Late Afternoon Snacks: Louisville and Marquette win to keep Big East race tight; will Georgetown answer?

Game of the Day

No. 10 Louisville 58, N0. 12 Syracuse 53: It may seem a little late, but Louisville is rounding into the type of team they were supposed to be from day one of the season. Great leadership at the point from Peyton Siva, who had no turnovers today, with Russ Smith picking up all of the scoring Siva didn’t do (18 points). Gorgui Dieng had a double-double to go with two blocks. The frontcourt duo of Behanan and Blackshear was rather silent, but they didn’t make any egregious mistakes, either. The guy who came up big was Luke Hancock. The pure shooter didn’t even attempt a shot from inside the arc, and went 4-5. That’s his job, and he’s getting better at it. That’s what makes the Cards a little more dangerous going into postseason play. Syracuse, on the other hand, is in a steep decline at the worst possible time, having lost three in a row.

Meaningful Results

VCU 84, N0. 20 Butler 52: The Rams started defending as soon as Butler put the ball inbounds on every play, trapping various members of the Bulldog backcourt and forcing turnover that ended up being jammed, laid up or jumpered right back into the basket so the entire process could begin again. Two truths we already knew were pounded home in this game: Butler could really use a top-notch point guard, and when Havoc is in full effect, VCU can beat anyone in the nation.

N0. 22 Marquette 72, N0. 21 Notre Dame 64: Chris Otule turned in his best game of the season, scoring 16 points on 8-8 shooting from the floor. The big man’s perfect day came at a good time, as frequent Marquette hero Vander Blue was held to six points by the Irish defense. Jamil Wilson led the Golden Eagles with 19 points. Notre Dame fell to 2.5 games off the league pace, while Marquette and Louisville are keeping things snug, sitting just 1/2 game back with two games left to play.

Creighton 91, Wichita State 79: This was one of those games March is famous for. Two teams tied atop the conference, playing to decide who gets the regular season crown in a final regular-season game. This time it was Creighton in front of the home crowd, led by Doug McDermott’s insane 41 point day, that prevailed. The Blue Jays will take the No. 1 seed in Arch Madness, with the Shockers on the other side of the bracket. As much as we love upsets, here’s hoping the two face off again for the tourney crown, and that the loser nabs an at-large bid so we can continue to enjoy top-notch Valley basketball for as long as humanly possible.

N0. 8 Florida 64, Alabama 52: ‘Bama needed this one, for their league standings and for their tournament resume. They didn’t get it.

Georgia 78, Tennessee 68: Jordan McRae scored a bundle, putting up 35 points, but it wasn’t enough to get the Vols past Georgia. This was one of those games that Tennessee needed to handle to prove they’re tourney-caliber. As a team, they just didn’t get it done.

Oklahoma 86, Iowa State 69: The Cyclones got tagged with a loss they didn’t deserve when Kansas came to town – we’ll grant that. That’s what makes it all the more important to win games like this one. The Sooners hit 100 percent of their free throws 34-34, to grab their tenth league win and add to their bubble case in a year where it still seems like anything can happen in the major conferences.

Games of the Night

4:00 Kentucky at Arkansas
4:00 LSU at Missouri
4:00 UNLV at Nevada (NBCSports)
5:00 Portland at Gonzaga (ROOT)
5:00 Wyoming at New Mexico (ROOT)
5:00 Colorado at Cal (ESPNU)
6:00 Miami at Duke (ESPN)
6:00 Harvard at Penn (NBCSports)
6:00 Alabama State at Grambling
7:00 Kansas State at Baylor (ESPN2)
7:30 Iowa at Indiana (BigTen)
8:00 Colorado State at Boise State
9:00 Rutgers at Georgetown (ESPNU)
9:00 Arizona at UCLA (ESPN)