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Sunday, November 24, 2024
As conference tournaments get into full swing, the Mountain West takes center stage with its share of drama, including a shocker to end the day. Plus the Huskies get a big win to affect the top of their conference race, the Pac-12 is down to two for its regular season crown, and the Eagles soar above their competitors to control their own destiny in the Big Sky.
Part 3 of our reflection, research and review of Selection Sundays and the NCAA Tournament bubble over the last 35 years looks year-by-year at 1995-99. The stretch saw conference champions like Manhattan and Miami (Ohio) rewarded in 1995, a shift towards mid-pack majors as the 90s drew to a close but also surges by a trio of Midwestern leagues.
Marquette got all they could handle for a while, before their best player took over and got some help along the way. Plus one guy comes through twice in a double overtime game, a few other results of note, and a program goes on probation.
Saturday was a wild day full of Power 5 teams losing to mid-majors, with one struggling conference being the worst offender. Plus a rivalry game tells us something about the winner, a big man returns to action, and one undefeated team falls at the buzzer while another one beats a good road team.
Yes, that is correct: Buffalo won at Syracuse, and it was not an upset. Plus a newly revived rivalry has some gasoline thrown on it, more in the saga of a fired Husky alum and coach, and a Wildcat will be out for a lot of conference play.
Gonzaga reached the national championship game, the big highlight of several in a year where much of the West Coast Conference was in some transition.
Thursday night meant one thing: Cincinnati vs. Xavier. The Crosstown Shootout. The best non-conference rivalry in college basketball, and (in this opinion) one of the top three rivalries in the sport right now.
Thursday was a very good night for the West Coast Conference. It came very close to being an out-of-sight awesome night, but it was still a very productive evening for the conference.
The Great Alaska Shootout is a longtime Thanksgiving weekend tradition in its 39th year, but whether it will reach a 40th year is in question.
After another season with the same old, same old at the top, the WCC has had an off-season of action that implies the conference appears to be at a crossroads.
