NCAA Top 25 Men's Basketball Recap: Controversy heading into the tourney...
Depending on how you look at it, the college basketball season is either winding down or ramping up. If your team has no hope of making it to the tournament, then you are definitely winding down. If your favorite team has already punched their ticket to the big dance or is on the bubble, then things are ramping up for you.
We only have a handful of games left and then we will be rushing to get those conference tournaments in the books so we can start the main event.
As I stated in the title though, it isn't without controversy.
If you have been following my blog, you likely know that Alabama has been doing quite well with the round ball instead of the oblong ball this year. Last I checked, their team was sitting in the number 1 spot in the NCAA rankings.
It was announced within the last week that there was an incident a while back where an individual brought a gun to a party or something and a young woman was shot and killed. Come to find out, the individual who brought the gun was none other than Brandon Miller, star player on the Bama team.
Now, I don't know the full story, and I encourage you to do a quick Google search if you want more information, but there is a lot of controversy now considering the fact that Miller is still being allowed to play. To be fair, no charges have been brought against him yet(as far as I know), but I can understand the questions that people likely have.
My guess is, they wait until after the tournament, then things really start to happen. Wouldn't that be convenient. Honestly, a little too convenient if you ask me, but we all know how these things go when there are sports involved.
I'll be watching this closely as it could have a big impact on the entire tournament. The sad thing for Alabama is no matter what they do from this point forward, the narrative will no longer be about any of the other players on the team.
Monday we had one top 25 game in the NCAA. It was #3 Kansas versus #24 TCU and the Jayhawks were able to come out on top retaining their #3 position.
Tuesday gave us eight games in the top 25 and there were some good ones!
Villanova upset #16 Xavier by one point beating them 64 to 63. #14 Kansas State took down #9 Baylor showing that they might have the skills to bust some brackets in the tournament. #11 Tennessee continues their slide from the top falling to #25 Texas A&M. This isn't the time of year that you want to be dropping these games.
I remember when the Volunteers were sitting in the #2 position. Things were looking really great back then. I still think they will make it to the tournament no problem, but they need to right the ship.
#10 Marquette had a close call against #19 Creighton but came out on top 73 to 71. Keep an eye on both of these teams come March.
Michigan State came off a tough loss on the road at Michigan right after the campus shooting that took place last week. This was their first home game since the shooting against #17 Indiana and they snatched a big win beating the Hoosiers 80 to 65. This is big for the Spartans and if they can win out the rest of the season and do well in the conference tournament, they should have a chance at making it to the big dance.
It was definitely a big Tuesday with half of the games played being upsets.
Wednesday gave us four top 25 games. Probably the biggest game was Boston College beating #6 Virginia 63 to 48. There was either some great defense in that game or nothing was falling!
Houston continues to hold the number 1 spot. I apologize, I think I said earlier it was Alabama.
Speaking of Alabama... They had a tough game against South Carolina. It took going into overtime to beat them by two points 78 to 76. That was a close one Bama.
My nieces high school varsity team had another playoff game on Wednesday night. They were able to come away with a win by a margin of 30 points. It was a pretty one sided game obviously. The good thing is when they are up that much my niece usually gets a small amount of time on the court.
Granted the coach buts her in with like a minute left in the quarter. Which is dumb I think. I mean obviously I am biased, but she is a good player. Next year half your starting lineup is going to be gone. Don't you want her getting court time as much as possible.
Your up 30+ points for crying out loud. If the other team starts to pull closer just put your starters back in.
They face their next opponent Saturday at 1:30. I am hoping we can stream the game so I can cheer them on.
Thursday night there were another four games in the top 25.
Illinois took down #21 Northwestern by four points. I have to be honest, I am shocked to see that one. Not the fact that Illinois won, but the fact that Northwestern somehow snuck into the #21 spot. It's not that they are a bad team, I just didn't expect that.
That was the only upset of the night. Gonzaga continues to look good in conference play. Who knows how that will carry over into the tournament. I have a feeling they will do pretty good.
Only one top 25 game from the Big East on the slate for tonight, then we roll into Saturday and a massive 18 games.
Then on Sunday we have three. It's going to be a big weekend. Get ready! We will be filling out brackets before you know it!
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