Clemson

Few people thought it could be done: winning five games in five days had never happened in the history of conference tournaments, and no team in the history of the expanded Big East Championship had gone from playing on Tuesday to the tile game. That all changed when Preston Knowles' attempt to tie the game at the buzzer hit the back iron, giving Connecticut the 69-66 win and their seventh Big East Championship title (first since 2004). MVP Kemba Walker scored 19 points, making the game-winning play on an assist after scoring a tournament-record 130 points through five games.

The day before Selection Sunday is finally here, which means that a number of conferences will determine their winners throughout the course of the day. Thirteen automatic bids are up for grabs and a 14th, the battle between South Dakota and North Dakota in the Great West, will be for an automatic bid in the College Insider Tournament. The Big 12 and Big East title games may receive a great deal of attention (and rightfully so), but the first meeting between teams with 30 victories will take place in the Mountain West final.

It's almost become an annual occurrence in college basketball: Seth Greenberg's Virginia Tech Hokies in their customary spot on the bubble. And they looked to be headed in that direction tonight against Florida State in the final quarterfinal of the night in Greensboro, trailing 27-19 at the half and shooting a brutal 17.9% from the field. The Seminoles outscored Virginia Tech 16-6 in the paint and 14-7 in bench points in the first half, and guards Malcolm Delaney and Erick Green combined to shoot 1-for-15.

Friday offers up some big matchups but none may be bigger than Georgia and Alabama in the first game of the day at the SEC Tournament. Both can still use wins (to be honest, who can't?) with the winner today keeping alive the ability to state their case on the floor while the loser has to hope their resume is good enough to warrant an NCAA Tournament bid. And the scouting reports should be fresh as the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide met in Saturday's regular season finale, a 65-57 Alabama victory in Tuscaloosa. The difference: turnovers.

By this time next Sunday there will be more than 20 teams guaranteed inclusion in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and the first three tickets were punched on Saturday. UNC Asheville (Big South), Belmont (Atlantic Sun) and Morehead State (Ohio Valley) all won their conference tournament finals while Princeton (Ivy) missed out on a chance to join the fun with their loss at Harvard. Now the Tigers need to beat rival Penn at the Palestra to forge a tie atop the standings, forcing a one-game playoff with Harvard for the Ancient Eight's automatic bid.

In the most recent installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with former Virginia Tech head coach Charles Moir, who won 213 games and led the Hokies to four NCAA Tournament appearances during his time in Blacksburg. An alum of Roanoke College, Moir's son Page is currently the head coach there.  

Jon Teitel: You played basketball and baseball at Appalachian State, and later played minor league baseball for a few years. Which sport did you like more, and which one were you better at?

While some may use a pair of comeback overtime victories as proof that Tom Izzo's Michigan State (12-5, 4-1) Spartans are back on the right track, the true test of such recovery comes on the road. That's what lies in front of the Spartans as they face an Illinois (13-5, 3-2) squad that's dropped back-to-back games on the road and needs a win to avoid falling three games behind Ohio State in the loss column.

Thanksgiving week is here and with that more in-season tournaments either tip off or move to the semifinal stage. Monday features four games in Maui, with a lot of eyes focused on Wichita State/Connecticut in the first game of the day. Of course there's expected national title contender Michigan State along with two other good teams in Kentucky and Washington (given the meetings on the recruiting trail many hope that the Wildcats and Huskies advance to Tuesday's semifinals).

Despite the amount of attention being given to ESPN's 24-hour college basketball marathon that tips off at midnight (Miami at Memphis) there are some good games on the docket Monday night. In the early window there are a two under the radar games that lack television coverage but won't lack for quality. Oakland (0-1), the preseason favorite in the Summit League, makes the trek south to take on one of the favorites in the Mid-American in Ohio (1-0). Two of the better players not in BCS conferences will be on display in Athens: Oakland center Keith Benson and Ohio guard D.J. Cooper.

Overall Rank: #40