All season long, the top spot in the polls has seemingly carried a curse with it. No team has been able to stay there for long, even when it looked like they would. Early on, most thought Kentucky would since they had a light schedule for most of a month after opening week, and then Evansville had something to say about that. Gonzaga looked like they would stay on top for a long time given little likelihood of a loss, and the AP voters surprisingly leapfrogged them last week.
So as Baylor took over the top spot there, one wondered how long it would be before they go down. They almost did just hours after ascending to that spot, hanging on against Oklahoma after the Sooners nearly grabbed the lead in the final seconds with a good look from deep. Then on Saturday, they played like a number one team in convincingly knocking off Florida 72-61 in Gainesville to wrap up the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
The two conferences split the day at five wins apiece, with each claiming three home wins and two road wins. Each claimed a particularly impressive road win, with Baylor taking that honor for the Big 12 in this one. While Florida has underachieved relative to what may have been inflated expectations on the part of many, the Gators are still a team with good overall talent, and they were at home. This is a quality win for the Bears, simply put, like several they have had as they have the best NCAA Tournament resume in the country, bar none.
Baylor ended the first half on a 13-2 run to take the lead into the locker room and in a good place. They would build the lead a little more in the second half, and each time Florida appeared to have a small amount of momentum, the Bears would answer to extend the lead again.
All the way through, the Bears looked like the top team in the country. They showed their depth, their ability to find ways to score and get stops, as well as how balanced they can be. They played like a well-coached team all the way through, in impressive fashion.
Given the way this season has played out, as well as the strength of the Big 12, it’s very unrealistic to think that the Bears won’t drop a game and fall out of the top spot in the AP poll. For now, at least, they are playing like a team very deserving of that spot, much as being in that spot has seemed fleeting all year.
Side Dishes
For more on many of the day’s games, please see the Saturday Notes.
Miami was a very short-handed team in their 94-71 loss at North Carolina, as starting guards Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty were both out with injuries, leaving them with just six scholarship players. The school announced before the game that they would not go, with Lykes battling a groin injury and McGusty having back spasms. Lykes had started 52 straight games before missing this one.
Former NCAA president and ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan has passed at age 91, the ACC announced on Saturday. He was the immediate predecessor to current ACC commissioner John Swofford, serving from 1987 to 1996, before serving a two-year term as the NCAA president. Corrigan also served in the Army in the 1940s, and we are thankful for his service to our country.
On Thursday night, Houston held off UConn, nearly blowing a six-point lead in the final seconds as they had to survive after they appeared to seal the game. Part of that was a five-second violation trying to inbound the ball, after which UConn was denied a substitution. The American Athletic Conference released a statement early Saturday evening noting that the officials should have allowed the substitution, recognizing an exception to a rule.
Tonight’s Menu
A much lighter slate of games is on tap, and they will be all over a little earlier than usual as well.
- In the ACC, Virginia tries to go back above .500 as they visit Wake Forest (noon)
- American Athletic Conference action starts with Tulsa trying to stay hot as they visit a UConn team that could use a win (noon), while South Florida visits Houston (2 p.m.)
- The Big Ten has a matchup of 5-3 teams as Maryland visits Indiana (1 p.m.), while Minnesota hosts Michigan State (3 p.m.) and Ohio State has a chance to get back in the win column as they head to Northwestern in the last game of the day (6:30 p.m.)
- San Diego State puts their undefeated mark on the line as they head to UNLV (4 p.m.)
- Xavier tries to keep building momentum as they travel to Creighton (4 p.m.)
- First place is on the line in the Missouri Valley as Loyola-Chicago visits Northern Iowa (4 p.m.)
- In Pac-12 action, Oregon hosts UCLA (5 p.m.) and arch rivals meet as Cal hosts Stanford (6 p.m.)
