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Checking out the bubble
Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis chatted with CNNSI.com about the goings-on in college basketball this week: CNNSI.com: Selection Sunday is about a month away. Which teams are on that all-important tournament bubble? Seth Davis: Of course there are a lot of teams on the bubble at this point in the season, but I'll give you three that are going to be worth watching over the next few weeks. First of all, Seton Hall, to me, may be the biggest disappointment in the country this year. They've now lost four in a row, down to 3-7 in the Big East. I think they're going to have to win five of their last six and play well in, if not win, the Big East tournament just to get into the NCAAs. Out of the Big 12, Oklahoma State is battling for position with Texas and Missouri. Two of those three teams will get in but Oklahoma State has the lowest RPI ranking of the three. Good news for the Cowboys: they have four of their last six at home. And finally Temple has gone to the NCAA tournament for the last 11 years but that is very much in danger of being snapped. Coming into this week, the Owls were in fourth place in the Atlantic-10. I don't think the A-10 will get more than three bids, they'll probably end up with just two, so chances are John Chaney's team will have to win the conference tournament just to make the NCAA field. CNNSI.com: One team most certainly not on the bubble has to be Georgia Tech, now in a tie for third place in the ACC. How have the Yellow Jackets been able to exceed expectations? Davis: Certainly Paul Hewitt is a candidate for National Coach of the Year for what he's doing in Atlanta. First and foremost, his team is playing very good defense. That was always his trademark at Siena; Maryland and Virginia both turned in season lows in terms of points against Tech. Hewitt is also getting some consistent production out of a couple of players who just drove Bobby Cremins crazy. Junior point guard Tony Akins is much more in control this year, his shot selection is much improved. And senior center Alvin Jones was very up-and-down in his career, he's now leading the team in scoring and rebounding, and is also shooting a high percentage. Along with what the Yellow Jackets are doing in the ACC, they also have non-conference wins over UCLA and Kentucky; obviously that will impress the selection committee if it's close. But right now I think you'd have to say that Hewitt is in position to take this team back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years. CNNSI.com: Jerry DeGregorio is out after just two seasons at Rhode Island. He was Jim Harrick's top assistant there -- why wasn't he able to get it done? Davis: He wasn't prepared for the job and should never have been hired in the first place. Before he worked for Jim Harrick, Jerry DeGregorio was a high school coach in Connecticut. The reason he got hired was because he had a very good friendship with Lamar Odom. Remember, at the time, Rhode Island was trying to build an arena and really bent over backwards to placate Odom, hoping he'd stay in school. They even put Odom on the committee to find a replacement for Harrick -- Odom never went to the meetings, but they hired DeGregorio anyway. Of course, Odom bolted for the NBA, which really left the program in shambles the last two years. Before URI goes about trying to find a replacement for DeGregorio, I think the university and athletic department have to decide whether they want to Rhode Island to be an institution of integrity, because if they're going to keep cutting corners to make the fast buck, they're not going to have any kind of long-term success there no matter who the next coach is. Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers the college basketball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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