John Walters

Tomorrow never comes? Oh, yes, it does. Here are Sunday's three most compelling matchups:

• No. 7 Butler vs. No. 2 Tennessee, in Little Rock. The Vols came out flat on Friday, while the Bulldogs played with the earnestness you'd expect from a team that practices at Hinkle Fieldhouse. How often do you get to see a pair of 30-win teams face off against one another?

No. 10 Davidson vs. No. 2 Georgetown, in Raleigh. Nobody was more electrifying in the first round than Davidson's Stephen Curry. But how will the Wildcats contend with 7-2 Roy Hibbert? Watch out for super-sub Patrick Ewing, Jr., the Big East's sixth man of the year.

No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 8 Mississippi State, in Little Rock. The Arkansas state capitol is just a Sunday drive (albeit a full tank of gas) from both campuses, so expect the joint to be rockin' (the locals will be home watching their Hogs play North Carolina, after all) with fans of both schools. The Bulldogs have the interior presence in Jarvis Varnado and Charles Rhodes, but the question is just how badly their backcourt will be abused by Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Now looking back to a wild Saturday...

Not far from Disneyland, a site with signs that read "You Must Be This Tall To Ride This Ride", a pair of players who each stand at least 82 inches came up bigger than the Matterhorn.

Brook Lopez of Stanford and Kevin Love of UCLA each put their respective teams on their backs under different circumstances and saved their seasons for at least five more days. The Cardinal and Bruins were two-thirds of a Pac-10 sweep into the Sweet 16 as Washington State silenced Notre Dame — and spoiled Irish head coach Mike Brey's 49th birthday.

Space Mountain had nothing on the Honda Center on Saturday, as both Stanford-Marquette and UCLA-Texas A&M remained in doubt until the final seconds. Yo, Anaheim is the new Tampa!

Lopez, the Cardinal's 7-foot-0 sophomore center, hit a game-winning turnaround leaner in overtime to knock out 6th-seeded Marquette, 82-81. The degree of difficulty on Lopez's shot was, well … if you saw the shot UCLA's Josh Shipp made to beat Cal two weeks ago, Lopez's was in that neighborhood. Lopez finished with a game-high 30 points.

Approximately three hours later, Love, UCLA's 6-10 freshman center, put his imprimatur on Bruin low-post lore with a gritty second half. In a grinder of a battle versus 9-seed Texas A&M, Love had seven points and six boards in the second half, practically willing an offensively frigid UCLA team back from a 10-point deficit. Most importantly, Love had at least five blocks from point-blank range. The Aggies scored just 20 second-half points in the 53-49 defeat. They might have scored 30 were it not for the right arm of Love.

There are more talented players, certainly more graceful ones, in this NCAA tourney than UCLA's ursine frosh. None are more charismatic, though. And few, if any, play with more heart. Watching the waning minutes of A&M and UCLA, you just sensed that Love — and yes, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook as well — just would not allow the Bruins to lose. It's the same feeling that you got, if you were around then, watching Isiah Thomas or Steve Alford or certainly Christian Laettner in the NCAA tourney.

At this time of year, no one cares what type of NBA player Kevin Love will be — nor should they. In March it's all about how deep someone is willing to dig not to lose. In other words, How deep is your Love?

One bizarre note: Lopez and Love were not the only towering Lopez and Love to advance on Saturday. Brook's twin brother, Robin, was the only other Cardinal in double figures (18 points) and also led them in rebounds with nine. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., Xavier center Jason Love had eight points and five rebounds as the 3-seed Musketeers hushed Purdue 85-78.

One Shining Moment: Brook Lopez, Stanford
With his team's season on the brink, and his coach, Trent Johnson, stewing in the locker room following his first-half ejection, Lopez took an entry pass on the right block, spun to his left, and made the shot of his life. Not before a nerve-wracking carom off the rim and backboard.

Most Impressive Player (Tie): Kevin Love, UCLA; Joe Mazzulla, West Virginia
At least six of the seven lords a' leapin' likely have a better vertical than UCLA's freshman center, but his blocked shots in the final 10 minutes of the A&M-UCLA game were legendary. Love also twice converted jumpers — the latter a turnaround fade off his right shoulder — with the Bruins down two in the final three minutes. How bizarre that a team that has been to the Final Four the past two years has come to rely so heavily on this frosh.

Mazzulla is less renowned, and with good reason: he does not even start for the Mountaineers. But the 6-2 guard played as if he'd stayed at a Holiday Inn Express on Friday evening, coming just two assists shy of a triple double. The sophomore from Johnston, R.I., scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had five assists in West Virginia's 73-67 upset of No. 2 Duke.

"The MVP of the game," Blue Devil coach Mike Krzyzewski offered.

Most Impressive Team: Wisconsin … or was it Xavier … or Wazzu?
Frankly, we don't know. The Badgers may have handed Michael Beasley his unofficial diploma with a convincing 72-55 win over No. 11 Kansas State. The Beas got his 23 and 13, but the Wildcats were 0 of 13 from beyond the arc. That ended a streak of 349 games with at least one three-pointer for K-State.

The Musketeers, meanwhile, had five players score in double figures while shooting 54 percent from the floor against Purdue, the Big Ten's best field-goal percent defense. The Boilermakers allowed a season-high 85 points in defeat.

Lastly, there's Washington State. The Cougars held Notre Dame to half their season scoring average in a decisive 61-41 victory.

And I haven't even mentioned Michigan State yet …

Perspective Watch: Duke
Yes, the Blue Devils have now lost three of their last four NCAA tourney games. Yes, the lone win was that 71-70 nail-biter over 15th-seeded Belmont. And, yes, Duke missed 15 consecutive threes against West Virginia in bowing out in the second round.

Remember, though, that the Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 every year from 1997-2006. Ten years straight.

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