W2W4: Survival Day+1

The drama continues for the squads on that unforgiving Bubble. All of these games involve teams clinging to tournament hopes. Wins are crucial. Losses are devastating. The Madness continues.

Big East Tournament
Villanova (20-11, 9-9 Big East) vs. No. 9 Georgetown (25-4, 15-3 Big East)
11 a.m. CT

Villanova pounded Syracuse 82-63 yesterday to keep its tournament hopes alive. If the Wildcats find a way to beat Georgetown, they've got a strong case to make the tournament. Villanova came achingly close to beating the Hoyas earlier this season, but a suspect foul call with 0.1 seconds left gave Georgetown two free throws and the win, so the Wildcats are quite capable of taking Georgetown down.

Atlantic 10 Tournament
Dayton (21-9, 8-8 A-10) vs. No. 10 Xavier (26-5, 14-2 A-10)
11 a.m. CT
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Pretty much the same story as Villanova for the Dayton Flyers. After barely beating Saint Louis yesterday, they can most likely punch their ticket to the Big Dance by beating the bad boys of the conference, the Musketeers. However, Xavier smothered Dayton in their last meeting back on Jan. 24, 69-43.

Pacific 10 Tournament
Arizona State (19-11, 9-9 Pac-10) vs. Southern California (20-10, 11-7 Pac-10)
2 p.m. CT

The Sun Devils have made a remarkable turnaround from last season to put themselves in contention to make the NCAAs. USC has sharp-shooting freshman O.J. Mayo, but ASU has one of their own in James Harden, and the teams split their season series. ASU has a lousy RPI but nine wins in the Pac-10 aren't bad.

Oregon (18-12, 9-9 Pac-10) vs. No. 21 Washington State (23-7, 11-7 Pac-10)
8 p.m. CT

Washington State has beaten the Ducks twice this season, but that was in the regular season. The Ducks won the Pac-10 tourney last season and have won three games in a row coming into today, the kind of momentum you need heading into the postseason. A suspect RPI (52) makes this game a must-win for Oregon.

Arizona (19-13, 8-10 Pac-10) vs. No. 11 Stanford (24-6, 13-5 Pac-10)
10:30 p.m. CT

The Wildcats took care of business against Oregon State to set up another showdown with the Cardinal, who've beaten Arizona twice in close games this season. Given Stanford's recent sluggish play, don't be surprised to see Arizona pull the upset and solidify its tournament hopes.

Check out Eric Silver's previews and predictions for the SEC tournament below. Happy watching.

Trouble in the Sun: ASU Baseball Controversy

If you're bored in lecture and have 10-15 minutes to spare, take some time to read this well-written and balanced article by ESPN's Elizabeth Merrill and Amy K. Nelson.

If you're in a rush, here's the short version: Arizona State has hired an independent firm to conduct an invesitgation to determine whether controversial baseball coach Pat Murphy has broken NCAA rules. The person who turned in him? Former player, coach and good friend Mikel Moreno, who came forward with "allegations of academic fraud, recruiting violations and other improprieties" after Murphy fired him from the coaching staff (the two differ on the reasons behind the termination).

I'm not sure who to believe -- Moreno, the "bitter 32-year-old valet with fading dreams, an ex-employee bent on taking down a man who's been near the top of his profession for almost two decades" or Murphy, the "creep(y)" coach who ran his program "like a cult" and made fun of players' mothers. My hunch is that the answer lies somewhere in the middle -- Murphy probably did commit a few minor infractions that never would have been discovered had Moreno not had an axe to grind.

The simple fact that a college program is under scrutiny for bending the rules is far from newsworthy. But, I thought this article was too intriguing to overlook. Feel free to leave your take on the situation...

And one more thing: Something tells me this would never happen with Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin and the Hawkins Nine.