13 Mar18 - Last Garden Party For The B(ig)East (PRECONTEST)

Volume XVII, No. 20 - 13 Mar18 : PRECONTEST - [] FINAL TOP 25 BALLOT

Last Garden Party For The B(ig)East

In the much anticipated BIG 10 tournament, [4a]Wisconsin was making a case that it was, in fact, the best team in the league with a 69-58 win over [4b]Michigan and a 68-56 shutdown of [1]Indiana; but pAaron Craft delivered on offense for [2a]Ohio State as the Buckeyes edged [2b]Michigan State (61-58, thanks to 20p9a from pAC) and then took out UW in the final, 50-43. Brutal games all, if not the most offensively pleasing.

    
[5a]Syracuse rediscovered its offense and nearly went out with a bang in its BIG EAST farewell. The Orange edged [4]Pittsburgh (@62-59) and [1a]Georgetown (@58-55(OT)) on the way to the final; departing [5b]Notre Dame took out [1c]Marquette (73-65); but it was [1b]Louisville who collected the TiTo double, beating them both -- 69-57 over ND, and 78-@61 in a big comeback against 'Cuse in the final. It's the last time Madison Square Garden will see the MEGA-BIG EAST as we know it -- Pittsburgh, Syracuse [and now Notre Dame] are all joining the ACC next year while the non-football "Catholic 7" [DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova] are seceding [and likely taking the "BIG EAST" name with them]. It's been the best basketball conference in the nation over the span of the 8 years since the Great Conference Shuffle in 2006 saw it expand to 16 teams -- it's the one or three conferences to have its teams meet in the national championship ('85, along with BIG 10 '76 and BIG 8 '88); it's the only conference to send 3 teams to the Final Four ('85), have 3 #1-seeds, 4 Elite 8 teams, 5 Sweet 16s and it staged the GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED [Syracuse/Connecticut in 6OT] -- (all in '09); and 11 bids and 7 first-round 32s ('11). Don't know what to expect from the split and the teams left behind.

    
[7]Maryland led [2]@Duke wire-to-wire, winning 83-@74 in the ACC quarters -- no title or crown and yet some people were still calling for the Blue Devils to get a #1-seed. The late-season return of tRyan Kelly has them reconfiguring who they are as a team while most everyone else is fully locked-in at this point. [1]Miami(Florida) did enough to go TiTo, beating [4b]@N.C. State (81-@71, as gDurand Scott had 32p) and [3]@North Carolina (87-@77). It's good to see the Hurricanes play solid ball again, but it wasn't dominant enough to warrant a #1-seed for me.

    
[2b]Mississippi edged [5b]Missouri (64-62) and then rallied in the second half to shock [1]Florida (66-63) to take the SEC crown. (Meanwhile, [2a]@Kentucky was a flop, falling @48-@64 to host [10]Vanderbilt. -- hello NIT.)

    
[1a]@Kansas had the most dominant BCS tournament, crushing [1b]@Kansas State (@70-@54) in the final.

    
(Like [1]Creighton/[2]Wichita State in the MOUNTAIN WEST), [1]Gonzaga and [2]St. Mary's were both safely into the NCAA tournament, so the WEST COAST final had the "bragging rights" tone of a full BCS league. Same as it ever was, though, as the Bulldogs once again handled the Gaels, 65-51, for an undefeated TiTo run through the conference. The 'Zags wound up with a #1-seed in the NCAAs, but not having played anyone in the Top 10 all season makes this "America's Team" still a bit suspect.

    
[1]St. Louis handled [3c]Butler (67-56) and [2]VCU (62-56) for a TiTo crown.

    
[1]UCLA seemed to be coming into its own, beating [2a]Arizona for the third time, 66-64, as tJordan Adams sank the game-winner on the last play, but he broke his foot when he landed. Without him, the Bruins fell (69-78) to charmed [2b]Oregon in the final.

    
Even though it's leaving the conference next year (for the leftover "BIG EAST"), [1]Memphis was allowed to play in the CONFERENCE USA tournament. (Other leagues banned their Deserters from participating -- [2a]Boston University wasn't allowed to play the AMERICA EAST tourney, and [5a]Georgia State would have had as good a shot as anyone to win the mess that was the COLONIAL this year if it'd been allowed in.) Oh how [2]Southern Mississippi wishes C-USA had the same policy. After having coasted through to the final, the Golden Eagles fell to the Tigers in double-OT, 79-91(2OT); so instead of being the conference's loyal representative, they wound up on the outside looking in with no at-large bid to be had.

A first-round/16s game in the ATLANTIC 10 provided the most bizarre finish of the weekend. [8a]Richmond led [8b]Charlotte, 63-60 with just :05 left in the game. Rich decides to foul on the floor (before Charlt can even attempt a 3-pt shot); xPierria Henry gets 1-and-1 and makes the first free throw; then a Rich player pushes a Charlt player to the ground while "boxing out" -- but it's called a dead-ball technical foul (because the ball had already gone through the net -- 2 FTs and possession to Charlt); xHenry makes those 3 FTs and now Charlt leads 64-63(:05); now Rich has to foul to get the ball back -- but when they reach for him, xHenry heaves the ball towards the basket and the refs award 3 FTs because he's "in the act of shooting a 3-ptr"; Rich coach Chris Mooney flips out -- 2 technicals and an ejection -- 4 more FTs; xHenry sinks 4/7 FTs for a total of 8-for-11 free throws, all in the final :05 for a 68-63 Chalt win. UNREAL.

    
PATRIOT/Bucknelll cruised to a TiTo crown (shown on something called the CBS Sports Network).

   
SUN BELT/Just like last year, [6]Western Kentucky won four games in the conference tournament to become the league's Jack Dawson representative, holding on to beat Richard Pitino's [4a]Florida International, 65-63 in the final (but it was [4a]FIU who did the dirty work ousting [1/E1]Middle Tenneessee in the semis).

    
WAC/[1a]Louisiana Tech's season-ending slump continued into the tourney, exiting right away, 67-73, at the hands of [8b]Texas-San Antonio. (And no at-large was waiting for them.) Late-surging co-champ [1b]Denver did no better, exiting right away as well to [7]Texas State, 68-72. Ugh. [3]New Mexico State stepped into the void.

    
SOCON/TiTo [1/S1]Davidson cruised in the final, @74-55, over [3]College of Charleston.

    
SUMMIT/[3]North Dakota State knocked off co-champ [1b]Western Illinois, 55-43 in the semis; but pNate Wolters(27p6a) led [1]South Dakota State to the TiTo crown, @73-63, in the final.

    
BIG WEST/[4]@UC-Irvine knocked out [1]@Long Beach State, 67-60 in semis; but [2]Pacific handled them, 64-@55, in the final.

    
HORIZ/[1]Valparaiso was uninspiring in its @62-54 home in over [3a]Wright State in the final.

    
MAAC/[4a]Iona earned its second-straight NCAA berth, survivng [6a]Manhattan's slow-down attempt, 60-57. (They also took out [1]Niagara in the semis.)

    
AMER E/Two late 3s from gJacob Iati sank host [2b]Vermont and sends [5b}Albany to the NCAAs.

    
MAC/Despite all the turmoil, [1a/E1a]@Akron routed [1b/E1b]@Ohio University, @65-@46, completing the disappointment for OhioU as it failed to return to the NCAAs despite having all five starters back from last year's Sweet 16 team.

    
NEC/[2b]Long Island got out on the fast break, winning 91-70, thanks to pJason Brickman (who leads the nation in assists) and [5a]Mt. St. Mary's couldn't slow them down -- it's the third-straight bid for LIU.

    
SLAND/The final featured the ultimate Tortoise vs Hare clash in styles: the nation's top scoring defense ([1]Stephen F. Austin) vs the top scoring offense ([2]Northwestern State) -- [2]NwnSt squeaked by 68-66.

    
COLON/[1]Northeastern couldn't come back from its second-straight slow start in the tourney, down 6-26(7) to [4]James Madison, eventually losing 57-@76 as the Dukes make their first NCAA since 1994.

    
SKY/[1]Getting to host the tournament final was crucial for [1]Montana as it barely beat [2]Weber State (@67-64) to punch its ticket for The Dance.

    
MEAC/[1]Norfolk -- undefeated in the regular season and hosting the conference tournament, mind you -- sure enough, lost right away in the quarters, @68-70(OT) to [8]Bethune-Cookman. On top of that, [2]NC Central (15-1 in conference) lost right away as well, 42-55 to eventual champ [6b]North Carolina A&T. Aaarrrggghhh!!!

    
GREAT WEST/Even CIT will get a Jack Dawson representative as [3b]Houston Baptist edged gap-titlist [1]New Jersey Tech, 62-61 in semis, as host [3a]Chicago State won it all, @75-60.

Almost none of the teams on The Bubble did themselves any favors. Maryland beat Duke and Alabama beat Tennessee (but it wasn't enough); Mississippi's win over Missouri was probably enough but the Rebels made sure by beating Florida to take the SEC crown. Iowa(MichSt), Baylor(OkSt), Arizona State(UCLA), Temple(UMass), Purdue(Neb), Arkansas(@Vandy) Tennessee(Bama), Air Force(UNLV), Providence(Cindy) and especially Kentucky(@@Vandy) all either failed to get the win that would have impressed or lost to an even lesser opponent. Somehow California(Utah) and La Salle(Butler) lost games they appeared to need, but still wound up with NCAA bids.

Here's the list of Tito champions vs. the bid-stealing spoilers and Jack Dawsons who are attending The Dance under false pretenses:

TiTo	Spoiler	Jack Dawson
BIG E: [1b]+2 Louisville ACC: [1] Miami(Florida) MWC: [1]+2 New Mexico@ A-10: [1]St. Louis BIG 12: [1a] @Kansas WCC: [1]u+2 Gonzaga C-USA: [1]u+4 Memphis MVC: [1]Creighton OVC: @[1/E1]+2 Belmont HORIZ: @[1] Valparaiso SUMMIT: [1a] @South Dakota State PAT: @[1]+2 Bucknell SOCON: [1/S1]+3 Davidson MAC: [1a/E1a]+4 @Akron SKY: @[1] Montana	NONE	SUN B: "[1/E1]+5 Middle Tennessee" ([6]Western Kentucky) WAC: "[1a]+2 Louisiana Tech; [1b]+2 Denver" ([3]New Mexico State) AMER E: "[1]+3 Stony Brook" ([5b]Albany@) NEC: "@[1]+2 Robert Morris" (@[2b]Long Island) BIG S: "[1aS] @Charleston So; [1bN] High Point" ([5N]Liberty) MEAC: "[1]u Norfolk State" ([6b]NC A&T) [GREAT W" "[1]+2 New Jersey Tech" (@[3a]Chicago St)]

That's 15 throughbreds against 7(6) impostors -- much stronger than last year (12 up, 14(13) down). [2b]Mississippi's upset of [1]Florida in the SEC final didn't steal a bid away from any Bubble team -- their semifinal win over [5b]Missouri was enough already to get them in. Middle Tennessee turned out to be a (failed) Anti-Spoiler after all, getting a bid (especially when its calling card was a win over Ole Miss). I'd have taken Iowa, Maryland and Virginia in place of Villanova, California and La Salle. I'm OK with Southern Misssissippi not making it. C-USA and SUN BELT swapped places as to which one was a multi-bid league vs 1BC. Overall we have 21 1BC representatives -- there's a big power gap this year between the conferences. 7 1BC teams went TiTo (including 4 gap champions) while 6 Jack Dawsons made it in (over 4 gap titlists who couldn't double) -- both down from last year.

For once the ACC and SEC weren't up for any preferential Pods -- Miami(Florida) and Florida will have to make due in Austin. Louisville(Lexington), Kansas,Kansas State(Kansas City), Indiana,Ohio State(Dayton) and especially Michigan State,Michigan(Auburn Hills) all caught a big break with the extra boost they'll get from supportive "home" crowds. (Georgetown wasn't eligible for DC). Syracuse and St. Louis got no favors being shipped to San Jose (after Duke and Gtown took Philadelphia). Bracketing rules (and who belonged in the "First Four" Play-Ins) put the Selection committee in a bind over the PAC-12 teams -- [E12]California got a gift in playing [E5]UNLV in San Jose; but tourney champ Oregon got demoted below them to [M12]. Notre Dame got a break being in Dayton (but it won't have a crowd advantage over Ohio State). Western Kentucky was probably slotted for a Play-In spot, but was likely swapped out since it was in one last year. (For some reason, the South Regional is listed as "North Texas" on the NCAA's official bracket [rather than Dallas or Arlington]).

A lot of the seeding is quite off in my view. [S9]Villanova, [E6]Butler, [S6]UCLA, [E9]Temple, [S5]VCU, [W9]Wichita State and [E3]Marquette are the worst of the overseeds. [W13+]Boise State, [S11]Minnesota, [M10]Cincinnati, [W8]Pittsburgh, [M8]Colorado State, [M12]Oregon, [M11+]St. Mary's, [W3]New Mexico, [W10]Iowa State and [S4]Michigan are the most egregious underseeds.

[M8]ColoradoSt/[M9]Missouri [M5]OklahomaSt/[M12]Oregon [M6]Memphis/([M11+]StMarys/[M11+]MidTennessee), [W8]WichitaSt/[W9]Pitt, [E5]UNLV/[E12]@Cal are tough first games. Best 1BC upset opportunities: [E3]Marquette/[E11]Davidson, [E6]Butler/[E11]Bucknell -- and if both happen, we'll get a 1BC Sweet 16 team again this year. [S3]Florida will have a tough time if it faces the inside power of [S11]Minnesota.

    
I like Maryland, Virginia, Baylor and Louisiana Tech as the NIT final four. Purdue, Wyoming, Richmond, Texas are the best teams (in that order) in CBI. I like Air Force and Oakland, but Evansville and Weber State are the most decent teams who start out CIT at home.

Who says the regular season doesn't matter? After all was said and done, the PreSeason No. 1 team found its way back to the top spot just in time for the tournament!

-- Ron

P.S. If you're interested, the 30th Annual Hoops Contest is now open for entry (through 6:30PMet TUESDAY, 10 MARCH).

Key games this week:

NCAA

Tuesday:

1stRd/128s FIRST FOUR @ DaytonOH

• [M11+]Mid Tennessee v [M11+]St Mary's
  
• [M16+]Liberty v [M16+]NC A&T
  

Wednesday:

1stRd/128s FIRST FOUR @ DaytonOH

• [W13+]Boise St v [W13+]La Salle
  
• [E16+]Long Island v [E16+]James Madison
  

Thursday, Saturday:

2ndRd/64s POD @ LexingtonKY

• [M1]@Louisville v {[M16+]Liberty/[M16+]NCA&T}
  
• [M8]Colorado St v [M9]Missouri
  
• 
  
• [S3]Marquette v [S14]Davidson
  
• [S6]@Butler v [S11]Bucknell
  

2ndRd/64s POD @ KansasCityMO

• [S1]@Kansas v [S16]We Kentucky
  
• [S8]N Carolina v [S9]Villanova
  
• 
  
• [W4]@Kansas St v {[W13+]BoiseSt/[W13+]LaSalle}
  
• [W5]Wisconsin v [W12]Mississippi
  

2ndRd/64s POD @ PhiladelphiaPA

• [S2]Georgetown v [S15]FL Gulf Coast
  
• [S7]San Diego St v [S10]Oklahoma
  
• 
  
• [M2]Duke v [M15]Albany
  
• [M7]Creighton v [M10]Cincinnati
  

2ndRd/64s POD @ AuburnHillsMI

• [M3]@Michigan St v [M14]Valparaiso
  
• [M6]Memphis v {[M11+]MidTennessee/[M11+]StMarys}
  
• 
  
• [S4]@Michigan v [S13]SD State
  
• [S5]VCU v [S12]Akron
  

Friday, Sunday:

2ndRd/64s POD @ DaytonOH

• [E1]@Indiana v {[E16+]LongIsland/[E16+]JamesMadison}
  
• [E8]NC State v [E9]Temple
  
• 
  
• [W2]@Ohio St v [W15]Iona
  
• [W7]@Notre Dame v [W10]Iowa St
  

2ndRd/64s POD @ SaltLakeCityUT

• [W1]Gonzaga v [W16]Southern
  
• [W8]Pittsburgh v [W9]Wichita St
  
• 
  
• [W3]New Mexico v [W14]Harvard
  
• [W6]Arizona v [W11]Belmont
  

2ndRd/64s POD @ AustinTX

• [E2]Miami-FL v [E15]Pacific
  
• [E7]Illinois v [E10]Colorado
  
• 
  
• [S3]Florida v [S14]Northwestern St
  
• [S6]UCLA v [S11]Minnesota
  

2ndRd/64s POD @ SanJoseCA

• [E4]Syracuse v [E13]Montana
  
• [E5]UNLV v [E12]@California
  
• 
  
• [M4]St Louis v [M13]New Mexico St
  
• [M5]Oklahoma St v [M12]Oregon
  

NIT

Tuesday:

1stRd/32s on-campus

• @ [e1]Virginia v [e8]Norfolk St (VA)
  
• [m1]Kentucky @ [m8]Robert Morris
  
• @ [w1]Alabama v [w8]Northeastern
  
• @ [w2]Maryland v [w7]Niagara
  
• @ [w3]Denver v [w6]Ohio U
  
• @ [s3]BYU v [S6]Washington
  
• @ [s4]Florida St v [s5]Louisiana Tech
  
• @ [e4]St Joseph's v [e5]St John's
  
• @ [w4]Stanford v [w5]Stephen F Austin
  

Wednesday:

1stRd/32s on-campus

• @ [s1]So Mississippi v [s8]Charleston So
  
• @ [m2]Baylor v [m7]Long Beach St
  
• @ [s2]Tennessee v [s7]Mercer
  
• @ [e2]Massachusetts v [e7]Stony Brook
  
• @ [m3]Arizona St v [m6]Detroit
  
• @ [e3]Iowa v [e6]Indiana St
  
• @ [m4]Providence v [m5]Charlotte
  

Thursday-Monday week:

16s on-campus

• @[w1]Alabama/[w8]Northeastern v [w4]Stanford/[w5]StephenFAustin
  
• @[w2]Maryland/[w7]Niagara v [w3]Denver/[w6]OhioU
  
• 
  
• @[e1]Virginia/[e8]NorfolkSt v [e4]StJosephs/[e5]StJohns
  
• @[e2]Massachusetts/[e7]StonyBrook v [e3]Iowa/[e6]IndianaSt
  
• 
  
• @[m1]Kentucky/[m8]RobertMorris v [m4]Providence/[m5]Charlotte
  
• @[m2]Baylor/[m7]LongBeachSt v [m3]ArizonaSt/[m6]Detroit
  
• 
  
• @[s1]SoMississippi/[s8]CharlestonSo v [s4]FloridaSt/[s5]LouisianaTech
  
• @[s2]Tennessee/[s7]Mercer v [s3]BYU/[S6]Washington
  

Tuesday week-Wednesday week:

Qtrs on-campus

Tue 2 Apr, Thu 4 Apr

Semis,Final @ New York NY /MSG/

• (w/Alabama) v (e/Virginia)
  
• (m/Kentucky) v (s/SoMississippi)
  

CBI

Tuesday:

1stRd/16s on-campus

• (wA): @ Wyoming v Lehigh
  
• (mB): @ Santa Clara v Vermont
  
• (sB): @ Col of Charleston v Geo Mason
  

Wednesday:

1stRd/16s on-campus

• (mA): @ Purdue v We Illinois
  
• (eA): @ Bryant v Richmond
  
• (sA): @ Houston v Texas (TX)
  
• (eB): @ Wright St v Tulsa
  
• (wB): @ We Michigan v ND State
  

Monday week:

Qtrs on-campus (by region)

• (m): Purdue/WeIllinois v SantaClara/Vermont
  
• (w): Wyoming/Lehigh v NDState/WeMichigan
  
• (e): Richmond/Bryant v Tulsa/WrightSt
  
• (s): Texas/Houston v ColofCharleston/GeoMason
  

Wednesday week:

Semis on-campus (re-seeded)

Mon 1 Apr, Wed 3 Apr, (if necessary: Fri 5 Apr):

Finals on-campus (Best of 3)

CIT

Tuesday:

1stRd/32s on-campus

• @ E Carolina v Savannah St
  
• @ Evansville v Tennessee St
  
• @ Gardner-Webb v Ea Kentucky
  
• @ Youngstown St v Oakland
  
• @ Loyola-MD v Boston U
  
• @ Hartford v Rider
  

Wednesday:

1stRd/32s on-campus

• @ Hawaii v Air Force
  
• @ Tulane v S Alabama
  
• @ Bradley v Green Bay
  
• @ No Iowa v N Dakota
  
• @ IL-Chicago v Chicago St (Chicago,IL)
  
• @ TX-Arlington v Oral Roberts
  
• @ UC-Irvine v High Pt
  
• @ Weber St v Cal Poly-SLO
  
• @ Kent St v Fairfield
  
• @ Canisius v Elon
  

Friday-Sunday:

2ndRd/16s on-campus

Tuesday-Wednesday week:

Qtrs on-campus [re-seeded]

Friday-Saturday week:

Semis on-campus [re-seeded]

Wed 3 Apr

Final on-campus

---

FINAL TOP 25 - 13 Mar18: PRECONTEST - [] Column

1. Louisville (29-5) .5BIG.E [BIG.Et]
   
2. Kansas (29-5) .5BIG.12 [BIG.12t] [2v2vCBE]
   
3. New Mexico (29-5) MWC+2 [@MWCt] [3:PARADISE] (@MVC)
   
4. Miami(Florida) (27-6) ACC [ACCt] (vBIG.10)
   
5. Indiana (27-6) [BIG.10] [2v2:LEGENDS] (vACC)
   
6. Ohio State (26-7) [BIG.10t] [2v2:HALL.FAME]
   
7. Georgetown (25-6) .3BIG.E (vSEC)
   
8. Gonzaga (31-2) WCCu+2 [WCCt] [3:OS/ORLANDO]
   
9. Duke (27-5) [3:ATLANTIS] (@@CHAMPS) (vBIG.10)
   
10. Michigan (26-7) [2v2:NIT.T-O] (vACC)
    
11. Syracuse (26-9) (@SEC)
    
12. Wisconsin (23-11)
    
13. Florida (26-7) SEC+2 (vBIG.E)
    
14. Kansas State (27-7) .5BIG.12
    
15. Michigan State (25-8) (@@CHAMPS)
    
16. St. Louis (27-6) A-10 [A-10t]
    
17. Oklahoma State (24-8)
    
18. Marquette (23-8) .3BIG.E
    
19. St. Mary's (27-6) (vBB)
    
20. Creighton (27-7) MVC [MVCt]
    
21. UNLV (25-9) (vMVC)
    
22. Notre Dame (25-9) (vSEC)
    
23. Mississippi (26-8) [SECt] (vBIG.E)
    
24. Oregon (26-8) [PAC-12t]
    
25. Memphis (30-4) C-USAu+4 [C-USAt]
    

Honorable Mention:

Pittsburgh (24-8) ,

Colorado State (25-8) [2v2:LVC-XMAS] (vMVC) ,

Arizona (25-7) [3:DIAMOND] ,

Cincinnati (22-11) [2v2:GS-A] (vSEC) ,

Minnesota (20-12) (@ACC) ,

San Diego State (22-10) (@MVC) ,

Missouri (23-10) .