Pac12 in shamblesWaiting Line disasters
A Southland season ruined
Horns are Wait Line Winners
Northwestern's wait continues
Casper in the semis
NC State back in line
Naismith's game set back yearsBulldogs get Bulldogged
Herd wins 3ot thriller
Chalk in the MAC
And the first ever Buffet exercise... (at the bottom)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. What, uh, huh, oh, sorry ... we were watching the first half of Nevada and San Jose State and must have dozed off. Now, where were we ... zzzzzzzzzz, huh, oh, whoops, conked out again, after flipping to Georgia Tech ... Actually, tried to fall back to sleep during that South Florida, Notre Dame game, but it was so horrible, it was like having the dull noise of a plane engine slowly buzzing in the back of mind ... the last few possessions of the 2nd half and OT was like a blooper reel that wasn't funny.
Today's schedule:
ACC:
12:00 PM (1) North Carolina vs (8) Maryland ESPN2
2:30 PM (4) Virginia vs (5) North Carolina State ESPN2
7:00 PM (2) Duke vs (10) Virginia Tech ESPN2
9:30 PM (3) Florida State vs (6) Miami ESPN2
Atlantic Ten:
12:00 PM (1) Temple vs (8) Massachusetts Local TV
2:30 PM (4) St. Bonaventure vs (5) St. Joseph’s Local TV
6:30 PM (2) Saint Louis vs (7) La Salle Local TV
9:00 PM (3) Xavier vs (6) Dayton Local TV
Big East:
7:00 PM (1) Syracuse vs (4) Cincinnati ESPN
9:30 PM (3) Notre Dame vs (7) Louisville ESPN
Big Ten:
12:00 PM (1) Michigan State vs (8) Iowa ESPN
2:30 PM (4) Wisconsin vs (5) Indiana ESPN
6:30 PM (2) Michigan vs (10) Northwestern BTN
9:00 PM (3) Ohio State vs (6) Purdue BTN
Big XII:
7:30 PM (1) Kansas vs (4) Baylor ESPNU/Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
10:00 PM (2) Missouri vs (6) Texas ESPNU/Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
Big West:
9:30 PM (1) Long Beach State vs (7) UC-Irvine espn3.com
12:00 AM (3) UC-Santa Barbara vs (4) Cal Poly ESPNU
Conference USA:
4:00 PM (2) Southern Mississippi vs (6) Marshall CBS Sports Network
6:30 PM (1) Memphis vs (4) Central Florida CBS Sports Network
MEAC:
6:00 PM (4) Bethune-Cookman vs (8) Hampton meachoops.com (FREE)
8:30 PM (2) Norfolk State vs (11) Florida A&M meachoops.com (FREE)
Mid-American:
7:00 PM (1) Akron vs (4) Kent State Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
9:30 PM (2) Buffalo vs (3) Ohio Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
Mountain West:
9:00 PM (1) San Diego State vs (4) Colorado State CBS Sports Network
11:30 PM (2) New Mexico vs (3) UNLV CBS Sports Network
Pac-12:
9:00 PM (4) Arizona vs (9) Oregon State FSN National
11:30 PM (2) California vs (6) Colorado FSN National
SEC:
1:00 PM (1) Kentucky vs (8) LSU ESPNU/Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
3:30 PM (4) Florida vs (5) Alabama ESPNU/Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
7:30 PM (2) Tennessee vs (7) Mississippi Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
10:00 PM (3) Vanderbilt vs (11) Georgia Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
SWAC:
3:30 PM (2) Texas Southern vs (6) Alcorn State swac.org (FREE)
9:00 PM (1) Mississippi Valley State vs (5) Ark-Pine Bluff swac.org (FREE)
WAC:
9:00 PM (2) New Mexico State vs (6) Hawai’i Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
11:30 PM (1) Nevada vs (5) Louisiana Tech Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
But last night was significant, so many Waiting Line teams in action, so many overtimes, so many overtimes in Memphis. Let's take a look, and bring ourselves to:
Last night in...
...the ACC
North Carolina St punished a bad team, but it gave us all another reason to look at them a little more critically, and they are squarely back in the game. A win over Virginia today, and the Buffet believes you'll see NC State in the tournament, a loss makes it murky, and probably leaves them out. A critical game for them
The Buffet has been down on Miami, and for a half of some truly dreadful(TM Chris Moeser) basketball, the Hurricanes lived down to their standard. They woke up, went on an 18-0 run, and now the Buffet sees them as in the field as well. Today's FSU isn't an elmination, but if they want to stay out of last 4 discussion, they'd be well served to win one more.
Maryland beat up on Wake, and while this team can't get an at large, too lofty of RPI, too much inconsistency even though they are a better team with Alex Len and if the enigmatic Stoglin gets hot, UNC could get a fight.
Seth Greenberg got the win he needed to... oh wait, this isn't 2007-2011, the Hokies are done.
the Big 12...
A good fight in Kansas City, saw a Baylor team that is vogue to write off, pretty much hold control all game long (led by as may as 16), perhaps more importantly is Perry Jones III 40 minute engagement, 31 points and 11 assist, if PJ Three is going to play this assertive and this in your face, Baylor is a whole different team. Pierre Jackson finished the regular season as the team's leading scorer, that's not #3 seed Baylor, that's an 8/9 game Baylor. If Jones has come correct, Baylor is a deep March run candidate
Missouri & Kansas both refused to mess around with the confidence game, not allowing inferior teams to hang around and let them get false tournament pride - you know the kind that leads to Oregon State beating you? Missouri and Kansas won by an average margin of 17.5
Perhaps the biggest Waiting Line win of the day was Texas. As Washington, Oregon, Mississippi St, and South Florida fell, the Horns were missing a quality win outside of the Erwin Center (gracias para nada UCLA), and they got it in what seemed like Hilton: The Alternate Site. Texas, for now, per the Buffet's resident Buffetology, has lifted themselves above the play-in line even, because of all of the Waiting Line attrition, but that's still is pending a lot of action. We will say this, they may have lost, and that's partially because Scott Christopherson was absolutely ice cold, but Royce White, who has turned his life/game around following an arrest for theft & disorderly conduct while a freshman at Minnesota, took advantage of an Alexis Wagmene gaping defensive hole and actually ran the point for Iowa State last night (another major issue for that team, if they get matched up against a more pressure based, rather than strictly halfcourt man to man defense - don't know if Rick Barnes doesn't feel he has the horses, but a press would have been a major difference maker last night, despite the win), truly impressed the Buffet.
Also of note from the game, was Rick Barnes' halftime speech to his squad. After discussions strategy adjustments (ok, ha, we tried to get that out with a straight face), but in all seriousness, he walked up to the whiteboard in the room, and wrote on one side "NIT" and on the other side "NCAA" and said (paraphrased from his postgame interview) - If I asked you to come up here and put your name under one of this, which would it be, where do you see yourself? If it's here (pointing to "NCAA"), then you have to go out and earn it" And, they just might have.
...Big East
An Buffet predictive upset, saw a team that couldn't score for about 3 weeks put up 84 points, fueling questions about Marquette's defensive staunchness, and giving Louisville the upset 84-71 win. The win will probably push UL back into the 4 seed discussion, Marquette is still pretty safely a 3.
Syracuse got tested by UConn for a bit, at times looking like they're in cruise control, as both teams struggled shooting the ball (9-37 from beyond the arc and 20 of 33 from the FT combined), but the Orange took care of the basketball (4 turnovers) and got huge lifts from two guys on their bench that probably would be major tournament storylines this week as starters for other squads, Dion Waters and his 18 points and James Southerland and his 10 decisive second half points. For context, without those two, Syracuse shoots makes only 9 baskets, shooting 25% for the game, and is 0-6 from 3pt range. Talk about stepping up.
A double-OT thriller, saw Yancy Gates and Henry Sims trade magic, Cincy rallied from 11 points down with 8 1/2 to play (this despite shooting 2 of 21 from 3pt range, yes an offensive trendline is emerging from the BET) - as the Bearcats have a led a seminar of how to get out of the Waiting Line and into the Buffet. But this was not before Georgetown increased the drama. First, in regulation, Otto Porter rattled home a jumper with 3.6 to force the first OT, then Henry Sims made a sweeping layup at the buzzer to ramp us up for OT #2. Finally, Yance Gates, swarmed by a Hoyas team who probably grew tired of 50 minutes of watching him punish him, found Cashmere Wright (awesome name) for a running bank shot with 7.6 left, Sims, who assisted and made the earlier game tying shots, had no more hero left in him, as his long, off-balanced three point game winner attempt couldn't even find rim.
In a game, only their mothers could love, Notre Dame fought off a a game where they trailed for much of the way, may have even survived a security scare when Jack Cooley was ID'd and fingerprinted to be sure he wasn't actually Luke Harangody, and some of the world's WORST final second execution all propelled the Irish into their 5th Big East tournament semifinal as they still seek their first BET final, and yes, deductive champions, championships.
...the Big Ten
Illinois and Bruce Weber's relationship was put out of its misery, as Fran McCaffery's Hawkeye squad defeated the Illini 64-61, in a game that was tied at 46 with 12 minutes left, but a decisive 12-4 run for the Hawkeyes sealed it.
Purdue did what teams do to Nebraska, get bored and win by 18.
Indiana had a similar experience with Penn State.
Oh Northwestern. In a role they have mastered, reading from a script they perfected, Northwestern blew a late lead, pushed the game to the limit, but ultimately, JerShon Cobb, a sophomore who gives the Buffet reason to believe this isn't some NCAA tournament bid last stand for the Wildcats, had a career high, but he also fumbled the ball out of bounds in a crucial moment, as NW fell to a Minnesota team who we have long documented was without their leading scorer, but were also without Ralph Sampson III, in an at-large crushing fashion, 75-68 in overtime.
The Big West...
The showdown is still in tact, Larry Anderson's absence hasn't become an issue YET, 18 points from new Casper sidekick #1 Eugene Phelps, and then double figures for 4 others, LBSU sprint to a 41-21 halftime lead, and finished off an 80-46 first round victory, due to re-seeding and upsets, the will face UC-Irvine who knocked off CS-Fullerton, LBSU sole conference loss provider.
The Johnson and Nunnally show plays on, as the Gauchos cruised to a 72-52 win over Pacific. Oh Christian Maraker and David Doubley, where have you gone?
Conference USA...
Not much for upsets, Memphis handled UTEP, UCF kept their slim at-large hopes alive with a 10 point cruise, and Southern Miss narrowly escaped a precipitous fall that would have taken them from tournament sure bet, to Last 4 in/First 4 out territory (they might still be there with the string of losses they've accumulated of late).
And finally, in what may have been the game of the day, except we watched it, and this foul fest (101 combined free throw attempts) did feature an incredible show by DeAndre Kane 40 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and Eric McClellan - 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals for a pair of CUSA youngters (a sophomore and a freshman, respectively), finally Marshall, who had fouled out 5 of their players to Tulsa's 4, won this war of attrition 105-100 in three overtimes.
...the Mid-American
Chalk walked in the MAC, as both Ohio and Kent State moved on. Ohio raced out to a comfortable lead and cruised over Toledo, while Kent State had control the entire game, but then Western Michigan's Matt Stainbrook, perhaps under the strain of frustration and impending elimination made a 9 point game a blowout, missing an easy layup and then elbowing KSU's Michael Porrini in a blatant move, costing him a flagrant foul and further participation in the contest. The Broncos had late spirit, cutting to 3 in the final second, but the Flash were able to avoid an utter collapse.
...the MEAC
More overtime fun, saw the Rattlers of Florida A&M get 8 points in the extra frame from Yannick Crowder, en route to a 65-55 victory. Delaware State was game, getting 18 points from Tahj Tate, and finishing off an 8point halftime deficit comeback with a tip-in with 24 seconds remaining. But, the 11th seeded Rattlers proved too much in OT, pulling off the tried-and-true, random MEAC tournament upset. In fact, you'll remember these are the Rattlers who advanced to the NCAA tournament after a 14-16 campaign in 2004 (that was 11-16 before the MEAC tournament)
Garrius Hoffman's jumper (the games ONLY points in the last 3 1/2, we told in the open that basketball was set back a bit last night) with 6 seconds left lifted Bethun Cookman over North Carolina Central to the MEAC semis. Dominique Sutton had 16 points, but a crucial turnover that led to the decisive bucket. Leaving us with a 2, 4, 8 and 11 in the MEAC.
...the Mountain West
San Diego State tried to give one away, New Mexico and Colorado State weren't playing around, and UNLV kept alive the "set basketball back" theme in their win.
Jamaal Franklin's 3 at the horn broke a 62-62 tie, in a game SDSU led by 11. Recreating practice, where he repeatedly will dribble the ball, countdown by 5 and launch a three, Franklin got to play it out in reality, to identical results.
Colorado State all but stamped their ticket, getting their first win of any note, yes, TCU is a "note," ruining the Buffet's Mountain West storyline as they suffocating the Horned Frogs early, and knocked out Las Vegas native Hank Thorns Jr (who had 19 points, 5 and 5 for his part)
The halftime score was 28-11. UNLV scored another 28 after half, but this time allowed 37. The result was a 56-48 bewildering game that thankfully for the home faithful, Mike Moser decided to show up to. His team made 11 baskets outside of his 9. His team shot 26% outside of his 9/16. But they won, and right now, that's what matters. The Cowboys, thanks to home wins over UNLV and CSU and a road win at Colorado put up a faint Waiting Line campaign, but will have to look forward to 2012-13, when guards Martinez and Washington return (they lose Francisco Cruz, Jaydee Luster and Adam Waddell), but look for dad's genes to pour through even more as Larry Nance Jr. comes back for his sophomore session.
The Lobos led by as many 18, had players in double-figures and just overwhlemed the Falcons and shot 84% from the free throw line, winning 79-64.
...the Pac12
From the ashes of a disastrous regular season comes a tournament of highly predictable upheaval. The #1 seed: Gone. The #3 seed: Gone. The #4 seed is alive but without their suspended starting freshman PG. The Buffet touted Devoe Joseph, and he's still a stellar basketball player, but he shot a 21 footer about 25 feet at the buzzer sounded, and Tad Boyle, who inexplicably didn't even SHARE the P12 conference coach of the year*, got to continue his coaching masterclass of a season, with a 63-62 thriller over Oregon, effectively ending the Ducks at-large run.
*Because, you know, you should always reward the season of a team who has 3 NBA prospects, a top recruiting class, cannot beat a single top ranked top ranked team, at best MEET expectations and win a down conference, virtually by default. Lorenzo Romar is a great basketball coach - Washington did not impress in 2012, and, well, they're probably going to the tournament anyway.
The Wildcats, playing a veteran squad with so many of their freshman suspended, lost in a college game transition wilderness, or still trying to pretend they aren't Dennis Johnson's nephew, didn't blow out UCLA, but certainly controlled the game, each time UCLA made a run, and by make a run, we mean whatever it is you do when you shoot 35% for the field. Maybe it was the inspiration provided by Josh Smith, who got 7 points and 3 rebounds in NINE minutes of action. Why nine? Was he punished? Nah, this is Ben Howland - rumors of a ecstacy-laced Deadmou5 show at halftime have not yet been denied by Dan Guerrero. Nope, the overachieving Smith merely fouled out in his extensive action last evening. Solomon Hill came correct, the oft-crticized Wildcat who is the posterchild of a team searching for Derek Williams, but only finding recruits who haven't quite met their post-high school rating labels as of yet. Hill had 28-12 and 3 steals, repeatedly outquicked Smith into foul trouble, and bewildered Travis Wear (sorry Benny H, just because they're twins doesn't mean they are going to Lopez Twin carry you, and yes, we're aware we just complimented the Lopez Twins in print, it won't happen again) into his first foul disqualification of the season as well.
California trailed at halftime, in what looked to be their season finale. But Jorge Gutierrez put on a second half show (19 points) that saw Cal outscore the Cardinal 54-41 after the break and advance on the in carnage laced P12 tournament. If Cal reaches the final, despite not facing #3 seed Oregon, the chances of them getting an at-large bid are strong - although 3 bids from the #10 ranked league is questionable.
Oregon State had a big halftime lead (13), then squandered it. Then, they trailed by as many as 8, and 6 with 2 1/2 left. - made a tremendous comeback before a final minute *attention: overarching theme* that saw leading scorer Jared Cunningham miss 5 free throws and P12 Freshman of the year Tony Wroten miss 4 of his own, and Oregon State will see the inside of their first ever P12 semifinal.
For illustration, here is that last minute:
We'll start ironically with a pair of made FT's by Tony Wroten to put Washington up 83-79 with 1:18 left
And Ahmad Starks 3, made it 83-82 Wash, 1:03 left.
Offensive foul by Terrence Ross with 43 second left
Layup by Jared Cunningham making it 84-84, and he's fouled by Abdul Gaddy
Cunningham misses the and one
Tony Wroten then misses at the cup, get his own rebound and is fouled with 19 seconds left, down 1
Tony Wroten misses both free throws
Cunningham gets the rebound and is immediately fouled by Abdul Gaddy
Cunningham misses both free throws
Darrell Gant gets the board, outlets it to Tony Wroten, and Cunningham tried to think of the best way to distract his coach from the 3 straight misses, so he goes with an inexplicably bad foul.
Tony Wroten misses both free throws.
Cunningham grabs the board, and is fouled with 6 seconds left.
Cunningham MAKES both free throws to give Ore St an 86-83 lead
Oregon State fouls Terrence Ross before he can get off a 3pt attempt, good strategy Mr. Obama-Robinson, Ross makes the first, misses the second on purpose, Cunningham grabs it with 2 seconds left and is fouled.
And for good measure
misses both free throws.
Did we call Tad Boyle's coaching a masterclass? Oh no, that, my friends, was a masterclass.
...SEC
Alabama looked slightly disinterested, luckily South Carolina doesn't require interest to be beaten, just attendance, and the Tide rolls on 63-57, pushing a 51-51 tied with 6:38 into a 5 minute scoreless drought by the Gamecocks.
LSU stomped on Arkansas 70-54 (Johnny O'Bryant III had 18 and 11) and Ole Miss had no problem with Auburn, who had no trouble letting the Rebels cover the spread, even without the presence of Varez Ward. Nick Williams put up a career high 22 points, and Murphy Holloway had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for the Rebs
The biggest Waiting Line impact happened with Rick Stansbury's ever underwhelming Mississippi State team. Arnett Moultrie barely showed up. Georgia, 14-16 coming in and the 11 seed, led by as many as 13, and forced 14 turnovers. The Bulldogs (Miss State) are powered bya resume of some really nice wins: @Vanderbilt, home versus Alabama, home over West Virginia, Miss and Tennesse and a neutral win over Arizona. Losses to Arkansas, Auburn and twice to Georgia are ugly. Losing 6 of 8 is ugly. Even an OT 2 point win over South Carolina is a loss in the Buffet's book. Those group of wins probably keep them in for now, but with Tennessee, NC State and depending on the Bracketologist, Miami, Texas, Xavier, Colorado State, Arizona, Marshall, et al still playing - we are not bullish on the Bulldogs (Miss State) being there Sunday.
...in the Southland
Heartbreak in the Southland, as Texas-Arlington who had lost ONCE in conference all regular season, the dreaded last regular season game that plagued Long Beach State as well, were just overwhelmed by McNeese State, 92-72. The Cowboys led by as many as 28, and at times when it seemed like it was one of those games where the better team would just pick up momentum and run with it, McNeese answered and kept pushing the lead back to insurmountable levels. LaMarcus Reed ad 23 points in the losing effort, his final game for the Mavericks.
Salute your Seniors, Pat Knight. In a storyline we are all uniformly dreading, Lamar, who hasn't been the tournament in 12 years (or a SLAnd final, for that matter) is now the top seeded team remaining, giving us a couple days Pat Knight focus and g-d forbid, perhaps even interview time should they win on Saturday. The Buffet joins in the world in supporting McNeese State. The Cardinal won a shooout, *theme* 55-44, and Anthony Miles, A SENIOR, had 17 points, 5 assists and 5 steals for Lamar
in the SWAC...
A pair of upsets, one saw 6th seeded Alcorn State take a 50-17 halftime lead *THEME* and then in one of the most unbelievable sequences in a day of unbelievable sequences, saw Prairie View A&M coach Bryon Rim II instruct his team to foul down 55-17 with 17:48 left. You couldn't make this stuff up. It led to what should be the longest regulation basketball in NCAA history (estimated record, no actual proof), 39 Alcorn free throw attempts, and allowed them to CUT the lead to a final of 103-79.
In a day filled with either overtime, Waiting Line flameouts or overtime, Arkansas-PB and Alabama St gave us a bit of 1 and 3 - the man touted by the Buffet, Salvalace Townsend hit a layup with 3 seconds left, completing a massive 10 point comeback with 7 minutes left (it's massive when you shoot 38% for the game), and Mitchell Anderson had 16 points, nearly outscoring Alabama State on his own (5-4) in OT. Townsend had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. And now the rematch is on, Miss Valley St, but 1 conference loss, versus Arkansas-PB, authors of that loss in a SWAC semi.
In the WAC
A couple of modest, but likely inconsequential upsets - saw Hawaii edge Idaho 72-70 and Louisiana Tech eliminate Utah St by an identical score.
NMST CRUISED past Fresno St in the day's second worst line (Colorado St -2.5 was worse). And Nevada, writing the book on yesterday's theme of bad basketball, trailed San Jose State, they of ONE conference win (Nevada had 1 conference loss), were down 9 points with 15 minutes left, before allowing just 16 points the rest of the way, and an avert your eyes 54-44 win.
BUFFETOLOGY 3/9
*thoughts on the Bracket, for the first time below*
1 | Kentucky | 1 | Auto | |
| Syracuse | 2 | Auto | |
| Kansas | 3 | Auto | |
| North Carolina | 4 | Auto | |
| | | | |
2 | Missouri | 5 | Auto | |
| Ohio State | 6 | At-Large | |
| Michigan State | 7 | At-Large | |
| Duke | 8 | At-Large | |
| | | | |
3 | Michigan | 9 | At-large | |
| Marquette | 10 | At-large | |
| Georgetown | 11 | At-large | |
| Baylor | 12 | At-large | |
| | | | |
4 | Wisconsin | 13 | At-large | |
| Indiana | 14 | At-large | |
| Murray St | 15 | Auto | |
| Louisville | 16 | Auto | |
| | | | |
5 | Temple | 17 | At-large | |
| Creighton | 18 | Auto | |
| New Mexico | 19 | At-large | |
| UNLV | 20 | At-large | |
| | | | |
6 | Florida | 21 | At-large | |
| Vanderbilt | 22 | At-large | |
| Florida St | 23 | At-large | |
| Wichita St | 24 | At-large | |
| | | | |
7 | Notre Dame | 25 | Auto | |
| San Diego St | 26 | At-large | |
| Gonzaga | 27 | Auto | |
| Memphis | 28 | At-large | |
| | | | |
8 | Iowa St | 29 | At-large | |
| St. Mary's | 30 | Auto | |
| Purdue | 31 | At-large | |
| Kansas St | 32 | At-large | |
| | | | |
9 | Alabama | 33 | At-large | |
| Virginia | 34 | At-large | |
| Connecticut | 35 | At-large | |
| Cincinnati | 36 | At-large | |
| | | | |
10 | Saint Louis | 37 | At-large | |
| Southern Miss | 38 | At-large | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| West Virginia | 39 | At-large | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Harvard | 40 | Auto | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| | | | |
11 | Colorado State | 41 | At-large | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| USF | 42 | At-large | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| California | 43 | At-large | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Miami FL | 44 | At-large | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| | | | |
12 | VCU | 45 | At-large | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Texas | 46 | Auto | |
| BYU | 47 | Auto | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Long Beach | 48 | Auto | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| | | | |
13 | Xavier | 49 | At-large/Play-in | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Drexel | 50 | At-large/Play-in | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Washington | 51 | At-large/Play-in | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Miss State | 52 | At-large/Play-in | Stuck in the Waiting Line |
| Nevada | 64 | Auto | |
| Davidson | 65 | Auto | |
| | | | |
14 | Belmont | 65 | Auto | |
| Montana | 73 | Auto | |
| Akron | 74 | Auto | |
| Bucknell | 75 | Auto | |
| | | | |
15 | South Dakota St | 76 | Auto | |
| Detroit | 77 | Auto | |
| Long Island | 78 | Auto | |
| Loyola MD | 79 | Auto | |
| | | | |
16 | Western Kentucky | 80 | Auto | |
| UNC Asheville | 81 | Auto | |
| Lamar | 82 | Auto/Play-in | |
| Stony Brook | 83 | Auto/Play-in | |
| Mississippi Valley St | 84 | Auto/Play-in | |
| Norfolk St | 85 | Auto/Play-in | |
| | | | |
Last Four Out: | Tennessee | 53 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| NC State | 54 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Seton Hall | 55 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Iona | 56 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| | | | |
Next Four Out: | Northwestern | 57 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Ole Miss | 58 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Arizona | 59 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Marshall | 60 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| | | | |
Last 9 consider | Saint Joseph's | 61 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Dayton | 62 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| UCF | 66 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Colorado | 67 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Oral Roberts | 68 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Oregon | 69 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| New Mexico St | 70 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| Miinnesota | 71 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
| LSU | 72 | Stuck in the Waiting Line | |
Deep Thoughts with the Buffet
One thing we're trying not to do, and one thing Joe Lunardi gets paid to do, and I think it is artificial, but it is what people tune in for and why he gets paid $$ to do a job the Buffet has done for free (and better) for 12 days now as well, is react TOO much to conference tournaments. Mississippi State lost to Georgia last night, and we were ready to burn them at the stake for it. Then you go into their schedule and look at it a little less impulsively, and subtracting the recent play, which has been de-emphasized in recent years, and they've got a solid resume. NOW, the tournament is about rewarding the regular, but it is also about finding the best 37 teams to accompany the 31 automatic entries, and Miss St's recent play, loss to Ga when the chips were down and a bid was on the line, and even the 2pt OT win over So Carolina, suggests a team that is A) not as good as they were; B) not interested in playing to their capabilities; C) poorly coach - but as of now we can't put them out.
Also, not going to overreact to Temple's loss. UMass isn't getting in, but they are still somewhere in the way back of the Waiting Line. This isn't like losing to Oregon State. More on that to come.
The more the Buffet examines Saint Louis and Southern Miss, the less we like, but as of now, we just can't push them down any further, but it's trending that way.
We shook up the bottom of the bracket pretty significantly, Colorado St & USF are virtual locks. USF beat Cincy and Louisville (BET semifinalists) when the Buffet was begging them to beat BE teams at the top of the standings, and played WVU and Notre Dame to a standstill (both literally and competitively), plus, some of their losses had injury issues surrounding them - meanwhile CSU had the resume but not the road work, and although TCU isn't a titan, we just needed to a see glimmer, they continue on to further cementing themselves.
Speaking of cementing themselves, we think Texas is in. Between their 4 top wins, their myriad of close shaves, and their strong overall schedule - that win last night was a missing piece, away from home, hostile crowd, etc. It is everything Northwestern couldn't do, and if Oregon State is going to keep winning, suddenly a road loss at a conference rival is the only blemish? Stay away from a blowout tonight and really don't let too many more Temple losing to UMass upsets take place, and it should be ok.
Miami Fl took a huge leap, we just decided how much we liked their top of the resume work, as compared to the others we were analyzing. They have had injury and weird suspensions clouds, and with those clear, like the Tennessee breakdown we did earlier, it makes Miami have a better overall profile.
The questions are starting to circle around if Long Beach loses, Xavier, Drexel, Washington, Tennessee, NC State and Seton Hall. What if UofA makes the P12 final? St Joe's, Marshall or Dayton to their finals. Those last few are little to hypothetically out there.
But, the Buffet is convinced if NC State beats UVA today, they will be find their way in.
The big piece is Washington. LOOK, they're getting in. We are so sure of it. The P12 regular season champ is getting in. PLUS since 2000, only 2 teams in Top 10 ranked conference has won their regular season title and NOT gotten a bid. For a little exercise, here are 12 resumes of regular season conference champions whose resumes put them in the Waiting Line. 9 of them got bids, 1 of them is Washington and 2 are the exceptions we noted. We will try to include a poll where you rank the profiles according to strength. Now this is only a rough exercise, because it is difficult to compare across years, we can only use raw numbers. For instance a loss at a team ranked 102 who went 10-1 at home and is a fierce rival counts as much as a loss to a team ranked 187, who is 5-24 but played a tough schedule. It isn't an exact science, but we're interested in what people think:
Team A: RPI: 39, SOS, 83, W-L 18-10, won conference by 1 game, conference ranked 10
Record vs.
1-25: 0-1
25-50: 3-3
51-100: 3-3
101-200: 7-1
201+: 4-2
Road W-L: 5-9
Best Road win: 105
Best NC Road win: 139
Best NC win: 45 (best overall)
Team B: RPI: 63, SOS, 129, W-L 20-8, won conference by 1 game, conference ranked 7
Record vs.
1-25: 0-1
25-50: 3-3
51-100: 4-3
101-200: 7-1
201+: 6-0
Road W-L: 6-6
Best Road win: 31
Best NC Road win: 295
Best NC win: 103 (31)
Team C: RPI: 20, SOS, 80, W-L 25-6, won conference by 3 game, conference ranked 10
Record vs.
1-25: 0-0
25-50: 1-0
51-100: 10-5
101-200: 10-0
201+: 4-1
Road W-L: 6-4
Best Road win: 61
Best NC Road win: 83
Best NC win: 27 (best overall)
Team D: RPI: 31, SOS, 78, W-L 22-8, won conference by 1 game, conference ranked 8
Record vs.
1-25: 0-1
25-50: 1-3
51-100: 9-3
101-200: 3-1
201+: 9-0
Road W-L: 9-5
Best Road win: 54
Best NC Road win: 127
Best NC win: 49 (best overall)
Team E: RPI: 68, SOS, 83, W-L 21-10, won conference by 1 game, conference ranked 10
Record vs.
1-25: 0-2
25-50: 0-4
51-100: 4-2
101-200: 7-2
201+: 10-0
Road W-L: 6-5
Best Road win: 79
Best NC Road win: 273
Best NC win: 122 (64)
Team F: RPI: 20, SOS, 15, W-L 23-10, won conference by 1 game, conference ranked 8
Record vs.
1-25: 0-4
25-50: 1-2
51-100: 5-1
101-200: 16-3
201+: 1-0
Road W-L: 6-7
Best Road win: 63
Best NC Road win: 128
Best NC win: 57 (41)
Team G: RPI: 56, SOS, 150, W-L 21-7, won conference by 1 game, conference ranked 9
Record vs.
1-25: 0-1
25-50: 1-2
51-100: 6-3
101-200: 5-2
201+: 6-0
Road W-L: 8-6
Best Road win: 89
Best NC Road win: 111
Best NC win: 111 (36)
Team H: RPI: 70, SOS, 183, W-L 22-6, won conference by 2 games, conference ranked 7
Record vs.
1-25: 0-0
25-50: 2-1
51-100: 3-3
101-200: 11-1
201+: 6-1
Road W-L: 8-5
Best Road win: 36
Best NC Road win: 109
Best NC win: 75 (31)
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