Here we go again...
At a time when teams should be gearing up for a final season push in to the tournament, it seems that the Michigan State Spartans are actually starting to lose some momentum. I can't help but imagine coach Tom Izzo is sitting there thinking "here we go again". I'll get to it in a little bit, but the game on Sunday was anything less than stellar. It was actually kind of embarrassing.
The fact is, there are only about five or six games left in the regular season, and if you aren't on an upward swing heading into March, there is little chance you are going to get very far in the tournament. You still have the regular season to finish up, then you have the conference tournament you have to fight through before you finally get to find out if you are heading to the big dance.
There were three games in the top 25 on Friday night last week. None of them were upsets. Saturday gave us seventeen games in the top 25. Cincinnati got things started with a big upset win over number 8 Kansas 84 to 68, then Tennessee took down number 19 Vanderbilt 69 to 65. Number 4 Arizona had a nice bounce back win over number 2 Houston 73 to 66, and in what turned out to be the biggest upset of the day, number 3 Duke handed number 1 Michigan their second loss of the season beating them 68 to 63. Even thought it is Duke, I can't tell you how happy that makes me.
UCLA took down number 10 Illinois in another Big Ten stunner 95 to 94 in overtime. Finally, number 23 BYU had a nice game against number 6 Iowa State beating them 79 to 69.
Sunday there were only two games in the top 25. Number 15 Michigan State got their 66 to 60 home win over Ohio State, but I have to admit, it was a struggle. It was honestly painful to watch for most of the game. They just didn't seem to be connecting and they couldn't get anything to fall. I know that latter point is part of the game, but man, they just need some momentum heading into the end of the season. This isn't the time we want to be falling apart.
Meanwhile, also in the Big Ten, number 24 continued their strong showing beating Iowa 84 to 71. Now Wisconsin is a team that seems to have some momentum behind them. They have beaten the top teams in the Big Ten and they are looking really good heading into the post season. Right now I think they deserve to find themselves with at least some kind of seed in the tournament.
Last night there were two games in the top 25. Number 24 Louisville had a close game against number 18 North Carolina, but fell just short losing 77 to 74. As for the other game, number 14 Kansas beat number 5 Houston 69 to 56.
With all of the shake ups last week, Duke now sits in the number 1 spot with Arizona right behind them at 2. Michigan falls to number 3, and Iowa State sits at number 4 with Houston behind them at number 5. Of course given their recent loss, Houston will be falling down the ranks. Michigan State moves up to number 13 after their win against Ohio State, and unfortunately, Wisconsin finds themselves on the outs despite their win.
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That Duke win surprised me. I've been following Michigan all year. They've looked unstoppable. I'll be betting them to win the tournament.
They have been looking good, but they aren't unstoppable. Wisconsin proved that as well as Duke. Plus, Nebraska almost beat them with two of their best players on the bench. Deep down, I just wouldn't be able to bring myself as a Spartan to put them in the top spot.
I understand the emotional attachment. I hate Duke like that. I'm a Kentucky fan.. still mad about the Christian Lattiner call
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It is incredible how big college sports are in the USA. Some even attract more publicity and crowd than profesional games here in Europe. After the regular season is it then the big 10 fighting it out for the title?
Yes and no. At the end of the season each of the power conferences have a tournament for men's basketball. It's teams last chance to prove that they deserve to go to the national tournament. So at the end of the season, the Big Ten will have a "regular season champion", and a "tournament champion". Sometimes it ends up being the same team, other times it's two different teams. A team that didn't do great in the regular season, but manages to do really well in the conference tournament could find themselves with a high seed in the national tournament. College sports are the best. I prefer them over most professional ones.