After last weekend’s quartet of marquee top-10 matchups, this Saturday was more about teams on either side of the NCAA tournament cut line needing to take advantage of résumé-boosting opportunities. Six top-10 teams faced unranked teams on the road — environments where highly ranked teams have consistently struggled all season. This group doesn’t include the likes of Marquette , which was hosting a St. John’s team in need of a win, or Kentucky , which was at home against a desperate Gonzaga squad. Michigan State , Colorado , Cincinnati , Florida were also all in need of a victory to boost their NCAA tournament hopes. Who could close the deal and get a win?
With just one month left in the regular season, bubble teams are running out of time to pick up wins that will matter on Selection Sunday. Saturday provided some clarity, and ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello and Joe Lunardi accordingly have some thoughts.
Kansas Jayhawks 64, Baylor Bears 61
Medcalf: Baylor’s challenges at Allen Fieldhouse continue. The Bears are now 1-18 in their past 19 games at Kansas. And they had never had a better chance to steal a victory over Bill Self in a hostile venue. No Kevin McCullar Jr. due to injury. Dajuan Harris Jr. injured his ankle late in the game. Instead of adding a signature win to boost their tournament seed, the Bears couldn’t stop the short-handed Jayhawks.