Welcome back to the Starting 5. The Starting 5 is written multiple times per week by Adam Spencer to keep you up-to-date on all the news and events in the world of college hoops. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamSpencer4 and @BlueChipGrit.
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Also, we’re going to try something different today. I’m just going to provide some notes on every Power 5 conference tournament in today’s column, starting with the SEC. Here we go:
Everyone describes Alabama’s season as a roller coaster. At this point, it’s feeling more like a tower drop ride. The Tide aren’t having many ups these days, and Thursday night’s collapse against Vanderbilt was definitely a low point to the season.
The Tide led by 15 at one point against Scotty Pippen Jr. and company, but once again, went cold at an inopportune time and let a lesser foe back into the game.
Can I just say I’m absolutely here for the Scotty Pippen vs. Alabama beef? It all started with this quote:
Then, it continued before the game on Thursday in Tampa:
Pippen scored 26 points, but only went 5-for-19 from the floor. As has become normal for him, he did most of his damage from the free-throw line, knocking down 15 of his 21 attempts from the charity stripe.
Naturally, Vanderbilt took its first lead on a Pippen free throw, erasing the 15-point deficit:
We’ll see if Kentucky can avoid giving Pippen any extra motivation for Friday’s quarterfinal matchup.
Next, let’s discuss the Big Ten Tournament.
The Big Ten Tournament was absolutely wild on Thursday. In the first game of the day, Michigan blew a 17-point lead against Indiana to keep the Hoosiers’ slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
After a slow start, Trayce Jackson-Davis silenced the critics on social media who joked he should give back his All-Big Ten award, scoring 24 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. Of those 24 points, 19 came in the second half as Indiana was making its comeback:
Does Indiana have more left in the tank? Jackson-Davis is probably going to have to be even better on Friday if the Hoosiers are going to beat Illinois, the No. 1 seed in the tournament. But, if they do score the upset win, they’ll have removed all doubt that they’re NCAA Tournament-worthy.
Now, let’s take a look at the ACC Tournament.
North Carolina is peaking at the right time, it seems, routing Virginia 63-43 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. Brady Manek led the charge, scoring 21 points and grabbing 7 boards.
He was getting to the rim at will, it seemed at times, doing a lot of his work from close range (though he did hit 3 3-pointers, too):
Manek has now scored at least 20 points in 3-straight games. If I were Virginia Tech, I’d make sure to play some tight defense on Manek. Otherwise, their stay in Brooklyn will come to an end.
Next, let’s head out west to the Pac-12.
I’m actually on-site here in Las Vegas covering the Pac-12 Tournament for Saturday Out West, our new Pac-12 website. My guy Derek Peterson is doing some great work over there, so head to the site and check it out.
My quarterfinal takeaways will be published on Saturday Out West on Friday morning at some point. Let’s just say there’s a team that looks like a Final Four contender from the Pac-12, and it wasn’t No. 1-seed Arizona.
Now, let’s dive into the Big 12 Tournament.
Hopefully none of y’all remember a few short days ago when I predicted that Baylor would win the Big 12 Tournament.
Yikes.
The Bears got off to a slow start in Kansas City against Oklahoma on Thursday. Eventually, they made a game of it, but couldn’t finish off the Sooners, falling 72-67. Meanwhile, Kansas, the team I swore I wouldn’t pick, cruised to an easy 87-63 win over West Virginia.
Looks like things are setting up for the Jayhawks to cut down the nets once again. Also, it’s worth wondering if Baylor is too banged up this year to make another run at the Final Four. The Bears are one of the best teams in the nation when they’re healthy, but they haven’t been fully healthy in a long time.
At this point, Texas Tech might be the best bet to keep Kansas off the 1-seed line. But, the Jayhawks are cruising right now.
Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on Twitter @AdamSpencer4 or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.
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