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Believe it or not, many of the conference tournaments get going
next week.
That’s the time when teams can atone for their poor
performances during the 3½-month regular season and make up
for it by playing well over a three-day period.
It’s actually ridiculous when you come to think of it
that
three days is worth everything to these teams.
Take Siena, for example. The Saints are hardly a lock to make
the NCAA tournament, but Fran McCaffery’s team has
steamrolled through the MAAC this season – winning 15 of 16
conference contests.
But if they don’t win the MAAC tournament, the
consolation prize?
An NIT bid.
Big deal.
What kid grows up dreaming of playing in the NIT?
That hasn’t been the case in decades.
I mean, how did Florida A&M warrant inclusion into the
world’s greatest sporting event back in 1999? The Rattlers
were 12-19 overall and 8-11 in the MEAC, but rolled through the
conference tourney and got an automatic bid while South Carolina
State and Coppin State – each with 14-4 league records
– watched from home.
It makes no sense.
Not quite anyone can get hot for a three-day period, but the
long and grueling regular season for many of the 300-plus Division
1 teams throughout the country doesn’t carry enough weight.
It should.
Here’s a preview of this weekend’s action:
CAN’T MISS: Villanova at Syracuse, Saturday
at 9 p.m. ET – The largest on-campus crowd in history –
34,616 people – is expected at the Carrier Dome when No. 4
Syracuse hosts No. 7 Villanova in a matchup of the two top teams in
the Big East. The ‘Cuse comes in with a one-game advantage.
CAN’T MISS II: Kentucky at Tennessee,
Saturday at noon ET – There are a lot of coaching feuds with
John Calipari in the mix, but none are to the extent of the
Kentucky coach and Tennessee head man Bruce Pearl. The Vols pulled
the upset over No. 1 Kansas in Knoxville earlier in the season. Can
they also knock off the second-ranked team in the land?
HARDLY AN UNDERCARD: New Mexico at BYU, Saturday
at 4 p.m. ET – This might actually be the most intriguing
game of the entire weekend. The Lobos can lock up a No. 1 seed in
the Mountain West tourney with a win, but they have lost nine
straight in Provo. New Mexico enters with a half-game lead over
BYU. If you are looking for it, the game is on Versus.
REAL DEAL?: Kansas at Oklahoma State, Saturday at
4 p.m. ET – The top-ranked Jayhawks travel to Stillwater and
Travis Ford’s team will get an opportunity to show it is NCAA
tournament worthy if it can pull off the upset.
UPSET SPECIAL: Loyola Marymount at Saint
Mary’s, Saturday at 9 p.m. ET – Max Good’s team
knocked off Gonzaga earlier this month, but that one was on the
Lions home court. I’m going out on a limb that LMU gets a big
road win against the Gaels.
NON-BCS MATCHUP: Richmond at Xavier, Sunday at 1
p.m. ET – There’s a three-way tie atop the Atlantic-10
and these are two of the teams in the mix. Chris Mooney’s
Spiders have had a terrific season, but the Musketeers have owned
the league of late.
MUST-WIN: Louisville at UConn, Sunday at 2 p.m. ET
– Both teams would likely be in the Big Dance if the season
ended today, but the loser will face some pressure down the
stretch. Rick Pitino vs. Jim Calhoun is always entertaining.
Louisville enters in the three-way tie for fifth in the Big East
while the Huskies are locked in a four-way tie for eighth.
RESPONSE: It’ll be interesting to see how
Purdue responds in its first game since learning that Robbie Hummel
will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The Boilermakers
will host Michigan State at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon in a game
that clearly has Big Ten regular-season title implications.
IMPORTANT: Texas at Texas A&M, Saturday at 2
p.m. ET – Now is the time that the Longhorns have to try to
turn it around – on the road against an NCAA tournament-bound
Texas A&M squad. Texas will have to do it without its starting
point guard, Dogus Balbay, who is done for the season with a torn
ACL.
UNDER-THE-RADAR: Maryland at Virginia Tech,
Saturday at 4 p.m. ET – Believe it or not, this is a matchup
of two of the top teams in the ACC. The Terps are just a game back
from Duke for first place in the league and Virginia Tech is in a
three-way tie for third with Florida State and Wake Forest.
GATOR BAIT: Florida has won nine of its last 11
SEC contests and Billy Donovan has his team in position to get back
to the NCAA tournament for the first time in three seasons. The
Gators have already won 20 games and have wins against Michigan
State and Tennessee – a pair of ranked teams. However,
Florida could use a road win against an overachieving Georgia team
on Saturday afternoon.
