There were a few scores of note last night, but none larger than:
Duke 74 - Florida State 66 = The Blue Devils did exactly what they needed to do, for themselves, for my Heels, and for you guys. This moved them back into a tie with UNC for the ACC lead, while putting the 'Noles a game back of both. It also gives both Dook and Carolina a chance to control their own fates, for all they have to do now is win their remaining few games to take the regular-season title. And unless you are one of those fervent Duke and/or Carolina haters, you have to admit that what you really want to see is the Heels visiting Durham in about a week with all the marbles on the line. Well, keep your fingers crossed, as we're not there yet. Still, the odds of that improved due to this Duke victory. Good for them.
Murray State 80 - Tennessee State 62 = Not only did Joe's Racers avenge their only loss down in Nashville, they did it in a big way. Maybe they were focused, maybe they've gotten their second wind, or maybe they were just p!$$ed.
Cincinnati 60 - Louisville 56 = But to add a little rain to Joe's parade, we had another poor showing from Pitino's Yo-Yos. When they are good, they spin like a top. When they are not, the string breaks and they go rolling under the couch. Admittedly, the Bearcats needed a good win better than did the Cardinals, and maybe that was part of it. Still, you gotta wonder what sort of shelf life Louisville will have in the post-season.
Iowa 67 - Wisconsin 66 = I saw this one yesterday, and thought about mentioning how the Hawkeyes had another shot at pulling one out of their behinds. But on second thought, I figured they'd done about all you could reasonably expect from them already this year, and I didn't want to press my luck. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, right? Next time I'll follow my gut and not my head.
Stanford 74 - Colorado 50 = This is not a good enough win to get the Cardinal into the NCAAs, nor is it a bad enough loss to keep the Buffaloes out. All that will hinge upon how much, or how little, respect the Pac-12 receives from the Selection Committee. Yet when one considers how many "upsets" we've had in games played in the Rocky Mountain Heights over the last week or two, it is remarkable that a sea-level squad like the Trees can so totally dominate in Boulder.
Gonzaga 74 - BYU 63 = On the other hand, I'm not sure the 'Zags needed this win for (at least) an at-large, nor does it ruin the Cougars' shot at one all that much. But it will likely put those Bulldogs back into the bottom of the Top 25 rankings again, where they will stay until the NEXT time they pop off their mouths and end up losing again.
As is the norm, there's not a lot to choose from tonight:
Penn vs. Dartmouth // Princeton vs. Harvard // Columbia vs. Yale = I lump all these together because they are all lumped together. Duh. The Quakers are 2nd in the Ivy at 7-2, while Haa'vaad is 1st at 9-1 (with that one loss being to the Princeton Tigers), and the Elis are not completely out of it yet with their 7-3 mark. There are enough games left for most anything to happen, and it could begin tonight.
Butler vs. Valparaiso = Two teams with some NCAA pedigree,and we'll probably see at least one of them in March. Besides that, they are pretty decent teams, and should give us a nice close game here.
Fairfield vs. Iona = Same here. The Gaels were supposed to be head-and-shoulders above all else in the MAAC, but their 1st-place record of 13-3 is but a hair better that the Stags' 12-4 (tied with Loyola MD) in 2nd place. So this also should be a fun one.
Marquette vs. West Virgina = The Mountaineers got on a roll for a while and surprised a lot of people with their success. But lately they've lost 6 of 8 games, and seem to be on a downhill slide into the NIT. The Golden Eagles came into the season with equally "meh" expectations, yet are dreaming of taking the Big East away from Syracuse . . . maybe not in regular-season play, but in the Garden come tourney time. Marquette can stand a loss here, but WVA can't take many more. Keep you eye on this one, if only to see if the Mountain Men have refound their game, or not.
That's it for this evening. I'll take a quick smoke now, and if I get the chance I'll look at the early action Saturday. But if not . . . enjoy.