In the early game of the day, top-ranked and undefeated Illinois traveled to Columbus to take on Ohio State. Ohio State is on self-imposed probation and is therefore ineligible for the NCAA tournament. So, this was basically the last hurrah for the Buckeyes. And what a hurrah it was! Matt Sylvester his a 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds remaining to give Ohio State a 1-point victory.
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
But, that was just the start of the day's action. The #3 Kentucky Wildcats had already wrapped up the regular season SEC title, but they still had a date reamaining with the Florida Gators -- their chief conference rival. Though Florida has a respectable program, the Gator seniors had never beated the Wildcats. Until today, that is. Anthony Roberson hit two free throws with twelve seconds remaining to give the Gators a 53-52 lead. Florida's defense then preserved the victory.
Meanwhile, #7 Kansas was finishing up their regular season by taking on their arch rival, the Missouri Tigers. Missouri has had a dissapointing season and came into this day with a losing record. But, today they were 4 points better than the mighty Jayhawks.
And then there was Duke-Carolina. North Carolina came in ranked #3, and Duke was ranked #6. North Carolina was playing for the regular season ACC title, but they had lost their first match-up against Duke earlier in the year. But, that game was played at Cameron. This game was in Chapel Hill. Carolina held a slim lead for most of the game despite the fact that Rashad McCants was out with an illness. But Duke pulled out to a 9-point lead with only 3:07 remaining. Then Carolina's defense came alive. Duke didn't score again. The Tarheels ended the game on a 9-0 run and won the game by a score of 75-73. I'm not a Carolina fan or a Duke fan, but the end of this game actually gave me chills.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
