Men's basketball games of note--week of 1/27-31

[bierce]

SEC starts tomorrow, so this morning I will mention only today's games of interest around the country.  If I find the time to start describing the mid-week SEC games, then I will, but one thing at a time.

Numbers in Parentheses are NCAA net rankings.  When Pomeroy greatly disagrees with the ranking, I'll try to mention it. 

B1G

Iowa (62) @ Ohio State (30)

We played tOSU on a neutral floor, so it doesn't much matter to us what happens to tOSU so long as it doesn't drop below 50.  However, tOSU is just 13-8, and it already has a pair of q2 losses, and it is only 1-3 in conference at home, so it has reason to sweat a little, despite the recent impressive road win over Purdue.  I'm not sold on Purdue as a top ten team yet, but that was a great win for tOSU.  --tOSU has an easy remaining schedule for a B1G team--just 3 games left against teams in the NET top 30.  Iowa is yet another in a long list of B1G pseudo-contenders for a tournament bid, joining Nebraska, Indiana, Northwestern.  6-0 in q2 games, but 0-6 in q1 games.  It has played the easiest conference schedule of any B1G team so far, but 9 of its remaining games are q1.   Iowa playing on 3 days fewer rest than tOSU, which was last seen winning @ Purdue last Tueday.

Penn State (51) @ Michigan (20)

Add PSU to the list of B1G conpretenders.  It is still getting a lot of mileage out of a conference season opening home win over Purdue, but it doesn't have many chances left for another statement win.  It wound up with the easiest schedule in the B1G by drawing Minnesota, Rutgers, and USC as the three teams it plays twice this year.  Michigan was last seen losing by 27 @ Purdue.  That can happen, and it was a different look for Michigan, which lost all its other games, in OT, by single baskets, or by single points, the most notorious being the time it fouled OU taking a three with 11 seconds to go and lost by a point.

UCLA (33) @ USC (67)

Add USC . . . yeah, you get it.  USC has a bad loss at home to Cal to overcome, has nothing else of note on the nonconference schedule, did get a great win @ Illinois and is 4-4 in the conference, but the losses are by an average of 12 points.   USC's other q1 win was a road win against mid-slump Nebraska, so take that with a block of salt.  It has 7 q1 games left IF tOSU stays in the top 30.  It will have to play quite a bit better than it has so far to save a bid.  Cronin is always a good bet for interesting commentary during and after a game.  Maybe he'll join Willard in complaining about imbalance of rest, since USC last played on Wednesday while UCLA ended its 3 game road losing streak by winning at UDub on Friday. 

 

 

 

[bierce]

Iowa State (6) @ Arizona (15)

These teams obviously aren't on the bubble, so you might ask why I have included this game in my discussion.  Well, it is the only game with two ranked teams tonight, but my main reason is far more sinister.  (Hey, I gotta be me.)

Just what the hell has Arizona done to deserve such a high ranking?  3-6 in q1 and 2-0 in q2.  We are 3-5 and 2-1 (with the q2 loss being to defending champ UConn), and we are 32nd.  Obviously we are seeing the pathetic state of our OOC schedule working against us there.  Keep an eye on that.

But more to the point, why is Arizona ranked above Michigan State, Wisconsin (8-2 and 9-4 in q1-q2) and ten spots above Louisville (5-5, 2-0)?  Arizona has 0 wins over top 25 teams.  It beat Baylor in Tucson.  It lost in the Bahamas to bubble OU and WVU.  It didn't score over the last 5 minutes in Lubbock and lost by 16.  It can't be because Tommy Lloyd's teams have played above seed.  Arizona has been seeded 1, 2, and 2 over the last three years and lost in S16 by 12 to a 5 seed (OK, Houston was ridiculously mis-seeded that year), in the first round to a 15 seed, and in the S16 to a 6 seed that led the game the entire last 15 minutes.  Louisville is obviously punished for losing blowouts at home to Tennessee and Mississippi, but still . . .

[tylerlindsey2111]

Good analysis. Michigan and Iowa State are the only aesthetically pleasing teams to watch on this list. Arizona is talented and capable, same for UCLA, but make my head hurt watching them play.

[bierce]

FWIW, the bracketezookers agree with me about Arizona.  It is in the middle of the 6 line, well behind Michigan State and behind Wisconsin and Louisville (and Memphjs, a team that is being seriously underrated by NET and Pomeroy).   For the life of me, I can't figure out why Memphis at San Francisco in the Chase Center in San Francisco is a neutral site game while Penn State against Indiana is one arena in Philly is a home game for Penn State and Penn State against Drexel in another arena in Philly that is not Drexel's home arena and at which Drexel plays no other games this year is a road game for Penn State.

Huh. 

[bierce]

Penn State gave Michigan a game, but it went scoreless over the last 2:08 and lost 76-72 on a Michigan 9-0 to end the game.

Ohio State is pulling away from Iowa in the second half.  45-32 with 13:00 left. 

And now it's becoming a rout.  50-32 with 12:25 left.  Iowa is about to meet the fork.  It isn't favored in the next 5 games, including 3 home games (Purdue, Wisconsin, Oregon).  NIT is stamped all over this team. 

[bierce]

tOSU won bigly.  UCLA held off a USC rally and won 82-76 for its fourth straight win after 4 straight losses.  Aday Mara was huge with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks.  Funny how UCLA has come alive after getting a 7'3" guy with some touch, great rim protection, and hellacious rebounding effort a lot more time on the floor.  I don't know why he played so little during UCLA's bad run, but he can be a game changer. 

[bierce]

I should have stayed up for the end of the ISU-Arizona game.  Arizona got its signature win, but it needed Love to hit a halfcourt three to force OT.  Love hit a couple more 3s in OT, and UA won 86-75.  There were only 40 seconds of game time in the second half when it wasn't a one possession game or tied.  Only 11 seconds if you consider 4 point plays, which I don't because they are so rare.  Seven point plays anyone?  Class A technical on defending team, followed by a three, and a second technical while the shot is in the air?  Make it an 8 point play because the second technical was called because the coach or defender went ballistic after being called for fouling the shooter.  I can't wait to see one of those.

So Arizona makes me eat my words about . . . nah.  It was a good win, and that win might justify it being considered a top 20 team, but it wasn't before the game based on its record.

Lots of interesting games today

SEC

Kentucky (16 NET, 22 Pom) @ Tennessee (4)

Kentucky has won 3 of the last 4 games in Knoxville, and it was the underdog every time, but new coach and new players for Kentucky.    Pomeroy penalized Kentucky earlier in the year for its 20 point loss to tOSU in NYC.  Kentucky relies heavily on 3 point shooting, which is a distinctly un-Calipari characteristic.  Squid's teams rarely shot a lot of threes, and they were even less rarely very good at it before last year.  Tennessee allows a lot of threes to be taken, but 3pt% defense is tops in the country and 2nd in conference play.  Only Vandy shot better than .303 against it. 

OU (47) @ A&M (13)

Agroids received a nice schedule, getting LSU, OU, and Texas as the 3 teams it plays twice.  It got 3 of the big 4 (Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama) at home.  OU is coming off a win @ Arky.  A&M is coming off--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  It's still funny.  This could be an interesting game if OU can hit threes.  I know that is an obvious generalization that could apply to any game, but it could be a key to this game since OU has shot 3s well in conference play, and A&M allows teams to shoot 3s in conference more often than any other team, and it has been bad at 3pt% defense (13th in the conference).  But mainly I think Curly, I mean Buzz and the Reed crowd won't let as much mayhem against them go uncalled.  I guess Reed doesn't have a "Home of the Sixth Man" banner.  Pity.  Maybe I could sell T-shirts.

South Carolina (90) @ Georgia (34)

Here is where we might see the squeeze on our schedule.  It will be hard for South Carolina to improve to 75 or better and Georgia to 30 or better to give us a pair of q1 games against those teams without one of them sweeping the other, so might as well pick your favorite to win them both.  I don't think USCe is as bad as its 0-7 record says.  It has played 3 games against protected seeds, 2 games against tourney cert Mississippi State, and a game against each of Vandy and OU.  Four of the games were one possession or OT losses.  It is one of the best overall rebounding teams in the conference, and it gets to the line more often than the opponents.  On the other hand, USCe is very sloppy with the ball and has few chances left for a real statement win.  Remaining games against protected seeds are on the road against Florida and Tennessee, so good luck with that.  It has Mississippi and A&M in Columbia, Kentucky in Lexington, and Missouri in the other Columbia, but Missouri losing that game would hurt its chances of staying in the top 30.  Such a twisted maze. 

Back later with other games around the country

 

 

 

 

 

[tylerlindsey2111]

5 minutes ago, bierce said:

I should have stayed up for the end of the ISU-Arizona game.  Arizona got its signature win, but it needed Love to hit a halfcourt three to force OT.  Love hit a couple more 3s in OT, and UA won 86-75.  There were only 40 seconds of game time in the second half when it wasn't a one possession game or tied.  Only 11 seconds if you consider 4 point plays, which I don't because they are so rare.  Seven point plays anyone?  Class A technical on defending team, followed by a three, and a second technical while the shot is in the air?  Make it an 8 point play because the second technical was called because the coach or defender went ballistic after being called for fouling the shooter.  I can't wait to see one of those.

So Arizona makes me eat my words about . . . nah.  It was a good win, and that win might justify it being considered a top 20 team, but it wasn't before the game based on its record.

Lots of interesting games today

SEC

Kentucky (16 NET, 22 Pom) @ Tennessee (4)

Kentucky has won 3 of the last 4 games in Knoxville, and it was the underdog every time, but new coach and new players for Kentucky.    Pomeroy penalized Kentucky earlier in the year for its 20 point loss to tOSU in NYC.  Kentucky relies heavily on 3 point shooting, which is a distinctly un-Calipari characteristic.  Squid's teams rarely shot a lot of threes, and they were even less rarely very good at it before last year.  Tennessee allows a lot of threes to be taken, but 3pt% defense is tops in the country and 2nd in conference play.  Only Vandy shot better than .303 against it. 

OU (47) @ A&M (13)

Agroids received a nice schedule, getting LSU, OU, and Texas as the 3 teams it plays twice.  It got 3 of the big 4 (Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama) at home.  OU is coming off a win @ Arky.  A&M is coming off--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  It's still funny.  This could be an interesting game if OU can hit threes.  I know that is an obvious generalization that could apply to any game, but it could be a key to this game since OU has shot 3s well in conference play, and A&M allows teams to shoot 3s in conference more often than any other team, and it has been bad at 3pt% defense (13th in the conference).  But mainly I think Curly, I mean Buzz and the Reed crowd won't let as much mayhem against them go uncalled.  I guess Reed doesn't have a "Home of the Sixth Man" banner.  Pity.  Maybe I could sell T-shirts.

South Carolina (90) @ Georgia (34)

Here is where we might see the squeeze on our schedule.  It will be hard for South Carolina to improve to 75 or better and Georgia to 30 or better to give us a pair of q1 games against those teams without one of them sweeping the other, so might as well pick your favorite to win them both.  I don't think USCe is as bad as its 0-7 record says.  It has played 3 games against protected seeds, 2 games against tourney cert Mississippi State, and a game against each of Vandy and OU.  Four of the games were one possession or OT losses.  It is one of the best overall rebounding teams in the conference, and it gets to the line more often than the opponents.  On the other hand, USCe is very sloppy with the ball and has few chances left for a real statement win.  Remaining games against protected seeds are on the road against Florida and Tennessee, so good luck with that.  It has Mississippi and A&M in Columbia, Kentucky in Lexington, and Missouri in the other Columbia, but Missouri losing that game would hurt its chances of staying in the top 30.  Such a twisted maze. 

Back later with other games around the country

 

 

 

 

 

No Butler for UK tonight, will make for a LONG night for the Cats most likely.

A&M vs OU is a sneaky big game for both teams, and an interesting one if OU shoots it decent.

Think South Carolina is a typical mid-below average team that usually ends up as a four seed in NIT, but will look worse (and better?) at times this year relative to the strength of the league.

[bierce]

UNC (40) at Pitt (35)

Two teams on the 10/11 dividing line in the matrix.  UNC has maybe as few as 4 q1 games left and no more than 6 (depends on FSU staying in top 75 and Pitt rising into top 30).  Pitt has 3 to 6 such games (depends on Wake and Notre Dame finishing in top 75 and UNC rising into top 30).  UNC does have a chance for real impact wins (Duke x2, @ Clemson).  Pitt only has @ Louisville as a needle mover.  UNC and Pitt will play twice.  A sweep either way could guarantee a berth for one and kill the other.  UNC fans aren't showing much patience with Hubert Davis after his surprise Final Four team blew a 12 point lead in the second half.  They missed the tourney the next year, and lost in the Sweet 16 as an undeserved 1 seed last year.  UNC missing 2 tournaments in 3 seasons is unheard of.  Well, it's not because Matt Doherty managed it, but you get the idea.

Pitt was arguably jobbed out of a tournament bit last year, but I can't say if declining the NIT invitation will help or hurt them with the committee this year.  I'm guessing it will have a negligible effect.

The best comparison between the ACC and the SEC this year was the 14-2 beatdown in the challenge, but check out Pitt's recent "grueling stretch."  It was four losses in games @ Duke, home vs. Louisville, @ FSU, and home vs. Clemson.  That could wind up as 1 q1 and 3 q2 games.  I think Louisville is pretty good, but FSU and Clemson are straddling the 75 and 30 lines.  Compare that to our whole of January.

Wake Forest (71) @ Louisville (24)

Like I said, I think Louisville is pretty good, and Pat Kelsey should be in the conversation for coach of the year for turning that program around in just one year.  Kenny Payne's teams went 5-35 in conference the last two years.  Louisville has won 9 in a row, beating UNC, Clemson, and Pitt in that stretch, and it was last seen a week ago beating SMU 98-73 in Moody.  Wake is 1-5 in q1 games and maybe has only two left after tonight (@ SMU, @ Duke), but home vs Pitt could be a third.

Big 12 games up next

 

[bierce]

UCF (64) @ Kansas (8)

UCF started the season with a bang, upsetting A&M in Orlando, and it started the conference season with a win in Lubbock, but it celebrated its victory over Tech by going home to lose to Kansas 99-48.  Ouch.  UCF is 2-5 against the field, 3-5 in q1 (added the win @ ASU), and its only bad loss was in OT to LSU in a tournament held in WV, so even that is a q2.  Its only q2 game so far.  Murderous conference schedule through tonight.  It has already faced Tech, Kansas, Arizona, Houston, Iowa State each once, but It has only 3 statement games left (tonight, @ Baylor, and home vs. ISU).  Sellers struggled with perimeter shooting in his first year in the Big 12, but losing him this year has been a big blow.  If he returns for a fifth season, he'll be the only significant perimeter player to do so.  Freshman Mikey Williams is getting about 10 mpg in conference.  Dawkins is in his 17th year as a head coach.  2 NCAA tournament visits in that time.  UCF is much better now that when he took over, but it looks a long way away from being a regular tournament contender.  It brought in a lot of transfers to fill the lineup this year and will have to do so again this spring and summer.  Losing a ton of seniors and zero recruits signed at present.

ASU (59) @ Colorado (103)

I'm obviously interested in ASU and not Colorado here.  ASU beat Colorado by 20 in Tempe, but Colorado's +/- was 14.1 better at home in conference games last year.  Big sample, too, since it played 9 Pac12 teams twice.  Washington was the only team to make Colorado look better away from Boulder, and that was probably only because da Silva and Williams didn't play in CU's home game but played in Seattle.  Running basically a 6 man rotation in Boulder probably wears a team down, even a team used to playing at high altitudes.  Take that outlier out, and CU was 17.5 points better at home.

That's a big number.  Like really, really big.

ASU beat bubble New Mexico and St. Mary's in a tournament in Palm Springs.  I still don't get St. Mary's in the top 30, but whatever.  It won @ WVU and beat WAC favorite Grand Canyon and a very good Santa Clara team on neutral floors.  It lost @ Gonzaga in a game that was still tied with 5 minutes to go.  It was beaten soundly by Florida on a neutral floor.  It has statement games left against Tech (x2), Arizona (x2), and home vs. Houston. 

Hurley seemed very much like a guy who was going to promote fast but efficient offense while at Buffalo and in his first few years in Tempe, but over the last decade, his teams have tended to be better on defense, and in the last 4 years, he has slowed the offense down significantly. 

ASU played only 7 players significant minutes in any closely contested conference game this year.  I won't be surprised to see Boyle try to speed up the game to take advantage of altitude. 

Baylor (28) @ BYU (38)

Baylor's most impressive win so far this year has been over St. John's on a neutral floor, and it has had two what the hell happened games, losing the season opener 101-63 @ Gonzaga and recently losing in Waco to a bad TCU team after giving up a 13-2 run late in the game.  It has a pair left against Houston, a road game against Tech, and home games against Kansas and Arizona, so there are 5 impact games still on its schedule.  This Baylor team doesn't shoot as well as predecessors and doesn't do nearly as well at getting to the line, but it does a lot better in turnover margin.   BYU is the best shooting team in the conference but relatively poor at protecting the ball and rebounding, so I see this game as one of shooting vs. possessions. 

Cincy (48) @ Utah (78, Pomeroy 89)

Cincy is 0-6 in q1 games with average margin of loss being by 14 points.  Utah's Craig Smith is probably seriously worried about his job after the last two losses. 

 

[bierce]

VCU (45), Dayton (70) both @ other irrelevant A10 schools.  George Mason (72) hosting another irrelevant A10 school.

It has been several years since the A10 was worth multiple at large bids.  I don't think this year will break the trend.  VCU did nothing of value in OOC games, unless you call a neutral win over Colorado State valuable.  Indiana State 2024 type profile.  Dayton has some good OOC wins (Marquette, UConn, Northwestern), but it has a pair of iffy, if not ugly, losses in conference.  George Mason has even less of value in non-conference than VCU, but it did beat Dayton in Dayton.

So, I see this conference as the equivalent or near equivalent of the MVC last year.  Tournament bid goes to tournament conference winner. 

Oregon State (54) @ Gonzaga (15)

Oregon State won the game in Corvallis in OT, so I thought I would include this game since a win here would put Oregon State back on a lot of brackets.   Gonzaga good several really good wins early (often by huge margins), but it is 0-5 in its last 5 games against top 85 teams, and none of those teams are in the top 20. 

[Jordan91]

2 hours ago, bierce said:

UCF (64) @ Kansas (8)

UCF started the season with a bang, upsetting A&M in Orlando, and it started the conference season with a win in Lubbock, but it celebrated its victory over Tech by going home to lose to Kansas 99-48.  Ouch.  UCF is 2-5 against the field, 3-5 in q1 (added the win @ ASU), and its only bad loss was in OT to LSU in a tournament held in WV, so even that is a q2.  Its only q2 game so far.  Murderous conference schedule through tonight.  It has already faced Tech, Kansas, Arizona, Houston, Iowa State each once, but It has only 3 statement games left (tonight, @ Baylor, and home vs. ISU).  Sellers struggled with perimeter shooting in his first year in the Big 12, but losing him this year has been a big blow.  If he returns for a fifth season, he'll be the only significant perimeter player to do so.  Freshman Mikey Williams is getting about 10 mpg in conference.  Dawkins is in his 17th year as a head coach.  2 NCAA tournament visits in that time.  UCF is much better now that when he took over, but it looks a long way away from being a regular tournament contender.  It brought in a lot of transfers to fill the lineup this year and will have to do so again this spring and summer.  Losing a ton of seniors and zero recruits signed at present.

ASU (59) @ Colorado (103)

I'm obviously interested in ASU and not Colorado here.  ASU beat Colorado by 20 in Tempe, but Colorado's +/- was 14.1 better at home in conference games last year.  Big sample, too, since it played 9 Pac12 teams twice.  Washington was the only team to make Colorado look better away from Boulder, and that was probably only because da Silva and Williams didn't play in CU's home game but played in Seattle.  Running basically a 6 man rotation in Boulder probably wears a team down, even a team used to playing at high altitudes.  Take that outlier out, and CU was 17.5 points better at home.

That's a big number.  Like really, really big.

ASU beat bubble New Mexico and St. Mary's in a tournament in Palm Springs.  I still don't get St. Mary's in the top 30, but whatever.  It won @ WVU and beat WAC favorite Grand Canyon and a very good Santa Clara team on neutral floors.  It lost @ Gonzaga in a game that was still tied with 5 minutes to go.  It was beaten soundly by Florida on a neutral floor.  It has statement games left against Tech (x2), Arizona (x2), and home vs. Houston. 

Hurley seemed very much like a guy who was going to promote fast but efficient offense while at Buffalo and in his first few years in Tempe, but over the last decade, his teams have tended to be better on defense, and in the last 4 years, he has slowed the offense down significantly. 

ASU played only 7 players significant minutes in any closely contested conference game this year.  I won't be surprised to see Boyle try to speed up the game to take advantage of altitude. 

Baylor (28) @ BYU (38)

Baylor's most impressive win so far this year has been over St. John's on a neutral floor, and it has had two what the hell happened games, losing the season opener 101-63 @ Gonzaga and recently losing in Waco to a bad TCU team after giving up a 13-2 run late in the game.  It has a pair left against Houston, a road game against Tech, and home games against Kansas and Arizona, so there are 5 impact games still on its schedule.  This Baylor team doesn't shoot as well as predecessors and doesn't do nearly as well at getting to the line, but it does a lot better in turnover margin.   BYU is the best shooting team in the conference but relatively poor at protecting the ball and rebounding, so I see this game as one of shooting vs. possessions. 

Cincy (48) @ Utah (78, Pomeroy 89)

Cincy is 0-6 in q1 games with average margin of loss being by 14 points.  Utah's Craig Smith is probably seriously worried about his job after the last two losses. 

 

Baylor has fallen a lot. 

[Jordan91]

9 hours ago, tylerlindsey2111 said:

No Butler for UK tonight, will make for a LONG night for the Cats most likely.

A&M vs OU is a sneaky big game for both teams, and an interesting one if OU shoots it decent.

Think South Carolina is a typical mid-below average team that usually ends up as a four seed in NIT, but will look worse (and better?) at times this year relative to the strength of the league.

Not necessarily. Barnes often lets teams hang around. 

[bierce]

Tennessee is blowing this game on the offensive end late.  Three straight possessions with no attempt to try anything except 3 pointers.  Bricked them all.  Kentucky up 5 with 1:44 left and ball pending review.  Kentucky hitting 50% from the arc.

 

[bierce]

Ball to Tennessee after review.  We'll see if Tennessee gets something other than a 3 attempt after the effective timeout.

Yes, it did.  It had a turnover on the perimeter.  Cue Bill Walton.

[bierce]

Offensive foul on Kentucky for dribbler swinging arm into head of defender.  Reviewed for flagrancy. 

[bierce]

Tennessee missed another three but got the rebound, and the rebounder was fouled while moving away from the basket.  Made both ft.  73-70 with 1:06 left.  Kentucky player hit in face by defender reaching for ball.  Crowd booing about having another review for a flagrant foul.

 

[bierce]

Louisville blew out WF in the first half and coasted to a 72-59 win.

Georgia won by 11.

Pitt-UNC have a late start.

[bierce]

Uk hit one of 2 ft.

Tennessee bricked two more threes on its possession, Zeigler rebounded the first, Kentucky fumbled next out of bounds.

Tennessee missed another three, got the rebound, and finally hit one.  That must be about 1/10 from three over the last 3 minutes.  Just not worth it.

But it is a one point game with 28.6 seconds left.  Possession arrow to Tennessee.

[bierce]

UK made a pair of ft.  Tennessee . . . you guessed it . . . missed a three.  Air.  Knocked out by Tennessee.  UK inbounding with 7.9 seconds to go, up 3. 

[bierce]

Kentucky wins for the 4th time in 5 years in Knoxville.  Did it without Butler and Carr.  Tennessee finished 11/45 from the arc.  Ridiculously bad offense down the stretch. 

[bierce]

Aggies wearing white with pink numbers and trim.  It's not helping their shooting so far.  12-10 OU with 12:30 left in the half.  A&M 2/10 from the field.

[bierce]

Dayton just suffered its second 20 point loss in conference to a tournament non-contender.  I don't see how it can hope for an at large bid now, short of sweeping the season series against VCU, which would eliminate VCU. 

[bierce]

OU kept it close in the first half by shooting 6/13 bta.  It hasn't attempted a 3 in the second half.  7-0 Agroid run.  Agroids with a 31-9 advantage on the glass and up 38-30.

[bierce]

Stick fork in VCU as an at large candidate unless it sweeps Dayton.  Lost to St. Louis. 

A10 is in all likelihood down to the the tournament winner or down to whichever team sweeps the VCU-Dayton series and the tournament winner.

Which is to say the A10 is a conference deserving at most one at large bid for the 7th or 8th straight season.  We are many years removed from seeing four A10 teams make the tournament. 

Lunardi is probably crying about it as I type this. 

Edited Wednesday at 04:07 AM by bierce