College Basketball: End-of-Regular-Season Assessment of My Teams

Evansville (Men)
My alma mater ended the season with a 10-19 record, but with a lot of promise for next year. The Purple Aces play in the Missouri Valley Conference, which will send six teams to the postseason (at least three to the NCAA tournament, and the rest to the NIT). Evansville finished seventh, immediately after the six teams fighting for a spot in the Big Dance, and posted wins this season over Purdue and Southern Illinois. The team's roster includes only one senior, and nearly 92% of the Aces' scoring offense will return next season.

Evansville (Women)
It's hard to keep up with Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball if you don't live in an MVC city. But the Evansville women have had a decent season, finishing 15-12 overall, 11-7 in the conference. They have the fourth seed going into the MVC tournament, where they will face Wichita State. If they beat the Shockers, they'll have a tough game against top seed, 24-4 Indiana State.

Vanderbilt (Men)
Saturday the Commodores did what they do best, blowing a big second half lead and losing a game they absolutely had to win. This season, the school where I earned my master's swept Kentucky, beat Georgetown on the road, and also picked up some big road wins in the SEC. By by beating Kentucky, getting a big non-conference win, and winning away from home in the conference, the Commodores overcame all of the barriers that usually keep them on the bubble or out of NCAA tournament consideration entirely. Still, by losing close home games to Georgia and South Carolina and by failing to close out Tennessee Saturday, the most talented Vanderbilt men's basketball team in recent memory has almost no chance of getting an at-large bid next Sunday. Maybe they can make a run in the NIT.

Vanderbilt (Women)
The Vandy women will get a tournament bid and a decent seed; they finished the regular season with twenty wins; and they managed a winning record in a very tough SEC. On the other hand, Vanderbilt always does well in women's basketball; this year has been very ordinary by Commodore standards, and Vandy has failed thus far to defeat a ranked team. Unless the team goes deep into the NCAA tourament, this season will likely be forgotten by Vandy fans.

Indiana (Men)
I was never a student at I.U., though I took one class in high school that earned me three credit hours from the Bloomington campus. But my dad, uncle, and several friends are Indiana alums; I was raised an Indiana basketball fan; and one of my band's most memorable shows was at a Bloomington house party populated by I.U. students (January 25, 1997). Indiana is almost a lock for the tournament at this point, with a winning record in the Big Ten and wins over Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan (twice), and Kentucky. In Mike Davis's final season the Hoosiers have a chance to be a first-round favorite and a dangerous second-round matchup. Though their season has largely been a disappointment, the Hoosiers can still send Coach Davis out on a high note.