3 Most Important Results from Tonight
West Virginia 85, Kansas St. 80 (2OT) – West Virginia absolutely had to have this game, especially once it went to overtime with a short turn around before playing Miami on Saturday. A loss here in double overtime could have easily turned into another loss Saturday and a 4-4 start with no quality wins and a bad loss to Kent St. For Kansas St., it young players got a lot of experience in this game that will come in handy once Big 12 play starts. The Wildcats will be fine. More on this game in the Final Thought at bottom.
Connecticut 67, Harvard 53 – The talent gap was obvious here. Harvard is very good, especially defensively, but they lack the overall talent to win a game against a team like UConn because they can be susceptible to big runs like the one they gave up to UConn early in the 2nd Half (17-3).
Cleveland St. 62, Robert Morris 58 – Cleveland St. needed to gut through this tougher than expected road game and did so. Given Robert Morris's surprising record thus far and recent NCAA Tournament pedigree, there is a chance this game will end up a top-100 road win when all is said and done. Those are incredibly valuable for mid-majors.
Worst Loss from Tonight
None, there were only 12 games on the schedule and every game with a solid favorite saw the solid favorite win the game.
10 Biggest Games Weekend Games
Kansas vs Ohio St. - If Ohio St. plays anywhere near as well as it did against Duke, it will crush Kansas, even in Lawrence. The Jayhawks just don't have the usual level depth this season and it will show here.
Wisconsin vs UNLV – Both teams are struggling a little bit after good starts with Wisconsin having lost at home to Marquette last week and UNLV having been blown out at Wichita St. on Sunday. The loser isn't in any real danger of missing the NCAA Tournament, but the winner could still make a run at a very high seed.
Indiana vs Kentucky – Now we see if Indiana is for real. At home against Kentucky, the Hoosiers don't necessarily have to win, but a close loss where they have a chance down the stretch would show enormous progress after being blown out by an inferior Kentucky team last season.
Xavier vs Cincinnati – Cincinnati underscheduled again, just like last season. This year, the Bearcats have lost some of those games it swept last season. Because of that, a win here is almost necessary because there aren't many chances before Big East play begins.
Duke vs Washington – Washington barely missed on part one of its New York road trip, losing on a late Marquette three on Tuesday. Now, it desperately needs to beat Duke in part two or risk not even being on the bubble at Pac-12 play starts after a rough start to the season.
Northern Iowa vs Milwaukee – Mid-major basketball at its finest. These teams are both 8-1 and play each other in a big resume game here. Should be an entertaining game for those of us who have ESPN3.
Arizona vs Clemson – Two teams in need of a win. Arizona is the better team and should win, but both really need the win. Clemson to stop the bleeding early in the season (losses to College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina and South Carolina) and Arizona to bounce back and get the expected NCAA Tournament run rolling (losses to Mississippi St., San Diego St. and Florida).
LSU vs Boise St. - LSU is a bad power conference basketball team. Boise St. is a good mid-major that needs to avoid a very bad loss (LSU's RPI wont improve a ton in the SEC, especially after the SEC got smoked badly in the Big East-SEC Challenge). If only we could get this matchup in football...
VCU vs Richmond – Richmond's crosstown rivalry should be a good game again. That said, VCU certainly needs the game a ton more with a 5-3 record and a much weaker conference.
Pittsburgh vs Oklahoma St. - The Cowboys are the epitome of an average Power Conference team. There is no way it should beat Pittsburgh unless the loss to Long Beach St. really was a harbinger of doom and Pitt is way overrated.
Final Thought on the night in College Basketball
Tonight's West Virginia-Kansas St. basketball game was one of the best early season games I've seen in a long time. In a game that was a defensive war early with a lot of young freshmen and sophomores playing key roles, the youngsters on both teams stepped up and played a great game, giving us great execution and good shotmaking, especially in the two overtime periods. No matter how this season turns out for these schools, the next couple of years look really bright as they embark on their futures as Big 12 rivals.
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