By: William Smythe

Surprisingly, nothing that shocking happened yesterday. St. John’s and DePaul squandered major opportunities to upset the first and second-seeded teams in the Big East – Marquette and Xavier, respectively – yet fell in the final minutes.

Virginia put the nail in the coffin for North Carolina’s hopes to make the NCAA Tournament, with the Tar Heels becoming the first preseason no. 1 ranked team to miss the Big Dance. Lastly, no. 10 Baylor suffered their third loss of the season to an Iowa State team that struggled late in the season – sending the Bears into the tournament with an utter lack of momentum. 

Hindsight bias would argue that the ‘Heels had no business being ranked first overall, yet I’ll admit: I had high expectations for Hubert Davis’ crew. Will the likes of R.J. Davis, Caleb Love and Armando Bacot return to Chapel Hill? We shall see.

Today’s slate should see far more excitement, with several blockbuster matchups taking place in the Big East, ACC and Big 12, among others. Let’s dive into it. 

No. 6 Marquette v. No. 11 UConn, 6:30 PM

Thank goodness we didn’t have to watch St. John’s/UConn this evening. The Golden Eagles of Marquette rallied from a ten-point halftime deficit in the Big East quarterfinals, eventually triumphing over the Johnnies by two in an overtime thriller.

We can either attribute this dogfight to St. John’s home court advantage of sorts in Madison Square Garden or Marquette’s struggles from behind the arc (26.5%). Regardless, there’s not too much to worry about when considering the nation’s sixth-best team. 

UConn has, however, looked sharper than Shaka Smart’s unit as of late. The Huskies have won six straight after falling to then-no. 23 Creighton in Omaha, and they captured a 87-72 victory over Marquette the game before. Despite their mid-season slump, UConn has returned to peak form with the continued dominance of center Adama Sanogo (16.7 ppg) and guard Jordan Hawkins (16.5 ppg) – the latter of whom has been a revelation for Dan Hurley in his sophomore season. 

I have to lean with the Huskies in this one. They’ve split their series with Marquette yet have played their best ball since December; moreover, UConn’s fond memories in the Garden give me reason to believe they’ll replicate the days of Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier. 

No. 14 Miami v. No. 23 Duke, 7 PM

Coach Jon Scheyer has stepped in admirably in the first year of the post-Coach K era. Arguably one of the hottest teams in college basketball, Duke has rattled off seven-straight wins in conference play, swept North Carolina in the regular season and just throttled Pitt, 96-69, in the ACC quarterfinals.

From the improved play of freshman center Dereck Lively (2.3 bpg) to the backcourt tandem of junior Jeremy Roach (13.0 ppg) and freshman Tyrese Proctor (9.2 ppg), the Blue Devils have taken a significant leap after dropping 20+ point losses to Miami and NC State. 

Duke derives its consistency in large part from freshman center Kyle Filipowski (15.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg). Despite posting a goose egg against Virginia, the seven-footer has posted 22 points in his last two contests and will likely play a massive role against Miami. 

The Hurricanes are still flying under the radar, even as the no. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and the no. 14 team in the nation. Coach Jim Larranaga bolstered a roster that reached the Elite Eight with two key transfer additions – Kansas State’s Nijel Pack (13.2 ppg) and Northern Illinois’ Norchad Omier (14.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg) – both of whom have been nothing short of spectacular for Miami. 

Out of the ‘Canes six losses, only two are in the “bad” territory – an 18-point defeat early in the year to Maryland and a one-point heartbreaker against Florida State. Their last two games haven’t been the prettiest, but the ACC Regular Season Co-Champs have the starting five and the depth to battle with the Blue Devils again.

Expect the battle between Filipowski and Omier to be physical throughout, with Duke’s supposed advantage in the frontcourt contrasting with Miami’s weapons in the backcourt. 

I’m giving it to the Blue Devils here. This team is unbelievably hot and looking to turn some heads before the Big Dance…even if it’s Duke, an underrated narrative exists. 

No. 2 UCLA v. Oregon, 9 PM

UCLA will miss Jaylen Clark dearly. The Bruins’ second-leading scorer and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year is out for the season with an Achilles tear – a brutal blow for a team fit for a Final Four run. In their first game without him, UCLA struggled – ultimately pulling away late from a ninth-seeded Colorado to seal a 80-69 win in Vegas.

Nonetheless, freshman Amari Bailey stepped up and notched 26 points – a season-high and perhaps a sign of things to come. Without Clark, the depth is thin behind this starting lineup, and the scoring will fall on Bailey (10.3 ppg) and seniors Jaime Jaquez Jr. (17.4 ppg) and Tyger Campbell (13.1 ppg).

After all, Mick Cronin’s bench accounted for three points.

The Bruins’ opponent – fourth-seeded Oregon – is extremely hard to figure out (not in the sense that they’re too good). Following a three-game losing skid, the Ducks have put four wins together albeit against four of the worst teams in the conference.

They’ve also beaten the no. 2 seed in the Pac-12 – Arizona – by 18 and exited Tempe with a five-point win over a bubble team in Arizona State. They’re not bad.

Everything hinges on the health of senior center N’Faly Dante (13.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg), who claims to be ready to go after suffering from an ankle tweak in the quarterfinals. Dante – alongside senior transfer Jermaine Couisnard (13.2 ppg) – have paced the Ducks throughout the season and are fighting to keep their tournament hopes alive.

With Clark out for UCLA, Couisnard and the rest of Oregon’s guards may see a slight advantage – assuming that Campbell will match up against the Ducks’ Will Richardson (12.2 ppg, 5.2 apg). Meanwhile, Dante will once again clash with the 6’10 freshman Adem Bona. Luckily for the Ducks, they have two seven-footers on the bench in case of injury to their leading scorer or if foul trouble arises.

A veteran starting lineup which features four seniors and one junior will be hungry to upset the Bruins tonight. I foresee the Ducks preying on UCLA’s thin roster – giving them a chance to take on either Arizona or Arizona State in the finals.

Other matchups:

No. 7 Texas v. No. 22 TCU: Timmy Allen (10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg) is out for the ‘Horns, so I’m going with an “upset” from TCU here.

No. 3 Kansas v. Iowa State: Kansas looked dominant against West Virginia and is one of the few teams that can dissect the Cyclones’ defense.

No. 15 Xavier v. No. 23 Creighton: The Bluejays will outmuscle the Musketeers in the frontcourt after the loss of Zach Freemantle.

No. 18 Texas A&M v. Arkansas: Watch out for the Razorbacks, who could make a run in the SEC Tournament with such a talented freshman core.