Selection Sunday is barely three weeks away and the scramble for position is starting to heat up. Here's a quick recap of who helped their cause in the last five days and who is beginning to teeter.
STOCK UP:
Kansas State - The Wildcats saved their season Monday night with a convincing win over #1 Kansas. Kudos to Jimmy Dykes of ESPN, who before the game said that if State had any chance of pulling the upset, senior Jacob Pullen needed to have a "Jimmer Fredette game."
Pullen did just that, scoring a career-high 37 points. The win resurects the Wildcats tourney life...for now. Those two losses to Colorado are still a tough hurdle to overcome, particualrly if the Buffaloes can finish strong.
Boston College - I'm still not sold on the Eagles tourney worthiness, but their 76-72 win over Maryland moves them into much better position in the down ACC.
North Carolina - The Tarheels are still a Top 4 seed in the Maniac's book. Their road win at Clemson all but assured them second place in the ACC, and put the final nail in Clemson's already weak NCAA chances.
Colorado State - Don't look now, but the Rams are one of the nation's most surprising at-large contenders. I am not sure if the MWC can pull four bids, so it is imperative they keep pace with UNLV these last three weeks. Saturday's win over New Mexico was enormous for CSU, and the final nail in Coach Alford's New Mexico Lobos' coffin.
The Rams still control their own destiny. The host UNLV, and travel to BYU and San Diego State in three of their final five games. Take two of those three and avoid any slip-ups and the Rams are in. Easier said than done, but if you would have told and CSU fans the previous scenario back in November, I assure you they'd have taken it with a huge grin.
Temple - The Owls went on the road and hammered Dayton. The Owls are all but a lock at this point, and have a shot at creeping as high as a #5 or #6 if they finish strong (which they seem to do every year).
Florida - We wrote about the Florida v. Tennessee game at length, so no need to rehash the ugliness. But for Billy D, the Gators are nearing lock status. With a stong finish they could creep as high as a #4, however with a tailspin they could slide all the way down to the #9-#10 range.
Memphis - Back to back wins over Southern Miss and UAB (Sat & Wed) all but clinch the Tigers as a tourney team in the Maniac's book.
St. John's - Lavin and the Johnnies got a huge win, 59-57 at Cincinnati Sunday. ESPN has them as a #7 currently. The followed up the win with a 80-68 win over Marquette - a huge win made even bigger by how much it damaged their fellow Big East bubble denizen's chances We still have them holding in the #9 range - but definitely a tourney team barring a late collapse.
Cincinnati - Yes, they lost in the aforementioned game, but the Wednesday pasting of Louisville moves the Bearcats into really good position to capture a well-deserved tenth bid for the Big East.
Virginia Tech - The Hokies are making a late surge towards finally ending up on the right side of the bubble. Sunday's 102-74 win over Georgia Tech was an impressive offensive display. Tuesday's pasting of Maryland moves them even closer, and they are beginning to separate them from the ACC bubble pack.
Butler - The Bulldogs are making a furious rush to get back in the at-large discussion. They've now won five straight, including wins over Wisc-Milwaukee, Wright State and Cleveland State to climb back to 11-5 in the Horizon League.
STOCK DOWN:
Duquesne - The Dukes tourney hopes took a devestating blow with Saturday's home loss to Xavier. It isn't so much that the loss is bad more than it was the Dukes one great chance to earn a validating win that slipped through their fingers. Despite their 11-2 A10 record, they still have only one Top 50 win to their resume (and eight losses).
Southern Miss & UAB - Both fell victim to conference bully Memphis this week; their respective tournament hopes might have fallen victim with the losses. Neither is dead, but both have a huge road ahead of them, particularly Southern Miss who is nearing "must win the conference tourney" status.
Northern Iowa - Their at-large hopes gasped their last breath Saturday in their 18-point home loss to Wichita State. The Shockers are looking good for March; the Panther will need to pull a shocker if they hope to Dance again this year.
UNLV - The Reb's missed a golden opportunity Saturday, losing 63-57 at home to San Diego State. UNLV needs to finish strong to earn a third bid for the MWC (and hold off Colorado State).
Georgia - The Bulldogs Wednesday night loss to Vandy was a damaging one. Georgia falls to 6-5 in the SEC and just 17-8 overall. It's fair to say they MUST win one of their next two games; at Tennessee and at Florida to stay in the tourney picture.
