Wisconsin Wins Fourth Straight

Wisconsin 55, Ohio State 50
It might not have been the glamor game that people like to see in ESPN's Gameday game, but it was a nice solid Big Ten battle with big bubble implications. By winning their fourth game in a row, Wisconsin has put themselves firmly back in the Tournament. They are now 7-6 in the Big Ten, and with their solid computer numbers they would probably make the Tournament with a 9-9 finish and at least one win in the Big Ten tournament. If they can get to 10-8 then they're probably a lock regardless of their Big Ten tournament performance. As for Ohio State, this loss drops them into a similar position to Wisconsin. They are now 7-5, and would probably also be a lock at 10-8. The one worry for Ohio State all season has been that Sagarin and Pomeroy were rating them as worse than the RPI, meaning that they were due for a fall, but those numbers have converged. The Sagarin PREDICTOR and Pomeroy ratings both have them just inside the Top 40 in the nation, and they have a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way. Ohio State should be back in the Tournament this year.

Boston College 80, #5 Duke 74
This may not be one of the best teams that Al Skinner has had at Boston College, but this is the first time he has ever beaten Duke and North Carolina in the same season. Tyrese Rice did his best Ty Lawson imitation, and tore through Duke's defenders. Duke continues to get really poor performances out of their guards: none of them can guard anybody without fouling, and none of them have shot well for some time. At this point, Duke needs to forget about trying to win the ACC. They've got to just stay confident and try to forget about their collapses the past two seasons, and to just try to get back in a groove before the Tournament begins. Meanwhile, Boston College now improves to 7-5 in the ACC and 8-6 against the RPI Top 100. The RPI is still on 51st, but teams can make the Tournament with RPIs in the 50s as the Selection Committee doesn't pay as much attention to the RPI as most people think they do. I think Boston College makes the Tournament if they get to 9-7, which means splitting their next four games. Since they'll probably be favored in at least two of those four games, Boston College will make the Tournament if they just beat the teams they're supposed to beat the rest of the way.

#18 Arizona State 65, USC 53
Arizona State grabbed a small lead before halftime and slowly expanded on it throughout the second half. James Harden did a nice job of playing more under control than he did against UCLA, allowing Arizona State to drastically cut down on their turnovers. It also helped that USC didn't have anybody of the caliber of Darren Collison playing defense. At 9-4 in the Pac-10, Arizona State is still only one game out of the Pac-10 lead, and could be tied within a few days as Washington will have to survive a very tough game at UCLA on Thursday night. The Sun Devils should have their Tournament bid locked up within a week or so, and they still have a chance for a 2 seed if they can find a way to win the Pac-10 regular season title. As for USC, they're getting in a real danger zone. They've lost three straight games to fall to 6-6 in the Pac-10. With an easy schedule remaining they have a good possibility of getting to 10-8, but even that might not be enough in a weak Pac-10 for a team without much of an overall resume right now (3-8 against the RPI Top 100, plus losses to Oregon State and Seton Hall). The only way USC is making the Tournament as an at-large will be if they win all the games they're supposed to win from here on out, plus one or two that they're not supposed to win.