NCAA Basketball News & Notes - March 14

Ohio State Knocks Off Michigan, Illinois Tops Iowa

There are two teams left standings in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend as Ohio State knocked off long-time rival Michigan in their semi-final match up and Illinois sent Iowa home for the weekend in the following semi-final game.

That sets up an Ohio State vs. Illinois battle for supremacy in the vaunted Big Ten.  The league is absolutely stacked as the four teams that faced each other in the semis are all going No. 1 and No. 2 seeds next weekend when the NCAA Tournament tips off.

Michigan will lick their wounds and get ready for the NCAA Tournament as a likely No. 1 seed after the field is announced tomorrow.  They have been in a little bit of a rut but are still really talented and not a foe any teams want to draw in their bracket.

Iowa should be looking at a No. 2 seed in the bracket and will be a tough out for anyone.  Naismith Player Of the Year candidate Luka Garza is a monster to defend on the inside, and most lower seeds won't have the personnel to match up with him for 35+ minutes.

As for Illinois and Ohio State, they are likely a No. 1 and No. 2 seed, respectively, regardless of the outcome in the Big Ten Championship tomorrow.  The two teams split their season series, with each team winning on the road.

Virginia, Kansas Forced To Withdraw From Conference Tournaments

COVID-19 has turned Virginia and Kansas' season on its proverbial head right now.  Each team had positive COVID-19 tests come back and had to withdraw from their respective conference tournaments.

Virginia had just beaten ACC foe Syracuse in dramatic fashion to advance to the ACC Semi-Finals against Georgia Tech when they got the news about a positive test within their team.

The University and ACC wasted no time removing them from the tournament, and now their potential trip to the NCAA Tournament as a high seed is in jeopardy.

The same went for the Kansas Jayhawks as they had advanced to the semi-finals of the Big 12 tournament when they got the news that COVID-19 had struck their roster.

Georiga Tech and Texas were the recipients of the "byes" that were essentially awarded by the Virginia and Kansas withdrawals.

Now we wait to find out if Virginia and Kansas, two powers in the potential NCAA Tournament field, will be able to meet the NCAA's COVID-19 protocols and be eligible for the 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket.

Each University has until 11 PM EST on March 13 to report to the NCAA Selection Committee if they have indeed met the protocol to be eligible to play.

It would allow for some bubble teams to get into the field if Virginia and Kansas cannot clear protocol to be eligible.  So, the college basketball world waits with bated breath to see what will happen with these two school's COVID-19 issue.

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