Starting Wednesday across the country, the conference tournaments are in full swing until tomorrow, the date of “Selection Sunday” which will reveal the “bracket” of the 68 teams for the final tournament of the season, the most copious as it is: the “March Madness”, which begins on Tuesday.
We summarize the main results.
And we start with the main information: the (almost certain) end of the season of North Carolina. Winners of Boston College in the second round of the ACC conference tournament and then beaten by Virginia in the quarter-finals, the Tar Heels are indeed undoubtedly on “vacation”. Very disappointing throughout the season, the Chapel Hill troupe had to win the tournament to validate their ticket to the NCAA tournament because their regular season record (20 wins and 13 losses including 11 wins and 9 losses in the ACC conference) was not strong enough to be selected tomorrow.
Mission failed, therefore, and end of a very painful season for the 2017 champions and 2022 finalists, who will become the first team in NCAA history to miss the “Big Dance” (barring a surprise invitation) after starting the season at No. 1 in the AP Top 25… The Tar Heels aren’t expected to be seen again until November.
Duke, the last-minute contender?
In the rest of the ACC, Duke is in the final of the tournament after crushing Pittsburgh (96-69) in the quarterfinals and then winning a showdown against Miami in the semifinals (85-78).
Guaranteed to participate in the “March Madness” thanks to a successful regular season, probably as seed #5 or #6, the Blue Devils will challenge the Virginia Cavaliers in the final tonight, to try to confirm an excellent dynamic for several weeks. : eight wins in a row! Ideal for confidence before tackling the final tournament of the season, in which Jon Scheyer and his men can clearly do damage.
Quietly, the Durham troop is effectively presenting itself as a outsider very good caliber for the “Final Four”…
Marquette and Xavier, the bosses hold their rank in the Big East
We switch to the Big East to evoke the other disappointment among the big programs: Villanova. Forced, like the Tar Heels, to win their conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament after a far too fair regular season (17 wins and 15 losses), the Wildcats took the door in the quarter-finals , after a loss to Creighton.
Their season, Kyle Neptune’s first after Jay Wright’s retirement last spring, is therefore also probably over since they should not take part in the “March Madness”. A less big surprise than for North Carolina, but still a big step back for the 2016 and 2018 champions, still present in the “Final Four” just last year..
In the rest of the lecture, one can only highlight the logical and expected domination of Marquette And xavier : respectively first and second at the end of the regular season, the Golden Eagles and the Musketeers will challenge each other tonight in the final for the supreme title of champions of the Big East.
Before attacking March Madness on Tuesday, surely with a #2 or #3 seed for both programs, and potentially going far in the tournament, the two Big East bosses clearly appearing as credible candidates. at the “Final Four”…
In the Big Ten, Ohio State survives and Michigan sinks
And if Ohio State created the surprise? Condemned to the feat to qualify for the “March Madness”, namely to win the tournament, after a regular season concluded in 13th place in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes are in the semi-finals after successively beating Iowa in the second round. then Michigan State in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals, Chris Holtmann and his troupe will stand in the way of the ogre Purdue and his weapon of mass destruction Zach Edey. The feat, if it will obviously be difficult against the best team in the conference, is possible… The winner of this match will play in the final the winner of the other semi-final, between Indiana and Northwestern.
In the rest of the conference, the wrong operation is signed Michigan. Exited in the second round of the tournament by Rutgers when they had no real choice but to go to the final at least to hope for a selection in tomorrow’s “Selection Sunday”, the Wolverines have no more matches. to play: their season, sluggish from start to finish (final record of 17 wins and 15 losses), is also over.
No surprise in Big 12 and Pac-12
We end with the least surprising results: the Big 12 final between Kansas And Texasfirst and second respectively in the regular season, and in Pac-12 between UCLA And Arizonafirst and second respectively in the regular season…
Among the issues: the Jayhawks can retain their title, while the Bruins can take their revenge, while the Wildcats beat them at this same stage of the tournament last season.
Then the four teams will attack the NCAA tournament from Tuesday, with high expectations since they are considered capable of joining, at a minimum, the quarter-finals, or even the “Final Four”. It will be with a #1 seed for Kansas, and definitely a #2 seed for Texas, UCLA and Arizona.
