This pains me to say, but I actually feel sorry for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee this year.  What has happened so far in the nonconference season is just beyond explanation.  Triumphant wins by bubble teams are followed by inexplicable losses to terrible teams.  Teams that appear to have vaulted ahead of the rest and put themselves comfortably in the Top 25 and in the Tournament have stumbled when their level of competition dropped.  And finally, teams that have suffered devastating, potentially bubble-popping losses have risen from the dead to stun the basketball world. 

Let's take a look, shall we?

Old Dominion - Coming off an impressive championship at the Paradise Jam and a scintillating win over likely NCAA team Richmond, the Monarchs went out on the road and laid an egg at CAA doormat Delaware.  You never, ever want to give the committee a reason not to give you an at-large, and losing to the dredges of your conference will do just that.

UCLA - The Bruins endured a travesty of a loss at #4 Kansas, when the officials stripped away their chance at an overtime they deserved.  How'd they follow that up?  With a blowout home loss to Montana, of course!  It's bad enough to let a tough loss beat you twice, but when it comes to a team that would be lucky to break into the top-150 RPI, then you're in deep trouble.

Texas - The Longhorns were putting together a season that would see them get into the tournament as a top-6 seed before headed out to USC.  USC - they of the 20-point home loss to Rider - put a 73-56 whooping on the Horns that sends them spiraling back to the bubble.

Virginia - The Cavaliers travelled to the Maui Invitational and promptly got a 106-63 beatdown at the hands of Washington.  Back on the mainland, the young Cavs went on a seemingly suicidal trip to The Barn to face red-hot Minnesota - and won convincingly.  They followed that up with an impressive road ACC win over Virginia Tech.  UVA has definitely picked themselves up off the mat.