Arizona Clinches Pac-12 Title, Wisconsin Extends Win Streak to Seven

After spending some time at the No. 1 spot this season before falling, No. 3 Arizona (27-2, 14-2) has reversed course and clinched the Pac-12 title on Sunday after defeating Stanford (18-10,9-7) 79-66. Rewind just one month ago and Arizona barely got by the Cardinals with a three-point win but this time, they led the entire game, jumping ahead by 25 points in the second half.

The Wildcats completed their season with a perfect home record and likely will bid goodbye to freshman Aaron Gordon as he played his last home game on Sunday. He went out big, scoring 19 points with 15 rebounds–a career high.

Aaron Gordon

T.J. McConnell added 14 points while Gabe York contributed 12; Nick Johnson scored 11 with Kaleb Tarczewski at 10.

While holding the conference championship trophy, Arizona coach Sean Miller suggested the team still has its eye on the prize by noting via CBS Sports, “The season is far from over. Let’s hope this is the beginning of a long, long run.”

As for Stanford, Josh Huestis’ 22 points tied a career high (12 rebounds). Anthony Brown contributed 14 points while Chasson Randle and Dwight Powell each scored 12 points.

With the title win and six of seven victories, it’s hard not to wonder if Arizona is playing their way back in as a National Title contender. The team has two games left, Oregon State and Oregon.

The future is looking good for the Wildcats as they sit at 11/1 to win the 2014 Men’s NCAA Championship but will this come with a No. 1 seed?

Wisconsin Wins Seventh Straight Game

No. 14 Wisconsin (24-5, 11-5) held off a pesky Penn State (14-15, 5-11) on Sunday with a 71-66 win to make it a seventh straight victory.

The Nittany Lions held the advantage in shooting and rebounding, but the Badgers got hot with free throws with less than eight minutes remaining, hitting 13 of 14. They also succeeded with 3-pointers (8 for 24) as Ben Brust had four of them with Josh Gasser adding three.

For the game, Gasser led in scoring with his 15 points, Brust added 14 points while Traevon Jackson contributed 13 points (four free throws at the game’s end).

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said of the game via CBS Sports.com, “We’re going to give up some points in the paint to a team like Penn State. The thing you can’t let them do … some of the shooters, they get on runs. We did a real good job from the 3-point line and hitting our free throws. That was the difference.”

D.J. Newbill

Penn State’s D.J. Newbill had 23 points and is now the school’s No. 31 career 1,000-point scorer. He sits at the the top of the conference with his 178 field goals.

Tim Frazier and Ross Travis each scored 10 points.

The Badgers sit in the second spot for the Big Ten, tied with Michigan State in the conference at 11-5 but their overall record is better. It’s been an up and down season for them as they started off with a 16-game win streak before the wheels came off with a five of six-game losing streak. February was a good month and now they’ll conclude their regular season with a game against Purdue on Wednesday, then Nebraska on Sunday.

Wisconsin has 20/1 odds to win the 2014 NCAA  Men’s Basketball Championship.

Monday’s Top 25 Game

Monday’s schedule only includes one Top 25 game: Notre Dame at No. 19 North Carolina.

Similar to Wisconsin, the Tar Heels (22-7, 12-4) have had a volatile season but enter this game with an 11-game win streak. They have played their way into a first-round bye for the ACC tournament and a top 4 conference finish.

Notre Dame (15-15, 6-11) doesn’t play well on the road against conference teams, going 1-8, and has lost their last four games against North Carolina.

The Tar Heels will get win No. 12 (-11, 144.5 o/u).