With a lot of the perceived worst bubble teams losing over the last couple of days, a lot of what remains to be decided will revolve around the No. 1 seeds, as well as a question of if there are any bid thieves in our midst. And while the questions about bubble teams seemed to get a bit clearer of late, there are more questions about how the No. 1 seeds will play out, something Ted Sarandis and I talked about in our late night podcast.
With Zion Williamson back and playing a big game (31 points on 13-19 shooting along with 11 rebounds), No. 3 Duke edged No. 2 North Carolina 74-73 in the ACC semifinals. This came right after No. 4 Florida State took out No. 1 Virginia 69-59. The thought was that if Duke won, the ACC may get three No. 1 seeds, but with Virginia losing, that may be in question. A lot, however, depends on the SEC Tournament and whether or not Kentucky or Tennessee wins. One of those teams will be in the championship game since they meet on Saturday.
Could Michigan State get into the discussion if they win the Big Ten Tournament? You have to think so, given that the Big Ten has been the deepest conference in the country this season. Their path to the championship got a little help when No. 7 Minnesota edged No. 2 Purdue 75-73 on Friday.
Are any bid thieves left? Well, No. 4 San Diego State could become one for the second year in a row, as they shut down No. 1 Nevada in a 65-56 win, improving to 4-0 against the Wolfpack at neutral sites and reaching the Mountain West championship game for the second year in a row. The Aztecs will not be in the NCAA Tournament without an automatic bid, although a more interesting discussion may be where Nevada should be seeded in the NCAA Tournament. While the Wolfpack have been ranked all year, a good deal of it in the top 10, the reality is the Wolfpack don’t have an eye-popping resume.
There is another one out west, as No. 3 Oregon knocked off No. 2 Arizona State 79-75 in overtime in the second Pac-12 semifinal. No. 1 Washington held off No. 5 Colorado earlier to advance, so there is a chance Oregon shrinks the bubble a little more late Saturday night.
Also, we don’t know who it will be just yet, but someone in the Atlantic 10 will get in that would not get an at-large bid. No. 8 Rhode Island took out No. 1 VCU 75-70 in the Atlantic 10 Tournament to get things going on Friday. VCU is the only Atlantic 10 team with any kind of at-large profile, and they should be in.
One potential bid thief went down on Friday night, as No. 10 West Virginia saw their run in the Big 12 Tournament come to an end at the hands of Kansas 88-74 after the Jayhawks blew it open in the second half.
Much remains to be determined, but as is so often the case, the day before Selection Sunday will provide some anxious moments for bubble teams and a lot for fans and talking heads in the media to discuss in between the great games to be played.
Side Dishes
They won be bid thieves, but No. 4 New Orleans scored one of the bigger wins in mid-major tournaments on the night as they knocked off Southland Conference regular season champion Sam Houston State 79-76 to advance to the championship game on Saturday night.
More coaching news came on the day as UNLV fired Marvin Menzies, Texas A&M made Billy Kennedy’s firing official and Appalachian State fired Jim Fox, while Nebraska said they will decide Tim Miles’ fate at the end of the season and Jeff Neubauer will return to Fordham. Menzies was thought to be on the hot seat despite this being just his third year, as UNLV expects more than what they have done of late.
There is some transfer news as well. William & Mary forward Justin Pierce will graduate and transfer, the first casualty of the school firing Tony Shaver, and San Jose State forward Michael Steadman will transfer, but he will have to sit before playing one year.
The ACC and ESPN announced that the season opener in 2019-20 for all conference members except Duke will consist of a conference game. All games will be broadcast on the new ACC Network (launching August 19, 2019), ESPN2 and ESPNU. While Duke will be in the Champions Classic as usual, the other season openers for conference teams will be Virginia Tech at Clemson, Louisville at Miami, Georgia Tech at NC State (Nov. 5), Wake Forest at Boston College, Notre Dame at North Carolina, Virginia at Syracuse and Florida State at Pittsburgh (Nov. 6)
Staying in the ACC, Georgia Tech received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA. The violations alleged in the notice center on former assistant Darryl LaBarrie taking a recruit on impermissible trips, including a strip club, as well as some cash being part of the deal, with multiple outlets identifying the recruit as former Duke forward Wendell Carter and the booster as former Yellow Jacket guard Jarrett Jack. Georgia Tech has until May 16, 2019 to respond to the allegations.
Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person will plead guilty to taking bribes as part of the FBI’s investigation into corruption. The hearing is set for Tuesday in New York. Person has been accused not only of accepting the bribes to steer certain players to sign with financial advisors later on, but also to help money get to players’ families. He is expected to get a sentence similar to what other previously convicted assistant coaches have received.
Tonight’s Menu
A fun day is ahead with 14 conference championship games and several more semifinals.
- The fun gets going early with the America East championship game, where for the second straight years UMBC visits Vermont (11 a.m., ESPN2)
- The Ivy League Tournament gets going with semifinal action in New Haven, starting with a rematch of last season’s title game as No. 1 Harvard plays No. 4 Penn (12:30 p.m.) and No. 2 Yale takes on No. 3 Princeton (2:30 p.m.)
- The MEAC championship game in Norfolk has No. 1 Norfolk State taking on No. 3 NC Central (1 p.m., ESPN2)
- The Atlantic 10 Tournament has semifinal action with No. 8 Rhode Island taking on No. 4 St. Bonaventure (1 p.m.) and No. 2 Davidson battling No. 6 Saint Louis (3:30 p.m.)
- In the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, No. 1 Michigan State battles No. 4 Wisconsin (1 p.m.) and No. 7 Minnesota takes on No. 3 Michigan (3:30 p.m.)
- The SEC Tournament has semifinal action in Nashville with No. 8 Florida taking on No. 5 Auburn (1 p.m.) and No. 2 Kentucky battling No. 3 Tennessee (3 p.m.)
- In the American Athletic Conference Tournament, semifinal action has No. 1 Houston taking on No. 4 Memphis (3 p.m.) and No. 2 Cincinnati taking on No. 6 Wichita State (5 p.m.)
- The semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament will have No. 1 Georgia State taking on No. 4 Texas State (4 p.m.) and No. 2 UT Arlington taking on No. 3 Georgia Southern (6:30 p.m.)
- The Big 12 championship game in Kansas City will feature No. 3 Kansas taking on No. 5 Iowa State (6 p.m., ESPN)
- In the Mountain West championship game, No. 2 Utah State takes on No. 4 San Diego State (6 p.m., CBS)
- In the SWAC championship game, No. 1 Prairie View A&M takes on No. 2 Texas Southern (6 p.m., ESPNU)
- The Big East championship game will feature No. 1 Villanova and No. 3 Seton Hall (6:30 p.m., FOX)
- In Cleveland, the MAC championship game has No. 1 Buffalo taking on No. 3 Bowling Green (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
- The Big Sky championship game in Boise features No. 1 Montana facing No. 3 Eastern Washington (8 p.m., ESPNU)
- In the ACC championship game, No. 3 Duke takes on No. 4 Florida State (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
- The Conference USA championship game will be the matchup most expected as No. 1 Old Dominion battles No. 2 Western Kentucky (8:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
- The Southland Conference championship game has No. 2 Abilene Christian taking on No. 4 New Orleans (9:30 p.m., ESPN2)
- In the WAC championship game, No. 1 New Mexico State takes on No. 3 Grand Canyon (10 p.m., ESPNU)
- The Pac-12 championship game will pit No. 1 Washington against No. 6 Oregon (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
- The long day ends with the Big West championship game at the Honda Center in Anaheim between No. 1 UC Irvine and No. 3 Cal State Fullerton (midnight, ESPN2)
