Please pardon me while I shed a tear or two. The regular season of college basketball is ending. I know, I know – college basketball is all but the tournament (and to a lesser extent, the conference tournaments). As a fantasy player, I love the regular season. I will miss it. I guess I could shed another tear for the Big East, but it appears the name at least will go on. We will have the Big East (which consists of the so-called Catholic 7 as well as A10 vagabonds Butler and Xavier) and the America 12 (formerly known as Conference USA).
Syracuse at Georgetown
In many ways, Syracuse and Georgetown represent the signature rivalry of the Big East. They will go their separate ways after the season, but we still have a game on Saturday and possibly another meeting in the Big East tournament. In the first game, Otto Porter ($217,000) took over a defensive battle and led the Hoyas to a win in the Carrier Dome. Porter went for a career-high 33 points, including five 3-pointers, in the win and has not stopped scoring since. In his last three games, he has provided 22.3 points. Porter was held to 17 points in the loss to Villanova on Wednesday and was just 2-of-9 on 3-pointers. Markel Starks ($125,000) had 12 points on eight shots in the loss to the Wildcats. He has been held to single digits in three of his last five games. Freshman D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera ($141,000) has continued to score well. After scoring 33 points in the blowout win against DePaul, he has averaged 11.0 points in his last four games.
The loss to the Hoyas started a three-game losing streak for the Orange. In fact, Syracuse has lost five of their last 10 games. They did snap the streak Wednesday against DePaul behind 22 points from senior James Southerland ($169,000). The 6-8 forward started because it was Senior Night, but he could remain in the starting lineup and provide a nice scoring punch. He scored his points despite going 1-of-10 on 3-pointers to snap a streak of seven straight games with three 3-pointers. Brandon Triche ($141,000) has only scored 10.3 points over his last four games, including a pair of eight-point games. He has missed his last eight 3-point attempts. The most consistent scorer on the squad is junior forward C.J. Fair ($178,000). He has scored at least 13 points in his last six games and has taken 36 shots in his last two games.
Duke at North Carolina
I almost omitted this game in favor of Kansas State-Oklahoma State, but I had to face facts that this still is the one of the best rivalries in college basketball. It has been a down season for the Tar Heels, but a win over Duke would go a long way to providing some salve. Duke won at Cameron on Feb. 13 by five points, but UNC has not lost since that game, including three road games. James Michael McAdoo ($163,000) might be the second coming of Marvin Williams, but his numbers (other than his free throw percentage) are not terrible. For the season, the 6-9 sophomore is averaging 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. In his last five games, he has averaged 15.6 points and has scored 20 or more points twice. Reggie Bullock ($168,000) has been on a tear with 14 3-pointers in his last four games. The 6-7 junior has hit 76% of his field goals over his last three games. Don’t forget about P.J. Hairston ($150,000) who has hit multiple 3-pointers in his last four games. He had 22 points on Wednesday in the win over Maryland.
Duke has been buoyed in their last two games by the return of Ryan Kelly ($204,000). The senior missed nearly two months with a foot injury, but wasted no time announcing his presence with a career-high 36 points in his first game back. Kelly led the Blue Devils to a revenge win over Miami last Saturday and to end his career with a win over the Tar Heels would probably be very sweet. Kelly missed the first game against UNC and only scored 17 points in two games against Duke’s most hated rival last year (including two points in the season finale). Senior forward Mason Plumlee ($169,000) has scored only above his 17.0-point average one in his last six games. He will give you double-digit points, but he may not be worth his price. Seth Curry ($186,000) is the last of the notable Blue Devil seniors and he has scored 20 points or more in four of his last six games. He had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, in the win over Virginia Tech on Tuesday.
Notre Dame at Louisville
The obvious joke is to ask if the first Notre Dame-Louisville game is still going on. The game did go into the wee hours of the evening as the teams proved to be altogether too even for five overtimes. The Irish took the game, but have only gone 1-2 on the road since. They dropped games at Providence and Marquette, but are coming off a 26-point win over St. John’s on Tuesday. Jack Cooley ($144,000) was limited by flu-like symptoms in the loss to the Golden Eagles, but returned for 34 minutes and a double-double against the Red Storm. The scoreless game may reduce his salary to a palatable range. Jerian Grant ($154,000) has scored 21 points in each of his two most recent games. He has hit eight 3-pointers. Grant had a big game against the Cardinals with a scoring binge at the end of the game. Pat Connaughton ($92,000) has not scored in double digits since playing 56 minutes against Louisville. He has been held scoreless twice in his last six games.
The Cardinals have not lost since dropping the game at the Joyce Center. They had a solid win against Syracuse last Saturday and look to head to their last Big East tournament on a seven-game winning streak. As always, Russ Smith ($193,000) led the way for Louisville in scoring. The 6-1 junior has a scorer’s mentality (good and bad), and has averaged 18.0 points over his last four games. Smith will be the most expensive player in this game and his upside might be somewhat limited by his new found willingness to share the ball. Sharing the ball has never been a problem for Peyton Siva ($104,000), but putting the ball in the hoop has been. He did score 11 points in the win over Cincinnati on Monday, but missed all nine of his shots against Syracuse and did not score. Center Gorgui Dieng ($119,000) has scored at least 10 points in his last five games. He had 23 points in the win over Seton Hall
Indiana at Michigan (Sunday)
I don’t know if I can wait until Sunday for the Hoosier-Wolverine game. The first game sounded like it was an excellent match up, but my recording on the old DVR got messed up. For some reason, the entire video was very, very dark. I guess I could have listened to the announcers like a radio play, but I don’t really care for listening to announcers. The game in Michigan should be a good chance for the Wolverines to reap some revenge. Trey Burke is one of the most reliable scorers in the country. He has scored at least 18 points in his last six games and 20 or more four times. He has 25 in the loss to Indiana on Feb. 2. Tim Hardaway Jr. has not been reliable. He has been held to single digits in three of his last six games, but did have 16 points in the win over Purdue on Wednesday. Glenn Robinson III has three straight single-digits game, but he’ll be in my lineup. Fellow freshman Nik Stauskas has also been limited with two scoreless games in his last four.
Even with their loss against Ohio State at home on Tuesday, Indiana should be the favorite to win the national championship this year. They are deep, play defense, and have come through the toughest conference in the nation impressively. If they win in Ann Arbor, the Hoosiers should be the top seed in the tournament even if they lose in the Big 10 tournament. Cody Zeller has improved upon his 16.5-point average in four of his last five games. He was held to nine points in the loss to Minnesota on Feb. 26, but bounced back with 22 points. Victor Oladipo may or may not be the love child of Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade (as mentioned by the delusional Magic Johnson), but he has had a solid season. The junior guard has only scored 17 points in his last two games. Christian Watford has also been quiet with 8.3 points in his last three. He had 14 points in the win over Michigan and could be in for a good game.
Perry Missner doesn’t cry often. When he does, he is a mess. You don’t want to hear about, but if you’d like to contact Perry, you can do at pmissner@yahoo.com or @PerryMissner on Twitter.
