Nothing came easy for Gonzaga this year.

Leading off

Welcome to Day One of Year Five of the Day Guide. Every day when conference tournaments or NCAA Tournament games are play, I'll post a primer on the day's action before noon. The only exception will be days I have to travel, which could be limited if UMass loses tonight.

What to look forward to today

Princeton at Penn - This used to be a showdown for the Ivy League title. This year it will just affect it. Penn will throw a scare into the Tigers, but I think we're headed for a one-game Ivy playoff between Princeton and Harvard.

Prediction of the Day:

Oakland over Oral Roberts.

Bubble guide:

Butler vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Horizon Final - The Bulldogs may or may not already be in UWM certainly isn't.

Providence vs. Marquette - A loss to the Friars would bounce the Golden Eagles into the NIT.

Bids Today: Summitt, Horizon, Sun Belt and perhaps the Ivy

Questions I don't know the answer to:

How is it possible that UConn hasn't won a Big East Tournament game since 2005? Think about that? I imagine that streak ends today over DePaul.

Recommended Reading

New York Times profile on St. John's Dwight Hardy.

Buzzer beaters

I always think of Randolph Childress at this time of year. My favorite all-time college player was brilliant in the 1995 ACC Tournament leading Wake to the title. Who'll be Randolph Childress this week?

...9 hours til UMass-Dayton...