Madness Begins: Conference Tourneys Underway

Some of the lesser conferences already have tournaments underway, vying for the right to represent in the NCAA Tournament. Major conferences still have regular season games going this weekend, some of which will determine titles.

With a full slate on tap for today, I'll be giving some picks and pointers, plus recaps from Friday night.

Most eyes are focused on the Missouri Valley, where the Salukis of Southern Illinois are expected to get to the title game and win it. But the MVC may be sending 3 or 4 teams to the Big Dance, so whichever team comes out on top, it will be battle-tested.

Quarterfinal action from the MVC:

Bradley 51 Northern Iowa 48 - Bradley moved on to play Southern Illinois on Saturday in the semifinals.

#11 Southern Illinois 71 Drake 59 - The Salukis won their 12th straight game, propelled by Matt Shaw and Jamaal Tatum. Each scored 19 points to move Southern Ill. into the semis against Bradley.

Creighton 59 Indiana St. 38 - Creighton's defense did the trick, holding the Sycamores to just 23% shooting. The #2 seed in the MVC tourney will play Missouri St. on Saturday in one semifinal.

Missouri St. 67 Wichita St. 64 - Last season, the Shockers made an impressive run in the NCAA tourney. This year, they couldn't even get through their own conference. The Missouri St. Bears pulled out a close win to advance to Saturday's semifinal game against Creighton.

Saturday's Picks (all times Eastern):

12:00 pm - #15 Texas 22-7 at #3 Kansas (-9.5) - Texas can tie the Jayhawks (and possibly Texas A&M if they win at Missouri) for first in the Big 12 and a share of the conference championship with a win, but the linesmakers don't foresee a close game. I beg to differ. KU is riding a 7-game win streak, but the Longhorns have won 6 straight. Kansas plays tough defense and have only lost twice at home. The Longhorns aren't the greatest on the road, but they've developed as the season progressed and are a legitimate threat to win this. Take the points and enjoy what may be a classic.

1:00 pm - Virginia (-4) at Wake Forest - The Cavaliers can wrap up the ACC championship with a win and Wake Forest hasn't put up much resistance this season, winning only 4 times in the ACC and tied for last place with Miami. Though the Demon Deacons have won their last 2 home games, they were against Clemson and Miami. Virginia should roll to an easy win.

2:00 pm - Syracuse at Villanova (-6) - A sucker line if there ever was one. The Orange are seeking higher NCAA seeding and already beat the Wildcats at the Dome earlier this year. Villanova is in a must-win situation, but they haven't been competitive lately against the top teams in the Big East. Syracuse knows what's riding here and should win this one.

2:30 pm - Bradley vs. Southern Illinois (no line) - I'd make Southern Ill. a 3 to 5 point favorite here and take them over Bradley, though it will be a close game. These two met twice already this season. Bradley won at home, 48-46, but the Salukis were on the tail end of a three-game road trip back then in January. Southern Ill. returned the favor, 60-50 on their home hardwood on Feb. 7. The Salukis should handle them.

4:00 pm - #1 Ohio St. (-4.5) at Michigan - Ohio State can wrap up the Big 10 championship with a win here, but the Wolverines are 6-1 at home in the Big 10 this season. The Buckeyes are riding a 13-game win streak and have had nearly a week off since their big win over Wisconsin. This one is not likely to be close as the Buckeyes roll towards a #1 seeding in the NCAA tourney.

5:00 pm - Loyola Chicago vs. #18 Butler (no line) - If they make Butler a favorite of 5 or more, take the points. Loyola beat them less than two weeks ago and even though the Bulldogs are ranked and shared the Horizon League title with Wright St., they may be a bit overrated. We're going to find out.

7:00 pm - #23 USC at #13 Washington St. (-5) - The Cougars should handle the Trojans here. USC was dumped badly at Washington on Thursday and don't do well on the road. They've lost 3 off their last 4 road games while Washington St. is 6-2 at home in PAC-10 play. The Cougars may run the Trojans right off the court.

9:00 pm - #12) Pittsburgh at #20 Marquette (-2) - A loss by the Panthers could cost them the Big East championship if Georgetown beats UConn today. Don't count on it. Marquette has lost 4 of their last 5 and look mighty vulnerable even at home.

10:00 pm - New Mexico St. at #10 Nevada (-10) - Nevada has already wrapped up the WAC title, so this game has less meaning for them and the Aggies will want to make a statement to the selection committee. New Mexico St. beat the Wolf pack back on Jan. 20, 73-80, but this will be on the Wolf Pack's home court. Nevada should win this, but it could be an upset and will likely be close. It is, after all, March 3rd, and the madness has begun.

Virginia Takes Top Spot in ACC

Virginia 69 #21 Virginia Tech 56While North Carolina was being stung by the Yellow Jackets at Georgia Tech, the Virginia Cavaliers stepped up, avenged an earlier loss and grabbed 1st place in the ACC with a win over in-state rival Virginia Tech, 69-56. The 11-4 Cavaliers can win the title outright with a win over the conference's weakest team, 4-11 Wake Forest, on Saturday. It would mark Virginia's first ACC championship since 1995.

Spending most of the season in relatively unranked obscurity, Virginia, led by Sean Singletary's 17 points, hammered the visiting Hokies with 10 3-pointers (10-16, 63%), while Virginia Tech struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 2 of 15 attempts (13%). The win was payback for a Feb. 10, 84-57 thumping by Tech which ended a 7-game Virginia win streak.

Georgia Tech 84 #8 North Carolina 77 - With an NCAA invitation possibly hanging in the balance, Georgia Tech lured the ACC's top team to Atlanta and ambushed them, handing the (24-6, 10-5) Tar Heels their second consecutive road loss.

Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 25 points, helped by Javaris Crittenton's 11 assists. Hitting key free throws as time wore down, the Yellow Jackets held on to a 49-42 halftime lead, allowing North Carolina to get no closer than 4 points in the second half. Tech's Javaris Crittenton and Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough both recorded double-doubles. Crittendon scored 13 points with 11 rebounds, while Hansbrough tallied 16 and 10.

The Tar Heels host Duke in their season finale on Sunday as Georgia Tech closes out at home with Boston College the same day. A Yellow Jacket win and a Duke loss would tie those two at 8-8 in the conference, leaving success or failure in the ACC tournament as the final arbiter for an NCAA bid. Nothing's being taken for granted at North Carolina, however. The Tar Heels have lost 3 of their last 5.

#6 Memphis 78 UTEP 67 - The 26-3 Tigers got one step closer to completing an undefeated conference run with another easy road win in the watered-down Conference-USA. At 15-0 in C-USA, Memphis closes out their regular season Saturday night at cellar-dweller SMU, which has won only 3 conference games.

The easy conference schedule may be injurious to Memphis garnering a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. With only one win over a ranked team - an 80-63 win over Kentucky back in November - the selection committee may not look kindly at the Tigers' 18-game win streak (19 if they win at SMU). A #1 seed is probably not in the equation, though a #2 would be a distinct possibility. The overall depth in the 10-12 top teams nationally may send Memphis into March Madness as a #3 seed, however.

#2 UCLA 53 #13 Washington St. 45 - The 2nd-ranked Bruins wrapped up their 2nd consecutive PAC-10 title with a road win over their closest conference rival. As usual, the Bruins did it more with defense than offense, holding the Cougars to 38% shooting, including 1-10 from 3-point range. UCLA didn't fare much better from behind the arc, hitting only 2 of 13 of their attempts. The Bruins did force 14 turnovers and only committed 10 fouls. UCLA improved to 15-2 in the PAC-10 and 26-3 overall with only a Saturday date at Washington left in their regular season schedule.

The Bruins are in position to be the #1 seed in the Western region of the NCAA Tournament. Washington St. fell to 12-5 and 23-6, and will likely end up as a 3 or 4 seed.

Washington 85 #23 USC 70 - Southern Cal just didn't look like a tournament team last night as Washington rolled to a win at home. Against the Trojans' soft defense, the Huskies managed to shoot 52%, dropping in 10 of their 18 3-point attempts. USC struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only 5-18 (28%). Nick Young racked up 26 points for the Bruins, but his effort was hardly enough to derail the host Huskies.

USC can still help themselves out with a win at Washington in their season finale. Considered a good bet to reach the field of 65, the Trojans have 6 wins over ranked teams already in their pocket, though 2 each were against Arizona and Oregon. Washington St. won their first meeting, at USC, 58-55, on December 30.

Utah St. 79 #10 Nevada 77 (OT) - The Nevada Wolf Pack had already clinched the WAC title before this game started, but the strain of overtime in their 3rd straight road game in 8 days finally did them in. Nick Fazekas scored 20 with 10 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season, while extending his streak of of double figure scoring to 29 - every game this season.

The Wolf Pack returns home on Saturday to close out the season with New Mexico St., their closest conference pursuer. The game may have more meaning for future seeding, as both teams are locked into their 1-2 positions in the WAC.

Don't Mess With Texas... or Maryland

Longhorns down Aggies in double OT, keep Big 12 hopes alive; Terps complete sweep of Duke

#15 Texas 98 #7 Texas A&M 96 (2OT) - The Aggies' Acie Law hit a pair of 3-pointers - forcing overtime and, later, double OT - and scored 33 points in all, but it wasn't enough as Kevin Durant and the Longhorns had the last word in the 2nd extra session on their home court. The Texas freshman hit key free throws down the stretch, finishing with 30 points and 16 rebounds and possibly the biggest win of his brief yet spectacular college career. Teammates D. J. Augustin scored 25 and Damian James had 22.

The win moved Texas into position to claim a share of the Big 12 championship if they can win their final regular season game Saturday at Kansas. If that happens, the conference would likely end up in a three-way tie should Texas A&M finish their season at home vs. Missouri with a win. Both A&M and the Longhorns are 12-3. Kansas is 13-2. Regardless of which of them takes the title, all three will be high seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. One of them will surely be a #1 seed, with the other two likely to be seeded #2 in different brackets.

#24 Maryland 85 #14 Duke 77 - The Maryland Terrapins have made a late-season statement and should be included in the March Madness field of 65. After knocking off North Carolina on Sunday, the Terps took a trip down Tobacco Road to Durham and took care of business against the Blue Devils.

Led by senior guard Mike Jones, who scored 25 points, the Terps completed a season sweep of Duke (they also did it in the 2004-05 season). Their first win over the Blue Devils came back on February 11 at College Park and launched Maryland on what has now become a 6-game winning streak. The Terps are now 9-6 in ACC play and 23-7 overall. Looking like one of the more dangerous teams in the nation, they close out the regular season at home against NC State on Saturday.

For Duke, the loss may prove to be devastating as they prepare for their final ACC game at North Carolina on Sunday. A loss there and any loss in the ACC tournament would put the Blue Devils in an uncomfortable spot - on the NCAA bubble - a place to which they are unaccustomed. Consider, in that scenario, Duke would have 10 losses, but, wins over Georgetown, BC, Gonzaga and Clemson working in their favor. Unfortunately, a 3-6 record in their last 9 conference games would not impress the selection committee. It is conceivable, maybe believable, that the Blue Devils would be passed over for the Big Dance.

#19 Vanderbilt 99 South Carolina 90 (OT) - The Commodores kept rolling along last night with a shoot-out overtime win at South Carolina. Shan Foster scored a season-high 33 points and teammate Derrick Byars dropped in 18 - including a key pair of 3s in overtime - as Vandy secured their hold on 2nd place in the SEC East at 10-5. They have just one conference game remaining, at home vs. Arkansas on Saturday.

The win was the 20th of the season for the Commodores and also earned them a first round bye in next week's SEC tournament.

Gators Drop Another One

Tennessee 86 #5 Florida 76On Saturday, the Florida Gators lost to lowly LSU. Last night in Knoxville, evidence that the reigning national champions were in the throes of a late-season slump surfaced as they lost an important game to surging Tennessee. Against LSU, the Gators couldn't find any offense. Against the Vols, they disregarded defense, allowing Tennessee to hit 58% of their shots, open a 19-point lead at the half and hold off a Florida rally late in the game. Florida has also lost their shooting touch from beyond the arc. They hit only 6 of 21 attempts last night after a 2.17 performance at LSU.

Chris Lofton led the Vols with 21 points, but the bigger story was the lack of production from some of the Gators' leading scorers, Joakim Noah in particular. Against the Vols, Noah scored a mere 8 points, following his 4 point game at LSU. Taurean Green scored just 6 at LSU and 9 last night. Lee Humphrey had 5 points against LSU and 9 against the Vols. Those three players average 36 points per game combined. Over the last two losses, 20.5.

Whatever is ailing the Gators, it became Tennessee's gain as the Volunteers improved to 9-6 in the SEC East and 21-9 overall, having won 6 of their last 7. Both teams close out the regular season on Saturday. Tennessee is at Georgia, while the Gators host Kentucky.

The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament begins Thursday, March 8 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and concludes on Sunday, March 11.

#12 Pittsburgh 80 West Virginia 66 - The Pitt Panthers regrouped after their weekend loss at Georgetown and took care of business at home with a decisive win over the Mountaineers. Pitt regained a share of first place as Georgetown lost at Syracuse on Monday. West Virginia, however, saw their hopes of getting an invitation to the NCAA Tournament slipping away as they lost for the 3rd time in their last 4 outings. The Mountaineers fell into a tie with DePaul at 8-7, good for 7th place in the conference. West Va. has only a one quality win on their resume (UCLA), so they'll have to win their season finale against Cincinnati and perform well in next week's Big East Tournament.

BYU 62 #25 Air Force 58 - The BYU Cougars ended Air Force's 30-game home win streak and clinched at least a tie for the Mountain West championship. The Cougars can win the title outright with a win in their final regular season game, at home - where they own the nation's longest home win streak, 30 straight - against Utah. At 12-3, BYU currently leads UNLV by 1/2-game. The Runnin' Rebels, winners of 9 of their last 11, play at New Mexico on Wednesday and close out the regular season hosting Colorado St. on Saturday.

Ohio State Stakes Its Claim

Sunday's battle between #1 Wisconsin and #2 Ohio State resulted in a 1-point win for the Buckeyes. Being that the game was played on Ohio State's home court, the win was not surprising. It's tough to win on the road, but Ohio State's win could literally not have been by any smaller margin. So, Ohio State's #1 ranking should include an asterisk with the note, "at home."

#2 Ohio St. 49 #1 Wisconsin 48 - The Buckeyes captured the Big Ten title with a win over their closest rival and a 14-1 record with just one conference game remaining and a 2-game lead over the Badgers (12-3). Mike Conley Jr. hit the game-winner for Ohio State with 4 seconds left and Kammron Taylor's desperate jumper at the buzzer was swatted away by Greg Oden and Ron Lewis. Ohio State still has some unfinished business at Michigan, but the result of the game won't change the standings. The Buckeyes are likely to be named #1 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls later today.

Maryland 89 #5 North Carolina 87 - Just when everyone had counted Gary Williams and the Maryland Terrapins out, they go nose-to-nose with the Tar Heels and pull out a surprise win. Senior guard D. J. Strawberry lit it up with 27 points and led the host Terps into a tie for 5th place in the ACC with Duke at 8-6. The Tar Heels' loss also produced a three-way tie for 1st place in the conference with Virginia Tech and Virginia, all at 10-4. It will all shake out in the coming week. Most of the contenders have 2 games left, except 10-5 Boston College, which closes out the regular season on Sunday, March 4 at Georgia Tech.

#7 Memphis 77 Houston 64 - The Tigers extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 with another home win. Ho-hum. Conference-USA. No big deal.

#17 Vanderbilt 67 Kentucky 65 - Derrick Byars scored 26 points and Shan Foster chipped in 21 to lead the Commodores to their 9th SEC win against just 5 losses. The effort solidified Vanderbilt's position for an at-large bid to March Madness. Vandy has just two conference games left, at South Carolina and at home against Arkansas. Winning either should be enough to get to the field of 65.

Meanwhile, Kentucky dropped into a three-way tie for 3rd place in the SEC East with Tennessee and Georgia. The Wildcats could be the odd team out as they host Georgia on Wednesday and close out the season at Florida on Sunday. They could also win them both or split and get an invitation to the Big Dance.

#18 Duke 67 St. John's 50 - The Blue Devils won on the road in a rare non-conference tilt, holding St. John's to just 10 points in the first half and have a tough week ahead. On Wednesday, they host Maryland and close out the regular season at North Carolina. Tournament invitations are on the line for 22-7 Duke.

#20 Louisville 76 Connecticut 69 - The Cardinals spread the scoring out among 10 players and cruised to their 5th straight win and 6th Big East road win. Louisville is now a solid 3rd in the Big East standings at 11-4 and play patsy Seton Hall (4-10 Big East) on Sunday to end their regular season.

Who Won't Be Dancing

With no games of meaning last night, today brings an opportunity to present the teams that won't be invited to the NCAA Tournament, which begins with Selection Sunday on March 11 and ends with the National Championship Game on Monday, April 2.

There are 65 teams invited, two of which will play for the final spot in the seedings on Tuesday, March 13. Actual 1st round games get underway on Thursday and Friday, March 15 and 16.

While there are plenty of shoo-ins, a number of teams have already played poorly enough as to eliminate themselves.

In the ACC, which will probably send 5 or 6 teams to the tourney, Wake Forest, NC State and Miami are already out with conference records well under .500. The big surprise is Clemson, which started the season 17-0, but since has gone 2-8. At 5-8 in the conference, the only way they can make the tournament is to win the ACC tourney, and that's just not going to happen.

The other ACC teams which are not going to be invited will be Maryland or Georgia Tech and possibly both. The Terps play North Carolina tomorrow, then visit Duke and close the regular season with NC State. If they win just one of those games, they'll finish 8-8, not good enough. A win over Duke is possible, as Maryland just did that 2 weeks ago.

That the Yellow Jackets won't get a bid is more likely. They are 6-7 and play at Virginia today, then host North Carolina and Boston College. A loss today just about seals their fate. Even winning two of their remaining three won't likely be enough.

In the Big East, which could send as many as 8 teams, the bottom of the conference - St. John's, Seton Hall, South Florida, Rutgers, Cincinnati - are already beyond consideration. After that it gets a little dicey. Connecticut (6-7, 17-10) doesn't look like a Final 64 kind of team. It will be the first time in many years that the Huskies haven't made it to the tourney.

Villanova (6-7, 18-9) also may not get the job done, and DePaul (7-7, 16-12) already has too many losses to be considered. Right now, Providence (7-6 17-9) is on the outside looking in. They host Syracuse today in a critical game for both teams. If the Friars win, it may be the end of the line for the 'Cuse. A loss by Providence would likely eliminate them.

In the Big 10, count Iowa out. The Hawkeyes' 12 losses already have them eliminated. Besides, they've lost to all 4 Top 25 teams they've played (Alabama, Ohio St., Wisconsin twice). After Ohio State and Wisconsin, only Indiana looks like a legitimate invitee. Michigan, Michigan St. Illinois all have a shot, while Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State are already out.

The Big 12 has three teams sure to go - Texas, Texas A&M and Kansas. After that Kansas St., Texas Tech (and what's a NCAA tournament without Bobby Knight?) and Missouri are on the bubble. Missouri is the one likely not to make the list. Oklahoma St. has played themselves right out of it. At 5-7 in the conference, stick a fork in them. Iowa St., Nebraska, Colorado and Baylor are at the bottom, thus, out.

In the PAC-10, don't expect any sympathy for Lute Olson and the Arizona Wildcats (8-7, 17-9). Unless they reach the conference finals, they're out. Oregon has played itself into a bubble position, and may not get an invite, though I wouldn't bet against it. UCLA, Washington St., USC and Stanford are all going, while Washington, Cal, Oregon St. and Arizona St. are staying home.

The SEC is probably the toughest to figure, but Alabama's loss to Tennessee the other night was critical. Tennessee will get a bid; Alabama will not. Expect 6 teams from this conference - Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi and Mississippi St. - unless Alabama comes alive in the conference tourney. Georgia, LSU, South Carolina, Auburn and Arkansas stay home.

One other interesting conference to watch is Conference-USA, where Memphis has blitzed the opposition, which has been diminished by teams going to the Big East or elsewhere. Besides the Tigers, only UCF (20-7) and Southern Miss. (17-9) have less than 10 losses and even they look like 11-14 seeds at best. Memphis may get a #2, but they haven't beaten anybody good in a long time except Gonzaga.

Speaking of the Zags, they are 9-3 in the West Coast Conference, right behind 10-2 Santa Clara. One of those two will likely win the conference tournament, and both may get bids. Nobody else is even close to getting a whiff of March Madness.

Duck Soup: Oregon downs Washington St.

#23 Oregon 64 #9 Washington St. 59 - The Ducks proved they weren't actually dead, just flying erratically. After losing 6 of their previous 8 games, Oregon came through with an important home win, one which will likely lead to an invitation to March Madness. With just two games remaining in the regular season, the 21-7 Ducks look like a lock to make the field of 65 despite their sub-par 9-7 PAC-10 record.

Loyola Chicago 75 #15 Butler 71 - With Wright St. losing, Butler had an opportunity to claim sole possession of first place in the Horizon League, but failed to seal the deal at home against a feisty Loyola squad which shot 53% to Butler's 44%. The 15th-ranked Bulldogs have just one conference game left - this Saturday against Detroit and trial Wright St. by 1/2 game. They will have to win the Horizon League tournament to be guaranteed a bid to the NCAA Tournament, though their selection as an at-large team is very likely considering their 25-5 record.

#4 UCLA 85 California 75 - Josh Shipp hit 9 of 12 shots and scored 22 points to lead the Bruins to their 19th straight home win and a 2-game lead in the PAC-10 standings. While the Bruins were winning, their closest pursuer, Washington St., was losing at Oregon. The Bruins are 13-2, the Cougars, 11-4.

#5 Memphis 99 Rice 63 - The Tigers shot 55% and clinched the Conference-USA title while extending the nation's longest winning streak to 16 games. Memphis is looking like a #2 seed for sure.

#11 Nevada 84 Idaho 68 - Nick Fazekas scored 21 points and hauled in 14 rebounds as Nevada won their 8th straight game. The visiting Wolf Pack shot 62% and hit all 16 of their free throws.

#18 Duke 71 Clemson 66 - This was a very important road game for the Blue Devils and they managed to come away with a win, though better shooting by Clemson could have easily altered the result. The Tigers shot 47% on their home court, but hit just 9-18 free throws while the Blue Devils were knocking down 16-22. Duke also hit 52% of their shots from the field, including 7-14 3-pointers.

Duke improved to 8-6 in the ACC, while Clemson fell to 5-8 and probably out of the NCAA Tournament field.