This is it – the last week of the college roundball regular season. Where did all that time and all of those games go? It’s ridiculous that we’re almost to conference tourneys and even that much closer to the Big Dance. Once again, there’s turnover at the top spot in the rankings with UConn regaining the top position after relinquishing it to Pitt for a week. We’re getting into absolute must-win territory for several teams in order for them to secure at-large berths.

Expect the intensity on the court to rise this week. By this point, teams are so deep in their conference play that they’ve played everybody at least one…unless they’re part of the Big East; because, it’s impossible for each team to play all the others when there are 79 members in the conference. Anywho, most teams have seen the players they will be facing this week at least once already and there’s plenty of tape to review for each team from this season. So, along with the increased intensity, expect closer games and maybe a few more upsets. We’ll see, I guess; but in the meantime, check out our conference reviews and the made-for-S&F-poll.

Polls:

Now, onto the conference reviews:

Big East: Patphish -The BEast regular season title is going to come down to the last day this year. That is when the FNCUH will enact revenge on the Pitt Panthers and secure thier 9th title since 1990. Georgetown dominated the early years of the conference, but the Huskies have established themselves as the greatest team in conference history. Adding a 7th tournament title and 3rd National Title will cement there place in history.

The FNCUH won 2 tough battles last week. The first, a road victory at Marquette was the best victory of the year. A.J. Price went nuts, scoring a career high 36 points and getting Coach Calhoun to compare him to Ray Allen and Ben Gordon after the game. It also marked Calhoun’s 800th victory, something only 5 others have done. The Huskies finished another on campus undefeated season by beating a desperate Notre Dame team on Saturday. FNOP Hasheem Thabeet blocked eight more shots, moving him to within 9 of matching Patrick Ewing’s conference record. And he has done it in 11 less games.

Marquette had an absolutely brutal week, not only losing to UConn but also to Louisville and watching there conference championship dreams go down in flames. They lost heart and soul guard Dominic James for the season with a broken foot in the UConn loss. The best scoring team in the league already lacked depth, often playing only 7 or 8 guys in it’s rotation. They had a great year, but without James seeing the second weekend of the big dance is not guaranteed. I think they are in trouble, will lose to Pitt on Wednesday which may force them to have to play an extra Big East tourney game. Not good.

Providence continues to play no defense, but when they are on shooting the ball, they remind me a lot of Pitino’s Friars and an undersized gunner of a guard named Billy. Seriously, the kicked Pitt’s ass. They have won 10 conference games and will make the dance with a victory over Villanova this week or if they can find a way to win 2 games in the conference tourney.

Cincinnati followed up a huge victory over West Virginia by getting humiliated at Syracuse. There RPI is in the low 50’s and with a couple more victories they may be able to slip in to the dance. Deserving? Probably not, but they have the same RPI as Maryland and play in a better conference, so if it comes down to those 2 teams as the final team in, the Bearcats should get the nod.

Despite the loss to Cincy, the Mountaineers are going to finish 11-7 in conference and have 22 wins before league tourney play begins. They are going to the dance. Book it.

Implants: FNCUH, Pitt, Nova, Louisville,

D cups: Marquette, West Virginia, Syracuse

C’s: Providence, Cincy

B’s: Gtown, Notre Dame

A’s: St John’s, Seton Hall

Jailbait: USF, Rutgers, DePaul

I would like to own the fact I totally screwed up last weeks Big East review. I ranted about UConn winning on the road in Floriduh when in fact they were at home. Commenter rs27 called me out on it and I thank him for it. I actually watched the game and was in Tampa that day! No excuses, I totally blew it. I believe TWTWCBB is one of the best weekly reviews in the blogosphere and we want it to be accurate as well as fun to read. So if we screw it up, please continue to call us on it. One more thing, Duke sucks.

ACC: GITC - The ACC is pretty close to getting 9 teams into the tourney. As of now 8 are in and Maryland is just outside. Starting from the top… UNC beat up Georgia Tech this week but has a tough week this week going to Virginia Tech and hosting Duke. Duke could use that game to prove that they deserve a higher seed (even though they’ll get one anyway) as well as their home game against Florida State. They beat Maryland and Virginia Tech on the road last week in games they had to win in the final minutes. Wake goes to Maryland tonight (I’ll be there) after an easy week with a trip to Virginia. They also face Clemson at home. Florida State helped secure BC a spot by losing at their place and then turned around and beat Clemson to secure themselves a spot. They could lose three in a row now (@Duke, VaTech, 1st round ACC) but that’s unlikely. Clemson may have lost both games last week to VaTech and at FSU but they don’t really need those wins for their resume. They face Virginia and go to Wake this week. BC gets in after the win against FSU but has to close the easy games against NC State (road, tough place) and Georgia Tech (home, should be easy). Now that they have 8 ACC wins I don’t really see how they fall out though. Maryland lost to Duke but won the road game at NC State. They face Wake tonight to try to lock up the 9th bid for the conference and play later at Virginia. They can get in without the Wake win if they beat Virginia and win their 1st round ACC game. Virginia Tech secured their spot by beating Clemson away but lost to Duke to stop their momentum. They face UNC and go to FSU this week where either win could help their seeding. The Curious Case of the Miami Hurricanes returns as they beat BC and win at Virginia. They should win at Georgia Tech and at home against NC State to lock up the 8-8 record they need. Depending on who they draw they might not need a 1st round ACC win to make it. That’s it for this week in the best conference there is.

Big 10: Sparty – Can you name the Big Ten Champs? That would be the Michigan State Spartans. Granted, right now they have only clinched a share of the Big Ten title, but tonight’s game against Indiana is just a formality. They will wrap it up outright in about 12 hrs.

Purdue blew it’s chance of winning the Big Ten all for themselves, when they dropped a game to Michigan last week. Purdue’s loss was the Maize and Blue’s gain. The Wolverines improved on their tourney resume with the win against Purdue, but didn’t do themselves any favors by following that up with a loss to Wisconsin over the weekend.

Quite honestly, the Big 10 is a little confusing right now. The league is getting 6 teams in, it is just not clear as to who will be the 5th and 6th teams. We can easily say that Michigan State, Purdue and Illinois are the for sure teams, and you could probably lump Ohio State into that group. They boast a great resume. They have wins against several Top 50 RPI teams, and will most likely defeat Iowa and Northwestern to improve their conference record to 10-8 with an overall record of 20-9. Wisconsin is most likely the next team headed to the tourney. They have bounced back nicely down the stretch, and their win over Va Tech really helps them when selection time comes.

The 6th spot will come down to Michigan, Penn State and Minnesota. We have already covered Michigan, and Penn State needs to win their last couple games to guarantee themselves a spot. Their week OOC schedule will hurt them, even though they have beat 3 best teams in the conference this season. Minnesota looked like a lock a couple weeks ago, but now face a very difficult close to the season with Wisconsin on the road and hosting Michigan. If they can knock off Michigan at home, they should sneak in because of that win over Louisville earlier in the year.

Here who is dancing entering the final week of regular season play:

Big Ten Champion Michigan State Spartans, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota.

Could be taking Minnesota’s Spot: Michigan, Penn State.

Big 12: Miz/Trey – Kansas, Oklahoma, and Mizzou are still the class of the conference; Texas is the only other team that could conceivably lose both games this week and finish the season with a .500+ conference record. Mizzou (24-5, 11-3) is in third place in the conference and could lose both games against Oklahoma and Texas A&M this week and still be ahead of Texas (20-9, 9-6). Kansas (24-5, 13-1) still has the hold on the regular season Big 12 title after running through the conference gauntlet last week beating both Oklahoma and Mizzou. Yeah, the Jayhawks beat the Sooners who were short one Blake Griffin, but they did it in Norman and with a team effort…which may be more important come tourney-time. The Jayhawks then rode the momentum from the win at Oklahoma and really laid the wood to Mizzou at home last week, beating them by 25.

When it comes to the national implications, there’s few legit arguments against the Sooners as a #1 seed at this point. Oklahoma most likely just needs to take care of Mizzou and in-state rivals Okie State to seal their #1 seeding. Meanwhile the Kansas Jayhawks may have played themselves into a potential 1 seed…if they win the Big 12 tournament. Are they a legitimate 1 seed? Probably not; but they still have a lot of talent and could make some noise in March. A repeat is not likely though.

Kansas State had a chance to throw another signature win on their record this week, and they blew it to Missouri. The lack of big wins and weaker schedule is likely going to keep the Wildcats out of the dance. Oklahoma State and Colorado are both must wins. Still, they’ll probably need at least one win in the Big 12 tourney.

PAC 10: theCassino - The Pac-10 has solidified itself as a 5 bid conference. Finally, the Big East/ACC/Pac-10 debate is settled and all those east coast apologists will shut it. I’m kidding, of course. The ACC was never in the debate. Seriously though, I have to take my shots while the conference is still respectable. If you think the Pac-10 is down this year, wait until you see it next year.

Washington is preparing to play Washington State (the hottest team in the conference right now) for their first outright conference title since 1953, when it was the Pacific Coast Conference. No doubt Jon Brockman and Justin Dentmon are looking to make their last home game a special one on Senior Night.

Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill are both probable lottery picks and Nic Wise is a great college guard. Needless to say, there’s talent on Arizona’s roster. But this team cannot win on the road. Wins over Kansas (home) and Gonzaga (Phoenix) are probably going to be enough to push them into the field of 64 as long as they can get to even in conference play. They get their last two at home, so I say they get there easily (as long as Hill, who rolled an ankle Saturday against UW, is healthy). Trying to predict what this team does in the tournament is going to be a nightmare; they have the players to make a run at the Elite 8, but I could just as easily see them getting knocked out on day one.

Don’t look now, but Oregon is on a tear. For only the third time this season they’ve won consecutive games. This is great news for the rest of the Pac-10, where everybody is hoping they do enough for Coach Kent to keep his job. Keep fielding a competitive team once every 6 years Ernie. We’re fine with that.

In Los Angeles, UCLA still has a shot at a share of the conference title, but they need to win out and get help. USC’s slide has continued, and they’re no longer a bubble team after being swept by the Bay Area schools this weekend.

Cuttin’ Rug: Washington, UCLA, Arizona State, Cal

Probably In: Arizona

Good Luck in the Pac-10 Tournament: USC, Washington State, Oregon State, Stanford, Oregon

SEC: Miz/Trey – The LSU Tigeauxrs (25-4, 13-1) have wrapped up the regular season conference title regardless of how they play this week. Their closest conference competition comes from the East division in a tie at the top between South Cackalacky (20-7, 9-6) and Tennessee (18-10, 9-6) and it’s impossible for either to even get close to tieing LSU for a share of the regular season title. So, now that the regular season title is completely wrapped up, it’s time for everybody to start focusing on their conference tourney prep and the teams in contention for at-large bids into the Big Dance to win their games and strengthen their arguments.

There’s no question at this point that LSU will be dancing. Is anyone else in conference that much of a definite? Maybe not. Tennessee probably has the best chance to answer that question with a “yes” but is still completely capable of losing both games this week against fellow East division leader South Cackalacky and West division bottom feeder Bammer and then losing in the first round of the SEC tourney in Tampa. A slide like that could have the Vols NIT-bound. Florida had a chance to bolster its resume when it hosted Tennessee this past Sunday and made a good game out of it – Trey invited me (Miz) to go to the game with him so I took him up on it. The moron that I am left my camera at home so I have no visual evidence of being in the house to see the Vols win. But, with that loss at home, and resultant end of their 17-game home winning streak, the Gators have cornered themselves into needing two wins this week from games at Mississippi State and then home against Kentucky. Coincidentally, both of Florida’s opponents need those wins as well to secure at-large bids. Missy State currently ranks in 91st in RPI and the Bulldogs SOS is 67th strongest…not good numbers for an at-large bid.

Kentucky is on the fringe for an at-large berth when considering the Wildcats RPI and SOS, 66th and 61st, respectively. Kentucky should take Georgia Wednesday evening but will have a fight against Florida on Saturday. (Trey Note: And you know the Gators have GOT to win one of these games sometime? Right? RIGHT? I mean, seriously…it’s like trying to hook up with a prude.)

Even though the basketball hasn’t been so pretty around the SEC many times this season, the head-to-head meetings between desperate teams should make for compelling basketball games.

In: LSU, Tennessee, South Carolina.

On the Fence: Florida, Kentucky, Missy State.

Must win the SEC tourney: Everybody else.

GITC Mid Major Power Poll (slimmed for relevance) :

1. Memphis (Conference USA) – (26-3) Momentum…
2. Xavier (Atlantic 10) – (23-5) Stopped the bleeding with a win over St. Joseph’s last week. They play Dayton on Thursday.
3. Gonzaga (West Coast) – (23-5) Finished conference play undefeated and have an easy game this week. They have to look forward to the WCC tourney and St. Mary’s.
4. Utah (Mountain West) – (20-8) They beat UNLV but lost to BYU last week. Two easy games to close out.
5. Butler (Horizon) – (25-4) Done with conference play and won both games last week but that included a poor showing against Cleveland State. They make the tourney regardless of conference title.
6. BYU (Mountain West) – (22-6) Beat San Diego State and Utah and have two easy close out games. While the Mountain West tourney will be really interesting they should make the tourney anyway.
7. Dayton (Atlantic 10) – (24-5) Lost again this week (this time to Rhode Island) in poor showing. They can regain the steam when they face Xavier.
8. Creighton (Missouri Valley) – (25-6) Coming on strong at the right time as they finished with a shared Valley title with Northern Iowa. They are in the tourney unless they lose a first round conference game.
9. Utah State (Western Athletic) – (26-4) Went down to Nevada last week but should get into the tourney easily by winning conference championship. If they lose in OT of championship game they might get an at large.
10. St. Mary’s (West Coast) – (24-5) Held off the last two conference games. They might get an at large if Patty Mills proves he’s healthy at their tourney.
11. Siena (Metro Atlantic) – (23-7) Lost at Niagara last week and will clearly face them in the conference championship. If they go down they might be out.
12. UNLV (Mountain West) – (20-8) Lost to Utah, still a threat.
13. Davidson (Southern) – (22-6) On the road by 20 and at home by 40. Davidson still needs to win their conference tourney though.

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