The Madness Begins

1:23 - As day one of the conference tournaments comes to a close we really didn't learn much. We saw plenty of bubble teams lose. In fact, I can't think of one bubble team that did anything to help themselves today, as has been the case for the past few weeks. It's not being called the weakest bubble in years for nothing.

Teams who's bubbles burst today -

Dayton - Sorry, but 9-9 in the A-10 isn't going to cut it. They win this game and they've got a real shot, but their inability to get consistently solid wins in conference ultimately killed them.

UAB - Why did people consider this team "on the bubble" in the first place? One decent win over Kentucky, a win that at the time was nothing to hang your hat on. 5 sub-100 RPI losses to add and this team had to win the conference tournament in order to get the bid. I think the infatuation with Robert Vaden might have been a bit much.

Houston - Another joke of a Conference USA team who also had a "good" win over Kentucky. Pretty laughable that they were ever in the discussion as well. Guess that loss over East Carolina (252 RPI!) isn't looking so good anymore.

Florida - Losing their last 4 games of the season is never a good thing, especially given that before those 4 losses you were on the bubble. They need to win at least one over MSU/Tennessee/Kentucky, and they couldn't do it. Coming out lazy and lacking any sort of pride against an Alabama team that has struggled all year doesn't show too much. The 2 time defending champs are headed for the NIT. Donovan even had this to say about his players afterwards.

Massachusetts - I have a hard time believing this team deserved it in the first place, given that their out of conference wins (at Syracuse, Houston, and Boston College) turned out to be worthless, and they couldn't manage to do better than 10-6 in the A-10. The league is pretty solid this year, but it shouldn't be confused for a power conference quite yet.

Mississippi - This game was enjoyable to watch, as we saw them get break after break yet couldn't manage to get over the hump against a team they beat by 14 just four days ago. It's funny how analysts consistently complain about how weak the SEC is, yet claim that with a run to the semi's or finals of the SEC tournament this Ole Miss team is in. Want to elaborate on that? 10-10 (assuming a loss in the SEC final) is still .500. They would still have wins in conference over just Vandy, Arkansas, and MSU all at home. They managed just one road win, and yet because of their start to the year (13-0), this team is given a break. Every single year a team is given the benefit of the doubt because they're seemingly a good story. It's laughable.

Maryland - Oh the Terrapins. You were barely hanging on to the bubble before the Clemson game almost two weeks ago, and were looking oh so good to seemingly lock up a bid 30 minutes into it. And then you blew a 20 point lead just like that. You take a week off, sure to bounce back right? No, you go out and lose to Virginia by 15, quickly followed by a loss to BC in which led by 15 early on. Gary Williams simply isn't getting it done on the recruiting trail, and the results have shown in the past few years.
Teams that lost but still have a fighting chance -

Here's an ode to the three bubble Pac-10 teams in Arizona State, Oregon, and Arizona who all managed to lose today. All of their resumes are fairly similar, as they each ended up 9-10 in Pac-10 play and all have fairly solid wins inter-conference. If I could I would take all three of these teams, but with how they performed today there is no way the Pac-10 gets 7 in. Each team has a legit argument for an at-large bid, but in the end I only see Arizona making it. Again, this is one of the weakest bubble years in recent memory - an 18-14 (9-10) record in most years isn't going to cut it, no matter the conference strength, schedule strength or whatever. At some point you have to win these games.

You never really advise losing in the first round of your conference tournament. Baylor clearly didn't take that advice as they went down to Colorado, who won just 3 games in conference play this year. As I mentioned earlier, I still believe this team is benefiting from two things - a great start to the season and being a great story because of what this program has gone through. They have 3 decent wins - Notre Dame on a neutral floor, at Texas A&M in 5 OT's, and at home against Kansas State. Okay I'll give you credit for Notre Dame, but the latter two teams still have work to do themselves if they're even going to make the tournament. 3-8 over the RPI Top 50 and this team is a lock? I'll never understand what the perception of teams like Baylor is, really. The media has such a blind infatuation to them that they'll do anything they can to keep them on the right side of the bubble. Losing as a 5 seed in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, which had never happened in its 10 year history and you're on your way to the wrong side. Good thing the rest of the bubble was just as bad today.

Teams that helped themselves -

Well this was certainly rare today. Usually the first major day of conference tournaments is moving day on the bubble, and separates a lot of teams, but now the committee is left to do that. No one team has yet stood up to truly make a case for themselves.

St. Joseph's - To have a shot they have to make the A-10 finals, and that would involve beating Xavier tomorrow (5:30 CT). Beat Xavier and you're in. The committee knows they have to take two teams from the A-10, and this would give them good reason. Oh and there would be an auto-bid up for grabs that Xavier wouldn't be a part of, so could they make it three?

Miami - Another team that has benefited from everyone else being so weak. What have they really done this year besides beat Duke? Beat up on mediocre ACC teams I guess? They were a lock before and with a win over NC State, there's no more doubt.

Texas A&M - Was interested what would happen in this game. Knowing what the Aggies have done this year, who knows, they would have lost by 31 today and I wouldn't have been surprised. One of the most erratic teams in the past years and it's very hard to judge whether they're truly one of the best 34 at large teams in the country. Big match-up tomorrow with KSU - win and they're in, lose and they're sweating it out.

Overall a fun day in conference tournament play, but what else do you expect? This is easily the best time of year, something I truly look forward to every year and its one thing that never disappoints. Should be a great time tomorrow, I look forward to day 2 as we come upon Selection Sunday.

12:32 - Arizona goes down to Stanford. Another bubble team - pretty much total domination in the second half, as Stanford's size did Arizona in.

12:17 - Even though Trent Johnson may not be the best coach, this guy can't even mess up having two 7'0" white big men with multiple skills. How can you defend two of them? They're not exactly stiffs either. Terrible match-up for anyone.

11:47 - And for what it's worth we can go ahead and add Ole Miss to the teams whose bubble burst today. 7-10 in the SEC this year with non-conference wins over Clemson and South Alabama isn't going to cut it.

11:37 - Closing out the day is Arizona-Stanford, already tied up at 35-35, this is a game that if Arizona wins, they're in. If not they're probably still in but truly sweating it on come Sunday. Wouldn't mind seeing their 22 consecutive NCAA tournament appearance streak come to an end, I've always disliked a team that has so much talent but does so little with it.

11:34 - Georgia runs an absolutely flawless play, Ole Miss plays no defense and Dave Bliss gets off a wide open bank shot to win it. Great play, great win for both Georgia and Kentucky. Thank you Dennis Felton.

11:31 - Warren makes all three free throws, just like Huertas did. Georgia should probably attempt to get a shot off here, just a thought.

11:30 - THEY JUST FOULED ON A THREE AGAIN? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

11:24 - My blog just got an inadvertent name drop. Nice.

11:13 - Georgia decides to hold the ball for a tie. No need to go for the win in regulation.

11:10 - Did they really just foul Huertas on a 3 with 7 seconds left? Really?

10:58 - Forgot to mention that it would be big to knock of another SEC bubble team that Kentucky is competing with. Although Kentucky is in a much better position than Ole Miss at this point in time, a win over Kentucky gives them another shot at what's most likely to be MSU who've they already beaten once. Do that and Ole Miss is in very, very good shape.

10:54 - I'll be relieved if Kentucky gets to face a Georgia team they've handled with relative ease tomorrow rather than an Ole Miss team who might outrebound them by no less than 30 without Patterson in there. Ole Miss isn't a great team, but they can beat people, and Chris Warren is liable to put up big numbers at any time.

10:30 - Does Tom Crean ever sit down? Dude paces the sidelines the entire game, no matter what. He's probably looking for his next Dwyane Wade - he owes half his paycheck to him. I'm thankful to this day that Kentucky didn't give this guy a second look in their coaching search.

On a side note, bubble teams are struggling today. Oregon, Arizona State, UAB, Houston, Dayton, Baylor, Maryland, Villanova, and Florida all go down...while Ole Miss is struggling with a Georgia team they beat on the road by 14 just 4 days ago.

On the day no bubble teams truly helped themselves, just making it harder for the committee. No one seems desperate to get off of it, although half the teams I just mentioned had to make deep runs in their respective tournaments anyways.

Arizona-Stanford still to come.

10:05 - Pac-10 bubble teams 0/2 on the day. Arizona up next.

Maryland still doing their best to get invited to the NIT. Enjoy, Gary.

10:01 - The 5 second call sucks. Refs can pretty much call it whenever they want. Does the guy have to be guarding you closely or if you're dribbling in one place for 5 seconds do they call it then too? I don't get it.

9:55 - Seriously though, what is wrong with Tajuan Porter's ear?

9:53 - Ernie Kent just called a timeout and ran off the floor...at least he didn't go Bill Walker on us.

9:43 - Hey did you guys know the Lopez twins like drawing and cartoons? I swear, I had no idea either. Oh yeah, Disney too.

9:12 - Malik Hairston looks strangely similar to Joe Crawford. True story.

8:54- I have a man crush on Mykal Riley.

8:34 - Mark Gottfried sweats one out, he tried his best to blow it though. Alabama-MSU match-up would be interesting if Gottfried knew how to utilize his best players.

8:20 - As Louisville goes down and makes this Big East tournament incredibly mediocre all of the sudden I question what I think about this team. Are they really that good? They've got the personnel but can they put it all together in time for a deep run? I don't really know, but I do know that Pittsburgh was just too tough for them tonight.

8:08 - As Louisville and Pittsburgh head to overtime, Florida has already cut the deficit to 9 in just 10 minutes. Mark Gottfried working his magic.

7:40 - With 8:15 left in the game Terence Williams scores his first points. Pitt continues to out-muscle Louisville with guys like Blair, Young and Brown. Their frontline can give plenty of teams trouble.

7:24 - At the half Alabama leads Florida 46-23. Tips for the second half for Florida - When a team breaks your press 4 or 5 times in a row all leading to points, you should probably stop it. I don't know, that could just be me. Marreesse Speights should probably have more than 0 shots. And when you have 3 guards who can all get to the rim, why do you have 1 free throw? They all happen to be solid free throw shooters too. Stop relying so much on the outside shot (3-12 on 3, 7-26 overall).

Tips for Alabama. Whatever Gottfried tells you, don't listen. Just play.

7:02 - Color commentator says, and I quote - "Alabama can't relax on Florida. Remember, these are the defending champions!" Not that this year's Florida team is different or anything.

6:57 - Star powered Alabama continues its romping 26-5. Don't worry though Mark Gottfried is just getting lucky, he's not actually coaching. Still.

6:50 - Florida giving the committee reason number 8,000 why they shouldn't be near the bubble, down 19-3 to Alabama 6 minutes in. Barring a major turn around by both Florida and OSU I expect to see neither in the field, the first time the prior year's final two do not make the tournament since 1980.

6:40 - I don't care how Louisville started the year, how many internal problems they've had, or how dumb they often tend to play. They're a Final Four team. They have it all. They have size, athleticism, quickness, and shooters. When Sosa decides he doesn't think he's the man and plays within a team concept he can run the point with the best of them. People also tend to forget that they were plagued by injuries, mainly to Padgett and Palacios for much of the first 2+ months.

I always made fun of Padgett and his importance to the Cardinal squad, but he turned out to be the missing piece to their team. He provides leadership that was missing for so long, because guys like Sosa and Caracter think they can run this team. He brought this team together since he came back prior to the Kentucky game in early January.

If this team decides to stop shooting so many three's, as they've gotten better at lately, there's no telling how far they can go. They have the talent to match up with anyone in the country.

6:00 - Second session of games underway, finally. I was getting a little bored watching Minnesota and Northwestern battle it out.

4:38 - Congratulations to Colorado who becomes the first 12 seed in Big 12 Tournament history to win a game. This makes for a lame match-up in Oklahoma-Colorado tomorrow, but somewhere the Sooners are cheering, even though their last game turned out to be a blow out - for Colorado.

I still believe Baylor is in the NCAA Tournament, as their numbers indicate they should be. However in my personal opinion I've never understood how they've gotten the benefit of the doubt in terms of the bubble. They have 3 good wins over Notre Dame, Kansas State, and @Texas A&M. That's as far as it goes. What else has this team really proven to be a tournament team? 3-8 vs. the RPI Top 50 is fairly weak for a team many consider to be a "lock". This loss will hurt them much more than it may look as of now based on how other bubble teams do.

4:20 - Baylor-Colorado goes to double overtime, tied at 74.

Forgot to mention that our man Joe Alexander ended up with 34 in a big time win over UConn. Yesterday it was a question as to whether WVU was on the right side of the bubble as they struggled throughout with Tim Welsh's Friar's; now it's a matter of how high WVU can go.

They controlled the glass against a tough UConn team with a relative ease which was the most surprising part of this game. There is nothing more frustrating than giving up offensive rebound after offensive rebound, especially down the stretch of the game. Although I still believe the Huskies are the better team, I wonder how this team will bounce back from a game like this. It seemed all game long as if they never knew how to handle WVU's defense, and became complacent enough to begin shooting three's. We all know how that works for them.

4:10 - Before I congratulate USC on their win I would like to mention that ASU got robbed in a chance to tie it up with just over 15 seconds to go. Off a missed shot Pendergraph came in and followed up with a dunk, but there was a whistle. Originally it was assumed that it was offensive goal tending, but on a closer look it wasn't. The whistle turns out to be over the back, when everyone going for the rebound under the basket was straight up. The USC player going for the rebound was straight under the basket, and Pendergraph was able to cleanly grab the rebound and score. This play could all but eliminate ASU from an at-large bid and that's too bad.

However, USC controlled the tempo of this game as Mayo continually hit big shot after big shot off of curls, screens and whatever else they could muster for him. His mid-range game and body control has improved as the year has gone along and he showed why he is a big time prospect all game long. As I mentioned earlier, if they were able to get Jefferson and Gibson consistently involved they would win: Both players had 11 points and 9 rebounds, as they controlled the glass out-rebounding ASU 33 to 18.

I would hate to play this USC team in the tournament. They have too much talent and have multiple players who can step up big when they're needed.

Also, how did I not mention in my earlier post that Daniel Hackett is USC's best defender?

4:05 - In the obligatory upset/choke watch we see Colorado force overtime against Baylor. Yeah, the same Colorado who went 3-13 in the Big 12 this year and has an overall 166 RPI. This is also the same Baylor team who is fighting for their at-large lives. They're certainly not playing like a team desperate to make the NCAA tournament. Tip: Don't lose this game Baylor. Historically the 12 seed in the 10 years of the Big 12 Tournament has never won a game, now would not be a good time to stop that.

Oh, and when people say that players should leave college the moment they hear their name mentioned as a first round pick, believe them. Just ask Richard Roby.

3:38 - ILLINOIS WINS! ILLINOIS WINS! This is certainly something we haven't heard all year, being close in so many games but never being able to pull them out. This marks just their 5th Big Ten win in one of its worst years in a long time. It's sad to think about what this program was just a few years ago until Weber became complacent in recruiting. However, he's been on fire lately, getting big time commits from the '08 (Legion transfer), '09, '10, and even a rumored '11 commitment. It was only a matter of time before he figured out what he needed. As they march on to play tomorrow, Illinois fans only dream of what's to come. In future years that is.

3:23 - I'm really sick of commentators calling Davon Jefferson "the X-factor". When a player has been a big time scorer and an important part of your offense and overall scheme the entire year he is ineligible to be "the X-factor". The X-factor to me has been a guy who randomly can come in and put up points in a hurry for a team desperately in need, or a guy who although he doesn't look like he's doing much, brings the team together upon his arrival. Daniel Hackett is USC's X-factor. He doesn't score much, and doesn't do anything truly special, but they are much better with him on the floor.

On a side note, the refs in the UConn-WVU game are getting hilariously whistle happy.

3:09 - I like Connecticut. A lot. Enough to believe they are a potential Final Four team. However, if you can't find a way to get Thabeet active against a relatively undersized team in West Virginia you're not going much of anywhere. He's 7'3", mobile, and athletic, rare for a guy his size, yet they can't find ways to get him the ball. It also doesn't help that they one of the worst perimeter shooting teams in the country.

And to update on my last post, Alexander has 21 points through 28 minutes. The guy can just score - his 5th straight 20 point game including two 32 point outputs.

2:41 - As West Virginia leads Connecticut 42-36 at halftime, I find myself thinking, who is Joe Alexander? The guy has been one of the most effective/important players in the Big East all year, yet no one knows who he is, where he came from, or why he's having such a good year. If anyone knows, please inform me. And the public.

2:29 - Remember OJ Mayo? That guy everyone talked about like he was going to come to USC, put up 40 shots a game, cause a bunch of problems and go pro? You remember him? Well at this point he's been so overhyped, so scrutinized that the ultimate irony has occurred - he's become underrated. He distributes, he creates off the dribble, and even though I criticized him for taking too many three's in the beginning, he's proved he can hit from all over the floor. The elevation on his shot is NBA style. He's just so smooth, rarely gets out of control, and is a very, very smart player. NBA teams are going to regret passing on him in the draft.

2:11 - The most anticipated tournament for me begins - the Pac-10. First up Arizona State-USC. This game is a must-win for Arizona State who according to most is on the wrong side of the bubble, but as we saw a few weeks ago, they can handle it. If Gibson and Jefferson don't get in foul trouble I look for USC to take this, but watch out for Harden to come up with big numbers in a big game as he has all year. We'll see how Arizona State responds when they're playing a big time team not on their home floor. The neutral court is what it's all about - no advantages either way.

1:49 - For those who don't catch much SEC play, and who would given how weak it is this year - Devan Downey is the real deal. In my opinion one of the most underrated players in the country due to being at a school as irrelevant as South Carolina. Outside of maybe DJ Augustin he's the quickest guard I've seen all year, is an outstanding passer who can see the floor with the best of them. One of the best defenders in the SEC at a meager 5'9", he averages upwards of 18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2.4 steals a game. He can control the tempo of the game so well, it's just too bad he decided to go from Cincinnati to South Carolina where he'll never really be heard of again (unless Anthony Grant comes in and makes them relevant).

1:29 - Dayton goes down to Xavier 74-65, fully ending their bubble hopes. This was a team that started off the year so strong, winning at Louisville (although that team was nearly the same as they are now) and over Pittsburgh by 25, they hit a wall when they started A-10 play, going 8-8 in a league many believe just beat up on themselves. This may have been in part to the loss of Chris Wright, who hasn't seen action since January 9th, but even when they romped Pittsburgh he only saw 14 minutes and scored a measly 4 points. I don't know much about this team and don't know why they collapsed, but it's too bad - they were very fun to watch early on in the year.

1:22 - Flipping over to the Texas Tech-Oklahoma State game, I realize that Byron Eaton has been there for 7 years now. Is this guy ever going to run out of eligibility? Exciting game, too bad it's absolutely worthless in the grand scheme of things.

1:13 - Georgetown wins 82-63, and puts on an offensive clinic. 25 assists on 28 field goals is an incredible rate, and when you shoot 17/28 from the three (60.7%) you're not going to lose many games. They need Hibbert for defensive reasons and just to have a body down low for a team seeming to lack in size, but this team without him surely isn't hurting. All of these guys are very smart players, are pass-first, and are able to shoot it. Wouldn't expect less from a JTIII team.

12:56 - And right as I say that Hibbert comes back in for all of a minute and picks up his fifth foul. Final stat line - 15 minutes, 0-1 FG, 0 points, 4 rebounds. Good work, Roy.

12:46 - I've always thought Roy Hibbert was overrated, but for the most part he's a pretty decent player. However, once Roy Hibbert went out with his 4th foul Georgetown began to settle into their offense much better. Being that JTIII's offense is run primarily like a Princeton offense (but clearly with a bunch of athletic guys) there's more space for guys like Wallace and Summers to get into the lane and make an easier pass to the cutters, or kick it back out to guys like Sapp and Freeman who are both very skilled perimeter shooters. Hibbert can be dominant in streaks because he's so tall, but if a team is able to make him move around and double him with quicker, more athletic guys he's can be so ineffective. Stat line through the second half? 0-1 FG, 0 points, 3 rebounds. For a guy who some believe is a lottery pick, come on. I'll be updating this throughout most of the day with ramblings on my observations.

12:24 - Watching the Villanova-Georgetown game I realize that Villanova is just not a team you want to face in the tournament. Still on the bubble, but easily the right side of the bubble due to their significant and easy win over Syracuse yesterday, they can put up points in a hurry. They have guards who can control the game, and much like yesterday in the second half against Syracuse can hit three's at any spot from the floor. You don't immediately look at this team and believe they have a formidable frontline, but they can rotate guys like Pena, Cunningham, Clark, and Drummond pretty well and make it work. I wouldn't want to face a fiery team like this in the tournament because they can do so many things to win.

Don't let the early 5 game losing streak in the Big East fool you, this team is much better now than they were then.

Oh yeah and it didn't help their resume that their losses against NC State and Georgetown were two of the worst end of game calls I've seen in a long time. The committee absolutely has to look at this.