Winthrop: Princeton of the New Millenium?

Every time I see Winthrop just nearly miss out on upsetting a giant, I can't help but think of those Princeton teams that gave Georgetown, Arkansas, Villanova and Syracuse edge-of-your-seat near-upsets in succession the 1989-1992 NCAA Tournaments. I wasn't too old then, so the only real recollection I have of those games are watching the old highlight shows where an announcer says something like, "Everyone's underdog Princeton came close once again in 19__, but it was not to be as ______ beat them (some score in the 50s to 40s)."

These words were accompanied by an image of Jim Boeheim one of the other great coaches (Thompson, Richardson, Rollie) with a look that said, "Oh my god, we just barely beat Princeton. I'm glad that's over."

But eventually, Princeton had their amazing 1996 and all that heartbreak was essentially forgotten. You really have to think that a huge win like that has to come for Winthrop one of these years.

Another thing that I have heard asked about Winthrop is what it will take for them to get an at-large bid, should they lose in their conference tournament. Three things must happen in order for the Eagles to be one of the 34 non-champions:
1. Win at Old Dominion on December 29
2. Run the table in the Big South
3. Win in their BracketBuster game

This is assuming, however, that Winthrop beats Mt. St. Mary's and East Carolina, but loses at Texas A&M (a game which I will be attending). The only real precedent set here in recent memory is Pacific two years ago, who went 18-0 in the Big West, but lost in the Big West final to a hot shooting (and now departed from the conference) Utah State team. That team finished 24-3 against D1 teams, while Winthrop would be 22-4 assuming all of the above. The four defeats would be high-quality road losses with marquee wins over ODU and their BracketBuster opponent. That would, in my opinion do it, but the Big South is not as good a conference as 2005's version of the Big West, making all three of the scenarios very important.

Enough with speculation for tonight, though. Time to watch the Jimmy V games.