St Bonaventure

3) Florida State vs. (14) St. Bonaventure: East Region

 

Records

Top 10 Sexy Sweet Sixteen Picks

 

Player of the Year Doug McDermott, only a sophomore, highlights CollegeHoops.net's 2012 All High-Major Team. McDermott averaged 23 ppg while shooting over 60% from the floor in leading Creighton to an MVC Tournament title.

 

McDermott is joined on the First Team by fellow sophomores Mike Moser of UNLV and Will Barton of Memphis. Matthew Dellavedova of Saint Mary's and Ramone Moore of Temple round out the squad.

While bubble teams were able to breathe easier when Murray St and Creighton won close conference titles, the coast is not entirely clear.

Here's a brief look at the remaining teams most likely to "steal" bids from the bubble hopefuls**.


ACC

In the first meeting between #18 Notre Dame and West Virginia the Fighting Irish didn't get going until late, when three three-pointers pushed them past the Mountaineers in Morgantown. Mike Brey's team got going offensively much sooner in the rematch, as a two-point lead at the half turned into a 71-44 whipping, moving their win streak to nine. This marks the first time in school history that the Irish have won nine straight Big East games, and by the game this young team has the look of a group that can make some noise next month. 

With Selection Sunday rapidly approaching the chances left for teams to improve their tournament resumes are dwindling, which makes this week vitally important to Steve Alford's New Mexico (20-4, 6-2) Lobos. While the have an impressive record there aren't a lot of marquee wins to their credit, but they've got a shot at one on the road as they visit #15 San Diego State (20-4, 6-2). What's also on the line this week: the driver's seat in the Mountain West race, as UNM has lost to both SDSU and UNLV while those two split their two meetings.

For a while on Tuesday night it looked as if a Southern Conference team would hand another undefeated team its first defeat of the season. But an important suggestion by Louisville assistant coach Richard Pitino set things in motion for the fourth-ranked Cardinals, sparking a rally that resulted in a 69-62 victory. The idea: instead of relying on the frontcourt tandem of Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan to occupy the foul line area against the Charleston zone, use the versatile Kyle Kuric at the four.

Tuesday night's action features a few critical match ups when considering at-large possibilities in March, with one such game being Butler (5-6) taking on Gonzaga (7-2) in Spokane. Brad Stevens' Bulldogs looked to be in serious trouble on Saturday but a furious rally to beat Purdue may have been the win that sparks a turnaround. But they didn't do themselves many favors in that regard from a scheduling standpoint, with Gonzaga boasting a 93-7 record in the McCarthey Athletic Center.