College Basketball Round-up:

WVU Hangs On: The West Virginia Mountaineers were the last team standing in the Big East, after a brutal championship game against Georgetown. WVU won 60-58, on a last second shot by Da’Sean Butler, his second game winning shot of the Tournament. Even with the double bye, the Mountaineers victory is pretty impressive. Surviving in the Big East is no easy task, as WVU was the only one of the top 4 seeds (double bye teams) to get out of the quarterfinals. In addition the Mountaineers won all of their games by three points or less, and the game was decided on the final possession.

Purdue Triples Its Point Total From The First Half And Still Loses: With 5 minutes remaining in the first half the Boilermakers had just 4 points on the scoreboard. They managed to notch 11 by halftime, and almost tripled that total in the 2nd half to finish with 42. Not surprisingly Purdue, ranked fifth in the country, lost the game 69-42. The Boilermakers not only lost the game and the chance to win the Big Ten title, but they lost any chance at being a number 1 seed and probably won’t even be a number 2 after that performance. The injury to Robbie Hummel really came back to bite Purdue yesterday, as they looked like a shell of themselves. Unfortunately the NCAA selection committee will probably place a lot of stock into that game. Minnesota is a solid team but they weren’t in the tournament before yesterday’s win (and they still might end up just missing the cut). Not only should Purdue not have lost to them in the first place, but they should not have been beaten like that.

Kentucky Cruises To The Finals: The Kentucky Wildcats crushed the Tennessee Volunteers yesterday 74-45, on their way to earn a berth in the SEC Finals against Mississippi State. Kentucky’s freshman class got the job done yesterday as John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins all scored double figures, and had great all around games. Despite the fact that the Volunteers previously beat the Wildcats this season, this wasn’t even a game yesterday. Cousins controlled the paint yesterday, and the game was over. He led the Wildcats with 15 boards, and could not be stopped by the Tennessee big men. Overall UK out rebounded the Volunteers by 14, and that was one of the biggest differences in the game.

Kansas Wins Their 6th Straight Title: The Jayhawks knocked off their cross state rival Wildcats to win their 6th straight Big 12 title. Though Kansas State was in game and kept it close, Kansas controlled the game from start to finish. By winning the Big 12 Title, Kansas all but assured themselves the number 1 overall seed in the entire NCAA Tournament, making their road to the Championship game a little easier.