Three days until Selection Sunday.
Things get kicked up a notch as all quadruple-headers become the rule instead of the exception: 12 conferences will be holding four tournament games Thursday and whether it’s the first, second or quarterfinal round, there will be back-to-back-to-back-to-back games from noon until midnight (and beyond).
The unexpected becomes expected, bubbles will be burst and while most glass slippers will be shattered, at least one will somehow fit. March is not for the faint of heart.
Wednesday’s Thrills, Chills & Spills
Virginia Tech and Virginia kept their slim NCAA hopes alive with one-point victories.
The Hokies wasted a late second half 11 point lead and needed a three-pointer by Darius Maddux to squeak by Clemson 76-75 while Virginia began their game with Louisville by missing 16 of their first 18 shots (plus three turnovers) before getting on track offensively in their 51-50 win over the Cardinals.
Losses would have banished each school to the NIT, and there’s no guarantee either team can make the field without winning the ACC Tournament. It’s a long road to Saturday in Brooklyn.
Georgetown (6-25) led Seton Hall by 10 in the first half and the Hoyas were up 50-46 with five minutes left in regulation before the clock literally struck midnight and the Pirates went on an 11-3 run as the upset bid metaphorically struck midnight in a 57-53 loss.
Questions will surround Coach Patrick Ewing’s status after going winless inside the Big East and conventional wisdom says that there will be a shake-up on the coaching staff. What they can’t afford is another shake-up of their roster as there have been multiple transfers under Ewing, giving the feel of trying to build sand castles during high tide.
Howard (16-12) saw its dream season (first winning record in 20 years and best MEAC finish in 30) end with a 59-57 loss to Coppin State as Nendah Tarke hits the game-winning shot with two seconds left.
The conference’s best offense shot under 30% including just 3-20 three-pointers while turning the ball over 23 times. For whatever reason, Coppin was the Bison’s kryptonite this year as HU lost as many games to the seventh-place Eagles this winter as they did to the rest of their conference foes combined.
Any Bids up for Grabs? For the first time since last Friday, NONE. And even though I like the idea of at least one bid being handed out every day this week, it’s kind of understood that the one-bid and mid-major leagues get out of the way to make room for the quadruple-headers.
That’s why the America East is holding its title tilt Saturday at 11 a.m. with UMBC (18-13) visiting Vermont (27-5).
The Retrievers dominated the second half of their 80-60 win against Hartford after being tied at intermission but they’ll find the Catamounts a little tougher of a climb (they lost both regular season games 86-59).
Ticket (and gut) Punched: Only one automatic spot was filled Wednesday and this one hurts in Annapolis: Navy slips at Colgate 74-58 in the Patriot League Championship Game as the Raiders hit 56% of their shots and 8-17 from three-point range against the stingiest defense in the conference.
The Midshipmen finish the season 21-11, recording consecutive winning seasons for the first time during Coach Ed DeChellis’ tenure. They graduate four seniors, including 1,000-point scorer John Carter Jr. and Greg Summers who retires with 500+ rebounds.
But seven of the 10 players who averaged 10+ minutes per game this season will be back as the Midshipmen will mount another attempt at their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1998.
Thursday’s Games
George Mason (14-15) faces Fordham (15-15) in the Atlantic 10 Second Round at noon. The Patriots wrapped up the regular season with eight losses in 11 games, including a 50-47 loss to the Rams on Feb. 20.
A-10 leading scorer Josh Oduro shot a season-worst 4-12 that day and he’s also coming off a game against UMass where he missed multiple shots in the paint.
George Washington (12-17) meets UMass (14-16) at 6 p.m. in the Atlantic 10 Second Round. The Colonials won the regular season meeting 77-68 on Feb. 9 as James Bishop scored 24 points and the worst rebounding team in the A-10 beat the Minutemen on the boards by 10.
UMass allows the most points per game in the conference but as evidenced in their overtime win at George Mason last Saturday they can outscore teams.
Maryland (15-16) takes on Michigan State (20-11) in the Big Ten Second Round at 6:30 p.m. It’s a tight turnaround as these two teams met this past Sunday, a game the Terps lost 77-67 after starting the afternoon by missing their first 14 shots.
“We can’t put ourselves in the hole that we put ourselves in in the first half,” Interim Coach Danny Manning said. “From there we have to go out there offensively, continue to be in attack mode and take good shots. And have great transition defense.”
They also dropped a last-second heartbreaker Feb. 1 when Malik Hall hit a layup with 1.9 seconds left. These two teams met in the Second Round last year with the Terrapins prevailing 68-57, the only one-and-done appearance for Coach Tom Izzo’s team since the league expanded to 14 teams.
Virginia Tech (20-12) plays Notre Dame (22-9) at 7 p.m. in the ACC Quarterfinals. The Hokies won the regular season matchup 79-73 in Blacksburg Jan. 15 as Storm Murphy hit 4-7 from three point range, including a clutch make with 20 seconds left. About the three: the Fighting Irish lead the ACC in quantity (9.3 per game) while the Hokies are tops in quality (39%).
Richmond (19-12) matches up with Rhode Island (15-15) at 8:30 p.m. in the Atlantic 10 Second Round. The Spiders bring plenty of experience to Capital One Arena as five players on the team that played in the 2018 A-10 Tournament in Washington are on this year’s roster (for the record it was called “Verizon Center” at the time).
Fifth-year senior Jacob Gilyard was on that team and led the conference this winter in steals, assist-to-turnover ratio, and minutes played while scoring 15 points with 6 assists in the 70-63 win over the Rams on Jan. 25. In the “If you’re not first, you’re last” category, Rhode Island has beaten just two teams since Jan. 19: first place Davidson and last place Duquesne (twice).
Virginia (19-12) plays North Carolina (23-8) at 9:30 p.m. in the ACC Quarterfinals. The Tar Heels are coming off the high of beating regular season champ Duke in Durham during Coach K’s final game on the Cameron Indoor Stadium sidelines. It’s the immovable object against the unstoppable force, as the Cavaliers rank 14th in the conference in scoring while allowing the fewest points per game and UNC ranks 3rd in scoring while allowing the third-most points per game.
