Sitting here courtside — and literally at eye level — here in Reliant Stadium, it appears as though Texas is going to win its South Regional semifinal against Stanford. It’s a 10-point game as I type, and Stanford has just missed out on the key rebounds in this game that could have swung it the other way. The atmosphere in here is interesting; for most of the game, the crowd hasn’t been that big of a factor, in my view. It’s such a huge place, and even though it’s 95% Texas fans, the sound just kind of goes into the air. There have been a couple moments when it’s been pretty loud, but it’s not like one of those road games where the place is just going nuts for 40 minutes. It’s a little more antiseptic in here, but obviously it’s still an advantage for the Longhorns and will be again in the Regional Final if they close out the last 8 minutes of this one.

Tiger fans should be hoping that Wisconsin’s brutal loss tonight to Davidson represents what the Big 10 was this season. If that’s the case, the Tigers will be in great shape tonight. My pick is Memphis, and my hero tonight is Andre Allen. Why? When I checked into my hotel here on Wednesday, the front desk person was named Andrae Allen. Weird, huh? Well, how about this one? Last night, Jim Masilak and I went to a restaurant to eat and watch the end of the Tennessee-Louisville game. We sat down at the bar and eventually learned that the young ladies seated next to us at the bar were from Memphis originally. Not just that, but one of them said she knew Andre Allen. Too much.

I’ll update closer to tip-off, which looks like it will be on time.