Valparaiso, South Dakota State Make Tourney Field; CJ Garner Leads LIU-Brooklyn with Career Effort

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2012

LIU Brooklyn defeated Mount St. Mary's for the Northeast conference championship and an invitation to their third straight NCAA tournament, with a 91-70 victory.

Trailing by eight points midway through the first half, LIU head coach, Jack Perri, switched from man-to-man to a 2-3 zone on defense and his players responded, taking a 35-31 lead by half time and pulling away in the second half.

The Blackbirds were led by C.J. Garner, who scored a career-high 31 points on 13-for-17 shooting, adding five of seven from the foul line. LIU-Brooklyn shot 61% for the game, making five of nine from three-point range.

South Dakota State returned to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year, winning the Summit League tittle with a 73-67 win over North Dakota State.

Nate Wolters led all scorers with 27 points for the Jackrabbits, to go with six assists and six rebounds.

Valparaiso won the Horizon League championship, topping Wright State in the tournament final, 62-54. Erik Buggsled three Crusaders in double figures with 22 points.

13 teams have now qualified for the NCAA tournament by winning their league championships.

Harvard - Ivy League
Belmont - Ohio Valley
Florida Gulf Coast - Atlantic Sun
James Madison - Colonial Athletic Association
Iona - MAAC
Creighton - Missouri Valley
LIU Brooklyn - Northeast
Western Kentucky - Sun Belt
Liberty - Big South
Gonzaga - West Coast
Davidson - Southern
South Dakota State - Summit League
Valparaiso - Horizon League

Kelly Olynyk Leads Gonzaga into Tourney; Iona Takes MAAC

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, March 11, 2013



Gonzaga defeated St. Mary's in the West Coast conference tourney final to stamp their ticket to the NCAA tournament with emphasis, winning by a decisive, 65-51, score.

It was the third time Gonzaga had defeated St. Mary's this season; the Gaels will have to wait until selection Sunday to see if they receive an at-large invitation.

The Bulldogs were led by center Kelly Olynyk, who topped the scoring charts with 21 points and added 12 rebounds. Olynyk was 7-for-12 from the field and made seven of nine from the foul line.

Ranked #1 in the nation, Gonzaga completed a 16-0 season in conference and has the best overall record in the college ranks at 31-2.

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Iona defeated Manhattan, 60-57, to take home the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference championship. Tre Bowman came off the bench for the Gaels to lead all scorers with 20 points, making seven of nine from the field and all four of his free throw attempts.

Davidson, Western Kentucky, James Madison Are In

The Davidson Wildcats extended the nation's longest winning streak to 16 games, capturing the Southern conference championship with a 74-55 victory over the College of Charleston in the tourney final. De'Mon Brooks led all scorers with 24 points and added eight rebounds.

Davidson the nation's top free-trow shooting team, made only 14 of 21 line attempts, but shot 55% from the floor while holding the Cougars to 30% shooting.

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Western Kentucky took the Sun Belt title, winning four games in four days for the second straight season to earn the automatic invitation to the NCAA tourney.

The Hilltoppers outlasted a game Florida International squad, coached by Richard Pitino, son of Louisville coach Rick Pitino, by a 65-63 score.

Center George Fant scored 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting and snagged 13 rebounds to pace Western Kentucky.

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A.J. Davis led all scorers with 26 points to lead James Madison to the Colonial Athletic Conference championship with a 70-57 victory over Northeastern.

The Dukes led early, took a commanding 40-18 lead into the break and coasted to the easy win.

Five More Dance Tickets to Be Punched Tonight

With five teams already in the tourney (Harvard, Florida Gulf Coast, Belmont, Creighton and Liberty) five more conference champions will be crowned tonight, pushing the number of automatic bids handed out to ten.

The Southern conference starts the evening's action when Charleston 24-9 (Conf: 14-4) faces #1 seed, Davidson 25-7 (Conf: 17-1) at 7:00 pm EDT.

At the same time, James Madison 19-14 (Conf: 11-7) takes on Northeastern 20-11 (Conf: 14-4) for the Colonial conference championship and the Sun Belt final pits Western Kentucky 19-15 (Conf: 10-10) against Florida International 18-13 (Conf: 11-9).

At 9:00 pm EDT, the Metro Atlantic tourney concludes when Manhattan 14-17 (Conf: 9-9) faces
Iona 19-13 (Conf: 11-7) and the West Coast conference will crown a champion when St. Mary's battles #1 Gonzaga.

All games will be carried live on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

Cody Zeller Leads Indiana to Big Ten Title in Win over Michigan

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 10, 2013

Indiana scored the last six points of the game to capture the Big Ten championship with a 72-71 win over Michigan.

After Glenn Robinson III made one of two free throws to give the Wolverines a five-point lead with 1:03 to play, Indiana took advantage of two missed front ends of one-and-one free throws by Michigan - one each by Tim Hardaway Jr. and by Trey Burke - scoring on each of their final three trips down the floor.

The win gave the Hoosiers the outright regular season title in a hotly contested Big Ten, with a 14-4 record. With a win tonight against Northwestern, Michigan State can finish tied with Ohio State for second place at 13-5.

With the loss, Michigan fell to 12-6, tied with Wisconsin for fourth place.

Cody Zeller tallied a game-high 25 points to go with ten rebounds, four on the offensive end. Victor Oladipo also had a double-double with 14 points and 14 boards.

Zeller was 10-for-19 from the field and 5-for-8 from the foul line.

Creighton Wins MVC with 68-65 Win over Wichita State

Even though All-American Doug McDermott was saddled with fouls and was held well below his average, his teammates shouldered the load and defeated Wichita State, 68-65, to capture the BlueJays second straight Missouri Valley conference tournament.

Creighton will get the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney for the second straight season. The Shockers, which finished up with a solid 26-7 mark - identical to Creighton - is likely to receive an at-large invite.

Creighton joins Belmont, Florida Gulf Coast, Harvard and Liberty as early recipients of automatic bids to the NCAAs.

Liberty Starts Season 0-8, Heads to NCAA Tourney from Big South

After starting the season 0-8, even the players of Liberty couldn't have imagined this.

The Liberty Flames won their fourth straight tournament game, topping Charleston Southern, 87-76, to capture the Big South tourney and punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Liberty beat Coastal Carolina, High Point and Gardner-Webb to reach the final and achieve the dream. The 15-20 Flames were 6-10 in conference play, but put it all together when it counted.

It's Liberty's third trip to the NCAA tournament and first since 2004.

Next up: Missouri Valley conference final, Creighton vs. Wichita State, underway at 2:05 pm EDT.

At 4:00 pm EDT, Michigan hosts Indiana in a contest that will determine the Big Ten regular season title.

Kenny Kadji Leads Miami to ACC Title; Florida Gulf Coast, Belmont, Harvard Earn NCAA Berths

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 9, 2013

With regular seasons ending in some of the major conferences and a couple of minor conferences hailing tourney champions and the first entrants into the NCAA field, Saturday was a huge day for college hoops.

In the Big East, Georgetown took a share of the regular season title with Marquette and Louisville - both winners on the day - with a stunning, 61-39 rout of Syracuse, finishing up their conference schedule at 14-4. The Hoyas, Cardinals, Golden eagles and Pitt Panthers will get first round byes in the upcoming conference tourney.

Miami captured the ACC title outright with a signature 62-49 home win over Clemson to wrap up the regular season with a 15-3 mark (24-6 overall), a game better than Duke, which hammered North Carolina, 69-53.

Miami was led by Kenny Kadji, who scored 23 points and ripped down 12 boards for his third straight double-double and seventh on the season. Kadji was 6-for-11 with four three-pointers and went 7-for-9 from the stripe.

Miami and Duke head to the ACC tournament the #1 and #2 seeds, setting up a possible finals match-up that could determine a #1 seeding in the NCAAs.

Three conferences crowned champions on Saturday, the first going to Florida Gulf Coast, as they topped Mercer, 88-75, capturing the Atlantic Sun tourney and grabbing the first automatic bid to March's Big Dance.

In an ironic twist, Belmont, last season's winner of the Atlantic Sun with a victory over Florida Gulf Coast, took down Murray State in overtime, topping the Racers in overtime, 70-68, to win the Ohio Valley Conference their first year in the league.

Harvard won the Ivy League, winning their final game against Cornell, 65-56, to post an 11-3 record, but the Crimson had to wait until later in the evening to celebrate their second straight Ivy title, when Brown upset Princeton, 80-67, leaving the Tigers at 9-4 with a game yet to play, Tuesday night against Penn at Philadelphia's Palestra.

NOTABLE: Kentucky likely salvaged their season and might have possibly earned an at-large bid with a 61-57 victory over #11 Florida, the Gators having already wrapped up the SEC regular season title. The Wildcats had dropped two straight before entering Saturday's game and a win over a ranked opponent was just the tonic needed to revitalize the program.

Creighton will play Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference tourney final Sunday, the Blue Jays hammering Indiana State, 64-43, while the Shockers took a 66-51 decision over Illinois State in the other semi-final.

A slew of other minor conference title are up for grabs on Sunday, and a huge game is on tap for 4:00 pm EDT at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as the #7 Wolverines host #2 Indiana. A Hoosier win would give them the Big Ten title outright, while a victory by Michigan could produce a four-way tie at the top of the conference between Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan State.

#1 Gonzaga turned a one-point half time lead into a 66-48 win in a WCC semi-final. The Zags will meet St. Mary's for the West Coast conference tourney title and the automatic NCAA bid at 9:00 pm EDT Sunday night.

Tyler Brown Keep Illinois State Alive in Missouri Valley Tourney

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 8, 2013

Here come the bracket busters, the teams which can only hope to get an invitation to the NCAA Tourney by winning their conference tournaments.

With post-season tourneys already underway in eight conferences - Metro Atlantic, Sun Belt, Horizon, West Coast, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Atlantic Sun and Southern - there are a number of hopefuls still in the mix.

Illinois State downed Northern Iowa, 73-65, in the quarter-finals of the Missouri Valley tournament, possibly ending the Panthers' chances of making it any further toward March Madness.

The Redbirds, 8-10 during the regular season, were led by Tyler Brown's 28 points and nine rebounds, the senior guard taking charge with 11-for-17 shooting from the field with six of eight from three-point range. The Redbirds avenged a season-ending loss to UNI just six days ago, and have the opportunity to turn the Missouri Valley into a scramble.

Illinois State faces Wichita State in the semi-final at 5:05 pm ET Saturday, the winner advancing to the final to face the winner of Creighton vs. Indiana State.

NOTABLE: The Ivy League is one conference that doesn't hold a post-season tourney, and Friday's results put the ball back in the hands of the Harvard Crimson for the NCAA invite, as they slipped past Columbia, 56-51. With Princeton losing at Yale, 71-66, Harvard only has Cornell in their path to the tourney. The Crimson host Cornell at 5:30 pm ET Saturday. A win puts them into the NCAA field unless Princeton can win on the road at Brown on Saturday and at Penn on Tuesday.

In the case that Princeton and harvard tie for the title, there will be a one-game playoff, but Harvard has already beaten the Tigers twice this season.

In the Ohio Valley, Belmont, the new kid on the block after exiting the Atlantic Sun last year after three straight conference championships, will play in the tourney final against Murray State on Saturday. The Tigers, a fixture in the NCAA tourney recently, knocked off Tennessee state, 82-73, making the final on Saturday. Murray State, the #2 seed, defeated Eastern Kentucky, 81-73.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Lead Georgia over Kentucky

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Kentucky Wildcats may have finally played themselves right out of the NCAA tournament, losing badly in a critical spot, at unranked Georgia, 72-62.

The Wildcats dropped their second straight game and fourth of their last seven. Beyond Thursday night's loss, they host #11 Florida as they wrap up their regular season. Kentucky is 11-6 in the SEC, but sinking fast.

From the opposite perspective, the Bulldogs have been playing better of late, winning three of their last four, their only loss a 63-62 defeat at Vanderbilt last week.

Georgia's fate may be improved or denied dependent on how they fare in their season finale, when Alabama comes calling on Saturday, and how well they perform in the SEC tourney. The Bulldogs have reached respectability with a 9-8 conference mark, but a couple of wins in the post-season would go a long way toward receiving an NCAA bid as the selection committee will be taking five - possibly six - teams from the SEC.

Georgia was led by 6'5" sophomore, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who didn't shoot very well, making just six of 19 shots from the field, including going 2-for-7 from the three-point line, but he made up for his misses at the foul line, where he was 10-for-11. He also was a major factor on the boards, where he swiped 10 rebounds, three on the offensive end. His 24-point, 10-rebound effort was Caldwell-Pope's sixth double-double of the season.

NOTABLE: When a team wins by 15 points and shoots 37%, there's a good bet that the game was a Big Ten match-up, and an even better chance that the winner was Michigan State, where toughness and defense are core principles of coach Tom Izzo's success. The #10 Spartans absolutely spanked #22 Wisconsin, 58-43, holding the Badgers to just 29% from the field and 17% (4-for-23) from beyond the arc.

The game wasn't even as close as the score indicates. after 30 minutes of play, the Badgers were still in the 20s, and only Michigan State relaxing with a huge lead made the score respectable.

Travis Taylor, Xavier End St. Louis' 11-Game Win Streak with 77-66 Victory

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Upsets were everywhere in the college hoops universe Wednesday night, as five ranked teams went down to defeat.

The biggest surprise of the evening came from Philadelphia, where the Villanova Wildcats knocked off #5 Georgetown, 67-57, ending the Hoyas' 11-game winning streak and throwing next week's Big East tourney into a condition f total chaos.

Louisville, Marquette and Georgetown are tied for the regular season lead at 13-4, with one game remaining. Georgetown faces Syracuse on Saturday to close out the season. The Wildcats improved to 10-8 in the conference and have now defeated three different Top 5 teams this season, Georgetown joining Syracuse and Louisville on the victim list.

In the Big Ten, Iowa State downed #13 Oklahoma State, 87-76; the ACC suddenly became more competitive as Georgia Tech won at #6 Miami, 71-69; and the PAC-12 saw Washington State defeat UCLA, 73-61.

But there may be no more competitive a conference than the Atlantic-10, where Xavier took out #16 St. Louis in overtime, 77-66, as 6'8" senior forward Travis Taylor pumped in 19 points and ripped down 19 rebounds in one of the top efforts of the season.

Taylor was 6-for-11 from the field and 7-for-9 from the charity stripe, getting all of his points inside, punishing the Billikens on both ends of the court. Four of his 19 boards came on the offensive end in a game that was a total war in the paint. St. Louis record 16 offensive boards to Xavier's 11, but the Billikens could only must a 30% shooting mark for the game, getting off 19 more shots than the Musketeers, who hit at a 42% rate.

The win ended an 11-game St. louis winning streak and left the Billikens tied with VCU (a 93-82 winner over Richmond) atop the A-10 standings at 12-3. Xavier, keeping alive hopes for an NCAA bid, improved to 9-6 in the conference and 17-12 overall.

The Billikens close out their regular season at home vs. LaSalle on Saturday, while #21 VCU travels to Temple for their last A-10 game.

Missouri Hammers Arkansas, 93-63, Behind 24 and 11 from Laurence Bowers

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 5, 2013

#11 Florida may have already wrapped up the SEC regular season title, but that has not deterred other teams chasing the Gators from getting in valuable playing time down the stretch, leading to the conference tournament.

Missouri is one of those pursuing teams that appears to be peaking at the right time, dusting Arkansas in a big way, with a 93-63 victory over the Razorbacks at Mizzou Arena Tuesday night.

Senior forward, Laurence Bowers, led the Tiger romp with 24 points and 11 rebounds, scoring the first five points of the game, helping the Mizzou to an unassailable 48-22 halftime lead.

Bowers was simply unstoppable on senior night in Columbia, knocking down 10 of 13 shots from the floor and crashing the boards hard on both ends. Four of his rebounds were on the offensive end, leading to second-chance points for the Tigers.

It was Bowers' seventh double-double of the season and second in a row. He had 23 and 10 Saturday against LSU.

The Tigers have won three straight and four of their last five. They are 11-6 in the conference with the regular season finale at Tennessee on Saturday. Florida has two games remaining and are in the lead with a 13-3 mark.

NOTABLE: Winning on the road is huge in any conference, but it is especially tough in the Big Ten, but the Ohio State Buckeyes made their trip to Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, a memorable one, keeping alive their hope of sharing the Big Ten title with a 67-58 win over the #2-ranked Hoosiers.

The result left the Big Ten race still undecided, with Indiana leading with a 13-4 mark, followed by the Buckeyes at 12-5. Both Ohio State and Indiana have just one regular season game left. Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin are all tied at 11-5, each with two more games to play, the most important being Indiana's trip to Michigan on Sunday. The race is so tight, four teams could claim a share of the crown. Michigan State hosts Wisconsin on Thursday night, the game will eliminate one of the two from title contention.

Jeff Withey Leads Kansas to Rout of Texas Tech, 79-42

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, March 4, 2013

Texas Tech got a stark reminder of what happens when Kansas gets into its offense early and their perimeter players allow seven-foot Jeff Whithey to get loose inside.

Layups and dunks are the usual results... and a lopsided, 79-42 victory for the Jayhawks.

Withey led all scorers with 22 points, making seven of eight from the field, mostly in so close to the bucket that it would have been harder to miss than make the shots, and converted eight of nine from the charity stripe, a solid showing and a big asset for a big man.

The senior center also stepped outside for one three-point attempt and it too found the bottom of the net. It was his first and only three-point shot of the season, and probably his last, keeping his perfect record from beyond the arc intact.

Withey also grabbed nine boards, falling just short of what would have been his 13th double-double of the season.

The Jayhawks shot 53% for the game, holding the Red Raiders to just 26% on 14-for-53 shooting. Texas Tech also hit just one of 15 three-point shots.

Kansas, 14-3 in Big 12 play, has just one game left on their regular season schedule. They are home against Baylor this Saturday and can capture another conference title if second place Kansas State (13-3) stumbles at home against 1-15 TCU (unlikely) or loses at Oklahoma State this Saturday. The Cowboys will be looking to overturn an earlier, 73-67, Kansas State win.

Michigan's Trey Burke Makes Key Plays in Win over Spartans

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 3, 2013

After losing at Penn State on Wednesday, the Michigan Wolverines knew they'd need a much better, more focused effort to defeat #4 Michigan State when the Spartans came calling Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

Trailing by three at the half, Trey Burke and his Michigan teammates surged to a ten-=point lead with just over four minutes left to play, but saw the Spartans knaw into the lead and eventually tie the game at 56-all. Michigan State had the ball with the shot clock off and a chance to win when Burke came up with the play of the game - and maybe the season - stealing the rock from Spartan point guard Keith Appling at mid-court and taking it in for a go-ahead dunk with 22 seconds left.

Derrick Nix made one of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to make it 58-57, and, after Mitch McGary missed the front end of a one-and-one, the spartans still had life with 4.7 seconds. As the Spartans tried to get a look, Burke again stole a pass as the clock went to all zeroes, the game over, victory assured, the final: 58-57.

A leader all season long, Burke ended with a game-high 21 points, eight assists, five steals four rebounds and a blocked shot.

The result left four teams in the Big Ten - Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin (a 69-56 loser to Purdue Sunday) - tied for second place at 11-5. They are all chasing 13-3 Indiana. The Hoosiers have their final two games Tuesday and Sunday, when they meet the Buckeyes at home and head out on the road to finish up at Michigan.

Ryan Kelly Returns with 36 to Lead Duke Past Miami

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 2, 2013

When Duke was blistered at Miami, 90-63, back on January 23, Ryan Kelly was wondering when he'd be back in the Blue Devil lineup as the 6'11" forward sat helplessly on the bench nursing a foot injury that had already sidelined him for two games.

On Saturday, Kelly returned to the Duke starting lineup. Most observers thought he could add some scoring, help the Blue Devils spread the floor and provide some minutes of solid defense. What they got from the senior was an effort for the ages, as Kelly responded with his best game as a collegian, scoring a career-high 36 points, leading Duke to a payback, 79-76, win that evened the score between the top two teams in the ACC.

For a player that hadn't seen game action in nearly two months, Kelly proved deadly accurate from anywhere on the floor, hitting 10 of 14 shots, including an incredible 7-for-9 mark from beyond the arc. He also canned seven of nine from the foul line and collected seven rebounds, an assists, a blocked shot and two steals, playing 32 minutes.

Beyond his scoring outburst being more than double his seasonal average, to do it with only a few days of practice and at the end of the long layoff speaks volumes about the senior's work ethic and coach Krzyzewski's fluid offensive system.

Miami did not make it easy on the Blue Devils, however, rallying late in the game to close the gap to three points, ending with a desperation heave from the corner by Rion Brown that would have tied the game, but clanged off the rim as the final horn sounded.

The result left the Hurricanes still comfortably atop the ACC standings with a 14-2 record - two better than Duke's 12-4 mark - but plenty to think about heading down the stretch and into the conference tourney. The Hurricanes need only to win one of two remaining games - both at home - to capture their first ACC regular season title. They face Georgia Tech this Wednesday and close out the schedule on Saturday against Clemson.

Duke hosts Virginia Tech on Tuesday before closing out their season at North Carolina on Saturday, March 9.

NOTABLE: Look for #12 Syracuse to continue sliding in the polls, losing their third straight game in a 58-53 home loss to #10 Louisville. The Orange had previously lost to Georgetown and Maquette in the past week.

#19 Memphis captured another Conference USA title, winning 76-67, at UCF to run their conference record to 14-0, three games better than second place Southern Miss (11-3) with just two games left to play. The Tigers had their 18-game winning streak - then the longest in college hoops - snapped this past Tuesday when Xavier got the better of them in a 64-62 upset.

The Atlantic-10 continues to be a hotbed of activity, though St. Louis seems to be above all of it, winning their 11th straight and maintaining their lead in the conference at one game with a 66-58 win at George Washington. The Billikens are being pursued by VCU, who hammered Butler on Saturday, trouncing the Bulldogs, 84-52, to remain just a game back. The Billikens have two tough contests remaining: at Xavier on Saturday and home against LaSalle - currently in third place, at 10-4 - on Saturday.

Life in the PAC-12 got even screwier on Saturday, as the UCLA Bruins upended #11 Arizona, 74-69. That sent the Wildcats tumbling to fourth place in the standings with an 11-6 record. UCLA tied Oregon at 12-4 to lead the conference with just two games left for both teams. Cal is squeezed into third place, at 12-5. They host Stanford on Wednesday to finish up their regular season.

Princeton Shoulders Up to Harvard as Ian Hummer Leads 58-53 Victory

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 1, 2013

For the Princeton Tigers, the objective was apparent: beat Harvard for the 24th straight time at home, then win out the remaining four games of the regular season, force a playoff or win the Ivy League - and a trip to the NCAA tournament - outright.

Thanks largely to a huge effort from senior forward, Ian Hummer, the Tigers took the first step with a 58-53 nail-biter win over the Crimson.

Hummer registered his first double-double of the season, going 8-for-14 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the line for a game-high 23 points, adding a season-high 14 rebounds, four on the offensive end.

The win left the Tigers at 8-2 in the conference with four games left to play, right behind 9-2 Harvard, which has only three games left on the regular season schedule.

In the case the two titans of the Ivy League end up tied, as has occurred in two of the last three seasons, a single-game playoff will determine which squad gets the automatic NCAA bid.

The contest was marked by solid defense, with both teams held to under 41% shooting. Princeton made the only three-pointer of the game - on ten attempts. Harvard was 0-for-8 from outside the arc. Both teams displayed proficiency at the foul line. The Tigers made 19 of 22 free throws; Harvard was 22-for-25 from the stripe.

Joe Harris Bombs Duke with 36 Points as Cavaliers Triumph, 73-68

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, February 28, 2013

A golden opportunity staring them in the face, the #3 Duke Blue Devils could not contain Virginia's Joe Harris, the junior guard scoring a career-high 36 points en route to a 73-68 Cavalier upset in Charlottesville, VA.

Harris, who averages more than 17 points per game, outdid his previous career mark by 10 points. The Cavaliers took a five-point lead into the half and played the Blue Devils even up in a wide open second half, each team scoring 45 points.

Joe Harris poured in 12 of 20 shots from the field and added 10 more points (on 12 attempts) from the foul line, disrupting Duke's plans and practically handing the conference title to the 14-1 Hurricanes in the process. Harris also ripped down seven rebounds and had a pair of assists, two blocks and a steal before fouling out late in the contest, which Virginia led throughout.

Virginia out-rebounded Duke, 36-25, with Akil Mitchell snagging 12 boards to go with his 19 points, his ninth double-double of the season.

Duke entered the game with an 11-3 conference mark, trailing Miami, whom they host this Saturday, by two games, so the opportunity to narrow the gap in the ACC was present, though predicated on winning at Virginia.

With a three-game lead in the standings, the Hurricanes have only to win one of their remaining three games. Following this Saturday afternoon's tilt at Cameron Indoor, the Hurricanes close out the season at home against Georgia Tech and Clemson. Those teams have identical 5-10 ACC records.

20-8 Virginia is poised for a nice post-season run. They are tied with North Carolina four third place in the ACC with a 10-5 record.

Penn State drops Michigan, 84-78, Behind Jermaine Marshall's 25 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Somehow, we all knew it was going to happen sooner or later. The cocky - and often sloppy - attitude of the Michigan Wolverines would catch up to them, and, on Wednesday night, it finally did, as Penn State took advantage of home court and 15 Michigan turnovers to upend the Wolverines, 84-78, shining a very bright light on star point guard Trey Burke, who committed six turnovers himself and made just one of four shots from outside the three-point arc.

Michigan took a slim, three-point lead into the break, but the Nittany lions simply outplayed them in the second stanza, making three-pointers and trips to the foul line as they pressured the Michigan defense on each possession. Leading the charge was junior guard Jermaine Marshall, who led all scorers with 25 points on shooting of 8-for-17, nailing six of ten from downtown.

Marshall, the Lions' second-leading scorer among active players at 15.4 ppg (Tim Frazier has an average of 16.3, but has played just four games this season), also grabbed six rebounds, had three assists and a couple of steals in the upset victory.

With nothing to lose, the Penn State players made the most of their opportunity to make headlines. They are 9-18 overall, and, up until Wednesday night, were 0-14 in Big Ten play.

NOTABLE: Still receiving far too little acclaim, the St. Louis Billikens won their tenth straight game, whipping St. Joseph's, 70-53, maintaining their one-game lead in the Atlantic-10 over 10-3 VCU with an 11-2 conference record.

The Billikens haven't lost since back-to-back defeats at Temple and against Rhode Island, back on January 12 and 19 and need to forge wins at George Washington and Xavier before their season finale at home against LaSalle in order to take the conference title outright.

There will be plenty of hand-wringing come selection Sunday for all the teams in the PAC-12 other than the one which wins the post-season conference tournament. That's because the contenders in the conference haven't done much in the way of presenting a strong case by which the committee can single them out for an at-large bid. Currently, Oregon and UCLA lead the standings at 11-4, followed by Arizona and Cal at 11-5 and 10-5, respectively. Colorado is 9-6; Arizona State is 9-7 and USC improved to 8-7 after dropping Arizona Wednesday night, 89-78.

Winning records have been achieved by these seven - each of which believe they are worthy of at-large tourney selections - largely at the expense of Utah, Oregon State and Washington State, the conference cellar-dwellers with a combined conference record of 8-36.

Minnesota Dumps #1 Indiana as Trevor Mbakwe Outplays Zeller

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Big men in the Big Ten play important roles in their teams' successes, but none was bigger than Minnesota's 6'8" senior, Trevor Mbakwe, as he powered the Golden Golphers to a 77-73 defeat of top-ranked Indiana Tuesday night.

Mbakwe posted his ninth double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds, significantly outplaying Indiana's Big Ten player of the year candidate, Cody Zeller, who was held to just nine points on 2-for-9 shooting and a mere seven rebounds before fouling out late in the second half.

Mbakwe's prowess on both ends of the floor were evident as Minnesota dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Hoosiers, 44-30, and snaring an incredible 23 offensive rebounds. Mbakwe was 8-for-10 from the field and 5-for-7 from the foul line, completing what was surely one of his best effort as a collegian.

Indiana's loss is college basketball's gain. It's the seventh time this season a #1-ranked team has tasted defeat, setting up an exciting, unpredictable NCAA tourney, which commences in just three weeks. It also gives hope to the chasers in the Big Ten, as Indiana drops to 12-3 in the conference. Michigan State and Wisconsin are tied for second at 11-4; Michigan is 10-4 and Ohio State is 10-5.

Michigan Hammers Illinois Behind Trey Burke's 26 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, February 24, 2013

Battling in the Big Ten has become something akin to sumo wrestling at times this season, with heavyweights taking each other up and off the court in a manic scramble to the top spot in the standings.

Currently, top-ranked Indiana holds sway in the conference with a 12-2 mark, with Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State - all ranked - playing catch-up.

On Sunday, Trey Burke provided ample offense for the Wolverines to tear up overmatched Illinois - a solid team that despite a 7-8 record in the conference still stands a good chance of receiving an at-large invitation to the national tournament - with a game-high 26 points in a 71-58 laugher that didn't seem very funny when the Illini took a three-point lead into intermission.

Michigan scored 43 second half points, limiting Illinois to 27, to run away for the home win. Burke proved quite the marksman, making eight of 11 shots, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. He also nailed eight of 10 free throws and added eight assists while committing just one turnover.

The win left the 10-4 Wolverines two games back of the Hoosiers with one more crack at them in the regular season finale - a mark 10 home game.

Adding to the mix was Ohio State, which did its part to keep the Big Ten the most fascinating conference in the country, with a 68-60 win over Michigan State. The 10-5 Buckeyes have just three games left on their conference calendar, one of them a trip to Indiana on March 5.