20 Feb, 2012
Pac-12 leads BracketBusters weekend’s winners
Winners
Pac-12 Conference: Desperately perplexing to equivocate going but an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the joining got a lift from waste by Long Beach State and Davidson, which missed chances to strengthen their at-large candidacies opposite Creighton and Wichita State. California, at 22-6 overall, and Washington,19-8, tip the Pac-12 at 12-3.
Creighton: The last-second feat at home opposite Long Beach State helps equivalent its new three-game losing streak. Plus, its Ratings Percentage Index series — which takes into comment opponents’ opponents — gets a little some-more lift from Long Beach State’s non-conference schedule, one of the nation’s toughest.
Murray State: The fatiguing home feat over Saint Mary‘s serve legitimizes the Racers’ 26-1 record, and they got some-more help when San Francisco, a group they beat, dissapoint Gonzaga. With dual unchanging deteriorate games and the Ohio Valley Conference contest left, it’s tough to see the Racers not removing to at least 28 wins. They could be 30-1 going into the NCAA tournament, which might acquire a top-four seeding.
Colonial Athletic Association: The league’s tip 4 teams — Drexel, George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion— won. Drexel, George Mason and VCU any have 23 wins, so Drexel and either George Mason or VCU (who accommodate this Saturday) can get to 27 wins but winning the CAA tournament. Only one authorised group with some-more than 26 wins has missed the NCAA contest since 1985: final season’s 28-5 Coastal Carolina team.
Losers
Long Beach State: The 49ers led Creighton by 8 points with about 5 mins to play but couldn’t tighten what could have been a pivotal feat as the group hopes for an at-large bid. Long Beach State also mislaid at San Diego State in overtime, at Kansas by 8 and at North Carolina by six. Their win at Pittsburgh in mid-November may not be enough.
Valparaiso and Cleveland State: Horizon League personality Valpo mislaid at Loyola Marymount, and second-place Cleveland State mislaid at home to Drexel. The waste are worsened because Valpo has mislaid dual of 3 and Cleveland State 4 in a row.
Butler, which has made uninterrupted NCAA pretension games, is tied with Detroit for third in the Horizon and kick Indiana State for its fourth win in a row. Detroit kick James Madison for its fifth in a row. Detroit plays Cleveland State on Thursday, and Butler meets Valpo in its regular-season culmination Friday. But the Horizon champion will be the league’s sole NCAA contest team.
•Follow college basketball’s ups and downs with the Bubble Tracker at ncaamen.usatoday.com
