NCAA Basketball Tournament

Sean Miller Accepts Arizona Job

Shane Bacon — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:31:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Pac-10, Tourney Coaches

A day ago, folks in Tucson thought yet another coach had turned down the offer to be the next head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.

A day changes a lot of minds. Xavier coach Sean Miller originally declined the offer from Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood, but asked for a day to sleep on the decision. After waking up, Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Miller took the job, letting Xavier officials know on Monday he would not be returning.

Miller and (Xavier athletic director Mike) Bobinski met at the coach's Cincinnati area home Monday morning when, according to a source, Miller informed Bobinski he was taking the UA job. Miller has also informed UA athletic director Jim Livengood, who was under immense pressure to hire a replacement for Hall of Famer Lute Olson.

Miller's deal is for seven years, $18 million, which includes a $1 million signing bonus, according to the source.

This is quite a step up for Miller, who had serious success in the Atlantic-10, but will be moving to a much more competitive conference and making a lot more money.

Miller will be taking over a fragile Arizona program that most likely will struggle in his first season, but bringing on a guy that made two Elite Eights and one Sweet 16 is probably the best choice possible.

Sean Miller Accepts Arizona Job originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sean Miller Joins List of Coaches Not Taking the Arizona Job

Chas Rich — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:17:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Pac-10, Tourney Coaches

Now, this is just getting silly. Both Jeff Goodman at FOX Sports and Gary Parrish at CBS Sports are reporting that Xavier head coach Sean Miller has turned down an offer to be the Arizona head coach.

Miller, apparently took a charter flight to New Mexico on Sunday morning to meet with Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood along with the Arizona president and a booster about the job. The offer was rumored to be as much as $15 million over seven years. He then flew back to Cincinnati that same day.
He met with family and members of his coaching staff upon his return, and decided to reject an offer that would have more than doubled his salary at Xavier. While Miller is sure to get another raise and extension from Xavier after this, it still will not come close to what Arizona was offering.

Arizona's coaching search has gone from strange, to frustratingly embarrassing, to farce. No one seems to want to take the job of having to follow Lute Olson and his success at Arizona. While at the same time, having to rebuild from nearly three years of recruiting neglect stemming from the insanity that has Arizona basketball during that time.

The Wildcats can't find any coach with any sort of national reputation to take their money. Arizona has gone from targeting top-tier coaches, to top coaches at major programs, to rising coaches, to just plain desperate. At this point, they are going to have to either go with an assistant from another program or hire a coach with some success from a mid-major.

NCAA Tournament Action

GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 21: Wayne Ellington #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Garrett Temple #14 of the Louisiana State University Tigers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 21, 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Wayne Ellington;Garrett Temple

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: A Washington Huskies cheerleader performs during a break in the action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Manny Harris #3 of the Michigan Wolverines jumps to the basket for a lay up against Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Harris

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Zack Novan #0 and Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for the loose ball with Blake Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Gibson;Zack Novak;Blake Griffin

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Willie Warren #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners makes contact as he goes to the basket with Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first hafl during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Willie Warren

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the short jump shot against DeShawn Sims #34 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Taylor Griffin;DeShawn Sims

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a shot over Jon Brockman #40 of the Washington Huskies in the second half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** JaJuan Johnson;Jon Brockman

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners and Zack Novak #0 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for position to the loose ball in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Novak;Taylor Griffin

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Michigan Wolverines yells from the sideline during their game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Capel

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: Lewis Jackson #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a layup as Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies looks on during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lewis Jackson;Quincy Pondexter

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Sean Miller Joins List of Coaches Not Taking the Arizona Job originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Calipari and Kentucky Pause the Coaching Carousel

Chas Rich — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:44:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Big 12, C-USA, Pac-10, SEC, Tourney Coaches

Everyone keeps tuned to sports sites and ESPNews for the latest plumes of smoke from Memphis and/or Lexington regarding John Calipari and whether he stays at Memphis or goes to Kentucky. The flip side is that the move has paralyzed nearly every other coaching search as programs and coaches in-demand wait to see what happens.

Oh, sure some little things have happened. Viginia Commonwealth has apparently hired Shaka Smart to be their next head coach. As with the last hire of VCU's former coach, Shaka Smart is a Florida assistant.

Everything else, though, appears to be on hold, if only for a moment.

Georgia may be offering up to $2 million per year to Mizzou head coach Mike Anderson. A number that trumps the reported $1.3 million bump in salary that Mizzou put forth. Or Georgia could be going after Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel, who reportedly makes around $1 million per year in Norman. Either way, both will be getting big raises even if they stay.

Yet Anderson and Capel are wise to wait since Memphis or even Kentucky might come calling. Even if the Wildcats do not, the money reportedly involved to get ($35 million for 8 years) or keep Calipari will surely push the pricetag up for other coaches.

Xavier head coach Sean Miller may have rejected overtures from Virginia out-of-hand, but what if a program like Memphis comes calling with over $2 million per year? Coaches in comfortable positions like Pitt's Jamie Dixon and Villanova's Jay Wright, will find themselves having to at least listen and consider the possibility of a new job if the money gets much higher. What had seemed like a realtively quiet year in the coaching carousel could turn into one of the most tumultuous.

Then there is Arizona, a program with allure, but not nearly the money. Their athletic director Jim Livengood, spoke before of winning the press conference with the hire. That means paying big money, and the big money has only increased in the months since that quote.

At the moment, there is lots of watching and waiting. When Calipari makes his decision, expect the coaching carousel to spin rapidly.

Calipari and Kentucky Pause the Coaching Carousel originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fields Is Mr. Madness, But Fear Villanova

Jay Mariotti — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:11:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, ACC, Big East

BOSTON -- He looks like a chew toy, or something out of a puppet show. His dreads flop over a headband that would stand out more prominently if not for a midsection best described as doughy. His name is Levance Fields, and sometimes, he'll drive you to exasperation with reckless dribbling into traffic and corkscrew jumpshots heaved for no apparent purpose or reason.

But when a basketball game bleeds into its final frantic minutes, as Pitt games always do in this NCAA tournament, Fields suddenly transforms into the most cut, buffed, magnificent-looking specimen on the court. He has a way of rising to a moment and strangling it, which explains why Sports Illustrated featured him on its cover this week and why, on a Thursday night in whatever they're calling the modern-day Boston Garden, he supplied more evidence for his burgeoning resume as Mr. Madness.

If Villanova rattled the March infrastructure with a complete dismantling of Duke, which never looked more soft and wimpy after being figuratively slugged by the Big East toughs, Fields was the bailout specialist. In what kindly can be called an ugly, unappetizing scrum, Pitt again played like a team unworthy of a No. 1 seed and ready to crash as usual in the Sweet 16. This was another abysmal clankfest that damaged America's collective optic nerve, with the Panthers making only 33 percent of their shots and allowing the equally sloppy Xavier Musketeers -- who scored four points in the first 11 minutes of the second half -- to take a late lead. Were we watching an East Regional semifinal or The Biggest Loser?

"To be honest, it was a very winnable game for us,'' said Xavier's in-hot-demand coach Sean Miller.

At one point, Fields was exchanging bitter words with teammate Gilbert Brown after a turnover, which came after Jermaine Dixon tripped over his feet in mid-air and blew an uncontested layup. Pitt was going down, it seemed, and for the sake of basketball aesthetics and purity, its demise would be a good thing.

Then the clock ticked to under a minute, Levance Daylight Time.

Trailing 54-52 to the feisty X-men and Miller, who once starred as a Pitt point guard and tried to out-Pitt the Panthers with grinding defense and rebounding, Fields dribbled into the frontcourt and had the ball knocked past the midcourt stripe. He trotted back and retrieved it, returned to the other end and saw DeJuan Blair setting a screen with his sizable rear end. As usual, Fields chose to seize the situation himself, not wanting to merely tie the game.

"I did a little in-and-out move which created just enough space and got them on their heels,'' he said. "And once I got the separation, I took the shot and had all the confidence it would go in. And once it went through, it was a good thing.''

Of course, it went through, a 3-point bomb with 50.9 seconds left that gave Pitt a one-point lead. Seconds later, when Xavier's B.J. Raymond mishandled the ball, Fields raced in, stole it and romped for a layup and a three-point lead. Next thing you knew, he was sprinting off the court toward the Pitt bench, waving his arms and almost tackling his coach, Jamie Dixon. That quickly, that inevitably, he again had saved a team that might not deserve to be in the Elite Eight but arrived anyway, for the first time since 1974, which should quiet Dixon's many detractors for at least a day. No one of sane brainpower would pick Pitt to win a national title right now. But the Final Four is one victory away, with a 60-55 win tucked away in a dirty sock drawer while Villanova -- which smacked Duke with its worst NCAA tournament loss since 1990 -- awaits Saturday in an unsurprising all-Big East final.

"He was still mad, telling me the game wasn't over,'' Fields said of his crash-into-me interlude with Dixon. "I was excited for Coach, as good as he has been for this university. The biggest knock against him has been not getting a Final Four appearance and not getting past the Sweet 16. So this is just a step toward that. And I just wanted to embrace him because he deserves it."

Dixon laughed. He has seen this ending before, many times. "I never get tired of watching Levance take big shots,'' he said. "He has made them year after year. Our guys believe in him. I believe in him. And that's all that matters.''

NCAA Tournament Action

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He's a cocky kid from Brooklyn who stuck out his tongue and swirled it around his mouth during the post-game media conference.

Starting in high school and continuing through his Pitt career, Fields has been making shots to win games. Never mind that Blair and Sam Young are bound for the NBA while Fields is headed for the YMCA. Everyone at Pitt knows who takes the last shot. "DeJuan, Sam, those guys are our two horses, our stars," Fields said. "But when the game's on the line, I'm going to have the ball. The biggest thing for us is confidence. I feel confident when I have the ball and I want to take that last shot.

And my teammates and coaches feel the same way. They want me to have the ball."

That's no lie.

"In those situations, I like Levance,'' said Young, who continued his hot March run with 19 points.

"Me, too,'' said Blair, who struggled to score with 10 points but ruled the paint with 17 rebounds.

The Big Three will have to be better if Pitt is to survive Villanova, which proved it can thrive outside a Philadelphia homecourt advantage with a 77-54 defensive stomping of dispirited, disappointing Duke. The defeat ended Mike Krzyzewski's longshot hopes of completing an unprecedented perfecta -- an Olympic gold medal last August, followed by a national championship -- and extends his Final Four drought to five straight years. Rejoice, Duke haters everywhere! But even Coach K, who has won just one NCAA ring the last 17 years, was quick to praise a Villanova shutdown fueled by quick, physical guards who turned Duke's skilled shooters -- 47 percent from 3-point land in two NCAA tournament games coming in -- into hack artists.

Gerald Henderson, who chose Duke over Villanova in a recruiting war? He shot 1-for-14 while mired in foul trouble.

Jon Scheyer, the deadeye who had played so well since moving to point guard last month? He went 3-for-18.

Kyle Singler? He went 5-for-13.

"They're really a good basketball team. They were better than we were,'' said Krzyzewski, his voice scratchy at times. "And I want to thank my team for an amazing season. For me, it was a memorable one. We're disappointed. We didn't play as well as we would like -- Villanova had a lot to do with that. But this team has been a great team for me to coach. I love these guys.''

It's nice to love your kids. But Villanova creamed the Blue Devils on second-chance points and on the boards. "I would never think in a game that Jon and G would go 4-of-32,'' Krzyzewski said. "I'm disappointed for them. Not in them."

Duke needs a post player and a point guard. "It's not like we haven't tried to find them. They go to other schools,'' said Coack K, who no longer can walk into a gym and hand-pick every recruit.

The long-overdue Villanova coach, Jay Wright, has a cohesive, star-less system that wore down Duke and can wear down Fields and Co.

The defensive display even surprised him. "I don't think Gerald got a shot off 1-on-1,'' Wright marveled. "We really defended for 40 minutes, but that's why I'm really excited about this team. We knew we could win games offensively. But you're not going to advance against great teams if you don't play defense.'' To complement the guards, 6-foot-8 forward Dante Cunningham is emerging as an inside force with ideal timing. Like Pitt, Villanova has been making a tournament push in recent years, only to fall short. Now Wright is thinking about his first Final Four, 24 years after the school's greatest basketballmoment: the miracle win over Georgetown that still ranks among the greatest upsets in American sports

"It's funny, the guys on our team right now, I just made this mistake a couple of weeks ago,'' Wright said. "I was referencing the national championship team and just in general, I said, how old were you when we won it? And they all looked at me and said, 'We weren't even born.' Our practice facility, when you walk in, there's a big screen where they play the song "One Shining Moment" and they relive that run. And I hit that button every time I go in there, so everybody that is behind me looks at it. They see it every day.''

What about this year?

"We're getting better this late in the year,'' Wright said. "We can see guys improving and our team improving. That's exciting.''

"They've got a chance to do something special,'' said Krzyzewski, who had a lengthy heart-to-heart afterward with Wright. "They play defense, handle the ball well and have scorers. They're a tough, tough basketball team.''

The matchup in the East Regional final will be fascinating. To some degree, Pitt finally slayed a stigma. No longer is the Sweet 16 a brick wall. ``It definitely means a lot for us as players, the coach and the city,'' Young said. ``It's something that everybody has been waiting for a long time, and to give them that is a pleasure.''

Said Dixon, who succeeded Ben Howland in 2003 and has struggled to gain national respect: "I've always looked at it as, if it was easy to get to the Sweet 16 more teams would do what we've done. Only two teams have got there as much as we have. So it's an accomplishment. But again, somehow we've turned the Sweet 16 into a bad thing -- and it's not. It's a good thing.''

Still, a nagging ache hasn't gone away. Armed with major talent in Blair, Young and Fields, Pitt still isn't playing to its potential.

All you need to know is, Blair has a picture of downtown Detroit -- site of next weekend's Final Four -- in his campus room. ``We understand that no game is going to be easy. Fortunately for us, in some ways, we still haven't played our best basketball,'' Fields said.

"We're positive in this situation. It hasn't been a blowout for us, but we're making the plays down the stretch when the game is on the line. And we keep advancing and, hopefully, on Saturday, we can play better. But if we have to win again like this, we'll take it.''

In other words, they have three more unattractive games to win.

It's one thing to survive Xavier, quite another to topple a team that some in Philly will compare to Rocky Balboa.

Don't buy it.

Villanova is no underdog.

Fields Is Mr. Madness, But Fear Villanova originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fields Points Pitt to Elite 8

Chas Rich — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:08:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Big East

This is a little bit of history, with even more possibly on the way.

For the first time since the NCAA tournament expanded to allow multiple bids from one conference in 1975, Pitt has a chance to play itself into the Final Four. And for the first time ever, the Panthers have won more than two games in the NCAA tournament. But Pitt, which last appeared in the Elite Eight with two wins in 1974, didn't make it easy.

No. 1 Pitt 60, No. 4 Xavier 55: AP Recap | Box Score | Bracket | Scores

The game was a mix of offensive ugliness and some great defense. Shots by both teams that had no excuse not to fall, were missed or rushed with defenses on both sides contesting everything. In the end it came down to Pitt having a point guard that, pardon the cliche, defines clutch.

Levance Fields, had a horrible game for 39 minutes. He missed free throws. He made disturbingly errant passes. He couldn't hit a three. An absolute nightmare of a performance for the senior. Then, with Xavier having retaken the lead with under a minute left, Fields turned it all around.

He drilled a 25-footer with 47.1 seconds to go -- it was his first three of the night after missing four previous attempts and it gave Pitt a one-point advantage. After a Xavier timeout, Fields came up with a steal as the Musketeers were setting up the play. Despite his less than svelte physique, Fields raced down the court for an uncontested lay-up to put Pitt up by three with 27 seconds on the clock; in mere seconds, he completely changed the game and more than made up for his play up to that point.

Xavier appeared broken after that. Even when Terrell Holloway was fouled, he missed his second free throw and Pitt had little resistance at corralling the rebound. Even the Musketeers attempts to foul Sam Young at that point seemed half-hearted.

As for the Panthers, they continue to simply survive and advance through the NCAA Tournament. It hasn't been pretty, and they definitely have not been dominant. Still, they're now in the Elite Eight.

Also on FanHouse: Dan Graziano's Postgame Thoughts

Fields Points Pitt to Elite 8 originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fields Points Pitt to Elite 8

FanHouse Newswire — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:27:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Big East, East Region

BOSTON --Throughout his team's Sweet 16 game with Xavier, Pittsburgh guard Levance Fields kept trying to take over. Luckily for the Panthers, he finally did just that in the last minute -- and thanks to his heroics, Pittsburgh advanced to its first Elite Eight in 35 years.

Senior guard Levance Fields hit a deep, contested 3-pointer with just less than a minute left, then converted a layup off a Xavier turnover 29 seconds later, turning a one-point Pitt deficit into a three-point lead. The momentum swing was enough to propel the top-seeded Panthers to a 60-55 win over fourth-seeded Xavier on Thursday night.

"We came in expecting to win two games," Fields said before acknowledging the obvious: "It was dramatic."

"It definitely was big for the players, the coaches and the city," said Sam Young, who led Pitt with 19 points. "It's something we've been waiting for, for a long time."

The last time Pitt was in a regional final was in 1974 when it lost to eventual national champion North Carolina State and star David Thompson 100-72.

Fourth-seeded Xavier (27-8) was led by B.J. Raymond with 15 points and Derrick Brown with 14.

Pitt plays Saturday against the winner of Thursday night's second semifinal between Duke and Villanova for a berth in the Final Four.

NCAA Tournament Action

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Pitt plays Saturday against the winner of Thursday night's second semifinal between second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Villanova for a berth in the Final Four.

"We're a confident group," Fields said. "We haven't played our best basketball, but the good thing is we've found a way to make plays when we've needed them."

Fourth-seeded Xavier (27-8) was led by Raymond with 15 points and Derrick Brown with 14.

"I thought the shot Levance Fields hit is all about (the poise of) senior point guards," said Xavier coach Sean Miller, who knows something about that.

He was a star point guard at Pitt from 1987 to 1992 and is second in school history in assists.

Panthers coach Jamie Dixon made it to the round of eight for the first time in his six years on the bench after losing in his other two trips to the round of 16. Xavier fell short in its bid for a third berth in the regional finals in six years.

"They pushed us around in the first half, but we responded in the second half like we usually do," Dixon said. "Like I've said before, I never get tired of seeing Levance take big shots. He's made them year after year."

Trailing 37-29 at halftime, Pitt scored the first nine points of the second half-and Xavier missed its first 10 shots-as the Panthers took a 38-37 lead with 14:33 left.

But the Musketeers recovered and went ahead 54-52 with 1:50 remaining when Dante Jackson cut to the basket for a layup.

Fields then had the ball past midcourt before it went into the backcourt off a defender. Fields retrieved it, dribbled into his own end and fired up the go-ahead shot over Jackson.

"We ran our go-to play," Fields said. "I did a little bit of an in-and-out move, got him on his heels a little bit and took the shot. Once I got him back, I took the open shot. I had confidence in it."

Jackson thought he could stop him.

"I thought I had a pretty good challenge," he said.

Fields was in the right place again when Raymond lost control of his dribble. Fields got the ball, pushed it forward and dribbled ahead of the field to put the Panthers up by three.

Xavier's Terrell Holloway made a free throw with 16 seconds left, but Young hit two just three seconds later. After a missed 3-pointer by Brown, Brad Wannamaker made one more free throw for Pitt with 2.6 seconds left.

The Musketeers went just 7-for-29 from the field in the second half when they were outscored 31-18.

But they were solid late in the first half. With the score tied at 27, Xavier outscored Pitt 10-2 in the last three minutes of the half to take a 37-29 lead. Brown started the surge with a 3-pointer and sank another one that made it 35-29.

Blair struggled offensively inside and finished with just two points and four rebounds in the first half. He had eight points and 13 rebounds after that.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Fields Points Pitt to Elite 8 originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teams Pay $60K to Host Third-Tier Tournament Games

Chas Rich — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:34:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, Big East, Pac-10, SoCon, Sun Belt

So you were not quite good enough to make the NIT. No extra exposure on ESPN. Instead you are given the chance to be in the College Basketball Invitational. Maybe you get to appear on HDNet. Maybe not. The important thing, is you get to keep playing, and hopefully the Gazelle Group will put you in one of their better exposed non-conference tournaments in any upcoming year.

Oh, and if you want to be the host team for the game, you have to toss in another $60,000. What a bargain.
If you can make at least $60,000 in ticket and concession sales, then you have to split every dollar after that with the Gazelle Group. Definitely not a guaranteed money-maker for the schools that host. Especially if you lose in that opening game.

Troy, for example hosted the College of Charleston. The Trojans only had attendance of 1045 and they lost. It is unlikely the even recovered their $60,000 outlay. Add in the operation costs at the facility and that one additional game at home really cost Troy.

A visiting team, does not stand to make money. They also, though, do not stand to lose money. They get expenses for travel costs.

Teams Pay $60K to Host Third-Tier Tournament Games originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCAA Roundtable: East Region

Chas Rich — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:53:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10, SEC, East Region

The NCAA tournament is just days away, so FanHouse writers and editors got together to talk over each region. The Midwest Region got the ball rolling. Now it's the East's turn.

Chas Rich: As every story relating to Pitt and the NCAA Tournament is contractually obligated to mention, the Panthers have not made it past the Sweet 16. (In fact, Pitt has never won more than two NCAA Tournament games, regardless of the size of the tournament -- since, as a Pitt alum, I like to further depress myself). Duke in recent years has not made it too far either. It has not made it past the Sweet 16 since 2004, and that was the only time in the previous seven years.

Is that going to change for either team?

I think Pitt could get tripped up in the second game. They will face Tennessee or Oklahoma State, two teams that like to press. Pitt has struggled against pressing teams. Both Oklahoma State and Tennessee have been very inconsistent. Tennessee has struggled mightily with shooting, and if you don't make baskets it is hard to set up the press.

Oklahoma State is the scarier team for Pitt. They had to get adjusted to a new coach in Travis Ford and his style. They have played much better late in the season, even before the Big 12 Tournament. As a Rick Pitino disciple, Ford really likes to press and goes with a four-guard lineup. I like them over Tennessee and they could provide one of the biggest upsets of the Tournament in the second round.

That said, if Pitt does get past that game, I really like them to get to the Final Four. No one else from the 5-12 game (FSU-Wisconsin) or 4-13 (Xavier-Portland St.) seems as scary. Pitt has already beaten FSU in Jacksonville. Xavier is just not the same team.

In the lower half, I have a hard time seeing Duke getting past the Sweet 16 yet again. I do not see them having much of a problem with Texas or Minnesota in the second round game. But then they would likely be facing Villanova. I just think 'Nova's guards would be too much for Duke's backcourt, and Dante Cunningham inside would drive Duke crazy.

The trendy upset pick seems to be the 11-6 game, VCU over UCLA, because the Bruins are coming all the way to Philly while the Rams are less than 200 miles away. I love Eric Maynor, but UCLA is just a little stronger in every other position.

Chris Burke: I agree with you that the second-round game is a scary one for Pitt. I think Pitt is better, by a decent amount, than either Oklahoma State or Tennessee, but both teams are capable of putting together solid games, and that's got to be a concern.

Duke's got similar issues in the bottom half of the bracket, in the sense that the Devils' second-round game could be a tricky one. Minnesota's likely less problematic, but the Gophers have a very solid coach in Tubby Smith and a defense-first mantra that could keep any game in the 50s or 60s, and when that happens, it's up for grabs. Texas is a dangerous, dangerous squad, in my mind. Anytime you talk about having two players the caliber of A.J. Abrams and Damion James in an NCAA Tournament setting, that's a team with the potential to do some damage. Add in a solid cast of supporting guys, and the Longhorns could really spoil the party.

I'm not as sold on Villanova as every else seems to be, even with the added factor of the 'Cats playing in Philadelphia. Obviously, their guard play is spectacular, but when you have a team that pushes the tempo so much and occasionally spaces out on defense, you have a team that's ripe for an early upset. I don't think American has the guns to do it, but UCLA's getting overlooked. This team was top-five earlier this season, plays defense and can shoot the lights out from outside. If there's a mid-seed in this region with the capability of going to the Final Four, it has to be the Bruins.

The 5-12 and 4-13 games are basically washes for me. I think either first-round matchup could be an upset, any of the four teams involved could go to the Sweet 16, and none of them would get past Pitt.

Shane Bacon: In my opinion, this is the second-most talented bracket besides the South. You have the aforementioned Panthers, who have been scary tough all year. You have the Dukies, who are a little better than in past years and got rewarded with a two seed. You even have UCLA (always tough) and Villanova.

I think two things happen: 'Nova makes the Final Four and UCLA does not lose to VCU. I love the sexy pick but we've already chatted about coaches in the previous round table and Ben Howland is as tough as they come.

I like Florida State to take out Xavier on their way to a defeat by Pitt and Duke to struggle with Villanova.

Ray Holloman: I wouldn''t overlook Florida State out of the top half of that bracket either. Certainly Pitt defeated the Seminoles earlier in the year, but the FSU defense held Pitt to its worst offensive effort of the season. Outside of 6-foot-2 scoring guard Toney Douglas, the rest of that lineup goes 6-foot-7, 6-9, 6-9, 7-1. That's an NBA layup line or a bunch of guys who could reshingle your roof without a ladder. All that length makes it very hard to do what you want, particularly around the basket. And Douglas is exactly the kind of player who will score 30 without breaking much of a sweat.

Having said that, the Seminoles turn the ball over too much and I doubt they're sufficiently composed to beat a team like Pitt in a possible Sweet 16 matchup, they certainly weren't when Duke started pouring in bucket after bucket in the ACC championship. But I think it'll be a close, low-possession kind of game.

In the bottom half of the bracket, I like Villanova, but I think Duke deserves a good look. After the ACC title, coach Mike Krzyzewski made the case that his team is really 8-1 instead of 28-6 and he's fairly well right about that. Since benching Greg Paulus (again), rotating Jon Scheyer to the point and sliding in Elliot Williams, the Duke offense has really taken off, even if a bit of its defensive intensity seems to have disappeared. Scheyer is averaging better than 20 points a game since the switch and has a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Elliot Williams has been an energy drink in a jersey in that lineup and adds a slashing element to the starting lineup, plus a great wingspan to help out with rebounding. I think people have really hung themselves up on what Duke was the last two years. In the selection show, Digger Phelps said Duke doesn't win when its 3-pointers don't fall, implying it lives and dies off the 3-pointer. Which is true only to the point that any team that doesn't shoot well loses, it's the most important factor in basketball. But Duke is actually a high-middle-of-the-pack team in terms of 3-point usage. 34.9 percent of the Blue Devils' field goals are 3-pointers, which is much less than, say, Louisville (37.8 percent) and is 15th among all NCAA tournament qualifiers. (Michigan is the extreme, shooting 47.8 percent of their shots from long range). The Blue Devils are also a very good offensive rebounding percentage, so the Digger idea that Duke gets no second looks when it misses shots is perplexing. The Blue Devils are 29th in the nation with a 37.8 percent offensive rebounding percentage. They'll struggle to keep other teams off the defensive glass, but that's the gamble you make when you're an aggressive man to man team. You trade off defensive rebounds for turnovers on the perimeter.

And if Duke did survive Villanova, I'd give them a chance against Pitt. A year ago these same two teams met in Madison Square Garden and the Panthers needed to rally from down 16 points to force overtime. Only a Levance Fields 3-pointer with 4.7 second left proved the difference. And Fields missed that shot better than 70 percent of the time last year. Sure, Duke wouldn't have a way to handle Blair, but he scored 15 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in the first game and the Blue Devils still were in a great position to win.

Having said that, I'd still take Villanova to advance in a really physical game in the Sweet 16. Duke thrives on its help defense, all those charges taken and double teams. But Villanova has a good enough group of guards to spread Duke out and drive on them before anyone can rotate over. Other than Nolan Smith, there isn't an elite shutdown defender on the perimeter one-on-one. And I just really like Villanova. A year ago the Wildcats proved their postseason mettle and the team is even better. They're very skilled on both sides of the ball. They do not' turn it over. They've got five guys that can score and Dante Cunningham is as improved as anyone in the tournament from a year ago. They beat Pittsburgh earlier in the year, lost to Louisville in a January heartbreaker in which the Wildcats missed two close-in shots near the buzzer (not to mention a boatload of free throws) and lost by one and lost to Connecticut by six.

They might get a bit of an early surprise against American, which is bringing back seven seniors, including Patriot League player of the year Derrick Mercer and the school's all-time leading 3-point shooter Garrison Carr, but there's no way they don't pull away in the second half. Even with a year experience in the Big Dance, the Eagles are going to struggle to stay in front of the Wildcats' guards and Cunningham will have his way with their front court.

The interesting thing about the bottom half of that bracket is that it's just stuffed with great defenses. Duke, Minnesota, Texas, Villanova are all top 25 defenses. UCLA is 37th in adjusted defensive efficiency; VCU 48th. Don't expect a lot of huge scores out of that half of the bracket.

But if I ate my Wheaties the morning I fill out my FanHouse pool bracket, I might advance Villanova to the Final Four.

Adam Papagiorgio: There are two simple truths in this bracket. Duke will lose sooner than people will think. Duke would have lost in the first round last year if it had grabbed Wisconsin's No. 3 seed that it deserved (falling to Cal State Fullerton). But once again, Duke will not advance to the Sweet 16, falling to Texas.

UCLA will do better than people want to believe. There is no way the Bruins lose in the first round. Ben Howland is a great tournament coach. Steve Lavin no longer coaches in Westwood. Honestly, people are so overboard on picking upsets, they will rationalize just about any pick. The Bruins won't make it to the Final Four this year, but come on, they are not losing in the first round.

Shiloh Carder: I agree with Adam. People have put a lot of stock in Duke winning the ACC tournament. Duke didn't have to beat North Carolina, Wake Forest or Clemson to win it. They have a shooting guard running the point, a freshman who has barely played until a month ago now starting at the off-guard and absolutely nothing in the paint.

I like Florida State (who Duke did beat for the ACC title) in the top half of the bracket. I think they can get Xavier and give Pitt a challenge.

Still, I don't see any other way this will go other than Pitt-Villanova in the East Regional Final. The Panthers to their first Final Four since 1941.

RH: I don't think it's particularly fair to hold the sins of last year's Duke team against this year's Duke team because they're simply not the same. Last year's team limped into the postseason and was never quite the same after Gerald Henderson's wrist injury in the win over North Carolina in Chapel Hill. They shot a much higher percentage of 3-pointers and really got killed on the glass (you might recall in the loss to West Virginia, backup point guard Joe Mazzulla had 11 rebounds.) And I don't know about Wisconsin's bona fides, the Badgers were hammered by a Davidson team Duke beat earlier in the year. As for the Belmont game, close calls happen. It's all about matchups in that environment. Princeton nearly knocked off Georgetown as a 16 seed in 1989, losing by a point, Les Robinson nearly got Oklahoma and fell by a point, I believe. Speaking of America East teams, Albany gave UConn a hell of a scare in 2006. It happens, particularly to a banged up team that was living off the achievements of earlier in the year. That's not the case this year for the ACC tournament champions.

This Duke team has three really solid scoring options with Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer. They're an excellent offensive rebounding team and excellent on the defensive perimeter. They don't turn the ball over and they've actually got a little bit of confidence to them. A year ago, Duke does not win that one-point game over Boston College in the ACC tournament. Maybe they don't even win it a month ago. I don't think it'll advance to the Final Four, but I don't think this is a Duke team with the same failings of a year ago. Should you need proof, check the bench and watch senior point guard Greg Paulus handing out towels instead of failing to box out Mazzulla.

And I don't think Texas matches up very favorably. Yes, they're a great defensive team, but the Longhorns really can't shoot. And if you're going to be bad at one thing in basketball, it can't be shooting. They shoot 32 percent from 3-point range, just 48 percent from inside the arc and 67 percent from the line. If you shoot at those rates, you'll have to create a lot more possessions than your opponent. And unfortunately for Texas, they're terrible at creating turnovers and Duke is excellent at preventing them. If Texas is going to win, they'll really need to flex their muscle on the offensive glass and get a great shooting night from AJ Abrams. But even that I see as problematic (not the least reason that Abrams is a 39.6 percent shooter from the floor), because Duke is going to be able to put a lot of length on him defensively. Between Nolan Smith and Elliot Williams, the 5-foot-11ish Abrams will have to take a lot of contested shots.

And that's assuming Texas makes it out of the first round. There's a not-so-insignificant chance Minnesota takes them out. When you shoot the basketball that badly, you're not long for this world in the NCAA tournament. And Texas' effective field goal percentage is lower than all but four teams in the NCAA tournament, all double-digit seeds. And if Texas won back-to-back games over Minnesota and the Duke/Binghamton winner, it would be the first time since December the Longhorns have put together a winning streak that included two NCAA tournament teams.

SC: Can Duke make the Sweet 16? Definitely. But it isn't a forgone conclusion as people may think. Texas can knock Duke out of the tournament in the second round.

I, for one, do not hold Duke's problems in past tournaments against them. Really I don't. History is full of programs that struggled in the early rounds of a few tournaments and then run off to a title in another (Arizona, Kansas, Syracuse). The past two Duke teams were low on experience and low on leadership. Aside from Elliot Williams, this team has been together for a while. Gerald Henderson is a stud and this team doesn't rely on the threes like they have in the past.

This is a much better team that the one Clemson destroyed a month ago. Still, a team with a sizable and athletic frontcourt can eliminate Duke.

NCAA Roundtable: East Region originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seed-By-Conference Analysis: Committee Loves the Big East and ACC

Matt Snyder — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, America East, A-Sun, Big South, BSC, BWC, CAA, C-USA, Great West, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, MVC, MWC, NEC, OVC, Pac-10, Patriot League, SEC, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, Sun Belt, The Summit, WCC, WAC, Big Sky, Big West, Midwest Region, West Region, South Region, East Region

Among the big story lines from Sunday's filling out of the NCAA basketball tournament field, discussions of conferences who are "overrated" and "underrated" dominated the discussion. Specifically, fans of so-called mid-major teams cried foul, and the masses proclaimed the selection committee was biased in favor of the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences.

The biggest issue I have with this instant "analysis" is that it's not analysis at all. Saying the NCAA thought the Big Ten was on-level with the ACC and Big East simply because they were allotted the same number of teams is -- with apologies to Bob Knight -- just plain stupid.

You see, it's easy to just look at the number of bids and act like that's how the NCAA views individual conferences. It's simple, and people like simple. Thus, it's the approach simpletons take, because they aren't capable of more analytical thought. Dive deeper, though. Do you really think the committee thought the Big Ten was on-level with the Big East when the Big East got three number one seeds and the Big Ten only received one Sweet 16 seed? Does that really, honestly sound even to you?

So here we are, with your guide on judging how the selection committee seriously judged conference strength. I went through every game and just picked the favored seed to win. Meaning eight beats nine, but then loses to one. And so on. We'll call the figure the "expected record," and this will give us a gauge on how strong the selection committee truly felt a conference was.

Big East

Number of teams: 7
Seeds: 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 6, 6
Expected record: 20-6 (including three Final Four teams and one National Champion
Comments: See, this is far and away the strongest conference according to the committee. Look at those seeds. The seventh entrant from the league was awarded a six-seed. In fact, this has to be the best conference of all-time in terms of what they received from the committee -- as long as you don't get hung up on the number of bids. Their average seed is a three.

ACC

Number of teams: 7
Seeds: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 7, 10
Expected record: 13-7
Comments: Another conference that impressed the NCAA enough to get lots of favorable seeds. An interesting discrepancy -- which Seth Davis pointed out on the Selection Show -- is seeing Maryland receive a 10-seed while Wisconsin garnered a 12. How about Boston College landing a seven-seed despite an RPI of 60? These are just two illustrations of how highly the committee favored the ACC to other conferences (aside from the Big East, of course).

Big 12

Number of teams: 6
Seeds: 2, 3, 3, 7, 8, 9
Expected record: 9-6
Comments: They received less teams than the Big Ten and equal to the Pac-10, but got much better bang for their buck with three Sweet 16 seeds and an Elite Eight.

Big Ten

Number of teams: 7
Seeds: 2, 5, 5, 8, 10, 10, 12
Expected record: 6-7
Comments: Seriously? This is an overrated conference? They finished 2nd in conference RPI, and only got one Sweet 16 seed. Three of their seeds are of the one-and-done variety. Knowing this, can you seriously tell me the committee had bias toward the conference? The strength of the conference this year was the depth, but there was an admitted lack of elite teams. The seedings accurately reflected this. By the way -- Minnesota (42), Michigan (44), and Wisconsin (45) were all a bit better than Maryland (55) in the RPI. They were all seeded equal to or worse than the Terrapins. If Penn State made the tourney, the Big Ten haters would have a case. Instead, they don't.

Pac-10

Number of teams: 6
Seeds: 4, 6, 6, 7, 10, 12
Expected record: 5-6
Comments: Arizona (62 RPI) is the one team in the whole tourney that seems egregiously invited. Other than that, though, the conference didn't get a ton of credit. Only one Sweet 16 seed, and a four at that.

Mountain West

Number of teams: 2
Seeds: 5, 8
Expected record: 2-2
Comments: Well, they liked the teams they allowed in the tourney. Obviously, it's tough to imagine San Diego State sporting a 34 RPI in a "major" conference and not making the Dance. I'm actually very surprised they gave BYU an eight and then dropped everyone else off the board. It's not like BYU and Utah were playing at such a different level than New Mexico, SDSU, and UNLV.

Atlantic 10

Number of teams: 3
Seeds: 4, 11, 11
Expected record: 2-3
Comments: Again, a head-scratcher. Was Xavier really seven whole seeds better than Dayton?

SEC

Number of teams: 3
Seeds: 8, 9, 13
Expected record: 1-3
Comments: Simply put: The committee believes the SEC sucks this year. In fact, had Butler won the Horizon League tourney, it's conceivable to think they would have flipped seeds with LSU and the SEC would have come away with zero expected wins. If you want to proclaim power conference bias, you better look elsewhere.

Everyone Else

There are only six wins left from teams not in the above eight conferences. Memphis, as a two-seed, is expected to win three games before bowing out. Gonzaga, a four, is slated to take two. The lone remaining win? Well, someone has to win the play-in game. Every other team in the field, 21 of them from non-"power" conferences, has a worse seed than their first-round foe.

And yes, though I'm a Big Ten fan, it's really easy for me to admit St. Mary's got jobbed. We're talking about a 48 RPI from a team who was missing their best player for a decent chunk of the season. He's healthy enough to play now, so they should have included them in the field. This is the type of error (Mary's and/or SDSU vs. 'Zona and/or Maryland) that makes people believe the committee is biased.

Final Thought

This is how you should judge conference performance in the tournament. Don't be a simpleton. To illustrate the point, here's an example: If the Big East goes 14-7 and the Big Ten goes 10-7, I'm guessing there will be a bunch of people hanging their hats on the superior performance by the Big East. In actuality, as outlined above, the Big Ten would be exceeding expectations with a 10-7 record. Thus, they were underrated. The Big East would have fallen short of the lofty expectations, which means they were overrated.

We'll see how everything shakes out, but just remember -- it's not all about the number of teams per conference, and it's not necessarily about the won-loss record when judging if the committee was biased or "overrated" someone. It's much more complicated than that.

Seed-By-Conference Analysis: Committee Loves the Big East and ACC originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Midwest Region Breakdown: Louisville's Fast-Paced Bracket

Matt Snyder — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:35:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Horizon League, MAAC, MWC, NEC, OVC, Pac-10, SWAC, The Summit, Midwest Region

The Louisville Cardinals weren't thought to be in line for a No. 1 seed a week ago, but the ball bounced their way -- so much so that they ended up as the top seed in the entire tournament. Their reward is what appears to be a relatively weak bracket. Michigan State is arguably the worst two-seed in the eyes of the public, for example. The bracket definitely has an up-tempo feel to it, so expect to see the points pile up, especially in the early rounds.

Print Bracket | Bracket Games | First-Round Pairings | Schedule

Storylines

Does Arizona Belong? The Wildcats were the one team in the Dance that truly raised eyebrows across the country; many thought they were behind three or four teams who were left in the dark. They certainly have enough talent to take down the fifth-seeded Utes, but which 'Zona team will show up?

Maligned "Power" Conference vs. Strong Mid-Major. Ohio State comes in relatively hot, though it did drop the conference championship to Purdue Sunday. They get to square off against a really strong small school in Siena.

Another Final Four? Rick Pitino has led three different schools to the Final Four, making five total trips. He's got a good shot at taking his second team to multiple Final Four berths this year as the No. 1-overall seed. He's also pursuing the first Louisville National Championship since Pervis Ellison wore the uniform.

Another Viking Upset? The Cleveland State Vikings last made the Big Dance in 1986. That year, they upset Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers -- who would win the entire thing the following season -- en route to an appearance in the Sweet 16. This year, they face another strong big conference team in Wake Forest. Could history repeat itself?

Home Sweet Indianapolis? Michigan State has won one national championship under Tom Izzo (2000). It happened in Indianapolis, the same city where this region's Sweet 16 and Elite 8 round games will be played. Can the Spartans recapture the magic in Indy?

The Play-In Game. This isn't the place for an extended rant, but both Morehead State and Alabama State won their conference tournaments. This is supposed to ensure them a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Taking the name of the game literally, they still have to play their way into the tournament, even though they already did -- by virtue of clinching an "automatic" bid. This is a farce. If the committee is absolutely dead-set on having 65 teams instead of 64, they should have the last two at-large teams square off on Tuesday. Wouldn't Arizona vs. Wisconsin spark a lot more national interest anyway?

Other Region Breakdowns: East | West | South

Team That'll Break Your Bracket

Other than the 12-seed Arizona Wildcats, there don't appear to be many threats in the 11-16 seeds to take down a superior opponent, so we'll have to look past the first round. After that, my eyes wander to West Virginia. The Mountaineers have the horses to take down both Kansas and Michigan State in the bottom half of the bracket if they bring their A-game.

Then again, they could also lose to a sneaky Dayton team in the first round. Tread lightly.

Team That'll Break Your Heart

I'm sure most people want me to say Michigan State, since everyone thinks the Big Ten sucks. Instead I'm going with the team seeded higher than the Spartans. That's right, I'm calling Louisville to break your heart. It's not that the Cardinals aren't a good team. They are a great team. I get that. I'd also be a lot more impressed with their resume had they traveled to Pitt, UConn, or both. They even avoided both fellow No. 1 seeds in the Big East tournament. I understand that's not their fault, but they aren't as battle tested as they could be. Whether it's Wake Forest, Michigan State, Kansas, or West Virginia, someone is going to get them before the Final Four.

Predictions

Please note: These aren't FanHouse-wide, just my personal picks. You should certainly feel free to tell me how stupid I am in the comments. That will not, however, cause me to change my picks.

Round 1: Louisville over Morgan State/Alabama State winner; Ohio State over Siena; Arizona over Utah; Wake Forest over Cleveland State; West Virginia over Dayton; Kansas over North Dakota State; USC over Boston College; Michigan State over Robert Morris
Round 2: Louisville, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Michigan State
Sweet 16: Louisville, Michigan State
Elite 8: Michigan State takes down Louisville, and Tom Izzo heads to his fourth Final Four. Is that a homer pick, considering I cover the Big Ten? Maybe, maybe not. We'll know within the next few weeks if my head was in the right place.

Midwest Region Breakdown: Louisville's Fast-Paced Bracket originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NIT Field Announced, Second Banana Battle Gets Underway

Chas Rich — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, CAA, C-USA, MVC, MWC, Pac-10, SEC

The snubbed teams like St. Mary's, Creighton, San Diego State and Penn State will get their chance to make their argument that they were deserving of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament over Arizona, Minnesota, and well... that's about it.

The top four seeds in the NIT are San Diego State, Auburn, Creighton and Florida. The SEC packed the second tier tournament with four teams.

Penn State, one of the final teams that missed the NCAA tournament cut, ended up seeded No. 2 in Florida's bracket. The Nittany Lions start out with George Mason and could be looking at a rematch with Rhode Island. The Rams beat Penn State in the non-conference schedule and played a significant role in keeping the Nittany Lions out of the Tournament.

Here are the games for the first round:

No. 1 San Diego State-No. 8 Weber State
No. 4 Kansas State-No. 5 Illinois State
No. 3 South Carolina-No. 6 Davidson
No. 2 St. Mary's-No. 7 Washington State

No. 1 Auburn-No. 8 UT-Martin
No. 4 Tulsa-No. 5 Davidson
No. 3 Baylor-No. 6 Georgetown
No. 2. Virginia Tech-No. 7 Duquesne

No. 1 Creighton-No. 8 Bowling Green
No. 4 Kentucky-No. 5 UNLV
No. 3 New Mexico-No. 6 Nebraska
No. 2 Notre Dame-No. 7 UAB

No. 1 Florida-No. 8 Jacksonville
No. 4 Miami-No. 5 Providence
No. 3 Niagara-No.6 Rhode Island
No. 2 Penn State-No. 7 George Mason

Other things of note from the opening round: The Big East, Big 12 and Mountain West all put three teams in the NIT. The Miami-Providence game is actually going to be played in Providence because Miami's court has already been booked.

NIT Field Announced, Second Banana Battle Gets Underway originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Temple Takes the Atlantic-10

Chas Rich — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: A-10, South Region

Get ready for more bad puns regarding the Atlantic-10 and Temple this week. All because Temple takes care of Duquesne in the Atlantic-10 Tournament Championship game. It gives Temple a second straight A-10 Tournament title and their outstanding guard, Dionte Christmas the MVP for the tournament for the second straight year.

While Temple was not even discussed in the NCAA bubble scenarios at the beginning of the week, the Owls have a decent argument that they belong, simply beyond the fact that they won the A-10 Tourney. They have an RPI of 35 and went 2-3 against RPI top-50 teams including wins over Tennessee and Xavier. They also knocked off Big Ten bubble team, Penn State in Happy Valley. Not that the bubble teams care. They just wince at the fact that the Temple "stole" one more at-large bid

Temple 69, Duquesne 64: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

Temple Takes the Atlantic-10 originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There Is a Popping Sound Coming From Atlantic City

Chas Rich — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:07:00 EST

Filed under: A-10

Another spot on the bubble just popped. Duquesne knocking off Dayton in the second semifinal guarantees that the automatic bid for the A-10 will not come from the two presumed locks. It will be Temple versus Duquesne in the A-10 Championship and the automatic bid.

Xavier and Dayton still finish with solid computer numbers. Xavier has an RPI of 16 and ranked in the top-25. Dayton has a RPI of 22. Neither team should be at serious risk of being left out of the NCAA Tournament. That would give the A-10 three bids and one less spot for a bubble team. It has gotten a lot tighter.

Duquesne gets to the A-10 Championship game for the first time since 1981. It has been a remarkable turnaround for the Dukes under third year coach Ron Everhart.

Duquesne 77, Dayton 66: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

There Is a Popping Sound Coming From Atlantic City originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bubble Teams Can Start Sweating the Atlantic-10 Tourney

Chas Rich — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:55:00 EST

Filed under: A-10

Teams sitting on that bubble have a new concern. Xavier just went down in the Atlantic-10 semifinal to Temple. Teams like Arizona, Penn State, Creighton and San Diego State have just become the biggest Dayton fans. The Flyers face Duquesne tonight. The winner to face Temple in the A-10 final and the automatic bid.

The Musketeers are still a lock for the NCAA Tournament and Dayton is likely in. Just as the bubble had gotten a little loose with Rhode Island losing early in the A-10 Tourney, and now the A-10 may take it right back.

Temple 55, No. 19 Xavier 53: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

Bubble Teams Can Start Sweating the Atlantic-10 Tourney originally appeared on NCAA Basketball Tournament on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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