As March begins, Maryland and Georgetown fans can take solace in knowing that they’re members of arguably the two best conferences in the country.
Beware the Big Ten and Big East. Both leagues are playing at a high level as we enter college basketball’s “closing month.” Most bracket models have 10 Big Ten schools (71% of its membership) reaching the NCAA Tournament, while seven Big East schools are in the mix for the field of 68 (7/10 makes for easier math). The Big Ten is enjoying a ridiculous run right now, with eight schools in the most recent Associated Press Top 25. What is this, SEC football?
“The Big Ten’s always really good; it’s just unusual to have this sort of quality depth where the league performed at such a high level in the nonconference, and then seemingly everybody at least early on protected their home courts like you don’t see very often.” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said before last Saturday’s Maryland-Michigan State game.
“I’m not sure that the Big Ten 1-2-3 at the top is significantly better than the ACC or the SEC. But one through ten, I don’t think it’s a close call. It’s the best league top to bottom and by far the most competitive.”
In a 21st century college hoops landscape where third-year juniors are a rarity and fourth-year starters are virtually extinct (Maryland’s Anthony Cowan is the exception that proves the rule), the man wearing the suit (not always with a tie these days) becomes all the more important.
“Continuity in coaches — the coaches have been there for a long time,” Bilas said.
And they have: seven have been at their current jobs at least since 2013, with Purdue’s Matt Painter (15 seasons) and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo (25 years) the longest tenured. That leads to programs on solid footing: with Penn State, Rutgers, and Illinois likely making this year’s NCAA field, Nebraska (2014) would be the only program not making the Tournament in the last five years.
The Big East may not have the Big Ten’s depth, but they do have what they don’t: National Championships. Since the Big Ten won its last in 2000, the Big East has boasted six titlists (from an accounting standpoint, we count the 2013 vacated Louisville team but don’t recognize UConn in 2014 as the Huskies were in the AAC). And this year the league has seven likely participants. They also have the all-important continuity with six having five-plus years at their respective schools.
“Everybody’s recruiting at a very, very, very high level,” Xavier second-year coach Travis Steele said. “Every time we get a young man committed, I always tell our guys, ‘Hey-don’t forget, Georgetown’s getting the same thing. So is Marquette, so is Villanova, so’s Providence’. Everybody’s good.”
Bad news for a Georgetown that’s on the underbelly of the bubble with four straight losses, and minimal comfort for a Maryland that may lead its conference but has dropped two of three.
Wow of the Week: Once again the wow comes from Charlottesville. Virginia continues its surge up the standings in the ACC with two more wins. Saturday’s 52-50 triumph over then-No. 7 Duke saw the Cavaliers get a career-defining game from Jay Huff (15 points, 9 rebounds and 10 blocks) as they once again win a nail biter: six of their wins in the current 9-1 stretch have come by one possession. They’ve already locked up a double-bye in the ACC Tournament and could take third with two wins or a one victory plus help.
Player Spotlight: Sa’eed Nelson earned our first player spotlight at the beginning of January, and as we enter March the spotlight comes full circle. The senior became American University’s all-time leading scorer last Wednesday, passing Russell “Boo” Bowers. The guard was also named Patriot League Player of the Year as he helped power AU to a second-place finish, their highest since 2014 when they advanced to the NCAA’s.
League Look: the Patriot League gets a jump on everyone else with their tournament beginning Tuesday evening. And unlike most other conferences, games are on campus sites. Defending champ Colgate repeated as regular season titlist and enters as the No. 1 seed; the conference’s highest-scoring offense (76 points per game) is also the most dangerous from three-point range (36%). They also have the conference’s top rebounder in Will Rayman (8.9 boards per game). Perennial favorite Bucknell is conspicuous by its absence from the top of the standings. This is the first time since 2014 the Bison haven’t finished with a share of the league’s best record, and their history of dominance with six tournament titles and 13 regular season crowns and two of the league’s three NCAA Tournament victories. Instead, they’re playing in Tuesday’s First Round against last-place Holy Cross knowing that a win sends them to Bender Arena and a date with American on Thursday.
Ballot Battles: Maryland was oh so close to finding its way into this week’s top five once again, but a loss to Michigan State holds the Terps back. This week’s movers include UCLA (the Bruins suddenly atop the Pac-12) and Creighton (I’ve got the Bluejays 20th as opposed to the 11th they’re at this week), with small school shout-outs going to Stephen F. Austin, East Tennessee State, and Northern Iowa. The biggest heat I’m getting? BYU fans after I dropped the Cougars from 20th to 21st (they’re 15th overall) on my ballot. While the West Coast Conference’s second place team has won nine in a row, I moved Michigan State and Ohio State over them based on quality wins by the Spartans and Buckeyes over the last eight days.
This Week’s Starting Five:
Friday — Richmond at Duquesne. The Spiders have won seven of eight to move onto the NCAA Tournament bubble; unfortunately most of those wins have not been of the marquee variety and most bracket models still have Richmond on the outside looking in. The Dukes are likely the best team U of R has faced since falling to now-No. 7 Dayton in late January. While a win won’t bolster their at-large consideration, a loss will definitely go toward deflating it.
Saturday — Georgetown vs. Villanova. Patrick Ewing is officially using paper clips and duct tape to hold his roster and rotation together, with Mac McClung and Omer Yurtseven joined on the hobbled list by Malcolm Wilson. Who’s that? A 6-foot-11 big hoping to redshirt in peace-and he couldn’t even do that, suffering an injury in Saturday’s practice. The Wildcats are playing for seeding in the Big East as well as NCAA Tournament and won the game up in Philly by 14 when Sadiq Bey sunk eight threes on his way to 33 points.
Also Saturday — No. 22 Virginia vs. Louisville. The last team to beat the surging Cavaliers? The Cardinals in an 80-73 affair that saw UVA break the 70-point barrier for the first time all season. Jordan Nwora notched 22 points and 7 rebounds that day, and containing the junior forward is key: since the start of February he is averaging 19 points with 9 rebounds (shooting 41% FG and 38% from three) in Louisville’s six wins, 5 points with 7 rebounds (shooting 24% FG and 13% from three) in their three losses.
Also Saturday — George Washington at No. 3 Dayton. The Colonials try to play spoiler on Senior Day for the Flyers, who are attempting to zero in on the conference’s first number one seed since Saint Josephs in 2004. Celebrations aside, all eyes will be on a certain sophomore. Forward Obi Toppin leads the A-10 in shooting (63%), ranks second in scoring (19.8) and is seventh in rebounding (7.8). GW does not have the firepower to match: the Colonials rank 13th in the conference in scoring and are also second to last in turnover margin.
Sunday — No. 9 Maryland vs. No. 25 Michigan. The Terps begin the week one win away from a share of their first conference regular season title since 2010, and they remain in the driver’s seat to secure their first outright regular season crown since the National Championship season of 2002. The Wolverines have yo-yoed their way through the season, going from starting the season unranked with first-time head coach Juwan Howard to making its Top 25 debut in December at No. 4. They’ve won five straight and have lost four in a row during conference play and find themselves at .500 with two games left in the regular season. It’s another tough test for the Terps on the perimeter; Xavier Simpson averages a conference-best 7.9 assists per game.
