2015 Bracketology: FINAL PROJECTIONS!

Thank you everyone for looking at my daily projects the pas two years, it's been fun and I hope to do it again next year.  This is my final bracketology for the season so let's see how my picks correspond to the actual field.

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Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-7

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-4

Pac-12-3

SEC-4

WCC-2

First Four Out

UCLA

Ole Miss

Miami

Tulsa

Next Four Out

Old Dominion

UConn

Richmond

Iona

2015 Bracketology: Selection Sunday

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Saturday's Winners:

• Albany was down to in the waning seconds and hit a three in the closing moments to lift themselves over Stony Brook. 
• Wyoming had one chance at making the big dance and that was to beat San Diego State to receive the Mountain West's automatic bid.  They took advantage of it and bumped a team out of the tournament with their bid thievery.
• Michigan State helped their seeding with a huge win over Maryland 62-58 after being swept in the regular season.
• After a bad end to the regular season, VCU finds themselves in the A10 finals after a dominating 93-73 win over Davidson. 
• Harvard storms back against Yale and picks up a 53-51 win to take the Ivy League one-game playoff. 
• UConn refuses to die, using a 16-2 run at the end of the game to win a not-so-sexy game against Tulsa 47-42.  They have a chance to be bid thieves Sunday against SMU. 
• The toughness of the mid-majors in the field.  After some upsets took place Friday, it was largely chalk on Saturday with Eastern Washington, New Mexico State, UC Irvine, Stephen F. Austin, and Buffalo all earning automatic bids. 

The Losers:

• Stony Brook loses in the American East final for the third time in the last four years and has never been to the NCAA Tournament. 
• Yale is without a trip to the big dance since 1962. 
• Tulsa's hopes of an at-large bid are toast after their loss to UConn. 
• With Wyoming being a bid their, UCLA was replaced in my bracket. 
• After an emotional win over Utah, Oregon was blasted by 28 points against Arizona.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-7

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-4

Pac-12-3

SEC-4

WCC-2

First Four Out

UCLA

Ole Miss

Miami

Tulsa

Next Four Out

UConn

Old Dominion

Richmond

Iona

2015 Bracketology: Getting Down on Friday

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Game with the Biggest Tournament Impact: UNC Over Virginia

In an ACC Tournament that saw mostly chalk prevail in the early rounds, North Carolina pulled off the slight upset they needed to in order to make a colossal shake-up in the bracket. 

North Carolina winning 71-67 over Tony Bennett's squad not only helped them jump Baylor for a three seed, but took Virginia off the one-line.

Though Virginia's resume has more quality wins than Wisconsin's, Justin Anderson playing sparingly in both the team's games in the conference tournament and not scoring in either has to put some doubt into the committee's mind. 

There is a kicker as Wisconsin must win the Big Ten Tournanent, but they have a good chance of reeling that off.

In addition, it was announced Friday that guard Traevon Jackson has been cleared for basketball activity, which can only help their cause.

The Big Winners From Friday: 

• Davidson trailed by six in the final 90 seconds against La Salle, yet engineered a 67-66 win off a magical Tyler Kalinoski shot with time expiring.  Davidson secured a spot in an 8-9 game at least and could jump all the way to six line of everything breaks right.
• Villanova was able to cling to a 63-61 win over Providence.  Villanova went from the fourth-one seed to second courtesy of Virginia and Duke both losing on Friday.  It's hard to believe Bucknell held a lead on their home floor in the final 90 seconds of a game earlier this year, Villanova has certainly grown-up since then. 
• Notre Dame secured a three-seed with a 74-64 win over Duke.  They took two out of three from Duke this season as none other than Bonzie Colson has taken over for Notre Dame.  It does not look like there is a way to jump to a two seed, but never say never if they can knock-off North Carolina Saturday night. 
• Oregon continued their scorch the Pac-12 operation by getting an insane Three from Joe Young to defeat Utah 67-64.  Oregon has won 11 of their last 12 games and has climbed all the way to a six seed.  A win over Arizona in the Pac-12 title game could put them on the five line.
• VCU had leading scorer Treveon Graham go 2-for-11 from the floor, yet managed to defeat a Richmond team that swept them in the regular season.  VCUis a tough team to seed without Briante Weber in the lineup which is why I currently have them as an eight seed, but winning the A10 Tournament would vault them up the board. 
• I've been riding the Temple  bandwagon hard the past few weeks saying they deserve a nine or 10 seed while many had them as one of the last four teams in the field.  With their win over Memphis, my fellow bracketologists now have no way of keeping them out of the field. 
• Kansas had Perry Ellis back from a leg injury as he gave the team 11 points in a win over Baylor.  They are now locked-in on the two line. 
• Kentucky won again, in other news, the sky is blue. 

Biggest Losers:

• UC Davis went 25-5 during the regular season, but is nowhere close to NCAA Tournament consideration after losing to Hawaii in the Big West Tournament semifinals 65-58.  It's a shame too since Cody Hawkins is one of the best all-purpose player in the country, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
• Colorado State cost themselves a shot at improving their seed as they lost to San Diego State 56-43.  I felt they were in play for a six-seed after they managed 27 wins in the regular season.  Most have them lower than the eight-seed I have pegged for them so it will be interesting to see who is right on this intriguing question.
• Staying in the Mountain West, Boise State lost in overtime to a Wyoming team that has battled injury all season long.  Boise State caught Wyoming at the wrong time as Josh Adams and Larry Nance Jr. combined for a whopping 47 points in this one.  Boise State is still an NCAA Tournament team, but they could find themselves heading to Dayton for the First Four.
• Ohio State missed a chance to solidify their resume with a 76-67 loss to Michigan State.  If you look at Ohio State's resume, they are deserving of nothing more than an eight or nine seed.  They beat nobody out of conference, have their RPI sitting at 38, and quite honestly do not have a single good win on the road or a neutral court. 
• Of course LSU is on this list.  They deserve to wear a dunce hat after losing to Auburn 73-70 in overtime.  A week ago, the SEC was in-line for six bids and now they could be down to three.  I have Texas A&M and Ole Miss out of the field with LSU making it in by the hair in their chiny chin-chin and making a road trip to Dayton.
• Conference USA experienced doomsday as top-seeded Louisiana Tech and second-seeded UTEP both lost in the tournament semifinals.  UAB and Middle Tennessee State will do battle for the conference's auto-bid and will receive either a 15 or 16-seed.  This is a league that had Louisiana Tech projected as a 13-seed and Old Dominion going to Dayton as a 12-seed as recently as Thursday.

• Days after sending a media release that spoke of how this team's inhalation of MEAC teams was expected, North Carolina Central lost to Delaware State 63-57.  NC Central had won 35 straight games in conference and their loss means either Hampton or Deleware State is heading to...you guessed it, Dayton.  
• Anyone playing a game where they have to drink whenever the fine city of Dayton appears on the screen...you the real MVP. 
• La Salle losing to the aforementioned Davidson team on that buzzer-beater, can't imagine the pain of losing that way.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-7

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-4

SEC-4

WCC-2

First Four Out

Tulsa

Buffalo

Ole Miss

Miami

Next Four Out

Old Dominion

Richmond

Iona

Murray State

2015 Bracketology: Bubble Trouble

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Recapping a Horrendous Day for Bubble Teams: 

Who were the big losers on Thursday?  Look no further than the entire bubble.  Here's the recap: 

• Illinois killed their slim NCAA Tournament hopes with a 73-55 loss to a Michigan team that resembles more of a MASH unit than a college basketball team. 
• Though off the bubble, Iowa did themselves no favors by dropping their contest with Penn State 67-58.  The went from the 8-9 game to a 10-seed with the loss. 
• Old Dominion was my last team in entering Thursday, they are no longer in after a brutal 59-52 loss to Moddle Tennessee State.  Their wins over LSU and VCU aren't enough to overshadow losses to Western Kenrucky, UAB, and UT-San Antonio. 
• Texas A&M entered Thirsday as my second team out of the bracketology picture, but was issued a TKO by Auburn.  Dropping that one 66-59 to a previously 13-19 squad punches their ticket to the NIT.
• You know it's bad when UCLA beating USC and Indiana taking care of Northwestern had these teams rising up the board, and quickly.
• Texas blew what was an 18-point lead against Iowa State and finishes the season 20-13.  They got a win against Texas Tech to open the Big XII Tournament so I have them in with the struggles of the rest of the bubble teams, but doing that thing called winning would have certainly helped. 
• Ole Miss entered Thursday as one of my final two teams in and exited stage left with a 60-58 loss to South Carolina.  The SEC is having a really bad tournament for trying to get additional teams in the field as just about every bubble team was upset on Thursday. 
• Oklahoma State should make it in the field, but a loss to Oklahoma by 15 didn't help their cause.  They would be in the first four as an 11-seed, but that can't happen since I have Texas in that game as well.  Oklahoma is avoiding Dayton by merit of technicality alone at this point. 
• Miami's NCAA Tournament hopes were dashed when they trailed by 18 at halftime against Notre Dame.  They went on a 19-2 run in the second half and ultimately ran out of gas to get the win. 
• Stanford wrapped up an underwhelming second half of the season by getting steamrolled 80-56 by Utah.  Stick a fork in them, they ended the season losing four of their last five and eight of their last 12. 

Big Winners From Thursday:

While the entire bubble laid a turd on Thursday, there were teams that actually helped their stock on this day.

• Xavier was off the bubble entering their game with Butler, but jumped from the 11 line to the nine by knocking-off Butler in overtime.  Head coach Chris Mack has his team firing on all cylinders at the right time and should be rewarded with a favorable draw on Selection Sunday.  Butler did fall from a six seed to a seven seed by virtue of their loss and Providence's double-digit win over St. John's.
• Baylor was able to thwart an undermanned West Virginia squad 80-70.  Baylor has the best sixth-man in the nation in Taureen Prince, who registered a game-high 18 points.  West Virginia went to the six line with the loss while Baylor anchored-down a three seed.
• By not losing, Boise State won.  Beating Air Force 80-68 is nothing to write home about, but with everyone else around them losing, they should be dancing regardless of whether or not they beat Wyoming on Friday. 
• Kansas was able to crank out a win with both Cliff  Alexander and Perry Ellis on the sidelines against TCU.  Though the 64-59 win doesn't seem impressive given the opponent, they will get back Ellis for the Baylor game on Friday so it's astronomical. 
• North Carolina got a gritty 70-60 win over Louisville as the two exchange a four and five seed with the game. 
• As crazy as it sounds, the 21-9 Buffalo Bulls are in play for an at-large bid.  Thanks to everyone on the bubble crumbling, they could get a bid if they make the MAC Tournament final and lose a close one.  They have the best RPI of any team not in the field at 35 and played Wisconsin and Kentucky tough on the road this season.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-7

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-4

SEC-4

WCC-2

First Four Out

Tulsa

Buffalo

Richmond

Ole Miss

Next Four Out

Miami

Old Dominion

Iona

Murray State

2015 Bracketology: Patriot Games

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Game of the Night: Lafayette Defeats American

When a team earning a 16-seed is the game of the night, you know it's been a slow day of action.

The Patriot League is one that almost always sees a one-vs-two matchup in the tournament final, but Lafayette was the four-seed taking on sixth-seeded American.

The game was played within a few possessions for the final few minutes of the game with Lafayette allowing what was a 13-point lead get shrunk to one.

Lafayette had 18 turnovers in the game, but made up for it by hitting nearly 65 percent of their shots.  They also drained 8 of their 15 threes, which was somehow outdone by American's 10-for-18 display from distance. 

If you enjoy rebounding, this game was not for you as Lafayette won the battle on the boards 24-17. 

Nick Lindner had 25 points and four assists to lead the way for Lafayette, who will make their first trip to the big dance since 2000.

A trip to Dayton awaits them barring an astronomical amount of chaos, and even that might not be enough for them to avoid the first four. 

Biggest Win: NC State Over Pittsburgh

NC State's win over Pittsburgh represents the only game that can be considered an above average win for any team on Wednesday. 

Anthony Barber lit the world ablaze with 34 points and five assists for NC State.  Trevor Lacey made a good companion in Barber's points barrage as he chipped in 21 points and matched the five assists.

If NC State wasn't a lock before Wednesday, they should be now.  They essentially get an extra credit game against Duke on Thursday, a team they knocked-off earlier this year.

Did Texas and Miami Help Themselves? 

Everyone was trumpeting that Texas and Miami needed wins last night to keep their at-large bids alive. 

Honestly, I think Texas is now a lock win or lose with the win against Iowa State, but a loss to Texas Tech would have deflated them.

Miami is still on the outside looking in as their RPI actually drop with their 59-49 win over Virginia Texh since that team is having such a bad season. 

Both certainly did not drive themselves down the board with wins, but neither made any progress with them either. 

They had nothing to gain and everything to lose and fortunately for their sake, they did not lose. 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

CUSA-2

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-5

WCC-2

First Four Out

Indiana

Tulsa

Texas A&M

UCLA

Next Four Out

Miami

Illinois

Buffalo

Stanford

2015 Bracketology: Phoenix Falling

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Biggest Game for Tournament Implications: Gonzaga Defeats BYU

It took a little more time than the casual Gonzaga fan would have liked to see, but they are able to knock off BYU while shooting 66.7 percent from three-point range. 

BYU had the game in single-digits for nearly the whole game until the well ran dry for them the final five minutes of the contest. 

Kyle Collinsworth had 28 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for BYU after registering a triple-double against Portland a night earlier. 

Gonzaga will go dancing as a two-seed with their 32-2 record unless there is mass exodus chaos in the conference tournaments for the power school teams. 

BYU will have to sweat it out on Sunday to learn their ultimate fate, but I have them in as an 11-seed. 

They challenged themselves out of conference and are coming off a huge win at Gonzaga from the end of the WCC season. 

On the Horizon: Valpariaso Knocks-Off UW-Green Bay

Valparaiso and UW-Green Bay were the class of the Horizon Leafue this year so it was only fitting to see them square-off in the conference final.

Green Bay had control all the way through the first half and held a 39-31 edge with under 12 minutes remaining before it all went down the tubes. 

Valparaiso went on a 15-0 run and played stifling  defense to secure the victory.

Green Bay shot 30.2 percent from the floor with Keifer Sykes going 5-of-15 from the field for 14 points. 

Valparaiso's Alec Peters was also cold, going just 3-for-13 from the floor for nine points, but his team won the bench points battle 25-3.

Valparaiso will be heading to the big dance for the second time in three season, likely as a 12-seed this year. 

Green Bay will have to settle for their second-straight NIT apperance as their resume warrants zero consideration for an at-large bid. 

The Bison Take the Battle of the Dakotas

North Dakota State is going dancing for the second straight season after earning a hard-fought 57-56 win over South Dakota State. 

South Dakota State was down nine and turned it into a one-point game in the closing seconds, but could not get their final shot to fall in the waning seconds. 

North Dakota State held a South Dakota State team that had been averaging 73.5 points per game to their season low, tying their output against Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 19.

Unlike their trip to the field of 68 last season, North Dakota will have a new coach in David Richman.  

They also will not be a 12 seed like last season as they have a sub-100 RPI.  I have them slotted as a 15-seed who could make the 14-line if some upsets take place in the conference tournaments.

St. Francis' Curse Continues

You may recall on Monday I talked about how cursed William & Mary is for having never made the NCAA Tournament in what will be 76 tries. 

They are one of the five original 160 Division I teams to do so, the others are Army, the Citidel, Northwestern, and St. Francis (NY.) 

St. Francis had a chance to snap that drought Tuesday night against Rob Morris, but we're unable to get it done on their home floor. 

They lost 66-63 despite Tyreek Jewell having a chance at three free-throws with his team trailing by three in the final 2.4 seconds.

Jewell missed all three shots as that give this game the official final score. 

One of these days it's going to happen for one of these original teams that are still suffering, but it sure seems like they have a curse hovering over them. 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

CUSA-2

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-5

WCC-2

First Four Out

Indiana

Tulsa

Texas A&M

UCLA

Next Four Out

Miami

Illinois

Buffalo

Stanford

 

2015 Bracketology: The Curse of the Tribe Lives On

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Lookout Five Seeds: Wofford is Here

Wofford would have missed the NAA Tournament field, so the fact they held on for a 67-64 win over Furman Monday night should have teams projected on the five seed line feeling nervous.

Wofford has a dynamic playmaker in Karl Cochran that averages nearly 14.5 points and six rebounds per game as a 6-foot-1 guard.  He leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks; I will give my expert analysis and say that's absolutely crazy!

This very team beat NC State on the road this season though they were a bit sketchy against the other power conference they played this season.

While Wofford will not duplicate what Davidson did in 2008 from the SOCON in making the Elite Eight, they could win a game or two if they matchup with squads that don't have great size in the interior.

The Manhattan Project 

With a sub-150 RPI, Manhattan is going to the NCAA Tournament after taking down Iona 79-69 in the MAAC title game on Monday. 

Iona was projected to be either a 12 or 13 seed and would have been an upset candidate had they cracked the field. 

Iona haS one of the best offenses in all of college basketball and showed it by winning at Wake Forest and hanging around with Arkansas.

Their loss puts Manhattan in the play-in game and moves a few teams up a seed. 

Sheading a Tear for William & Mary

Congrats to Northeastern, job well done to them for winning the CAA. 

That being said, my heart goes out to the whole William & Mary program. 

Of the original 160 Division I teams, they are one of five to never make the big dance.  The others are St. Francis (NY), Northwestern, The Citidel, and Army. 

This is the fourth time in eight years they lost in the conference final it begs the question whether this team is the most cursed in all of sports.  I wrote a blog on it last year and I think they give the Chicago Cubs a good run for their money.

No analysis is being given other than the fact that head coach Tony Shaver has done an exceptional job with this program.  He turned this team around from one that couldn't reach double-digit wins for an entire season when he started to being in the hunt for conference tournament titles. 

One of these years William & Mary will go dancing and I'll be there to make sure their shoes are just the right size (wow that was touching.) 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

CUSA-2

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-5

WCC-2

First Four Out

Indiana

Tulsa

Texas A&M

UCLA

Next Four Out

Miami

Illinois

Buffalo

Stanford

2015 Bracketology: Thievery Denied

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Northern Iowa Denies Illinois State an At-Large Bid

The bubble teams could breathe a big sigh of relief as Northern Iowa was able to rally from an 18 point deficit to take the Missouri Valley Tournament title and an at-large bid from Illinois State. 

Northern Iowa committed just three turnovers in the game and took 17 more free throws than their opposition. 

Seth Tuttle had what for him is a pretty average game with 15 points and nine rebounds while Nate Buss was able to come off the bench and match those 15. 

Bubble Watch: SMU Defeats Tulsa

Tulsa took a shot to their at-large hopes with their 67-62 loss to SMU. 

Tulsa's James Woodard buried 10 threes, but SMU was able to overcome hitting 10 fewer threes than Tulsa by converting 11 more free throws 21-of-43 on twos.  Tulsa hit just 9 of their 33 twos while going 12-for-27 from distance.

The loss made me decide whether or not to replace Tulsa's spot in the field with Old Dominion or Indiana. 

Though Indiana has a higher volume of quality wins, Old Dominion has five fewer losses, is 2-0 against the RPI top-50, and is 21 spots higher in the RPI than Indiana.  That convinced me to have them leapfrog Insiana for my final at-large bid.

Wisconsin Makes a Case for a One Seed

Wisconsin is on the outside looking-in at a one seed at this juncture of the season.  Unless Duke, Virginia, or Villanova lose in the conference tournament, Wisconsin's ultimate destiny will be the two line.

They ensured, however, that they are the top two seed to take one of those four number ones if there is a stumble. 

They hit the road to Columbus and picked-apart a good Ohio State squad 72-48 to end the season with the Big Ten title by two games. 

What is killing Wisconsin is their lack of top-25 RPI wins.  The four current one seeds all have at least five while Wisconsin is just 2-2 in such games.  Tough to argue them passing either Virginia or Duke at this point, especially with Virginia having fewer losses than Wisxonsin and Duke winning in Madison.

The conference tournaments will give further clarity to this question, but the Badgers must win the Big step Tournament in convincing fashion and hope Virginia bows out early.

I feel the committee could give Wisconsin a one seed if the resumes for these two are equal because Justin Anderson is a question mark for Virginia after his appendectomy last week. 

Coastal Carolina and North Florida Notch At-Large Bids

If you are a fan of competitive round of 64 games, you should love seeing this.   Coastal Carolina give Virginia fits in the NCAA Tournament last season and won at Auburn earlier this year while North Florida won on the road at Purdue earlier this campaign.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-3

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

CUSA-2

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-5

WCC-2

First Four Out

Indiana

Tulsa

Texas A&M

UCLA

Next Four Out

Miami

Illinois

Buffalo

Stanford

2015 Bracketology: One Week Until Selection Sunday

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Biggest Win for a Bubble Team: LSU Over Arkansas

LSU was among my final two teams in the field entering Saturday, but collected a monster win on the road against Arkansas to hammerlock their invitation to the big dance.

LSU shot better from both the field and three than Arkansas to propel them to the win.  It was huge that they went 9-of-21 from three since the eligible leader in blocked shots and double-double threat, Jordan Mickey, sat this game out. 

With all this said, Keith Hornsby's lone three on the day was a big one as it was deilled with time expiring in a 78-78 game.

The loss droops Arkansas from a four to a five seed, but certainly keeps them in the hunt for a big run in March. 

As for LSU, they go from the lowest-seed first four match to a 10 seed with their effort. 

Wichita State Bounced Early from MVC Tournament

We will have to wait for the third installment of Northern Iowa-Wichita State with Illinois State's 65-62 upset victory. 

Wichita Stare outshot Illinois State by 13, but Illinois State matched in total baskets made and went 17-for-20 from the line compared to Wichita State's 4-of-8. 

The loss drops Wichita State from the bottom of the three-line all the way into a five-seed due to the craziness of Saturday. 

Yesterday's Big Losers: 

• Ole Miss is my final team into the field, and that might be generous after their loss to Vanderbilt at home 86-77.  They lost their of their last four to conclude the regular season and need a good SEC Tournament run just to get legitimate consideration for the field of 68.
• Texas A&M has a very similar resume to Ole Miss as they took a home loss to Alabama 61-60 on Saturday.    They also lost three of four to end the regular season and are currently out while Ole Miss is in since they don't have quite the abundance of quality wins.  However you look at it, the SEC could have an impending doomsday scenario as both Ole Miss and Texas A&M need to string together good conference tournament performences to get into the field.
• The basketball Gods clearly bet on Indiana to defeat Michigan State, but they still couldn't close the deal.  Yogi Ferrell was inexplicably fouled by Denzel Valentine in a two point game with two seconds left, but missed the second free throw.  That miss could be Indiana's season as I took them from my last four in to out of my field as they would have the worst RPI of any team in the field if they were in.
• Illinois needs to pretty much win the Big Ten Tournament to crack the field after their loss to Purdue Saturday 63-58.  They have been hanging into a bubble spot all season long, even without Rayvonte Ruce, but they have had a tough time closing in crunch time.
• Stanford appears to be in the same boat as Illinois, as they were throttled by Arizona 91-69.  They have an RPI of 58, which is ironically right in-between Indiana and Illinois.  This is not a good place to be, in case you haven't noticed. 
• Utah falls off the three-line with a 77-68 loss to Washington.  Utah has now lost three of their last five after looked like a shoe-in for a three seed.  Utah could slip even further down the board with an early exit in the Pac-12 Tournament.
• Harvard could have clinched a bid to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Dartmouth, but Gabas Maldonus made a layup in the closing seconds to prevent this.  Yale and Harvard will have a one-game playoff game to decide who will go dancing.  Yale may have lost in this ordeal, but the fans sure are winning. 
• St. John's did a good job of coming out strong against Villanova, being tied 38-38 late in the first half after leading by 11 at one point in the game.  They proceeded to getting waster layed to them, as Villanova won the second half 55-22.  Lack of depth will likely hurt Steve Lavin's bunch in the tournament.
• Murray State had not lost since November prior to Saturday, but is an NIT lock after their loss to Belmont.  This is tough since they were so dominant this year, but when you don't beat a top-50 team and get steamrolled in most of your losses, it's a losing proposition.  Congratulations to Belmont, but you heart has to go out to Belmont. 
• Virginia did not just lose to Louisville 59-57 last night, but starting guard Justin Anderson underwent an appendectomy Earlier in the week.  There is no timetable for his return, which could hurt Virginia in March.  Even if he is cleared to return for the NCAA Tournament, the question is how close to 100 percent he will be.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-4

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-5

WCC-2

First Four Out

Indiana

Old Dominion

Texas A&M

UCLA

Next Four Out

Miami

Illinois

Buffalo

Stanford

2015 Bracketology: The Race to the Finish

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Game of the Night: Baylor Slips By Texas Tech

Things looked good in the second half for Texas Tech when they took a 51-39 lead with 13 minutes left in the second half, but Baylor was able to storm back for a 77-74 win. 

Texas Tech won the offensive rebounding battle by six, but they neutralized that advantage by hitting just eight of their 19 free throws. 

As a matter of fact, Texas Texh hit two more threes than free throws in the same number of attempts, not a stat you see very often. 

Freshman Devaugntah Williams had a big night for Texas Tech with 28 points, but Taureen Prince came off of Baylor's bench with 24 to respond.

While Williams had a few guys play well around him, they don't compare with Rico Gathers and Kenny Cherry.   Each contributed 18 points while Gathers also collected seven rebounds.

Royce O'Neale hit a pair of key threes in this one to salt it away from Baylor, and protect their current four seed in my bracketology. 

Yale Sew-Up at Least a Share of the Ivy League

Harvard and Yale squared off on Friday to see which team would earn at least a share of the Ivy League title, with Yale picking-up a 62-52 win.

Harvard's run of three straight NCAA Tournament runs is in grave danger after they shot 32.7 percent as a team and just 2-of-17 from three. 

Both teams were unconscious from the free throw line, going a combined 29-of-31, but Yale did their damage by hitting five more threes than Harvard. 

the Ivy League determines its NCAA Tournament by the conference regular season alone, but if two teams tie there is a one-game playoff to determine the winner. 

Harvard must beat Brown tomorrow while Yale needs to knock off a Dartmouth team that is 13-14 this season. 

If Yale gets the win Saturday, they will go to the big dance for the first time since 1962. 

Murray State Outlasts Morehead State: 

After owning a sizable lead for much of the first half over Morehead State for much of the first half, Murray State had to engineer an 11 point comeback to extend their winning streak to 25.

Murray State was smoldering hot at the end of the game, hitting eight of their final nine shots. 

Cameron Payne had another big game for Murray State with 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists, but had help from senior forward Jarvis Williams.

Williams had 23 points and 10 rebounds while fellow senior Jonathan Fairell had five points and 13 boards himself. 

The win was paramount for Murray State as the most win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament, despite a 27-4 record. 

Big South Tournament Chaos

the Big South conference has had tons of evenly-matched teams beating-up on each other all year long, and it has carried over to the conference tournament. 

The top-two seeds lost on Friday as Charleston Southern lost to an 11-22 Longwood Lancers club while High Point lost to a Gardner-Webb team that has upset both Clemson and Purdue this season.

Coastal Carolina is now the highest remaining seed in the tournament, though Winthrop is a pesky team that was one of the best low-major schools in the late 2000's. 

2015 Bracketology: Razor-Thin Margin of Error

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Game of the Night: Arkansas Rallies Against South Carolina

Arkansas led by 20 points early in this game, trailed by double-figures late, but was able to get out of South Carolina with a 78-74 victory. 

Arkansas let the trailed 71-60 with nearly six minutes to go after building that big lead, but managed to wrap the game up with an 18-3 run. 

Bobby Portis helped get the squad back on track by notching 24 points and eight rebounds. 

Anthlin Bell and Michael Qualls also stepped up in a big way, combining for 35 points including five made threes by Bell. 

Arkansas has won 24 games for the first time since the 1996-97 season, when they played UCLA in the National Championship game.

Arkansas is looking at a four seed at this point and could get to the three line if the can can collect a win over Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. 

The Fall of VCU: Davidson Layed Waste to Them

VCU lost for the sixth time in 10 games by losing to Davidson 82-55. 

To keep it simple, Davidson won in every aspect of the game.  Even if most other things were equal, VCU would have stood no shot with Davidson knocking down 11 of their 26 threes to VCU's 1-of-15 performance. 

Another telling number, VCU did not have a single starter in double-figures while Davidson had four not including Jordan Barham's 14 off the bench. 

The win improves Davidson's resume and should guarantee their spot in the NCAA Tournament. 

VCU may have a top-25 RPI, but is down to a nine-seed and could go even lower if they continue to lose.  They are not the same team without Briante Weber and it's unfortunate to see their season derailed by this injury. 

Cardinal Sin: Stanford Loses to Arizona State

Stanford appears to be NIT-bound after their 67-62 loss to Arizona State Thursday night. 

The team was already in a bind with a sub-50 RPI and losing five of their last eight prior to playing in Tempe. 

Chasson Randle has not shot better than 33 percent from the floor since Jan. 31, going a combined 31-for-109 in this stretch. 

Stanford now has a must-win looming at Arizona to end the regular season; needless to say that's not a good place to be. 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-4

ACC-5

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

WCC-2

First Four Out

Purdue

NC State

Old Dominion

UCLA

Next Four Out

Miami

Illinois

Pittsburgh

Stanford

2015 Bracketology: An Irish Celebration

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Game of the Night: Notre Dame Wins at Louisville

Notre Dame helped their resume Wednesday by going into the KFC Yum! Center and beating Louisville 71-59. 

Notre Dame had full control of the game after the first half, leading 42-31 going into the locker room.  Louisville erased the lead with an 11-0 run to start the second half as Notre Dame had a tough time hitting shots to begin the second half. 

The managed to rediscover their stroke, lead by the 7-of-7 shooting performance by Bonzie Colson, who registered 17 points.

Louisville won the offensive rebounding battle 10-3 and lost nearly every other offensive category.

Notre Dame converted 53.5 percent of their field goals and 20-of-25 free throws to put a hammerlock on this game. 

If Demetrius Jackson can drop 21 points every game, this team is one of the most lethal in the country the way Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton have played. 

Louisville is a team that is sloding and clearly misses Chris Jones.  They also have more losses at home than on the road, although most of that has to do with the scheduling. 

Louisville has a big chance at a statement to end ACC play on Saturday against a Virginia team that will likely let Louisville hang around. 

Bubble Watch: 

Lots of bubble teams were in action last night and this is a rapid fire rundown on how they fared. 

• Cincinnati went from a team that was one of my last four in to being solidly in the field by beating Tulsa.  Cincinnati has been a team that does not pass the eye test, but has a number of big wins in spite of that. Tulsa is one of my final teams in after their loss, with their non-conference slate killing them at this point.  Losses to DII Southeastern Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts are tough to shake-off, though going 14-3 in conference helps.  At this point, I think both will make it, but could use a run to the final four of the American Conference Tournament to be safe.  Tulsa has a huge resume-boosting chance Saturday against SMU, a game which will decide the regular season conference crown.
• Purdue hurt their cause on Wednesday with a 72-66 road loss to Michigan State.  Their 11-6 conference record sure looks good, but losses to North Florida and Gardner-Webb are killers.  Raphael Davis needs to score more than two points, which he did Wednesday, for this team to win moving forward.  For Purdue to get into the NCAA Tournament, they must beat Illinois to end the regular season and win at least one game in the Big Ten Tournament to have a realistic chance of making the field of 68. 
• Tennessee entered Baton Rouge on a five game losing streak and took it out on LSU with a 78-63 win.  I had LSU as a bubble team before the game and this loss moved them to being my last team in.  Despite having Jarrell Maryin and Jordan Mickey, LSU lost the rebounding battle as Tennessee shot 16 more field goals than LSU, hitting at a 12 percent better clip.  LSU plays at Arkansas to end the regular season and may need to win it to feel secure about their NCAA Tournament hopes. 
• In an ACC eliminator game of sorts, Miami went into Pittsburgh and came. Out with a gargantuan 67-63 victory.  After missing six of his first seven shots, Miami's leading scorer, Sheldon McClellan, caught fire in the second half, dropping 16 of his 20 points.  Pittsburgh had good ball distribution, assisting on 18 of their 23 baskets, but Miami attempted 10 more free throws than them to make the difference.  Both teams find themselves out of the field and both need good runs in the ACC Tournament just to remain competitive on the bubble.
• UCLA could not afford a loss to USC and took care of business with an 85-74 victory.  UCLA had just two of their 85 points come off the bench as every starter scored at least 12 points.  They remain apart of my first four out and need a big run in the Pac-12 Tournament to make the field.  It's worth noting that they won the tournament last season. 
• San Jose State entered Wednesday having not defeated a DI opponent this season and Boise State did not allow that to change.  They won 67-51 and actually hurt their RPI by 11 spots with how awful San Jose State is.  A win against Fresno State to end regular season play and a final four run in the Mountain West Tournament puts them in the big dance.
• Illinois did what seemingly everyone has this season, beat Nebraska.  Rayvonte Rice had 23 points in a game the badly needed to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes off life-support.  The go to Purdue before the Big Ten Tournament with a chance to get a huge resume-boosting win. 
• Colorado State should not be mentioned as a bubble team, but the best Nevada 78-62 Wednesday night.  They are 25-5 with a 26 RPI, how does anyone have them on the bubble?  They are in...and comfortably. 
• Oregon should also be a lock for the tournament with their 65-62 win.  They have a nice RPI, have won five straight, and nine of their last ten.  Considering Oregon has three scholarship players returning from last season, their season is nothing short of incredible.  Dana Altman deserves consideration for coach of the year...no joke.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-4

ACC-5

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

WCC-2

First Four Out

Purdue

NC State

UCLA

Old Dominion

Next Four Out

Miami

Stanford

Illinois

Pittsburgh

2015 Bracketology: Kansas Takes 11

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 Game of the Night: Kansas Take Their 11th Straight Big XII Crown

West Virginia Mountaineers gave a game-performance Tuesday, but was unable to deny Kansas their 11th straight outright Big XII title. 

Juwan Staten and Gary Browne were could not go for Bob Huggins' squad, but Daxter Miles filled in masterfully with 23 points. 

Kansas dealt with a big injury of their own with Perry Ellis departing late in the first half and could not return with a bum knee. 

West Virginia held an 18 point lead and looked to have this one in the bag, but Kansas must have captured Monday's Hilton Magic as they pulled a similar comeback to win 76-69 in overtime. 

West Virginia could muster just 19 points in the second half as Kansas kept burying free throws. 

Kansas going 34-of-43 at the line offset their putrid 0-for-15 three-point shoot exhibition. 

Frank Mason scored the final six points of the bonus session for Kansas to seal the Mountaineers fate.

West Virginia did absolutely nothing to hurt their seeding as they are without a huge part of their team. 

Kansas would have likely kept their two seed with a loss, but their win meant less deliberating needed on my end.  

Moving to the Bubble: Indiana Falls to Iowa

The Big Ten has a fair number of teams the people perceive to be better than their RPI may indicate.  Indiana and Iowa are two of those teams and on this night, Iowa for a pivotal 77-63 win at Assembly Hall.

Both teams had good production off the bench, with Iowa taking that battle 23-21, but Aaron White made the difference on Tuesday. 

White notched a game-high 21 points, hitting nine of his 10 free throws. 

Indiana did a good job of hitting their threes, canning 10 of their 25 attempts from beyond the arch, but was just 13-of-35 on twos.  They also took 17 fewer free throws than Ipwa due to their willingness to shoot the deep ball. 

The win for Iowa gets them out of traveling to Dayton for the time being while Indiana went from the 8-9 matchup to the First Four. 

The only team that hurt themselves worse last night was Texas A&M, who is also heading to Dayton after their loss to Florida on Tuesday. 

One Seed?  Villanova Survives Creighton

Villanova has run roughshod through their schedule this season, going 27-2 prior to their Tuesday showdown with Creighton. 

They had a difficult time putting away a 13-16 squad on this night though, willing their way to a 76-72 win. 

Darrun Hillard II and JayVaughn Pinkston notched a combined eight points to allow a hot-shooting Creighton team to hang around. 

Back in the Doug McDermott days last year (which feels like an eternity ago for Creighton), they best Villanova twice, putting up instance three-point shooting spectacles each time. 

It was quite 2014 last night, but they did hit 10-of-22 threes and forced Villanova to hit pressure free throws. 

Villanova was focused at the line to get this win, nailing 26-of-31 at the line as a unit. 

Villanova remains a one-seed despite their less than convincing win and has a chance against St. John's on Saturday to prove they can play better. 

The Power of the Wildcats: Kentucky Advances to 30-0

Kentucky entered their game against Georgia on Tuesday with a streak of not trailing for over 140 straight minutes, that came to an end early as Kentucky was down for much of this game.

Georgia looked like they had a chance with a nine point lead with nine minutes to go, but the night of Kentucky took over as they were able to manufacture a 14-0  run and get the 72-64 win.

Despite having more size than every team in the NBA not named the Portland Trail Blazers, Kentuvky lost the rebounding battle 41-38. 

It also was of no help that Georgia shot over 7.5 percent better than them from the floor, but they were able to force eight more turnovers than Georgia to right the ship. 

Georgia was also as cold as ice from downtown, going just 3-of-17 from the contest. 

I am a believer in teams being able to help themselves with a loss, and I rewarded Georgia by moving them from a 10 seed to a nine with their gallant effort. 

Kentucky remains the top team in the field and has just Florida standing in their way of a perfect regular season. 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-4

ACC-5

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

WCC-2

First Four Out

Purdue

NC State

UCLA

Pittsburgh

Next Four Out

Old Dominion

Stanford

Miami

Illinois

2015 Bracketology: O U Sly Cyclones

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Game of the Night: Iowa State Storms Back Against Oklahoma

With the way the first half went, an Iowa State win looked about as likely James Naismith himself playing the second half, but they pulled themselves together for a 77-70 victory. 

Their deficit to Oklahona was as high as 21 before George Niang decided to drop 20 by himself in the second half.  That's made even more impressive by the fact that the team had 18 points the entire first half! 

isaiah Cousins picking up a technical foul for Oklahoma for screaming something inappropriate may have sparked the rally as Iowa State trailed by 20 at the time of the technical. 

Oklahoma went cold from the floor in the second half and hit just 35.5 percent of their shots for the game.

Oklahoma began the night as a three seed while Iowa State was on the four line.  The two have swapped spots following the result. 

Bubble Watch: Texas Gets a Manditory Win Over Baylor

Texas entered Monday night as my last team into the field and stayed there with a much needed 61-59 overtime win over Baylor. 

The game had a dicey moment in overtime when Isaiah Taylor of Texas and Royce O'Neale of Baylor mixed it up a bit after Taylor took an inadvertent elbow to the mouth. 

Both benches cleared as a gathering formed around the two, leading to seven ejections for leaving the bench.

There will be no suspensions as a result of the incidents since neither side was doing any fighting as it was just a giant circle that formed at the scene of the foul. 

Taylor managed to put the incident behind him and sunk the game-winning shot with 4.8 seconds left in the contest. 

Both benches were key as Texas won this battle 30-21 with many of the starters seeing a below-average number of minutes. 

Baylor was able to win the battle on the offensive glass in convincing fashion 21-10, but It did not help that they could only hit 33.3 percent of their shots. 

Texas blocking 11 shots also went a long ways in helping offset that stat. 

Texas is currently one of the teams heading to Dayton for the first four, but they could get out of that precarious spot depending on what the bubble teams do the next two nights. 

Strong Finish: Virginia Heats Up Against Syracuse

Virginia played about as terribly on offense as possible to start their game against Syracuse, notching Two points in over 12 minutes.

The managed to right the ship after that, collecting 57 in the final 27-plus minutes to a 59-47 win. 

London Perrantes has been a warrior for Virginia as he's played through a broken nose and went for 10 points and 10 assists on Monday. 

Virginia uncharacteristically turned the ball over 20 times, but made up for it by winning the rebounding battle 42-20. 

Virginia is a team that I think will eventually get tripped up by their slow pace of play, but they are the second-best team in the nation until otherwise noted. 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-4

ACC-5

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

WCC-2

First Four Out

Purdue

NC State

UCLA

Pittsburgh

Next Four Out

Old Dominion

Stanford

Miami

Illinois

2015 Bracketology: Taking a Bubble Bath

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Game of the Night: Oregon Wins in Palo Alto

Oregon and Stanfors played essentially a make or break game for both these team's bubble chance and Oregon reeled off the 73-70 win. 

Joseph Young and Elgin Cook came up huge for Oregon, matching each other's lines by scoring 21 points to go with five rebounds and two assists.

While the rest of the starters were quiet, Oregon's bench outscored Stanford's 22-5 to give the team enough of a jolt for the victory. 

The only reason Stanford was able to hang around the way they did was by taking 15 more free throws than Oregon, converting 22 to Oregon's 11. 

With the win, Oregon is currently off the bubble, but a loss to Oregon State on Wednesday to close the season would put them back on it. 

Stanford needs to either manufacture a deep run in th Pac-12 Tournament or win at Arizona to have a shot at the big dance.  Both are tall tasks for a team that has lost five of their last eight.

Worst Loss: Pittsburgh Loses to Wake Forest

Pittsburgh looked like a team that had an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume coming into the game, that is, until they lost to a helpless Wake Forest bunch. 

Wins over Notre Dame, Syracuse, and North Carolina had this team in good position for a bid.  They even had leverage for a few games they lost with Cameron Wright missing a few games this season. 

Pittsburgh won most of the battles in this game, getting 17 offensive rebounds to Wake Forest's five and hitting over 50 percent of their threes.

Wake just could not hit enough bunnies to win as they were unable to defeat a team that lost on their home floor to Delaware State.

Pittsburgh went from a trendy team that actually had a shot to get off the bubble with wins in their final three ACC games, to a team that needs wins in the conference tournament to keep hope alive. 

The ACC has some great teams in Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, ext, but the middle of the conference with NC State, Miami, and now Pittsburgh taking horrendous losses as of late has killed them.

What Could Have Been: Purdue Losses at Ohio State

It was all Purdue on Sunday in Columbus for the first half of their game against Ohio State.  They held a double-digit lead and looked like they were going to be able amass a critical road win for their resume.

D'Angelo Russell and company had other ideas, taking their first lead with under eight minutes left in the game and holding on for a 65-61 win. 

Free throws and fast break chances earned Ohio State this one.  They made just two three and four fewer total field goals than Purdue, but took 35 free throws to Ohio State's 13. 

While the team's were close to even in turnovers with Purdue giving it away 14 times to Ohio State's 12, Purdue had just four steals to Ohio State's 10. 

With the way Ohio State runs, it led to tons of fast break points and took Purdue out of their element. 

With the loss, Purdue got leapfrogged by Texas for that final bid, but with games against Michigan State and Illinois looming on the schedule before the Big Ten Tournament, they have two opportunities to get another good win before the conference tournament.

The Champs Are Here: UConn Upsets SMU

UConn's at-large hopes are marginal-at best, but they kept hope alive with an 81-73 victory over SMU Sunday. 

Rodney Purvis has come alive the past few weeks for his squad to win six of their last eight, and registered a career-best 28 against a solid SMU team. 

Markus Kennedy's 18 points off the bench were not enough to offset UConn hitting five more threes than SMU and shooting over 53 percent from the field. 

SMU was the best six-seed on my board heading into the day so they remain at that spot.  UConn is in need of wins against Memphis  and Temple to finish the season in order keep their at-large dreams alive.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-3

AAC-4

ACC-5

Big East-6

Big Ten-6

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

WCC-2

First Four Out

Purdue

NC State

UCLA

Pittsburgh

Next Four Out

Old Dominion

Stanford

Miami

Illinois

 

2015 Bracketology: The Cougars Come Out to Play

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Game of the Night: Gonzaga Gets Upset By BYU

BYU decided they would throw a massive monkey wrench into the bracketology picture by pulling an upset of a Gonzaga team that was riding a 22 game winning streak. 

They caught Gonzaga on their worst night as Kyle Wiljer and Kevin Pangos went a combined 5-of-23 from the floor for 12 points. 

BYU's record-setting triple-double man, Kyle Collinsworth, had another big night with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three assists before fouling out late. 

Tyler Haws entered the game as one of the nation's leading scorers, averaging 22 points per game, but has held to 10 by the Gonzaga defense. 

Just about all facets of the game were equal, which boded well for BYU since it would not had been a surprised if they would have lost the rebounding and three-point shooting battles by a wide margin. 

They win for BYU vaults them into my projected field, replacing an NC State team that lost to a Boston College squad that was 1-14 in ACC play previously. 

The loss for Gonzaga takes them off the one-line and gives that bid to Villanova after they were able to scrape-out a road win against Xavier Saturday. 

Recapping the Big XII Insanity: 

The Big XII had another crazy day, though many of the bottom feeders hurt the team's that will be dancing this March. 

• Kansas found a way to squeak by Texas with a 69-64.  Though the win may have been aided by a late no-call on a Texas layup drive, they can credit Perry Ellis for putting the team on his back.   Ellis had 28 points and 13 rebounds as he and Kelly Oubre took over this game.  Kansas remains a two-seed while Texas is now 1-12 against the RPI top-50 and now find themselves on my first four out.
• Oklahoma State took a shot to the resume by losing to Texas Tech 63-62.  Phil Forte fouled out of this one without scoring a single points as Oklahoma State falls from a seven-seed to a nine.  While the should be in the NCAA Tournament, it would be in their best interest to beat TCU and West Virginia to finish the Big XII regular season. 
• Iowa State dropped from a three seed to a four with their 70-69 loss to Kansas State.  Iowa State lost this game because their bench was outscored by Bruce Weber's bunch 37-3.  While Jameel McKay and Georges Niang can take this team far, they need someone...heck anyone to give them some support off the pine. 
• Baylor completed the season sweep of West Virginia on Saturday, taking it 78-66 with their first half lead going as high as 19 at points.  Taureen Prince might be the best sixth-man in America as he had 20 points in this one.  Baylor and West Virginia are both positioned to be able to make Sweet 16 runs and then role the dice against a high seed. 
• Oklahoma was able to move-up to the three-line with a 67-60 defeat of TCU.  They trailed by eight at the half, but Buddy Hield had another spectacular performance with 21 points and 13 rebounds.  Oklahoma got three points off their bench on Saturday, something that has been a concern for them all season long.  Whether or not they can win in March with that style remains to be seen. 

Pac the House: Arizona Takes Down Utah

Utah suffered their first home loss of the season on Saturday at the hands of Arizona, who strangley enough gave them their most recent loss at home last season.

The stars for each team were cold from the field as Stanley Johnson was 3-of-19 from the floor for Arizona.  Utah's Delon Wright didn't fare much better with a 3-for-10 performance.

Both contributed in other ways as Wright had five assists and five boards while Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds. 

Neither team could hit from the field on this night as they shot a combined 34-for-107.  Arizona was able to attempt 16 more free throws than Utah, hitting 11 more than the home team to get the win. 

Utah remains a three seed as the only team on that seed-line to win yesterday was Maryland. 

Meanwhile, Arizona keeps control of their two-seed and keeps themselves in play for a one-seed if there are some upsets in front of them. 

How About Thirds: 

Saturday saw a triple-overtime games with UAB beating Middle Tennessee State 100-95 in a Conference USA showdown.  

Middle Tennessee had 67 points come from the bench with Perrin Buford and DeVante Jones both scoring over 24 off the bench.

UAB took sole possession of second place in Conference USA play With the win with just two games to play until the conference tournament.

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-2

AAC-4

ACC-6

Big East-6

Big Ten-7

Big XII-6

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-3

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

WCC-2

First Four Out

Davidson

NC State

UCLA

Stanford

Next Four Out

Old Dominion

Buffalo

Miami

Illinois

 

2015 Bracketology: No Changes

Though Harvard lost to Cornell Friday night, it did not affect their seeding and fellow tournament teams Iona and Valpariaso won. 

2015 Bracketology: Attack of the Gophers

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Game of the Night: Minnesota Downs Michigan State in Overtime

Minnesota took this stunner in overtime and could have done it in regulation had Carlos Morris finished a four-point play with 2.2 seconds left in the second half.

Denzel Valentine went for 27 points and seven rebounds mans Travis Trice had 21 points and 10 assists off the bench, but the rest of the Michigan roster failed to produce.

The rest of the starters around Valentine had 23 combined points and Trice had a tough time at the free throw line, hitting six of his 13 attempts.

Minnesota was able to knock-down 29 of their 40 shots at the charity stripe and had six fewer turnovers in the win. 

It was the first win for Minnesota at the Breslin Center in 15 tries and it makes Mochigan State dropping to the 8-9 matchup a possibility. 

West Coast Blowouts: 

The west coast teams allowed those watching on the east side of the country to go to bed early with their dominance. 

• Bubble team Stanford blew out Oregon State 75-48 thanks to a 22-4 run in the second half.  They are still my third team out of the field since nobody lost in front of them. 
• Utah Embarassed Arizona State 83-41, leading at the half 41-9.  Needless to say they did not hurt their seeding Thursday night. 
• Gonzaga clamped down defensively and took care of San Diego 59-39.  Gonzaga is still getting my third number-one seed with that showing. 
• Mid-major Eastern Washington won 92-68 and Arizona pulled the rug out from Colorado en route to an 82-54 win. 

 Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-2

AAC-4

ACC-7

Big East-6

Big Ten-7

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-2

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

First Four Out

UCLA

Boise State

Stanford

Illinois

Next Four Out

BYU

Davidson

Old Dominion

Miami

 

2015 Bracketology: All About that Okafor

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Game of the Night: Duke Wards Off Virginia Tech

Though the game was a bit closer and went five minutes longer than expected, Duke was able to knock off Virginia Tech 91-86 in overtime. 

It was unknown whether Jahlil Okafor would even play in this game, but Duke was glad to have him.  He notched a game-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds, which helped offset the fact the bench had just six of the team's 91 points. 

Both teams stroked it well from three, going a combined 22-of-45 with Duke's poor free-throw shooting give Virginia Tech countless extra lives in this one. 

Duke was just 11-for-22 at the line on this night, with Okafor going 4-of-9. 

Duke has to be concerned about their depth going forward, especially if Okafor's injury lingers. 

The team has eight players that are worthy of receiving minutes with many of the bench players currently playing very limited roles. 

Sometime before the season is over, Duke will run into these issues and it will be interesting to see how they respond. 

Nevertheless, Duke holds down that final one-seed until they suffer a loss or Villanova continues to beat ranked teams by 25+ points. 

Wildcard: Northwestern Upsets Indiana

Indiana is on a weird stretch where they have followed a loss with a win and vise-versa for nine straight games.  Though the opponent was Northwestern, the streak continued as the lost 72-65. 

James Blackmon Jr. had his worst game of the season, going 1-of-10 from the field for six points. 

Indiana could not hit a two-point shot to save their lives, going 11-of-32 on their twos and actually shot better from beyond the arch at 12-for-31. 

Northwestern also outclassed them at the free-throw line, going 14-of-17 compared to Indiana's 7-for-16. 

Turning the ball over four times doesn't do as much for you when your opponent hits 51 percent of their shots like Northwestern did and it sunk Indiana. 

Indiana is still a tournament team at this point, but they are clinging for dear life in the 8-9 matchup and could fall further if they cannot win at least a game in the Big Ten Tournament. 

Big XII Logjam: Baylor Defeats Iowa State

The Big XII teams continue to pound in each other, as this time it was Baylor defeating Iowa State 79-70. 

Taurean Prince was beyond clutch off the bench for Baylor, scoring 20 points and pulling down six boards in the win. 

Iowa State did as well as they could at the free-throw line, hitting 18 of the 20 attempts, but it doesn't make a difference when the opposition hits goes 14-for-26 from three. 

Despite the loss, Iowa State's eight-man rotation looks solid and should be formidable for the rest of the season. 

The Big XII now has three teams on either the three or four-seed line.

Fear of Spiders?  Richmond Sweeps VCU

VCU has been a mystery without Briante Weber, who tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus earlier in February.  The roller coaster continued as they lost in double overtime to Richmond 67-63. 

VCU hit just three of their 19 three-point attempts while Treveon Graham engineered 25 points on just five made field goals. 

VCU going to the free-throw line for 32 shots as compared to Richmond's 20 was the sole reason why they were able to hang around like they did.

VCU's RPI may be number 13, but they sure won't be seeded like that kind of a team. 

I currently have them pegged as a six-seed, but it will take evaluating every game this team plays without Weber to get a read on this squad. 

Bubble Watch: Iowa Beats Illinois

Iowa and Illinois played essentially a win to get into Greg's bracketology game last night and Iowa got the W 68-60. 

Aaron White manhandled this game fire Iowa with 29 points and nine rebounds with nobody else on the squad getting into double-figures. 

Illinois shot incredibly at the free-throw line at 15-of-16, especially on the road, but was nullified by Iowa taking 14 more free-throws.

With the win, Iowa now goes to Dayton as an 11-seed instead of a 12 while Illinois drops off the board in favor of LSU. 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-2

AAC-4

ACC-7

Big East-6

Big Ten-7

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-2

Pac-12-3

SEC-6

First Four Out

UCLA

Boise State

Stanford

Illinois

Next Four Out

BYU

Davidson

Old Dominion

Miami

2015 Bracketology: The Turtles Snap

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CLICK HERE FOR THE BRACKET BREAKDOWN

*Shameless plug, good things happen when your team's coach joins the GP Bracketology podcast.

Game of the Night: Maryland Defeats Wisconsin

Maryland had control of the game in the first half against Wisconsin and was able to neutralize their surge just enough to pull-off a 59-53 victory. 

After leading by 11 to end the first half, Wisconsin was able to quickly able to erase the lead and turn this one into a possession-by-possession game. 

While many would think this style favors Wisconsin, it's actually Maryland that entered the contest 8-0 in games decided by six points or fewer. 

Dez Wells was on his game for Maryland, leading the team in points with 26, seven rebounds, and four assists. 

Wisconsin's Bronson Koenig had his worst start since being inserted into the starting lineup for Treavon Jackson, going 2-of-12 from the floor for six points. 

Maryland was much better with their shot selection that Wisconsin, which is why they hit 48 percent of their field goal tries compared to Wisconsin's 38.5. 

Maryland has the ability to go bonkers from three, but took just seven on this night, hitting two of them. 

Wisconsin, meanwhile, attempted 22 of them, hitting just six of them. 

Since the difference between the two-seeds and the three-seeds is so astronomical, Wisconsin could take another loss before there would be even remotely concerned at falling in the seeding.  What this hurts though is their chances of getting a one-seed because Villanova is now next in line to take one of the top four spots in my bracketology.

As for Maryland, they jumped from my best number five seed all the way to a three.  With Notre Dame and North Carolina losing, this win gives Maryland a top-10 RPI with big wins over Oklahoma State, a sweep of Michigan State, a victory against Iowa State, and now a win over Wisconsin.

Avoiding Dayton: NC State Picks-Up a Win Over North Carolina

NC State's resume is a little bit of a jumbled mess, but there is one thing they have going for them, they have a bunch of quality wins. 

They added a 58-46 victory of North Carolina to their portfolio on Tuesday, at Chapel Hill nonetheless. 

NC State's defense stifled J.P. Tokoto and Marcus Paige, who combined for just 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.  With the bench delivering just four points as well, it made this an anemic night for North Carolina's offense. 

Though NC State shot at essentially the same percentage as North Carolina, they hit four more threes and made six more free throws. 

NC State had great balance with Anthony Barber leading the way with 15 points and Ralston Turner and Trevor Lacey going for 14 apiece. 

The loss puts North Carolina at the five-seed slot for now while NC State climbs to a nine-seed since their quality wins are much greater than those of the rest of the bubble teams.

Getting Horned: Texas Loses Again

Before their loss to Stanford to close out the non-conference slate, Texas was getting serious consideration for a one-seed. 

Thats not happening now as they have lost three straight and nine of their last 14.

i have been highly critical of Isaiah Taylor this season, but he had a stellar game in Texas' 71-64 loss to West Virginia on Tuesday. 

He was able score 13 points on just eight field goal attempts and added six rebounds and four assists along the way. 

The team did have a Myles Turner problem though, as he had seven points and only one rebound due to foul trouble. 

Though Texas has lost to nothing but quality teams, the fact they have lost as many games as they have recently has them sitting in my doghouse as an 11-seed.  They will rise to a 10 if one of the teams in front of them faulter, but speaks to just how badly they are slumping.

West Virginia is now flirting with a four-seed though as they have defeated Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Texas in their last three contests. 

Multi-Bid Conferences

A10-2

AAC-4

ACC-7

Big East-6

Big Ten-8

Big XII-7

Missouri Valley-2

Mountain West-2

Pac-12-3

SEC-5

First Four Out

LSU

Boise State

UCLA

Stanford

Next Four Out

BYU

Old Dominion

Miami

Davidson