The Morning Dish – Monday, March 14th
Where’s Your Team?: The brackets were revealed, which means that today will be the least productive day of the year in offices around the country. Here are the highlights:
- Most of the No. 1 seeds went as expected. Illinois (29-1) and North Carolina(27-4) were viewed as locks heading into the conference tournaments. Duke (25-5) solidified their No. 1 seed by winning the ACC tournament. But the 4th, Washington (27-5), was a little bit of a surprise. The Huskies from the Pac-10, the conference ranked second by the RPI at the end of the season, won their conference tournament and had wins over Oklahoma, Alabama and Utah away from Seattle.
- Wake Forest (26-5) has the biggest gripe among the No. 2 seeds, but they are matched with the weakest No. 1 seed in Washington. The Demon Deacons’ fatal blow came when they lost in the ACC quarterfinals to NC State without Chris Paul. No. 2 seed Kentucky (25-5) missed out on a potential No. 1 seed with a loss in the SEC final to Florida. Oklahoma State (24-6) earned their No. 2 seed by winning the Big 12 tournament. Connecticut (22-7) earned their No. 2 seed by going 8-2 in the last 10 games, losing to only North Carolina in mid-February and Syracuse in the Big East tournament semifinals.
- Kansas slipped to a No. 3 seed by finishing 3-4 in its last seven games, culminating with a loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 semifinals. Arizona (27-6) and Oklahoma (24-7) earned No. 3 seeds by winning the regular-season title in their respective conferences. Gonzaga (27-4) earned the last No. 3 seed with non-conference wins over Oklahoma State, Washington and Georgia Tech and by closing the season on a 12-game winning streak.
- Louisville (29-4) as a No. 4 seed was perhaps the biggest snub. The Cardinals won the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles, but their only marquee non-conference wins came over Florida and Stanford. Boston College (24-4) also earns a No. 4 seed after a 20-0 start. But the Eagles finished the year 4-4 and lost in the Big East quarterfinals to West Virginia. Florida (23-7) and Syracuse (27-6) earned the other No. 4 seeds by winning their conference tournaments.
- Teams like New Mexico, UTEP, George Washington, Old Dominion, UW-Milwaukee and Vermont all did themselves a favor by winning their conference tournaments. Each of these teams finished with a seed below the last at-large team that made it. The last three teams in, who all got No. 11 seeds, were Northern Iowa (21-10), giving the Missouri Valley Conference three bids, UCLA (18-10), another team benefiting from the Pac-10’s RPI rating, and UAB (21-10), likely getting into the tournament over DePaul by beating them in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament. The last three teams in before these were St. Mary’s, NC State and Iowa.
- Several big name teams were on the outside looking in, but each had warts on their resume. Maryland (16-12) beat Duke twice but lost their last four games of the season, including the opening-round game in the ACC tournament against Clemson. Notre Dame (17-11) handed Boston College its first loss but lost four of the last five, including in the opening round of the Big East tournament to last-place Rutgers. Indiana (15-13) had 10 wins in the Big Ten but were beaten down by a brutal non-conference schedule. The Hoosiers finished with only 15 wins and the final nail in their coffin came with a quarterfinal loss to fellow bubble team Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. Miami, Ohio, (18-10) and Buffalo (22-9) were this year’s MAC victims despite high RPIs and solid records against teams with top 100 RPIs.
- One of the most intriguing match ups in the first round is No.7 Southern Illinois facing No. 10 St. Mary’s in the Chicago bracket. Both teams are mid-majors that earned at-large berths and are eager to prove they belong. In the second round, potential No. 4 / No. 5 match ups include Louisville/Georgia Tech in Albuquerque and Florida/Villanova in Syracuse, which would pit teams that are considered dark horses for the Final Four. The Elite 8 has some great possibilities too. In the Syracuse bracket, Roy Williams has a chance to lead his North Carolina Tar Heels against his former team Kansas. In Austin, if the brackets play out, Duke will face Kentucky in a rematch of the greatest college basketball game ever. In Albuquerque, there’s the chance for the battle of Washington with Washington against Gonzaga.
The Other Bracket: The National Invitation Tournament pairings were also announced for those teams snubbed in the NCAAs. Memphis, DePaul, St. Joseph’s, Georgetown and 31 others join the teams mentioned above in a battle for No. 66 in a tournament that culminates in Madison Square Garden on March 31.
BC Guard Escapes Attack: Early Saturday morning, Boston College senior guard Jermaine Watson escaped an attack from multiple assailants who entered his apartment. The police responded to a call from neighbors who heard a fight at the apartment and found a disheveled but empty apartment. The police found Watson and a friend hiding in nearby bushes. Watson said four or five masked men entered the apartment with weapons, and he was able to escape out the window from his second-floor apartment. Police had visited the apartment earlier in that evening after a woman was pushed down after refusing to leave a party that had ended. Watson hasn’t started a game this season for the Eagles but has still averaged 10 points a game off the bench.
Last Day of Conference Tournament Finals: Visit Thirteen Days: Championship Week for in depth recaps of all the games, as these six teams earned automatic berths:
- Duke punched its ticket and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs with a 69-64 win against Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament. Duke went 11 minutes without a field goal in the second half before Shelden Williams tipped in a missed free throw with four seconds remaining to ice the game. J.J. Redick scored 26 points for Duke and was named tournament MVP. Jarret Jack led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points despite injuring his ankle in the second half.
- Illinois won the Big Ten tournament with a 54-43 win against Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini shot just under 36 percent but held Wisconsin to 14-of-52 shooting from the field, just less than 27 percent. James Augustine had 12 points and nine rebounds and was named tournament MVP. No Badger reached double figures as Alando Tucker led Wisconsin with only nine points.
- Last Sunday, Florida eked out a one-point win against Kentucky to close the regular season. Yesterday’s rematch in the SEC tournament wasn’t quite as difficult. The Gators used a 21-2 run in the second half to erase a seven-point deficit and blitz the Wildcats 70-53. Matt Walsh scored 26 points for Florida and was named tournament MVP. Kelenna Azubuike led Kentucky with 17 points but was the only Wildcat in double figures.
- Oklahoma State withstood a furious rally from Texas Tech and held on for a 72-68 win in the Big 12 championship. The Cowboys led by 12 early in the second half before a 22-4 Red Raider run gave Texas Tech the lead. Tournament MVP Joey Graham scored 16 points for Oklahoma State, including a three-point play with just more than two minutes to go to give his team the lead for good. Jarrius Jackson and Ronald Ross each had 22 points to lead the Red Raiders.
- Alabama A&M used a big second half to beat Alabama State 72-53 and earn a trip to the Big Dance by winning the SWAC tournament. Obie Trotter scored 24 points, all on three-pointers, to pace the Bulldogs who are making their first playoff appearance since moving up to Division I in 1999.
- Southeastern Louisiana beat Northwestern State 49-42 to earn the Southland Conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Ricky Woods scored 16 points to led the Lions to their 24th win of the season and their first ever trip to the big dance.
Tonight’s Menu
• And you thought there were no games! The NIT opens with Marquette hosting Western Michigan.
