20 Syracuse (18-6) @ 16 Villanova (19-4)Dante Cunningham took control as Villanova exploded to a big conference victory over #20 Syracuse, 102 to 85. Cunningham matched a career high with 31 points and added 9 rebounds to his stat line in ‘Nova’s fifth straight win. The Orange’s vaunted zone couldn’t handle the guard oriented Wildcats as the put up over 100 points. This is the first season in which Syracuse has allowed 100 points more than once in a season since the ageless Jim Boeheim has reigned as coach. Syracuse could have used Otto the Orange off the bench for some support as Villanova outscored the ‘Cuse 32-12 off the bench. The two Coreys - (not the ever popular Haim and Feldman) - Fisher (14 points) and Stokes (16) gave ‘Nova the depth they needed to turn this match into a laugher (not as big a laugher as Feldman’s singing career; seriously, check this stuff out).
Florida State (18-5) @ 10 Clemson (19-3)
After dominating Duke on national television, the Clemson Tigers’ follow-up act was less than impressive, blowing a 19 point second-half lead. It was almost expected that the letdown would occur as the Tigers were probably exhausted from watching highlight sessions of Trevor Booker dunking the ball through the face of E.T…(I mean Kyle Singler). I get to share a computer with a Duke fan and a Clemson fan at work, so the new background of Booker throwing it down on a couple of Dukies is truly a marvelous sight. After being on the outside of the bubble looking in several times in his coaching career, Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton might finally get to dust of his dancing shoes. This win puts Florida State in very solid position to make the field of 65. Solomon Alabi was the big man on campus for the Seminoles on both ends of the floor with 17 points, 9 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 blocks, and 2 steals.
9 Xavier (20-3) @ Duquesne (15-7)
In yet another upset this week (possibly the biggest) Duquesne surprised the ninth ranked Xavier Musketeers after shooting 81 percent in the first half. No, that isn’t a typo. I will repeat it just to make sure, 81%! Shooting 81 percent, especially against a top 10 team, is as mind boggling as the fact that Duquesne is pronounced “do cane.” Xavier couldn't climb out of the 15 point deficit it faced at halftime after Duquense’s hot start. Although they’ve had 24 opportunities, this is their first win over a ranked opponent since 1997. It is nice to see that an Atlantic-10 team can take down the conference powerhouse, because that is the only way this is a two-bid conference at this point in the season. Xavier is a very experienced and talented team, so I don’t expect a slip-up to occur in their conference tournament. Sorry A-10 fans, nobody has stood out so far to join them come March Madness.
15 Memphis (20-3) @ 18 Gonzaga (17-5)
Memphis spiced up the second half of their season with a road game into Spokane for a meeting with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They had not played a team quite this strong in a while, but Memphis seemed fully prepared for the tough Bulldogs and blew them out of their own building 68-50. Memphis has been running through Conference USA (another one big “major” conference) and is on a 14 game win streak - which is second longest in the nation after Utah State (18 games). Freshman standout, Tyreke Evans, led the way for Memphis with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Robert Dozier also chipped in a double-double and Memphis cruised to the non-conference victory. Look for both of these teams to continue to dominate their conference and make some noise come tourney time. Analyst Len Elmore has predicted Gonzaga as a final four “lock.” Don’t be surprised if he grows an Adam Morrison ‘stache to prove his support. I sometimes wonder what goes through the minds of color commentators after they make a comment they know they are going to regret. The laugher from their colleagues has to sting.
On a Side Note: The Big East is truly a BEAST this season. If you look all around college basketball, the teams falling the most into obscurity are teams in the Big East because the competition is so tough. Notre Dame is all but out of hope for making the tournament this year when they were ranked just a few weeks ago. Georgetown is almost right there with them, clinging onto their last hopes of making the dance. Syracuse is falling fast and if they don’t recover quickly, they could find themselves in the same sinking boat (their road doesn’t get any easier traveling to #1 UConn). I think they should just give the Big East one bracket in the tournament and let the rest of the conferences fight it out for the other three. The bottom of the Big East (Rutgers, DePaul, St. John’s) would have more of a chance than your average 14 to 16 seeds. There are too many good teams in this conference and they are beating themselves out of the tournament. It no longer looks like the super conference is going to easily get in 8 or 9 teams.
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3 comments:
Kevin.
Thoughts on Miami making the tourney?
I disagree about the A-10. While they did lose over the weekend, Dayton is still definitely in right now, with anywhere from a 9-12 seed.
Also, I promise I'm not on drugs, but if Seton Hall can take care of business against teams below them in the BE standings and knock off one of UConn, Marquette, Louisville, or Pitt (no easy task obviously) that will get them to 8-9 in the conference, where they will face Cincinnati, who will probably be 9-8 on the last day of BE conference play for what could essentially be a tournament play in game. Cincy has no big non-conference wins, while a 9-9 Seton Hall would have wins against USC and Va Tech at neutral sites, both of which are either in or on the bubble, plus key losses with their only real big man injured (yes the committee takes that into account).
Of course now SHU will probably lose at DePaul tomorrow, but still.
Chris - I think Miami's out right now, just because of a losing conference record. But as their conference schedule plays out, they should end up at 9-7 or 8-8, which, with the Wake blowout and pushing Duke to the brink should put them in, especially with wins at BC and Kentucky, teams that could be on the bubble with them.
Chris, sorry it took me so long to get back to you on this. I think Miami still has a very solid chance of making the tourney, but they are on the outside looking in. They have shown they can compete with the top teams in the nation, but that needs to translate into more consistency and more wins.
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