Friday's Shootaround: Ashton Gibbs FTW!!!

Pitt 73, Providence 71: In a night devoid of much college hoops excitement, the Panthers and the Friars provided more than their share. Pitt used a 15-1 run midway through the first half to open up a 32-23 lead, but the Friars would fight back to build a 61-56 lead. Eventually, the two teams ended up tied at 70 with about 40 seconds left. Pitt had the ball and ran the clock down, but a missed floater by Wanamaker followed by a foul on the ensuing rebound sent Brian McKenzie to the line:



Two thoughts on the wild ending. First of all, that is terrible defense by Providence. Its almost as if they resigned themselves to the fact Pitt was going to be getting a shot off and they were just going to hope that the Panthers missed. You HAVE to turn the ball handler, he cannot run a straight line down the court and get an open 25 footer.

Secondly, how clutch of a shooter is Ashton Gibbs? He hit a couple different buzzer beaters against West Virginia in that three overtime classic and hit the difference-making free throws against Cincinnati.

Richmond 60, Dayton 56: Richmond held off Dayton in a game that was fairly devastating to Dayton's tournament hopes. The Flyers were up for much of the second half before allowing the Spiders to work their way back into the game. David Gonzalvez took over late for Richmond, hitting three huge buckets down the stretch, and Dayton just didn't have an answer. That seems to be the biggest issue with this Flyers team. They just don't have enough shot-makers, enough basketball players. Dayton is going to need a pretty solid run through the tournament if they want to earn a bid.

Michigan State 67, Penn State 65: I tweeted this last night after the Michigan State game, but I hate the Spartans this season. Not because I have any rooting interest either way, but because they are Michigan State, they have Tom Izzo, and they keep winning despite looking downright bad at times. They outrebounded Purdue by 26, but kept the Boilermakers minus Robbie Hummel in the game with 22 turnovers. Last night, it was shoddy defense that allowed an overmatched Penn State team to hand with the Spartans on the road. The Spartans are going to be a very hard team to predict in the NCAA's.

Other notable scores

• Ole Miss 72, LSU 59: Chris Warren had 22 points to lead five Rebels in double figures as Ole Miss used a late 14-4 run to pull away.
• Arizona State 59, USC 54: ASU caught a break with some bone-headed play from the Trojans, the least of which was Leonard Washington committing an offensive goaltend with under 30 seconds to play.
• Washington 86, Oregon 72: Quincy Pondexter had 34 points, 10 boards, and six assists in the win.