(15) Texas 98, (6) Texas A&M 96. On a night when Kevin Durant had 30 and 16, and Texas won a classic ... the fact that Acie Law's name is even being brought is up is a testament to how special a player he is. The things he did at the end of regulation and the first overtime were the stuff of legend. I don't mean to short Durant, he deserves every accolade he's getting, but ... Law has a chance to be a special player, too. Stat of the night: Three of Texas's starting five (James, Augustin, and Durant) had 22 or more points.Maryland 85, (14) Duke 77. The fact that Duke was ranked 14th and Maryland was unranked seems a bit ridiculous now, doesn't it? Maryland went into Cameron and put away the Blue Devils, getting 25 from Mike Jones in the process. If Maryland keeps their confidence up, and keeps things rolling ... they're going to make some high-seeded tournaments team's draw much rougher than it should be.
Texas Tech 85, Baylor 74. I've gotta think that Texas Tech's tournament resume is looking pretty good. Not that a win over Baylor is anything special (a win they had to struggle to get), but they're over .500 in a very tough conference, and they've got three wins against top ten teams. That should do it, right?
Penn State 74, Iowa 72. Meanwhile, Iowa's bubble wasn't just popped ... it was obliterated with the force of a thousand sledgehammers. Penn State ... really, Penn State? You want the world to believe you're a tournament team, and you're losing to Penn State? I'm chuckling right now. I am audibly chuckling at the Iowa Hawkeyes.
UMass 102, La Salle 63. UMass pushes their record to 22-7, violating LaSalle and strengthening their cause for a tournament bid. I have a nagging feeling that the relative lack of strength in the A-10 is going to be held against them ... I'd still recommend winning the tournament.




