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NCAA basketball heat check: Michigan State Spartans stay scorching hot, Colorado crumbling

By Mike Phillips

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - MARCH 08: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on while playing the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Breslin Center on March 08, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 80-69. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - MARCH 08: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on while playing the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Breslin Center on March 08, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 80-69. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State is hitting its stride at the right time but the same can’t be said for Colorado and Penn State who limp into their conference tournaments.

Conference tournaments are in full bloom this week and NCAA Tournament bids are on the line. The following three teams have played exceptionally well in March to boost their resume in advance of the Big Dance, but the same can’t be said for a different trio of teams who limp into their conference tournaments.

Rapid Risers

Michigan State

The Spartans have finally settled on a rotation and ripped off five straight wins to end the regular season, securing a share of the Big Ten’s regular-season title. Tom Izzo’s squad enters the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 seed and no one would be shocked to see them cutting down the nets in Indianapolis this week before making another run at the Final Four.

Providence

The hottest team in the Big East has been Providence, which ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak to secure the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. This has been an absolutely stunning turnaround for the Friars who were pretty much left for dead after a disastrous non-conference season that included losses to Long Beach State, the College of Charleston and Northwestern. With a senior-laden roster and a savvy coach in Ed Cooley, Providence could be a scary team in the Big East Tournament.

UCLA

In a similar manner to Providence, UCLA was left on the side of the road after bumbling and stumbling through the first half of the season. The Bruins lost at home to Hofstra and Cal State Fullerton in non-conference play, hitting rock bottom at 10-10 on Jan. 26. Since that loss at Oregon, UCLA has gone 9-2 and nearly ended the season on an eight-game winning streak before USC’s Jonah Mathews nailed a game-winning three with a second left in Saturday’s loss. The Bruins are the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament and have a great shot to steal the league’s automatic bid in Las Vegas this week.

Fast Fallers

Colorado

If UCLA is the hottest team in the Pac-12, Colorado is the coldest. Despite possessing one of the most talented rosters in the conference, the Buffaloes ended their regular season on a four-game skid, with two of those losses coming to teams that won’t make the field in Utah and Cal. It’s highly unlikely Colorado will miss the tournament, but they would be well-advised not to drop their Pac-12 Tournament opener against Washington State on Wednesday.

Penn State

The Big Ten is a tough place to do business and Penn State has learned that the hard way over the past two weeks. The Nittany Lions ended the season with three consecutive losses, with the first two being understandable losses at Iowa and to a red-hot Michigan State. Getting beaten by 11 at Northwestern is inexcusable and will hurt Penn State’s seeding in the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions are still going dancing but trending in the wrong direction could give them a tougher matchup than they deserve in the first round.

Texas Tech

If there is one team on the fallers list that has reason to sweat its NCAA Tournament prospects, it’s Texas Tech. The Red Raiders ended the regular season on a four-game skid, although all four games were against quality competition. That slump dropped Texas Tech into the 4-5 matchup in the Big 12 Tournament where they will have to take on a Texas team that just beat them by 10 in Lubbock. The winner of that game gets a shot at Kansas and a resume-sealing win but if Texas Tech loses they will have a long and anxious wait on the bubble until Selection Sunday.

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