Sunday came with a number of bubble teams jockeying for position within their conferences and for bracket spots. Some shone brightly, and some folded yet again, as so many bubble teams do around this time of the year. And the upset of the night came out of the Big Ten.
@Nebraska 82, Minnesota 78: For the second time in a week, Nebraska proved that it is a difficult place to get a win. On Monday, the Huskers took out Ohio State, and today, they took hold of the game in the second half today and took out the Gophers. I asked a couple of days ago whether there was a chance for Washington to make the tournament, but maybe the surprising team for that question should have been Nebraska. It now has multiple good wins and as many bad losses as Tennessee, who has been riding the bubble most of the season.
@North Carolina 80, Clemson 61: These are the only games UNC has won since the middle of December: Davidson, Northern Kentucky, UNC Wilmington, Boston College, and Clemson. Yes, Clemson is the best win in the bunch, but if that's your best win in the 3 months prior to Selection Sunday, you're in trouble. Still, UNC needed the win. Then again, so did Clemson. The Tigers are in worse shape than the Tar Heels given the lack of quality wins (Duke being its only one). Whatever North Carolina's losses may be, at least they have shown an ability to beat multiple teams who will be in the Big Dance. UNC certainly moved ahead of Clemson tonight in the bracket.
@UCLA 76, California 64: The Pac-12 has been a crazy place lately, with the downfalls of Colorado and Oregon (for different reasons), the rise and slump of Cal, and the continuing underwhelmingness of UCLA. Other than Arizona, seven Pac-12 teams are sitting on or near the bubble, with an eighth, Washington, trying to prove itself. UCLA and Cal look like the best bets to compete for second place, and today's result was not surprising, with the home team winning a closely contested game. Cal has a more difficult schedule ahead of it, with two games still remaining against Arizona versus none for UCLA, but Cal gets UCLA at home on February 19 which could answer the question whether UCLA will stay in second place.
Elsewhere, we saw Manhattan struggle to maintain its positioning within the MAAC, but most favorites winning elsewhere.
@Massachusetts 90, Fordham 52
@Memphis 80, South Florida 58
Quinnipiac 90, @Manhattan 86 (OT) - MAAC power-shifting win for Bobcats on road at Jaspers
@Green Bay 62, Detroit 52
SMU 75, @Houston 68
Cincinnati 80, @Temple 76
Harvard 80, @Dartmouth 50
Stanford 79, @USC 71 (OT)
@Toledo 81, Kent State 78
@Vermont 72, Binghamton 39
Oregon 71, @Washington State 44 - Ducks bounce back against inferior Cougs
@Arizona 65, Utah 56
There are a few great games set for Monday night, including Duke heading to Pittsburgh to try to get a road win that is actually valuable, and Oklahoma State going to Oklahoma for Big 12 positioning and in-state bragging rights.
#7 Duke at #4 Pittsburgh
Morgan State at #16 North Carolina Central
#2 Villanova at Georgetown
#5 Oklahoma State at #8 Oklahoma
Alabama State at #16 Southern
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