AJ Hoops

By Aidan Joly

Less than two weeks to go until Selection Sunday, conference tournament brackets are starting to set up and some postseason play begins Monday night. Much to discuss from a busy weekend.

We might have had the game of the year at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, with Iowa coming back from a double-digit deficit in the final 40 seconds of the game, hitting five three pointers in the final 40 seconds of regulation to force overtime and ended up walking away with a 112-106 win against Michigan State.

Was this the game of the year? It’s tough to come up with a better game that happened this season and it was good the whole way – not just the final minute. It was a competitive, offense-friendly game which was a welcome difference from a lot of Big Ten games this season. Iowa had three players with 22 or more points, while Spartans guard Tyson Walker put together one of the better individual performances of the season in the losing effort, 31 points on 11-15 shooting.

The game brought back memories of Texas A&M’s comeback against Northern Iowa from the 2016 NCAA tournament when the Aggies came back from a 12-point deficit in 45 seconds to win.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, another big result from Saturday was Indiana’s 79-71 victory against Purdue as the Hoosiers finished off a season sweep of the Boilermakers. Purdue has now suddenly lost four of six games and the margin for error to stay on the 1-line is getting smaller and smaller. Now, it probably needs to win the Big Ten tournament to stay on that line. It leaves a real opportunity for a PAC-12 team like UCLA or Arizona to sneak a 1-seed.

In Sunday’s Big Ten results, Maryland was the big winner with a 75-59 win against Northwestern. That win improved the Terps to 11-7 in the league with two games to go, both of those games winnable against Ohio State and Penn State.

The win puts Maryland to earn a double bye in the Big Ten tournament, which would be huge for a potential Big Ten title if Indiana or Purdue doesn’t end up winning it. That being said, Kevin Willard inherited a not great roster when he took this job last spring and has it to well over .500 in the league and 20 overall wins so far. Willard should get consideration in the national coach of the year ballot, which is pretty wide-open still.

Moving over to the ACC, Pittsburgh is the talk of the league with a 99-82 win against Syracuse on Saturday, propelling the Panthers to first place in the ACC at 14-4, a number the program has not reached since it joined the ACC in 2013. Who would have thought? Saturday’s win solidified Pitt’s place in the NCAA tournament and it should make a run in the ACC tournament. Jeff Capel’s job was in serious jeopardy coming into this season and an argument could have been made that he should have lost his job after last season, but he should be an easy pick for ACC coach of the year and is another to be in the conversation for national coach of the year.

A quick shoutout to Florida State elsewhere in the ACC, which stunned Miami on a buzzer-beating three from Matthew Cleveland. A nice moment in what has been a tough season in Tallahassee.

In a day that saw multiple buzzer-beaters, the wildest one came in Tucson as Arizona State’s Desmond Cambridge nailed one from 50-plus feet to stun Arizona, 89-88. It was a massive win for the Sun Devils and one that may propel them into bubble talk. A win against UCLA on Thursday would help, as would a win in the final regular season game of the year, which we’ll get into in a minute.

The Sun Devils will be facing USC in that last regular season game, the Trojans coming off a weekend that saw them pick up two Quad 1 wins, road victories against Colorado and Utah. In a span of three days, USC went from two Quad 1 wins to four and is on a four-game winning streak. That game on Saturday between the Trojans and Sun Devils will have massive bubble implications as the PAC-12 looks to send a third team to the tournament.

Unfortunately, the Brandon Miller saga at Alabama continued this weekend and it happened during pregame introductions as he was patted down by a walk-on when he was introduced. Apparently this has happened all season when he is introduced, but it is still a really bad look when it has shown in recent weeks that he brought a gun to a former teammate that was used in a murder, even if he has been cleared of any criminal activity.

Coach Nate Oats said that it wouldn’t happen again, but at this point after all of this, how is a suspension not in order? It’s totally mind-boggling. Alabama has been so careless in handling this tragedy and as much as the program is trying to distance itself from it, that’s simply not going to happen. It’s a depressing and horrifying backdrop to this Alabama season.

Some postseason games on Monday in the Atlantic Sun. Bellarmine will face North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast will play Queens in the first round.

By Aidan Joly

On Friday morning, Ole Miss made the next move of the college basketball coaching carousel, announcing that Kermit Davis will no longer be the head coach of the Rebels, towards the end of his fifth season at the helm in Oxford.

In nearly five seasons, Davis went 74-79 and 32-55 in the SEC and didn’t make the NCAA tournament after his first season.

There are 76 jobs within Power 6. When you look at all of them, it’s relatively easy to put Ole Miss in the bottom 10 of those jobs. It’s probably a bottom three job in the SEC, too. You’re in a league with some of the top jobbers in the country and a school that has a massive passion for football, while not much of one for basketball.

That being said, here are some candidates for that job.

Dusty May, Florida Atlantic head coach

May is more likely than not to land a Power 6 job in this carousel and Ole Miss might end up being the place. His FAU Owls are 25-3 this season and are the favorites to win Conference USA and might win an NCAA tournament game at that. He has connections to Ole Miss – Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter played with Georgia head coach Mike White, who May assisted under at both Louisiana Tech and Florida. May makes a lot of sense for this job, in my opinion.

Chris Beard, former Texas head coach

There’s a good chance it’s too soon for Beard to land a top head coaching gig after the events that caused his dismissal at Texas earlier this season. Opinions are sure to be all over the place on whether Beard deserves another shot or not. But the administration might not want to touch it. However, with the domestic violence charges drop and this being college athletics, Beard is probably going to be a head coach somewhere again.

Grant McCasland, North Texas head coach

A second C-USA coach on this list, McCasland is a little more connected elsewhere and might wait out another job *cough cough West Virginia cough,* but he might be ready to make the jump to the SEC, especially if he can get the Mean Green to the NCAA tournament for the second time in his tenure. Still young at 46, he has plenty of time to wait out a job where it’s easier to win. He might even have a chance for the WVU job this cycle if Bob Huggins calls it a career.

Takayo Siddle, UNC Wilmington head coach

In his third season at the helm of UNC Wilmington, he led the Seahawks to 27 wins last season and 22 so far this season. He has spent time on a power conference staff at NC State from 2017-2020, so he would know how to make a Power 6 job work, especially one that’s not a top job in the conference. Siddle is 36.

Bob Richey, Furman head coach

Furman has not been to the NCAA tournament since 1980 and Richey has a real chance to change that this year, with the Paladins sitting in second in the SoCon at 14-3 in the league and 23-7 overall. Richey has not done worse than 10-5 in the league since he arrived in 2017, but has yet to get Furman to the NCAA tournament. He’ll be in Power 6 eventually, but needs to get his program a conference title first. Ole Miss could be a good stepping stone.

Ron Hunter, Tulane head coach

Hunter might be the best “bad job” coach in the country. He won nearly 300 games and IUPUI and got the program to its only NCAA tournament appearance in program history. When he arrived at Georgia State, the program had only been to the NCAA tournament twice, he got it there three times in a span of five years. Now, he has turned perennial basement-dweller Tulane into a top team in the American Athletic. Is a “bad” Power 6 job coming next?

Brad Brownell, Clemson head coach

The boring retread escape hatch guy, Brownell has spent the last 13 years at Clemson. It would be a little strange for Brownell to leave after one of his better years at Clemson, but it would surely help him escape the hot seat whispers. A jump to a new job might be beneficial for both Brownell and Clemson.

Prediction: This feels like May’s job to lose. He’s well-connected there and has the track record that proves he can win. However, by all accounts, he is happy at FAU, but if Carter is serious about winning he’ll give May an offer he can’t refuse. If not, Richey is a viable Plan B.

By Aidan Joly

Selection Sunday is less than three weeks away and the NCAA tournament bracket is starting to take shape. But still, there are questions to be answered on a few teams, whether those squads are in or out.

Now, this will go through conference by conference among leagues that are likely to have multiple NCAA tournament bids and group them by “locks,” “should be in” and “work to do” to evaluate their NCAA tournament chances.

For the record, going through all of the conferences, 23 have been marked down as one bid leagues and won’t be listed. So, nine conferences are projected to be multi-bid. That leaves 45 bids available for those multi-bid leagues, including automatic bids. We’ll get into that later.

Starting off…

American

Locks: Houston

Should be in: Memphis

This one is fairly self-explanatory, there’s only two real NCAA tournament teams in this league and the No. 1 AP team in the country is one of them. Memphis has 20 wins and are in the “should be in” category for now, but can move up to lock status with a win against Houston on March 5. Tulane has racked up wins, but is not close to an at-large.

ACC

Locks: Virginia, Miami, Duke

Should be in: NC State, Pittsburgh, North Carolina

Work to do: Virginia Tech, Clemson

A lot has been made of North Carolina, the preseason No. 1 team, not making the tournament, but the Tar Heels should still hear their names called on Selection Sunday. As long as the Tar Heels win two more games in the regular season and a game in the ACC tournament, it should be all set to make it. We should be saying hello to the Pitt Panthers, who are on track to make the dance for the first time since 2016. Clemson is probably out after a loss to Louisville over the weekend. Virginia Tech has an outside chance, but needs to basically win out and make a run in Greensboro.

Big 12

Locks: Kansas, Texas, Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU

Should be in: Oklahoma State, West Virginia

Work to do: Texas Tech

In the end, it’s safe to mark the Big 12 down for eight of the 10 teams in the league making the bracket. It has been the best league in the country all year. West Virginia picked up a big win against Oklahoma State on Monday that propelled the Mountaineers to the “should be in” category, although it could use one or two more total wins between the regular season and conference tournament to really feel safe. It’s tough to see a way Texas Tech makes it at this point, unless it can beat both TCU and Kansas and win a game or two in the conference tournament.

Big East

Locks: Xavier, Marquette, Creighton, UConn

Should be in: Providence

The Friars are on the cusp of being a tournament lock, sitting at 20-7 and 12-4 in Big East play. One more win should do it for Providence. The other four are locks and the bottom six of the league are all well on the outside looking in. Seton Hall is the only one in that group that might have an outside chance, but it’s doubtful.

Big Ten

Locks: Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland, Michigan State

Should be in: Iowa, Rutgers, Illinois

Work to do: Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State

It’ll be another year with lots of Big Ten representation on the bracket. Iowa is another one of those teams right on the cusp of making it in that is just a win or two away from the lock category. Rutgers and Illinois both need a win or two in the regular season and a win in the conference tournament. Out of the three in the “work to do” category, Wisconsin has the best chance of the three of them, but needs to have a good showing over the next few weeks to convince the selection committee to include them. Penn State has had a good showing in its bid to make the dance for the first time since 2011, but it seems unlikely.

Mountain West

Locks: San Diego State, Boise State, Nevada, Utah State

Work to do: New Mexico

Boise State put itself in the lock category with its current three-game winning streak, taking care of business against basement dwellers Wyoming, Colorado State and UNLV. A loss would have hurt its chances a great deal. Meanwhile, New Mexico started the season 14-0, but has gone 6-7 since then. It needs to win at least three of its last four in the regular season to feel good and two of those games are against Boise State and San Diego State.

Pac-12

Locks: Arizona, UCLA

Work to do: USC, Oregon, Arizona State

It’s tough to see more than one of those three in the “work to do” category making the tournament, so the Pac-12 will be left with three teams at most, it seems. USC is squarely on the bubble and needs to do more winning to feel good about its chances. A win against Arizona on March 2 would do wonders for the Trojans’ chances. A win or two in the conference tournament is probably necessary as well. Oregon and Arizona State are both highly unlikely.

SEC

Locks: Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Auburn, Texas A&M

Should be in: Kentucky

Work to do: Vanderbilt, Missouri, Mississippi State

Similar to North Carolina, much discussion has been had about Kentucky’s tournament watch, but a win against Tennessee on Saturday, finishing off a season sweep of the Volunteers, very much helped the Wildcats’ chances. Going 2-2 the rest of the way and getting a win or two in the SEC tournament should put them in the lock category by Selection Sunday. Vanderbilt has been a surprise story this season and have recently had some saying “hmm, maybe” over the past couple weeks, currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak. The Commodores still have a chance to steal a bid with a late-season charge. Remember when Missouri was 12-1 and Mississippi State was 11-0? Good times. After MSU was 11-0, it lost eight of nine in December and January, but has won six of the past seven since. Streaky!

WCC

Locks: Gonzaga, St. Mary’s

Not much to be said here. Both are solidly in and everyone else is out. Almost put down Santa Clara in “work to do,” but that felt a little foolish.

So, the 23 bids from one-bid leagues sets up 45 bids remaining. There are 43 teams marked down here as “lock” or “should be in,” leaving a few bids out there. It’s an inexact science, and some teams might fall from “should be in” and not make it, while some others can move from “work to do” to making the tournament.

That’s just the beauty of the bracket and those questions will be answered in the next couple of weeks.

By Aidan Joly

Teams are beginning to wrap up their regular season schedules and Selection Sunday is now less than three weeks in away. Believe it or not, the first conference tournament begins one week from Monday, while three more will get going the next day.

Let’s jump right into what happened this weekend.

Kansas was perhaps the team of the weekend, picking up an 87-71 win against Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks did this after they trailed by 13 at the half and out-scored Baylor 55-26 in the second half. DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half, part of a 63.3% shooting effort from Kansas in the second half. Jalen Wilson had 21 points, while KJ Adams Jr. had 17 and Gradey Dick tacked on 16.

It’s tough to think of a second-half performance as dominant as Kansas’ was in recent memory. While doing it in a matchup of the past two national champions, it’s easy to see a scenario where Kansas can repeat as champion if it can get on a streak like this. The Jayhawks have now won four in a row and six of seven.

Elsewhere in the Big 12, Kansas State grinded out a 61-55 win against Iowa State. It was a defensive slugfest, but it’s becoming clear that Kansas State can play in just about any type of game. It earned its 20th win of the season in the process.

A Big 12 team that didn’t have to grind it out was TCU, who dropped 100 points in a 25-point win against Oklahoma State. The Horned Frogs had six players finish in double figures and shot nearly 70% from the field the entire afternoon. The Horned Frogs needed a performance like this, having lost four in a row and five of six coming in. A huge game between Kansas and TCU awaits on Monday night.

Moving on to the Big Ten, the most entertaining game happened in Bloomington on Saturday, with Indiana’s comeback effort to beat Illinois 71-68. It was one of those games where Illinois led most of the way but Indiana just refused to go away and made the necessary plays at the end in order to take the lead late and earn the victory.

Trayce Jackson-Davis had one of the best individual performances of the weekend, with 26 points on 12-19 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds. Miller Kopp (12 points, 4-6 shooting) and Race Thompson (10 points, 4-7 shooting) also came up big late. The Hoosiers became the third Big Ten team to earn double digit conference wins.

Moving on to a team that helped its tournament chances in a big way, Kentucky finished off a sweep of Tennessee, winning 66-54. The Volunteers were without Josiah James, which certainly didn’t help the cause, but a win is a win for the Wildcats and they have to take them any way they can get them at this point.

One team that got hurt this weekend is North Carolina, which blew yet another Quad 1 opportunity against NC State, dropping it 77-69 on Sunday. The Tar Heels are now 0-8 in Quad 1 opportunities this season and 2-7 in true road games as a whole. Pair that with fellow bubble teams Arkansas, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Penn State, New Mexico and Boise State taking care of business, UNC is on the outside looking in as of now.

As for another ACC team on the bubble, you can cross off Clemson as a loss against dreadful Louisville on Saturday has seemingly sealed the fate of the Tigers. To the NIT you go.

Elsewhere on the bubble, Memphis squandered an opportunity to help its chances, falling to Houston 72-64. It’ll get at least one more shot against Houston this year in the regular season finale, potentially two if they meet in the AAC tournament. Lots of pressure will be on Memphis to win one of those games to feel comfortable about getting an at-large.

Want to give a quick shoutout to St. Mary’s, which played a nice game against BYU late Saturday night, 71-65. Logan Johnson had 27 points on 12-19 shooting, while Aidan Mahaney scored 16 points and made a huge three with 48 seconds left to put the game away. With the right seeding, don’t be surprised when the Gaels are a part of the second weekend. Also, BYU in the Big 12 next year won’t be the same.

Finally, an ode to the Hartford Hawks, who played the program’s final game at the Division I level on Sunday and went out with a whimper, dropping to Chicago State 75-53 to finish the season a measly 5-23. It will drop all the way to Division III next year, two years removed from winning the America East and playing in the NCAA tournament. It played this year as one of two independents in Division I, Chicago State being the other. Shame on school president Gregory Woodward, who forced this move.

The Hawks played this season without former head coach John Gallagher, who resigned a day before the season began due to his disgust with the school’s administration. He’s a great coach and by all accounts a fantastic person who got a raw deal. Hope he gets another opportunity in this upcoming carousel.

By Aidan Joly

The Colgate Raiders, who play in the sleepy town of Hamilton, New York and have a gym that seats just less than 2,000 people, is one of the under-the-radar low major dominants of college basketball.

It showed why this is on Wednesday night, with a 93-86 win against Army.

Matt Langel’s squad has always boasted one of the most up tempo offenses in college basketball, a run-and-gun one that emphasizes shooting from deep. It did that on Wednesday, headlined by a 23-point performance from senior Oliver Lynch-Daniels, a number that came up one point shy of matching his season high while going an absurd 7-9 from three.

Meanwhile, freshman Braeden Smith made his presence felt, hitting a pair of threes as part of a 20-point performance. Ryan Moffatt went 5-8 from three as part of a 17-point night, nine of those points coming from three in the first few minutes of the game to give the Raiders some early breathing room. Leading scorer Tucker Richardson had an interesting performance, with Army limiting him to just four points on 2-11 shooting, but he helped in other ways, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out nine assists.

Colgate ended up needing that early lead to fall back on, as Army made some adjustments in the second half and cut a 13-point halftime deficit to as little as four in the final few minutes. A little too close for comfort for sure, but it was a quintessential Colgate win.

It’s hard to ignore Colgate’s KenPom report card. As of Thursday, the Raiders lead the country in effective field goal percentage (58.0%), nearly an entire percentage point between the teams that are tied for second, Gonzaga and Oral Roberts, who are both at 57.2%. Colgate is also one of the best teams in the country of taking care of the basketball, at 15.5%, tying it for 23rd in the nation.

As alluded to before, Colgate is also one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation, sitting in second in the country behind Utah State, at 40.5%. On Wednesday it went 15-27 from three, good for 55.6%. This is a modern offense that it ahead of any like it in the Patriot League and it has shown, with Colgate winning the league in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and is well on its way to winning it again, as Wednesday’s win improved it to 14-1 in the league, earning its 20th win of the season overall. It’s a five-game cushion on Navy and Lehigh, who are both 9-6. The Raiders have a nonconference win against Syracuse as well, its second consecutive season beating its nearby Power 6 foe.

This success is thanks to Matt Langel, the 45-year-old head coach who is in his 12th season at the helm in Hamilton. It’s a success story built on patience, as Colgate went over .500 in league play just once in Langel’s first six seasons and didn’t have a season with an overall record of above .500 until his seventh season. He’s likely here to stay too, as last March he was rewarded with a contract extension that keeps him under contract through 2030. He’s nearing 200 career wins.

The past three NCAA tournaments it has participated in, it lost in the first round each time, but kept it close. In 2019, lost to Tennessee as a 15-seed, 77-70. In 2021, lost to Arkansas as a 14-seed, 85-68. Finally, in 2022, lost to Wisconsin as a 14-seed again, 67-60.

The good thing here is, this year’s squad may be the best one yet. It certainly seems to be one that could be a matchup nightmare for some top-tier teams and if the stars align, bust some brackets.

By Aidan Joly

This season, 48 of Division I’s 363 teams have never made the NCAA tournament. 37 of them are eligible to make it. With Division I rapidly expanding and Division I’s numbers rising every year, there comes more opportunity for teams to make the tournament for the first time.

That being said, here’s seven teams that have a good shot at doing that this year, loosely ranked from most likely to least likely.

Utah Valley

The Wolverines are likely the top contender here. Utah Valley currently sits two full games ahead of the rest in the WAC, sitting at 11-2 in league play and 20-6 overall. Mark Madsen’s squad has been the best in the league all year and also boast nonconference wins against BYU and Oregon. It has four double digit scorers, that has included great consistency from Trey Woodbury and a double-double threat in Akron transfer Aziz Bandaogo. This is a team that might end up being a popular upset candidate on brackets, too.

Youngstown State

The Penguins are currently tied for the lead in the Horizon League at 12-4 and are the only team in the league with 20 total wins so far. This team has a top-35 KenPom-rated offense, one that is anchored by Dayton transfer Dwayne Cohill, who averages 18.1 points per game. Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Brandon Rush and Canisius transfer Malek Green have both come into their own as well. This would be one of the more exciting low-seeded teams to watch in March.

Kennesaw State

In his first season at the helm, Amir Abdur-Rahim went 1-28 with this Owls group in 2019-20. Now, after one of the best rebuild jobs in the country, he has them to 12-2 in the Atlantic Sun, good to tie for first in the league. Kennesaw State has only lost one game since January 5. A top four group of players that consists of Terrell Burden, Brandon Stroud, Demond Robinson and Chris Youngblood have all grown together the past few years, and it might just pay off this year.

UC Riverside

Head coach Mike Magpayo has a fantastic story. He is the only Division I head coach with full Asian heritage and took over this program in 2020 while the school’s administration was mulling ending its athletic department. In the midst of his third season, he is 46-30 and 26-15 in Big West play. Zyon Pullin is one of the best mid-major point guards in the country, sitting at 18.1 points per game. The Highlanders are one of several teams that will be in the mix in the Big West.

UMass Lowell

If a team in the America East can upset mid-major heavyweights Vermont and Bryant, it’s Pat Duquette’s Riverhawks squad. UMass Lowell is 20-7 on the season and 7-5 in league play, good to tie it for third in the league. It had an especially strong nonconference campaign as well. It has one of the more effective offenses in the country and is fantastic on the offensive glass, ranking 14th in the country in offensive rebound percentage on KenPom. This is a tough team to play for anyone with that stat to hang your hat on.

Quinnipiac

Three teams sit head and shoulders above everybody else it seems, but there is always some chaos in the MAAC and the Bobcats might seem to be the one to cause it. Quinnipiac currently sits at 17-9 on the season as one of the biggest surprises in mid-major hoops after seemingly being on a plateau for a few years under Baker Dunleavy. It sits at 8-7 in the MAAC as it is currently on a three-game losing streak. It is already the program’s winningest season since 2013-14, can it cap it off with its first dance?

Grambling State

The Tigers pulled off a big upset against Colorado all the way back in November and followed it up by beating Vanderbilt, but this team is no slouch. Grambling sits in second place in the SWAC at 10-3 in the league and 17-8 overall. Cameron Christon and Carte’are Gordon are both threats with the ball and on the boards, which can make this team tough to match up with. Grambling’s turnover numbers are some of the worst in the country, which could hurt them come conference tournament time, but have performed well when they take care of the ball.

Honorable mentions

• SIU Edwardsville: 17-10, 8-6 Ohio Valley
• UT Martin: 16-11, 8-6 Ohio Valley
• Maryland Eastern Shore: 14-10, 6-3 MEAC
• Purdue Fort Wayne: 15-12, 7-9 Horizon
• Stetson: 14-11, 9-5 Atlantic Sun
• Army: 14-13, 8-6 Patriot
• Western Illinois: 15-11, 8-7 Summit

By Aidan Joly

Now that the Super Bowl is over, college basketball has the floor for the next seven weeks until the national championship game in Houston on April 3. Another weekend gone, more to talk about. Let’s get into it.

One of the biggest results of the weekend took place during the Super Bowl pregame, as Northwestern picked up its biggest win in recent memory with a 64-58 win against No. 1 Purdue at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Behind a two-headed monster in Boo Buie and Chase Audige, the Wildcats now sit at 9-5 in Big Ten play and 18-7 overall, good for third place in the Big Ten. That includes six Quad 1 wins. More winnable games await and Chris Collins has this squad close to earning its second NCAA tournament bid in program history and its first since 2017. Could this team even win an NCAA tournament game? We shall see.

Another team that had a good weekend was Creighton, which picked up a 56-53 win against UConn on Saturday. The Bluejays have now won eight in a row and haven’t lost a game in over a month, putting them at 11-3 in Big East play, which puts them in a tie for second place. Again, a lot of people questioned some of the preseason hype around this team when it struggled early in the season, those doubters have been silenced.

One team that didn’t have a good weekend is the Kentucky Wildcats. Its tournament chances took a big hit on Saturday, with a 75-68 loss at the hands of Georgia, which had just four SEC wins coming into the day. Kentucky has just one Quad 1 win this season. Unless the Wildcats have a big turnaround before the regular season ends in less than a month, the selection committee might have a hard time putting them in.

Here’s a stat for you: Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Syracuse have four Quad 1 wins combined. As mentioned before, Northwestern has six on its own.

Two ugly things happened in college hoops this weekend. The first was at the ending of the Virginia-Duke game, when Virginia’s Ryan Dunn was called for a foul on Duke’s Kyle Filipowski as he went up for what was an attempt to win the game at the buzzer, but the call was overturned after a review. This was because the referees determined that the foul happened after the clock hit zeroes and sent the game to overtime, where Virginia won 69-62.

However, after the game the ACC announced that the foul should have been upheld because the ball was still in flight, which would have given Duke two free throws with a few tenths of a second on the clock and a chance to win the game in regulation.

Admittedly, it was a bang-bang play and a tough call to make on the spot, but it’s clear that the officials got it wrong.

This is part of a larger problem in college basketball officiating (there’s one in the NFL too, yikes). It’s gotten very arbitrary and a lot of times it seems that there’s not a ton of consistency as to how games are called. This is something that the NCAA needs to get cleaned up so that we can have fewer games where we aren’t talking about the officiating when the game is over.

Finally, we have another ugly situation at New Mexico State. While the Mike Peake shooting loomed over the program, the program suspended the season on Friday amidst some ugly hazing allegations, that according to reports are of a sexual nature, and then announced on Sunday that the program will not take the court again this season. Meanwhile, the entire coaching staff was placed on paid administrative leave. Without it being officially called that, a self-imposed “death penalty” for the rest of the year.

What a fall from grace for this program. Less than a year ago, the Aggies won an NCAA tournament game here in Buffalo against UConn, then gave Arkansas a run for its money for a bid to the Sweet 16. Former head coach Chris Jans left to take the job at Mississippi State.

Greg Heiar took the job for his first Division I head coaching job, having worked under the likes of Larry Eustachy, Gregg Marshall and Will Wade, who all lost their jobs due to either abuse allegations in the cases of Eustachy and Marshall, or recruiting violations in Wade’s case. It’s tough to put that squarely on Heiar, but it’s not the best track record.

After all of this, it’s all but impossible to see a way in which Heiar keeps his job, or ever coaching in college basketball again. New Mexico State AD Mario Moccia’s decision to hire Heiar should go down as one of the worst administrative decisions in college sports in a long time.

By Aidan Joly

It seems like we can’t go a week these days without some kind of Jim Boeheim controversy.

On Saturday, Boeheim said to ESPN’s Pete Thamel that college basketball is is an “awful place” and said that Pittsburgh, Miami and Wake Forest all “bought” their teams through NIL deals. He also added that NIL and the transfer portal is why Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright retired.

On Monday, Boeheim issued a statement apologizing for the remarks, but it’s important to point out that Boeheim said that he simply “implied” that those three programs bought their teams, while it’s pretty clear that Boeheim outright said that they bought teams.

This came less than a week after Boeheim was criticized for talking down to a media member who asked about the absence of Benny Williams in the team’s game against Virginia on January 30, asking the reporter, “is that your most important question?” and that “your attitude isn’t really good either.” It should be noted that Syracuse’s media contingent was told that Boeheim would address Williams’ absence after the game. It was just the latest in Boeheim’s well-documented run-ins with media.

Meanwhile, the septuagenarian head coach indicated that he would “probably” return for the 2023-24 season. Why?

For the past handful of years, Boeheim has shown an unwillingness to adapt to how college basketball is played and run today and the results have shown on the court. Syracuse hasn’t won more than 10 league games since the 2013-14, the last time the Orange were a true national title contender before flailing in the second round. Syracuse did get to the Final Four in 2016 as a No. 10 seed, but that was an unexpected run after the team squeaked into the tournament. This year’s team is unlikely to make the NCAA tournament, which would mark the first time since 2007 and 2008 that Syracuse failed to make the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons.

For years, Boeheim was able to get top recruits to come to Central New York, but it seems he can no longer do that, and with the emergence of NIL, it’s become even tougher. The top recruits the past two years, Judah Mintz and Williams, have both struggled. Kadary Richmond transferred out after one season. Brycen Goodine left after a year. Quincy Gurrier left after two years. The fact of the matter is, Boeheim no longer is in the running for the top recruits in the country and most of the good ones he is able to get don’t stay.

Boeheim is 78 years old. He is both the oldest and longest-tenured Division I coach in the country. If he returns in 2023-24, it will be his 48th season at the helm. Something that is forgotten in all of this is that he announced in 2015 that he would retire after the 2017-18 season, but the plan went awry when head-coach-in-waiting Mike Hopkins left to take the job at Washington. He would have retired before some of his old-guard counterparts in Krzyzewski, Wright and Roy Williams, but now he is one of the last few standing. At least one more will be gone after this season in Notre Dame’s Mike Brey.

There are two more-than-capable replacements on staff in Adrian Autry and Gerry McNamara, and a look outside of the Syracuse family wouldn’t hurt either. The only remaining question is why this hasn’t happened yet.

Jim, it’s time to go be with your family. Nobody is forcing you to do this to yourself. It’s time to give up the reigns.

By Aidan Joly

The final full month of the season has arrived and there is still plenty of questions left to be answered before the end of the regular season and postseason play begins. Here are six of my questions as we enter the last few weeks of the college basketball season.

Is Purdue far and away the best team?

Of the true national championship contenders, the Boilermakers are the only one with one loss. It is one of two teams in the country with only one loss, Florida Atlantic being the other. Heck, it it one of four teams in the country with two losses or less, with Houston – another title contender – and Charleston being the only two-loss teams in the country. The overall record of 22-1 (11-1 Big Ten) may look better than what it is due to the lackluster nature of the rest of the Big Ten, but it still extremely impressive nonetheless. Nobody should declare the Boilermakers national champs, but if things hold up, this program might have its first national title ever.

Who will win the Big 12 and the Big East?

The Big 12 has been a collision course all year and now has six teams in the top 15 of this week’s AP Poll. Any of the six between Texas, Kansas, Kansas State, TCU, Iowa State and Baylor could end up winning the league. Every single game matters. In the Big East, it seems to be down to two teams in Marquette and Xavier, with Providence waiting in the wings in third. Creighton could get hot, too. A date on February 15 between Marquette and Xavier in Milwaukee looms, with the winner getting a major lift to the Big East regular season title.

What will Kentucky’s March look like?

It has certainly been a season of basketball in Lexington this year. Fans were calling for John Calipari to get the ax following a 3-4 stretch in December and January that included losses to Missouri and South Carolina. However, the Wildcats have gone 5-1 since the loss to South Carolina, including a huge win over Tennessee. Now, it is 6-3 in SEC play and 15-7 overall. It’s tough to predict how the rest of the season will go in Lexington. It could really go either way.

Will the bluebloods (outside of Kansas) do anything in March?

This is kind of a part two to the last question. It’s tough to tell with Kentucky. Meanwhile, Duke and North Carolina both sit at 7-4 in a mediocre ACC, both having disappointing seasons by program standards. Neither of them have been nationally relevant all year, it seems. Expect both to be in the bracket, but maybe not do too much. Also, if you want to call Indiana a blueblood – the Hoosiers are the only other ranked team in the Big Ten but are still just 6-5 in the league. It is also sure to drop out of the rankings following a loss to Maryland on Tuesday, a loss that snapped a five-game win streak after a 2-5, 3-6 stretch. It seems like a one step forward, two steps back season in Bloomington. Second round seems to be the ceiling for all three of these teams.

Can we trust Tennessee?

Conventional wisdom says, sure, trust the Vols. However, the offense of this team has been incredibly inconsistent and has put up a few putrid performances shooting the ball. That was on display on Wednesday night, when it only managed 54 points against unranked Florida and lost by 13, shooting just under 28% from the field along the way. This is a team where you might not be sure what you’re going to get. It feels like the Vols are on the way to the Elite Eight, or a second round exit.

Could Gonzaga lose the WCC regular season title?

This is one of the weaker Gonzaga teams in recent memory and it is showing with the on-court product. It has only lost one game in conference play, but it was against a Loyola Marymount team that will not sniff the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, St. Mary’s is rolling, undefeated in the league and hasn’t lost a game since December 18. Gonzaga and St. Mary’s are set to face off the first time this season on Saturday, a game that could be very telling in how the rest of the regular season will go in that league. Gonzaga has won 10 WCC regular season titles in a row and that streak is in danger of being snapped (and it has only not won it once since 2000).

By Aidan Joly

Another weekend gone in the college basketball season.

The thing that became most important for me and very apparent this weekend is how bad Louisville is. Sure, we knew that, but it lost by 14 on Saturday to a team that had one win in the ACC coming in (Notre Dame) and the game wasn’t even that close, with the Cardinals trailing by 20+ for most of the afternoon.

Louisville dropped to 0-10 in the ACC with this loss and 2-19 overall and has now dropped into the 300s in KenPom, right in between Tennessee Tech and Idaho. You now have to question if this team is even capable of winning a conference game. Its only two wins came in December, against Western Kentucky and Florida A&M. It seemed bad after the first three losses all the way back in November, but it’s tough to think that it would get this bad. No ACC team has gone 0-the conference since Pitt’s 0-18 campaign in 2017-18.

This is happening in Kenny Payne’s first season after Chris Mack was fired midseason last year. It’s interesting to fathom how a program with the resources of Louisville can blow a hire this badly, because it’s already trending in that direction. It’s tough to see him getting fired at the end of this season even if the Cards don’t win a game the rest of the year, but he’ll surely go into next year on the hot seat.

Elsewhere, both Creighton and West Virginia seem to finally have some momentum. Creighton was a top-10 team coming into the year, but a six-game losing streak in November and December dropped it to 6-6 and causing many to label the team as a bust – albeit with some injuries at the time. However, the Bluejays have gone 7-2 since that loss to Marquette on December 16 and are up to 7-3 in Big East play, good for fourth in the conference. It is also No. 11 in KenPom in Monday’s rankings. Maybe that preseason hype was worth something.

Another team that’s gaining momentum is West Virginia. The Mountaineers started Big 12 play 0-5 after going 10-2 in nonconference play. Since that losing streak ended, WVU has won three of four, including a nonconference upset win against Auburn on Saturday in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. West Virginia is still just 2-6 in league play and will probably have to get to seven or eight league wins to go dancing, but right now the momentum is on its side.

Another notable result in the Big 12-SEC Challenge was Oklahoma’s decimation of No. 2 Alabama, 93-69. It was a thorough beatdown in Norman and Grant Sherfield put on a fantastic performance, scoring 30 points on 11-20 shooting, including 4-5 from three. The Tide shot just under 38% from the field overall and 6-22 from three, while Oklahoma shot 57% from the field and 9-13 from three.

One final Big 12-SEC game to talk about with Kansas getting a much-needed win against Kentucky at Rupp Arena, 77-68. It limited Wildcat big man Oscar Tschiebwe in ways that other team this season hadn’t, even if that’s him scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Jalen Wilson is a bonafide star for the Jayhawks as he put on another show, scoring 22 points on 9-18 from the field. Kansas has its rematch with Kansas State on Tuesday, this one at Allen Fieldhouse. Should be a great one. If it’s anywhere close to the first game between the two, it will be.

Finally, one Big Ten and one Big East piece to hit on. Ohio State lost by 16 to Indiana on Saturday, dropping the Buckeyes to 3-7 in the Big Ten and 11-10 overall. It’s a real down season in Columbus this year and it would need to do a lot to get to the NCAA tournament. It would be surprising if Chris Holtmann were to lose his job for this, but it is interesting to see if he would leave for Texas if offered, to kind of get out of there before Ohio State’s administration can get rid of him.

Another floundering team is Villanova, who blew a late lead and lost to Providence on Sunday. It is now 4-6 in Big East play and 10-11 overall. That happened in Justin Moore’s return to the court in his first game since he tore his Achilles in Villanova’s Elite Eight win last March. It’s not looking good in Kyle Neptune’s first season at the helm and it now seems likely that the bracket won’t include Villanova for the first time since 2012.

My top games this week:

• Baylor at Texas, Monday, 9 p.m.
• Kansas State at Kansas, Tuesday, 8 p.m.
• West Virginia at TCU, Tuesday, 9 p.m.
• Providence at Xavier, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
• San Francisco at St. Mary’s, Thursday, 11 p.m.
• Kansas at Iowa State, Saturday, 12 p.m.
• Miami at Clemson, Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Purdue at Indiana, Saturday, 4 p.m.
• Texas at Kansas State, Saturday, 4 p.m.
• Gonzaga at St. Mary’s, Saturday, 10:30 p.m.