ESPN Men's Basketball

The Elite Eight begins with two intriguing matchups Saturday. Florida and Louisville overcame late-season challenges to reach this stage. Syracuse and Ohio State might be the most competitive matchup in the field.

(4) Louisville vs. (7) Florida, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Things to know: Florida coach Billy Donovan once starred for Louisville's Rick Pitino at Providence. That’s the TV-friendly storyline that’s dominated the buildup to this Elite Eight matchup.

But first, we have to answer one question: How on earth did we end up with Florida and Louisville playing for a trip to New Orleans?

Prior to the NCAA tournament, the Gators had lost four of five. Three of those losses were by double digits. Before Louisville earned the Big East tournament crown, the Cardinals had lost four of six.

There just weren’t many reasons to consider this as a potential Elite Eight matchup once the Big Dance began. But both teams are riding serious momentum created by Sweet 16 upsets.

Louisville knocked off 1-seed Michigan State with one of the best defensive efforts in NCAA tourney history. The Spartans scored only 44 points, the lowest tally by a 1-seed since the introduction of the shot clock. Florida sent Marquette home after holding the Golden Eagles to 30.8 percent from the field.

The two teams have been carried by two athletes who’ve stepped up in the NCAA tournament.

Bradley Beal has recorded the following stat lines in Florida’s three NCAA victories: 14 points and 11 rebounds against Virginia; 14 points and 9 rebounds against Norfolk State; 21 points and 6 rebounds against Marquette. The freshman has competed like a veteran.

Louisville, No. 1 in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings, has been the beneficiary of Gorgui Dieng’s surprising NCAA tournament production. The 6-foot-11 sophomore from Senegal has recorded 12 blocks and 5 steals in the Big Dance.

Look for the Cardinals to pressure point guard Erving Walker (8 turnovers in three NCAA tournament games), harass Florida’s potent shooters and dare the Gators to challenge Dieng inside. Look for the Gators to rely on Beal to play catalyst again and slice and dice a Louisville defense that doesn’t match up well with him.

The journey: Louisville defeated Davidson, New Mexico and Michigan State to reach the Elite Eight. Florida earned its shot at New Orleans with wins over Virginia, Norfolk State and Marquette.

Monitor his progress: When Patric Young gets touches (just 13 points on 9 shots combined in team’s last two games), the Gators are a better team. With Dieng surging for Louisville, the Gators need Young to produce on both ends of the floor.

Numbers to impress your friends: Michigan State shot just 22.2 percent from the field against Louisville’s zone (45 of 48 half-court possessions), according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Game’s most crucial question: How will Louisville guard Beal?

The matchup: Peyton Siva vs. Walker. Two speedy point guards who aren’t afraid to attack bigger defenders.

Don’t touch that remote because … Both teams have overachieved thus far. And Dieng’s defensive prowess is worth watching.

(1) Syracuse vs. (2) Ohio State, 7:05 p.m. ET, CBS

Things to know: One of two No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups in the Elite Eight, Syracuse versus Ohio State features an intriguing personnel matchup.

Syracuse has reached the Elite Eight, its first since 2003, via a zone that is anchored by depth, length and athleticism. The Orange have three of the toughest guards in the field -- Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters and Brandon Triche. The trio scored 38 points combined against Wisconsin on Thursday. And the Cuse's frontcourt length is unmatched (C.J. Fair, Baye Keita, Rakeem Christmas).

It’s easy to focus on the 14 3-pointers that the Badgers hit against Syracuse in their one-point loss in the Sweet 16. But the final possession -- Jordan Taylor air-balled a 3-pointer -- showcased Syracuse’s defensive lockdown ability. The Badgers couldn’t find a good shot. Wisconsin shot 52 percent from the 3-point line against Syracuse but was 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) on 2-pointers.

Syracuse has everything a national championship contender needs. Ohio State, however, possesses the same profile.

Aaron Craft is the best pure point guard in the field. The sophomore is averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 steals and 6.3 assists in the NCAA tournament. The only blemish on his tourney experience thus far has been his issues with turnovers (11 in three games). That could be a problem against a Syracuse team that entered the Sweet 16 forcing turnovers on nearly one-quarter of its opponents’ possessions.

But Craft is not the Buckeyes' only weapon. Deshaun Thomas and Jared Sullinger comprise the best frontcourt in the field. The sophomores combined for 49 points and 18 rebounds in the Sweet 16 victory over Cincinnati. Syracuse’s chances of neutralizing the tandem decreased when Fab Melo was ruled ineligible for NCAA tournament play.

But the Buckeyes are also one of the top defensive teams in the country (No. 2 in Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings). Syracuse loves to play an up-tempo game, considering its knack for forcing turnovers and scoring on the break. But the Buckeyes (73rd in Pomeroy’s adjusted tempo ratings) can run, too.

Both teams are talented enough to adjust to any situation and/or style. Look for Ohio State to go to Thomas and Sullinger early in the paint. Syracuse doesn’t have the beef to keep the duo from the bucket. Look for Syracuse to trap William Buford and Craft (eight combined turnovers against Cincinnati) and to attack Thomas and Sullinger on offense, seeking early fouls.

The journey: Ohio State defeated Loyola (Md.), Gonzaga and Cincinnati to reach the Elite Eight. Syracuse beat UNC Asheville, Kansas State and Wisconsin.

Monitor his progress: This is a William Buford game. The Buckeyes will need the senior in order to advance to New Orleans. His shooting touch could be a crucial weapon against Syracuse’s zone. But Buford has disappeared at times this season. He scored four points against Cincinnati in the Sweet 16. The Buckeyes will need more from him against Syracuse.

Numbers to impress your friends: Ohio State has scored 55 points off 39 forced turnovers in three NCAA tournament games.

Game’s most crucial question: Will Ohio State crack Syracuse’s zone, despite Craft’s turnover challenges and a 33.6 percent clip from the 3-point line?

The matchup: Craft versus Jardine. Jardine leads one of the best transition attacks in the country. Craft is one of the nation’s top transition defenders. Both have cracked double digits in turnovers in the NCAA tournament.

Don’t touch that remote because … This matchup features two teams with few weaknesses and plenty of star power.

BOSTON – The T-shirts were only gifts from Nike, concocted by some faceless marketing whiz, not crafted by clever seniors looking to send a message.

Still, if Syracuse players got together to try to formulate a motto for their team and for their season, they couldn’t have come up with better than the three words emblazoning their Ts:

By Any Means.

Syracuse has won 34 games this year, nail-biters and blowouts, won with defense and won with offense, with their starting center and without him.

The Orange just win, amazing even their seen-it-all coach with their pluck and knack for pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.

“If I wasn’t the coach, I’d be sitting there thinking, how are they going to win that game? They can’t win that one,’’ Jim Boeheim said last week. “And then they do.’’

And really that’s all that matters at this time of year. From October until February, a team has to justify its worth, prove it deserves a bid, prove it merits a high seed.

Now, though, the means needn’t justify the end. Pretty or ugly, easy or hard, it makes no never mind.

Syracuse opted for a plateful of the last Thursday night, surviving a Wisconsin shooting clinic that was equal parts awe-inspiring, amazing or terrifying, depending on your team color choice, to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since its national title run in 2003, 64-63.

“Yeah, by any means, that’s perfect for us, that’s how we played today, how we’ve played all season,’’ sophomore guard Dion Waiters said. “By any means. It fits.’’

The means in this matchup came in the form of Fair and prayer. That would be C.J. Fair, who was so ineffective in Pittsburgh that reporters were probing for health issues or injury to explain his 1-of-10 shooting in the first two rounds of the tournament, and who out of nowhere shot 7 of 9 to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds on Thursday.

As for the prayer, that came from Waiters, who looked for a little divine intervention as Wisconsin, which shot a blistering 14 of 27 from the arc, had the ball, 15 seconds and a chance to win the game.

“I just kept saying, ‘Please don’t make it, please don’t make it, please God, let him miss,’’ Waiters said.

Whether it was a prayer or simply good defense, Waiters' request was heeded, with Jordan Taylor’s long-distance 3 falling short and Josh Gasser’s desperation heave missing on the buzzer.

“That clock just had to end,’’ Orange junior Brandon Triche said.

When it did, Taylor and his Wisconsin teammates lay prone on the floor. There is one way to beat a zone and UW executed it to near perfection, at one point draining six 3s in succession to go from down seven points to up by three.

But when the Badgers needed those shots, they couldn’t come up with them, missing their final five, including Taylor’s heave.

The loss once more denies Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan a chance to get out of the regional semifinal. The man who racked up Division III titles like a tie collection is now 1-4 in the Sweet 16.

“It was on the line, and I felt like I got my legs into it,’’ said Taylor, who finished with 17 points. “I knew it was a deep 3 but it felt good and then to see it kind of come up short was kind of heartbreaking.’’

One team’s heartache …

“This is one of the best games I’ve been involved in in a long time,’’ Boeheim said. “I think the best game anyone played against us and didn’t beat us.’’

Truth be told, this game was a microcosm of that entire season -- an unexpected star, timely defense and an answered prayer has been both the Orange’s means and recipe all year.

Blessed with a roster deep enough to field a second team, Boeheim has the luxury of finding the hot hand and then feeding it well. In three NCAA tournament games, three different players have led the Orange in scoring.

Fair hadn’t been the guy in a while, though. He’s been on this side of terrible since the postseason began, 2-of-17 from the beginning of the Big East tournament through the third-round victory over Kansas State. He swears he never lost confidence because Boeheim never gave up on him -- Fair retained his starting position and kept playing minutes.

On Tuesday, he said he had a feeling -- not quite a premonition -- that he would play well against the Badgers. And then he promptly turned the ball over on his first touch and missed two free throws a few minutes later.

“I was like, ‘Oh man, this cannot happen,’ ’’ Fair said.

But with five minutes left until the halftime break, Waiters found Fair in transition and the sophomore slammed home the dunk, igniting the partisan Syracuse crowd and his own offensive game.

He’d tack on four more points in quick succession before intermission and keep rolling in the second.

“These were the same shots I was taking last week,’’ he said. “This time they were just going in.’’

Of course, it seemed like most everything was going in during this game. It was a mathematical misnomer, with Wisconsin shooting better from outside the arc than inside of it and Syracuse hitting nine fewer 3s.

And winning.

Which is why it makes only perfect sense that defense sealed the victory.

After watching the Badgers hedge toward Loyola Marymount’s seemingly untouchable record of 21 made 3s in 1990, Syracuse extended its zone a good two steps beyond the line.

Those extra inches made all the difference, pushing Taylor just enough out of his comfort zone to make that last shot difficult, it not downright impossible.

“We wanted to get a stop,’’ said Scoop Jardine, who with Waiters crowded Taylor on his final shot. “We knew it was going to be something with Jordan trying to penetrate or kick out to one of his shooters. We’ve been in that situation before throughout the year. … We believed in our defense. We didn’t panic, we stayed with them and we believed in it and got the stop to win the game.’’

By any means.

BOSTON -- A quick look at No. 1 seed Syracuse’s 64-63 victory over No. 4 seed Wisconsin in Sweet 16 action in the East Regional at TD Garden on Thursday night:

Overview: After all the talk about how Wisconsin would solve the vaunted 2-3 zone of Syracuse, it was the Wisconsin defense -- the top scoring defense in the country this season -- that struggled to contain the Syracuse offense early. Syracuse shot 63.6 percent in the first half, including 50 percent on 3-pointers, and led 33-27 at the break.

In a wild second half, the Orange weathered a furious storm of 3s from the Badgers and held on -- just barely -- for the win. The last time Syracuse won a game by one point in the NCAA tournament was the Sweet 16 in 2003, when the Orange beat Auburn 79-78 and went on to win the national championship.

Turning point: This was a game of punch-counterpunch in the second half. It seemed that whenever one side would hit a big shot, the other would invariably answer.

So after Jordan Taylor hit yet another big 3 -- he had four in the half -- to put Wisconsin up 59-56 with 7:05 to go, was there any doubt Syracuse would find a way to answer?

If there was any doubt in the Orange, it didn’t show. Baye Keita converted a layup, then Dion Waiters made one of his own to give Cuse back the lead at 60-59.

Taylor had a chance to win it for Wisconsin as time expired, but his heave was short and the Badgers couldn’t get a good shot off the air ball as the Orange escaped.

Key player: This was a balanced effort by the Orange. Four players scored in double figures, led by C.J. Fair with 15.

Key stat: This one’s easy -- without the 3, there’s no way the Badgers get back into the game at all. Wisconsin shot 51.9 percent from beyond the arc for the game and was 9-for-16 in the second half as it rallied to make things interesting at the end.

Syracuse also shot well from 3, hitting 55.6 percent for the game. The difference was in the number of shots. Wisconsin took 27 as it attempted to rally from a double-digit deficit, while Syracuse took only nine.

What’s next: Syracuse will now move on to the Elite Eight, where it will face No. 2 seed Ohio State on Saturday night in Boston.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

BOSTON -- Like so many other kids who grew up in and around Philadelphia, Bo Ryan made the in-season pilgrimage to the Palestra.

There, he would watch legendary Big 5 coaches such as Harry Litwack and Jack Ramsay and Jack Kraft ply their trade. He was just a kid, awed by the games and the coaches but he was also a future coach, mesmerized by the strategy and tactics.

“You talk about zones and you go to the Palestra when you’re 10 years old, 11 or 12 and you’re watching ball movement and body movement," Ryan said. “Those guys were so good in how they taught and how they cut and how they used skip passes."

Now the Wisconsin coach is hoping for a little osmosis.

His Badgers will face top-seeded Syracuse and the Orange’s vaunted 2-3 zone in the Sweet 16 on Thursday (7:15 p.m. ET).

Wisconsin doesn’t face a whole lot of zone in the Big Ten, but when the Badgers do, they’re pretty effective against it. So far in the tournament, Wisconsin is shooting 46 percent against zone defense, according to ESPN Stats & Information, including a tournament-best 47 percent from the 3-point arc.

The Badgers will need that and more against Syracuse to win.

“It’s nothing we haven’t seen," Jordan Taylor said. “We’ve all been playing basketball for years now. I know their 2-3 zone is a little different with the length that they throw at you, but it’s really no different.’’

Of course, the simplest way to beat a zone, as Ryan learned in those childhood Palestra visits, is to hit shots.

Wisconsin is fortunate in that it has plenty of guys who are comfortable shooting from outside.

The trick is to find guys who can connect.

“If you’re not hitting shots it gets in your head sometimes, then it’s kind of a multiplier effect -- 'Oh, am I going to make the next one?'’’ Ryan said. “We’ve watched every game that Syracuse has played and you’ve just got to work the ball, use good ball and body movement, and when you do get those shots, just believe they can go in.’’

Who to watch

Syracuse’s Dion Waiters: The Big East’s sixth man of the year is always critical for the Orange, but never more so than in the tournament. Against Kansas State, Syracuse was plus-17 with Waiters in the game and minus-1 without him.

“They have guys that could score 20," Ryan said. “They have probably more guys that could score 20 than most teams that you’re going to play.’’

Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor: The senior point guard is not just the Badgers’ best scorer, he’s also their best ball handler. His 2.99 assists-to-turnover ratio will likely blister the NCAA record.

That’s critical because no one in the country capitalizes on mistakes better than the Orange. Syracuse gets 27 percent of its offense off turnovers, using miscues to start its break.

“He’s one of the best guards in the country," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said of Taylor.

What to watch

The pace. Few teams have been able to force tempo against the deliberate Badgers. Wisconsin averages only 59.2 possessions per game, the fewest in the country, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to trouble scoring. Wisconsin still scores 66.7 points per game.

All that is key for a Syracuse team that is especially strong on the break. Syracuse can and will score in a half-court set, but if the Orange can up the tempo on the Badgers, things could quickly get dicey for Wisconsin.

Let’s try this again.

My first set of “bold” predictions didn’t exactly last through the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. But I’m not alone.

How many reconfigured their brackets after the Fab Melo news developed? Missouri losing to Norfolk State? I’d like to see a notarized “first” bracket as evidence that you picked that one.

Second time’s a charm though, right?

1. Kentucky will beat Indiana by 15 or more -- Vengeance is coming. On Dec. 10, Indiana defeated the Wildcats on a Christian Watford buzzer-beater. The shot stamped Indiana’s revival as “official.” But the Hoosiers aren’t playing that Kentucky team this weekend. The Wildcats have evolved. I think Indiana has matured, too. But Kentucky will make a statement in this matchup. Think “Scarface.” These players have had to watch that game, that shot, all season. They’ve lost only twice, but they’re reminded of the defeat in Bloomington often. I think we’ll see the most impressive effort from the Wildcats that we’ve watched all season. They’re not going to beat the Hoosiers. They’re going to crush them. Indiana gets full credit for the December win over Kentucky, but you can’t overlook the fact that Anthony Davis picked up early fouls and the Hoosiers surged past the Wildcats when the freshman of the year was on the bench. That was one of the few games in which Davis suffered from foul trouble. Won’t happen again. And Davis will be a constant force. And the Wildcats will avenge that earlier defeat with a “someone throw in the towel” assault of the Hoosiers.
2. Keith Appling will be the most valuable player for the Spartans in the Sweet 16 -- The sophomore guard scored 19 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer in the final minutes of Michigan State’s win over St. Louis. He’s a talented guard who will be called upon to navigate Louisville’s twisted zone (if the Cardinals use it) and help the Spartans fend off Florida’s 3-point attack or Marquette’s running game. The Spartans have never missed the Final Four as a No. 1 seed. This season won’t be any different. But Appling will emerge as Robin to Draymond Green’s Batman. Green will continue to excel, but he’ll face pressure on all sides. St. Louis stuffed the lane so well that Tom Izzo had to move Green to point. The Spartans need a Scottie Pippen right now to help them reach New Orleans. And after watching the Spartans in Columbus, I’m convinced Appling will enter New Orleans as a star.
3. Jordan Taylor hits a big shot to beat Syracuse -- Hard to peg this one. Both teams like to dictate the tempo. Wisconsin will work the shot clock and try to slow the game down. Syracuse is one of the best transition teams in the country. The Orange force turnovers with that stubborn, lengthy zone and they run. It’s a great contrast in styles by two programs who’ve found ways to force teams to play at their preferred pace. This will be a tug-of-war. A battle for 40 minutes. And at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to crucial plays in the final minutes because I expect a tight game. Taylor struggled at the start of the season as he tried to adjust to life without Jon Leuer. But he’s certainly looked like an All-America candidate recently. Taylor will play hero again against the Orange with a game-winning shot. It was easy to forget how good he was last season during this year’s trials. But Taylor has regained that old swagger. Look for the big shot against the Orange.
4. Thomas Robinson averages 28 points/12 rebounds against NC State/North Carolina -- I still have Kansas in New Orleans. The Jayhawks didn’t look great against Purdue in the round of 32, but going to St. Louis and the Edward Jones Dome will feel like home with the numerous Kansas fans that will flood that facility. But environment alone can’t affect this outcome. The Jayhawks will need the best Robinson can give to get past NC State (a Sweet 16 sleeper that could pull off the upset) and North Carolina, even if the latter doesn’t have Kendall Marshall. And I believe Robinson will put together a string of performances that will define his career at Kansas. He’ll average 28.0 points and 12 rebounds. He recorded only 16/13 and 11/13 in wins over Detroit and Purdue. That won’t get the job done in the Sweet 16. Robinson will step up and take the Jayhawks to New Orleans with the kind of outings that are expected from national player of the year candidates in March.
5. Xavier, not Baylor, will play Kentucky in the Elite Eight -- Baylor has the length and athleticism to cause matchup hell for Xavier. Perry Jones & Co. against Kenny Frease seems unfair. Brady Heslip is on fire from outside. But the Musketeers will do more than make this a game. They’ll be tougher than a Baylor Bears squad that’s failed to match more physical teams in multiple matchups this season. Jones has scored nine points combined in his team’s two NCAA tournament games. As impressive as Heslip was against Colorado (nine 3-pointers), it’s unlikely that he’ll match that output against Xavier. Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons will pressure Baylor on the perimeter. The Cincinnati-Xavier brawl has not defined the season for either squad. This is one of those games in which the personnel certainly favors the Bears. But Xavier will push Baylor to the brink and ultimately score a 10/3 upset. The health of Dezmine Wells’ toe, however, will certainly play a major role in this prediction.
6. Ohio won’t be represented in New Orleans -- One of the best storylines of the tournament unfolded over the weekend. Four Ohio schools (Xavier, Cincinnati, Ohio State and Ohio) reached the Sweet 16. But I don’t think we’ll see any of them in New Orleans. Even if Marshall can’t go, the Tar Heels have far too much athleticism and size for Ohio. I’m picking Cincinnati over Ohio State. I like the Yancy Gates-Jared Sullinger battle and the Bearcats’ athleticism on the perimeter. But I don’t think Cincy gets past Wisconsin, the team I’m picking to beat Syracuse. I think the Musketeers can defeat Baylor in the Sweet 16, but they’re not going to beat Kentucky. It’s a great accomplishment for one state to send four schools to the Sweet 16. But it won’t have any reps in New Orleans even though the numbers favor it right now. Sorry, Ohio.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Forget the No. 4 seed. Toss out the top-20 preseason ranking.

Wisconsin again reaching the Sweet 16, after what the Badgers lost off last season’s Sweet 16 edition and certainly following an unprecedented three home losses at the Kohl Center, is a surprise.

Don’t let anyone say anything otherwise. You may have picked the Badgers in your bracket to reach the Sweet 16. I did not. President Barack Obama did and countless others did as well.

But step back and digest how far this team has come this season and you’ll realize that the Badgers have fooled the field yet again.

“This team has done some things that if you’re a real basketball person, you’ve got to go, wow,’’ said Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan after the Badgers knocked off No. 5 Vanderbilt 60-57 Saturday afternoon at The Pit. “Everybody knows we have weaknesses. Jordan Taylor. Without Jordan Taylor, it’s not the same.

“I’d like to say it’s coaching but nobody would believe that,’’ Ryan said. “It’s guys working hard.’’

The Badgers lost Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankevil off last season's team.

“We have three starters that played reserve minutes [on last season's team],’’ Ryan said. “Some programs do that and put in McDonald’s All-Americans. That didn’t happen here.’’

The Badgers were dreadful in a home loss to Iowa at the beginning of the Big Ten season. That led to a 1-3 conference start. Taylor was in a shooting slump and the Badgers looked like they were going to be an afterthought in the Big Ten behind upstart Indiana and Michigan and well behind Ohio State and Michigan State.

“I had to go to practice and be up,’’ Ryan said. “It wasn’t about a lack of trying. You can’t yell at people for not making baskets.’’

But then the Badgers won at Purdue and stunned Ohio State with a win in Columbus. Taylor shook his slump. Ryan Evans became the unsung player on this team and the contributions from Mike Bruesewitz, Jared Berggren, Josh Gasser, Ben Brust and even Rob Wilson became better with each game.

When asked if this team had improved more than any other he has coached at Wisconsin, Ryan’s quick response was: “No question.’’

Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt was another example of how much.

The Badgers blitzed the Commodores with a 10-2 start as Evans made shots in and out of the lane. Vandy was in step with Wisconsin, though, and took a lead to start the second half. But just when it appeared safe for the Commodores, the Badgers, especially Taylor, would hit buckets late in the shot clock.

“Coach kept telling me in the huddle that I had to step up as a senior and take the shot,’’ Taylor said.

Gasser said, “If we get the ball to him late in the shot clock, he will make sure to always do good things. He’s been doing it all year and all of last year. He is the leader of this team and we want the ball in his hands at the end of the game. He usually makes it happen. He didn’t want this to be his last game and he definitely showed it.’’

Taylor buried a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to one second to give the Badgers a 59-57 lead. The Badgers defended Vandy well on the next few possessions and Taylor had a shot to deliver the dagger to the Dores with 19 seconds left.

But he missed. And that’s when Gasser hustled to get the loose ball rebound. Vandy’s Festus Ezeli, who was benched for the first three-plus minutes of the game in a coach’s decision, said it was a case of a long rebound that his team simply didn’t run down in time.

Taylor said Gasser was up until 3 a.m. sick. “I can’t say enough about him,’’ Taylor said. “He did a great job just coming in. He dogged Jenkins as much as he could. That’s why we’re able to have success because we have teammates like Josh.’’

Vandy had one more chance because Gasser missed a free throw. John Jenkins had a clean look at a 3-pointer to possibly win the game with four seconds left.

“It was a pretty good look,’’ Jenkins said. “I felt like I got a good chance of having it going in, just like a lot of looks I had. It just didn’t drop for me.’’

“He was wide open,’’ Vandy coach Kevin Stallings said. “He’s a great shooter, period. He’s really a great shooter going left and he was going left and he was wide open. We ran the play, ran it to perfection and got it right where we wanted him. He’s made so many that have caused us to win games, and unfortunately that one didn’t go in.’’

Those close to the Badgers are in awe of their Sweet 16 appearance and that they have won 26 games, picked up a number of wins by shooting close to 40 percent and survived shooting slumps by Taylor and Bruesewitz this season.

The Badgers will play East Region top seed Syracuse on Thursday with a chance at an Elite Eight berth.

“They’re long and we’ll have to get inside-outside stuff going,’’ Ryan said. “Hey, how close is Boston to Syracuse? Pretty close, isn’t it?’’

It is much closer than Madison. But distance and fan support shouldn’t matter. The Badgers won’t be picked to beat Syracuse. But doubting this particular Ryan edition has already proved to be foolish.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A quick look at fourth-seeded Wisconsin's 60-57 victory Saturday over No. 5 Vanderbilt:

Overview: The Badgers might have been a top-15 team and a high pick in the Big Ten. But if you saw this team early in the season against Marquette, then losing to Iowa in the Big Ten, there is no way you would think Wisconsin could be a Sweet 16 team. But Wisconsin muzzled Vandy early, made key 3s, and got crucial rebounds to limit Vandy to one shot to prevail in a highly entertaining second half. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan knew this wasn’t his most talented team, but it may have been his most improved. Vandy’s senior class, which had accomplished so much, couldn’t close out against a Wisconsin squad that simply made the late-game plays. This was as impressive a victory as you’ll see in the weekend by a team that followed its own script perfectly.

Turning point: Jordan Taylor was getting defended quite well. The shot clock was winding down. With a second left he launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key and buried it for a 59-57 lead with 1:34 remaining. Vandy had just gotten a huge Festus Ezeli block and a scoring move inside to take a 1-point lead. Taylor’s shot was a big swing.

Key player: It’s a tough call between Jordan Taylor and Ryan Evans. Evans was hot early. But Taylor once again showed that he makes plays when the shot clock is winding down. Taylor finished with 14 points, but his three 3s were all daggers and he ran a steady game for the Badgers.

Key stat: The Badgers have to make 3s to win. They made 10. They also took 33. But that’s OK. They have to do that to pull off a win like this over Vandy.

Miscellaneous: Vandy coach Kevin Stallings benched Ezeli to start the game, opting to start Steve Tchiengang. The Commodores got down 10-2 to start the game. Hard to say if that had a direct effect. ... Old school here at the Pit as the wave made a cameo in the second half. ... Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor is deceptively quick. He broke down Vandy on multiple occasions with his fleet first step. He found openings to the hole when he needed them. Meanwhile, Jeffery Taylor might have had the broken-ankle move when he got Rob Wilson on the court with a crossover move. Taylor then buried the 3-pointer. ... More old-school stuff here in the Land of Enchantment as a beach ball made its way around the arena until a security guard popped it, much to the dismay of the fans.

What’s next: Wisconsin will take on Syracuse in Boston on Thursday. And to take this team lightly would be a major mistake. Wisconsin finds a way. Always does.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A look at Saturday’s Round of 32 doubleheader at The Pit:

No. 5 seed Vanderbilt (25-10) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (25-9), 6:10 p.m. ET

Vanderbilt can see itself in Wisconsin. The Badgers see the Commodores as a mirror image as well.

These are two programs that have been consistently good under Kevin Stallings and Bo Ryan, yet constantly undervalued in their respective conferences.

They are never the first pick to win the league title. They don’t get the top choice in recruits. Yet they remain in the mix near the top of their conferences, usually have upperclassmen contributing at a high level and have had their share of NBA talent.

Wisconsin has won Big Ten titles. Vanderbilt finally won an SEC one, at least in the tournament. It still counts.

And now they will meet in a 4 vs. 5 East Region game Saturday afternoon with the chance to possibly take on top-seeded Syracuse in Boston next Thursday if the Orange can get past Kansas State -- no easy feat -- Saturday in Pittsburgh.

“I would say there is a lot of truth in all those things, but they’ve probably done it at a better level than we have,’’ Stallings said Friday. “We’ve tried to be a consistent program. And for the most part we’ve been able to accomplish that. They’re usually picked to finish lower in the Big Ten and they end up in the top two or three. They’ve done a great job there.’’

Vandy hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since 2007. Wisconsin went last year.

“For us the consistency is all about Coach Ryan,’’ said Wisconsin guard Jordan Taylor. “Everyone buys into what they’re trying to teach. Everyone loves to say that we’re not athletic or not as athletic as other people. They say the same thing about Vanderbilt in comparison to Kentucky. But guys buy into what is being taught, they want to win and be successful.’’

Taylor will make money somewhere playing ball. Vandy has three players that will be in the NBA in John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor and Festus Ezeli.

“Both programs consistently win a lot of games, but we’ve struggled to get over the hump,’’ Jeffery Taylor said. “It should be really fun [Saturday] since the team that wins has a chance to make a run."

Vandy should win this game. The Commodores, as Ryan noted, have senior starters that dominate the minutes. And the Badgers have overachieved the past month after struggling early in the season and losing a blasphemous three home games. But wins at Ohio State and over Indiana in the Big Ten tournament, coupled with a convincing hammering of Montana in the NCAAs, have the Badgers believing in a Sweet 16 berth.

“I’m so happy with this team, especially what we did in Columbus,’’ Ryan said. “We came together.’’

The Badgers will have to make 3s to advance. But neither team will or should be tight. Vandy simply had to get that first win after losing in the first round three of the past four years.

Taylor said it was nice to sit around Friday and watch other teams in the tournament and know the Commodores were still alive.

“It was so nice to get that first game because it can ruin your season,’’ said Stallings. “You work so hard to get to a point where you’ve accomplished enough to be a 5-seed and get rewarded for it and then it can all go in the trash can if you don’t win the first game.

“There was a lot of pressure and high tension intensity,’’ Stallings said of the Harvard game. “Now we can relax and go play and let it hang out. Now we got past it and we can relax and hopefully just do our best.’’

No. 11 Colorado (24-11) vs. No. 3 Baylor (28-7), 8:40 p.m. ET

The Bears should be Kentucky’s most formidable opponent in the South bracket. Baylor has the length, the athleticism and the overall productivity at every position to match the Wildcats. But that matchup wouldn’t happen until the Elite Eight in Atlanta next Sunday.

But the Bears are playing a team in Colorado that may be as loose as any in the tournament. The Buffs weren’t supposed to be here. No, not just in the third round. They weren’t supposed to be in the NCAAs. But they won the Pac-12 tournament with four wins in four days. And then took down No. 6 seed UNLV on Thursday.

“They will be the most talented team we will have faced,’’ said Colorado coach Tad Boyle. “We’ve got to limit them to one shot. We can’t let them have second or third opportunities. We have to be physical against them. We’ve played against a team like them, but not as long or athletic.’’

But CU hasn’t faced a team as talented as Baylor during this five-game run.

The pressure is all on the Bears to win.

“We’re loose,’’ Boyle said. “We’re confident and have nothing to lose.’’

So much is made of the Bears’ ability to dominate the backboards with Perry Jones III, Quincy Acy, Deuce Miller and the sturdy yet disruptive play of point guard Pierre Jackson.

But the Bears may have an option that can really squash the Buffs’ ability to play catchup. If guard Brady Heslip is hot from the perimeter and makes 3s in bunches, then the Buffs may not have a chance.

“He makes the floor get spaced and you have to know where he is at all times,’’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

Heslip’s appearance as a key member of this team makes it even harder to fathom that Boston College passed on his services. Heslip was recruited by Pat Duquette and played on semester for Al Skinner before he was forced out at BC. New coach Steve Donahue didn’t think Heslip fit into the Eagles' plans, even though he’d be perfect for the Cornell-style offense.

“I didn’t take it personal but that’s how they viewed it and after meeting it made sense to move on,’’ Heslip said.

Heslip said it means the world to him to be in the NCAA tournament for the first time and now with a chance to be on a team that can advance deep.

Drew said Heslip deserves all the credit for losing 24 pounds and toning his body. He has made himself into a player.

And as a result, he can provide the necessary dagger for the Bears in a tight game or when a lead needs to be stretched.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The top dogs arrive Friday, which creates a variety of interesting matchups for the second day of the Big Ten tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Here’s the rundown of Friday’s games:

No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Iowa (noon ET, ESPN) -- The Spartans arrive without the services of Branden Dawson, who suffered a torn ACL at the end of Sunday’s loss to Ohio State. That injury could affect the Spartans’ seed. They have to prove that they’re not a dramatically different team without the talented freshman. They’re facing an Iowa team that’s been picked as a sleeper by many. The Hawkeyes finished off a spent Illinois team Thursday, but they’ll have a much tougher test Friday. In their only matchup of the year, Michigan State beat the Hawkeyes 95-61 on Jan. 10. But the Hawkeyes have been a better team in recent weeks, proven by February wins over Indiana and Wisconsin.

No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Indiana (25 minutes after Michigan State-Iowa, ESPN) -- The Hoosiers won their first Big Ten tournament game since 2006 when they beat Penn State in the opening round. But it was bittersweet. Senior point guard Verdell Jones suffered a serious knee injury that could end his year. But the Hoosiers were resilient after Jones went down. That’s a quality they’ll need against Wisconsin on Friday and during the NCAA tournament. The Badgers hope to improve their seed in the Big Dance via the conference tournament. Jordan Taylor struggled early, but he found a rhythm during Big Ten play. The Badgers could win this tournament, especially if they play with the same vigor that led to an upset at Ohio State a few weeks ago. They defeated Indiana 57-50 on Jan. 26 in their only meeting this season.

No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 10 Minnesota (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN) -- Most figured that Northwestern would be involved in this game, fighting for an at-large bid. But the Gophers beat the Wildcats in overtime Thursday behind freshman Andre Hollins’ explosive performance (25 points), despite competing without an injured Ralph Sampson III. Minnesota coach Tubby Smith has had success in Indy throughout his tenure. In his first year with the program, the Gophers upset a nationally ranked Hoosiers team in the first round of the 2008 Big Ten tourney. In 2010, they beat Purdue and Michigan State on their way to the Big Ten tourney title game. Michigan secured a piece of the Big Ten regular-season title with a strong effort down the stretch. The Wolverines have one of the top young players in America, freshman Trey Burke, who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors from media members. They’re talented enough to win the Big Ten tournament and to make noise in the NCAA tourney. The Wolverines beat the Gophers 61-56 in Ann Arbor on New Year’s Day in their only previous meeting.

No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Purdue (25 minutes after Minnesota-Michigan, BTN) -- The last time these two teams met, the Buckeyes earned an 87-84 victory Feb. 7 in Columbus, which was the only meeting between the teams this season. Ohio State's William Buford was a beast in that game, but the Boilermakers held their own. They advanced to Friday’s matchup with an easy win over Nebraska in the opening round, when they hit 51 percent of their 3s. They’ll need similar success from the field against the Buckeyes, who played like the team most thought they’d be this season during their upset win against Michigan State on Sunday. Ohio State is the most talented team in the Big Ten. If the Buckeyes can just find some poise, they can win the Big Ten tournament and fulfill their postseason potential.

MINNEAPOLIS -- All evening, Jordan Taylor just smirked.

When his four first-half 3s found the net. As an awkward reverse layup in the second half did more damage to the hometown team he rejected after high school. When his teammates swarmed him following the No. 22 Badgers' 68-61 overtime victory against the Gophers on Thursday night.

On the postgame podium. Outside the visitors locker room. The grin never left the Minnesota native’s face.

He’d waited four years to smile here.

“I love playing. I’ve struggled a little bit from the field this year so to have the ball go through like that was definitely fun, especially at home,” Taylor said after he’d recorded 27 points (including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc) and three steals in the victory.

Taylor, a former Minnesota prep star, had never defeated the Gophers at Williams Arena.

Thursday night was his last opportunity to secure a victory over his hometown-turned-rival school.

He initially downplayed the stakes.

And then, he talked about the family members who’d come from Cleveland to watch him play. And the 16 tickets he’d personally distributed. And the 50-plus family members and friends who’d found their own.

“It means something to me. It definitely does, coming back,” he said. “I’ve got a ton of family here, a ton of friends. To be able to win at the Barn, it’s special to me.”

Taylor didn’t disappoint his fans.

He scored 14 points in the first half after going 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point line. He hit a crucial 3-pointer with a little more than 17 minutes to play that gave the Badgers a 37-26 lead.

The Badgers, fueled by Taylor’s strong start, maintained a double-digit lead for the bulk of the second half.

And then, the Gophers clamped down defensively and the Badgers failed to score for the last eight minutes of the second half (the Badgers made seven of 11 3-pointers in the first half but just two of 12 in the second).

Minnesota ended regulation with a 10-0 run that sent the game into overtime.

Taylor’s teammates, however, came to Minneapolis bent on helping their senior star get his first victory at the Barn. They knew this was his last chance.

“We wanted to get him a win here. I was hitting the glass hard, and he was making shots himself. That was a big factor,” said Ryan Evans, who scored 17 points. “It’s not anything we talked about, but we kind of all knew and understood what it meant for him.”

The Badgers, who also start Minnesotans Mike Bruesewitz and Jared Berggren, scored the first six points in the extra period and made 15 of 17 shots from the charity stripe.

The Gophers looked tired. Digging out of the hole Taylor put them in drained the young team.

If only he’d stayed home.

But before Tubby Smith arrived prior to the start of the 2007-08 season, Taylor chose Bo Ryan.

His stellar high school career at nearby Benilde-St. Margaret’s concluded in 2008 with a 3A state championship. Ryan, however, had latched onto Taylor long before his prep pinnacle.

The Gophers never had a chance or they just didn’t push hard enough, depending on whose version of Taylor’s recruitment you believe.

His success, however, still fuels the what-if tweets and message-board posts from Gophers fans who dreamed of a program that featured the state’s best preps.

But in their eyes, Taylor and the team’s other Minnesotans have joined the enemy.

“It’s different. Air smells a little bit better here when you walk off the plane. Then you get in here, it’s crazy,” Bruesewitz said about facing the hostile crowd at the Barn. “I don’t mind it. When they were making their run with about a minute and a half left, they were really getting after it, the Barn was loud. ... You can’t do anything but smile.”

It took Taylor four years to feel that way.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Thoughts from Wisconsin's 68-61 overtime win at Minnesota:

Overview: Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor was on a mission Thursday night. The Twin Cities native had never won at The Barn in his four-year career.

But he was determined to get his first W at Williams Arena in his final opportunity.

The senior went 4-for-4 from the 3-point line in the first half and scored 14 points as the Badgers took a 32-24 lead into the break.

Taylor hit another big 3 with 17 minutes to play that opened a double-digit lead (37-26) for the Badgers, who went 7-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Gophers put up a fight down the stretch and closed the gap to 51-46 with 4:10 on the clock on a Rodney Williams layup. Freshman Andre Hollins cut Wisconsin’s lead to two points with 2:10 to go. Austin Hollins tied the game with a pair of free throws with 1:02 to play, all during a seven-minute scoring drought for the Badgers.

The Gophers had a chance to win the game on the final possession but missed their final two shots in regulation. In overtime, the Badgers found success at the free throw line and outscored the Gophers 17-10 in the extra period.

Star of the night: Jordan Taylor scored 27 points in his final game at The Barn, once again showing local fans what they lost when the state’s former Mr. Basketball chose to play for Bo Ryan’s squad. Even though he was quiet down the stretch, his strong start sparked the Badgers, and he hit key free throws in overtime.

Things to know: This is a major rivalry in this region. Three of Bo Ryan’s starters are from Minnesota. But the Badgers had lost their previous two games at The Barn.

Stat of the night: The No. 22 Badgers failed to score for the final 7 minutes, 44 seconds of regulation. After making seven of 11 3-point attempts in the first half, the Badgers made two of 12 after halftime.

What it means: With the Badgers having lost to Ohio State on Saturday and traveling to East Lansing, Mich., to play the Spartans next week, Wisconsin needed a win Thursday. A loss would have set up the serious possibility of another three-game losing skid. For a team that’s playing for a seed -- in both the NCAA and Big Ten tourneys -- and still trying to keep its Big Ten title hopes alive, Thursday’s game was crucial.

With three of their next four home games against nationally ranked teams, the Gophers can stay on the bubble and potentially play their way into the tournament, which would be a remarkable development for a young team that lost its best player (Trevor Mbakwe) to a season-ending knee injury in November. They also could tumble down the standings. You just never know with a team that depends on so many young players.

Here are a few things we learned from the biggest games Saturday afternoon. Check back later for analysis of tonight's games.

No. 3 Ohio State 58, No. 20 Wisconsin 52: Ohio State is hardly a breakneck team, but its adjusted tempo this season is 68.9 possessions per 40 minutes, far above those of many of its Big Ten brethren. The Buckeyes like to get out on the break a little. Thad Matta has a ton of talent, shooting, athleticism, scoring, you name it, and the Bucks aren't shy about letting it shine in the open floor.

In other words, this is exactly how Wisconsin wanted this game to go. It wanted it to be slow -- as slow as possible, in fact -- and it was. These two teams traded 57 possessions Saturday afternoon. If you had told Bo Ryan this game would be this slow, he'd have given his team an excellent chance of knocking off what might just be the best team in the nation. This is the luxury of having Jordan Taylor commanding your team: If you want the game to be deathly slow, with supreme economy of movement and as few possessions as possible, you can't do better than the Badgers' point guard.

The only problem? Ohio State has Jared Sullinger. Wisconsin does not. "The Artist Currently Known As Sully" just so happens to be very comfortable playing half-court offense, and as good as UW was on defense -- as much as it shaded and doubled and harried and harassed -- Sullinger was simply too much. He played all 40 minutes Saturday. He scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field in the first half alone. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds (5 offensive), 3 steals, just 1 turnover and an 8-of-10 shooting mark at the charity stripe. He was too much. Jared Berggren did his best, and the Badgers kept their shape well defensively -- there's a reason OSU scored just 1.02 points per trip -- but they never found an answer for the big man on the block.

They also learned the lesson anyone who has played this Ohio State team (or last season's version, for that matter) already knows: The Buckeyes defend, too. Per Ken Pomeroy's metrics, the Bucks are the stingiest per-possession defense in the country. The second stingiest? Wisconsin. But while the Badgers allow .81 points per trip, OSU allows an absurd .77, the rare team that forces turnovers but doesn't give away fouls and one that also cleans up the defensive glass. UW has had its troubles scoring from time to time this season, but the Buckeyes are a whole 'nother animal.

Play fast, play slow, play at your court, play in Columbus. Play however you like. If you don't have someone who can guard Jared Sullinger -- never mind a group of players to check the insanely talented group around him -- and/or an offense that can find a way to score against this kind of defense, it doesn't really matter. Ohio State is going to beat you.

Wyoming 68, No. 13 UNLV 66: For much of the season, during a remarkably quick turnaround, San Diego State coach Steve Fisher has been the consensus favorite for national coach of the year. Deservedly so. But any mention of the words "coach of the year" should also, after today, be followed closely by the words "Larry Shyatt."

Shyatt's story is remarkable. Wyoming gave him his first head-coaching gig in 1997, but after a successful season, he left to take over at Clemson, where he stayed until 2003. Shyatt spent the past several years on Florida coach Billy Donovan's bench, until this offseason, when he returned to Laramie to start over and repay a debt he felt he owed for his quick departure 15 years ago.

And what a return it has been. In 2010-11, the Cowboys finished 10-21 overall and ranked No. 215 in Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency rankings. After a two-point stunner over UNLV -- during which they led for nearly all 40 minutes and turned it over just eight times -- the Cowboys now are 18-5 and ranked among Pomeroy's top 60 teams in the country. This is primarily thanks to their defense, which Shyatt has transformed entirely. Last season, the Cowboys were hands down the worst defensive team in the Mountain West. This season, the defense is among the MWC's best, and on Saturday, it held UNLV to 3-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc.

The question now -- after the school's first victory over a ranked team in 12 years -- is whether Shyatt's miracle story can end with an NCAA tournament berth. The jury is still very much out, and Wyoming probably will have to grab another big win or two to be bubble-relevant going forward. But NCAA tournament or no, this team has made a drastic year-over-year turnaround. It has gone from a no-name afterthought to a program on the rise. And Shyatt's prodigal return is the reason.

Notre Dame 76, No. 15 Marquette 59: It's not fair to say the Fighting Irish looked totally irredeemable in their 8-5 nonconference start, but they certainly didn't look good. Notre Dame was dominated by Missouri, handled by Georgia, no match for Gonzaga, beaten by Maryland and overwhelmed by Indiana. Any time the Fighting Irish played a good (even decent) team, they looked exactly like what all thought they were: rebuilding, in transition, mediocre, meh.

Now? After Saturday's strong home win, which was keyed by a massive second-half run, it's impossible to discount the Irish. The Syracuse upset of two Saturdays ago was more than a random upset or a product of ND's mystically inexplicable propensity to upset elite teams in South Bend. No, Mike Brey's team is much more than that. Guard Eric Atkins is among the nation's most improved players, but he might be eclipsed in that category by forward Jack "Don't Call Me Mini-Harangody" Cooley, who, after years of geeks like me writing, "Hey, that guy looks exactly like Luke Harangody," is rapidly making his own name. (And Patrick Connaughton, whose Irish-name swagger deserves serious respect, was tremendous, too: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 big blocks on huge defensive stops. Dude can play.)

Most impressive in this game was Notre Dame's late push, even if "push" feels like an understatement. With eight minutes remaining in the second half, the Irish led 54-48. The final score speaks for itself. Marquette is a good team, and the Irish simply ran away. The only conclusion: Notre Dame is pretty darn good, too.

No. 11 Florida 73, Vanderbilt 65: It was the opinion of this writer that Florida and Vanderbilt felt like identical SEC twins: guard-oriented perimeter offenses led by sharpshooters (Vandy's John Jenkins, Florida's Kenny Boynton), versatile play from outside-in small forwards (Vandy's Jeffery Taylor, Florida's Bradley Beal) and one true post presence apiece (Vandy's Festus Ezeli, Florida's Patric Young). So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this game's box score featured such near-identical numbers for both teams. Each team recorded 12 assists; each team snagged nine steals. Both teams turned the ball over at about the same rate. The teams' effective field goal percentages were similar. Vanderbilt shot 18 free throws. Florida shot 17.

You get the idea. So what was the difference? Simply put, 3-point shooting. The Gators made 11 of 24 shots from beyond the arc. VU shot just 8-of-25 from long range. There were other differences, too: Florida outrebounded Vandy on the offensive glass, grabbing 36.8 percent of its available misses to just 28.6 percent for the Commodores. But the real difference was shooting. Florida made three more of its 3s, and it shot 16-of-17 from the charity stripe.

All told, it wasn't Vanderbilt's best offensive day, but there are promising signs. For one, it didn't score the ball particularly well and still hung with a good team on the road. For another, there are signs Vandy's defense, which has played so well (surprisingly so) in the SEC campaign, is for real. It held the nation's best offense to 1.09 points per trip at home; compared to UF's usual output, that's not too shabby.

In the end, this is just what Florida does. It makes shots. It made a few more of them in this one. Not a bunch more. Just a few. But in a game this close, with such a doppelganger of an opponent, a few extra makes were all the Gators needed.

No. 24 Florida State 58, No. 18 Virginia 55: The scoreline says it all. If you don't like slow, plodding, offensively challenged basketball, this was not the ACC matchup for you. But it also was the rare game in which both teams can come away feeling pretty good. Virginia's task in Tallahassee was to take on one of the nation's best defenses and hottest teams, one that recently had found a scorching offense to go along with its typically staunch defense.

Florida State no doubt hoped to keep the good offensive vibes rolling, but more important in the end was holding serve on its home floor. After an incredible streak that included a 33-point win over UNC and a win at Duke, the last thing the Seminoles needed was a lackluster home loss to pull their record (and, maybe, their spirits) back to earth.

FSU didn't keep the offense rolling. Virginia's defense was nearly up to the task. The Cavaliers forced Leonard Hamilton's team into a turnover on 31 percent of its possessions. Unfortunately, UVa coughed it up even more frequently than did FSU. That's the thing about this Florida State team, which is now 7-1 in ACC play: When the Noles are shooting the ball well and scoring it with ease, they're just about unstoppable. But even when they're not, that defense will always be there, providing a baseline when the going gets tough. That has to be comforting, doesn't it?

No. 6 North Carolina 83, Maryland 74: How good are the Tar Heels? Sometimes it's hard to tell. They often look dominant, every bit the national title contender we assume they'll be in March. Just as often, though, they struggle, particularly on the road and frequently against teams they should rather easily handle. Maryland is one such team.

On Saturday, facing the Terrapins in front of a rowdy crowd, the Tar Heels struggled. There's no other way to put it. Maryland brought it, sure, but UNC often seemed to be on its heels, no pun intended. UM center Alex Len was excellent, and Terrell Stoglin showed why he probably should be an all-ACC inclusion by the end of the season. By the 17-minute mark in the second half, Maryland had opened a nine-point lead. Suddenly, as analyst Len Elmore said, the Heels found themselves in a dogfight.

Here's another reason Carolina is so often so hard to appraise: This team seems to have the fabled ability to "hit the switch," i.e., to suddenly focus its efforts, let talent take over and go win the game even when not playing well. And that's what happened Saturday. UNC seemingly flipped its switch, started locking down on defense, started getting easy buckets on offense, started making 3s -- you know, basically, all the things this team should do -- outscoring Maryland 46-34 in the second half en route to a victory. It wasn't pretty, and we often tend to expect more from purportedly great teams, but it's impossible to dismiss this team's talent and its ability to transform that talent at a moment's notice.

No. 2 Syracuse 95, St. John's 70: And so all was well in the land of the Orange. When sophomore center Fab Melo was lost to a lingering first-semester academic issue, Syracuse lost its first game of the season without him, and even in the two wins that followed -- at Cincinnati and in questionable fashion over West Virginia -- the Orange didn't look anything like their typically dominant selves. With so much depth and talent, it was hard to pin all this on Melo's absence ... but it was hard to compare Syracuse's offensive output with and without Melo (not to mention its block percentages, where Melo really excels) and not think the newly trim and focused big man didn't have a much bigger effect on this team's 20-0 start than many originally thought.

And then you watch Saturday's game, Melo's first since his return. You see the big man score a career-high 14 points on a tidy 5-of-6 from the field. You see the Orange roll St. John's to the tune of 1.34 points per possession on a day when they didn't shoot the 3 particularly well (just often). You see them tie a season high with 24 second-chance points and 52 in the paint.

Given all that, you can't help but think Melo is absolutely crucial to this team's national title chances. And then our fine friends at ESPN Stats & Information send along the following statistics, and you see the facts in all their glory: With Melo, Cuse is 21-0, and averages 38.9 points per game in the paint (28.7 without him), 14 second-chance points per game (6.3 without) and 1.18 points per possession (1.00 without), and has an offensive rebound percentage of 39.5 (25.5 without).

So, yeah, I suppose you could say he's pretty important. Impressive performance for Melo, impressive win for Syracuse.

Memphis 72, Xavier 68: "That Used To Be Us." It's the title of Thomas Friedman's questionably considered new book. It also feels appropriately descriptive of the Xavier Musketeers, who spent the first two months of the season earning difficult wins thanks to late rallies but were the victims of such a rally Saturday afternoon at the FedExForum.

Xavier opened a 10-point lead in the second half, but Memphis fought back. The Musketeers opened another one with seven minutes remaining, finding themselves up double digits (62-51) as the Tigers' ugly offense appeared headed toward a losing effort. And then something funky happened. Memphis used a 12-1 run to rally all the way back and tie the game at 63-all with 2:12 remaining. And then something even funkier happened. Memphis closed out the game with a score of made free throws. The Tigers shot 24-of-28 from the line, including 9-of-11 in the final two minutes. Joe Jackson alone was 12-of-12. All told, Memphis went on a 17-1 tear, and the game went from 62-51 to 68-63 before the Tigers closed it out.

It was a nice -- and much-needed -- win for Memphis, sure, but more than anything, it spoke to the seemingly downward trajectory of the Musketeers. This team hasn't been the same since the Dec. 10 brawl, of course, but at this point, the cause-and-effect is beginning to look tenuous. Now more than ever, it looks like X really wasn't all that good in the first place. Losing on the road is hardly a crime. Losing like this? It's something closer.

Some more observations from this afternoon's games:

• Is Arizona on the rise? It's hard to ignore the three-day stretch the Wildcats had, getting not one but two wins on their Bay Area road trip. First, the Wildcats held on for a win over apparent league favorite Cal on Thursday, and then they looked even more impressive in their 56-43 victory at Stanford on Saturday afternoon, holding the Cardinal to just 16-of-63 (!) from the field and 3-of-12 from 3 in their own building. Zona might or might not get on the bubble by the end of the season, but these sort of performances might just carry the Cats to the top of the league's standings before all is said and done. At the very least, Sean Miller's team is worth keeping an eye on.
• Butler's offense is not worth keeping an eye on -- and it continues to cost the Bulldogs games. It's been the case all season, really, and it was the case again today. The Dogs lost to a team that made just two of its 10 3-point field goal attempts and shot just 20-of-47, because Butler's offense was even worse: 18-of-51 from the field, 4-of-19 from 3, just one made field goal from any bench player, a tough 0-of-7 night from Ronald Nored. The Bulldogs can't score. Nothing new here. But give some measure of credit to Detroit for a tough win on the road. Hinkle Fieldhouse was sold out, and the Titans got the job done in Indy for the first time since 1999.
• Baylor loves to play close games. It's either that or the Bears can't help themselves. Whatever the reason, the good news is Baylor seems more capable than most of winning those close games, particularly on the road. It did so twice this week. The first came in a three-point win at Texas A&M on Wednesday. The second came Saturday afternoon, when Oklahoma State rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a 57-56 lead on Keiton Page's 3 with 1:42 remaining. Baylor ended up finishing the game in the final moments, which is nothing new. The Bears have played eight games decided by five points or fewer this season. With the exception of the 89-88 loss to Missouri, they've won every single one. That might not be by design, and it probably doesn't help Bears fans' blood pressure levels, but it's the kind of trait that might come in handy in March.
• Seton Hall is officially off the wagon. A loss at UConn is understandable, even forgivable, but the Pirates were absolutely smacked, 69-46, by a team that had lost six of its previous eight games, to say nothing of Jim Calhoun's sudden and indefinite medical absence. That's Seton Hall's sixth consecutive loss. Unfortunately, the Pirates' happy redemption story is rapidly shrinking under the rigors of Big East play. Shame.
• Before Saturday, South Florida's Big East record was 6-3. Considering the Bulls entered conference play with a 7-6 record and their best conference win was at Villanova, it was fair to say that surprising league start had more to do with South Florida's schedule than its skill. After today's blowout loss at Georgetown -- USF's worst conference loss since joining the Big East and its worst loss period since 2004 -- I think we can officially cement that perception.

Defense takes center stage on Saturday when the Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin Badgers face off in Madison, Wis., (2 ET on ESPN) with first place in the Big Ten on the line. The Buckeyes and Badgers rank first and second, respectively, in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to kenpom.com, and both rank among the top 25 teams nationally in field goal percentage allowed. Points will certainly be at a premium: nine of the combined 45 opponents this season for Wisconsin and Ohio State have scored better than the national average of one point per possession. When Ohio State Has the Ball Jared Sullinger is one of the most dominant big men in the country. Nearly half of his possessions result in a post-up play, and he has the second-best points per play average when posting up in the Big Ten (minimum 25 plays).

However, he had one of his worst games in the post Sunday against Michigan, a team that started four guards and no player taller than 6 feet, 8 inches. Sullinger made just 1-of-5 shots and scored only four points on seven post-up plays in the Buckeyes' 15-point win. Sullinger will be challenged to bounce back when he faces a physical Wisconsin frontcourt led by Jared Berggren, who has flourished as the team's defensive stopper in the paint. He’s allowed 0.58 points per play as an on-ball defender, the best rate among Big Ten players at least 6 feet 10 inches tall (minimum 100 minutes played). He ranks fourth in block percentage in the Big Ten, and opponents are averaging less than half a point per play on 21 percent shooting when posting up against Berggren. Cody Zeller and Tyler Zeller, arguably two of the best centers in the nation, were a combined 1-for-6 in their matchups with Berggren. When Wisconsin Has the Ball Jordan Taylor got off to a slow start this season, averaging just 12 points per game during the Badgers’ nonconference slate. In conference play, Jordan has increased his scoring by nearly five points per game.

Taylor’s much-improved play in isolation has fueled this recent surge. He’s averaged one point per play or better in isolation in six of his 10 conference games, after doing so in just five of 13 nonconference games. Taylor will face one of the toughest on-ball perimeter defenders in the league with Aaron Craft likely to match up against the Badgers' senior point guard. Craft has the highest steal percentage in the Big Ten, and has allowed his opponent to score 0.67 points per play this season. Craft’s aggressive play defending in isolation has created turnovers on nearly one of every three such plays. His ball-hawking tactics might not be enough to contain Taylor, however, who has turned the ball over at a rate of fewer than once every 17 isolation plays this season.

For full coverage of the Kansas-Missouri matchup, check out Weekend Watch.

Saturday

South Florida at Georgetown (ESPNU, 11 a.m. ET): OK, let’s see if South Florida is for real in the Big East. The Bulls are 6-3 and tied with Georgetown in the loss column. USF has wins at Villanova and DePaul, but that shouldn’t compare to Georgetown this season. The Hoyas have their mojo back. Georgetown can’t be ruled out to catch Syracuse with a game against the Orange next week.

Marquette at Notre Dame (1 ET): The Golden Eagles have to be applauded for playing well despite not having Chris Otule and Davante Gardner in the post. Gardner isn’t expected to be ready for this game. The Irish have been golden at home so far, save a game against UConn. The Eagles need this one in their quest to stay with Syracuse.

Vanderbilt at Florida (1 ET): The Commodores have a rough week with games at Arkansas and Florida. They’re already down one. If Vandy is going to be taken seriously as a real contender with Kentucky and Florida, it has to pull off an upset.

Virginia at Florida State (ESPN3, 1 ET): The Cavs and Seminoles are the two “other” choices to win the ACC. If either has visions of knocking off UNC or Duke from the top spot, it's got to win this game. FSU is on more of a roll. Beat back the Cavs in what should be a grinder and the Seminoles will continue to be in the chase.

Xavier at Memphis (1 ET): This had the look of a game between two teams that were the favorites in the A-10 and C-USA at the start of the season. Since then, both have taken a few shots. Neither is a lock for the NCAAs and both could use some momentum to pique the selection committee’s interest. Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons against Will Barton and Joe Jackson will headline this game.

Ohio State at Wisconsin (ESPN, 2 ET): This has become one of the most anticipated games of the Big Ten season. The Badgers don’t have the inside presence to deal with Jared Sullinger. But Jordan Taylor can certainly match up with Aaron Craft. The Badgers will have to do something special inside to win this game.

North Carolina at Maryland (ESPN, 4 ET): The Tar Heels are simply better, more talented and have the depth to dismantle the Terps. That’s what should happen. But Maryland has showed some fight lately. The Terps will have to play their best game of the season to pull off this upset.

UNLV at Wyoming (4 ET): The Runnin’ Rebels had to struggle in overtime to get past Boise State and Air Force in their last two road games. Wyoming is a better defensive team than Boise or Air Force. This will test the Runnin’ Rebels yet again. New Mexico and San Diego State were both able to get out of Laramie with a win. Will UNLV?

Old Dominion at George Mason (ESPNU, 5 ET): I was leading the chorus that George Mason should have received a television game in BracketBusters. And then the Patriots lost to Delaware. There is a four-way tie for first in the CAA between ODU, Mason, Drexel and VCU. Separation begins with this game.

Iona at Manhattan (ESPN3, 7 ET): Momo Jones went for 43 against Canisius on Thursday night. Scott Machado had 14 assists. But Manhattan is in step with the Gaels, tied atop the MAAC at 10-2. The winner will be tied with Loyola in the loss column. This game could determine all-important seeding in the MAAC tourney.

Oregon at Colorado (9 ET): The Buffaloes smacked Oregon State on Thursday by 22 at home, where they’ve been a force in their first year in the Pac-12. Oregon, meanwhile, had to come back to beat Utah. The Ducks need a split to stay in the chase for a top-three finish. Coach Tad Boyle has done a tremendous job in Boulder after losing his two best players from last season.

Sunday

Michigan at Michigan State (1 ET): Draymond Green (left knee sprain) may be a game-time decision. The Spartans do have depth to handle his possible absence. But it’s not preferred against a Michigan team that is confident going into East Lansing after knocking off the Spartans in a last-possession game in Ann Arbor. The winner here stays in the chase in the Big Ten. The loser might have to think about the second-place race if Ohio State wins at Wisconsin.

1. Good to see the variety on the Bob Cousy point guard of the year finalists list. Five of the 11 finalists are from conferences outside the power six and all are deserving with a legit chance to win the award. The 11 finalists are: Scott Machado (Iona), Phil Pressey (Missouri), Kendall Marshall (North Carolina), Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin), Pierre Jackson (Baylor), Casper Ware (Long Beach State), Aaron Craft (Ohio State), Damian Lillard (Weber State), Scoop Jardine (Syracuse), Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary’s) and Isaiah Canaan (Murray State). But overall this may be the weakest NBA-ready point guard year we’ve seen in some time.

2. Two of the most prophetic coaches in the preseason were Southern Miss’ Larry Eustachy and La Salle’s John Giannini. Both coaches told me they had teams that could make a run, and possibly their best teams. Yet, both lost key players. The more believable was Southern Miss. Still, the Golden Eagles had to go out and prove it. They have. USM gave Murray State its toughest game of the season in the Great Alaska Shootout and after snapping an 18-game losing streak to Memphis on Wednesday, they are alone atop CUSA at 7-1. Meanwhile, La Salle beat Charlotte to stay a half-game ahead of Temple in the A-10 title chase at 6-2.

3. Once Fab Melo is back with Syracuse (per Syracuse Post-Standard) for Saturday’s game at St. John’s, the top four contenders for the national title will be set. A Big 12 champ will have a strong argument to make, but heading into February it looks like Kentucky, Syracuse, Ohio State and North Carolina are the favorites for the national title. That doesn’t mean all will be in New Orleans or No. 1 seeds (although I find it hard to believe that Kentucky, Syracuse and OSU won’t be No. 1 seeds). And no team probably, outside of UNC, could still be a national title contender after losing two preseason perimeter rotation players to injuries (Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald).