Sunday’s list of college basketball games showed a little bit of everything when the regular season came to an end, the tournaments in the middle of the big conferences started and the tournament keys for the big conferences solidified. With buzzer beats, exciting moments from the day of old age and some controversy as part of the action, it was a reminder that March is upon us in full force.
Only one game featured two qualified teams, but it performed well when No. 5 Iowa defeated No. 25 Wisconsin 77-73 at the end of the regular season for both. Although the referees stole part of the spotlight – there were 24 fouls scored in the second half – one performance stood out from the others.
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That performance belonged to the player of the team of the year, leader Luka Garza, who finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds in his final game at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This effort helped Iowa (20-7, 14-6 Big Ten) to solidify its place as the # 2 seed projected at Jerry Palm’s NCAA Tournament in Bracketology by entering the Big Ten Tournament.
It also made what happened after the game even more appropriate. More on that in just a second, as we begin to dissect the winners and losers of an important day in college
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The Hawkeyes announced on Sunday that they will withdraw from Garza’s 55th place in a fitting tribute to the country’s top scorer and Iowa’s top scorer of all time. The post-game ceremony recalled the beauty of college basketball. There is some skepticism about how Garza’s game will translate into the NBA. But where he becomes an All-Star or struggles to stay on a professional roster, he will always be a legend in Iowa, and no one will ever wear his uniform again.
Garza was not the only player on an elite team who had a historic moment on the last day of Sunday. Baylor guard MaCio Teague set a Big 12 record with 10 3-point achievements while leading the No. 3 Bears in the 88-73 victory over No. 18 Texas Tech during his final game at the Ferrell Center. Teague finished with 35 points, including 26 in the second half, while driving Bears – a seed designed primarily for the NCAA Tournament – for the postseason.
Loser: Memphis’ hopes in general have been shattered
Memphis entered Sunday’s game at No. 9 Houston in the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, according to Palm, but needing a victory over the Cougars to sustain his hopes of a free offer. The Tigers had their dreams of dancing brutally shattered when Houston’s Tramon Mark swung in a contested 3-point buzzer to lead the Cougars to a 67-64 victory. The result probably means that Memphis will need to win the AAC tournament to reach Big Dance.
Winner: Loyola Chicago wins Arch Madness
The Ramblers are returning to the NCAA Tournament as the automatic qualifier for the Missouri Valley Conference after defeating Drake 75-65 in the MVC Tournament title game. Cameron Krutwig and Braden Norris led Loyola Chicago with 20 points each. If Krutwig’s name sounds familiar, it should. He was an important contributor to the 2018 Final Four team as a freshman, and this team looks quite capable of advancing in the NCAA Tournament once again. Palm designed the Ramblers as the number 12 seed earlier in the day. Any potential seed # 5 interested in facing them? I didn’t think so.
Winner: Winthrop wins Big South
Speaking of medium-sized teams capable of wreaking havoc at the NCAA Tournament, how about Winthrop? The Eagles will enter the event with a 23-1 record after beating Campbell 80-53 in the game for the Big South Tournament title. With a list of several veterans, a rotation that spans 11 depths and a trainer at Pat Kelsey, who has participated in Big Dance before, this team can be dangerous. The Eagles were designed for the number 13 of the Palm earlier in the day, but they are another team that no one will want to play.
Winner: Tennessee ends strong
Volunteers have not won consecutive games since the 6th and 10th of February, but neither have they lost consecutive games in that period. The alternation between wins and losses continued on Sunday, with the 65-54 victory over Florida in a battle designed for sixth place. The Volunteers (17-7, 10-7 SEC) lost by 14 in the first half, but played a stifling defense in the second half to give veterans Yves Pons and John Fulkerson a beautiful expulsion at the end of a regular season of ups and downs. The victory was particularly significant for the Vols, as it earned them a double goodbye in the SEC tournament.
Winner: Oregon takes Pac-12 title
How about a tip for Oregon? The Ducks needed a win over Oregon State on Sunday night to repeat themselves as champions of the regular Pac-12 season and managed an 8-67 victory to secure first place in the Pac-12 tournament. All five matches reached double digits for Oregon (19-5, 14-4 Pac-12)
Loser: injuries increase on the last day of the regular season
There is no word on the severity of each injury, but number 2 in Michigan and number 5 in Iowa have seen key players suffer injuries. Joe Wieskamp of Iowa, the team’s second-highest scorer after Garza, left the Hawkeyes’ victory over Wisconsin in the first half and did not return after suffering an ankle injury. So did Michigan senior guard Eli Brooks, who was spotted in a boot after leaving the Wolverines’ defeat in Michigan after an ankle injury.
Winner: Michigan State NCAA Tournament Chances
Without Brooks, Michigan struggled to repeat the 69-50 victory over Michigan on Thursday. The Spartans won Sunday’s 70-64 rematch, ensuring a critical victory for their resume at the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State was designed as the # 11 seed coming in for the day, but it should be able to take a deep breath before starting the Big Ten Tournament game against Maryland on Thursday.
Loser: CAA Tournament Officials
As the # 1 seed in the CAA Tournament, James Madison entered the quarter-final game of Sunday’s league tournament, designed as the # 16 seed in the Palm NCAA Tournament. The dukes’ position in Bracketology was based on their victory in the CAA Tournament, however, and it turns out that the league’s automatic bid goes to someone else.
That’s because JMU suffered a controversial 72-71 for No. 8 seed Elon when the Dukes were whistled for two expensive technical fouls. The first happened when Zach Jacobs committed the sporting atrocity of the century by shouting “and one” after having fouled in a bucket of the first half. The JMU overcame the referees’ authoritarianism to open a 15-point lead at the start of the second half. But then JMU coach Mark Byington was called in for a coach 1:13 left. This sent Elon to the free throw line, where he took the late lead.
Winner: Penn State completes a furious rally
Maryland could easily be called a “loser” here, but let’s give credit to the Lions of Nittany for overcoming a 16-point deficit on the road and beating the Terrapins 66-61. In particular, Seth Lundy deserves some adulation for filling him with 31 points off the bench in 11 of 18 shots. This should be a career record for a sophomore, averaging 9.4 points per game, right? Wrong. Lundy scored 32 in the victory over VCU earlier this season. After coach Pat Chambers resigned before the season, this was a tough year for Nittany Lions (10-13, 7-12 Big Ten), but Sunday’s victory will be unforgettable.