The Reags College Basketball Weekend Roundup
ACC
3 Thoughts:
- Duke is back to just killing teams. The win over NC State was impressive because of how the Louisville game ended. Young teams can typically feel a bit of a letdown in that spot, instead Duke dropped 94.
- Wake Forest is so bad and it looks like Danny Manning will likely be gone after this year. I’m fascinated by their coaching search if it happens because they can’t miss again. I do think they are a decent job and can pull someone intriguing like a Wes Miller at UNC-Greensboro.
- Louisville needs to learn how to close a game. They were up 8 and ended up needing a block at the buzzer essentially to win. This after they blew a 23 point lead in the 2nd half. I’m not sure what’s going on there, but they may want to adjust that before March.
Duke 94, NC State 78
Virginia 60, Notre Dame 54
UNC 95, Wake Forest 57
Louisville 56, Clemson 55
Florida State 69, Georgia Tech 47
Virginia Tech 70, Pitt 64
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Boston College 64, Miami 57 (Sunday)
Big 12
3 Thoughts:
- I believe we saw the two best teams in the conference in Iowa State and Kansas State. However, we also saw how important Cartier Diarra is to Kansas State. They don’t have that big of a bench without him. They can go small when he’s out there and he’s a playmaker. Iowa State took advantage of that.
- Here comes Kansas. This happens every year it seems like. Kansas falls a couple of games back in the loss column and then the team leading suffers a home loss. Now, Kansas gets to host Kansas State still and is alive to keep the Big 12 winning streak going.
- When Texas Tech shoots 40% from three its terrifying. We know all about its defense and Jarrett Culver can go get his own. But, when there’s some help we can almost chalk up a Texas Tech win.
Kansas 78, West Virginia 53
Texas Tech 86, Baylor 61
Iowa State 78, Kansas State 64
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Oklahoma 71, TCU 62
Texas 69, Oklahoma State 57
Big East
3 Thoughts:
- This was a huge weekend for the Big East to pretty much have 4 locks for the NCAA Tournament and a chance at 5. Seton Hall getting a road win over Creighton means they likely just need 2 more conference wins to lock up a bid. St. John’s getting the win over Nova means they are now a seed line closer to being a lock.
- Nova was due for a loss but this was a weird one. It was essentially the flip from the game at Nova earlier. St. John’s got out to an early lead and then gave it up to Nova. This time Nova looked like it was going to run away with the game. Marquette is thankful for St. John’s (who now has 3 wins over the top-2 teams).
- Butler is going to have a weird resume as that possible 5th spot in. They are 15-11, but have wins over Florida, Ole Miss and St. John’s. They do have that loss to Saint Louis and Dayton, but the different measures don’t hate them. They are squarely on the bubble, so getting wins over a team like DePaul is vital.
Xavier 75, Providence 61
Butler 91, DePaul 78
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St. John’s 71, Villanova 65 (Sunday)
Seton Hall 81, Creighton 75 (Sunday)
Big 10
3 Thoughts:
- Maryland, man. Can they ever get a road win over a ranked team? It’s impossible to buy into this team until that happens. Now, it’s not necessarily a surprise that Michigan beat them the way that they did, but at some point Maryland needs a win.
- Michigan State is going to be a team to watch for the next few weeks. Nick Ward is expected to miss some time with a hand injury and they are already down Joshua Langford. That means even more pressure on Cassius Winston and needing more consistent play from the wings. At full health they are a top-10 team. Now, we’ll have to see how they look without Ward.
- Iowa, man. I mean I have no idea what to make of this team. On one hand they needed buzzer beaters to beat Northwestern and Rutgers. But on the other hand, well, they made them. 20-5 with no bad losses is something. They sure seem to be here a year early.
Michigan 65, Maryland 52
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Purdue 76, Penn State 64
Iowa 71, Rutgers 69
Minnesota 84, Indiana 63
Nebraska 59, Northwestern 50
Michigan State 62, Ohio State 44 (Sunday)
Pac-12
3 Thoughts:
- I can’t believe I’m saying this. But, Arizona State beating Utah is huge. The only way they can get 2 teams in right now is Arizona State not slipping up during the regular season and Washington continuing to be a borderline top-25 team. Those are the two chances without something weird happening in the conference tournament.
- Arizona now has lost 7 in a row. It’s a bad year for them. But, I think we’re just seeing a one down year. Don’t get too upset if you’re an Arizona fan, they have a big time recruiting class coming in next year.
- I don’t know what to think of Rick Pitino to UCLA if it happens, but I’m here for it. I need it to happen strictly for content purposes. I just imagine Pitino and the UCLA crowd. God, the Pac-12 sucks.
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USC 89, Cal 66
Washington 72, Washington State 70
Arizona State 98, Utah 87
Stanford 104, UCLA 80
Oregon State 72, Oregon 57
Colorado 67, Arizona 60 (Sunday)
SEC
3 Thoughts:
- I’ve been preaching that Tennessee shouldn’t have been the No. 1 team in the country. This game showed that, but also just how bad of a matchup Kentucky is for Tennessee. Grant Williams thrives on using leverage and ability to sort of bully guys. That’s the one thing Reid Travis is great at and it showed. I still think Tennessee is a top-7 team in the country, but now we can calm down on them as the best team in the country talk.
- Kentucky is starting to figure it out. I’m not talking necessarily wins and losses, but roles. In the game against Tennessee, Herro didn’t shoot the ball well but he defended his ass off and got 13 rebounds. PJ Washington is the go-to guy and an All-American. Ashton Hagans knows he needs to pick when to attack now. Keldon Johnson is a guy that can get going as we saw in the first half. This is what we’re seeing with a group that didn’t have that KAT/AD/Wall type recruit.
- This LSU team is flying under the radar. Again, coming off that huge win against Kentucky we expected to see a bit of a letdown. They went to Georgia, a team that has 1 conference win and ended up winning by 4. The fact that they were able to get that win is huge. LSU is a legit threat to win the regular season title.
Kentucky 86, Tennessee 69
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LSU 83, Georgia 79
Auburn 64, Vanderbilt 53
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South Carolina 84, Texas A&M 77
Florida 71, Alabama 53
Ole Miss 75, Missouri 65
Mississippi State 77, Arkansas 67