College Basketball: Separation Sunday

Six Top 25 teams took to the hardwoods on Sunday and all six defeated teams in their conference which had high hopes prior to tip-off.

By the end of the day, teams heading for the Big Dance sent a reality check to those chasing the dream...

Wake Forest 73 - No. 3 North Carolina 89

The Tar Heels saw what the Demon Deacons did to Duke, so they invited them over for a little hard medicine.

The home team shot 56 percent from the field and 77 percent from the foul line. Tyler Hansbrough scored 29 points.

Even without Ty Lawson, who may be back by the weekend, the Tar Heels must be feared and respected.

California 69 - No. 9 Stanford 79

Nothing special here except for another home win for the Cardinal. Cal has a good team, and they own wins over USC and Washington State, both of which the Bears face over the next two weeks.

Closing out the regular season isn't going to aid their cause, though, nor is their current 6-8 Pac-10 record.

No. 10 Xavier 57 - Dayton 51

The X-Men put the final nail in the Flyers' coffin, handing them their 8th loss against just five wins in the A-10.

At 17-9 overall, Dayton may need another couple of wins to just make it to the NIT.

No. 11 Wisconsin 58 - Ohio St. 53

Nice try by the Buckeyes, who could be the fifth team from the Big 10 to make the field of 65, but their schedule says they're not going to make it.

Their final four games are at Indiana, at Minnesota, then home against Purdue and Michigan State.

If they win just one, presumably against the Gophers, they'll finish 9-9 in the league and 18-13 overall, which makes them NIT material. Better luck next year.

If the committee lets them in, it'll be a travesty unless the Buckeyes somehow win two or three of these games and don't implode in the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan State, now in fourth place in the conference, is marginal at best, and these guys can't even beat them.

No. 18 Louisville 75 - Pittsburgh 73

Pitt played one of its best games of the season and they still lost by a bucket. David Padgett and Edgar Sosa had their way with the Panthers, going 9-13 and 7-11, respectively.

No sustained defensive effort and a third straight loss (this one at home) has put the Panthers' season on the edge.

There's still time, but Cincy and West Virginia have passed them in the standings. The Panthers have them both on the remaining schedule, plus Syracuse and DePaul.

Syracuse 87 - No. 21 Notre Dame 94

Cross off the 'Cuse. Whether they were employing coach Boeheim's vaunted 2-3 zone defense or man-on-man, Kyle McAlarney torched them for 30 points, hitting an incredible 9-of-11 3-pointers.

Syracuse falls to 7-8 in the Big East and 17-11 overall. There are too many teams already in front of them for the Orange to be even considered to be on the bubble.

They're young and suffered a number of key injuries this season, so they'll be back with a bullet next season.

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