Saturday was an interesting night for teams on the NCAA tournament bubble. USA TODAY looks at who some of the winners and losers are.
Note: This post will be updated as games finish.
WINNERS:
Iowa State: Huge four-point win at Kansas State (a team that's essentially locked up its own tourney spot). This could possibly be the one that gets the Cyclones into the field, too. Third Top 50 win, which is looking pretty good compared to some of the teams left on the bubble. (There are at least a handful of teams under consideration here with 0-1 Top 50 wins.)
Arizona: �Beating UCLA (who has seven conference losses now) wasn't impressive in itself, but not losing to UCLA was key for the Wildcats' at-large hopes. Still think Arizona needs to win out and win maybe some Pac-12 tourney games to get into the field.
Texas: Another winner because the Longhorns didn't lose. Texas beat Texas Tech in OT. No matter how ugly it was at times, it still counts as a win. And that's what matters most of all with bubble talk -- Who'd you beat?
LOSERS:
LSU: Yikes. A 72-48 loss to Ole Miss, a team that used to be on the bubble, like, a month ago. This was a pretty terrible loss -- definitely not the kind you can afford when you're a very bubbly team and already below .500 vs. Top 100 teams. Not sure if it knocks the Tigers off the bubble completely, but it's close.
Saint Louis: It's really not the time for a bad loss. Like, a really bad loss. Like, an outside-the-Top-200-of-the-RPI loss. Like, losing to Rhode Island. Saint Louis has been considered a lock by some bracket/bubble analysts, but that's definitely not the case any longer. No Top 50 wins. 6-4 vs. Top 100, but the best team the Billikens have beaten is Washington -- and haven't we been saying all season how bad the Pac-12 is? Yikes.
NC State: Lost to Clemson in OT. That's the Wolfpack's second-worst loss of the season, and it hurts quite a bit. NC State has now lost four games in a row, and only Top 50 opponent left is Miami (Fla.), who's also fading. That one Top 50 win at Miami can't hold this resume up, ... can it?
Seton Hall: Rutgers has played well against some good teams this season, but losing to the Scarlet Knights in OT at this point in the game is a no-no. It's Seton Hall's worst loss of the season, but it's not bad enough to knock the Pirates off the bubble. Three Top 50 wins keep Seton Hall in OK shape for a bid.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/Qb_8vHRXRAA/1
No comments:
Post a Comment