Them Missouri Tigers got some claws!

With four more games set for tonight, including the sweat-inducing UNC vs. Gonzaga tilt (at least for me), I thought I would take a quick look back and see how my predictions for Thursday's games panned out, Overall not too bad, as I went 3-1, but the one I missed, I missed BADLY! Missouri, who knew?

West Region:
Connecticut 72, Purdue 60
What I said: Connecticut has too much size for Purdue, will pull it out late.
What happened: The Huskies did prove to be too much on the boards for Purdue, out-rebounding the Boilermakers 43-31. Connecticut was up by five points at the half and really never looked back. Purdue shot 36% from the field, 26% from the three-point line, something they couldn't afford against the bigger Huskies. Connecticut didn't shoot too well from the free-throw line (19-30), but got plenty of chances and put the Boilermakers into some serious foul trouble. Looking ahead, the Huskies will need to make their free throws if they want to keep moving on.

Missouri 102, Memphis 91
What I said: "Missouri will give Memphis all it can handle and then some, but Memphis' defense will stand strong when it's needed most, late in the game, as Memphis will outlast Missouri and march on."
What happened: Well I got part of it right, didn't I. Who am I kidding? I had no idea that Missouri would hang 102 on the team that came in giving up 57 points a game. It was an exciting second half as Memphis climbed back in after being down as much as 24, but it's awfully hard when a team shoots 53% against you. Good thing for both teams this didn't come down to free throws: Missouri 30-45 (67%), Memphis 18-32 (56%). You would think it would be easier to make the shot when there's no hand in your face, wouldn't you? Then again, there were a LOT of lay ups in this game.

East Region:
Pittsburgh 60, Xavier 55
What I said: And I quote, "In the end, I think Fields will be the difference..."
What happened: Fields hits a huge three-pointer with less than a minute to go give Pitt a one-point lead and then all but seals the deal with a steal and a lay up on Xavier's next possession. This game was physical and not very pretty on the offensive side as both teams missed their share of lay ups and point-blank shots. Rebounds were dead even for the game, but Pitt's DeJuan Blair came up huge in the second half with eight points and 13 rebounds (10 and 17 for the game). Xavier took an eight-point lead into halftime, but shot 7-for-29 from the field in the second half (24%, ouch) and were outscored 31-18.

Villanova 77, Duke 54
What I said: "The defensive pressure will wear down the Blue Devils and will impact their ability to execute on the offensive side. Villanova will pull away in the second half and win this game by at least 10 points."
What happened: Pretty much what I said would. :) Up by just three at half time, Villanova outscores Duke by 20 in the second half and wins by 23. Duke scores the fewest points in a NCAA tournament game during the shot clock era and second fewest of the entire season. Villanova didn't shoot particularly well, especially from long-range, but Duke fared even worse - 27% from the field, 19% from three-point land. 'Nova also out-rebounded the smaller Blue Devils by 12.

So other than Missouri-Memphis, I think I was pretty spot-on with my predictions and how the Thursday games would play out. As far as Friday goes, here's a recap of who I picked:

Louisville over Arizona
Michigan St. over Kansas

Oklahoma over Syracuse
UNC over Gonzaga

Tune in Saturday to see how I did!