1. Duke is still an elite team. – The Blue Devils had plenty of doubters (including me) after dropping two-straight earlier in January. Duke returned to their winning ways shortly after, earning Coach K his 1,000th win in the process. They got off track again briefly with a close loss on the road to No. 8 Notre Dame on Jan. 28 after Jerian Grant decided to do Jerian Grant things late in the game. The loss wasn’t a bad one necessarily, but it signaled that perhaps the Blue Devils didn’t belong at the top of the ladder with teams such as Kentucky, Gonzaga, Virginia, etc.
But then Duke went and beat Virginia 69-63 on Saturday, in Charlottesville, handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season. The Blue Devils went on a 16-5 in the final eight minutes of the second half, dismantling the No.1 defense in the country and leaving the 14,593 in John Paul Jones Arena stunned. It was the marquee win that Duke has been lacking all season in a top-heavy ACC, and showed that when Jahlil Okafor and Quinn Cook get adequate help on the offensive end from teammates, the Blue Devils are virtually unstoppable.
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2. Jerian Grant is making a serious run for the Naismith Award. – Jahlil Okafor has been considered the runaway choice for Player of the Year for most of the season, but in recent weeks, Grant has been stealing the spotlight. He was somewhat mediocre in the Fighting Irish’s recent inexplicable loss to Pitt, but was still able to net himself 14 points and four steals. His performance prior to that in the win against Duke was superb however. Grant finished with 23 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, and three steals, while nearly single-handedly sealing the game in the closing minutes against the Blue Devils on a variety of plays on both ends of the floor. Games like that against a top-tier team is certainly a good way to make a case for yourself.
3. The Big 12 is impossible to predict. – The Big 12 is considered by most to be the best conference in college basketball this season, and for good reason. Such a tough conference leads to the inevitable cannibalization however, as the cluster of competitive teams beat each other back and forth on a weekly basis. The Kansas Jayhawks have been able to elevate themselves above the fray, but the rest of the conference standings remain wide open, with teams often trading victories in their respective series while throwing in the occasional “bad” loss to go along with upsets of their own. For example, No.21 Oklahoma lost to No.16 West Virginia 86-65 back on Jan. 13, but managed to return the favor and dominate the Mountaineers on Tuesday night by a score of 71-52. The 11-11 Texas Tech Red Raiders followed up their victory over No.9 Iowa State with a 45-point drubbing at Oklahoma last week. And the Texas team that beat West Virginia by 27 points on Jan. 17? They’ve lost three-straight, yet still remain in the rankings. Good luck trying to figure out who will be behind Kansas by mid-March.
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4. Tennessee still loves Bruce Pearl. – It’s no secret that Bruce Pearl left the Volunteers in 2011 under some very undesirable circumstances. And it would probably make sense for the Tennessee fan base to be a little cold to the former coach in his first game in Knoxville since returning from his three-year exile, this time at the helm of the Auburn Tigers. But cold they were not. The crowd inside Thompson-Boling Arena cheered for Pearl early and often during the Volunteers 71-63 victory, and Pearl stuck around afterwards to chat with the familiar faces in the media, obviously delighted to see them again. Regardless of how he left the program, Knoxville will always be appreciative to Pearl for putting the program on the map.
5. Northern Iowa is for real. – The No.14 Panthers have already disposed of teams such as Iowa, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, and Richmond, but have still been waiting on a statement win this season after missing a chance by falling 93-87 to No. 18 VCU in double-overtime on Dec. 13. They finally got it on Saturday, as they took down No.12 Wichita State 70-54 in their first Missouri Valley Conference meeting of the season. Northern Iowa got the job done with defense yet again, limiting the Shockers to 5-of-24 from three, and 17-of-48 overall. Panthers senior forward and leading-scorer Seth Tuttle had a career-high 29 points, while junior guard Wes Washpun added 16 in a typical performance off the bench. Northern Iowa has a relatively easy conference schedule before facing Wichita State for final time in the regular season finale on Feb. 28th. The Panthers are an experienced and dangerous team that will be poised for a deep tournament run by the time the Big Dance rolls around, regardless of how the MVC shakes out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0wPoI124Vw
