Mid-day Movers: Mountaineers Climb; Hoyas Hammer 'Cats

Conference Tournament Results

West Virginia 78 Connecticut 72
The Mountaineers now have everybody's attention and probably an at-large invite to the NCAAs with their second straight win in the Big East Tournament. UConn probably has little to worry about, since they went 13-5 in the Big East and 24-7 overall.

Georgetown 82 Villanova 63
The Hoyas put the hammer down on Villanova, a team they beat by just two points during the regular season. The Wildcats may have been a little weary from playing yesterday, while the well-rested Hoyas - who received a first round bye - were clicking from the outside as center Roy Hibbert played only 14 minutes, eventually fouling out with no points and four rebounds. Jesse Sapp and Jonathan Wallace were on fire from three-point range. Wallace hit 5-of-6, while Sapp nailed 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Sapp finished with a game-high 23 points. Wallace had 20 as the Hoyas shot 54% for the game.

Villanova shot only 33% and now must sweat out Selection Sunday. They are 20-12 overall and finished 9-9 in the Big East. Georgetown will face West Virginia in one of two semi-final games on Friday.

Florida St. 70 Wake Forest 60
The Seminoles kept their hopes alive for a bid with an opening round win over Wake Forest in the ACC tourney. The Deacons are unlikely to go anywhere but the NIT.

Miami 63 NC State 50
Say bye-bye to the Wildcats for this season and hello to the Hurricanes. The opening round win nearly cinches an at-large berth for Miami, which finished the ACC regular season 8-8 and tied with Maryland for fifth place. The Hurricanes own a win over the Terps, as well as Duke, Clemson and, outside the conference, Mississippi State.

In the Big 10 tourney, Michigan beat Iowa, 55-47, and Illinois topped Penn St., 64-63, though neither are likely to make the NCAA tourney unless they win the entire tourney, which is unlikely.

Over in the Big 12, Colorado downed Baylor, 91-84, in double overtime. The opening-round loss puts the Bears back on the bubble with a 9-7 regular season conference record and 21-10 slate overall.

Oklahoma State knocked out Texas Tech, 76-72, but the Cowboys' 7-9 conference record really hurts their chances.

This pair of games leaves the doors wide open for Texas A&M, Oklahoma and long-shot Nebraska.

No surprises so far in the SEC Tournament opening round. South Carolina slipped by LSU, 77-73, and Vanderbilt cruised to a 93-82 win over Auburn.