Bodog Beat

Dominic James and the Marquette Golden Eagles survived storied Kentucky. (AP Images)

The University of Kentucky is one helluva basketball school. Just not this year. The Wildcats, along with first-year coach Billy Gillespie, were on the wrong end of a fairly close one today in Anaheim. Their opponents, the Marquette Golden Eages, finally escaped the first round of the NCAA tournament with a 74-66 victory.

Before the game, it appeared the Kentucky tradition might play a role in intimidating the team that was actually favored by six points.

“I mean, Kentucky?” Marquette guard Dominic James said. “I’ve never heard of Kentucky being the underdog. They’re one of the most prestigious schools in basketball.”

But tradition, it turned out, wasn't enough. Both James and teammate Wesley Matthews clutched up late for Marquette at the free throw line. James finished 8-for-10 from the charity stripe; Matthews was 9-for-10, including two with just seconds left to cover the spread.

Jerel McNeal led the Golden Eagles with 20 points.

Joe Crawford was huge in a losing effort for Kentucky with 35 points. Ramel Bradley added 19.

But perhaps the most telling statistic was this: the Wildcats had just four players who scored at least a point; the Golden Eagles had nine. Bit of a balance discrepancy there.

Marquette moves on to play the winner of the smart kids game, Stanford (-15) versus Cornell.

Stay tuned for all your NCAA men's tournament first round results and recaps!

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