Conference Leaders Meet Road Tests
If a measurement of a championship team is the ability to go on the road and win then several teams took huge steps toward winning their respective crowns this past weekend.
Xavier went to Duquesne in a battle of the A-10's co-leaders and for the second time this season, the Musketeers came up big in a key road test. They won 71-63 with the usual contributions from Tu Holloway, who knocked down 20. Their frontcourt controlled the interior as Jamel McLean and Kenny Frease combined for 22 points and 21 rebounds. This win at the Palumbo Center is now added to an earlier Xavier win at Richmond, who joins Duquesne and Temple in being one game back in this heated race.
Pitt went to Villanova on Saturday night, still without Ashton Gibbs and they didn't even play their best game. The Wildcats outrebounded the Panthers' physical frontline to the tune of 33-21, but Pitt was bailed out by guard Brad Wanamaker's 21 points and won by three. The win enabled the Panthers to maintain a two-game cushion on Notre Dame. The Irish blasted South Florida 78-55 with all five starters scoring between 10-13 points.
San Diego State kept its share of first place in the Mountain West by winning a tough game at UNLV 63-57. The Aztecs held opposing forward Chase Stanback to just five points and got a big day from their own up-and-down point guard D.J. Gay, who hit for 20. The win kept San Diego State even with BYU who won an easy game against Utah, notable in that while Jimmer Fredette got his 23, Charles Abuono stepped it up with 22 points and 10 rebounds in support. If Abuono and Jackson Emery give Fredette consistent help, BYU can make noise in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke & Arizona didn't have stringent tests, but both left the confines of Durham and Tucson respectively to maintain their conference leads last night. The Blue Devils won in Miami 81-71, while Arizona beat Arizona State 67-52. In both cases free throw scoring was a significant edge. The ACC & Pac-10 runner-ups, North Carolina and UCLA had kept the heat on by winning on Saturday and both league races are within one game and head-to-head matchups still looming.
Ohio State didn't meet its road test, although given it was their first loss of the season and came at one of the nation's toughest road venues in Wisconsin, we can cut them a little slack. It took an extraordinary day of three-point shooting by the Badgers, who 12-of-24 behind the stripe and rallied from 15 down to win 71-67. The Buckeyes still have a two-game lead on both Wisconsin and Purdue, who beat Illinois 81-70 on Sunday. It sets up a big week ahead for the Boilermakers, who host the Badgers and Buckeyes.
Wrapping up the conference race overview, Texas stayed a game up on Kansas with a 69-60 win over Baylor, thanks to a 22-5 free-throw scoring advantage. Florida benefited from a similar edge in nipping Tennessee 61-60 and keeping even with Alabama in the SEC. The Tide beat Ole Miss 74-64 thanks to reserve Tony Mitchell, who came off the bench to score 20.
Image from goxavier.com
Dan Flaherty is the editor of the Sports Notebook Family, published through the Real Clear Sports Blog Network, offering daily commentary on the NFL playoffs and coverage of college basketball.
