Cincinnati

Cincinnati 2010 NIT Preview

Joel Welser — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:07:50 -0400

Cincinnati Bearcats

Big East Conference (18-15, 7-11)

Seed: #2

Big Wins: 11/23 vs Vanderbilt (67-58), 11/24 vs Maryland (69-57), 3/10 vs Louisville (69-66)

Bad Losses: 1/9 at Seton Hall (76-83), 1/13 at St. John’s (50-52), 2/16 at USF (57-65)

Coach: Mick Cronin

Why They Can Surprise:

Some may call it depth, others may see it as a team that lacks an identity, but no matter how you look at it, Coach Mick Cronin has started 11 different players during the 2009-2010 campaign. And it is not that bad of a thing because the Bearcats have a ton of depth in the frontcourt and that has turned this team into one of the best rebounding teams in the nation.

There are not any players on Cincinnati who have put up great numbers on the glass, but Yancy Gates is as close as it gets. The 6-9 sophomore is the wide-bodied space eater under the basket and is continuing to emerge as a consistent interior scorer as well as a solid rebounder and shot blocker. Rashad Bishop is the multi-dimensional scorer in the frontcourt. He grabs his fair share of boards, but his ability to step outside and hit the mid-range jumper adds another dynamic to the Bearcats offense. However, he has been suspended and his status for the postseason is still up in the air. Ibrahima Thomas and Steve Toyloy are potential starters up front too and both of those players, while not great scorers, are good rebounders for players who are limited in minutes.

Why They Can Disappoint:

The backcourt relies heavily on a couple freshmen. Lance Stephenson has lived up to all the hype and is averaging 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Stephenson does not always take the smartest shots, which is why he is shooting a dismal 20.6 percent from beyond the arc, but he can certainly do plenty of scoring by attacking the basket. Cashmere Wright is the other freshman who is often in the starting lineup. The 6-0 point guard is not much of a scorer at this point in his career, but he can keep the opposition honest by knocking down the occasional long ball. However, both freshmen have a lot to learn, even Stephenson who may split for the NBA, and every mistake is magnified in March. Jaquon Parker has been thrown into that mix now as well with the suspension of Bishop.

Who To Watch:

Luckily for Coach Mick Cronin he has an experienced guard in Deonta Vaughn. The 6-1 senior has taken a step back in the scoring column this season, but with Stephenson by his side that is understandable. Vaughn has cut down his turnover numbers dramatically during his senior season and that is the role Cincinnati needs him to play this year. He does not have to score quite as much, but he does need to knock down the three-point shot and keep the rest of the young backcourt under control.

Probable Starters:

Cashmere Wright, Freshman, Guard, 5.4 ppg, 1.9 apg

Deonta Vaughn, Senior, Guard, 11.1 ppg, 3.4 apg

Lance Stephenson, Freshman, Guard, 12.2 ppg, 2.4 apg, 5.4 rpg

Ibrahima Thomas, Junior, Forward, 5.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg

Yancy Gates, Sophomore, Forward, 10.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Rashad Bishop, Junior, Forward, 8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Larry Davis, Junior, Guard, 3.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg

Dion Dixon, Sophomore, Guard, 5.1 ppg, 1.2 apg

Jaquon Parker, Freshman, Guard, 4.1 ppg, 1.0 apg

Steve Toyloy, Senior, Center, 3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 69.2 (167^th in nation, 11^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 66.5 (134, 7)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.0 (148, 11)

Field-Goal Defense: 41.1 (70, 5)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.6 (226, 13)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 29.2 (277, 14)

Free-Throw Percentage: 61.6 (323, 15)

Rebound Margin: 6.1 (17, 2)

Assists Per Game: 13.7 (118, 12)

Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (137, 10)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Dayton

Follow Joel Welser's Postseason Capsules & College Basketball Previews on Twitter@Joel_Welser and on his Facebook page. Joel will be back in June for his annual Top 144 Teams in 144 Days preview on CollegeHoops.net

How Cincinnati Can Win 5 Games in 5 Days

John P. Wise — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:32:44 -0500

Those pesky Cincinnati Bearcats won their second game in two nights late Wednesday and their reward is a quarterfinal game against old friend Bob Huggins and the Big East Tournament's third-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers (9 p.m., ESPN).

One night after trying to give away an eventual win over Rutgers, UC was again at times brutal to watch in a 69-66 defeat of Louisville, whose second late-season defeat of conference champ Syracuse last week seemed to cement the Cardinals' NCAA Tournament invitation.

The Bearcats are a bad offensive team, worse from the foul line and still make mental mistakes at critical junctures the way they did even in the fat 1990s when Huggins was racking up 25 wins a year in Cincinnati.

Led by Brooklyn native Lance Stephenson, however, they held on against Rick Pitino's Cardinals under the bright lights of Midtown Manhattan's Madison Square Garden. Fellow New Yorker Edgar Sosa scored a career-high 28 points in a losing effort for Louisville.

It was only four years ago when Gerry McNamara led Syracuse to four wins in four days in this very tournament. And now with the expanded bracket, Cincinnati has the opportunity -- or tall task, depending how you look at it -- to rattle off an unprecedented five in five. Two down and three to go; here's how they can finish the feat:

+ Continue to attack the offensive glass against West Virginia. Huggins' Mounties are strong, active and physical, just as the Bearcats were under his watch. They've got many New York connections and will treat the tradition-steeped MSG floor as if it's their own. But Cincinnati's best wins this year (Maryland, Vanderbilt) were away from home, so it just needs to focus on what it's good at -- crashing the glass and collecting their many misses.

+ Shoot the ball well in the semifinal round against Notre Dame, which I think will upset Pittsburgh Thursday night. Asking Cincinnati to shoot well is like coaxing Charlize Theron to meet me for drinks, but with their interior beef, the Bearcats are more than capable of slowing down gimpy Irish banger Luke Harangody. The star forward lit up UC for 37 in one meeting, but was held to 14 on 5-of-20 shooting in the other. I think Cincinnati keeps him in check and Stephenson controls the pace the way he did in the second half against Louisville.

+ Blow up whichever hotel Syracuse is bunking in. Otherwise, I don't think the Bearcats would have much of a chance in Saturday's title game. The Orange are an NCAA No. 1 seed and play outstanding zone defense, precisely the recipe to keep a poor-shooting team like Cincinnati on the dim side of the scoreboard.

John P. Wise is the editor of OneGreatSeason.com. Follow March Madness 140 characters at a time: @onegreatseason

Big East Wednesday Recap: Welcome Back, Mr. Harangody

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:57:00 -0500

Luke Harangody was a First Team All-Big East selection and it was an honor that many questioned this week due primarily to his knee injury. The senior played just eleven minutes in Saturday's regular season finale at Marquette and the question of many was whether or not his return would hamper the surging Irish in their quest for an NCAA Tournament bid. Well, you got your answer. Harangody came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds, essentially being the difference-maker in Notre Dame's 68-54 win over Seton Hall. Next up is two-seed Pittsburgh, a team they beat in their lone regular season meeting (68-53 in South Bend on February 24th.

"Luke coming off the bench- the most important three days of practice for us was Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because we could get Luke back in [an even better] rhythm," said head coach Mike Brey. Thanks in large part to Harangody the Irish were a plus-21 in bench points (24-3) and a plus-10 on the boards (40-30). Seton Hall also shot just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc and 34.5% overall for the game; Jeremy Hazell led the way with 15 points but he needed sixteen shots (making just five) to do so. A turning point for the Pirates was when Herb Pope picked up his third foul with 2:30 left in the first half. Over the ensuing 9:59 the Irish increased their lead from five (24-19) to sixteen (44-28) points and the game was essentially over.

As for why Pope was in the game head coach Bobby Gonzalez felt he had to with Notre Dame beginning to assert their will on the game. "Well, basically the game was getting away from us," said Gonzalez. "We had to. I felt that if I hadn't put him in, we might be down 15 at the half and we may not be in the game. We couldn't get a rebound." And as a result Seton Hall has to play the waiting game, paying close attention to the scores of games involving other teams perceived to be on the bubble while also making their case to anyone who will listen. And Coach Brey gave the masses a little advice in regards to the science of bracketology as well.

"You know what; right now nobody is going to talk about Seton Hall. Just give it a few days. Keep Seton Hall on the board...I know everybody kneejerks. Give it two days and come back as look at the big picture."

Georgetown 69, USF 49
No other way to describe this as a routine victory for Georgetown, outclassing a team that if not for a Shawn Noriega three in the game's final minute would have gone two games without a bonus shot. Greg Monroe and Jason Clark scored sixteen points apiece while Chris Wright added fifteen, advancing the Hoyas to their third meeting of the year (and 12th in the Big East Tournament) with top-seeded Syracuse. Dominique Jones led all scorers with 21 points but made just six of eighteen shots from the field. The Hoyas were able to make him work offensively and as a team USF shot just 29.1% from the floor. For the two games USF managed to score just seven points that didn't involve either the paint or the foul line. And when you combine that with Georgetown making seven of fourteen from beyond the arc it's easy to figure out why the Hoyas won.

Marquette 59, St. John's 57
Another close game and another close win for the Golden Eagles, who will now face Villanova in the quarterfinal round for the second consecutive season. Marquette held on for dear life against a tough St. John's squad that played the better basketball of the two teams in the final twenty minutes. Lazar Hayward led all scorers with 20 points while David Cubillan and Maurice Acker added eleven and ten, respectively. The Red Storm dominated points off turnovers (18-8), points in the paint (40-20) and second-chance points (15-2) but because of the ten-point hole they dug themselves in the first half they couldn't pull off the comeback. D.J. Kennedy and Sean Evans scored 12 points apiece and Paris Horne ten for St. John's.

"Not that I'm old, but I always trust our players to tell me the truth about other players," said Marquette head coach Buzz Williams. "And if you were to ask out players who is the hardest-playing team in the league, they would tell you St. John's." Marquette now gets to play for a measure of revenge against the Wildcats, who not only won both meetings by two points but also knocked them out of the Big East Tournament at the buzzer last season. Reggie Redding hit a cutting Dwayne Anderson with the pass that led to Anderson's game-winning layup as time expired. Another classic? That's definitely a possibility.

Cincinnati 69, Louisville 66
It didn't look good for the Cincinnati Bearcats at the half, shooting 28% from the field while also giving up 41 points. But the one stat that happened to be a byproduct of their poor shooting- rebounding- ended up being one of the areas that brought them back from said deficit to win in the final game of the night. The difference between halves: Mick Cronin's team went back to attacking the basket and they were able to take full advantage of the paint points as a result. "Guys did a great job in the second half," said Cronin. "We ended up with 40 points in the paint. We get the ball in the paint, we get it on the rim, [and] we can rebound the ball."

Yancy Gates led the way with 16 points but the most impressive stat is that five Bearcats had at least five rebounds apiece (Jaquon Parker had a team-high nine) and another two had four. The Bearcats finished the night with a 54-33 edge on the glass and 17-6 in second-chance points. Edgar Sosa led all scorers with 28 points (also led Louisville with six rebounds) but Deonta Vaughn stripped the senior of the basketball as he attempted the game-tying shot just before time expired to preserve the comeback victory. Cincy also received the reward of foul shots in their attacking the basket; they were a plus-7 in points from the foul line (15-8). As a result of the win Mick Cronin will take on another mentor, Bob Huggins, in Thursday's final quarterfinal of the day.

Thursday's Schedule

Noon #8 Georgetown vs. #1 Syracuse
This is the rivalry that helped shape the Big East, and with this being a noon tip this will likely be a truly packed house at the start. They've played twice with the Orange winning both: a blowout at the Carrier Dome after the Hoyas jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and a close finish at the Verizon Center in which the Orange jumped out to a sizeable edge before holding on in the end. For John Thompson III what the Hoyas have to do is rather simple. "We just have to come out and execute at both ends of the floor," commented Thompson after their win over USF. But with players such as Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins (among others) to deal with that's easier said than done. Will Georgetown have their legs with this being their second game in as many days? It's vital that they come out and establish themselves early against the Big East's best team.

2 PM #5 Marquette vs. #4 Villanova
These two have quite the recent history; the Wildcats won two-point games in both meetings and they also knocked the Golden Eagles out of last season's Big East Tournament with a layup as time expired. Jay Wright's squad is among the deepest in the nation and with Marquette not having the luxury of such numbers staying out of foul trouble will be a key for them. Taylor King (personal reasons) has been cleared to play by Coach Wright, and as a team Villanova has to avoid giving away points via the foul line. They're among worst in the nation in regards to fouls committed per game; their aggressive style of play can get them into trouble at times and lead to an imbalance in foul shots. If Scottie Reynolds and the rest of the backcourt can control the game Villanova can use their depth, but don't be surprised if this one goes down to the wire. 12 of Marquette's 19 Big East games have been decided by three points or less.

7 PM #7 Notre Dame vs. #2 Pittsburgh
Given how well Notre Dame played in the lone regular season meeting without Harangody, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Irish took out the Panthers for a second time. Pittsburgh didn't attack the basket enough in that game, netting just seven foul shots to eighteen for Notre Dame. While guys such as Ashton Gibbs can shoot the bonus shot Jamie Dixon's team needs to attack the rim and keep the foul shot numbers close to even if they're to advance. Gilbert Brown was 0-for-5 from behind the arc; he's better served using his athleticism to attack the rim. Tim Abromaitis scored seventeen in that victory for Notre Dame and Tory Jackson also had a good game at the point. This one likely boils down to how well the Panthers execute offensively.

9 PM #11 Cincinnati vs. #3 West Virginia
Teacher versus pupil, part two for Mick Cronin as he takes on Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers in the final game of the night. Rebounding will determine the outcome as both are good offensive rebounding teams. WVU had the advantage on the boards in the second half of their regular season meeting and as a result they were able to take care of the Bearcats in Morgantown. Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks provide their own set of challenges for any defense not counting the offensive rebounds, and WVU's length on both ends could be an issue for Cincinnati.

Picks
Syracuse over Georgetown
Marquette over Villanova
Pittsburgh over Notre Dame
West Virginia over Cincinnati

NYC Metro Hoops

Poll: Who Will Win the Big East Tournament?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:01:03 -0500

Big East: All-Conference Teams

Press Release — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:33:20 -0500

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.

Six players were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from that list. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete on Tuesday, March 9. The announcement will be made between sessions of the first day of The BIG EAST Championship Presented by New York Life at Madison Square Garden. The press conference will begin after the postgame interviews of the afternoon doubleheader have been completed. The other individual awards will be announced Monday, March 8.

The other first-team selections are: Greg Monroe of Georgetown, Dominique Jones of USF, Wes Johnson of Syracuse, Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, Da’Sean Butler of West Virginia.

Harangody, a 6-8 senior, was first in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 23.3 average and finished third in rebounding with a 9.7 mark. In league games, he compiled averages of 22.5 points and 9.4 boards. As a junior, Harangody became the first player in BIG EAST history to win the scoring and rebounding crowns in two seasons. This year, Harangody missed five games with a knee injury. He becomes only the 11th player in league history to earn All-BIG EAST First Team accolades three times.

Monroe, a 6-11 sophomore, was Georgetown’s second leading scorer, averaging 16.0 ppg. He also pulled down 9.6 rebounds, which was fourth in the BIG EAST. Last season, Monroe was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.

Jones, a 6-4 junior guard, was the key component in USF’s rise in the standings. The junior averaged 21.3 points in all games and won the BIG EAST scoring crown by averaging 23.2 points in league play. The Bulls, who had never won more than four BIG EAST games in a season, finished the year with a 9-9 conference record. Jones was second on the team in rebounding with a 6.4 rebounding mark.

Johnson was a critical addition for Syracuse. A transfer from Iowa State who sat out last season, the 6-7 junior led the Orange in scoring and rebounding with 15.7 and 8.5 averages, respectively. Syracuse won the BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 15-3 record.

Reynolds has been the cornerstone for Villanova’s success. The 6-2 senior guard was the team’s top scorer with an 18.8 average. He led the Wildcats to a 24-6 overall record and a 13-5 league mark, which tied for second place.

Butler, an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick last season, also was his team’s top scorer and leader. The 6-7 senior forward averaged a team-leading 17.2 ppg and 6.3 rebounds. WVU also finished 24-6 overall and 13-5 in the BIG EAST.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, So., 6-11, 247, New Orleans, La.
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6-8, 255, Schererville, Ind.
Dominique Jones, USF, G, Jr., 6-4, 205, Lake Wales, Fla.
Wes Johnson, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6-7, 205, Corsicana, Texas
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-2, 190, Herndon, Va. *
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Sr., 6-7, 225, Newark, N.J.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Austin Freeman, Georgetown, G, Jr., 6-4, 237, Mitchelville, Md.
Lazar Hayward, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-6, 225, Buffalo, N.Y.
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh, G, So., 6-2, 190, Scotch Plains, N.J.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, Jr., 6-5, 185, Bronx, N.Y.
Andy Rautins, Syracuse, G, Sr., 6-5, 195, Jamesville, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Jerome Dyson, Connecticut, G, Sr., 6-3, 190, Potomac, Md.
Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, So., 6-1, 172, Bronx, N.Y.
Samardo Samuels, Louisville, F, So., 6-9, 260, Trelawny, Jamaica
Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-1, 200, Bronx, N.Y.
Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, F, So., 6-9, 210, Long Island City, N.Y.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Jimmy Butler, Marquette, F, Jr., 6-6, 215, Tomball, Texas
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6-8, 232, Unionville, Conn.
Jamine Peterson, Providence, F, So., 6-6, 230, Brooklyn, N.Y.

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati, G, Fr., 6-5, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y. *
Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut, F/C, Fr., 6-9, 240, Lowell, Mass.
Vincent Council, Providence, G, Fr., 6-2, 180, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dane Miller, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6-7, 210, Henrietta, N.Y. *
Brandon Triche, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6-4, 198, Jamesville, N.Y.
Maalik Wayns, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-1, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.

College Hoops Tuesday Recap: A Night of Missed Opportunities

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:01:14 -0500

Had Cincinnati, Florida or Illinois won on Tuesday night they'd be the main story in the recap. However with all three dropping opportunities to vault themselves either into the NCAA Tournament or onto the bubble they could all look back at this night as the one that helped keep them out of the Field of 65. The Bearcats and Gators both hosted ranked teams at home and both fell by four points. Cincinnati held Scottie Reynolds scoreless in the first half but they most they could manage was a tie going into the locker room. Reynolds was due to get on the scoreboard and once he did his offense was the difference in a 77-73 Villanova win. Six Wildcats finished in double figures as they shot 55% from the field in the second half and attempted 25 foul shots in the final twenty minutes. Rashad Bishop led the Bearcats with 19 off the bench, and they now find themselves in need of a serious run beginning with the regular season finale at Georgetown.

Florida fell victim to a freshman sharpshooter by the name of John Jenkins in their 64-60 loss. Jenkins made six of nine three-point attempts in scoring a team-high eighteen points and two other Commodores also scored in double figures. Vernon Macklin's 21 points weren't enough to offset Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker combining to shoot 3-for-24 from the field, and the unabashed firing away may have contributed to Chandler Parsons attempting just four shots. The Gators held the advantage in points in the paint and second-chance points but their frigid shooting (26.7% in the second half) was their undoing. But unlike the Bearcats, Florida may still be in decent shape when it comes to getting into the NCAA Tournament. The regular season finale is at Kentucky and a solid performance (at least) will certainly bolster their resume.

As for Illinois it seemed as if the players forgot the pregame scouting report on Ohio State, most notably Jon Diebler. How one of the Big Ten's best three-point shooters can attempt fourteen shots from behind the arc (making seven) has to be one of Tuesday's bigger mysteries. Evan Turner added his customary versatile floor game although the overall stat line wasn't as impressive as we've come to expect, and David Lighty and William Buford each scored in double figures to help the Buckeyes clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title with the 73-57 win. Demetri McCamey led the Illini with 18 points but their difficulties in defending the three (OSU: 10-21 3PT) and getting to the foul line (4-5 FT) resulted in them dropping a game that would have made them a lock for the Big Dance. Now they likely need a win over Wisconsin this weekend to seal the deal.

Three Key Happenings

1. UTEP clinches their first-ever Conference USA title. It's now official: someone other than Memphis has won Conference USA. Tony Barbee's UTEP Miners, who could be a handful for someone in the NCAA Tournament, were able to gut out a win at Marshall by the final score of 80-76. Randy Culpepper, one of the nation's most explosive guards, led the way with 32 points while Derrick Caracter added 18. UTEP was fortunate to make the key plays late as Marshall out-rebounded the Miners 50-35 with Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Wilkerson combining for thirty boards. The key for UTEP going into the Conference USA and NCAA tournaments will be the play of their frontcourt, most notably Caracter and Arnett Moultrie (1-10 FG on Tuesday). Those two have to be consistent if Tony Barbee's team has any hope of advancing.

2. Nearly fifteen years after Tyus Edney broke Tiger hearts Zaire Taylor saves Missouri in Ames. If not for Zaire Taylor the Missouri Tigers would have to find a way to explain dropping a game to an Iowa State team many expect them to handle with relative ease. Taylor hit an 18-footer with eighteen seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 61, and after a Cyclone turnover late in overtime he went the length of the floor to toss in an off-balanced shot at the buzzer. Missouri went into the game a virtual lock for an NCAA berth but a game like this is exactly the kind of game that, if lost, can touch off a nosedive to the finish line. They can now focus all of their energy on preparing to host Kansas over the weekend and they remain in contention for one of the four first-round byes in the Big 12 Tournament.

3. Murray State and Morehead State move one step closer to "round three" in the Ohio Valley. The two best teams in the OVC took care of business by identical 33-point margins on Tuesday, moving on to Friday's semifinals in Nashville. Ivan Aska led five players in double figures with seventeen points as the regular season champs routed Tennessee State 84-51, and Kenneth Faried led Morehead State with 24 points and 19 rebounds in their 87-54 win over Jacksonville State. Standing between these two and their second meeting in just over a week are Eastern Illinois (Murray State) and Tennessee Tech (Morehead State), with Mike Sutton's Eagles being the lone surprise. Tennessee Tech won at Austin Peay on a Kevin Murphy three-pointer with six seconds remaining, making this the first year since 2006 in which the Govenors did not advance to at least the semifinals. Could there be a surprise on Friday night? It's not out of the realm of possibility despite the performances of the two favorites to this point in the season.

Top Three Games

1. Missouri 69, Iowa St 67 (OT) See above.

2. Tennessee Tech 68, Austin Peay 65 See above.

3. Radford 64, Charleston Southern 61 (OT) The defending Big South champs nearly had their dreams of a repeat crushed on Tuesday night. Art Parakhouski led the way with 24 points and 13 rebounds while the Buccaneers went scoreless for the first 3:44 of the extra session. Jeremy Sexton led the Buccaneers with 18 points.

Three Notable Performances

1. G J.P. Primm (UNC Asheville) Primm posted a line of 23 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in the Bulldogs' 84-73 Big South quarterfinal win over High Point.

2. F Kenneth Faried (Morehead State) 24 points and 19 rebounds in Morehead State's 87-54 win over Jacksonville State.

3. Forwards Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Wilkerson (Marshall) Whiteside (20 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks) and Wilkerson (22 points, 16 rebounds) were outstanding in the Thundering Herd's 80-76 loss to UTEP.

BubbleBoard 3/1: Ranking the Bubble Teams

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:01:12 -0500

RPI #'s updated as of 3/01/10, 4:00 pm.

The BubbleBoard returns again in 2010. CHN ranks at-large contenders using a variety of standard resume components. The BubbleBoard ranking is a modified RPI, that gives extra credit for success against Top 50 teams & games away from home. The purpose of the BubbleBoard is to weed out those teams that may have a high RPI due to playing a seemingly challenging schedule, but either a) lost almost all their challenging games, or b) have won a few challenging games at home but have been sub-par away from home. Ultimately the tourney should feature teams with a track-record of beating good teams on neutral courts. Note: The BubbleBoard is not a prediction of what the committee will do, but a ranking based on previous results.. which is arguably a suggestion for what the committee should do.

The BubbleBoard will be updated again on Thursday.

Top 5 Rising teams*: Notre Dame, Maryland, Northeastern, Xavier, Louisville

Top 5 Falling teams: UCONN, Old Dominion, VCU, Cincinnati, Memphis

*Based on difference between last week's BubbleBoard

Top 5 Faker teams*: California, UCONN, Wichita St, Memphis, Arizona St

Top 5 Dangerous teams: Richmond, Baylor, UNLV, St Mary's, Maryland

*Faker teams are those that have struggled most away from home & against Top 50 teams as compared to their RPI.

Today's BubbleBoard Additions/Subtractions:

Louisiana Tech & Tulsa no longer tracked.

Into/Out of Projected At-Large Bid:

In: Louisville

Out: UCONN

Today's BubbleBoard Thoughts:

Amazing what one week can do. UCONN went from being firmly in the bubble to almost 10 spots out after a disappointing home loss to Louisville. Maryland, Xavier, Baylor, and Clemson move into virtual "lock" status at this point, along with Richmond. I've left those teams on for reference at this point, as all would certainly make the tournament at this point. The same can be said for Oklahoma St. It will be extremely interesting to see what the committee does with projected league champions such as Utah St, Old Dominion, UTEP, and Cal. Except for Cal, the BubbleBoard thinks the prior 3 are tournament worthy and that Cal is firmly on the bubble. Would the committee take Utah St or Old Dominion as at-large teams if they lose their tournaments? We can only speculate.

Last week, Notre Dame was 20 spots out of the field, but the addition of two Top 50 teams puts them in much better position. If UCONN adds 1 more Top 50 win this week and moves up 8 spots in the RPI, they'd be in. In general, the BubbleBoard is not particularly impressed with the Big East bubble teams, with the exception of Louisville. UCONN, Marquette, Notre Dame, and Seton Hall are a combined 12-28 against Top 50 teams, and 16-29 away from home. The BubbleBoard sees those 12 Top 50 wins as being a matter of simply getting so many bites of the apple at home, that eventually they've each pulled off some big wins. The BubbleBoard also disrespects Mississippi St, who is in many "Bracketology" fields. MSU has only 1 Top 50 win, yet they have 4 losses to teams below 100th.. a ratio that is far from tournament worthy.

How The Yellow At-Large Field Is Projected:

The yellow shading represents teams who would fit into an approximate bubble. There are 25 "lock" teams (listed below), as well as 16 one-bid league champs not listed, and 3-4 probable league champs included in the BubbleBoard. This leaves about 21 teams with room to make the tournament. Teams with 10+ points are approaching "lock" status to make the tourney as of now. Teams with -10 or below still have work to do. (The 2 semi-shaded boxes represent the extended bubble if you consider that the committee almost certainly will not take VCU and William & Mary, despite what the computers say about them).

	Team	RPI	SOS	NCSOS	Computer	T50 W	T50 L	R/N W	R/N L	L100 L	Bonus =	Total =	Was	Dif
#	Kansas	1	19	41	3	8	2	9	2	0	92	89	97	-8
1	Richmond	28	73	72	22	5	2	9	6	0	53	32	35	-3
2	Baylor	11	28	129	12	5	4	8	5	2	32	20	5	15
3	Xavier**	12	24	17	9	5	7	7	7	0	19	10	-11	21
4	Maryland	25	23	159	20	4	5	6	6	0	19	-2	-25	23
5	Clemson	27	30	162	22	4	5	7	6	1	16	-6	-20	14
6	Oklahoma St	26	18	124	19	4	5	6	7	1	12	-8	-14	6
7	UAB	35	111	88	28	1	2	11	3	1	17	-12	-1	-11
8	UNLV	43	96	207	36	4	4	10	4	3	23	-13	-10	-3
9	Saint Mary's	45	142	73	35	2	3	10	3	1	19	-16	-12	-4
10	Rhode Island	37	68	27	25	2	4	9	5	1	8	-18	-5	-13
11	Utah St**	34	92	81	27	1	1	8	5	2	6	-21	-13	-8
12	William & Mary	60	107	23	40	3	3	9	6	2	17	-23	-14	-9
13	Louisville	32	5	19	19	3	6	5	6	1	-5	-23	-41	18
14	UTEP**	50	151	194	42	1	1	9	3	1	17	-25	-29	4
15	Georgia Tech	33	20	131	24	4	6	5	8	2	-3	-27	-19	-8
16	Missouri	36	49	195	29	4	6	5	7	2	-1	-30	-24	-6
17	Florida	48	59	130	34	3	6	7	6	1	0	-34	-33	-1
18	Dayton	41	37	22	25	3	6	5	8	1	-8	-34	-28	-6
19	Florida St	42	50	220	33	3	7	8	5	1	-1	-34	-29	-5
20	Old Dominion**	38	77	9	25	1	4	8	8	1	-11	-37	-18	-19
21	San Diego St	39	56	125	29	2	5	7	7	2	-12	-40	-34	-6
22	VCU	66	145	113	48	3	1	5	7	4	6	-42	-25	-17
23	Cincinnati	58	17	45	34	4	8	4	9	0	-8	-43	-29	-14
24	Virginia Tech	52	156	343	49	2	4	7	6	0	6	-43	-32	-11
25	South Florida	67	64	239	48	3	5	7	7	1	4	-44	-43	-1
26	California**	21	4	1	12	0	4	5	8	2	-34	-46	-42	-4
27	Charlotte	62	112	167	46	3	7	9	6	1	0	-46	-35	-11
28	Northeastern	72	82	10	44	3	3	10	7	6	-3	-47	-69	22
29	Marquette	49	67	202	37	3	7	7	6	2	-10	-48	-62	14
30	Illinois	73	64	118	48	4	6	6	8	2	0	-48	-44	-4
31	Ole Miss	55	65	150	39	2	7	8	5	1	-12	-50	-61	11
32	Washington	53	58	44	34	2	2	2	7	4	-18	-52	-47	-5
33	UCONN	44	2	6	25	3	8	3	8	2	-30	-54	-31	-23
34	Notre Dame	68	60	213	48	3	4	3	8	2	-7	-55	-86	31
35	Arizona St	54	74	77	36	1	5	6	6	2	-23	-59	-51	-8
36	St Louis	87	137	223	63	3	2	4	7	3	3	-60	-52	-8
37	Minnesota	70	38	74	43	3	6	4	8	3	-21	-64	-60	-4
38	Seton Hall	63	16	170	41	3	9	3	7	0	-23	-64	-57	-7
39	Mississippi St	56	128	235	46	1	4	9	6	4	-20	-66	-72	6
40	Memphis	64	98	66	43	1	5	6	5	3	-26	-69	-56	-13
41	Wichita St	51	138	301	46	1	3	6	8	4	-26	-71	-64	-7

*Teams leading their leagues

Yellow = Approximate bubble cut-off

NC-SOS = Non-conference strength of schedule

Computer = Modified RPI taking into account SOS/NCSOS a bit more

Bonus = Modifications due to Top 50 & R/N success

R/N = Road/neutral

L100L = Lower than 100 losses

Lock Teams: Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, Purdue, Georgetown, Michigan St, West Virginia, Kansas St, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio St, Temple, BYU, Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, Butler, Siena, Cornell, Wake Forest, Texas, Texas A&M

As teams move in and out of bubble consideration, the teams tracked will change in future weeks.

Poll: Which Big East Bubble Team is Best-Suited For a March Run?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:37:09 -0500

Poll: Which Big East Bubble Team Has the Best Chance?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:09:26 -0500

Call Me: DeMarcus Cousins a Trendsetter in Close Win?

John P. Wise — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:48:41 -0500

If you weren't fortunate enough to be in the fine city of Starkville, Miss., Tuesday night, I hope you were at least able to watch on television the Mississippi State Bulldogs take No. 2 Kentucky to overtime before letting the Wildcats escape with the win.

And as if the pain of losing a nailbiter wasn't difficult enough, MSU suffered some national-television embarrassment after fans, already jacked about having UK star DeMarcus Cousins' cell-phone number, threw drinks on to the floor late in the game.

The bebubbled home team enjoyed a seven-point lead with less than three minutes left, but Kentucky scored the final seven points of regulation to tie the game, 67-67.

After a Mississippi State timeout during which coach Rick Stansbury drew up a play that clearly didn't get run, Barry Stewart launched what Scott Van Pelt described on the "SportsCenter" that followed the game as "a contested double-pump that misses everything but the floor." It really was ugly.

Kentucky would call back-to-back-to-back 30-second timeouts, but they weren't enough to produce a game-winning play.

It was an easy call at that point to think the visitors would survive. First of all, they're better, and secondly, MSU was playing without its top interior player, Jarvis Varnado, who fouled out late in regulation.

It wasn't just the obnoxious student section that thought ill of a few late calls or no-calls by the officials, but the Bulldogs themselves deserve the blame for this loss. Poor shot selection on at least a pair of possessions in the last five minutes didn't help the home team's effort to protect that seven-point cushion. MSU lost this game, as well as a huge chance for a resume win.

Outside of their season finale at home against No. 18 Tennessee, the Bulldogs (18-8, 6-5 SEC) play an easy remaining schedule against four SEC foes with a combined league record of 12-30. They might want to win those games. Losing one of them will do far more harm than the good that would come with winning all four of them.

TREND WATCH: Cousins, who's earned a reputation in his freshman season as a great player with a bad attitude, had his number plastered all over the MSU student community the last couple of days. Trash-talking phone calls and text messages didn't seem to bother him, though, as he finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in 30 minutes.

After a first-half dunk, Cousins turned toward the seats as he began to run back down the court, lifted his hand to his head and made a kind of "call me" gesture that I think just might become a new trend among the drama-craving athletes.

BIG TEN BRAWL: Purdue visits Ohio State Wednesday night and while you all know I'm an Ohio guy, an informed opinion and not home-state bias is what leads me to believe the Buckeyes will win this one. I'm not as confident about OSU's chances at Michigan State Sunday, but I think the Bucks keep pace with those Spartans with a win over the Boilermakers.

Ohio State is unbeaten in Columbus this year and hasn't lost at home to Purdue in 12 years. I don't know if there's a team -- particularly a starting five -- that's playing better than OSU is right now, and it would be irresponsible not to mention that Evan Turner might be the best player in the country.

Purdue is solid and it still might eventually earn a No. 2 seed next month, but as long as the Buckeyes are playing this way, a Michigan State team in East Lansing seems the only threat to derail OSU's current hot trend.

CINCINNATI UPDATE: ESPN's Andy Katz Tweeted Tuesday night that UC's loss at South Florida won't cause too much harm to the Bearcats' NCAA chances.

Perhaps he's of the logic that Cincinnati's closing schedule of West Virginia, Villanova and Georgetown offers ample opportunities for resume wins. True as it may be, but if Cincinnati can't beat South Florida -- or Seton Hall or St. John's -- I can't imagine it can win two of those other three, let alone all of them, against Big East powers currently ranked among the top 10 in the country.

The Bearcats are headed to the NIT. Still.

John P. Wise is the editor of OneGreatSeason.com. He can be reached at jpwise3@hotmail.com.