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A bid thief emerged on Saturday as No. 2 seed Colorado State topped No. 5 seed Boise State to win the Mountain West Tournament. With the victory, the Rams clinched an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament after they entered the day on the wrong side of the bubble in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology.
It’s possible Colorado State may have stolen a bid from a member of its own league as MWC bubble teams Boise State and San Diego State will be sweating leading up to Sunday’s Selection Show on CBS. New Mexico and Utah State are regarded as safely in the Big Dance field by Palm.
With Colorado State punching its ticket, the league is on track to get a minimum of three teams in the field. But that number could rise to five if both Boise State and San Diego State make the cut. Palm projected after the Mountain West Tournament title game that the Broncos will remain in the field as the last team in and that San Diego State will make it as well.
The Mountain West Tournament title game was just one of several in the works on Saturday during a loaded slate of conference tournament action.
South Carolina State suffered a brutal beat Saturday in the finals of the MEAC Tournament as top-seeded Norfolk State escaped with a 66-65 win under bizarre circumstances. South Carolina State got a game-tying bucket from Caleb McCarty with 10 seconds left, but apparently he remained under the impression that his team was trailing.
McCarty quickly fouled Norfolk State’s Christian Ings, who went to the free-throw line and put Norfolk State ahead by a point, which proved to be the difference. South Carolina State got one last attempt at a potential game-winning shot. But it missed, which allowed Norfolk State to secure a bid to the Big Dance.
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