Last night on Twitter, I posted the Pac-12's updated nonconference records: 1-23 against the RPI top 50 (the one is Stanford over Colorado State) and 8-41 against the top 100.
The Virginia Tech community gather at a candlelight vigil for the officer who was shot and killed on campus Thursday.
The Virginia Tech community on Monday remembered Deriek Crouse, the police officer who was gunned down last week while conducting a routine traffic stop on campus.
There were dramatic auto-bid snatches (hello, UALR!), one-game playoffs forced (well done, Princeton) and bid thieves subdued (the bubblers thank Butler!), and all anyone wants to talk about is ... Villanova?
The first week of conference tournament season is for mid-major madness, and this season has obliged with a ton of regular-season champs getting trapdoored into the NIT by feisty underdogs. The second week is for the bigger boys, with seeding and selection situations sorting themselves out nationwide.
This part of the season's final week is always fun, as major-conference bubble teams sit and watch and hope smaller-conference teams don't hose them. There are fewer bid thieves than usual this season, but the next couple of days will have some tournament results worth watching:
If the NCAA tournament is supposed to be such an exclusive ticket, why does no one want to make it?
You can hear the thumping getting louder each day, like the sound of a ball pounding on the floor as the dribbler gets closer. Two teams from a non-power conference on a collision course to a big game with enormous implications -- in the conference, in the polls, and most importantly, in the NCAA tournament bracket.
If things are like this a month from now, I do not envy the selection committee.
Bubble Watch is back and your satisfaction is 100 percent guaranteed!
Andy Glockner will offer a full edition of the Bubble Watch each morning, then provide updates as the action plays out. Check back throughout the day for ongoing bubble analysis. All times are ET.
It was a pretty good night for the bubblers on Monday. Not perfect, but not bad at all.
Welcome to the bubble-bursting segment of our show, the early part of championship week where every bubble team holds its breath and prays the favorites take care of business.
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Virginia Tech has secured yet another game in the D.C. suburbs, agreeing to play Cincinnati at the Washington Redskins stadium in 2012.
ATLANTA -- At the final buzzer, Tyler Hansbrough amicably grabbed Virginia Tech's A.D. Vassallo and congratulated him on a great game. Moments earlier, the two seniors staged a 40-minute battle which ended when Vassallo got off a three-point attempt that almost forced overtime. Unfortunately for Virginia Tech's NCAA tournament hopes, the ball bounced out, and North Carolina inched into the ACC semifinals with a 79-76 win (RECAP | BOX).
ATLANTA -- Dave Odom was sitting at courtside, enjoying his first ACC Tournament since leaving Wake Forest after a 12-year run in 2001. He was watching his friend and former foe from Maryland work the sidelines, and he said, "No one is better with his back against the wall than Gary Williams."
On Wednesday, coach Keno Davis was pushing the position that Providence (19-13, 10-8; RPI: 71; SOS: 60) didn't have to beat Louisville to get an at-large. That was unlikely to begin with, but even Davis probably realizes that an 18-point loss to the Cardinals doesn't even qualify as a moral victory for consideration. The defeat leaves the Friars just 2-8 against the RPI Top 50 and 6-13 against the Top 100. As bubble peers like Minnesota (21-9, 9-9, RPI: 41; SOS: 41) continue to advance in other tournaments, it looks like the NIT for Provy.
What's the power of a missed call? Ask Virginia Tech, which should have had the ball down three against Duke had Jon Scheyer been called for his back-and-forth pivot/moonwalk in the final 30 seconds Saturday in Blacksburg. Instead of having a chance to tie, the Hokies went on to lose by seven, and in today's updated bracket, they are the second team left out of the field of 65.
For about 90 percent of the nation's major football schools, opening weekend went off without a hitch. The fans of those few that didn't wasted no time going into full-out panic mode.
The college football season kicked off with a number of top games, some of which turned out to be surprisingly lopsided. Even more surprising was the poor play by a number of highly rated prospects, many who must use the oncoming weeks to turn their draft stock around.
Calling a spring game "football" is like saying reality television is steeped in reality. The quarterback is largely off limits to defenders, the score doesn't count and if you're Ohio State, you even let the likes of former stars Cris Carter and Mike Tomczak help call the shots as honorary coaches. The glorified scrimmages often seem like fun and games, but let's be clear: Spring games and spring practices do ultimately have very real consequences.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger remembers the victims of the shooting there one year ago.
Erin Sheehan was a freshman last year when Seung-Hui Cho peeked through the door of her German class. The next hour of her life would become a struggle for survival.
Welcome to SI.com's real-time Bubble Watch. The following chart will be updated continuously between now and Sunday to reflect the results of the conference tournaments.
MOBILE, Ala. -- Today was the North's final opportunity to impress NFL scouts here. Wednesday is always the most important day of the week at the Senior Bowl and the practices are heavily attended. Several players took hold of the chance to showcase their skills.
Last April, the Kansas athletic department passed out over 700 Virginia Tech T-shirts to its student-athletes and officials as a tribute to the 32 victims of the tragic shooting spree on the Blacksburg, Va., campus on April 16. Women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson, who worked at Virginia Tech for 14 years before coming to KU, spearheaded the effort, and the baseball and track teams wore the shirts in competition that weekend.
In the chaotic hours following the final, upset-laden night of the 2007 regular season, coaches and fans from as many as seven different teams made their case to earn one of the two spots in the BCS National Championship Game.
Here's how SI.com's playoff works. Using the final BCS rankings, we seeded the top 16 teams in order. To avoid inter-conference matchups in the first round, we made two simple adjustments (swapping Arizona State and Florida in the seeding process, as well as Illinois and Boston College). For the purpose of this simulation, we are going to assume that all "banged up" players (Tim Tebow, Glenn Dorsey, etc.) will take part in the action. We will be crowning a champion next week. So start voting and let your voice be heard.
NFL scouts get a slight reprieve this week as the college schedule offers just a handful of regular season games and several conference title games. Still, the conference championships figure to offer scouts the best opportunity to see some of the nation's top prospects. Here's who they'll have their eyes on (* -- denotes underclassman).
Over the past several years, the first Monday in November has become something of my own, personal Groundhog's Day.
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- For 57 minutes of a rain-soaked Thursday night, it looked like you could put "Matty Ice's" Heisman campaign and Boston College's perfect season on, well, ice.
Breaking down Thursday night's top 10 ACC clash in Blacksburg.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU coach Les Miles would rather I not provide you my honest assessment of his team's 48-7 demolition of previously ninth-ranked Virginia Tech here Saturday night.
The lowest college over-under on the board at Caesar's Palace, as of Thursday night, belonged to Virginia Tech-LSU. It checked in at a measly 38 points. By comparison, the line for Hawaii-Louisiana Tech was double that, at 76 points, and even a major inter-conference tilt such as Oregon-Michigan was at 64.5. That ominous 38, however, is something of which the Hokies and Tigers can be proud. They own perhaps the two most feared defenses in the nation, and Vegas knows it. There's a strong chance that the final score of this game won't even break 30, yet it'll still go down as one of the season's best duels. Are you ready to stay up late for BeamerBall vs. Les ... well, Les what? LesPointsAllowed? LesYardsYielded? That one still needs some work.
It finally happened, and I might have been the only one watching -- other than a few thousand diehard University of Virginia fans.
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- When I sat down with a sweat-drenched Sean Glennon following Virginia Tech's practice here Wednesday, I started by asking the junior quarterback how camp is going. I asked him what his training regimen has been like since the end of last season, where his confidence level is at and what his expectations are for the Hokies' offense this season.
Erin Sheehan is one of the almost 28,000 students making the bittersweet return to the Virginia Tech campus for fall classes, a journey she was afforded only because of some quick thinking in April.
Virginia Tech resumes classes
By now, unless you've spent the past week in Antarctica -- or perhaps had your head buried in that 8,000-page Harry Potter book everyone's so ga-ga about -- you've probably heard a little bit about Michael Vick. Mainly, that he's a very bad guy who, according to a federal indictment, did some very bad things to dogs.
PINEHURST, N.C. -- Along Interstate 85 in North Carolina and South Carolina, far removed from the Virginia Tech campus where tragedy struck April 16, are white billboards featuring a black ribbon behind the VT logo, another reminder Hokie Nation has engulfed the entire nation.
Based on the arrival of offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, other changes to the offensive staff and the return of 15 starters, Florida State expects to be significantly improved.
SI.com: Overflowing bag updated: Wed May 16 2007 11:00:00
You love the Mailbag. You really love it.
Bells tolled Friday at Virginia Tech to honor victims of the deadliest shooting on a U.S. college campus, and mourners, many wearing orange and maroon, bowed their heads, embraced and held hands in a moment of silence.
SI.com: Fresh facesupdated: Thu Apr 19 2007 12:32:00
If you like surprises, basketball hasn't very good to you this year.
He was the professor who loved debating an equation with his students for hours. A civil and environmental engineer regarded as brilliant, his humility defined him. He once told his wife, "There are people who are better than me," as he tucked his prestigious awards inside his closet.
"Today, we are all Hokies."
Reema Samaha was a beautiful, creative dancer. Ryan "Stack" Clark went out of his way to make new band members feel welcome. Daniel Perez Cueva spoke four languages and hoped to change the world.
Virginia Tech's football program has canceled its final four days of spring practice, including Saturday's scheduled spring game at Lane Stadium, in the wake of a campus shooting-spree Monday in which 33 people were killed, Hokies coach Frank Beamer said Tuesday.
The day after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, Virginia Tech students and townspeople were absorbing what happened and trying to show unity.
When you follow the world of college sports for a living, it's easy to get sucked into its vacuum.
If you happen to run into a member of the NCAA selection committee this week, be sure to shake his hand or pat him on the back. A few complimentary words would be nice, too. Considering how much flak these guys usually take this time of year, a rare acknowledgement of a job well done will undoubtedly be appreciated.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Southern Illinois is in the Sweet 16. This should be a really big deal, right? Time for the talking heads to fall all over themselves in shock that some school from Carbondale, Ill., is still alive in the Big Dance while the likes of Duke, Arizona and Wisconsin have gone home. Time for fans around the country to break out the inevitable "What's a Saluki?" line.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A jubilant Seth Greenberg walked over to press row, slapped hands with Virginia Tech's radio announcers and shouted, "How'd we do that?" The rest of Nationwide Arena was wondering the same thing.
SI.com: Revisiting the Magicupdated: Wed Feb 28 2007 11:51:00
What have we learned during this college basketball season? Well, after four months we've learned that it's a felony to possess 'shrooms in the state of Washington (who knew?); that the most genuinely touching moment of the year would feature a teary-eyed Bob Knight; and, not least, that there's no clear favorite heading into the NCAA tournament.
SI.com: Change in the air?updated: Thu Feb 22 2007 07:35:00
While reading through yet another brilliant article written by Pete Thamel in the New York Times, I was struck by a brief item that appeared in Pete's college basketball spotlight column on Sunday. The item contained a quote from Brown coach Craig Robinson (aka Barack Obama's brother-in-law) indicating a postseason tournament in the Ivy League may be in the offing. "It's closer than I would have ever imagined it," Robinson said.
SI.com: Remember us?updated: Tue Feb 13 2007 12:26:00
Also in this column: • Teams to keep an eye on • Complete projected bracket
Also in this column: • Teams to keep an eye on • My complete bracket projection
SI.com: His own manupdated: Fri Jan 26 2007 15:04:00
When you see Davidson freshman Stephen Curry is averaging 19 points per game, and you hear he is the son of former NBA standout Dell Curry, the assumption is father taught son the ins and outs of how to ball.
SI.com: Preaching patienceupdated: Tue Jan 16 2007 11:08:00
Even by the standards of today's message-board, short-attention-span, instant-gratification, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, 24/7 media culture, the cacophony of criticism directed at sophomores Greg Paulus and A.J. Price is a tad extreme. Yes, the intense scrutiny comes with the territory when you play point guard at Duke and UConn, respectively. Even so, a tiny bit of perspective is in order.
Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick was sentenced to 30 days in jail after being convicted last week on charges related to a party with underage girls.
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