Thursday’s busy schedule of college basketball conference tournaments brought some reminders of how unorthodox this season has been. First, any statements about the diminished impact of COVID-19 were recently proved premature when Duke had to withdraw from his race at the ACC Tournament due to a positive case among his Level 1 staff.
So, the action on the court reinforced how difficult the season has been for some of the sport’s historic powers. With Syracuse, Kentucky, Michigan State, UCLA, Indiana and Villanova eliminating their league tournaments earlier, it is more apparent than ever that the balance of power in the sport has tilted towards the common man – at least for now.
Start a group of keys to compete against friends or fill in your key for the chance to win a new Nissan Rogue and a college basketball dream trip. Get in on the action today!
But Selection Sunday is coming up, and whether or not some of the big brands in the sport have their names called, it is clear that March Madness will be as wild as ever. Here are the winners and losers of the day.
One of the prominent teams to lose on Thursday was Villanova, but instead of insisting on the woes of Wildcats plagued by injuries, how about a little love for Georgetown? After surviving a dramatic 72-71 victory over first place in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, ninth Hoyas have won six of their last eight games. Now, coach Patrick Ewing’s team is just two wins away from earning a spot in the NCAA tournament. Hoyas will face Seton Hall in fifth place on Friday’s semifinals, after sharing the regular season series with Pirates.
Here is the end of Thursday’s thriller, narrated in a legendary way by the voice of the radio show, Rick Chvotkin. – Cobb
Winner: Patrick Ewing owns MSG
Ewing started to complain after the game for being stopped in the corridors of Madison Square Garden while security guards were asking for his clearance passes, and he was right to do so. An 11 times All-Star and Hall of Fame for the Knicks, the man at one point was The garden. He’s not the owner of the building, but he kind of owns the building, you know? Patrick Ewing can do whatever he wants at MSG. Instead, as coach of his alma mater Georgetown, he is being interrupted and asked for passes.
“I thought this building was mine,” he said. “Everyone in this building should know who the hell I am. I’m being stopped, I can’t move in this building. I was like ‘what the hell, is this Madison Square Garden?’ I’m going to have to call Mr. Dolan and say, ‘Jesus, is my number on the rafters or what?’ ”
I once shared a corridor with Mr. Ewing a few years ago, so, to please the legend, I must say that I agree with him. You don’t often see 7-foot arenas roaming. So when you see one – and when you see it is Ewing – the best option as an MSG security guy is probably to nod or ask for an autograph. Checking the release on the MSG? This shouldn’t be on anyone’s to-do list in the building for a man of Patrick Ewing’s stature. – Boone
Loser: Syracuse NCAA tournament curriculum
Several bluebloods across the country have seen their aspirations to win a league tournament title wither differently. The honor of the most dramatic defeat went to Syracuse, who lost a 72-69 game to Virginia’s first place in the quarter-finals of the ACC tournament, when UVA’s Reece Beekman hit a 3-point ball on the buzzer. The defeat will leave Orange sweating on the Sunday of selection, after starting the day listed as one of the “last four”, according to Jerry Palm’s Bracketology. – Cobb
Loser: Michigan state boost
Likewise, the fate of the Michigan State NCAA Tournament is now in the hands of the selection committee after the Spartans failed to lose 68-57 to Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans entered the day as the projected No. 9 seed, but still in the Palm bubble. Their résumé may be good enough to justify a general offer, but another victory would have helped to clear up any doubts, and that defeat was particularly frustrating, as the Spartans led 23-11 at the start. On the other hand, Maryland will feel much better about her chances of doing Big Dance now, after positioning herself as the # 10 seed projected into the game. – Cobb
Loser: Duke’s abrupt end
Duke’s demise was the most painful. After consecutive double-digit wins at the beginning of the week, which provided a vague glimpse of hope for the Blue Devils, they were forced to withdraw of the ACC tournament due to a problem with COVID-19. Duke was due to play second in the Florida State ranking on Thursday, but with his chance of getting an NCAA general or automatic tournament eliminated, the program confirmed that his season was really over. It is an unceremonious end to the season for a program that will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. – Cobb
Winner: the state of Mississippi takes Kentucky out of its misery
Finally, the Kentucky horror season is over, after a 74-73 loss to the State of Mississippi during the second round of the SEC tournament. The Wildcats ended season 9-16 with their worst winning percentage in a season since the 1926-27 team ended 3-13. Damn. But how about a tip for Bulldogs? Someone had to sacrifice these Wildcats, and the State of Mississippi certainly took great pleasure in doing so after losing a case of two overtime to the UK earlier this season. Coach Ben Howland’s team have won four of their last six games and now have a chance to beat Alabama’s No. 1 after playing the Crimson Tide game twice in the regular season. – Cobb
Loser: Indiana and UCLA falter
As if the blue-blooded morning carnage was not enough, Indiana and UCLA extended the casualty list at night, losing their first postseason games. While the Bruins still have a good chance of making the NCAA Tournament as a general team after losing 83-79 to Oregon State in the quarter-finals of the Pac-12 Tournament, the Hoosiers are fried. Indiana ends the season with a record of 12-15 and defeats from six consecutive games to close it. Thursday’s sad result with a 61-50 loss to Rutgers will only increase the scrutiny applied to fourth-year coach Archie Miller, who has not yet qualified for an NCAA tournament.
Winner: North Carolina and Kansas survive
The Tar Heels and Jayhawks avoided the fates of other traditional powers and looked impressive during their quarter-final victories in the conference on quality opponents. The 6th position in North Carolina defeated the 3rd position, Virginia Tech 81-73, for a third consecutive victory. In the Big 12 Tournament, No. 2 seed Kansas handled No. 7 seed Oklahoma 69-62. It’s eight wins in nine games now for the Jayhawks, who are quietly starting to look like they could be a serious threat at the NCAA Tournament. Ochai Agbaji’s 26 points were a career record for Kansas.
Last weekend, Oklahoma State hit the road and toppled West Virginia without the services of its two most important players: Cade Cunningham and Isaac Likekele. And I have to admit – I felt a little unstable. West Virginia is tough as nails at home and winning without the potential number 1 choice, given the way the OSU is built, is quite unlikely.
But the Pokes reinforced Thursday with another victory over West Virginia, this one in the Big 12 tournament. Cunningham and Likekele returned to the lineup and both reached double digits in the score, with Cunningham leading with 17 points and eight rebounds. It was OSU’s seventh win in eight games, while it continues to warm up at the right time. Great opportunity for the Pokes on deck on Friday facing second-placed Baylor with a chance to advance to the conference title game for the first time since 2009. The team is absolutely advancing full steam ahead for Big Dance.
“We didn’t get to this point as a one-man show. I think it shows,” said Cunningham after the game in which four Pokes reached double digits in the score and several non-Cunningham Cowboys won a lot in the clutch time. “It’s a team game. Especially in March.” – Boone
Loser: Arizona’s disappointing season ends
After being indexed in the preseason to finish second in Pac-12 – and even winning five votes for first place! – The Arizona State season luckily came to an end on Thursday, with a 91-73 loss to Oregon. The defeat led the Sun Devils to a final of 11-14, the lowest number of wins in a season since 2011-2012, when under Herb Sendek they reached 10-21 in the inaugural season of the Pac-12 hierarchy.
“It has been a difficult year,” said ASU coach Bobby Hurley. “A lot of things were thrown at us throughout the year. These guys never gave up.” – Boone
5th place, Ohio State, jumped to a 13-0 lead over 13th, Minnesota, and ended up needing every inch of that early lead to hold on for a 79-75 victory. The Buckeyes still have a lot of problems to solve, but avoiding a fifth consecutive loss at the NCAA Tournament was critical for a team that has yet to start the day on Palm’s projected No. 2 seed line for Big Dance.
The number 13 of the ACC tournament almost brought a turnaround as well, as Miami took number 4 from the Georgia Tech ranking before dropping 70-66. It was the Hurricanes’ third game in three days, but only the first of the week for Georgia Tech, who entered the day as the projected No. 10 seed, according to Palm. The Yellow Jackets avoided a potentially catastrophic loss. – Cobb