1. Georgetown to the NIT:
Georgetown once again had a postseason letdown with a loss to DePaul, the 10th (and lowest) seed in the Big East tournament. For Georgetown fans, this is nothing new. The Hoyas have suffered a number of embarrassing losses in the NCAA tournament.
2013: Florida Gulf Coast (15 seed)
2012: NC State (11 seed)
2011: VCU (11 seed)
2010: Ohio (14 seed)
2009: Missed NCAA Tournament
2008: Davidson (10 seed)
It is shocking how John Thompson III can go through a stretch like that without any serious discussion about his job security. Don’t get me wrong – he has done some great things for the program in the past, but I can’t think of any other coach who gets a bigger pass because of his last name other than John Thompson III right now.
2. North Carolina Remains an Enigma
We have been calling North Carolina “Jekyll and Hyde” for the past couple of months. At this point, the randomness of UNC should be anticipated. When you expect this year’s UNC squad to do one thing, they will end up doing the complete opposite. Just when a 12 game winning streak and a top 15 ranking was starting to restore faith in this program, the Tar Heels were completely dominated by Pitt in the ACC tournament.
3. The Big East Tournament Was a Classic
Villanova and Seton Hall provide the (new) Big East with a signature highlight reel moment replayed countless times on various sports channels. The Big East Tournament Championship featured Providence versus Creighton. While Nebraska and Rhode Island are worlds apart, their matchup gave a very fitting “old member vs. new member” tone that was rather appropriate for the first season in a reorganized league. The NCAA tournament bubble teams fared well. Xavier advanced to the Semifinals and Providence won the tournament, allowing both to make the NCAA field of 68.