The NCAA is at it again. USC men’s basketball team takes second place in the Pac-12 regular season and second place in the one and done Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas last week and that’s not good enough to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Trojans finished the regular season 23-11 despite losing one of their best players before the season started due to an FBI investigation. They played the season with several players in and out of the lineup because of injuries and they still advanced to the Pac-12 championship game. That was not good enough for the NCAA selection committee.
The Trojans continued their post season in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) last Tuesday at home against UNC-Asheville. If they win that game their second round game will be between March 15-19 against the winner of Western Kentucky and Boston College. Check with USC to find out the date, time and location of the game.
The 21-11 UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team made it to the big dance as an at-large team and they played St. Bonaventure in the East Regional at Dayton, Ohio last
Tuesday. If they win that game they will battle Florida on Thursday.
The Bruins also fought an uphill battle to make it to the NCAA’s. After last season they lost three players that would have been sophomores to the NBA and before this season started they lost three freshmen when they were caught shoplifting in China. That’s six players that would have made the Bruins an elite team.
One of the main reasons the NCAA committee snubbed the Trojans is they felt they did not have enough wins against really good teams and the fact that they lost to UCLA twice. Losing to the Bruins twice is a big problem but is that enough to leave out of the big dance?
A lot of good teams were did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament but for USC not to make it is a slap in the face to the Trojans but also to the Pac-12.
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