March may inevitably be the most exhilarating month of the year.

Temperatures increase. Grass gets greener. Days grow longer.

And while the bounce of a basketball is heard through television sets across the country in celebration of March Madness, something is just a bit different about attending live games and spending time behind the scenes (and not having to sit through multiple commercials.)

Basketball came alive at the second and third rounds of the tournament in Columbus, Ohio, as players, coaches, fans, media staff, and event workers prepared for a round of six enticing matchups. Emotions ran high from the court to the stands to the locker room, and having the opportunity to witness it all was incredible.

Passing nervous faces on their way to the press room, there was no way I could even imagine putting myself in the shoes of the talented athletes from NC State, Georgetown, St. Louis, Memphis, Belmont, San Diego State, LIU Brooklyn, and Michigan State. All their hard work and dedication of the past season had led to that Thursday, and four of them were going home after just one game.

Jokes shared and tears shed were both symbols of excitement and passion for the road to New Orleans.

Rick Majerus’ discussion about Twitter was one to remember: “I don’t see the point of Twitter. ‘I went to the beach. The water was wet.’ What is that?”

Joe Pastner taking the blame for Memphis’ loss to St. Louis for the sake of his players was more than admirable.

Brian Conklin’s heartbreaking, tearful press conference after his final career game was undoubtedly powerful for all basketball fans alike.

And speaking with a member of NC State’s coaching staff after earning a spot in the Sweet Sixteen was unforgettable: “We’re so excited. This hasn’t happened for us in a long time.”

You see it all on TV, and then you see it in person.

It opens up your eyes and redefines what college basketball means to you. It doesn’t mean creating a successful bracket or winning a hefty sum of money for lucky picks, and it has nothing to do with sitting at your computer waiting for the exact moment tickets go on sale for the three games in New Orleans.

It is about putting yourself in the game and rooting for not only your favorite team but the team putting forth the most effort. It is about sympathizing with those who lose after fighting a tough battle and staying proud of the National Champion for their skill and perseverance. For the fans, each individual tournament may lost only a few short weeks, but March Madness in itself can last a lifetime.

Photo courtesy of CBS and the NCAA.

By: Chris Ruple

Terrico White led the Rebels with 27 points and 7 rebounds as they cruised past the Troy Trojans in the first round of the NIT, 84-65.

The Rebels struggled from behind the arc, connecting on only 4 of 14 three- point attempts but were still able to hold off the Sun Belt regular season champions. There was a noticeable improvement from the free throw line; while the Rebs only went to the line 9 times, they converted on 7 of those free throws.

The Rebels had to settle for a bid to the NIT after losing to Tennessee in a game that may just have been enough to secure a bid to the big dance.

Andy Kennedy’s squad now has a chance to face rival Memphis in the second round in Oxford on Friday. Kennedy will try and lead the Rebels to their second NIT Final Four appearance in three years and the road may have gotten a littler easier as 8 seed Jacksonville dropped 1 seed Arizona State. If the Rebels win Friday, they will host the winner of the Texas Tech vs. Jacksonville contest for a chance to make it to the Final Four.

The East Carolina Lady Pirates righted the ship this weekend with wins against the UAB Blazers (10-9, 4-3 C-USA) and the Memphis Tigers (12-8, 5-2 C-USA). The victories put ECU at 17-4 on the season, and a half a game ahead of Tulane with a Conference USA record of 6-2.

The Lady Pirates also set a new team record by improving to a perfect 12-0 at Minges Coliseum this season. Home sweet home was an understatement for the team, who could not have asked for a better time to return to the warmth of Williams Arena. Coming into the weekend ECU had lost two consecutive conference games during a treacherous three-game Texas road-trip.

“Our players really talk about not (losing) at Minges, somebody is not going to come in here and play harder than us and better than us on our home floor…(the team) takes a lot of pride in it.” Coach Baldwin-Tener stated following the victory.

East Carolina took the Memphis Tigers for everything they had on Saturday, winning 76-59. The Lady Pirates put together a 16-3 run early in the game, then closed out the first half with a 7-1 run to go into the break with a 37-24 lead.

The Tigers were held to just 24 percent in the half, while ECU hit 65 percent of their attempted field goals. The second half didn’t get much better for Memphis as the Lady Pirates sailed to an easy victory.

Ashley Clarke led the Pirates in scoring, dropping 16 points, with Allison Spivey close behind with 15. Kim Gay and Kelly Smith scored in double figures as well, and Jean Best added 9 of her own. Gay also pulled down 11 rebounds to record her second double-double of the year.

“It was good to be home again, we know we can win at home and it really boosts our confidence.” Allison Spivey added after the second win of the weekend.

Thursday night’s game was far from short on excitement as East Carolina secured a 78-74 overtime victory over UAB.

UAB put together an 8-2 run to end the first half, leading 37-30 at the half way mark. ECU struggled shooting just 8-26 from the field in the half. However, the words of coach Baldwin-Tener lit a fire under the Lady Pirates, who came out with a 19-3 run to start the second half.

When asked what helped with the start of the second half Gay was quick to give credit to the coach. “The halftime talk…coach always pumps us up.”

However UAB would not be intimidated, putting together a spurt of their own to tie the score at 63 with just four minutes remaining in regulation. The two teams went back and forth for the final minutes, finishing with 11 ties and seven lead changes in the contest. UAB’s Amber Jones hit a floater with 30 seconds to go in the second half to tie the score at 72 a piece.

The Lady Pirates buckled down in overtime, holding UAB to just one basket. A Kelly Smith three and a pair of free throws from Spivey and one from Best were more than enough to secure the victory for ECU.

Gay led East Carolina in scoring with 19 points, including 3-3 from beyond the arc and 6-6 from the charity stripe. “I just found it, we all did I guess…we usually start slow and then get into a groove as the games goes on, especially when we know the other team is out-shooting us by 30 percent.”

Ashley Clarke registered her third double-double of the season, this time with 11 rebounds and ten assists.

Coach Baldwin-Tener and the Lady Pirates were quick to notice the great play of UAB following the game, more specifically that of freshmen guard Jala Harris. Harris notched 24 points, including 4-6 from three. When asked about facing Harris for three more years, Baldwin-Tener was all but excited.

“I am not looking forward to that, there’s no question…not looking forward to going back down there in a couple weeks actually. She’s a great player, there’s no doubt about that.” The head coach joked.

ECU heads back on the road to take on Southern Miss and UCF next weekend as they look to keep a stronghold on first place in the conference. The Lady Pirates defeated both teams at home earlier last month.

Peter Marhoefer for collegesportsfeed.com

Without a win over a team ranked in the Top 50 Memphis (15-6) walked into Dallas in an unfamiliar position Saturday afternoon. Memphis entered the game tied for second place in Conference USA.

Ten days after having its 64 game Conference USA win streak snapped with a home loss to UTEP, Memphis took on a hot SMU team that had won three straight games. It was a far cry from past Memphis visits that included a Moody Coliseum with 7,421 in attendance and national media swarming the campus. The rock star treatment that surrounded the Tigers has left the building as they like to say in the home of Graceland.

The game against the Mustangs started off slow before Sophomore G Elliot Willaims erupted for 13 first half points, including two theatrical dunks. SMU C Papa Dia kept the Mustangs in the game with 12 first half points and 7 rebounds. Memphis took a 30-25 lead into halftime.

In the second half Memphis may have won in the showboat missed dunk attempts and three point misses with 25 seconds left on the shot clock categories, but were outhustled by the Mustangs and Papa Dia, who played on a slightly twisted ankle. The Tigers went ice cold in 3-point shots  going 6-16. With 3:58 left SMU led 50-48. Memphis took the ball and the future of the 2009-2010 season in their hands, but G Elliot Williams tripped and was called for traveling. The Mustang’s Derrick Williams  had a career high 14-15 from the free throw line that iced the win for SMU 70-60.

The Tigers were led by their three guards Doneal Mack with 16 points, Roburt Sallie with 17 and Williams with 19. The Mustangs had a career-high from Dia  with 23 and 25 from Williams. This was Memphis first Conference USA road loss in 1429 days.

The crowd of 4,034 witnessed the biggest win in the fourth year of the Matt Doherty era at SMU, “We talked about coming in here and expecting to win,” SMU coach Matt Doherty said, “you always want a signature win and we haven’t had one but to me this was it.” With upcoming road games against Southern Mississippi and Tulane, the Mustangs have a real chance on being on a six game winning streak when C-USA’s hottest team the UTEP Miners come to town. UTEP which upset previously undefeated UAB in overtime on Saturday Night beat SMU 49-45 to start Conference USA play.

Memphis has played the quality competition that is expected of a top program, but losses to Kansas,  Syracuse, and in-state rival Tennessee have made the chances of an at large NCAA bid slim. First year coach Josh Pastner will most likley have to win out after the loss to the 10-10 Mustangs. A showdown with Gonzaga on February 6th could be the season for the Tigers. It could be the signature win that the NCAA committee is looking for.

In front of a national television audience Saturday night, the Houston Cougars dropped a 92-77 heartbreaker against the Memphis Tigers at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. This is nothing new to the Cougars, as the Tigers continued their dominance of Houston, winning their 11th straight over the Cougars. Aubrey Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer at 25.3 ppg, had 32 points and was responsible for keep the Cougars hanging in the game in the first half. But as everybody knows, one man can’t win a game. As everybody expected, Memphis finally got the ball rolling and dominated the second half. The Tigers lit it up from behind the arc, going 9-of-16 from 3-point land while Houston shot a dismal 2-of-11. Memphis showed no hangover symptoms from having their 64-game Conference USA winning streak snapped the game before against UTEP. Despite that streak being ended, the Tigers showed they still had Houston’s number, as they seem to be an insurmountable hump to the Cougars’ chance of becoming C-USA champs. Until Houston can dethrone Memphis with at least one victory in conference or, more importantly, tournament play, they may never win the conference title. The 2004-05 season was the last year the Cougars got the better of the Tigers. Since then, it’s been sheer dominance. Let’s face it, Coogs. The road to the NCAA tournament runs through Memphis, Tennessee. Unless you can get an automatic berth, which as of right now looks highly unlikely.