Purdue, Michigan lead winners and losers from final day of men's college basketball's regular season
The event officially known as March Madness won’t get underway until a little over a week from now. But Sunday’s array of wild finishes and buzzer beaters around men’s college basketball left little doubt that it is, in fact, March, and the madness just comes with the territory.
Top-ranked Houston provided one of the day’s biggest highlights as Jamal Shead’s last-second jumper gave the Cougars a 69-67 victory at Memphis. Houston completed the regular-season sweep of the Tigers despite the best efforts of Kendric Davis, who scored 26 points including the bucket that had tied the game just seconds before Shead’s game-winner. Houston already had the top seed in the upcoming American Athletic Conference tournament locked up, but this high-end road triumph likely assures the Cougars of a No. 1 regional seed regardless of outcome in the league tourney. The only question is whether they could be the top team overall in tournament given losses by Alabama and Kansas during the weekend.
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Here are some other winners and losers from Sunday.
Winners
Purdue
Having witnessed a number of failures to close out games, fans of the Boilermakers had to be nervous once again as they watched a 10-point lead against Illinois melt away in the final six minutes. But Zach Edey provided a go-ahead basket in the last minute, and a key steal by Ethan Morton enabled Purdue to seal the 76-71 win from the free-throw line. The win at least keeps the Boilermakers in the conversation for a No. 1 seed, as Saturday losses by Alabama and Kansas might have left the door ajar.
Penn State
Trailing Maryland at home by 16 points as the first-half clock ticked toward 0, the Nittany Lions’ bubble case appeared to be on life support. But a Jalen Pickett three-pointer from just inside the half-court line as the period expired was the spark Penn State needed. Cam Wynter’s last-second putback completed the second-half rally for the 65-64 win. The Nittany Lions still might need a win or two in the Big Ten tournament to feel secure, but with virtually no distinction between seeds 2 and 12, nothing can be ruled out.
North Carolina-Asheville
Three more NCAA bids were officially handed out Sunday, starting in the Big South. The top-seeded Bulldogs overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to outlast Campbell 77-73. Drew Pember scored 29 and Tajeon Jones added 24 for UNCA, which will be making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance.
Drake
These Bulldogs didn’t need a comeback. Drake and Bradley had split their regular-season meetings and shared the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference. But the Bulldogs took charge from the outset, building a 20-point halftime cushion and coasting to a 77-51 victory over the Braves to close out Arch Madness in St. Louis. Tucker DeVries led the way for Drake with 22 points.
Kennesaw State
The last of Terrell Burden’s team-high 19 points was the biggest, a go-ahead free throw with a second to go as the Owls defeated Liberty 67-66 to claim the Atlantic Sun title. It is the first trip to the Big Dance in program history for Kennesaw State.
Losers
Michigan
In the span of four days, the Wolverines played two games on the road that included three overtimes. First, they fell short in two extra periods Thursday at Illinois after blowing a lead in the first overtime. Then Indiana rallied in second half against Michigan to extend the game and the Hoosiers prevailed. The two near-misses of Quad 1 opportunities left the Wolverines with some serious work to do in the Big Ten tournament. At 17-14, at least a couple wins are likely needed in Chicago to reach the field of 68 and even that might not be enough.
Memphis
A two-point loss to the nation’s No.-1 team isn’t damaging to an NCAA at-large résumé on its face. But the Tigers entered the last day of the regular season with just two quadrant-one wins to their credit. Despite ice-cold perimeter shooting before intermission, they briefly held a five-point lead in the second half but couldn’t close the deal, representing a huge missed opportunity and possibly leaving some work to do in the AAC tournament.
Iowa
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more puzzling team than the Hawkeyes, who shot the lights out at Indiana’s Assembly Hall earlier in the week but were outscored by Nebraska at home on Sunday. It was a season sweep for the Cornhuskers against Iowa, which saw its eight-game winning streak at Carver-Hawkeye Arena snapped.
Maryland
The loss at Penn State cost Maryland any shot at a top-four seed and accompanying bye to the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten tournament. The Terrapins are not in bubble trouble by any stretch, but their lack of success away from College Park is a major concern heading into the postseason.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College basketball winners, losers: Michigan, Purdue, Houston lead way
