College Basketball Hot and Not

Momentum can be huge in college basketball, especially during the tournament, where there are just 6 games to win, and momentum can carry a team to the title. These are the hottest and coldest teams entering the tournament.

Hot

The hottest team entering the tournament was a little bit of a surprising choice for many, but that doesn't mean they don't belong or deserve a spot. The Clemson Tigers demolished Boston College in the ACC Tournament before nearly upsetting the North Carolina Tar Heels, falling by 5 in overtime. They have already won their play-in game over UAB, and could upset 5th-seed West Virginia tomorrow as well.

Alabama State tore right through the SWAC Tournament last week even though they were only the #4 seed. They blew out the #5 and #6 teams and were able to knock out top seeded Texas Southern as well on their way to their 4th appearance in the Tournament.

Memphis is another team that was able to win its conference tournament despite being seeded fourth, and the championship game was not an easy one, because they were facing #2 seed UTEP in El Paso, but they did just enough to pull off the upset and sneak into the tournament in an otherwise disappointing season.

Duke was the highest-rated ACC team in my rankings heading into their conference tournament, and they took the toughest road possible to get to the title, beating the teams rated 2nd, 3rd, and 4th among ACC teams to win their 3rd straight conference tournament and a #1 seed in March Madness.

Penn State was very impressive in their march to the Big 10 Championship Game, beating two other teams that are still playing before falling to overall #1 seed Ohio State in the title game. It's been over 5 weeks since they lost to a team that was not ranked in the top 10 nationally.

San Diego State won consecutive games over MWC Tournament host UNLV and BYU, the only team to beat the Aztecs this season, as they won their conference tournament and earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and it's looking like they'll finally win their first-ever tournament game this weekend.

Cold

The Cincinnati Bearcats were a team that surprised a lot of people this year, but they did not surprise Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament, losing that matchup by 38 points and casting a little doubt on their readiness for the real tournament starting this week.

UCLA went into the Pac 10 tournament as the #2 seed and had the advantage of playing the games in their hometown, but fell to Oregon by 17 points in the very first game. Oregon doesn't even have a winning record, which makes me wonder whether UCLA was just feeling confident of their chances of making the tournament or whether they just aren't that good.

Luckily for Cincinnati, their first round opponent, Missouri, has been almost as cold as the Bearcats lately. The Tigers just barely held off conference doormat Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 tourney before overrated Texas A&M whipped them in Kansas City the next night.

Three straight games seemed to be too much for the Marquette Golden Eagles, who defeated Providence and West Virginia before falling hard against Louisville, dropping the game 81-56. They were the final Big East team selected for the tournament, but that doesn't mean they won't be good.

A lot more was expected from Purdue in the Big 10 Tournament, possibly a trip to the championship game against Ohio State, but they fell on day one to a Michigan State team that was fighting for their lives. Getting a #3 seed may have taken the target off their backs a little bit and may enable a long run in March.

Predictions - 16 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Nuggets at Hawks - Nuggets by 1

Pacers at Celtics - Celtics by 10

Raptors at Pistons - Pistons by 4

Suns at Hornets - Hornets by 5

Thunder at Heat - Heat by 6

Magic at Bucks - Magic by 4

Bobcats at Rockets - Rockets by 8

Timberwolves at Jazz - Jazz by 7

Cavaliers at Kings - Kings by 7

Mavericks at Warriors - Mavs by 4

76ers at Clippers - 76ers by 1

College Basketball

(16) Texas-San Antonio vs. (16) Alabama State - Texas-SA by 5

(11) USC vs. (11) VCU - USC by 4

NBA Player of the Day

Joe Johnson - ATL - 36 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 13-19 FG, 6-9 3P, 4-4 FT

Johnson came out wearing a new headband, and it appears that it may have been lucky. He scored 28 points in the first half alone, including 6 straight 3-pointers, as Atlanta pulled away from the Bucks early in a game that became a blowout.

Prediction Results - 15 Mar

NBA: 3-1 (.750) 576-243 overall (.703)

NCAA Tournament: 2-0 (1.000)

Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 153-104 overall (.595)