By Mel Greenberg
It's another short circuit departure for Ohio State, although there probably is still some season left for the Buckeyes, who will also soon depart the Associated Press women's poll.
The Buckeyes, who were given a quick enough ejection a year ago in the NCAA tournament, were given one Friday in the Big Ten quarterfinals. This one was handed by Illinois and new coach Jolette Law, the former associated head coach to Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer.
The Illini's upset makes them the lowest seed at ninth ever to reach the Big Ten semifinals.
Elsewhere, Georgia, which only two months ago was considered a No. 1 NCAA seed possibility, was given its exit by Kentucky in the Southeastern semifinals.
SE Missouri, the top seed in the Ohio Valley, was upset with no hope of rescue as an at-large candidate by the NCAA committee.
Boston College's hopes for an at-large were diminished in the Atlantic Coast, while the only major upset of note in the Atlantic Ten here in Philadelphia was Rhode Island beating St. Bonaventure, costing the Bonnies a third straight and final attempt to set a record for wins in the season for the school. Richmond ended Duquesne's season by two points with a half-minute left.
And with that reacap, let's head to Saturday's action.
Atlantic Coast semifinals: North Carolina meets Virginia, and Maryland meets Duke. All four are NCAA bound, but Maryland and North Carolina are contending for No. 1 seeds, while Duke and Virginia are trying to better their placements with opportunities to rise as high as a No. 2 with a conference title.
Atlantic Sun championship. Top-seeded East Tennessee State will be out to preserve its NCAA dance card against No. 2 Jacksonville. Failure is fatal here.
Atlantic Ten quarterfinals: Here in Philadelphia, George Washington is a lock, while Temple and Xavier are trying to strengthen a decent claim for at-large status.
Temple, the top seed after a regular-season tie for first with George Washington, gets the day going against Richmond. Dayton, a senior team that finally blossomed, meets Charlotte, under new coach Karen Astin, a former Texas and Baylor assistant.
George Washington gets an easier opponent after Rhode Island's upset of St. Bonaventure, and host St. Joseph's wraps up the day against Xavier in a repeat of last season's championship game opponents in Cincinnati.
Big East first round: Villanova, the last in, opens the action against Pittsburgh, which struggled down the stretch. DePaul, trying to rescue a bid, goes against Marquette for the dubious right to meet Connecticut in the quarterfinals. Louisville, which is trying to better its NCAA status, meets St. John's for the right to meet Rutgers. Syracuse, also a likely NCAA team, will be out to better itself playing South Florida.
Big Ten semifinals: The half-full view - This conference is really competitive vs. the half or more empty outlook _ what a sad state things have become in this league. That said, Iowa is more NCAA-bound than Purdue, so Boilermakers need another win. On the other side, the newly-crowned Cinderella status of Illinois is on the line against Michigan State, which probably needs another win. Ousted Minnesota might need Iowa or Purdue to win the tournament to hold onto its art-large candidacy.
Conference-USA semifinals. Second-seeded SMU meets sixth-seeded Marshall needing a win to hold on to slim NCAA at-large hopes. Top-seeded UTEP can lock up an NCAA bid most likely with a win over Southern Miss, but the conference title would bring gratitude from those on the bubble.
Metro Atlantic semifinals: Top-seeded Marist meets St. Peter's for the third time in two weeks with the bubble crowd across the nation cheering for the Red Foxes. Fairfield meets Iona with a WNIT bid looming for the winner, assuming Marist is going to survive here.
Northeast Conference quarterfinals: It was Anything Can Happen Day a year ago when top seed Long Island lost this round on its home court. It's another one bid situation, so top-seeded Quinnipiac needs a good start against Mount St. Mary's. In other games, LIU meets Fairleigh Dickinson, Robert Morris meets St. Francis of New York, and Sacred Heart meets Monmouth.
Ohio Valley championship: Eastern Illinois, replacing top-seed and ousted SE Missouri as the new favorite,meets No. 3 Murray State for an NCAA automatic bid.
PAC-10 quarterfinals: It's a three-spot situation, period. One of the trio, Arizona State, opens against Washington; California, one of the others, meets Oregon. Stanford, gunning for a No. 2 NCAA seed as is Cal, meets Oregon State, while Southern Cal can maintain prayer status with a win over UCLA.
Patriot quarterfinals: Two years after the magic of the late Maggie Dixon took Army to its first title shortly before her untimely passing, the tournament begins on the banks of the Hudson. Top-seeded American meets Colgate, before Army meets Bucknell, Holy Cross meets Navy, and Lehigh meets Lafayette.
Southeastern semifinals: Upstart Kentucky goes against LSU. The Wildcats are trying to get into the NCAA building while the Tigers are seeking space in the penthouse. Vanderbilt, likely to get an NCAA bid, will try to gain some in-state pride going against Tennessee, whose legendary coach PatSummitt is 0-1 this week against the Raccoons. Where's Davey Crockett when you need him?.
Southern quarterfinals: Completing round play features two games: Georgia Southern against the College of Charleston, while Elon meets Davidson. Top-seeded Chattanooga, the prohibitive favorite, has previously advanced to the semifinals.
Summitt League quarterfinals: A one-bid league.Top-seed Oakland opens
against Centenary, while Oral Roberts meets IPFW, Western Illinois meets Mo.-Kansas City, and IUPUI meets Southern Utah.
Sun Belt quarterfinals: The bubble crowd is cheering for top-seed Western Kentucky against North Texas; The rest of the Saturday story in this league has Arkansas State against South Florida; Middle Tennessee, hoping to strengthen its NCAA cause, meets Troy, and Arkansas-Little Rock meets Florida International.
West Coast semifinals: The bubble bunch wants top-seed Gonzaga to beat Santa Clara, assuming we have the re-seeding right here; San Diego meets St. Mary's in the other game.
And on a local note, Holy Family goes for its conference title Saturday afternoon against Dominican.
-- Mel
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