Cougars look to cool down Catamounts

  • Tommy Braswell
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  • Posted: Saturday, February 19, 2011 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 7:00 p.m.
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Andrew Goudelock and the College of Charleston will try to end Vermont’s 10-game winning streak today.
Alan Hawes /Andrew Goudelock and the College of Charleston will try to end Vermont’s 10-game winning streak today.

ESPN's original concept for BracketBusters was to pair schools from mid-major conferences (not the ACCs, SECs, Big Easts and Big Tens of the world) who might have an opportunity to make it into the NCAA tournament with a big late-season win.

The weekend extravaganza has wandered from its original aim, growing from a handful of teams to 114 teams that cover the gamut of small- to mid-major conferences.

But games such as today's 5 p.m. Vermont-College of Charleston contest that will be televised on ESPNU could still have postseason implications for both teams.

Vermont (22-5, 13-2 America East) has already clinched its conference regular season championship and will at least play in the NIT if the Catamounts do not win the conference tournament and earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Charleston (20-7, 13-2 Southern Conference) needs to win one of its three remaining conference games to have the same scenario.

"It could have an effect on the postseason," Cougars coach Bobby Cremins said Friday. "You just never know how these things work out. That fact that both teams are in first place in their conferences, it gets crazy."

In all likelihood, both teams will have to win their conference tournaments to get to the NCAA because their RPI rankings are in the 70s. This year's NCAA tournament field was expanded from 64 to 68 teams, so to get an at-large invitation would be a stretch.

"I was a strong advocate of going to 96 teams. Had we gone to 96 teams, I think a game like this would be very, very important," Cremins said. "We've never had two teams out of our conference go to the Big Dance, but you never know.

"If we had a few more wins against non-conference opponents, it could really factor in. You just never know."

Cremins called the game against Vermont an intriguing matchup.

"They went to the Big Dance last year and they've already won their league this year," he said. "It should be a great matchup, two teams that are in first place in their respective leagues. We are so unfamiliar with each other. They've already finished their championship run, and we're in a championship run. I think it's a great matchup for our fans, for TV. It will be interesting to see how we respond to somebody we don't know anything about."

--The College of Charleston women's basketball team (9-18, 6-12 in the Southern Conference) plays host to Western Carolina (7-19, 5-12) at 1 p.m. today at Carolina First Arena.

The contest is the school's annual Pink Zone Game in support of cancer awareness ,and admission is free. Western Carolina won a previous meeting in Cullowhee, N.C., 60-56, in overtime, and leads the overall series, 24-13. Charleston, which earned the school's 600th career win in a 51-39 victory at Georgia Southern on Wednesday, has won two of its last three meetings with Western Carolina.