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Monday, December 23, 2024
Boston University won its first Patriot League championship, and the long haul for their coach has the desired result at last. Plus many tournaments get going, one postseason event won’t happen at all, and a coach takes ill during a season-ending loss.
Part 6 of our year-by-year deep dives looking at the NCAA Tournament bubbles past brings us to the years 2010-14. The 68-team tourney arrives, TV commentators go ballistic about VCU’s selection in its Final Four year, and inspired picks in 2012 and 2013 are followed by a decided shift in committee philosophy the next year.
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.
It doesn’t happen often, but a visiting team won in John Paul Jones Arena, and they now will be interesting to track from an NCAA Tournament perspective. Plus the Diamond Head Classic gets underway and ends with a good one, and the Lobos will be down two starters for the time being.
For the second week in a row, Kentucky didn’t look quite like the team they did on opening night, but this time didn’t pay the same price for it. Plus the Aggies keep winning without a key player, a Blazer is gone, and a few other games had noteworthy results.
Old Dominion won the regular season and tournament titles in Conference USA, which was actually an improved conference again but whose razor-thin difference between many squads mean it didn’t always show.
Some quick end-of-January notes from around the country looking at N.C. State, the battle atop the Big West, Tom Izzo’s transition game, Lipscomb, UAB, Saint Mary’s and our favorite name of the season.
One of the sport’s best rivalries in recent years didn’t deliver what many expected, but Belmont’s win over Murray State was impressive nonetheless. Also, Hofstra keeps nation’s longest streak going, Wofford/Samford dandy, Michigan State shows it’s a top-level Final Four contender and Texas State among teams having quietly outstanding years.
As the fun of in-season tournaments largely comes to an end, it’s a great day for one particular conference. Plus one team that beat the champs keeps winning, as does a team that has had some potential and might be ready to turn a corner again.
Middle Tennessee State, Old Dominion and Marshall led a vastly improved Conference USA this year, one that yet again pulled a surprise in the NCAA Tournament.
