March 7
ESPN.com's Championship Week coverage

Well, it will be wait and watch for Boston College, Georgetown and Memphis following losses in their conference tournament games Thursday.

	All indications are these teams, following the losses, were set back big time. Right now they have to pray for so much to happen across America to get a chance to dance.

When you talk about the importance of these tournament games, coaches like Al Skinner, Craig Esherick and John Calipari knew going in that they needed good showings. In the Big East, both Boston College and Georgetown had great opportunities. The Eagles led Pittsburgh in the first half before the Panthers went on a great run to take momentum into the locker room at halftime. Ben Howland's team got to the winner's circle with a solid defensive effort in the second half.

I felt that a Hoyas win over Miami would have solidified a shot at the field of 65. Now, Esherick's team will sit back and get the Maalox out. It is nerve-wracking to sit out and wait for the jury to decide. It is now up to Lee Fowler and his cohorts to decide the fate. Is it NCAA or NIT, baby?

All indications are these teams, following the losses, were set back big time. Right now they have to pray for so much to happen across America to get a chance to dance. It was right there for them, but Troy Bell struggled in the first half and never really got it going. Could it have been the 40 minutes he played against Rutgers, where fatigue set in? The pressure was on against Brandin Knight and company.

Miami got a big-time performance from Darius Rice during an 11-point streak from the super soph. The maturity of a year made a difference. Georgetown didn't get enough opportunities inside to its big people, and Kevin Braswell struggled from behind the trifecta line, making just two of 12. Michael Sweetney, one of the premier power forwards in the nation, didn't get enough shot opportunities.

As for the Tigers, it was a disappointing loss to Houston in the Conference USA quarterfinals. John Calipari's team struggled from long range, and the Cougars took advantage of their trifecta attempts to build a lead. I thought the Tigers would be a lock for the NCAAs, assuming a win over Houston in the C-USA tourney. With this loss, and the 0-5 record against teams ranked in the RPI Top 50, it could be Maalox time.

What a disappointment it would be to be out of the big dance considering the preseason expectations! With all of the publicity and notoriety at the start of the year, the arrival of Dajuan Wagner, the thought was an NCAA berth. Never did the NIT enter into their minds as part of the puzzle.

The Tigers let it slip away in an important game. Now they'll have to sweat it out until Selection Sunday.