2 P.M. Central: (2) Houston v. (4) Arizona
5:30 P.M. Central: (3) Duke v. (1) Michigan (in Washington, D.C.)
I can't remember another day where the four teams in the AP Top Four were all playing each other.
In Houston, the Cougars lead Arizona 44 to 42 with 14:04 left in the second half.
Meanwhile, in Nashville, Tennessee picked up a huge road win over Vanderbilt, beating the Commodores 69 to 65. UT now leads the all-time series 133-77. Rick Barnes owns Vandy: the Vols have won 15 of the last 17 in the series.
After its January 10 win over LSU, Vandy was 3-0 in the SEC and 16-0 overall. They were also up to Number 5 on Ken Pom. But since that time, they have gone 5-6, with heartbreaking losses at home to Florida (98-94), Oklahoma (92-91), and now UT (69-65). The Dores are now down to 13 on Ken Pom, and 199 in luck. But more importantly, they are only 8-6 in the SEC, and they still have to play Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Tennessee on the road. Ken Pom thinks they will finish 10-8 in the SEC, and 23-8 overall. That probably means that they will need to pull a big upset to reach the semi-final of the SEC Tournament, or the Regional Semi-Finals of the NCAA Tournament. At the end of the day, Vandy has some really good guards, but their front line just isn't physical enough to play at a high level against Top 20 teams. Going forward, Coach Byington -- who has still had a great year -- will need to go out and get some bigger dudes.
Meanwhile, Kansas got thumped at home by Cincinnati, 84 to 68. We've always said you don't want to leave it late and close in the Phog, and the Bearcats did not. Cincinnati has suddenly won four straight in the Big XII. They are 7-7 in conference and 15-12 overall, and up to 46 on Ken Pom. KU falls to 10-4 in conference, 20-7 overall, and 19 on Ken Pom. Their next two games are home to Houston, and on the road at Arizona.
Florida goes to Oxford and hammers Ole Miss, 94 to 75. The Gators are now 12-2 in the SEC, 21-6 overall. They are on a massive roll, and they will be very tough to beat in both the SEC tournament and the NCAA Tournament. Their next two games are at a very hot Texas team, and then home to Arkansas.
St. John's won its 13th game in a row, beating Creighton 81-52 in the Garden. The Johnnies are now 15-1 in the Big East and 22-5 overall. They have a huge game at UConn on Wednesday night.
It's shaping up to be another great Tournament -- just like last year. College basketball looks the best I can remember since the 1990's.
We are not going to have a fluke champion this year. The winner will be one of these teams: Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Houston, Florida, or UConn.
With 3:45 left in the game, Arizona leads Houston 60-52 on the road.
ReplyDeleteUVA beats Miami (Fla.) 86 to 83. The Wahoos are now 12-2 in conference and 24-3 overall.
ReplyDeleteArizona beats Houston (in Houston) 73 to 66. Huge win for the Wildcats.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia ends Texas's five-game winning streak, beating the Longhorns 90-81 in Athens. UGA is 7-7, while Texas is 8-6.
ReplyDeleteArkansas beats Mizzou 94 to 86. Razorbacks tie Tennessee at 10-4 in the SEC. Mizzou falls to 8-6.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, Duke leads Michigan 35-33.
ReplyDeleteI thought this Michigan team might finally end the Big Ten's long drought of failures against teams from the East Coast in the National Title Game. And maybe it will. But tonight, Cameron Boozer took over down the stretch, and Duke won 70 to 63.
ReplyDeleteHuge win for Duke, who has had a pretty easy time of it in a down ACC, but who led most of the game tonight, and controlled Michigan in a way that no one has been able to do.
ReplyDeleteMichigan and Duke are now both 25-2, and no one will be surprised if they meet for the title in April.
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