Ooh, fun night. A Doug McDermott buzzer beater. Upsets galore. Bracket teams falling off the bubble. Teams proving their worth. And a major league contest in the Big Ten.
Michigan State 71, @Iowa 69 (OT): Ugly finish for Iowa at home. Iowa didn't make a field goal for about 15 minutes at the end of the game. You've gotta think if they had gotten one to fall, they could have won this game. Instead, they lose a home game and drop a little bit in the process. Across the court, Michigan State stepped up the defense---a Spartans squad that has been constantly hobbled by injuries. The Spartans got a huge, unexpected road win tonight, lacking key players. You've got to think that if Michigan State could just get healthy for March, they would be crazily scary. And it isn't like they have just fallen apart: 80% Michigan State is still in line for a #1 seed. Imagine what 100% Michigan State would be.
@South Florida 78, SMU 71: This game gets a little more than a sentence because we need to talk about SMU's qualifications at this point. You can lose at Louisville, Cincinnati, and Arkansas and to Virginia and still get a good seed. But you have to beat someone. SMU has one win against a tournament team: a UConn squad that had just lost to Houston. The most redeeming part of SMU's profile was no bad losses, and that's gone. Less than half of SMU's remaining schedule is against decent teams. This means that by Selection Sunday, this team may be hurting if it doesn't figure out how to upset Memphis, Cincinnati, Louisville, or Connecticut (on the road).
Missouri 75, @Arkansas 71: Bad loss for Arkansas. Bad loss. Bubble teams can't lose at home and expect to make the tournament. And even worse, Arkansas was playing another bubble team who is looking to take Arkansas's spot. Missouri now has a handful of decent wins and a decent road win. The Tigers look like a tournament team. Arkansas? In major trouble, especially with those Texas A&M and Georgia losses. Not losing to bubble teams at home. I only had two SEC teams in the most recent Bracket Brief, and while I don't think it will stay that way, four looks like the absolute max.
@LSU 87, Kentucky 82: LSU is a team who needed a win like this desperately. But should we be surprised? Kentucky is severely overrated, and it was at LSU. Yet again, a lack of experience is proving to be a problem in Lexington. Just watch the final 15 seconds again: the Wildcats cannot even commit an intentional foul properly. It isn't like Kentucky is bad, but they've now lost to Arkansas and LSU in conference, teams who are struggling to just get into the tournament. Not a shocking result, but we'll keep a watch on the mood of Kentucky fans after they play at Missouri on Saturday.
The big game worth noting down here is Baylor's home loss to West Virginia. Baylor will drop out of the next Bracket Brief, and I don't know how they'll make it back in. The conference season has destroyed Baylor more than anyone.
VMI 109, @UNC Asheville 105 - power shift in Big South with this win
West Virginia 66, @Baylor 64 - Baylor out of bracket, now 1-6 in Big 12
@Wichita State 57, Loyola (IL) 45
@Kansas State 66, Texas Tech 58
@Creighton 63, St. John's 60 - SJU was McDermotted
Virginia 68, @Notre Dame 53
New Mexico at Utah State (late) - loss for UNM could be tough to come back from
On Wednesday night, look towards the Big 12, where Iowa State tries to slow Kansas's reclamation of the conference's top spot. The A-10 gives us some great games as well, with Richmond at Saint Louis as the headliner. And watch the Pac-12 late to see if Arizona State can improve at all and close the gap towards second place when it heads to Cal.
#7 Massachusetts at St. Bonaventure
#5 Memphis at UCF
Penn State at #8 Ohio State
(LFI) #12 North Carolina at Georgia Tech
#14 Delaware at William & Mary
#15 Stony Brook at Albany
Fordham at #10 VCU
La Salle at #9 George Washington
#13 Toledo at Miami (OH)
Navy at #15 American
(LFI) #12 Richmond at #8 Saint Louis
Ole Miss at (FFO) Tennessee
#10 Green Bay at Valparaiso
#1 Arizona at #10 Stanford
#1 Syracuse at Wake Forest
#4 Iowa State at #3 Kansas
Northwestern at #4 Wisconsin
#6 Florida State at NC State
#14 Belmont at Morehead State
Air Force at (NFO) Boise State
#12 Arizona State at #9 California
#10 Gonzaga at Santa Clara
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