ESPN Men's Basketball

The stars aligned for Angel Rodriguez. In the same span of weeks in which Rodriguez decided to leave Kansas State and play basketball closer to his family in Puerto Rico, Miami point guard Shane Larkin decided to leave for the NBA draft. Suddenly, Miami needed a point guard. Rodriguez went to high school in Miami. Miami is close to Puerto Rico, or as close as you'll get on the continental United States. It isn't exactly the plot of Primer, but the loop was successfully closed. It all came together.

Naturally, Jim Larranaga was thrilled:

Larrañaga agreed: “You have to feel fortunate when a player of his caliber and character calls you and says, ‘I need to play closer to home.’ He will be very much at home here in Miami, where so many people speak Spanish, so many people know him, and he is a short flight from his family. He’s also a very bright young man and serious about academics."

But there is one remaining question. Will Rodriguez be able to play this season?

That's a bit trickier. Rodriguez has made it clear he plans to apply for a hardship waiver, which, if granted by the NCAA, would allow him to skip the customary transfer season. What are the chances? They depend on information we can't (and shouldn't) know, unless Rodriguez deigns to tell us himself. The hardship waiver is for student athletes who are compelled to transfer because of financial hardship or illness or injury to themselves or a family member. Rodriguez has frequently mentioned his mom and two brothers in Puerto Rico, but we don't know if any of them are ill or if there is a financial component related to the transfer. Surely the flights home will be cheaper.

It's hard to say. Larranaga will obviously be hoping the answer is yes, because Rodriguez's presence on both ends of the floor (he was second-team All Big 12 and a first-team defender) would be huge for a team losing not only its starting point guard but much of the rest of its senior-laden team. Stay tuned.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- La Salle coach John Giannini refused to let his players hang their heads.

His team had just followed up a loss to Saint Louis in the regular-season finale with a setback against Butler in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Instead of chastising the Explorers, Giannini smiled and delivered a simple message.

“I told them not to feel bad,” Giannini said, now in his ninth year as head of the Explorers. “I told them, ‘You’re far better prepared for the [NCAA] tournament than you realize. You just lost to two Final Four teams.

“You’re not going to play against anyone in this tournament that’s tougher than Saint Louis or Butler.”

Or VCU or Temple, for that matter.

It might not be a part of the "power six" conferences, but the Atlantic 10 has proved over the past 48 hours that it's as tough as any league in the nation. The A-10 is 6-0 in tournament games so far, and no win was as head-turning as La Salle’s 63-61 victory over Kansas State on Friday at the Sprint Center.

The victory was the second in three days for the No. 13 seed Explorers, who defeated Boise State in a First Four match Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. It's La Salle's first NCAA tournament since 1992, and it now faces No. 12 seed Ole Miss on Sunday at the Sprint Center.

“Part of the reason you see these scores is because everyone takes basketball seriously,” Giannini said. “People have made great commitments. Whether it’s salaries, budgets, facilities ... people want to be where we are right now, and people [are] willing to invest to make that happen.”

Indeed, Friday’s victory over the Big 12 co-champion Wildcats hardly seemed like an upset. A day before the game, someone joked with K-State coach Bruce Weber that "No. 13 seeds aren’t what they used to be."

“No kidding,” Weber said. “Did you watch them play Boise State? Wow.”

Talent-wise, there wasn’t much of a difference between the two teams. At some positions, La Salle was simply better. La Salle led by as many as 19 points in the first half and was ahead 44-26 at intermission.

Even more impressive about La Salle’s performance is that it came in front of approximately 18,000 purple-clad K-State fans in Kansas City. Make no mistake: This was a road game for La Salle -- and a tough one at that.

“It was by far the best arena I’ve ever played in,” La Salle guard Ramon Galloway said. “The crowd was great. They were quiet in the first half because we had a lead. But when the game got tough, when [the Wildcats] were making their run, they made sure we heard them.”

Kansas State went on a 31-12 march in the second half and took a 61-60 lead on a free throw by Jordan Henriquez with 2:25 remaining. The score remained the same until the waning seconds, when Rodney McGruder missed a 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining. Jerrell Wright snared the rebound and was fouled by Henriquez. Wright swished both free throws to put La Salle ahead 62-61.

A 60 percent foul shooter, Wright had gone 1-for-5 in Wednesday’s win over Boise State.

“There were no butterflies,” Wright said. “Coach just told me every time I shoot a free throw to have the same form and to keep my focus.”

Henriquez missed a short hook shot on K-State’s next possession, and again, Wright grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He made his first free throw and missed the second, giving KSU a chance to either tie or win with 9 seconds remaining and with La Salle leading 63-61.

Point guard Angel Rodriguez, however, failed to put up a quality shot -- he ended up taking a baseline jumper in traffic -- as time expired. Weber was screaming for a timeout but he either was ignored or wasn’t heard.

“I yelled it as loud as I could,” Weber said, “but we couldn’t get the call. La Salle ... that was a hard No. 13 to play, to be honest. Somewhere along the line they probably had some inconsistency that led them to be [a No. 13 seed].

“We can’t complain. We had the advantage of an extra day off and of playing in Kansas City. Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.”

And sometimes they are.

That was certainly the vibe in La Salle’s locker room following Friday’s “upset” victory. The Explorers watched two years ago as VCU went from the First Four to the Final Four.

They don’t see any reason they couldn’t do something similar.

“Why not?” guard Sam Mills said. “Why not?"

There are just two perfect brackets left (out of 8.15 million) in Tournament Challenge following victories by Creighton and La Salle on Friday afternoon.

La Salle was the biggest bracket buster, as just 6.1 percent of the brackets picked the 13th-seed Explorers to beat 4-seed Kansas State, knocking down the number from 59 to 2.

Jeff Withey scored 17 points and had nine rebounds as No. 7 Kansas cruised to the 70-54 win over No. 11 Kansas State to win the Big 12 tournament championship.

 
Kansas coach Bill Self discusses his Jayhawks' 70-54 victory over rival Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament championship game.

 
Rodney McGruder scored 25 points as No. 11 Kansas State beat 14th-ranked Oklahoma State 68-57 to advance to the final of the Big 12 tournament against rival Kansas.

 
Rodney McGruder's 24 points helped No. 11 Kansas State put away Texas 66-49 and advance to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

This year’s race for the Wooden Award may come down to a missed free throw attempt and a layup that never found its way through the net. With the NCAA tournament less than a week away, those are the only things separating Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and Michigan’s Trey Burke in the battle to be named national player of the year.

At least in my opinion.

Burke and Oladipo faced off in the Big Ten regular-season finale Sunday. In a high-stakes game that decided the conference championship, Burke wilted when it mattered most. With his team leading 71-70 with 28 seconds remaining, Burke clanked the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and Indiana capitalized on a layup by Cody Zeller that gave the Hoosiers a 72-71 lead with 14 ticks left.

Burke had a chance to win the game on the ensuing possession, but he missed a contested layup, and Jordan Morgan’s putback attempt in the final seconds was off target. Indiana celebrated the outright Big Ten title on Michigan’s court. The Wolverines finished in a tie for third place and will be the No. 5 seed in this week’s Big Ten tournament.

Burke has had a tremendous season, but in a race this close, winning and performing well in the clutch are the deciding factors. Here’s my latest ballot.

1. Victor Oladipo, Indiana -- The junior wing does everything for the Hoosiers. He averages 13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.1 assists and sets the tone on the defensive end. He’s the key reason why Indiana emerged as the champion of the nation’s toughest conference.

2. Trey Burke, Michigan -- The sophomore averages 19.2 points and 6.8 assists -- and he also leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. Michigan, though, has lost five of its final 10 regular-season games. As a point guard, Burke needs to provide more leadership as the Wolverines prepare for the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

3. Doug McDermott, Creighton -- As one of the top offensive players in the country, McDermott is the focal point of every opposing defense. Still, the junior forward is averaging 23.1 points on 56.1 percent shooting for the Bluejays, who won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship along with the league tournament.

4. Otto Porter, Georgetown -- NBA scouts love the versatility of the 6-foot-8 sophomore, who can bring the ball up the court like a point guard on one play and get down and dirty in the paint the next. Porter helped Georgetown win a share of the Big East title despite the loss of the top three scorers from last season.

5. Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga -- What’s not to like about the 7-foot Canadian? In just 25.7 minutes per game, Olynyk averaged 17.4 points and 7.2 rebounds for a Zags squad that finished 31-2 and won the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament trophies. Gonzaga will likely be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history thanks to Olynyk.

On the cusp:

Erick Green, Virginia Tech -- Despite being on the last-place team in the league standings, Green was named ACC Player of the Year this week following a regular season in which he averaged a nation-best 25.4 points while shooting 48.2 percent from the field.

Shane Larkin, Miami -- It’d be a crime not to include the leader of a team that won its first ACC title in more than a decade. A sophomore point guard, Larkin averages 13.7 points, 4.4 assists and 2 steals.

Rodney McGruder, Kansas State -- The senior wing led K-State to its first conference title since 1977 by averaging a team-high 15.1 points and 5.2 rebounds. The first-team All-Big 12 selection had 22 points in Saturday’s loss at Oklahoma State.

Ben McLemore, Kansas -- The freshman was one of the few players who performed well in Saturday’s 23-point loss to Baylor. He scored 23 points and is now averaging 16.7 points for the Big 12 co-champions.

Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA -- Projected as a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft, Muhammad led the Bruins to the outright Pac-12 title by averaging 18.3 points and 5.1 boards. He shot 45 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Mason Plumlee, Duke -- The 6-10 Plumlee was back in beast mode Saturday, when he scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a blowout win against North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He’s a lot better with Ryan Kelly in the lineup.

Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State -- The freshman point guard is averaging 22.5 points in his past two games along with 7 rebounds. He was named Big 12 Player of the Year, a high honor considering he had strong competition from KU’s Jeff Withey and Ben McLemore.

Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State -- The Buckeyes enter this week’s Big Ten tournament on a five-game winning streak thanks, in large part, to Thomas. He’s averaging 17.8 points during that span and 19.7 points on the season.

Jeff Withey, Kansas -- The 7-foot center ranks second in the nation among active players in blocks with 4.1 per game. The first-team all-league selection averages 13.6 points and 8.6 rebounds and shoots 58.2 percent from the field.

Cody Zeller, Indiana -- The Hoosiers center was the best player on the court during Sunday's Big Ten title-clinching win at Michigan. He finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds and made the winning basket with 14 seconds remaining.

1. Highlights from Tuesday's Katz Korner show on ESPNU: Kentucky coach John Calipari didn't hold back his feelings about the SEC tournament. Calipari said the tournament is for the fans and noted a number of UK fans at the SEC tournament don't normally get to Rupp. He said the conference tourney is just a prep for the next (NCAA) tournament. "I don't like this,'' he said. "Three games in three days does nothing to prepare you for anything. I wish none of us had these tournaments.'' ... Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said in reaction to this being the Irish's last Big East tournament that the Big East, "made me in my coaching career.'' He said it was odd to tell his team Tuesday morning at breakfast that this would be their last Big East tournament. ... Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said it's hard to explain his past year: from being fired at Illinois to Big 12 coach of the year. He said his daughter pointed out that "I lost my job on March 9 and then it was March 9 this year that we won an unexpected Big 12 championship and the first one here since 1977.'' ... VCU coach Shaka Smart offered this advice for bubble coaches heading to the First Four in Dayton next week after the Rams started their Final Four run their in 2011, "Be aggressive confident and loose. You want to be an attacking team, no matter what style of play.''...Michigan's Trey Burke said the Wolverines will be looking forward to playing teams in the NCAA tournament not from the Big Ten, "It's a well-scouted conference, once we get outside of the conference, conference tournament, we'll be able to play at a higher level because those teams won't be scouting us each other day.''

2. One of the best decisions the NCAA/NIT made was ensuring the regular-season champs had a postseason home. A number of teams that won their leagues in the regular season weren't able to win the conference tournament: Northeastern (CAA), Robert Morris (NEC), Mercer (Atlantic Sun), Charleston Southern (Big South), Niagara (MAAC) and Middle Tennessee State (Sun Belt). Middle Tennessee State is the only school that has a chance to make the NCAA tournament out of this group as an at-large. But the NIT has to guarantee bids to all of them. The regular-season title should have meaning and guarantee a postseason berth.

3. Montana coach Wayne Tinkle had quite a championship week -- in his family. His Grizzlies won the Big Sky for the second-straight season. His son, Tres, won the Montana AA high school title and was the most valuable player. His daughter, Joslyn, a senior at Stanford won the Pac-12 title and his youngest daughter, Elle, a freshman at the Gonzaga, won the WCC title. "How blessed are we?'' Tinkle said. But he said the real MVP of the family is his wife, Lisa, a member of the Montana Hall of Fame for "all the miles she logged.'' The Grizzlies will attempt to get back to the NCAA tournament but will likely have a challenge from nemesis Weber State. Montana hosts the Big Sky tournament in Missoula and gets a bye to the semifinals, while Weber State, the No. 2 seed, has to play two games to get to the finals since there are only seven teams in the field.

"College Basketball Live Extra's" Matt Doherty makes three bold predictions for Championship week.

Le'Bryan Nash scored 24 points to lift No. 13 Oklahoma State past No. 9 Kansas State, 76-70.

Jason King analyzes Saturday's matchup between the No. 9 Wildcats and No. 13 Cowboys.

Angel Rodriguez had 21 points and 10 assists as Kansas State topped TCU 79-68.

1. Gonzaga will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, barring something odd occurring in the next week. That will be the highest the Zags have been seeded in the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga’s NCAA run since the 1999 Elite Eight should be applauded not scorned just because the Zags haven’t been able to get to the Final Four. Sure, there will be more pressure this season with the top seed, but five Sweet 16s since 1999 is nothing to dismiss. The Zags haven’t lost to a lesser team in the past four NCAAs, falling to Ohio State, Jimmer and BYU, Syracuse and North Carolina. The Zags also lost in two thrilling games -- a Sweet 16 loss to UCLA in 2006 and Arizona in double overtime in 2003. Gonzaga has had disappointing exits, losing to Wyoming in the first round in 2002 in Albuquerque and Nevada in round two in Seattle in 2004. “From our point of view, we have fared really, really well,’’ said Few. “I’ll give you [Dan] Dickau’s and [Blake] Stepp’s senior years (against Wyoming and Nevada, respectively).’’ The Zags have a Final Four caliber team. But this team and program has hardly been built on title or bust. They are consistently good every year and in the NCAA tournament with a legitimate chance to advance every season. That has plenty of merit. There is no pressure to do more in Spokane from the administration or the fan base, and ultimately, that’s how the program is judged.

2. Baylor fell to Texas Monday night. Barring a win over Kansas this weekend and a deep run to the Big 12 title game the Bears will miss the NCAA tournament after an Elite Eight run. Baylor coach Scott Drew has had an odd four-year run with two Elite Eights and possibly two missed NCAAs. This team had the backcourt with Pierre Jackson and Brady Heslip, but the shooting was never the same as a year ago. The frontcourt was as long and as athletic as any in the country with Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson. But this team missed Perry Jones III and more than anyone else, the anchor and enforcer Quincy Acy in the post. Now the chore will be to see if Austin and Jefferson stay so there can be growth in the frontcourt from one year to the next the way there was from 2011 to 2012 with Jones III and Acy. There is no reason why Baylor can’t be back in the mix in the upper half of the Big 12 in 2014.

3. Kansas State coach Bruce Weber has quite the emotional year. Just think a year ago he was coaching Illinois toward the end of the season and knew that his job was likely over in Champaign. A year later, Kansas State is tied with Kansas in the loss column atop the Big 12 with a game against TCU at home Tuesday and at Oklahoma State Saturday. The Wildcats would lose a tiebreaker to Kansas if the two teams are tied at the end of the weekend since KU swept Kansas State. Still, regardless of what occurs in the seeding or race for first and second, it has been quite a turnaround for Weber. I can’t remember a coach who has gone from one extreme to another in just one season. Weber’s coaching was never in question. The Illini needed a new voice and he needed a fresh start. This couldn’t have worked out any better for him. He has only coached in small college towns so moving to Manhattan was no problem. Weber wouldn’t have done as well being idle for a year. He got an opportunity and made sure it was maximized.

 
Rodney McGruder beats the buzzer to give 13th-ranked Kansas State a 64-61 victory at Baylor, whose NCAA tournament hopes took a major hit.