Cleveland (State) Rocks!
March 11, 2009 by Kevin Hunter
Filed under Basketball
What’s gotten into Cleveland?
First, Cleveland State punches it’s ticket to the Big Dance by punching Associated Press number 16 ranked Butler in the face 57-54 for the Horizon League tournament championship. Cleveland State (25-10) is dancing for the first time in 23 years.
Now the question is, will the selection committee take two teams from the Horizon League to the Big Dance?
I’m also watching the Cleveland Cavaliers lose to the Clippers right now. It’s late in the first half, and I’m sure once the second half gets underway, LeBron James will restore order.
DePaul’s win against Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East tournament is one more reason why I hate conference tournaments and why last place teams should stay home!
Did anyone stay up late enough to see No. 12 Gonzaga take apart St. Mary’s 83-58 for the West Coast Conference championship?
I’m now having second thought on giving the St. Mary’s an at-large tournament bid. Gonzaga really put a hurt on them.
Georgetown is out. The Hoyas (16-14), which were ranked as high as the top 10 this season were dismissed by St. John’s (16-16) 64-59 in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Ben Woodside buried a jumper with three seconds left to send North Dakota State (26-6) to NCAA’s with a 66-64 win against Oakland for the Summit League championship.
And as I write this, Western Kentucky just made reservations! The Hilltoppers (24-8) just beat South Alabama (20-13) 64-56 for the Sun Belt Conference championship.
Right now the NIT is shaping up to be a pretty decent tournament. You could have Georgetown, St. Mary’s, Davidson and Butler in the battle for No. 66.
We won’t know for sure until this weekend now, will we?
Here’s the latest list of teams headed for the Big Dance.
Cornell, Ivy League
East Tennessee State, Atlantic Sun Conference
Morehead State, Ohio Valley Conference
Northern Iowa, Missouri Valley Conference
Radford, Big South Conference
Cleveland State, Horizon League
Gonzaga, West Coast Conference
Siena, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Virginia Commonwealth, Colonial Athletic Association
Chattanooga, Southern Conference
Western Kentucky, Sun Belt Conference
North Dakota State, Summit League
Kevin, I’m sure that Cali sun is fine and all, but please stay out of it a little more.
Butler not in the tourney? Are you serious??????
I didn’t say that Butler wouldn’t get in. But when it comes to the selection committee, the rankings by a bunch of sports writers mean nothing.
The question is, or the one I should have posed is, how many teams from the “Mid-Majors” will the NCAA Illuminati let in? If teams from conferences such as the Horizon, West Coast, Southern, ect. have a solid regular season champion, and someone sneaks in and wins the conference tournament, and even a good third place team waiting in the wings, one or more are going to get screwed. It’s usually the one who failed to win the conference tournament, as well as that solid 20-plus win third place team no one has ever heard of.
The Horizon League has four teams with 20 wins or more. Do you really think the selection Illuminati is going to take two or maybe even three teams from a “Mid-Major” in favor of a fifth or sixth place team from the Big East, Pac-10, ACC or Big 10 (Plus One)?
I’m not saying that Butler shouldn’t get in, and I’m all for the “Mid-Majors” and the best teams getting in. But it does make you wonder if the selection committee feels the same way. In the past they haven’t.
And another thing, it’s been cloudy and raining here for the past few weeks. If feels like freaking Portland!
Butler is in for sure, they are a darling and a top 25 mainstay, plus they beat good teams and have a great record.
The NCAA doesn’t usually have a problem putting in multiple mid major teams from the same conference, even South Alabama was an at-large last season, South Alabama!!
Those other two teams in the horizon are going to the NIT. They are not on the bubble whatsoever.
All I know is PC needs to beat Louisville, and hopefully we get a team like Butler in a 6-11 or 5-12 matchup, because PC will absolutely kill Butler.
I never said that Butler doesn’t belong in the tournament and they won’t get in! I’m just saying they’re not a lock as far as the selection Illuminati is concerned.
They have two strikes against them – a lousy conference and a loss in their lousy conference tournament. It’s not like they’re North Carolina or UConn where they can lose and still get a number one regional seed.
And Butler is not an tournament darling and top 25 mainstay. I think you’re confusing them with Gonzaga.
Maybe Mr. Chris Dufresne in today’s L.A. Times explained it better than I did.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-dufresne11-2009mar11,0,6174353.column
And as far as Butler and PC? I think PC should get in (again, as I do Butler!) if it beats Louisville. But I’m not even going there as far as who wins in a match up between the two. ;)
THE HORIZON IS NOT A LOUSY LEAGUE!!
BUTLER IS IN FOR SURE!!