Tuesday College Basketball Review

Games with Tournament Implications

Wake Forest 58 – Virginia Tech 80

I don’t like it as much as anyone, but Virginia Tech has to be considered close to getting in. With a 9-6 record in the ACC they still control their own destiny to end up with the 3 seed in the ACC tournament. Now, they’re not in yet because they did nothing out of conference, but their conference performance will keep them in the picture. This was likely a deathblow for Wake Forest.

Purdue 77 – Ohio State 80

Some big turnovers towards the end of regulation really hurt Purdue and then Ohio State pulled it off in overtime. This game likely cost Purdue the Big 10 title. It also gave Ohio State their best win of the year. They’re not in yet but if they beat Michigan State in their home finale this weekend it might get hard to keep them out.

Miami 39 – Kent State 50

Kent State took out Miami in quite a barnburner to keep their hopes alive. Their regular season finale at Akron will be very difficult and very large. A loss might end their chances at an at large.

Nebraska 66 – Texas 70

What is happening to Texas? They followed up a loss at Texas Tech with a near home loss to Nebraska. They’re in good shape for a high seed but it would drop quite a bit if they cannot handle Oklahoma State this weekend.

Florida Gulf Coast 37 – Marquette 67

Does anyone know why this game even happened?

Florida State 77 – North Carolina 90

Florida State would have been alive again with a win against North Carolina. Instead North Carolina stays alive for a possible one seed and possibly the one overall seed. Not surprisingly their game against Duke this weekend is huge.

UNLV 45 – New Mexico 59

As far as an at large bid, UNLV is in trouble. It’s not so much that this kills their resume but considering they’ll be at home for their conference tournament I’m not sure they have an acceptable loss left on the schedule. Instead UNLV is in a similar situation as New Mexico. They likely both would need to win out to the conference final game to get an at large chance but I’m not completely sure that would be enough for either; it would come down to what happens across the rest of the country.

Colorado 72 – Kansas State 78

Kansas State got their win they needed to stay in good shape but it probably didn’t need to be that close down the stretch. They’re probably pretty happy right now that they have Michael Beasley and Bill Walker on their team; they didn’t have a whole lot of help.

Arkansas 72 – Mississippi 81

So, what if Mississippi builds off these last two wins and doesn’t lose again until the SEC title game? I think they could still get an at large and it’s even possible that if they regain their play from earlier in the year they could get through a pretty weak SEC. There’s a long way to go but it is actually possible. Arkansas now faces a must win regular season finale against Auburn. If they drop that game they’ll be in a dicey situation entering the SEC tournament.

Big South

(7) Radford 45 – (2) Winthrop 76

(6) Coastal Carolina 56 – (3) High Point 59

(5) Virginia Military 88 – (4) Liberty 103

(8) Charleston Southern 63 – (1) N.C. Asheville 87

The top four seeds all won at home to keep things as expected in the Big South.

Ohio Valley

(6) Tennessee State 68 – (3) Morehead State 61

(5) Samford 94 – (4) Tennessee-Martin 101

(8) Eastern Kentucky 51 – (1) Austin Peay 76

(7) Tennessee Tech 74 – (2) Murray State 77

Tennessee State pulled the upset over Morehead State but chalk ruled the rest of the tournament.

Horizon League

(10) Detroit 37 – (3) Wright State 60

(7) Wisconsin Green Bay 67 – (6) Valparaiso 75

(8) Loyola Chicago 57 – (5) Wisconsin Milwaukee 51

(9) Youngstown State 59 – (4) Illinois Chicago 70

Loyola Chicago’s win at Wisconsin Milwaukee was a surprise but Wright State (or perhaps Valparaiso) is likely the only team that can challenge Cleveland State or Butler.