Champ Week matchups we want to see: Memphis-Houston, Purdue’s vengeance
While the NCAA competition gets all of the buzz each year, Champ Week typically produces the best basketball of the postseason.While a lot of the auto-bid leagues have actually already provided us buzzer-beaters and game-winners to send their lone agents to the field of 68 for the 2023 edition, the significant conferences are readying to give us more drama today. At-large quotes are on the line. Some groups need to prove they are worthy of to hear their name contacted Selection Sunday.Some beefs requirement to
be settled.Here are the eight games we hope
to see today, in the accumulation to March 12. On the other hand, keep track of all the Champ Week action here.
When we might see it: ACC competition national championship (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
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In 2015, UNC spoiled Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement party when it defeated Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium and then advanced to the national championship game with another victory over its instate rival. In his first year as Coach K’s follower, Jon Scheyer returned the favor, sweeping the Tar Heels and returning heaven Devils to the perch in this rivalry.A third conference
in the ACC tournament might help Duke hammer home its vengeance for last season’s results. It’s a not likely pairing considering that UNC would have to make a run to the title game for it to happen, but here’s hoping. Any loss in the ACC tournament after all might send the preseason No. 1 group to the NIT and complete one of the best falls in NCAA history. The stakes are high.
play 1:37 Aidan Mahaney comes alive late leading Saint Mary’s to win over Gonzaga Aidan Mahaney goes off late in the game, leading Saint Mary’s to the big home win over Gonzaga.
When we could see it: WCC tournament championship game (Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Saint Mary’s nearly protected the straight-out WCC regular-season title for the first time in more than a decade prior to losing to Gonzaga 77-68 in the regular-season finale and being required to divide it.A matchup in Las Vegas in the WCC tournament champion would not only settle this year’s dispute about the league’s best team; it might also help both groups, who are currently top-five seeds in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket.
When we might see it: Big East
competition championship game (Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET, FOX)Shaka Smart led Marquette to the Big East regular-season title after losing numerous beginners from a year back, and has placed himself to win every nationwide coach of the year honor. Sean Miller returned to college basketball and has led the Musketeers back to the NCAA competition in his very first season because Arizona fired him in 2021.
Xavier won the first meeting, 80-76, on Jan. 15, while Marquette won the second meeting, 69-68, in Milwaukee– beating a team that had simply started to adjust to life without Zach Freemantle (15.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG). Since Jerome Hunter has joined Xavier’s starting lineup, nevertheless, Sean Miller’s team has made 54% of its shots inside the arc and 42% of its 3-point efforts. The school just recently revealed Freemantle would not return the rest of this season, but Marquette would still have its work cut out for it.
play 0:46 Houston makes it through Memphis with a buzzer-beater Just after Memphis connects the game, Jamal Shead hits the jumper at the buzzer as
Houston prevents the upset.
When we might see it: AAC competition national championship (Sunday, 3:15 p.m. ET, ESPN )In the very first meeting between these two groups, Houston– a most likely top seed in the NCAA competition– outplayed Memphis 72-64. However that happened without Kendric Davis (21.3 PPG), the SMU transfer who was not available that day due to injury.Davis is back,
and scored 26 points in the rematch on Sunday. He nearly led his team to the win, before Jamal Shead’s buzzer-beater offered Houston a 67-65 success. It’s absolutely time for Round 3.
When we might see it: SEC tournament championship game (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)Alabama has made more headlines for events off the court than on in current months. The analysis will follow the Crimson Tide, who can’t appear to avoid drama, through the postseason.But this is likewise a
genuine 1-seed candidate, and the favorite to win the SEC tournament after winning the league’s regular season crown with just two losses in conference play. It beat Kentucky 78-52 on Jan. 7 in the pair’s first and just SEC meeting. However John Calipari’s crew has mostly gotten rid of its early-season funk, and won 5 of its last six games. The rematch should be a better phenomenon.
play 1:48 Jalen Hood-Schifino shines in Indiana’s roadway win over Purdue
Jalen Hood-Schifino ratings 35 indicate lead Indiana to a big win over rival Purdue.
When we could see it: Big 10 tournament national championship(Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)The greatest competitions in college basketball trump everything else. It’s why Mike Woodson will have a triumph at the end of this season over Matt Painter, despite what happens in the postseason.Indiana’s sweep of the Boilermakers throughout the routine season is a gold star in the eyes of Hoosier fans, who live for this rivalry. It’s much more impactful this season because Purdue has Zach Edey, the projected Wooden Award winner, and a shot at a 1-seed. That stated, possibly the Boilermakers will have gained from the last 2 conferences, and make it challenging to beat them three times in one year.
When we could see it: Huge 12
tournament national championship
(Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN )Men’s Competition Challenge Total your bracket by choosing the winner for each game of the 2023 males’s NCAA competition. Play Competition Obstacle Jerome Tang has restored the Kansas-Kansas State rivalry in his very first year on the job. The split record this season signified a cultural shift for a Wildcats program that had lost 7 consecutive games against the Jayhawks prior to their 83-82 overtime win in Manhattan on Jan. 17.
KU will enter the Big 12 tournament with a résumé worthwhile of the No. 1 total seed in the NCAA tournament, while KSU (4-1 in its last five games) is likewise in a good area to make a favorable seed. A third conference in this rivalry would merely be enjoyable.
When we might see it: Pac-12 tournament championship game (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
After beating Arizona on Saturday, UCLA went up to a 1-seed in Lunardi’s latest bracket. It was a critical win for a Bruins group that has controlled the Pac-12 with a 10-game winning streak to end the routine season. The pair split their regular-season series, so a third conference in the Pac-12 competition would settle the score. That game would be vital for UCLA, which may have to move forward without Jaylen Clark (13.0 PPG 6.0 RPG 2.6 SPG), who suffered a foot injury in Saturday’s win over Arizona: The committee will be examining if the Bruins are the same group with the exact same ceiling and 1-seed capacity without their star.