March Madness is just nine days away, with the First Four games taking place on March 18 and 19. The first step to establishing the field of 68 took place over the weekend as the four power conferences – the Big Ten, ACC, SEC and Big 12 – crowned their conference tournament champions.
Here’s what we learned from the action:
UCLA looks like the overall No. 1
The undefeated UConn Huskies have the goods to repeat as national champions, but they don’t have the best tournament resume. That honor belongs to UCLA. The Bruins capped off a remarkable season with a 96-45 win over Iowa in the Big Ten championship game. UCLA has just one loss on the season, and that came to Texas back in November. Since then, the Bruins have racked up 18 Quad 1 wins on their way to an undefeated conference season.
The Huskies are No. 1 in the NET with the 28th strongest schedule and eight Quad 1 wins. But compared to UCLA, the No. 2 NET team, with the No. 4 SOS and those 18 Quad 1 wins, it becomes hard to argue for UConn. The only real difference is that the Huskies are undefeated, but UCLA only has one loss, which occurred at the beginning of the season. So that doesn’t carry much weight to me, either.
The final criteria for the committee is the eye test, but to me, these teams are close. UCLA deserves the top No. 1 seed, UConn deserves the second, and we as basketball fans deserve the chance to see them square off in the title game.
Duke and Louisville are just fine
After dominating the ACC all season, both Duke and Louisville suffered uncharacteristic upset losses at the end of the conference slate. But the duo righted their ships and met in an electric overtime ACC championship game, with Duke winning 70-65. If there were any concerns about Louisville’s losses to Notre Dame and Virginia, or Duke’s to Clemson and North Carolina, those can be put to rest.
Louisville and Duke are clearly the best teams in the ACC, and both look ready for March Madness. Balance has been crucial for both squads, which was evident in the championship game. Four Cardinals finished in double figures, including sophomore guard Imari Berry, who came off the bench for 18 points. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils had four of five starters score in double figures, making a statement by winning in overtime without leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker Toby Fournier (17.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks per game). The sophomore forward fouled out in the fourth quarter.
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March 9: Texas swaps places with South Carolina after stealing the SEC Tournament title. Ole Miss jumps 10 spots after an improbable victory.
Texas makes a statement
The Longhorns defeated South Carolina 78-61 for their first SEC championship, while also claiming the season series with SC by winning two out of three matchups. The two previous matchups were decided by single digits, but this time, Texas dominated. The Longhorns jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never relinquished.
Madison Booker led Texas with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. The Longhorns also received a lift from sophomores Justice Carlton and Jordan Lee, who finished with 15 and 12 points, respectively. The duo have been huge for Texas this season and will continue to be as Texas makes a March Madness run. Lee provides excellent defense and is the team’s top three-point shooting threat. Carlton, meanwhile, is a versatile forward that can fill a variety of needs for Texas.
West Virginia is sneaky good
The Mountaineers have been slowly putting the pieces in place all season, and the puzzle finally came together in the Big 12 championship game, where they defeated TCU 62-53. West Virginia has had some incredible moments this season – like the 57-49 win over Duke on Nov. 14 when the Mountaineers played with just five players – but hadn’t been able to get past TCU. In their first meeting, Marta Suarez drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Horned Frogs the win, and in the second, TCU won by nine points.
But this time, West Virginia controlled from start to finish, showing exactly why this is a team no one wants to see in March Madness. The Mountaineers play excellent defense, causing chaos and forcing opponents into ill-advised shots. TCU made just 33 percent of its attempts on Sunday, and just 23 percent of its three-point shots. Senior Jordan Harrison is also one of the country’s best and most underrated guards. She is known for defense, winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, but Harrison is also a scorer. That was made clear as she put up 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting and a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line.
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