Saturday in college basketball is usually a spectacle, regardless of the calendar. But the Saturday before the selection Sunday? It is anarchy. Complete and total anarchy.
The festivities that took place gave us everything you could ask for on such an important occasion. A dancer for the first time in Hartford. Iona Gaels, by Rick Pitino, punching his ticket. Damn, even Georgetown sneaked into the field winning – no, crush – Creighton to secure Big East’s automatic bunk. But, in spite of all the joy provided by these victories, there was also a little sadness.
Start a group of keys to compete against friends or fill in your key for the chance to win a new Nissan Rogue and a college basketball dream trip. Get in on the action today!
While Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing achieved a big victory for the small fraternity of coaches who lead the schools where they served as players, two of his colleagues in that realm had far worse days. Penny Hardaway’s Memphis team suffered their second crushing loss to Houston in the last six days, and Juwan Howard’s Michigan team was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament by rival Ohio State. Unlike Memphis, which will need a miracle on Selection Sunday to reach the 68th field, Michigan will go to the NCAA Tournament and may still be number 1 seeded.
But losing to Ohio was not the only thing that bothered the Wolverines on Saturday. More on that in a second, when we have a complete summary of the winners and losers of the day.
Loser: Michigan doubts when entering Big Dance
Michigan played only two games in the Big Ten Tournament this week, but the Wolverines packed a lot in a short period of time, and Friday’s news was more bad than good. The program announced that versatile senior leader Isaiah Livers would be indefinitely suffering from a stress injury to his right foot on Saturday morning, and then the Wolverines threw a heartbreaker 68-67 for the state of Ohio. This means that the Wolverines will enter the NCAA Tournament after suffering three out of four defeats in the last five games. Add to the uncertain status of Livers, and Michigan looks a little vulnerable when entering Big Dance. The senior has an average of 13.1 points, six rebounds and two assists, while making 43.1% of his attempts at 3 points, and if he stays out for an extended period, it would be a devastating blow to the program’s aspirations when national title.
Winner: Rick Pitino’s Iona Gaels are dancing
Louisville may join the squad on Sunday in a cold sweat in the hope that his name will be summoned by the selection committee, but his former coach, Rick Pitino, will not do so. Pitino and his Iona Gaels got their ticket to Big Dance on Saturday by kicking Fairfield out of the MAAC title game to secure the league’s automatic bid. He becomes the third coach in history to lead five different teams to the NCAA Tournament during his career, joining Lon Kruger and Tubby Jones.
Winner: Illinois solidifies the case as No. 1 seed
Illinois entered Saturday as the last No. 1 seed (and fourth overall team) in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology. Therefore, his case as a team with the best seeds was undoubtedly strong. But overcoming Iowa by 82-71 probably sealed the issue for the selection committee. The Illini lead the nation in Quadrant 1 wins in 12, so win or lose on Sunday against Ohio State, they must feel confident about their stellar work.
Loser: Tennessee loses chance to end Tide
In the second half of the SEC semifinals on Saturday, Tennessee led Alabama 48-33. Over the last 17 minutes of playing time, however, Vols cooled down when Bama increased his warmth defensively. During this stretch, the tide turned in a 40-20 run (!) To win 73-68. It was not a bad loss for Tennessee, but a brutal way to fall after having gone up by 15 in the second half. It is not the taste you want in your mouth when entering the NCAA Tournament.
Winner: Patrick Ewing completes wild week
It was a very busy week for the Hall of Fame Patrick Ewing, between calling the MSG security guards, questioning James Dolan for his operation and generally causing a stir by – rightly – asking himself out loud why the hell he was being asked to show credentials within the MSG. But it ended on a fantastic note.
Georgetown Hoyas of Ewing secured Big East’s automatic offer for Big Dance with a 73-48 attack on Creighton on Saturday night. Hoyas did this as an 8 seed and defeated Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall along the way. The Hoyas were chosen to finish last – yes, last! – in the Big East in the pre-season. Now they are dancing to enter the tournament. Just a fantastic and cheerful story, and a proper way to end a crazy week for Ewing.
Winner: Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann’s mother
After Ohio State dropped 73-68 to Illinois last Saturday to extend its losing streak to a season four, Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann received a tip from a very unlikely source on how to remedy the team’s problems. .
His mother.
Did the council follow? Well, be the judge. The state of Ohio has now won three consecutive victories since Holtmann’s mother fired the message. Now, after taking care of rival Michigan on Saturday, he is one win away from winning his first Big Ten tournament title since 2013.
Loser: AAC bubble teams
Wichita State suffered a brutal 60-59 defeat to Cincinnati in the semifinals of the AAC Tournament. Shockers’ No. 1 seed had come out of the bubble when it entered the day, according to Palm, but they were just a No. 9 seed designed before defeat. It is Wichita State’s first loss at Quad 3 of the season and will inspire at least some fear for the program on Sunday, when the NCAA Tournament selection committee makes its final determinations about who deserves a general offer.
Memphis had a chance to make up for Wichita State in the other game in the AAC semifinal, but the Tigers suffered their second loss to Houston in a six-day period. After losing 67-64 in a horn to the Cougars last Sunday, the Tigers had their hearts ripped out again in a harrowing 76-74 defeat.
It’s a big Sunday for AAC. If Cincinnati disrupts Houston and the selection committee appreciates the state of Wichita, the league could have three teams in Big Dance. But if Houston wins the tournament title and the Shockers stay off the field, it could end up being just a one-way league.
Pitino is getting a lot of attention, and with good reason, but he was not the only former power conference trainer to arrive at Big Dance with a new team on Saturday. Former LSU coach Johnny Jones is heading to the NCAA Tournament with Texas Southern. Now in his third season leading the program, Jones has a veteran physical team that has won 14 of his last 15 games to secure an automatic SWAC offer. This is the third school that Jones takes to the NCAA Tournament (North Texas and LSU). This is certainly sweet for Jones, however, after an unceremonious ending to his tenure at LSU after the 2016-17 season.
Winner: Hartford dancing for the first time
Hartford appeared to be wasting time under coach John Gallagher when he finished 9-23 in 2016-17 for the show’s third straight losing streak. But the Hawks’ faith in Gallagher paid off historically on Saturday, when the program made its first appearance at the NCAA Tournament by defeating UMass Lowell in the game for the Eastern American Tournament title. That means four consecutive winning seasons for the show now, and at just 43 years old, Gallagher suddenly looks like one of the profession’s rising stars in his 11th season.
“They were saying goodbye to me four years ago,” said Gallagher. “With good reason. I couldn’t do it. And then we just bent over. Maybe I need my back against the wall. Maybe that’s just part of the Irish Catholic in me.”
Winner: Norfolk State dancing for the second time
Norfolk State secured its second slot in the NCAA tournament in the program’s history at the Division I level on Saturday after defeating Morgan State 71-63. It was the fifth time (!) That the Spartans have faced the Bears this season, and their fourth win in the series has given them the MEAC title and an automatic slot in the NCAA Tournament. The last time this team went to dance was in 2012, when it surprised the number 2 in Missouri in the first round as the 15th seeder.
The Aztecs did not win the same amount of national accolades this season as they did last season, during a 26-0 start. But this group did something that last year’s team failed to achieve on Saturday when they won the Mountain West Tournament title. This version of San Diego State will not have 26 consecutive wins, but the Aztecs have 13 consecutive wins now, and with them playing, the Aztecs seem ready to extend that streak into at least a few games in the NCAA Tournament.