After a weekend full of teams choking away their last chance to grab an NCAA at-large berth, one team with no bubble illusions finally came through.
In the Atlantic 10 title game on Sunday, St. Bonaventure toppled Xavier 67-56 to make the tournament the only way it could — with an automatic bid. Finally, it was nice to see someone earn it.
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In previous seasons, many teams have been filled with outrage on Selection Sunday. But this year it’s safe to say that if you didn’t get in, you didn’t deserve it. There are more than a few teams in this year’s field of 68 that got a reprieve after figuring they had played their way out.
So here’s to St. Bonaventure, which got a monster game from one of the nation’s least heralded conference players of the year — Andrew Nicholson. The 6-foot-9 senior had 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks.
Late in the game, when he spied himself on the arena’s big screen while seated on the bench, Nicholson self-consciously flexed his arms.
As if he needed to.
– Kevin Dunleavy
