1. An eye condition forced Butler coach Brad Stevens to leave the team midway through the Bulldogs’ regular-season finale against Loyola Chicago, according to an Associated Press report. Stevens noticed that he was struggling with his vision during warm-ups, and his eyesight worsened during the game. He turned over the reins at the half to assistant Matthew Graves, who steered the Bulldogs to a 63-56 victory, giving Butler a share of the Horizon League regular-season title.
2. Meanwhile, some coaches will be making a more permanent exit as the season winds down and teams part ways with unsuccessful coaches. Georgia State and Monmouth will be getting started with their coaching searches after canning Rod Barnes and Dave Calloway, respectively.
3. Minnesota big man Ralph Sampson III remains on the fence about whether he intends to enter the NBA Draft after this season, according to SI.com’s “Truth & Rumors” blog.
4. Cal got two years probation after coach Mike Montgomery’s staff made about 300 impermissible calls to recruits in 2008, according to the Associated Press. Cal caught the violations and already imposed recruiting restrictions on Montgomery and the assistant coaches responsible for the violations.
5. Pitt will have a little less depth entering the NCAA Tournament after reserve forward Talib Zanna broke his right thumb and will miss three to six weeks, according to the Associated Press.
6. Baylor sophomore Nolan Dennis has left the team for unspecified medical reasons, coach Scott Drew announced, according to ESPN.com news services. The guard averaged 2.3 points per game in his career with the Bears.
7. Saint Joseph’s regained the services of big man Todd O’Brien, who passed a university judicial review of his compliance with community standards, according to an Associated Press report. O’Brien averages 1.2 points per game.
8. The Lost Lettermen blog explores the 10 best-dressed coaches in the game. And in another post, the blog takes a look at the 10 worst-dressed coaches of all time.

2/26
• BYU 80, San Diego State 67
• Virginia Tech 64, Duke 60
• Colorado 91, Texas 89
• UCLA 71, Arizona 49
• Syracuse 58, Georgetown 51
• St. John’s 81, Villanova 68
• Kentucky 76, Florida 68
• Baylor 58, Texas A&M 51
• Kansas State 80, Missouri 70
• James Madison 72, VCU 69
• Missouri State 69, Wichita State 64
• UTEP 74, Memphis 47
• Michigan 70, Minnesota 63
• Western Carolina 70, Charleston 62
• Mississippi State 70, Tennessee 69
• Air Force 74, Colorado State 57

2/27

• Connecticut 67, Cincinnati 59
• Louisville 62, Pittsburgh 59 OT
• Purdue 67, Michigan State
• Xavier 66, Dayton 62
• North Carolina 87, Maryland 76

Game-day tweets and retweets from Phil Kasiecki’s season-long tour:

Harvard at Brown

Harvard and Brown are almost ready to tip off in a game featuring quite a few players who know each other well.

Deja vu? Brown led Harvard by 22 at halftime less than two weeks ago. Less than 5 minutes in, Brown leads Harvard 13-5, timeout Harvard.

Offense has never been the question with this Brown team. It was good last year without a point guard on the roster, and they’re on tonight.

Less than two weeks ago, Brown led Harvard 53-31 at the half and lost. We’ll see if they have a better second half this time around.

Harvard scored the first six of the second half, and calls timeout. Kyle Casey is grimacing in pain after coming down at the other end.

Harvard has a chance to take the lead, now down 47-46 and the beneficiary of another questionable offensive foul call on Brown.

The Bears had a chance to tie before taking a questionable shot, then Webster hits a three in front of his own bench to put Harvard up 6.

Harvard is now in good shape, leading 72-66 with 34.4 seconds left and Brandyn Curry going to the line for one-and-one.

UNC-Wilmington at Northeastern

We’ve just had Senior Day activities here at Northeastern, so we’re a few minutes away from the tip of UNC-Wilmington-Northeastern.

UNC-Wilmington leads 18-14 thanks in part to some good early shooting by Chad Tomko and Tanner Milson. 11:49 left in the half.

Northeastern is turning UNCW turnovers into easy baskets, and has scored 10 unanswered to go up 24-18, sparked by Alex Harris.

NU has started strong in the second half and is now up 57-39. A UNCW turnover right off the inbound pass give NU a chance to go up 20.

Taking nothing away from UNCW of late, Northeastern has clearly relaxed with their lead. The Huskies are getting careless on both ends.

Both teams have four guards on the floor right now, with NU hanging on to a 72-64 lead with 2:24 left.

Northeastern has pretty much sealed this one, now up 76-65 with 44.8 left. Valiant comeback attempt by UNCW, but they fell too far behind.

Dartmouth at Brown

We’re about ready to tip here at Brown, with Dartmouth visiting the Bears on Senior Night.

Brown is off to another good start offensively, leading 14-10 at the first media timeout, 15:26 left in the half.

Brown has kept it up offensively and gotten better defensively as the game has gone along. 2:59 left in the half, Brown leads 46-23.

Adrian Williams picks up right where he left off with an early three-pointer, giving him 20 on the night on 5-7 shooting from deep.

With Garrett Leffelman reaching double figures, only one Brown senior hasn’t reached that mark tonight.

The only drama left is if Brown will reach the century mark, as they’re up 96-73 with 45.3 seconds left and two free throws coming up.

2/28
• Kansas State at Texas
• Villanova at Notre Dame

3/1

• Ohio State at Penn State
• Illinois at Purdue
• Alabama at Florida
• Vanderbilt at Kentucky
• Missouri at Nebraska
• Baylor at Oklahoma State
• Boston College at Virginia Tech

3/2

• Texas A&M at Kansas
• Clemson at Duke
• New Mexico at BYU
• Connecticut at West Virginia
• Cincinnati at Marquette
• North Carolina at Florida State
• Maryland at Miami
• UAB at Southern Miss
• Marshall at UTEP

3/3

• St. John’s at Seton Hall
• Morgan State at Coppin State
• UCLA at Washington

The Cougars went on the road Saturday and dismantled San Diego State behind a balanced attack. Jimmer Fredette led the way as usual, but his biggest contribution was nine assists to frequently wide open teammates. By the end of the game, BYU had picked up its fourth win against RPI top 25 teams.

That’s as many wins against the country’s elite teams as Ohio State and Duke can claim — combined. The Cougars have a 26-2 record despite playing a schedule ranked No. 21 in difficulty. And the Cougars have eight wins against the top 50. If you stripped off the names of Duke, Texas and BYU and compared their profiles, BYU would stand out as the obvious choice for the final No. 1 seed.

But for some reason, plenty of analysts continue to forget about BYU when listing their picks for No. 1 seeds. It’s not unheard of for a team outside the power conferences to earn a top seed. Memphis did it a couple of times when John Calipari forced the Tigers into national prominence. This season, BYU and San Diego State have elevated the Mountain West so that the conference should be considered a seventh power conference. In some measures, the conference rates better than the SEC does.

Assuming BYU doesn’t falter to anyone except San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, the Cougars should be a shoo-in for a No. 1 seed. And once we get to the Big Dance, the intersection of Jimmer Mania and March Madness could deliver some special moments.

1. Cincinnati picked up a huge road win at Georgetown Wednesday night, and the Hoyas suffered a huge loss, mostly because senior guard Chris Wright broke his left hand in the game, according to the Associated Press. One of Georgetown’s self-proclaimed DC Three — co-starring Austin Freeman and Jason Clark — Wright averages 13.1 points per game. However, the team is hopeful that Wright will return by the start of the NCAA Tournament.
2. Kansas coach Bill Self suspended point guard Tyshawn Taylor for a violation of team rules, according to the Associated Press. Sophomore Elijah Johnson stepped in to help the Jayhawks romp all over Oklahoma State Monday, inspiring Self to reference Wally Pipp after the game. The former New York Yankee became legendary for losing his job to Lou Gehrig and never getting it back. Taylor can’t like the sound of that.
3. If you somehow missed all the coverage regarding the NCAA’s punishment of Connecticut and coach Jim Calhoun, here are the highlights. Calhoun will miss three Big East games (next season), the Huskies avoid any post-season ban, and the team has one less scholarship to offer, among other recruiting restrictions, for the next three seasons, according to a CBSSports.com wire report.
4. Tennessee also received bad news from the NCAA this week when the infractions committee determined that coach Bruce Pearl committed recruiting violations and failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance, according to the Associated Press. The Volunteers will learn their fate at an NCAA hearing in June.
5. Although Calhoun and Pearl aren’t the happiest coaches in the world this week, they are far better off than John O’Connor, coach of Division II Holy Family. O’Connor is in legal trouble with a former player after trying to preach some tough love to his recently embarrassed team. In the process, he roughed up Matt Kravchuk, who has left the team and filed a criminal complaint against O’Connor. But the story is more complex than a coach just freaking out, writes Dick Jerardi for the Philadelphia Daily News.
6. Nebraska coach Doc Sadler credits the Billy Gillispie 2 Percent Theory for his team’s recent success, in an interview with YahooSports.com’s Jason King.
7. Texas reserve forward Alexis Wangmene, who averages 2.4 points per game, is in hot water after police arrested him early Sunday morning and charged him with driving while intoxicated. Coach Rick Barnes suspended Wangmene for two games, according to the Associated Press.
8. Renardo Sidney is a lightning rod for controversy, and his media ban — aka protection program — lightened this past week when he spoke with the SEC Network, which mostly tossed him softball questions, writes Diamond Leung for ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog. That’s not going to help a coddled young player develop a much-needed sense of accountability.
9. A “Lost Lettermen” blog post discusses the recipe for disaster in rushing the court, referencing the season-altering “Malice in the Palace” brawl between the Indiana Pacers and a slew of Detroit Pistons fans.
10. But you’ll have to forgive Caltech fans for storming the court after the Beavers beat Occidental 46-45 Tuesday. It was Division III Caltech’s first win against a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent since I was 4 years old (Jan. 23, 1985 to be precise).
11. But even mascots can cause drama, in certain situations. The “Lost Lettermen” blog notes Vanderbilt’s Mr. C clocked a Commodore fan who supposedly grabbed the mascot’s genitals.

2/21
• Kansas 92, Oklahoma State 65
• Syracuse 69, Villanova 64
• Central Florida 74, UTEP 68
• Green Bay 81, Valparaiso 80 OT

2/22

• Ohio State 89, Illinois 70
• Tennessee 60, Vanderbilt 51
• UNC-Asheville 61, Coastal Carolina 58
• Michigan State 53, Minnesota 48

2/23

• Duke 78, Temple 61
• Cincinnati 58, Georgetown 46
• Arkansas 77, Kentucky 76 OT
• BYU 84, Colorado State 76
• Purdue 72, Indiana 61
• Wisconsin 53, Michigan 52
• North Carolina 75, North Carolina State 63
• Maryland 78, Florida State 62
• Missouri 77, Baylor 59
• Kansas State 61, Nebraska 57
• Miami 73, Boston College 64
• Akron 72, Miami, Ohio 55
• Drexel 64, VCU 60
• Rhode Island 77, Duquesne 76
• UNLV 77, New Mexico 74 OT

2/24

• Marquette 74, Connecticut 67 OT
• Milwaukee 87, Cleveland State 83
• Appalachian State 85, Charleston 70
• Florida 71, Georgia 62

Neal Heston dissects the Missouri Valley Conference’s struggles in last weekend’s BracketBusters event. The conference’s contenders — specifically Missouri State and Wichita State — failed to move any closer to an at-large bid with losses against Valparaiso and VCU, respectively.

And Michael Protos unveils Version 3.0 of his projected NCAA Tournament field, with a close examination of the candidates for the overall No. 1 seed.

Game-day tweets and retweets from Phil Kasiecki’s season-long tour:

Maine at New Hampshire

UNH is doing Senior Night ceremonies a little before the tip of their final home game against Maine.

Maine has been able to drive and dish when the help comes on a few occasions thus far.

Maine has been able to get just about anything they want on offense, all predicated on getting it inside and not forcing bad shots.

At the half, Maine leads New Hampshire 35-25. Stats to come.

Dane DiLiegro has come out aggressive to start the second half for UNH at both ends and has been the best player on the floor.

Maine has boosted the lead to 58-38 as we reach the under-8 media timeout, 7:36 left. Chris Matagrano with two FTs for UNH when we resume.

Final score: Maine 70, New Hampshire 53. Maine snaps a six-game losing streak with the win.

Miami at Boston College

A little over 30 minutes to the tip of Miami at Boston College. The last three meetings between these teams have been decided by six points.

BC is scoring now, but the defense still leaves something to be desired as Miami leads 14-10 with 11:30 left in the half.

It’s bad enough that BC has struggled on defense, because that’s been the case all season. But the offense has suffered and BC trails 29-12.

At the last media timeout, Miami leads Boston College 31-12 with 3:34 left in the half. Simply put, the Eagles are not playing well.

BC has come to life for the first time all night. They’re close to some offensive rhythm and are playing a little defense, now down 43-30.

The last few possessions showed why Haith wanted Johnson back in the game so badly, as he’s scored eight in a row to put Miami up 51-38.

Reggie Johnson got Miami going again, and now the three-point daggers are falling as Miami is up 57-42 with 6:21 left.

Malcolm Grant’s first basket of the second half is a back-breaking trey in front of his own bench with the shot clock running down.

Final score: Miami 73, Boston College 64.

Michael Protos shares his thoughts and observations from around the hoops nation.

Pretty much everyone agrees with an apparently obvious observation: Big East has 11 tourney teams, only 2 or 3 Final Four contenders.

Over/under on Syracuse and Villanova combined wins in NCAA tournament = 1.5

It’s gotta be an NCAA violation for an active coach to be meddling in NBA affairs, right? Not like that would stop Isiah. Just sayin… #melo

2/26
• BYU at San Diego State
• Duke at Virginia Tech
• Syracuse at Georgetown
• St. John’s at Villanova
• Florida at Kentucky
• Texas at Colorado
• Texas A&M at Baylor
• Missouri at Kansas State
• Arizona at UCLA
• Memphis at UTEP
• Wichita State at Missouri State
• Wofford at Furman
• IUPUI at Centenary

2/27

• Pittsburgh at Louisville
• Connecticut at Cincinnati
• Purdue at Michigan State
• Maryland at North Carolina
• Xavier at Dayton
• Washington State at Washington

The Hoyas lost senior guard Chris Wright to a broken wrist in an ugly 58-46 defeat to Cincinnati at the Verizon Center. Without Wright in the last portion of the second half, Georgetown sputtered, posting the team’s worst offensive game of the season, according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency stats. The team averaged less than 0.8 points per possession.

Georgetown projects to be a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament as of today. However, that seed could drop precipitously if the Hoyas stumble without Wright and his wrist is slow to heal. The initial word out of Georgetown is that Wright will miss about two and a half weeks, which is oddly precise and happens to coincide with Selection Sunday.

With two regular-season games remaining, against Syracuse and at Cincinnati, Georgetown could easily go into the Big East Tournament riding a three-game losing streak. A loss in the first day or two of action would put the selection committee in a tough spot. Will Wright really be back for the tournament? Will he be 100 percent? If the Hoyas don’t look good without Wright, they won’t deserve a No. 3 seed. They’ll probably resemble a No. 5 or 6 seed.

The next couple of weeks will be critical for the Hoyas. If they find their way past the Orange and win the rematch at the Bearcats, I have a feeling Austin Freeman will emerge as a legitimate Big East Player of the Year favorite. If the team struggles, that will cement Wright’s status as an irreplaceable cog in the Hoyas’ engine.

1. Move over Tim Duncan. Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried is now the NCAA’s all-time  rebounding leader after Faried grabbed 12 boards in the team’s 71-65 win against Indiana State Saturday, giving him 1,576 rebounds in his career, according to the Associated Press.
2. Saint Joseph’s dismissed a couple of reserve players, even as the university reviews their cases, according to an Associated Press report. Guard Patrick Swilling and center Todd O’Brien aren’t with the team after violating university community rules, and Swilling has left the university. They combine to average 2.6 points per game.
3. Saint Joseph’s Big Five rival Temple also has fewer available players after forward Micheal Eric fractured his right patella in practice, according to ESPN.com wire services. The big man averaged 7.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for the Owls.
4. Take notice, TV networks: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski wants nothing to do with in-game interviews during TV timeouts, according to SI.com’s “Truth & Rumors” blog.
5. The woman convicted of extorting Louisville coach Rick Pitino will serve seven years in prison, pending an appeal, according to the Associated Press. Karen Cunagin Sypher received about one-quarter of the maximum sentence for extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness.

2/18
• Louisville 71, Connecticut 58
• VCU 68, Wichita State 67
• Drexel 73, Kent State 66

2/19

• Nebraska 70, Texas 67
• St. John’s 60, Pittsburgh 59
• West Virginia 72, Notre Dame 58
• Virginia 61, Virginia Tech 54
• Arizona State 71, Washington State 69
• Brown 75, Princeton 65
• Rice 67, Memphis 52
• Texas Tech 78, Baylor 69
• Utah 62, New Mexico 60
• Arizona 87, Washington 86
• Georgia 69, Tennessee 63
• Texas A&M 67, Oklahoma State 66
• UNLV 68, Colordao State 61
• Villanova 77, DePaul 75 OT
• North Carolina 48, Boston College 46
• Syracuse 84, Rutgers 80 OT
• Michigan State 61, Illinois 57
• Utah State 75, Saint Mary’s 65
• James Madison 70, Miami, Ohio 69
• Dayton 64, Duquesne 63
• Fairfield 76, Austin Peay 69
• Charleston 85, Vermont 70
• Valparaiso 80, Missouri State 67
• George Mason 77, Northern Iowa 71

2/20

• Purdue 76, Ohio State 63
• Old Dominion 74, Cleveland State 63
• Clemson 63, Miami 59
• Wisconsin 76, Penn State 66

Game-day tweets and retweets from Phil Kasiecki’s season-long tour:

Penn at Brown

Penn and Brown are moments from tip-off at the Pizzitola Center. Penn is without Conor Turley and Cameron Gunter due to illness.

Momentum has gone back and forth between the two teams, with Penn up 14-8 near the halfway point of the first half.

At the half, Penn leads Brown 28-21 in a game that has had some sloppy stretches.

At the under-8 media timeout, Penn leads Brown 48-44. Brown has managed to get close, but breaking through to tie or lead has been tougher.

Peter Sullivan’s three from the left wing puts Brown up 49-48 with just over six minutes left.

Huge three-pointer from the corner by Rosen, with the shot-clock running down, makes it 58-52. Then a steal by Rosen leads to a foul, 2 FTs.

Final score: Penn 70, Brown 62. Penn breaks a four-game losing streak and wins their first road game in nearly two months.

Massachusetts at Rhode Island

A little more than 10 minutes to the tip of UMass-URI. Traffic on Route 138 suggests we’ll have a big crowd, but that’s not the case now.

Last time they met, they were going in opposite directions. That is still the case: UMass has lost 4 straight, URI has won 3 of 4.

Nikola Malesevic continues to improve with the physical nature of the game, and just took a charge. UMass up 17-15, 7:59 left in the half.

Anthony Gurley is averaging just 11.3 points in the last 4 UMass games, all losses. Thus far, just 2 today in the last minute of the half.

UMass has all the momentum now, as they’re up 46-39 after a trey by Jesse Morgan. URI calls timeout, 8:56 left.

Just as URI was gaining momentum, Gary Correia hits a three-pointer from the right wing in front of the UMass Bench to make it 54-45 UMass.

Three-point possession for URI gets them right back in it at 58-56, 3:44 left as UMass calls timeout.

UMass is hanging on for dear life, up 58-55 with 2:10 left. URI has missed a couple of free throws and needs another stop.

Final score: UMass 66, Rhode Island 60. After post-game interviews, it’s off to Providence for Princeton at Brown, 6 p.m. tip.

Princeton at Brown

Brown has started aggressively on offense and has a 15-6 lead at the first media timeout, 14:36 left in the half.

With Texas losing earlier in the day, Princeton enters this game as the only Division I team undefeated in its conference.

Brown’s offense has gone stagnant of late. Any time your offense has so little movement, any opposing defense can stop it.

Princeton closes the gap with the last six points of the half to make it 35-30 Brown at the break.

Foul trouble is mounting up front for Brown as Andrew McCarthy just picked up his fourth. Princeton now within 44-43.

McGonagill didn’t use the screen McCarthy set, but found him with a nice pass for a layup. Brown up 63-55 at the last media, 3:01 left.

At this point, it’s really about the defense for Brown, who has been inconsistent at that end much of the year.

Final score: Brown 75, Princeton 65. With that and Texas losing today, there are no more teams in Division I undefeated in conference play.

Michael Protos shares his thoughts and observations from around the hoops nation.

Somehow this doesn’t surprise me at all. RT @LostLettermen Rashad McCants wants to be the next Denzel Washington.

Centenary watch continues: Gents down to 2 chances to avoid winless season. In midst of 9-day break ahead of best chance: vs. W. Illinois.

St. John’s is one of those teams that, regardless of seed, you don’t want see anywhere near your team in the NCAA Tournament brackets.

A road game at an in-state rival is rarely easy, but Virginia Tech needed to find a way to beat UVA today. Tourney hopes take a hit.

Entering today, I had Nebraska 14 spots outside NCAA Tournament. Home win against Texas will make up more than half that ground.

Haven’t updated my list yet, but Valpo’s blowout win vs. Missouri State should move them closer to an at-large bid. 8 teams out as of now.

Washington is pretty much in the exact same position as last season: underachieving but talented enough to make at least Sweet 16.

2/21
• Syracuse at Villanova
• Oklahoma State at Kansas

2/22

• Illinois at Ohio State
• Tennessee at Vanderbilt
• Michigan State at Minnesota

2/23

• Temple at Duke
• Cincinnati at Georgetown
• Wisconsin at Michigan
• Baylor at Missouri
• Colorado State at BYU
• UNLV at New Mexico
• North Carolina at North Carolina State
• Florida State at Maryland
• Miami at Boston College
• Kansas State at Nebraska

2/24

• West Virginia at Pittsburgh
• Marquette at Connecticut
• Georgia at Florida
• Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s
• Milwaukee at Cleveland State
• Morehead State at Murray State

WINNERS

• CAA: The Colonial Athletic Association gained more ground than any other conference in the BracketBusters event. The conference vanquished the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, Mid-American Conference and Horizon League. The biggest win might be VCU’s upset at Wichita State, which gives the Rams a quality road win and propels them into the at-large discussion.
• Valparaiso: The Crusaders looked great in dismantling the Missouri Valley’s top team, Missouri State. Valparaiso shot 58 percent from the field in the 80-67 win. The Crusaders still need to pick up some more wins, but they are in the middle of the debate for the final few at-large bids.
• Norris Cole: Last weekend, Cole earned national attention by putting up 41 points and 20 rebounds against Youngstown State. He followed up Sunday on national TV against Old Dominion with 35 points and five assists, despite the Vikings’ 74-63 loss to Old Dominion.
• Utah State: With an 0-2 record against the RPI top 100, the Aggies had plenty of critics doubting their 23-3 record. A win Saturday night at Saint Mary’s worked wonders to legitimize the Aggies’ strong season and should keep them in position to earn an at-large bid, if Utah State fails to win the WAC’s automatic bid.

LOSERS

• Missouri Valley: The entire conference suffered a black eye in the BracketBusters event. The only teams to win were Southern Illinois, Bradley and Drake, which have 12 total Missouri Valley wins and no hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. Missouri State and Wichita State, in particular, probably fell almost completely off the at-large radar with their losses.
• MAC contenders: The Mid-American Conference’s top contenders, Kent State and Miami, Ohio, took it on the chin against middle-of-the-pack CAA teams. Drexel took down the Golden Flashes while James Madison beat the RedHawks. That could hurt the conference’s title team in NCAA Tournament seeding.
• Saint Mary’s: The Gaels possess an excellent win against St. John’s. However, that win came Nov. 16 when the Red Storm weren’t playing like world-beaters yet. Besides that win, Saint Mary’s has only one other win against the RPI top 100, and Saturday’s home loss to Utah State hurts the team’s profile.
• Cleveland State: Yes, Norris Cole is a winner. But his team is a loser, specifically to the CAA’s Old Dominion. The team’s 73-64 loss means that the Vikings will have only one win against the top 99 teams in the RPI heading into the Horizon League Tournament. Despite a 21-6 record, Cleveland State will probably be on the outside looking in unless the Vikings make a deep run and beat some of the conference’s contenders in the Horizon tournament.