For the second night in a row in college basketball, a BCS-conference title contender tried to elevate itself. And for the second night in a row, the established order turned away a challenge.
Last night in upstate New York, Georgetown sprinted to a 14-0 start before letting the Syracuse Orange back into the game -- in a big way -- in being outscored by 31 the rest of the way. The Orange, behind G Andy Rautins and F Wesley Johnson, showed that they are well-deserving of their current Top-5 ranking.
A year after the Big East dreamed of sending four teams to the Final Four, it was supposed to be a down year; instead, the conference has six teams in the current AP Top-25 (five in the current KenPom Top-25, but eight (half the league) in the Top-40). The Beast is back.
And Feb. 27th -- Villanova (18-1, 7-0) at Syracuse (20-1, 7-1) -- looms large.
In the Big Ten, meanwhile, Michigan hoped to start on the road back to national prominence when it hosted #5 Michigan State. Armed with a student body seemingly hopped up on Beilein-ball, the Wolverines appeared came back in the second half to take the lead with less than a minute to go.
With 38 seconds remaining, Michigan's DeShawn Sims missed a corner jumper badly. The Spartans' Kalin Lucas drained a 15-foot jumper to take a one-point lead. Sims had a chance to redeem himself with 1.5 left, but a tough layup slipped off the front rim.
And Maize-and-Blue fans wonder if raiding Morgantown was worth it.
Showing posts with label Villanova. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Villanova. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Big 5 is Back (!)
What a difference two weeks makes!
Back at the end of February, the Big 5's streak of consecutive NCAA appearances appeared to be in serious jeopardy, as LaSalle and UPenn had been declared dead, and Villanova, Temple, and St. Joe's were in serious trouble.
Instead, Temple won its way in by winning the A-10 tourney (and beating St. Joes in the final), and Villanova knocked off Syracuse in an 'elimination' game at the Big East tourney.
All were seeded in the bottom half of the bracket however, with two #12-seeds (Nova and Temple) and one #11 (St. Joe)
Back at the end of February, the Big 5's streak of consecutive NCAA appearances appeared to be in serious jeopardy, as LaSalle and UPenn had been declared dead, and Villanova, Temple, and St. Joe's were in serious trouble.
Instead, Temple won its way in by winning the A-10 tourney (and beating St. Joes in the final), and Villanova knocked off Syracuse in an 'elimination' game at the Big East tourney.
All were seeded in the bottom half of the bracket however, with two #12-seeds (Nova and Temple) and one #11 (St. Joe)
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