Friday Update, part II
We're in a bit of a lull right now in today's action, so let's catch up on what transpired in the second wave of games today:
- Arkansas has a steady pulse now. The Razorbacks managed to knock off Vanderbilt for the second time in a week, winning 72-71 and advancing the SEC Semifinals against Mississippi State. The Razorbacks desperately needed the win today. Now they have five RPI top 50 wins --- two against Alabama, two against Vanderbilt, and a win versus Southern Illinois. Is that enough to get them in? It might be, although they really need to knock off Mississippi State to demonstrate their worth to the committee. Arkansas and MSU split the regular season series.
- Purdue also has a steady pulse now, beating Iowa handily and advancing to face Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinals. I thought Purdue was in before this game, but avoiding a loss to a team that isn't tournament bound is always a good way to help ensure your spot. The key now for Purdue is to avoid getting brutally killed tomorrow versus the Buckeyes. They were able to keep the score respectable in their last meeting with Ohio State.
- Kansas State has a pulse, although it's not really steady yet. The Wildcats obliterated Texas Tech 66-45, in one of the more atrocious performances that the Red Raiders have had this season. Despite that, I still think Texas Tech is in, although their seeding will probably drop to 11 or 12. Kansas State REALLY needs to beat Kansas tomorrow.
- Miami's dream is over, as the Hurricanes blew a big lead and ran out of luck at the end of the game versus Boston College. Again, we had an ACC tournament game that didn't live up to the hype. Can Boston College do anything worthwhile against North Carolina tomorrow? The Tar Heels won 77-72 in Chestnut Hill in the teams' only meeting.
- Memphis is flogging Tulane in the C-USA semifinals. Last score I saw was 66-42 Memphis...and it's probably not even that close. The Tigers are keeping their slim chances for a #2 seed alive.
- Looks like Bucknell's Patriot reign is over. Congratulations to Ralph Willard and Holy Cross on picking up the automatic berth.
Some other random items from today:
- If you live in the Indianapolis area, do yourself a favor and buy an Indianapolis Star, then turn to page 7 of the sports section. There you will see a full-page advertisement taken out by Appalachian State, trumpeting their at-large credentials. I wish I was kidding about this, but I'm not. If I get a chance, I'll post pictures later today.
- Some of the television comments I've heard the last couple days have been truly out of control. For instance, Dick Vitale, broadcasting the ACC Tournament today on ESPN, uncorked this bizarre gem while trying to extol the virtues of the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa:
"I've seen some magical moments in this building, Mike....I saw Tina Turner here...Mariah Carey."
The mental image of Dick Vitale shaking his moneymaker to the tune of "What's Love Got To Do With It" is one that I may never be able to rid myself of, sadly.
Then there was this evening's bizzarity, courtesy of alleged bracketologist Joe Lunardi on Pardon The Interruption:
"Teams further down the bracket have a chance to win it all. Villanova won it as a 9 seed. North Carolina State won it all as an 11 seed."
THIS guy is a bracket expert? I would think a bracket expert would know that Villanova won the 1985 NCAA Tournament as an 8 seed. And I'd CERTAINLY hope that a bracket expert would know that North Carolina State's 1983 title team won it all as a 6 seed, not an 11.
If Joe was actually versed in his bracket history, he might have referenced LSU's improbable march to the Final Four in 1986 as an 11 seed. He did mention George Mason as an 11 seed, but heck, there are little old ladies on the street who could've remembered that.
- Last but not least, let's give the Kentucky fans a lot of credit. They may have broken the all-time basketball message board record today for most users online at the same time - 5,937 users at approximately 4:30 PM. (The previous high was about 4,800).
It's evening basketball time! I'll have another update at about 8:30 or so, and then another one when the games are over for the night.
- Arkansas has a steady pulse now. The Razorbacks managed to knock off Vanderbilt for the second time in a week, winning 72-71 and advancing the SEC Semifinals against Mississippi State. The Razorbacks desperately needed the win today. Now they have five RPI top 50 wins --- two against Alabama, two against Vanderbilt, and a win versus Southern Illinois. Is that enough to get them in? It might be, although they really need to knock off Mississippi State to demonstrate their worth to the committee. Arkansas and MSU split the regular season series.
- Purdue also has a steady pulse now, beating Iowa handily and advancing to face Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinals. I thought Purdue was in before this game, but avoiding a loss to a team that isn't tournament bound is always a good way to help ensure your spot. The key now for Purdue is to avoid getting brutally killed tomorrow versus the Buckeyes. They were able to keep the score respectable in their last meeting with Ohio State.
- Kansas State has a pulse, although it's not really steady yet. The Wildcats obliterated Texas Tech 66-45, in one of the more atrocious performances that the Red Raiders have had this season. Despite that, I still think Texas Tech is in, although their seeding will probably drop to 11 or 12. Kansas State REALLY needs to beat Kansas tomorrow.
- Miami's dream is over, as the Hurricanes blew a big lead and ran out of luck at the end of the game versus Boston College. Again, we had an ACC tournament game that didn't live up to the hype. Can Boston College do anything worthwhile against North Carolina tomorrow? The Tar Heels won 77-72 in Chestnut Hill in the teams' only meeting.
- Memphis is flogging Tulane in the C-USA semifinals. Last score I saw was 66-42 Memphis...and it's probably not even that close. The Tigers are keeping their slim chances for a #2 seed alive.
- Looks like Bucknell's Patriot reign is over. Congratulations to Ralph Willard and Holy Cross on picking up the automatic berth.
Some other random items from today:
- If you live in the Indianapolis area, do yourself a favor and buy an Indianapolis Star, then turn to page 7 of the sports section. There you will see a full-page advertisement taken out by Appalachian State, trumpeting their at-large credentials. I wish I was kidding about this, but I'm not. If I get a chance, I'll post pictures later today.
- Some of the television comments I've heard the last couple days have been truly out of control. For instance, Dick Vitale, broadcasting the ACC Tournament today on ESPN, uncorked this bizarre gem while trying to extol the virtues of the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa:
"I've seen some magical moments in this building, Mike....I saw Tina Turner here...Mariah Carey."
The mental image of Dick Vitale shaking his moneymaker to the tune of "What's Love Got To Do With It" is one that I may never be able to rid myself of, sadly.
Then there was this evening's bizzarity, courtesy of alleged bracketologist Joe Lunardi on Pardon The Interruption:
"Teams further down the bracket have a chance to win it all. Villanova won it as a 9 seed. North Carolina State won it all as an 11 seed."
THIS guy is a bracket expert? I would think a bracket expert would know that Villanova won the 1985 NCAA Tournament as an 8 seed. And I'd CERTAINLY hope that a bracket expert would know that North Carolina State's 1983 title team won it all as a 6 seed, not an 11.
If Joe was actually versed in his bracket history, he might have referenced LSU's improbable march to the Final Four in 1986 as an 11 seed. He did mention George Mason as an 11 seed, but heck, there are little old ladies on the street who could've remembered that.
- Last but not least, let's give the Kentucky fans a lot of credit. They may have broken the all-time basketball message board record today for most users online at the same time - 5,937 users at approximately 4:30 PM. (The previous high was about 4,800).
It's evening basketball time! I'll have another update at about 8:30 or so, and then another one when the games are over for the night.
posted by Thermocaster at 6:21:00 PM
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