Wrapping Up The Rest Of Thursday Night

Boston College 71, Maryland 68
A devastating loss for a young, rebuilding Maryland team. The season highlight for the Terps was obviously that win at Chapel Hill, but there's really nothing else to brag about. It was their only win against a team inside the RPI Top 60, and overall they finished 7-10 against the RPI Top 100. The RPI has fallen out to 82nd with a Sagarin of 72nd. I don't think any team has ever had those types of numbers and still made the Tournament. In my mind, Maryland can pack their bags for the NIT, as there's just no scenario for them to make the Tournament now.

Texas A&M 60, Iowa State 47
With so many bubble teams losing early in Championship Week, you have to give the Aggies credit for taking care of business against an inferior Iowa State team. This win keeps them in the bracket for the time being, with a solid 23-9 record. They were only 8-8 against the Big 12, but they had no losses all season against a team with an RPI worse than 95. They went a solid 7-5 in road/neutral games and finished 7-5 in their final twelve games (that stretch included wins over Texas, Oklahoma and at Baylor). The RPI is 44th, but the Sagarin is up to 27th. I hesitate to call Texas A&M a "lock" for the Tournament, but it's hard to see them missing out even if they lose tonight to Kansas State. They'll be in tonight's BP65 for sure.

Georgia 97, Mississippi 95, OT
Possibly the most exciting finish of any game yesterday. Hopes were high in January in Mississippi, after this team started out 15-1, with a two-point loss at Tennessee the only blemish. But now, they're as good as done with regard to Tournament hopes. They were in trouble after the 7-9 record in the SEC, and they needed a strong performance in the SEC Tournament. The RPI is 49th, and the Sagarin is 47th, which puts the Rebels in the at-large discussion. But we have to remember that most of those good numbers come from the early part of the season. They closed with a 5-7 record in their last twelve games, and that stretch included five losses against teams with an RPI outside the Top 100. That's not the finish of an at-large team. The overall resume isn't that bad, but Ole Miss is almost definitely out of the Tournament.

#11 Stanford 75, Arizona 64
Arizona could have put themselves in a good place with this win, but now they're in a lot of trouble. It's obviously unclear how much this conflict between Kevin O'Neill and Lute Olsen has divided this team, but they've ended on a very bad note. I know that they have an RPI of 40th, but Arizona always has an inflated RPI due to their tough schedules. Remember that last year they finished with an RPI of 14th and yet slipped all the way to an eight seed. Despite the 19-14 overall record (and 8-10 in the Pac-10), the rest of the numbers are still decent. The Sagarin is a solid 29th, and they went 10-12 against teams in the RPI Top 100. They also finished 7-7 in true road games, and feature a sweep over Washington State. A big problem is that 4-8 record over their final twelve games, which could drop them to seventh in the overall Pac-10 pecking order. Obviously, Arizona will be in the mix on Selection Sunday, but they're going to have to sweat out the weekend.

Utah 82, New Mexico 80, OT
A very tough loss for New Mexico in what was a great game between two good teams. The Lobos are really going to have to wonder if they did enough to get into the Tournament in their first season under ex-Iowa coach Steve Alford. The resume is solid all the way around, but there is nothing that stands out. They went 24-8, but against a horrendous schedule. They did knock off UNLV, but that represents their only RPI Top 50 win. Overall they were a decent 7-6 against the RPI Top 100, but that seems less impressive when you break it down and realize that most of those wins came against the tail end of that sample set. What do I mean by that? Well, New Mexico went 4-1 against teams with an RPI between 91 and 96, making them 3-5 against the RPI Top 90. When you break it down like that, you see that New Mexico is in a lot of trouble. I'd probably put in mid-majors South Alabama and VCU before I'd put New Mexico in, and that probably dooms the Lobos. Still, a good overall start to Steve Alford's tenure at New Mexico, and they should be a dangerous NIT team.