Let's say a few unexpected teams win a conference tourney. Will Va. Tech be left out? This man will go ballistic. (Getty Images)
The bad side of the bubble
Miami 70, Virginia Tech 65. I have/had V-Tech as a lock, but what a message it would send if the committee shut this team out. The non-con schedule has been railed against all year, and losing to Miami for the second time this season?
Tennessee 76, Mississippi 65. Ole Miss is toast. Wasting no more letters on this team.
Minnesota 72, Michigan State 67 (OT). Have to admit on this site for the first time that I was more harsh in my bubble qualifications than I had ever been before. And I hate myself for it. I was way too harsh on Minnesota, and look at it, back in the field in many peoples’ predictions today. And if you look at what the team is done, it’s hard to argue against this team being No. 64 or 65 right now. I think that assertion is wrong, but I can justify it.
Mississippi State 75, Florida 69. What we have here is quite the intriguing situation. Mississippi State gets Vanderbilt today, and what becomes of both of these teams if MSU loses? The loss looks worse for Florida and there’s little to believe MSU will have done enough to warrant a bid.
Xavier 78, Dayton 73. Xavier’s had a lot of trouble with Dayton over the years, but more than that, this team has shown more durability than Wolverine. Dayton blew a 15-point lead and any chance at dancing. By doing so, it proved to be the team that blew more potential with more than, save for UNC and UConn, than any other group in the country. You run a pick-up game on the playground between all the A10 teams and Dayton’s winning a round-robin tourney, no doubt. The Dance just got a little less flashy.
The better side of the bubble
Illinois 58, Wisconsin 54. Wisconsin blows its chance at a top-4 seed and Illinois has to be in the field with five top 50 wins. I know the RPI is still bad, but I don’t see how the Illini get left out. Certainly a polarizing case if they lose today and get in. Looking forward to it.
Georgia Tech 69, Maryland 64. Warned you about Maryland after the praise following the team’s emotional, Senior Night win over Duke. Yeah, there’s some griping about the blown call that gave Georgia Tech two more points than it should have, but was that the difference in this game? Paul Hewitt managed to nearly blow it with some confounding coaching moves. He needs to get out of the way, let Favors and Lawal own fools and carry this team to the second weekend.
Billy White celebrates his team's 72-69 victory. SDSU now safely in the field? CHJ thinks so. (Getty Images)
San Diego State 72, New Mexico 69. Seen some hate thrown about SDSU’s credentials, but this team did go 11-5, beat Vegas and New Mexico twice. Perhaps they make it a moot point by winning today.
Washington 79, Stanford 64. If Washington doesn’t beat Cal, it goes in uncertain of getting a bid. I’m pretty certain it’s getting one. I can’t see the Pac-10 getting shut out of an at-large. It’s not happening.
Rhode Island 63, Saint Louis 47. Saint Louis ended up being a spoiler for the A10 tournament for … no one. You’d be surprised how many times these teams “no one wants to play” end up getting back on the bus early.
Only seeding consequence … if that
UNLV 70, BYU 66. Great win for Vegas. The top two MWC teams don’t make it to the tourney final. No doubt that league is sending four teams, and it deserves it.
West Virginia 53, Notre Dame 51. The Irish still have not made a Big East tournament final. West Virginia still angling for a 1-seed? I don’t see them getting it at all. And what happens if Georgetown wins tonight? Does it get the 2 and WVU the 3? That’s gotta be the case, and there’s no way a team can be considered a 1-seed candidate if losing would make it a 3.
Georgetown 80, Marquette 57. Georgetown’s gone from hot to cold to hot to cold to hot to cold to hot again. Hedging my bets in the brackets, picking them to reach the Sweet 16 and no further. I suggest you do the same. And Marquette can’t win a game now unless it’s close in the final two minutes. Greg Monroe was always going to make money, but the check may have added a comma in the past three days.
Kansas State 82, Baylor 75. The Bears fall short of the Big 12 final and remain largely under the radar. Egggggecellent. Should be a damn exciting final today between Kansas and K-State in Kansas City. I do think it has zero impact on seeding, though. K-State locked into a 2 at this point.
Derrick Favors dunks in front of James Padgett. Bumble Bees boost their profile and expose Maryland. (Getty Images)
Kansas 79, Texas A&M 66. The Jayhawks have done this maneuver many, many times before. I’m absolutely feeling a dominant win today. Sherron Collins is striding right now.
Kentucky 73, Alabama 67. John Wall sparked a run that brought Kentucky out of a hole. He’s got nothing on Turner, though!
North Carolina State 58, Florida State 52. Mother of God has Mike Patrick become unbearable on broadcasts. This is nothing new for a lot of folks, but I didn’t seem to mind him as much until this year. The always-breathless play-by-play man has become an even worse shill for the ACC and hyperbole than Vitale. Florida State’s season will be pretty forgettable if it loses in the first round next week after dropping this game.
Utah State 85, Louisiana Tech 55. Aggies are in no matter what. Rooting for them to lose to see how they’re seeded and for a major-conference team to get jobbed with a bid. I’m getting feistier by the day.
California 85, UCLA 72. Golden Bears playing their way toward a vulnerable 5-seed. It’d be best for this conference to have Washington win today at 6 p.m. and put both teams in better situations.
Richmond 77, UMass 72. Hey, the Minutemen never gave up on their season.
