- Has there ever been a less meaningful upset of the number 2 team in the country in the final week of the regular season? UCLA lost and they are still a 1 seed. Washington won and the Huskies are still not at-large worthy.
- You know you are a mid-major addict if VCU vs Drexel looks like the game of the year to you.
- Condolences to the fans of the Bradley Braves and Hofstra Pride. Despite the loss of Patrick Bryant to the NBA, Bradley followed up its Sweet Sixteen run with a 4th place finish in the MVC and a top 50 RPI for much of the season. Sadly, a 1-8 record against the top 50 means Bradley is likely headed to the NIT. Hofstra, arguably the most deserving team left out of last year’s field was part of the CAA’s Elite Four this season, but was the only one of those four teams to fail to make the CAA semifinals. Once again, George Mason was Hofstra’s undoing. Last year George Mason stole the only at-large bid for the CAA, and this year the Patriots knocked Hofstra out in the conference quarterfinals. 5 losses outside the top 100 mean Hofstra’s NCAA hopes are crushed.
- Speaking of the Valley, CBS cannot be happy to see Southern Illinois in the finals again. (Well unless they get some weird joy out of Randal Falker's hair.) This ensures another ugly low scoring defensive battle for the MVC crown. This might work fine after a Big Ten game, but sandwiched between Florida-Kentucky and Duke-North Carolina, I see a lot of people going outside to shovel snow for these two hours. And it was 60 in DC yesterday.
- Wake Forest beat Virginia. In other news, the sun rose in the east. It was reportedly cold at the north poll. Was anyone really surprised to see this? I feel sorry for the Virginia fans. Let’s face it, Virginia and Clemson are cursed.
- Oklahoma St. fell at Baylor which means Oklahoma St. now needs a huge run in the Big 12 tournament. Mario Boggan’s headbutt of Cartier Martin earlier this week led to his suspension and was probably the difference in the game. Hey Mario, you could have ended senior night with a standing ovation and your team headed to the NCAA tournament, but you threw it all away.
- Congrats to A10 regular season champ Xavier. Despite what some people will tell you, Xavier is a lock even if they lose early in the A10 tournament thanks to an 11-5 record against the top 100. (Co-champion UMass probably needs to win the A10 tournament.)
- For the first time since January, Memphis won a CUSA game by less than 10 points! My gut says they are going to get a shockingly poor seed if they lose in the conference tournament. Not quite George Washington as an 8, but quite possibly a 6 seed.
- You know how almost every year the last at-large team is some team from out west that you do not expect? See Air Force and Utah St. in 2006. See Air Force in 2004. See New Mexico in 1999. New Mexico State missed a golden opportunity to be that team this year losing by 4 at Nevada.
- Georgetown says thank-you to Marquette for an out-right Big East crown. It was an impressive home effort by the Golden Eagles who defeated the Pitt Panthers. Playing without Jerel McNeal for the whole game, and Dominic James in the second half, the Golden Eagles held off a furious comeback by Pitt.