Villanova picked up a big win over Creighton in Big East action Wednesday. The win gave the Wildcats the regular-season conference title, but it may have come at a steep price.
Guard Collin Gillespie landed awkwardly in the first half and suffered an injury to his knee, which coach Jay Wright described after the game as "serious."
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The Wildcats remain a No. 3 seed in Thursday morning's bracket and we will wait and see how the Wildcats responds to playing without Gillespie as they go forward. As a reminder, injuries and other roster issues are a consideration for the selection committee as it puts together the bracket. It involves seeding more than selection -- you have to earn that regardless – but the impact is usually minimal. The committee cannot pretend a team would have won games if healthy or ignore the results.
In a case like this, where they player may not be available for the tournament, the committee puts a little more weight on how the team performed with the roster it is taking into the tournament than otherwise. The adjustment, if any, is rarely significant.
Bracketology top seeds
Check out Palm's latest bracket, full field of 68 and all the teams on the bubble on the Bracketology hub.
Conference tournaments heating up
Conference tournaments are underway in earnest now. Belmont, the top seed in the Ohio Valley, won Wednesday to advance to the semifinals.
Thursday's action features Liberty and Winthrop, the top seeds in the Atlantic Sun and Big South respectively. The Ohio Valley quarterfinals continue, while the West Coast and Missouri Valley Conferences get underway.
Bracketology bits
- San Diego State also clinched its conference title in the Mountain West with a 71-62 win at UNLV.
- Oregon has taken the lead in the Pac-12 with a win over UCLA on Wednesday night. That was the Ducks' seventh game in 14 days and they won six of those.
