournament Bracket Update 2011: Texas-San Antonio, Advance To Second Round

The final field of 64 is set for the 2011 NCAA Tournament after Texas-San Antonio and Virginia Commonwealth won their opening round games in the First Four. They join UNC-Asheville and Clemson as the other members of the First Four.

Texas-San Antonio defeated Alabama St., 70-61, in the first game of the night. Melvin Johnson III had a big scoring night with 29 points. He was 9-of-17 from the field and 9-of-13 at the free throw line. Freshman Jeromie Hill added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The bench scored only nine points. Alabama State never looked quite into it, but did narrow a 27-point deficit at halftime to only a nine-point loss.

The Va. Commonwealth Rams won a tough game against the USC Trojans, 59-46. Neither team shot the ball that well, the Rams at 33.9 percent and the Trojans at 39.5 percent. The Rams put up 24 three-pointers, but made only nine. The Trojans threw up nine treys, sinking only one. The Trojans' Donte Smith went 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. VCU forward Jamie Skeen led the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Texas-San Antonio now plays as the No. 16 seed against No. 1 seed Ohio St. Virginia Commonwealth takes an 11 seed and faces No. 6 Georgetown. Both games will be played on Friday.

March Madness Predictions: First Four Continues In Dayton

March Madness 2011 is already underway after last night's victories by UNC-Asheville and Clemson. The former was a close game that needed overtime to be decided, while the latter saw the Tigers dominate UAB for 40 minutes.

Today's games will decide another 16 seed and an 11 seed this time. The Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners face the Alabama St. Hornets in the first game. The winner receives the award of facing No. 1 Ohio State in the East region. SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean had the Roadrunners over the Hornets before losing to the Buckeyes.

The night game has the Va. Commonwealth Rams facing the USC Trojans for an 11 seed. Much like UAB, the Rams were a questionable selection over the Colorado Buffaloes. Maybe they'll have a better showing than UAB did against Clemson. Dobbertean picks the Rams to advance in a "close, physical" game. And then he has them upset No. 6 Georgetown

If you're looking to make one last bracket entry after these games finish, remember that SB Nation has its own printable NCAA Tournament bracket for you.

Here is the complete schedule and announcers for the First Four's last two games:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16 (All times MT)

4:40, truTV, Dayton -- UTSA vs. Alabama St. (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)

7:10, truTV, Dayton -- Southern California vs. VCU  (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)

March Madness 2011 Bracket Update: Clemson Easily Handles UAB, 70-52

The UAB Blazers' loss to the Clemson Tigers, 70-52, certainly did not help convince anyone that they were the correct team to make the tournament over the Colorado Buffaloes. The Tigers earned a 12 seed and will face the No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers in the East region.

Midway through the first half Clemson had a 25-7 lead, outclassing the Blazers. The Blazers narrowed it to a 12-point lead at the end of the first half. However, UAB looked completely out of it late in the second half after their leader, Aaron Johnson, went down with what is reportedly a broken tibia. A Clemson player attempted a layup and wound up kicking Johnson in the process. Johnson then landed on the ground and hurt his leg. Johnson had a game-high six assists, but five of the team's 19 turnovers as well.

The Blazers did shoot well from beyond the arc, with Jamarr Sanders (19 points) and Dexter Fields (12 points) hitting on 9-of-16 shots.

Clemson's Jerai Grant had game-highs with 22 points and eight rebounds. He made 10-of-16 shots to help the Tigers shoot 51 percent from the field. Milton Jennings added 11 points off the bench, while Devin Booker and Tanner Smith each contributed 10. Booker pulled down seven boards and Smith stole the ball four times.

The NCAA Selection Committee certainly doesn't look good after this UAB loss.

March Madness Bracket 2011: First Four - UNC-Asheville Advances To Second Round

The first game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament is over and now the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs advance in the March Madness bracket to face No. 1 Pittsburgh in the Southeast regional. They defeated the Ark.-Little Rock Trojans in overtime, 81-77.

The Bulldogs were down for most of the game, but recovered during the final 10 minutes of the second half to send the game to overtime. UNC-A's Matt Dickey hit the game-tying three-pointer with 13 second left in the game, while Ark.-Little Rock's Matt Mouzy missed a three as time expired.

With 1:16 left in overtime the Bulldogs were down 77-76, but the Trojans kept fouling J.P. Primm, who made five free throws at the end of the game. The Bulldogs were 23-of-28 from the line for the night. Primm had 22 points and made 12-of-14 from the line. Matt Dickey added 22 points as well.

Ark.-Little Rock had strong games from Alex Garcia-Mendoza (21 points) and Soloman Bozeman (18 points), but still fell short.

It's an uphill battle for the Bulldogs against Pitt.

2011 March Madness: First Four - Where Will Tonight's Winners Head?

The 2011 NCAA Tournament begins tonight with the first two of the inaugural "First Four" games. The First Four was created to allow the tournament to include 68 teams instead of 65. Tonights games feature UNC-Asheville and Arkansas-Little Rock facing off for the 16 seed in the southeast region and Clemson taking on UAB for the 12 seed in the east region. 

Since most bracket pools out there don't include these first four games, many of you out there are asking who is going to win tonight and what are their chances once they join the final 64. That's where here to help. 

#16 UNC-Asheville Bulldogs vs #16 Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans, 4:30 p.m., truTV
UNC-Asheville -4

Who's going to win?  SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean sees the favorites coming out on top with UNC-Asheville sending the Sun Belt conference champions home early. 

What's next for the winner? UNC-Asheville would face #1 seed Pittsburgh, generally considered to be the weakest #1 of the four. But that doesn't mean the Bulldogs stand a chance here. No 16 seed has ever beaten a 1 seed and it isn't going to change this year. 

#12 Clemson Tigers vs #12 UAB Blazers, 7:00 p.m., truTV
Clemson -4.5

Who's going to win? Dobbertean has Clemson taking out UAB handily, an outcome that will only fuel the fires that the Blazers shouldn't have received an invite to the tourney.

What's next for the winner? This one is a little harder to project as the 5, 12 games produce some very memorable upsets almost every single year. Clemson would face West Virginia, a final four team last year that struggled a bit towards a seventh place Big East finish. Clemson played a lot of very good teams close this season, but could never get over the hump to get even a single win over a top 50 team. This is game that they could win, but with Kentucky and Ohio State potentially lying in wait, they won't be getting any further than the third round at best. 

2011 March Madness Bracket: First Four Gets Underway On TruTV

The 2011 NCAA Tournament gets underway on Tuesday night with two opening round First Four games that will be televised on truTV. The first game between UNC-Asheville and Arkansas-Little Rock will decide the No. 16 seed to face No. 1 Pittsburgh in the Southeast regional, but the second game will be one of interest to watch by Colorado Buffaloes fans. It will be so because UAB will face Clemson for the No. 12 seed in the East Regional.

The UAB Blazers received a bid to March Madness over the Colorado Buffaloes, who had to settle for a No. 1 seed in the NIT.An opening round loss for UAB will not be good for them or the NCAA selection committee.

Here is the complete schedule and announcers for the First Four opening round games:

TUESDAY, MARCH 15  

6:40, truTV, Dayton -- UNC Asheville vs. UALR (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr)

9:10, truTV, Dayton -- UAB vs. Clemson (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16  

6:40, truTV, Dayton -- UTSA vs. Alabama St. (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)

9:10, truTV, Dayton -- Southern California vs. VCU  (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)