(1) North Carolina 108, (9) Arkansas 77: Y'know, I'm beginning to think the Tar Heels are serious about winning this thing.
Want an indication of how dominant Carolina has been thus far? Mike Copeland -- the 15th man on the North Carolina bench -- has played in both games.
For the second game running, Carolina put the game out of reach early, topping the 100-point mark again and emptying the bench to give the regulars a little time to savor a win.
Wayne Ellington led the Heels with 20 points, Ty Lawson had 19 and seven assists and Tyler Hansbrough posted his usual double-double, with 17 points and 10 boards.
Carolina became the first team since Loyola Marymount in 1990 to post 100-plus points in each of its first two NCAA Tournament games.
(4) Washington State 61, (5) Notre Dame 41: Tony Bennett's resume is getting better and better. In a game that probably cements Bennett's status as the hottest commodity in the coaching community this offseason, his Cougars managed to hold Big East player of the year Luke Harangody to half his season average (10 points) and simultaneously lock down the Irish perimeter players, who shot just 3-for-17 from three.
Derrick Low led the Cougars with 18 points.
(3) Louisville 78 , (6) Oklahoma 48: This game had a nice symmetry to it. It was Louisville's biggest NCAA Tournament win ever -- and Oklahoma's biggest loss.
The Cardinals delivered on a prototype Rick Pitino basketball game: aggressive defense, lots of running, lots of fast breaks, and lots and lots of easy baskets.
The power game that freshman forward Blake Griffin used so effectively against St. Joseph's in the opening round was no help against Louisville's physically-imposing front line; Griffin was held to just eight points.
(2) Tennessee 76, (7) Butler 71 (OT): Some coaches might consider the second round of the NCAA Tournament an odd time to change the starting lineup. Not Bruce Pearl. His Volunteers hadn't been terribly impressive of late -- taking an early loss in the SEC Tournament, struggling to finish off American University in the first round. So for their second-round matchup with Butler, he replaced point guard Ramar Smith with J.P. Prince. The result? A win -- but once again, the Vols cut things close, needing an extra period to finish off the seventh-seeded Bulldogs.
It will be interesting to see if Pearl sticks with the new lineup. Prince was a bit shaky at times in his first start as a Vol -- he scored nine points, with seven boards and five assists in 31 minutes, but committed six turnovers. Smith played 18 minutes, scoring eight points with one assist and two miscues.