Tag: Bubble Watch

WATCH: Classic Tom Izzo comes out in first round game against Maryland

Watch, Tom Izzo was not happy after a call made in Michigan State’s second-round game against Maryland.

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Michigan State is in the midst of their first Big Ten Tournament game against Maryland. Foul problems have come early and often for the Spartans in this matchup against the Terrapins.

Tom Izzo, much like many Spartan fans watching the game, is not pleased with how the game is being officiated.

Tom Izzo didn’t hide his displeasure with a call made by Bo Boroski and you can watch it here:

Tom Izzo received a technical foul a few possessions later after another Boroski call.

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LOOK: Tom Izzo gets emotional after MSU’s win over Michigan

Watch Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo get emotional after Michigan State’s huge win over in-state rival Michigan.

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Tom Izzo issued a challenge to his team just over two weeks ago. Staring at a 10-9 record and outside of the NCAA Tournament picture, the Spartans needed to find a way to win some games finishing the season strong.

Michigan State answered the challenge, finishing the season with a 5-2 record while beating three teams ranked inside of the top-5.

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Rightfully so, Tom Izzo was very emotional after the game on the court after his team capped off the regular season with a win over in-state rival Michigan. You can watch Izzo’s emotion here:

The Spartans are back in action on Thursday for the Big Ten Tournament.

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WATCH: Highlights from MSU Basketball’s win over Michigan

Watch the highlights from Michigan State’s huge win over the No. 2 ranked Michigan Wolverines on Sunday afternoon.

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Michigan State earned a huge win over in-state rival Sunday afternoon, beating the No. 2 ranked Wolverines 70-64. The win was a huge step in earning an NCAA Tournament berth for the twenty-third consecutive year under Tom Izzo.

Rocket Watts aided Aaron Henry in leading the Spartans to this crucial victory over Michigan.

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Check out the highlights from Michigan State’s win over Michigan below:

Michigan State will look to carry their momentum from this win into the Big Ten Tournament, which kicks off this Thursday.

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WATCH: MSU Basketball’s locker room celebrates the win over Michigan

Michigan State beat Michigan 70-64 on Sunday, potentially earning the Spartans a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Watch the celebration:

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Rocket Watts and Aaron Henry led Michigan State to a huge win over in-state rival Michigan. The win might just be enough to clinch the Spartans a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Tom Izzo issued a challenge to his team over these past two weeks, and the Spartans have responded, beating three teams ranked in the top-5 to hopefully solidify a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

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Watch below the Michigan State team celebrate in the locker room after the win over Michigan on Sunday afternoon:

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March Madness Bubble Tracker: Gators listed as ‘probable’

Here’s a look at conference outlooks on the updated Bubble Tracker, examining the bubble teams still sweating it out until Selection Sunday.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below.

When Duke and Michigan State met in the Champion’s Classic in December, the feeling was that the game would eventually matter for their NCAA tournament seeding in March.

Little did we know these prolific blue-blood programs would be fighting for their postseason fate on the NCAA bubble now.

In USA TODAY Sports’ most recent bracketology, the Blue Devils (11-9, 9-7 ACC) and Spartans (13-10, 7-10 Big Ten) were the first two teams out of the projected field following weekend losses.

Michigan State won that December showdown, and now it might be a difference-maker in the eyes of the selection committee if it remains this close on Selection Sunday. When assessing profiles, both have recent, impressive Quadrant 1 wins – Duke beating Virginia and Michigan State upending Ohio State and Illinois. Both have their rĂ©sumĂ© setbacks –  Duke has just one Quad 1 victory and a bad loss to Miami (Florida), while MSU has a non-conference strength of schedule of 272 and a 77 NET score.

Which of these teams will get in? Or will both?

They each have a few regular-season games left before their respective conference tournaments begin. Duke draws fellow bubble teams Georgia Tech (tonight) and North Carolina (Saturday) on the road, while Michigan State draws bubble team Indiana at home (tonight) and then faces projected No. 1 seed Michigan twice – first Thursday on the road and then again Sunday.

If the Blue Devils win both their final games and the Spartans beat Michigan once, it’ll be difficult to argue against these teams’ inclusion in the NCAAs. It’s crunch time.

Here’s a look at conference outlooks on the updated Bubble Tracker, examining the bubble teams still sweating it out until Selection Sunday on March 14:

Conference breakdown

Breakdown data, compiled by bracketologist Shelby Mast, is updated through games as of March 2. 

Michigan State Basketball drops a crucial game at Maryland

In the midst of a late-season push to try and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State dropped a crucial game at Maryland.

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Maryland’s suffocating defense was the main cog in MSU’s 73-55 defeat in College Park Sunday afternoon.

Maryland jumped out to an early 11-0 lead to start the game, and it was a lead they would not relinquish. The early lead was fueled by the Terrapins red hot start from behind the arc, shooting 6-for-7 from the 3.

The Spartans would go into halftime down double figures, 35-25.

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A second-half that saw Michigan State try and do everything they could to get back into the game was stifled by Maryland. The Terrapins had an answer for every mini-run the Spartans were able to muster together. MSU got the lead down to 5, but couldn’t push through the wall.

Shooting woes on the offensive end really killed any momentum the Spartans tried to muster together. MSU shot 33 percent from the field and only 28 percent from three-point range.

Michigan State will look to bounce back in what seemingly feels like a must-win game against Indiana on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST inside of the Breslin Center.

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Gators listed among teams that “Should Be In” NCAA Tournament by ESPN

In ESPN’s latest bubble watch, Florida is listed among the “Should Be In” category in the SEC, alongside Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.

With the regular season beginning to wind down, we’re inching closer toward a final decision from the committee regarding the NCAA Tournament and, more specifically, which teams will have the opportunity to compete in it. In its latest edition of “bubble watch,” ESPN gave a rundown of each conference and classified where each tournament-contending team stands.

The Gators are listed among the “Should Be In” category in the SEC, alongside Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri. The only “Lock” was Alabama. Here’s what ESPN said about Florida’s tournament case.

Florida Gators

As a team that has played the balance of the season without its SEC preseason player of the year, Florida will likely take the No. 7 seed the mock brackets are writing in next to its name and be thankful. Keyontae Johnson is in good condition after collapsing against Florida State in December, and Mike White‘s group has notched important wins at home against Tennessee and on the road at West Virginia in compiling a 10-5 record. Even without Johnson, the Gators rank alongside Alabama and Arkansas as one of the better shooting teams in SEC play.

SEC teams with “Work To Do” are LSU and Ole Miss.

Even with a Quadrant 3 loss to South Carolina and two weeks of inaction, it seems Florida’s big wins this season are enough to keep it solidly within the tournament field. That can change quickly though, and the Gators can’t afford any more slipups.

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Austin Reaves publicly reprimanded by Big 12 for throat slash against TCU

The shot heard ’round the Big 12 just does not want to die.

The shot heard ’round the Big 12 just does not want to die.

The Big 12 Conference came out three days after Austin Reaves nailed a game-winner with 0.5 seconds left to cap off a 19-point comeback road win against TCU.

In the public reprimand, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that “Austin Reaves’ conduct after his game-winning shot last Saturday is contrary to the Conference’s Sportsmanship standards,”

Bowlsby went on to state that he appreciated Reaves’ apology posted Monday morning and that he was grateful to Oklahoma’s administration and coaching staff in their assistance in the matter.

No further punishment is expected to come from the situation and Reaves is fully expected to be on the court with his teammates when the three-seeded Sooners take on six-seed West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday.

Oklahoma currently sits well inside the bubble after flirting with being left out of the NCAA Tournament for the last two weeks of the regular season. A large reason why the Sooners are in is due to the play of Reaves.

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Austin Reaves apologizes, comments about celebration after game-winning shot against TCU

With Oklahoma’s post-season fate on the line, Austin Reaves took the ball from Jamal Bieniemy and waited to make his move.

With Oklahoma’s postseason fate on the line, Austin Reaves took the ball from Jamal Bieniemy and waited to make his move. Sizing up RJ Nembhard with six seconds left Reaves faked a drive to the lane off the right elbow, gathered, stepped back and released an 18-foot dagger into the hearts of the TCU faithful.

With half a second left on the game clock, Reaves capped off an 18-point halftime deficit, giving the Sooners their 19th win of the season, the most important of the season so far.

Immediately Reaves walked down court flexing to the cameras before telling the crowd both inside Schollmaier Arena and at home that “it’s over” while making a slashing motion at his throat.

Reaves took to Instagram Monday morning to express remorse for how his celebration could have been taken the wrong way.

“Hey everyone, had a little time to process our great team win last night,” Reaves wrote in a post on Instagram. “Just before the game was over I got caught up in the heat of the moment and took things too far in celebrating our team’s great comeback. Emotions were high as my teammates and I fought hard to beat a really good TCU team. I meant no disrespect by my actions or celebration but want to apologize for taking it too far. Excited to get back on the floor to prepare for the week ahead. AR”

He was asked about his apology after practice on Monday.

“I guess I took it a little bit overboard,” he said. “Just caught up in the emotions. It was a big win.”

Reaves went on to say that the apology was “pretty much all me” in terms of why he felt the need to apologize.

It was a big win. With a win, the Sooners would be a 3-seed in the Big 12 Tournament. With a loss, a 7-seed and a much tougher road in the Big 12 Tournament.

The win cemented Oklahoma as the 3-seed as they will face 6-seed West Virginia on Thursday night at 8 p.m. CT on either ESPN or ESPN2.

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Austin Reaves’ career night, game-winner at TCU saves Oklahoma’s season

With 21 seconds left in the game, Kristian Doolittle inbounded the ball to Jamal Bieniemy to set the stage for Austin Reaves.

FORT WORTH, Texas — With 21 seconds left in the game, Kristian Doolittle inbounded the ball to Jamal Bieniemy to set the stage for Austin Reaves.

Taking the ball at half court Reaves took on a defender one-on-one to the right side. Sizing him up, he faked his patented dribble-drive and added a twist—stepping back and nailing an 18-foot fadeaway to cap-off a 17-point second-half comeback.

Reaves flexed. Then fake slashed his throat and said, “game over,” to the TCU crowd, who was in shock and awe at Schollmaier Arena while Kristian Doolittle hounded him from behind.

With a half a second left, Oklahoma had its first lead of the game at 78-76, the only one the Sooners needed.

“For him (Coach Kruger) to have the confidence in me as well as the players, that just shows a lot to me so I just had the confidence to make the shot,” Reaves said postgame.

The Sooners, down 18-points at halftime, clawed their way back over the last 20 minutes to give Oklahoma the largest halftime comeback win on the road in Big 12 history.

Reaves nearly singlehandedly made the comeback possible with his career-high 41-points, becoming the first Sooner since Trae Young on Jan. 30, 2018 against Baylor to score 40+ in a win.

A surprise to everyone but Reaves himself.

“I’ve been playing basketball for a long time, all the hard work I put in, it paid off tonight,” Reaves told reporters postgame.

Reaves was a methodical assassin who did not have any regard for his body so long as the ball found the bottom of the basket.

Taking 16 trips to the foul line, Reaves knocked down 15 of the attempts. The majority of the 26 points Reaves chalked up came from the paint as he slashed his way through defenders and cut through the trees to get the ball to the rim.

“He put us on his back today,” Doolittle said postgame. “We needed all 41 of his points.”

Although Reaves’ points are the talk of the town, his assists allowed the Sooners to him a chance to call ‘game’.

Dishing to Doolittle and Brady Manek in the closing moments, Reaves drew the Horned Frogs defense enough to give his teammates wide-open looks to trim from 10 points at the 3:26 mark to tied at 76 with 55 seconds left.

The win not only gives Reaves a huge confidence boost, but it gives the entire squad a sense of relief.

“(It’s) very relieving,” Doolittle said postgame. “Finishing the season on a strong note, we gotta see how the rankings shake out and see what position we’re in and go from there.”

With the win, Oklahoma is slated as the 3-seed in the Big 12 Tournament and is unofficially locked into the NCAA Tournament. They pick up post-season play on Thursday in Kansas City at the Sprint Center to play 6-seed West Virginia at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN or ESPN2.

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