Morning Madness: Wed., Feb. 15
Here's what you need to know in college hoops for Wednesday, Feb. 15.
No. 15 Florida hung 114 points on poor Auburn Tuesday night in a convincing win, putting up more points than the Gators ever have in a Southeastern Conference game and more than they had in 16 years. No. 13 Kentucky, no scoring slouches themselves, laid 83 on Tennessee in a Wildcat win.
It's tight in the SEC, with the Gators, Wildcats and No. 21 South Carolina all fighting for the league lead. In fact, it'd be impossible to get any tighter in the SEC.
If the Gamecocks beat Arkansas on Wednesday night -- Arkansas, not for nothing, can score, too, averaging more than 80 points a game -- all three league-leaders will be 21-5 overall and 11-2 in the SEC.
In case you missed it
• Tennessee beat Kentucky the first time around this season, on Jan. 24 in Knoxville, but UK would have none of it in the Rematch at Rupp. The Wildcats won in a walk, 83-58.
• Florida enjoyed 30 points off the bench from senior Canyon Barry, but the 23-year-old guard missed an early free throw, ending his school-record streak of made freebies at 42. Canyon, notably, shoots from the line like his Hall of Fame father, Rick, used to do -- underhanded.
• Another win for No. 16 Purdue (74-55 over Rutgers), fueled by another double-double from Caleb Swanigan (12 points, 17 boards). It's his 22nd double-double this year.
What to watch today
• No 12 Duke, a big riser in this week's AP Top 25 poll -- +6 -- heads north again to take on No. 14 Virginia, which is coming off a tough loss to Virginia Tech (9 ET, ESPN2).
• Cincinnati had won 15 in a row before SMU brought down the Bearcats on Sunday. They try to get back on track at South Florida (7 ET, ESPNU).
• More biggies tonight: No. 10 North Carolina at NC State and No. 23 Maryland at potentially tourney bound Northwestern.
Social moment of the day
No. 15 Gators take a CHOMP out of Auburn, 114-95, setting Florida's SEC game total points record! pic.twitter.com/JKqCGCaxfv
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 15, 2017
Not your pop's KU
For a long time, Bill Self's teams at Kansas have been big up front and a bear to defend. This year ... well, not so much.
They still can be hard to defend, for sure. But, out of necessity, Self has gone to a smaller, more athletic frontcourt this season. Kansas showcased its new self on Monday with a stunning comeback win over West Virginia. Can the No. 3 Jayhawks (22-3) keep winning this way through March, though? NCAA.com's Joe Boozell examines the good and bad of Kansas going small.
Bracket tip: The challenge of being perfect
Take a nine. Put 18 zeroes after it. Like this: 9,000,000,000,000,000,000. There you have it. Your chances of filling out a perfect bracket. One in ... that. Or about that.
A pro basketball player is more likely to hit 414 free throws in a row. NCAA.com's Janie Harris gets into the math behind a perfect bracket.
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Mark your calendar
Selection Sunday: March 12
First Thursday of the NCAA Tournament: March 16
Final Four in Phoenix: April 1-3