Day 3 Awards
CO-PLAYERS OF THE DAY: Ty Lawson, North Carolina and Blake Griffin, Oklahoma.
Lawson returned to the Tar Heels lineup despite a nagging toe injury. He was the dominant performer on the court in the second half of a win over LSU. His penetration ability was a key difference, getting a number of baskets inside. He finished with 23 big points, including 21 in the second half. Griffin had another day at the office, scoring 33 points while grabbing 17 boards in a win over Michigan.
TEAM OF THE DAY: Villanova.
Many experts felt the Villanova-UCLA game would be a marquee match-up. Instead it was blowout city as Jay Wright's Wildcats won by 20. Villanova had great balance as six players finished in double figures, led by Dante Cunningham's 18 points.
COACH OF THE DAY: John Calipari, Memphis.
His Tigers were prepared and came out fired up in a victory over Maryland. Think about what he has accomplished during his coaching career: this is his 11th NCAA tournament, and now he is in his seventh Sweet 16. He coached in the title game last year, and his teams have made the Elite Eight or better five times.
SHOCK OF THE DAY: Purdue over Washington.
Purdue gets the nod by default. There simply weren't many upsets on Saturday, so a five-seed taking out a four-seed gets the award! The Boilermakers hung on for a hard-fought win over Jon Brockman and company.
