Colorado Likely in Field of 68 after Big Game by Burks; Blackbirds and Bears Get Bids

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 9, 2011

With tournaments underway in all the major conferences - and most of the minor ones - college hoops has entered the elimination phase of March Madness.

On Tuesday, it was Villanova deposited atop the NCAA bubble, and Wednesday saw St. John's narrowly defeat Rutgers with a controversial 65-63 win in a game that ended at least 1.7 seconds too soon. The refs who blew the call must have had a prior engagement as they rushed off the court without seeing that St. John's player, Justin Brownlee had stepped out of bounds.

Nonetheless, the result stood and Rutges can go home wondering what might have been.

In the Big 12 tourney, Nebraska saw its hopes dashed in a 53-52 loss to Oklahoma State, while the surging Colorado Buffaloes live to fight another day thanks to an outstanding effort from Alec Burks and his 29 points. The Buffs downed stubborn Iowa State, a team which had knocked off the Buffaloes just a week ago, by a 77-75 score to advance to the next round of the tourney.

Even if the Buffaloes lose to Kansas State - they beat the Wildcats twice during the regular season - Colorado looks comfortably off the bubble as the sixth team in from the Big 12.

Burks, who leads the Buffalos in scoring and assists, produced a double-double with 29 points and 15 boards. A 6'6" sophomore guard that is a match-up nightmare, hit 9 of 16 shots and canned 11 of 14 free throws, adding in six assists and three steals for good measure.

The Buffalos finished the regular season with an 8-8 record, but won four of their last six games and now have a cumulative record of 20-12, seemingly a good enough fit for a pair of dancing shoes.

NOTABLE: A few more teams punched their dance card tickets by winning their conference tournaments on Wednesday. Long Island had to go to overtime to down Robert Morris, 85-82 and grab the bid from the Northeast Conference. The Blackbirds took the regular season crown in a breeze with a 16-2 record and are 25-7 overall.

Coming out of the Big Sky, Northern Colorado will make its first ever NCAA appearance, after winning the regular season (13-3) and slipping by Montana, 65-60, in the tourney final. The 21-10 Bears head to the NCAAs with a seven-game winning streak.

Solomon Bozeman Sends Trojans Dancing; Villanova Bubble-icious

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Solomon Bozeman kept his team in hotly-contested Sun Belt final with North Texas and stepped up with a crucial three-pointer (his only trey of the game) with 1.5 seconds left to put the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans ahead by a point to win the conference tourney, 64-63.

A senior guard, Bozeman was the Sun Belt Player of the Year, and showed why with his clutch, game-winning shot that sends the Trojans to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1990. The North Texas players were stunned and deflated after the winning shot, especially after leading by seven points with under a minute to play.

Bozeman led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 6 of 12 shots from the field (1-for-2 from beyond the arc) and 7 of 8 free throws. He's averaged 16.5 points per game this season and now has the opportunity to add to his, and the Trojans' resume.

NOTABLE: The Villanova Wildcats seem to have dug themselves a hole from which they may not emerge again this season, losing their fifth straight game, in the opening round of the Big East tournament, dropping a 70-69 to South Florida.

Villanova's slide has been pronounced as the Big East season wore on. The Wildcats lost six of their last eight games in the regular season, falling to 9-9 in conference play and now must watch and wait through the Big East tournament to see if the NCAA tournament selection committee still feels they are worthy of an invitation. At 21-11 and sitting out the fun and games at Madison Square Garden, they're looking mighty shaky.

Butler will be dancing once again, after beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Horizon League championship game, 59-44. The Bulldogs, who lost to Duke in last season's NCAA final, took control early and led by 15 points just minutes into the game. Senior Matt Howard was the game's high scorer with 18 points.

Oakland took the Summit League championship with a 90-76 victory over Oral Roberts. The Golden Grizzlies went 17-1 in conference play, easily winning the regular season title and now will represent their conference at the NCAAs.

In the Ivy League, Princeton tied Harvard for first place, winning, 70-58, at Penn, setting up a one-game playoff for the league title and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The game will be played at a neutral site, Saturday, at Yale’s John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Connecticut. Both Princeton and Harvard finished the regular IvY League season with 12-2 records.

Old Dominion, Wofford, St. Peter's, Gonzaga Go Dancing

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, March 7, 2011

Big Frank Hassell dominated in the lane and the Monarchs of Old Dominion ruled over the VCU Rams, 70-65, in the Colonial Athletic Conference tournament final.

Hassell, a 6'9", 255 behemoth, scored 22 points on 8-for-9 shooting, many of his baskets dunks or easy layups on feeds from his hawk-eyed teammates. when he was harassed and fouled, Hassell was efficient at the free throw line, hitting 6 of 7 attempts. He also fell one rebound short of a double-double, grabbing nine boards.

ODU gets the automatic bid for their conference, after finishing tied for second place during the regular season with Hofstra, at 14-4. George Mason, which took the regular season with a 16-2 record, is also expected to receive an invitation to the Big Dance, via the at-large route.

NOTABLE: Two other teams punched their ticket to the NCCA tourney Monday night. Gonzaga outlasted a determined St. Mary's squad to capture the West Coast Conference tournament final, 75-63, and surprising St. Peter's upset Iona, 62-57, to grab the automatic bid from the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference. The Peacocks beat both Fairfield and Iona in the tourney after having lost all four of their regular season games against the two which finished 1-2 in the conference.

Wofford downed Charleston, 77-67, in the Southern Conference tournament final. The Terriers will represent their conference in the NCAAs for the second straight season. Last year, they were taken down in the opening round by Wisconsin, 53-49.