Memphis Tigers 78, UCLA Bruins 63

In beating the Bruins earlier this evening, the Memphis Tigers advanced to their first NCAA national championship game since 1973. For the Tigers Derrick Rose scored 28 points, Chris-Douglas Roberts scored 25 points, and Joey Dorsey picked up 15 rebounds, keeping UCLA sensation Kevin Love to a mere 12 points and 9 rebounds.

It’s UCLA’s third kick at the can and again they failed to finish big.

“It’s disappointing,” coach Ben Howland said, “and there’s a lot of sad kids in that locker room right now.”

Up next for the Tigers? Well, that’s being decided as we speak. But for now, Memphis is savoring their win and looking ahead to a championship title.

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 12 Villanova: Midwest Regional tipoff @ 9:40 p.m. EST tonight on CBS-HD. The last time these two teams met was back in January 2005, a game in which Villanova won 83-62. So don’t be too quick to write off Villanova in this one against the Jayhawks. The Wildcats are a talented, disciplined team and they’re eager to become one of the Elite Eight.

Some Betting Trends to Consider:
Villanova is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Villanova is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Villanova’s last 14 games
Kansas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Kansas is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas’s last 6 games

Memphis Tigers vs. Michigan State: Tipoff time is @ 9:57 p.m. EST tonight on CBS-HD. I have to believe that this is Memphis’s year IF they can improve their numbers at the freethrow line. Michigan State is looking for an upset.

Betting trends to consider:
Michigan State is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Michigan State is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Michigan State’s last 6 games
Memphis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Memphis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games

Texas Longhorns vs. Stanford Cardinal: Tipoff is @ 7:27 p.m. tonight on CBS-HD. I’m going to give this one to the Longhorns because they’ll have a loud, Texas-sized crowd to cheer them on. Stanford had to win their last game in overtime, so I dunno…I’m thinking there may not be enough left in the tank for tonight.

Betting trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Stanford’s last 7 games
Stanford is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Stanford is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Texas is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas’s last 6 games
Texas is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games

Wisconsin vs. Davidson: Tipoff is tonight @ 7:10 p.m. EST on CBS-HD. I know a lot of people would like to see Davidson make it through to the Elite Eight, but against a hard-working team like the Badgers I suspect they’ll come up short.

Betting trends to consider:
Davidson is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Davidson is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Davidson’s last 10 games
Wisconsin is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Wisconsin is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Wisconsin’s last 9 games

The morning games are over and the day’s afternoon games are all well underway. How’s your bracket looking? Are you stocked for beer and munchies for tonight’s matchups? With 11 games on tap you’re going to need some serious grub to keep up with all the action. Here’s what went down earlier today:

Xavier over Georgia 73-61
Georgia controlled the first half of the game but Xavier fought back hard during the second half to win the game 73-61 over Georgia and they advance to the second round to play the winner of the Purdue-Baylor game. Derrick Brown put up 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh Duncan scored 20 points for the Musketeers.

Kansas over Portland State 85-61
Brandon Rush scored 18 points and the Kansas Jayhawks easily beat Portland State 85-61 in first round action. By all accounts it looked like an easy win from start to finish. “This is the part of the season where everyone has to be clicking on all cylinders,” senior guard Russell Robinson said. “We’re doing a great job of that so far.”

Michigan State over Temple 72-61
Raymar Morgan scored 15 points and the Spartans beat Temple 72-61 in the first round of the South Regional. This is Michigan State’s 11th straight trip to the NCAA tournament, but they haven’t advanced out of the second round since 2005, when they lost to North Carolina in the national semifinals.

For all your NCAA Basketball Tournament scores and recaps, go to the source at NCAA.com.