UCLA

Bracketology: Saturday Night NCAA Tournament Projection

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 20:08:23 -0700

The latest Bracketology projection as of 11:00 PM, March 16th. One more day until Selection Sunday.

Why Pay Attention to What I Have to Say: Collegehoops.net's projections have consistently proven to be the best in the business. Over the last 5 years, Shawn Siegel is one of the Top 5 Bracketologists according to the Bracket Project. This ranking includes the likes of Joe Lunardi, Gary Parrish, Jerry Palm, and Andy Glockner.. none of whom come close.

As always, the field below is a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand today, not what they should do. This is done by taking into account standings, polls, computer rankings, and the committee's historical biases. Check out the follow up Bubble Watch for updates about teams on the NCAA Tournament Bubble, and NITology for a ranking of the best of the rest.

Notes:

Arrows indicate how many seeds a team has moved up or down since the previous update. Conference Champ.

ONE

Gonzaga 7

Louisville 3

Duke 1

Kansas 5

TWO

Indiana 10

New Mexico 2

Georgetown 9

Miami 4

THREE

Ohio St 11

Michigan St 8

Florida 6

Marquette 13

FOUR

Michigan 18

Syracuse 12

Kansas St 16

Oklahoma St 27

FIVE

UCLA 23

Saint Louis 22

Arizona 15

Wisconsin 28

SIX

Memphis 14

Pittsburgh 42

Creighton 26

North Carolina 17

SEVEN

Butler 21

VCU 25

Notre Dame 36

Colorado St 19

EIGHT

UNLV 24

Missouri 35

North Carolina St 30

Illinois 40

NINE

Oregon 49

San Diego St 32

Saint Mary's 33

Iowa St 44

TEN

Temple 41

Oklahoma 40

Villanova 52

Cincinnati 48

ELEVEN

Wichita St 37

Minnesota 34

Belmont 20

Ole Miss 50

TWELVE

Boise St 43

Akron 46

Colorado 38 / Tennessee 59

La Salle 45 / UCONN 47 California 53

THIRTEEN + 2

Bucknell 51

South Dakota St 63

New Mexico St 57

Valparaiso 58

FOURTEEN

Davidson 61

Montana 83

Florida Gulf Coast 93

Harvard 94

FIFTEEN

Northwestern St 96

Iona 97

Pacific 105

Western Kentucky 150

SIXTEEN + 2

Albany 128

Long Island 175

James Madison 182 / Liberty 288

Southern 181 / North Carolina A&T 211

Last In: California, Tennessee, La Salle, Colorado

First Out: Maryland 66, Middle Tennessee 31, Kentucky 56, Southern Miss 29

College Basketball Top 50: UCLA Returns On Eve of 2013

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 19:35:48 -0800

Collegehoops.net's Top 50 Power Ranking is your weekly dive into the national college basketball scene. The CHN Top 50 is brought to you before all the other polls late Sunday night. Arrows represent notable moves. (Also: Check out the weekly Non-BCS Top 25 Ranking.)

Top 50 Ranking: December 30th

by Shawn Siegel: Collegehoops.net Editor

	Team	Record	Last
1	Duke	12-0	1
2	Michigan	13-0	2
3	Indiana	12-1	3
4	Louisville	12-1	4
5	Kansas	11-1	5
6	Arizona	12-0	6
7	Florida	9-2	10
8	Syracuse	11-1	7
9	Ohio State	10-2	11
10	Minnesota	12-1	12
11	Gonzaga	12-1	13
12	Illinois	13-1	14
13	Creighton	12-1	15
14	Missouri	10-2*	8
15	New Mexico	13-1	18
16	Cincinnati	12-1*	9
17	Michigan State	11-2	16
18	Butler	10-2	19
19	Oklahoma St	10-1	21
20	Notre Dame	12-1	22
21	Pittsburgh	12-1	23
22	Georgetown	10-1	24
23	San Diego St	11-2*	17
24	NC State	10-2	25
25	UNLV	11-2*	20
26	Wichita St	12-1	28
27	Kansas St	10-2	29
28	Wyoming	12-0	32
29	Kentucky	8-4*	26
30	Colorado	10-2	30
31	North Carolina	10-3	35
32	UCONN	10-2	31
33	Baylor	8-4*	27
34	Temple	9-2	33
35	Oregon	10-2	34
36	VCU	10-3	36
37	Maryland	11-1	37
38	Memphis	9-3	40
39	Wisconsin	9-4	41
40	Colorado St	9-2	42
41	Iowa	11-2	43
42	Boise St	10-2	44
43	Ole Miss	10-2	45
44	Marquette	9-3	46
45	Bucknell	12-2	48
46	UCLA	10-3	NA
47	Murray St	9-3*	39
48	Miami	8-3**	38
49	St. Mary's	10-3	50
50	Belmont	9-4*	47

* = losses this week

last = last week's ranking

Next Five: Iowa St (9-3), Saint Louis (9-3), MTSU (10-3*), Santa Clara (11-3*), Illinois St (9-4*)

Top 50 Drop Outs

			Week
	Virginia Tech		7
	Xavier		6
	Alabama		6
	Virginia		6
	St. Joseph's		5
	Ohio		5
	California		4
	Santa Clara		3
	Tennessee		3
	Northwestern		3
	Florida State		3
	Saint Louis		3
	Texas		2
	Northern Iowa		2
	Iowa St		2
	South Alabama		2

week = week dropped out of Top 50

During the season, don't forget to check out the CHN Top 50 Power Ranking every Sunday night!

For more depth, check out the weekly the Non-BCS Top 25 ranking.

You can also revisit the Top 50 archive and view this week's AP Top 25.

Jon Teitel's McDonald's All-American Lineup Projections

Jon Teitel — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:04:43 -0700

Projected lineups for all 31 teams with McDonald's High School All-Americans on their rosters,
Plus 2 teams whose All-American will no longer be with his prior team
(All-American year in parentheses)
Incoming 2012 All-Americans in Bold
Underclassmen who have declared for draft in italics
TRANSFERS IN UPPERCASE

UCLA (7)
G: Larry Drew II (2008)
G: Tyler Lamb
F: Shabazz Muhammad (2012)
F: Travis Wear (2009)
F: David Wear (2009)
BENCH: Kyle Anderson (2012), Tony Parker (2012), Joshua Smith (2010)
KEY LOSSES: Lazeric Jones

DUKE (6)
G: Quinn Cook (2011)
G: Seth Curry
F: Rasheed Sulaimon (2012)
F: Mason Plumlee (2009)
F: Ryan Kelly (2009)
BENCH: Marshall Plumlee (2011), Amile Jefferson (2012)
KEY LOSSES: Austin Rivers (2011)

NORTH CAROLINA (5)
G: Dexter Strickland (2009)
G: Reggie Bullock (2010)
G: PJ Hairston (2011)
F: James Michael McAdoo (2011)
F: Desmond Hubert
BENCH: Marcus Paige (2012)
KEY LOSSES: Tyler Zeller (2008), Kendall Marshall (2010), Harrison Barnes (2010), John Henson (2009)

NC STATE (4)
G: Rodney Purvis (2012)
G: Lorenzo Brown
F: CJ Leslie (2010)
F: Scott Wood
F: Richard Howell
BENCH: Tyler Lewis (2012), TJ Warren (2012), RALSTON TURNER
KEY LOSSES: CJ Williams

KENTUCKY (3)
G: Archie Goodwin (2012)
G: Ryan Harrow
F: Alex Poythress (2012)
F: Kyle Wiltjer (2011)
C: Nerlens Noel
KEY LOSSES: Doron Lamb (2010), Terrence Jones (2010), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2011), Anthony Davis (2011), Marquis Teague (2011), Darius Miller

FLORIDA (3)
G: Kenny Boynton (2009)
G: Mike Rosario (2008)
F: Patric Young (2010)
F: Erik Murphy
F: Will Yeguete
KEY LOSSES: Bradley Beal (2011), Erving Walker

OHIO STATE (3)
G: Shannon Scott (2011)
G: Aaron Craft
G: Lenzelle Smith, Jr.
F: Deshaun Thomas (2010)
C: Amir Williams (2011)
KEY LOSSES: William Buford (2008), Jared Sullinger (2010)

SYRACUSE (3)
G: Michael Carter-Williams (2011)
G: Brandon Triche
F: DaJuan Coleman (2012)
F: Rakeem Christmas (2011)
F: CJ Fair
KEY LOSSES: Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine, Fab Melo (2010), Dion Waiters

MICHIGAN STATE (3)
G: Gary Harris (2012)
G: Branden Dawson (2011)
G: Keith Appling (2010)
C: Derrick Nix
C: Adreian Payne
KEY LOSSES: Draymond Green, Brandon Wood

MEMPHIS (3)
G: Joe Jackson (2010)
G: Chris Crawford
F: Shaq Goodwin (2012)
F: Adonis Thomas (2011)
F: Tarik Black
KEY LOSSES: Will Barton

LOUISVILLE (3)
G: Wayne Blackshear (2011)
G: Peyton Siva (2009)
G: Russ Smith
F: Chane Behanan (2011)
C: Gorgui Dieng
KEY LOSSES: Kyle Kuric, Chris Smith

ARIZONA (2)
G: Nick Johnson
G: Kevin Parrom
F: Brandon Ashley (2012)
F: Grant Jerrett (2012)
F: Solomon Hill
KEY LOSSES: Kyle Fogg, Jesse Perry

INDIANA (2)
G: Yogi Ferrell (2012)
G: Jordan Hulls
G: Victor Oladipo
F: Cody Zeller (2011)
F: Christian Watford
KEY LOSSES: None

TEXAS (2)
G: Myck Kabongo (2011)
G: Julien Lewis
G: Sheldon McClellan
F: Jonathan Holmes
C: Cameron Ridley (2012)
KEY LOSSES: J'Covan Brown

OKLAHOMA STATE (2)
G: Marcus Smart (2012)
G: Markel Brown
G: Brian Williams
F: Le'Bryan Nash (2011)
F: Michael Cobbins
KEY LOSSES: Keiton Page

UNLV (2)
G: Anthony Marshall
G: Justin Hawkins
F: Anthony Bennett (2012)
F: Mike Moser
F: Carlos Lopez
BENCH: KHEM BIRCH (2011)
KEY LOSSES: Chace Stanback

PITTSBURGH (1)
G: Travon Woodall
G: Lamar Patterson
F: Dante Taylor (2009)
F: Talib Zanna
F: JJ Moore
KEY LOSSES: Ashton Gibbs, Nasir Robinson

VILLANOVA (1)
G: James Bell
G: Darrun Hilliard
F: JayVaughn Pinkston (2010)
F: Maurice Sutton
C: Mouphtaou Yarou
KEY LOSSES: Maalik Wayns (2009), Dominic Cheek (2009)

BAYLOR (1)
G: Pierre Jackson
G: Brady Heslip
G: AJ Walton
F: Cory Jefferson
F: Isaiah Austin (2012)
KEY LOSSES: Quincy Acy, Perry Jones III (2010), Quincy Miller

WASHINGTON (1)
G: Abdul Gaddy (2009)
G: CJ Wilcox
F: Desmond Simmons
F: Shawn Kemp, Jr.
C: Aziz N'Diaye
KEY LOSSES: Terrence Ross, Tony Wroten

FLORIDA STATE (1)
G: Michael Snaer (2009)
G: Ian Miller
G: Terry Whisnant II
F: Terrance Shannon
F: Okaro White
KEY LOSSES: Bernard James

CLEMSON (1)
G: Rod Hall
G: TJ Sapp
F: Milton Jennings (2009)
F: Devin Booker
F: KJ McDaniels
KEY LOSSES: Andre Young, Tanner Smith

DETROIT (1)
G: Ray McCallum (2010)
G: Jason Calliste
G: Donovan Foster
F: Doug Anderson
F: Evan Bruinsma
KEY LOSSES: Eli Holman, Chase Simon, Nick Minnerath

LSU (1)
G: Andre Stringer
G: Anthony Hickey
F: Johnny O'Bryant III (2011)
F: Eddie Ludwig
F: Jalen Courtney
KEY LOSSES: Justin Hamilton, RALSTON TURNER

KANSAS (1)
G: Travis Releford
G: Elijah Johnson
F: Perry Ellis (2012)
F: Kevin Young
C: Jeff Withey
KEY LOSSES: Tyshawn Taylor, Thomas Robinson

PROVIDENCE (1)
G: Kris Dunn (2012)
G: Vincent Council
G: Bryce Cotton
F: LaDontae Henton
F: Kadeem Batts
KEY LOSSES: GERARD COLEMAN

GEORGIA (1)
G: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (2011)
G: Vincent Williams
F: Donte Williams
F: Marcus Thornton
F: Nemanja Djurisic
KEY LOSSES: Gerald Robinson

MISSISSIPPI (1)
G: Jelan Kendrick (2010)
G: Nick Williams
G: Jarvis Summers
F: Murphy Holloway
F: Reginald Buckner
KEY LOSSES: Terrance Henry

RUTGERS (1)
G: Eli Carter
G: Myles Mack
G: Jerome Seagears
F: Wally Judge (2009)
F: Dane Miller
KEY LOSSES: None

MISSOURI (1)
G: Michael Dixon
G: Phil Pressey
G: KEION BELL
F: ALEX ORIAKHI (2009)
F: Laurence Bowers
KEY LOSSES: Marcus Denmon, Ricardo Ratliffe, Kim English

ALABAMA (1)
G: Trevor Releford
G: Trevor Lacey
G: Levi Randolph
F: Devonta Pollard (2012)
F: Nick Jacobs?
KEY LOSSES: JaMychal Green (2008)

MISSISSIPPI STATE (0)
G: Jalen Steele
G: Shaun Smith
G: Tyson Cunningham
F: Roquez Johnson
C: Wendell Lewis
KEY LOSSES: RODNEY HOOD, Dee Bost, Renardo Sidney (2009), Arnett Moultrie

CONNECTICUT (0)
G: Shabazz Napier
G: Ryan Boatright
F: Tyler Olander
F: DeAndre Daniels
F: Niels Giffey
KEY LOSSES: ALEX ORIAKHI (2009), Jeremy Lamb, Andre Drummond, ROSCOE SMITH

Montana Wins Big Sky Title: Wednesday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:50:31 -0800

UConn and USF were the big winners on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, while West Virginia and Seton Hall now await their NCAA tournament fate.

1. Montana pulls away in the second half to beat Weber State and win the Big Sky's automatic bid.
The Big Sky title game was one of two championship game rubber matches on Wednesday night, and even though the home team won each meeting by double digits the expectation was that the Wildcats and Grizzlies would be close throughout. That was true for about 33 minutes, as from the 6:41 mark on Montana outscored Weber State 27-14 on their way to the 85-66 victory. Damian Lillard played very well for Weber State, finishing with 29 points, ten rebounds and seven assists, but on this night he likely would have needed to score in upwards of 40 points to give Randy Rahe's team a shot at winning.

Why? Because while Montana didn't receive one point from their bench all five starters reached double figures, with Kareem Jamar and Mathias Ward scored 23 points apiece to lead the way. In addition to those two the Grizzlies can also call on guard Will Cherry and Derek Selvig, which could make them a tough matchup for someone next week. Both teams will return some key pieces next season, meaning that Weber State and Montana could very well meet with another NCAA berth on the line in 2013.

2. C.J. McCollum and Gabe Knutson prove to be too much for Bucknell in the Patriot League final.
Patriot League Player of the Year McCollum did what he's done all season long in scoring 29 points to lead Lehigh offensively, but the fact that the Mountain Hawks had a second scorer while the Bison did not proved to be the difference. Gabe Knutson added 23 points and seven rebounds, five of them being offensive, in the Mountain Hawks' 82-77 win at Bucknell to take the automatic bid. Mike Muscala was outstanding for the Bison as he finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds, but the next scorer for Bucknell finished with just 11 points (Bryson Johnson, who made two of his three field goals in the final minute).

Lehigh did a better job of executing offensively as they found quality looks and shot 50% from the field, finishing with an efficiency of 113.9. According to statsheet.com a Bucknell opponent hadn't approached that number since Loyola (MD) posted a 116.1 back in December. Lehigh proved to be too much for Bucknell offensively, especially when factoring in the fact that Muscala didn't receive consistent scoring help on the other end.

3. LIU Brooklyn takes care of Robert Morris to win their second consecutive NEC tournament crown.
For the second straight season the Colonials and Blackbirds met with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line, and just like last season it was the home team that emerged victorious. All five starters reached double figures for the Blackbirds, who pulled away in the second half to win 90-73. C.J. Garner led the way with 21 points and backcourt partner Jason Brickman added 18 and 11 assists, while forward Julian Boyd finished with 18 and ten rebounds.

Andy Toole's Colonials suffered a pair of unfortunate blows during the game as both Velton Jones and Mike McFadden suffered injuries, but the game was more about what Brickman was able to do at the point in running the LIU attack. The Blackbirds also outscored the Colonials 31-14 from the foul line, and their sheer ability to score helped make up for Robert Morris grabbing 21 offensive rebounds. Rebounding's been an issue for much of the season for LIU, and if they want to improve their chances of winning a game Boyd, Jamal Olasewere and Kenny Onyechi will need to lead the way towards improvement.

Quick Hitters

1. After winning the MEAC regular season crown in their first year as a full member of the league, Savannah State fell 59-46 to Hampton in a MEAC tournament quarterfinal. Horace Broadnax's team shot 27.1% from the field and 5-for-22 from beyond the arc, and their 20 turnovers didn't help matters either. The regular season title does guarantee the Tigers an NIT berth, but obviously they would rather not have to use that automatic bid.

2. Two disciplinary actions taken on Wednesday did a better job of summing up what this season has been like for the Pac-12 than any stat that's been thrown out there. Arizona suspended starting point guard Josiah Turner indefinitely due to a violation of team rules, and he won't be playing at all this weekend. And UCLA head coach Ben Howland sat big man Joshua Smith for the first half of their 55-40 win over USC due to his being late for the team bus to the arena.

3. Compared to how they were playing in for most of conference play, these last couple of weeks have been a bit of a struggle for Sean Woods' Mississippi Valley State team. The Delta Devils survived their SWAC quarterfinal on Wednesday, beating Jackson State 63-60 to advance to the semis. Cor-J Cox provided a spark off the bench with 12 points, six rebounds and five steals, but if MVSU is to back up their regular season title with a tournament crown they can't afford to shoot 3-for-17 from three as they did against Jackson State.

4. The top four seeds in the Southland all advanced to the semifinals, with the top seeds making short work of their respective opponents. Regular season champ UT Arlington beat Nicholls State 96-48 as Bo Ingram led four Mavericks in double figures with 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. Two-seed Stephen F. Austin beat Sam Houston State 68-46, shooting 55.6% from the field and 24-for-30 from the foul line. Also advancing were Lamar and McNeese State.

5. On a day that saw three of the four higher-seeded teams advance at the Conference USA tournament the one winner that should stand out is Marshall, who beat SMU 74-56. DeAndre Kane led the way with 18 points and Dennis Tinnon grabbed 15 rebounds for the Thundering Heard, who have the talent necessary to make a run through the tournament.

6. Chalk ruled the two matchups in the MAC on Wednesday as Western Michigan and Toledo advanced to the quarterfinals. The Rockets led Northern Illinois by 11 with just over four minutes remaining, only to see the Huskies nearly come back and grab the win. Rian Pearson led Toledo with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

7. While the CBI has taken teams with losing records in the past, Oklahoma's season may be finished thanks to their 62-53 loss to Texas A&M in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. David Lobeau and Khris Middleton led the Aggies with 15 points apiece, combing for 30 points and 16 rebounds on the night. Also advancing was Oklahoma State, who beat Texas Tech 76-60.

Wednesday Predictions: Big Sky, NEC, Patriot Finals & More

Greg Mengelt — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:16:51 -0800

Our g ame prediction guru Greg Mengelt has been on fire this year. He'll be picking (just about) every conference tournament game over the next week, including tonight's three key championship games. Games listed in order with later rounds on top and earlier rounds at the bottom. Read more about Championship Week at CollegeHoops.net.

BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP: AT MONTANA

(2) Weber State (24-5, 14-2) at (1) Montana (24-6, 15-1)

Tipoff: 9 p.m. TV: ESPN2. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 14 – Weber State 80-64; Feb. 28 – Montana 66-51. RPI: Montana 82, Weber State 69. Analysis: The Grizzlies are simply the better team. With the homecourt advantage, it should be a comfortable win for Montana. Pick: Montana 71, Weber State 61.

NORTHEAST CHAMPIONSHIP: AT LIU

(3) Robert Morris (24-9, 13-5) at (1) Long Island (24-8, 16-2)

Tipoff: 7 p.m. TV: ESPN2. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 26 – Robert Morris 75-66. RPI: Long Island 91, Robert Morris 109. Analysis: Velton Jones is one of the hottest players in the country and should help the Colonials punch their ticket. Line: Long Island -1. Pick: Robert Morris 69, Long Island 65.

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: AT BUCKNELL

(2) Lehigh (25-7) at (1) Bucknell (11-3)

Tipoff: 7 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 18 – Bucknell 68-61*; Feb. 16 – Lehigh 56-53*. RPI: Bucknell 89, Lehigh 113. Analysis: Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum is a superstar, but beating the Bison on the road twice may be too much to ask. Line: Bucknell -5. Pick: Bucknell 66, Lehigh 59.

BIG EAST SECOND ROUND: AT NEW YORK CITY

(8) West Virginia (19-12, 9-9) vs. (9) Connecticut (19-12, 8-10)

Tipoff: Noon. TV: ESPN. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 9 – Connecticut 64-57. RPI: Connecticut 33, West Virginia 42. Analysis: Two good performances in a row may be too much to ask of this UConn team. Line: UConn -2. Pick: West Virginia 68, Connecticut 62.

(5) Georgetown (22-7, 12-6) vs. (13) Pittsburgh (17-15, 5-13)

Tipoff: 2 p.m. TV: ESPN. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 28 – Pitt 72-60. RPI: Georgetown 9, Pittsburgh 90. Analysis: Pitt may not win the game, but the Panthers should cover in a low-scoring game. Line: Georgetown -6. Pick: Georgetown 57, Pittsburgh 53.

(7) Louisville (22-9, 10-8) vs. (10) Seton Hall (20-11, 8-10)

Tipoff: 7 p.m. TV: ESPN. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 28 – Louisville 60-51*. RPI: Louisville 28, Seton Hall 60. Analysis: Great matchup for Louisville. The Cardinals defense will lead them to a big win. Pick: Louisville 59, Seton Hall 47.

(6) South Florida (19-12, 12-6) vs. (14) Villanova (13-18, 5-13)

Tipoff: 9 p.m. TV: ESPN. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 5 – South Florida 74-57*; Feb. 15 – South Florida 65-51. RPI: South Florida 43, Villanova 105. Analysis: Love the Wildcats for the upset. Pick: Villanova 55, South Florida 52.

PAC-12 FIRST ROUND: AT LOS ANGELES

(8) Washington State (15-15, 7-11) vs. (9) Oregon State (17-13, 7-11)

Tipoff: 3:10 p.m. TV: FSN. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 31 – Washington State 81-76; Feb. 9 – Washington State 83-73. RPI: Washington State 170, Oregon State 151. Analysis: Close game. The Beavers will at least cover. Line: Oregon State -3½. Pick: Oregon State 78, Washington State 76.

(5) UCLA (18-13, 11-7) vs. (12) USC (6-25, 1-17)

Tipoff: 5:40 p.m. TV: FSN. Regular-season meetings: Jan. 15 – UCLA 66-47*; Feb. 15 – UCLA 64-54. RPI: UCLA 103, USC 259. Analysis: UCLA is playing its best basketball, rallying around Coach Ben Howland. The Bruins may make a run in this tourney. Line: UCLA -12½. Pick: UCLA 73, USC 51.

(7) Stanford (20-10, 10-8) vs. (10) Arizona State (10-20, 6-12)

Tipoff: 9:10 p.m. TV: FSN. Regular-season meetings: Feb. 2 – Stanford 68-44. RPI: Stanford 96, Arizona State 248. Analysis: The Cardinal will blow out Arizona State for the second time this season. Line: Stanford -10. Pick: Stanford 71, Arizona State 54.

(6) Colorado (19-11, 11-7) vs. (11) Utah (6-24, 3-15)

Tipoff: 11:40 p.m. TV: FSN. Regular-season meetings: Dec. 31 – Colorado 73-33; Feb. 18 – Colorado 55-48. RPI: Colorado 81, Utah 265. Analysis: The Buffaloes are really pretty good, and Utah … isn’t. Line: Colorado -11½. Pick: Colorado 66, Utah 51.

*Road win

Greg Against the Spread This Season: 137-103-3

Bracketology: Remaining Teams That Can Steal Bids

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:55:54 -0800

While bubble teams were able to breathe easier when Murray St and Creighton won close conference titles, the coast is not entirely clear.

Here's a brief look at the remaining teams most likely to "steal" bids from the bubble hopefuls**.

ACC

With UNC and Duke lurking, its hard to imagine a spoiler coming from the ACC, but you never know..

Clemson (16-14, 8-8, RPI #138)

The ACC might be down this year, but .500 in that league still counts for something. The Tigers would need to beat VT in the opening round and then steal one from Duke. Clemson only lost to Duke by 7 at Cameron.

Maryland (16-14, 6-10, RPI #110)

The Terps have an easy opening game against Wake Forest, and they'd they have to beat UNC in the quarterfinals.

Atlantic 10
While Temple and St Louis are locks, there is a ton of parity in the A10. All of these teams deserve more respect than they get nationally and are extremely dangerous in the A10 tournament.

Dayton (20-11, 9-7, #73)

Dayton cruised past GW in the opening round and now faces Xavier. While Xavier is more likely to get an at-large bid, both teams have similar resumes. The loser of that game will be eliminated from at-large contention.

La Salle (210-11, 9-7, #79)

La Salle beat a tough Richmond squad in the opening round and now faces Saint Louis. La Salle struggled against the Billikens earlier in the year, but does have a geographical advantage playing in Atlantic City.

St Bonaventure (17-11, 10-6, #95)

A dangerous squad, St Bonaventure faces bubble team Saint Joseph's Wednesday afternoon. The Bonnies have already beaten Saint Joe's and with Andrew Nicholson leading the way, no one wants to face them.

UMASS (21-10, 9-7, #87)

UMASS topped Duquesne Tuesday night, which sets up an afternoon game with #1 seed Temple. UMASS took Temple to OT a few weeks, so they're far from scared.

Big East

UCONN showed that its not impossible to run through the Big East Tournament from a Tuesday start.

Pittsburgh (17-15, 5-13, #98)

Perhaps there is a little bit of magic left from this preseason top 25 team that struggled mightily.

Big Ten
These 3 teams have had their moments during the season, and would need to go on epic runs to win the league.

Illinois (17-14, 6-12, #82)

As bad as Illinois has been, how many teams have beaten the likes of Michigan St, Ohio St, and Gonzaga. The Illini would need Brandon Paul to go off for 40 every game in Indy..

Iowa (16-15, 8-10, #131)

Iowa has been surprisingly competitive this year, and has beaten Wisconsin twice along with beating Michigan and Indiana. They face Illinois in round one, the winner could have great momentum going forward.

Minnesota (18-13, 6-12, #81)

Once considered a potential tourney team, Minnesota's season went south in a hurry. They face bubble team Northwestern in round one and could seriously hurt the Wildcats at-large hopes.

Conference USA

While the RPI suggests Memphis and Southern Miss are by far the class of this league, these teams certainly have to be feared. If not for the tournament being in Memphis, the odds of one of these teams stealing a bid would be even bigger.

UCF (21-9, 10-6, #64)

With an opening round by, the Knights would face the winner of UAB or Tulane in round two. UCF is a close loss or two away from being firmly in the NCAA Tournament field. With the exception of one bad showing at Memphis, UCF has been competitive in every CUSA game.

Marshall (18-12, 9-7, #66)

Like UCF, Marshall is a dangerous squad that could be looking at the NCAA's with a little more luck. As it is, they have a very favorable spot in the bracket, opening against SMU and then potentially facing Tulsa in the quarterfinals.

Tulsa (17-13, 10-6, #112)

Most wouldn't have guessed that Tulsa would earn the #3 seed in the CUSA Tournament.

UTEP (14-16, 7-9, #158)

A real darkhorse as a #8 seed, UTEP has beaten Memphis and Southern Miss this year, so you never what could happen if they got hot.

MWC
The MWC is a small league, so you only have to win 3 games to earn the title.

Wyoming (20-10, 6-8, #80)

The Cowboys face UNLV in the opening round, and have already beaten the Rebels. While they've struggled away from home, they can't be written off.

TCU (17-13, 7-7, #101)

TCU can ruin Colorado St's bubble hopes in the opening round. The two split their season series, and the game should be close.

Pac-12
The Pac-12 is a complete mess. Cal and Washington can't be considered locks and a ton of teams could potentially win the league title.

Arizona (21-10, 12-6, #77)

Arizona awaits the winner of UCLA/USC after getting a first round bye.

Colorado (19-11, 11-7, #83)

The #6 seed opens with lowly Utah. The Buffs aren't that much worse than anyone else in the league.

Stanford (20-10, 10-8, #97)

The only team in the league to beat a Top 50 opponent in non-conference play, Stanford has been playing better after slumping a few weeks back.

UCLA (18-13, 11-7, #118)

With the tournament in Los Angeles, and a favorable bracket, you certainly can't write off the Bruins.

SEC

Outside of Kentucky, the SEC is much more even than you might think. Teams like Florida and Vanderbilt are overrated, and 2nd seed Tennessee is not that great away from home. Kentucky might lose focus, and then the league is up for grabs.

Arkansas (18-13, 6-10, #100)

If the Hogs can get by LSU, they'd face Kentucky in the quarterfinals. If they could somehow beat UK..

LSU (17-13, 7-9, #89)

The same exact situation as Arkansas.

**I'll define the bubble as including the following teams:

BYU

California

Colorado St

Drexel

Miami

NC State

Northwestern

Ole Miss

Oregon

Saint Joseph's

Seton Hall

South Florida

Tennessee

Texas

UCONN

Washington

Xavier

+2012 NCAA Tournament

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North Carolina Wins ACC Title: Saturday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 06:10:15 -0800

Three teams (Belmont, Murray State and UNC Asheville) punched their tickets to the NCAA tournament on Saturday.

1. North Carolina jumps out to a big lead at Cameron, spoling Duke's Senior Day and winning the ACC regular season title.
Pouring salt in the wound of another isn't ever a good idea, and apparently the showing of a montage of big plays late in Duke's comeback win in Chapel Hill fired up UNC point guard Kendall Marshall. Marshall, and by extension his teammates, felt disrespected and as a result the Tar Heels had a little extra motivation to go along with the desire to beat their rival and win the ACC regular season crown. UNC jumped out to a 22-5 lead, withstood a Blue Devil rally in the second half and went on to win 88-70. Marshall led the way with 20 points and ten assists, knocking down seven of his fifteen shots from the field to make a defense that allowed him to shoot pay. In fact, Marshall was one of three starters to post a double-double, as Tyler Zeller (19 points, ten rebounds) and John Henson (13 points, ten rebounds) also had good nights.

All five starters finished in double figures for the Tar Heels, who also bludgeoned Duke on the glass 45-28 with 14 offensive rebounds. Mason (17 points, four rebounds) and Miles (16 points, 11 rebounds) Plumlee led the Blue Devils but the slow start landed them in a hole too deep to crawl out of. North Carolina did a better job of defending the three, and part of the battle was to make sure the Blue Devils didn't get the chance to attempt 36 as they did in Chapel Hill. Duke finished 6-for-21 from beyond the arc, and when combined with their 47.6% shooting inside of the arc that wasn't enough to withstand UNC shooting 60.3% from two and 54.5% overall. With both teams still in the fight for a one-seed in the NCAA tournament splitting the regular season series was key for North Carolina. One would think that an ACC tournament crown would be the "tiebreaker".

2. BYU gets outclassed by Gonzaga and now has to sweat out a week of action.
For the sake of the Cougars it may be a good thing if the selection committee got in some rest before they begin their week-long process of filling the 68-team field, because they did not look good in their WCC semifinal matchup with Gonzaga. The Bulldogs showed no ill effects of playing their first game of the tournament, coming out firing and jumping to a 12-4 lead by the first media timeout and leading by as many as 18 in the first half. BYU was able to close the margin to 12 at the half (38-26), but they were no match for Kevin Pangos and the Bulldogs in the second half as Gonzaga rolled to the 77-58 win. Pangos scored 30 points and dished out four assists, advancing the Bulldogs to the title game where they will play nemesis Saint Mary's, and the Zags limited BYU to 37.7% shooting on the night.

The question for BYU is how much damage does this defeat do to their NCAA tournament hopes. According to realtimerpi.com the Cougars entered Saturday with an RPI of 47, but their strength of schedule number (108) has to be a bit of a concern at this point. BYU does have three RPI Top 50 wins at this point, as they've beaten Oregon and Weber State in addition to Gonzaga, but two of those wins came at home and the Oregon win came in Salt Lake City. Saturday night notwithstanding BYU has the look of a tournament team, with Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock inside leading the way. But does the resume match up? That's a question that many will ponder over the next week.

3. Illinois State upsets Wichita State in the Missouri Valley semis, setting up a date with Creighton.
It was the situation that many bubble teams fear annually: a team not expected to go to the NCAA tournament makes a run in their conference tournament to possibly take an available bid off the board. Illinois State is 40 minutes away from doing just that as they beat top-seed Wichita State 65-64 in St. Louis. Tyler Brown led the way with 25 points and six rebounds, and his two free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining gave the Redbirds a 65-64 lead they would not relinquish. Garrett Stutz had a good look at the basket just before time expired but his shot fell short, eliminating the possibility of a third meeting between the Shockers and Creighton. But neither that nor the fate of bubble teams is (or should be) of concern to Illinois State, and Tim Jankovich also has Jackie Carmichael to call on inside. If the Redbirds get better on the boards (Wichita State grabbed 17 offensive rebounds) they'll have every chance of beating the Bluejays and winning the MVC tournament title.

4. Chalk rules in the CAA semis, setting up a massive battle between George Mason and VCU.
Many have joined the "two bids for the CAA" campaig, citing the gaudy records of Drexel, VCU and George Mason as one reason why. All three needed to reach the semis to make that goal a possibility, and along with four-seed Old Dominion they all took care of business on Saturday. George Mason needed a Bryon Allen reverse in the final seconds to beat Georgia State 54-52 while Drexel and VCU would both pull away in their wins over UNCW and Northeastern. That sets up a critical battle between VCU and George Mason on Sunday afternoon, with the winner likely having the best case for an at-large bid, and Drexel takes on ODU in what should be a slugfest. Getting two bids may be tough given strength of schedule numbers but with numerous bubble teams stumbling down the stretch the door remains open, and that's the least the CAA can ask for at this point.

5. Seton Hall wraps up an 0-2 finish against teams they were expected to beat, casting doubt on their NCAA tournament hopes.
One of those stumbling bubble teams is Seton Hall, and all the Pirates had to do was beat Rutgers and DePaul in their last two games heading into the Big East Championship. Last Saturday they fell to Rutgers at home in overtime, and things got even worse a week later as the Pirates were blown out by the Blue Demons 86-58. Kevin Willard's team just never seemed ready to go, trailing by 13 at the half and things would only get worse from there. Jamee Crockett led four DePaul players in double figures with 21 points and as a team the Blue Demons put on a clinic offensively, assisting on 23 of their 29 made baskets and shooting 53.7% from the field. Now Seton Hall has to get things going in New York, beginning with a first round matchup with a Providence team capable of beating just about anyone (they beat Louisville by 33 earlier this season) despite their lack of depth. Seton Hall has the opportunity to leave a better impression, but after Saturday's debacle there may be doubt as to whether or not the Pirates can take advantage.

Quick Hitters

1. Two teams to watch in next week's Pac-12 tournament are Oregon and UCLA as both enter the event playing well. The Ducks embarrassed Utah 92-46 in their regular season finale, jumping out to a 32-2 lead and never looking back. As for UCLA, they came back to beat Washington 75-69 to cap a 2-0 week that was kickstarted by a negative story in Sports Illustrated. Given the wide-open nature of the league it wouldn't be a shock if either of these teams put together a run. Oh, that loss didn't help the Huskies one bit from a bubble standpoint.

2. Butler won't have the opportunity to make another trip to the NCAA tournament this season, as they fell 65-46 at top-seed Valparaiso in the Horizon League semifinals. Horizon League Player of the Year Ryan Broekhoff led the Crusaders with 19 points and 16 rebounds as VU jumped out early and never looked back. This ends an impressive run for Brad Stevens' program, but the combination of a strong recruiting class and Arkansas transfer Rotnei Clark will give the Bulldogs a nice boost next season.

3. Higher-seeded teams advanced in three of the four quarterfinals in the Metro Atlantic with the lone exception being six-seed Siena, who beat three-seed Manhattan 84-82 in an overtime thriller. Owen Wignot's three with eight seconds remaining sent the game into overtime, and the Saints navigated a five minutes that would have wilted most teams that lack depth as they do. Mitch Buonaguro's team takes on Loyola (MD) in one semi while Fairfield and Iona meet on the other side of the bracket.

4. Memphis went on the road and beat Tulsa 78-66 to clinch the outright Conference USA title, and don't be surprised if Josh Pastner's team ends up in the Sweet 16 either. Will Barton scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the way but a key factor in their recent success has been the play of Chris Crawford. His steadying influence (seven assists, zero turnovers on Saturday) has allowed Joe Jackson to simply go out and make plays, and while the turnovers for Jackson are still an issue (six against Tulsa) the emergence of Crawford has helped buffer the impact.

5. In a matchup of two teams perceived to be on the bubble, West Virginia beat USF 50-44 in Tampa to pick up a much-needed road victory. Neither team shot well (WVU shot 28.8%, USF 39.5%) but the Mountaineers were able to grab 12 offensive boards and Kevin Jones posted another double-double with 18 points and 11 boards. USF's the six-seed in the Big East Championship next week, and they're going to have some work to do at MSG.

6. Speaking of the Big East, Jim Calhoun made his return to the sidelines and provided a spark to his team as UConn beat Pittsburgh 74-65. Roscoe Smith made some huge plays late to help the Huskies hold off the Panthers and Shabazz Napier finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four steals. UConn begins their Big East Championship with a game against DePaul, but unlike last year's team there's no Kemba walking through that door. But at least they have their coach back.

7. Iowa State scored 50 second half points, erasing a seven-point halftime deficit to beat Baylor 80-72 and grab the three-seed in next week's Big 12 tournament. Scott Christopherson led the Cyclones with 23 points and six assists, and while Bill Self will most likely win Big 12 Coach of the Year (and rightfully so) an argument can be made for Fred Hoiberg as well.

8. The top two seeds in the Patriot League will meet on Wednesday night as both Bucknell and Lehigh won their semifinal matchups by wide margins. C.J. McCollum put up 27, ten and six assists in Lehigh's 85-66 win over American, and Bucknell beat Lafayette 79-52 thanks in part to 18 points apiece from Mike Muscala and Joe Willman. The two teams split their two regular season meetings with the road team winning both, and it was a McCollum dagger in the final seconds that made the difference in Lewisburg.

9. The North Division of the Southern Conference didn't have the best-looking records at the end of the regular season but three teams from that division make up the final four in that tournament. The lone exception is overall champion Davidson, who beat Furman 73-54. UNCG and Western Carolina meet in one semi while the Wildcats will take on Elon, who beat Georgia Southern in the nightcap 65-58.

10. Jamaal Franklin was outstanding for San Diego State on Saturday, accounting for 35 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the Aztecs handed TCU their first home conference loss this season in overtime (98-92). The win, combined with New Mexico's 78-61 win over Boise State, means a shared conference title and it's anyone guess who will grab the automatic bid. One would think that the Mountain West is in line to receive four bids come Selection Sunday.

11. Harvard wrapped up a share of the Ivy League title as they beat Cornell 67-63. Penn remained tied in the loss column with their 68-47 win over Yale, and all that stands between the Quakers and a one-game playoff is bitter rival Princeton. That won't be a walk in the park for Zack Rosen and company to say the least.

12. One of the biggest questions going into the SEC tournament is whether or not Tennessee can make a run at an at-large bid. To think that this would have been a topic for discussion back in December would have been borderline absurd, but Cuonzo Martin's team is a different one since the addition of Jarnell Stokes. The Vols beat Vanderbilt 68-61, led by Cameron Tautm's 18 points and Trae Golden's 17, five rebounds and four assists.

13. Northwestern avoided what would have been a damaging blow to their NCAA tournament hopes as they beat Iowa 70-66 in Iowa City. The Wildcats did what they needed to do (at minimum) in their final three games, which was beat Penn State and Iowa (their loss was to Ohio State at home), and that keeps them alive heading into the Big Ten tournament.

14. There's just one undefeated (in conference play) team remaining in college basketball as Long Beach State, Ut-Arlington and Utah Valley all dropped their first conference games on Saturday. This comes just days after Mississippi Valley State lost their SWAC finale, leaving Kentucky as the lone undefeated. The Wildcats take on Florida Sunday afternoon in Gainesville.

15. Dominique Morrison shot just 2-for-11 from the field but thanks to Michael Craion and company Oral Roberts was able to withstand an IPFW challenge, winning 71-67 in a Summit League quarterfinal. Craion scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Warren Niles scored a team-high 17 as the Golden Eagles escaped.

#3 Duke vs. #6 North Carolina: Saturday's Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 07:07:54 -0800

Saturday's Conference Tournament Primer

For 37 minutes #6 North Carolina (26-4, 13-2) had the look of a team poised to beat their bitter rival and take control (at the time) of the ACC race. But the Tar Heels made mistakes that #3 Duke (26-4, 13-2) was ready to take advantage of, culminating with a Austin Rivers three as time expired to give the Blue Devils the 85-84 win. Saturday's winner will be the outright ACC regular season champion, and it's also important when considering the race for the two one-seeds that Kentucky and Syracuse haven't "spoken for" in regards to the NCAA tournament.

The area that North Carolina will have to defend on Saturday night is easy to figure out: the three-point line. Duke attempted 36 three-pointers in the first meeting, making 14 which was good for a percentage of 38.9%. Duke scored 49.4% of their points from three, and on the season they score 31.9% of their points via that shot. Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins and Austin Rivers can all knock down the shot and the same goes for forward Ryan Kelly. North Carolina has to turn Duke players into dribblers as opposed to shooters, but that's easier said than done.

Those three-pointers were an issue for North Carolina not only because of the number made but also because of the Tar Heels' struggles with the shot. UNC made just one of six, and perimeter shooting has been more of an issue than many expected in the preseason. Harrison Barnes has made just eight of twenty-seven shots from beyond the arc since the Duke game, and the Heels need both he and Reggie Bullock to shoot well in order to open things up even more for John Henson and Tyler Zeller inside.

Henson and Zeller combined to grab 28 of North Carolina's 42 rebounds in the early February meeting, and they could enjoy a similar advantage inside in the rematch. But the Plumlee brothers, Miles and Mason, have been playing solid basketball of late and Mason grabbed 14 boards in Chapel Hill. If they can stay out of foul trouble and make things difficult for Henson and Zeller inside the Blue Devils will have a good chance of winning. While defending the three will be key for North Carolina rebounding will be important for the Blue Devils, and whichever team gets the job done will ultimately win the ACC title.

Two other games match ranked teams, with both being Big East contests. While #2 Syracuse and #18 Louisville are locked into their respective seeds (SU - 1, U of L - 7) this is a big contest for the Cardinals when it comes to their NCAA tournament seeding. A win over the Orange would be a nice line to add to their resume, and the hope is that more minutes for Wayne Blackshear will get them over the hump. The winner of #12 Georgetown and #7 Marquette will wrap up the final double-bye, and despite teams lack of success with the perk that would be a valuable day of rest for two teams (especially Marquette) than don't have a great amount of depth.

Memphis, who has played very well of late, can wrap up the Conference USA regular season title with a win at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane have surprised some by hanging in the C-USA race but Doug Wojcik's team has taken advantage of a schedule that brought other title contenders to Tulsa without a return trip. Can they do the same against the Tigers and lock up the three-seed in next week's conference tournament? They'll need to slow down Will Barton if they're to do so. In the Mountain West both #23 San Diego State and Colorado State had better be careful on the road, especially the Aztecs who visit a TCU team that's undefeated in conference home games. The Rams, who beat UNLV on Wednesday night, visit an Air Force teams that's played better since the firing of Jeff Reynolds.

Washington and Northwestern both have road games they can't afford to lose at this point in the season, with the Huskies looking to win the Pac-12 title outright with a victory over UCLA. The Bruins played their best game of the season on Thursday night as they blew out Washington State, and if they can force Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross to play a half-court game UCLA's got a shot. As for Northwestern, they need to win at Iowa to keep their Big Ten tournament trip "manageable" in regards to how much work they may need to do in order to lock up an at-large bid. John Shurna and Drew Crawford can both score but they're going to need help against the Hawkeyes, who are led offensively by the talented Matt Gatens.

Temple can win the Atlantic 10 outright with a win at Fordham and Long Beach State can cap an undefeated run through the Big West win a win at Cal State Fullerton, while Texas has a golden opportunity at their fingertips as they visit #4 Kansas. The Longhorns could use a signature victory for their resume and to do so at Allen Fieldhouse would make quite the impression. But that's far easier said than done, especially on Senior Day in Lawrence. The same goes for hard-charging Tennessee, who hosts Vanderbilt and would make for an interesting case in the selection room given their play since the addition of Jarnell Stokes. Lastly both West Virginia and USF need a win to solidify their tournament hopes, but the truth is that both will need to do work in New York next week as well.

Top 25 Games
4:00 PM (18) Louisville at (2) Syracuse (CBS)
7:00 PM (6) North Carolina at (3) Duke (ESPN)
9:00 PM Texas at (4) Kansas (ESPN3)
2:00 PM (12) Georgetown at (7) Marquette (ESPN3)
4:00 PM (8) Missouri at Texas Tech (ESPN3)
2:00 PM Tennessee State vs (9) Murray State* (ESPN)
7:00 PM (10) Baylor at Iowa State (ESPN3)
2:35 PM Illinois State vs (14) Wichita State* (ESPN3)
10:00 PM Wyoming at (17) UNLV (The Mtn.)
9:00 PM San Francisco vs (21) Saint Mary's* (ESPNU)
7:00 PM (23) San Diego State at TCU (The Mtn.)
5:05 PM Evansville vs (24) Creighton* (ESPN3)
4:00 PM (25) Temple at Fordham

NCAA Division I Games
12:00 PM Pittsburgh at Connecticut (ESPN)
12:00 PM West Virginia at South Florida (ESPN3)
12:00 PM Wake Forest at Georgia Tech (ESPN3)
12:00 PM Ohio at Miami (OH)
12:00 PM Memphis at Tulsa (CBS)
12:00 PM George Washington at Dayton
12:00 PM UNC Wilmington vs Drexel* (ESPN3)
12:00 PM Saint Louis at Duquesne
12:00 PM VMI at UNC-Asheville (ESPN3)
12:00 PM Appalachian State vs UNC Greensboro* (ESPN3)
12:05 PM Binghamton vs Stony Brook*
12:30 PM Nebraska at Minnesota (BTN)
1:30 PM Oklahoma State at Kansas State (ESPN3)
1:45 PM South Carolina at Georgia (ESPN3)
2:00 PM LSU at Auburn (CBS)
2:00 PM Washington at UCLA (CBS)
2:00 PM Cincinnati at Villanova (ESPN3)
2:00 PM Southern Miss at Marshall
2:00 PM Northern Illinois at Ball State
2:00 PM St. Bonaventure at La Salle
2:00 PM American University at Lehigh
2:00 PM Eastern Michigan at Toledo
2:00 PM Western Carolina vs Wofford* (ESPN3)
2:00 PM Charlotte at Xavier
2:15 PM New Hampshire vs Albany*
2:30 PM Delaware vs Old Dominion* (ESPN3)
2:30 PM Rider vs Fairfield* (ESPN3)
2:30 PM Northwestern at Iowa (BTN)
2:30 PM Boston College at Miami (FL) (ESPN3)
3:00 PM Utah Valley at North Dakota
3:00 PM UTEP at SMU
4:00 PM Rhode Island at Massachusetts
4:00 PM Alabama at Ole Miss (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Boise State at New Mexico (NBC SN)
4:00 PM Texas A&M at Oklahoma (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Colorado at Oregon State
4:00 PM Colorado State at Air Force (The Mtn.)
4:00 PM Vanderbilt at Tennessee (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Chicago State at NJIT
4:30 PM Marist vs Iona* (ESPN3)
4:30 PM Lafayette at Bucknell
4:30 PM McNeese State at Lamar
4:30 PM Southeastern Louisiana at Nicholls State
5:00 PM Sam Houston State at Texas State
5:00 PM Idaho State at Eastern Washington
5:00 PM Arkansas at Mississippi State (ESPN3)
5:00 PM Prairie View A&M at Alcorn State
5:00 PM Texas Southern at Southern
6:00 PM Washington State at USC
6:00 PM Seton Hall at DePaul (ESPN3)
6:00 PM Detroit vs Cleveland State* (ESPN3)
6:00 PM Grambling State at Alabama A&M
6:00 PM Jackson State at Alabama State
6:00 PM Bowling Green at Buffalo (ESPN3)
6:00 PM Furman vs Davidson* (ESPN3)
6:00 PM Utah at Oregon
6:00 PM Northeastern vs VCU* (ESPN3)
6:05 PM Maine vs Vermont*
7:00 PM Troy vs South Alabama*
7:00 PM Dartmouth at Columbia
7:00 PM Harvard at Cornell (ESPN3)
7:00 PM IPFW vs Oral Roberts*
7:00 PM Yale at Pennsylvania
7:00 PM Florida Gulf Coast vs Belmont* (ESPN3)
7:00 PM UAB at UCF
7:00 PM Northwestern State at Stephen F. Austin
7:05 PM Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
7:15 PM Arkansas State vs Florida Atlantic*
7:15 PM Texas-Arlington at UTSA
7:30 PM Brown at Princeton
7:30 PM Niagara vs Loyola (MD)* (ESPN3)
8:00 PM UC Irvine at UC Riverside
8:00 PM St. John's at Rutgers (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Houston at Rice
8:00 PM Central Arkansas at Texas A&M-CC
8:00 PM East Carolina at Tulane
8:05 PM Texas-Pan American at Houston Baptist
8:15 PM Hartford at Boston University
8:30 PM Georgia Southern vs Elon* (ESPN3)
8:30 PM Georgia State vs George Mason* (ESPN3)
8:30 PM Butler at Valparaiso
9:30 PM Florida International vs Western Kentucky*
9:30 PM Siena vs Manhattan* (ESPN3)
9:30 PM IUPUI vs South Dakota State*
10:00 PM Pacific at Cal Poly
10:00 PM Idaho at San Jose State
10:00 PM New Mexico State at Fresno State
10:00 PM Louisiana Tech at Nevada
10:00 PM Montana State at Portland State
10:00 PM UC Davis at UC Santa Barbara
11:00 PM Brigham Young vs Gonzaga* (ESPN2)
12:00 AM Utah State at Hawaii

Ducks Get Hot in the Second Half: Thursday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:32:39 -0800

Florida State's Ian Miller knocked down a three-pointer with eight tenths of a second remaining to give the Seminoles a 63-60 win at Virginia, who will finish the regular season without a win over any of the top three teams in the ACC.

1. Oregon scored 54 second-half points to erase a five-point halftime deficit and beat Colorado.
The battle in Eugene between the Ducks and Buffaloes was likely more of a "bubble eliminator" contest, with the loser most likely needing to win the Pac-12 tournament in order to go dancing. Unfortunately for Colorado, who has struggled on the road all season, their play on the defensive end let them down in the second half. Oregon shot 61.5% in the second half of their 90-81 win, which also moved the Ducks closer to a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament. Devoe Joseph scored 24 points and Garrett Sim added 19 for Oregon, who shot 8-for-14 from beyond the arc as well. Carlon Brown snapped out of his funk to lead four Colorado players in double figures with 20 points, and despite the loss that's an important development for the Buffs. If he's playing efficiently they can win the Pac-12 tournament, which they will likely have to do in order to reach the Field of 68.

2. Nevada clinches the WAC regular season title, and there won't be many highly ranked teams who will line up to face them in the Big Dance.
Regardless of what seed line David Carter's Wolf Pack end up on, they're not going to be a fun matchup for the team that draws them should they win the WAC's automatic bid. Olek Czyz led three Nevada players in double figures with 15 points and their defending of a ball screen in the final seconds eventually forced a New Mexico State turnover to seal the 65-61 win. NMSU's final sequence looked to be doomed from the start but head coach Marvin Menzies chose to play it out despite having a timeout remaining, ultimately leading to Hernst LaRoche throwing the ball away. Wendell McKines led the Aggies with 19 points and LaRoche added 12 in what could have been a preview of next weekend's title game. With the likes of Czyz, Deonte Burton, Dario Hunt and Malik Story the Wolf Pack have talented weapons that can give teams fits, and there won't be any highly-seeded teams lining up for their shot at Nevada.

3. Quinnipiac is the lone road team to win in the NEC quarterfinals.
Of course in a conference tournament in which the higher seeded teams host all the game the 4/5 matchup tends to be the one most likely to produce a win for the road team. That rang true for the Patriot League Wednesday night (Lafayette) and for the NEC on Thursday, as fifth-seed Quinnipiac beat St. Francis (NY) 80-72 to set up a semifinal matchup with regular season champion LIU Brooklyn. The Bobcats, who are the best rebounding team in the NEC, grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded the Terriers 48-36 on the night. James Johnson didn't shoot well from the field (4-for-14) but he did make 12 of 17 from the foul line and scored a game-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds, and Ike Azotam scored 15 and grabbed 12 boards inside. Brent Jones led four SFNY players in double figures with 21 points but the rebounding issues were too much to overcome. And that aspect of Quinnipiac's game is what gives them more than a puncher's chance at LIU on Sunday.

Quick Hitters

1. D.J. Covington scored 16 points and blocked four shots in 20 minutes of action to help lead VMI past Winthrop 75-55 as the Keydets advanced to the Big South title game. The seven-seed will face regular season champ UNC Asheville, who whipped Charleston Southern 91-64, on Saturday afternoon.

2. Darius Miller scored 17 points on Senior Night to help lead #1 Kentucky to a 79-49 win over Georgia, moving the Wildcats' win streak to 21. UK shot 15-for-27 from three, and when the Wildcats are rolling like that it's near impossible to knock them off.

3. Meyers Leonard scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds but it wasn't enough to lead Illinois past #16 Michigan, who won 72-61. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Wolverines, who remain alive in the Big Ten title race.

4. Five Mississippi Valley State players reached double figures in scoring but it wasn't enough to lock up an undefeated run through SWAC play as the Delta Devils lost 78-67 at UAPB. Daniel Broughton scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds off the bench to lead the Golden Lions. But regardless of the result Sean Woods' club will enter the conference tournament as the clear favorite to grab the automatic bid.

5. UCLA didn't look too distracted by the Sports Illustrated article that came out earlier this week, as they whipped Washington State 78-46 at the Sports Arena. Lazeric Jones knocked down eight of his ten shots from the field and scored 18 points to lead the Bruins, who host a Washington team looking to wrap up the outright regular season crown on Saturday.

6. Doubleheaders in the Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley and WCC all went according to seed on Thursday night, and if one team were to be pegged as most likely to win on Friday it could be Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles held off a Southeast Missouri State rally to win 77-73, and with players such as Kevin Murphy (24 points) and Jud Dillard (18) they've got the horses needed to upset top-seed Murray State in the semis. Also keep an eye on Indiana State, who beat Southern Illinois 65-49 to set up a matchup with MVC champ Wichita State, especially if point guard Jake Odum's foot holds up.

7. Binghamton, who won just one game during the regular season, knocked off eight-seed UMBC 73-67 in overtime to advance to the quarterfinals in the America East tournament. Ben Dickinson led the Bearcats, who will take on regular season champion Stony Brook, with 21 points.

8. Derrick Rudolph led three players in double figures with 21 points in Savannah State's 73-54 win at Maryland-Eastern Shore, wrapping up the Tigers' first-ever MEAC regular season title. The coaches picked Horace Broadnax's team to finish 11th in the preseason.

Cheerleader Of The Day: UCLA

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:22:59 -0800

CollegeHoops.net's Cheerleader of the Day is back in 2012. Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media. Check out our new college cheerleader archive.

Cheerleaders of the Day
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