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Friday, February 23, 2007
Is Big Baby bailing?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LSU’s in dead last in the SEC West, its NCAA hopes all but gone, memories of last year’s Final Four run virtually forgotten.
The Tigers blew a 16-point lead at Kentucky before falling. That shouldn’t have been a surprise. That they nearly pulled off a win at Rupp Arena without Glen Davis, out with an injury, was more intriguing.
LSU’s got another big clash on Saturday in Baton Rouge, playing host to defending NCAA champ Florida, which just clinched the SEC regular season crown. Davis’ status for that game is unknown, but even if he does play, Tigers fans might be getting one of their final glimpses of Big Baby.
Davis opted out of the NBA draft after his freshman season, but his sophomore year won’t help his pro stock. He’s dropped weight but isn’t in the best shape, and has openly vented his frustrations at having to carry such a heavy load.
Did Davis make a mistake by staying in college? Should he get out after this season? What do you finger as LSU’s problem this year in going 14-13 after a Final Four season? Is coach John Brady in any trouble?
Who else in the SEC has been a major disappointment this season? And what do you think of the league’s strength overall?
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Who are the Hokies?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two impressive wins over North Carolina. Another over Duke. A whopping 25-point loss to North Carolina State, which isn’t going anywhere. A 17-point win over Virginia, which is.
These are the Virginia Tech Hokies, at once the most surprising and maddening team in the ACC. They’re 19-8 and tied for second with a conference record of 9-4. This weekend they take on lowly Miami, which is coming off an upset of Virginia, also tied for second.
With the regular season winding down, Tech’s been battling to regain some of the consistency that raised eyebrows back in January. Coach Seth Greenberg’s team is a lock for the NCAA tourney.
But what do you think they’ll do in March? A first round exit, or a long run and possibly a Final Four chance? What other roller coaster teams do you see in the ACC? Besides North Carolina, are there any other teams in the league that look like Final Four contenders to you?
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Barnhart’s Weekend Watch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here is the weekend watch for those nine conferences that are projected to get multiple bids. Projected bids are in parentheses.
After reading through the lists, talk up your picks — or take on the ones here.
ACC (8)
Locks: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Boston College, Maryland.
Work to do: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State.
Weekend watch: Georgia Tech plays at Virginia on Saturday and closes with home games against North Carolina and Boston College. Win two out of three and the Yellow Jackets are in. Despite losing 8 of its last 10 Clemson (19-8) still has an RPI of 35 after losing to Duke Thursday night. The Tigers could use a win at Boston College on Saturday.
March Madness in Atlanta:
Check out the AJC’s Final Four pageBIG EAST (6)
Locks: Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova.
Work to do: Louisville, Notre Dame, West Virginia.
Weekend watch: Pittsburgh goes to Georgetown on Saturday and the winner will sit atop the Big East standings with a week to play. Notre Dame (21-7, RPI 37) would lock down its bid with a win Saturday at home over Marquette.
BIG TEN (6)
Locks: Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan State.
Work to do: Purdue, Illinois
Weekend watch: Wisconsin goes to Ohio State on Sunday where a win would give the Buckeyes (25-3, 13-1 Big Ten) a two-game lead in the Big Ten with a week to play. Purdue (17-10, RPI 49) plays Northwestern twice in its final three games. The Boilermakers will drop out with another loss.
BIG 12 (4)
Locks: Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas.
Work to do: Texas Tech, Kansas State, Oklahoma State.
Weekend watch: Texas Tech (17-11, RPI 45) hosts reeling Oklahoma State (18-8, RPI 42) on Saturday and the loser could be sitting at home when the NCAA Tournament starts.
COLONIAL (2)
Locks: VCU (Projected conference tournament winner)
Work to do: Old Dominion
Weekend watch: Old Dominion (22-7, RPI 36) has won 10 straight and is making a strong case for an at-large bid if it doesn’t win the Colonial Tournament, which starts March 3.
MISSOURI VALLEY (3)
Locks: Southern Illinois, Creighton.
Work to do: Missouri State, Bradley.
Weekend watch: Missouri State (19-9, RPI 33) had two tough losses down the stretch to Southern Illinois and non-conference Winthrop at home. The Bears need to close out the regular season with a home win against Drake and win at least one game in the MVC Tournament, which begins next Friday.
MOUNTAIN WEST (3)
Locks: Air Force, UNLV, BYU.
Work to do: None
Weekend watch: All three teams are ranked in the RPI top 20. BYU and Air Force meet on Tuesday in a game that could decide the regular season champion. But the team to watch is UNLV (22-6, RPI 11).
PAC-10 (6)
Locks: UCLA, Washington State, Oregon, Arizona.
Work to do: Southern Cal, Stanford.
Weekend watch: Southern Cal (20-8, RPI 51) helped its case with a win over Stanford Thursday night. The Trojans now finish with road games at Washington and Washington State. They can’t afford to lose both. Oregon finally stopped the bleeding with a huge home win over Washington State (22-5, RPI 25) Thursday night. The Ducks are in.
SEC (5)
Locks: Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Alabama.
Work to do: Ole Miss, Georgia, Arkansas.
Weekend watch: The No. 1 rated conference should get six in the Big Dance but somebody has to step up in the next couple of weeks. Ole Miss (18-9, RPI 56) has three games remaining with South Carolina and Alabama on the road plus Auburn at home. Arkansas (16-11, RPI 50) has a huge home game with Tennessee on Saturday and finishes with Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Win two out of three and the Hogs just might slip in. Georgia (15-10, RPI 61) has an outside shot but has three tough games left with Mississippi State, Kentucky and Tennessee.
THE TOP 65
1: Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
2: Florida (SEC champ)
3: UCLA (Pac-10 champ)
4: North Carolina (ACC champ)
5: Wisconsin (at-large)
6: Kansas (at-large)
7: Pittsburgh (Big East champ)
8: Texas A&M (Big 12 champ)
9: Memphis (C-USA champ)
10: Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley champ)
11: Georgetown (at-large)
12: Washington State (at-large)
13: Butler (Horizon champ)
14: Duke (at-large(
15: Air Force (Mountain West champ))
16: Marquette (at-large)
17: Kentucky (at-large)
18: Virginia Tech (at-large)
19: Louisville (at-large)
20: Arizona (at-large)
21: Virginia (at-large)
22: Indiana (at-large)
23: Texas (at-large)
24: Maryland (at-large)
25: Nevada (WAC champ)
26: Vanderbilt (at-large)
27: Southern Cal (at-large)
28: Tennessee (at-large)
29: UNLV (at-large)
30: Stanford (at-large)
31: Creighton (at-large)
32: Boston College (at-large)
33: BYU (at-large)
34: Michigan State (at-large)
35: Oregon (at-large)
36: Villanova (at-large)
37: Texas Tech (at-large)
38: Georgia Tech (at-large)
39: Alabama (at-large)
40: Notre Dame (at-large)
41: Xavier (Atlantic 10 champ)
42: Winthrop (Big South champ)
43: Santa Clara (West Coast champ)
44: Illinois (at-large)
45: VCU (Colonial champ)
46: Purdue (at-large)
47: Missouri State (at-large)
48: Clemson (at-large)
49: Davidson (Southern champ)
50: Old Dominion (at-large)
51: Holy Cross (Patriot champ)
52: Long Beach State (Big West champ)
53: Akron (MAC champ)
54: Vermont (America East champ)
55: Oral Roberts (Mid-Continent champ)
56: TAMU-CC (Southland champ)
57: South Alabama (Sun Belt champ)
58: Penn (Ivy League champ)
59: Marist (Metro Atlantic champ)
60: Austin Peay (Ohio Valley champ)
61: Delaware State (MEAC champ)
62: East Tenn. St. (Atlantic Sun champ)
63: Weber State (Big Sky champ)
64: Jackson State (SWAC champ)
65: Central Conn. (Northeast champ)
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