Hold’n Court: The HoopGroup Blogs

3 days until Selection Sunday…

*Dayton kept it’s NCAA hopes alive with a 1 point overtime victory vs St Louis in the A10 tourney

*Syracuse is done due to their loss vs Villanova.  Villanova still is not in, but is now in the mix for an at-large bid.  A win over Georgetown today will do wonders for them.

*Congrats to Mount St. Mary’s for winning the NEC.  I believe they will be playing in the play-in game on Tuesday in Dayton against the winner of the SWAC.

*West Virginia punched their ticket with a win yesterday vs Providence…a sloppy game, but a win nonetheless.

*Arizona got a much needed win over Oregon State last night.  If they want to get into the NCAA’s they may need to beat Stanford tonight.

*Today should be a very interesting day…

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY FACTS & BRACKS

4 days until the oh so sacred day known as Selection Sunday… 

*Teams who have clinched an NCAA automatic bid:  Austin Peay, Belmont, Cornell, Butler, Drake, Siena, Winthrop, Oral Roberts, Western Kentucky, San Diego, Davidson, George Mason

*All bubble teams breathed a sigh of relief last night as Cleveland State was unable to pull of the upset and beat Butler.  Regardless of the fact, it was still a tremendous year for the Vikings from Ohio.

*Western Kentucky won the Sun Belt conference tournament last night beating out Middle Tennessee State.  The winner of this game didn’t matter to pretty much every bubble team…except one.  That one is South Alabama.  The Hilltoppers were not going to get an at-large bid if they were to lose.  South Alabama, however, needed them to win so now instead of having 1 win vs the RPI top 50, they now have 3, having beaten Western Kentucky twice and Mississippi State.  This keeps South Alabama in the mix…but does not make them lock as their RPI took a big hit after they lost to Middle Tennessee State.

*Syracuse and Villanova play at 12pm today in the 1st round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.  The loser of this game will be in the NIT.  The winner of this game is NOT guaranteed a bid, but it does put them in good shape…especially if it is Syracuse, who has the better computer numbers.

*Last year, there were 3 teams with an RPI in the top 40 that did not make the NCAA tourney: Bradley, Missouri State and Air Force.  All mid-major schools.  So, an RPI in the top 40 does not guarantee you a bid…especially if you have not beaten anybody real good or lose in the 1st round of your conference tournament.

*If a bubble team loses in the 1st round of their conference tournament…they are done.  West Virginia should be in, but I still think a win over Providence is essential.  A loss to them would probably drop their RPI out of the top 40.  They have 3 solid wins:  Marquette, Pittsburgh and Syracuse…all at home though.  A Syracuse win over Villanova will help the Mountaineers as well. 

*In the Pac-10, if Arizona loses to Oregon State then they won’t deserve to make the tournament.  Oregon…if you lose in the 1st round you’re done.  Arizona State plays USC.  This will be a tough one.  A win over USC will, in my opinion, lock the Sun Devils up for a bid for it will be their 6th win over the RPI top 50.  They have a terrible RPI, but remember, Stanford made the tourney last year with an RPI of 65.

*Here are the teams who, with a loss today, will be all but eliminated from making the NCAA tournament:  Syracuse, Villanova, Dayton, St. Joseph’s, Arizona and maybe West Virginia.  At least one of these teams will be done as Cuse plays Nova…will any of the other’s bubbles burst today?

*South Alabama receives an at-large bid for now.  If Syracuse beats Villanova today, that spot will then belong to the Orange.

*New Teams in the Bracks:  San Diego, Western Kentucky, Utah State, Stephen F. Austin

*Teams Removed from the Bracks:  Illinois State, Syracuse, Boise State, Lamar

Last 4 teams in:  Ohio State, Oregon, South Alabama, Dayton

First 4 teams out:  Syracuse, Illinois State, Mississippi, Villanova

We are coming down the stretch…

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY FACTS & BRACKS

Pop! Pop! Pop! That is the sound of bubbles bursting. Already! Fans across the country are not only rooting for their teams, but they are rooting against other teams that they have seemingly no connection with. Syracuse fans now have a reason to hate San Diego and Middle Tennessee. Tonight they will be wishing ill to Cleveland State. They also may want to trade in some Orange for Blue as they will be some of Memphis and Xavier’s biggest fans. Every time a NCAA lock like Gonzaga loses in their conference tournament, a team like San Diego takes away a bid and pops another bubble. That’s why it is always wise to win one more game than you think you need to. When you don’t, it becomes a long wait. Just ask VCU. They won the tough CAA by 3 full games and have wins over Maryland, Houston and at Akron that are all good but not great. It all makes for such great drama.

*Congratulations to Bob Hurley and the St Anthony Friars for setting the National record for the most state championships. There win over a tough St Pat’s team in the “B” North final cleared the last hurdle for this talented senior class. With 6 D1 players and a likely national championship, it is appropriate to ask where they would stack up in the history of this great program. To me, they are the 3^rd best St Anthony team that I have seen. The Bobby Hurley, Jr., Jerry Walker, Terry Dehere team is the best in my mind followed by the Anthony Perry, Delvon Arrington and Rashon Burno team. Both of those teams were more complete. They had interior scoring and defense that is superior to this year’s team. They also had more great wins than this year’s team. That is in no knock on this team. To be #3 at St Anthony’s is a great compliment. All you have to do is look at their record and rankings to see that.

*Congratulations to Holy Cross on winning their first city championship in 40 years. Sylven Landesberg finished his great career in style. Paul Gilvary is one of the really good guys in coaching. He is so well liked by his peers that I know a lot of them were rooting for him. It reminds me a little bit of when Jamal Mashburn carried Cardinal Hayes and their likeable coach, Tom Murray, to the city championship in his senior year.

*Congratulations to all of the state and city champions. It is a great accomplishment that you will treasure for the rest of your life. Even if you are fortunate enough to win championships at the next level, your HS championships will always be special.

*I had a busy weekend up in Albany for the MAAC tournament. The great games made 10 straight hours on the air Saturday fly by. And then we saw 2 great semifinal games on Sunday. Congratulations to Fran McCaffrey and Siena on their championship. They were the favorites heading into the season and showed why on Monday night. Congratulations as well to Jason Thompson and Charron Fisher on their great careers. Thompson nearly carried the Broncs to the NCAA’s after his brother Ryan was knocked out in the quarterfinal game with a concussion. He was spectacular in the second half of the semifinal win over Marist. He went over the 2,000 point mark for his career and showed all the NBA scouts in attendance that he is a bonafide 1^st round pick.

*I am looking forward to both the Big East and A-10 tournaments this week. What a treat for all of us in this area to have 2 great tournaments in our backyard. No one else in the country has that.

*In the Year of the Freshman, I was so proud to see that 8 of the All-Rookie selections in the Big East are Hoop Group alums. Austin Freeman, DeJuan Blair, Corey Chandler, Justin Burrell, Jeremy Hazell, Jonny Flynn, Donte’ Green and Corey Fisher are all part of one of the most talented and deep classes in NCAA history. Along with national sensations Mike Beasley and OJ Mayo, they are also part of one of The Hoop Group’s greatest classes. We look for more great things from these guys in the future.

           HERE’S THE DEAL

            At the top of our list, we must congratulate St Anthony and coach Bob Hurley as

they won their national record setting 25^th state championship over the week-end when they easily handled Trenton Catholic. The key to the title was actually in the North Final when they defeated St Patrick 64-52. The game was tied at 30 apiece at the half and both teams brough their “A” game. St Anthony is now seeded No 1 in the New Jersey Tournament of Champions and it would take an upset of unimaginable proportions to knock the Friars from the ranks of the unbeaten. When they win that title, they will be the #1 ranked team in every poll that includes them in their rankings.

            Next on the list is a big congrats to coach Paul Gilvary and Holy Cross High School as they won their first New York City Catholic League Title in 40 years. To do so, they defeated Rice in the semi-finals and Christ the King in the finals. That puts them back into “The Deal”. They now must wait until March 30^th to meet the winner of the AA New York State Champion vs the winner of the New York City Public League Champion. We wonder about the format of a state tournament that has teams wait 21 days between games.   

            Also slipping back into “The Deal” is Reading High School as their season is over but their total body of work is worth a spot in the poll. We will have to see how things play out over the next two weeks to see if they are in the final poll.

            Making room for these two were our two newest entrants into The Deal in Wilbur Cross and GW Danville. Wilbur Cross’ season ended when they lost to Lyman Hall in the Connecticut Class L State Quarter-Finals. GW Danville’s season came to a close when they fell to Petersburg in the Virginia AAA State Quarter-Finals.  

            And now onto the teams in question…Deal… or No Deal