Texas A&M Corpus-Christi made Wisconsin sweat about as much as any 2 seed has had to sweat in an opener in recent years, but ultimately the Badgers managed to win 76-63. And the way they pulled it out -- with the hot-shooting Kammron Taylor scoring 23 second-half points after being held scoreless in the first half -- may have shown the path for Wisconsin to get to the Final Four.
Granted, it seems awfully premature to go from almost blowing your first-round game to advancing to Atlanta, but the big question for Wisconsin has been whether anyone can step up to keep Alando Tucker from having to win all the Badgers' games single-handedly. If Taylor can hit his outside shots for the rest of the Tournament the way he did this afternoon, Wisconsin will be a tough team to beat.
But give the Islanders plenty of credit, as that final score doesn't do justice to what an outstanding effort the 15 seed gave. A&M-Corpus Christi came to play, and for the first 10 minutes or so they were running the Badgers out of the gym. Talent eventually won out, as it almost always does in such games, but in the second-round game against UNLV, the Badgers would be wise to show up from the opening tip.
A pretty dull early Friday afternoon followed a pretty dull Thursday, but now we finally have some upsets on the way.
Winthrop is crushing Notre Dame. The 6 seed Irish were a trendy pick to beat 3 seed Oregon and get to the Sweet 16, but after a competitive first half, Winthrop has absolutely dominated the second half. With 14 minutes to go, this game isn't even close, and Notre Dame would need a miraculous comeback to avoid an upset that would be at least the equal of last night's Virginia Commonwealth-Duke game.
But that's nowhere near the biggest upset brewing. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the 15 seed, jumped out to a ridiculous lead over 2 seed Wisconsin, going up 10-0 early and never looking back. The Islanders are currently up 14 with just four minutes to go in the first half.
There's plenty of time left in that one, but if they had just switched jerseys before the game, it would look like a typical 2 vs. 15 game: That's how dominant the Islanders have been over the Badgers. There's plenty of time for a comeback, but if we don't see it, we're watching the end of the career of Alando Tucker a lot sooner than we thought we would.
Lots of experts had Notre Dame and Wisconsin advancing in the bottom half of the St. Louis bracket. If you picked Oregon to get to the Elite Eight, your bracket is looking pretty good right now.
CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Billy Packer said late in Wisconsin's victory over Illinois that tomorrow's Big Ten tournament championship game (Wisconsin vs. Ohio State) will be for a No. 1 seed. Nantz helpfully added that finding out which team will get a 1 seed gives the viewers at home more reason to watch.
I don't buy it. Even though a victory by Wisconsin tomorrow would give the Badgers a 2-1 record against the Buckeyes this season, Ohio State has had a better season overall than Wisconsin, and I think the Buckeyes are a 1 seed and the Badgers are a 2 regardless of tomorrow's outcome.
And I also don't buy the comments from just about everyone (with the exception of ESPN's Hubert Davis) that Illinois is in the tournament. As an Illinois graduate I'm disappointed to say it, but I think there's a very good chance the Illini will play in the NIT. The Illini still don't have a signature win -- they're 0-5 against the RPI Top 20.
Prediction: Ohio State is a No. 1 and Wisconsin is a No. 2 no matter what happens, and the Illini are either the very last at-large team in the field or the best team in the NIT.
Conference: Big Ten Record: 28-4, 13-3 in conference RPI: 5 How They Got In: Will get an at-large bid if they don't win the Big Ten tournament.
Mascot: Badgers. You may know the mascot as Bucky Badger, but his full name is Buckingham U. Badger. An actual badger was brought to some football games in 1940, but he was too hard to control and was replaced by the human in the badger costume Wisconsin fans have grown to love.
Big Wins: Ohio State, Marquette, Pittsburgh.
Notable Loss: Fell to Missouri State on a neutral floor in November, which is nothing to be ashamed of but might be the reason they don't get a No. 1 seed. Player You Should Know: Senior Alando Tucker is a tremendous player and the kind of guy fathers hope their daughters will bring home. As a youngster he and his brother made a pact never to drink, smoke or get a tattoo, and he says he wants to make it in the NBA so he can earn money to build a community center in his neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois.
Outlook: Before Brian Butch got hurt, Wisconsin looked like a legitimate national title contender. Now the Badgers seem like long shots to win more than two tournament games. If Tucker can put the team on his back and will them to the Final Four, it will be a tremendous accomplishment.
Each week we've looked at the players who had the best shot at the Naismith award. With the college basketball regular season over, we present our final Top 5:
1. Kevin Durant, Texas: He's been running away with it for a couple months, and he deserves to be the first freshman ever to win player of the year. The question is, will he win this award again next year? He tells his teammates he's coming back, but I'll believe it when I see it.
2. Nick Fazekas, Nevada: The only question about this race, really, is who comes in second place. I vote for Fazekas because he's the country's leading offensive player on a team that will be a real threat in the tournament but would be nowhere without him.
3. Acie Law, Texas A&M: If clutch exists, Law is clutch. He's been great in late-game situations for the Aggies, and I think we might just see him lead his team to the Final Four.
4. Alando Tucker, Wisconsin: He's practically a one-man team with Brian Butch out. Wisconsin could still get a top seed, but I'd be very surprised if they win more than two tournament games.
5. Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina: Give the guy points for toughness. In my opinion, he's the best player on the best team.
Wisconsin's 52-50 victory over Michigan State this afternoon means the Badgers may still be a No. 1 seed even without Brian Butch, and it means the Spartans aren't in the tournament just yet.
I still think the Badgers' long-term prognosis, like Butch's, is bleak. But they've had a good enough season that if they either win the Big Ten tournament or lose in the final to Ohio State, they'll have a good case for being a top seed.
On the other hand, I think Michigan State is a team that could scare people if it gets the opportunity, but I'm not certain the Spartans are going to get that chance. Their RPI is strong (20th heading into today), but they're 4-6 in their last 10, and an 8-8 Big Ten finish isn't particularly impressive. If 9-7 Big Ten teams like Illinois and Iowa aren't getting in, the Spartans had better at least win a Big Ten tournament game.
It was a hard-fought game all day, and it ended with Wisconsin's Kammron Taylor hitting a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left, followed by Michigan State's Drew Neitzel airballing a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Each week we'll look at the players who would have the best shot at the Naismith award if the season ended right now.
1. Kevin Durant, Texas 2. Acie Law, Texas A&M: Is there any doubt that we watched the two best players in the country last night? Law isn't an insanely talented pro prospect like Durant is, but he just does so much for A&M that I do think you can make the case that he's the Big 12 MVP, even though Durant is the best player.
It also means it's not likely that we'll be seeing Butch again this season. When you suffer a fractured and dislocated elbow, four weeks sounds optimistic. And even if it is just four weeks, is it realistic to think the Badgers could make the Final Four without Butch? He's their leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, and although the Badgers won't lose any size with Greg Stiemsma taking a lot of Butch's minutes, they will lose a lot of talent -- Stiemsma is as tall as Butch at 6-foot-11, but he's nowhere near the player Butch is.
With Butch healthy, the Badgers are one of the handful of elite teams in the nation. Without him, they're a team with a big hole in the middle. The Badgers' road to the Final Four just hit a big roadblock.
This is the year of the freshman in college hoops, so it's fitting that it was a freshman, Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr., whose runner with four seconds left gave Ohio State a 49-48 win over Wisconsin, ensuring the Buckeyes an outright Big Ten championship and all but locking up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
It was the first time ever that Big Ten teams met as No. 1 and No. 2 in the country, although Wisconsin's loss this week to Michigan State took some of the luster off the game.
Ohio State did fine work shutting down Wisconsin's Alando Tucker, who finished with just 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting. If any voters still planned to pick Tucker as the player of the year, this game probably changed their minds. Kammron Taylor was just 4-of-12 for Wisconsin, and when that 1-2 punch isn't hitting, the Badgers aren't a great team. In fact, it's surprising that Wisconsin was in it until the end, as throughout the game, it felt like Ohio State was in command.
For the Buckeyes, the two super freshmen, Conley and Greg Oden, scored 11 apiece, but it was a senior, Ivan Harris, who led the team in scoring with 13. Harris is a good role player, but Conley and Oden are the leaders of the team. And with this win in hand, the freshmen-led Buckeyes are among the favorites to win the national championship.
It was just last weekend that I wrote that the Big Ten might get just three NCAA tournament bids. But I also said at the time, "It's not outside the realm of possibility that six Big Ten teams could make it." That's still a possibility.
Wisconsin and Ohio State are obviously in. Michigan State is in as well. Indiana has been struggling lately, losing three of the last four, including Michigan State last night. But the Hoosiers had a very good nonconference schedule, and they should win their last two, Northwestern and Penn State, easily. That's four Big Ten bids.
But what about Purdue and Illinois? The Boilermakers are 7-7 in the Big Ten and close with home games against Minnesota and Northwestern, so they're going to finish 9-7 in the conference. Given some fairly good nonconference wins (Missouri, DePaul, Virginia) that should be enough. And the Illini will go 10-6 in the Big Ten with a season finale win at Iowa. That should also be good enough.
Can the Big Ten really get six bids, though? I find it hard to believe. Most likely, either Purdue or Illinois -- will have a poor showing in the conference tournament and lose out there. But it's surprising we're even talking about six Big Ten bids at the end of February.
Texas A&M Corpus-Christi made Wisconsin sweat about as much as any 2 seed has had to sweat in an opener in recent years, but ultimately the Badgers managed to win 76-63. And the way they pulled it out -- with the hot-shooting Kammron Taylor scoring 23 second-half points after being held scoreless in the first half -- may have shown the path for Wisconsin to get to the Final Four. 
A pretty dull early Friday afternoon followed a pretty dull Thursday, but now we finally have some upsets on the way. 
Conference: Big Ten
Each week we've looked at the players who had the best shot at the Naismith award. With the college basketball regular season over, we present our final Top 5: 
Each week we'll look at the players who would have the best shot at the Naismith award if the season ended right now.
Wisconsin forward 
This is the year of the freshman in college hoops, so it's fitting that it was a freshman, Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr., whose runner with four seconds left 
It was just last weekend that I wrote that the 
