UNC Asheville basketball is moving on to the first ("second") round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, beating Arkansas-Little Rock by a 81-77 score to merit a Thursday afternoon meeting with the Pittsburgh Panthers. This game did not feel like March Madness for at least 39 minutes of clock time, but truTV got a competitive overtime matchup in its first college basketball broadcast. All right, truTV!
UALR's Solomon Bozeman and Gus Leeper, both starters, fouled out within the final minute with the Trojans up by three, making overtime a foreboding prospect. As foreboded, Asheville's Matt Dickey drilled a trey with 10 seconds left to tie it up, giving him 17 in the second half. Matt Mouzy missed the counterpunch, and away we went.
Asheville's defense stood tall in the extra frame, forcing four turnovers down the stretch. J.P. Primm hit five of six free throws in the closing minutes to give the Bulldogs a tourney victory.
A slippery floor near Asheville's basket provided a measure of madness, but it was mostly just the angry kind.
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Updated 2011 NCAA Tournament Southeast region bracket and schedule:
No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 16 UNC Asheville, March 17 at 3:10 on truTV
No. 8 Butler vs. No. 9 Old Dominion, March 17 at 12:40 on truTV
No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 12 Utah State, March 17 at 9:57 on truTV
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. Belmont, March 17 at 7:27 on TBS
No. 6 St. John's vs. No. 11 Gonzaga, March 17 at 9:45 on CBS
No. 3 BYU vs. No. 14 Wofford, March 17 at 7:15 on CBS
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Michigan State, March 17 at 9:20 on TBS
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 15 UCSB, March 17 at 6:50 on TBS
Need help picking your bracket? Check out SB Nation's full 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions, picking every game of March Madness, or our region by region breakdowns for the East Region, West Region, Southeast Region, and Southwest Region.
Did your team miss the 2011 NCAA Tournament? We have you covered: check out the 2011 NIT bracket.