I Slept On It: Not A Great Bubble Night In The SEC

ACC

Pittsburgh (18-7, 7-6) dodged a major bullet at home, defeating Wake Forest (10-16, 1-13) 101-96 after two overtimes. The Panthers might have fallen to the wrong side of the cut line, for now granted, had they dropped that one, but they survived to snap a three-game skid with a trip to Syracuse looming on Saturday.

Big 12

The Kansas Jayhawks now have at least a game lead on everyone in the conference, thanks to No. 24 Texas's (17-9, 8-5) 85-78 victory over No. 10 West Virginia (20-6, 9-4) in Austin. That result gave the Longhorns a season sweep of the Mountaineers. WVU attempted a late rally, but the 'Horns hit enough foul shots late to keep the 'Neers at bay.

It needed overtime to do it, but No. 25 Baylor (19-7, 8-5) picked up a key differentiating sweep of No. 13 Iowa State (18-8, 7-6). The Bears won by a 100-91 count in Waco, thanks to 27 from Jonathan Motley, who also scored that same total in the game in Ames.

Kansas State (15-11, 4-9) took down TCU (11-15, 2-11) 63-49 in Fort Worth to keep its diminished hopes alive.

Big East

Butler (18-8, 7-7) picked up a needed win for its NCAA hopes while simultaneously pushing Creighton (17-10, 8-6) closer to the NIT, 88-75 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bluejays' Maurice Watson Jr. led all scorers with 22, while Kelan Martin scored 21 for the Bulldogs.

Big Ten

Don't write Ohio State (17-10, 9-5) off yet, not with a pair of games with Michigan State and a home game with Iowa left. The Buckeyes defeated Michigan (19-8, 9-5), who still isn't safe due to the quality of its 19 wins, 76-66. The game attracted a ton of attention and derision on social media, thanks to ESPN's decision to use courtside cameras for the entire broadcast.

No. 17 Purdue (21-6, 7-5) picked up a 71-61 home win over Northwestern (17-10, 5-9), thanks to an 18-point, 12-rebound double double by A.J. Hammons and 15 from Johnny Hill. 

Illinois (12-14, 4-9) didn't need triple OT to beat Rutgers (6-20, 0-13) in Champaign tonight. In fact, they needed no overtimes to record an 82-66 win.

SEC

It was yet another confusing night in the SEC. For starters, South Carolina (21-5, 8-5) dropped its second in a row. This wouldn't be a problem normally; however, the Gamecocks lost at Missouri (10-16, 3-10), ineligible for the postseason and winner of just two conference games all season. The victory was the Tigers' second straight, as they topped Tennessee on Saturday. 

Frank Martin's team next welcomes Florida (16-9, 7-5) to Columbia this Saturday. The Gators gutted out an ugly 57-53 win at Georgia (14-10, 7-6), thanks in large part to 19 from KeVaughn Allen and some excellent rebounding and defense late.

It really wasn't a great night for the SEC's fringe tourney hopefuls as not only did Georgia lose, but Ole Miss (16-10, 6-7) fell at Texas A&M (19-7, 8-5) 71-56, snapping the Aggies losing streak at four, just in time for Kentucky to visit on Saturday. But Georgia and Ole Miss falling was nothing, as Vanderbilt (15-11, 7-6) was the biggest loser of the night. The Commodores coughed up a 17-point lead over the final 14 minutes to fall at Mississippi State (11-14, 4-9) 75-74, thanks to a Quinndary Weatherspoon three at the buzzer.

Atlantic 10

VCU (19-7, 11-2) took care of business at the Siegel Center, topping Rhode Island (14-12, 6-7) 83-67.

Elsewhere

Following up on a Saturday home loss to Wright State, Horizon leader Valparaiso (22-5, 12-2) took its frustrations out on Cleveland State (8-19, 3-11) 66-43.

Akron (21-5, 10-3) took down one of its many pursuers in MAC play, Buffalo (14-12, 7-6) 80-70.

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