K State coach Frank Martin can't be happy with his team.
It's that time of year when bubble teams have the opportunity to play their way into the NCAA Tournament. Except that some of these teams didn't get that memo, and are currently in the process of ruining any chances they had at competing for a national championship. Here are a few teams that seem to be angling for the NIT.
- Georgetown - The Hoyas were looking like they were on the up and up by beating Villanova this past weekend, but Tuesday night's 59-56 loss to St. John's is a tough one for John Thompson III to swallow. Not only did Georgetown lose to a team that had a sub .500 record, but the Hoyas blew a 15-point lead midway through the second half. No way the Hoyas recover from such a deflating loss.
- Cincinnati - Mid-season, it looked like the Bearcats might surprise a lot of people and play their way into the NCAA Tournament. But Cincinnati has lost four out of five league games, capped by a crushing 70-59 loss to South Florida on Tuesday night. It's going to take a deep run in the Big East Tournament for the Bearcats to have any hope of getting an at-large bid on Selection Sunday.
- Kansas State - After losing to Missouri last week, Kansas State basically needed to win out the rest of the regular season to solidify a birth in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats took care of business at home against Nebraska last weekend, but then fell to Oklahoma State, 77-71, on Tuesday night. K State still has a winning record in Big 12 play, but that won't be enough to impress the Selection Committee.
- Maryland - If Maryland beats Wake Forest in College Park on Tuesday night, the Terrapins make the NCAA Tournament. That would've been two recent wins over top-ten teams. But Gary Williams' boys couldn't quite pull off the upset, losing to the lengthier Demon Deacons 65-63. Now, the Terrapins can't bow out of the ACC Tournament early or they'll kiss those March Madness dreams goodbye.
- Michigan - The Wolverines followed up a big win over Purdue with a painful 60-55 loss to Wisconsin, in which Manny Harris only notched 15 points. That is certainly not the way to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection. Michigan has a big game against Minnesota this weekend, but even with a win, John Beilein's squad will need to pull off a few big wins in the Big Ten Tournament to have a shot at avoiding the NIT.
- Florida - First the Gators go and lose 81-75 to LSU and then, to further deplete their NCAA Tournament chances, Florida drops a home game 79-75 to Tennessee. It's going to take some Billy Donovan magic to get the Gators back in good shape come Selection Sunday.
For more info: Conference Tournament Previews by the College Basketball Examiner
Comments
As a diehard Michigan fan, this season has been unbelievable. Big wins followed by horrible losses are hard to stomach. It's difficult for me to imagine Michigan getting in, mostly because of OSU's better B10 record and the fact that the Buckeyes have beaten us twice this year. Probably going to take two tournament wins AND a win over Minnesota for Michigan to make it. That scenario seems unlikely with Michigan State and Purdue waiting in the second round.
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