CAA Dominaton, Virginia Tech Elimination, and WCC Anticipation!

Hey all you Wednesday readers.  We're talking conference drama today.  Let's get to it---


CAA Update:

Not really much to cover here, since the only games the CAA has played in the last week were non-conference bracketbuster matches as well.  If you're a fan of the conference, you'll be happy to hear that the CAA did extraordinarily well.  With the exception of Hofstra, who got blown out at Wright State, all of the top teams earned tight wins over significant non-conference opponents.  These wins mainly came at the expense of the MVC, who saw their conference lose on such a massive scale that the league will undoubtedly end up a one-bid conference.

George Mason has all but locked up the season title, with two games left against Georgia St and Northeastern.  The only real big matchups remaining are JMU's final two games, which will pit the dukes against ODU tomorrow night in Harrisonburg and VCU in Richmond on Saturday afternoon.


ACC


Ahh, the ACC.  Sorry, it's just really average.  Okay, at the very least they aren't living up to their potential.  Duke is clearly a good team, but the lack of Irving takes away their championship potential.  Those are some cold, hard facts.  Duke has played 25 games this year, and yet only 8 of them have been road games.  Half of those games have been against ACC teams below .500 in conference.  The other four?  A loss at FSU, a loss to St. Johns in MSG, a win at 6-6 Maryland, and a beatdown at UNC Greensboro  This is clearly a team that enjoys a great home court advantage that powers it to slightly misrepresentative record.  That being said, Duke is a solid team that will most likely steal a #1 seed from a team that might not be flat out better, but probably has a much stronger portfolio for a top seed.  If Irving does not return for the postseason, look for Duke to have matchup problems against teams with two things:

1. a point guard with a good Assist:Turnover mark
2. big men that can matchup with and defend against the size of the Plumlees


Otherwise, the ACC is kind of a crapshoot.  I have moments where I think UNC is a very good team that might even be a little underrated... then I have moments  (like after the 2 point, 48-46 win at home over Boston College) where I think this team's talent could easily be overshadowed by its youth and immaturity.  Florida St is schizophrenic.  Maryland underachieves.  Virginia Tech is constantly injured.   And despite the lack of talent throughout the bottom half of the conference, these teams are constantly rising up and knocking off conference adversaries, a la UVA's double-trouble upsetting of Virginia Tech this year.  Can we get some love for the cavs up in here?  Let's be honest, they dont get a lot of wins in the football/basketball arena.  Meanwhile, Virginia Tech... well, what can you say about them.  Their best win is in-conference against FSU.  Short of that they have no top 50 RPI wins.  Lunardi has got them in as an 11 seed right now, but I really cant see that happening as of this very moment.  They just don't have the resume, and some of their losses are killer.  (see "UVA" and also "UVA")


Pac10

How about that Arizona white-out?  Pretty awesome if you didn't see it.  I dont know, maybe I have a soft spot for white outs.  (lifetime pat white reference number #2356)

Anyway, if you watched the Washington-Arizona game, it was one of the most fast-paced games I've ever seen.  A good thing?  Sort of.  On one hand, you saw the standout talents of each team's respective starts, Isaiah Thomas and especially Derrick Williams.  You saw the great transition game of both teams.  And you saw the great conditioning these players have, and the resulting pace they are thus capable of. 

On the other hand, I saw a LOT of sloppy basketball.  There were thirty turnovers over the course of this game, and it certainly felt like even more while watching it.  I'm fine with a team pushing the pace, but at a certain point, you have to say "okay, this is fast enough.  lets take advantage of the other team at this relative speed."  You cant indefinitely make the game pace faster.

Much like the ACC, it gets ugly pretty quick after the top of the conference.  UCLA is probably a tournament team.  Washington St is pushing for an at large seed with the bubble as soft as it is, but a loss at conference-worst Arizona St probably will be the dagger for their potential bid.


West Coast

The staging of this conference is incredibly fascinating.  If you look at how the conference standings have unfolded, it's almost like each conference team has a team that it competes with in sets of 2.  Loyala Marymount and San Diego both compete to not be the worst in the conference; Pepperdine and Santa Clara both compete around the .500 mark; San Francisco and Portland are both pretty decent and consistent squads that have hovered about .500 and are capable of challenging for an upset of the top two teams.  And that, of course, brings us to St Mary's and Gonzaga.  Gonzaga is the perennial power in the WCC, but St Marys had its coming out party as a regional power when it beat Villanova last year in the second round of the NCAA tournament.  St Marys won the first game this year at Gonzaga, but here's what you need to know:  the regular season will be decided tomorrow night when Gonzaga travels to St Marys in a high power shootout featuring some great perimter players.  There's about a 40% chance that you'll see both these teams in the dance next month.  Forget the mid-major label, this will definitely be a great game worth staying up late for!

Speaking of games tomorrow night, tune in for some great big east showcases tomorrow night.  Marquette will look to add to their portfolio at UConn, and after that I (and hopefully all of you) will be enjoying the second annual edition of the backyard brawl.  It's in Pitt, so wherever you are in the world, expect to hear distant screams of several four letter words.  I'll catch you all back here tomorrow!