Four Thoughts From the Atlantic 10 Tournament Evening Quarterfinals Session
Posted by CNguon on March 16th, 2013Joe Dzuback is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10. He’s covering the Atlantic 10 tournament in Brooklyn this week. You can also find his musings online at Villanova by the Numbers or on Twitter @vtbnblog.
Virginia Commonwealth eliminated a gutty Saint Joseph’s squad, 82-79. After holding double-digit leads for much of the second half, the Rams withstood an uncharacteristically furious press and scoring blitz from the Hawks. Meanwhile, Chaz Williams led Massachusetts to a 79-74 upset of Temple to close out the quarterfinal round. The two teams, playing within a six-point margin for the entire 40 minutes, evoked memories of the John Calipari vs. John Chaney matches of a decade ago. Without the vitriol.
Four Thoughts After Session Two:
- Quarterfinal results may have an impact on the NCAA field: La Salle’s loss appears by consensus to put the Explorers in the dreaded Last Four In category, a disappointment for coach John Giannini who promised to “go nuts” watching all of the bubble team games this weekend. Turns out he did not have to leave the Barclays Center to catch one of those bubble games, as Massachusetts eliminated Temple, 79-74, for the second consecutive time in the quarterfinal nightcap. The upset put the Minutemen in Jerry Palm’s play-in list with a #12 seed, slated to play opposite Villanova on Tuesday. If Palm’s scenario holds, the conference will pull an unprecedented six dance cards, as many as the Big 12 and more than the ACC, the Pac-12 and the SEC.
Spike Lee (with phone) made his way south from Madison Square Garden to catch some A-10 action Friday evening. (Staff photo)
- Spike Lee loves him some Shaka Smart: The five boroughs’ second most famous film director (and most famous basketball fan) abandoned his courtside digs in Manhattan (Madison Square Garden) to catch the Virginia Commonwealth-Saint Joseph’s quarterfinal (see photo – in the green windbreaker) in Jay-Z’s digs in Brooklyn. Unable to get a courtside seat, the filmmaker had first rows just behind the scorer’s table. Maybe he will be back for the semifinals this afternoon. Maybe Jay can score him something courtside for that one.
- And then there were none: For the third consecutive tournament, the conference’s entire Philadelphia contingent (La Salle, Saint Joseph’s and Temple) played in the conference quarterfinal round. For those familiar with the Big 5, this should come as no surprise, but none will play for the conference championship, a sad development for those concerned about a possible migration of Philadelphia fans for the Sunday final. Temple last played in the final in 2010, when the Owls beat Richmond 56-52 to take the automatic bid.
Chaz Williams (3) led UMass to an upset of Temple. (Staff photo)
- Phil Martelli is funnier when he wins: No pithy phrases, he looked dejected through most of the seven-minute postgame press conference as he repeated the phrase ”We didn’t play well” – several times. Say what you like about his offensive style, Martelli is a competitor. His team’s NCAA prospects are gone this postseason, but the Hawk may fly in the NIT.
… and one before the semifinals:
Three morning newspapers, one each in Lincoln, Nebraska, Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio, broke stories that one of their hometown teams, Creighton, Butler and Xavier, respectively, would announce their move to the Big East (the Catholic 7) Conference most likely between the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Coming on the heels of a late Friday afternoon report that the presidents of Butler and Xavier left the executive session meeting of Atlantic 10 presidents even as the meetings continued, the developments rekindle speculation that those two schools, the center of rumors since the Big East’s seven basketball-focused schools announced their departure last October, are indeed preparing to move up to the reconstituted conference.
