The Drive to March[r] Well It's Valentine's Day...which means that as soon as girls are finshed being wined & dined that College Basketball takes the stage!!! The Big Games This Weekend: Notre Dame at Syracuse - This should be a racetrack kind of game. Neither team is very good defensivly, Syracuse with the more guns but Notre Dame has one of the Best PGs in the Nation Louisville at Marquette - The guess here is that one of these 2 teams will be the #1 seed. But this is merely a preview of the C-USA Championship Duke at Virginia - Duke badly needs a win to keep a protected seed. Virginia needs a marquee win to get itself off the bubble. They don't want to depend on the AC tourney. Connecticut at Villanova - Perhaps the game with he biggest impact with the selection tournament. Villanova MUST win the Big East-East to avoid needing victories in the Big East Tourney. Actually, the same could be said for UConn. Florida at Tennessee - Florida continues its drive for a #1 seed and if the Vols and Ron Slay can get past Gators, they might have just sealed up a Tourney Bid Wake Forest at Maryland - Does anybody want to win the ACC? As weird as this sounds, if Wake can win this game, they will have swept MD. And if they can get to the ACC Chamionship, they might just have a #2 seed. For fun I'll try previewing the weekend on fridays and the week on Mondays Discuss!!!
Re: The Drive to March[r] The Terps have righted the ship. If Nicholas plays some defense and Blake is hitting the threes, it'll be a long day for Wake.
There's a big game in the Atlantic 10 conference that many might overlook - Saint Joseph's (18-3, 8-2) at Dayton (17-4, 9-1). Both teams have consistently been in the RPI top 30 this season and Saint Joseph's is currently #25 in the AP poll (I think Dayton is #30 in both after last week's loss to Xavier). Most bracket predictions have both teams in the #6-#9 seed range. Dayton is unbeaten at home this season with wins over then-ranked Cincinnati, ranked Marquette and Villanova. It should be a pretty good game that will have some influence on the NCAA tournament.
47 and 18 - two numbers that will live long in the minds of Flyer fans. David West's line was the best in the country so far this season. And the best ever in the A 10. Roll out the red carpet for 1st team All America. ESPN rekons the Flyers are in the NCAA's with a win Saturday. Its gonna be nice seeing XU, UD and SJ in from the A10. Business as usual for the Muskies against URhIgh at Cintas. Or is it, Rams are not half bad this season.
Ugh. From an objective standpoint, that was a pretty awesome game with two quality teams beating the hell out of each other. However, from an emotional standpoint, it sucked. I knew Dayton was good enough to win down there, but damnit they can't get over the hump. Well, as Flyer fans have been saying since 1981, "There's always next year." Next Saturday's game should be good, too, and with the way Xavier and Dayton are playing it might be the first of two meetings at UD Arena this season (like the 1989-1990 season in the old MCC).
my Bad...I didn't mention St.Joes vs Dayton cuz I felt that both teams were locked into their places for the tournament. I can't see either team getting one of the protected seeds (1 - 4), and I can't see either team dropping below 7. Consider this: Will he NCAAs force one fo their #1 seeds to play either St.Joes, Xavier, or Dayton in the 2nd round? I think not. But at the same time, none of these squads have the profile to be a protected seed. Correct me if I'm wrong but the best win of the 3 teams is Dayton's victory over Marquette?
Id say that UD victory was probably the best. Xavier's best probably being at home to Creighton and St Joes demolition of Nova put them in the spotlight. As far as seeding - Xavier blitzed the A10 last year had a good record and RPI - but got a 7 seed and Oklahoma in the second round. So dont count on anything for the A10. Id say Xavier 5, UD 7 and St Joes 8. But that will change a lot in the next 3 weeks.
St. Joe's victory over Gonzaga was, as the Brits say, massive. In OT, at Gonzaga (where the Zags almost never, ever, ever lose), on a last second shot by Jameer Nelson. St. Joe's is a quality team that knows how to win, but, unfortunately, they may be a victim of their own success in March. They will probably be seeded between 7-10, meaning they'll have to beat a 1 or 2 seed to get to the Sweet 16. They'll probably be an 8 or 9 based on current RPI (32). They'd be better off as a 11 or 12.
I can almost guarentee you that St.Joe's won't be a #7 seed with a 17 - 3 record, and a #32 RPI. there are 16 teams for the top 4 seeds, and 32 seeds for nos 1 - 8. AT WORST They will get a #8 seed. But I don't the NCAA will do that because they want to protect their #1s. And you don't do that by putting a team like St.Joe's there. The seeds between 8 - 12 are the teams from the major conferences that finished in the middle, like a 500 record in conference play and were on the bubble. They are also the mid-major teams that make it. A-10 is not a Mid-Major. Xavier, Dayton, and St.Joe's will all be between 5 - 7
Big East Conference Tournament Preview: Teams: 1W - Syracuse The Orangemen are easily the most explosive team in the Big East (and perhaps the country), but they are also inept defensivly. Led by forward duo Hakim Warrick and Carmelo Anthony, there isn't much teams can do to stop the Cuse on offense other than collaps down low and hope McNamara and Duany have off-nites shooting. 1E - Boston College A team that is very talented but doesn't always play that way. If POTY candidate Troy Bell gets hot, the Eagles can hang with anyone in the country. Unfortunatly he usually doesn't get much help outside of under-rated freshman Craig Smith at Center. For the Eagles to challenge for the Championship they need Ryan Sidney to play well. Troy Bell playing well is assumed. 2W - Pitt The best defensive team this side of Kentucky. And the other side of it to. The key to beating this team is by playing every possesion like its your last one. Push the tempo and force the Panthers to play up-tempo. Unfortunatly for opponents this isn't likely to happen as Brandin Knight is superb at controlling the tempo of the game. They like to force the opposition to play a half-court game where the Athletic Julius Page, Onterrio Lett, Brandin Knight and Co are all standout defenders. Containing 6th man of the year Chevron Troutman is a must. Somehow, he always ends up with easy layups and put backs 2E - UConn Perhaps the most schizofrenic team in the Country. For these guys to win, they have to play good defense. They are at their best when they are forcing the opposition into turnovers and quick outside shots, and then they can run. Great outside-inside combo of Ben Gordon and Omeka Okafer, Opposing teams get turned into jump shooting teams when faced with Okafer down low. I'm not actually sure why these guys didn't play better this season. They proved they had talent with a 15 point drubbing of Syracuse. 3W - Seton Hall Firmly on the Bubble. They finished strong however. Louis Orr has created an unselfish team thats spear-headed by underrated NYC pg Andre Barrett and Marcus Toney-El. Perhaps not the most talented of teams but they play smart and they play well 3E - Providence. Perhaps the most underrated player in the conference plays for the Friars. Ryan Gomes comes up half a rebound short of averaging a double double (18.5,9.5) and he is only a sophomore. They beat Seton Hall in OT to earn the #3 seed in the East and don't be surprised if Gomes takes this team onto his back into the Semis 4W - No team faded worse than the Irish did down the stretch. The only thing that rescued their confidence was a tough win over Georgetown on Saturday afternoon. Chris Thomas is perhaps one of the top 3 PGs in the nation, but this team relies on the outside shooting of Senior Matt Carroll, the driving and passing of Thomas, and the inside prescence of Torin Francis. Genarally speaking, it works as only Syracuse has proven to be a better offensive team. But the Irish's achilles heel has been their defense. They let up too many open looks and fast break opporunities. They can beat anyone in the nation, but they can also lose to just about anybody on an off shooting night. 4E - Villanova. I have no idea what to say about this team. currently, Nova only has 7 active players and 2 regular starters. With just that many they almost upset Pitt, but Dean Smith once said that the best a team plays is first game after a star player goes down. In all probability this team will lose their first round game. 5W - Georgetown. Mike Sweetney. Mike Sweetney. Mike Sweetney. Mike Sweetney. Thats pretty much all you need to know about this team. They have a losing record yet they took Syracuse to OT, almost beat Pitt, UConn, and Notre Dame, oh and they almost beat Duke in front of the Crazies. 5E - The Mad Hatter, Marcus Hatten, is highly flammable. If I was running this team I'd just tell him to shoot every time down the floor unless he is being triple teamed. They managed to upset Duke using that formula so who knows what they'll do here in the BE tounrament, 6W - West Virginia. They beat Florida. Whatever else you know about that, just that fact is alone to be fearful of this team. Add to that fact that they have 1 good shooter from the 3-land in Schifino, and then one searing hot shooter (i'm talking 48% here) in freshman Pittsnoggle (how cool of a name is that) and you have the making of a team capable of pulling off an upset or two. 6E - Miami. They have a star in Darius Rice. Unfortunatly they have nothing else. They always seem to have a good BE Tournament however. This year doesn't look like of them however. Big East Tournament Bracket http://www.bigeast.org/sports/mbball/03bracket.pdf Can others take care of the other Conferences?
Big East Conference Tourney All times eastern First Round Game 1 (W4) Notre Dame vs. (E5) St. John's Noon (ESPN) Game 2 (E3) Providence vs. (W6) West Virginia 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) Game 3 (E4) Villanova vs. (W5) Georgetown 7 p.m. (ESPN) Game 4 (W3) Seton Hall vs. (E6) Miami 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) Quarterfinals Game 5 (E1) Boston College vs. Game 1 winner Noon (ESPN2) Game 6 (W2) Pittsburgh vs. Game 2 winner 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Game 7 (W1) Syracuse vs. Game 3 winner 7 p.m. (ESPN2) Game 8 (E2) Connecticut vs. Game 4 winner 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Atlantic 10 Tourney All times eastern First Round Game 1 (W5) George Washington at (E4) Massachusetts 7 p.m.. Game 2 (W3) Richmond advances with a bye Game 3 (E5) Fordham at (W4) LaSalle 7 p.m. Game 4 (W6) Duquesne at (E3) Rhode Island 7:30 p.m. Quarterfinals Game 5 (W1) Xavier vs. Game 1 winner 12:05 p.m. Game 6 (E2) Temple vs. (W3) Richmond 2 p.m. Game 7 (E1) Saint Joseph's vs. Game 3 winner 7 p.m. Game 8 (W2) Dayton vs. Game 4 winner 9 p.m.
Big 12 Tourney All times eastern First Round Game 1 (9) Iowa State vs. (8) Texas A&M 1 p.m. Game 2 (12) Nebraska vs. (5) Missouri 3:20 p.m. Game 3 (10) Baylor vs. (7) Texas Tech 7 p.m. Game 4 (11) Kansas State vs. (6) Colorado 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 Quarterfinals Game 5 Game 1 winner vs. (1) Kansas 1 p.m. Game 6 Game 2 winner vs. (4) Oklahoma State 3:20 p.m. Game 7 Game 3 winner vs. (2) Texas 7 p.m. Game 8 Game 4 winner vs. (3) Oklahoma 9:20 p.m.
Conference USA Tourney All times eastern First Round Game 1 (10) South Florida vs. (7) DePaul 1 p.m. (ESPN2) Game 2 (11) Houston vs. (6) Tulane 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Game 3 (9) UAB vs. (8) Charlotte 7 p.m. Game 4 (12) Southern Miss vs. (5) Cincinnati 9:30 p.m. Quarterfinals Game 5 (2) Memphis vs. Game 1 winner 1 p.m. Game 6 (3) Louisville vs. Game 2 winner 3:30 p.m. Game 7 (1) Marquette vs. Game 3 winner 7 p.m. Game 8 (4) Saint Louis vs. Game 4 winner
Mountain West Tourney All times eastern Quarterfinals Game 1 (2) BYU vs. (7) New Mexico 3 p.m., ESPN Plus Game 2 (3) Wyoming vs. (6) Colorado State 5:30 p.m., ESPN Plus Game 3 (1) Utah vs. (8) Air Force 9 p.m., ESPN Plus Game 4 (4) UNLV vs. (5) San Diego State Midnight, ESPN
Pac 10 Tourney All times eastern Quarterfinals Game 1 (1) Arizona vs. (8) UCLA 4:20 p.m. Game 2 (4) Arizona State vs. (5) Oregon 6:30 p.m. Game 3 (2) Stanford vs. (7) USC 9:40 p.m. Game 4 (3) California vs. (6) Oregon State 12:10 a.m.
SEC Tourney All times eastern First Round Game 1 (W5) Mississippi vs. (E4) Tennessee 1 p.m. Game 2 (E6) Vanderbilt vs. (W3) LSU 3:15 p.m. Game 3 (E5) South Carolina vs. (W4) Alabama 7:30 p.m. Game 4 (W6) Arkansas vs. (E3) Georgia 9:45 p.m. Quarterfinals Game 5 Game 1 winner vs. (W1) Mississippi State 1 p.m. Game 6 Game 2 winner vs. (E2) Florida 3:15 p.m. Game 7 Game 3 winner vs. (E1) Kentucky 7:30 p.m. Game 8 Game 4 winner vs. (W2) Auburn 9:45 p.m.
WAC Tourney All times eastern First Round Game 1 (8) San Jose State vs. (9) UTEP 7 p.m. Quarterfinals Game 2 (2) SMU vs. (7) Boise State 1 p.m. Game 3 (3) Nevada vs. (6) Louisiana Tech 3:30 p.m. Game 4 (4) Rice vs. (5) Hawaii 7 p.m. Game 5 (1) Tulsa vs. Game 1 winner 9:30 p.m.
Big Ten Tourney - Chicago, IL All times eastern Thursday (8) Ohio State (9) Iowa 12pm (ESPN) (7) Minnesota (10) Northwestern 2:30pm (ESPN) (6) Indiana (11) Penn State 5:05pm (ESPN2) Friday Quarterfinals (1) Wisconsin Ohio State/Iowa 12pm (ESPN) (4) Purdue (5) Michigan State 2:30pm (ESPN) (2) Illinois Minnesota/Northwestern 6:40pm (ESPN Plus) (3) Michigan Indiana/Penn State 9:10pm (ESPN Plus)
MAAC jaspers make it to the conference final after double OT victory over niagra. by making it to the final i think it jsut about secures them a spot in the 'big dance'.
ACC Tournament Thursday, March 13th 7 pm Eastern (ESPN) #9 Florida St vs. #8 Clemson Friday, March 14th Noon Eastern (ESPN2) 8/9 Winner vs. #1 Wake Forest 2 pm Easten (ESPN2) #5 Georgia Tech vs. #4 NC State 7 pm Easten (ESPN2) #7 N Carolina vs. #2 Maryland 9 pm Easten (ESPN2) #6 Virginia vs. #3 Duke City, there were a couple errors in yours. I got this from the ACC site.