The penultimate weekend before the NCAA Tournament is always one of the most fun on the college basketball calendar. There is a mix of regular season contests, conference tournament action, high-profile matchups and automatic bids.
This particular Saturday saw rematches from the memorable February 3 show: Kansas at Houston, Kentucky at Tennessee and North Carolina at Duke. How would the Cougars avenge their most recent loss, the 13-point blowout at the hands of the Jayhawks? Was Kentucky's resurgence in February a harbinger of things to come or would the Volunteers' Dalton Knecht have one more standout performance left before the postseason? And the best rivalry in sports with the regular season championship at stake for UNC and Duke? We will take it.
The schedule also had bubble inhabitants fighting for their lives, tournament teams vying for seeding, and the first NCAA Tournament bid awarded to the Ohio Valley Conference. Who marked your ticket?
ESPN's Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello and Joe Lunardi break down the big stories from the final Saturday of the 2023-24 regular season.
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Houston increases its lead on consecutive baskets
Ja'Vier Francis hits Hunter Dickinson, then seals the rock into Jamal Shead's hands for a Cougars and-1.
Myron Medcalf: A few weeks ago, Bill Self was asked to compare his team's challenges with injuries (Kevin McCullar Jr. had missed four of five games at that point due to a bone bruise in his knee) with the situation he had when Joel Embiid suffered a back injury at the end of the 2013-14 season. Self said the two teams were in different situations, not because of talent, but because of depth … and the lack of it in this season's group. Sure, the Jayhawks continue to struggle with offensive lapses in key games against top teams, but when healthy, they've been able to keep up with teams like UConn, Tennessee, Kentucky and, yes, Houston.
But Saturday's group, which had to play without Hunter Dickinson (shoulder) and McCullar (knee) for much of the game, has no Plan B. Their rotation is limited. That appears to be the biggest threat to KU's aspirations for the second weekend in the NCAA tournament, especially if it has to move forward without two of its best players.
Jeff Borzello: For most of the last few months, the consensus across the sport has been that UConn is the most dominant team in the country and enters the postseason as the favorite to cut down the nets. Not so fast. Houston's performance on Saturday was the best 40-minute performance we've seen from anyone this season. The Cougars defense can simply overwhelm teams and run them off the field. Kansas shot 33% from the field, while Houston scored 30 points off turnovers and 17 second-chance points. That's how Kelvin Sampson wants his teams to win, and when the Cougars can make shots on top of all that, they're a force.
The impact of Joe Lunardi's bracket: The big story here is Kansas. We have no choice but to leave the Jayhawks with another line of seeds, this time at No. 4. Pending player availability after the Big 12 tournament, Kansas could fall even further before the Big 12 tournament begins. NCAA. As for Houston, the Cougars remain in the race for first overall with this big win. If Purdue loses at any point until Selection Sunday and Houston backs up its regular-season crown in the Big 12 tournament, it's hard to imagine the Cougars being denied.
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Dalton Knecht's 40-point outburst isn't enough for Kentucky to beat Tennessee
Dalton Knecht scored 40 points in No. 4 Tennessee's loss to No. 15 Kentucky.
Medical calf: A loss to one of the hottest teams in America right now doesn't diminish Tennessee's Final Four potential. The Vols won the conference championship in one of the toughest leagues in the United States. And his best player, Dalton Knecht, couldn't do much more than she did on Saturday to help his team; has become a common theme in Tennessee's toughest moments this season. The Northern Colorado transfer has averaged 26.7 points in his team's seven losses. Even though Knecht recorded a career-high 40 points, Tennessee was unable to match Kentucky's offensive production. If the Vols end up in a back-and-forth game that demands the same kind of effort in the NCAA tournament, how much of a burden will Knecht have to carry? And will it be enough?
Borzello: There is no room left on Kentucky's train to the Final Four. The Wildcats have already proven to be one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country, and they are only getting better as Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham spend more time on the court. But the defense continues to show flashes of being good enough to win games in the postseason. At first glance, allowing 81 points to Tennessee isn't eye-opening, but the Vols' 1.10 points per possession was one of their least efficient efforts over the past two months. If Ugonna Onyenso can stay on the court and protect the rim, he will add a different dimension to the Kentucky team.
Impact of the Lunardi bracket: Tennessee is back in a virtual tie with Arizona and is edging out North Carolina for the fourth and final No. 1 spot. The Vols were in control before Saturday, but now they will have to shoulder an extra burden in the SEC tournament. Meanwhile, Kentucky continues to climb the seeding list. The Wildcats are suddenly the third seed and certainly a popular pick in both the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
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Cormac Ryan's third 3-pointer forces an early timeout for Duke
Cormac Ryan hits a three-pointer to put North Carolina up 11 and force a timeout for Duke.
Medical calf: Hubert Davis arrived last February with a good streak. His Tar Heels had won four in a row and were preparing to host Jeff Capel and Pitt. However, North Carolina lost that night and began a 5-7 finish to conclude a disappointing season just a year after reaching the national title game. The Heels faced a 2-3 skid that lasted into mid-February of this campaign, raising questions once again about this team's ceiling. However, instead of folding, UNC won six straight, including a victory over its biggest rival to claim the outright ACC regular season title. Davis' team now enters the postseason as a legitimate national title contender.
Borzello: When Davis went out and signed Cormac Ryan out of the portal last spring, the Tar Heels expected two things from the Notre Dame transfer: experience and three-point shooting. Both came out loud and clear on Saturday. Ryan scored 31 points, including six 3-pointers. He had a great performance on the offensive end with RJ Davis struggling to make shots and Armando Bacot not finishing consistently on the interior. Ryan hit three early 3-pointers to set the tone and give UNC an early lead, then hit consecutive 3-pointers and four free throws in the final minutes to ice the game. That's a great sign for the Heels entering the postseason.
Impact of the Lunardi bracket: A Duke win would have given the ACC a pair of projected No. 2 seeds entering the ACC tournament. Instead, the Blue Devils fall back to a 3-seed while the Tar Heels return to the conversation for a 1-seed. UNC will need an ACC tournament title (and probably a little help) to reach the top of the NCAA, but an effort like Cameron Indoor's makes anything possible.
quick hits
Finally, some medium major chalk.
College basketball fans will get the Missouri Valley championship showdown they wanted, with Indiana State and Drake winning their semifinal matchups. Now it's the must-see game on Sunday's schedule, featuring the conference tournament's top two seeds, the league's two best players (Robbie Avila and Tucker DeVries) and two coaches (Josh Schertz, Darian DeVries) who They'll be regulars on the coaching carousel until they accept bigger jobs. Indiana State and Drake split their two regular-season meetings, and neither will be guaranteed a bid to the NCAA Tournament if they lose in the championship game. –Borzello
Blue Jays Are Getting Hot
During its 7-1 run in the final eight games of the regular season, Creighton, which defeated Villanova, 69-67, in an early Saturday afternoon thriller, posted 120 points per 100 possessions four times . Greg McDermott's team has momentum heading into the postseason and Baylor Scheierman (21.3 points per game, 52% from beyond the arc over the last three games) has been a catalyst for that surge. –Medcalf
The Nova bubble is bursting
What a brutal day for the Villanova Wildcats. In a near must-win situation, the Wildcats fell behind Creighton early, 27-5, and looked dead in the water in Philadelphia. Instead, they got back into the game and eventually tied it on three free throws from big man Eric Dixon within 30 seconds of the end of the second half. But Bluejays guard Trey Alexander had other ideas at the buzzer, and Villanova will enter the Big East tournament on the wrong side of the bubble for the second straight year. — Lunardi
Why Champion Week is important
TCU and Mississippi State have been comfortably in the NCAA Tournament field for weeks, quietly in the middle of the pack. But after Saturday, both teams would do well to avoid a loss in the first game of their respective conference tournaments. TCU had a surprising home loss to UCF, meaning the Horned Frogs have lost three of their last four games and six of their last 10. MSU fell at home to South Carolina in overtime, having lost four in a row. One more win would be enough to secure a bid, but another loss? –Borzello
