Thursday of conference tournament week delivered bubble battles, Duke drama and more as the countdown to Selection Sunday continued with a heavy dose of single-elimination drama. By day’s end, some teams had suffered crushing losses for their NCAA Tournament hopes, while others continued building momentum in the 11th hour before the bracket is revealed on Sunday.
Among the biggest winners of the packed day was St. John’s, which continued a late-season surge by crushing Seton Hall 91-72 in a Big East Tournament showdown at Madison Square Garden that carried major bubble implications. It was just a few weeks ago that St. John’s coach Rick Pitino was publicly lamenting the physical shortcomings of his players. Now, the Red Storm have won six straight and will head into a semifinal matchup with No. 1 seed UConn on Friday with confidence.
Speaking of confidence, Houston sure seems to have plenty of it. Playing in its first-ever Big 12 Tournament game, the Cougars led 16-0 on TCU and held the Horned Frogs scoreless to start the contest on their way to a 60-45 victory.
Among the day’s biggest losers was Duke, which will be entering the NCAA Tournament on a two-game losing streak after an abrupt exit from the ACC Tournament.
Let’s take a full tour of the winners and losers from one of the busiest days of the year in college basketball.
Winner: Kim English wills Friars to huge win
Providence was on the brink of crumbling in the first half vs. Creighton in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. Then, it blew things open late for a huge 78-73 win. The Friars went on a 23-6 run sparked by a technical foul on coach Kim English, who apparently lit a fire under his team in the process. It helped ignite Providence for an unlikely win that now puts it squarely back into the NCAA Tournament picture. — Kyle Boone
Loser: TCU trucked by top-seeded Houston
The unstoppable force that is Houston basketball has a…
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