North Carolina

Wednesday night's game between New Mexico and San Diego State was a big one for the visitors, as Steve Alford's team didn't own a single win over a Top 25 team. But also on the line was sole possession of first place in the Mountain West after UNLV fell at TCU on Tuesday night.

With Selection Sunday rapidly approaching the chances left for teams to improve their tournament resumes are dwindling, which makes this week vitally important to Steve Alford's New Mexico (20-4, 6-2) Lobos. While the have an impressive record there aren't a lot of marquee wins to their credit, but they've got a shot at one on the road as they visit #15 San Diego State (20-4, 6-2). What's also on the line this week: the driver's seat in the Mountain West race, as UNM has lost to both SDSU and UNLV while those two split their two meetings.

With first place on the line in Columbus the expectation was that #11 Michigan State and #3 Ohio State would play a tight, physical affair. And that's exactly what it was, with the visitors from East Lansing seeming to be the more comfortable of the two teams in the first half. Michigan State shot 46.9% from the field but the reason for their 35-25 lead at the half was their defense, as they limited Ohio State to 33.3% and forced eight turnovers.

Saturday is the day that many college basketball fans have been waiting for, with a number of important matchups on the slate. One of those games is #4 Missouri (22-2, 9-2) hosting #6 Baylor (21-3, 8-3) with the Bears looking to keep alive their fleeting hopes of winning the league title. Scott Drew's team is 0-3 in games against the two teams now ahead of them in the standings, most recently being whipped by Kansas in Waco.

Each week, CollegeHoops.net's Greg Mengelt presents a different College Basketball List. This week, Greg takes a look at 10 underrated players who won't be lottery picks, but will still have lengthy NBA careers.

 

3 (Duke, UNC, FSU/ Virginia)

4 (Duke, UNC, FSU, Virginia)

4 (Duke, UNC, FSU/Virginia, NC State/Miami/Maryland)

5

6

There have been some thrilling comebacks in the history of the Duke/North Carolina rivalry, but surprisingly there haven't been many games that have been decided at the buzzer. Wednesday night's game in Chapel Hill wasn't a case of "down eight with 17 seconds to go" as it was in meetings in 1974 (UNC with the comeback and win) and 1995 (Duke with the comeback but UNC ended up winning), but with the Tar Heels up ten (80-70) with 3:35 remaining one would expect them to win.

NO. 9 DUKE (19-4, 6-2 ACC) AT NO. 5 NORTH CAROLINA (20-3, 7-1 ACC)

 

Time/TV: 9 p.m./ESPN

To say that this is a big week for Scott Drew's Baylor (21-2, 8-2) Bears would be a major understatement, and the same goes for the Kansas (18-5, 8-2) Jayhawks in this pivotal Big 12 battle. These are two of the three teams tied for first in the loss column in the conference, and with Baylor visiting 9-2 Missouri on Saturday afternoon we should have a solid grasp on who will be in the driver's seat down the stretch.

Tuesday's night matchup between #9 Michigan State and Illinois wasn't a pretty affair, as neither team could establish much of a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. Whether it was due to good defense or just an inability to make shots on a consistent basis, neither the Spartans nor the Fighting Illini had much succes on that end of the floor. But when it's all said and done what matters is the result, which was a 42-41 Illinois victory as Brandon Paul made two free throws with 45 seconds remaining.