March thrills, chills, spills

By the time you're reading this, it'll be fewer than 60 hours until Selection Sunday. If you're a fan of Kansas or Gonzaga, the time will fly by like usual. If you're a supporter of, say, Nevada or Pittsburgh, it will feel like an eternity. You'll find out why those fan bases should be very nervous now.

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Let's get to the news.

1. Kansas wins, but that's not the story

No. 3 Kansas opened the Big 12 Tournament as the top seed with sights set on the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Then the school announced that coach Bill Self had an emergency procedure on Wednesday night and would not coach in Thursday's game against West Virginia. Assistant Norm Roberts stepped in, which he did earlier this season when Self had a four-game suspension.

The Jayhawks looked like their usual selves, though. Their 78-61 win had everything you might expect: Jalen Wilson scored 22 points (on 17 shots), Gradey Dick added 18 (with four 3-pointers) and Dajuan Harris contributed 13 points, eight assists and two turnovers. Also noteworthy: Kevin McCullar was limited by back spasms. He did not start but still played 26 minutes.

After the game, the school announced that Self would be out for the remainder of the tournament. It also clarified that, despite some media speculation, Self did not suffer a heart attack. He "underwent a standard procedure that went well" and is "expected to make a full recovery."

Kansas plays Iowa State in the Big 12 semifinals today (7 pm, ESPN), a team it split with in the regular season. For the short term, the Jayhawks know what's at stake, and Roberts has done this enough to keep things steady over two days. 

Long term? The AFTER DARK crew discussed how a coach's absence affects a team and what this might mean for Kansas' bigger goals in the NCAA Tournament.

Get well soon, Bill Self.

2. Checking in on the bubble

There was no bigger bubble game Thursday than Michigan-Rutgers. Both teams needed the win to help their at-large chances for an NCAA Tournament bid. And, much like the rest of their crucial contests, it didn't go the Wolverines' way.

Michigan made just one (1!) field goal over 13 minutes in the second half, watching as Rutgers took a deficit to an 18-point lead in the final minutes before winning 62-50. The Knights (19-13) now face Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. A win would be huge. A loss ... well, who knows.

As for Michigan (17-15), it enters Selection Sunday with a 3-11 record against Quad 1 opponents and an awful home loss to Central Michigan.

Seems like the Wolverines are "destined" for the NIT.

We'll dive into the other games with bubble implications below, but readers should also watch Fielding the 68, our bracketology show, today at 5 pm ET for deeper insights into what's coming Sunday.

Mississippi State 69, Florida 68 (OT)The Bulldogs (21-11) were in control for the first 25 minutes before a furious comeback by the Gators forced overtime. Mississippi State avoided the bad loss and now gets Alabama in the SEC Tournament quarters. Right now, it is in.

Duke 96, Pittsburgh 69The Panthers (22-11) found themselves down by nearly 20 points for roughly 35 minutes. They had no answer for Kyle Filipowski, who had 22 points but could've gone for 30-plus had he played the whole game. Pitt's metrics were already not good, and a blowout defeat like this could torpedo them to the First 4, if not worse. 

UConn 73, Providence 66The Friars were down by nearly 20 points at the half but staged a furious comeback to get within a couple of possessions late. While they lost the game, Providence (21-11) still has enough on its profile that it shouldn't sweat the next few days too much.

Virginia 68, UNC 59It's done. The preseason No. 1 team this season is out of games and options. UNC (20-13) will have to decide if it wants to play in the NIT or if that was its final game of the season.

San Jose State 81, Nevada 77 (OT)Nevada (22-10) will enter Sunday with three straight losses, none of which were against the top tier of the Mountain West. The Spartans aren't bad, but the Wolf Pack is trending in the wrong direction. They might come up short on Sunday.

Penn State 79, Illinois 76The Nittany Lions are now 3-0 against Illinois, with the latest one putting them in a great spot for the Big Dance. Jalen Pickett flirted with another triple-double and gave Penn State (20-12) a needed Quad 1 victory. 

Texas 61, Oklahoma State 47The Cowboys couldn't muster any offense in a game that was never really close. Texas showed why it's likely a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, OK State (18-15) will likely be one of the last teams to get in. 

Clemson 80, NC State 54For some reason, Clemson (23-9) simply owns NC State (23-10). A blowout win over the Wolfpack will keep its at-large hopes alive. This result has changed the fortunes of both teams, as NC State went from somewhat safe to now somewhat in danger, depending on how the committee feels about their lack of marquee wins. 

Arizona State 77, USC 72After losing to the Trojans to end the regular season, the Sun Devils got some needed revenge and added a Quad 1 victory. USC should be safe, while ASU (22-11) is in a very good spot, with nothing but opportunity up next in Arizona. 

Utah State 91, New Mexico 76Despite just having one Quad 1 victory, Utah State (25-7) has handled business by beating everyone else soundly. A 15-point win over a good Lobos squad only helps.

Boise State 87, UNLV 76 (OT)The Mountain West tournament was wild, with Boise State (24-8) needing overtime to get past a pesky Rebel squad. All five starters scored in double figures in a balanced effort, securing its spot in the Big Dance. 

3. Thrilling finishes, plus every conference tourney result

Enough with the bubble. Let's see what fun the conference tournaments delivered on Thursday.

Marquette 72, St. John's 70 (OT)St. John's (18-15) stormed out to a double-digit advantage, but the Golden Eagles rallied and took the lead in the final minute. A layup by Dylan Addae-Wusu tied the game in the last seconds, forcing overtime. Marquette (26-6) and its defense came through in the extra period, holding the Red Storm without a field goal to survive the upset bid.

San Diego State 64, Colorado State 61The Rams (15-18) put San Diego State (25-6) on upset alert in the Mountain West Tournament and kept it close all game. Isaiah Stevens had several chances to either tie or take the lead late. The Aztecs survived and took a potential bid thief out of the mix.

Xavier 89, DePaul 84The Blue Demons (10-23) were on their way to a second-straight upset victory in the Big East Tournament, up double-digits most of the game against Xavier (24-8). However, the Musketeers closed on a 24-11 run to end the game. Jack Nunge finished with 23 points to lead all scorers to advance to the Big East Tournament semifinals.

The other conference tournament results

AAC: East Carolina 73, South Florida 58; UCF 76, SMU 70; Wichita State 81, Tulsa 63ACC: Miami 74, Wake Forest 72; Clemson 80, NC State 54Atlantic 10: VCU 71, Davidson 53; Saint Louis 82, George Mason 54; Dayton 60, St. Joe's 54; Fordham 69, La Salle 61Big East: Creighton 87, Villanova 74Big Ten: Ohio State 73, Iowa 69; Maryland 70, Minnesota 54Big 12: Iowa State 78, Baylor 72; TCU 80, Kansas State 67Big West: UC-Irvine 75, Cal State Bakersfield 51; Cal State Fullerton 62, Hawaii 60; UC Santa-Barbara 64, Cal Poly 54; UC Riverside 68, UC Davis 52C-USA: FAU 75, Western Kentucky 51; Middle Tennessee 66, Charlotte 65; North Texas 74, Louisiana Tech 46; UAB 87, Rice 60MAC: Ohio 90, Ball State 70; Kent State 76, Northern Illinois 57; Akron 101, Buffalo 77; Toledo 91, Miami (Ohio) 75MAAC: Marist 75, Quinnipiac 59; Niagara 71, Siena 65MEAC: Maryland-Eastern Shore 80, Morgan State 64; Norfolk State 73, Coppin State 56; Pac-12: UCLA 80, Colorado 69; Arizona 95, Stanford 84; Oregon 75, Washington State 70SEC: Tennessee 70, Ole Miss 55; Arkansas 76, Auburn 73; Vanderbilt 77, LSU 68SWAC: Jackson State 62, Prarie View A&M 60 (OT); Alabama A&M 77, Southern 63WAC: Sam Houston State 64, Cal Baptist 51; Grand Canyon 84, Seattle U 79; Utah Valley 72, Tarleton 58; Southern Utah 76, Utah Tech 75

4. Georgetown calls it quits on the Patrick Ewing era

Sometimes schools and coaches unexpectedly part ways. This was not one of those times. 

Patrick Ewing will no longer be Georgetown's coach. He was 75-109 in six seasons at his alma mater and won the Big East tournament in 2021. But since then, the Hoyas have been victorious in just 13 games, including a winless Big East campaign last season.

It's a historically bad stretch for a historically great program, making it difficult to reconcile. Ewing helped John Thompson Jr. build Georgetown into one of the sport's elite programs. Yet, despite adding talent this offseason via the transfer portal, the Hoyas couldn't capitalize. And this was a move most expected since December. 

Was there bitterness involved? Maybe a little. But melancholy might be the true feeling. 

Ewing's replacement will make for one of the biggest coaching stories of the offseason. It remains one of the game's premier jobs because of its historical cachet and place in a talent-rich recruiting region. Expect whomever Georgetown hires to be a relatively big name that can rebuild the program. 

5. Setting up TV viewing for Friday's quarterfinal/semifinal games

The number of teams continues to dwindle, with all conferences down to either four or eight in their respective tournaments. Here's a quick look:

ACC: 1. Miami vs 4. Duke; 2. Virginia vs 3. ClemsonThe key here is Clemson, who is now back on the bubble. A win over Virginia gets them potentially on the right side of projections, as well as one win away from simply getting the auto-bid like Virginia Tech did last year. (Games start at 7 pm ET on ESPN2)

American: UCF vs. Memphis; Houston vs. East Carolina; Temple vs. Cincinnati; Wichita State vs. TulaneHouston and Memphis (probably) should be at-large teams. It seems unlikely anyone could steal this bid, but hey. It is March. (Games start at 1 pm ET on ESPN2, then switch to ESPNU for the final two matchups)

Big 12: 1. Kansas vs 5. Iowa State; 2. Texas vs 6. TCUAll four teams are safely in the field. The only question here is whether Kansas receives the No. 1 overall seed if it gets two more Quad 1 victories. (Games start at 7 pm ET on ESPN)

Big East: 1. Marquette vs 4. UConn; 2. Xavier vs 3. CreightonAll four teams have nothing to play for outside of bragging rights or seeding. Considering that Marquette has flown under the radar and both UConn and Creighton have rebounded from slumps in the season, look for the winner to get the "can they make a Final Four" talk. (Games start at 6:30 on ET on FS1)

Big Ten: 1. Purdue vs 9. Rutgers; 4. Michigan State vs 13. Ohio State; 2. Northwestern vs 10. Penn State; 3. Indiana vs 6. MarylandThere's no chance that Ohio State can make the big run this week, right? It's been quiet for bid thieves, but after beating Wisconsin and Iowa, let's see if the Buckeyes can keep it going. (Games start at Noon ET on Big Ten Network)

C-USA: 1. FAU vs 4. Middle Tennessee; 2. North Texas vs 3. UABCould a bid thief emerge off of an FAU loss? Maybe. The other side features either an elite defense (North Texas) or an elite scorer (Jelly Walker of UAB). But don't look ahead to the next game, as Middle Tennessee already has a win over the Owls in the regular season. (Games start at 12:30 pm ET on CBS Sports Network)

MAAC: Niagara vs. Iona; Marist vs. Saint Peter'sIona's the clear favorite, but if the Peacocks make it to the finals ... can lightning strike twice? (Games start at 6 pm ET on ESPN News)

MAC: Ohio vs. Toledo; Akron vs. Kent StateAnother Wagon Wheel game this season? You gotta love it. That alone makes the MAC semis worth watching. (Games start at 5 pm ET on CBS Sports Network)

Mountain West: 1. San Diego State vs 5. San Jose State; 2. Boise State vs 3. Utah StateSan Jose State is in the semis of the Mountain West Tournament for the first time and is two wins away from an auto-bid. Utah State would do well to get one more win to leave no questions up to the committee. (Games start at 9:30 pm ET on CBS Sports Network)

Pac-12: 1. UCLA vs 4. Oregon; 2. Arizona vs 3. Arizona StateThe Ducks have the talent to threaten the top teams in the Pac-12 and if they can get hot, could rally make things interesting. Can they take advantage of no Jaylen Clark for UCLA in the semis? (Games start at 9 pm ET on Pac-12 Networks)

SEC: 1. Alabama vs 8. Mississippi State; 4. Missouri vs 5. Tennessee; 2. Texas A&M vs 10. Arkansas; 3. Kentucky vs 6. VanderbiltThe only party crasher in this group is Vandy, but it has an interesting path, including a hurt Kentucky and a drought-prone Texas A&M. Even without Liam Robbins, look out for the red-hot Commodores. (Games start at 1 pm ET on SEC Network)

How does Virginia adjust without Ben Vander Plas?

Yesterday afternoon, Virginia announced it would be without Ben Vander Plas for the rest of the season due to a broken wrist.

An efficient offensive player, the 6-8 forward vacillated between sixth man and a 30-minute-a-night starter during ACC play. Despite his strengths as a floor spacer, his defense wasn't quite up to the Cavaliers' norm. Without Vander Plas, big men Kadin Shedrick, Francisco Caffaro, and the upside-rich Ryan Dunn should see more time, which will help the defense. And let's be honest: That side of the ball drives Virginia's success.

Virginia passed its first test without him and now faces Clemson in the ACC semifinals. This means they'll have a minimum of two games (three if they reach the final) to adjust to its new lineup.

Could Fordham pull off a true shocker?

The Atlantic 10 resumes its tournament with semifinal games on Saturday. All four top seeds remain. It's not a surprise to see Saint Louis, VCU and Dayton around, but Fordham (25-7) is still here too! The Barclays crowd was noticeably at its best when the Rams were playing and could be that way against the Flyers in the semifinals. A win against Dayton (21-11) would be a massive result for both the program and the conference. (Sat, 3:30 pm ET, CBSSN)

Other games to watch (All times ET)

Friday

• Florida Atlantic (29-3) vs Middle Tennessee (19-13), 12:30 pm (CBSSN)

• UConn (25-7) vs Marquette (26-6), 6:30 pm (FS1)

• Duke (24-8) vs Miami (25-6), 7 pm (ESPN2)

• Oregon (19-13) vs UCLA (28-4), 9 pm (Pac-12 Network)

• Clemson (23-9) vs Virginia (24-6) , 9:30 pm (approx), (ESPN2)

Saturday

• America East title game: Vermont (22-10) vs UMass Lowell (26-7), 11 am (ESPN2)

• Cornell (17-10) vs Yale (20-7), 11 am (ESPNU)

• Saint Louis (21-11) vs VCU (25-7), 1 pm (CBSSN)

Sunday

NCAA Tournament selection show, 7 pm (CBS)

Heart of a (Nittany) Lion

After a nice win against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, what does this win mean for coach Micah Shrewsberry and Penn State? And how are they doing it when they're so undersized?

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Links as you try to ignore the latest realignment speculation because NOT RIGHT NOW!!!

• Stanford coach Jerod Haase will return next season.

• Coaches who are out: American's Mike Brennan | Georgia Southern's Brian Burg | Cal and Mark Fox

• An update on the current saga with Eddie Lampkin stepping away from TCU.

• The "complicated" ending of the Jim Boeheim era at Syracuse is dicussed more.

• Cal guard Joel Brown enters the portal as a grad transfer after averaging 6.9 ppg this season.

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