Welcome to “The Daily Scoop”, an article to bring you up to date with the latest news from college basketball and a preview of the day ahead.
Daily Headlines
Oregon knocks off Arizona to advance to Pac 12 Championship game
Bubble teams’ biggest fear came into reality last night when the Oregon Ducks upset Arizona in the Pac 12 semifinals. The Ducks shut down Caleb Love, Arizona’s leading scorer, holding him to six points on 2-11 shooting. Oregon’s backcourt had a polar opposite game, with Jackson Shelstad scoring 21 points and Jermaine Couisnard adding 20 points of his own. A 10-point halftime deficit swung the opposite way in the second half for the Ducks, who outscored Arizona 44-26 in the second half to win 67-59. The Ducks will match up against Colorado in the Pac 12 Championship (9:00 ET, FOX) on Saturday night. A win would put Oregon in the tournament as the Pac 12 automatic bid, popping a bubble team’s at-large hopes in the process.
Mississippi State stakes place in NCAA Tournament with win over Tennessee
Friday’s stacked slate of games started off with a bang, as the SEC’s top seeded Tennessee Volunteers fell at the hands of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Mississippi State jumped out to a 15-4 start, and kept control of the game throughout, winning 73-56. Cameron Matthews was a perfect 7-7 from the field for Mississippi State, scoring 18 points to lead the team alongside Josh Hubbard. The Bulldogs held Dalton Knecht to 14 points, and Tennessee shots 30.6% from the field as a team. With the win, Mississippi State advances to the SEC semifinals, where they’ll matchup against Auburn on Saturday afternoon (1:00 ET, ESPN).
Wade Taylor’s 32 points leads Texas A&M to big win over Kentucky
Entering Friday’s quarterfinal needing a win to stay in contention for a tournament bid, the Texas A&M Aggies got just that, taking down Kentucky 97-87. The Aggies’ experienced backcourt, consisting of Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford had a great performance. Taylor IV scored 32 points and hit six three-pointers, while Radford scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists. Kentucky shot the ball well, going 50% from the field as a team, but committed 14 turnovers, proving costly in the loss. The bright spot for Kentucky was the performance from Rob Dillingham, who scored 27 points and dished out seven assists. The Wildcats’ defensive problems will be something to monitor in the NCAA Tournament next week after yet another tough game. For Texas A&M, the Aggies will meet Florida in the SEC semifinals on Saturday (3:30 ET, ESPN).
Other Things to Note:
- St. John’s misses out on resume-topping win in loss to UConn
- UTEP, Howard, Long Beach State, and Saint Peter’s knock off one seeds in their respective conference tournaments
- Illinois ends Ohio State’s slim tournament hopes with Big Ten quarterfinal win
- Vermont and UMass-Lowell tip-off Saturday’s action in America East Championship (11:00 AM ET, ESPN2)
- Ivy League tournament begins on Saturday (11:00 AM ET, ESPNU)
- Iowa State faces Houston in Big 12 Championship game (6:00 ET, ESPN)
- New Mexico meets San Diego State in Mountain West title game (6:00 ET, CBS)
- MSG hosts UConn vs Marquette for the Big East crown (6:30 ET, FOX)
- In-state rivalry pits NC State vs UNC in the ACC Championship (8:30 ET, ESPN)
- MAAC, MAC, CUSA, SWAC, Big West, and WAC championships to be played on Saturday (ESPN2/ESPNU/CBSSN)