Last year on what was supposed to be Selection Sunday, we all sat around wondering what could have been, as COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 NCAA Tournament. No bracket reveal. No potential 12-over-5 upset. No nothing. Just a long wait to what we hoped would be he return of the tournament in 2021. Well, we're in 2021 and we made it to Selection Sunday and we will have a bracket to fill out this year.
As for what that bracket will look like, Saturday certainly helped bring the field into focus, which included Georgetown, the No. 8 seed in the Big East tournament, complete their run by thrashing Creighton and keeping the Bluejays empty-handed in terms of Big East tournament titles. The Hoyas have now stolen a bid from a potential bubble team and, in this case, it turned out to be Colorado State.
Then later in the night, a second bid was stolen. Oregon State pulled the upset of Colorado to win the Pac-12 tournament and shrink the bubble even further.
Utah State lost in the Mountain West final to San Diego State and was clinging to the final spot in the field, while Wichita State was upset by Cincinnati in the American semifinals and was the second-to-last team in the field. That was until Oregon State decided to crash the party. Utah State is now the first team out and Wichita State is now the last team in. And to makes things even more interesting, Wichita's fellow conference member, Cincinnati, can create one last bit of chaos for the Selection Committee before the finish the bracket as another potential bid thief. If Cincinnati beats Houston, they very well could knock the Shockers out but yet still keep the American as a two-bid league.
Just five games separate us and the beauty that is the release of the NCAA Tournament. Here's your next-to-last bracket update for the season. My final bracket will come just before the selection show at 6:00 p.m. on CBS.
Last Four Byes: VCU, Maryland, Michigan State, Louisville
Last Four In: Drake, UCLA, Syracuse, Wichita State
First Four Out: Utah State, Colorado State, Ole Miss, Saint Louis
Next Five Out: Boise State, Western Kentucky, Memphis, Xavier, St. John's
Bids by Conference:
Big Ten - 9
ACC - 8
Big 12 - 7
SEC - 6
Pac-12 - 5
Big East - 4
American Athletic - 2
Atlantic 10 - 2
Missouri Valley - 2
West Coast - 2
One-bid leagues - 21 (including Mountain West)
And now here is the rundown of the final day of action before the big dance begins on Thursday.
Patriot League Championship
No. 9 Loyola (MD) at No. 2 Colgate, 12:00, CBSSN
Atlantic 10 Championship (Dayton, OH)
No. 2 VCU vs. No. 1 Saint Bonaventure, 1:00, CBS
Both teams should be fine. The Bonnies are a lock at this point, while VCU is looking to stay above the First Four.
SEC Championship (Nashville, TN)
No. 3 LSU vs. No. 1 Alabama, 1:00, ESPN
The long-standing football rivalry takes center stage on the basketball court as LSU and Alabama meet for the SEC title. Alabama is locked in as a No. 2 seed, as even with a win, good chance the committee keeps Michigan ahead of the Tide. LSU can potentially move out of an 8/9 game in the NCAAs with a win.
American Athletic Championship (Fort Worth, TX)
No. 5 Cincinnati vs. No. 2 Houston, 3:15, ESPN
Cincinnati sent Wichita State to a long 24-hour wait for the selection and can make things even more dicey for the Shockers and other bubble teams if they can knock off Houston and steal a tournament bid. Of course, to do that, the Bearcats have to overcome their only other meeting with the Cougars, when they were walloped by 38 back on February 21. Houston can potentially lock up a No. 2 NCAA seed with a win, thanks to Texas defeating Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship.
Big Ten Championship (Indianapolis, IN)
No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Illinois, 3:30, CBS
Ohio State jumped ahead of Iowa for No. 6 overall on the seed list and that is where the Buckeyes are likely to finish after knocking off Michigan in the Big Ten semis. As a result, along with Illinois' win over Iowa in the other semifinal, Illinois is now up to No. 3 on the seed list.
Check back here a little before 6:00 for my final bracket. As always, it's a blast talking brackets with you all. Hard to believe it's already been about ten years that I've done this.
No comments:
Post a Comment