"NCAA tournament Day 3 diary"

Amidst all the attention super freshmen such as Kevin Durant, Greg Oden and Brandan Wright have gotten this season, I nearly forgot that teams still have seniors. And that these seniors, despite the amazing talents of their younger teammates, are still, generally, the players with the ball in their hands in the final moments. And, finally, that these seniors usually are the ones to save their teams when all seems lost.

Enter Ron Lewis, senior, The Ohio State University.

His Buckeyes appeared dead meat late in the second half Saturday, trailing No. 9 seed Xavier by nine points. The team with so much talent, with very likely this year's No. 1 draft pick, was getting schooled by its Ohio rivals, by the team its coach, Thad Matta, abandoned three years ago.

That's when Lewis took over. People throughout the state of Ohio will undoubtedly remember the 3-pointer he jacked from somewhere in Tennessee to tie the game with two seconds remaining. They may not recall, however, Lewis scoring five of Ohio State's nine points before The Shot (he finished with a game-high 27). Fellow senior Jamar Butler scored three of the other four points, with Oden adding a free throw.

Oden fouled out in the final minute. Lewis stayed in the game and kept his team in the game. As good as Oden is and as great as he will be, in the final moments he was helpless on the bench, watching his teammates fight for survival. It was the seniors' time to shine.

Lewis' heroics weren't the only ones to come from upperclassmen on a day when seven of eight games came down to the final moments and the other - North Carolina's 81-67 win over Michigan State - wasn't decided until the last few minutes.

On the same court Lewis saved the Buckeyes, Texas A&M senior point guard Acie Law IV, rightfully nicknamed "Captain Clutch," blocked out a blood-seeking Louisville crowd and scored 26 points to send Texas A&M to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 27 years. For several fleeting moments during the second half, it looked like the Cardinals, in front of their partisan crowd, were ready to run away with the game thanks to their fullcourt trap. But Law wouldn't let it happen, making big play after big play to silence the crowd.

Law was especially clutch at the free throw line, where he made 13 of 15, including two in the final minute. Louisville freshman point guard Edgar Sosa was even better at the line, making his first 15 attempts to score 31 points. However, he missed his last two free throws, in the final minute, helping A&M escape with the victory. Don't tell me the frosh didn't feel the pressure.

Skipping ahead to the night games, Aaron Afflalo, UCLA's junior shooting guard, saved the day for the Bruins. UCLA led by nine points with under 4 minutes to go, a huge lead considering the game was in the 40s - not exactly a West Coast shootout. But behind their vaunted 3-point attack, the Hoosiers fought all the way back to tie the game 49-49 on an Earl Calloway layup with 1:01 remaining. With all the momentum on Indiana's side, Afflalo didn't settle for an outside jumper. Instead, with several defenders around him, he took the ball strong to the basket, giving the refs no choice but to call the obvious foul against Indiana. Afflalo calmly sank two free throws - nothing but net on both of them - and after an Indiana miscue and two Darren Collison free throws, UCLA's heartbeat could return to normal.

Overall, it was an awful shooting day by Afflalo. He made just two of 11 field goals and scored 10 points. But, at the same time, the fact that he was struggling makes his assertiveness in the final seconds more impressive. He knew he wasn't having a good shooting night from outside - he finished 0-3 from 3-point range - so he got to the free throw line.

He did what it took to win. Like Lewis. Like Law.

Three upperclassmen carrying their teams when they needed them most.

That was the theme of Saturday, the theme on easily the most exciting day so far of the tournament, the theme on a day when several high-seeded teams could have easily gone down, but the only "upset" ended up being Vanderbilt's double OT win over Washington State (which really wasn't much of an upset).

Before I call it a night, two other players need to be recognized for stepping up on Saturday. Roy Hibbert of Georgetown and Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina were absolute beasts Saturday night. Both were playing against very physical teams, but both were up to the challenge as Hibbert's Hoyas slipped by Boston College 62-55 and Hansbrough's Tar Heels pulled away from Michigan State 81-67.

Throughout the season Hibbert has been inconsistent, showing up on some nights but not on others. On Saturday, he came to play when his team needed him most. The 7-foot-2 junior scored 17 points, grabbed 12 boards and blocked two shots in 34 minutes of action. He even showed some moves on the offensive end (not just brute strength), spinning around a BC defender for a layup. He was the difference against a very good Boston College team.

Michigan State should have known it was in trouble when Hansbrough came out without the mask he had worn the previous few games to protect his nose. The sophomore - who plays a lot more like a senior - refused to be stopped. Michigan State threw throngs of defenders at him, but he was simply too strong. He motored to 33 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field and 13-for-17 shooting from the free throw line. And, believe me, he earned every one of the free throws he attempted. He was beat up all night.

So with Saturday in the books, the only question is whether today can match up. While I doubt there will be as many tight finishes, this time of year you have to expect the unexpected. With that said, here are my picks for today's games. Notice how close I believe they’ll all be.

- Tennessee over Virginia, 87-81
- Nevada over Memphis, 71-68
- Texas over USC, 80-74
- Florida over Purdue, 70-62
- Winthrop over Oregon, 78-74
- Wisconsin over UNLV, 65-60
- Kansas over Kentucky, 81-68
- Virginia Tech over Southern Illinois, 64-56