 |  |
| Friday, February 21 Updated: February 28, 7:45 PM ET Introducing a few Cinderellas to the nation By Ron Buck ESPN.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
On the eve of Bracket Buster Saturday, the Cinderella Watch wishes every mid-major good luck and says it's about time the country was exposed to the likes of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Illinois-Chicago, UC Santa Barbara and Illinois State. No, not all will be invited to the dance. And yes, it would be nice to see Butler, Northern Illinois and Lousiana-Lafayette. But at least those usually under the national radar will get a little air time on a Saturday usually reserved for the big boys. Now, back to the Cinderella Watch. The public once again voted off a team it felt was too good to be a Cinderella next month. Dayton, currently in the RPI's top 25, remains a Cinderella in our minds, but the rules must be followed and the Flyers will still be a scary team for any first-round foe. Also missing this week are the above mentioned Rajun Cajuns of Lafayette, along with the Salukis of SIU. Each lost, leaving the door open for deserving teams -- Weber State, Valparaiso and Holy Cross -- to move into the Watch for at least a week. To see the results of last week's vote, and read some of the best comments concerning last week's Cinderella Watch, click here. For those still new to the Watch, here is how it works: ESPN.com picks eight teams each week leading up to the NCAA Tournament. Teams can move off the Watch for three reasons: 1. Promotion: The team moves from being a Cinderella story to a favorite. This has a new name this week: the "Creighton Rule" (a.k.a. "Gonzaga Rule") 2. Demotion: The team plays so poorly its status of making the tourney is in jeopardy. You can't be a Cinderella if you don't go to the dance. 3. The poll: In the spirit of democracy, the team with the highest vote total is removed from the Watch, no questions asked. But be sure to follow along each week, these lists tend to change quite frequently. And, as always, we want your thoughts, compliments or gripes about the Watch. Click here to submit an e-mail. We'll post the best user responses with Cinderella Watch each week. Here is this week's list of teams we're watching. The RPI rankings are from Feb. 21 and team records are through Feb. 20 games.
One way to win a showdown is to simply keep scoring (and scoring) until the final horn. That's what CoC did at Appalachian State, 108-96. The game against So-Con division leaders wasn't as tight as expected, but CofC did have to hit some clutch free throws down the stretch to hold off the Mountaineers. Charleston made 18 of 20 free throws over the final 5:11, including 14 straight at one point. There was no letdown against Western Carolina, either, as the Cougars ran their winning streak to 10 games in a 79-63 victory. In winning its 21st game of the season, CoC recorded its 10th straight season of at least 21 victories. But the Cougars' work isn't done. They still need to win Saturday's game at UT-Chattanooga to clinch a No. 1 seed out of the South Division, where they hold a two-game lead over UT-Chattanooga. Oh, by the way, the Mocs beat CoC back on Jan. 11.
One of these years, Holy Cross is going to upset its first-round foe. Will it be this year? Well, plenty of Cross fans certainly think so. Two more wins this weekend and the Cross clinches home-court advantage if it can get to the Patriot League tournament title game. And if that happens, the Cross would be 11-0 on its home court this season, its best record in front of those fans. As we said last week, no team has come closer to bigger first-round upsets than the Crusaders over the past two seasons. If the Cross can get back into the Dance -- they lead the Patriot League by two games over both American and Lehigh -- just think what having 7-6 Neil Fingleton in the middle for a few minutes could mean. Just a thought. By the way, Holy Cross has won 13 of 14 games, losing only at American, which comes into Worcester on Friday night.
Normally, two straight losses will get you demoted off the Watch faster than you can say "busted". But we can't help but give the Jaspers the benefit of the doubt, especially since the two losses (to Fairfield and at Iona) came after 17 straight wins. Manhattan managed to hold onto the top spot in the MAAC, which could come in handy in the postseason tournament. Manhattan's air of invincibility is gone, but its path into the NCAA's isn't.
Another week, another win for Northern Illinois in the MAC -- on the road no less. But boy did this decision cause an uproar in Mount Pleasant, Mich., which just happens to be the home of Central Michigan. Well, guess who travels to DeKalb, Ill., on Saturday? Yup, the Huskies host the Chippewas in a game that won't decide the MAC title, but will decide who leads the West Division and should get this spot next week. If this is the last we see of the Huskies on the Watch, don't forget what they accomplished to get this far. NIU went from 4-8 in the non-conference, to an early pest in the MAC, to now a possible team to beat in next month's MAC tournament. Sure, NIU has way too many losses -- good and bad -- to be on the selection committee's radar. But MAC teams are more than aware of the Huskies' ability to, quite frankly, emerge as the lone MAC team in the NCAAs.
Waiting To Replace Them ...
The Quakers have risen to the top of the Ivy, but the road to the title gets interesting over the next two weekends. Penn plays four straight on the road, including a rematch with Brown, which gave the Quakers all they wanted in last weekend's first-place showdown. Remember, ESPN.com called Penn the best team in Philadelphia back in the preseason. Well, that may have been a bit premature, considering what Saint Joseph's has done this season. But while Penn started slow, it's now won eight straight and 12 of its last 13 overall -- losing only at St. Joe's.
Getting into the dance is half the battle. Valpo is showing it should be at least the heavy favorite to claim the Mid-Con's automatic bid. And once in the NCAAs, history says the Crusaders can cause problems. If not for an unexplainable loss at UMKC, which Valpo can avenge next week, the Crusaders would be poised to run the Mid-Con table. With son Scott taking over for Homer Drew, the Crusaders are playing great defense during its best stretch of the season. Valpo's defense was on display Thursday night, holding the nation's leading scorer, Oakland's Mike Helms, to just seven points in its fifth straight win. Without a marquee win, however, Valpo's RPI isn't good enough to get any at-large consideration. But the way it's been playing lately, it shouldn't need one if it takes care of business in the Mid-Con tournament. The Crusaders can clinch their eighth regular season title with a win over IUPUI on Saturday.
What do the Wildcats have in common with Kentucky ... other than sharing a mascot? They both are unbeaten in conference play, and along with Pennsylvania, are the only three such teams in the country. Weber State was booted off the Watch by the public a few weeks back, but have earned another appearance by winning 11 straight Big Sky games and can clinch the regular season title with a victory over Northern Arizona on Saturday.
We gave the Panthers an extra win last week, but they still deserve this spot, and can prove it even further with a victory at Southern Illinois. Beat the Salukis on their own court and an at-large bid wouldn't be such a long shot -- especially if they can beat Butler for a second time. Winning the Horizon tournament would still be the most secure way to get into the dance. Again, for those who don't know much about Wisconsin-Milwaukee's season, two of its five losses came at Wisconsin in the season opener and at Georgia in early December.
Waiting To Replace Them ... Ron Buck is the men's college basketball editor at ESPN.com.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
