THE ROTHSTEIN FILES:
The narrative throughout the early portion of the 2019-20 college basketball season was that the sport was lacking truly great teams that drag people in from the periphery.
There wasn’t a Duke team like the one we saw a year ago that had Zion Williamson R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish or a vintage Villanova team like the unit that ran through the 2018 NCAA Tournament a chainsaw through butter.
Those sentiments are no longer allowed to exist.
Kansas will enter Saturday’s regular season finale at Texas Tech at 27-3 overall and all three of the Jayhawks’ defeats have come while this team wasn’t at full strength.
Isaiah Moss didn’t play when Kansas fell to Duke in the Champions Classic in November and Marcus Garrett left the Jayhawks’ one-point loss at Villanova in December with an injury. This team’s only loss in Big 12 play came at home against Baylor in a game where Devon Dotson left the action early in the second half.
We’ll see over the next week if anyone can knock off this team before Selection Sunday, where it’s destined to wind up as the top overall seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
Luwane Pipkins has saved Providence’s season
The Friars were 13-12 on Feb. 12th and appeared headed for a .500 finish.
Then Pipkins became one of the best guards in the Big East.
The graduate transfer from UMass has had a major hand in Providence’s five-game winning streak, averaging 20.6 points during that span while shooting 54 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three-point range.
“We’ve had a lot of long conversations,” Providence head coach Ed Cooley said in reference to Pipkins after the Friars’ win over Xavier on Wednesday night. “He’s been absolutely huge for us.”
Part of this team’s early season struggles originated from the notion that Pipkins was going to be a distributor for Providence on offense. That’s simply not who he is.
The Friars are now 18-12 overall and finish the regular season at home on Saturday against DePaul.
Barring something unforeseen, Providence should be a lock for the field of 68 with one more win before Selection Sunday.
The American Conference is one jumbled mess
Looking for concrete answers and clear separation?
You won’t get it in this league.
With just over a week left before Selection Sunday, the American Conference has just one lock for the NCAA Tournament — Houston — while two other teams — Cincinnati and Wichita State — are firmly on the bubble.
Meanwhile, the team that’s in first place in the league standings — Tulsa — will have to win the American Conference Tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament due to a weak non-conference strength of schedule.
Add in a young, but talented team at Memphis as well as two sneaky good squads in both UConn and SMU and you’ve got the makings of a wild conference tournament next week in Fort Worth.
One jumbled mess?
The epitome.
This and That:
– How has Wisconsin won seven straight games? One big reason is ball security. The Badgers only have a combined 21 turnovers in their last three games. Greg Gard’s squad can clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season with a win on Saturday at Indiana.
– All six of Gonzaga’s top scorers are averaging in double-figures and its seventh is averaging 9.6 points. That’s a ridiculous offensive stat. The Bulldogs haven’t scored less than 70 points in a game since they lost to Michigan at the Battle 4 Atlantis in November.
– Villanova’s win at Seton Hall on Wednesday night was one of the great victories we’ve seen this season in college basketball, but it also reiterated that the Wildcats are going to need more from their bench if they hope to advance deep in the NCAA Tournament. Villanova’s three reserves combined for zero points, three rebounds, and one assist against the Pirates.
– Another wrinkle to keep in mind regarding San Diego State? The Aztecs will have nearly two weeks off prior to their first NCAA Tournament game since the Mountain West Conference Tournament was played a week early. It will be interesting to see if that level of time off affects how sharp this squad is in the early rounds of the field of 68.
– UCLA freshman Jake Kyman has quickly emerged as an X-Factor in Westwood. The 6-6 wing is averaging 13.7 points in the Bruins’ last three games while shooting 9-15 from three-point range during that span. Mick Cronin’s squad can earn a share of the Pac-12 regular season title with a win on Saturday at USC. Tip off is slated for 3:15 ET on CBS.
– If you haven’t seen Texas freshman Brock Cunningham yet, you’re missing out on one of the sport’s fiercest competitors. The 6-6 forward has grabbed 21 rebounds in his last three games and has added a grit to the Longhorns that’s been lacking over the past few seasons. This team should be comfortably in the NCAA Tournament with a home win over Oklahoma State on Saturday.
– BYU’s TJ Haws has a major fan in Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett. “He’s one of the top 10 point guards in the country,” Bennett said of the 6-4 Haws, who’s averaging 14.8 points this season. “He’s older, he makes great decisions, and he gets people the ball at the right spots.” Hawks is averaging 10 assists over the Cougars’ last four games.
– No one in college basketball will feel more pressure over the next week than the mid-major head coaches in one-bid leagues who are heavy favorites to win their respective conference tournaments. One bad 40-minute stretch can end a season, kill a dream, and send your program into an offseason of brutality. This is March.
Games to Watch:
Saturday: Wisconsin at Indiana, Kentucky at Florida, Kansas at Texas Tech, Seton Hall at Creighton, UCLA at USC, Louisville at Virginia, North Carolina at Duke, Stanford at Oregon
Sunday: Michigan at Maryland, Ohio State at Michigan State, Iowa at Illinois
