As mentioned above, a few more automatic bids were awarded last night:
ODU 70 - VCU 65 = Just precisely the type of hard-fought battle I expected.
St. Peter's 62 - Iona 57 = Another tight game that could have gone either way.
Wofford 77 - Charleston 67 = This one surprises me a little bit, as I felt CoC was the pick of the Southern this year. But the Terriers were tougher when it counted most, and will Dance next week.
Gonzaga 75 - St. Mary's 63 = Yet this one does not shock me any. The Gaels were one of my early faves out west, but they faded late in the year. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, turned around their early struggles and have gotten hot when it counted most. Gonzaga wins the automatic in the WCC. Will the Gaels get an at-large? They have a case . . . and strange as it seems, that case is not yet closed. Back in February an additional game was added to their schedule against Weber State, so they still have one more chance to make an impression . . . good, or bad.
Three more automatic bids will be won (or lost, depending on your rooting interest) tonight:
AR Little Rock vs. North Texas = This is for the Sun Belt. Aside from knowing North Texas has played well in a few games against tough competition this year, I know nothing. Let's just hope it's an entertaining game.
Oral Roberts vs. Oakland = And I really don't know enough about these two Summit teams to make a cogent comment either, save to say one of them ought to win it.
Butler vs. Wisc. Milwaukee = Here is the battle for the zenith of the Horizon, pitting the darlings of last year's NCAAs against a team they split against during the regular season. Might be a really good game.
Other than that, play begins in several other conference tournaments, namely the Big East, A-10, Mid-Eastern, Mid-American, and Big Sky. Already today in MSG U. Conn ended a 6-game losing streak in Big East Tourney play by beating DePaul 97-71, while Rutgers advanced in the Battle of Jersey by outlasting Seton Hall 76-70 in OT. Other than that, I will ignore most of the early round games, with two exceptions plus the exception of one last regular season game for:
Princeton vs. Penn = As we stand, the Tigers are 1/2-game back of Harvard, with this one final chance to catch them by beating the Quakers. Lose, and it is over. Win, and they will need to face the Crimson in a one-game playoff for the sole Ivy automatic bid. See, JaKaacH? That's what I mean about an important game.
Providence vs. Marquette = This one may not be quite as important for the Golden Eagles, as they may be juuuuuust slightly over that dreaded bubble, at 18-13 and 9-9. However, as is the case with the two Michigan teams mentioned above, better safe than sorry. If the Friars knock Marquette out of the Big East Tourney on the first day, you can bet CBS will have one of those cameras on the team, awaiting their reaction on Selection Sunday.
Dayton vs. U. Mass = And this game is important on the other side of that coin. Both these teams have had fairly good years, but not nearly good enough to get any at-large consideration, what with their 7-9 Atlantic-10 standings. So their only prayer is to make a run in the conference tournament, and hope that, even if they don't win it all, they will win enough to at least put themselves back in the bubble talk. That starts for one of them tonight, and ends for the other.
That's gonna be it for now. Enjoy. And thank you, Drew, for running off to hide while forcing Kendall Marshall to step up and show you how it's supposed to be done.
