College Basketball 3/2 - Life on the Bubble

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Georgetown 70, Marquette 68 OT
Georgetown came back from an 11 point deficit midway through the second half, and rode the clutch shooting of Jonathon Wallace to a 70-68 victory over Marquette in Milwaukee. The win kept the Hoyas in a tie for first place in the Big East with Louisville, while the loss all but erased any hope Marquette had of getting the fourth seed and the first round bye for the Big East tournament. The end to both regulation and overtime were thrilling. After Roy Hibbert tied the game at 59 with a minute left, Marquette back up center Dwight Burke had an emphatic tip dunk to put Marquette in the lead. Patrick Ewing Jr. got fouled (on what was very close to being a charge), but only hit one of two free throws. After Wesley Matthews knocked down a pair to put Marquette up three, Jonathon Wallace was fouled on a three point attempt and hit all three free throws to send the game into overtime. In the extra frame, Marquette saw a three point lead erased when Wallace banked in a buzzer beating three pointer. Georgetown went up two on a Wallace free throw with 10 seconds left, but Dominic James turned the ball over in the front court and the Hoyas escaped with another close victory.

The bigger story here is that Georgetown won another game that could be considered 'lucky' - the Roy Hibbert three to beat UConn, the seven point lead they overcame in the last five minutes to beat Syracuse in OT, the goaltending call (or lack thereof) against West Virginia, the phantom foul on Villanova, and even the 'travel' on Jeff Green in last years NCAA. This team could very easily have eight league losses right now. I understand and completely agree with the sentiment that good teams pull out games at the end, but sooner or later the streak of luck has to come to an end. How good is this team really? That is a very important question to ask with the NCAA tournament on the horizon.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Rice has been the lone beacon of light in a dreadful season for the Eagles - he is averaging 21.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, and 3.3 rpg this year. On the week he averaged 30.5 points, but it was his phenomenal 46 point performance against UNC that earned him POTW honors, including 34 in the first half where he also hit 8 3's and at one point scored 23 consecutive points for BC. The Eagles would eventually lose the game, dropping their fourth in a row and tenth in eleven games, but Rice's performance against the Heels was dominating.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:
CLEMSON
The Tigers all but sealed up an NCAA tournament bid with a 2-0 week against fellow ACC bubble dwellers Miami and Maryland. Clemson has erased thoughts that they would collapse down the stretch again this year by winning 6 of their last eight after starting 3-3 in conference play. Against Maryland on Sunday, Clemson closed the game on a 34-11 run to erase a twenty point deficit with 11 minutes remaining in the second half. James Mays scored 16 of his 20 points after intermission, and Terrence Oglesby hit a three with 2.3 seconds left to break a 70-70 tie and conclude the comeback. Clemson is one of the only teams that has been playing their way off the bubble and into the field of 65.

MATCH-UPS OF THE WEEK:
3/3 Pittsburgh @ West Virginia - Pitt looks to sweep the Mountaineers in one of the least talked about rivalries in college sports, where the game has huge tournament implications for both teams. WVU really needs a signature win (they are 1-5 against the top six teams in the league).
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Joe Alexander, West Virginia and Sam Young, Pitt - Very similar players coming into the season - extremely athletic tweener forwards. While Young has turned into more of a jump-shooter, Alexander has developed into a very effective post scorer, as seen by the 32 he put on UConn Saturday.

3/5 Mississippi State @ Vanderbilt - Despite losing to Arkansas, Vanderbilt has asserted themselves as a force this season while Mississippi State is still trying to justify is spot as No. 2 in the SEC standings.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Shan Foster, Vanderbilt and Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State - Foster is as good as any scorer in the country, and may be the best shooter, while Gordon is a stat-stuffer that can do it all.

3/6 Stanford @ UCLA - The Pac-10 regular season title will be on the line as the Cardinal visit Pauley Pavilion.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Brook Lopez, Stanford and Kevin Love, UCLA - Love and Lopez are the two best big men in the conference, and it should be a great battle to watch.

3/6 Xavier @ St. Joseph's - While Xavier has asserted themselves as a premier team this year, St. Joe's is still trying to seal up an at-large bid, and a win over the Musketeers would go a long way to making that happen.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Pat Calathes, St. Joe's - Maybe the best player you've never heard of, Calathes is a 6'10 forward that can bang down low, but also has perimeter skills and is a deadly three point shooter.

3/8 UNC @ Duke - Duke has not played well since they beat UNC in early February, while UNC has righted the ship, winning six in a row. To add even more intrigue, this game should determine the ACC regular season champ (see a trend starting here).
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ty Lawson, UNC and Greg Paulus, Duke - Lawson didn't play in the first match-up, and makes s huge difference making the Heels run, while Paulus' shooting finally returned against NC State. The Dookies will need another great performance from him to sweep the Heels.

3/8 Louisville @ Georgetown - As the Hoyas and the Cardinals are tied atop the Big East standings, this game will determine the conference's regular season champ.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: David Padgett, Louisville and Roy Hibbert, Georgetown - Two very underappreciated big men. Both of these guys have put numbers aside in their senior years to try and better their team, with great results. Both Georgetown and Louisville run their offense through their centers, as both are very good passers and decision makers.

3/8 UAB @ Memphis - Before Tennessee upended Memphis, UAB gave the Tigers their biggest scare of the season in a game that also saw the UAB fans get into it with the Memphis players. With Houston's loss to East Carolina, UAb probably needs this win to assure Conference USA of getting two bids.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis and Robert Vaden, UAB - CDR is an all-american and scored 32, including the game-winning three point play, in their last meeting. Vaden is a great scorer and a pure shooter, and can heat up quickly, as evidenced by his 22ppg and the 28 he had in the second half against Kentucky earlier this season.