3 Most Important Results from Last Night
Vanderbilt 87, Davidson 83 – Two major notes from this game. Vandy got a tough road win in a game it had to have. Also, Festus Ezeli returned from suspension and injury to play 21 minutes off the bench, scoring 15 points. The Commodores might yet develop into the elite team many predicted it would be as Ezeli gets himself back into playing shape both physically and mentally (5 fouls in 21 minutes won't cut it).
Dayton 74, Alabama 62 – Dayton had hit a bad patch since winning the Old Spice Classic. Beating Alabama rights the ship and points the arrow back in the right direction for the Flyers. As for Alabama, a second straight loss was bad, but as long as this doesn't snowball with games upcoming against Kansas St. and Oklahoma St., it should be just fine.
Florida 78, Arizona 72 (OT) – If not in the chase for a bid (I think Arizona will easily make its way into the NCAA Tourney in Pac-12 play), this game will be huge in seeding for the Wildcats. Arizona had Florida dead to rights and allowed the Gators back into the game, eventually needing a questionable call just to get to overtime.
Worst Loss from Tonight
UAB 66, Middle Tennessee 56 – Normally, UAB isn't a bad loss, but this season isn't a normal year. UAB is now just 2-6. For Middle Tennessee, this was the bad loss it couldn't afford after a great 8-1 start to the season that includes a win at UCLA (no matter how bad the Bruins are). Playing in the Sun Belt, Middle Tennessee will likely need 30 wins to make a credible at-large case with the schedule it is playing. Any losses like this are a huge detriment to the resume.
3 Biggest Games of Tonight
Connecticut vs Harvard – Who would've thunk this would be a huge game, but Harvard is off to a great start at 8-0, winning the Paradise Jam tournament (where UConn was in the field on the other side of the bracket and upset by Central Florida). Now, they face their biggest test of the season so far in their quest for seeding (and lets be honest, in the Conference Tournamentless Ivy League, Harvard is going to win the league and take the automatic NCAA Tournament berth).
Kansas St. vs West Virginia – The Bob Huggins duel is a big game for at-large possibilities. Kansas St. is off to a good 5-0, but without much heft (middling Virginia Tech is the only decent team K St. has played) while West Virginia is already carrying a bad loss to Kent St., a loss to Mississippi St. and no wins of note. The Mountaineers need this one to get back in the running for an at-large berth.
Robert Morris vs Cleveland St. - That this game is on the list shows the pathetic state of the schedule tonight, but it is during finals. That said, Cleveland St. is 8-1 with a win over Vanderbilt and Robert Morris is 7-2. At the very least, this game is important for RPI purposes for Cleveland St. as it attempts to position itself for an at-large bid from the Horizon League
Final Thought on the night in College Basketball
Looking at the schedule, good for schools. On a regular basis, we decry schools for not keeping the student in student athlete. While that is true, we should at least applaud when, because of finals, there are less than 20 games on the entire schedule tonight. Good job to all, even those who are playing tonight because many who played last night or tonight are taking a long break next week for finals.
No comments:
Post a Comment