The final weeks of college basketball's regular season mean a handful of things... but most importantly the arrival of the Shamrock Shake. McDonald's minty green goodness is here for a limited time-- and isn't available at all locations. You pick your sports correctly, and you've got yourself a winning month (or longer). You make the wrong move-- and find yourself shaking your head going home shakeless. Somewhere there's a parallel between a peppermint milkshake and the local college basketball scene, right?
Georgetown was ambushed by an incredible shooting display Tuesday... as Seton Hall senior Jordan Theodore torched the Hoyas for 29 points on 8 of 11 shooting (5-5 from three point range). Cause for concern: while one player can go off every so often, the entire Pirate team hit 61% from the field. The The Hoyas face a difficult final week with games against #20 Notre Dame and #10 Marquette.
Alma Mater Update-- the Orange remain atop the Big East and at 28-1 are off to the best start in school history. While SU owns an eight game winning streak, each game has felt like somewhat of a struggle-- the most recent a 56-48 win over South Florida (before ACC aficionados rail about the sloppy play, lets talk about how more than one of their games has finished in the 40's this winter). So I continue to watch and buy into this team and wonder when or if the other shoe will drop. Sadly it often does... whether it's Rhode Island in 1988... Villanova in the 1991 Big East quarters, or Georgetown in 2000 and 2009... things often end in the most harrowing manner. Regardless, I'm off to enjoy a 44- Wing Salute at Sign of the Whale with the usual cast of characters in place.
Maryland owns the tiebreaker with Clemson for 7th in the ACC after its most impressive win of the season-- a 75-70 come from behind victory over Miami was a nice bounce-back from their 71-44 loss at Virginia. Life without Pe'Shon Howard continues with natural shooting guard Terrell Stoglin and freshman Nick Faust sharing point guard responsibilities... and while nobody will confuse the pair for Steve Blake, they managed things much better against the Hurricanes than against the Cavaliers. Can the Terps get to .500 in the ACC? They need to beat Georgia Tech (2-11 in conference play)... and then defeat either North Carolina (in Chapel Hill-- next) or Virginia (at Comcast...hmm...).
Cruising the Commonwealth-- Virginia has another chance at a statement game... will they be loud or silent against #7 North Carolina? The Cavaliers led the Tarheels in the secnod half before allowing a 22-6 run. Right now UVa has the #4 spot... meaning a first round bye is within their reach. Virginia Tech's 9th after their loss to Virginia... and how heartbreaking has this season been? Eleven of their thirteen ACC games have been decided by less than five points... and the Hokies going 4-7 instead of 7-4 removes any bubble talk.
George Mason-- well, the streak couldn't last forever. The Patriots fell 85-82 at Northeastern thanks to 21 turnovers and a less than stellar night by Ryan Pearson (after consecutive double doubles, the senior was held to 3 of 12 shooting by the Huskies). Saturday's game with VCU determines the Patriots' CAA seed-- win and they're #2... lose and they slip to 3rd. Did they bring Doc Nix down to Richmond?
George Washington tries to end a 1-7 slide when Duquesne drops by the Smith Center... a victory plus losses by Fordham and Rhode Island wrap up a berth in the Atlantic Ten tournament. Once again, GW is led by Tony Taylor and how the senior guard plays dictates how well the Colonials fare. The expanding middle class of the conference means the potential #5 seed could be just about anybody from UMass to Dayton-- as one game separates 3rd from 8th place.
Maryland Womens' Window-- right or wrong, North Carolina and Duke are the signature programs of the ACC. And beating both in the same week the way this team did remains huge. Fans at Comcast Center had a thriller in a 63-61 win over the Blue Devils-- thanks to Alyssa Thomas' game-sealing block as time expired--as the Terps rallied from 12 points down in the first half. Senior night saw a smackdown in the form of an 84-64 rout of the Tarheels... as the Terrapins jumped out to a 32-10 lead behind the play of Anjale Barrett, Lynetta Kizer and Kim Rodgers in their final regular season home game. Now the Terps have a tight turnaround on their hands with a Sunday visit to North Carolina State. A win or a Georgia Tech loss wraps up the #3 seed in the ACC Tournament.
American missed a chance to move into a tie for the Patriot League lead... falling 55-50 at home to Bucknell. Offensive rebounds hurt the Eagles-- as did just three points from Charles Hinkle. AU wraps up the #3 seed with a win over Lafayette in its regular season finale.
Howard has caught a little February fire-- defeating Maryland-Eastern Shore 53-51 Monday... the team's fifth win in seven games after winning four of its first 21. The Bison visit Delaware State Saturday-- a win keeps them in contention for 7th place in the MEAC while a loss could eventually slide them down to 11th.
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