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
#4 Tennessee claims outright SEC regular season title after beating #17 South Carolina
In one of three AP Top 25 matchups Wednesday night, the Tennessee Volunteers got the job done on the road against South Carolina. These two teams had met on January 30th in Knoxville, when South Carolina pulled off one of the biggest upsets in SEC play this season, beating Tennessee on the road. The Vols returned the favor in Wednesday’s matchup though, led in scoring by Dalton Knecht’s 26 points. Knecht continues to play brilliantly and as all but locked up his place on the All-American First Team. The win for Tennessee gave them the outright SEC regular season title, moving to 14-3 in conference play this season. Tennessee will host Kentucky on Saturday on the final day of the SEC regular season, as Kentucky looks for revenge after the Vols stole a win in Lexington.
#2 UConn completes season sweep of Kolek-less #8 Marquette
Wednesday’s matchup between the Big East’s top two teams was spoiled in part of Tyler Kolek’s oblique injury, which could cause the Marquette point guard to miss the Big East Tournament, on top of the final few games of the regular season. The story on the court Wednesday night was UConn’s hot shooting, as the Huskies went 13-26 from beyond the arc. Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer each hit five threes, with Karaban leading the team in scoring at 23 points. Marquette deeply missed Kolek in the backcourt, as the team totaled just eight assists on the night, slightly above Kolek’s per game average. Kam Jones had a decent night with 18 points, but the Golden Eagles fell short, 74-67. Both teams will finish the regular season on the road, with UConn visiting Providence and Marquette visiting Xavier.
#6 Iowa State overcomes 14-point second half deficit to beat #20 BYU
As Iowa State and BYU reached halftime Wednesday night, the BYU Cougars were well in position to grab a second consecutive road win in Big 12 play, having won at Kansas last Tuesday. Hilton Magic came into factor in the second half for the Cyclones though, as they went on a 25-10 run after trailing 46-32 to take their first lead of the second half. The final minutes were back-and-forth, will both teams coming up big on the defensive end, including a Tamin Lipsey steal with 12 seconds left as the Cyclones clung to a one-point lead. Four Keshon Gilbert free throws in the final seconds made the final score 68-63 Cyclones, but even with a five-point gap this game went down to the wire. Richie Saunders had 20 points off the bench for BYU, hitting three three-pointers in one of his best games of the season. The Cyclones were led by Lipsey’s 19 points, as Curtis Jones chipped in 18 off the bench.
Other Things to Note:
- LJ Cryer scores 25 as #1 Houston completes road victory over UCF
- Seton Hall outlasts Villanova 66-56 in huge bubble game
- 6th seed Wagner stuns 3rd seed Sacred Heart in NEC Quarterfinals
- Michigan State gets dramatic 53-49 win over Northwestern on Senior Night
- Richmond claims first-ever A10 regular season title with win over St. Joe’s
- Radford opens up the Big South Tournament with win over USC Upstate
- SIUE and Tennessee State pick up wins in the first round of the OVC Tournament
- Arch Madness, aka the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, begins with four first round matchups on Thursday (1:00 ET, ESPN+)
- Sun Belt, WCC, Patriot League, Horizon, Atlantic Sun, OVC tournaments in action all day long (ESPN+)
- #18 Washington State hosts Washington in the rivals’ final Pac 12 matchup (9:00 ET, FS1)
- #5 Arizona visits UCLA in must-win game for the Wildcats’ 1 seed hopes (9:30 ET, ESPN)