Tuesday marked the intersection of big and small conference tournaments, as the power leagues began their league tournaments while several smaller conferences crowned champions.
If you were watching the Southland Conference on Tuesday, you saw a pair of classics. Stephen F. Austin survived an upset bid when Texas A&M-Corpus Christi missed a three pointer at the buzzer, while McNeese State defeated UT Rio Grande Valley in triple overtime. Whether it’s the Lumberjacks or the Cowboys, the Southland champion will be a name to remember when filling out brackets.
Other teams were not as fortunate. Several took damaging losses that likely ended their chances of reaching the NCAA tournament.
Here’s a look at Tuesday’s action.
Winners
Santa Clara
The Broncos didn’t win the West Coast Conference tournament, but they gave a strong effort against Gonzaga. That should be enough to get them into the field, especially with several bubble teams falling by the wayside. At 26-8 with two Quad 1 wins over Saint Mary’s, which is safely in the tournament, Santa Clara’s résumé looks stronger than much of its competition.
The Broncos would have felt better if they had beaten Gonzaga and removed any remaining doubt. But most likely, they will hear their name called on Selection Sunday and may not even have to make the trip to Dayton.
SMU
The Mustangs looked shaky for the first 20 minutes, then blasted Syracuse in the second half to win comfortably on Day 1 of the ACC tournament. Now comes the real test for SMU: can the Mustangs beat Louisville again?
The Cardinals will be SMU’s ninth Quad 1 opponent of the season, and that’s not just because the ACC has grown stronger. The Mustangs scheduled aggressively, beating Texas A&M on a neutral floor and playing Vanderbilt on the road. A fifth Quad 1 victory would likely remove any remaining doubt about SMU’s NCAA tournament hopes, and Tuesday’s win made that opportunity possible.
Cincinnati
The Bearcats did what they needed to do against Utah. Cincinnati controlled the game early, which allowed the Bearcats to dictate play throughout the second half. It wasn’t a dominant performance, but it was more than enough to stay in control and secure the win.
Now Cincinnati faces a much bigger test against UCF. If the Bearcats can grab another victory, they will have an interesting case to present to the selection committee.
Bobby Hurley
Reports surfaced Tuesday that Bobby Hurley had been fired. Both Hurley and Arizona State said that report was premature, and the Sun Devils responded by knocking off Baylor to at least delay the decision for another day. Hurley now has the chance to make that report look foolish if he can coax four more wins out of Arizona State this week.
Losers
Stanford
Stanford saw its NCAA hopes disappear on a layup against Pittsburgh. The Cardinal needed to win at least twice in the ACC tournament to have a chance, but a neutral-floor loss to Pitt qualifies as a Quad 3 defeat. That’s the end of the line for Stanford.
Virginia Tech
The Hokies arrived at the ACC tournament knowing they needed at least one win, and probably two, to qualify for the NCAA tournament. They leave Charlotte with none after falling in overtime to Wake Forest. Virginia Tech’s 2-10 record against Quad 1 opponents isn’t strong enough on its own, which means the loss to the Demon Deacons likely ends the Hokies’ chances.
With a NET ranking in the mid-50s, there simply isn’t enough on the résumé for Virginia Tech to earn an at-large bid.
Indiana
The Hoosiers didn’t play Tuesday, but their situation is undeniably worse thanks to other results. SMU’s win likely moves the Mustangs ahead of Indiana on the bubble. The Hoosiers now open the Big Ten tournament with what amounts to a road game against Northwestern, which is the last thing a bubble team wants in March.
If Indiana can win and get some help on Wednesday, it will remain in the mix. But the Hoosiers’ path is more difficult now than it was at the start of the week. That’s the nature of the bubble: a game or two can change everything.
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