UCONN

Connecticut Huskies

Big East Conference (17-14, 7-11)

 

It's been a couple of years since the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament had this much attention. Charlotte, Dayton and Rhode Island all hosted games and needed to move on to Atlantic City in order to maintain their hopes of getting into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large. But while the Rams took care of business by beating Saint Joseph's 87-76 and Dayton beating George Washington 70-60, the 49ers weren't as fortunate, falling to an opponent you have to beat if you're to make a solid case to the selection committee. 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the third straight year, Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Yes (50th in RPI, 3 Top 25 Wins, 10 Top 100 Wins)

No (8-10 in Big East, only 3 road wins, 13 losses)

While the best game of the night is the Top 5 battle between rivals Kansas State and Kansas, in regards to a conference title Duke visits Maryland with the winner either winning the ACC outright (Duke) or taking a step towards earing the top seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament (Maryland). Duke dominated the first meeting with Brian Zoubek playing an excellent game against a team that lacks the size required to deal with a seven-footer. Jordan Williams, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week, will need to play arguably his best game of the season in the paint for the Terrapins.

RPI #'s updated as of 2/24/10, 2:00 pm.

 

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Louisville

Marquette

Seton Hall

Connecticut went into their game against West Virginia back in the NCAA Tournament conversation following wins over Villanova and Temple. But consistency has been a problem for the Huskies all season long, so it can be understood if some expected them to fall to West Virginia at the XL Center. A mediocre rebounding team for most of the season, the Huskies received a far better performance on the glass on Monday night, out-rebounding the Big East's best 37-33 in a 73-62 win.

In terms of NCAA Tournament importance there's really only one game you need to watch on Monday night. UConn hosts West Virginia with the opportunity to pick up one more resume-building victory at their fingertips. Just one week ago Jim Calhoun's team was given up for dead by many as a result of their loss to Cincinnati, a performance that Coach Calhoun described as "embarrassing".