Image Courtesy: The Auburn Plainsman
AP Top 10
1.Auburn 27-3 (15-2) SEC Next Up: 7.Alabama (23-7) (Saturday, 2:30 PM ET, ESPN)
2.Duke 27-3 (18-1) ACC Next Up: @ North Carolina (20-11) (Saturday, 6:30 PM ET, ESPN)
3.Houston 26-4 (18-1) Big 12 Next Up: @ Baylor (18-12) (Saturday, 10 PM ET, ESPN)
4.Tennessee 24-6 (11-6) SEC Next Up: South Carolina (12-18) (Saturday, 2 PM ET, SECN)
5.Florida 26-4 (13-4) SEC Next Up: Ole Miss (21-9) (Saturday, 6 PM ET, SECN)
6.St. John’s 26-4 (17-2) Big East Next Up: @ 20.Marquette (22-8) (Saturday, 12 PM ET, FOX)
7.Alabama 23-7 (12-5) SEC Next Up: @ 1.Auburn (27-3) (Saturday, 2:30 PM ET, ESPN)
8.Michigan State 25-5 (16-3) Big Ten Next Up: 17.Michigan (22-8) (Sunday, 12 PM ET, CBS)
9.Texas Tech Big 12 Next Up: @ Arizona State (13-17) (Saturday, 8 PM ET, ESPNU)
10.Iowa State 22-8 (12-7) Big 12 Next Up: @ Kansas State (15-15) (Saturday, 1:30 PM ET, CBS)
Friday, March 7
18.Purdue (22-9) @ Illinois (19-11)
8 PM ET, FOX
Purdue comes into Champagne playing great basketball with wins last Friday night against UCLA and scoring 100 points against Rutgers on Tuesday night. Illinois was blown out by Duke on February 22nd but since have taken care of Iowa and then 15.Michigan by 20 points. If the Fighting Illini can defeat the Boilermakers at home to finish out their regular season, they will feel confident about landing at least a six seed on Selection Sunday entering the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue dropped four games in a row before its recent winning streak and they will need guard Fletcher Loyer to continue his consistent play to support stars Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Smith, Kaufman-Renn, and Loyer combined for 62 points in the win over the Scarlet Knights. Similarly to the Boilermakers, Illinois had three prominent scorers in their last victory. Guards Tre White, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Kylan Boswell’s combined 55 points lifted them over the Wolverines. Those three will have to all turn in similar performances if they want to protect home court, beat Purdue, and get a better seed in Indianapolis at next week’s Big Ten Tournament. Projected Score: Purdue 82, Illinois 79
Saturday, March 8
19.Kentucky (20-10) @ 15.Missouri (21-9)
12 PM ET, ESPN
Missouri hosts Kentucky coming off of a Wednesday loss to rival Oklahoma. A win for the Tigers could put them in position to lock up the five seed at the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week but a loss could do the same for Kentucky as it would give the Wildcats a win and the two teams matching conference records at 10-8. Missouri must defend at a higher level after giving up 90+ points in four of its previous five games. Without the steadying force of guard Jaxson Robinson offensively for Kentucky, it might be the perfect opportunity of Dennis Gates’ team to turn in a better performance on that side of the basketball. Guards Caleb Grill, Mark Mitchell, and Tony Perkins can light it up on offense but they will have to go through one of the nation’s top point guards, Lamont Butler. Butler, will have to lead the ‘Cats on the road with fellow guard Otega Oweh, playing his best basketball of the season, sharpshooter Kobe Brea, and forward Amari Williams, who is capable of turning in big performances in big games. If Kentucky can consistently make outside shots on the road, they can stay in the game, but Missouri needs to win this game and I believe they will. Projected Score: Missouri 92, Kentucky 85
6.St. John’s (26-4) @ 20.Marquette (22-8)
12 PM ET, FOX
Marquette fell to UConn on the road and outside of the top three in the Big East entering the final weekend of the regular season. Protecting home floor against the Big East regular season champion St. John’s will be difficult but a win over the Red Storm. A Huskies’ loss to Seton Hall at home, however unlikely that may be, would send Marquette to be the three seed in the Big East Tournament next week at Madison Square Garden. However, even if UConn does not lose and Marquette still finds a way to beat the Johnnies, it would be a huge win that would put them in consideration for a protected seed on one of the top four lines with a few more wins next week in New York City. Rick Pitino’s team does not rely too much on perimeter shooting instead attacking the ball inside and playing tough on defense. His three leading scorers, guard RJ Luis (17.8 points and 7 reboundsper game), forward Zuby Ejiofor (14 points and 8 rebounds), guard Kadary Richmond (13 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) make the team go. Marquette will need someone outside of potential All-American guard Kam Jones (18.5 points and 6 assists). Guards Stevie Mitchell (11 points) and Chase Ross (10.6 points) must support Jones if they want to enter postseason play with a victory. Projected Score: St. John’s 83, Marquette 80
7.Alabama (23-7) @ 1.Auburn (27-3)
2:30 PM ET, ESPN
Alabama heads to the Plains to face SEC regular season champion Auburn in a rematch from their number one-number two battle, a few weeks ago. Both teams enter Saturday afternoon’s season finale off of losses. Auburn did not sleep walk into College Station on Tuesday night but after beating Kentucky on Saturday to clinch the SEC title, Texas A&M needed a win and they got it on their senior night over the Tigers. Alabama fell to Florida at home in a top five battle on Wednesday and to avoid their eighth loss before the SEC Tournament, they must avoid getting swept by Auburn. The Tigers should be more focused than they were on Tuesday night. Likely national player of the year Johni Broome needs to turn in a terrific performance because without veteran guard Denver Jones help to score, defend, and lead due to injury, Broome will need freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford to step up next to veterans Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara on the wings and Dylan Cardwell and Chris Moore inside the paint. If Auburn’s efficient offense can get going, Alabama guard Mark Sears will have to continue his hot shooting performances and set his teammates up with good passes for assists. The Crimson Tide’s Grant Nelson, Labaron Philon, Latrell Wrightsell, Chris Youngblood, and Jarin Stevenson must all turn in quality performances against an Auburn team that has lost just twice in one of the most difficult conference seasons of all-time. Auburn will get its third consecutive win over Alabama on Saturday. Projected Score: Auburn 95, Alabama 90
Ole Miss (21-9) @ 5.Florida (26-4)
6 PM ET, SECN
Since losing three in a row to Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Auburn, Ole Miss has bounced back and beaten Oklahoma and 4.Tennessee to begin the month of March. That’s a pretty good start for Chris Beard’s team as they head on the road to face another AP top 5 team, the Florida Gators. The Gators, as I mentioned in the Alabama-Auburn preview earlier in this post, defeated 7.Alabama on the road on Wednesday. Likely All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. has been terrific this season, averaging 17 points and dishing out 4 assists a game headlines a group in the backcourt that has been one of the best in the country this season for Todd Golden. Joining Clayton Jr. is Alijah Martin and Will Richard, who can both score and bring tremendous effort on the defensive side too. Denzel Aberdeen has been a great backup for Clayton Jr. while Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu make up their front court. Condon was terrific against the Crimson Tide, scoring 27 points and 10 rebounds. Ole Miss’ awesome home environment and forward Jaemyn Brakefield (19 points in the victory over Tennessee) got the game winning rebound in overtime off of a Sean Pedulla miss and put it in for a win that could put the Rebels on track to move back up the seed list. Pedulla leads Ole Miss at scoring at almost 15 points a contest while Malik Dia, Dre Davis and the aforementioned Brakefield serve as defensive stoppers for Beard that are tough offensive players. Ole Miss can keep this game close but Florida, at this point in the season, seems like the SEC team that is best fit to win games deep in March and into April this postseason. Projected Score: Florida 87, Ole Miss 80
2.Duke (27-3) @ North Carolina (20-11)
6:30 PM ET, ESPN
Duke has been the best team in a weak ACC all season and has been dominant of late especially. The second ranked Blue Devils, one of only two teams that have beaten 1.Auburn so far this season, have won their last seven games by an average of 32 points since their last loss to Clemson on the road at Littlejohn Coliseum. In their last game against Wake Forest, freshman forward Cooper Flagg scored 28 points and dished out 7 assists in the 33 point victory over the Demon Deacons. Junior guard Tyrese Proctor has established himself as a leader and a defensive presence on the perimeter while freshmen Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach have supported Flagg and Proctor as the third and fourth options offensively. The way Duke has been playing, this game has an eerily similar feeling to the closeout game between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels in 2022. The only two differences are that Coach K is not the head coach of Duke and the game is not in Cameron Indoor Stadium, instead in the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. Duke is in line to be a number one seed and North Carolina is squarely on the bubble. North Carolina’s win in that game won March 4, 2022 propelled the Tar Heels into the NCAA Tournament as an eight seed, and they won the third match up with the Blue Devils in the Final Four semifinal in New Orleans, ending Coach K’s career. North Carolina does not have program stalwart Armando Bacot, sharpshooting forward Brady Manek, and Caleb Love on the roster any more but still have senior guard RJ Davis, who was an All-American last season but has not played near that level consistently this season. The Tar Heels beat Virginia Tech on Tuesday, 91-59. Freshman guard Ian Jackson scored 19 points in the victory. For North Carolina to avenge their February loss to Duke, Jackson will have to be an elite scorer. Junior guard Seth Trimble added 17 points. With the lack of an inside presence like Armando Bacot, Trimble will have to continue playing big for the Tar Heels. If Jackson and Trimble continue their hot play combined with the improved play of Jae’Lyn Withers, Drake Powell, and Ven-Allen Lubin there is a chance that Hubert Davis’ team can win on senior day in Chapel Hill. Projected Score: Duke 90, North Carolina 80
Sunday, March 9
17.Michigan (22-8) @ 8.Michigan State (25-5)
12 PM ET, CBS
Michigan State locked up the Big Ten regular season championship after Thursday night’s win at Iowa. The Spartans did not play their best basketball but played well enough to win. Tom Izzo’s team does go through spurts without scoring but when they need a basket, they rely on guards Jaden Akins (13 points) and Jase Richardson (11 points) to score. The Spartans look to sweep the Wolverines after defeating them in Ann Arbor in late February. Michigan’s struggles in their last two games against Illinois at home and Maryland on the road are the amount of turnovers they have. The Wolverines had a combined 27 turnovers in those two losses and to beat the Spartans on their home floor, they will have to avoid turning it over. The combination of bigs Vlad Goldin (16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks) and Danny Wolf (12.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks) make them go. But, it will be up to Wolf (a point-center) and lead guard Tre Donaldson (12 points and 4 assists) to make the right passes and not turn the ball over which could lead to points for the Spartans. The battle for the state of Michigan should be a great Big Ten basketball game to finish out the regular season. Projected Score: Michigan State 81, Michigan 77
