on the second to last night of February it was a marquee slate up and down the board on a Wednesday in college hoops all around the country including in the SEC top 15 tilt yesterday in Knoxville between fourth ranked Tennessee and 11th ranked Auburn each and every game last night DRS in the Southeastern Conference implications on that regular season Championship race in the SEC of course that is also doubly important for C in the SEC tournament starting in just about 2 weeks in Nashville yester
day in a different area of Tennessee the volunteers looked like the fourth best team in the nation a game that had hype a game that had the Marquee a game that we all hoped would be Sensational certainly was Tennessee the fourth ranked team in the country wins by eight 9284 in a back and forth battle that really remained close for all four 40 minutes last night in Knoxville the volunteers closed as a 6 and a half Point home favorite they cover as a 6 and a half Point home favorite Tennessee has
now won five straight entering this grueling stretch down the end of the regular season and despite Donnie both the Tigers and the volunteers ranking in the top five in defensive efficiency around the country in college basketball a total of 151 and a half stood no chance yeah we knew there was going to be Tempo in this game but we also knew we had two good defensive teams coming in and also the stakes were very high in the SEC which might lead us to believe that you might have a playoff atmosph
ere well granted the offenses certainly brought their Aames but the defenses were nowhere to be found which included as we talked about fouling 25 fouls for Auburn 21 fouls here for Virginia for excuse me for Tennessee but also equating to both team shooting over 75% from the free throw line both teams shooting over 40% from the three-point line and both teams shooting at least 46% from the floor you throw in some Tempo you're going to get some explosive offensive performances which you saw Tenn
essee get into the 90s and certainly Auburn get into the 80s this was a great win here for Tennessee it almost feels like when we talk about the top three teams at the FanDuel sports book b listed as the favorites to cut down the Nets they're just behind them but they get overshadowed by other teams sometimes those hot teams like in the SEC with kuy you saw yesterday a tweet from the FanDuel sports book that basically said we're in trouble if Kentucky makes a deep run into the tournament which I
love to see and at the same time Ben hated to see at the same time because I've been trying to find a way to take Kentucky and apparently so has everybody else but that's a great win for Tennessee one of those teams that's supposed to do damage but maybe being a little bit overlooked right now Ben listen there are the doubters and rightfully so for Rick Barnes leading any of his teams to the promised land in an NCAA tournament and that has been the case at Tennessee they have never seen the Eli
te 8 under Rick Barnes with I believe five or six NCA AA tournament appearances but if you trust the kenpom metrics these two teams out of the SEC are far better suited for a deep run in the big dance than either Alabama or Kentucky and we'll get toab in just a moment Tennessee 17th best offense third most efficient defense Auburn 13th best offense sixth best defense both falling within the top 20 in those key metrics that have often been an indicator over the last two decades of national champi
onship contending success in D1 men's college basketball Tennessee has a gauntlet to go to win the SEC when you look at the conference odds right now for the volunteers to win the Southeastern Conference minus 125 but Alabama also in minus money again we'll get to the Crimson Tide in just a moment Tennessee at the moment tied for the fourth best pric to win a National Championship at 13 to1 alongside Arizona those two teams though behind The Big Three all in three digits Yukon Houston and Purdue
Tennessee has now won seven of their last eight games they have covered in six of those seven victories DRS Auburn's only been a dog twice this year both coming in SEC play on the road against Alabama on the road last night in Knoxville against the volunteers they are 0 and2 against the spread but they have not covered by a total of two points one and a half off the margin of 6 and A2 last night they did not cover by the hook earlier this year in SEC play against Alabama a three and a half Poin
t dog they lost by four alurn under Bruce Pearl will be right there one final point about Tennessee before we move on know the name Dalton connect the Northern Colorado transfer is maybe the best easy scorer in college basketball 39 points to lead Tennessee last night speaking of scoring DRS that is what Alabama does with the best of them in college basketball in fact the the best of them Alabama is the most efficient offense in the country the Crimson Tide have now scored 95 or more points in f
ive consecutive SEC plays matching a conference streak at the high major level we had not seen since Roy Williams days not at North Carolina in the early 2000s at Kansas 103 last night for the Crimson Tide on the road in Oxford against ol myth Alabama wins and covers as a 5 and a half Point Road favorite pretty impressive too cuz I thought Old Miss had a chance to stay within that number and if you would have told me before the game Old Miss would wind up with 88 points I probably would have sai
d okay Alabama's on the road probably not going to get to that century mark you should be in it and that should be a cover and it wasn't and this comes from an old Miss Team B who shot 52% from the floor which included 36% from three-point range and close to 78% from the free throw line and also they shot 31 free throws it wasn't like they went seven of 10 from the free throw line at that point this shows you the Firepower for Alabama but also it tells Tells A Tale of yes you're going to live an
d die by the three-point shot they made 41% of the three-point shots at volume shooting 37 of those if you can tell me I can shoot close to 40 three-point shots in a game and make 40% of those Alabama's going to do a lot of damage in March Madness but as we know you're playing on what I call aircraft carriers there with giant domes and airplane hangers it's hard to shoot the three-point shot and rely on it I would like to see Alabama clamp back down on defense here but if you're going to shoot a
round 40% once again from the three-point line to get close to the century mark in basketball games other teams been could have a tough time keeping up with you mark Sears a game high 26 points if Dalton connect is one of the easiest bucket Getters one of the most efficient scores not only in the secc but the country is Mark Sears that's the big difference for Alabama most efficient offense in the country they rank 99th in defensive efficiency that disparity not all that optimistic for a Deep Ru
n in Mar March Alabama 12-3 straight up in the SEC now 10 and five against the number 28 games this year for the tide over in 21 of 28 166 and a half last night stood zero chance as well all Miss who enter SEC play a perfect 13 and0 now just 6 and9 straight up in the conference three and seven both straight up and against the spread as an underdog so Alabama 12-3 Tennessee 12-3 and sec play they play each other in Tuscaloosa on Saturday in a game that might decide the fate of the Southeastern Co
nference again Tennessee minus 125 at this moment the Crimson Tide minus 110 but don't count out South Carolina just yet it hasn't been the easiest last two weeks for Lamont Paris and his Gamecock but South Carolina still in the top 20 on the road last night in College Station the Gamecocks went outright as a 5 and a half Point Underdog 70 to 68 against Texas A&M yeah how about this Texas A&M goes 22 of 25 from the free throw line you think that's great right 88% the only problem is they shot tw
o of 17 from three-point range that's going to do you in every single time that's a big time win for South Carolina and I don't know if we still have the graphic from yesterday because I do want to look back at it wasn't South Carolina like something like 40 or 60 to1 to win the regular season in the SEC and now within one game here of the volunteers and the Crimson Tide we'll see how this finishes but that's a nice Road win there for South Carolina yesterday again within a game of the SEC title
with only a few games to go in the regular season and South Carolina already has a road win this year in Knoxville against the volunteers they will host Tennessee in their second to last game that number on the Gamecocks now 29 to1 again they're only a game behind Alabama and Tennesse in both of those teams in minus money oh by the way don't count out South Carolina because they are now 8 and2 straight up that's outright as an underdog in SEC play it is what this South Carolina team has done al
l season long the metrs don't love the Gamecocks but they look the part of a tournament team we're back before four college hoops breakdowns up next so a big Wednesday night in college basketball around the SEC really the same story in the Big East now you might have only seen one Marquette game this year it might have been two Saturdays ago in Hartford against the number one team in the country at the time in the reigning National Champion Connecticut Huskies and Marquette did not look very goo
d they got beat by 28 points in fact it was a historic Beatdown the largest margin of victory in a top five tilt between two conference opponents in the modern era of the AP poll so you might be thinking ah Marquette despite being the reigning Big East Champs in the regular season and the tournament Shaka Smart's not really doing much this year in Milwaukee you would be wrong this Marette team is darn good the golden eagles now DRS have won 11 of their last 12 games they have won all three games
since the loss to Connecticut two weekends ago in all three victories for the golden eagles not only have they covered as lofty favorites they have won each of the three games by at least 22 points they put up 50 last night against Providence in the opening half in Milwaukee as Marquette wins Big 9169 over the Friars yeah Marquette is good obviously we know that let's go back to let's just say the Villanova game where they played where they won 85 to 80 which the reason I want to bring it up is
they scored 85 points followed by 91 points ver Georgetown 86 versus St John's a low point with Butler 78 then the loss to Yukon like okay let's get back to business here Ben 105 versus the Paul 88 vers Xavier and 91 last night versus Providence now here's what I love because we know Marquette is a a really good team if you want to put out that measuring stick and say I wonder how far they can go into March Madness find out no further than their next two games on the road at kraton then they ta
ke on Yukon at home before ending the season on the road against Xavier and then into the Big East conference tournament before we get to March Madness I can't wait to see this because this is one of those times where if you say okay they beat cron on the road then beat Yukon then beat zagier their number is going to drop certainly by at least three to four before we even get into the conference tournament here I want to see how they respond because everybody has their eyes on not the Craton gam
e which will be a tough one on the road it's that Yukon game at home sort of payback and can they handle their business because if you remember that basketball game as we just said this they didn't score a lot they got blown out that wasn't a one-point loss in double overtime let's see what marquette's made of but everybody likes what they've been seeing lately no doubt about it you have to and Donnie we had this conversation now about a week and a half ago about potential one seeds and at the t
ime I said Marquette could be on that one line behind Yukon Houston and Purdue who at this point seemed to be virtual locks to be on the on line Arizona was the oddson favorite I said take a flyer on Marquette I think you can make it an argument for North Carolina at this moment as well and the reason I highlighted the golden eagles was because of the Quad one opportunities that remain for Marquette in the regular season that road game in Omaha against kraton a home game against Yukon as well bu
t a big update to that was Tyler KCK the reigning Big East player of the year the best one of the best point guards in all of the country leaving early last night about five minutes in to the second half Marquette is calling it an oblique injury shakas smort said after the game no definite timeline or anything on the extent of the injury at this point as we keep it in the Big East kraton came to not all that far away from us inside Madison Square Gorden on Sunday afternoon against the St John's
team firmly on the bubble and Rick patino was wearing all white and you know what happens kraton got beat snapping a four-game win streak against or a four game win streak inside Madison Square Garden against St Johns so how to see you respond last night at home against another bubble Big East team in Sean Hall and kraton responds in a big way nine and a half Point home favorite inside Downtown Omaha kraton wins by 21 564 yeah Co BR are perfect there 10 of 10 yesterday great offensive performanc
e by kraton at home shooting close to 41% as a team from three-point range 77% from the free throw line and close to 55% as a team overall which was 31 of 57 the problem here again it's easy to see when you get beat 85 to 64 you know what I do Ben I go right for the three-point line and how did they do two of nine from three-point range 22% only shooting 41% as a team from the floor the big East is tough homec court is where you certainly want to defend and kraton did that yesterday we'll see if
they can also extend that by knocking off Marquette at home shortly as well that's a good win 12- six now in bigie play for kraton kraton 11th best offense in the country 23rd best defense again those metrics favorable for the Blue Jays unlike years prior when the defense overall wasn't great Ryan caul brener has been fantastic as the anchor of that defense the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year four blocks as as well to go along with the 23 points on the perfect night of shooting f
rom the floor a perfect 10 of 10 Baylor shyan had 20 and 11 a double double Trey Alexander had 15 points and 10 dimes a double double in the starting lineup as well so Katon now has won five of its last six games covering in all five victories and despite being a top 25 defense as Donnie laid out for you last night based on the metrics despite the total working down to 143 and a half it goes over kraton has gone over in eight of its last 11 Big East games and oh as we said St John's on the bubbl
e a big victory for the Johnny's yesterday St John's goes into hle in winds large against the Butler Bulldogs trending in a positive direction for the Red Storm to be in the NCAA tournament maybe Rick patino calling out his players has a proven intention so as we keep it roll around the Big 12 Iowa State a 9 and a2o home favorite last night against Oklahoma it wasn't hle magic but Hilton magic in ases continues Iowa State buckles down defensively in the second half 5845 the victory for the Clone
s over Oklahoma Iowa State covers as a n and a half Point home favorite now 13 and three against the number as a home favorite inside Hilton Coliseum this season yeah if you want three three-point shots close your eyes on that game last night easily staying under the total which wasn't very high in the high 130s 58 to 45 you take a look at Oklahoma going on the road and shooting three of 17 from three-point range which was 18% overall you flipped it over to Iowa State I mean it's crazy give me t
he box score Ben before the game and say which side are you g to take I'm not going to give you Oklahoma statistics how about just Iowa States 33% from the floor 25% from three-point range 70% from the free throw line they probably get beat down in this one but no they won by double digits at home we talk about these games and it's ugly and they say you know what I don't know if I can trust this team but I love the fact that you can play terrible basketball still cover a spread and win easily he
re these are the games you look forward to when the rubber meets the road and your offense really isn't there in the big tournament and you need to get a victory you can reach back on games like this defense always travels here and 45% excuse me 45 points for Oklahoma that's tremendous defense by the Cyclones Iowa State the second best defense in the country Iowa State the best cover team in the Big 12 104 and one against the spread Iowa State still in the running for that big 12 regular season
Crown just trailing Houston the two teams the clones and the cougs split their two regular season matchups Oklahoma now a dog seven times a big 12 play both three and four straight up and against the number Porter Moser in his second year you might know the name Porter Moser he was the head coach of loyol Chicago with sister Jean when they made the magical run to the final four second year in Norman leading ouu they got off to a 13-1 start this year including their first Big 12 Victory to open u
p their conference slate against this Iowa State team at home in Norman since then 6 and 8 there would be a lot of eyeballs last night inside Cameron Indoor not because Duke was a 20 and a half Point favorite against Louisville not to see how the Blue Devils bounce back from A Loss on the road in Wake Forest on Saturday because of what happened at the conclusion of that game the court storm controversy that has taken over college basketball and really all the sports talk shows by storm pun inten
ded throughout this week and Kyle filipowski the man that was injured in the collision with a wake fan who there was a severe knee injury as of Saturday night it was just a little bit sore early this week played last night for Duke so with all the eyeball s how would Duke respond they do so in a big way a 25-point home win 8459 they cover as a 20 and a half Point favorite against a once proud Louisville men's basketball program that under Kenny Payne is anything but proud yeah most people outsid
e of Louisville call it Louisville but the locals call it Louisville and they're so bad now we should just call it Louisville around the league because this is horrible this one of those blue BR programs here that used to battle with Big Blue Nation down there in Kentucky for dominance here Rick patino Denny crumb back in the day this is a proud proud franchise that is falling on Hard Times let's take a look at the Duke Blue Devils we knew they would be able to do whatever they wanton it on offe
nse yesterday and they did shot 56% from the floor as a team how about from three-point range 50% even and also been I mean there was a great performance last night you know the Arthur Ash courageous award at the sb's given out maybe now for Kyle filipowski I mean that was courageous after the court storming where he got spun around like a top and we didn't know if his playing career would be over what an amazing performance to come back against this Louisville team on your home court and score
nine points there we can't let that go Ben courageous that's exactly what I saw last night 29 minutes for Philip palski nine points 10 boards six times again there should never be a situation where a fan or a player is put into a scenario where a collision could happen in a court storming we make the jokes because of how Duke dealt with the aftermath looking at you John Shire I understand but maybe don't flood the injury report that said it was a severe knee sprain for filipowski for him to play
only a few days later Jeremy roach and Jared McCain combined for seven threes last night in the starting lineup for Duke who had won five straight before the trip to Winston Salem on Saturday now make that six of their last 11 Duke is covered in all six victories well talk about Louisville a little bit later on but four games for the cards including last night as a 20 point plus Underdog in school history all four under Kenny Payne it's bad in leville is what we'll call it around the associatio
n next
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