What The Hell Happened Again: Everything You Need To Know From Another Wild Saturday In College Hoops
Yesterday was the true showcase day in college hoops. It was essentially rivalry Saturday with Kentucky/Tennessee, Michigan/Michigan State, Indiana/Purdue, Duke/UNC, St. Mary's/Gonzaga, etc all playing. It made for an AWESOME day of hoops with upsets and wild finishes. Hell, we even had the reveal of the top-16 teams in the NCAA Tournament giving us something to argue about as games were going on early. Let's run through everything that happened as you shake off a zillion beers hangover.
Top-25 scores
UNC completely gave away the game to Duke
Yes, it took a miracle missed FT and jumper to get to OT and then another collapse, a garbage missed foul call, another missed FT offensive rebound and putback to get here, which is what Duke needed to beat UNC. The fact is UNC put itself in that scenario. They missed free throws. The inbounds play, which came after a timeout, was too close to the sideline. It's basic but Andrew Platek has to come to the ball in that scenario. He waited near the free throw line instead. UNC was up 13 with 4:31 left in regulation and again up 5 with :21 left in overtime. You can't blow that. UNC shot 5-for-10 from the FT line down the stretch. You simply can't do that at home. That said, Duke showed up and made the plays late. They ended UNC's season and keep themselves alive for a No. 1 seed.
The jerseys were as bad as we thought:
P.U.
Auburn/LSU may have played the game of the day that no one remembers
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Speaking of comebacks. This game had just that and more importantly made it a 3-way tie at the top of the SEC. LSU was up 15 in the first half and 12 at halftime. They were in control of the game the entire time. Shit they were even up double digits with six minutes to go. But then Auburn did Auburn things. Started hitting a bunch of threes, applying more pressure than normal and trying to get out and run as much as possible. They got to overtime and Auburn then blew a lead before McCormick hit the game-winner. LSU has now lost two in a row and like I said there's a 3-way tie at the top of the SEC because…
Kentucky went into Knoxville and beat Tennessee for 40 minutes:
One of the more complete games Kentucky played this season. Going on the road, against a rival, and just beating them for 40 minutes. Not only that, but Kentucky continued to have guys step up. This game it was Johnny Juzang who came off the bench for 13 points and hit a couple dagger shots as Tennessee tried to get momentum. The balance just continues to be there. Richards had 15, Quickley had 18, Maxey had 15, Hagans had 10 and Quickley had 13. When that's happening there aren't many teams in the country better than them.
Michigan State is in a whole lot of trouble
Don't look now but MSU has dropped 3 in a row - at Wisconsin when they didn't have a backcourt, home to Penn State and now at Michigan. The reason why? Well, it's simple. Cassius Winston isn't getting help. Xavier Tillman has been a completely different player on the road than at home. Gabe Brown and Aaron Henry never took the jump that so many thought. They were the No. 16 team in the top-16 reveal and that's now quickly going away. MSU has that road win over Seton Hall but then uh it's home wins over Michigan, Rutgers and Illinois? They need to figure it out soon.
Isaiah Livers returning completely changes Michigan's outlook
Isaiah Livers is the important piece to Michigan. He lets them run their best lineup, he's their best defender and can stretch the floor. Livers missed 11 games due to two different injuries. With him? They are 9-3 with wins over Creighton, UNC, Gonzaga, Michigan State and Iowa. Pretty stark difference.
Congrats to Seton Hall on winning the Big East
Well it's no debate now. Seton Hall is easily the best team in the Big East. They have a 3-game lead in the conference with wins at Butler and Villanova after yesterday afternoon. It was the first time in TWENTY SIX years Seton Hall won at Nova. Perhaps the biggest advantage Seton Hall has was the stretch of playing without Mamu. They started running more a 4-out, 1-in lineup with Romaro Gill as the big. Now with Mamu back, they can go versatile depending on matchup. We saw Nova take away Gill yesterday and Mamu responded with 17 points. Seton Hall should be a 2 seed when it's all said and done.
Some old man wandered into Assembly Hall
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Good thing Indiana did the responsible thing by losing to Purdue - a terrible road team - as Bob Knight returned for the first time in 20 years. Nothing says thanks for actually making people think IU basketball was relevant 30+ years ago by losing to your rival like this. Fans left early as Indiana continues to fall off the cliff. This all stems back from their collapse in the last minute against Maryland and now here they are on a 4-game losing streak. I know everyone is just handing out NCAA Tournament bids to the Big 10, but Indiana has work to do.
Colorado is the best team in the Pac-12, I guess
There was a 3-way tie for the conference lead coming into yesterday. Then Oregon lost at Oregon State, Arizona lost at home to UCLA while Colorado beat Stanford. Colorado plays Oregon this week - if they win that, they'll be two up and it's time to talk about them winning the Pac-12 outright. Tad Boyle has done an excellent job there with guys like Tyler Bey, McKinley Wright and Evan Battey. The Arizona loss was the real bad one. Oregon was just a 3 point favorite on the road and road losses happen - especially to rivals. Arizona though? You can't lose at home to a bad UCLA team. Not only that, they got their ass kicked.
Full strength Gonzaga is terrifying
Gonzaga was finally at full strength with Killian Tillie back in the lineup yesterday at St. Mary's. All they did was win by 30 on the road against a rival. They shot the shit out of the ball, which won't always happen. But what they did was show how they can just attack you at every spot. There are questions about how good someone like Admon Gilder is, but that might not matter with Tillie, Kispert, Putresev, etc. They were the most impressive team yesterday.
Cheerleading group picture of the weekend: