The field of 68 is set. And while there is much to feel good about in the big picture, there were a few head-scratchers in the revelation. We talk about much of this on College Basketball Tonight as well.
Thankfully, CBS went right to the selections and didn’t try to drag things out like in past years. They cut to the chase just a couple of minutes into the broadcast. We understand that they need to pay the bills with commercials, but we tune in first and foremost to find out who is in and where.
Things got interesting very quickly as the field was revealed, as we learned that Belmont received an at-large as one of the last four in and will play in the play-in game in the East as one of the No. 11 seeds. Right away, that had to burst someone’s bubble. Not long after that, Michigan State was revealed as the No. 2 seed in the East, which had to have a few people wondering if this took Sunday’s results into effect. With Tennessee getting handled in the SEC championship game earlier in the day (and as we would learn later, being a No. 2 seed as a result), one had to think Michigan State might have had an open door for a No. 1 seed.
In the South, we found that Oklahoma was in comfortably as a No. 9 seed, and it was a bit surprising to see Cincinnati as the No. 7 seed. The Bearcats won the American Athletic Conference Tournament about an hour earlier, and as with Michigan State’s win in the Big Ten, one has to wonder if it even mattered.
The Midwest looks like a strong bracket, though North Carolina and Kentucky are clear favorites. Auburn being a No. 5 was a bit of a surprise, especially in light of other Sunday games not appearing to matter. The Tigers are playing well of late, but their overall resume, while worthy of a clear at-large had they not won the SEC Tournament, isn’t as good as one would have expected. Are they better than Iowa State, the No. 6 seed in that region? That’s debatable. The real surprise was seeing Washington being in as the No. 9 seed, implying that they were not really on the bubble at the end of the day.
When only the West remained, we knew a few bubbles were waiting to burst. We were still waiting to find out if any of Alabama, Arizona State, Clemson, Indiana, Lipscomb, UNC Greensboro, NC State, St. John’s, TCU or Texas would hear their names called, mindful that Arizona State had a fair chance because it was the West region. Arizona State and St. John’s will play each other in the play-in game, while the others in that list will be playing elsewhere.
The end result is that the Pac-12 ends up a three-bid conference, which, frankly, is shocking considering how bad a year they had. And with Washington being in comfortably – not even one of the last four byes, let alone last four in – the committee apparently valued the conference regular season title quite highly, even though the Huskies lost their only meeting with Arizona State and their best non-conference win was not against a lock NCAA Tournament team – it could be any of Western Kentucky, San Diego, Texas A&M or UC Santa Barbara.
The No. 1 seeds raise questions as noted earlier. Gonzaga ended up with a No. 1 seed after all, but were they more deserving than a Tennessee team that beat them head to head and had five more Quadrant 1 wins? Were they more deserving than a Michigan State team that had 13 Quadrant 1 wins (and six more Quadrant 2 wins)? Did Sunday’s Big Ten championship game even matter?
Looking at who did not make it, it is interesting to note that the first four teams out did not include NC State. They were Alabama, Indiana, TCU and UNC Greensboro. NC State had a good NET ranking (33) and went 9-9 in ACC play, and their win over Auburn certainly looks better of late. But their lack of inclusion in the field of 68, as well as being a No. 2 seed in the NIT, may be a message about non-conference scheduling as the Wolfpack had a non-conference SOS of 353. NC State athletic director Debbie Yow released a statement noting her disappointment. They beat up on a bunch of bad teams, including many with new head coaches; this Twitter thread by respected writer Patrick Stevens from the wee hours of Sunday morning is worth checking out, with this being the money tweet:
No one wants to hear about nonconference strength of schedule, but the fact is there hasn’t been a double-digit seed selected as an at-large with a NCSOS of 250 or worse since 2006. That’s the history. Any head coach worth their salt should have some awareness of that trend.
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 17, 2019
As is always the case when the bubble is as big as it has been in recent years and certainly this year, any team that did not get into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large in a power conference had their chances.
In the end, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee did a commendable job overall. There will always be questions, and this year is no different, but the committee has done much, much worse. And once the games get going on Tuesday, the fun begins as if there was never anything remotely resembling a controversy to begin with.
Side Dishes
First, the championship game roundup:
- Yale lost twice to Harvard in the regular season, but when it counted most, the Bulldogs broke away from the Crimson in the second half for a 97-85 win. Yale shot over 60 percent from the field and had five players score in double figures.
- The Atlantic 10 championship game had a heart-stopping ending. St. Bonaventure blew a 15-point first-half lead, but still had a chance down six in the final two minutes. They got two free throws, then after Saint Louis made one free throw, got within two on a three-pointer with just under a minute to go. But Courtney Stockard, who had just made the three-pointer, fouled right on the inbounds despite not needing to, and that was his fifth foul. Saint Louis had another miss at the free throw line, and the Bonnies had three chances, including off a broken play, but none of them dropped and the Billikens survived 55-53 to go dancing.
- Tennessee had a clear shot at a No. 1 seed, but Auburn had other ideas, forcing 17 Volunteer turnovers and breaking away in the second half for an 82-62 win to take home the SEC Tournament championship. The Tigers turned those turnovers into 21 points.
- In the Sun Belt championship game, UT Arlington tried to rally in the second half, but Georgia State had answers every time with five players scoring in double figures in a 73-64 win.
- In the American Athletic Conference championship game, Cincinnati did to Houston what Yale did to Harvard earlier in the day. The Bearcats dropped both regular season meetings with the Cougars, but shut them down on Sunday by holding them below 31 percent shooting as they pulled away for a 69-57 win. Jarron Cumberland, the conference Player of the Year, had 33 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bearcats.
- The final game before postseason play begins was as good as advertised between two rivals playing potentially for a No. 1 seed. Michigan State made all the plays late to score the final ten points of the game and pull out a 65-60 win over Michigan to take home the Big Ten Tournament title.
Virginia Tech will have Justin Robinson back for the NCAA Tournament, which will be a good boost. One of the more underrated players in the country, Robinson has missed the last 12 games due to a foot injury, and the Hokies finished 7-5 after starting 17-3.
Michigan State is not so fortunate with guard Kyle Ahrens, who was injured in the Big Ten championship game on Sunday. The junior went up high for a rebound and landed awkwardly on his left ankle, then collapsed to the floor in obvious pain. While X-rays showed the ankle is not broken, he will miss the NCAA Tournament, which is a hit to their depth. He was able to return to the team bench during the second half with a walking boot and crutches.
The Big East was well-represented in the NIT, where five teams were selected to lead the way and ten teams qualified as regular season champions of their conference but did not reach the NCAA Tournament. The top four seeds are Alabama, Indiana, TCU and UNC Greensboro, and no higher seed will go on the road in the first round. You can find the NIT bracket at this link.
Also announced on Sunday night was the 16-team College Basketball Invitational (CBI) field. That field is highlighted by West Virginia, DePaul and new Division I member California Baptist. With DePaul in this tournament, all ten Big East teams are in a postseason tournament this year. The CBI will begin on Wednesday, March 19 and run right up to before the Final Four, with the best-of-three championship to be played on April 1, 3 and, if necessary, April 6.
Ohio University has wasted little time in hiring a successor to Saul Phillips, as Jeff Boals will leave Stony Brook to take over at his alma mater in Athens. Boals went 55-41 in three seasons at Stony Brook, leading them into the CBI this season. Interim head coach Geno Ford will coach the Seawolves in the CBI.
Tonight’s Menu
The CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) gets going right away with a first round game as NJIT hosts Quinnipiac with a 7 p.m. tip.
