NCAA Tournament 2011: Thursday Recap, Friday Schedule

The Texas Longhorns survived an incredible Oakland Grizzlies rally, defeating the Michigan-based school 85-81 in early NCAA Tournament action on Friday afternoon. Oakland was working to continue the bracket-busting trend that began yesterday with an incredible opening day of March Madness.

Thursday had it all: buzzer beaters, huge upsets, and scares for other highly-seeded teams. The Butler Bulldogs kicked off the madness when Matt Howard hit a layup as the horn sounded to defeat the tough Old Dominion Monarchs, 60-58.

Morehead State was the talk of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, stunning Rick Pitino and the 4th-seeded Louisville Cardinals 62-61. The Eagles were led by Terrance Hill, who scored 23 points. Kenneth Faried played an incredible game, grabbing 17 rebounds to pace all players.

The Eagles advanced as a 13 seed to play the Richmond Spiders, the 12 seed that took care of business against the Vanderbilt Commodores. This is the second time in three years that a 12 and a 13 seed will meet in the second round of the NCAA Tournament (12th-seeded Arizona defeated 13th-seeded Cleveland State 71-57 in 2009).

The Gonzaga Bulldogs also defeated a Big East team, felling St. John's in convincing fashion, 86-71. All in all, the tournament has been everything you could have asked for so far, and the madness has only just begun.

Right now, our arch-rivals, the Arizona Wildcats, are in a catfight with the Memphis Tigers. It's entirely possible that they will be the next high seed to fall, with the Tigers showing their athleticism and speed in the first half.

Here's the entire Friday schedule, including games that have already concluded:

FRIDAY MORNING/AFTERNOON, MARCH 18 (9:00 AM-2:00 PM, MST)

9:15, CBS, Tulsa -- Texas vs. Oakland (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr)

9:40, truTV, Charlotte -- Michigan vs. Tennessee (Nantz/Kellogg)

10:40, TBS, Chicago -- Notre Dame vs. Akron (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel)

11:10, TNT, Cleveland -- George Mason vs. Villanova (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)

11:45, CBS, Tulsa -- Arizona vs. Memphis (Albert/Kerr)

12:10, truTV, Charlotte -- Duke vs. Hampton (Nantz/Kellogg)

1:10, TBS, Chicago -- Texas A&M vs. Florida St. (Dedes/Wenzel)

1:40, TNT, Cleveland -- Ohio St. vs. UTSA/Alabama St. (Johnson/Elmore)

FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 18 (3:30 -7:00 PM, MST)

3:50, TBS, Tulsa -- Kansas vs. Boston U. (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr)

4:15, CBS, Charlotte -- North Carolina vs. Long Island (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg)

4:20, TNT, Chicago -- Purdue vs. St. Peter's (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel)

4:27, truTV, Cleveland -- Xavier vs. Marquette (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)

6:20, TBS, Tulsa -- UNLV vs. Illinois (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr)

6:45, CBS, Charlotte -- Washington vs. Georgia (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg)

6:50, TNT, Chicago -- Georgetown vs. VCU (Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel)

6:57, truTV, Cleveland -- Syracuse vs. Indiana St. (Gus Johnson/Len Elmore)