College Hoops Saturday Recap- Statement Wins for Tennessee, UCF, and Utah State!
It was an extremely busy Saturday in the world of college hoops yesterday as several teams picked up big victories to give their respective resumes a boost. There were several teams that also took a step-back in regards to their tournament chances. We start in the SEC, where there was no bigger game than the showdown between #7 Tennessee and #4 Kentucky.
The Wildcats came into the game on fire, winners of 14 of their past 15, with the only loss along the way coming by 2 points to surging LSU. Included in that run, was an 86-69 beat-down of the Volunteers in Lexington. This time around the Vols got their revenge - and some - as they cruised past Kentucky and cooled off John Calipari's feisty youngsters. The 71-52 victory was a big one for Tennessee, and puts them back ahead of the Wildcats in the race for a potential #1-seed. The defensive effort was especially impressive, as only PJ Washington managed to score in double-figures for Kentucky with 13. Meanwhile Grant Williams and Jordan Bone poured in 24 points & 27 points respectively, to lead the romp for the Vols.
Tennessee is now tied with LSU for first in the SEC at 14-2 in conference play, and are 26-3 overall. Look for the Vols to jump-up in this week's rankings following the big win. They now control their own destiny in terms of a 1-seed. If they win out and win the SEC tournament, they will be an easy choice for a #1. However, that road will be anything but easy as LSU has been on fire of late as well.
While there were plenty of ranked teams in action yesterday, including Duke putting an impressive thrashing on Miami (FL), and Purdue absolutely demolishing Ohio State (more on this in a bit), it was a pair of un-ranked teams that made the biggest noise yesterday. Central Florida and Utah State both had marque games yesterday within their respective conferences, and both needed to take advantage of the opportunity to pickup a big-time win for their respective resumes.
UCF was in a bit better position than Utah State heading into yesterday, as most believed the Knights had done enough to be comfortably be in the field. Others, however, had UCF as an 11-seed or even in "last four in" territory, leaving them plenty of work to do before Selection Sunday. Yesterday afforded an opportunity for the Knights that might render what they do the rest of the way mute. They visited #8 Houston, who came into the game with a sparkling record of 27-1. A road victory on the Cougars' home court would give UCF one of the more impressive wins of all of the so-called "Bubble" teams, and they did exactly that. UCF took care of Houston 69-64, to give them a massive road victory to add to their resume. With RPI and NET ratings of right around 30, and now the big-time road victory to their resume, the debate about Central Florida's chances of getting into the field should be mute following yesterday's impressive win. Look for the victory to boost the Knights' perspective seed to the 8-9 range.
Not just Central Florida had an opportunity for a big-time marque win yesterday. Previously mentioned Ohio State had a great chance to add to their resume yesterday as well. The Buckeyes came into their Big TEN showdown with Purdue in an interesting position themselves. While OSU was in the field according to almost all projected brackets, they decided they wouldn't even show-up for the contest with the Boilermakers. They trailed by over 40 points early in the second half, and honestly are lucky they didn't lose by 50. In the end, Purdue showed a little mercy in the closing seconds and the Buckeyes closed the gap to 35, losing by a pathetic score of 86-51. For a team that was firmly on the "bubble" heading in, it was a terrible performance. While a loss @ Purdue is not a bad one by any means, getting completely blown out and looking like a Division III team in the process, is not a good look. Especially when other "bubble" teams went out and got big victories yesterday.
One of those other "Bubble" teams that got a big win yesterday, was the aforementioned Utah State Aggies. Many pundits had USU right on the cut-line heading into their Mountain West showdown with Nevada last night. They were still lacking that one "marque" win to shore up their overall resume - and the home game against the 26-2 Wolfpack was the perfect opportunity. The Aggies went on to knock-off #12 Nevada, 81-76, and in the process, jumped into a tie for first in the Mountain West with the Wolfpack. The win was exactly what Utah State needed to jump into the field. That high-profile win, combined with the fading likes of TCU, Minnesota, and Ohio State, has opened the door for Utah State to jump into the projected field.
I believe those huge, marque, resume-boosting victories for both Central Florida and Utah State will be enough to keep them in the projected field. Utah State will need to avoid a bad early-loss in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, but otherwise should be good after this huge victory. Following yesterday's outcomes, I have UCF currently slated as a 9-seed, and Utah State into the field as one of the last four in; but trending in the right direction (unlike a few of the other teams currently on the last four in list).
There aren't a whole lot of "bubble" teams in action today, but Maryland has a great opportunity to bolster their resume and improve their seed-line if they can get a win @ Michigan today. Marquette can inch closer to the regular season Big East crown with a win over Creighton at home today, and Washington can bolster their hold atop the Pac-12 with a win at Stanford. The only true "bubble" team in action today is Arizona State visiting Oregon State tonight. A loss for the Sun Devils would suddenly drop them dangerously close to the cut-line. Enjoy all of today's action, and as always happy reading & writing!!
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