With the conference tournaments well underway, the road to Selection Sunday is upon us. As fans around the nation get March Madness fever, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from around college basketball.
Gonzaga Wins WCC Tournament, Locked As A No. 1
On Tuesday, the final of the West Coast Tournament wrapped up as No. 1 Gonzaga beat No. 2 Saint Mary’s, 82-69. With both teams likely to make the NCAA tournament, it is Gonzaga that has fully entrenched itself as a top seed.
In the win over the Geels, Gonzaga was led by Andrew Nembhard, who finished with 19 points. As a credit to their depth, five players finished in double digits for the Bulldogs in the win.
Now 26-3 overall, Gonzaga sets its sights on bringing home a National Championship. They currently have the best odds in all of basketball to do exactly that at +380.
This season, the team has been led by junior forward Drew Timme, who is averaging 17.5 points on 58.8% shooting. Other contributors include Chet Holmgren (14.2 points, 9.6 rebounds), Julian Strawther (12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds), Andrew Nembhard (11.7 points, 5.7 assists), and Rasir Bolton (11.2 points).
Boeheim Suspended For Game Against Duke
In a blow to the No. 9 Syracuse Orange’s chances in the ACC tournament, guard Buddy Boeheim has been suspended for their game against the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils Thursday night.
In Syracuse’s win over Florida State Wednesday night, Boeheim punched FSU’s Wyatt Wilkes in what was an obvious dirty play.
Buddy Boeheim is the son of head coach Jim Boeheim. The elder Boeheim questioned whether the punch was intentional or not, but Buddy later apologized for the incident.
This season, the senior guard has been Syracuse’s leading scorer, averaging 19.3 points on 40.8% shooting. Boeheim is also averaging 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals.
While it was already going to be difficult for the Orange to take down Duke, this just puts another damper on their chances. Syracuse is currently +660 to upset the Blue Devils on Thursday.
Bellarmine Penalized By Questionable Rule
The Bellarmine Knights had a sensational season going 20-13 overall and winning the Atlantic Sun conference tournament final with a 77-72 victory over Jacksonville.
In the win, CJ Fleming had a game-high 27 points while Dylan Penn added 22 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
This victory should have been cause for even more celebration as it generally would lead to an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately for Bellarmine, their journey stops here due to a seemingly bizarre and unfair rule.
Since the Knights recently moved from Division II to Division I, they are not eligible for the NCAA tournament until their fifth season. Given that they have only been at this level since 2020, they are still in that ineligible period.
Crazily, not even the loser of the championship game gets the automatic bid. Instead, it goes to Jacksonville State, who was the regular-season ASUN champion.
Equally noteworthy, and unfair, Jacksonville (who lost to Bellarmine in the championship game) beat Jacksonville State to get to the ASUN conference tournament championship. Despite their success over their conference rival, they too are left to question the NCAA rules.
While many of the rules in the NCAA are designed to protect the programs, athletes, and coaches, this one seems to have caused more harm than good in this case.
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