SB Nation DC - Bracketology 2011: Virginia Tech On Edge Of NCAA Tournament Bubblehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48897/dc-fave.png2011-03-13T15:38:16-04:00http://dc.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16773572011-03-13T15:38:16-04:002011-03-13T15:38:16-04:002011 Bracketology Predictions: Richmond's Win Over Dayton Helps Virginia Tech
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>The NCAA Tournament Bubble is a wild and wacky place, not perhaps as strange or convoluted a place as Dom Cobb's "limbo", but damn weird nonetheless. And it is in this world that the 2011 Virginia Tech Hokies mens basketball resides, at least until the 2011 Selection Sunday Show tonight when they will find out whether or not they have been invited to the big kids table, aka the 2011 NCAA Tournament.</p>
<p>As with all bubble teams, the Hokies' resume has been dissected a thousand times over, and all anyone can seem to agree on is that they may or may not be in the Big Dance. Not helpful at all. But what is helpful to Seth Greenberg's crew is <a href="http://dc.sbnation.com/george-washington-colonials/2011/3/13/2048067/2011-atlantic-10-tournament-championship-richmond-dayton-score">Richmond taking care of business today</a> in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Final. A Dayton Flyers win would've most likely kicked Virgina Tech to the NIT. </p>
<p>Just to hit upon the strangeness of the bubble one more time, the same team (Penn State) that <a href="http://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/12/2047350/ncaa-tournament-2011-bubble-watch-virginia-tech">hurt the Hokies bubble chances a day ago</a> can now actually help their chances. If Penn State were to win the Big Ten Tournament Title this afternoon it would bump up Virgina Tech's RPI and overall profile, as they beat the Nittany Lions by 10 in early December.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/13/2048216/bracketology-predictions-2011-ncaa-tournament-virginia-tech-bubble-richmondT.J. Doyle2011-03-13T11:16:13-04:002011-03-13T11:16:13-04:00Bracketology 2011: Virginia Tech On Edge Of NCAA Tournament Field As Selection Sunday Nears
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>We have just several hours to go before the 2011 NCAA Tournament brackets are announced on Selection Sunday, and Virginia Tech is back in its familiar position at the edge of the NCAA bubble. For the fourth straight season, the Hokies are right on the edge.</p>
<p>The Hokies are currently the final team in the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2011/3/13/2047709/bracketology-2011-bubble-watch-ncaa-tournament-selection-sunday">SBNation.com Bracketology update on Sunday</a>, which goes to show just how slim their margin for error currently is. Here's what Chris Dobbertein wrote about the Hokies.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Considering all of the injury issues the Hokies have had this season, it's miraculous they're even in the bid picture. While the team owns wins over Duke and Florida State in the conference, it lost all three games it played against their ACC bubble brethren. Seth Greenberg went out of his way to schedule a tougher non-conference slate, but his team only won two games with any real value (Penn State and Oklahoma State in Anaheim). Getting swept by Virginia hurts more than the bad RPI loss to Georgia Tech because the Hokies took care of the Yellow Jackets in their next two meetings. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Hokies looked poised to make the NCAA Tournament last season, finishing 23-8 and 10-6 in the ACC, but were left out due to a poor non-conference schedule. In 2008/09, the Hokies lost three straight games to end the year, costing them a chance to get a bid. In 2007/08, the young Hokies finished 9-6 in conference play, but were still left out of the field. If the Hokies are left out once again, it means the stellar career of Malcolm Delaney will have included four near-misses in the NCAA Tournament.</p>
<p>Hokies fans<a href="http://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/1/4/1913316/2011-bracketology-ncaa-basketball-tournament-georgetown-maryland"> should be rooting</a> for Richmond to defeat Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game. The Spiders are comfortably in the field, so if Dayton wins, Richmond would steal an at-large bid. The Hokies caught a break Saturday night when Utah State won the WAC championship. </p>
<p>Coach Seth Greenberg was hot in past years when his team didn't make the field. If the Hokies don't make it this year, what will he do?</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/13/2047786/bracketology-2011-selection-sunday-ncaa-tournament-virginia-tech-bubbleMike Prada2011-03-12T23:01:25-05:002011-03-12T23:01:25-05:00NCAA Tournament Bubble Watch: Virginia Tech's Chances Harmed By Today's Results
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>And so the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/virginia-tech-hokies">Virginia Tech Hokies</a> 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 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/princeton-tigers">Princeton Tigers</a> defeated the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/harvard-crimson">Harvard Crimson</a> 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Some hope still exists for the Hokies though. Tonight they'll be rooting for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/utah-state-aggies">Utah State Aggies</a> to beat the Boise State Broncos, and tomorrow they'll be rooting for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/richmond-spiders">Richmond Spiders</a> to beat the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/dayton-flyers">Dayton Flyers</a>.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/12/2047350/ncaa-tournament-2011-bubble-watch-virginia-techMartin Shatzer2011-03-12T12:45:54-05:002011-03-12T12:45:54-05:00Bracketology 2011: Virginia Tech, Richmond In NCAA Tournament Field In Latest Projections
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>There are still more than 24 hours until Selection Sunday, but it looks like Virginia Tech and Richmond are two area bubble teams that will make the NCAA Tournament field. Both teams picked up big wins in the quarterfinals of their respective conference tournaments on Friday, and both are in the field <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2011/3/12/2046112/bracketology-2011-bubble-watch-ncaa-tournament">in the latest Bracketology projection at SBNation.com.</a></p>
<p>Chris Dobbertein has Virginia Tech as a No. 11 seed after the Hokies slipped by Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The Hokies are matched up against No. 6 seed West Virginia. </p>
<p>As for Richmond, they are barely in the field with a No. 12 seed and a date in the opening-round games. The Spiders are projected to play Alabama, with the winner facing No. 5 seed Vanderbilt. This makes the Spiders one of the last four teams in, making a win against Temple in the Atlantic 10 semifinals on Saturday important.</p>
<p>As for other local teams, Georgetown earned a No. 7 seed and a date with Michigan State, while George Mason was a a No. 8 seed against Marquette. CAA champion Old Dominion garnered a No. 7 seed and would play sliding Villanova in the first round. </p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/12/2046396/bracketology-101-virginia-tech-richmondMike Prada2011-03-11T10:41:38-05:002011-03-11T10:41:38-05:00Bracketology 2011: Georgetown, George Mason lead Four Local Teams In Latest Tournament Projections
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>The guys over at SB Nation have been covering <a href="http://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/1/4/1913316/2011-bracketology-ncaa-basketball-tournament-georgetown-maryland">2011 Bracketology</a> on a day-to-day basis, because it fluctuates more violently and frequently than almost anything else in sports. Nearly every game that happens during these conference tournaments has an impact on the tournament field, and there are about 40 games played each day. They update it every day, but they wouldn't be totally unjustified if they chose to update it every hour. As of right now, they have four local teams as part of their latest tournament projections. Here is where they stand.</p>
<p>Despite losing to UConn in their first game in the Big East Tournament,<a href="http://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/9/2040193/big-east-tournament-2011-georgetown-uconn-score"> and looked pretty bad in the process</a>, Georgetown is still a No. 7 seed in the latest bracketology projections. They've fallen pretty far from their highest point this season, but things could be much worse considering how the season finished out. It all depends, of course, on how Chris Wright is able to play. In this latest projection, they would face Michigan.</p>
<p>George Mason is still an No. 8 seed, but their matchup just got a lot more interesting. Marquette has made it into the tournament with a few wins in the Big East Tournament, and that is who Mason is currently slated to play. Marquette would be the 11th and final team in the tournament. It would be interesting to see how Mason, arguably the best team in their conference, stacks up against the 11th best team from the Big East.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech probably got into the tournament <a href="http://dc.sbnation.com/maryland-terrapins/2011/3/10/2043549/acc-tournament-2011-virginia-tech-georgia-tech-59-43">with their win yesterday</a>, but if they look really bad in their game against Florida State, they could be forced out by a surprise automatic qualifier. As of now, they are a No. 12 seed and are scheduled to play Texas A&M in the first round.</p>
<p>Richmond is probably in the tournament as well, but they have a chance to bolster their resume as well. They can make their inclusion a lock if they are able to win at least one more game in the A-10 tournament, particularly if they are able to upend one of the ranked teams in the bracket. Right now, they are also a No. 12 seed and slated to play St. John's.</p>
<p>If current trends continue, then at least one of those No. 12 seeds from the area has a good chance to upset the five seed they are playing. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking. We'll keep you posted about the latest bracketology news as it evolves, right up until selection Sunday.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/11/2044079/bracketology-2011-ncaa-tournament-georgetown-george-mason-richmond-virginia-techJordan Ruby2011-03-07T13:48:20-05:002011-03-07T13:48:20-05:00Bracketology: Four Local Teams Included In Latest Tournament Projection
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>For a while there early in the season, it looked like the D.C. region would only send one team to the Big Dance in March. Georgetown was a lock, but there wasn't another team that was a definite inclusion. And one could argue that Maryland was actually the team with the best shot among those trying to earn a spot. O, how things have changed.</p>
<p>Now that tournament time is almost here, there are four teams that are considered near locks for the tournament from the D.C. region. Things could of course change in the conference tournament, but as of right now, this is how they stand according to SB Nation's most recent<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2011/3/7/2032959/bracketology-2011-ncaa-tournament-march-madness-notre-dame-duke"> Bracketology</a> update..</p>
<p>Georgetown is still in, but between Chris Wright's injury and some recent struggles, they have dropped down to a No. 6 seed. All I know is that if Wright gets back in time for the tournament, and Georgetown plays to their potential, they could be one of the most dangerous six seeds in recent memory.</p>
<p>George Mason just had its winning streak snapped in the conference tournament, but it is still in very strong position with a No. 9 seed. The bad news? It would be scheduled to play Villanova in the first round. Villanova has been ranked for much of the season and would present more problems than one would expect in the traditional eight/nine game.</p>
<p>Richmond has played well towards the latter part of the season, and is comfortably in the field with a No. 11 seed. But it too has a matchup from the Big East against Cincinnati in the first round. Never a comforting site.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech is in a little bit of trouble after losing to Clemson this weekend. But if they perform admirably, or even up to expectations, they should make the field as an at-large team. If they can manage to get a real quality win or two in the Conference tournament, than they should be in.</p>
<p>Of course, all of this could change by tomorrow. But this is where we stand today. We'll be updating this stream with all the latest news about Bracketology as Selection Sunday grows nearer.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/7/2035265/bracketology-georgetown-george-mason-richmond-virginia-techJordan Ruby2011-03-02T13:57:45-05:002011-03-02T13:57:45-05:00NCAA Bubble Watch: Richmond Among Last Four In, Virginia Tech And Maryland Don't Make The Cut
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>SB Nation just released their latest edition of <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2011/3/2/2024150/ncaa-tournament-bubble-watch-bracket">Bubble Watch</a> for the 2011 NCAA tournament, where they try to decide which teams will earn the last few at-large bids into the NCAA tournament. We already know that local teams like Georgetown and George Mason will be making the tournament, but how do other (quasi) local teams like Maryland, Virginia Tech and Richmond stand? Well, if the tournament was a baseball game, the area would have a hall of fame average; .333. But one out of three isn't great for making the NCAA tournament.</p>
<p>The team that made it in may surprise you. The Richmond Spiders are one of their last four teams into the tournament. Here's why.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Richmond owns perhaps the best win of any bubble team, a thorough 11-point victory over <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../ncaa-basketball/teams/purdue-boilermakers">Purdue</a>, who sits on the two line in my current projection, at the Chicago Invitational Classic over Thanksgiving. However, the Spiders also own some confounding losses, with ones against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../ncaa-basketball/teams/georgia-tech-yellow-jackets">Georgia Tech </a>in the Bahamas and Patriot League regular season champion <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../ncaa-basketball/teams/bucknell-bison">Bucknell </a>at home the two that stand out the most. Still, since that loss to the Bison, Chris Mooney's team has taken care of the weaker teams on its slate. Another positive mark on the Spiders' profile is an impressive 11-4 record away from home. On the minus side, they weren't competitive in their losses to the top two teams in the league, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../ncaa-basketball/teams/xavier-musketeers">Xavier </a>and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../ncaa-basketball/teams/temple-owls">Temple</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is it possible that their victory over Purdue is better than the win that Virginia Tech got over Duke last weekend? They seem to think so, because Virginia Tech is the first team listed among the "first four out." So they still have a chance to make it over one of the teams ahead of them, but they have to play well in the Conference tournament.</p>
<p>As for the Terps, they don't even appear in this latest edition of the bubble watch. Not in "next four in," "The last four out" (which for some reason aren't the same thing), or even the Next in line. That's 16 teams listed that won't make the tournament, but still have a better chance than Maryland. Not so good.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/2/2025328/ncaa-bubble-watch-2011-richmond-virginia-tech-marylandJordan Ruby2011-03-01T12:56:39-05:002011-03-01T12:56:39-05:00Bracketology: George Mason Earns No. 7 Seed In Latest March Madness Projections
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>George Mason owns the nation's longest winning streak, and because of that, its seed is relatively high in the latest NCAA Tournament bracketology projections. The Patriots received a No. 7 seed in the latest<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2011/3/1/2021680/bracketology-march-madness-2011-bracket-ncaa-tournament-bids"> SB Nation NCAA Tournament bracketology</a> earlier Tuesday, and <a href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/554970/03012011Bracket.html">would play against No. 10 seed Tennessee in the East region</a>. This places George Mason on the same seeding line as UCLA, Florida State and Texas A&M.</p>
<p>The Patriots were able to rise, but fellow local team Georgetown is falling. The injury to point guard Chris Wright, coupled with losses to Cincinnati and Syracuse last week, dropped the Hoyas to a No. 4 seed in the latest SB Nation projection. Georgetown is matched up against No. 13 Princeton, the projected Ivy League champion. This places the Hoyas on the same seeding line as North Carolina, Wisconsin and fellow Big East school St. John's.</p>
<p>Other local-ish teams in the 68-team projection include Virginia Tech (No. 10 seed), Richmond (No. 12 seed, in a play-in game) and Old Dominion (No. 9 seed). Virginia Commonwealth was listed among the "Next Four Out," while Maryland was merely on the "Others Considered" list. </p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/georgetown-hoyas/2011/3/1/2022925/bracketology-march-madness-2011-ncaa-tournament-george-masonMike Prada