13 Mar 4 - The DTs

Volume XVII, No. 18 - 13 Mar 4 - [] Top 25 Ballot

The DTs

So much about Duke is overhyped that it's always hard to be objective. The return of bRyan Kelly was supposed to turn the Blue Devils back into a #1-seed/national champion favorite -- for once, the hype actually undersold the reality. bKelly was as good as ever (and as good as anybody has been this entire season) in posting 36p7r in Duke's @79-76 win over Miami(Florida). (If he's that good the rest of the season, it's over -- how do you guard a 6-11 guy who shoots 7-for-9 on three-pointers?) Even so, because of Duke's earlier loss at Virginia, 68-@73 (thanks to 36p7r of his own from bJoe Harris), the Hurricanes had already clinched a share of the ACC title.

    
Michigan (barely) got payback against Michigan State when two late steals and the game-winner from pTrey Burke(21p8a5s) saved the day, @58-57, (but UofM had already dropped a Desperation Trail loss at winless Penn State, 78-@84).

    
Syracuse has lost three straight, including 71-@74 at Marquette (behind 26p8r from fDavante Gardner) and @53-58 vs Louisville. UCLA swept squeakers with Arizona State (@79-74(OT), behind 21p15r from fKyle Anderson) and Arizona (@74-69) to tie Oregon for the PAC-12 lead with a week to go. Boise State knocked off Colorado State, @78-65 (behind 38p5r from bDerrick Marks -- (on second though, maybe it's ColoSt who has trouble guarding the perimeter!) In the faux-BRACKETBUSTERS game, Butler's use of converted shooting guard gRotnei Clarke as the point was no match for VCU's all-out pressure -- the Rams dismantled the Bulldogs, @84-52, as 17 steals led to 20 turnovers.

    
You want the biggest names to perform their best when everything is on the line. bDoug McDermott cemented his Player of the Year status with 41p6r;15/18fg to lead Creighton to @91-79 victory over Wichita State to claim the MISSOURI VALLEY title (in likely his final home game). CU shot 70 percent from the floor, (but how about Oklahoma's NCAA record 34-for-34 on free throws in OU's @86-69 win over Iowa State!) New Mexico's @70-60 win over San Diego State clinched the MOUNTAIN WEST title (with a three-game gap -- Yikes!) Kansas showed off some firepower, getting 39p7a5r from pElijah Johnson in a wild 108-@96(OT) win at Iowa State (giving coach Bill Self his 500th career victory) and then got 36p from gBen McLemore in its @91-65 rout of West Virginia.

(Besides Mich at PennSt), also suffering from The DTs (i.e., losing to lesser opponents on Desperation Trail): Florida was dumped at Tennessee, 58-@64, (but regrouped to beat Alabama, @64-52, to claim the SEC title); Arizona fell at USC, 78-@89; and WIsconsin managed to collapse at home, @56-69, vs Purdue; and despite stubbing its own toe at Minnesota, 73-@77, Indiana was able to clinch its share of the BIG 10 title thanks to everyone else's slip-ups.

The ATLANTIC 10 picked up two late-season out-of-conference wins: Temple handled Detroit (@84-78) and A-10(8-6) Xavier surprised C-USA(14-0) Memphis, @64-62, in a disastrous result for the Tigers -- they've dominated in conference, but they're not hosting the C-USA tournament this year and this loss may have demoted them out of Anti-Spoiler status. (Despite their gaudy records, 27-4 Middle Tennesee[SUN BELT] and 25-3 Louisiana Tech[WAC] aren't all that safe, either.)

Belmont went way beyond Unwelcome Guest territory, becoming the ultimate Carpetbagger -- moving in and taking over the OHIO VALLEY (clinching the regular season title with a gap margin to boot). Likewise, Louisiana Tech[WAC], Long Beach State[BIG WEST] and Robert Morris[NEC]
(thanks to its 77-@75 win at Bryant) have cruised to their titles with gaps to spare.

    
Valparaiso wrapped up the HORIZON with a 75-@56 win at Green Bay. Two squeak home wins by Western Illinois and a road rout by South Dakota State saw those two wind up sharing the SUMMIT regular season title. Niagara backed into the METRO ATLANTIC title, despite a home loss vs Rider (@59-68) thanks to Loyola(Maryland)'s road loss at Iona (86-@90). Charleston Southern (62-@67(OT) at Gardner-Webb) and HIgh Point (@58-63 vs Radford) both dropped games on the way to sharing the BIG SOUTH title.

    
Coach Kevin Ollie has done an admirable job at Connecticut, getting his team to play solidly all season long despite having no postsesaon to look forward to. Mike Davis has done him one better, guiding ineligible Texas Southern to the SWAC title (with a @79-66 win over Southern -- but it's SU who'll be top seed in the conference tourney). (Meanwhile, Grambling State finished the regular season 0-27.)

Akron completed the sweep of Ohio University, winning 88-@81(OT) (despite 26p5r from bD.J. Cooper) but it failed to wrap up the MID-AMERICAN title, dropping a 67-@81 decision at Buffalo. gDesmond Haymon's game-winner lifted Stephen F. Austin past Northwestern State, @64-63, putting SFA alone atop the SOUTHLAND with a week to go. Princeton toughed out a @58-53 win in the rematch with Harvard (and then the Crimson dropped a 72-@75 decision at Penn), leaving the Tigers on top of the IVY race -- but HU closes with two home games while PU closes with 3 on the road, including the season finale at the arch-rival Quakers. North Carolina Central avenged its only loss, edging Savannah State, @51-47, but the Eagles need unbeaten Norfolk State to trip up in the final week of the MEAC race.

- -

There's still some drama left in the big regular season races. Indiana has already clinched its share of the BIG 10 title (ahead of a four-way tie among Mich/MichSt/OhioSt/Wisc) -- a split vs Ohio State (Tuesday) or at Michigan (Sunday) will lock out the rest of the contenders. Georgetown is a game ahead of Lville/Marq in the BIG EAST -- host Villanova (Wednesday) and guest Syracuse (Saturday) stand in its way. In the PAC-12, Oregon's last test is at Colorado (Thursday) while UCLA on the road as well. In the A-10, St. Louis closes at Xavier (Tuesday) and vs La Salle (Saturday) while VCU gets BLACK & BLUE vs Richmond (Tuesday) and closes at Temple (Sunday). In the BIG 12, Kansas visits Baylor (Saturday) while Kansas State visits Oklahoma State (Saturday).

    
Elsewhere, it's the first wave of conference tournaments. St. Mary's will do well to stay close to Gonzaga in the expected WCC final (Monday week). Creighton and Wichita State didn't exactly dominate MVC, so there is the chance of double-spoilage from those two. Middle Tennessee[SUN BELT] and Davdison[SOCON] have no business blowing it in their tournaments after outclassing the competition in the regular season.

    
Don't forget to catch these stars Off-Broadway (in case they don't advance to the NCAAs): It doesn't appear that Lehigh's bC.J. McCollum has healed in time to face Bucknell's cMike Muscala in the PATRIOT tournament final (Wednesday week). Belmont's coup would be complete if it could beat Murray State (pIsaiah Canaan) in the OVC final (Saturday, in Nashville). One of the best star-crossings won't even make to TV -- South Dakota State's pNate Wolters and Oakland's gTravis Bader should reprise their regular season shootout in the SUMMIT semis (Monday week).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Louisville-Cincinnati,

Tuesday:

@Indiana-OhioSt(BG), @UNLV-BoiseSt, @Missouri-Arkansas, @Iowa-Illinois, @Mississippi-Alabama,

BLACK & BLUE GAME - II

-(@VCU-Richmond(RichmondVA),

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday-Sunday:

BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT @ ConwaySC/CoCarolina/

-([1S]@CharlestonSo, [1N]HighPt, [2S]GardnerWebb, [3S]UNCAsheville, @[4S]CoCarolina),

Tuesday, Friday-Saturday, Tuesday week:

HORIZON TOURNAMENT on-campus, @ #1-seed[Valparaiso]/ValparaisoIN, on-campus

-(Tue (1st/16s):   @[3b]GreenBay-[9]Milwaukee, @[5a]ILChicago-[7b]ClevelandSt, @[5b]YoungstownSt-[7a]LoyolaIL;

  Fri (2nd/Qtrs):  [3a]WrightSt-[5b]/[7a], [3b]/[9]-[5a]/[7b];

  Sat (3rd/Semis): @[1]Valparaiso-[3b]/[9]//[5a]/[7b], [2]Detroit-[3a]//[5b]/[7a]),

Wednesday:

Georgetown-@Villanova, StLouis-@Xavier, OklahomaSt-@IowaSt, @SanDiegoSt-AirForce, @Maryland-NCarolina,

Wednesday-Saturday:

OVC TOURNAMENT @ NashvilleTN/Belmont,TennesseeSt/

-(Wed (1st/16s):  [5a]MoreheadSt-[8a]@TNMartin, [5c]SEMissouriSt-[7]EaIllinois;

 &bnspThu (2nd/Qtrs):  [3]EaKentucky-[5c]/[7], @[4]TennesseeSt-[5a]/[8a];

  Fri (3rd/Semis): @[1/E1]Belmont-[4]//[5a]/[8a], [2/W1]MurraySt-[3]//[5c]/[7]),

A-SUN TOURNAMENT @ MaconGA/Mercer/

-(@[1]Mercer, [2]FLGulfCoast, [3]Stetson),

Wednedsay-Saturday, Monday week:

WCC TOURNAMENT @ LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/

-(Wed (1st/32s):   [7b]Portland-[9]LoyolaMarymount;

  Thu (2nd/16s):   [5a]SanFrancisco-[7b]/[9], [5b]SanDiego-[7a]Pepperdine(CA);

  Fri (3rd/Qtrs):  [3]BYU-[5b]/[7a], [4]SantaClara-[5a]//[7b]/[9];

  Sat (4th/Semis): [1]Gonzaga-[4]///[5a]//[7b]/[9], [2]StMarys-[3]//[5b]/[7a]),

Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday week:

NEC TOURNAMENT on-campus

-(@[1]Robert Morris, @[2a]Wagner, @[2b]LongIsland-[5b]Quinnipiac, @[2c]Bryant-[5a]MtStMarys),

Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday week:

PATRIOT TOURNAMENT on-campus

-(@[1]Bucknell-[8]Navy, @[2a]Lafayette-[7]HolyCross, @[2b]Lehigh-[5b]Colgate, @[4]Army-[5a]American),

Thursday:

@MichiganSt-Wisconsin, Oregon-@Colorado, @Massachusetts-Butler, @NewMexicoSt-LouisianaTech,

Thursday-Sunday:

MVC TOURNAMENT @ StLouisMO

-(Thu (1st/16s):  [7a]@MissouriSt-[10]SoIllinois, [7b]Bradley-[7c]Drake;

  Fri(2nd/Qtrs): [1]Creighton-[7b]/[7c], [2]WichitaSt-[7a]/[10], [3]NoIowa-[6]IllinoisSt, [4]Evansville-[5]IndianaSt(IN)),

Friday:

@Yale-Princeton,

Friday-Monday week:

SOCON TOURNAMENT @ AshevilleNC

-(Fri (1st/16s):  [5a]Samford-[12]Furman, [5b]@WeCarolina-[11]TheCitadel, [7]Chattanooga-[10]@UNCGreensboro, [8a]Wofford-[8b]GeorgiaSo;

  Sat (2nd/Qtrs): [1/S1]@Davidson-[8a]/[8b], [2/N1]@Elon-[7]/[10], [3]ColofCharleston-[5b]/[11], [4]@AppalachianSt-[5a]/[12]),

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT @ HotSpringsAR

-([1/E1]MidTennessee, [2/W1]@ArkansasSt, [3]SAlabama, [4a]FLInternational-[5b]@ARLittleRock),

MAAC TOURNAMENT @ SpringfieldMA

-([1]Niagara, [2a]Rider, [2b]LoyolaMD, [4a]Iona-[5b]Canisius(NY)),

COLONIAL TOURNAMENT @ RichmondVA

-([1]Northeastern, [2b]Delaware, [4]@JamesMadison, [5b]@GeoMason),

Saturday:

@Georgetown-Syracuse, NewMexico-@AirForce, Kansas-@Baylor, Duke-@NCarolina(NC), Florida-@Kentucky,
@Louisville-NotreDame(BG), KansasSt-@OklahomaSt,
@StLouis-LaSalle, @Arizona-ArizonaSt(AZ), @BoiseSt-SanDiegoSt, @Butler-Xavier, @SoMississippi-UCF, @Pacific-LongBeachSt(CA), @Denver-LouisianaTech, @Harvard-Cornell, @TXPanAmerican-NJIT,

Saturday-Tuesday week:

SUMMIT TOURNAMENT @ SiouxFallsSD

-([1a]@SDState, [1b]WeIllinois, [3]NDState, [4]Oakland),

Saturday-Sunday, Saturday week:

AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT @ AlbanyNY/Albany/, on-cmapus

-([1]StonyBrook, [2b]Vermont, [4]Hartford, @[5]Albany),

Sunday:

Indiana-@Michigan, @OhioSt-Illinois, VCU-@Temple, @>Virginia-Maryland,

Monday week, Wednesday week-Saturday week:

MAC TOURNAMENT on-campus, @ClevelandOH

-(@Akron, @OhioU, WeMichigan, @KentSt).

---

Top 25 - 13 Mar 4 - [] Column

1. Indiana (25-4) BIG 10+2
   
2. Georgetown (23-4)
   
3. New Mexico (25-4) MWC+3
   
4. Kansas (25-4)
   
5. Duke (25-4)
   
6. Michigan (23-5)
   
7. Gonzaga (28-2) WCCu+2
   
8. Miami(Florida) (23-5) ACC+2
   
9. Florida (23-5) SEC+2
   
10. Louisville (24-5)
    
11. Michigan State (21-7)
    
12. Ohio State (20-7)
    
13. Kansas State (23-5)
    
14. St. Louis (23-5)
    
15. Marquette (21-7)
    
16. Syracuse (22-7)
    
17. Wisconsin (19-9)
    
18. Oklahoma State (22-6)
    
19. UNLV (21-7)
    
20. St. Mary's (25-5)
    
21. Creighton (24-7) MVC
    
22. VCU (23-6)
    
23. Minnesota (20-9)
    
24. Pittsburgh (23-7)
    
25. Oregon (23-6)
    

Honorable Mention:

Virginia (20-9), Tennessee (17-11), Purdue (14-15), UCLA (22-7), USC (14-15), Boise State (17-8), Xavier (16-12),

Belmont (22-6) OVC+2,

Valparaiso (23-7) HORIZ,

South Dakota State (17-9)/Western Illinois (17-7) SUMMIT,

Louisiana Tech (25-3) WAC+2,

Long Beach State (15-11) BIG W+2,

Niagara (18-12) MAAC,

Robert Morris (22-9) NEC+2,

Charleston Southern (14-11)/High Point (15-12) BIG S,

Texas Southern (17-14) SWAC.