When you're a college basketball team on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament, it only makes sense to root for all the favorites. You're a fair weather fan. You're a front-runner. And we're okay with that.
It makes sense because if any team other than the favorite wins a conference tournament, the list of spots remaining in the 68-team field shrinks. You want the favorites to win because that gives your team less competition for those precious few available spots.
And so the Virginia Tech Hokies lost much more than just their Semifinal ACC Tournament game against Duke today. They also lost in the Ivy League Final as well, when the Princeton Tigers defeated the Harvard Crimson with a buzzer beater. This hurts the Hokies because Harvard is 21-6 with an RPI of 32, making them a legitimate competitor to be one of the last teams in the Tournament.
The Hokies also lost in the Big Ten, where the Penn State Nittany Lions shocked the experts by advancing to the Title game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Had PSU lost to the Michigan State Spartans today, they would still be on the bubble. But now? Now they appear to be in.
Some hope still exists for the Hokies though. Tonight they'll be rooting for the Utah State Aggies to beat the Boise State Broncos, and tomorrow they'll be rooting for the Richmond Spiders to beat the Dayton Flyers.