Ouch, tough semifinal loss for Texas Southern. All that hard work and such a great season, but they'll have to settle for a lowly NIT bid.
Meanwhile, the SWAC will send yet another low-seeded team to the Big Dance, further watering down the lower echelons of what already is one of the most watered-down fields in recent memory.
This has to be an all-time high of No. 1 seeds losing in their minor conference tournaments and filling up the NIT.
Luckily, that was the only one of K-State's opponents to suffer an upset. UNLV lost to a higher-seeded San Diego State team and there were the requisite losses in the Big 12 Tournament, but that was it for RPI damage.
In the ACC, Florida State had a winning shot at the buzzer called off Rodney McGruder-style, so Virginia Tech notched another RPI top 50 win and advanced to the ACC semis.
And Duke survived Maryland, but might have lost Nolan Smith to an injury similar to what Kyrie Irving still is suffering from. Tonight's showdown between the Blue Devils and Hokies will be fascinating, as a result.
Florida dispatched Tennessee for this third time this season, while Kansas and Texas disposed of their semifinal opponents fairly easily and set up the conference final for which everyone has been waiting.
Associated Press Ranking = 19
ESPN/USA Today Ranking = 23
Overall Record = 22-10
Big 12 Record = 10-6
Top 50 Record = 3-6
Big 12 Seed = 4
RPI = 23
SOS = 7
Signature Wins (RPI 1-30) = Kansas, Texas
Quality Wins (RPI 31-100) = James Madison, Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, Washington State, Baylor, Nebraska (2), Missouri
Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none
- James Madison (21-11, 10-8 CAA) | RPI = 90
- No. 6 seed Virginia Tech (21-10, 9-7 ACC) | RPI = 61: Win over No. 3 seed Florida State (52-51 in the ACC Tournament)
- Presbyterian (13-18, 7-11 Big South) | RPI = 205
- Gonzaga (23-9, 11-3 WCC) | RPI = 58
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No. 2 seed Duke (28-4, 13-3 ACC) | RPI = 4: Win over No. 7 seed Maryland (87-71 in the ACC Tournament)
- No. 1 seed Texas Southern (19-12, 16-2 SWAC) | RPI = 194: Loss to No. 4 seed Alabama State (73-66 in the SWAC Tournament)
- Emporia State (16-14, 12-10 MIAA*)
- Washington State (19-12, 9-9 Pac-10) | RPI = 84
- Alcorn State (4-24, 4-14 SWAC) | RPI = 338
- Loyola-Chicago (16-15, 7-11 Horizon League) | RPI = 196
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No. 1 (East) seed Florida (25-6, 13-3 SEC) | RPI = 8: Win over No. 5 (East) seed Tennessee (85-74 in the SEC Tournament)
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No. 3 seed UNLV (24-8, 11-5 Mountain West) | RPI = 26: Loss to No. 2 seed San Diego State (72-74 in the MWC Tournament)
- UMKC (16-14, 9-9 Summit League) | RPI = 212
- North Florida (15-19, 10-10 Atlantic Sun) | RPI = 149
- Savannah State (11-18) | RPI = 251
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Oklahoma State (19-13, 6-10 Big 12) | RPI = 59
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No. 5 seed Colorado (21-13, 8-8 Big 12) | RPI = 65: Loss to No. 1 seed Kansas (83-90 in the Big 12 Tournament)
- Texas Tech (13-19, 5-11 Big 12) | RPI = 164
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Missouri (23-10, 8-8 Big 12) | RPI = 36
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No. 3 seed Texas A&M (24-8, 10-6 Big 12) | RPI = 29: Loss to No. 2 seed Texas (58-70 in the Big 12 Tournament)
- Baylor (18-13, 7-9 Big 12) | RPI = 94
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No. 1 seed Kansas (31-2, 14-2 Big 12) | RPI = 1: Win over No. 5 seed Colorado (90-83 in the Big 12 Tournament)
- Nebraska (19-12, 7-9 Big 12) | RPI = 89
- Iowa State (16-16, 3-13 Big 12) | RPI = 139
- Oklahoma (14-18, 5-11 Big 12) | RPI = 126
- No. 2 seed Texas (27-6, 13-3 Big 12) | RPI = 11: Win over No. 3 seed Texas A&M (70-58 in the Big 12 Tournament)
*Division II