Game #218.  Dayton could play bubble buster for any of a number of teams across the country, making this one of the more important games of Selection Sunday.

Two days of great basketball concludes this afternoon as two “sort of Cinderellas”, Dayton (22-12) and Richmond (26-7), go head-to-head for the Atlantic 10 Championship at 1:00 pm in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Cinderella may seem like a strange label – combined they have 48 wins and over 4,400 points scored over 60+ games this season, but both the #1 and #2 seeds in the tournament are gone, and the two teams left standing took them down. Dayton eliminated #1 seed Xavier 68-67, on Friday afternoon, and Richmond broke Temple’s 10 game Boardwalk Hall winning streak, 58-54, on Saturday. Dayton Coach Brian Gregory may use nine or ten players in his normal rotation, but expect to see All-Conference players Chris Wright and Chris Johnson for at least 33 minutes. Richmond Coach Chris Mooney, whose Spiders beat the Flyers 70-61 in Dayton in the team’s only meeting of 2011 will counter with seniors Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper and a supporting cast as solid and deep as Dayton. Join RTC Live at 1:00 pm in the Boardwalk Hall for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship game.

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Game #215.  After five days of incredible basketball, it comes down to a NPOY candidate vs. a bunch of unknowns in MSG tonight.

After 14 games in four grueling days at MSG, we have finally reached the Big East Tournament final where UConn and Louisville will be squaring off. The Huskies are playing their fifth game in five days, having knocked off both Pitt and Syracuse in the last two games in instant classics. Louisville played a gem themselves, coming back from 16 points down to beat Notre Dame. Both the Cardinals and the Huskies went to overtime last night. The first time these two teams met up in the regular season went into double overtime. With three overtime games — a record — in this tournament already, can I just go ahead and assume we will be getting an extra five minutes tonight?

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Game #215.  A third clash of the Mountain West titans occurs tonight in the desert.  Jimmer’s 52 and the high NCAA seed on the line makes this must-see television.

We’re back for one last battle in Vegas, as BYU and San Diego State renew their rivalry with the Aztecs hoping to avenge their only two losses on the season. BYU, for their part, still has a potential #1 seed on its mind, and it would also love to leave the MWC with their trophy. We’ll get to see SDSU’s potent frontcourt provide the stiffest challenge for BYU’s Brandon Davies-less roster, and we’ll get to see if the Aztecs have anyone who can slow Jimmer Fredette, fresh off the performance of his career in the semifinals. And if this championship game can in any way live up to their precedent set by the semifinals, we could be in for a classic. Stop by and chat us up if you get a chance, it should be a fun couple hours of basketball.

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Game #214. After going to town on a burnt end sandwich, we lick our fingers for the Big 12 Tournament Final in Kansas City.

Kansas and Texas have given us some of the most memorable games in Big 12 history. In 2003, KU beat the Longhorns behind 24 points and 23 rebounds from Nick Collison. In the 2006 Big 12 final, a young Kansas team starting three freshmen and two sophomores shut down LaMarcus Aldridge to capture tournament gold. The next year, Kevin Durant lit up Allen Fieldhouse for 25 first half points and followed it up a week later with a 37-point, six-block effort in the last game of the conference tournament. Kansas and Texas met up again in the 2008 final, with national championship hero (or villain, depending on your tastes) Mario Chalmers torching the nets for 30 points on 8-12 shooting from beyond the arc.  This year should be no different. Kansas lost to UT on January 22 after the Jayhawks were up all night grieving with Thomas Robinson over his mother’s death, and were zapped by the second half. Texas took advantage and rolled to victory, and from the minute the clock ran out that day, KU has longed for a second shot at the Longhorns. Both teams have taken care of business this week in Kansas City, and after yesterday’s semifinals played to seed, we very well could have another classic brewing tonight, so pull up a chair and join us as the Big 12 crowns a tournament champ!

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Game #207.  It’s the game we all anticipated, part three.  If it’s anything at all like the game in Tucson, it should be fantastic.

6 pm. Arizona vs. Washington. It’s Wildcats-Huskies Round 3, and if this game is half as good as the game in Tucson, Arizona, we’ll be in for a treat. Arizona and Washington both avenged earlier losses with their semifinal wins over USC and Oregon, respectively. Zona put the clamps on the Trojans’ post game and rode some key performances off its bench (Jordin Mayes and Jamelle Horne each had eight points) into the finals, while the Huskies were in control throughout their 18-point romp over the Ducks. The Wildcats and U-Dub have been the class of the Pac-10 for most of the season, so it’s fitting that they’re squaring off for the tournament title. The last time these two teams faced each other, we were treated to an 87-86 epic that was one of the more entertaining games of the year. With Gus Johnson on the call for CBS, I expect big things Saturday evening in LA.

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Games #210-211.  Does Alabama need to do more to show the Committee its worth?  Can anyone stop the Gators?

1:00 pm.  Kentucky/Alabama.  While yesterday’s win over Georgia should have been enough to get Alabama into the tournament, the selection committee is fickle, granting immunity for losses to one team (Michigan State, Tennessee) and no reward for wins to another (Alabama).  So that said, we can’t yet be sure that Alabama is in.  However getting a second win over Kentucky probably puts them in where some doubt remains without the win.  Both teams played tough games yesterday where the Tide’s JaMychal Green played 43 minutes, Trevor Releford 41, Chris Hines 36, and Charvez Davis 36 and Kentucky’s Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb played 39 minutes each while Josh Harrellson played 35.  That’s a lot of minutes for consecutive day games.  Let’s find out which team is more tired.  Kentucky wins, 67-62.

3:30 pm.  Florida/Vanderbilt.  Vanderbilt played a nearly flawless game last night in the nightcap against Mississippi State.  The Commodores shot 50 percent from the floor, 11-23 from three and 20-22 from the line while getting 14 assists to only five turnovers.  Florida was a little up and down at times against Tennessee, but in the end played cool and calm and controlled the second half.  Both of these teams are in, but they would also love to get an SEC Tournament championship under their belts to give a little bump to their NCAA Tournament seeding.  Florida took the first two meetings and though it’s tough to beat a team three times I think I’ve got to take the Gators take this one, 72-68.  But if Vandy wins, well then I meant Vandy, 74-70.

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Games #208-209.  It’s ACC Semifinal Saturday, with Duke and Carolina seemingly on a collision course for a third matchup.

1:00 pm.  UNC vs. Clemson.  Third time’s the charm? Clemson has fallen to North Carolina twice already this season, but comes into the semifinals with all the momentum that a dismantling of Boston College can buy. Additionally, Clemson comes in knowing that they have been close in the past. In the last meeting between these teams at Clemson, the Tigers came within two points and four seconds of upsetting the Tar Heels. In North Carolina, Clemson faces a team not so different from itself: both teams are elite defensive teams who sometimes struggle to score against other defensive-minded squads. Yet while North Carolina seeks to run, Clemson plays at a fairly slow pace. Expect Clemson to burn through every second of the shot clock as they try to control the tempo and increase their odds at an upset. Of course, this was the same strategy that Miami used, fairly successfully, until North Carolina’s stunning comeback..

3:15 pm.  Duke vs. Virginia Tech. After Virginia Tech’s surprising comeback against, Florida State, the question that the Hokies have to answer is whether or not they have the legs to take on this Duke team. The shorthanded VT team has leaned on stars Malcolm Delaney and Erick Green to play nearly 40 minutes each of the past two nights. With this Duke game coming less than 15 hours after their late-night victory, it seems likely that the Hokies will be exhausted. That said Malcolm Delaney and his team have played iron man minutes the entire season and showed a steely resolve against the Seminoles. The question for Duke hinges on Nolan Smith’s toe: Will the Player of the Year candidate even suit up? It’s a tough break for the Blue Devils, but Seth Curry showed himself to be a capable point man in the closing minutes against Maryland. Even more intriguing, Kyrie Irving’s tantalizing warm-up before the Maryland game suggested that the sensational freshman isn’t too far off from a return. Does Smith’s injury accelerate the timetable? Virginia Tech only lost to Duke by four points in a win that leaned heavily on Smith’s 18-point performance. Will his absence tilt the scales or will the sheer exhaustion of Seth Greenberg’s team be too much?

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Games #205-206.  It’s time to get serious in Atlantic City as two Cinderellas meet in one game with two conference heavyweights in the other.

1:00 pm Dayton vs. Saint Joseph’s. The first semifinal features the Accidental Tourists of the tournament. Neither Dayton nor Saint Joseph’s was supposed to survive the first round, much less advance to the semis. Friday’s quarterfinal round opened with a bang as #9 seed Dayton (21-12) ran up a nine-point first half lead over #1 seed Xavier (24-7), 36-27, and held on to win a by single point, 68-67. The game was decided on Xavier’s last possession, Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Tu Holloway’s “one-legged” runner was wide of the mark. The Flyers advanced to a semifinal meeting with Saint Joseph’s (11-21). The Hawks, who logged loss #20 at Massachusetts on February 23, are riding a 4-1 run that includes a three-game winning streak. The Philadelphia media labeled each of their last three games an elimination game – lose and they start the offseason. Coach Phil Martelli’s charges beat Charlotte in Charlotte to clinch the #12 (and last) seed in the tournament, then beat #5 seed George Washington University at George Washington, 71-59 in overtime, to advance to the quarterfinals…where they disposed of #4 seed Duquesne (18-11), 93-90, also in overtime.

3:30 pm Temple vs. Richmond. The evening bracket behaved as high seeds won out, but this semifinal match, #2 seed Temple (24-6) vs. #3 seed Richmond (24-7), features two very well-coached, veteran NCAA-bound teams. Execution and discipline should make this game every bit as entertaining as the first semifinal. Temple will look to junior guards Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore who have clicked very well with senior forward Lavoy Allen to produce a defensive juggernaut. Richmond features two All-Conference seniors, Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson, who can attack the basket or hit from the outside.

Join RTC Live at 1:00pm from the historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for Dayton vs. Saint Joseph’s, followed at 3:30 pm by Temple vs. Richmond.

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Games #197-198.  We’re down to four teams in Los Angeles and a couple of teams have designs on rocking the bubble party.

6 pm. Arizona vs. USC. The Trojans and Wildcats split their season series with each team winning on its home floor. USC had the most impressive victory Thursday for my money, recovering from its slow start to trounce Cal by 14. Against top-seeded Arizona, however, the Trojans will have to get more from Nikola Vucevic than they did against the Golden Bears — seven points and five boards ain’t gonna cut it Friday. Both teams were hot from downtown in the quarterfinals: USC knocked down eight threes, while Arizona hit 11. If Friday’s game is settled out on the perimeter, then I like the Cats to advance.

8:30 pm. Washington vs. Oregon. The evening session Thursday offered the biggest surprise of the day (Oregon over UCLA) and the best game of the day (Washington over Washington State). The Huskies and Ducks also went 1-1 against each other this year, but it’s been more than a month since their last game. It’ll be interesting to see how much energy UW has after their emotional win over Wazzu. The fact that they probably needed that win to lock up an NCAA berth wasn’t lost on the Huskies postgame. Will UW pull a UCLA and play like their heads are elsewhere Friday? If they do, then look for the Ducks to pull off another shocker.

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Games #202-203.  It’s a blockbuster Friday night in Las Vegas as four very good teams battle for NCAA inclusion and positioning.

9 pm.  New Mexico vs. BYU.  Friday night in Vegas feature two good looking matchups in the semifinals. Last year’s first semifinal game in the MWC featured New Mexico and San Diego State, and there are quite a few parallels that can be drawn from that game to this year’s first semifinal between New Mexico and BYU. Last year SDSU entered the tournament as a #4 seed that needed to do some work in order to assure themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament, while New Mexico was the conference regular season champion who still had their doubters. This year New Mexico takes on the underdog role, having come into the tourney as a #5 seed and likely needing to win the tournament, as the Aztecs did last year, in order to ensure themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, BYU is taking on the role of the #1 seed that still needs to prove itself, especially in the wake of the loss of Brandon Davies. Last year the underdog sprung the upset and went on to win the conference title and automatic bid. Can New Mexico reprise SDSU’s performance from last year?

11:30 pm.  UNLV vs. San Diego State.  In the nightcap, UNLV and San Diego State will square off with the Rebels looking to avenge last season’s loss in the conference championship game. In fact, the Rebs have lost four straight to the Aztecs, including two six-point losses this season. UNLV has been on fire from deep lately, knocking down 49.4% of their threes over the last five games, but the Aztecs have been excellent defending the three, holding opponents to 30.7% on the season. In fact, UNLV has made just two of their 33 attempts from behind the arc against SDSU this season, an amazing statistic. Not only will the Rebels have to improve their accuracy from deep, they’ll need to get good production from their three-headed center of Quintrell Thomas, Brice Massamba and Carlos Lopez against the tough Aztec front line.

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