With NCAA tournament berths on the line, conference tournament play this week featured its fair share of upsets and close calls:
In the ACC, top-seed and tournament favorite Notre Dame emerged as tournament champions for the second year in a row behind the sensational play of Jewell Loyd. The second-ranked Fighting Irish defeated Miami 77-61 on Friday and were pushed to the limits Saturday in a 55-49 victory against No. 16 Duke. After holding an 11-point halftime lead, the Blue Devils were able to get within four before faltering down the stretch. In the championship game, Notre Dame easily dispatched a turnover-prone Florida State team—which was making its first appearance in the ACC championship game as the No. 7 team in the nation. With the string of victories, the Fighting Irish finished the regular season 31-2 and are a lock for a number-one seed in the NCAA tournament.
Arguably the biggest upset of the week came in the Pac-12 tournament, as regular-season champions and No. 8 Oregon State was stunned 68-65 in the quarterfinals by a Colorado team six games under .500 in the Pac-12. The loss paved the path to the finals for fourth-seeded California, which faced third-seeded and No. 19 Stanford in the championship game. The Cardinal prevailed in the most recent installment of the rivalry, winning their 11th Pac-12 title 61-60 in Seattle.
Throughout the regular season, the SEC has appeared to be one of the best basketball conferences in the nation and this week’s postseason tournament displayed why. No. 12 Kentucky and unranked Louisiana State showed their ability to make life tough on teams in the NCAA tournament as both teams played conference favorites South Carolina and Tennessee tough in losses in the semifinal games.
With the winner of the championship game between the third-ranked Gamecocks and fifth-ranked Volunteers essentially a lock to get a one-seed in the NCAA tournament, stakes were high in the SEC Championship between the two regular-season co-champions. However, South Carolina would make big plays in the second-half and pull away from Tennessee late to clinch its first SEC tournament title.
Two of the most dominant teams in the nation once again displayed their power as No. 4 Maryland won their 24th consecutive game with a 77-74 victory against Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament championship game. The Terrapins' victory gave them a perfect record in the Big Ten this season and with the victory the team appears poised to be a top-seed when the NCAA tournament bracket is released next Monday.
On the other hand, No. 13 Princeton continued to extend its undefeated season with a pair of road victories against Cornell and Columbia this week. The 29-0 Tigers seem to have garnered more attention of late, but do not appear to have enough on their resume to earn the right to host the first two rounds of tournament games. Princeton will have the chance to finish the regular season undefeated with a victory against Pennsylvania this week.
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