ESPN Men's Basketball

On its face, there is little mystery to Binghamton's firing of coach Mark Macon, which the school announced Monday afternoon via Twitter. The Bearcats went 2-29 in 2012. When you go 2-29 in a season -- when you flirt with a winless season and you're a charter regular in the Bottom 10 -- it isn't all that difficult to figure out why you might be fired. Your basketball team was bad. The school wants it to be better. End of story.

Still, Macon's situation at Binghamton was not a typical one, and the timing of this decision certainly follows suit. Why fire a coach now, weeks after the height of the coaching carousel, when candidates are sparse in the first place? What happened between the end of the Bearcats' season and Monday afternoon? Why delay the decision?

Macon doesn't know the answer to that question. It will be up to athletic director Patrick Elliott to provide the answers in the coming days as he begins a search for the coach that can lift Binghamton out of its post-scandal doldrums and begin a new, less depressing era at the school.

Because Macon's job was never an easy one. Binghamton fell into shambles after Kevin Broadus was fired amid an academic and drug-related scandal and the resulting score of departures and sanctions by both the school and the NCAA. Macon's job was less about winning -- though apparently that could have helped -- than restoring the priorities of a proud academic institution and reducing the lingering embarrassment from the Broadus fiasco.

Clearly, Elliott will be looking for a coach with those priorities in mind. The last thing Binghamton needs is even a whiff of another scandal, or academic impropriety. But it's just as clear that the Bearcats AD isn't content with the trajectory of the program on the court. Three years ago, Binghamton men's basketball would have been happy merely to exist. Now, that very low bar isn't high enough.

As he searches for that coach, Elliott will have to explain why Macon wasn't the man for that job -- and why Binghamton didn't realize as much until April 30.

Freshman Four McGlynn led Vermont with 18 points as the Catamounts beat Lamar 71-59 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Analysis from Wednesday night’s First Four matchup between Vermont (16) and Lamar (16).

Overview: This wasn’t BYU-Iona or Mississippi Valley State-Western Kentucky for that matter. Those Tuesday games were classics. Vermont’s 71-59 win over Lamar lacked drama.

The Catamounts led most of the game. They shot 46 percent from the field in the first half and took a 30-21 lead into halftime. Pat Knight’s squad recorded 9 field goals in the first half.

The coach’s late-February rant seemed to motivate the squad. The Cardinals won six consecutive games, including the Southland tournament title. But that momentum ended in Dayton.

Vermont expanded its lead in the second half. Overall, it was 25-for-50 from the field and 17-for-24 from the charity stripe.

Turning point: The Catamounts launched a 13-0 run during a six-minute stretch in the first half after they were down 12-9.

Key player: Four McGlynn, who has the best name in the NCAA tournament, led the Catamounts with 18 points.

Key stats: Vermont had five turnovers. Lamar was 20-for-60 from the field.

Miscellaneous: Vermont really controlled the game and played within its offensive sets. The Catamounts are a solid team.

What’s next: Vermont will face North Carolina in the second round in the NCAA tournament.

You’ve kept up with his projections for the past few months, but Joe Lunardi doesn’t go into hibernation once the real bracket comes out. Our resident Bracketologist is a hardcore basketball fan who knows his stuff. Here are his picks for the Big Dance:

SOUTH

Second round
1 Kentucky over 16 Western Kentucky
9 Connecticut over 8 Iowa State
5 Wichita State over 12 VCU
13 New Mexico State over 4 Indiana
6 UNLV over 11 Colorado
3 Baylor over 14 South Dakota State
7 Notre Dame over 10 Xavier
2 Duke over 15 Lehigh

Third round
1 Kentucky over 9 Connecticut
5 Wichita State over 13 New Mexico State
3 Baylor over 6 UNLV
2 Duke over 7 Notre Dame

Sweet 16
1 Kentucky over 5 Wichita State
3 Baylor over 2 Duke

Elite Eight
1 Kentucky over 3 Baylor

WEST

Second round
1 Michigan State over 16 LIU Brooklyn
9 Saint Louis over 8 Memphis
5 New Mexico over 12 Long Beach State
4 Louisville over 13 Davidson
6 Murray State over 11 Colorado State
3 Marquette over 14 BYU
7 Florida over 10 Virginia
2 Missouri over 15 Norfolk State

Third round
1 Michigan State over 9 Saint Louis
5 New Mexico over 4 Louisville
3 Marquette over 6 Murray State
2 Missouri over 7 Florida

Sweet 16
1 Michigan State over 5 New Mexico
2 Missouri over 3 Marquette

Elite Eight
2 Missouri over 1 Michigan State

EAST

Second round
1 Syracuse over 16 UNC Asheville
8 Kansas State over 9 Southern Miss
5 Vanderbilt over 12 Harvard
4 Wisconsin over 13 Montana
6 Cincinnati over 11 Texas
3 Florida State over 14 St. Bonaventure
10 West Virginia over 7 Gonzaga
2 Ohio State over 15 Loyola (Md.)

Third round
1 Syracuse over 8 Kansas State
4 Wisconsin over 5 Vanderbilt
3 Florida State over 6 Cincinnati
2 Ohio State over 10 West Virginia

Sweet 16
4 Wisconsin over 1 Syracuse
2 Ohio State over 3 Florida State

Elite Eight
4 Wisconsin over 2 Ohio State

MIDWEST

Second round
1 North Carolina over 16 Lamar
9 Alabama over 8 Creighton
5 Temple over 12 California
4 Michigan over 13 Ohio
11 NC State over 6 San Diego State
3 Georgetown over 14 Belmont
7 Saint Mary's over 10 Purdue
2 Kansas over 15 Detroit

Third round
1 North Carolina over 9 Alabama
4 Michigan over 5 Temple
11 NC State over 3 Georgetown
2 Kansas over 7 Saint Mary's

Sweet 16
1 North Carolina over 4 Michigan
2 Kansas over 11 NC State

Elite Eight
1 North Carolina over 2 Kansas

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
Kentucky over Missouri
North Carolina over Wisconsin

NATIONAL TITLE GAME
Kentucky over North Carolina

DAYTON, Ohio — Some folks thought the First Four didn’t matter. And then last night happened. Here we go again. Perhaps we’ll get more drama in the next installment from Dayton.

Vermont (16) vs. Lamar (16), 6:40 p.m. ET on truTV, University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio — The winner of this matchup will face No. 1 North Carolina.

Pat Knight publicly blasted his veterans after a tough loss in late February. The tactic was criticized by some, commended by others. The bottom line is that it worked.

The Cardinals have won six straight, a run that includes the Southland tournament title, since that 10-point home loss against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 22. Anthony Miles (14.5 ppg) and Mike James (17.2 ppg) can go.

Vermont finished second to Stony Brook in the America East’s regular-season standings, but the Catamounts defeated the Seawolves in the conference tournament title game. The Catamounts are shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc. They held their opponents to just 60.5 ppg, second in the conference, and a 40 percent clip from the field, No. 1 in the league.

But they struggled down the stretch of their conference tournament title game, an offensive roadblock that they can’t afford against Lamar.

Four McGlynn leads the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and he has the best name in the entire NCAA tournament. Personal opinion.

After what I witnessed last night here in Dayton, I can’t wait for the next set of games.

South Florida (12) vs. California (12), 9:10 p.m. ET on truTV, University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio — Two completely different teams. But whoever advances will have a shot to upset 5-seed Temple.

The Bulls are slow. They win ugly.

But they’ve held their opponents to 56.9 ppg, a Big East record for scoring defense. However, they average just 59.2 ppg on offense.

South Florida is the anti-Iona. The Bulls can guard everybody, but they can’t score. Augustus Gilchrist is the team’s leading scorer and he’s averaging 9.6 ppg.

It’s rarely pretty when South Florida takes the floor. But the Bulls can control the tempo.

Cal is a talented offensive team. The Bears led the Pac-12 with a plus-9.9 scoring margin. They shoot 48 percent from the field and they’ve averaged 71.7 ppg this season.

Justin Cobbs (12.9 ppg), Allen Crabbe (15.3 ppg) and Jorge Gutierrez (13.1 ppg) comprise one of the best backcourts in the field.

South Florida will pressure all three and try to force Cal to make things happen off the dribble. Cal will attack and try to play fast and make South Florida pick up the pace.

It’s an interesting contrast.

Will we see another amazing night of NCAA tourney basketball? I hope so.

Vermont beats Stony Brook 51-43, winning it's second America East championship in the past three years.

Check back Friday morning for Joe Lunardi's full bracket, but here are his basic projections through Thursday night's action.

SINCE THE LAST UPDATE

• Texas moves above “Last Four In” (No. 47 overall) with its victory over Iowa State.
• Mississippi State drops to “Last Four In” with its loss to Georgia.
• South Florida stays in the field (No. 46 overall) despite its loss to Notre Dame.
• Oregon moves from "First Four Out" to the last spot on "Next Four Out."

LAST FOUR IN

Washington
Mississippi State
Drexel
Seton Hall

FIRST FOUR OUT

Tennessee
Northwestern
NC State
Miami (Fla.)

NEXT FOUR OUT

Iona
Arizona
Saint Joseph's
Oregon

Also considered: Dayton, Marshall, Ole Miss

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Big East (10)
Big Ten (6)
Big 12 (6)
SEC (5)
ACC (4)
Mountain West (4)
Atlantic 10 (3)
West Coast (3)
Colonial (2)
Conference USA (2)
Missouri Valley (2)
Pac-12 (2)

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

Belmont (Atlantic Sun)
Creighton (Missouri Valley)
Davidson (Southern)
Detroit (Horizon)
Harvard (Ivy)
Lehigh (Patriot)
LIU Brooklyn (Northeast)
Loyola-Md. (MAAC)
Montana (Big Sky)
Murray State (OVC)
Saint Mary's (West Coast)
South Dakota State (Summit)
UNC Asheville (Big South)
VCU (Colonial)
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)

Editor’s note: This update does not include BYU-Gonzaga in the WCC tournament.

NOTABLE

• North Carolina moves up to top line as projected No. 1 seed.
• Belmont (Atlantic Sun) clinches fifth NCAA bid in seven years.
• Texas falls out of field, replaced by Xavier (“Last Team In”).

Last Four In
Xavier
Northwestern
South Florida
Colorado State

First Four Out
Texas
VCU
Oregon
NC State

Next Four Out
Miami
Tennessee
Saint Joseph’s
Dayton

BRACKET MATH

Take the “solid” at-large candidates (current Tournament Odds at 90% or better) and there are now 34 teams in the field. Add in the remaining automatic qualifiers and that’s another 20 spots. All told there are 54 of the 68 spots accounted for, with 14 still up for grabs among current “Bubble” teams.

S-CURVE PROJECTIONS

1-KENTUCKY 2-SYRACUSE 3-KANSAS 4-NO. CAROLINA
8-Ohio State 7-Missouri 6-Duke 5-Michigan State*
9-Marquette 10-Georgetown 11-Baylor 12-Michigan
16-UNLV 15-Florida 14-Indiana 13-Wisconsin
17-Louisville 18-Wichita State 19-Florida State 20-TEMPLE
24-CREIGHTON 23-Notre Dame 22-Murray State 21-Vanderbilt
25-Gonzaga 26-New Mexico 27- San Diego State* 28-MEMPHIS
32-Purdue 31-Kansas State 30-Iowa State 29-SAINT MARY’S
33-Alabama 34-Cincinnati 35-Virginia 36-Southern Miss
40-Connecticut 39-Washington* 38-California 37-Saint Louis
41-West Virginia 42-Seton Hall 43-Harvard* 44-LONG BEACH STATE
48-Colorado State 47-Mississippi State 46-Brigham Young 45-Arizona
49-South Florida 50-Northwestern 51-Xavier 52-IONA
56-NEVADA 55-ORAL ROBERTS 54-DREXEL 53-MIDDLE TENNNESSEE
57-Belmont 58-DAVIDSON 59-AKRON 60-VALPARAISO
64-UNC Asheville 63-UT ARLINGTON 62-MONTANA 61-BUCKNELL
65-LONG ISLAND 66-STONY BROOK 67-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 68-SAVANNAH STATE
72-NC State 71-Oregon 70-VCU 69-Texas
73-Miami (Fla.) 74-Saint Joseph’s 75-Dayton 76-Tennessee

Bold - automatic qualifier; * - current conference leader.
ALL CAPS: Regular-season champion (NIT auto-bid if needed)

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Big East (10)
Big Ten (7)
Big 12 (5)
SEC (5)
ACC (4)
Mountain West (4)
Atlantic 10 (3)
Pac-12 (3)
West Coast (3)
Conference USA (2)
Missouri Valley (2)

NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

UNC Asheville (Big South)
Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference)
Belmont (Atlantic Sun)

Join our college basketball experts as they preview this weekend's biggest games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Gerardo Suero can’t stop smiling.

Doesn’t matter if he’s on the court or off it.

That’s why some have questioned his in-game demeanor.

Does he take the game seriously? Does he even care?

The queries, however, cease soon after tipoff.

It’s hard to question a young man’s commitment when he produces this stat line every night: 21.7 ppg, fifth in the nation; 5.7 rpg, 3.0 apg.

“I don’t take things too seriously. You enjoy, you have fun, you know. There’s no point to take things too seriously all the time or you won’t have any fun,” Suero told ESPN.com. “You just relax. Before you know me, that bothers everybody because they say my body language stinks. They think I’m not playing hard, they think I don’t care so they get mad at me. But once they get to know me, they know I’m not that way.”

Suero has been a star in the America East. The latter’s conference tournament begins Thursday at Hartford. The league’s title game will air Saturday morning on ESPN2.

If Suero leads Albany, a 4-seed, to the championship game, a national audience will have a chance to watch a determined athlete who had to fight for nearly three years after high school just to get the opportunity to compete at the Division I level.

The native of the Dominican Republic came to America when he was 17. Living with a sister eased the transition, but that alone couldn’t help him overcome his struggles with English.

“I couldn’t say anything in English. Anything,” he said.

So he enrolled at Our Savior New America School, a private Christian high school in Centereach, N.Y, where he earned offensive MVP honors during the National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) national championships in 2008.

There, he bonded with two teammates who hailed from the Dominican Republic. And an ESL (English as Second Language) teacher helped him learn the language.

His game attracted interest from top programs such as Marquette, Memphis, UCLA and Syracuse. But he failed to get through the NCAA’s Clearinghouse in part because of his linguistic challenges.

So he spent two years in the junior college ranks (he averaged 21.7 ppg for Technical Career Institute in New York City during the 2009-10 season) trying to accrue the necessary credits to play college basketball. And even after leaving TCI, he had to take additional classes before the NCAA gave him clearance to compete at Albany this season.

“I appreciate every day because it’s been tough to get where I am right now,” he said. “I appreciate every day I can play basketball.”

He said his laid-back demeanor and affinity for laughter helped him get through those trials. That’s how he learned to deal with tough times in the Dominican Republic.

Suero’s father, Gerardo Suero Sr., was an Olympic sprinter who qualified for the 100- and 200-meter quarterfinals in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. So it’s easy to see where the 6-foot-4 guard acquired his athleticism.

But his mother, Zoralla Castillo, taught him to use laughter and humor as a way to enjoy life.

“She’s always laughing. No matter what, she’s always laughing. So I probably got that from my mom,” he said.

Suero doesn’t see his parents very often. But he said his success at Albany is a testament to their belief in his dreams of playing pro basketball.

His native country has produced multiple MLB stars over the years. But Suero said he’s never liked the static nature of that game. Plus, Michael Jordan was his favorite athlete when he was kid. So he chose basketball as a 5-year-old in Santo Domingo.

He said his family has always supported his passion and continues to help him navigate challenges he encounters thousands of miles from home.

“It was really tough at first. The first time I came to the United States, I wanted to go back. But my family has always been there, always calling me every day. So that make it easier,” he said. “Before I go to sleep, I would pray to go home the next morning. It was really tough. But then my family helped me to get through. Sometimes, I wanted to give up.”

Join our ESPN.com college basketball experts as they look ahead to this weekend's games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Binghamton coach Mark Macon joins SportsCenter to talk about his team's first win of the season, a 57-53 upset over Vermont.

It's OK to admit it: This is hardly the best Saturday we've seen this season. But here's the good news: It's Feb. 18. We're well within sniffing distance of Selection Sunday, and so every game is meaningful -- including, but certainly not limited to, the various BracketBusters matchups around the country. We're in crunch time, the time when tourney hopefuls have to go out and actually prove they belong. That's exactly what Kansas State did at Baylor this afternoon. Let's start there.

[Editor's note: Per usual, we encourage you to stay with the blog all day for on-site reports from our writers across the country and, later, our recaps of all the big-time Saturday night action, including Saint Mary's-Murray State and Ohio State-Michigan.]

Kansas State 57, No. 10 Baylor 56: I found myself defending Baylor quite a bit in recent days. Myron Medcalf and I have been pretty hard on the Bears at times this season, and for good reason -- this team should be much better than it is. Frankly, it should be dominant. But for all of the struggles and frustrations and close scrapes with obviously inferior teams, it was important to remember one thing: Two teams had beaten Baylor all season. One of them was Kansas. The other was Missouri. There's something to be said for that.

At least there was before Saturday. Kansas State went ahead and spoiled that line, toppling Baylor in Waco in an ugly, questionably officiated contest. Not that the Wildcats minded. For obvious reasons, this was the win of the season for Frank Martin's team. K-State has long been dogged in the bubble discussion by an inexplicably anemic RPI figure, one that threatened to derail a mediocre but otherwise tourney-worthy at-large résumé. The Wildcats needed a big win down the stretch to compensate for that RPI number. An escape from Baylor with a one-point margin, aesthetically displeasing though it may have been, is just what the doctor ordered.

As for the Bears, well, what's left to say? You know the drill by now: This team is as talented as any in the country. It is also every bit as suspect. For whatever reason -- growth, personality, sheepishness, your guess is as good as mine -- Perry Jones III continues to register games like this: 6 shots, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 5 fouls and zero (yes, zero) free throw attempts. In each of Baylor's past four losses, Jones posted single-digit scoring and rebounding efforts. We hate to be openly critical of a college kid, but for a player of Jones' talent, isn't that inexcusable? For a team as long and active as this one, why are the Bears so blasé on the boards, so mediocre on the defensive end? Why, after a 2010-11 season derailed by constant turnovers, haven't these guys learned to value the ball?

It's not like Baylor is having a bad season. (Though since starting 17-0 they are a disconcerting 5-5 in their past 10 games.) The standard defense in the first paragraph still, for all intents and purposes, makes sense. But it's impossible to watch this team and not know that the product on the floor is merely a fraction of what it could be. We only ever get hints. That's what's frustrating.

New Mexico 65, No. 11 UNLV 45: If you failed to notice what New Mexico did earlier this week (winning at San Diego State, moving to 7-2 and alone atop the Mountain West conference standings) and haven't seen just how good this team has been playing over the past three weeks (before Saturday, UNM had won six in a row and risen to No. 11 overall in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency rankings) it's officially time to take note. The Lobos are rolling, kids -- and Saturday was no different.

The lopsided outcome wasn't a foregone conclusion from the opening tip, and UNLV was in solid shape in a typically frenzied Pit atmosphere for nearly 30 minutes. But with 12:15 remaining, the Lobos did what they do best: They locked down on the defensive end. At that point, the score was 36-36. Just four minutes later, after a handful of impressive plays by Tony Snell, Demetrius Walker and Drew Gordon, the Lobos led 48-36. UNLV scored just nine points the rest of the way.

This is where New Mexico really shines. For as good as UNLV and SDSU have been this season, the Lobos are the MWC's best defensive team. They rank No. 1 in the league (and No. 11 in the nation) in adjusted defensive efficiency, primarily thanks to really good first-shot defense. The Runnin' Rebels have been struggling lately -- this week's 101-97 loss at TCU was profoundly strange, and they're now just 5-6 on the road this season, with four of those coming to unranked teams. But they're still awfully talented, and their struggles today had as much to do with the Lobos' pressure as any self-inflicted cause.

In the game's final moments, as Walker poured in another bucket and Gordon topped off his beast-mode 27-point, 20-rebound performance (Gordon was just the eighth player in the past 10 seasons to drop a 20-20 game on a Top-25 team, and just the fifth to do so in regulation), CBS play-by-play man Tim Brando said the affair had "become a New Mexico coronation." He was absolutely right. For too long, the Lobos slipped slightly under the radar. Their gaudy efficiency numbers belied a team that, when you got right down to it, hadn't beaten a team better than Saint Louis all season. It was easy to cast doubt.

No more. In the past week, New Mexico has held Wyoming to 38 points, beaten San Diego State in Viejas Arena by 10, and coasted right by a very good UNLV team. Steve Alford has built a beast in Albuquerque. If you were sleeping on UNM before, it will be impossible to do so now.

Washington 79, Arizona 70:Both of these teams' at-large pictures remain in flux, and that didn't change much today. A win over Arizona won't put Washington in the tournament in any definite way; a loss to Washington won't drop Arizona off the bubble. This is life in the current Pac-12, a power-six league in name only. (PSINO? PINO? We'll work on it.) This league was 2-31 against the RPI top 50 in nonconference play and 0-15 against the top 25. Simply put, this conference offers zero opportunities for marquee wins. At this point, the best the at-large contenders can do is just keep winning.

On Senior Day, the Huskies did exactly that, dinging the defensively resurgent Wildcats in the process. Terrence Ross was fantastic, and his line -- 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 assist, 1 block -- was the stuff of fantasy basketball fever dreams. That's a pretty good example of why this Washington team has been so frustrating this season. With Ross and freshman guard Tony Wroten (not to mention Aziz N'Diaye and Abdul Gaddy and so on) this team has obvious Top-25 talent. But here it is, struggling to get in the field. The Huskies have been better in Pac-12 play and are 12-3 atop the standings, but as recently as last week were absolutely drubbed 82-57 at Oregon.

If this team makes a run in the NCAA tournament, I won't be the least bit surprised. A first-round loss wouldn't shock me, either. Everything is on the table here. But the Huskies have to get there first. With their final three games on the road, and opportunities for bad losses -- at Washington State, at USC, at UCLA -- any and all outcomes are on the table. Should be interesting.

No. 21 Florida State 76, NC State 62: This is not what NC State needed. OK, sure, Thursday night's loss at Duke -- wherein the Wolfpack coughed up a 20-point second-half lead -- was hard to swallow. I get that, and I empathize. But NC State still has much to accomplish in Mark Gottfried's first season, chief among it a possible NCAA tournament bid. And so Saturday's game could have gone two ways: Either NCSU would come out angry at Thursday's letdown and focused on fixing it, or the Wolfpack would be emotionally (and physically, on one day's rest) exhausted.

Turns out it was the latter. Gottfried's team committed 17 turnovers and it shot just 29 percent. (Some of that is FSU's lockdown defense, but still.) In doing so, the Pack saw a chance to get a quality résumé win slip away. Will NC State's tourney chances, already very much in doubt, do the same?

For the Seminoles, this win was their 10th in the ACC. In each of the past four years, Leonard Hamilton's team has won at least 10 league games. FSU has stamped its position as the third-best team in its conference as Hamilton has built a program with staying power at a school that has traditionally treated its basketball as an only occasionally worthwhile diversion from breathless updates about the next great football recruiting class. Really impressive.

Wichita State 91, Davidson 74: Davidson, with that December win over Kansas in its back pocket, desperately needed a win here if it wanted to hold on to any scant hope of an at-large look. Obviously, that's done now. Wichita State just keeps beating up on people. Forget the mid-major label -- there are few teams in the country, regardless of conference, playing as well as this team right now. How many? Five? Maybe six? If that?

Anyway, before we move on, let's pause and reflect on the insane performance Joe Ragland unleashed Saturday. He scored 30 points and grabbed seven boards at the guard position. Even better? His points came on 11-of-14 from the field. He shot 3-of-4 from 3 and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. He was about as close to offensive perfection as a college basketball player can ever get. Bravo, sir.

Other observations from the afternoon action:

• After the big win, I thought it was pretty much impossible (or unpossible!) for Steve Alford's day to get any better. And then it did: San Diego State fell to lowly Air Force on Saturday, 58-56, thanks to an 18-of-52 mark from the field and -- even worse for this perimeter-oriented team -- a 3-of-16 mark from behind the line. The Aztecs got to the line with relative ease. But they went 17-of-25, and when you're shooting that poorly on the road, and you leave eight points on the board, look out.
• Following UConn's home loss to Marquette -- the Huskies' seventh loss in their past nine games -- guard Shabazz Napier, who has tried (and failed) all year to emerge as a bona fide leader of a UConn team that desperately needs just that, told reporters the following: "I hate to say it, but I have to question some of these guys' heart." Anyone who's seen Connecticut play this season has no choice but to agree. What a timid, lifeless bunch. That's the polar opposite of the Golden Eagles' scrappy style, and it showed all 40 minutes Saturday. (For colleague Andy Katz's dispatch from this game, click here)
• A win at Cleveland State doesn't quite look as great as it might have, say, three weeks ago, but no matter: Drexel's 20-point road victory was its 15th win in a row and 21st in its past 22 games. The committee may have a problem getting past the Dragons' cruddy performances in November (including the loss to Norfolk State), and those nonconference issues are part of the reason the CAA isn't getting much at-large love or even remotely passable RPI numbers for top teams like Drexel, VCU and George Mason. But 21-1 in 22 games? That's awfully hard to ignore.
• Speaking of mid-major teams with gaudy records that haven't earned much of a tourney look, how about Oral Roberts? The Golden Eagles held on to top Akron in their BracketBusters affair, moving to 25-5 overall in the process. ORU is 18-1 in the Summit League. If it wins out but loses in the conference tournament, can it get a bid? We'll see. Unlike those CAA squads, this team's RPI is certainly in the picture. The question is whether the committee can look past ORU's lack of quality wins (the victory at Xavier came just a few days after the Dec. 10 brawl against a skeletal, half-suspended Musketeers lineup) and ugly nonconference strength-of-schedule figure. ORU might want to play it safe and just go ahead and win the tournament. Why leave it to chance? Either way, this is an undeniably above-average team.
• Missouri is really good. Texas A&M is not. Our research group passed along two stats that rather tidily demonstrate as much: (1) This victory was Missouri's first win in College Station since 2001, and (2) Missouri's 56 percent shooting made the Tigers the first team to shoot better than 50 percent against A&M all season. Just a solid, workmanlike win from a really self-assured club. Fun to watch.
• DePaul is a little unlucky to be just 2-9 in Big East play after today's overtime loss to Louisville. It's not that the loss itself was particularly unlucky -- DePaul played well for 40 minutes, but the Cardinals were too much in OT -- it's just that this team's obvious improvements on the floor haven't quite shown up in its record. Such is life at a rebuilding project, I suppose.
• Nice win for Iona. The Gaels were probably a bit hard done by their BracketBusters matchup -- they needed a higher-profile game to really make a dent in the bubble picture -- but we can't fault the aesthetic quality of the end result. In other words, this was still a pretty awesome game. Iona won 90-84, and the replay is available on ESPN3. It's worth your while. Iona's offense was scorching hot: The Gaels went 33-of-53 from the field (62.3 percent) and 8-of-14 from beyond the arc, and had five players score 13 points or more. Point guard Scott Machado had 15 assists, which is nothing new; Machado's 9.9 assists per game lead the nation (his assist rate of 44.3 percent is the nation's third-highest; word to Tim Frazier!) and his brilliance is emblematic of this team in general. With Machado, MoMo Jones and Michael Glover, Iona might the most talented mid-major squad in the country. The only problem? The Gaels don't really defend. But if that changes even marginally in the coming weeks, look out. Points in bunches, and all that.
• Kentucky and North Carolina both easily handled their middling conference foes, and both looked great doing so. The Wildcats' win was their 50th in a row at home. John Calipari doesn't lose at Rupp Arena. That's just the way it goes.
• And then there's Binghamton. The nation's last winless team had its best remaining opportunity to notch a victory on the road at 5-23 Radford. Unfortunately, the Bearcats lost 64-59, and so the sad story of their brutal season rolls on. Binghamton's next two opponents (Vermont, Albany) are both much better than lowly Radford (though the Bearcats do get both games at home, so that's good), and their season finale at New Hampshire isn't a totally insurmountable challenge (though Pomeroy's predictive model gives the Bearcats just a 7 percent chance of winning). Bottom line? This team could very well go the entire length of its season without a win. Poor Binghamton. Can you say Bottom 10?

Join college basketball bloggers Eamonn Brennan, Myron Medcalf and Jason King as they preview this weekend's games.

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