Conference tournaments are finally here. While the major conferences wrap up their regular seasons this week, many teams will punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament as the anticipation toward the world’s greatest sporting tournament continues to rise as the calendar turns to March. Buckle up everyone because another thrilling month of March in college hoops is upon us and off to a fascinating start.
1. Duke (26-3)
The Blue Devils won by an average of 36 points this week, which honestly might be hurting more than helping at this point. They haven’t exactly shined in tight contests and the lack of experience in them could be a problem in March. Then again, the only true close game they prevailed in was against the best team in the country besides them in No. 1 Auburn.
2. Auburn (27-2)
Speaking of Auburn, the Tigers dominated their contests this weekend as well, but those came against teams who will be in the NCAA Tournament in a few weeks. They continue to crush their elite competition in the SEC and clinched an outright regular season championship with Tennessee’s win over Alabama, but we’ll get to that later.
3. Houston (25-4)
The climbing Cougars are winners of eight straight and asterisk or not, they are the runaway winners of the Big 12 title over Texas Tech. That’s back-to-back regular season championships for Kelvin Sampson’s group who only joined one of the nation’s premier basketball conferences last year and are making it look like the AAC anyway.
4. Tennessee (24-5)
The best game and finish of the weekend came in Knoxville as the Volunteers stayed hot with a buzzer-beating win over Alabama. Jahmai Mashack’s deep 3-pointer rang in March with a bang and could be foreshadowing an exciting month ahead in college hoops.
5. Alabama (23-6)
With Mashack’s improbable game-winner, the Crimson Tide are quietly losers of three of their last five with work getting no easier in the season’s final week as No. 3 Florida and No. 1 Auburn still remain on the schedule. Their offense is exciting, yes, but unless they can sure up defensively, a second consecutive deep run in the NCAA Tournament could be more fairytale than reality.
6. Florida (25-4)
The Gators received a wake-up call of their own this week as a trip to Athens didn’t go as planned in a loss to Georgia that may have punched the hosts’ ticket to March Madness. Still, Florida bounced back with a big win over No. 12 Texas A&M who is limping to the finish line in SEC play.
7. Michigan State (23-5)
A game-winning half-court shot and an AP Top-11 win highlighted a dream week for the Spartans who now sit in pole position to win the Big Ten regular season title. However, it could come down to the final day when they host Michigan who sits just one game behind its in-state rival in the league standings.
8. Texas Tech (22-7)
Texas Tech saw its Big 12 title hopes end with a home loss to Houston, but the Red Raiders battled despite missing two of its top three scorers in the game. Both returned on Saturday and led the team to a win at Allen Fieldhouse, but the lack of depth is something to monitor when filling out your brackets in two weeks.
9. St. John’s (26-4)
For the first time in 40 years, the St. John’s Red Storm are Big East champions. They are the story of the season and have their coach Rick Pitino to thank for such a drastic turnaround. What a year it’s been for him and his team.
10. Iowa State (22-7)
Losing to 13-14 Oklahoma State is never how you want to start a week. The Cyclones responded as well as possible with a dominant win over No. 22 Arizona and will look to carry that momentum into another ranked matchup with No. 25 BYU on Tuesday before finishing the season at Kansas State.
11. Wisconsin (22-7)
The Badgers lost a terrific game Sunday afternoon in East Lansing and could use a momentum boost in the week’s final season while securing a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament that is in jeopardy after two losses in their last three games.
12. Memphis (24-5)
People are starting to forget about Memphis like they typically forget about Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s in a weak conference like the WCC. The AAC is arguably worse than the competition on the west coast, but the Tigers keep stacking wins and boast a terrific non-conference resume that will make them a popular sleeper pick soon.
13. Clemson (24-5)
The losses leave a lot to be desired, but with only one since Jan. 8, Clemson is surging at the right time while clinging to a pair of marquee wins over Duke and Kentucky. This could be a popular sleeper pick in the NCAA Tournament after a tremendous run last year and many players back to lead another.
14. Missouri (21-8)
After a winless conference season last year, Dennis Gates is turning things around once again with the Tigers sitting just below a double bye in one of the most loaded conferences in the sport’s history. For as much scrutiny as he received last year, Gates deserves just as much praise for righting the ship and getting the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament.
15. Michigan (22-7)
There aren’t many results on Michigan’s schedule that make sense and the latest is a 20-point home loss to reeling Illinois on Sunday. This team could get smoked by a mid-major in the first round or make a run to the Elite Eight with their tremendous size. Neither would surprise me.
16. Maryland (22-7)
The Big Ten continues to get more and more teams into our rankings. Although none are emerging as legitimate national title contenders, many could find themselves in the Final Four and just two wins away from bringing home the conference’s first national title since 2000.
Next 5: Saint Mary’s, BYU, Marquette, Kentucky, Louisville
Players of the Week:
Eric Dixon, Villanova Wildcats
Villanova scored just 59 points on Wednesday, but Dixon had 32 of them and somehow topped that with 34 on Saturday against Butler. The nation’s leading scorer with well over 23 points per game continues to impress and could just lead his team to the Big Dance with a strong showing in the Big East Tournament.
Tre Johnson, Texas Longhorns
In an outstanding freshman class that can be seen in mock draft lotteries everywhere, Tre Johnson might just be the best scorer of the bunch. He strengthened his argument Wednesday with his sixth 28+ point showing of the season with 39 points in a loss to Arkansas. The nation’s top-scoring freshman is now averaging over 20 points per game and should be a top-10 pick this summer despite Texas’ struggles.
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina Gamecocks
A less than impressive SEC performance from the Gamecocks has overshadowed the tremendous play of Murray-Boyles all season long, but the two opposing forces came together Saturday in South Carolina, and the star sophomore’s, best showing of the year. The Gamecocks picked up just their second conference win of the season as their star went ballistic with 35 points and seven rebounds against Arkansas.
Miles Kelly, No. 1 Auburn Tigers
Whether you want to credit banked 3’s as skill or luck, Kelly’s outburst in Rupp Arena on Saturday is worthy of player of the week honors nonetheless. The Georgia Tech transfer buried nine triples on the day and registered a season-high 30 points in the process to give the Tigers their first win in Lexington in two decades.
Chucky Hepburn, No. 19 Louisville Cardinals
Going into the season, I’m not sure anyone expected Hepburn to be a leading scorer type of guard or Louisville to be anywhere near NCAA Tournament consideration. All those people, including myself, were wrong. Hepburn all but punched the Cardinals’ ticket to March Madness with a 37-point effort against Pittsburg while shooting a perfect 6-6 from beyond the arc. Good for him and first-year coach Pat Kelsey who should be in National Coach of the Year discussions.
Play of the Week
The heartbreaking losses for Maryland have been well-documented this season and Tre Holloman added another to the list with this outrageous half-court heave that gave the Spartans a win at the buzzer in College Park this week. Although Mashack’s game-winner against Alabama was great, there’s no topping Holloman’s heave as the play of the week this week. Check it out!
https://www.foxsports.com/watch/fmc-nyy6n70sj4cc981k
Video Credit: Fox Sports Highlights
