North Carolina could almost taste it.
For a large part of the season, the Tar Heels could not do the work against high -level opponents. They would get closer, only so as not to be short to obtain a signature victory.
Needing this brand on their curriculum vitae, North Carolina welcomed a heated rival and a candidate in the national championship Duke In the final of the regular season. A golden opportunity to prove that it belongs to the NCAA tournament.
At the start of the second half, it seemed that the North Carolina would finally do it. He had limited the impact of Cooper Flagg on the game and with a seven -point lead, the crowd Dean Dome was in a frenzy. A victory – and a place in March Madness – was in sight.
But as has been so many times this season, everything has collapsed. The sleeping giant in the Blue Devils woke up and decided to precipitate the dreams. Duke closed the last 13 minutes on a 29-10 race and sucked all life of those of Carolina Blue on the way to An 82-69 victory.
Do not leave the 20-12 record to be mistaken. Thirteen victories came against the adversaries of Quad 3 and 4, and only one – against the UCLA in December – was against a team of probable March. In the Quad 1 matches, the North Carolina entered the night a horrible 1-10. Even with the name on the front of the jersey, the North Carolina had to prove that it could beat a quality opponent after failing to do it many and many times.
One of the first four teams in the latest version of the USA TODAY sports range, a victory could have catapult the North Carolina in the projected field and repair what was a frustrating campaign for Hubert Davis. Instead, luck has still been wasted. There is nothing impressive in his 20 victories season.
With less than a perfect race through the ACC tournament, it will be two NCAA tournaments missed in three seasons for North Carolina, far from the standard expectations in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels failed when they couldn’t afford it. They lead the winners and losers of the bubble the last weekend of the regular season.
Winners
Indiana
What an incredible shipment for Mike Woodson. Coach in his last home game at the Assembly Hall, Indiana overcome a slow start against Ohio State with a categorical finish. A race of 15-3 halfway through the second half recovered the Indiana in the match, and a 12-0 race in the last minutes helped cap the victory of the season to have the Ohio State in one of the most pivotal bubble matches on Saturday.
The end of the end of the NCAA tournament is very lively for Indiana, shaking the collapse of Oregon on Tuesday to win its fourth victory in the last five games. The victory of Quad 2 pushed the Hoosiers to 5-0 in such games, and it is remarkable because even if they have 12 defeats, they all came against the opponents of Quad 1 – they have no bad losses. In addition, they pleaded to take the place of Ohio State in the field. The victory gave the Indiana the seeded n ° 9 in the Big Ten tournament to avoid the first round and set up a second round match against the Ducks. The Hoosiers failed just short from their meeting earlier in the week; If they can change their fortune, the big dance could be in the cards.
Oklahola
What a week it was in Norman when Oklahoma was snatched two Quad 1 victories to end the regular season. The icing on the top is the last, which came to the field at home in Texas Rival. It was a back and forth competition that showed how desperate each team was for a victory, but the 3-point pointer from Brycen Goodine with just over two minutes to show ahead of six points and the Sooners were able to remember the Longe chât The rest of the way for the victory of the declaration.
Things seemed dark for Oklahoma before the week with six defeats in its last seven games, which led to the thrust of the planned support. But now, mix the victory of Saturday with that of the Missouri on Wednesday and the Sooners now have 6-10 quad games 1. Their chances are much higher.
There is still a lot of work necessary, and it will not be easy with Georgia in the first round of the SEC and Kentucky tournament while waiting for the winner. But Oklahoma was the first team and Texas was the last team on the field. A thong could occur; The Sooners could start the last week before the selection on Sunday with a first screening.
While RJ Melendez’s potential shooting for the Mississippi State rebounded on the rim, the Arkansas felt closer to the dance. The razorbacks survived a chaotic end by a victory at a point on the Bulldogs. A good start of the second half seemed that it would lead to a convincing victory of the Arkansas, but a race of 12-0 at the end of the Bulldogs overthrew the script and had the pigs sweat. Fortunately, some clutch strokes and a frank lance from Jonas Aidoo with 11 seconds to play were sufficient to avoid a disastrous end of the regular season.
Arkansas recovered from the disastrous defeat in South Carolina a week ago with two quality victories against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. The loss against the Gamecocks pushed the razorbacks to the bubble. They needed a perfect week to avoid having a trembling destiny. A quad 1 and 2 victory does each of the wonders for the team of John Calipari and gave them an excellent positioning in the SEC tournament. He will get a crack to avenge the defeat against South Carolina in the first round. A victory in this match may be sufficient to get a place in the NCAA tournament.
Losers
Ohio State
The victory was just in the hands of Ohio State, but she let her escape when she couldn’t afford it. Entering an environment hostile to Indiana, the Buckeyes Installing the crowd early and the Indiana could only bring together nine points in the first 12 minutes. They stayed in advance for much of the afternoon and led by 10 points in the second period. Then, the errors occurred, the Indiana returned to the game and the Ohio State could only look at the pandemonium taking place inside the assembly room. Buckeyes did not reach a basket in the last five minutes in the six -point defeat.
Ohio State could not pay the victory in double extension over the Nebraska earlier in the week and missed a gold chance to guarantee its seventh Quad 1 victory of the season. Now buckeyes are 6 to 12 years old in the category. Their 14 total losses are the most among the candidates for the large scale. As the first four candidates, the Ohio State could be falling from the field and will need an impressive outing in the Big Ten tournament to stay alive. Playing against the seeded n ° 15 in the first round, it means getting two victories, and perhaps a third.
Texas
The Longhorns will be haunted by what happened at home. They unusually overturned the ball, which resulted in Oklahoma 21 points, including the last one that came on a last second failed shot. It was a night that Tre Johnson would like to forget. The star of Longhorns has become a potential talent of the NBA this season, but it was completely off while 0 for 14 on the ground, with its seven points from the line of free throws. An unusual night at the worst time for Texas.
Texas was the last team that was to do the NCAA tournament, but this place probably disappeared thanks to the defeat on Saturday. It was a chance of his quad 2 record, but instead, he is now at 3-5. A victory could have given Texas a cushion on the bubble, but instead, it is now in an essential situation before the SEC tournament. He does not get an easy first match with Vanderbilt scheduled for Wednesday, a team with which he has already lost earlier this season. If the Longhorns want a NCAA tournament, he will have to repair his mistakes immediately.
Friday evening, Boisse State abandoned a critical home competition against Colorado State. It was back and forth for a large part of the first half and the Broncos had a lead of nine points with 11 minutes to travel, but the Rams closed the competition on an impressive 32-13 race for a 10-point victory.
It was an overwhelming defeat for a team from Boise State who entered the night with five consecutive victories and gained momentum to a NCAA tournament place. One of the last four teams on the ground, the loss of quad 2 pushes its combined record Quad 1 and 2 to 6-7 and it is now n ° 49 in the net ranking. Although the state of Colorado is a good team which will be the seeded n ° 2 of the conference tournament, it is not planned to be a tournament team in general and these are the teams that Boisse State must beat. Now, with his hopes of March Madness suspended in the scale, broncos must have a successful Mountain West tournament. It will not be easy with the state of San Diego which awaits them in the quarter -finals.
This article originally appeared on USA Today: Winning university basketball bubbles, losers: UNC cannot improve the CV
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