If you love college basketball – and if you read it, you probably will – I hope you enjoyed watching the Ohio State-Michigan game on Sunday. It had a lot of points if you like offense, but it was not a bad defensive game. Sometimes the offenses just click.
It went back and forth, with two big teams trading beats, until Michigan was able to salt it out in the end with a 92-87 victory. The only thing missing was a crowd that lived along the edge every second.
From a bracket perspective, it was the no. 3 and no. 4-teams, with the Wolverines leading and of course after the game. However, the state of Ohio also holds its place on the number 1 seed line in the Bracketology update.
Illinois, who wiped out Minnesota on Saturday, remain one spot behind as a No. 2 series in the series. The Buckeyes’ victory over Illinois is the deciding factor for the time being. The Illini travels to Columbus, Ohio, for the rematch on March 6th.
Bracketology top said
Check out Palm’s latest bracket, the full field of 68 and all the teams bubbling at the Bracketology Center.
Tar Heels jumps back to the field
The bottom of the bracket did its usual twists and turns. We welcome North Carolina back into the field after a 99-54 victory over Louisville. Do not adjust your monitor – the score is correct. The tar heels won by 45. If you think ‘Margin of Victory’ does not matter on the NET rankings, UNC has moved up to this victory by 20 places in the NET.
For Louisville, No. 8 in the series, it was the first game after a 19-day COVID-19 break and the worst loss a team has suffered from such a break of at least ten days.
VCU, who lost to George Mason at home on Saturday, are falling out of the bracket. This was not the worst news for the Rams. They also lost their best player, Nah’Shon Hyland, late in the game. The injury is still being evaluated and it is not known how much time he will lose.
Does Duke have a chance?
People are foaming at the mouth of excitement – or disgust – over the possibility that Duke will make a turn at the tournament after beating Virginia over the weekend. It seems like the loss of Jalen Johnson did not hurt the Blue Devils, and in fact many people think his departure will help. This is the third consecutive win for Duke and moves the Blue Devils to 10-8 on the season.
However, before we get too excited, Duke’s resume is still very thin. The only other notable victory for the Blue Devils got Clemson at home. They have losses in Pitt and Miami, as well as at home against Notre Dame and Michigan State, who are currently resuming a better tournament.
Brackets for pieces
Saint Louis also looked pretty bad over the weekend, losing 76-53 to Dayton, giving the Flyers a hint of the season series. The Billikens lost at home to Dayton on January 26 in their first game after a 34-day COVID break. SLU has only played 15 games so he did not have much chance to build up his CV. They dropped in the projected brackets in the first four games.
Stephen F. Austin received a one-year ban from the NCAA season for the 2021-22 season. On Friday, it was announced that the NCAA had approved the school’s request to move it to this season. The Lumberjacks will now miss the national season, including the Southland Conference Tournament.