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Entering Saturday night’s game between No.3 seed Texas and No.14 seed Abilene Christian, the Big 12 were 6-0 in the NCAA tournament and were ready for a perfect first round. . But when the Longhorns collapsed against their foe in Conference State of Southland, it started a difficult time for the much-vaunted conference.
Although the No.1 seed Baylor survived Sunday against the No.9 seed from Wisconsin, the No.6 seed Texas Tech, the No.3 seed from West Virginia and the No. ° 4 Oklahoma State have each lost, which means the Big 12 are down to 1-4 in their last five games and are 7-4 in the Big Dance. As No.8 seed Oklahoma faces the challenge of a life on Monday against overall No.1 seed Gonzaga, it may soon be up to the league’s traditional powers to carry the league banner. .
Baylor is on the Sweet 16, and the No.3 seed Kansas has a chance to make it there Monday against the No.6 seed USC. But with the Red Raiders, Mountaineers, Cowboys and Longhorns all retiring within 24 hours, the Big 12 need their other contenders to go far if the conference emerges from the NCAA tournament as the best in the country.
We’re heading into the historic first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. The latest episode of Eye on College Basketball explains everything you need to know ahead of Monday’s game prediction.
It was another crazy day in the NCAA tournament, so let’s talk about the winners and the losers.
Winner: State of Oregon
The Beavers are heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1982. Chosen to finish last of the Pac-12 in preseason, Oregon State is a perfect example of what hot at the right time can do for your team. Coach Wayne Tinkle and his team were nowhere near in contention for an all-season NCAA big tournament bid, but they made it through the Pac-12 tournament to secure the league’s automatic bid and knocked out the heads. Series # 5 and # 4 in the Midwest Regional to get their first Sweet 16 appearance in nearly 40 years. – Boone
Loser: see the end of Cade Cunningham’s race
We’re all really the losers here as it would have been compelling to see a player with the star power of Cade Cunningham advance deep into the tournament. Ultimately, we should be happy that we got to see him in college basketball. When Oklahoma state was hit with a playoff ban this summer, Cunningham could easily have decided that playing college ball wasn’t worth it. Instead, he honored his commitment to the Cowboys. In doing so, he elevated the program’s status and solidified its status as the likely top pick in the NBA Draft. And, in the end, Oklahoma State got to play in the playoffs after all. With the advent of the G League Ignite program for high school elite prospects, we may be seeing fewer and fewer stars like Cunningham in sports, so it was great to see a player of his caliber having what seemed like a positive experience at a non-traditional power. – Cobb
Winner: Oral Roberts Joins Exclusive 15 Seed List
Oral Roberts surprised 7th seed Florida 81-78 on Sunday despite trailing more than 30 minutes into the game, becoming the second No.15 seed in NCAA tournament history to pass. at Sweet 16. The Golden Eagles took 28 and 26 points from Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas, respectively, as the dynamic duo showed up again in the clutch. This is Sweet 16’s second appearance on the program and the first since 1974, when there were only 25 teams in the tournament and there was no ranking. – Boone
Winner: Houston eliminates ugly win over Rutgers
With 8:45 left in the second half of Sunday’s second-round game between Houston and Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights took their biggest lead of the game, 52-42. But in the final eight minutes, the Cougars methodically metamorphosed to eliminate the deficit in an unlikely 63-60 win. They closed in a 7-0 run and held Rutgers 0 of 3 in that final streak. – Boone
Winner: Arkansas is back
The Razorbacks made six Sweet 16 appearances – and won a national title – in seven years in the 1990s under coach Nolan Richardson. But they hadn’t returned since 1996, at least not until Sunday. Arkansas finally passed the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament with a thrilling 68-66 victory over No.6 seed Texas Tech. This is a remarkable turnaround for the coach’s second-season schedule. Eric Musselman, and the Razorbacks may not be over yet. They will face No.15 Oral Roberts in the Sweet 16 and enter with the advantage of having beaten the Golden Eagles 87-76 in December. – Cobb
Winner: Loyola Chicago starts again
CBS analyst Bill Raftery said it was better at the end of the second half of No.8 seed Loyola Chicago, 71-58, lost the No.1 seed Illinois Sunday. “It’s not just divine intervention,” Raftery said. “It’s a great basketball.”
It was a perfect summary of Sunday’s action. While the nation loves the Ramblers for their heartwarming character as a mid-major darling who is championed by a spiritual force in the form of 101-year-old team chaplain Sister John, there is nothing weird in the way this team plays. In fact, this team is more respected by maven Ken Pomeroy than was the 2018 Final Four team. Still, the Ramblers’ ruthless efficiency was somewhat surprising. Their only other game against a Big Ten team this season was a 14-point loss to Wisconsin. But the combination of divine intervention and great basketball was deadly on Sunday, and Loyola rides on the Sweet 16. – Cobb
Loser: Illinois falls short of potential
The Illini had won 15 of their last 16 games entering Sunday’s contest, and their impressive run through the Big Ten Tournament suggested that a deep run in the NCAA tournament was something ahead. Maybe the rebuke about Loyola Chicago deserving a better seed is legitimate, and maybe the Illini got a rough deal by having to play the Ramblers so soon, but are we really supposed to have sympathy for the ‘Illinois because of this? Illinois didn’t play as a No.1 seed on Sunday. In fact, it never led. A few more days before playing an unknown foe from the Missouri Valley Conference would have been beneficial, but the beauty of this tournament is the unpredictability produced by the single elimination format. You can’t give a failed performance and expect to progress, and the Illini learned that on Sunday their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013 ended in a bitter way. – Cobb
Winner: Baylor presents a sharp shooting show
The No. 1 3-point shooting team (41.4% beyond the arc) in the country, Baylor launched an effective offensive exit – as usual – to escape without a scratch against Wisconsin . The Bears won 76-63 behind an 8 of 17 distance performance and four turnovers. Five different players knocked back shots beyond the arc as the Bears advanced to Sweet 16 for just the fifth time in program history. – Boone
Loser: Big Ten fades in NCAA tournament
No conference reputation has been smashed more than the Big Ten in the first round of the NCAA tournament as No.2 seed Ohio State, No.4 Purdue, No.11 Michigan State all bowed out early. Ditto for the first day of Round 2.
The league has been titled all season by multiple Final Four contenders, but No.1 seed Illinois joined Ohio State No.2 seed on Sunday dropping to the Sweet 16 with a 71-58 loss to No.8 seed Loyola Chicago. Meanwhile, the No.9 seed from Wisconsin also left the left stadium, dropping 76-63 to No.1 seed Baylor. No.10 seed Rutgers also joined the exodus on Sunday.
There is still hope for the conference to redeem itself, but it will be difficult. Michigan’s No.1 seed is starless Isaiah Livers indefinitely due to a foot injury, and the No.2 seed, Iowa, is in the same region as No.1 seed Gonzaga. If he can’t capitalize on this yearThis will be hard to digest as the Big Ten have gone over two decades without producing a national champion. – Boone
Winner: Syracuse zone defense pushes Orange forward
The Orange rocked West Virginia in the first half as the Mountaineers dug a 14-point hole with 11 turnovers and just 29 points in the opening frame. Eventually, West Virginia found its way and took a brief lead. But Syracuse built up muscle and clinched a 75-72 victory to reach its seventh Sweet 16 in the last 12 NCAA tournaments. There is just something about the patented area of this program that is difficult for opponents to deal with on short notice. With Buddy Boeheim throwing 3 points and his father Jim distributing the wise wisdom gained over a lifetime in the sport, this team is exceeding expectations after barely breaking into the Big Dance. – Cobb
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