QT: Providence keeps climbing, Illinois fading

Once again, Ed Cooley has his Providence Friars in the thick of the NCAA tournament chase.  The Friars put a stamp of approval on that notion Wednesday by taking down Connecticut.  Providence was more aggressive throughout, holding a 29-10 points advantage at the free throw line.  The Friars are now 5-0 in the Big East after their eighth straight win.

We can’t say the same for Illinois.  The discombobulated Illini have lost four of their past five games against potential tournament teams, all by double digits.  The current iteration of Illinois basketball resembles nothing close to the iteration that rallied to upend Texas in New York on December 6.  Turnovers and poor shooting continue to wreck havoc in Champaign.  Example: Illinois took 28 three-pointers in Wednesday’s loss at Northwestern, making eight (28 percent) to coincide with 15 turnovers.  Now 0-3 in the Big Ten, the Illini need to reverse course quickly.

QT: Iowa, Michigan and Kentucky slip again

It hasn’t exactly been a riveting holiday season for Iowa, Michigan or Kentucky.  Fresh off a shocking pre-Christmas home loss to Eastern Illinois, Iowa absorbed a lopsided drubbing at Nebraska on Thursday.  The Hawkeye team that routed Iowa State in early December is currently MIA.

Michigan lost for the fourth time in six games by dropping a home decision to Central Michigan (a Quad 4 loss), leaving the Wolverines in near desperation mode entering January. With a morning NET rating above 100 and only a victory over Pittsburgh as a pre-2023 accomplishment, there’s a lot of work to do in Ann Arbor.

Big Blue Nation is aghast these days.  Kentucky’s best win of the season remains aforementioned Michigan after losing a double-digit outcome at Missouri.  UK returns home to face Louisville on New Year’s Eve.  If the Wildcats somehow manage to lose to this year’s Cardinals, all you-know-what may literally break loose in the Commonwealth.

QT: Miami bolsters its resume, Miss State falls

Miami improved to 12-1 Tuesday night with a home victory over Virginia.  The Hurricanes are 3-0 in the early ACC season with a 5-1 mark against Quadrants 1/2.  Interestingly, non-NET metrics (both results-based and predictive) tend to think more of the ‘Canes than the NET.  Miami’s lone loss was to a hot-starting Maryland team on a neutral floor in November.  After a home date with Vermont, six of the Hurricane’s next eight ACC games are on the road.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State fell from the unbeaten ranks, losing to Drake in Lincoln, NE at the Battle for the Vault.  MSU had some relatively close calls with Jackson State and Nicholls recently, so maybe the Bulldogs have simply been coasting too much. After Christmas, MSU hosts Alabama and travels to Tennessee.  Life is about to get real.

Quick Takes: Providence’s resume; Tough Saturday for early bubble teams

Let’s start with Providence.  The Friars better-than-you-think resume now includes a road victory at Connecticut.  Pollsters may not appreciate this team – yet – but Saturday’s victory added to an 11-1 record that includes wins over Texas Tech, Wisconsin and Northwestern, all projected tournament teams in the latest bracket.  Providence’s lone loss: Virginia.  

Bracketology: Kansas grabs overall No. 1 Seed

Following its win at Baylor, Kansas grabs the No. 1 overall seed in today’s bracket update.  That said, it’s basically semantics. Kansas continues to lead the Midwest Region and Baylor the South Region.  The margin between the two is more of a 1-A and 1-B approach.

Bracketology

The biggest surprise of the weekend was San Diego State losing at home to UNLV.  For now, the Aztecs hold onto their No. 1 seed in the East.  Maryland could have made a strong case had the Terrapins won at Ohio State on Sunday.  Either way, the door is now open for a Big Ten, Big East, or ACC champion to potentially overtake SDSU. Dayton is squarely in the mix, too.

As for the Bubble, the Providence Friars and UCLA Bruins have both recovered from challenging starts to emerge as serious at-large contenders.