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(03-20) 04:00 PDT JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It took a long time for the Cal basketball team to find its place in the college basketball universe, but it has. On the stretched and exposed necks of the Louisville Cardinals. In a game that pitted two teams with radically different strengths and weaknesses, the Golden Bears played their best basketball of the night at the start of Friday's 77-62 NCAA South Regional victory against the Cards.

I don't remember what play we had on or anything like that   -Theo Robertson

 

You know it's bad for the Big East when Adam Duritz -- founding member of Counting Crows/fan of the Cal Bears -- is spending part of his Friday night Tweeting about the league's dismal performance in this NCAA tournament. So the man who wrote A Long December publicly clowned four Big East schools for having A Short March . Seriously, what's better than that?  

It can't afford to be frugal or frivolous as it begins the search for a replacement for coach Norm Roberts, who was fired yesterday, as the Post reported exclusively last week would happen. Since Lou Carnesecca had the Red Storm among the nation's elite, St. John's has lagged behind other Big East schools in its coaching hires and the salaries it has paid. But with the college landscape on the verge of a seismic shift because of expansion and two other coaching vacancies in the metropolitan area — For  

Matt Bouldin and eighth-seeded Gonzaga showed Florida State it still has a way to go in its quest to be considered a basketball power. Bouldin scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half in helping the Bulldogs close out a 67-60 victory over the ninth-seeded Seminoles. Steven Gray scored 15 points while Robert Sacre added 13 points and nine rebounds for the 'Zags (27-6), who nearly squandered an 18-point lead.  

They'll be followed by a couple of upset-minded teams trying to keep the magic moving: 13th-seeded Murray State takes on fifth-seeded Butler, and 14th seed Ohio plays No. 6 seed Tennessee. The evening games begin with Northern Iowa against overall No. 1 seed Kansas, and a couple of 3-11 games: New Mexico against Washington and Old Dominion against Baylor. The nightcaps will feature second-seeded Kansas State and Frank Martin, the entertaining and often explosive coach, against Jimmer Fredette and BYU.

You know, I wish it would have gone uncalled in this particular instance. In Ray's opinion, he felt he should call it.   -Marvin Menzies

 

They'll be followed by a couple of upset-minded teams trying to keep the magic moving: 13th-seeded Murray State takes on fifth-seeded Butler, and 14th seed Ohio plays No. 6 seed Tennessee. The evening games begin with Northern Iowa against overall No. 1 seed Kansas, and a couple of 3-11 games: New Mexico against Washington and Old Dominion against Baylor. The nightcaps will feature second-seeded Kansas State and Frank Martin, the entertaining and often explosive coach, against Jimmer Fredette and BYU.  

A lot more chalk on Day 2 of the NCAA tournament than the upset-filled Thursday slate of games. Maryland fends off Houston 89-77 in the final game of the opening round, advancing to play Michigan State in an intriguing matchup Sunday. Even so, eight teams with double-digit seeds advanced to the round of 32.  

In my college days at San Diego State University, one thing that was drilled into my skull is that less is more. Make your points and move on. While it is true that rambling on for hours upon hours makes you look good if you're getting paid by the word, that practice is pretty much finito.