* Virginia Tech
* Illinois
* Washington
* Rhode Island
First Four Out
* Minnesota
* Mississippi State
* Ole Miss
* Seton Hall
Next Out
* Arizona State
Illinois, Washington, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Mississippi State are all play today in their respective conference tournaments so they can help or hurt their chances. Minnesota beat Illinois in Champaign, and the two teams otherwise have similar resumes, so it seems like the Gophers should get the nod over the Illini, assuming both teams fare about the same today. Washington doesn’t have a signature win, but neither does Mississippi State (though they played Kentucky tough) or Rhode Island. The Rams’ resume might be the least impressive: 9-7 in the Atlantic 10, 0-3 against the top 25, 1-4 against the top 50.
For those that are arguing for tournament expansion, this is a reason to keep things the way they are. None of the teams that are on this list are great teams. While they are certainly capable of making some noise, they’ve all had plenty of opportunity to play themselves into a bid and haven’t yet secured a spot. If expansion does indeed happen, all of these teams would all have already secured bids, so it will reduce the importance of the regular season and conference tournaments. These teams are playing with a sense of urgency that has made this week far more exciting.
Be sure to check back on Monday evening for my annual bracket column. It’s going to be a fun few weeks.
“He does have a red shirt year available if he chooses to do that,” Kelly said. “He will also have a plan put in place if he can follow, strictly follow that plan then he will be able to come back and play in 2011. But he will not be eligible in 2010.”
Along with fellow Duck Garrett Embry, Masoli stole two laptops and a guitar from a university frat house in late January. Kelly kicked Embry off the team before this trial for violating team rules.
Masoli was going to be a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate this season and now because of an incredibly stupid decision, he won’t play at all. He had his entire future ahead of him but because he thought it would be funny to steal a couple of laptops and a guitar from a frat house, now his football career is in question. Not too smart.
Look at this list of games slated for Championship Saturday…
(All times ET.)
1 PM: #2 Kentucky/#13 Tennessee – ABC
1 PM: #17 Temple/Rhode Island – CBS CS
1:30 PM: #4 Duke/Miami – ESPN
1:40 PM: #7 Ohio St./Illinois – CBS
3 PM: #23 Vanderbilt/Mississippi St. – ABC
3:30 PM: Richmond/Xavier – CBS CS
4 PM: #5 Purdue/Minnesota – CBS
6 PM: #1 Kansas/#9 Kansas St. – ESPN
6 PM: Washington/California – CBS
7 PM: San Diego St./UNLV – VS
9 PM: #6 West Virginia/#22 Georgetown – ESPN
Every team listed is either a tourney team or a bubble team, save for Miami, who are hoping to get an automatic bid by winning the ACC tournament. There are two future #1 seeds (Kansas and Kentucky) along with five wannabes (Duke, Ohio State, West Virginia, Kansas State and Purdue).
Here are Joe Lunardi’s bubble teams as of 8:30 PM PT on Friday night:
Last Four In
* San Diego State
* Illinois
* Washington
* Ole Miss
First Four Out
* Arizona State
* Memphis
* Rhode Island
* Seton Hall
Next Three Out
* Dayton
* Mississippi State
* Minnesota
SDSU likely gets in after beating #8 New Mexico for the second time this season. Ole Miss loses to Tennessee, but Mississippi State beats Florida — do the Bulldogs take the Rebels spot? Rhode Island is still alive in the A-10 tourney and Minnesota beat Michigan State in overtime, which puts extra pressure on Washington tonight in their game versus Stanford.
The Redskins agreed to terms with free agent running back Larry Johnson on a three-year deal with a maximum of $12 million reports Jason La Confora.
Johnson will compete with Clinton Portis and Anthony Alridge for carries in Mike Shanahan’s zone blocking system, although Washington could also add another back before training camp. In fact, there’s a good chance that the Skins will add a back via the draft.
Johnson only managed 3.2 yards per carry last season and appears to have lost most of his burst and explosion. Seeing as how he’s already 30, it’s a little perplexing that the Redskins gave him a three-year deal, especially considering he was so ineffective last year. But hey, this is just par for the course for Daniel Snyder. He was bound to make at least one head-scratching decision this offseason.
Being a #1 seed isn’t crucial, but it is important. Seventeen of the last 29 national champions were #1 seeds, so being a top seed would seem to give a team inside track on a title. (However, these are the top teams in the country, so we expect them to perform well.)
SI’s Seth Davis, who by the way I’ll be interviewing next Tuesday, discusses the current projected #1 seeds and how things can change over the next two and a half days.
Are Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse all going to be No. 1 seeds even if they lose their first game in their conference tournaments?
Not necessarily. You’ll recall that back in 2007, UCLA entered the Pac-10 tournament as everybody’s overall No. 1 seed. The Bruins lost to California in the quarterfinals and ended up as a 2 seed. It obviously didn’t cause much of a problem for them as they still reached the national championship game (where they lost to Florida), but if any of the Big Three repeat that feat, I’d say there’s a better chance than not they would fall to the 2 line.
Does Duke have the inside track to a No. 1 seed if it wins the ACC tournament?
Not necessarily. Kansas State could ring a few bells if it upsets Kansas en route to the Big 12 title, but the real threat to Duke’s claim to a No. 1 is West Virginia. My colleague Andy Glockner is the only bracket expert I’ve seen to peg West Virginia as a 1 seed right now, but while I disagree with that assessment as things stand today, the Mountaineers would almost assuredly vault to a 1 seed if they win the Big East tournament, especially if it includes a victory over Syracuse. Heading into their respective conference tourneys, Duke is 7-4 against the top 50 of the RPI and 15-4 against the top 100, while West Virginia is 6-4 and 15-6. Duke’s worst loss is at No. 104 N.C. State while West Virginia’s is at home against No. 61 UConn. Throw in a win over Syracuse and the Mountaineers would — and should — come out on top.
Incidentally, the other candidate, Villanova, would probably not vault over Duke if the Wildcats win the Big East tournament. Villanova is 5-5 against the top 50 and 13-6 against the top 100.
Syracuse’s #1 seed is in some jeopardy after dropping its game to Georgetown. It’s not often that a team enters the tournament as a #1 seed after losing two straight (or three of its last seven). After losing to Louisville at home, the Orange did beat Villanova and Georgetown before losing to Louisivlle to end the regular season and dropping its first Big East tourney game against the Hoyas. It would be tough for the committee to give West Virginia a #1 seed (over the Orange) seeing as Syracuse beat the Mountaineers in Morgantown, 72-71.
Kansas and Kentucky look safe. We can cross Villanova off the list of potential #1s after the Wildcats lost to Marquette in the Big East Championship. That leaves Duke, West Virginia, Purdue and Kansas State. If any of those teams go on to with their respective conference tournaments, a case could be made that they should get the fourth #1 seed.
Joe Lunardi had the Illini as his last team in this morning, so after a good 58-54 bounce-back win against a resilient Wisconsin team, Illinois should be dancing next week.
It was just one of those days for the Badgers, who couldn’t buy a shot until the final few minutes of the game. To illustrate the point, Wisconsin had just 38 points in the first 38 minutes and then scored 16 points in the final 1:46. Trevon Hughes, Jason Bohannon and Jordan Taylor went a combined 8-35 (23%) from the field and as a team, Wisconsin shot 29% for the game. Give Illinois credit — they were playing defense like their tournament lives depended on it…and it did.
Oregon running back LaMichael James pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge on Friday and was sentenced to 10 days in jail according to a report by ESPN.com. James was originally charged after an altercation occurred outside his apartment last month between him and a former girlfriend.
In a statement that was included in court documents related to the case, James apologized to the victim, a former girlfriend. She claimed he grabbed her neck and pushed her to the ground during an argument on Feb. 15.
“I hope to put this matter behind me now and learn from it. I have made a mistake and accept the consequences,” the statement said. “I look forward to demonstrating to my university, to my team and to the community that I am a better man than recent events suggest.”
James rushed for 1,546 yards last season as a freshman, the ninth-highest total in the nation. He had seven consecutive 100-yard games before Ohio State limited him to 70 in Oregon’s 26-17 loss in the Rose Bowl.
Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was due in the same courtroom later today to face arraignment on a felony burglary charge. Apparently Masoli and fellow genius teammate Garrett Embry thought it would be fun to steal two laptops and a guitar from a university fraternity house in late January.
The Ducks are quickly becoming the Bengals of college football.
Evan Turner hit a deeeeeeeeep three on the run as time expired, giving the Buckeyes a 69-68 win over border rival Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Turner posted 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds, and hit all three of his three-point shots.
Ohio State needed the win to stay alive for a #1 seed. Duke is on its way to a double-digit win over Virginia, so the Buckeyes have kept pace.
When it comes to drafting relief pitchers, keep in mind that the only thing you care about is saves. Sure, drafting a closer like Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon or Jonathan Broxton will also net you value in other categories such as ERA and/or WHIP, but if saves are your main objective than why overpay?
Chances are, you’ll have the opportunity to draft a starter or decent bat (at least one that will contribute to your team on a regular basis) in the same rounds that Rivera, Papelbon and Broxton are selected in. If you’re head over heels for those guys and want a sure thing, then don’t let us stop you from drafting them. But in the end, we think you’ll get more value in passing on those top closers and targeting the guys that we have listed below. Just remember to nab another pitcher that will get you saves later in your draft or else you will regret not taking Rivera/Papelbon/Broxton when you had the chance.
Heath Bell, Padres
Bell pitches for a team that will be in a lot of close games and that plays in a spacious park. What’s not to like? The Padres also don’t have a quality set-up man to pitch in front of Bell, so owners can draft him in confidence knowing that San Diego will have to use him in later innings if they want wins.
Joakim Soria, Royals
Be careful with Soria, because he’s being overvalued on draft day. He’s a great closer, but he battled shoulder issues last season and he plays on a team that won’t offer him a ton of save opportunities. Draft him with confidence, but don’t reach for him.
