3 Most Important Results from Tonight
Baylor 54, Mississippi St. 52 – Baylor showed some real grit to take this game. The Bears would prefer an up and down high tempo game. Instead, they got a grinding, slug it out affair. Big props to the Bears for winning in a game that isn't suited to its style of play against a quality opponent.
Georgietown 71, Louisville 68 – The Hoyas are really good, but the story here is Louisville. The Cardinals haven't looked good in awhile and probably should have already lost a game or two. This and the coming beatdown against Kentucky will bring Louisville back to Earth and refocus them as they get healthy.
Syracuse 75, Seton Hall 49 – Seton Hall had been great this season. It still isn't ready for primetime, as this turnover laden performance showed. It doesn't help to have the best player on the floor if no one else on the roster could ever get off the bench for the other team.
Worst Loss from Tonight
Missouri St. 77, Creighton 65 – Ouch. Missouri St. is now 7-5 and Creighton stubs its toe to start Missouri Valley play. Not what the league or its standard bearer wanted.
3 Biggest Games of Tomorrow
Marquette vs Vanderbilt – Vandy has had all sorts of problems this early season. Now, it must win here to salvage whatever remains of its preseason credibility. For Marquette, life was good until getting smoked in Baton Rouge by LSU 10 days ago. It now looks to continues its rebound.
St. Mary's vs BYU – Welcome to the WCC BYU. St. Mary's is among the tougher welcoming committees that could be found (only Gonzaga would be tougher) and the winner gets the inside track to bid number two in what looks like a two bid league (though three is possible if everything breaks right).
Belmont vs Marshall – In the preseason, it was thought this would be Belmont's last chance to impress the committee before the inevitable power ranking slide in conference play. Now, its the other way around. Marshall remains on the fringe of at-large contention and needs major wins to really get in. Belmont is already prepping for the conference tournament after losing five times in the non-conference schedule.
Final Thought on the night in College Basketball
Undefeated teams. 1976 Indiana was the last two finish a season undefeated. 1991 UNLV the last to take an undefeated record to the NCAA Tournament. This season, we are down to just four already with Indiana and Louisville's losses tonight. The most likely of the four to go undefeated: not Syracuse, or Baylor, or Missouri (heck, there's a decent chance Baylor and Missouri split with each other). No. It's Murray St, out of the Ohio Valley Conference for that exact reason: the Ohio Valley Conference. The Racers are undefeated and should be favored in all of its games the remainder of the regular season. Sadly, while that may get the Racers to the NCAA Tournament undefeated, I see no reason to believe there is a possibility of a perfect National Championship season. Everyone else plays too tough a competition and Murray St. just isn't tested enough to be ready fro deep NCAA Tournament games.
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