Notes from Sunday's Games

First of all, before we take a look at Sunday's action, note the new tab up top.  All of the conference tournament brackets have been included in the tab labeled "Conference Tournaments."  Or, just click here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AkZE6sc7QKRPdGVlT3hTU1BhYUlzNHI1MkRucGxqNEE&output=html

I will try to keep this up to date on a daily basis, especially once the elimination starts.  Look for a preview and my predictions for the first tournaments to kick off starting tomorrow.  Now, a look at the games that took place yesterday involving contenders for tournament positions.


In the ACC, Virginia did exactly what you're not supposed to do after a big win for a bubble team: lose to Boston College.  Maryland did it earlier and now Virginia is following in their footsteps.  I think Virginia has a better resume to take that loss, but it certainly is a step back and leaves much less room for error moving forward.  North Carolina and NC State were also in action, and recorded victories over the bottom half of the league.  Not noteworthy games, but always important to avoid losing them.

In the Big Ten, talk about a bounce back win for Michigan.  A few days after a stunning loss to previously winless-in-conference Penn State, Michigan turns around and scores a huge win over rival Michigan State at home.  The win will keep Michigan in contention for a 1-seed despite the bad loss (right about the same level as Kansas and Georgetown, who have losses to TCU and South Florida respectively), but Michigan will need to keep winning to stay in contention.  Michigan State has now lost three in a row, although against three quality opponents.  But the losing streak will hurt their seed a little bit as other teams climb around them, and they will need to start winning again to try to climb back up.  Wisconsin put up a surprising loss to Purdue at home.  They are already solidly in the tournament field, but that sort of loss will cause them to drop a bit in seed.

And...that was kind of it for Sunday.  Looking ahead to Monday night, only three games of note:

Texas Tech at Kansas - There shouldn't be much to see here, but we've seen the crazy upset more than once this year.  Kansas will need to win to remain in contention for a 1-seed, as they can not afford more than one loss to the bottom of the conference.

Baylor at Texas - Baylor needs to win here, as they are in danger of falling out of at large contention.  A loss to Texas would be bad for their resume and something Baylor can not afford at this point in the season.

Cincinnati at Louisville - At least Cincinnati got a win over Connecticut over the weekend to snap their skid, because it doesn't get easier.  A loss wouldn't be too damaging, but a win would be huge for their profile and projected seed.  Louisville on the other hand, can't afford to lose if they want to continue to have a shot at a 1-seed.


And finally, before we go, with elimination tournaments beginning tomorrow in the Big South and Horizon conferences, a look at the official list shows 304 teams officially still alive for a spot in the NCAA tournament.  As always, no team is eliminated from contention UNTIL they are eliminated from their conference tournament.  And only at that time will I determine their final at large status.  Happy Championship Week everyone!