Daily Bubble Talk: Boeheim costs team NCAA bid for two years in a row and other stories

We are bringing back the "Daily Bubble Talk" segment, as we are just 13 days away from Selection Sunday, Sunday March 16. The selections will be made known to the world at 6pm eastern (3pm pacific) on CBS, and then analyzed throughout the night on ESPN, CSTV and local and regional stations.

So what do we have today? For one thing, did Jim Boeheim cost his team an NCAA tournament bid two years in a row? Last year, it was his own out-of-conference scheduling that ruined their chances of an at-large bid, since their in-conference record wasn't that bad, it was 10-6, and while not stellar, if it was combined with a reasonable OOC record, they would have been in. This year, Boeheim may have killed their chances by getting that diva technical at the end of the Pitt game, thus taking away any possibility for his team to have a shot at winning the game. Bad Boeheim, bad! Good thing he is a hall of famer with a national championship in 2003, and a seven hundred year tenure at Syracuse, otherwise he would have been on the hot seat!

We couldn't believe our eyes, but Kevin O'Neill played zone for some possessions against UCLA. Not sure exactly what type of a defense it was, at one point it involved KirK Walters "hanging out" at the elbow. Needless to say that defense didn't last long... Zone or no zone, if Arizona doesn't get Nic "Hoops" Wise back, they have to win games without him to really be in the field! There's no Lute Olson to save the day.

But if they were left out, that would break the longest streak - 23 years in a row with Lute Olson. Lute's streak is going to break regardless since he is not coaching, but the Arizona program has the streak too.

And speaking of coaches, three of them are tied with 23 NCAA tourneys in a row, and what a list, Lute Olson, Dean Smith, and Roy Williams (Kansas + North Carolina).

Program-wise, Kansas has the second longest streak behind Arizona with 16 (most of it thanks to Roy Williams). No worries here, they are in! Kentucky is third and they are also on the bubble, especially after the loss of Patrick Patterson, especially after they were on a streak and they looked like they were zooming into the field of 65 with solid play. Not a lucky first season for Billy G for sure. In stark contrast to his off-season recruiting success.

Meanwhile, it is fairly obvious who is control of the NCAA tourney TV analysts on CBS: Billy Packer. Which explains why there is a parade of "serious", "boring" and not "loud" analysts. The list is long, Mike Gminski, Spinarkel (sp?), Len Elmore, Jay Bilas, Dan Bonner. Probably why Gus Johnson was not featured as much last year because he was "loud" and perhaps why Marques Johnson is not one of the 8 basketball analysts, considering that he is the top analyst at FSN, and FSN doesn't need him during the tourney the way ESPN "needs" Dick Vitale.