We all saw the in-state battle between No. 1 and No. 2. Top-ranked Auburn went into a raucous Coleman Coliseum and convincingly took down Alabama.
It’s almost become a routine; the Tigers face a strong opponent and have another impressive outing. They continue to stack up high-profile wins week after week. Which begs the question: Has one No. 1 seed been locked up, four weeks from Selection Sunday?
Auburn was the top overall seed in the selection committee’s top 16 reveal on Saturday, and it further proved it’s place by leaving no doubt against the Crimson Tide. It’s now a staggering 23-2 and first place in the SEC at 11-2, somehow separating itself from an already strong league.
That’s not all; the Tigers are already inching toward some history. Since the NET rankings were introduced in 2018, the record for most Quad 1 wins in a regular season is 15, done by Kansas in 2022-23.
Auburn is already at 14, and has plenty of more opportunities to add left.
With such an impressive resume, Auburn may as well be a lock for a No. 1 seed come tournament time. No one comes close to the body of work it has done, so the Tigers can afford to lose some more, if teams can somehow conquer them.
There’s still plenty of time for the bracket to change from now to March 16, but believe with complete certainty Auburn will be a top seed, and after winning the potential game of the season, it leads the top storylines from the past weekend of college basketball.
Houston, St. John’s take control of conferences
A conference title is a sweet bonus to getting a favorable draw in the NCAA tournament, and Houston and St. John’s inched closer toward having regular-season championships with victories over other contenders.
Houston went into a tough environment in Arizona on Saturday and after the Wildcats led for the majority of the game, the Cougars stepped it up defensively to hold Arizona to just 10 points in the final nine minutes. The win pushed Houston to 17-1 in its last 18 games and a two-game lead in the Big 12. In the Big East, St. John’s bounced back from a loss to Villanova by beating Creighton. RJ Luis Jr. had another big day to give the Red Storm a two-game lead over the Bluejays in the conference standings, continuing a magical season at Madison Square Garden.
Both Houston and St. John’s were in the top 16 and do have some challenges awaiting them in the next week, but getting some breathing room in their respective conferences against quality opponents are some big resume notches that could be useful in a few weeks.
Kansas blows generous offering from selection committee
A surprise in the top 16 reveal was Kansas, a team that’s been very inconsistent recently, being ranked a No. 4 seed. The Jayhawks haven’t looked like a No. 4 seed, but it was a gracious ranking given by the committee, showing that as long as Kansas rights the ship, it’ll be just fine.
So what did it do with the kind gesture? Blow it.
Kansas visited lowly Utah and looked nothing like a top-caliber team against the Utes. The Jayhawks never led during the game and despite Utah shooting 36.5% from the field, the Utes got hot at the end to pull off the signature victory.
Now it looks like Kansas is again going to fall short of preseason expectations with a 3-4 record in its last seven games. It’s now in a three-way tie for the fifth spot in the Big 12, which gets a bye in the conference tournament, and it still has a tough stretch with Texas Tech, Houston and Arizona waiting at the end of the regular season. Kansas was given a blessing, and it only took a few hours for it to ruin it.
Now what, Dan Hurley?
For some reason, Dan Hurley had a really good time taunting Creighton fans after finally winning at the Bluejays’ home court. What’s the celebration after losing to the worst team in the conference?
Connecticut continued it’s unpredictable trend by losing to Seton Hall in remarkable fashion. After allowing a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation off a turnover to send it to overtime, the Huskies saw their late lead disappear after a costly turnover led to an incredible bucket for the Pirates to pull off the shocker. It ended Seton Hall’s nine-game losing streak.
Of course, Hurley spent the time right after the game complaining to the referees, something we’ve seen a lot of and should serve as a reminder that maybe he should spend less time trying to chirp at some fans. UConn is now 17-8 and had its second Quad 3 loss of the season. It continues to fall down the seed line of the tournament, making the chances of a three-peat more difficult as the days go.
A bad weekend on the bubble
It’s starting to become that time of the year where if you’re on the bubble, the wins feel better and the losses hurt worse. For those on the bubble, it was a painful weekend with many of them falling in defeat.
The first four teams out of the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology — Georgia, Southern Methodist, Kansas State and Villanova — all lost. The Bulldogs fell to Missouri at home, the Mustangs dropping to another bubble candidate in Wake Forest, Kansas State’s hot streak was finally halted against Brigham Young and Villanova couldn’t keep it going after the win against St. John’s with a bad loss to Providence. Arkansas, the last team projected in the field, also lost, but could be lucky it happened when so many others also had the same fate.
Time is starting to dwindle on making a case for the tournament, and the winning streaks are going to have to start soon for those trying to bounce back from the weekend.
New Mexico
Rick Pitino has been the talk of the Big East for leading St. John’s back into the national spotlight, but look at what his son Richard is doing in Albuquerque.
New Mexico is now solely at the top of the Mountain West after taking down Utah State in a Sunday thriller. The Lobos were down by 10 points early in the second half and flipped a switch to send The Pit crowd home happy. It was the second win of the season over the Aggies, and the Lobos are now 22-4, coincidentally the same record as the Red Storm.
Richard Pitino has elevated New Mexico each season he’s been there, and this is the team’s best ever start to Mountain West play. It likely won’t be a top seed come tournament time, but the Lobos are a team to watch out for in March.