17 Mar13 - Mega-Devils' Four-Bagger (PRECONTEST)
Volume XXI, No. 19 - 17 Mar13: PRECONTEST - [] FINAL TOP 25 BALLOT
Mega-Devils' Four-Bagger
The BIG 12 has been the highest rated league this season with The Big Three ([1]@Kansas, [2a]West Virginia and [2b]Baylor) all with solid arguments for No.1-seeds in the NCAA -- yet none of them even survived to face each other. First, [7a]Texas Tech fell right away to struggling [10]Texas (52-61) ending its hopes for an At-Large bid. In the quarters, [1]@Kansas suspended GC xJosh Jackson (for off-court conduct) and tripped against [7b]TCU (@82-85 despite 29p6a from pFrank Mason III); [2b]Baylor had no such excuse for falling to "co-host" [6]@Kansas State (64-@70). Order was restored in the semis as [2a]West Virginia escaped against [6]@Kansas State (51-@50) and [2c]Iowa State trounced [7b]TCU (84-63). In the final, [2c]Iowa State weathered the press and beat [2a]West Virginia (80-74). For all of Kansas' regular season dominance for more than decade, it's IowaSt that has its own dynasty going, now having won the conference tournament for the THIRD TIME IN FOUR YEARS!
In the BIG EAST, [1]+3 Villanova's regular season figured to continue in the tourney as well. In the quarters, [7]Xavier edged [2]Butler (62-57) while [3c]Seton Hall eliiminated [3b]Marquette (82-76) in a Bubble face-off; [3d]Creighton "upset" struggling [3a]Providence (70-58 despite 14p5a7r from 5-11 bKyron Cartwright). In the semis, [1]Villanova escaped against [3c]Seton Hall (55-53) while [3d]Creighton edged [7]Xavier (75-72). [1]+3 Villanova cruised in the final past [3d]Creighton (74-60 led by Josh Hart[29p]).
The WEST COAST tournament was like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football. [2]+4 St. Mary's looked as good as you could want in the semis, crushing the Bubble hopes of 4-[3]BYU (81-50) while [1]Gonzaga struggled to put away mediocre [4a]Santa Clara. But the final was "Same As It Ever Was" ... and then some as the 'Zags pulled away from the Gaels for a 74-56 win (led by xNigel Williams-Goss[22p6a6r6s]' star turn). It's the FIFTH-STRAIGHT TITO CROWN for Gonz as the Bulldogs continued their utter dominance of the WCC. With the pressure of going undefeated now gone, maybe this is finally the year for Gonzaga/Mark Few to make it to their first Final Four.
The Mega-ACC was second in overall rating but had more top-quality teams than any other league -- and there was no shortage of high-profile matchups. In the quarters, Bubble [7a]Virginia Tech didn't help itself with a 68-74 loss to [2a]Florida State; [2b]Notre Dame shut down [5b]Virginia (71-58) and then a healthy [5a]Duke team "upset" [2c]Louisville (81-77 led by GC Jayson Tatum[25p]). In the semis, [5a]Duke kept it going, rallying past arch-rival [1]North Carolina (93-83) while [2b]Notre Dame edged [2a]Florida State (77-73). In the final, it was the individual talent of [5a]Duke that prevailed over [2b]Notre Dame (75-69 despite 29p9r from Bonzie Colson). The Blue Devils became the first team to win four games on the way to the ACC tourney crown (including three Top-25 wins) -- we haven't even seen the full potential of all the talent on this Duke roster -- who knows what it can do in the NCAAs?
In the PAC-12, the unbalanced regular season didn't settle things; so any of The Big Three could have come through. In the quarters, [3]+4 UCLA edged arch-rival [5b]+2 USC (76-74) ending the Trojans' Bubble hopes. In the semis, [1b]Arizona handled [3]+4 UCLA (86-75 led by GC bLauri Markannen[29p6r]'s star turn). In the final, [1b]Arizona outlasted [1a]Oregon (83-80 despite 25p from Dillon Brooks). Worse news for the Ducks: cChris Boucher tore his ACL (and will miss the NCAAs).
In the SEC, the pretenders couldn't hold off would-be Party-Crashers as [2]Florida tripped in overtime against host [5c]Vanderbilt (62-@72[OT]) and [3b]South Carolina fell to [5a]Alabama (53-64). That left no one to challenge mighty [1]+2 @Kentucky besides [3a]Arkansas, who wasn't up to the challenge as the Wildcats rolled (@82-65) in the final to claim their third-straight TiTo crown (each with an essentially complete turnover in leading players).
In the BIG 10, [5b]Northwestern secured its first-ever NCAA bid with an upset win over [2b]@Maryland (72-@64) in the quarters but was crushed by [2a]Wisconsin in the semis (48-76). [5d]Michigan had an emergency plane mishap just before the start of the BIG 10 tourney and parlayed that scare into the ultimate motivation -- the Wolverines knocked off [1]Purdue in overtime in the quarters (74-70[OT] behind fD.J. Wilson[26p8r]), upset [4]Minnesota (84-77 on pDerrick Walton Jr.[29p9a5r]'s star turn) in the semis, and then crashed the NCAA Party with a surprising rout of [2a]Wisconsin (71-56) in the final -- it was only their second tourney crown ever (after winning the first BIG 10 tourney back in 1998) -- Great job!
In the AMERICAN, @[5b]Connecticut used its home-court advantage to get past [3]Houston (@74-65) in the quarters; but it was [1]SMU who dominated the field on the way to a TiTo crown, winning the rubber match on the season with [2]Cincinnati (71-56) in the final.
One of the few teams that's been able to parlay a postseason undercard tourney win into an NCAA berth the next year, last year's CBI champ [1]@Nevada, completed the TiTo MOUNTAIN WEST crown, beating [2]Colorado State (@79-71 despite 30p from Gian Clavell).
In the ATLANTIC 10, gJack Gibbs[34p3a] hit two huge three-pointers to seal [9]Davidson's upset of [1]Dayton (73-67) in the quarters; but it was [3b]+2 Rhode Island who crashed the NCAA Party with a bid-stealing tourney win past [2]VCU in the final (70-63) -- it's the first trip to the NCAAs in over 15 years for the Rams -- Nice job!.
[1]UNC-Wilmington came through the solid COLONIAL draw comfortably to earn its second-straight TiTo crown. The Spartans have performed at a splashworthy level all season with no dips in play. (This veteran squad, a three-peat 1BC title champ, fits the profile of the kind of team that's been able to pull off a first-round "upset" in the NCAAs.)
[1]+3 Middle Tennessee dominated the CONFERENCE USA tourney just as easily as it did the regular season for its second-straight trip to the NCAAs (and we all know what they did with last year's bid!)
Even on their home court, [1]+4 Vermont had to go to the wire before prevailing over [3a]Albany (@56-53) to claim the AMERICA EAST unbeaten TiTo crown.
After failing to three-peat its regular season title, [2x]New Mexico State got revenge in the WAC final, beating [1]Cal State-Bakersfield in the rubber game (70-60) for its FIFTH TOURNEY CROWN IN SIX YEARS -- OUTSTANDING!!!
It was [1c]East Tennessee State who emerged from the scrap that was the highly competitive SOUTHERN tournament. Tri-champ [1b]Furman tripped in the quarters against [7]Samford (63-67), which left ETSU and [1a]UNC-Greensboro to play in the final. Despite being swept head-to-head in the regular season, it was the Buccaneers who got sweet revenge when it counted the most with a 79-@74 win (as fT.J. Cromer[23p5r;11/11ft] countered 28p5a from gFrancis Alonso). (The strength of the SOCON as a whole is the bigger selling point than is ETSU as a team, but they're solid.)
[3a]Iona edged host @[3b]Siena (87-86[OT] as cJordan Washington[21p10r] countered 29p4a from gMarquis Wright) -- their second-straight [Jack Dawson] tourney crown -- ([1]+4 Monmouth who?)
Yes, they're a Jack Dawson team who took advantage of the void in the draw without actually doing any of the dirty work of knocking off either of the title co-champs ... but, HORIZON 2-[3b]Northern Kentucky beat [10]Milwaukee to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament in the first year it was eligible to go (after reclassifying
since entering Division I in 2012-13) -- WOW!
In the competitive SUN BELT, sure enough, [1]Texas-Arlington (and the last of the Off-Broadway stars [xKevin Hervey]), couldn't get through the tough draw, tanking in the semis against [3b]Texas State (62-83). In the end, it was [6a]+3 Troy in the Jack Dawson role who took the crown past [3b]Texas State (59-53) in the final to earn only its second-ever trip to the NCAAs.
For the second-straight year, [1]+3 @Akron failed to come through in the MID-AMERICAN tourney after dominating the regular season. This time it was arch-rival [6]@Kent State who did them in (@70-@65 led by bJaylin Walker[30p6r]) to punch its Jack Dawson ticket.
In the SUMMIT tournament in Sioux Falls, it was arch-/state-rival [4a]South Dakota State who edged title-champ [1]South Dakota in the semifinal (@74-@71 despite 30p2a from gMatt Mooney) and then edged [3]Omaha in the final (@79-77 as xMike Daum[37p12r] couldn't be stopped) for its second-straight trip to the NCAAs (albeit this time, as a Jack Dawson impostor).
In the SOUTHLAND, [1]New Orleans needed overtime to complete the job with a TiTo crown past [2a]@Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (68-@65[OT]) to earn its first trip to the NCAA tourney in 20 years -- Congrats!
In the new IVY LEAGUE tournament, [1]u+4 Princeton struggled in the semis against host @3-[4]Penn -- the Tigers never had the lead in regulation -- surviving in overtime (72-@64[OT]); they relaxed in the final to beat [3]+3 Yale (71-59) to claim the first official TiTo crown for the league (unbeaten, to boot -- EXCELLENT!).
In the PATRIOT, @[1]Bucknell rolled to the TiTo crown at home past [2b]Lehigh (@81-65).
In the NORTHEAST, @[1]Mount St. Mary's won three home games (beating [3b]St. Francis-PA [@71-61] in the final) on the way to the TiTo crown.
In the BIG SKY, [1]North Dakota needed overtime in the final before edging [3a]Weber State (93-89[OT]) to claim the TiTo crown and earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA tourney -- Congrats!.
In the BIG WEST, a neutral site made a huge difference in the rubber game as [2]@UC-Davis edged title-champ [1]@UC-Irvine (@50-@47 despite 14p4a8r from tLuke Nelson) to claim its first-ever trip to the NCAA tourney as well -- Congrats!
In the SWAC, @[1]Texas Southern squeaked its way to a TiTo crown past [2]Alcorn St (@53-50) in the final -- it's the THIRD TRIP IN FOUR YEARS to the NCAAs -- EXCELLENT!.
In the MEAC, [1]North Carolina Central came through on the road, beating host [2]Norfolk State (67-@59 despite 18p4a6r from 5-11 bZaynah Robinson) to claim the TiTo crown.
- - - - - -
Here's the full list of Tito champions (including Anti-Spoilers)
vs. the bid-stealing Party Crashers as well as Jack Dawsons who are attending The Dance under false pretenses:
That's 20 thoroughbreds against 8(6) imposters -- a much stronger field than last year (14 up, 11[10] down). It's quite a good representation of the best performing teams from the regular season.
Among last week's non-lock teams, only Michigan(won BIG10t), Rhode Island(won A10t), Kansas State(beat Baylor), Xavier(beat Butler) and Northwestern(beat @Maryland) improved their lot; while BYU(tanked St. Mary's), Syracuse(lost Miami[Florida]), California(lost Utah), Iowa(lost Indiana) and Texas Tech(lost Texas) all took a step back. Vanderbilt has no business receiving a bid (but the best of the splashworthy 1BC's [Monmouth{no quality wins}, Texas-Arlington{lost by 20 in the SUN BELT semis} and Valparaiso{edged Rhode Island}] didn't have much to recommend them). The Mega-ACC wound up with 9 bids -- its most ever (and second only to the 11 bids by the Mega-BIG EAST back in 2011). On the plus side of the cut line, I had: Monmouth, Miami(Florida), Texas-Arlington; Seton Hall(beat Marquette), KansSt(+Bayl); Nwn(+@Md) and Xav(+Butl). On the minus side, I had: USC, Wake Forest(lost Virginia Tech), Marquette(lost Seton Hall), Valparaiso(lost Milwaukee), Providence; Illinois State(tanked Wichita State), Virginia Tech and Michigan State(lost Minnesota).
No problem with 3-gap/TiTo champ Villanova getting the overall No.1-seed. You could argue "the real" Kansas didn't play in the BIG 12 tourney and gets a pass. Don't get how one-loss TiTo Gonzaga is only No.4 overall -- it was BS at the PreSixteen (when they were still undefeated) and it's BS now. Both Duke and Arizona were more impressive over the weekend than North Carolina and with unbalanced schedules in both the ACC and PAC 12, I'd have given more props to those tourney champs over the title champ. Gap/TiTo Kentucky had a good argument for a No.1-seed in the end, but upsets in the SEC tourney didn't give its crown as much juice. No real beef with seven of the Top eight seeds; Louisville is not even close to a No.2-seed in my book (plus, the Cardinals got a spot in the coveted Indianapolis Pod to boot -- ugh). (In total agreement on Baylor's fall from grace since the PreSixteen.)
Despite going TiTo, [E6]SMU wasn't able to secure a Top 4-seed, meaning the AMERICAN didn't quite make B-Major status and joined the ATLANTIC 10 as the only two multi-bid Mid-Majors. With [W7]St. Mary's also getting a bid, the WEST COAST is officially a B-Major conference once again (but the Gaels got a raw deal being placed in the same region as [W1]Gonzaga). Likewise, what's with BIG 12 tourney champ [M5]Iowa State being placed in the same region as title champ [M1]Kansas? No bid for Illinois State means the MISSOURI VALLEY is once again a (successful) Anti-Spoiler league on the strength of [S7]Wichita State. The splashworthy 1BCs who did make it through ([M12]Nevada/MOUNTAIN WEST, [S12]Middle Tennessee/CONFERENCE USA, [E12]UNC-Wilmington/COLONIAL, [M13]Vermont/AMERICA EAST and [E14]New Mexico State/WAC) all are good enough to make the second round.
Worst overseeding decisions: [W9]Vanderbilt, [E7]South Carolina, [S7]Dayton and [W8]Northwestern all rate significantly lower within the overall field than they were placed. Worst underseeding decisions: [E12]UNC-Wilmington, [M13]Vermont, [S10]Wichita State, [M12]Nevada, [E14]New Mexico State, [W7]St. Mary's and [S12]Middle Tennessee all deserved better than they were given.
The move fromGreensboro, NC to Greenville, SC switched the too-cushy preferential Pod from [S1]North Carolina and [E1]Duke to [E7]@South Carolina. Fully expected [E8]Wisconsin to get placed in Milwaukee instead of(ahead of) [S5]Minnesota. Might have given Indianapolis to [M4]Purdue over [M2]Louisville.
Toughest first-round games: [M4]Purdue/[M13]Vermont, [E5]Virginia/[E12]UNC-Wilmington, [S5]Minnesota/[M12]Middle Tennessee, [W6]Maryland/[W11]Xavier, [E7]@South Carolina/[E10]Marquette, [S7]Dayton/[S10]Wichita State and [M7]Michigan/[M10]Oklahoma State. Best chance for a 1BC upset: [E12]UNC-Wilmington (over slumping [E5]Virginia). Orlando should be rockin: [W3]@Florida State/[14]@Florida Gulf Coast is crazy-good and [E4]@Florida/[E13]East Tennessee State as well as [E5]Virginia/[E12]UNC-Wilmington feature two of the strongest low-seeds in the entire tourney. Gotta love [S2]@Kentucky/[S15]Northern Kentucky in Indianapolis -- Cute.
Among the scorned 1BC title champs, [e4]Monmouth actually got a home game in the first round of the NIT; but [m1]Illinois State gets to play at home for three rounds. [w6]Texas-Arlington got a tough draw visiting [w3]BYU right away while [m7]Valparaiso, [w7]Akron and [e7]Belmont all got raw deals with low seeds and road games.
In CBI, both Georgia Southern/SUNB and San Francisco/WCC at least drew some attention nationally at some point during the regular season.
In CIT, Furman/SOCON, UNC-Asheville/BIGS, Fort Wayne/SUMMIT and Georgia State/SUNB all were noteworthy as well during the season. With 26 teams again this year, three teams will get byes into the quarterfinals based on their results from the first round.
We hardly knew you: Last year's inaugural VEGAS 16 tournament (which had to settle for an 8-team draw) has called it quits all together this year -- mostly due to bad attendance and the issue that teams didn't want to wait two weeks after their conference tournaments were over before it even began. Old Dominion 2016 will go down as the one-and-only champion.
[S1]North Carolina has the toughest opposition with both [S2]@Kentucky and [S3]UCLA in its region; [E1]Villanova has more quality opponents in its path with the likes of [E2]Duke, [E3]Baylor, [E6]SMU and [S4]Florida all in the way; [W1]Gonzaga should only be challenged by [W2]Arizona; [M2]Kansas has the weakest opposition overall in its path.
-- Ron
P.S. If you're interested, the 34nd Annual Hoops Contest is now open for entry (through 6:30PMet TUESDAY, 14 MARCH).
FINAL TOP 25 - 17 Mar13: PRECONTEST - [] Column
Mega-Devils' Four-Bagger
The BIG 12 has been the highest rated league this season with The Big Three ([1]@Kansas, [2a]West Virginia and [2b]Baylor) all with solid arguments for No.1-seeds in the NCAA -- yet none of them even survived to face each other. First, [7a]Texas Tech fell right away to struggling [10]Texas (52-61) ending its hopes for an At-Large bid. In the quarters, [1]@Kansas suspended GC xJosh Jackson (for off-court conduct) and tripped against [7b]TCU (@82-85 despite 29p6a from pFrank Mason III); [2b]Baylor had no such excuse for falling to "co-host" [6]@Kansas State (64-@70). Order was restored in the semis as [2a]West Virginia escaped against [6]@Kansas State (51-@50) and [2c]Iowa State trounced [7b]TCU (84-63). In the final, [2c]Iowa State weathered the press and beat [2a]West Virginia (80-74). For all of Kansas' regular season dominance for more than decade, it's IowaSt that has its own dynasty going, now having won the conference tournament for the THIRD TIME IN FOUR YEARS!
In the BIG EAST, [1]+3 Villanova's regular season figured to continue in the tourney as well. In the quarters, [7]Xavier edged [2]Butler (62-57) while [3c]Seton Hall eliiminated [3b]Marquette (82-76) in a Bubble face-off; [3d]Creighton "upset" struggling [3a]Providence (70-58 despite 14p5a7r from 5-11 bKyron Cartwright). In the semis, [1]Villanova escaped against [3c]Seton Hall (55-53) while [3d]Creighton edged [7]Xavier (75-72). [1]+3 Villanova cruised in the final past [3d]Creighton (74-60 led by Josh Hart[29p]).
The WEST COAST tournament was like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football. [2]+4 St. Mary's looked as good as you could want in the semis, crushing the Bubble hopes of 4-[3]BYU (81-50) while [1]Gonzaga struggled to put away mediocre [4a]Santa Clara. But the final was "Same As It Ever Was" ... and then some as the 'Zags pulled away from the Gaels for a 74-56 win (led by xNigel Williams-Goss[22p6a6r6s]' star turn). It's the FIFTH-STRAIGHT TITO CROWN for Gonz as the Bulldogs continued their utter dominance of the WCC. With the pressure of going undefeated now gone, maybe this is finally the year for Gonzaga/Mark Few to make it to their first Final Four.
The Mega-ACC was second in overall rating but had more top-quality teams than any other league -- and there was no shortage of high-profile matchups. In the quarters, Bubble [7a]Virginia Tech didn't help itself with a 68-74 loss to [2a]Florida State; [2b]Notre Dame shut down [5b]Virginia (71-58) and then a healthy [5a]Duke team "upset" [2c]Louisville (81-77 led by GC Jayson Tatum[25p]). In the semis, [5a]Duke kept it going, rallying past arch-rival [1]North Carolina (93-83) while [2b]Notre Dame edged [2a]Florida State (77-73). In the final, it was the individual talent of [5a]Duke that prevailed over [2b]Notre Dame (75-69 despite 29p9r from Bonzie Colson). The Blue Devils became the first team to win four games on the way to the ACC tourney crown (including three Top-25 wins) -- we haven't even seen the full potential of all the talent on this Duke roster -- who knows what it can do in the NCAAs?
In the PAC-12, the unbalanced regular season didn't settle things; so any of The Big Three could have come through. In the quarters, [3]+4 UCLA edged arch-rival [5b]+2 USC (76-74) ending the Trojans' Bubble hopes. In the semis, [1b]Arizona handled [3]+4 UCLA (86-75 led by GC bLauri Markannen[29p6r]'s star turn). In the final, [1b]Arizona outlasted [1a]Oregon (83-80 despite 25p from Dillon Brooks). Worse news for the Ducks: cChris Boucher tore his ACL (and will miss the NCAAs).
In the SEC, the pretenders couldn't hold off would-be Party-Crashers as [2]Florida tripped in overtime against host [5c]Vanderbilt (62-@72[OT]) and [3b]South Carolina fell to [5a]Alabama (53-64). That left no one to challenge mighty [1]+2 @Kentucky besides [3a]Arkansas, who wasn't up to the challenge as the Wildcats rolled (@82-65) in the final to claim their third-straight TiTo crown (each with an essentially complete turnover in leading players).
In the BIG 10, [5b]Northwestern secured its first-ever NCAA bid with an upset win over [2b]@Maryland (72-@64) in the quarters but was crushed by [2a]Wisconsin in the semis (48-76). [5d]Michigan had an emergency plane mishap just before the start of the BIG 10 tourney and parlayed that scare into the ultimate motivation -- the Wolverines knocked off [1]Purdue in overtime in the quarters (74-70[OT] behind fD.J. Wilson[26p8r]), upset [4]Minnesota (84-77 on pDerrick Walton Jr.[29p9a5r]'s star turn) in the semis, and then crashed the NCAA Party with a surprising rout of [2a]Wisconsin (71-56) in the final -- it was only their second tourney crown ever (after winning the first BIG 10 tourney back in 1998) -- Great job!
In the AMERICAN, @[5b]Connecticut used its home-court advantage to get past [3]Houston (@74-65) in the quarters; but it was [1]SMU who dominated the field on the way to a TiTo crown, winning the rubber match on the season with [2]Cincinnati (71-56) in the final.
One of the few teams that's been able to parlay a postseason undercard tourney win into an NCAA berth the next year, last year's CBI champ [1]@Nevada, completed the TiTo MOUNTAIN WEST crown, beating [2]Colorado State (@79-71 despite 30p from Gian Clavell).
In the ATLANTIC 10, gJack Gibbs[34p3a] hit two huge three-pointers to seal [9]Davidson's upset of [1]Dayton (73-67) in the quarters; but it was [3b]+2 Rhode Island who crashed the NCAA Party with a bid-stealing tourney win past [2]VCU in the final (70-63) -- it's the first trip to the NCAAs in over 15 years for the Rams -- Nice job!.
[1]UNC-Wilmington came through the solid COLONIAL draw comfortably to earn its second-straight TiTo crown. The Spartans have performed at a splashworthy level all season with no dips in play. (This veteran squad, a three-peat 1BC title champ, fits the profile of the kind of team that's been able to pull off a first-round "upset" in the NCAAs.)
[1]+3 Middle Tennessee dominated the CONFERENCE USA tourney just as easily as it did the regular season for its second-straight trip to the NCAAs (and we all know what they did with last year's bid!)
Even on their home court, [1]+4 Vermont had to go to the wire before prevailing over [3a]Albany (@56-53) to claim the AMERICA EAST unbeaten TiTo crown.
After failing to three-peat its regular season title, [2x]New Mexico State got revenge in the WAC final, beating [1]Cal State-Bakersfield in the rubber game (70-60) for its FIFTH TOURNEY CROWN IN SIX YEARS -- OUTSTANDING!!!
It was [1c]East Tennessee State who emerged from the scrap that was the highly competitive SOUTHERN tournament. Tri-champ [1b]Furman tripped in the quarters against [7]Samford (63-67), which left ETSU and [1a]UNC-Greensboro to play in the final. Despite being swept head-to-head in the regular season, it was the Buccaneers who got sweet revenge when it counted the most with a 79-@74 win (as fT.J. Cromer[23p5r;11/11ft] countered 28p5a from gFrancis Alonso). (The strength of the SOCON as a whole is the bigger selling point than is ETSU as a team, but they're solid.)
[3a]Iona edged host @[3b]Siena (87-86[OT] as cJordan Washington[21p10r] countered 29p4a from gMarquis Wright) -- their second-straight [Jack Dawson] tourney crown -- ([1]+4 Monmouth who?)
Yes, they're a Jack Dawson team who took advantage of the void in the draw without actually doing any of the dirty work of knocking off either of the title co-champs ... but, HORIZON 2-[3b]Northern Kentucky beat [10]Milwaukee to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament in the first year it was eligible to go (after reclassifying
since entering Division I in 2012-13) -- WOW!
In the competitive SUN BELT, sure enough, [1]Texas-Arlington (and the last of the Off-Broadway stars [xKevin Hervey]), couldn't get through the tough draw, tanking in the semis against [3b]Texas State (62-83). In the end, it was [6a]+3 Troy in the Jack Dawson role who took the crown past [3b]Texas State (59-53) in the final to earn only its second-ever trip to the NCAAs.
For the second-straight year, [1]+3 @Akron failed to come through in the MID-AMERICAN tourney after dominating the regular season. This time it was arch-rival [6]@Kent State who did them in (@70-@65 led by bJaylin Walker[30p6r]) to punch its Jack Dawson ticket.
In the SUMMIT tournament in Sioux Falls, it was arch-/state-rival [4a]South Dakota State who edged title-champ [1]South Dakota in the semifinal (@74-@71 despite 30p2a from gMatt Mooney) and then edged [3]Omaha in the final (@79-77 as xMike Daum[37p12r] couldn't be stopped) for its second-straight trip to the NCAAs (albeit this time, as a Jack Dawson impostor).
In the SOUTHLAND, [1]New Orleans needed overtime to complete the job with a TiTo crown past [2a]@Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (68-@65[OT]) to earn its first trip to the NCAA tourney in 20 years -- Congrats!
In the new IVY LEAGUE tournament, [1]u+4 Princeton struggled in the semis against host @3-[4]Penn -- the Tigers never had the lead in regulation -- surviving in overtime (72-@64[OT]); they relaxed in the final to beat [3]+3 Yale (71-59) to claim the first official TiTo crown for the league (unbeaten, to boot -- EXCELLENT!).
In the PATRIOT, @[1]Bucknell rolled to the TiTo crown at home past [2b]Lehigh (@81-65).
In the NORTHEAST, @[1]Mount St. Mary's won three home games (beating [3b]St. Francis-PA [@71-61] in the final) on the way to the TiTo crown.
In the BIG SKY, [1]North Dakota needed overtime in the final before edging [3a]Weber State (93-89[OT]) to claim the TiTo crown and earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA tourney -- Congrats!.
In the BIG WEST, a neutral site made a huge difference in the rubber game as [2]@UC-Davis edged title-champ [1]@UC-Irvine (@50-@47 despite 14p4a8r from tLuke Nelson) to claim its first-ever trip to the NCAA tourney as well -- Congrats!
In the SWAC, @[1]Texas Southern squeaked its way to a TiTo crown past [2]Alcorn St (@53-50) in the final -- it's the THIRD TRIP IN FOUR YEARS to the NCAAs -- EXCELLENT!.
In the MEAC, [1]North Carolina Central came through on the road, beating host [2]Norfolk State (67-@59 despite 18p4a6r from 5-11 bZaynah Robinson) to claim the TiTo crown.
- - - - - -
Here's the full list of Tito champions (including Anti-Spoilers)
vs. the bid-stealing Party Crashers as well as Jack Dawsons who are attending The Dance under false pretenses:
| TiTo | Party Crasher | Jack Dawson |
BIG E: [1]+3 Villanova WCC: [1b] Gonzaga PAC-12: .5[1] Arizona SEC: [1]+2 Kentucky AMER: [1] SMU MVC: .5[1b]+8 Wichita State(AS) MWC: [1] Nevada C-USA: [1]+3 Middle Tennessee COLON: [1b] UNC-Wilmington AMER E: [1]+4 Vermont SOCON: .3[1c]+4 East Tennessee State BIG S: [1a] Winthrop SLAND: [1] New Orleans IVY: [1]u+4 Princeton PAT: [1]+3 Bucknell A-SUN: [1] Florida Gulf Coast NEC: [1] Mount St. Mary's SKY: [1] North Dakota SWAC: [1] Texas Southern MEAC: [1] North Carolina Central | BIG 10: [5d] Michigan A-10: [3b]+2 Rhode Island | MAAC: "[1]+4 Monmouth" (2-[3a] Iona) SUN B: "[1]+2 Texas-Arlington" ([6a]+3 Troy) HORIZ: "[1a]+2 Oakland/[1b]+2 Valparaiso" (2-[3b] Northern Kentucky) MAC: "[1/E1]+3 Akron" ([6] Kent State) OVC: "[1/E1]+5 Belmont" ([4a] Jacksonville State) SUMMIT: "[1] South Dakota" ([4a] South Dakota State) |
That's 20 thoroughbreds against 8(6) imposters -- a much stronger field than last year (14 up, 11[10] down). It's quite a good representation of the best performing teams from the regular season.
Among last week's non-lock teams, only Michigan(won BIG10t), Rhode Island(won A10t), Kansas State(beat Baylor), Xavier(beat Butler) and Northwestern(beat @Maryland) improved their lot; while BYU(tanked St. Mary's), Syracuse(lost Miami[Florida]), California(lost Utah), Iowa(lost Indiana) and Texas Tech(lost Texas) all took a step back. Vanderbilt has no business receiving a bid (but the best of the splashworthy 1BC's [Monmouth{no quality wins}, Texas-Arlington{lost by 20 in the SUN BELT semis} and Valparaiso{edged Rhode Island}] didn't have much to recommend them). The Mega-ACC wound up with 9 bids -- its most ever (and second only to the 11 bids by the Mega-BIG EAST back in 2011). On the plus side of the cut line, I had: Monmouth, Miami(Florida), Texas-Arlington; Seton Hall(beat Marquette), KansSt(+Bayl); Nwn(+@Md) and Xav(+Butl). On the minus side, I had: USC, Wake Forest(lost Virginia Tech), Marquette(lost Seton Hall), Valparaiso(lost Milwaukee), Providence; Illinois State(tanked Wichita State), Virginia Tech and Michigan State(lost Minnesota).
No problem with 3-gap/TiTo champ Villanova getting the overall No.1-seed. You could argue "the real" Kansas didn't play in the BIG 12 tourney and gets a pass. Don't get how one-loss TiTo Gonzaga is only No.4 overall -- it was BS at the PreSixteen (when they were still undefeated) and it's BS now. Both Duke and Arizona were more impressive over the weekend than North Carolina and with unbalanced schedules in both the ACC and PAC 12, I'd have given more props to those tourney champs over the title champ. Gap/TiTo Kentucky had a good argument for a No.1-seed in the end, but upsets in the SEC tourney didn't give its crown as much juice. No real beef with seven of the Top eight seeds; Louisville is not even close to a No.2-seed in my book (plus, the Cardinals got a spot in the coveted Indianapolis Pod to boot -- ugh). (In total agreement on Baylor's fall from grace since the PreSixteen.)
Despite going TiTo, [E6]SMU wasn't able to secure a Top 4-seed, meaning the AMERICAN didn't quite make B-Major status and joined the ATLANTIC 10 as the only two multi-bid Mid-Majors. With [W7]St. Mary's also getting a bid, the WEST COAST is officially a B-Major conference once again (but the Gaels got a raw deal being placed in the same region as [W1]Gonzaga). Likewise, what's with BIG 12 tourney champ [M5]Iowa State being placed in the same region as title champ [M1]Kansas? No bid for Illinois State means the MISSOURI VALLEY is once again a (successful) Anti-Spoiler league on the strength of [S7]Wichita State. The splashworthy 1BCs who did make it through ([M12]Nevada/MOUNTAIN WEST, [S12]Middle Tennessee/CONFERENCE USA, [E12]UNC-Wilmington/COLONIAL, [M13]Vermont/AMERICA EAST and [E14]New Mexico State/WAC) all are good enough to make the second round.
Worst overseeding decisions: [W9]Vanderbilt, [E7]South Carolina, [S7]Dayton and [W8]Northwestern all rate significantly lower within the overall field than they were placed. Worst underseeding decisions: [E12]UNC-Wilmington, [M13]Vermont, [S10]Wichita State, [M12]Nevada, [E14]New Mexico State, [W7]St. Mary's and [S12]Middle Tennessee all deserved better than they were given.
The move from
Toughest first-round games: [M4]Purdue/[M13]Vermont, [E5]Virginia/[E12]UNC-Wilmington, [S5]Minnesota/[M12]Middle Tennessee, [W6]Maryland/[W11]Xavier, [E7]@South Carolina/[E10]Marquette, [S7]Dayton/[S10]Wichita State and [M7]Michigan/[M10]Oklahoma State. Best chance for a 1BC upset: [E12]UNC-Wilmington (over slumping [E5]Virginia). Orlando should be rockin: [W3]@Florida State/[14]@Florida Gulf Coast is crazy-good and [E4]@Florida/[E13]East Tennessee State as well as [E5]Virginia/[E12]UNC-Wilmington feature two of the strongest low-seeds in the entire tourney. Gotta love [S2]@Kentucky/[S15]Northern Kentucky in Indianapolis -- Cute.
Among the scorned 1BC title champs, [e4]Monmouth actually got a home game in the first round of the NIT; but [m1]Illinois State gets to play at home for three rounds. [w6]Texas-Arlington got a tough draw visiting [w3]BYU right away while [m7]Valparaiso, [w7]Akron and [e7]Belmont all got raw deals with low seeds and road games.
In CBI, both Georgia Southern/SUNB and San Francisco/WCC at least drew some attention nationally at some point during the regular season.
In CIT, Furman/SOCON, UNC-Asheville/BIGS, Fort Wayne/SUMMIT and Georgia State/SUNB all were noteworthy as well during the season. With 26 teams again this year, three teams will get byes into the quarterfinals based on their results from the first round.
We hardly knew you: Last year's inaugural VEGAS 16 tournament (which had to settle for an 8-team draw) has called it quits all together this year -- mostly due to bad attendance and the issue that teams didn't want to wait two weeks after their conference tournaments were over before it even began. Old Dominion 2016 will go down as the one-and-only champion.
[S1]North Carolina has the toughest opposition with both [S2]@Kentucky and [S3]UCLA in its region; [E1]Villanova has more quality opponents in its path with the likes of [E2]Duke, [E3]Baylor, [E6]SMU and [S4]Florida all in the way; [W1]Gonzaga should only be challenged by [W2]Arizona; [M2]Kansas has the weakest opposition overall in its path.
-- Ron
P.S. If you're interested, the 34nd Annual Hoops Contest is now open for entry (through 6:30PMet TUESDAY, 14 MARCH).
- Key games this week:
- NCAA
- Tuesday:
- OpenRd/128s FIRST FOUR @DaytonOH
- [S11a]Wake Forest v [S11b]Kansas St
- [E16a]
New OrleansvMt St Mary's
- Wednesday:
- OpenRd/128s FIRST FOUR @DaytonOH
- [E11a]Providence v [E11b]USC
- [M16a]
UC-Davisv [M16b]NC Central
- Thursday, Saturday:
- 1stRd/64s POD @BuffaloNY
- [E1]Villanova v {[E16a]
NewOrleans/MtStMarys}
- [E8]Wisconsin v [E9]Virginia Tech
- [W4]W Virginia v [W13]
Bucknell
- [W5]Notre Dame v [W12]
Princeton
- 1stRd/64s POD @SaltLakeCityUT
- [W1]Gonzaga v [W16]
SD State
- [W8]Northwestern v [W9]Vanderbilt
- [W2]Arizona v [W15]
N Dakota
- [W7]St Mary's v [W10]VCU
- 1stRd/64s POD @OrlandoFL
- [W3]@Florida St v [W14]@
FL Gulf Coast(FL)
- [W6]Maryland v [W11]Xavier
- [E4]@Florida v [E13]E Tennessee St
- [E5]Virginia v [E12]UNC-Wilmington
- 1stRd/64s POD @MilwaukeeWI
- [S4]Butler v [S13]
Winthrop
- [S5]Minnesota v [S12]Mid Tennessee
- [M4]Purdue v [M13]Vermont
- [M5]Iowa St v [M12]Nevada
- Friday, Sunday:
- 1stRd/64s POD @TulsaOK
- [M1]Kansas v {[M16a]
UCDavis/[M16b]NCCentral}
- [M8]Miami-FL v [M9]Michigan St
- [E3]Baylor v [E14]NM State
- [E6]SMU v {[E11a]Providence/[E11b]USC}
- 1stRd/64s POD @
- [S1]N Carolina v [S16]
Texas So
- [S8]Arkansas v [S9]Seton Hall
- [E2]Duke v [E15]
Troy
- [E7]@S Carolina v [E10]Marquette
GreensboroNC/GreenvilleSC- 1stRd/64s POD @IndianapolisIN
- [S2]@Kentucky v [S15]
No Kentucky(KY)
- [S7]Dayton v [S10]Wichita St
- [M2]@Louisville v [M15]
Jacksonville St
- [M7]Michigan v [M10]Oklahoma St
- 1stRd/64s POD @SacramentoCA
- [M3]Oregon v [M14]
Iona
- [M6]Creighton v [M11]Rhode Island
- [S3]UCLA v [S14]
Kent St
- [S6]Cincinnati v {[S11a]WakeForest/[S11b]KansasSt}
- NIT
- [S11a]Wake Forest v [S11b]Kansas St
- Tuesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ [e1]
Syracusev [e8]UNC-Greensboro
- @ [w1]California v [w8]
Cal St-Bakersfield(CA)
- @ [m2]Illinois v [m7]Valparaiso
- @ [s2]Clemson v [s7]Oakland
- [e3]
Indiana@ [e6]Georgia Tech
- @ [s3]Alabama v [s6]Richmond
- @ [m3]
Utahv [m6]Boise St
- @ [e4]Monmouth v [e5]Mississippi
- @ [w4]
Colorado Stv [w5]Col of Charleston
- Wednesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ [m1]Illinois St v [m8]
UC-Irvine
- @ [s1]Iowa v [s8]
S Dakota
- @ [w2]
Houstonv [w7]Akron
- @ [e2]
Georgiav [e7]Belmont
- @ [w3]
BYUv [w6]TX-Arlington
- @ [s4]
TCUv [s5]Fresno St
- @ [m4]UCF v [m5]Colorado
- Thursday-Monday week:
- 16s on-campus
- @{[m1]IllinoisSt/[m8]
UCIrvine} v {[m4]UCF/[m5]Colorado}
- @{[m2]Illinois/[m7]Valparaiso} v {[m3]
Utah/[m6]BoiseSt}
- @{[e1]
Syracuse/[e8]UNC-Greensboro} v {[e4]Monmouth/[e5]Mississippi}
- @{[e2]
Georgia/[e7]Belmont} v {[e3]Indiana/[e6]GeorgiaTech}
- @{[s1]Iowa/[s8]
SDakota} v {[s4]TCU/[s5]FresnoSt}
- @{[s2]Clemson/[s7]Oakland} v {[s3]Alabama/[s6]Richmond}
- @{[w1]California/[w8]
CalStBakersfield} v {[w4]ColoradoSt/[w5]ColofCharleston}
- @{[w2]
Houston/[w7]Akron} v {[w3]BYU/[w6]TXArlington}
- Tuesday week-Wednesday week:
- Qtrs on-campus
- Tue 28 Mar, Thu 30 Mar
- Semis,Final @ New York NY /MSG/
- {m/IllinoisSt} v {s/Iowa}
- {e/
Syracuse} v {w/California}
- CBI
- @ [e1]
- Wednesday:
- 1stRd/16s on-campus
- (swA): @ Rice v San Francisco
- (seA): @ Geo Mason v Loyola Marymount
- (neA): @ Geo Washington v Toledo
- (nwA): @ Wyoming v Ea Washington
- (swB): @
Georgia Sov UT Valley
- (seB): @ Co Carolina v Hampton
- (nwB): @ MO-Kansas City v Green Bay
- (neB): @ IL-Chicago v Stony Brook
- Monday week:
- Qtrs on-campus (by region)
- (sw): {SanFrancisco/Rice} v {
GeorgiaSo/UTValley}
- (se): {LoyolaMarymount/GeoMason} v {CoCarolina/Hampton}
- (ne): {GeoWashington/Toledo} v {ILChicago/StonyBrook}
- (nw): {Wyoming/EaWashington} v {GreenBay/MOKansasCity}
- Wednesday week:
- Semis on-campus (re-seeded)
- Mon 27 Mar, Wed 29 Mar, (if necessary: Fri 31 Mar):
- Finals on-campus (Best of 3)
- CIT
- (swA): @ Rice v San Francisco
- Monday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @
Libertyv Norfolk St (VA) (JOHN McLENDON/HBCU CLASSIC)
- Tuesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ Samford v Canisius
- @ Campbell v Houston Baptist
- @ Jacksonville v St Francis-PA ((new)HUGH DURHAM/JACKSONVILLE CLASSIC)
- Wednesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ Texas A&M-CC v
Georgia St
- @
Ft WaynevBall St(IN) ((new)LOU HENSON CLASSIC)
- @ MD-Baltimore Co v Fairfield
- @ Idaho v Stephen F Austin
- Thursday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ Texas St v Lamar (TX)
- @ Albany v St Peter's
- @ SC Upstate v
Furman(SC)
- @
TN-MartinvUNC-Asheville
- @ Cal St-Fullerton v
Weber St((new)RILEY WALLACE/BIG.W CLASSIC)
- Friday-Monday week:
- 2ndRd/16s on-campus
- Thursday week-Saturday week:
- Qtrs on-campus [re-seeded] (3 first-round winners receive byes into the quarters)
- Wed 29 Mar:
- Semis on-campus [re-seeded]
- Fri 31 Mar:
- Final on-campus
V16 @LasVegasNV/MANDALAY/-- CANCELLED
- @
FINAL TOP 25 - 17 Mar13: PRECONTEST - [] Column
- Villanova (31-3) 4-PEATBIG5u 4-PEATBIGE+3 [BIGEt] [3:CHARLESTON] (@BIG10) (:NVR.FRGT)
- Gonzaga (32-1) 5-PEAT;16TH/17 WCC 5-PEAT[WCCt] [3:A/ORLANDO-B] (:PAC12)
- Kansas (28-4) 13-PEATBIG12+4 [2v2vCBE] (@@CHAMPS) (@SEC)
- Arizona (30-4) 3rd/4 .5PAC12 [PAC12t] (:A.FORCES) (@LON.STR-A)
- Kentucky (29-5) 3-peatSEC+2 3-peat[vSECt] [rr4vBLUEGRASS] (@@CHAMPS) (:ATLANTIS-A) (@@BRK-WIN-B) (@@C/SPORTS-A)
- Duke (27-8) [ACCt] [2v2:HOF-A] (vBIG10) (:JIMMY.V) (@LV-SHOW)
- North Carolina (26-7) repeatACC+2 [v3:MAUI]
- Oregon (28-5) repeat .5PAC12
- Iowa State (23-10) 3rd/4 [BIG12t] (@@BIG4)
- West Virginia (26-8) (vSEC)
- SMU (30-4) AMER [AMERt] (vDFW)
- UCLA (29-4) [v3vWL/ANAHEIM] (@@C/SPORTS-A)
- Notre Dame (25-9) [2v2:LEGENDS] (vBIG10)
- Florida State (25-8) [.5NIT.T-O] (vBIG10) (@BB&T) (vFL) (vORANGE)
- Baylor (24-7) [v3:ATLANTIS-B] (@SEC)
- Florida (24-8) (@BIG12) (vORANGE)
- Louisville (24-8) (vBIG10) (vMINARDI) (vKY) (@@COUNTDWN)
- Butler (23-8) [2v2:LVI-THANX] (vBIG10) (@@XROADS)
- Creighton (24-9) [3:PARADISE] (vBIG10] (vNE)
- Michigan (24-11) [BIG10t] [2v2:2K] (:BIGE)
- Purdue (25-7) BIG10+2 [2v2:CANCUN] (:JIMMY.V) (@@XROADS)
- Wisconsin (25-9) (vACC) (@WI) (@@SUPER)
- Virginia (22-10) [2v2:EMERALD] (vBIG10)
- St. Mary's (28-4) (vLV-WCC)
- Wichita State (29-4) 4-PEAT;5TH/6 .5MVC+8 [:MVCt] (@MWC)
- Honorable Mention:
TCU(18-15) [2v@:GS-A], Kansas State (20-13), Vanderbilt (19-15) (vBIG12), Xavier (21-13) [3:TP/ORLANDO-A] (vPROSSER).
Rhode Island (24-9) [A10t],
Nevada (28-6) MWC [vMWCt] [2:LV-HOLI] (@MVC),
Troy(20-14) [SUNBt],
South Dakota State(16-16) repeat[vSUMMITt],
Iona(22-12) repeat[@MAACt] [@3:GREAT.AK],
East Tennessee State (25-7) .3SOCON+4 [@SOCONt] [rr2:@SANFORD-B],
UNC-Wilmington (27-5) 3-peatCOLON repeat[@COLONt],
Kent State(21-13) [@@MACt],
Northern Kentucky(22-10) [.5rr3@T/SPORTS-B],
New Mexico State (25-5) 5TH/6[WACt] [rr3v@S.DIEGO],
Middle Tennessee (29-4) CUSA+3 repeat[CUSAt] [rr3vMUSIC],
New Orleans(15-10) SLAND [@SLANDt],
Princeton(22-6) IVYu+4 [@IVYt],
Bucknell(26-8) 3-peat;6TH/7PAT+3 [vPATt],
Vermont (26-5) AMEREu+4 [vAMEREt],
Mount St. Mary's(19-15) NEC [vNECt],
North Dakota(19-9) SKY [SKYt],
UC-Davis(20-12) [@@BIGWt],
Texas Southern(23-11) 3-peatSWAC+3 [vSWACt] [.25HARDWD],
North Carolina Central(22-8) 3rd/4MEAC [@MEACt].
posted by Ron @ Saturday, August 12, 2017
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