Kentucky is on the verge of a historic start to the season, looking to better Indiana’s 32-0 finish to the 1976 season, giving them the best start for a major conference team in NCAA history. They moved a step closer last night, headlining what otherwise was a slow night in college basketball. Seven Top-25 teams played last night and there was only one moderate upset. Mid-major conference tournaments also began last night, signaling the beginning of March Madness.
Let’s get to the games:
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(19) North Carolina Tar Heels | 81 | (21-9) |
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 49 | (12-18) |
| Final | |||
North Carolina earned only their third win in eight games over Georgia Tech Tuesday night. Joel Berry II led the Tar Heels with 15 points per game, Marcus Paige added six steals, and the team shot 53.1% from the field. Georgia Tech received a game high 16 points off the bench from Charles Mitchell, but was only 1-16 from three point territory. Georgia Tech wrapped up their ACC regular season schedule and will focus on the ACC tournamen, while UNC wraps up their ACC schedule against archrival Duke.
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Georgetown Hoyas | 60 | (19-9) |
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(21) Butler Bulldogs | 54 | (21-9) |
| Final | |||
In a game that could be critical to seeding for the Big East tournament, Georgetown drew even with Butler for the second seed in the tournament. Georgetown was led by 16 points from D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera four blocks from Mikael Hopkins. Kameron Woods had 15 points for Butler, who struggled both from the field, 35.3%, and the free throw line, 10-22. Butler finishes their Big East schedule with Providence and Georgetown looks for their 20th win against Seton Hall.
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(10) Maryland Terrapins | 60 | (25-5) |
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 50 | (10-20) |
| Final | |||
Maryland stayed alive in the Big Ten regular season championship race, beating Rutgers on Tuesday night. Dez Wells had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals for Maryland. Rutgers only had one player with double digit points, Greg Lewis with 14, and only shot 32.2% from the field. Rutgers finishes their Big Ten schedule against Michigan while Maryland finishes their first Big Ten slate with Nebraska.
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(20) West Virginia Mountaineers | 69 | (22-8) |
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(9) Kansas Jayhawks | 76 | (24-6) |
| Final – OT | |||
Kansas pulled out a gritty victory at home, overcoming an 18 point deficit to beat West Virginia and clinch an outright Big 12 regular season title. The Big 12 title for Kansas is their 11th straight regular season title. Frank Mason III had 19 points to fuel the Jayhawk come back effort and Kansas outscored the Mountaineers 34-16 from the free throw line. West Virginia held Kansas to 0-15 shoot from three point range and Daxter Miles Jr. had a game high 23 points, but the Mountaineers only shot 34.9% from the field and had 22 turnovers. West Virginia will face Oklahoma State to close their Big 12 schedule while Kansas finishes their regular season with a matchup against Oklahoma.
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(1) Kentucky Wildcats | 72 | (30-0) |
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Georgia Bulldogs | 64 | (19-10) |
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Kentucky’s march toward history took a speed bump, but Kentucky defeated Georgia to become only the fifth team in men’s NCAA basketball history to open a season 30-0. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Wildcats with 19 points, each starter had a steal, and the Wildcats overcame 39.7% shooting from the field. Georgia led for nearly 10 minutes in the second half, but 18 points from Nemanja Djurisic and 47.3% shooting from the field were not enough to beat the Wildcats. Georgia finishes their SEC regular season schedule against Auburn and Kentucky looks to win their 31st straight game, claiming an 18-0 SEC record, in their SEC finale with Florida.
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(4) Villanova Wildcats | 76 | (28-2) |
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Creighton Bluejays | 72 | (13-17) |
| Final | |||
Villanova got all they could handle from one of the bottom dwellers of the Big East, holding on late to beat Creighton. Villanova had 23 points from Ryan Arcidiacono and 19 points and three steals from Dylan Ellis, accounting for most of the offense that they needed on a night they shot only 42.3% from the field. Creighton kept the game close through 21 points from Austin Chapman and ten made three pointers, but shot a poor 16-24 from the free throw line. Creighton finishes their Big East schedule with Xavier while Villanova caps their Big East championship season with St. John’s.