Quietly Big 10 regular-season champs No. 7 Ohio State (25-7, 14-4) have emerged as a potential No. 1 seed despite needing a miracle to beat hated rival Michigan (15-17, 7-11) 69-68.
Trailing by two with 2.2 seconds left, the Buckeyes in-bounded the ball the full length of the court to Evan Turner who raced to about 35 feet from the rim before sending up a prayer that was answered.
Another contender, No. 5 Purdue (26-4, 14-4) is without superstar Robbie Hummel, but by winning the Big 10 Championship, the committee may excuse their late season hiccup to No. 11 Michigan State (24-7, 14-4), especially if the Boilermakers beat the Buckeyes on Selection Sunday for the conference crown.
First Purdue had Northwestern (20-12, 7-1) on the docket as they fell behind 34-30 at the break. In a tight game the entire way, the Boilermakers got the first six of the second half on the board for a 36-34 lead. Purdue never lost the lead the rest of the way as they prevailed 69-61.
Fighting for a High Seed in the NCAA Tournament
Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season champ No. 4 Duke (27-5, 13-3) ended their game on a 16-7 run to stave off Virginia (15-16, 5-11) 57-46 and keep their possible No. 1 seed hopes alive in the NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile No. 6 West Virginia (26-6, 13-5) who lost on their homecourt to No. 3 Syracuse two months ago by one may have prevented them from attaining a No. 1 seed over the Orange, even if they win the Big East Tournament.
First things first as the Mountainers toppled Notre Dame (23-11, 10-8) 53-51 to advance to the Big East Championship where they will play the 8 seed No. 22 Georgetown Hoyas (23-10, 10-8).
Lastly No. 9 Kansas State (26-6, 11-5) didn't do itself any favors by following up the loss at Kansas with a home loss against Iowa State(15-17, 4-12). By beating No. 20 Baylor (25-7, 11-5) 82-75, the Wildcats slim hopes of a No. 1 seed remain alive. They'll need to win the Big 12 Championship by beating Kansas to possibly give the Big 12 two No. 1 seeds on Selection Sunday.
In summary, the Big 10 Champ, Duke, West Virginia and Kansas State are the top teams to challenge Syracuse for a No. 1 seed. At least one of the aforementioned teams will be one of the four No. 1 seeds come the time the field of 65 is announced.
Battling for the Overall No. 1 seed in March Madness
The last time No. 1 Kansas (31-2, 15-1) and No. 24 Texas A&M (23-9, 11-5) hooked up, the game was unforgettable as the Jayhawks fought off an Aggie upset at College Station.
This time the two tangled in Kansas City where Kansas trailed 38-35 at the half. Another Aggie upset bid was foiled by Kansas who canned Texas A&M 79-66 thanks to a 16-0 run spurt spanning 4:27 of game-time keeping the Jayhawks ahead for good.
The Jayhawks only threat of stealing the overall No. 1 seed is No. 2 Kentucky (30-2, 14-2) who knocked off Alabama (17-15, 6-10) 73-67. The Wildcats trailed the Rolling Tide 35-30 at halftime before taking command of the game near the midway point of the second half.
Statement Game
San Diego State (24-8, 11-5) came out with a purpose, outscoring No. 8 New Mexico (29-4, 14-2) 14-2 to start the game. New Mexico corralled the Aztecs to pull ahead 39-38 for the first time in the game as halftime emerged. San Diego State would not stop fighting in the second half as they fended off New Mexico 72-69.
The Lobos Dairiese Gary had a chance to win it, but his contested layup was too hard off the glass as the Aztecs added two more free throws with less than second to go for the finishining touches.
San Diego State will now play the host UNLV (25-7, 11-5) who upset No. 15 Brigham Young (29-5, 13-3) for the automatic bid out of the Mountain West Conference.
Big 10 Surprises
Illinois (19-13, 10-8) is not in yet, but with their fifth win against top 25 teams this season, their place in the NCAA Tournament is getting lukewarm with their upset win over No. 18 Wisconsin (23-8, 13-5). The Fighting Illini have now beaten the Badgers two of three times this year and have likely emerged as the fifth Big 10 team to grab a bid come Selection Sunday.
Illinois next will battle No. 7 Ohio State as they try for their sixth win over a top 25 team solidifying their spot among the field of 65 one would think. However, another team out of the Big 10 may have crashed the Illini's party as 6 seed Minnesota (20-12, 9-9) nudged No. 11 Michigan State (24-8, 14-4) 72-67 in overtime. The Spartans were rescued momentarily by a 15-5 run to force the extra period, but after scoring the first hoop of overtime, the Golden Gophers sprinted to 10 consecutive points and the game. Minnesota will next face No. 5 Purdue in the other Big 10 semifinal.
A fifth team out of the Big 10 may after all be going to the Dance. Although if Minnesota or Illinois loses in the semis and the other team were to win the Big 10 Championship, the slipper may fall off for the loser. Either way there's a 50 percent chance that either Cinderella will come out as the Big 10 Champ.
Tyrone Bowman - I'm 25, a recent Journalism graduate of Sacramento State, love the outdoors and am ultra-competitive. I thrive for perfection even though ...
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