What we learned this week: There's saying I've used quite a bit on this site that goes: coaching wins games, talent hangs banner. What I mean by it is that on any given night, a great coaching performance can be the difference between a win and a loss, regardless of who is playing. But a great coach isn't going to lead DePaul to a Big East title.
The same can be said for effort. When one team plays harder and hustles more than the other, conference favorites can lose to cellar dwellers on any given night. But just because Penn State plays hard doesn't mean they're headed for the final four. Never was that sentiment more evident than this week. Take a look at some of the upsets that occurred this week and what they mean to the respective teams:
UConn 84, Villanova 75: UConn picked up a huge road win against Villanova on President's Day. The Huskies are far from a tournament lock with the win, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. For Nova, the loss drops them back into a tie with Syracuse for the Big East lead. The Wildcats still have a shot at a No. 1 seed, but as is the case every season, so much of that will be determined by performances in the conference tournament.
Louisville 66, Syracuse 60: Like UConn, Louisville still has quite a bit of work left to do. The win over the Orange is great, their next best Big East W is a win over South Florida, and the 'Ville did nothing in the non-conference. The loss for Syracuse isn't disastrous. They had been struggling lately, especially Wes Johnson, and needed the wake-up call.
Rutgers 71, Georgetown 68: This loss is embarassing for Georgetown. Rutgers is going no where this season, and has been bad enough that their coach Fred Hill may end up getting fired. But the Scarlet Knights were easily the better, more disciplined, team on Sunday. The Hoyas may be playing their way out of a top two seed with their inconsistency.
Niagara 87, Siena 74: Niagara is a talented team. There is a reason that the Purple Eagles were predicted to be one of the major challengers to Siena's domination in the MAAC. Injuries and inconsistent play have left Niagara in the middle of the MAAC, but that doesn't change the talent level on their roster. Losing at Niagara carries no shame, but it does severely damage Siena's at-large chances. The Saints are 0-5 against teams that look to be tourney bound, and their best win is against Northeastern. Siena needs to win the MAAC tournament to get a bid with this loss.
Penn 79, Cornell 64: This was the upset of the season. Penn was 3-15 heading into this game, having already had their coach fired this season. Their three wins came against teams that have a combined 14 wins this year. Cornell is a team that many people believed would roll through the Ivy, and possibly win a game or two in the tournament. This loss would have been much, much worse as the Big Red lost to Princeton on Saturday. But they squeaked out a 50-48 win, meaning that Cornell controls their own destiny as far as a tournament bid goes. Win out, and they are in.
Bradley 68, Northern Iowa 59: There is no shame in losing on the road in the MVC. Bradley, who owns a win over Illinois as well, is not a bad basketball team. But the Panthers are putting themselves in a dangerous spot. The Valley tournament is not a walk-through by any means, and with this loss and the subsequent suspension of center Jordan Eglseder for driving drunk, the Panthers are putting their at-large bid in serious jeopardy.
Evansville 65, Wichita State 62: Let me amend a previous statement: there is no shame in losing on the road in the MVC so long as its not to Evansville. The Shockers gave Evansville their first league win of the season, which ended their hopes on an at-large bid.
GAMES OF THE WEEK: Pitt 98, West Virginia 95 3OT; Cal St. Fullerton 113, Cal St. Northridge 112 3OT
Playing in an unusual Friday night game, West Virginia was up 66-59 with just over a minute left in regulation. But the combination of three missed front-ends and a turnover in the back court allowed Pitt to tie the game on a three from Ashton Gibbs. At the end of the first overtime, Pitt was up two with Gibbs headed to the free throw line where he is automatic. But Gibbs missed the second, and Truck Bryant buried a triple at the other end to force a second overtime. At the end of the second OT, WVU was down three with the ball when Da'Sean Butler fired a step back three. Gary McGhee got a piece of Butler's wrist, and the senior proceeded to knock down three free throws to force a third overtime. Down three at the end of the third overtime, Bryant missed a tough, leaning three, and the Panthers picked up a big win.
Neither the highlights or my writeup do the game justice.
As far as the second game goes, this video should be more than enough to explain what happened. The game-winner comes right around the 3:45 mark.
For the first time in my experience, the "foul-when-you're-up-three-late" strategy backfired.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ekpe Udoh, Baylor
Looking at just the numbers, you'd call me crazy for picking Udoh. In two games this week, a win at Nebraska and a win at home against Missouri, Udoh averaged only 7.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, and 4.5 bpg. That's pretty far from great numbers. The stat that isn't there is game-winners - he had two of them this week. Against Nebraska, Udoh hit a short jumper coming across the lane to give the Bears a 54-53 lead with just over 20 seconds left in the game. Against Missouri, after a missed Baylor free throw with six seconds left, Udoh tipped in a miss with just over a second left on the clock.
Ekpe Udoh had two game-winners this week. (photo credit: KC Star)
Those two wins were crucial for Baylor, who has been a bit of a hard luck loser in the Big XII. They are one of just six teams in the country that hasn't lost a game by double figures. With the two wins, the Bears slid into a three-way tie for fourth in the league.
They were good too:
Randy Culpepper, UTEP: The Miners pushed their winning streak to nine games, in large part dude to the play of Culpepper. He had 18 points in a win at SMU on Wednesday, but Saturday was the notable performance. Culpepper went for 45 points (the fourth highest total of the season) in a blowout win over East Carolina.
Jerome Randle, Cal: Randle led Cal to back-to-back wins this week as they kept a one game lead in the Pac-10. Randle averaged 28.5 ppg in the two wins.
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest: Aminu led Wake to a 2-0 week in which the Demon Deacons moved into second place in the ACC. In wins over BC and Georgia Tech, Aminu averaged 19.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.5 bpg, and 2.5 spg.
Ashton Gibbs, Pitt: Gibbs averaged 22.0 ppg in two wins for the Panthers, but the big game was the 24 he put up in the 3OT win over West Virginia. His three at the end of regulation forced OT.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Richmond Spiders
Believe it or not, Richmond is currently sitting in first place in the A-10. The Spiders came back from five down late in the second half to beat URI on the road before easily handling St. Bonaventure on the road on Saturday. All told, Richmond has won six straight games (including a W against Temple) and has cracked the top 25 polls. But it is not yet safe to call the Spiders a lock. They end their season with three games against fellow A-10 bubble teams - at Xavier, Dayton, at Charlotte - in the span of a week.
Kevin Anderson helped lead Richmond to a 2-0 week and the top of the A-10. (photo credit: The Collegian UR)
The interesting part about Richmond's season has been the unexpected aspect. Center Dan Geriot, an all-league performer before missing last season with a torn acl, has not been as effective as he was pre-injury. In his place, Darius Garrett has filled in admirably. Richmond thought they were going to be a high-powered offense led by the back court of Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez, but instead the Spiders are tied for the league lead in FG% defense with Temple.
They were good too
New Mexico: The Lobos proved they have what it takes to win tough games on the road. They went into Vegas and knocked off UNLV, who was coming off of a blowout win over BYU, before beating a pesky Utah team in overtime.
Kansas: The Jayhawks won three impressive road games this week, knocking off Texas, Iowa State, and Texas A&M. Kansas holds a three game lead in the Big XII.
Duke: The Blue Devils knocked off their two biggest conference rivals in consecutive games this week. They outlasted a physical UNC team on Wednesday in Chapel Hill before running over Maryland at home on Saturday.
Wake Forest: After the Demon Deacons knocked off both Georgia Tech and Boston College at home, they look like the new favorite to be the second best ACC team.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes moved into a tie for first place with Purdue and Michigan State as they went on the road to knock off both Indiana and Illinois in convincing fashion. Perhaps most impressive in those two wins was that Evan Turner only need to put up 13.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 7.0 apg. Granted, those are the numbers of a lottery pick, but they are also a far cry from what he's done this season.
Cal: The Bears went 2-0 at home this week, knocking off both Washington and Wazzu. Cal moves into one game lead in the Pac-10.
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Ekpe Udoh had two game-winners this week.
Kevin Anderson helped lead Richmond to a 2-0 week and the top of the A-10.
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