Separation beginning in NCAA field

It’s the time of the college basketball season where the outstanding teams begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.  Heading into the week, Most observers would have told you that the top four seeds in the NCAA tournament were going to be Kansas, Syracuse, Villanova and Kentucky.  They were beginning to show that separation.  Then Sunday came. 

First, Syracuse took it on the chin as they fell at home to Louisville 66-60.  The Orange gave up an 11 point first half lead in the process.  Not the sign of a championship caliber team, particularly at home.

Then Monday night, Villanova watched as a struggling UConn team beat them in the Wachovia Center 84-75 handing the Wildcats their third loss of the season. It was a contest where the Huskies managed to beat Nova on the boards and at the stripe on their home court.

Later that night, top ranked Kansas was outplayed most of the night by a fired up Texas A&M squad, but somehow in the final five minutes managed to pull out a 59-54 win over the Aggies.  It was a game that coach Bill Self described as muddy.  His team was beaten on the offensive boards, his All-America guard Sherron Collins was cold as ice from the field, but when the game was on the line, Collins made a couple of clutch shots, Xavier Henry played tough inside and Cole Aldrich came up with a key block.

Tough teams win tough games on the road when they aren’t playing well and Kansas managed to do that.

Last night, Kentucky pulled off the same feet on the road.  After withstanding a 13-2 second half run by Mississippi State, the Wildcats took the game to overtime with 7-0 run of their own.  Freshman sensation John Wall led Kentucky to an 81-75 overtime win by nearly pulling off a triple-double.  The John Calipari led squad showed the same toughness on the road as the Jayhawks.

The losses by Syracuse and Villanova have opened the door for others to grab a number one seed in the coming weeks, but this is beginning to look like it could be a rematch of 2008 with Self and Calipari facing off in a coaching matchup again.  Only this time it’s with Calipari at the helm of the Wildcats.