No, fans of bubble teams, you didn’t just wake up from a nightmare in the middle of Selection Sunday afternoon. The Davidson Wildcats really did win the Atlantic 10 Tournament title by topping the Rhode Island Rams, 58-57. That means one of your teams just saw its hopes evaporate.
Bracketology 2018: Davidson wins the A 10 title, ruining someone’s NCAA dreams
But whose?
Now, based upon my morning bubble watch, that team should be the Syracuse Orange, since they were the last team in. However, since I am an overanalyzer and have been spending my afternoon looking at teams 1 through 68 (and beyond) yet again, I’ve dropped the Arizona State Sun Devils behind the Orange, and therefore out. This is thanks in large part to their dreadful finish, even if its no longer an official metric. Not only did the Sun Devils dropped five of their last six, they only defeated 8-24 California in that span, and while the Orange only won three of their last seven, which isn’t great, at least two of those wins came against tournament teams — Miami (on the road) and Clemson.
I just wonder if Arizona State’s two best wins, over projected top seeds Xavier and Kansas, will hold up, as their struggles in in a below-average Pac-12 indicated serious inconsistency, not the excellence those victories displayed.
Adding a further wrinkle to the Atlantic 10 result, Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley is the brother of Arizona State boss, Bobby.
With this result in the books, here’s the updated cut line picture heading into the final game of the day, an American Athletic final that won’t impact it.
Last Four Byes: Creighton, St. Bonaventure, Alabama, UCLA
There’s still a Pac-12 presence in Dayton, even with Arizona State now projected out, as the Trojans might play in Dayton for the second season in a row and the third time since the First Four began in 2011.
First Four Out: Arizona State, Middle Tennessee, Saint Mary’s, Louisville
Next Five Out: Marquette, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Baylor, Nebraska
I’ll post one final bracket before the Selection Show. Considering the new wrinkles the Selection Committee has included in this year’s process, including advanced metrics and the revamped quadrant system for wins, I’m anticipating missing multiple teams near the cut line. I’m particularly curious to see the information they’re valuing the most in this new era.
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