NEWS AND NOTES:
-For all of the conference tournament News and Notes, check out our CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK – CLICK HERE
-First and foremost, we had our first Quadrupler of the season!!!! Notre Dame held off Cal 112-110 in a four overtime thriller!
-Alabama and Auburn squared off in what may turn out to be the most exciting game of the regular season. Alabama, having lost two straight, managed to get a huge OT win in this one 93-91 as Mark Sears hit the game winning shot at the buzzer. The two teams won on each others’ home floors, and may face off again this week in the SEC Tournament!
-North Carolina was competitive with Duke for a half, but the Blue Devils wore down the Tar Heels in the 2nd half and cemented outright first place in the ACC with their win. UNC is now in must-win mode for the entirety of the ACC Tournament.
– Houston also finished conference play 19-1 with their road win at Baylor; the Cougars continue to make a strong case for a #1 seed themselves.
-Saint John’s also won in a buzzer beating overtime thriller as they took down Marquette on the road 86-84. The Johnnies may struggle with shooting the ball, but they do everything else right and keep finding ways to win games.
-Kentucky’s resume got a lot stronger as they added another high caliber road win to it. They went into Missouri and picked up a 91-83 win in a game they basically lead from tip to buzzer.
-Arkansas barely held on to beat Mississippi State 93-92 and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Mississippi State actually had a shot at the buzzer that would have won them the game, but it didn’t go down.
-Georgia finished the regular season on a four game winning streak, which may be enough to land them inside the bubble. They knocked off a pretty solid Vanderbilt team 79-68 yesterday and will face an Oklahoma team in their first SEC Tournament game that is also squarely on the bubble. Speaking of Oklahoma…
-The Sooners are lacking in road wins and conference wins, so picking up a conference road win against their rivals Texas 76-72 is exactly what they needed to do to close out the season. That upcoming conference tournament game against Georgia is absolutely huge.
-Indiana is squarely on the bubble and got a nice 66-60 win against Ohio State, who is also squarely on the bubble. The Hoosiers will feel a lot safer if they can pick up some wins in the Big Ten Tournament, but right now they appear to be on the right side of the cut line.
-UC Irvine and UC San Diego both closed out their season with road wins. I think UC San Diego will get in regardless of what they do in the Big West Tournament, and that UC Irvine should get in, but is less likely to be selected.
– Xavier and San Diego State were other teams near the cut line that also won their regular season finales. Neither team should assume that they’re in if they’re one-and-done in their conference tournaments, though.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Both teams are probable protected seeds, but Michigan State is red hot and Michigan has lost their last two. Beating Michigan State on the road to close the season would be one of their biggest wins both on and off paper, but pulling it off won’t be easy.
-IOWA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). This is a must win game for Nebraska. They are at home against a team that’s nowhere near the bubble, so they need to win it to avoid slipping outside of it themselves. They also need to win it just to make it to the Big Ten Tournament. If they lose, they are mathematically eliminated and I can’t see the committee taking them if they don’t even make it into the Big Ten Tournament.
-OREGON AT WASHINGTON (Big Ten). It’s a road rivalry game for the Ducks, so it’s a chance to add another road win to their resume and feel good about themselves for beating their rivals in the process.
And in case you missed it, here is our first look at the NCAA Selection Board for 2025:
SIU-Edwardsville and Omaha are the first teams to qualify; there will be 3 more auto bids handed out today in the Atlantic Sun, Missouri Valley and Big South. Also keep an eye on the board on Thursday as this is when the Hoops HD Selection Committee will reveal their first ballot of NCAA Tournament teams as well as teams Under Consideration.