Tag: March Madness (Page 11 of 24)

The Bulldogs were one-tenth of one second away from locking up an NCAA bid. They were up three with under ten seconds to play, so they elected to foul Kentucky’s Eric Bledsoe so the Wildcats wouldn’t have an opportunity to tie the game with a three. He made the first free throw and Kentucky rebounded the intentional miss. John Wall badly missed a long jumper to tie it, but DeMarcus Cousins was there to put in the game-tying bucket as time expired.

With the way Kentucky celebrated after the basket — remember, they only tied the game, they didn’t win it — I thought they might lay an egg in overtime, but Wall hit a leaning three-pointer to give the Wildcats a five-point cushion, and eventually won 75-74.

For a guy who posted 17 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and five steals, it sure didn’t seem like Wall played all that well. Aside from the leaning three, he missed three shots in crunch time and turned the ball over once. In fact, he should have had another turnover in overtime when he took three steps on an attempted layup that was called a goaltend. It’s going to be interesting to see how he performs in the clutch as the NCAA Tournament wears on.

For the Bulldogs, it sure seems like they should get a tourney bid. They played Kentucky very tough during the regular season and in a hostile environment in the conference tournament. The Bulldogs’ fate may lie in Minnesota’s hands. If the Gophers lay an egg against Ohio State, Mississippi State could get their bid. There’s also a chance that the committee will knock Virginia Tech, Wake Forest or even Utah State out for disappointing play down the stretch.

The Big East is unlike any other power conference in that it treats the conference tournament as its conference championship, so when a team breaks through and wins its first one, it’s special. And that’s exactly what West Virginia did tonight by beating a hot Georgetown team, 60-58.

The win also put the Mountaineers in serious hunt for the fourth #1 seed, and with THE toughest schedule in the country, they have a legitimate shot.

At this point, I think we’re looking at three teams — West Virginia, Duke and Syracuse — for two #1 seeds, and if Duke beats Georgia Tech tomorrow, it’s going to be tight. The numbers say that the Blue Devils should be a #1 seed, while the entire body of work probably favors a Syracuse team that happened to lose two straight (and three of its last seven) at the end of the season. If it comes down to West Virginia and Duke, the Blue Devils’ bad loss to Georgetown may come back to haunt them. The Mountaineers beat the Hoyas both times they played.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Here are Joe Lunardi’s bubble teams as of Saturday morning.

Last Four In

* 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.