It was reported earlier in the day that Miller wasn’t going to take the new gig, but hours later a report broke that he had indeed agreed to coach the Wildcats. This hire came just four days after Tim Floyd, coach of the USC Trojans, turned down an offer from Arizona. Miller had a 120-47 record in five seasons as the head coach at Xavier. He took over for Thad Matta, who currently coaches at Ohio State.

[ESPN]

The best game waiting in the flats? Mizzou and Memphis sure looks tasty, and I think watching guards play guards in Duke and Villanova will be fun. My original Final Four was Villanova, Mizzou, Louisville and UNC. If I had to go back and change it, I’d swap Mizzou out and insert Uconn, who’s been beating teams like they’re a high school Texas all girls team (it’s a hundred point reference, people).

The rest should be entertaining. The tournament resumes this Thursday.

Tomorrow marks the madness, and it begins at 12:20, sharp, with Butler and LSU, then five minutes later kicks off the beating that will be Memphis and CS Northridge, and then five minutes after that we’ve got BYU and Texas A&M.

At 2:30 Purdue and Northern Iowa tip off, which should prove to be a very good game; UCLA and Virginia Commonwealth, thought to be another good one in the hopper, isn’t until after 9:00 p.m., same with Illinois and Western Kentucky, which might very well finish with an upset (if you can call W. Kentucky winning an upset).

All in all, it’ll be a good day. Call in sick to work, sit back, drink some beers (the doctor’s told me it’s a good way to cure the flu), and enjoy the first couple days of March Madness, which are surely two of the best days of sports. My Final Four: Missouri, Villanova, Louisville, UNC, with UNC beating Louisville in the title game. Enjoy the madness, everybody.

What a day it was. I would hvae written this a bit earlier, but a bit earlier I was a bit drunker. Anyway, here’s the recap of yesterday’s action, minus the Duke game (see below).

Kansas State 55, Wisconsin 72: When I filled out my bracket, I was this close to picking Wisconsin to the Final Four, and then backed out. Watching them dominate K-State the entire game yesterday, and watching Kansas struggle a bit, I’m wishing I went with my gut.

Purdue 78, Xavier 85: Purdue started strong, and Xavier started sloppy. The Boilermakers mounted a comeback in the end, but Drew Lavender and C.J. Anderson’s 18-point performances were too much to overcome.

Notre Dame 41, Washington State 61: I picked Notre Dame, falling for the Big East Irish hype. After a 19 point first half and 22 point second half, I was left scratching my head.

Marquette 81, Stanford 82: I was sweating watching this one. My bracket was falling apart before my eyes. The lanky guy for Stanford that sunk the game winning shot? Well, he’s my hero now. Really.

UNLV 56, Kansas 75: This game was actually kinda close, but Kansas has just got too much offense for the Runnin’ Rebels.

Michigan State 65, Pitt 54: Don’t be surprised if MSU makes it to the Final Four. I have them beating Memphis in the Sweet 16, and then losing to Texas in the Elite Eight, but if they made it, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Texas A&M 49, UCLA 53: I’m still sweating from this one. . . .

As we still wait for that big “upset,” here’s some of the scores that are final and are still going on.

Finals:
-Georgia 61, Xavier 73
-Portland State 61, Kansas 85
-Temple 61, Michigan State 72
-Kentucky 66, Marquette 74
-Kent State 58, UNLV 71
-Oral Roberts 63, Pittsburgh 82
-Baylor 79, Purdue 90
-Cornell 53, Stanford 77

In Progres:

-Kansas State 44, USC 38: If K-State can pull it off, it’ll be the first underdog to actually win a game. In a tournament that’s known for surprises, we haven’t seen many so far on Day One.

-Belmont 52, Duke 56: Normally, I’d be cheering for Belmont as if they were my own team. But I’m not caught up in the West Virginia hype, and I”ve got the Blue Devils in the Elite 8. So let’s hope that upset doesn’t happen here.

-Winthrop 29, Washington State 38: The game was tied at halftime, but WSU has just opened up the half with a 9-0 run, giving them the lead.

-Texas A&M 29, BYU 29: It wouldn’t be an “upset” if BYU won, per se, given that this is an 8 vs. 9, but at this point, any lower seed winning would be nice to see.

Scores and Updates:

Finals:
-Georgia 61, Xavier 73: It was a close game, a good game, and UGA almost pulled it out.

-Temple 61, Michigan State 72: I’ve got Michigan State in my Elite 8 — almost picked ‘em to the Final Four — so watching the first half as close as it was was kinda scrary.

-Portland State 61, Kansas 85: Like many who fall into the Kansas trap, I picked this team to go to the Finals. We’ll see if they can pull their annual choke-job.

In Progress:
-Kentucky 41, Marquette 48: It’s the only close game going on right now, so it’s the only one I’m watching. Both teams looked sloppy in the first half, but things have picked up a bit.

-Kent State 20, UNLV 45: Ballgame.

-Baylor 27, Purdue 26: See above.

-Oral Roberts 24, Pittsburgh 47: See both. Jeez.

(3) Xavier 61, (14) Georgia 56: Georgia’s has the lead most of the game, but they’ve been outscored 35-21 in the second half. Keeping up their miraculous pace would be a good story, but it looks like the door if slamming shut on Georgia’s season right now.

(16) Portland State 61, (1) Kansas 85: You can bring the bench in for this one. The game was never close, never competitive, and Kansas shows again just how good they are at beating up on bad teams and choking in the Sweet 16.

(12) Temple 54, (5) Michigan State 64: There’s always a 5/12 upset, but it doesn’t look like this will be the one. The game was close most of the first half, but Michigan State closed the half with a burst, going up nine, and haven’t given up the lead since.