A terrible start Villanova In a deficit of 24 points in the first half against Creighton. But the Wildcats had their back.
They kept it close for the majority of the second half, but a late run tied the game — which Villanova coach Kyle Neptune called “our Super Bowl” — at 67 with 25 seconds left.
But hoping to be the Kansas City Chiefs, Villanova instead ended up being the San Francisco 49ers when Creighton's Trey Alexander hit a faded jumper with less than a second left. Breaking the hearts of the Wildcats.
The defeat capped a disappointing week for Villanova.
The Wildcats entered the week as winners of five of their last six, and have positioned themselves to be among the final four teams in the NCAA Tournament, according to the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology projections. But Villanoa's performance was disappointing at Seton Hall on Wednesday, and coupled with the impressive performance on Saturday, he shouldn't be surprised if he's on the outside looking forward to a Big East championship. It dropped two Quad 1 chances this week and fell to 4-9 against Quad 1 opponents. A 17-14 overall record with a 10-10 record in conference is not the look of a championship team.
It hasn't been officially decided, but with the loss, Villanova will likely play Wednesday in the first round of the Big East Tournament, giving the team an uphill battle to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. If she wants the automatic bid, she will have to win four matches in four days. That would likely include a game against Connecticut, Marquette or Creighton. Easier said than done.
Let Villanova's loss on the final weekend of the regular season remind you how small the margin for error is in the NCAA Tournament. Here's why the Wildcats lead Saturday's early winners and losers in the bubble:
Winners
Florida Atlantic
The Owls have avoided falling into the bottom four, and don't have to worry about that heading into the conference tournament with a win over Memphis at home.
Less than two weeks ago, Florida Atlantic went to Memphis He was unable to continue in the second half. This time, Memphis was on fire from the 3-point line, but the Owls dominated the paint in a raucous Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. To win 92-84. Vladislav Guldin, a key member of last season's Final Four team, made his presence felt with 21 points and 12 rebounds, matching his season high. Memphis stayed close all afternoon, but Florida Atlantic never let the Tigers take control as they dominated the boards with 16 offensive rebounds for 20 second chance points.
Florida Atlantic will head to the American Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed. It's not what I expected at the start of the season, but the Owls could comfortably play in Fort Worth, Texas, next week. It's not necessary for a conference championship title, but it will boost their seeding on that particular Sunday.
Saint John
Rick Pitino will be the first person to tell you that his team isn't great. He's literally said that before. Saint John It didn't look like a great team, but they were able to hold on George Town, 86-76, To end the regular season with a five-game winning streak.
The Johnnies and Hoyas were close for most of the game, especially with Georgetown having a big day shooting beyond the arc, but St. John's countered by dominating inside the 3-point line with 42 points in the paint. The physical nature of the offense also led to St. John's shooting a whopping 32 free throws compared to Georgetown's 12. Getting to the free throw line late in the game helped the Red Storm pull away.
There's nothing impressive about pulling off a four-game win this late in the season, but this could very easily have been a game that killed St. John's momentum as a bubble team. The loss was disastrous for its tournament hopes, but now St. John's probably needs just one win in the Big East Tournament to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament, a much better look than needing to appear in the title game.
Colorado
Stocks of few teams are rising as much Colorado now. Buffalo They won their sixth in a row Saturday after communion Oregon In the regular season final. Their 22 wins are the most by a team in a regular season.
Colorado held Oregon State to just 57 points on 37.5% shooting while all of its starters scored in double figures. The starting unit accounted for 69 of the team's 73 points, led by Eddie Lampkin Jr. scoring 17 points.
The end of the regular season couldn't have been better for Colorado, which will now enter the Pac-12 Conference tournament as the No. 3 seed. If Colorado can keep its momentum going in Las Vegas, it may not just be a bubble team, but a team that doesn't have to play In the top four match.
ACC bubble teams
Saturday was a good day for ACC schools in the bubble Virginia, Wake Forest And pittsburgh They all pick up wins.
One of Virginia's final four teams tackles Georgia Tech In a win by 15 pointsWake Forest got Quadruple 1 win over Clemson To snap a three-game skid and Pittsburgh NC State stopped To clinch the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament.
The three winning teams in the bubble photo should still be headed to the conference tournament in the nation's capital, and they'll all need to at least reach the semifinals to have a better chance of earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. That means one win for Virginia and Pittsburgh and two wins for Wake Forest.
View of the Missouri Valley in general
The Missouri Valley Conference has a chance to have two teams in the NCAA Tournament next Indiana State And Drake They advanced to the conference tournament final. Indiana has no problems Northern Iowa took care of it with a 94-72 winAnd Drake was able to do that Stay away from Bradley Late in the semifinal game to set up the championship game on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the conference, only one team will automatically be in the NCAA Tournament while the other team will have to hope for some help by Selection Sunday. If anything, Indiana is likely to earn an overall spot with the Sycamores having a net rating of 29 and the Bulldogs ranking at 46 on the metric. Regardless, both teams will try to make a compelling case when they face each other in the Arch Madness finale after splitting the regular season series.
Losers
Mississippi State
Mississippi State They became the latest team to move comfortably out of the bubble.
Two weeks ago, the Bulldogs won their fifth straight game and were on pace to earn at least a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But since then, Mississippi State has lost four straight, capping it off Loss of overtime to South Carolina on saturday.
Josh Hubbard did his usual work for the Bulldogs with 28 points, and he even got an assist with three other players scoring in double figures. But the Bulldogs missed all three of their three-point attempts (two by Hubbard) in overtime in the four-point loss
Finishing the regular season with an 8-10 conference record shows just how much of a disappointment the Bulldogs have been in recent weeks. They finished the regular season with a 7-11 record against Quad 1 and 2 opponents. Mississippi State should remain in the projected championship field, but it can't afford a one-on-one try in the SEC Tournament just yet.
Utah
A Pac-12 tournament title may be the only way Utah We could be in the NCAA Tournament after a disastrous weekend at the Beaver State.
After a confusing Quadruple 3 loss at Oregon State on Thursday, the Utes had a chance to redeem themselves with a Quadruple 1 win in Oregon on saturday. After falling behind early, Branden Carlson put his team in front, but the star player went down with an elbow injury at the beginning of the second half. Oregon took advantage and took the lead in the final seconds, but Utah had a chance to pull away the winner in the final second. Did not fall, and The Utes lost 66-65.
Two straight losses was something Utah couldn't afford being one of the first teams expected to miss the tournament, and just goes to show how bad the second half of the season was after starting the season 11-2. With no bye in the Pac-12 Tournament after a 9-11 finish in the weak conference, it will take a miraculous outing — and likely the return of Karlsson — to get into the tournament.
Care of god
Nothing could boost the championship on Saturday more than a win ConnecticutAnd Care of god It seemed to be heading away as the Huskies went on a 15-2 run in the first four minutes of the game.
Connecticut then reminded the country why they were favored to be a back-to-back national team. By halftime, the Huskies had outscored the Friars by 18 points, and Providence was unable to rallied within 18 points. Loss 74-60.
As one of the first four teams out, Providence could have guaranteed itself a projected berth in the tournament by picking up a sixth win in Quad 1, but the loss instead shows how the Friars were unable to get a résumé-boosting boost at the end of the season. Regular season, losing three of the last four. Now like Villanova, the Friars will have to play a first-round game in the Big East tournament, and it may take getting to the semifinals in order to jump into the bracket.
New Mexico
New Mexico You will have to continue living on the bubble after that It fell just short Against the regular season champion Mountain West Utah 87-85.
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout the game, with New Mexico leading by as many as six with 11 minutes left. Tied up in the final minutes, Utah State's Darius Brown II hit a 3-point winner with five seconds left to give the Aggies the conference title.
It was a disappointing end to the regular season for the Lobos, ending with losses in three of their last four games which included a shocking Quad 4 loss to Air Force. Of all the Mountain West schools competing, New Mexico has the fewest wins in Quad 1 with just two, and will be the No. 7 seed in the Mountain West tournament, probably needing to get at least a win to stay alive. two.
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