A daily review of the teams scrambling for NCAA tournament berths. In general, it was not a good night for Maryland fans.
RISING
* Kentucky did exactly what it was supposed to, going to South Carolina and leaving with a victory. The Wildcats (17-11, 11-4 SEC) have almost beaten the No. 1 team in the country on its home floor and ground out a road victory in two games since losing Patrick Patterson. A victory over Florida on Sunday would burnish the message that Billy Gillispie's boys can win without their best player.
* Don't look now, but Temple might just make a play for an at-large bid. The Owls (17-12, 10-5 Atlantic 10) don't have a great profile, but an extended run in next week's conference tournament could put them into play. Temple knocked off Duquesne last night.
* Syracuse (18-12, 8-9 Big East) dusted off Seton Hall. The Orange's argument has been about the same for a month. Strong schedule (8th nationally), no cream-puff opponents (Rutgers is the only foe with an RPI worse than 200) and an OK record away from the Carrier Dome (5-7) all remain in place. The 'Cuse would still be wise to defeat Marquette this weekend.
* Massachusetts (20-9, 9-6 A-10) blitzed La Salle. It would probably take a big collapse to knock out the Minutemen, who have avoided the trap of every other team in their league not named Xavier and avoided a late slide. UMass visits George Washington on Saturday.
* The schedule in the final week favors Villanova (18-11, 8-9 Big East), which dispatched South Florida last night and gets reeling Providence this weekend. In such a bad year at the bottom of the at-large field, the Wildcats look better and better by the day thanks to victories over Connecticut, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
* UAB got another 26 points from Robert Vaden to win its 14th in 17 tries. The Blazers (22-8, 12-3 Conference USA) have a wholly unremarkable resume --- five losses to 100+ teams with a neutral floor victory over Kentucky to their credit. That could change Saturday with a visit to Memphis.
FADING
* Florida (21-9, 8-7 SEC) squandered an 18-point lead at home and lost to Tennessee. The Gators have lost six of nine and have only three top-100 victories (Vanderbilt, Kentucky and vs. Temple in Miami). Their best true road victory is at No. 133 Alabama. The Gators really need to complete the sweep on Kentucky in Lexington this weekend. They have less of a case for inclusion than many teams (Maryland and Virginia Tech included).
--- Patrick Stevens
