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I Slept On It: Syracuse Falls Again; Many Bubble Teams Win

The Orange dropped their fourth game in their last five; Michigan won the Big Ten; Florida moved closer to SEC perfection; and some bubble teams separated themselves from the pack. It was a pretty exciting final Tuesday of the regular season.

Rich Barnes

"I Slept On It" is Blogging the Bracket's nearly daily roundup of the previous night's college basketball action, with a bracketology focus.

ACC

Syracuse (26-4, 13-4) has lost four of its last five and will drop down to the three line in Wednesday's bracket following a 67-62 home loss to Georgia Tech (14-16, 5-12). Jerami Grant was out again for the Orange, who were led by C.J. Fair's 28 points. Trae Golden (16) led the three Yellow Jackets who hit double figures.

Among the bubble teams, Clemson (19-10, 10-7) struggled with Miami (15-15, 6-11) before prevailing by a 58-54 score and Florida State (18-11, 9-8) also survived, winning at Boston College (8-22, 4-13), 74-70.

Big 12

Barring something silly happening, Baylor (20-10, 8-9) is all but assured of a bid now that they've taken out Iowa State (22-6, 10-6), 74-61 in Waco. The Bears scored 13 in the final 2:16 to earn a victory that wasn't a blowout by any stretch.

Big East

Creighton (23-6, 13-4) is not only sliding down the seed list, its giving new life to bubble teams from throughout the Big East. On Saturday, the Bluejays helped Xavier Musketeers out. Tonight, it was Georgetown's (17-12, 8-9) turn. Four Hoyas hit double-figures on a night when they needed to hold off a furious Bluejay rally to preserve a 75-63 win.

Providence (20-10, 10-7) was the other Big East bubble winner of the night, defeating Marquette (17-13, 9-8), 81-80, after a pair of thrilling overtime periods. Bryce Cotton scored 25 for the Friars, and he was one of four Providence players to hit double-figures, while Todd Mayo had 26 for Marquette. The Golden Eagles will remain outside the field, while Providence will stay in the projected First Four.

Big Ten

Michigan (22-7, 14-3) claimed its first outright Big Ten title since 1986 by hammering Illinois (17-11, 6-11), 84-53, in Champaign. The loss pretty much ends the Illini's late NCAA push, barring a long run through the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Nik Stauskas led the Wolverines with 24 points, including seven three-pointers.

Pac-12

Oregon (21-8, 9-8) will be hanging around the bracket again today, as the Ducks took care of Arizona State (21-9, 10-7), 85-78 in a rare Tuesday night Pac-12 contest in Eugene.

SEC

Michael Frazier II scored 37, with a school-record 11 three-pointers to help push Florida (28-2, 17-0) past South Carolina (11-19, 4-13), 72-46. The Gators finished the game with a strong 44-20 performance in the second half.

Kentucky (22-8, 12-5) is now the only team standing between UF and a perfect SEC regular season. The Wildcats head to Gainesville on Saturday fresh off a comeback 55-48 win over Alabama (12-18, 6-11). The Tide actually led 28-25 at the half in Lexington.

Atlantic Sun Quarterfinals

All four home teams won, meaning Florida Gulf Coast (21-11, 15-4) will host ETSU (18-14, 11-8) in one semifinal on Thursday, while USC Upstate (19-13, 12-7) visits Mercer (24-8, 15-4) in the other.

Horizon League First Round

All three home teams won, though Oakland (13-19, 8-9) needed overtime to defeat Youngstown State. The Golden Grizzlies will take on Wright State in Friday's quarterfinals. Valparaiso (18-14, 10-7) and Milwaukee (18-13, 8-9) will be the other matchup on Friday.

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