Our quick thoughts on Monday's results:It might be time to start panicking in Austin. Texas' month-long free-fall - which has now resulted in five losses in seven games - continued in pretty convincing fashion on Monday night, as the Longhorns got stomped 80-68 at home by No. 1 Kansas. The Jayhawks looked every bit the nation's top-ranked team in this one, using a 22-0 run midway through the first half to put the game out of reach. Texas got as close as eight in the second half, but Marcus Morris (18 points), Sherron Collins (15), and Xavier Henry (15) made sure the Longhorns' comeback attempt ended there. Texas shot just 37 percent for the game and committed 17 turnovers, and their only real bright spot was the play of freshman J'Covan Brown, who scored a season-high 28 points. Next up for the Longhorns is a home game against Nebraska on Saturday. and then a two-game trip to Missouri and Texas Tech next week. A loss in any of those games will knock Texas down a couple of seed lines in our bracket. As it is, they're a sinking 4 seed, and they currently sit alone in fifth in the Big XII standings.
Villanova avoided back-to-back losses with an impressive road win at West Virginia. The Wildcats led the game throughout, and Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points to headline a balanced 'Nova offense that shot a blistering 57 percent from the field. The win virtually assures that the Wildcats' Feb. 27th game with Syracuse will be for the Big East regular season title. Next up for 'Nova is a pair of home games against Providence (Saturday) and UConn (Monday) and then a final stretch that includes road games with Pitt and Syracuse and a rematch with West Virginia. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, have to regroup and get ready for a rematch of their own against Pitt - who they beat less than a week ago - in a rare Friday night affair. Hopefully the fans in the "Oakland Zoo" behave a little better than their West Virginia counterparts.
Head-scratcher: The Citadel 72, Charleston 65.
Of note: Butler beat Loyola (IL) at home; Pittsburgh beat Robert Morris at home; Siena beat Fairfield at home; Morgan State beat Bethune-Cookman at home; Jackson State beat Southern at home.
11 comments:
So how many more losses before Texas finds itself on the bubble?
Bob Knight discussed how Texas fans' loyalty was a strength for the program this year, then a few minutes later, I hear the Rock Chalk Chant in Austin. Things are spiraling out of control with Texas.
I went to vote in your "which team doesn't deserve a bid" poll but couldn't find the team to vote for. Virginia Tech gets my vote as the teams that doesn't deserve to be in the field. They played a pathetic pre conference schedule against cream puffs to pad their win loss record. I think a team that played tough competition early should replace Virginia Tech in your bracket. Teams should not be rewarded for playing pathetic pre conference schedules.
what do make of the SEC West? Arkansas is the leader now. Is Ole Miss-Miss. State a bubble buster game?
Speaking of Arkansas, they played their first 14 games without PG Courtney Fortson (averaging 20 PPG, 5 RPG, 6 APG) and have gotten it going now that he's back in the lineup. They have a long way to go to get to the bubble, but if they end up winning the SEC West how big of a factor would that be?
B101
who do you like in the big showdown in east lansing?
Could Texas Tech get in with a road win tonight? How many Big 12 wins does Tech need for at large chance?
Tuesday predictions:
Wisconsin 69 Illinois 62
Tennessee 72 Vandy 71
Georgetown 70 Providence 62
Oklahoma 75 Texas Tech 65
Purdue 65 Michigan State 63
Western Kentucky 72 Houston 64
VCU 67 George Mason 64
Quick hits:
If Kalin Lucas plays, we like the Spartans. If not, we'll take the Boilers.
Texas Tech needs a 2-0 week to get back in the bubble discussion in the Big XII. Even then, their game at Baylor next Tuesday will probably prevent us from putting them in next week.
Mississippi State-Mississippi is a play-in game for next week.
Illinois has picked a great time to play their best ball. Two straight wins over top 15 teams should keep the Illini in the bracket to stay.
No way the BigXII deserves 7 bids -- over half of the conference? Other than Kansas, KSt and maybe TX, they really are not that good.
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