March is here and we are less than two weeks away from Selection Sunday. There is still a lot up for grabs before the brackets reach our hands, including the spots on the top line, which makes UConn's blowout win over St. John's on Wednesday quite important in the grand scheme of things.
The Huskies weren't a top seed when the NCAA's Top 16 Seed Reveal dropped in late February but they have looked more impressive than both Iowa State and Houston, the other two teams in the mix for the fourth No. 1 seed, since the bracket reveal happened. How far will No. 6 UConn rise in the next AP Top 25 poll? Let's find out
Projected AP Top 25 after UConn blows out St. John's
1. Duke Blue Devils
2. Arizona Wildcats
3. Michigan Wolverines
4. UCONN Huskies
5. Florida Gators
6. Iowa State Cyclones
7. Nebraska Cornhuskers
8. Michigan State Spartans
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders
10. Houston Cougars
11. Gonzaga Bulldogs
12. Illinois Fighting Illini
13. Purdue Boilermakers
14. Alabama Crimson Tide
15. Virginia Cavaliers
16. Kansas Jayhawks
17. North Carolina Tar Heels
18. Miami (OH) Redhawks
19. St. John's Red Storm
20. Miami (FL) Hurricanes
21. Arkansas Razorbacks
22. Saint Mary's Gaels
23. Saint Louis Billikens
24. Missouri Tigers
25. Belmont Bruins
UConn returns the favor against St. John's
After getting bullied at Madison Square Garden in early February, No. 6 UConn left little doubt who would be the more physical team against No. 15 St. John's at Gampel Pavilion. A ridiculous 18-0 run in the first half turned the game into a blowout for the Huskies, who got a dominant performance on the block from Tarris Reed Jr, who racked up 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks against the Red Storm.
The Huskies haven't had this dominant of an effort in a minute, which is understandable since they have been on cruise control in a down Big East since league play began in late December. It was nice to see UCONN flip the switch into kill mode for this game, offering hope that the brilliant team we saw in the non-conference portion of the season can resurface in time for March Madness.
Michigan wins the Big Ten title at a price
The Wolverines responded to their big loss against Duke nicely with a pair of victories, including a 14-point road victory at No. 10 Illinois to wrap up the Big Ten's regular season title with a week to go. The front line of Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Landeborg were simply too much for the Fighting Illini as they combined for 54 points, 23 rebounds and four blocks on the night.
The victory did come at a cost, however, as No. 3 Michigan saw key reserve L.J. Cason suffer a torn ACL in the game. Cason will be out for the remainder of the season, which means Dusty May's nine-man rotation will shrink to eight unless he wants to try entrusting one of his reserve guards with key responsibility in the most important point of the season.
Michigan State may be back
It has been a long time since No. 13 Michigan State won at No. 8 Purdue, which had won seven straight against the Spartans at Mackey Arena entering Thursday night's matchup. That history didn't daunt Jeremy Fears Jr, who was one of four Spartans in double figures to help Michigan State escape with a 78-76 win for their first road victory against the Boilermakers since 2014.
Michigan State rode the momentum of that victory to a road win at Indiana on Sunday to earn their fourth straight win, putting a mid-February slump behind them as the calendar flips to March. The questions now shift to Purdue, which lost at home for the fourth time this season and followed it up with a loss at Ohio State on Sunday to drop to 12-6 in league play, which puts them in jeopardy of missing out on a bye to the Friday quarterfinals in the Big Ten Tournament.
Duke obliterates Virginia to win the ACC Regular Season crown
Saturday afternoon kicked off with an impactful game in the ACC as No. 1 Duke welcomed No. 11 Virginia to town with a chance to claim the league's regular season title with a victory over the Cavaliers. In what may be one of the most surprising results of the day, the game was not particularly close as the Blue Devils won at home by 26 to secure the regular season crown for a second straight year.
The result was more disappointing for Virginia, which looked ill-equipped to play a national title contender in a hostile environment. The Cavaliers have had an outstanding season, entering March with a 25-4 record, but how thoroughly they were outclassed by Duke will leave a mark.
Saint Mary's remains a thorn in Gonzaga's side
No. 9 Gonzaga's move to the new-look Pac-12 next season means their annual rivalry with Saint Mary's is coming to an end, which is a disappointing turn of events for one of the most underrated matchups on the year. Even though the Bulldogs have been the class of the West Coast Conference for years, the one team they haven't been able to shake is the Gaels, who beat them by 12 on Saturday night to secure a share of the league's regular season title.
Mikey Lewis had a day for Saint Mary's, racking up 31 points with seven made threes to help the Gaels rip off their eighth straight win to end the regular season. Saint Mary's is now 7-5 in their last 12 meetings against Gonzaga, a stretch that dates back to 2022, and it could set the stage for one final grudge match in the WCC title game just over a week from now.