Decisions made by the NCAA Tournament selection committee upset a few teams so much that they decided to take their basketball and go home for the rest of March. Boo-hoo.
To those schools that have declined NIT invites has finished its job, my advice is to quit directing your anger at the selection committee, stop trashing every analytic or set of rankings, and direct your wrath at the real reasons why your team didn’t make it to the Big Dance.
No, it wasn’t Charles McClelland and his pals who decided to be mean and not invite your team. It was NC State, New Mexico and Duquesne – among others – that went out an earned their invites by slipping their feet into Cinderella slippers during conference tournaments.
Now that brackets are in front of us, who might try on their own slippers for the dance and defy the NCAAB odds as Cinderellas?
Florida Gators – No. 7 South Region
Todd Golden and the Gators enter the dance off an impressive run through the SEC Tournament that saw them make it all the way to the finals as the No. 6 seed. It almost started with a misstep in the second round against a Georgia that gave Florida trouble twice in the regular season.
Florida then had to face Alabama and Texas A&M, two teams the Gators fell to during the regular season, before closing against Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship.
All of that, plus a 22-10 mark before the league tourney, was good enough to earn the seventh seed in the South Region, and a tough 7-10 matchup in the first round.
Just who the Gators will face as that No. 10 seed remains to be seen since it involved a play-in game between Boise State and Colorado.
Florida only managed to split covers at top sportsbooks in the four SEC tourney games and struggled a bit down the stretch by cashing just once in the final five games. In fact, the best way to bet the Gators the last month has been the ‘over’ (9-2 since Feb. 17).
Golden’s gang is responsible for most of the ‘over’ winners. The Gators rank fifth in the country, averaging 85.1 PPG, and showed just how potent they are by twice putting 100+ on Alabama, the top-scoring team in the nation.
Grabbing offensive boards and getting second chances is key to Florida’s scoring, and the Gators will need to keep that going to dance into the Final Four.
Gonzaga Bulldogs – No. 5 Midwest Region
Given the program’s résumé, it might be tough to wrap your head around Mark Few and Gonzaga ever being a potential Cinderella.
The Bulldogs entered the campaign ranked No. 11/12 in the AP and coaches polls, and despite slipping only to the 17/15 slots heading into the West Coast Tournament, Few will probably tell you it was something of a disappointing season.
Gonzaga did close the regular season on a high note, beating rival Saint Mary’s on the road to avenge an earlier home loss to the Gaels. Saint Mary’s got the last laugh, however, by winning the West Coast Conference Championship.
Like Florida, Gonzaga relies on offense to get the job done as Few’s cagers rank ninth nationally averaging 83.6 PPG. Unlike Florida, the Bulldogs don’t need to grab a lot of offensive rebounds to score since they shoot better than 51% (2nd in country).
Gonzaga got a taste of the power teams in this year’s tournament by facing a pair of No. 1 seeds early, Purdue and UConn. A revenge rematch with Purdue looms in the Sweet 16 if the Bulldogs can advance past the first weekend.
That advancement would mean Gonzaga has to take down Kansas. The Bulldogs and Jayhawks could meet in the second round this weekend in the Salt Lake City pod.
San Diego State Aztecs – No. 5 East Region
It’s a risky college basketball pick to go against the defending national champs and this year’s top No. 1 seed Connecticut, especially given the Huskies will be playing close to home in Brooklyn and Boston, at least through regional action.
Brian Dutcher and the Aztecs are going to do their best to get to Brooklyn where they potentially line up to play UConn in the Sweet 16.
San Diego State missed an opportunity to possibly grab a No. 4 seed by winning the Mountain West Tournament but fell to an upstart New Mexico group. That game was between the 5/6 seeds after a strong season for the MWC.
Instead, the Aztecs settle for No. 5 in a tough East bracket. Oh, by the way, the Aztecs were a No. 5 seed last season when San Diego State made it to the championship game and fell to UConn. Could San Diego State use the revenge factor to get past the Huskies this time and return to the Final Four?
