— WCC
Gonzaga 70, Saint Mary’s 57
Zags sweep the USF/Saint Mary’s road trip; they’re off the bubble.
Gonzaga has won eight games in a row, seven of them by 13+ points.
Saint Mary’s loses for first time since December 23, when they were 8-6.
Santa Clara 69, San Francisco 62
Teams combined to shoot 9-40 on the arc.
USF lost three of its last four games; they’re #3 seed in WCC, Santa Clara is #4.
— Big X
Baylor 82, Kansas 74
Both teams shot 62% inside the arc.
Kansas is 2-6 SU in Big X road games.
Baylor passes the Jayhawks, is now in 3rd place in Big X.
Iowa State 60, Central Florida 52
UCF led 50-49 with 3:31 left in the game.
Knights were 1-19 on the arc.
Iowa State won seven of last eight games, is in 2nd place in Big X.
Houston 87, Oklahoma 85
Houston hit an off-balance jumper at the buzzer for the win.
Cougars shot 10-19 on the arc, Oklahoma 12-25.
Houston led by 15 with 12:04 left in the game.
Bracketology has nine of 14 Big X teams getting in the NCAA’s.
— Big 14
Minnesota 75, Penn State 70
Penn State led 41-18 late in first half.
Gophers were 24-27 on foul line, Penn State 9-11
Illinois 91, Wisconsin 83
Illini was 9-16 on arc, scored 1.30 points/possession.
Illinois starts four seniors; they’re #10 experience team.
Wisconsin is 2-7 in last nine games, after a 16-4 start.
Bracketology has six Big 14 teams in the tournament.
— American
South Florida 76, Charlotte 61
Bulls have won 14 in a row; their last loss was January 7th.
USF has #35 eFG% defense in the country.
USF is #54 in experience, #281 in continuity; they used the portal very well.
Tex-San Antonio 77, SMU 73
Third straight loss for the Mustangs, who were favored by 17.5 points.
SMU led 21-8 early on.
11-19 Roadrunners have won 3 in a row; they were 12-28 on arc.
Bracketology has South Florida/FAU in the Field of 68, but barely.
— SEC
Tennessee 81, Alabama 74
Vols were 12-40 on the arc, 12-26 inside the arc.
Alabama led by 6 with 9:15 left in the game.
Crimson Tide was 9-37 on the arc.
Kentucky 111, Arkansas 102
Kentucky won its last three games, scoring 106.3 ppg.
Seven Wildcats (seven!!!) scored in double figures.
Bracketology has seven SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament.
— Pac-12
Forgot to mention this Friday, but UCLA coach Mick Cronin got a technical foul 20 seconds into the Bruins loss at Washington Thursday. Never heard of that before.
Washington State 77, UCLA 65
Coogs are going to the NCAA’s for the first time since 2008.
Wazzu was 24-33 on the foul line, UCLA was 9-11.
Bruins lost their last four games, are 9-9 in Pac-12.
Bracketology has Arizona/Washington State as the only Pac-12 teams in the NCAA’s.
— Upsets of the Day:
Tex-San Antonio (+17.5) 77, SMU 73
Mercer (+9.5) 82, Furman 75
SE Missouri State (+7) 70, Southern Indiana 66
Western Michigan (+6.5) 78, Ball State 76
Minnesota (+6.5) 75, Penn State 70
Tulsa (+6.5) 72, Temple 67
Notre Dame (+6.5) 69, Clemson 62
— Famous birthdays on March 3rd:
Eric Torkelson, 72
Herschel Walker, 62
Jessica Biel, 42
Jayson Tatum, 26
Wee Willie Keller was born on March 3, 1872.
Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1922
— MAC
Western Michigan 78, Ball State 76- Ball State tied game on a foul shot with 0:01.6 left; kid on WMU overthrows a teammate on a full-court pass, the ball bounces untouched to another teammate who lays the ball in at the buzzer for an unlikely win. Big kid on Ball State let the ball bounce right past him; no idea what he was thinking.
MAC is a one-bid league; neither one of these teams figures to win the MAC Tournament, but this was a hell of a way to win/lose a game.
— Mountain West
Boise State 89, New Mexico 79
Broncos won their last five games, scoring 86.4 ppg.
New Mexico is 3-5 in last eight games, is probably beneath the bubble.
— WAC
Grand Canyon 80, Stephen F Austin 58
Antelopes are tied for first with Tarleton State, with one game left.
Grand Canyon was 22-22 on the foul line.
Antelopes get 24.3% of their points on foul line (#9)
Tarleton State 88, Southern Utah 83
Texans are coached by Billy Gillispie, the old Kentucky coach.
Tarleton State has won 10 games in a row.
— Atlantic 15
Richmond 79, VCU 76
VCU led by 7 with 13:32 left in this inner-city rivalry.
Spiders win their first-ever regular season title in the A-15.
Richmond won 17 of its last 19 games, after a 5-5 start.
— Ivy
Princeton 79, Cornell 77
Cornell shot 69% inside arc, 9-32 on the arc.
Princeton is tied atop Ivy League with Yale, with one game to go.
Brown 89, Dartmouth 67
Bears clinched the 4th and final slot in the Ivy League tournament.
— Southern
Samford 92, Citadel 80
Bulldogs win the SoCon by 3 games; they haven’t been in NCAA’s since 2000, when they won the TAAC (Trans-American Conference).
