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The action has already begun in Thursday’s slate with morning basketball for the week in full swing. Looking back at Wednesday’s slate though, there were clear cut winners and losers across the action in the large handful of conference tournaments currently underway.
Wednesday’s Winners on the Bubble
Arkansas was generally considered safe by many bracketologists heading into Wednesday, but the Hogs put some doubt in everyone’s minds by playing it close against South Carolina late in the second half. After leading by as many as 20 early in the second half, Arkansas gave up a 22-4 run that got South Carolina within one, with the score at 61-60 in favor of Arkansas. It would be sophomore guard DJ Wagner that hit the big bucket for Arkansas to make it 64-60, and Coach Calipari’s squad got the job done 72-68 with Trevon Brazile’s 16 points leading the way to virtually clinch an NCAA Tournament berth.
Staying in the SEC, Texas earned itself a hard-earned win over Vanderbilt following Arkansas’s win at the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Texas jumped out to a 41-26 halftime lead and held on to win 79-72 behind 19 points from each of Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark. Rodney Terry has been under scrutiny all season long and the Longhorns are still far from locking in an NCAA Tournament berth, but this win has quieted the doubters for an extra day. Texas now matches up with Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament second round with a chance to jump into Joe Lunardi’s projected field – currently listed as the “First Team Out”.
In a double-bubble matchup closing the day in Nashville, Oklahoma got the best of Georgia behind Jeremiah Fears’ 29-point performance. Oklahoma has faced plenty of doubters itself, limping to a 4-12 SEC record with two regular season games left. After beating Missouri and Texas to close the regular season, Oklahoma backed up those wins with this neutral site victory over Georgia. Oklahoma’s fight has been far from easy, and while a win over Kentucky on Thursday would lock the Sooners into the field in my eyes, the Sooners should feel certain to hear their name called on Selection Sunday after Wednesday’s results.
North Carolina can find itself listed as a winner as well on Wednesday although the Tar Heels still have plenty of work to do if they hope to be considered safe by the end of the ACC Tournament. UNC routed Notre Dame 76-56 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday, with Jae’Lyn Withers scoring 21 points and hitting seven three-pointers to lead the way. Next up is Wake Forest for UNC, and the Tar Heels would get a third chance at Duke in the semifinals with a win on Thursday.
After a 2-4 finish to the regular season, Baylor’s place in the NCAA Tournament was getting cloudy, but the Bears firmed their place in the tournament with a 70-56 rout of Kansas State. VJ Edgecombe scored 19 points while Jayden Nunn added 18 in the Big 12 Tournament second round win.
Wednesday’s Losers on the Bubble
Losing to Oklahoma in the double-bubble matchup Wednesday night in Nashville, Georgia finds itself listed on the losers’ end of the bubble watch. Silas Demary Jr., Blue Cain, and Asa Newell combined for 62 points, but the Bulldogs couldn’t get enough from their role players in the 81-75 loss. Georgia is still considered in – and relatively safely in at that – but if other results continue to go the other way, Mike White’s squad could end up sweating it out during the Selection Show.
Cincinnati had the slimmest of hopes headed into the Big 12 Tournament, but it will be a disappointing finish to the year for Wes Miller’s squad. The Bearcats went out with a whimper, falling to Iowa State 76-56 in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. After plenty of preseason hype, Miller is now 0-for-4 in reaching NCAA Tournaments at UC.
West Virginia fell out rather disappointingly in the Big 12 Tournament as well, and after being considered safe by many, Javon Small and Co. will be subject to a lot of doubt as the weekend continues on. The Mountaineers have battled through the season-ending injury to Tucker DeVries and put themselves in a great position, but a stunning 67-60 loss to Colorado on Wednesday will have West Virginia sweating it out over the next four days.
Ohio State found itself on the short end of a game in its own conference tournament, falling in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis to Iowa. Bruce Thornton had 24 points, but it wasn’t enough as Ohio State fell 77-70 to the Hawkeyes. The Buckeyes have a slimmer of hope still, but the odds aren’t in the Buckeyes’ favor as Champ Week continues on.
Other Things to Note:
- Conference tournament action continues all-day Thursday on a range of networks