College Basketball Winners, Losers From Week 13
College basketball winners and losers from Week 13 of the 2016 season. Here’s a look at three teams that really helped their NCAA Tournament chances, and two more that stumbled.
College basketball winners and losers from Week 13 of the 2016 season.
Every game is huge during the month of February, and the college basketball world keeps a close eye on who’s winning and who’s losing every time the ball is tipped. Every win or loss, however, is not built the same.
Some teams are still looking to build their resumes for the tournament. Others are working on seedings, and their stock can go up or down depending on the outcome every time the team hits the floor. This weekend’s action was filled with upsets and meaningful performances that will reverberate well into March. Here’s a look at three teams that really helped their NCAA Tournament chances, and two more that stumbled.
Winners
Kansas State Wildcats 14-9 (3-7 in Big 12)
C’mon. Any time a team beats the top-ranked team in the land, it’s a huge deal. Kansas State has been muddling through a so-so season, but the Wildcats got everything together and pretty much dominated Oklahoma on both ends of the floor, scoring an 80-69 win that surprised just about everyone. The Sooners had been rolling, but K-State put the clamps down on the perimeter and never let Oklahoma’s offense find its rhythm. Bruce Weber’s team had been shuffling along in league play and really struggled, winning just twice in nine Big 12 games, but K-State picked up its first win over a top 50 opponent this year. The Wildcats have their work cut out for them to continue their momentum, but the first step for a February rally is beating a quality opponent, and KSU did just that.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 16-7 (7-4 in ACC)
Notre Dame shouldn’t really be considered a bubble team at this point in the year—the Fighting Irish had wins over Iowa and Duke in their back pocket heading into Saturday’s battle with North Carolina—but the losses to Syracuse and Miami (Fla.) had some wondering if ND was getting ready to stumble. Beating the No. 2 team in the country and doing it with great balance on the floor was a huge victory for Mike Brey’s team, especially considering how poorly Notre Dame shot (34.8 percent from the floor). It was a huge resume-building win and gives ND victories over two top 10 opponents this year.
LSU Tigers 15-8 (8-2 in SEC)
Losers
Indiana Hoosiers 19-5 (9-2 in Big Ten)
After hammering Michigan earlier in the week, Indiana was playing with a lot of confidence while sitting atop the Big Ten standings. With Iowa and Michigan State coming up this week, the Hoosiers had to avoid falling apart in a trap game at Penn State. But instead of quieting the critics and rolling to another road win, IU committed 15 turnovers and lost 68-63 to the 12-12 Nittany Lions to give Indiana yet another loss to a team with an RPI above 60. The road only gets tougher for IU with four of its last six opponents—the Hoosiers play Iowa twice—holding RPIs in the top 25. Indiana couldn’t afford to lose at Penn State, but it did.
Wichita State Shockers 17-6 (11-1 in Missouri Valley)
Wichita State is suffering through what is considered for them to be a down year, but rolling through the MVC still would figure to give the Shockers plenty of momentum for March. They had run off 11 straight conference wins, but an ugly 58-53 loss at Illinois State, a team that is just 14-11 overall and three games back of WSU in the MVC isn’t good. The Shockers are still comfortably ahead of the pack in the conference race, but that’s irrelevant. Gregg Marshall’s team needs a buffer in case it doesn’t win the MVC Tournament to earn the automatic bid, and there aren’t really many opportunities for Wichita to score good wins going forward. Wichita was ranked—it won’t be by the end of Monday—and its recent track record in the Big Dance will help Selection Sunday, but the Shockers face a future where it might have to win out the season in order to avoid sweating when the brackets are announced.
