Too little time, too many games. Saturday:
UCLA 75 - Washington 69 = The Bruins at least salvage a little pride by preventing the Huskies from winning the Pac-12 outright . . . even though they did back into it Sunday.
Marquette 83 - Georgetown 69 = Not surprising Marquette won, but the margin does not bode well for the Hoyas' post-season hopes. Their youngsters may be getting tired.
Illinois State 65 - Wichita State 64 = This one shocked me so much it moved me to an unforced error. I put the Shockers in the league championship game, and they did not make it there. They will probably still get an at-large, however.
Mississippi - Alabama 51 = A good win for Ole Miss, though it may be too little too late for them. Like many other schools, they could need a run in the conference tourney to get off the bubble.
Tennessee 68 - Vanderbilt 61 = And I'm not sure this gets the Vols off either, though it does go a good ways towards putting them into serious consideration. But the SEC is so top-heavy the league may not get as many at-large as they are accustomed to receive.
Syracuse 58 - Louisville 49 = Hey, if you score less than 50 points, you don's deserve to win. Yet if you score less than 60 points, you may find yourself in serious trouble down the road. If you are an aspiring Cinderella, wish for the Orange in your bracket.
San Diego State 98 - TCU 92 (OT) = Here's that blow-out I referenced above with Larry. Though his Aztecs came into the game with much better odds of getting an at-large than did Joe's Racers in his game, I feel certain Larry was sweating this one out also.
Penn 68 - Yale 47 = That's one of the wins the Quakers needed to tie Harvard for the Ivy. One more, against Princeton, and we'll have that play-in game again this year, with the Crimson maybe NOT snapping their NCAA-less streak going back to 1946 once more.
Iowa State 80 - Baylor 72 = I think I told you I could see this one coming. And I know I told you long ago that the Baylor Bears were not as good as the polls said they were 6 weeks ago.
North Carolina 88 - Duke 70 = Can you say revenge? Or can you say hubris, since the Blue Devils decided to poke the bear before the game started by playing highlights of their win in Chapel Hill, and the crowd started chanting insults at Zeller. Well, go ahead, Dookies, have your fun. Let's see who's laughing now.
BTW, that 48-24 halftime deficit was the largest in Cameron Indoor Sty-dium history.
Harvard 67 - Cornell 63 = The Crimson tried awfully hard to hand the Ivy to Penn here, and there's no excuse for them letting Big Red play them this tight. There's also no way they can feel disrespected if they are not granted an at-large if they cannot win the conference, based on this poor performance in a must-win situation. Yeah, they got the W. Big whup.
Valparaiso 65 - Butler 46 = Valpo shatters Butler's dream of making it back to the Dance. Well, it was a good run for Brad Stevens and the Bulldogs.
Kansas 73 - Texas 63 = As with the 'Cuse win above, it is not a very impressive victory by a probable #1-seed. And the 'Horns really could have used the win to get a better grasp on an at-large.
Sunday:
Stanford 75 - California 70 = I start with this one as it's the backhalf of that UCLA/Wash game above. The Huskies needed help from the Trees to win the Pac-12, with the Golden Bears end up in a tie for 2nd with the Ducks. Will all three of these teams get bids? Will somebody else steal the league tourney and grab the automatic, sending one of these to the pine? This could get real interesting.
Kentucky 74 - Florida 59 = The 'Cats looked real good in this one . . . either that, or the Gators looked awfully bad. Me, I'd split the difference, and give UK props for playing well, and Billy Donovan none for having his team ready for this one.
Florida State 80 - Clemson 72 = I'm not sure the Tigers would have gotten any serious at-large consideration had they taken this one, but you can be pretty sure they'll need a run in the ACC tourney to get a look now.
N. C. State 70 - Virginia Tech 58 = And I'm not sure the W over the "meh" Hokies helped the hopes of Jerry's Wolfpack much either. They too likely need to win maybe 2 this week in the tourney to feel safe . . . or at least to have a legitimate reason to moan-and-cry if they get dissed.
Michigan 71 - Penn State 65 = Another case of a better team playing down to their opponent this weekend. OK, so the Logans did break that 65-point mark I've been harping on so long. Yet for a team tied with 2 others for the Big Ten+ crown to win by two possessions against the Nuttin'ly Lions? Pretty poor, you ask me.
Virginia 75 - Maryland 72 (OT) = I was shocked last week to hear some experts putting UVA on the bubble. OK, so this one was in College Park, but even if I still do not buy that, I can at least understand where they were coming from.
Creighton 83 - Illinois State 79 (OT) = Did you watch this Missouri Valley championship game? Man, it was great. Both teams played well, both fought to the finish, and the Redbirds will likely get nothing out of it save a pat on the back . . . and maybe an invite to the NIT.
Arizona State 87 - Arizona 80 = What? What are you telling me? The Sun Devils beat the Desert 'Cats, and thus put the final nails in their coffin for any hope at all for an at-large bid? Wow. I like Herb Sendek, so I'm happy he could play the spoiler. Now 'Zona's only chance at all it to win the Pac-12 tourney . . . and ruin the at-large hopes of some other team to boot.
Ohio State 72 - Michigan State 70 = Another great game, fought down to the last second. Me, I'm of two minds here. I like the Spartans and Izzo, and I don't much like the Buckeyes and Matta. On the other hand, this result coupled with UNC's spanking of Duke pencils my Heels into that final #1-seed in the NCAAs (though I'm not going to ink it in yet). Regardless, I enjoyed watching this one. And the Spartans have no reason to complain, seeing as how they jumped out on OSU about as badly as my guys did against the Blue Devils, yet could not close it out on their own court. Them's the breaks, but you make most of your own in that regard.
There will be a few more automatics handed out this evening:
VCU vs. Drexel = Both these Colonial teams deserve a ticket to The Dance, and I expect them both to get one. Still, one never knows, so nail it down when you get the chance. This one could be a total war. Flip a coin.
Western Carolina vs. Davidson = The Catamounts and the Wildcats square off for what will likely be the sole Southern Conference dancer. Me, I'm picking the feline from the Old North State in this one.
Gonzaga vs. St. Mary's = Like that Colonial one above, both these WCC teams should have bids in their pockets already. Since I do like the Gaels, and only respect the loud-mouthed 'Zags, I'll pull for St. Mary's tonight.
That's all for me for now. I am looking forward to the end of small-and-midlevel conference tournaments to end, and for the big ones to kick off tomorrow. If nothing else, the reduction in the number of games will mean less work for me here.
Until later then, enjoy.