With conference tournaments in full swing, we are really starting to get to the tail end of the season. Lucky for us, I think the NCAA tournament is going to give us a spectacular ending to what was definitely an uncommon season.
Probably one of the biggest stories right now is the fact that Duke (who honestly was a bubble team to begin with) had to pull out of the ACC conference due to Covid. This basically means their chances of making to to the NCAA tournament are slim to none.
Barring some backroom money exchanges (which I seriously wouldn't rule out), I don't think we are going to see them in the tournament. Can you believe that? A March without Duke? As much as I despise them, it just doesn't seem right.
Unfortunately with a quick loss in the Big Ten tournament, I have a feeling my Michigan State Spartans are going to be on the outside looking in. Oh, wait, I should say my Michigan State Spartans brought to you by Rocket Mortgage. Will the corporate shilling never end? If you don't believe me, just Google it!
Many people still see them as a bubble team, but I honestly think it is going to be a miracle for them to make it. It will be based on the name of their coach and who they are that even gets their foot in the door. Certainly not the way they have been playing this season.
Monday night brought us one top 25 game with Gonzaga crushing Saint Mary's.
Gonzaga was in action again on Tuesday night taking down BYU.
Then on Wednesday Oklahoma took down Iowa State.
I am pretty sure there have been some other games that probably didn't get covered. As I said, at this point we are in conference tournament play, so the top 25 really doesn't mean anything. Teams are re-seeded within their conference and many of them are basically starting from scratch. If you can manage to win the conference tournament, you pretty much are guaranteed a berth in the big dance, no matter your past record.
Thursday the power conference tournaments really kicked into gear, so let's talk about the big upsets in those games...
Oklahoma State over West Virginia by about three points. I actually feel like these two teams were pretty evenly matched, so it could have went either way. They have both had some flashes of greatness through the season and I think they could both find themselves in the list of 64 teams.
Georgetown over Villanova by one point. That one is pretty impressive. If they do brackets in the conference tournaments, this was definitely a buster.
Baylor seems to have shaken off that one loss pretty well and continues to do well.
I have to say, there were some really close games on Thursday night. Many of them were only won or lost by a spread of five pionts.
North Carolina upset Virginia Tech by a pretty decent margin, but Texas only beat Texas Tech by one point. Utah took USC into two overtimes before finally running out of steam.
Tons of action the next three days before we finally find ourselves on Selection Sunday.
Check back on Monday when I start to cover the lucky ~64 teams and start to give my predictions. I might even share my bracket if you ask really nicely!