Community Picks: Wisconsin 0% vs Xavier 0%

Anyone with a connection to the Pitt basketball program could be forgiven for wanting to flee the Scottrade Center in St. Louis following Friday night's ugly 47-43 loss to Wisconsin. The 10th-seeded Panthers followed up a 22-point first half with just 21 in the second and blew several opportunities to take command early while holding the Badgers to just 16 points before halftime. To make matters worse, two Pitt players collided on a potential go-ahead possession in the final seconds. Yet the Pitt band stuck around the arena for a good long while, because they pulled double duty as the Weber State band in the second game of the night. The band for the 15th-seeded Wildcats was unable to travel the more than 1,300 miles from Ogden, Utah to St. Louis to support the team, so Pitt made sure that the underdogs would not be without a few familiar sounds vs. heavily favored No. 2 seed Xavier. They even went so far as to learn the school's fight song . They seemed to enjoy themselves, too: #WeBewebe pic.twitter.com/g5KYgDeRYB — Pitt Band (@PittBand) March 19, 2016 Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat. #MarchMadness #WeAreWeber — Pitt Band (@PittBand) March 19, 2016 Thank you #WeberState for giving us this opportunity! We had a blast cheering for the Wildcats! — Pitt Band (@PittBand) March 19, 2016 The effort was greatly appreciated by fans and neutrals alike: Not only is the Pitt band playing for @weberstate ... They NAILED the fight song and are now cheering their brains out! Friggin' pros!.. — Adam Mikulich (@AdamMikulich) March 19, 2016 @PittBand Thank you Pitt marching band! #WeAreWeber — Nigel Masters (@NigelMasters04) March 19, 2016 As a former college athlete who played in games without the band present...HUGE SHOUT OUT to @PittBand for helping out @WeberStateMBB — Steve Williams (@skwilliamsjr) March 19, 2016 It's worth noting that band substitutions are not especially rare in March. To give just one example, the Kansas band did the same for Drake at the Women's NIT as recently as Thursday. Nevertheless, it's a gesture worthy of praise. Unfortunately for Weber State, the band was unable to play them to the second 15-over-2 upset of the day as Xavier grabbed a comfortable 71-53 win . Perhaps the Pitt band will return for Sunday's Xavier-Wisconsin tilt to distract both teams. - - - - - - - Eric Freeman is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @FreemanEric Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 11:32:pm EST

Fans of high-scoring, free-flowing, up-and-down basketball had to avert their eyes, or, better yet, change the channel Friday evening when Wisconsin and Pitt met in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Wisconsin scored only 16 points in the first half against the Panthers, but the Badgers only found themselves down by six because Pitt wasn’t much better in those opening 20 minutes. The Badgers eventually found a way to make one more play than Pitt and win 47-43 in what was one of the ugliest games in the tournament in recent memory. But it was the first NCAA tournament win in Wisconsin coach Greg Gard’s head coaching career. So he’s unlikely to care how difficult it was on the eyes. [ Jim Boeheim lashes out at those who questioned Syracuse's NCAA bid ] Wisconsin was the first team to score under 50 points in an NCAA tournament game and win since Butler did so in 2003. A sequence in the final 20 seconds of the game shown in the video above summed it up perfectly. Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes badly over-shot a 3-pointer with his team leading by one and 12 seconds left on the clock. Pitt rebounded the ball and senior guard James Robinson drove into the lane on the other end of the floor with an opportunity to get fouled or possibly make the winning basket. But Pitt forward Michael Young ran into the lane where Robinson was driving, colliding with his teammate and forcing him to take an off-balance runner that he missed. Pitt fouled Wisconsin freshman Ethan Happ, who made one free throw but missed the second with 1.7 seconds left. But Young allowed Hayes to maneuver around him and get the rebound and was forced to foul. Hayes made two free throws and the Badgers escaped. Pitt made 18 of 48 shots and Wisconsin made 17 of 53 attempts, including going 4-for-19 behind the arc. The teams combined for just 22 free throw attempts. Hayes has been remarkably efficient all season and went 6-for-8 to lead the Badgers with 15 points. Hayes struggled to find the basket and was 3-for-17 from the field, including going 0-for-6 behind the arc. Robinson had a similar day for Pitt going  3-for-14 and finishing with just seven points. he did grab 11 rebounds. Jamel Artis led the Panthers with 13 points. Fans and pundits alike poked fun at just how ugly it was on Twitter. Hey Pitt, sorry you ran into a powerhouse. That's some up tempo Wisconsin basketball, baby! — Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) March 19, 2016   Calling Pitt-Wisconsin a rockfight is an insult to geology. — Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 19, 2016 turned on wisconsin-pitt, checked the score and couldn't believe it was in the second half. — Aht Uh Mi Hed (@bomani_jones) March 19, 2016 God bless the players on the Pitt and Wisconsin benches who raise their arms every time a teammate shoots like it will go in. Adorable. — SportsPickle (@sportspickle) March 19, 2016 My face after almost every first-half Pitt/Wisconsin shot. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/HblUPObXml — Jen Lada (@JenLada) March 18, 2016 Wisconsin defeats Pitt, advances to second round, and result is immediately quarantined by the CDC before anyone else gets it — Brian Hamilton (@BrianHamiltonSI) March 19, 2016 Here's my Pitt-Wisconsin gamer. pic.twitter.com/I9o5dGw9dA — Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) March 19, 2016 - - - - - - - [ Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 10:30:pm EST

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ethan Happ had 15 points and nine rebounds, none bigger than one he pulled down in the closing seconds, as seventh-seeded Wisconsin beat No. 10 seed Pittsburgh 47-43 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night. Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 9:02:pm EST

Bettors at a chain of Las Vegas sports books seem particularly enamored with Dayton on the second day of the NCAA Tournament. The game between Dayton and Syracuse was the most heavily bet game of the day early Friday at the William Hill sports books. Dayton was favored by 54 percent of bettors as a one-point underdog. Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 11:59:am EST

The Latest on the second full day of the men's NCAA Tournament, including games being played in St. Louis; Spokane, Washington; New York; and Oklahoma City (All times EDT): Continue to Article

March 18, 2016 11:36:am EST