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By Mark Button, SI.com
One would think Oklahoma’s decisive victory against Kansas on Sunday would help sort out all this talk of Big 12 teams and No. 1 NCAA seeds.
One would need to think again.
If anything, the Sooners’ 77-70 win -- in which Oklahoma built a 32-point second-half lead and saw Kansas trim that to five before OU put it away -- only clouded the situation.
The fact is, even though Kansas and Texas lost over the weekend, both teams are alive for top seeds in the NCAA tournament. Figure that Arizona and Kentucky have No. 1 seeds locked, unless something truly strange happens, leaving open two spots.
Both could very well come from the Big 12 in the form of Oklahoma and Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas or (less likely) Texas and Kansas. If so, it would mark the third straight year that two No. 1 seeds emerged from the same conference. Duke and Maryland did it last year, and Michigan State and Illinois in 2001.
But let’s not pretend this is even close to being settled.
Florida is still heavy in the mix, with dates at Georgia and home against Kentucky remaining. Add Wake Forest to list, too, as the ACC’s best could take the No. 1 seed in the East, moving Kentucky to the South, if the Demon Deacons win out and advance deep in the ACC tournament.
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. But if the Big 12 does land two No. 1 seeds, don’t plan on seeing both in New Orleans. Since 1985 (when the NCAA expanded to 64 teams), only once have two No. 1 seeds playing from the same league made the Final Four. That was ’85, when the Big East’s St. John’s and Georgetown both advanced to the national semifinals, but we all know neither won the title -- Villanova shocked the world, remember? Of course you do.
In fact, last year was the first time that the eventual national champion -- Maryland -- was one of two No. 1 seeds that played in the same conference. In 2000, Stanford and Arizona both came from the Pac-10 as No. 1s, but neither advanced to the Final Four. In 1998, UNC and Duke did it, with the Tar Heels losing to Utah in the national semifinals. Michigan and Indiana are the only others to earn No. 1 seeds from the same league, and if you’ve forgotten what happened there … do what Chris Webber did and take a timeout to think about it.
So what does all this mean? Well, if Oklahoma goes on to win the Big 12 regular-season title, and Kansas or Texas wins the Big 12 tournament, then chances are strong for a pair of Big 12 teams earning top seeds in the Big Dance.
Just don’t pencil in both for a trip to the Final Four.
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The top five players in the country, based on last week's performances. |
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• GUARD: Chris Hill, Michigan State. It came in a loss, but it wasn’t Hill’s fault. The sophomore guard torched Syracuse for 34 points -- 20 more than his average -– and a school-record 10 3-pointers, including a 30-footer to pull the Spartans with two points with under two minutes to play. |
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• GUARD: Daniel Horton, Michigan. Once LaVell Blanchard’s sidekick, the freshman Horton gives the Big Blue hope for the future. In Michigan’s only game last week, Horton hit nine 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 33 points, as the Wolverines became the first team to beat Purdue at home. Pity the Fab Five ruined Michigan’s postseason chances this year; the Wolverines could have won a game or two in the NCAAs. |
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• GUARD: Quannas White, Oklahoma. Another player often overshadowed -- by OU PG Hollis Price -- White almost single-handedly picked apart No. 5 Kansas on Sunday. He drained all four of his 3-point attempts and finished 7-for-9 from the floor for 19 points. |
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• FORWARD: David West, Xavier. Dayton has seen enough of this guy. After torching the Flyers for 47 points in the first meeting, West led Xavier to a sweep of Dayton with 27 points Saturday. West was perfect from 3-point range (3-for-3) and made all eight free throw attempts. |
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• FORWARD: Luke Walton, Arizona. Surprisingly, this is Walton’s first appearance on the Starting Five. He earned it with his finest performance of the year: 23 points, 10 points, four assists in 35 minutes in Arizona’s 20-point dismantling of Arizona State.
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MEMPHIS TIGERS: Not many teams have had success on the road this season, but Memphis improved to 6-3 away from home after winning at Louisville and South Florida. The victory in the then-No. 4 Cardinals’ arena was the big one, of course, and likely ensured John Calipari’s squad a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers have won seven straight and have a favorable C-USA schedule remaining. Maybe not favorable enough to overtake Marquette or Louisville for the conference title, but if Memphis wins out, it could be interesting. The Tigers have been successful with their potent frontline of Chris Massie (16.3 pp., 11.4 rpg.), John Grice (12.1, 6.7) and Rodney Carney (10.3, 4.9). But Memphis’ real strength is its balanced scoring. Incredibly, the Tigers have eight players averaging at least 8.8 points a game. Everyone contributes, and they shoot 44 percent from the floor as a team while outrebounding their opponents by nearly five a game.
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DUNK: Josh Howard
He just makes the game look so easy. Privately, we’ve been calling him “college basketball’s Tracy McGrady” because he does everything. At Georgia Tech on Thursday, for example, Howard scored 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go with seven boards and six steals. Howard put 28 on Virginia as an encore, including 8-of-8 free throws.
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AIR BALL: Bobby Knight
The quintessential bully was at it again after Texas Tech lost to Texas on Monday. Knight suspended his best player, Andre Emmett, for missing a pregame shoot around and the Red Raiders were routed. After the game, two team members told the media they held a vote to suspend Emmett, and when Lubbock Avalanche-Journal beat writer Brent Schrotenboer asked Knight about the vote, Knight responded with this: “It’s none of your goddamn business." Knight then publicly called Schrotenboer "an idiot" for asking the question. |
DUNK: J.J. Redick, Duke
The youngster picked a pretty good game to break free from his shooting slump. Redick hit 4-of-9 3-pointers, many in clutch situations, in Duke’s 75-70 home victory against rival Maryland on Wednesday. Redick was conservative against N.C. State on Saturday, hoisting just five 3s. He hit two of them. Duke will really need his jumper to fall consistently in March.
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AIR BALL: Tennessee
One of our favorite dark horse took a nose dive last week. The Vols lost at South Carolina, but it seems every team struggles on the road. But then Tennessee stumbled at home to Alabama, a team that really struggles away from home. In fact, the win was ‘Bama's first SEC road victory in six trips. |
DUNK: Jim Calhoun
Welcome back. After doctors predicted it would take the UConn coach three or four weeks to return from prostate surgery, Calhoun was on the bench for the Huskies against St. John’s just 16 days later.
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BYU at Utah, Monday, 11:59 p.m., ESPN
Stay up late and, if you have to, call in sick on Tuesday. It’ll be worth it. Notorious for strong regular-season finishes, Utah is 8-1 in the Mountain West Conference and a lock for the NCAAs with an RPI of 12. BYU, is right there as well with an RPI of 18. The winner of this game should win the MWC. If you miss this game, don’t blame us when it comes time to fill out that NCAA bracket. |
Indiana at Illinois, Tuesday, 9 p.m., ESPN
If the Hoosiers have any hopes of making the NCAA tournament, this is a game they almost must win. Early this year, we thought Indiana would be a force. We saw them ripping through the Big Ten and making another strong run in March. Well, we’ve been wrong before. As for Illinois, so much for running away with the Big Ten regular season. Like Minnesota and Wisconsin, Illinois is looking up at Michigan in the standings. Brian Cook has fallen off a bit lately, too. He was held to just four points in the 30-point rout of Michigan State on Wednesday, but scored 17 (two off his average) on Saturday against Northwestern.
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Marquette at Louisville, Thursday , 8 p.m. ESPN2
Ah yes, the rematch. Louisville senior Reece Gaines ripped out the hearts of Marquette fans everywhere with his game-winning 3-pointer on Feb. 15. Shackled by Gaines on defense, Dwayne Wade had a horrific shooting day, making just 3-of-13 shots. Gaines, who finished with 20 (including four 3s) moved ahead of Wade for the C-USA player and possibly national of the year honors, though the Cardinals' sudden slump may have erased Gaines’ momentum. Either way, this is a chance for Wade to reclaim superiority, and for the Golden Eagles, it’s an opportunity to run away with the conference championship.
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"He's the Player of the Year in the league and each night he goes out and just keeps reinforcing his thought."
-- Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt on Wake Forest’s Josh Howard after Howard scored 24 points on the Jackets in a 75-67 victory in Atlanta on Thursday.
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"Why would they be down on themselves? Send them off to Afghanistan and they'll get fired up real quick. They're the luckiest men in the world to have a scholarship to a Big Ten school."
-- Gene Keady on the state of his team in a postgame rant after Ohio State beat Purdue 52-44 on Saturday.
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"In essence, our bench was oh-for-life"
-- Florida coach Billy Donovan after his bench players were outscored 30-0 by Vanderbilt on Saturday. Florida won anyway -- in overtime.
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"Don't give me too much credit. I put up 15 of them."
-- Creighton senior Kyle Korver on his seven 3-pointers against Fresno State on Saturday. |
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We asked which Big East team would qualify for the NCAA tournament. Here's what you said:
UConn and the 'Cuse. And in all fairness to the man, let one of them take Georgetown's Mike Sweetney with them.
Dean Ahearn, Burke, Va.
If I had to pick right now ... Pitt, Notre Dame, UConn and Syracuse. No one else has any big wins outside of the conference. Indiana and Michigan State, though struggling through the Big Ten, have better resumes than the likes of Boston College and St. Johns. When will the selection committee get off the Big East fad? They always get six or seven in and they flop. This year is not the year for the Big East and with the loss of their marquee players (Okafor, Anthony [if he goes], Bell and others) that leaves only ND's Chris Thomas as the only bright light returning next year. Sorry, Big Easters, look at the facts.
Matt Nuthals, Green Bay, Wis.
Forget the Big Least! Whichever teams make it will be gone in the first round just like Florida is every year. The conference to watch out for is the ACC. A lot of people think ACC teams are having a down year, but they will surprise everyone, especially the greatest basketball team ever: the Duke Blue Devils!
Aneesha Mehtagal, Lumberton, N.C.
Pitt, Notre Dame and Syracuse. No UConn, no Villanova and no Seton Hall. The Big East has been overrated ever since Patrick Ewing left Georgetown and should no longer be considered a top conference. Three should be their limit.
Sam Seifert, Henderson, N.C.
Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Villanova and Connecticut. Furthermore, look for only Syracuse to be the only one of these teams to advance past the second round, as they are the only team with good perimeter shooters (a must in March) and solid rebounding instead. Plus, in Carmelo Anthony, they have one of the top five players in the country.
Hani, New York
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| Which teams would you give No. 1 tournament seeds to right now?
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Mark Button covers college basketball for CNNSI.com. |
