Wofford and Lipscomb are mid-major teams that can mess up your NCAA pool | College basketball notes

We’re reaching the time of the college basketball season when we like to be on the lookout for mid-major teams that can inject their own style of excitement and drama into the NCAA Tournament. Last week, we looked at Hofstra. Today, we examine Wofford and Lipscomb.

Wofford, in Spartanburg, S.C., is 18-4 and was ranked 31st in the NET through Wednesday’s games. The Terriers, who are atop the Southern Conference standings at 10-0, are led by senior guard Fletcher Magee, who is third in the nation averaging 4.05 three-point baskets and who just moved into fourth place in NCAA career threes made with 436.

Lipscomb, a Nashville school named after co-founder David Lipscomb and not the late former Baltimore Colts defensive tackle known as Big Daddy (google it, kids!), is 17-4 and 8-0 in the Atlantic Sun after defeating former co-leader Liberty, 79-59, Tuesday. Guard Gordon Matthews averages 19.9 points and shoots 42.8 percent from deep for the Bisons, 36th in the NET.

Both teams play entertaining offensive basketball. Each shoots 48.8 percent from the floor. Wofford averages 82.9 points and crushes opponents on the boards to the tune of an 8.2 rebounding margin (tied for ninth in the nation). Lipscomb scores 84.8 points per game (10th nationally) and averages 17.6 assists (11th).

Joe Lunardi, our friendly neighborhood ESPN bracketologist, had Wofford as an 11 seed and Lipscomb as a 12, both as projected champions of their conferences. It’s not likely they would get in as an at-large team if they fall short of the title, but they could create some havoc for a higher seed if they gain an invitation.

Villanova fans remember their team’s toughest game of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, an Elite Eight contest in which Texas Tech limited the Wildcats to a season-low 33.3 percent shooting mark and four three-point baskets in what was a five-point game with four minutes remaining before the Cats punched their Final Four ticket.

A year later, the Red Raiders have kicked up their defense a notch in what has become a five-way fight for first place in the Big 12. They enter a monumental matchup Saturday at Kansas leading the nation in field-goal defense (36.1 percent) and standing third in points allowed (56.8 per game) and three-point percentage (26.4 percent).

Tech and the Jayhawks are tied at 5-3 in the Big 12 with Iowa State, a half-game behind co-leaders Kansas State and Baylor. All three of the Red Raiders’ conference defeats came in succession, although they’ve won their last two, against Arkansas and Texas Christian. Sophomore Jarrett Culver averages 18.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

Head coach Chris Beard said the key for his team is consistency.

“On a night like tonight, we looked like we could play with anybody in the country,” Beard said Monday night after the TCU victory. “A couple of games ago, it looked like we were really struggling. It’s all about consistency all over college basketball, especially in the Big 12.”

Lehigh enters the weekend tied for first place in the Patriot League thanks to shooting that borders on the magical.

The Mountain Hawks (14-6) are the only Division I team in the nation to rank in the top 20 in field-goal percentage (49.5, 12th), three-point percentage (45.6, first) and free-throw percentage (76.5, 13th).

Junior forward Pat Andree (46.8 percent) and senior guard Lance Tejada (46.7) rank 10th and 12th, respectively, in three-point shooting and have combined for 108 makes. Senior guard Kyle Leufroy shoots 92.1 percent from the line, good for fifth nationally.

Syracuse fans who traveled to the Orange’s game Wednesday night at Boston College took up a Boeheim chant, but it wasn’t for the team’s veteran 74-year-old coach.

No, this chant at the Conte Forum was for “Bud-dy Boe-heim,” son of the Hall of Fame coach. The freshman came off the bench to score 13 points in 20 minutes in the Orange’s 77-71 win over the Eagles, his third double-figure performance in the last four games.

“I think some games are better for him,” coach Jim Boeheim said in a Syracuse Post-Standard story. “I think he’s getting he can play against anybody now.”

Said Buddy: “I’m not quite as prepared for that yet and I know I have to work on the other aspects of my game to get ready for games like that. I know that whenever I get my chance I’m going to take advantage of it. The more I do that, the more I’ll get minutes.”

Malik Ellison, who prepped at Life Center Academy in Burlington and played for two years at St. John’s, is competing in his first season at Pittsburgh. Ellison, a 6-foot-6 junior guard whose father is former NBA player Pervis Ellison, has played in all 21 of the Panthers’ games with 14 starts and is averaging 6.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 21.7 minutes. He has scored in double figures six times, with a season best of 15 points against North Alabama.

North Carolina at Louisville, Saturday at 2 p.m., ESPN: It was three weeks ago that the Cardinals found themselves in the national spotlight by handing the Tar Heels their worst home loss under Roy Williams, 83-62, and launching a winning streak that now stands at six.

Texas Tech at Kansas, Saturday at 4 p.m., CBS3: It’s a free-for-all in the Big 12, with five teams separated by a half-game. The Jayhawks are reeling from back-to-back losses, and the Red Raiders are trying to become the first team in 18 years to win in back-to-back seasons in Lawrence.

Kentucky at Florida, Saturday at 4 p.m., ESPN: With a seven-game winning streak, the Wildcats are playing as well as any team in the country. The up-and-down Gators desperately need a signature win and hope to carry over momentum from an overtime victory Wednesday.

St. John’s at Marquette, Tuesday at 8 p.m., Fox Sports 1: The Red Storm will conclude a tough three-game road trip that began with a win at Creighton and included a game Saturday at No. 2 Duke. Of course, defeating the highest-ranked team in the Big East would help their NCAA resume.

Kansas at Kansas State, Tuesday at 9 p.m., ESPN: The Jayhawks and Wildcats prepare to face off for the 290th time in what is known as the Sunflower Showdown. Back from an injury, K-State’s Dean Wade enters the weekend averaging 16.5 points in his last four games.

Ethan Happ, Wisconsin, F, 6-10, 237, R-Sr., Milan, Ill.

Happ returned to the Badgers for his final season of eligibility and has expanded his game, averaging 18.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 blocked shots. He posted his second triple-double of the season Saturday with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against Northwestern. A two-time first-team All-Big Ten performer, Happ has made 56.1 percent of his field-goal attempts but continues to struggle from the free-throw line (47.1 percent).