Throughout conference tournament weekend, we’re going to pop in with some BGTD-style analysis at least twice a day. If you are interested in the action earlier today check out our afternoon post.
- 5 for 5. The UConn Huskies capped off a historic run winning their fifth game in five nights with the last four coming against ranked teams in scintillating fashion knocking off a game Louisville team. Led by another solid performance by Kemba Walker who was nothing short of sensational the past week in Madison Square Garden the Huskies likely played themselves into a #3 seed and a favorable regional placement. While Jim Calhoun may be dealing with some significant professional struggles he has a team that is capable of making a run deep into the NCAA Tournament behind a solid, but inexperienced group of role players and a superstar in Walker. On the other side the Cardinals are probably looking at a #3 or #4 seed as well and Rick Pitino should be looking forward to making a push towards Houston.
- The Aztecs stand up to Jimmer. The closing moments of the Mountain West Conference final will be remembered for Kawhi Leonard jawing at Jimmer Fredette, but in reality the Aztecs had been making a statement to the Cougars for the previous 40 minutes. In avenging their two losses to BYU (the only two blemishes on their resume this season) San Diego State showed signs of a being a team that could make a run to the Final Four. While Fredette still got his 30, the Aztecs dominated the Brandon Davies-less Cougars on the inside outscoring them 38-14 thanks to big games out of Billy White and Leonard. The Aztecs and Cougars are likely headed toward the 2 and 3 lines respectively, but the two teams appear to be headed in opposite directions as the Aztecs have few glaring holes and Cougars still have a big one in the middle.
- Isaiah Thomas pulls a Kemba. In a season that has been full of ups and downs, Washington ended the regular season on a high note thanks to Thomas essentially waving off Lorenzo Romar‘s attempt to call a timeout. The Huskies are probably headed for the middle of the bracket where they could be a potentially scary 2nd round opponent (we’re not buying the new NCAA terminology yet) for a #1 seed. As for Arizona they will probably end up with a 4- or 5-seed depending on how few games turn out tomorrow. With Derrick Williams leading the way they could be a dangerous team, but they have still not picked up a win against a highly ranked team this season, which makes us question just how far they can go.
- Penn State sitting on the bubble. While most of the college basketball nation spent much of the past 24 hours ridiculing the Nittany Lions for their 36-33 win over Wisconsin they seemed to ignore one important fact–the Nittany Lions won that game. Combined with a win over a constantly confusing Michigan State team Talor Battle and the Nittany Lions are on the verge of making the field of 68 even if they were to fall to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. The Spartans should probably be in the field, but that doesn’t mean that Tom Izzo won’t be sweating it out around 6 PM.
- Kansas gets some payback. It seems that we may have put too much into Texas going into Lawrence and knocking off the Jayhawks at the end of January after watching the Jayhawks (now less burdened by the personal tragedy of Thomas Robinson) dominate the Longhorns. Since that time the Jayhawks have played like the #1 team in the country (outside of a loss at a streaking Kansas State team that was playing with their backs up against the wall). The Jayhawks may not get the overall #1 seed designation tomorrow unless Ohio State loses, but based on their p