If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

Top 25 Games

• #8 Purdue 72, Indiana 61: “The Boilers took yet another step tonight, demonstrating how focused and prepared they are able to be following the biggest win of the season. Purdue allowed no semblance of a letdown tonight, taking care of business at the lovely Assembly Hall and winning by 11, 72-61.” (Boiled Sports or Inside the Hall: Recap, Player Interviews, and Tom Crean Interview)
• #10 Wisconsin 53, Michigan 52: “A month ago today, Minnesota beat Michigan in Crisler Arena. The final score was 69-64, but down the stretch the outcome was never really in question. It was Michigan’s seventh loss in eight games and a once promising had derailed and was hurtling toward abyss. Michigan’s turnaround over the last month has surprised even the most optimistic Michigan fans, but it also forces us to suffer through a deflating loss like this. The pain of losing a coin flip game like tonight’s is infinitely harder to manage than a loss like Minnesota, where you simply get outplayed.” (UM Hoops: Recap, Player Interviews, John Beilein Interview, and Final Shot; Bucky’s Fifth Quarter: Wisconsin Drinks Michigan’s Milkshake)

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Within a span of 24 hours the NCAA released a pair of statements that sent shock waves through NCAA coaching circles. The first involving Connecticut and its Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun had been expected since Yahoo! Sports broke the story on the recruitment of Nate Miles in March 2009, while the other involved Tennessee and both its basketball and football programs in an ongoing process, but just came to the media’s attention within the past year. While the verdict on Calhoun and the release of the NCAA’s notice of allegations against Tennessee has created quite a bit of controversy, they also raise a lot of questions.

Calhoun was less than thrilled with the NCAA's ruling

Before we get into the questions, it’s probably best to lay out each of the cases:

Connecticut

The Huskies were cited for the recruitment of Nate Miles that involved the use of a former student-manager-turned-agent Josh Nochimson who reportedly helped direct Miles to Storrs. Nochimson reportedly dealt with two UConn assistants in Patrick Sellars and Beau Archibald, both of whom are no longer with the program. According to the NCAA’s official release “the case includes more than $6,000 in improper recruiting inducements, (150) impermissible phone calls and (190) text messages to prospective student-athletes, failure to monitor and promote an atmosphere for compliance by the head coach, failure to monitor by the university, and unethical conduct by the former operations director, among other violations.”

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1. You know about the NCAA sanctions against UConn and Jim Calhoun already… so get yourself ready for another day of discussion about NCAA allegations, as Tennessee has learned and will release later today its notice of allegations as a result of the Bruce Pearl scandal and several other alleged violations.  Pearl in particular is “expected to be accused of unethical conduct and failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance,” according to FoxSports, one of the most serious allegations that can be levied against a head coach.  Mike DeCourcy points out that the UConn sanctions do not allow Pearl to rest easily, given that former Husky director of basketball operations Beau Archibald was given a two-year “show cause” penalty for unethical conduct, the same thing that Pearl is charged with.  Yikes.  UT won’t have its day in court against the committee of infractions until June, so it won’t impact this season any further, but the Volunteer program and fans cannot be feeling very comfortable today.
2. Ohio State may have lost two of its last three games, but head coach Thad Matta is keeping things in perspective in realizing that the Buckeyes lost their games in two of the toughest road environments in the country against teams who could get to the Final Four.  We’re generally in agreement with Matta.  It took an insane performance by E’Twaun Moore last weekend to take down OSU in Mackey, and the Badgers were equally ridiculous in its comeback against the Buckeyes the weekend prior.  In our view, Ohio State is still the most balanced and capable team in America, and on a neutral floor we’re not sure anyone will beat them in March.
3. Is it even possible that the lunatic fringe known as the Mississippi State basketball program could be surging at the right time to make a run just in time for the postseason after a tumultuous season of disappointment?  From Renardo Sidney’s haymakers to Ravern Johnson’s tweets to Dee Bost’s credits to Rick Stansbury’s hair turning gray seemingly by the minute, it’s been a wild ride in Starkville this year.  And the answer is a resounding NO, despite what these southern fried writers (this one believes that Sidney is deserving of praise, not criticism) are trying to sell their local fans — MSU might end up with a Thursday bye into the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament, but to expect them to (most likely) beat three solid East teams to win the event is all kinds of ridiculous.  They haven’t won three in a row since the start of the season playing a bunch of nobodies.
4. Speaking of concerns, Butler’s Brad Stevens has had a lot to worry about this year as his Bulldogs have spent most of the season looking for a post-Final Four identity with returnees Matt Howard, Ronald Nored and Shelvin Mack back in the fold.  In keeping with his cool cat persona, though, Stevens said recently that he didn’t “freak out” over Butler’s nine losses, all of which came before February 3.  Now, with his team on a six-game winning streak and having pushed itself back onto the NCAA bubble, Stevens believes that his team was always “pretty close” to being good.  With one more regular season game and strong opportunity to receive a double-bye in the Horizon League Tourney again (the tiebreaker scenarios are incredibly complicated), the Bulldogs appear almost there.
5. Luke Winn is back with his Late Season Style Archive feature.  This is obviously a must-read, but which of his twenty different looks are your favorites?  For our money, Jay-R Stowbridge’s Yellow Man, Norris Cole’s high fade, Mike Bruesewitz’s Redhead Revival, and Justin Graham’s Flying Spicoli.  Submit your favs below…

The Lede.  It was an interesting night of games out there in the college hoops nation, but the most intriguing part of the evening came from a Divison III school with a grand total of 950 undergraduate students, every one of whom could undoubtedly use our SAT scores back in the day as toilet paper.  Pasadena, where you at?

Caltech Celebrates Its First Conference Win in 26 Years (LA Times/G. Friedman)

Your Watercooler Moment.  Caltech Ends 310-Game Conference Losing Streak.  If there was ever a time for a fan base to RTC, it was tonight at Caltech’s Senior Night.  We typically don’t delve down into Division III very often unless a D-I team is going slummin’, but something like this is definitely worthy as the WC Moment.  The last time the Beavers won a game in its Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, January 23, 1985, none of its current players were even born yet (the school ended an overall 207-game losing streak back in 2007; things are looking up!).  The losing streak had extended to a stunning 310 games in the intervening 26 years, but the lovable losers from one of the nation’s most prestigious universities put an end to it tonight when Ryan Elmquist hit one of two free throws with three seconds left to give his team a one-point lead.  The ensuing half court shot by Occidental College was off the mark, Caltech won the game, 46-45, and the RTC was on. Congrats to the Beavers on their Senior Night.  Let’s just not make it another generation until the next one, ok?

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

• Matt Dickey’s Fifteen Seconds.  Well, actually 2.8 seconds, as that’s all it took for the junior UNC-Asheville guard to steal a long inbounds pass at halfcourt, take one dribble, and drop a leaning thirty-footer to beat Big South leading Coastal Carolina at the buzzer.  If he isn’t already, he’ll be all over the ESPN highlight packages this week for this play.  Wow.  CCU is still a full game ahead of second-place Liberty in the loss column of the Big South, but that was a terrible way to lose at home right there.

• Bruce Pearl With His Dander Up.  It seemingly never fails.  As soon as the flames start licking at Bruce Pearl’s feet, his team comes up big with a win that nobody expects.  A 29-9 run to close out the last twelve minutes of the game in Memorial Gymnasium is almost unheard of for a visiting team, yet Pearl’s guys came from eleven down to win by nine in a shocking display of defensive prowess over the last third of tonight’s game.  Pearl getting notice of allegations from the NCAA today didn’t cause Vanderbilt to go ice cold from beyond the arc (Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins combined for 1-9 from distance), but if we’ve learned anything about this man’s career, there seems to be a strong correlation between other teams playing badly at precisely the time we stop believing in him.  UT isn’t a lock for the NCAA Tournament just yet, but tonight’s win will go a long way toward that end.  Who here wants to bet against Pearl?

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Jared Quillen is the RTC correspondent for the SEC.

A Look Back

There was little change in SEC standings this week, which bodes well for the SEC’s chances at getting six bids to the NCAA Tournament, the most since 2008.  And that’s just how Joe Lunardi sees it as he currently projects six SEC teams in his bracket.  That means that Tennessee and Georgia both remain in the tournament despite suffering losses this week.  The SEC is second only to the Big East in total conference bids, which is currently projected at eleven.  While I think that is a little excessive, it’s quite obvious that the big winners in the expanded 68-team field are the major conferences; especially with the number of historically strong mid-majors sitting squarely on the bubble.  Memphis and Gonzaga are probably barely in, meaning one more little trip up and they lose their bid.  Saint Mary’s is on the edge of losing its at-large bid after a loss to Utah State on Saturday and Butler, last year’s national championship runner-up, is just barely playing its way back into at-large consideration.  The mid-majors’ loss is the SEC’s gain.

Power Rankings

1. Florida (21-5, 10-2): Florida went to LSU and got a win without Chandler Parsons.  Now on a five-game winning streak, Florida has established enough breathing room to feel confident about its chances of winning the SEC East if not the conference.  I was critical of the Gators early, but they have proven me the fool.

2. Alabama (18-8, 10-2): The Tide is 7-1 against SEC West opponents including wins over Arkansas and at LSU.  Last week, Alabama clinched the SEC West, its third SEC West title and first since 2005.  Alabama is also 14-0 at home.  How’d the Tide do it?  Well for starters, holding conference opponents to a league-leading 38 percent from the field really helps.  This team is only getting better and seems poised to make a good run in the NCAA Tournament.

3. Kentucky (19-7, 7-5): Mississippi State gave the Wildcats more than they wanted in Rupp Arena, closing the Cats’ lead to just four with under a minute left after Kentucky built a 12-point lead with 3:26 to play.  The Wildcats followed that win with an easy victory over reeling South Carolina in a game that Kentucky opened up with 15-0 lead.  Darius Miller, who has been known to disappear at times, scored a career-high 22 points.

4. Vanderbilt (20-6, 8-4): The Commodores have won five straight since dropping two in a row to Arkansas and Florida.  With this week’s two wins, Vandy reaches the 20-win mark for the sixth time in the Kevin Stallings era.  Jeffery Taylor continues to shine, recording a double-double at Auburn where he scored 20 points and pulled down ten rebounds.

5. Georgia (18-8, 7-5) Despite the loss to Vanderbilt, the win over Tennessee should be enough to solidify the Bulldogs’ at-large chances barring a late season meltdown in conference play.  The win in Knoxville was also Georgia’s first in ten years.  Mark Fox is doing everything right in Georgia, which finished with four, three and five conference wins and a last place finish in the SEC East in each of the last three seasons, but now has a good chance of finishing second in the East with just four games to play.

6. Arkansas (16-10, 5-7) The Hogs won easily over Florida A&M at home this week in a rare late season non-conference matchup, but couldn’t get the win at Alabama despite a 31-31 tie at the half.  Then again, no one has beaten the Tide at home this year.  The Razorbacks host Kentucky this week in what should certainly be a rowdy one as it always is when the Cats come into Bud Walton Arena.

7. Tennessee (16-11, 6-6) After dropping three straight to Alabama, Florida and Kentucky in the Volunteers’ toughest stretch of the season, the Vols beat South Carolina, 73-67, but couldn’t get the home win over Georgia despite Scotty Hopson’s career high 32 points.  Inconsistency is making home games very frustrating for the Volunteers, who are now 10-6 at home, including 3-3 in conference play.

8. Mississippi (17-10, 5-7) The Rebels beating Auburn handily 90-59 is good, but losing to in-state rival Mississippi State twice in a season for the second straight year is frustrating.  The Bulldogs controlled the second half despite a 33-33 tie.  On the bright side, Chris Warren made all four of his free throw attempts in the loss to improve his nation-leading free-throw percentage to 94.3 percent.

9. South Carolina (13-12, 4-8) After a strong start to the SEC, where the Gamecocks got wins over Vanderbilt and Arkansas and at Florida, the Gamecocks seem to be withering now.  The Cocks are also losers of seven of their last eight, including five straight after opening SEC play at 3-1.  Credit that to the Cocks’ poor shooting (40.4%) and terrible turnover ratio (0.8:1).  Couple that with a stretch that includes games at home against Kentucky, Florida, Georgia and on the road against Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Kentucky, and wins can be hard to come by.  It doesn’t help either when freshman leading-scorer Bruce Ellington has played nine straight games without shooting at least 50 percent from the field, including a 1-12 performance against Georgia and 1 for 11 at Kentucky in his last three games.  They’ll be better next year.

10. Mississippi State (14-12, 6-6) The Bulldogs suffered a second straight loss at Kentucky following their season low-point loss to Auburn, but were able to follow that up with a 71-58 home win over in-state rival Mississippi.  The Bulldogs have now won five straight against the Rebels and when you’re having a rough year, it’s always nice to be able to say at least you’re dominating your rival.

11. Auburn (9-17, 2-10) As usual, Auburn had a tough week, losing 90-59 at Ole Miss and 77-60 to Vanderbilt despite keeping it close for most of the game trailing by just two with 14 minutes to play.  If you’re looking for a bright spot, Earnest Rost is averaging 19.3 points per game over Auburn’s last four and is shooting 54.5 (12-22) from three and 56.5 percent overall.  Compare that to last year when he averaged just 2.8 points per game.

12. LSU (10-17, 2-10) Monday on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Tigers Coach Trent Johnson said, “Believe it or not, we’re starting to play better.”  I’m gonna go with the “or not” option.  The Tigers have lost ten straight, including home losses this week to Alabama and Florida.  The dubious stretch has to be among the longest current active losing streaks.  Furthermore, LSU is currently last in conference play in the following categories: scoring, scoring margin, three-point field goal percentage and assist to turnover ratio and second-to-last in free throw percentage, field goal percentage, rebounding, blocked shots, steals and turnover margin.  But Coach Johnson thinks things are getting better.  Apparently those rose-colored glasses are working out pretty well for the LSU coach.

The Week Ahead

At this point, every game matters, whether for seeding or just getting into the NCAA Tournament.  Let’s see what’s on the docket:

• February 22, Tennessee @ Vanderbilt.  Rivalry games are always fun and the Volunteers probably need to win this one to feel really comfortable with their chances for an NCAA berth, especially with games against Florida and at Kentucky still remaining on the schedule.
• February 23, Kentucky @ Arkansas.  The Wildcats have to get this win on the road against “Unforgettable” Kentucky alum John Pelphrey in Fayetteville if they want to have any chance of winning the conference regular season, much less the East.  They haven’t been strong on the road and Bud Walton is always particularly hostile to the Cats.
• February 24, Georgia @ Florida. Georgia won the last one 101-94 in double overtime.  The Bulldogs can stay in the hunt for the East or at least a second-place finish with a win at Florida.  Florida’s NCAA seeding gets better with every win.
• February 26, Florida @ Kentucky.  Florida holds a 9-4 advantage over Kentucky in their last 13 meetings, a fact not lost on the Wildcat faithful who have learned a special hatred for the Gators of late.  The Gators won the last meeting on February 5, 70-68.  A win by Florida here all but guarantees them an SEC East championship and brings an end to coach John Calipari’s 31-game win streak at Rupp Arena, where he is undefeated in his two seasons at Kentucky.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

Illinois and Tennessee will look to lock up bids on the road tonight while Michigan State and Minnesota fight for survival. All rankings from RTC and all times Eastern.

Illinois @ #1 Ohio State – 7 pm on ESPN (***)

We Have Weber And Illinois In...For Now

After starting the season 24-0, Ohio State has lost two of its past three games, both coming on the road. The Buckeyes return home to Columbus tonight to take on an Illinois team looking for that marquee road win that will push them off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament. At 17-10 (7-7), Illinois is probably in the field as of now, but still has work to do. With a road game at Purdue still to follow, it seems the best the Illini can do is 9-9 in league play, although a win tonight would give them a great shot to go 10-8 while also locking up a bid.

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If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

Top 25 Games

• #11 Purdue 76, #1 Ohio State 63: “In the last week, Purdue took down Wisconsin and Ohio State…back to back. The number 2 and 10 teams in the nation. Sure, they were at home, but that’s where you must dominate. Ask MSU or Illinois how much they’d like to be unbeaten at home this year and how hard it is to accomplish.” (Boiled Sports or Eleven Warriors)
• Nebraska 70, #2 Texas 67: “The march toward a 16-0 conference mark is over as the No. 2/3 Texas Longhorns fall, 70-67, to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Despite a furious rally in the final three minutes of the game, aided by mindless Nebraska fouls, Texas could never overcome the lead they relinquished early in the second half. The Huskers dominated the glass from start to finish, crippled the Texas defense with dribble penetration, and limited the Texas offense by sagging four or five players in the paint and daring the Longhorns to score from the perimeter. In a game that looked eerily similar to the December loss at Southern Cal, Texas was thoroughly worked physically, especially in the low post. The Nebraska size gave the ‘Horns fits, got most of the Texas frontcourt into foul trouble, and forced Rick Barnes to play some odd lineups, mostly in the first half.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
• #3 Kansas 89, Colorado 63: “Markieff Morris led the Jayhawks with 26 points and 16 rebounds including 9 on the offensive end. It was one of the best performances of his career and Colorado simply had no answer on the interior.” (Rock Chalk Talk: Part 1 and Part 2)

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***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

With only two weeks left in the regular season, it’s time for teams to make their moves. This weekend provides ample opportunities for some to do so. All rankings from RTC and all times Eastern.

VCU @ Wichita State – 7 pm Friday on ESPN2 (***)

Skeen Leads VCU In Scoring (14.6 PPG), But Is Also Top Ten In the CAA In Rebounding (7.7 RPG) And PP40 (19.0)

This could very well prove to be an elimination game. VCU has lost two straight games at home and now has to venture out of conference on the road. Wichita State has lost three games at home already this season, however, and probably has to win out and make a run in the MVC Tournament in order to have a chance at a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Shockers don’t have a win in the RPI top 50 and those three home losses are really holding them back. VCU was blasted on the boards by Old Dominion recently (40-21) and it’s going to be hard to avoid that again in this game. If the Rams can’t create extra possessions through turnovers, it’s going to be a very long night.

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Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court.

Another Friday, another edition of the official RTC bubble watch:

New Locks

St. John’s 16-9 (8-5), 16 RPI, 3 SOS– The Johnnies move into lock status following a two-game road winning streak at Big East bubble teams Cincinnati and Marquette. Steve Lavin’s team has collected four wins against the RPI top-11 and welcome Pittsburgh to the Garden on Saturday for another major scalp opportunity. St. John’s seniors will be dancing for the first time in their careers.

Louisville 19-7 (8-5), 25 RPI, 28 SOS– Despite a setback at Cincinnati, the Cardinals effectively clinched a bid with their home win over Syracuse last Saturday to go along with RPI top-25 victories at Connecticut and at home against St. John’s and West Virginia. Any team that notches ten wins in the Big East is safely in the field and Louisville has games against Rutgers and Providence still remaining.

Arizona 22-4 (11-2), 17 RPI, 74 SOS– The Wildcats have only beaten one NCAA Tournament team this season, a home victory over UCLA, but a #17 RPI, 22 overall victories and a likely Pac-10 regular season championship is enough of a pedigree to easily garner a bid. Two of Arizona’s four losses came against the top two teams in the RPI, Kansas and BYU.

Vanderbilt 19-6 (7-4), 14 RPI, 9 SOS– The Commodores solidified a bid last Saturday behind John Jenkins’ heroics in a win over Kentucky and only cemented their NCAA status by coming from behind to win at Georgia on Wednesday. The RPI/SOS is fantastic and Vanderbilt has a clear path to second place in the SEC East. Wins over North Carolina and Saint Mary’s also aid the cause.

Kevin Stallings and Vandy are now NCAA Tournament locks

Atlantic 10

Xavier 19-6 (10-1), 19 RPI, 30 SOS- The Musketeers passed their toughest remaining test at Duquesne last Sunday and now face an easy schedule the rest of the way in the Atlantic 10, so it’s only a matter of time before they move into lock status. Xavier will be  favored in their last five contests before the A-10 Tournament where they’ll enter as the top seed. Xavier boast a stellar RPI/SOS, beat Temple and won at Georgia.

Temple 20-5 (10-2), 32 RPI, 113 SOS– Fran Dunphy’s team is currently playing their best basketball of the season and showed it last night by dismantling a Richmond team that badly needed a marquee win. The Owls toppled #5 RPI Georgetown back in December and haven’t suffered a loss against a sub-100 RPI squad. Temple is also inching closer to lock status.

Richmond 20-7 (9-3), 69 RPI, 170 SOS– The Spiders may need to make the NCAA Tournament on the back of a deep Atlantic 10 conference tournament run. Oh, and they should also root for Purdue in the process, as their upset win over the Boilermakers is the main bragging point of a lackluster resume. The RPI is being anchored by a #226 non-conference SOS. Richmond is probably out as of today.

Duquesne 16-7 (9-2), 73 RPI, 133 SOS– The upstart Dukes fell to West Virginia, George Mason and Xavier by single digits and could badly use one of those over in the win column right now. Their only bragging point is a home win over Temple and the RPI/SOS screams NIT. The Dukes have two games remaining they badly need to win — at Dayton and at Richmond – to even garner consideration.

ACC

Locks: Duke, North Carolina.

Boston College 16-9 (6-5), 45 RPI, 18 SOS– The Eagles boast a superior RPI to their ACC bubble counterparts, but have all the makings of a team that’ll be debated vigorously in the selection room on March 13. They’re 1-5 vs. the RPI top-50 with a November win over Texas A&M and three road games at North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Virginia remaining. If the Eagles win in Charlottesville and beat Miami and Wake at home to get to 9-7 in the ACC, it may be hard to keep them out during a soft bubble season.

Florida State 18-7 (8-3), 48 RPI, 88 SOS- Leonard Hamilton needs to make sure his team doesn’t completely go in the tank without Chris Singleton. They appear safely in the field now boosted by that win over Duke, but a complete collapse without their star player would give the committee signals that Florida State should be re-evaluated, especially if it’s uncertain Singleton returns. With Maryland off the radar, FSU only faces one NCAA team, North Carolina at home, the rest of the way.

Virginia Tech 17-7 (7-4), 57 RPI, 111 SOS– Seth Greenberg ran into some bad luck with his scheduling as Kansas State, UNLV, Mississippi State and the ACC as a whole all underachieved this season and his SOS catapulted as a result. Tech’s best wins are home against Florida State and neutral over Oklahoma State, and with a bubblicious RPI, obviously the Hokies have work to do. They’re in as of this moment, but it may come down to the two-game homestand in late February with Duke and BC coming to Blacksburg.

Clemson 17-9 (6-6), 76 RPI, 104 SOS– Clemson has blown two golden opportunities to stay in the bubble fight, losing by two at home to ascending North Carolina then falling to NC State on the road in a game they had to win. Lose at Miami on Sunday and Brad Brownell’s hopes for a surprise bid are officially over with a trip to Duke still on the slate. Clemson’s best win is a blowout of Florida State at home.

Big 12

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If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

Top 25 Games

• #2 Texas 73, Oklahoma State 55: “The Texas Longhorns (23-3, 11-0) stayed perfect in Big 12 play with a 73-55 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-9, 4-7) on Wednesday night in Austin. To put in context how strong a team is this Longhorns squad: I thought the Cowboys played improved basketball from the last time we saw them and that Texas was merely okay, and yet the game was never in doubt and the final spread was 18 points. This is a damn good team, even when it’s not at its best.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
• #11 Purdue 70, #9 Wisconsin 62: “Make no mistake, tonight’s win was a big one, and is yet another sign that this team is coming together. They still have their moments where they slip or make some poor decisions on shot selection, but by and large they’re good enough to overcome those lapses. Wisconsin is a solid opponent and one who just beat the #1 (and undefeated) team in the nation a few days ago. However, Purdue quite simply owns Wisconsin in Mackey, as the Badghuhs are now 2-37 all time in our favorite gym. JJ and E’Twaun wind up 6-2 against Wisconsin, including 4-0 at Mackey.” (Boiled Sports)
• #12 UConn 78, #10 Georgetown 70: “Welcome back, all, to the Kemba Walker Show. Here is the objectivity: 31 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 eye-popping self-pass off the backboard for a layup. 13-23 from the field, 12-18 from inside the 3-point line. Two backbreaking buckets to turn a 70-69 deficit into a 73-70 lead with just over a minute to play. Here’s the subjectivity: KEMBA KEMBA YEAH YEAH OH YEAH. Walker turned in a vintage performance tonight, and the Huskies looked once again like the team that blew off Kentucky’s doors and beat Texas in Austin. Not only did tonight’s 78-70 win over Georgetown remind me of the Maui Tournament games, but the positives of tonight’s game have me feeling sky-high looking forward.” (The UConn Blog or Casual Hoya)
• #18Vanderbilt 64, Georgia 56: “After dropping double-digit leads in road games against South Carolina and Tennessee, it was Vanderbilt’s turn to pull off the upset against a team that was unable to find its rhythm in the second half. The Bulldogs went without a field goal over the final 9:54 of the game and allowed Vandy to erase a 14 point deficit to improve to 7-4 in the SEC. Georgia fell to 6-5 in league play and into a tie with Tennessee for third place in the SEC East.” (Anchors of Gold)

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