Selection Sunday-eve LIVE BLOG

1:33pm 

First thing’s first, here’s today’s bracket (Click to enlarge)

 

The Play-In Game is Mount Saint Mary’s vs. Mississippi Valley State.

The bracket was updated at 4:15 after I realized I had Stephen F. Austin still in the bracket, so they needed to be replaced.

1:50

Let’s break things down a little bit.

The last four in Today’s Bracket were Illinois State, South Alabama, Villanova, and Ohio State.  The First Four out were Arizona State, VCU, Virginia Tech, and Oregon. 

Let’s look at it by conference.  Teams in ALL CAPS are locks to make it.  All others are considered on the bubble, but in.  (*Highest remaining seed in conference tournament, likely automatic bid; **Clinched Conference’s automatic bid)

Big East (8): *GEORGETOWN, LOUISVILLE, MARQUETTE, NOTRE DAME, UCONN, WEST VIRGINIA, PITT, Villanova.

Big 12 (6): *TEXAS, KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M

PAC 10 (5): *UCLA, STANFORD, WASHINGTON STATE, USC, ARIZONA

SEC (5): *TENNESSEE, VANDERBILT, MISSISSIPPI STATE, Kentucky, Arkansas

Big Ten (5): *WISCONSIN, INDIANA, PURDUE, MICHIGAN STATE, Ohio State

ACC (4): DUKE, *UNC, CLEMSON, MIAMI (FL)

West Coast (3): GONZAGA, SAINT MARY’S, **SAN DIEGO

A10 (3): XAVIER, St. Joes, *Temple 

Mountian West (2): BYU, unlv

One-and-Done Conferences (24): *MEMPHIS,  **BUTLER, **CORNELL, **BELMONT, **WINTHROP, **DRAKE, **AUSTIN PEAY, **DAVIDSON, **GEORGE MASON, **SIENA, **ORAL ROBERTS, **WESTERN KENTUCKY, **PORTLAND STATE, **MOUNT SAINT MARY’S, *Kent State, *northwestern state, *cal state fullerton, *new mexico state, *morgan state, *mississippi valley state

2:08

Let’s take a look at yesterday’s top storylines-

Saint Joe’s was the biggest winner, as the Red Hawks punched thier ticket by beating Xavier for the second time in a week.  They’ll take on Temple for the A10 Championship tonight.  Right now the Owls hold the A10’s automatic bid in the bracket, but they could very well take a bubble spot should they lose after following up thier regular season runner-up finish with at least a A10 tournament runner-up spot.

Indiana was yesterday’s biggest loser, falling to Minnesota on a last second show.  The loss continues to raise concerns about IU’s play since Kalvin Sampson was fired.

Speaking of Minnesota, the Gophers take on Illinois in the Big Ten Semifinal in a couple hours.  The winner will have a chance at the Big Ten’s automatic bid in tomorrow’s Championship Game.

And speaking of that, Purude’s chances for a spot in the Power 16 took a major hit after falling to Illinois in the Big Ten Quarterfinals.

Virginia Tech nearly played it’s way back into the field with a win over Miami.  If they can get past North Carolina today, they’ll make the cut.

North Carolina looked to clinch a top seed after advancing the the ACC semifinals.  You can also say the same for UCLA, who will play for the PAC 10 Title tonight, and Memphis, who destroyed Tulsa for the Conference USA title earlier today.   Tennessee’s could clinch it with a win today, especially now that tomorrow’s SEC game has been moved back to 3:30.

Speaking of which, if you haven’t heard, the SEC tournament is a complete mess due to an F2 tornado that ripped through Atlanta last night.  The winner of the Georgia/Kentucky game will have to take the court again later tonight against Mississippi State.  The games are also now being played at Georgia Tech, and in front of players parents, band members, cheerleaders, and credentialed personell only.

After spending most the year on top of the league standings, American University punched thier ticket to the dance by claiming the Patriot League’s automatic bid.

Georgetown looks scary good right now.  Pitt is peaking at the right time.  It should be one hell of a Big East Championship Game tonight in the Garden.

2:53

Today’s Action:

Congrats to Maryland-Baltimore County, aka UMBC, for punching thier ticket to the dance this morning, using a dominating start to cruise to an 82-65 win and the America East Conference Championship.

As I said earlier, Memphis DE-STRYOED Tulsa this morning to completed an undefeated season against Conference USA foes.  If UNC slips up this weekend, the Tigers are first in line to fill in the Tournament’s top overall spot.

Kentucky just lost to Georgia, although with the chaos that has been the SEC Tournament, I don’t think the selection committee will hold it against them.  Hopefully they’re not tired, because the Bulldogs now have to take on Mississippi State at about 8pm tonight.

Currently going on:

Virginia Tech is tied with North Carolina at the half.  If they can pull out the upset, they’re in, Ohio State’s out.

Oklahoma’s up one on Texas with 5:42 left in the first as the Sooners look to make a statement heading into the dance.

Michigan State leads Wisconsin by 2 at halftime as the Spartans hope to crack the Power 16

Later on:

Stanford vs. UCLA, PAC 10 Championship:  I think the Bruins are safe on the first line, but I’ve been high on UCLA all year.  A win here would eliminate the speculation.  Stanford hopes a win here could help them make a run at the bracket’s second line.

Arkansas vs. Tennessee, SEC Semifinal: The Hogs all but locked thier spot up after yesterday’s win over Vanderbilt.  Tennessee struggles in the SEC Tournament.  This could be Arkansas chance to make a statement.

UNLV vs. BYU, Mountian West Championship:  Both teams solidly in the field, a win here would improve either teams stock, and most likely a spot on the 6th line in tomorrow’s bracket. 

Akron vs. Kent State, MAC Championship: The Zips hope to steal away a bubble bid with the win.

Jackson State vs. Mississsippi Valley State, SWAC Championship: The winner might as well head straight to Dayton for Tuesday’s play-in game.

Coppin State vs. Morgan State, MEAC Championship: CSU hopes to ruin Morgan State’s run as the MEAC’s top dog all year.

Boise State vs. New Mexico State, WAC Championship.  The Aggies hope to repeat as WAC Champs.  Playing this one on thier home court should help.

UC-Irvine vs. Cal State Fullerton, Big West Championship: Baseball power Fullerton hopes to make some noise in the tournament, basketball style

3:15

With 6:18 left, Virginia Tech is up 5 on North Carolina.  Can they really pull this one out and sneak back in the field?

3:41

Michigan State is in the midst of a meltdown after leading by double digits. 

Meanwhile, Tyler Hansborough and UNC survived a big scare by coming back and hitting the winning shot vs. Virginia Tech.  Now, is a competitive showing like this with one of the nation’s best enough to get the Hokies in?

3:51