Ok, we’re a week away from selection Sunday. Before I address the field of 65, let’s look back at the great action this weekend.
#1 Ohio State 65 Michigan 61
The Wolverines flat out choked this game. Senior Courntey Sims blew an uncontested dunk with the score 63-61 and with 40 seconds remaining. Then on their next possession, fellow senior Dion Harris (a 90% FT shooter) missed the front end of a 1 and 1. Michigan led by as much as 14 in the 2nd half but went scoreless in the final 3:54. That choke will likely cost Tommy Amaker his job. In 7 seasons, the Wolverines have never made the NCAA’s, and barring an upset run in the Big 10 tourney, they’ll be NIT bound again. The Buckeyes (27-3) have all but locked up a #1 seed in the big dance.
Washington 61 #2 UCLA 51
The normally stingy Bruins got a taste of their own defensive medicine. Washington held UCLA to 31% from the field and pounded the somewhat soft underbelly of UCLA’s defense. John Brockman and Spencer Hawes combined for 33 points and 28 rebounds to keep UCLA at bay. This is a Husky team that has underachieved a good chunk of the season, but in recent weeks (a close road loss to #12 Pittsburgh) has shown the ability to play with anyone. UCLA (26-4) should still be the #1 seed in the west region of the NCAA’s.
#3 Kansas 90 #15 Texas 86
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times in Lawrence, Kansas. The high octane Jayhawks withstood a 1st quarter barrage of 3 pointers from the precocious Longhorns to pull away in the 2nd half. UT hit 10-12 from 3point land (83%) in the 1st half and hit 11 consecutive shots in route to a 54-42 halftime advantage. Kevin Durant had 23 points in the 1st half for Texas. Kansas comes at you in waves. Julian Wright, Mario Chalmers, Darrel Arthur, Russell Robinson, Brandon Rush….these are all world class athletes that are just tapping into their basketball potential. I’m not as high on the Longhorns as most people are. They don’t play defense against the better teams. The Horns are allowing 40% shooting from 3 point land. That could be a problem in the Big Dance. Kansas might be the most talented team in the country.
#21 Marquette 75 #12 Pittsburgh 71
I don’t care who plays Pitt in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament. I’m picking against the Panthers. The Pitt program is the biggest tease in the last 10 years of college basketball. They always enter the big dance with 20+ wins and lots of hype. Then their outside shot fails them, and their highly regarded big man (Chris Taft, Aaron Gray) shrivels like a prune. Marquette is very well coached. In fact, Tom Crean has been rumored to be a successor to Pat Riley in Miami.
#13 Washington State 88 #24 USC 86 F/OT
The Washington State Cougars put a fittingly fantastic finish on their best regular season in more than 60 years. Aron Baynes scored a career-high 25 points and No. 13 Washington State edged Southern California 88-86 in two overtimes to wrap up second place in the Pac-10 and the second seed in next week's conference tournament. The Cougars have looked very vulnerable to me the last couple of weeks. Their style of play is going to make every game they play close. They don’t have enough fire power to blow out their opposition. Don’t be surprised to see an early exit for the Cougars. I actually like USC’s upside a little bit more. Nick Young, Gabe Pruitt, and Lodrick Stewart are capable scorers. The Trojans’ biggest problem is foul trouble for their only competent big man, Taj Gibson.
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There were also a rash of scoring outbreaks on Saturday that largely went unnoticed.
Jameson Curry (Oklahoma State) 41pts
Ivan Radenovic (Arizona) 37 pts, 9 rebounds, 7 assists
Al Thornton (Florida State) 45 pts, 8 rebounds
Way to go Mario Boggan…Your headbutt of Kansas State’s Cartier Martin on “Senior Night” in Stillwater went along way to sealing your team’s destined trip to the NIT. Without their best player, the Cowboys lost their 7th Big 12 road game, this time to lowly Baylor 86-82.
With their overtime win over Stanford on Saturday Lute Olson has led Arizona to 20 consecutive 20 win seasons. That is unbelievable!
Autry Court went out in typical Autry fashion….in a Rice loss that no one watched. Allegedly 1,800 people were on hand to see Morris Almond score 29 in his Rice home finale. The Owls lost to Tulsa 73-65. I’m normally in favor of kids staying in school, but I don’t think Morris Almond has gotten much better this season.
Here are two teams that could upset the apple cart on championship week. Neither squad will receive an at large bid to the NCAA’s, but I think both are capable of winning their major conference tournaments.
Providence Friars
Herbert Hill is the best player you’ve never seen. He’s averaging 25 points and 14 rebounds over the last 2 weeks. In a very balanced Big East, very little separates the 12 teams that will play at Madison Square Garden. Other than Georgetown, the Friars can beat anyone, and they got a good draw in the Big East tourney. West Virginia is their 1st opponent, and though they are desperate for victory, they are imminently beatable. Louisville would await the winner, and the Cardinals have been winning with smoke and mirrors for quite some time.
Washington Huskies
Washington was a pre-season top 15 team. Injuries to freshman center Spencer Hawes and growing pains of a young roster led to their lackluster 18-12 record. Back-to-back wins over tourney bound USC and UCLA have shown what this team is capable of when they play their best.
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NCAA Tourney Field of 65
Big Conference Locks 41
ACC-7
IN: Duke, Boston College, UNC, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia Tech
Bubble: Florida State, Clemson
Atlantic 10-1
IN: Xavier
Bubble: UMASS
Big 12-4
IN: Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas, Texas Tech
Bubble: Kansas State
Big East-7
IN: Pitt, West Virginia, Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova, Notre Dame, Louisville
Bubble: Syracuse, West Virginia
Big 10-4
IN: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State
Bubble: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan
Colonial-1
IN: Old Dominion
Bubble:Drexel, Virginia Commonwealth/Hofstra/
Conference USA-1
IN: Memphis
Horizon League-1
IN: Butler
Missouri Valley-2
IN: Creighton, Southern Illinois
Bubble:Missouri State
Mountain West-3
IN: Air Force, BYU, UNLV
Bubble: San Diego State
PAC 10 –5
IN: UCLA, Washington State, Arizona, Oregon, USC
Bubble: Stanford
SEC-4
IN: Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
Bubble: Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss
WAC-1
IN: Nevada
One Bid Conferences-18
America East(Vermont), Atlantic Sun(Belmont), Big Sky(Weber State), Big South(Winthrop), Big West(Long Beach State), Ivy(Penn), MAAC(Marist), Mid-Continent(Oral Roberts), MAC(Akron), MEAC(Delaware St.), Patriot League (Holy Cross), NEC(Central Conneticut St.), OVC(Austin Peay), Southern Conference(Davidson.), Southland(A&M-Corpus Christi.), SWAC(Mississippi Valley State), Sunbelt(South Alabama) , WCC (Gonzaga)
Bubble Bids-6
Six of the Following Teams…
Stanford, San Diego State, Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Drexel, Hofstra, Virginia Commonwealth, Kansas State, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, Florida State, Clemson, West Virginia, Syracuse, Missouri State.
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