Three top 16 teams lost Tuesday, two of them at home in another episode of "As the Bracket Turns."
Auburn lost at Arkansas 91-82, its third loss in the four games since losing forward Anfernee McLemore for the season with a leg injury. The Tigers have now dropped to a No. 3 seed as a result of their recent slide. Meanwhile, the Hogs have won six of their last seven and continue their recent climb up the bracket. Arkansas has moved up to a No. 6 seed in Wednesday morning's bracket update.
North Carolina lost at home to Miami on a buzzer-beater 91-88, giving the Hurricanes the higher quality win it has been lacking this season. Miami is now off the bubble with the victory and the Tar Heels have dropped down in the bracket as well. UNC is now a No. 3 seed, while Purdue and Cincinnati have moved back up to replace the Tar Heels and Auburn as No. 2 seeds.
The biggest head-scratching loss of the night, and maybe the season, came at Rhode Island where the Rams fell to St. Joseph's 78-48. That is their first loss of the season at home and their first outside of Quadrant 1. But it's not just outside of Q1, it is a Q4 loss. I still have Rhode Island as a No. 5 seed, but that loss could eventually end up dropping the Rams a little further as other teams around them play better quality opponents.
At the bottom of the bracket, we welcome Texas back after a one-day absence, while we say good bye for now to Alabama, a 73-52 loser at home to Florida in a game that wasn't as close as that score would indicate.
Big Ten Tournament starts
The Big Ten Tournament starts Wednesday, a week earlier than usual. The league decided that it wanted to play in Madison Square Garden, so it had to move the tournament up a week because the Big East plays there on the final weekend of the season. Playing the tournament a week early caused several problems with the league's conference schedule. The compacted schedule has created many quick turnarounds and given teams little time to prepare. Indiana had a stretch of five games in 12 days at the end of January.
This plan was never supported by the coaches and has gone as badly as they feared. Commissioner Jim Delany has already stated that the league will not do this again. It also remains to be seen how having almost two weeks off will impact the NCAA Tournament teams in the league. Purdue, which played in the World University Games this summer, might enjoy having a little break, but there is a fear that the teams will be rusty once NCAA Tournament action begins.