Yeah color me surprised, missing a starter in Braden Shrewsberry who is our 2nd leading scorer and as you noted holding on vs a good Pitt team.
Big game here in Houston with #5 Cougars vs #8 Iowa State, but the Cyclones are missing 2 starters so that is a big problem for ISU. Cougars up 12 at the half.
Pretty unusual game tonight, Duke and Illinois at MSG. Wouldn't have been back in Nov/Dec but right here at the end of the regular season when the whole world is playing out their conference schedules.
Houston beat Iowa State at home, but it wasn't easy even with ISU being down a couple of important players. Next up they have to travel to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech who beat them last month, a road win at Tech will pretty much sew things up for the Cougars in the regular season. They are a 2 seed right now but they have the schedule to get them to a 1 seed, but they have to win out.
I heard Rick PItino say that Indiana needs to go and get Chris Beard the former Texas coach who is at Ole Miss right now. Doubt if IU people care much what Rick thinks though, not that it's not a good recommendation.
Rick who? I agree with you, Terry. I certainly hope IU doesn’t want Beard, and I’m guessing Pitino’s hype means squat.
Today was the 40th Anniversary of the Bobby Knight Chair throw and Mike Woodson claimed they still have that chair and he sat in for the whole IU/Purdue game. He promised not to throw it though, but his Hoosiers handled Purdue 73-58.
It's a nice semi-climax to a dismal season by IU standards. Nothing fires up the IU fans like beating Purdue. IMO it's also nice for Mike Woodson to show a sense of humor re: the chair. He deserves to go out with dignity, and this win enables it to happen. He's highly regarded as one of the greatest players in the program's history, and although he couldn't develop a consistently winning team, the upset of the Boilers will be a nice highlight to his legacy as the coach.
Watching the UH/Texas Tech game it's close and the intensity is very high, sold out in Lubbock and the crowd is really into it. Cougars up a few but lots of time left.
Cougars get the win in Lubbock, Patrick Mahomes was there, it was a great game. I see that Preseason #1, KU, has fallen out of the top 25. They'll make the Big Dance though.
Alabama gets a much needed win tonight and the Gators go down to unraked Georgia. Things are getting tight as teams fight for position.
How does the Big 10 justify that since Northwestern was unable to play 2 games in L.A. due to the wildfires that they will be awarded 2 losses and UCLA and USC will get the wins. It wasn't their fault that the wildfires prevented them from playing, right? BTW this is women's basketball. Other than rules are rules, but they moved a NFL playoff game due to the wildfires, seems like this is a case where it should be just a game not played and no winner or loser. "Northwestern Athletics accepts the decision by the Big Ten Conference to strictly apply the Conference bylaws as written, in issuing forfeits for missed competitions by Northwestern's Women's Basketball after the team's decision not to travel to Los Angeles during the tragic wildfires in Southern California," Northwestern athletic director Mark Jackson said in a statement. "While we acknowledge that bylaws and rules are in place for a reason and we will abide by them, it does not diminish this team's sound reasoning for not participating during this natural disaster. We will continue to support our Women's Basketball student-athletes and hope for a strong recovery for the Southern California region."
Buckeyes defeat USC on the road last night 87-82. We have two games remaining remaining games Nebraska here here and Indiana in Bloomington. I am hoping for at least one more win, but I do not think we will make the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan wins at home vs Rutgers with a three pointer as game ends 84-82. Rutgers lead almost all of the game and went stone cold late in the second half.
No shortage of big wins this time of year as teams jockey for NCAA seeding. That was quite the finish the other night in the Michigan State win over Maryland!!