If you’re a fan of the sport, you know the feeling: of the impossible-to-keep-up-with, full slate of games; of the constant twists and turns; of the incessant storylines. It’s the feeling of conference play. It’s the feeling of a mid-January Saturday. It’s the feeling of a day on which college basketball is king. In an awkward, premature way, that’s kind of what this past Saturday felt like. It didn’t have the same intensity. It didn’t have the same weight or meaning. But, if you were so inclined, you could have plopped yourself on a couch and let college basketball gloriously eat away your entire day. And given how the day and the games played out, you would’ve been happy with your decision.
Or, at the very least, happier than Steve Alford.
Headliner: Insanity in Philly. They used to meet at the Garden on Fridays in mid-March. They used to battle on Big Mondays in February; on Saturdays in January. Rather unfortunately, they no longer do. But whereas for others, conference realignment has terminated great rivalries, Syracuse and Villanova play on. And even if they do so in mid-December, we should all be thankful that that is the case. Saturday showed us why.
Saturday also showed us why you NEVER, EVER LEAVE A BASKETBALL GAME EARLY unless the result is entirely out of question. Hundreds of spectators had already filed out of the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia when undefeated Villanova trailed unranked Syracuse by five with 17 seconds to play. The Orange had led wire to wire, and it appeared as if the Wildcats’ valiant comeback attempt would fall just short. But then chaos ensued. Josh Hart hit a 3. Trevor Cooney fell down. A pass intended for Rakeem Christmas was broken up. Players scrambled. The ball found Ryan Arcidiacono. He found JayVaughn Pinkston. He found the basket. The place exploded. Villanova students jumped up and down, mobbing each other out of sheer joy. When overtime began, they hadn’t yet stopped. There were still five extra minutes to play, but, even though Jay Wright’s team still hadn’t held one lead all game, the result seemed inevitable. Villanova was going to stay unbeaten.
It’s after games like these that analysis seems secondary. And it is. It’s probably worth noting that had those final 10-plus seconds not happened, the post-game narrative would all be about Syracuse growing up right before our eyes. After dominating an uncharacteristically shaky Villanova team early, the Orange absorbed every Wildcat blow in the second half and each time responded with one of their own… until the very last minute. But because of that very last minute, the narrative is different, and it should be. That was insanity. It was heartbreaking. It was thrilling. It was insanity. Five years from now, we won’t remember Syracuse’s valiant effort or the effect it had on the rest of their season. Five years from now, we’ll remember those final seconds. We’ll remember the insanity. Those breathtaking final seconds are what make basketball so gripping.
Kentucky… UCLA… whoa. 24-0. Twenty-four to zero! That was the score 7 minutes and 18 seconds into Saturday’s game between Kentucky and UCLA in Chicago, and it was every bit as one-sided as the score would suggest. Beforehand, we knew the Wildcats were incredible. We knew UCLA wasn’t vintage UCLA. But nobody expected this. We were stunned when Kentucky dominated Kansas back in November, but this was on another level. Of course, UCLA had a lot to do with the absurdity of the first half score, 41-7, but in a way, just seeing that score made the lurking possibility all the more real – the possibility that John Calipari’s team will go undefeated. We often underestimate how difficult it really is to achieve a perfect season, but the overwhelming nature of Kentucky’s dominance on Saturday was pretty unequivocal. This team is something special.
Did the same game happen twice? Less than 24 hours later, Harvard travelled to Charlottesville to take on Virginia, and while it didn’t get nearly as much publicity, the beatdown that the Cavaliers’ laid on the Crimson – a better team than UCLA – was perhaps even more impressive than Kentucky’s win a day earlier. Virginia held first half leads of 30-4 and 39-6, and at the final whistle, the scoreboard read 76-27. It’s Tony Bennett’s team might just be the nation’s second best heading into conference play. Here are the two opponent halftime box scores side-by-side so that you can decide which is more astounding:
Michigan in a state of free fall. The Wolverines suffered their fourth straight loss in a row on Saturday, and while this one wasn’t all that unexpected, it just makes the hole that the Wolverines have dug themselves even deeper. SMU is a solid basketball team, but the Mustangs exposed Michigan in the exact same ways the Wolverines had previously been exposed by NJIT, Eastern Michigan and Arizona. It’s still only December, but the clock is ticking. This team needs fixing, and it needs to find a solution to its woes sooner rather than later. With every passing game, Michigan’s chances to climb back into even just the NCAA Tournament discussion become slimmer and slimmer.
The biggest upset of the season. When Michigan (then KenPom’s No. 20 team in the country) fell to NJIT (293) back on December 6, we were sure it would be the most memorable upset of the season. It still might be, but it’s probably not the biggest anymore. That’s because Texas Southern (283) went to East Lansing on Saturday and shocked Michigan State (12). The Jaguars came into the game with a 1-8 record, and…
The Spartans were without Branden Dawson, arguably their best player, but nonetheless, this is more than just a startling upset. It’s an ominous sign for a team that lacks significant offensive punch. Scoring 0.97 points per possession against a team that ranked toward the bottom of Division-I in defensive efficiency doesn’t bode well for Big Ten play.
Statement wins. It’s always the question this time of year: “Is [insert team with surprisingly good record here] legit?” Washington, Notre Dame, VCU, Northern Iowa, West Virginia and Maryland all tried to answer the question Saturday with victories, but who did so most emphatically? Washington’s win over Oklahoma looks really nice, but the Sooners didn’t play all that well and still had a chance to win at the end. Northern Iowa and West Virginia both beat solid teams on neutral courts, and Maryland did so on the road.
But I was most impressed with Notre Dame, who beat Purdue 94-63 in Indianapolis despite a 3-13 shooting performance from star guard Jerian Grant. Going into Saturday, Notre Dame only had one quality win, an overtime triumph at home over Michigan State. It had been scoring at will against lowly opposition. The Purdue win, however, proves that the Irish’s offensive explosions were no fluke. I wrote Friday about their offense, which is statistically the nation’s best, and I believe Mike Brey has his best team since 2010-11. That year, Notre Dame was a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
One of the greatest offensive games ever played? Undefeated Colorado State played a weird game against Denver on Friday night, and barely escaped with a 85-84 victory. The game was notable though for how prolific both teams were offensively. Here’s The Cauldron’s Andy Glockner on how efficiency-wise, it might’ve been the greatest offensive game ever.
Player of the day: JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova. Pinkston looked like a grown man among boys — literally and metaphorically. He actually didn’t play his greatest game, but he was immense late in the second half and in overtime. He wore Syracuse’s big men down all game, and finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 2 huge blocks, one of which came in the extra period. He was also the one who forced overtime with a steal and game-tying bucket with four seconds left.
Play of the day: Rayvonte Rice beats Missouri. Braggin’ Rights!