For more, check out today's full edition of Bracketology and Bubble Watch.
Bracketology: FSU, Mizzou fall; Tennessee wins
Florida State’s and Missouri’s bubbles burst with losses to their respective conferences’ top seeds. The Volunteers, on the other hand, find themselves in far better shape after a win over South Carolina. Meanwhile, the Atlantic 10 may have a surprise contender for its auto bid, as St. Bonaventure is now just two wins away from breaking some unlucky team’s heart.
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Florida State's hopes are all but extinguished following a 64-51 loss to Virginia, a squad that's playing for at least a No. 2 seed, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The Cavaliers will take on Pittsburgh in Saturday's first semifinal in Greensboro, as the Panthers gained a bit of bid breathing room by surviving a late North Carolina rally, prevailing 80-75.
Road to the Title
Like the Seminoles, Missouri is also likely headed to the NIT after possible No. 1 overall Florida pulled away from the Tigers in the second half of their SEC Tournament quarterfinal in Atlanta. On the other hand, Tennessee is in a better position after avoiding a bad loss in its quarter. The Volunteers cruised past South Carolina, 59-44.
Michigan, another possible one- or two-seed, slipped past Illinois, 64-63, in the first Big Ten Tournament quarter, a result that likely ends the Fighting Illini's slim at-large hopes. The Wolverines will take on Ohio State in Saturday's first semifinal, as the Buckeyes came back from 18 down in the second half to defeat Nebraska in the second quarterfinal. The Cornhuskers should still be in the field despite the loss, but now they'll need to wait until Sunday to learn their fate.
Bubble teams will face an interesting conundrum Saturday afternoon in the first Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal, as St. Bonaventure, a squad that is not an at-large candidate, will take on St. Joseph's, which may be safe now. The Bonnies stunned A-10 regular season champion Saint Louis with Jordan Gathers' three at the buzzer in Friday's first quarterfinal in Brooklyn, while the Hawks eliminated Dayton in Game 2, a 70-67 thriller. The Flyers slip down to the Last Four In after the defeat, so they'll be sweating their way through the weekend. However, such a result would likely guarantee Dayton an extra home game.
With those results in mind, my Last Four In and First Four Out look like this after Friday afternoon’s action.
Last Four IN: Xavier, Dayton, Providence, BYU
First Four OUT: Minnesota, Arkansas, Florida State, Missouri
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