NCAA Notables - 3/7

Three more at-large bids were awarded, and bubble teams took the court in Madison Square Garden.

KUDOS

Connecticut
The Huskies rallied to top the Mountaineers in overtime in the Big East tournament, 71-67. Shabazz Napier's 26 points and key late steals punctuated UConn's 13th straight postseason victory. With its coach back on the sidelines, this team has played much better of late, and will try to continue their run against Syracuse on Thursday. Neither UConn nor West Virginia needs to worry much about getting an at-large bid.

South FloridaThe Bulls took care of business by beating Villanova 56-47 and advancing to the Big East quarterfinals. USF's offense is often stagnant and turnover-prone, but its defense held 'Nova to 34% shooting and 3-of-16 from long range. Over the past nine games, USF has held each of its opponents to fewer than 60 points and at least 19 points below its season average. Even if the Bulls don't beat Notre Dame in the next round, they've done a lot over the past two weeks to warrant inclusion in the NCAA tournament.

Lehigh
Playing on top-seeded Bucknell's home floor, Lehigh won the Patriot League championship 82-77. C.J. McCollum, conference player of the year, scored 29 for the Mountain Hawks, who will make an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Long Island Brooklyn
With Spike Lee on hand to watch, LIU Brooklyn secured an automatic bid by beating Robert Morris in the Northeast championship game 90-73. Three players scored at least 18 points for the Blackbirds' high-powered offense.

Montana
The third team to earn its conference's auto-bid, Montana defeated Damian Lillard and Weber State for the second time in three games. Weber State's NBA prospect won't make an appearance in the NCAA tournament, but Montana will.

HEAD-SCRATCHER

Seton Hall
The Pirates couldn't knock off a struggling Louisville team and were eliminated from the Big East tournament 61-55. They have lost ten of their last fifteen games and could get left out of the field of 68 on Selection Sunday. Seton Hall would be much safer had they beaten Rutgers and DePaul last week.