ESPN Men's Basketball

Needless to say, by the time the news was announced Tuesday afternoon, this was not exactly the shock of the century.

Early Tuesday morning, Mike Brey told our own Andy Katz that Notre Dame had agreed to extend its commitment to the Crossroads Classic -- a four-team event featuring Hoosier heavies Indiana, Purdue, Butler and ND -- for another two years, into 2013 and 2014. Even before that, despite the expiration of the current agreement this season, no one really expected the event to go away. It was assumed the four schools would agree to keep the thing going, one way or the other.

The reason for that is the same reason the official news, as announced by the four schools, is so very welcome: The Crossroads Classic is an event too good not to continue.

Last season's inaugural edition went about as well as anyone could have hoped. The games weren't classics (though Butler's comeback victory over Purdue was certainly exciting), but the event itself was a welcome throwback to the original, organized and hosted by Tony Hinkle at Butler from 1948-51 and from 1957-60. It took the schools 50 years to put a similar event together again, but when they did, they got it right. All four athletics programs teamed together to host the Classic themselves, as opposed to outsourcing it to the Gazelle Group or one of the other patrons, and because they did so they were able to put the games in Conseco Fieldhouse, an actual basketball arena, while splitting the profits evenly among the four.

The end result showcased the collective culture of Indiana basketball. The impulse to gather in Indianapolis and square off on the hardwood -- the same impulse that has made the sport an obsession in the state, even at the high school level, for almost as long as it's been played -- was on full display. Everyone booed IU fans, because that's what other basketball fans from Indiana do. It was just fun, you know?

So, no, it was no shock Tuesday to see the four schools extend their sensible agreement through the 2014 season. But it was excellent to see. In a sport where scheduling too happily tosses aside monumental rivalries for the sake of individual gain (or, if you prefer, "protection" of a "nontraditional program"), the no-nonsense extension of the Crossroads Classic was a small but refreshing change of pace. May it ever be so.

Teams from the state of Ohio make up one-fourth of the schools in the Sweet 16 this season after Cincinnati and crosstown rival Xavier won their games. The Bearcats and Musketeers join the Ohio Bobcats and Ohio State Buckeyes in the next round.

It's the first time in NCAA tournament history that four schools from a single state have advanced to the Sweet 16 in the same season.

East Region
(6) Cincinnati 62, (3) Florida State 56
The Bearcats will be making their sixth Sweet 16 appearance and first since 2001. Cincinnati went on a 12-6 run over the final minute and a half of the game, which began with a Dion Dixon steal and dunk.

Sean Kilpatrick led the Bearcats with 18 points and Cincinnati recorded 13 steals to just five for Florida State. Florida State fails to reach consecutive Sweet 16s for the first time since 1992-93.

Cincinnati now takes on No. 2 seed Ohio State in the Sweet 16 Thursday. These schools met twice for the National Championship in 1961 and 1962 with the Bearcats winning both times.

South Region
(10) Xavier 70, (15) Lehigh 58
Another team from Cincinnati, Xavier, will be making its sixth Sweet 16 appearance as well. Kenny Frease scored a career-high 25 points shooting 84.6 percent (11-13) from the floor and also grabbed 12 rebounds. He's the first player to record those numbers in a NCAA tournament game since Blake Griffin in 2009.

Lehigh which scored 19 points in transition versus Duke on Friday scored just seven against Xavier. The Mountain Hawks entered the tournament averaging nearly 16 points per game in transition, which ranked in the top 25. Lehigh's loss brings No. 15 seeds to 0-6 all-time in the Round of 32.

Xavier next takes on No. 3 seed Baylor on Friday.

(2) Kansas 63, (10) Purdue 60
After a late scare, Kansas is headed to its 19th Sweet 16 and fifth in its past six seasons. Thomas Robinson scored 11 points and 13 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season, which ties Drew Gooden's school record in 2002. The Jayhawks scored 17 points in transition including their final six points.

Robbie Hummel ends his Boilermakers career scoring a team-high 26 points as Purdue loses in the Round of 32 for the second straight year.

Kansas faces No. 11 seed North Carolina State on Friday hoping to advance to the Elite Eight for the second straight season. The Wolfpack have not been to the Regional Finals since 1986.

Through the Round of 32, no games in this year's Men's Basketball Championship have gone to overtime. It's the first time since seeding began in 1979 that there hasn't been a single overtime game in the Round of 64 and Round of 32.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Multiple times Sunday -- including a few occasions in the second half when his team trailed Purdue by double digits -- Bill Self sat in the middle of the Kansas huddle and repeated the same phrase.

“We can win this game!” Self said he told his players. “We can win this game!”

There was only one problem.

“Deep down,” Self admitted later, “I’m not sure I was believing it.”

Any doubts Self might have had were understandable. Fair or not, the coach with an NCAA title on his resume is equally defined by the March meltdowns that have soured otherwise great seasons throughout his Kansas career.

First it was Bucknell and Bradley. Then came Northern Iowa and VCU. On Sunday it looked as if disaster was going to strike again when the sixth-place team from the Big Ten almost pestered the Jayhawks into another epic choke job.

Almost.

This time, instead of wilting down the stretch, Kansas mustered up the inner toughness that’s helped it win eight consecutive Big 12 titles and flourished when it mattered most.

Elijah Johnson and Tyshawn Taylor combined for three breakaway layups in the game’s final minute, turning a 60-57 deficit into a 63-60 victory over Purdue, the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region.

“If you’re going to be scared, you might as well not be on the floor,” Johnson said. “We practice for those moments. You can’t run from them.”

No. 2 seed Kansas, which trailed for virtually the entire game, advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. Self’s squad will play No. 11 seed North Carolina State on Friday in St. Louis, with the winner getting either North Carolina or Ohio on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four.

Players such as Johnson and Taylor, though, were hardly looking that far ahead as they danced in the middle of the CenturyLink Center court Sunday. Unlike so many KU teams before them, the Jayhawks never appeared spooked or rattled during a game in which they shot a season-low 33.9 percent.

“That’s unheard of,” Self said. “That was probably more stressful for our guys than the Purdue guys. When you don’t have that momentum and energy, it takes toughness.

“I’m proud of our guys, because a testimony to a team’s toughness is to figure out a way to win when things aren’t going well. How we won is who we are.”

The Jayhawks won by outrebounding Purdue 44-36, including a season-high 21 offensive boards. They won by tightening their defense on Boilermakers star Robbie Hummel, who had 22 points in the first half but only four in the second after KU switched to a triangle-and-two. And they won because a few key players -- mainly Johnson -- welcomed the opportunity to be a hero instead of shying away from it.

“Elijah,” Self said, “has been our best player the last two weeks.”

Kansas trailed 60-57 after Purdue’s Terone Johnson scored on a pull-up jumper with 2:02 remaining. Nearly a minute later, Elijah Johnson grabbed the long rebound on a missed 3-pointer by D.J. Byrd, dribbled up the court and fired an alley-oop pass to a streaking Taylor, who caught the ball above the rim and dunked it.

It was a risky play by Johnson in such a close game, but it didn’t matter. With 59.9 seconds left, Kansas trailed 60-59.

“I was throwing that lob whether I threw it over the backboard or not,” said Johnson, who scored a team-high 18 points. “If I was down there, I would’ve been mad at Ty if he didn’t throw it to me. That’s our game. That’s how we play with each other every day. Why not throw it?”

Johnson was big again moments later, when he came up with a steal after playing menacing defense on Purdue point guard Lewis Jackson, who had committed just one turnover all game. Johnson secured the ball and raced up the court for an uncontested layup that put Kansas up 61-60.

Purdue’s best chance to win came on its ensuing possession, when Hummel came off a screen and went up for a 3-pointer on the right wing. Robinson raced over at the last second to defend the shot, which Hummel took off-balance.

“They set a screen,” Robinson said. “I jumped at him and prayed that he missed.”

The shot was indeed off. Robinson snared the rebound and passed up the court to Taylor, who made it 63-60 with an uncontested layup with 2.5 seconds remaining.

Taylor probably made a mistake by scoring instead of trying to run out the clock, because it gave Purdue one last shot at a game-tying 3-pointer. The Boilermakers got a decent look considering the circumstances, but Ryne Smith’s heave from the right wing hit the backboard and clanged off the front of the rim.

“When the buzzer went off and we saw the red on the backboard, it was a huge relief,” guard Travis Releford said. “We gave it our all in the second half. We had to earn that one.”

Self’s feelings were similar.

“I feel relieved,” Self said, “but I feel some jubilation, too. The kids are excited. If you looked at our team [before the season] and someone said we’d be 29-7 [actually 29-6] and playing in St. Louis in the Sweet 16, everybody would have said, ‘What a great year.’”

Self’s point is certainly hard to argue.

Kansas lost four starters from season’s Elite Eight team and, throughout most of the season, has depended on Robinson, a national-player-of-the-year candidate, and Taylor, who is a finalist for the Cousy Award.

Lately, though, other players have stepped up. Sometimes it’s been 7-foot center Jeff Withey or walk-on Conner Teahan, a 3-point specialist off the bench. Reserve forward Kevin Young came up with some huge offensive rebounds Sunday. And of course there was Johnson, who will always be remembered for his performance against Purdue.

Along with his heroics in the final minute, Johnson had two huge 3-pointers late in the second half -- including one that came from about 5 feet beyond the arc.

Taylor said he looked at Johnson as he squared up to take the shot, which turned a 56-54 deficit into a 57-56 lead.

“He had a smile on his face,” Taylor said.

Johnson was asked what he thought after he released the ball.

“Money!” he said.

Self hopes Johnson and the rest of the Jayhawks carry that same confidence into their Sweet 16 game against NC State. Even though they’re the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, the Wolfpack have more than proved their worth with victories over No. 6 seed San Diego State and No. 3 Georgetown.

“Seeds don’t matter anymore,” Releford said. “Everyone can play at this point. That’s the great thing about this tournament. Any team can win it -- and any team can have a bad day and get upset.”

Kansas almost became that team again Sunday.

Almost.

This year, it appears, things are different.

OMAHA, Neb. - Quick thoughts from Kansas' 63-60 victory over Purdue.

Overview: First it was Bucknell. Then came Bradley, Northern Iowa and VCU. Just when Kansas seemed primed to take a yearlong hiatus from stunning NCAA tournament upsets, the Jayhawks almost found a way to choke again Sunday.

Almost.

This time, instead of wilting down the stretch, Kansas mustered up the inner toughness that's helped it win eight consecutive Big 12 titles and flourished when it mattered most. Elijah Johnson and Tyshawn Taylor (twice) each scored on breakaway layups in the game's final minute, turning a 60-57 deficit into a 63-60 victory against No. 10 seed Purdue - the sixth-place team from the Big Ten.

Taylor's layup came on a fast break after Purdue's Robbie Hummel missed a 3-pointer - which was heavily contested by Thomas Robinson - on the other end. Kansas got the rebound and fired ahead to Taylor, who scored easily with 2.5 seconds remaining. Taylor probably made a mistake by scoring instead of running out the clock, because Purdue had one last shot a game-tying 3-pointer. The Boilermakers got a decent look considering the circumstances, but Ryne Smith's heave from the right wing hit the backboard and clanged off the front of the rim.

Kansas fans - who comprised about 75 percent of the crowd at the CenturyLink Center - went wild in celebration as the final horn sounded. Five minutes later, Johnson, Taylor and Travis Releford danced at mid-court after conducting post-game interviews.

The heavily favored Jayhawks had to feel relieved after surviving a scare from a well-coached Purdue team that led for virtually the entire game. Kansas trailed 60-57 after Purdue's Terone Johnson scored on a pull-up jumper with 2:02 remaining. But the Jayhawks scored the next six points - all on fast breaks.

The first basket came on an alley-oop from Johnson to Taylor with 59.9 seconds left that shaved Purdue's lead to 60-59. Kansas coach Bill Self called a timeout and, on the ensuing possession, Johnson stole the ball from Lewis Jackson and scored on an uncontested lay-up to give KU a 61-60. Hummel - who was brilliant, with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting - missed the 3-pointer on the other end, and Kansas fired a pass to Taylor, who streaked down the court for the game-clinching basket.

The Jayhawks, who got 18 points from Johnson, will take on No. 11 seed North Carolina State on Friday in St. Louis. Purdue ends its season with a 22-13 record.

Key player: Johnson stepped up in a big way for Kansas. With Taylor (10 points) struggling offensively, Johnson made 7 of his 14 field goal attempts and hit three huge 3-pointers, including two in the second half. Robinson missed all but two of his 12 field goal attempts but still finished with 11 points and 13 boards.

Key stat: Kansas won despite its worst offensive showing of the season. The Jayhawks shot just 33.9 percent from the field.

Miscellaneous: Kansas' 2008 NCAA title run began in Omaha. ... If Kansas wins Friday it will likely play North Carolina in the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels could be without standout point guard Kendall Marshall, who fractured his wrist in Sunday's win against Creighton.

Slowly but surely -- OK, quickly and furiously -- we've arrived at the final day of the first weekend of the greatest sports competition in the world. (I used to be somewhat sheepish writing that, what with the World Cup and the Olympics and so on, but after this weekend? After two wins for two No. 15 seeds in three hours? I don't feel so sheepish now.)

After an occasionally ugly but universally hard-fought (and almost always exciting) Saturday, we have but eight spots for advancement available for the remaining 16 teams in the tournament.

The math is cruel. Someone has to go home. Let's take a look how that process may unfold:

Midwest Region

No. 3 Georgetown vs. No. 11 NC State, 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS: The Hoyas were a relatively popular upset-pick victim in brackets, but they snuffed out any such notion against the plucky, this-could-be-their-year Belmont Bruins with ease Friday afternoon. How? Defense first. The Hoyas employ a downright stifling zone defense, one that allows the lowest opponent 3-point field goal percentage in the nation.

The Hoyas aren't quite so dominant on offense, but they are effective. Center Henry Sims has developed into a go-to post scorer whose best feature, believe it or not, is his passing, and the Hoyas have mastered John Thompson III's open-air Princeton system. Few teams that play this deliberately slow -- the Hoyas average 63 possessions per game -- are this much fun to watch. (The backcuts, the screens, the pivots, Sims' passing ... it can be downright beautiful.)

The Wolfpack happen to be playing their best basketball of the season -- they scored 1.17 points per trip against No. 6 San Diego State on Friday -- and their size and athleticism, especially that of emerging sophomore forward C.J. Leslie, gives them a chance to hang around by creating second chances on the offensive glass. Georgetown should win this game, sure, but this isn't the same NC State team we saw in the regular season, even down the stretch.

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 8 Creighton, 5:15 p.m. ET, CBS: You know the deal: Highly touted UNC star Harrison Barnes and long-ignored Creighton forward Doug McDermott both hail from Ames, Iowa, where they starred on the same state-title-winning high school hoops team, before Barnes made the Skype call heard 'round the college hoops world. Since then, McDermott -- who was passed over even by his own father, Greg McDermott, before the coach decided to leave Iowa State and take the vacant gig at Creighton -- has since morphed into a national player of the year candidate while Barnes, still a top NBA lottery prospect, has had two very good but-not-quite-great seasons for the ballyhooed Tar Heels. That matchup is the stuff of storyline legend -- my home state is certainly excited about it -- and it should be a lot of fun.

But there are other concerns here, too. Will Creighton choose to run with the fast-breaking Tar Heels, or try to hash things out in the half court? Can UNC guard Kendall Marshall provide the point of defensive attack required to stop a Bluejays team that enters the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in effective field goal percentage? Will Carolina forward John Henson play? And even if he doesn't, can Creighton -- a very good offensive team plagued by mediocre defense -- survive the Tar Heels onslaught? Signs point to no, but it will be fun to watch McDermott and Co. give it their best shot.

No. 12 South Florida vs. No. 13 Ohio, 7:10 p.m. ET, TBS: You may have picked South Florida to topple Temple. You might have imagined an Ohio upset of Michigan. The odds you picked both are slim. But these teams -- two Friday upset winners lost amidst the mania that rightfully surrounded Norfolk State's and Lehigh's legendary victories -- will hardly mind. USF continues to play its rather ugly brand of basketball, but that slow, defensive style works. It got the Bulls into the tournament, and with Anthony Collins and Augustus Gilchrist leading the way, it remained successful Friday.

Ohio, meanwhile, held a very good Michigan offense in check while scoring 1.14 points per trip in its own right. Last time the Bobcats were here, they upset Georgetown before falling in the second round. This is just South Florida's third appearance in tournament history; Friday was their program's first win. Needless to say, both programs would like to stick around for just a little bit longer.

No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 10 Purdue, 8:40 p.m. ET, TNT: Purdue was excellent down the stretch in Friday's first-round win over Saint Mary's, and Matt Painter has gotten more out of this team -- whose only real "star," Robbie Hummel, made a redemptive return from two straight ACL surgeries this season -- than anyone might have reasonably expected coming into the year. This just in: Painter can really coach.

But, for the record, Bill Self can, too, and his team has a major advantage over the Boilermakers for one obvious and simple reason: The Jayhawks have really, really good big guys. Purdue does not. How do the Boilers, who started essentially a five-guard lineup Friday (with Hummel and D.J. Byrd serving as stretch forwards) stop Thomas Robinson? How does an overmatched big man corps of Sandi Marcius and Travis Carroll give Purdue anything inside with block machine Jeff Withey patrolling the paint? The answer: I don't know. I'd wager a guess Painter doesn't, either.

West Region

No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 9 Saint Louis, 2:45 p.m. ET, CBS: Admit it, the moment you saw Memphis' name pop up next to No. 1 seed Michigan State in the West Region on Sunday's selection show, you thought, "Wow, that's a brutal No. 8 seed for the Spartans." And it was. But as Saint Louis proved, that No. 9 seed was no slouch, either. Rick Majerus' team boasts one of the 10 best defenses in the country, one that held a previously scorching (and immensely talented) Tigers team to just 0.86 points per trip Friday afternoon. For the Spartans to avoid the same fate, they will have to limit turnovers and prove equally stout on their own defensive end (the latter of which just so happens to be a specialty). "Majerus in the tournament" is scary enough, but nothing will come easy against these Billikens.

No. 7 Florida vs. No. 15 Norfolk State, 6:10 p.m. ET, TNT: Can the magic continue? Can tiny Norfolk State take down another high-major heavy? Can forward Kyle O'Quinn -- who, after Friday's shocking upset of No. 2-seeded Missouri, gave one of the greatest on-air postgame interviews in college hoops history and later told reporters "We busted my bracket, too!" -- go to work on the Gators the way he went to work on the Tigers?

The Cinderella optimist would say that Norfolk matches up just as well with Florida as it did with Missouri; the Gators are another guard-oriented, 3-point reliant squad with just one true big man (Patric Young) left to rebound and patrol the paint. The pessimist would say Young is much more of a defensive force than Missouri's Ricardo Ratliffe, and more than athletic enough to contain O'Quinn while the Gators' sharpshooting guards (Kenny Boynton and Bradley Beal, chiefly) go to work on the offensive end.

Still, you have to like Norfolk State's chances. There's something special going on in the Spartans' first NCAA tournament appearance. Could more history -- the first No. 15-seeded insurgent in the Sweet 16 -- be on the horizon?

South Region

No. 10 Xavier vs. No. 15 Lehigh, 7:45 p.m. ET, TruTV: Xavier has made a habit of attending Sweet 16s in recent years -- before last season, the Musketeers had played into the second weekend in three straight seasons -- and thanks to the miracle that was C.J. McCollum's 30-point performance in an upset over Duke, their chances are suddenly looking downright likely. But to make that happen, they'll have to get great perimeter defense from Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons. If McCollum is slicing and dicing the Musketeers like he sliced and diced the Blue Devils, Chris Mack's team may yet be one more victim on McCollum's ride to NCAA tournament immortality. But if he isn't? Xavier might just get into the Sweet 16 again. Given the depths this team experienced this season, the way the Dec. 10 brawl with Cincinnati derailed a once-promising year, that would be an upset in and of itself.

No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 6 Cincinnati, 9:40 p.m. ET: Speaking of Cincinnati, the Bearcats are still here, too, and they've played the best basketball of their season at the best moments. They overcame a weak RPI to seal a tournament bid, then toppled Syracuse in last week's Big East tournament, then handled, in impressively clutch fashion, a better-than-its-seed Texas team that stormed back from a deep deficit in Friday's win. But do they have enough to get past Florida State?

The Seminoles are the Seminoles: They still play one of the toughest, most physical brands of straight-up man-to-man defense in the country. They still occasionally struggle on the offensive end. But FSU's improvement from beyond the arc led to its ACC conference tournament title and, in general, the most successful season of Leonard Hamilton's slow-burn tenure. If FSU is merely good on the offensive end, and its usual self on defense, the Noles should get through to the Sweet 16. But Cincinnati will be the toughest -- with all due respect to Murray State -- sixth-seeded out in the tournament field.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Previewing the round of 32 games in Omaha on Sunday:

No. 15 Norfolk State (26-9) vs. No. 7 Florida (24-10), 6:10 p.m. ET

For the Norfolk State Spartans, one of the most memorable moments of their first NCAA tournament experience occurred not on the playing court -- but on the team bus.

Head coach Anthony Evans said his players will never forget the police escort that guided the Spartans’ charter through the crowded streets of Omaha and into the CenturyLink Center on Friday.

Flashing lights, sirens, the works.

“They were in the back of the bus going crazy,” Evans said. “I was even in awe. The police were cutting everyone off and letting us go first. Everyone kept saying it felt like we were the president.”

And that was before No. 15 seed Norfolk State shocked second-seeded Missouri.

One day after the biggest NCAA tournament upset in recent memory, the Spartans feel like even bigger celebrities heading into Sunday's round of 32 game against Florida.

Before he could even sit down for dinner after Friday’s win, forward Kyle O'Quinn had picked up 2,100 new Twitter followers. On Saturday, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound senior did a live, nationally televised interview with CBS while players, coaches and administrators answered questions from reporters all over the country about their school and their team.

“It’s something none of us have ever experienced before,” O’Quinn said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling.”

But when will it end?

Norfolk State became the fifth No. 15 seed in history to knock off a No. 2 seed. The other four teams to accomplish the feat all lost in the next round. To avoid a similar fate, the Spartans know they must refocus and channel their attention toward the Gators.

Fast.

“I’ve never been around anything like this,” Evans said. “It’s great for the program and great for the kids, but we talked about preparing for the [Florida] game as if it’s ‘businesslike.’ That’s the attitude we’ve had all year and it’s helped us be successful.”

Norfolk State is confident in its chances against Florida -- mainly because the Gators employ the same four-guard offense as Missouri. Billy Donovan’s team finished in a three-way tie for second place in the SEC. But the Gators aren’t nearly as good as the Missouri squad that Norfolk State defeated Friday.

Just like Missouri had in Ricardo Ratliffe, Florida features a high-level center in Patric Young. The sophomore knows he’s in for a tough task guarding O’Quinn.

“[O’Quinn] is so skilled and talented, and he’s a good defender, really physical,” Young said. “He overpowers the guys he goes up against. Hopefully I can do my thing and hold him to less than 24 and 12.”

Donovan said Norfolk State’s victory over Missouri definitely caught his team’s attention.

“From a national perspective, people may say this is an interesting Cinderella story,” he said. “But really ... the best team won. How people will remember them, I don’t know. But clearly I think they had a high level of confidence, a belief in themselves and their system, and it showed [Friday]."

No. 10 Purdue (22-12) vs. No. 2 Kansas (28-6), 8:40 ET

Kansas point guard Tyshawn Taylor knows what everyone is thinking about the Jayhawks' game against Purdue on Sunday.

“On paper,” Taylor said, “it looks like a mismatch.”

Kansas players, however, are smart enough to not believe it. Purdue, the 10th seed in the Midwest Region, may not be as good as it's been in years past. But the Boilermakers are exactly the kind of team that gives the Jayhawks trouble.

In some ways they’re like Missouri, but with less talent.

“In the past,” guard Conner Teahan said, “we’ve had problems playing smaller teams because it takes Jeff [Withey, KU’s center] out of the game. Hopefully we can have them match up with us as much as we match up with them.”

One of the biggest challenges for Kansas will be guarding 6-foot-8 Purdue forward Robbie Hummel, who is averaging 16.1 points. Hummel is an excellent ball handler who scores a large number of his points from the perimeter, which makes him a tough matchup for Kansas’ post players.

Taylor said Hummel was a “Kim English type of player” who can stretch the floor at the 4 position.

“It’s tough to match up with guys like that who are so versatile and who do so many different things," Taylor said.

Kansas coach Bill Self agreed.

“You’re pulling natural ‘bigs’ away from the basket to defend the 3-point line,” Self said. “Not all teams are experienced with that or have had an opportunity to do that.”

As he did against Missouri, don’t be surprised if Self goes with a smaller lineup to try to slow down a Purdue squad that averages 72.2 points per game. That would mean less minutes for the 7-footer Withey and more minutes off the bench for Teahan, a shooting guard.

“They’re quick and they get into the paint very well,” Teahan said. “We’re going to definitely need to D up on them. Perimeter-wise, I feel good with our strength and quickness. We need to stop them, but we’ve faced people like that before.”

OMAHA, Neb. -- Quick thoughts from Purdue's 72-69 victory over Saint Mary's Friday at the CenturyLink Center.

Overview: Purdue made four free throws in the final 23 seconds to beat No. 7 seed Saint Mary's in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The victory propels the No. 10 seed Boilermakers into a third round game against either Kansas or Detroit on Sunday.

Purdue trailed 69-68 after Saint Mary's guard Jorden Page swished a 3-pointer from the left wing with 45 seconds remaining. But 22 seconds later, the Gaels' Stephen Holt fouled Purdue's Lewis Jackson as Jackson was driving to the basket. He made both free throws to put the Boilermakers ahead 70-69.

Saint Mary's had a chance to tie it on the ensuing possession, but this time Page air-balled a wide-open 3-pointer. Purdue's Robbie Hummel snared the rebound and was fouled with 8 seconds left. His free throws extended Purdue's lead to three, 72-69. The Gaels had one more chance, but Rob Jones misfired on a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired.

Turning point: Purdue controlled most of the game and led by 10 points with 7:17 remaining before a valiant comeback attempt by Saint Mary's made the game interesting. The Gaels' went on an 18-7 run that was capped by Page's 3-pointer at the 45 second mark that put Saint Mary's up by a point. The foul call on Holt, which was a bit questionable for that late in the game, put Jackson on the line for what would ultimately be the game-deciding free throws.

Key player: Guard Terone Johnson had 21 points and five assists for Purdue. Jones led Saint Mary's with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Key stat: Saint Mary's shot just 4-of-25 (16 percent) from beyond the arc. Jones was just 2-of-10. Cousy Award finalist Matthew Dellavedova had just 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting overall. He had eight assists.

Miscellaneous: Purdue has now won 14 straight Round of 64 games in the NCAA tournament.

What's next: Purdue advances to play either No. 2 seed Kansas or No. 15 seed Detroit on Sunday. Saint Mary's, which won the outright West Coast Conference title, ends its season 27-6.

After a relatively mild third day of NCAA tournament action Thursday, does Friday promise more excitement? Close games? A buzzer-beater? Something?

Beggars can't be choosers, but we can be hopers. As we pray to the basketball gods for all the tournament has to offer, here's what you should keep an eye on as Friday unfolds.

Five best games:

No. 8 Creighton vs. No. 9 Alabama: Arguably the most intriguing stylistic clash in the entire round of 64, this one puts Creighton's all-offense attack up against one of the nation's most athletic and physical defensive teams. The Bluejays' offense and the Tide's defense both rank among the nation's 10 best per-possession in their respective categories, but the inverse is also true: Creighton's defense (ranked No. 180 in kenpom) and Alabama's offense (ranked No. 112) serve as each team's obvious weakness. It's unstoppable force/immovable object stuff, and it should be fascinating to watch.

No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 9 Saint Louis: It's not uncommon to see a team that looks considerably better than its NCAA tournament seed. It is uncommon to see two in the same second-round game, but that will be the case when the streaking Tigers and the defensively stalwart Billikens match up Friday. Both teams are ranked among kenpom.com's top 15 in overall adjusted efficiency. Memphis boasts a hyper-talented lineup led by forward Will Barton; Saint Louis has the benefit of Rick Majerus' tried-and-true defensive style and his strategic tournament superiority. If Saint Louis can keep Barton in check, and find a way to keep forward Tarik Black off the offensive glass (no easy feat, that), it may be able to hold off a Memphis team capable of a very deep run in this field.

No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Texas: The Longhorns limped into the tournament, but as a team with talented guards -- like leading scorer J'Covan Brown and steady freshman Myck Kabongo -- and one that challenged the top teams in the Big 12 throughout the season (usually coming up just short), they represent a fantastic value as a No. 11 seed. Cincinnati forward Yancy Gates will have to take advantage of a favorable matchup with Clint Chapman in the post. If he doesn't, Texas has the chops to hang around in this game for 40 minutes -- and maybe even finish with a win.

No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 Virginia: Before we crown Creighton-Alabama with the "most stylistically fascinating" superlative, let's reserve some consideration for Florida-Virginia. The Cavaliers play a drastically slow, packed-in defensive style. The Gators play a spread-out offense that relies primarily on 3-point shooting. Fortunately, they have the players for it, including guard Kenny Boynton, who has put together a quietly remarkable season launching the basketball from range. But Florida's lack of defense leaves it vulnerable if the shooters go cold, and UVa will look to take advantage on the other end.

No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 Purdue: Though the Boilermakers would never admit it, they may have breathed a sigh of relief when they saw their second-round tournament matchup. Don't get me wrong: Saint Mary's is for real, an excellent offensive team led by the peerless point guard play of veteran Matthew Dellavedova. But the Gaels don't have much of an interior presence, which is the one personnel area in which the Boilermakers -- who rely on the guard play of Lewis Jackson, Ryne Smith and outside-in forward Robbie Hummel -- are legitimately vulnerable. Expect a lot of fluid motion offense, a lot of outside shots and a close, hard-fought game in Omaha.

No. 5 Temple vs. No. 12 South Florida: More stylistic clash potential! Take three! The Owls -- for years a grind-it-out defensive team under coach Fran Dunphy -- have flipped the script in 2012, morphing into a high-flying offensive juggernaut led by guards Ramone Moore and Khalif Wyatt. South Florida, on the other hand, looks a bit like Temple used to ... but even uglier and slower and practically impossible to score against.

Upset alert:

No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 16 LIU Brooklyn: Just kidding! All due respect to the Blackbirds, it ain't happening. (Just had to make sure you will still paying attention is all.)

No. 3 Georgetown vs. No. 14 Belmont: If America has a favorite sleeper candidate this season -- other than VCU and the now-lamented Long Beach State 49ers -- it is Rick Byrd's Belmont team. The Bruins were a sleeper favorite last season, too, but they caught a bad matchup in the second round in Wisconsin. They're back with much the same team this season, and laptops love them; Belmont ranks No. 9 in LRMC, No. 23 overall in the kenpom.com rankings and No. 35 overall in the BPI. But they've got another tough matchup in Georgetown, which plays a stifling, lanky zone defense that makes everything difficult for its opponents. But if Scott Saunders and Mick Hedgepeth can handle Georgetown center Henry Sims, the Bruins are more than capable of knocking off the Hoyas -- and sticking around for a while, too.

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Lehigh: Do I think this will happen? No. Duke has too much on the perimeter to be shut down by this Lehigh bunch. But could it? Sure. The Blue Devils beat a lot of good teams this season, which helped them to a No. 2 seed, but by per-possession efficiency standards Duke is easily the weakest of the No. 2 seeds. Lehigh, on the other hand, is not your typical No. 15 seed, and it has a secret weapon -- guard C.J. McCollum, one of the nation's most underrated scorers, who at the very least will give Duke's occasionally suspect guard defenders something to think about for all 40 minutes.

No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 Detroit: Speaking of deceptive 15-seeds, Detroit might be the most talented 15-seed in the history of the tournament. That's because guard Ray McCallum Jr. -- son of coach Ray McCallum Sr. -- turned down a host of elite programs to play for his dad two years ago, while transfer forward Eli Holman, a former Indiana prospect, patrols the middle with more athleticism than you usually see from Horizon League forwards. Kansas should win this game but the Titans have talent and they'll definitely give it a go.

No. 11 NC State vs. No. 6 San Diego State: San Diego State has achieved in remarkable fashion this season, relative to its talent, but will the run come to an end Friday? There's reason to think so: NC State enters the tournament playing the best basketball of its season (it dispatched Virginia and nearly took down UNC in the ACC tournament last weekend), and the young Wolfpack will be eager to prove they are already ready for the bright lights.

Players to watch:

Doug McDermott, Creighton: You know the deal by now: McDermott is at once one of the nation's most productive and most efficient scorers, and his twin abilities to turn on both shoulders in the post or step outside and knock down the 3 makes him a lethal offensive option. But he'll have to be extra-good Friday, as Alabama's JaMychal Green is one of the few defenders in the country able to guard McDermott both inside and out.

Tu Holloway, Xavier: It wasn't pretty, but Xavier made it to the tournament. Now what? This team is still talented, particularly on the perimeter, and if Holloway and running mate Mark Lyons can summon some of what led them to clutch comeback wins over Vanderbilt and Purdue before their brawl with Cincinnati, they could be an interesting out in the West region.

J'Covan Brown, Texas: Brown is always scoring. The question is whether he's getting his points efficiently, and whether the Longhorns' offense is conducive to scores in the flow of the offense. If they are, they can hang with Cincinnati.

Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure: In the Bonnies' A-10 title win over Xavier, Nicholson dropped 26 points, 14 rebounds and 8 -- yes, eight -- blocks. He's an NBA talent with the body to match. But will Nicholson be able to dominate the Seminoles' physical frontcourt? With Bernard James lined up across from him, this will the most difficult matchup Nicholson has seen all season.

Mike Scott, Virginia: If the Cavaliers are going to drop No. 7-seeded Florida in the second round Friday, they're going to have to get a massive effort from Scott, the dominant focal point of their slow, cautious offense. Scott has been hyper-efficient on the offensive end all season, but he could struggle against Florida forward Patric Young, one of the few big men in the nation with the athleticism and height to check Scott effectively. And if Scott doesn't score, UVa's chances are probably slim.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Here’s a quick rundown of what to look for in Friday’s afternoon games in Omaha.

No. 7 Saint Mary’s (27-5) vs. No. 10 Purdue (21-12), 7:27 ET

For Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, Thursday’s shootaround at the CenturyLink Center was gratifying for two reasons. His Gaels are back in the national spotlight -- and Bennett caught a glimpse of a celebrity.

“He’s a legend,” Bennett said of Purdue’s Robbie Hummel. “I’ve heard about him for six years. I finally got to see him up close.”

Bennett was only halfway kidding.

Hummel, after all, has garnered national public sympathy after missing the past two NCAA tournaments because of knee injuries. The fifth-year senior -- who didn’t play at all last season after tearing his ACL on the first day of practice -- is hoping his return to the postseason isn’t short-lived.

“Sitting out the last two years ... it’s been frustrating,” said Hummel, who averages 16.3 points. “I think it’s made this time all the more special for me. I think we’re all excited to be here and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

The Boilermakers face a tough task in their first game.

Saint Mary’s became the first team in 11 years other than Gonzaga to win the West Coast Conference title outright. The Gaels, who reached the Sweet 16 in 2010, are led by point guard Matthew Dellavedova. The Cousy Award finalist is the school’s all-time assists leader. He averages 15.6 points.

Things appeared bleak for Saint Mary’s after a 14-point loss at Murray State in a BracketBusters game Feb. 18. But Bennett’s squad bounced back with four straight wins to end the season.

Saint Mary’s, which is comprised largely of Australian players, has won 25 or more games in each of the past five seasons. On Friday the Gaels will attempt to beat a Purdue squad that has won its past 13 games in the round of 64.

“They’ve got a lot of depth, a lot of talented guys,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We’re going to have our hands full.”

Players to watch:

Robbie Hummel, Purdue -- The senior’s 16.3-point scoring average is a career high, and so are his 7.1 rebounds per game. He's averaging just 10.6 points in his past three contests.

Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s -- One of the more fundamentally sound point guards in the country averages 15.6 points and 6.4 assists.

Rob Jones, Saint Mary’s -- The senior forward is a bit undersized at 6-foot-6, but you’d hardly be able to tell by looking at the stat sheet. Jones averages 14.8 points and 10.7 rebounds.

No. 2 Kansas (27-6) vs. No. 15 Detroit (22-13), 9:57 p.m. ET

For all the thrills they’ve experienced in the regular season, the Kansas Jayhawks still have painful memories from their past two NCAA tournaments.

More than the defeats, it’s who the Jayhawks lost to that has been hard for Bill Self’s team to stomach.

Two years ago it was Northern Iowa. Last season, Virginia Commonwealth.

When Kansas drew No. 15 seed Detroit in the round of 64 in this year’s tournament, more than a few fans feared that another upset loss to a mid-major team could be in store.

“We didn’t come to play,” point guard Tyshawn Taylor said of the past two years. “We thought if we just showed up, we’d beat those teams.”

The Jayhawks probably don’t have that opinion of Detroit, which features a McDonald’s All-American in Ray McCallum Jr. and a pro-caliber center in Eli Holman, who began his career at Indiana.

The Titans, who earned an automatic bid by beating Valparaiso by 20 points on their home floor, may be the most talented No. 15 seed in the history of the tournament. Seven of their 13 losses came without Holman, who was suspended for the fall semester.

Holman will be one of the main players charged with defending Big 12 Player of the Year Thomas Robinson, who averages 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds. He certainly sounded confident when asked about the matchup earlier in the week.

“Robinson?” Holman said. “I can handle Robinson. He has to handle me.”

Detroit head coach Ray McCallum -- the father of the star point guard -- said the last thing his players intended to do was disrespect Kansas.

“I think some of those comments have been exaggerated,” the coach said. “We’ve been a team that hasn’t bragged or boasted about anything. Some of the things in print, I scratch my head, like 'Where did that come from?'

“I don’t think [it’s] arrogance. We’ve got great respect for their team. We know they’re truly one of the best. We’re going to have to play our best game of the year to win.”

Players to Watch:

Thomas Robinson, Kansas -- The first-team All-American and Wooden Award candidate has gone from a nonstarter to one of the best players in America. The NCAA tournament will likely mark the final time he will be in a Kansas uniform, as he’s expected to enter the NBA draft.

Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas -- Not many point guards in the country were as good during the second half of the season as Taylor, who led the Jayhawks in scoring in Big 12 play. The senior is a fourth-year starter

Ray McCallum Jr., Detroit -- The son of the Titans’ head coach averages 15.6 points per game but shoots just 25 percent from beyond the arc. He chose Detroit over schools such as Kansas, Florida and UCLA.

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.

INDIANAPOLIS — Thoughts on Purdue's 79-61 victory over Nebraska:

Overview: Nebraska was competitive in the opening minutes. But after taking a 12-8 lead on a Bo Spencer layup with 14:43 remaining in the first half, the Cornhuskers didn’t score for the next eight minutes. By that point, the Boilermakers held a 25-15 lead. The Cornhuskers couldn’t overcome the deficit, although they were within four in the first minute of the second half.

Turning point: When Purdue launched a 17-0 run at the 14:27 mark of the first half.

Key player: Anthony Johnson led Purdue in scoring with 17 points, on 7-of-10 shooting, off the bench. He also recorded 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Key stat: The Boilermakers shot 52 percent from the field (7-for-13 from beyond the arc) in the first half; they shot 56 percent overall in the game. Five Boilermakers recorded double figures.

Miscellaneous: The Boilermakers have looked like a better team since the dismissal of Kelsey Barlow … Bo Spencer is a stud (22 points), but he was underrated this season because of Nebraska’s struggles … Doc Sadler could be one of two Big Ten coaches (Bruce Weber being the other) who coached their final Big Ten tournament games Thursday.

What’s next: Purdue will face Ohio State on Friday night. Nebraska will go home and wait to see if Sadler is offered more time to change the program.

1. Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin has done a tremendous job. How so? The Vols can actually be the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament. How? If Tennessee beats Vanderbilt in Knoxville and Florida loses to Kentucky -- both very plausible -- then UT would be the 2-seed, winning a three-way tie at 10-6 with Florida and Vanderbilt or a four-way tie with those two and Alabama if the Tide win at Ole Miss. That’s how important the sweep of the Gators is to Tennessee. What’s amazing is that the Vols would be leapfrogged for an NCAA bid by Vandy, Florida and Alabama.

2. Northwestern has had so many chances to make the NCAAs over the past three seasons. But nothing compares to Wednesday night. In what could have been the most important regular-season game in Northwestern history, the Wildcats were within seconds of forcing overtime against No. 11 Ohio State before Jared Sullinger brought a purple rain of tears from the Wildcats fan base. Northwestern isn't dead yet, since there are opportunities against Iowa on the road and in the Big Ten tournament. But the heartbreak of the Wildcats fans must be Red Sox-Cubs like. There is no curse but it sure feels like there is one.

3. Purdue clobbered visiting Penn State on Wednesday night and it looked like no one left Mackey Arena. Why? The fans wanted to celebrate the career of Robbie Hummel. It was great theater. Hummel has had a tremendous college career, coming back from two ACL injuries. He has been the consummate team player. It’s such a shame he never got a chance to play with JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore last season when the Boilermakers could have made the Final Four. Bravo on a great career.

Finally, there's serious movement in the Big Ten Power Rankings. And it mostly centers on Ohio State’s recent struggles and Iowa’s … surge? Without further ado, the new Big Ten Power Rankings:

1. Michigan State: Tom Izzo is certainly in the national coach of the year conversation. And Draymond Green is the Big Ten’s player of the year. The Spartans have won a slice of the Big Ten title, and with a victory at Indiana on Tuesday, they would earn the outright conference championship. A loss against the Hoosiers, however, would set up a possible three-way tie for first in the Big Ten, with Ohio State traveling to East Lansing on Sunday.
2. Michigan: The Wolverines’ Saturday loss to Purdue snapped a four-game winning streak for Michigan. And it was its first home loss of the year. The Wolverines don’t control their own fate, but with a little help and road wins over Penn State and Illinois this week, they could grab a share of the Big Ten title.
3. Wisconsin: The Badgers bounced back from a midweek loss to Iowa by outplaying Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday. They held Jared Sullinger to eight points, his second-lowest tally of the season. And down the stretch, they were the tougher team.
4. Ohio State: Columbus, we have a problem. The Buckeyes have lost three of their past five games. And Sullinger is struggling (17 points combined in past two games). This Buckeyes squad has Final Four talent, but I'm not sure it has Final Four poise. This team panicked on its final possessions against the Badgers. Do the Bucks have the necessary leadership to make a run in March?
5. Purdue: The Boilermakers needed a signature victory to feel more secure about their at-large hopes. So they played with passion during a 75-61 win at Michigan this weekend. Matt Painter continues to find a way with this team. Despite limited size, limited depth and off-court issues, the Boilermakers are an NCAA tourney team.
6. Indiana: The Hoosiers were never going to live up to the hype that commenced after December victories over Kentucky and Ohio State. But you have to step back and take a look at what’s happened in Bloomington this season. A team that won three Big Ten games last season is comfortably in the field of 68 and has amassed 22 victories. The Hoosiers crushed Minnesota on Sunday (69-50 in Minneapolis), avenging an earlier loss to the Gophers.
7. Northwestern: Wildcats fans, prepare to send towels my way so I can wipe the egg off my face. Weeks ago, I was confident that the Wildcats wouldn’t sniff the NCAA tournament. But here they are, right on the bubble. If they beat Ohio State and win at Iowa this week, how could the selection committee leave them out? A .500 conference record isn’t sexy, but look around the country. They wouldn’t be the only team with questions surrounding their postseason résumés. Plus, the Wildcats can secure another major win in the Big Ten tournament. There’s a first for everything, right?
8. Iowa: Yep, it can happen. It hasn’t happened. But it can. The loss at Illinois on Sunday was disappointing, but the Hawkeyes (7-9 in the Big Ten) can play their way into the field of 68. If they win their next two and get to the Big Ten final, the selection committee would have to consider them. Reminds me of the 2009-10 Minnesota team I covered, one that upset Purdue and Michigan State in the conference tournament and earned an at-large berth that season.
9. Minnesota: This was supposed to be the week that the Gophers solidified themselves as a team with a legit argument for the NCAA tournament. But they unraveled during a must-win home game against Michigan State. And they were crushed by Indiana on Sunday. This squad overcame the November loss of Trevor Mbakwe to a knee injury, and it’s been in a position to earn an at-large berth in recent weeks. But it continues to squander crucial opportunities. Time has run out for Tubby Smith’s team.
10. Illinois: The Fighting Illini needed Sunday’s win over Iowa, a win that snapped a six-game losing skid for Bruce Weber’s team. With matchups against Michigan and Wisconsin ahead, the Fighting Illini can give their at-large résumé at least a fighting chance.
11. Penn State: The Nittany Lions pushed Northwestern, a desperate bubble team, to the brink Saturday during a 67-66 loss. They’ve lost a lot of games, but they’ve never given up under first-year coach Pat Chambers.
12. Nebraska: You can rearrange the bottom four in a variety of ways, but some team has to fill this spot. The Cornhuskers’ Big Ten debut hasn’t gone so well, as evidenced by their 34-point performance at MSU this weekend. But at least they’ll have an opportunity to spoil some team’s postseason aspirations in the Big Ten tournament.

Click here to read our afternoon recap. Now back to the lecture at hand, which comes in three parts:

The Rivalry

No. 2 Syracuse 71, Connecticut 69: One of the many things to love about this Syracuse team -- besides its great zone defense and incredible depth and talent and length and pretty much everything besides defensive rebounding -- is how well it handles close games. Since the Jan. 21 loss at Notre Dame, Syracuse has taken respective best shots from Cincinnati, West Virginia, Georgetown, Louisville, South Florida and now at UConn, and each time the Orange have either pulled away late or made the key stop down the stretch to preserve the narrow win. It's a real skill, and it isn't entirely intangible; when you have a defense this good, you tend to get a lot of stops, and there's no reason why that wouldn't be true in the final minutes of any given game, too. But however you quantify it, the Orange win close games. Such traits tend to come in handy in March.

As for Connecticut? While the Huskies didn't get the win, they appear to be rounding into form, or at least starting to figure a few things out. UConn had its fair share of issues with Syracuse's zone, and there were plenty of bad shots to be had, but the Huskies were much more balanced (four players finished in double figures, while Ryan Boatright and Shabazz Napier combined for 13 assists) and competent on both ends of the floor in the second half. Unless it suddenly begins shooting the ball from outside at a much higher clip, this team probably has a ceiling. But there are plenty of realistic improvements to be made. Even better, many of them appear to be in progress. Let's not bury this team just yet.

The Upsets

Purdue 75, No. 13 Michigan 61: When Purdue guard Ryne Smith was asked what he thought about guard Kelsey Barlow's dismissal from the team last week, he was direct, even curt: "Addition by subtraction," Smith said. Apparently he was right. Whatever the reason, Purdue played its best game of the season Saturday at the most important time, containing Michigan's outside shooters and slowly stretching a second-half lead thanks to the heady play of point guard Lewis Jackson, forward Robbie Hummel and, most importantly, guard Terone Johnson, who scored a career-high 22 points and made a handful of key plays down the stretch, including two big and-1 finishes around the rim. Purdue is an unconventional team with no true post presence; the Boilermakers rely on Hummel's outside-in versatility and an extended, guard-oriented style. This makes them a great matchup for Michigan, and, in their own way, a dangerous team.

In any case, Purdue can now feel entirely safe about its at-large NCAA tournament chances. Beating Michigan at home -- the Wolverines' first home loss of the season -- is most definitely a signature victory. And it couldn't have come at a better time.

TCU 83, No. 21 New Mexico 64: Let's hear it for TCU! A round of applause is most definitely in order. At this time in 2011, the Horned Frogs were in the midst of a season-ending 13-game losing streak, en route to an 11-22 finish. This season is an entirely different story: TCU is playing its best basketball down the stretch, having won four of its past five (and eight in a row at home) and toppling ranked UNLV and New Mexico and a good Colorado State squad in the process. The key: great 3-point shooting. The Horned Frogs lead the league in long-range makes in conference play, and they're undefeated at home as a result. What a difference a year makes.

In the meantime ... um, what happened to New Mexico? Last Saturday, we watched in near-awe as the Lobos thoroughly dominated UNLV, which came just a few days after a 10-point win at San Diego State. Steve Alford's team, once a relatively unheralded efficiency darling with few good wins to show for it, looked set to run away with the Mountain West and make a deep run into March. Since then, the Lobos are 0-2 and are now in a three-way tie. A loss at Colorado State makes some sense; we know the Rams are tough, particularly at home. And this is not to take away from TCU, which (as you just read above) is giving everyone more than they bargained for in February, particularly in their own building. But a 19-point blowout loss? Isn't this the team that just rolled UNLV in the Pit and moved to 8-2 in the league? It's kind of weird, right?

Georgia 76, No. 11 Florida 62: This is an upset, of course, but I'm not sure we should be all that surprised. Frankly, I'm not sure if a Florida loss should ever truly catch us off guard. Don't get me wrong: The Gators are good. But they're a specific kind of good. When their steady diet of 3s are falling, they can shoot opponents off the floor before said opponents even have a chance to catch their breath. But if the shots aren't going down, Florida has no Plan B. Patric Young is the only true post presence, and his offensive game is still a work in progress (and he's still underutilized as a scoring threat to boot). The Gators' defense -- which ranks fifth in opponents' points per possession in SEC play, No. 10 in opponents' 3-point field goal percentage and No. 10 in block rate -- still isn't good enough to hold opponents in check when the shots clanging off the iron and the opponents start turning long rebounds into secondary breaks and easy buckets. Florida might yet get there on the defensive end, but it isn't yet. If this UF team has a lower ceiling than it should, well, that's why.

The Bubble Specials

Alabama 67, Mississippi State 50: It was instinctively easy to write off the Crimson Tide when coach Anthony Grant suspended Tony Mitchell and JaMychal Green; it was easy to predict a late collapse, even a fall off the bubble, for a team whose two leading scorers would be missing such important games down the stretch. Instead, the Crimson Tide keep, well, rolling. They've now won three in a row and prevented any hint of a collapse. Mississippi State, on the other hand, appears to be doing exactly that: The Bulldogs are collapsing. This is the Bulldogs' fifth consecutive defeat, a stretch that has included some good basketball (in the near-miss vs. Kentucky this week) but also some baffling losses (the loss at Auburn especially). It's no stretch to say Mississippi State -- which for much of the season looked like a tourney near-lock -- could wind up missing the tournament after all. The Bulldogs are, after all, 6-8 and tied with rival Ole Miss in the SEC standings. Ouch.

Northwestern 67, Penn State 66: Breathe a big ol' sigh of relief, Northwestern fans: In the chase for their first NCAA tournament appearance in school history, the Wildcats remain very much alive. Senior forward John Shurna made the game-winning free throws with just 2.6 seconds remaining, giving Bill Carmody his first win in State College since 2002. Big challenges still lie ahead: Ohio State comes to town on Wednesday, followed by next weekend's season-ender at Iowa, a team that just knocked off Indiana and Wisconsin in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. But for now, some minor rejoicing is in order. Northwestern's tourney hopes are still very real.

Rutgers 77, Seton Hall 72 (OT): Let's not take Seton Hall off the bubble just yet, eh? The Pirates got a great win over Georgetown this week, one that could have firmed up a previously shaky at-large profile. All Seton Hall needed to do the rest of the way was avoid bad losses. Well, losing to a young, 13-16 Rutgers team at home is just that. Next weekend, the Hall travels to DePaul. If the Pirates lose there, all the good vibes from the emphatic Georgetown victory will have almost entirely faded from the picture.

VCU 89, George Mason 77: First things first: Thanks to Drexel's one-point win at Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon, VCU's win over George Mason won't give them a share of the CAA title this season. Bummer, sure, but the Rams would surely settle for a spot in the NCAA tournament, something to which they're at least a little closer after this victory today. As a league, the Colonial's top teams (Drexel, VCU and GMU) didn't get quality nonconference wins (VCU's best came against South Florida, for example), so any at-large consideration will have to come from separation at the top and perhaps a pair of deep runs for both Drexel and VCU in the CAA tournament. A win here was a must, and Shaka Smart's team got it, behind Bradford Burgess' career-high 31 points.

Dayton 76, UMass 43: A home loss to UMass can't be called "bad," but for a team like Dayton -- which is desperately scrapping for a spot in the NCAA tournament -- it could have been disastrous. Instead, the opposite happened: UD won, and won big, looking very much like one of the A-10's best teams and a squad worthy of a tourney bid in the process. We'll see how the Flyers finish up, but if they're one of the last four in, they might just be one of the play-in game candidates, which are held in -- you guessed it -- Dayton!

Saint Joseph's 82, No. 22 Temple 72: Speaking of somewhat fringe Atlantic 10 tournament hopefuls, the A-10 can't offer a bubble team a better shot at a marquee win than Temple on its own floor late in the season, but the Hawks still had to overcome Fran Dunphy's typically peerless bunch, which had won its previous 11 games and 13 in the 15-game stretch beginning with its Jan. 4 victory over Duke. Phil Martelli's team is now 9-6 in the league and 19-11 overall, and it added the one thing it desperately needed to its profile: A legitimate top-25 RPI win. Temple is most definitely that.

Penn 55, Harvard 54: Just when you think it's time to plan a long-awaited Harvard hoops coronation, Penn's Zack Rosen comes along, scores 20 points, makes a huge jumper down the stretch and ices two game-winning free throws in the final 30 seconds. And all of a sudden the Ivy League race is legitimately up for grabs with both of these teams having two losses. (Another one-game playoff for the Crimson? Oh boy.) As an at-large entity, Harvard is still in decent shape, but its profile isn't so strong that it can afford to lose at either Columbia or Cornell in its final two games, lose out on the Ivy auto-bid, and still feel safe about being picked to join the group of 37 at-large teams. Big days ahead for Tommy Amaker's team.

Washington 59, Washington State 55: For the first 10 or so minutes of the first half, it looked like Wazzu was going to hand its in-state opponent the type of loss that would severely damage Washington's at-large chances. But the Huskies fought back and, as the AP report notes, won the game's most important battle -- at the charity stripe: "Ultimately, the game came down to free throws. WSU (14-14, 6-10) went 11 of 12 to keep the game tied at 28-all despite shooting 27 percent in the first half. In the second half, the Cougars shot 6 of 20 from the free throw line, while the Huskies, who only went 2 of 5 in the first half, finished 17 of 24." The win keeps Washington on the right side of the bubble for now, but UW's marginal profile might not be able to survive a loss at either USC or UCLA going away.

Xavier 65, Richmond 57: Kenny Frease's season highs in both points (19) and rebounds (14) helped carry Xavier to an ugly but ultimately victorious Saturday. A loss here would have kicked Xavier off the bubble for good and almost certainly, barring an upset in the A-10 tournament, ended Chris Mack's 100 percent NCAA tournament hit rate in his XU tenure. Instead, the Musketeers live to fight another day.

No. 21 San Diego State 74, Colorado State 66: The Rams pass at least two NCAA tournament bubble tests: The RPI/SOS numbers are great, and they sure do look like a tournament team. But will that be enough? A win in Viejas Arena would have provided a tidy bookend to this week's huge victory over New Mexico, but the loss isn't a huge deal. Colorado State, which is undefeated at home in Mountain West play, hosts UNLV in Fort Collins in just three days' time. Win that one and the Rams are probably set.

Robbie Hummel and Terone Johnson combined for 39 points as visiting Purdue upset No. 13 Michigan 75-61.