Georgetown center Greg Monroe was smiling then when getting called for a charge, but it was a sign of frustration. By game's end, the underdog Ohio Bobcats put the Hoyas in a state of shocking defeat.

RIIIIIIIIP! RIIIIIIIIIIIIP!

That’s the sound of (14) Ohio shredding my NCAA Tournament bracket by blasting (3) Georgetown, 97-83, just minutes ago.

Terrible. Where is my vacuum to clean up this mess?

Now I could save face and say I picked (13) Murray State to beat (4) Vanderbilt, but since I forgot to list it when I blogged my initial predictions, who’s going to believe I actually picked that upset.

Regardless, having your national championship pick go down in the first round is depresing.

Oh wait. Kansas is losing to Lehigh. I’m over the Georgetown pick. Got more March Madness to watch.

Gunter on the block for Erie.

Erie BayHawks reserve power forward Jarvis Gunter seems to always have a smile on his face.

It just was a little bigger Wednesday before practice at LECOM.

The night before, he watched his school, Arkansas-Pine Bluff win its first ever NCAA Tournament game in Tuesday’s play-in game.

 The Golden Lions beat Winthrop, 61-44, in Dayton, Ohio. This was Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.

“I was very proud of them,” said Gunter, who averaged 6.6 points and 7.7 rebounds his senior season at Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2007-08. He finished his career with 754 points and 674 rebounds. “They went out and played hard. Took care of business. It made me very proud. I played with about five or six of those guys.”

Up next for the Golden Lions? Duke. The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and the epitome of college basketball.

“If they get keep it close and a couple of guys stay out of foul trouble, anything can happen,” Gunter said.

Gunter is just hoping the game is televised in the Erie area so he can watch it. The game is in Jacksonville, Fla. so the odds aren’t in his favor, but you never know.

Anything can happen in March Madness.

Read the rest of this entry »

As a senior at North Carolina, Manuel won a national championship in 2005.

The players and coaches in tonight’s game between the Erie BayHawks and the Austin Toros will follow the NCAA Tournament for more than just the sheer madness of it.

Many of them either played for or coached at schools that are in this year’s field of 65.

Check out how Jackie Manuel, Ivan Harris and  Coach John Treloar of Erie and Marcus Williams, DeMarcus Nelson and Coach Quin Snyder of Austin think their schools will fare.

As a bonus, I also talked to Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Darnell Jackson, who was sent down to play for the BayHawks just for today’s game, about how his Kansas Jayhawks will do in defending the 2008 national title he helped them win.

Erie SF Jackie Manuel
College: North Carolina (2001-05). The Tar Heels (28-4) are a No. 1 seed in the South Regional and will open tournament play Thursday against No. 16-seeded Radford (21-11) in Greensboro, N.C.

How will his Tar Heels do in this year’s tournament? “I think they definitely have a great chance of winning it all. Definitely making it to the Final Four. I definitely think they have a great chance.”

What about junior point guard Ty Lawson’s injury? The Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year missed the ACC Tournament with a toe injury and is questionable for Thursday’s game.

“I think he’ll be alright. With Ty being from D.C., he’s pretty tough. Any injury he’s having or he’s had, I’m pretty sure he’ll suck it up and play. He knows what’s at stake.”

Read the rest of this entry »