GAME OF THE DAY: Providence 81, Marquette 80 2OT
Providence managed to survive a visit from Marquette in thrilling fashion, a double-overtime that featured big shots, costly turnovers, fouled three-point shooters and quite possibly the most exciting shot that never counted:
Bryce Cotton played all 50 minutes, finishing with 25 points, nine assists and seven boards and LaDontae Henton added 20 points and 16 boards.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES:
1) Baylor 74, No. 16 Iowa State 61: Cory Jefferson went for 21 points, Kenny Chery had 16 points and six assists, and Brady Heslip added 18 as the Bears all but locked up an NCAA tournament bid by knocking off the Cyclones.
2) No. 12 Michigan 84, Illinois 53: The Illini hadn’t allowed more than 50 points in four games. Michigan scored 52 in the first half, knocking off Illinois 84-53 while hitting 16-for-23 from three. Illinois’ hopes for an NCAA tournament bid went ‘poof’ as Michigan locked up the Big Ten regular season title.
3) No. 25 Kentucky 55, Alabama 48: It wasn’t pretty, but the Wildcats got back to their winning ways by knocking off the Crimson Tide. Julius Randle finished with 12 points and 11 boards, but Kentucky still has some massive kinks that need to be worked out in the next ten days if they truly are going to have a chance to make noise in the Big Dance.
STARRED:
1) Michael Frazier II had 37 points and his 11-for-18 from three as No. 1 Florida knocked off South Carolina 72-46.
2) Markel Starks had 17 points and 11 assists and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 18 points and 12 boards as Georgetown knocked off No. 13 Creighton.
3) Mike Moser continued his hot streak, hitting for 22 points and 17 boards as Oregon moved a step closer to an NCAA tournament bid with a win over Arizona State.
STRUGGLED:
1) Trevor Cooney was 1-for-8 from three and 3-for-12 from the floor in No. 7 Syracuse’s 67-62 loss to Georgia Tech. He’s now shooting 31.3% from three in ACC play. If you take away the 9-for-12 that he shot in the win over Notre Dame, he’s shooting 26.7% from three in league play.
2) James Young shot 1-for-11 from the floor, the Harrisons combined to shoot 4-for-14 from the floor and the three of them combined to shoot 3-for-19 from three. No. 25 Kentucky still beat Alabama 55-48.
3) Melvim Ejim and Georges Niang combined for 10 points on 5-for-25 shooting -- 0-for-9 from three -- in No. 16 Iowa State’s loss at Baylor.
