Illinois won't be getting a No. 1 seed. Wisconsin won't be getting any seed. And please allow me to plant this seed: five NCAA Tournament bids for the Valley.
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| Illinois loses a home game to Penn State along with their chances for a No. 1 seed. (AP) |
Let's do the Monday Morning Knee-Jerk.
Best win: Kansas over Oklahoma is tempting, but instead we go to Stanford and California, who went on the road to sweep Oregon and Oregon State. Cal and Stanford are going to the NCAA Tournament.
Worst loss: So many bad losses, so little time. Wisconsin lost at toothless Purdue, a result we suggested Friday would have dire consequences. Vanderbilt lost to Georgia, and Temple lost at La Salle, two more resume-tainting defeats. Illinois lost at home to awful Penn State, which will bump the Illini from consideration for a No. 1 seed. And finally, Washington lost again to Washington State to move onto the NIT radar.
Washington, to the NIT?: Not yet. But why not? The Pac-10 will be fortunate to get five NCAA bids, and Washington is three games behind Stanford and California. Right now, the order of Pac-10 bids would be UCLA, Stanford, Cal. Then Arizona. And then Washington.
But Arizona's RPI is No. 18: True. But Arizona is 13-9. The RPI should be pushed into a half-empty bottle of ginger ale and thrown into the Baltic Sea.
You forgot a bad loss: Oh, right. Thanks. Colorado got crushed at Iowa State. On Friday we called Colorado the worst 15-3 team in the history of sports. Today we're calling the Buffs the worst 15-4 team in the history of sports. Move on, NCAA Tournament selection committee. Nothing to see here.
Duke and officials: Here's the impact Duke bully Mike Krzyzewski has on late-game officiating: Duke's last two wins came down to a 50-50 call involving physical post defense by Shelden Williams. Both calls went to Duke. Does that sound 50-50 to you?
You saying officials are naughty? No. I'm saying Coach K needs a muzzle. And another AmEx commercial. I miss him.
Valley Girl: Me. I'm smitten with the Mo Valley. After beating Bradley, Missouri State is in position to become the league's fifth NCAA Tournament team. Don't listen to analysts who question the validity of the Valley. They either went to Duke, or root for Duke, or have bad teeth.
Iowa's weird: Not long after losing to Michigan State by 30, Iowa beat Michigan by 28. In between, Michigan beat Michigan State. Galileo couldn't do that math.
Wake's bad: Wake Forest has lost eight of nine. Included in that stretch are losses to Virginia Tech and Virginia. CBS SportsLine.com has learned VCU, VMI and Virginia Union are hoping to get on Wake's schedule next season. According to other sources, Wake is considering joining the SWAC.
