The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Blog: 2010 NCAA Tournament

Richard Carwardine, Rhodes Professor of American History at Oxford University, opened the Jepson School of Leadership's 2008 forum Saturday. (Photo courtesy of The Jepson School of Leadership Studies)
Richard Carwardine, Rhodes Professor of American History at Oxford University, opened the Jepson School of Leadership's 2008 forum Saturday. (Photo courtesy of The Jepson School of Leadership Studies)

Editor's Note: The Collegian is posting updates from online sports editor Andrew Prezioso, who is in Providence, R.I., for the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Richmond, the No. 7 seed in the South Region, will be competing in the tournament for the first time since 2004 and will No. 10 St. Mary's College in the first round.

March 19, 12:16 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —In another close game in Providence, it's Tennessee with the 62-59 victory over No.11 San Diego State University.

Malcolm Thomas had an opportunity to tie the game, but his 3-pointer at the buzzer was wide and the Vols escaped.

The games are done here for the night, and will not start again until Saturday. But it's been a fun day here. Thanks for checking in and goodnight from Providence.

March 19, 12:06 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —Tennessee's Melvin Golins looked to seal the game with a 3-pointer to give the Vols a four-point lead, but SDSU's D.J. Gay was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with nine seconds left.

Gay has made the first two and Tennessee has called a time out. The score is 60-58.

March 19, 12:06 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —Not a shock that this game is close at the end of regulation. It's 57-55 Tennessee with 51 seconds left and the Aztecs at the free-throw line for one more shot.

What's left of a once-sold-out crowd is rooting for the Aztecs, except for the Tennessee section that is sitting where the Richmond section was.

March 18, 11:56 p.m.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — SDSU is hanging around, much to the delight of the very passionate SDSU contingent sitting behind me.

It's 53-50 in favor of Tennessee with 3:32 left in the game.

SDSU has shot much better in this half, thanks to a better shot selection. Dawhi Leonard leads SDSU with 12 points and J.P. Prince leads Tennessee with 15 points.

March 18, 11:38 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —Not surprisingly, this game has also become entertaining with Tennessee holding on to a 44-43 lead.

Tennessee has led much of the game, but the Aztecs have come back to cut it to one and also have possession of the ball.

The game also featured back-to-back dunks. After a Tennessee fastbreak dunk, an Aztec responded with a dunk of his own.

March 18, 11:28 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — No. 6 Tennessee still leads. It's 39-34 with about 14 minutes left during the game.

SDSU is shooting better in the second half, and has just hit its first three of the half on its first attempt to make the game 39-37.

Interesting fact about the game: the lead has been changed 10 times so far, but the game has never been tied.

March 18, 10:26 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It's halftime of what has been thus far the least competitive of the four games today. It's 34-26 in favor of Tennessee.

The game started out close with 10 lead changes, but the Volunteers have taken control of the game. Neither team has shot particularly well, with Tennessee shooting 40 percent and SDSU shooting 36 percent and only 2-11 from 3-point territory.

But with the way the games have gone in Providence today, this one is probably far from over.

March 18, 10:26 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Well, No. 14 Ohio did pull the second upset of the day here in Providence when it defeated No. 3 Georgetown 97-83.

The Bobcats played a great game and shot 56.5 percent from 3-point territory. The 39-24 edge in points scored via the 3-point shot was enough to compensate for the Bobcats lack of inside presence. Georgetown held a 46-24 edge in points in the paint.

All the games here in Providence have been upsets or near-upsets. It started with No. 15 Robert Morris taking No. 2 to overtime (the updates from that game are at the bottom of this blog) and of course the No. 10 Saint Mary's upset of Richmond. And right now No. 11 San Diego State leads No. 6 Tennessee.

This region has probably destroyed a lot of brackets, and we are only on day one. You have to love March Madness.

March 18, 8:37 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —Even though Richmond's season is done, the basketball here in Providence continues.

Right now, I'm watching another possible upset with No. 14 Ohio University leading No. 3 Georgetown 50-38 with 18 minutes left. Keep check for updates from games through the rest of the night here in the Dunkin Donuts Center.

March 18, 5:45 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Richmond is trying to make a late-game comeback but it may be too little too late as SMC leads 74-65 with 2:27 left during the game.

Martel just hit a 3-pointer for Richmond, but SMC has been able to break Richmond's press and get easy layups.

Much of the crowd has left because it has assumed a victory for the Gaels.

March 18, 5:27 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Saint Mary's continues to add onto its lead and now is up 65-50 with 6:48 left in the game.

Clint Steindl hit a 3-pointer to give the Gaels a 15-point lead.

The Spiders have not been able to force many SMC turnovers and are struggling to shut down SMC's sharp 3-point shooting.

Kevin Smith will be shooting two free throws when play resumes.

March 18, 5:20 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Richmond faces its largest deficit of the game with SMC leading 62-50.

There's still time for a Richmond comeback with 8:24 showing on the clock. But the Spiders need to take advantage of Samhan sitting on the bench with four fouls.

McConnell hit a 3-pointer to give SMC its largest lead of the game.

March 18, 5:20 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —Omar Samhan picked up his fourth foul for hitting Ryan Butler in the face.

The Spiders need to take advantage of his absence and cut into SMC"s 59-50 lead.

March 18, 5:12 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Saint Mary's still has control of the game and holds a 52-45 lead with 11:45 left in the game.

Samhan now has 24 points to lead SMC. McConnell has 13 for the Gaels.

Gonzalvez hit another shot, this time a 3-pointer to give him 13 points for the game.

Richmond has already picked up six team fouls this half while SMC only has two. Gonzalvez will be going to the free-throw line for two shots when play starts again.

March 18, 5:03 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —Omar Samhan is back in the game and is making his presence felt. He has 24 points as SMC is up 45-42 with 15:10 left in the half.

David Gonzalvez has all six Richmond points this half, coming on three baskets.

The Spiders have already collected four team fouls, while the Gaels have not committed one yet.

March 18, 4:38 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Spiders and Gaels are tied at 36 going to halftime.

Kevin Anderson leads the Spiders with 11 points, Justin Harper has nine points and Ryan Butler has added eight.

The Gaels have had most of their offense come from two players. Omar Samhan has 17 points and seven rebounds, but picked up his third foul with six minutes left in the half. Since he has been out, guard Mickey McConnell has been doing most of the scoring for SMC.

McConnell ended the half with a 3-pointer after shaking loose from a guarding Anderson. McConnell is 3-4 so far from 3-point territory.

The Spiders have been outrebounded 17-5 during the first half.

Richmond will get the ball to start the half.

March 18, 4:24 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Good news for Richmond, Omar Samhan has picked up his third foul and will sit for the rest of the half.

Richmond holds a 26-22 lead with six minutes remaining.

March 18, 4:10 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Richmond has taken the lead once again and holds a 24-21 lead with 7:35 left in the half.

Ryan Butler has hit a pair of 3-pointers and Anderson hit a floater in the lane to account for Richmond's scoring.

Samhan has picked up his second foul, but SMC coach Randy Bennett has kept his big man in there. So far, it's paying off as he has 16 points and seven rebounds.

Anderson has nine points to lead Richmond.

March 18, 4:10 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — SMC is up 17-16 with 11:46 left in the half.

Samhan has been dominate with 12 points and seven rebounds so far.

Anderson has seven for Richmond to lead the Spiders in scoring.

March 18, 4:00 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Omar Sanham has taken over the game and has scored eight unanswered points and SMC is up 10-9 with 14:50 left during the half.

Samhan has scored all 10 of the Gaels' points so far, but he just picked up his first foul.

Francis-Cedric Martel and Dan Geriot have entered the game for the Spiders.

March 18, 3:54 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Richmond has gotten off to a great start and is leading 9-2 just two minutes into the game.

Justin Harper already has five points and Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez each have two points.

Saint Mary's has already called one of its timeouts to try to slow down Richmond's momentum.

The Spider faithful that made the trip are making noise, but the rest of the building is still in shock from the first game and has not cheered.

March 18, 3:18 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A valiant effort by No. 15 Robert Morris fell just a little short as the No. 2 Villanova escaped 73-70 in overtime.

RMU Mezie Nwigwe missed a desperation 3-pointer as time expired to send the Wildcats to the second round.

Despite falling short, the sold-out Dunkin Donuts Center gave the Colonials a standing ovation as they headed to their locker room.

The Richmond game will tip-off at 3:48 p.m.

March 18, 2:54 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Villanova and Robert Morris game is headed into overtime, tied at 58.

Villanova ran a perfect inbounds play with .9 seconds left that set-up Maurice Sutton with a layup. But his layup missed and time ran out.

Robert Morris has two players fouled out and Villanova has one player who fouled out. Both teams are in the double bonus.

This will push back the start time of the Richmond game.

March 18, 2:49 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — It's Villanova ball with 25 seconds left in a tie game against Robert Morris.

RMU had a chance to go up 60-58 but Karon Abraham missed a runner and Villanova grabbed the rebound.

The No. 15 Colonials are trying to upset the No. 2 Wildcats.

March 18, 2:35 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Robert Morris, close to pulling one of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament, leads No. 2 Villanova 55-47 with 3:57 left during the game.

Villanova has struggled shooting the ball the whole game. The team is currently shooting 31 percent, and is only 5-21 on 3-pointers.

The packed Dunkin Donuts Center is pulling for RMU to complete the upset, with the exception of the Wildcat fans.

March 18, 1:53 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The second half of the Villanova-Robert Morris game is starting, and Robert Morris holds the surprising 28-22 lead.

The Colonials have been fortunate though as the Wildcats shot only 30 percent during the first half, including 2-12 from beyond the 3-point line. RMU has also turned thee ball over 11 times.

Robert Morris has been helped by a strong effort on the glass. The Colonials have grabbed as many offensive rebounds as Villanova had total rebounds during the first half.

Freshman Karon Abraham leads RMU with nine points, all of which were scored via 3-pointers.

March 18, 12:32 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The first game in Providence between No. 2 Villanova University and No. 15 Robert Morris just got underway, with VIllanova going up 4-2 three minutes into the game. The winner between this game will play the winner of the Richmond and St. Mary's game on Saturday afternoon.

But before the Spiders can look forward to that game, the Spiders must defeat a tough St. Mary's College team.

The Gaels start a 6-foot-11-inch senior Omar Samhan at center. Samhan is the Gaels' best player, averaging over 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. But the good news for Richmond is that Samhan has fouled out of a game six times this season, and if the Spiders can get him in foul trouble, they will have a much easier time winning.

The Gaels are 26-5 this season and won the automatic bid from the West Coast Conference. They own wins over three tournament teams: New Mexico State, San Diego State, and Gonzaga. But the Gaels have never traveled to the East Coast this year and their farthest-east game has been a 68-63 victory over Utah State. It will be interesting to see how St. Mary's handles the time change.

Although most of the defensive attention will go towards Samhan, three other Gaels in the starting lineup average double figures in scoring. St. Mary's averages 78 points per game as a team, but have not yet seen a match-up zone that Richmond plays.

With that all being said, if Richmond can come out and shoot the ball well from 3-point range and limit St. Mary's scoring, then chances are Richmond will be moving on to Saturday's game.

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