Wake Forest Goes Down

Georgia Tech 76, #4 Wake Forest 74
Wake Forest is so incredibly talented, but they're also very young. And while they have already beaten North Carolina and Duke, they've now lost two consecutive games against the bottom half of the ACC. If they had won here, they actually would have had a pretty good case for the #1 ranking on Monday, but UConn will now take it easily unless they blow their big second half lead over Providence. Here I think they just played like the young players they are, overlooking a team that might not be that good but is definitely desperate after an 0-6 start to their ACC season. Georgia Tech still has basically no chance at the Tournament, but they've got enough good players that this probably won't be the last upset that they pull. For Wake Forest, I think they've got to settle down and try to play with more consistency. They are now 4-2 in the ACC, and it's unlikely that anything worse than 13-3 will win the ACC. Wake will probably need at least a share of the ACC title to get a 1 seed, so they've got to find a way to mow through their lesser opponents. They have to stop playing to the ability of their opponent.

#7 Louisville 69, West Virginia 63
This was actually a very impressive comeback for West Virginia on the road. After trailing by as many as 22 points in the second half, they got within four points of Louisville in the final two minutes before running out of steam. That said, this was a reach game for West Virginia, and nobody will hold it against them for losing at a red hot Louisville team. The computer numbers are still incredibly gaudy (they're in the Top 20 of all three major computer polls), although they likely won't be seeded in the Tournament as well as their computer numbers might suggest. They are 4-4 in the Big East, and are either sixth or seventh in the Big East pecking order. The Big East will definitely get at least seven Tournament teams, and I'd be surprised if they get less than eight, so right now they're in good position. Unless they really falter down the stretch, they should be in the Tournament. Louisville, on the other hand, is really making their case in the Big East. The Big East is now a four team race (Pitt, UConn, Marquette, Louisville), and Louisville might have the easiest remaining schedule of those four. Even with their weak non-conference schedule, any team that can win at least a share of the Big East regular season title and the Big East tournament title will be a lock for a 1 seed.

#3 Pittsburgh 93, #20 Notre Dame 80
This really had the feeling of a last-gasp game for Notre Dame. They threw everything at Pitt here, even getting a ton of production out of their non-stars (6-for-9 three point shooting from Luke Zeller, and double-digit points out of Zach Hillesland and Ryan Ayers), something which they seemingly had not happened all season. They shot 11-for-22 from behind the arc just in the first half, but unfortunately they did it all on the road against a Pitt team that was highly motivated after a bad loss to Villanova. Notre Dame may still be ranked at the moment, but right now their Tournament chances are actually getting pretty bleak, for reasons I spoke about here. For Pitt, this game was about trying to stay in the Big East regular season hunt. They are now in fourth place at 7-2. The key to the rest of their season will be the home-and-home with UConn. Pitt probably needs to sweep it in order to win the regular season title. With a split they're going to have to hope for some help.