Thursday’s jam-packed college basketball conference tournament action brought back some memories of how unorthodox this season has been. First, any proclamations about the diminished impact of COVID-19 were recently proven premature when Duke had to withdraw from the run-up to the ACC tournament due to a positive case in his Tier 1 staff.
The action within the court reinforced how difficult this season has been for some of the sport’s historical powers. With Syracuse, Kentucky, Michigan State, UCLA, Indiana and Villanova all bowing out of their league tournaments early, it’s clearer than ever that the balance of power in the sport has tilted towards the average man – at least for now.
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But Selection Sunday is coming, and whether or not some of the sport’s major brands are naming their names, it’s clear that March Madness will be wild as ever. Here are the winners and losers of the day.
One of the leading teams that lost Thursday was Villanova, but instead of pursuing the misery of injury-stricken Wildcats, what about love for Georgetown? After the No. 9 seeded Hoyas survived for a dramatic 72-71 victory over No. 1 in the Big East tournament, they have won six of their last eight games. Coach Patrick Ewing’s team is just two wins away from an unlikely NCAA tournament. The Hoyas will face Seton Hall, No. 5, in the semifinals of the semifinals after splitting their series with the Pirates in the regular season.
Here’s the ending of Thursday’s thriller, as legendary as the radio voice Rick Chvotkin’s program. – Cobb
Winner: Patrick Ewing owns MSG
Ewing fought a postgame to stop in the hallways of Madison Square Garden while security guards asked for his approval cards, and he was ready to do so. An 11-time All-Star and Hall of Famer for the Knicks, the man at one point wash The garden. He does not own the building, but he does own the building, you know? Patrick Ewing can do anything he likes in MSG. Instead, as coach of his alma mater Georgetown, he stops and asks for passes.
“I thought it was my building,” he said. ‘Everyone in this building needs to know who I am. I stop, I can not move around in this building. I was like ‘what the hell, is this Madison Square Garden? ‘I will Mr. Dolan has to call and say, “Yeah, is my number on the bars or what?”
I once had a walk back a few times with mr. Ewing shared, so to leave the legend, I have to say I agree with him. You do not often see 7 pedestrians wandering around in arenas. So if you see one – and if you see that it’s Ewing – the best option as an MSG security is probably to nod your head or to ask for a signature. Is your clearance checked at MSG? It should not be on the to-do list of anyone in the building for a man with the stature of Patrick Ewing. – Boone
Loser: Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament Resumes
Several blue-blooded people across the country have seen their quest to win a league tournament title in different ways. The honor of the most dramatic defeat belonged to Syracuse, who dropped a 72-69 match for No. 1 seed Virginia in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals when UVA Reece Beekman scored a three-pointer at the buzzer has. The loss left the Orange on Selection Sunday sweating after starting the day as one of the “last four in”, according to Jerry Palm’s Bracketology. – Cobb
Loser: Michigan’s momentum
Similarly, the fate of the NCAA tournament in the state of Michigan is now in the hands of the selection committee after the Spartans produced a dud by losing 68-57 to Maryland in the Big Ten tournament’s second round. The Spartans enter the day as a projected 9-seed, but still on Palm’s bubble. Their CV may be good enough to justify a big offer, but another win would help dispel any doubt, and this loss was particularly frustrating as the Spartans took an early 23-11 lead. On the other hand, Maryland will feel much better about its chances of making the Big Dance now after penetrating the game as a projected number 10 seed. – Cobb
Loser: Duke’s sudden end
Duke’s end was the most heartbreaking. After consecutive two-digit victories at the start of the week that gave the Blue Devils a faint glimmer of hope, they were forced to withdraw of the ACC tournament due to a COVID-19 issue. Duke was supposed to play the second part of Florida State on Thursday, but with the chance to drop a major or automated NCAA tournament, the program confirmed that the season was indeed over. It’s a festive end to the season for a program that missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. – Cobb
Winner: Mississippi State puts Kentucky out of its misery
Finally, Kentucky’s horror season is over after a 74-73 loss to Mississippi States during the second round of the SEC tournament. The Wildcats finished the season 9-16 for their worst winning percentage in a season since the 1926-27 team finished 3-13. Yikes. But what about a point of the cap for the Bulldogs? Someone had to kill these Wildcats, and the Mississippi state certainly took great pleasure in it after losing a two-time relationship with the United Kingdom earlier in the season. Coach Ben Howland has now won four of his last six and now has the chance to take down the number one seeded Alabama after drawing the Crimson Tide twice in the regular season. – Cobb
Loser: Indiana and UCLA falter
As if the early carnage of blood wasn’t enough, Indiana and UCLA added to the casualty list that night by losing their first games in the post-season. While the Bruins still have a good chance of making the NCAA Tournament as a big team after losing 83-79 to Oregon State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, the Hoosiers are a toast. . Indiana clinched the season with a record of 12-15 and lost six live games to close it out. Thursday’s gloomy 61-50 finish against Rutgers will only heighten the investigation into fourth-year coach Archie Miller, who has yet to qualify for an NCAA tournament.
Winner: North Carolina and Kansas survive
The Tar Heels and Jayhawks avoided the fates of the other traditional powers and looked impressive during the quarter-finals of the conference tournament over quality opponents. The No. 6 seeded North Carolina kicked Virginia Tech, No. 3, 81-73 for a third victory. In the Big 12 tournament, No. 2 seeded Kansas beat Oklahoma No. 7 69-62. It’s now eight wins in nine games for the Jayhawks, who are quietly starting to look like it could be a serious threat in the NCAA Tournament. Ochai Agbaji’s 26 points were a career high for Kansas.
Just last weekend, the state of Oklahoma went on the road and knocked West Virginia off without the services of its two main players: Cade Cunningham and Isaac Likekele. And I have to admit – felt a little pissed. West Virginia is hard to play at home and win without the potential No. 1 pick, given the way OSU is built is pretty unlikely.
But the Pokes backed it up Thursday with another win over West Virginia, this one in the Big 12 tournament. Cunningham and Likekele returned to the line-up and both scored double figures in the score, with Cunningham led by 17 points and eight rebounds. It was OSU’s seventh win in eight games as it was still heating up at the right time. Great opportunity for the Pokes on deck Friday against Baylor in second place, with the chance to advance to the conference title game for the first time since 2009. The team is currently playing full steam ahead in the Big Dance.
“We were not on the verge of being a one – man show. I think it shows,” Cunningham said after the game in which four Pokes scored double figures in the score and several non-Cunningham Cowboys in the time of great success came. “It’s a team game. Especially in March. ‘ – Boone
Loser: Arizona’s Disappointing Season Ends
After getting stuck in the preseason to finish second in the Pac-12 – and even win five first votes! Arizona’s season mercifully reached its end Thursday with a 91-73 defeat to Oregon. The loss ended the Sun Devils to 11-14, the fewest wins in a season since 2011-2012, when they were 10-21 under Herb Sendek in the first season of the Pac-12 hierarchy.
“It’s been a tough year,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “All year there were a lot of things thrown at us. These guys never folded.” – Boone
5-seeded Ohio State led 13-0 over 13-seeded Minnesota and eventually needed all this early advantage to win 79-75. The Buckeyes still have plenty of trouble ironing out, but avoiding a fifth straight loss to the NCAA Tournament was critical for a team that still started the day on Palm’s projected No. 2 seed line for the Big Dance.
The No. 13 series in the ACC tournament also nearly upset, as Miami beat Georgia Tech’s no. 4 selected before falling 70-66. It was the Hurricanes’ third game in three days, but only the first of the week for Georgia Tech, who according to Palm selected the day as a projected number 10. The yellow jackets avoided a potentially catastrophic loss. – Cobb