Bring On The Cats

RPI WATCH now morphs into TOURNEY WATCH, since there is no more reason to track K-State's resume.

Thus, I have removed the RPI information for all teams, as well as K-State's strength of schedule, quality wins, etc.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I was heavily rooting for Texas Tech last night, even before Herb Pope's cheap shot to Darko Cohadarevic's pills. As I said in the final BIG 12 OUTLOOK, I'm rooting for Big 12 teams to meet and beat Big East teams whenever possible.

Well, it doesn't get much better than Tech, a non-bubble team, going on the road and destroying a Seton Hall team that many talking heads argued should be in the NCAA Tournament. Even better, despite the poor attendance, SHU apparently was so mad about it that Pope lost control.

That happened in another game last night, too. Hey, guys — it's the NIT! No reason to get so into it — it's a glorified exhbition, albeit one I'm watching intently, since all 32 teams are exactly the sort that probably will be in next year's expanded 96-team crapfest.

And as already has been noted on the site, BOTC fan favorite Arkansas-Pine Bluff lived to fight another day. I'm sure you'll all be rooting intently for the Golden Lions to knock off despised Duke, but don't hold your breath.

Lastly, South Dakota lost its first-round game in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament to Creighton, but that shouldn't diminish the season the Coyotes had. With a 22-10 record, a 13-game winning streak to end the regular season and a Great West championship in hand, I think they're pretty pleased with what they did this year.

AP Ranking = 7

ESPN/USA Today Ranking = 7

NCAA Seed = 2 (West Region)

Record = 26-7

• Loyola Chicago (14-16)
  
• Western Illinois (13-17)
  
• Boston University (19-13)
  
• No. 2* seed Ole Miss (21-10)
  
• No. 3* seed Dayton (20-12)
  
• IUPUI (24-10)
  
• FHSU (22-7)
  
• Washington State (16-15)
  
• No. 6 seed Xavier (24-8)
  
• No. 8 seed UNLV (25-8)
  
• Alabama (17-15)
  
• No. 16 seed UAPB (18-15): Win over No. 16 seed Winthrop (61-44 in the NCAA Tournament)
  
• Cleveland State (16-17)
  
• South Dakota (22-10): Loss at Creighton (89-78 in the CIT)
  
• No. 10 seed Missouri (22-10)
  
• No. 5 seed Texas A&M (23-9)
  
• Colorado (15-16)
  
• No. 8 seed Texas (24-9)
  
• No. 7 seed Oklahoma State (22-10)
  
• No. 3 seed Baylor (25-7)
  
• No. 1 seed Kansas (32-2)
  
• Nebraska (15-18)
  
• Iowa State (15-17)
  
• Oklahoma (13-18)
  
• No. 5* seed Texas Tech (18-15): Win over No. 4* seed Seton Hall (87-69 in the NIT)
  

*NIT