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TAMPA, Florida — Villanova capped a wild day of upsets at the St. Pete Times Forum on Friday.
Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points and freshman Corey Fisher added 17 off the bench as the 12th-seeded Wildcats rallied for a 75-69 victory over fifth-seeded Clemson in a Midwest Regional first-round matchup.
Freshman Antonio Pena had 12 points for the Wildcats, who ended the game on a 9-3 run - all on free throws - in the last two minutes to break a 66-66 tie. Villanova had scored seven straight to take a 73-66 advantage with 26 seconds remaining.
Earlier in the day, 12th-seeded Western Kentucky knocked off the fifth-seed Drake, and a pair of 13 seeds, San Diego and Siena, defeated fourth-seeded Connecticut and Vanderbilt, respectively. It was the first time in NCAA Tournament history that four upsets took place in the same building on the same day.
Villanova will take on Siena in the second round, while the other contests will take place in the West Regional on Sunday.
"It’s incredible what happened here today," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "We’re going to have some wild games Sunday, think about it. It’s just going to be something historical in the NCAA Tournament."
One of the last at-large teams selected into the NCAAs, the Wildcats (21-12) trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half before cutting the deficit to 12 at the intermission.
"Obviously, we’re bitterly disappointed that we’re not moving on," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "We obviously got off to a real good start, energetic start, scoring the basketball and getting our pressure up. Building a pretty good lead in the first half. We’ve got to give Villanova a lot of credit because they kind of hung in there."
Villanova stormed back early after the break, scoring the first seven points during a 16-5 run to start the second half that cut the deficit to 44-43 with 15:30 remaining. Reynolds had eight points during the run.

nationalpost.com

TAMPA, Fla. — A week ago, I watched a tornado blow a hole in the side of the Georgia Dome.
Over the next 48 hours, I watched the SEC’s worst team (my alma mater, no less) win two games in one day and another the following day to win the SEC tournament.
Little did I know I was only getting warmed up.
Perhaps I should have known I was headed to even more dramatic developments in Tampa. Maybe I should have known when I sat down at a bar in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, ordered a beer and then realized Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher was sitting in the chair next to me, eating nachos and drinking red wine.
Because before Friday’s NCAA tournament games at St. Pete Times Forum, the most miraculous thing I’d ever watched was the Titans’ “Music City Miracle” finish against the Buffalo Bills in an NFL playoff game on Jan. 8, 2000. But not even Frank Wycheck’s lateral to Kevin Dyson for a 75-yard touchdown in the final seconds can match what I saw in Tampa on Friday.
Four games. Four upsets. Two overtimes. Two buzzer beaters.
Since the NCAA started to seed teams in 1979, never before in tournament history had there been more than two upsets in the first round in the same city. Tampa produced twice that many on a day college basketball fans will not soon forget.
“It’s incredible,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose No. 12 seed Wildcats upset No. 5 seed Clemson 75-69 in the nightcap. “I’m sure this is going to be talked about. They’re going to have some name for this — the ‘Tampa Turmoil’ or something.”
Remarkably, Villanova’s dramatic comeback from an 18-point deficit was upstaged twice earlier in the day. No. 12 seed Western Kentucky started the madness by stunning No. 5 seed Drake 101-99 in overtime. Senior Ty Rogers, from the tiny hamlet of Eddyville, Ky., made a 26-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to win it.

sports.espn.go.com

March is quite possibly the best time of year. It means the end of usually a cold winter, the coming of baseball season, and oh yes, that little thing that everybody likes to refer to called March Madness. Let's face it, The NCAA tournament could be the greatest invention of Western Civilization, but is it possible that the ncaa tournament could be better?. I believe so.
1. Lose The Play In Game
Somebody tell me one good reason to have the Play In Game in the NCAA tournament except for the fact that it means ESPN shows two less re-runs of last years World Series of Poker. Nobody takes this game seriously. All it is, is a way for the Sports World to poke fun at a smaller school.
For the team that loses the game, they get all the shame of losing in the first round of the tournament, without any of the glory of even making the field. All it means for the team that wins is they get a chance to lay everything on the line, so they can be completely humiliated by the best team in the tournament. Playing this game also means that they have played one more game than the rest of the teams in the field. Nobody thought it was fair when Georgia put on their miraculous run winning three games in two days, but nobody thinks its wrong for these two teams to have to play an extra one. Why should a team that will meet the best team in the tournament be punished with playing an extra day of rest while their opponent gets to sit back and laugh at their feeble attempts to even make the field. The play in game has got to go, for the respect of the smaller schools and for the sake of not making me sit through that two hours of completely boring basketball.

bleacherreport.com

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BLACKSBURG, Va., March 16 — Deron Washington walked around the mall with his girlfriend Sunday, trying to escape the day’s tension. But it was hard. Fans flocked to him, most wishing him luck for Virginia Tech to make the NCAA tournament.
Finally, when 6 p.m. arrived, Washington huddled with teammates in a luxury suite overlooking Lane Stadium. The Hokies ate pizza together, watching team after team pop up on the television screen until 65 had been named. Virginia Tech was not one of the 65.
“The room just got silent,” Washington said. “They were shaken up a bit.”
Virginia Tech, which earned consideration for an at-large tournament berth by winning five of its final seven games, did not make the NCAA tournament bracket unveiled Sunday. Instead, the Hokies will play in the National Invitation Tournament as a top seed, with a first-round game Wednesday against Morgan State at Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies, who finished No. 52 in the Ratings Percentage Index, became the first team from the ACC to win 10 conference games in the regular season and conference tournament combined and not make the NCAA tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Hokies also became only the third ACC team to finish 9-7 in the league and not be included, joining Florida State in 2006 and Virginia in 2000.
NCAA tournament selection committee chairman Tom O’Connor, who is also George Mason’s athletic director, offered several reasons why: The Hokies won only one game against the other teams in the field, over seventh-seeded Miami; they had four losses — all on the road, against Richmond, Penn State, Old Dominion and North Carolina State — to teams that ranked below 100 in the RPI; they did not win any nonconference games vs. eams in the RPI top 120; their only win in eight games against teams in the RPI top 50 came Friday against No. 34 Miami in the ACC tournament.

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NORMAL — A week of suspense didn’t give Illinois State’s men’s basketball team the ending it wanted Sunday. The Redbirds (24-9) were not selected as an at-large team for the NCAA Tournament when pairings where unveiled on national television late Sunday afternoon. | Video | Fans react | Play Hoops Challenge
ISU was hoping to make its first NCAA tourney appearance in 10 years. Instead, the Redbirds will be playing in the National Invitation Tournament. ISU earned a No. 2 seed in the NIT and entertains No. 7 Utah State (24-10) at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Redbird Arena.
“It’s an honor. It’s a great postseason tournament,” said first-year ISU coach Tim Jankovich. “We have not been to the postseason in a long, long time (2001). If we were coming off a couple Final Fours, it would be a different perspective.”
Still, Jankovich said his players were “very disappointed” about not being selected for the NCAA tourney. ISU finished second in both the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament.
Drake handed the Redbirds a 79-49 setback in the Valley Tournament title game a week ago. That led to seven days in limbo for ISU, not knowing its postseason fate.
“We talked for a number of days that whatever happens we have to be positive and not be drug down in a sea of negativity so many people around the country try to drag us into,” said Jankovich. “We’re disappointed, but upbeat at the same time.
“This can be a celebration as well and not be all negative. I think we’ll see a group that bounces back pretty quickly.”
Missouri Valley commissioner Doug Elgin called the NCAA pairings “a very dark day” for teams outside the major conferences. The Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10 and Southeastern gobbled up 28 of the 34 at-large spots for the second straight year.
“The other 25 leagues got six berths. It’s alarming. I cannot square that with reality,” said Elgin. “Some very good teams got passed over, including Illinois State.”

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UCLA’s Darren Collison (2) scores on a layup as Stanford’s Robin Lopez defends during the first half of the championship game of the Pac-10 Conference at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Saturday, March 15, 2008. Collison finished with 28 points and UCLA won 67-64. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
LOS ANGELES —- UCLA may have a champion’s portfolio, but it has an underdog’s heart.
Behind 28 points from Darren Collison, the Bruins defeated Stanford 67-64 in the championship game of the Pac-10 Conference tournament on Saturday before 17,534 at Staples Center.
It was the second tournament title in the last three years for UCLA (31-3), which has won three consecutive conference titles and made back-to-back Final Fours. And it was the kind of victory that plays better in Peoria, Ill., or Allentown, Pa., than Hollywood, because it was anything but pretty.
With one starter, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, already out with an ankle injury, the sight of star freshman Kevin Love clutching at his back in obvious pain just over two minutes into this one was cause for concern. Love left the game twice in the first eight minutes, and admitted to being in pain after the game. UCLA defeated Stanford (26-7) three times this season.

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Posted: 8:27 PM- The Utah Utes will play in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, coach Jim Boylen said Sunday night, they just don’t know where yet - though it will be on the road.
“We’ll play anybody, anywhere, anytime,” he said.
Boylen said he had heard that the Utes would be matched against Seton Hall, but also that they would play either Nevada or UTEP in a first-round game on Tuesday or Wednesday. The Utes expect to learn more details shortly. Meanwhile, they’re planning a short practice tonight at the Huntsman Center.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Florida’s first-round exit from the SEC tournament left the Gators with a four-game losing streak, shaky NCAA tournament credentials and a gloomy prediction from their coach.
Mykal Riley and Alabama built a big first-half lead and beat the Gators 80-69 on Thursday night to end Florida’s three-year run as Southeastern Conference tournament champions.
The fall from the top of the SEC seemed to be the least of Florida coach Billy Donovan’s worries. The two-time defending national champion Gators (21-11) may be left out of this year’s NCAA field, and Donovan says changes must come if his young team can return to prominence.
Florida started two freshmen and two sophomores, and three of the team’s top four reserves are freshmen. Donovan didn’t sound encouraged by what normally would be an encouraging sign for the future.
“It’s hard for me to be excited going forward because I don’t see things getting fixed,” Donovan said.
“It’s in front of our guys, what it takes to win. For whatever reason, I haven’t brought it out in them. They’re not committed to it. … I’m not really excited about seeing this group of guys being sophomores.”
The Crimson Tide (17-15) had a 28-point lead shrink to 6 before recovering to beat Florida.

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St. John’s and Marquette, which both went 16-14 and were knocked out in the first round of the Big East tournament, will likely be left out.
In the past, both teams could expect a WNIT bid, but that might not happen this season.
The postseason WNIT picks a team from each of the 31 Division I conferences, with 17 at-large bids. The tournament began to choose its field that way last year when it expanded to 48. Marquette, with the better conference record, would get the automatic berth and St. John’s would have to sweat out an at-large bid.
Hartford may have played a high-quality nonconference schedule against teams such as UConn, Michigan State, Marist, Virginia, BYU, St. John’s and Kansas, but its conference schedule — plus losses to UMass and BU — would likely cost the Hawks an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they lose in the America East final today.
According to collegerpi.com, the Hawks are 57th in the RPI, with the 188th strongest schedule. This season, only three America East teams — Hartford, Vermont and Boston University — had winning regular season records. Last year, after losing to UMBC in the America East final, Hartford was in better shape RPI-wise, finishing 47th with a strength of schedule ranking of 96th. But the Hawks still didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, going to the WNIT instead.

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The Washington Huskies will again tempt fate on Selection Sunday.
Like last year, the Huskies have a practice scheduled for tonight in anticipation of a postseason invitation.
Last year, UW had no need to take the court when it was snubbed by the NIT.
But this season, despite a worse record (16-16 compared to 19-13 last year), the Huskies’ chances of playing again appear better thanks to the introduction of a new postseason tournament, the College Basketball Invitational.
After the NCAA tournament selects 65 teams and the NIT takes 32, the CBI will invite 16 more (the CBI says it will compete for teams with the NIT, but logically, it will choose from teams left over).
Playing for the right to say “We’re No. 98″ might not seem like much.
But UW coaches and players say they would like to continue their season.
Do the Huskies deserve to keep playing?
“In the conference that we are in, no doubt,” said coach Lorenzo Romar, citing the strength of the Pac-10 this season.
The CBI was formed as a reaction to the NIT reducing its field from 40 to 32 teams after it was taken over by the NCAA. The NIT also now is required to invite all regular-season champions that don’t make the NCAA tournament.

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