The First Round of the BET was actually more exciting than I expected, with only Georgetown-BC not even being as close as the score indicated. My original picks can be found here.

Rutgers-VT: I watched this game very closely because the winner would face Pitt today. First time I actually saw either team all year. The play confirmed what I expected. VT has been a team that has played better as the season went on, and Rutgers just lacked something the longer VT hung around. VT showed that they can play a solid game, though their shooting was streaky. Not good in the first half, and not missing in the second. Matthews of VT had a bad game, but Rutgers just choked it away during the second half.

WVU-ND: I admit, I stopped paying attention to this game after about 10 minutes. So I missed the comeback and last minute excitement. This game explains why I didn’t think ND could beat UConn in the second round.

Villanova-Seton Hall: The big upset. Villanova finally pulls one out after failing to hold on. ‘Nova played the way it has in its last half-dozen games. Big early runs, looking like the upset is possible, but then not taking care of the ball and choking in the second half. This time they got the big run early, but Seton Hall got back in to the game before the half to only be down 2. I figured the second half would be all Hall. Not this time. Villanova did give up the lead, but did not collapse. They stayed in the game and in the last minute appeared to blow it on an inbounds play when Nardi banged knees and fell down as the ball skittered past him. Then Toney-El missed two free throws for Seton Hall, the last being a choked air ball. Wow. Great finish.