The Pac-12 dodged a couple of bullets on Sunday, to say the least. Of course, it’s possible that Thursday night did all the remaining damage necessary, or that remaining games and the conference tournament will see that happen, but at least on Sunday, the two teams that had to win as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned did so on the road.
Both were close calls and could have gone either way, as the margin of the two was a combined four points.
We’ll start with the first one, where Washington held off Stanford 62-61. Stanford played without second-leading scorer Daejon Davis due to a right foot injury, but they still led at times and might have had a better chance to win had they not given the ball away 19 times. They had a shot at the buzzer, but an off-balance three-pointer didn’t go as the Huskies survived their Bay Area trip without further damage.
Washington now has to hold serve at home against the Oregon schools next weekend and then take care of business in the Pac-12 Tournament. Their worst loss is the one at Cal a few nights earlier, but who their best win came against is debatable but not an NCAA Tournament lock. They haven’t knocked off anyone in that category all year, and they lost their only game against Arizona State in Tempe.
Speaking of Arizona State, there were times they looked to be in danger in the last game of the day in Corvalis. Oregon State scored the last eight points of the first half to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room, then Arizona State started the second half on a big run to take the lead. It went back and forth after that, but as the Sun Devils couldn’t break away and trailed at times while foul trouble mounted, they were in danger. ESPNU had a camera focused on Bobby Hurley all night long, and you have to think he had plenty of anxious moments on the sideline.
When Remy Martin picked up his fourth foul with 13:27 left – his second in seven seconds – and the Sun Devils clinging to a 47-46 lead, things could have gone completely in the wrong direction. But give the sophomore guard credit, as he competed very well the rest of the game, not sitting out much, but making a number of big plays. He had a key steal with just over two minutes left and a one-point lead, and it helped them hold on until Luguentz Dort made a dagger from deep with just under a minute to go that gave them just enough breathing room to ultimately claim a 74-71 win.
Martin’s numbers were not extraordinary by any means, as he had 13 points on 4-9 shooting to go with four assists against no turnovers. But the way he competed after his fourth foul was huge, as well as not turning the ball over once to lead the way as the Sun Devils gave it away just seven times to the Beavers’ 13 turnovers.
The Pac-12 should be no better than a two-bid conference at this point, and it would not surprise anyone if only the conference tournament champion ends up dancing. It’s been that bad a year for the Conference of Champions. Should they still get two teams in, Sunday may go down as the day that saved a second bid.
Side Dishes
Hey! Did you forget us? We want to be in the NCAA Tournament, too! That’s what Creighton appears to be saying now that they have won three straight, the latest a 66-60 win at Marquette on Sunday. It’s a signature win that they have long needed, but this team has clear work to do as they are 7-9 in Big East play with only Providence and DePaul remaining, two games that have bad loss potential only, and they’re 16-13 overall, with one win coming against a non-Division I team.
Michigan went to College Park and beat Maryland 69-62, winning both games against the Terrapins this season. A double-double from Zavier Simpson (12 points, 10 assists) and 21 points from Ignas Brazdeikis led the way.
After all the madness in the MAAC, the regular season is an outright champion, although they got it with some help. Iona comes out on top thanks to Manhattan going to Quinnipiac and edging the Bobcats 62-58. Quinnipiac not only didn’t win a share of the regular season title, but they end up as the No. 3 seed as one of four teams tied at 11-7 a game back of Iona, with Canisius being the No. 2 seed and the No. 4 and 5 seeds both winning on Sunday to get to 11-7 – Rider won 75-64 at Marist and Siena won 72-65 in overtime at Niagara.
Tonight’s Menu
The last Monday of the regular season is also the first day of conference tournament play, and there are also some games on tap in the MEAC, SWAC and Big Sky.
- The Atlantic Sun Tournament gets going with quarterfinal action. Tipping at 7 p.m. are No. 7 Jacksonville at No. 2 Liberty, No. 6 North Alabama at No. 3 North Florida, and No. 5 NJIT and No. 4 Florida Gulf Coast, while No. 8 Kennesaw State visits No. 1 Lipscomb with an 8 p.m. tip.
- Syracuse hosts Virginia in the only other game that tips at 7 p.m.
- Important Big 12 games come up later as Texas Tech hosts Texas and TCU hosts Kansas State, both with 9 p.m. tips.
