5-at-10: Wofford's ticket, UTC's grade, NFL moves, Rushmore of Chuck

UTC's Tre' McLean, right, tries to rebound over ETSU's Petey McClain (1) and Jalen Riley (5) during their game against the ETSU Buccaneers on Feb. 21, 2015, at McKenzie Arena.
UTC's Tre' McLean, right, tries to rebound over ETSU's Petey McClain (1) and Jalen Riley (5) during their game against the ETSU Buccaneers on Feb. 21, 2015, at McKenzie Arena.

Gang, we are still jumping around various parts with various duties. So it goes.

Play nice.

From the "Talk too much" studios, it's tournament week, so let's bounce the ball and see what develops.

College hoops tournament week

The power conferences start their postseason draws this week.

The bubble is worse than we can remember, considering there are four SEC teams in Joe Lunardi's projected bracket and another right on the edge.

Here are the teams that have punched their tickets:

Atlantic Sun: North Florida

Big South: Coastal Carolina

Colonial: Northeastern

MAAC: Manhattan

Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa

Ohio Valley: Belmont

Southern: Wofford

The Terriers did so last night with a tight 67-64 win over the inspired Furman Paladins, who entered the tournament 9-21 before sprinting to the SoCon title game. Furman missed two 3s in the final 10 seconds that could have forced overtime.

That kind of drama makes the college basketball postseason so special - and so nerve-wracking for at least one regular reader who went to Wofford and sweated out the Terriers' fourth SoCon title in the last six seasons (Hi, Mark).

Bids will be passed out all week, and the bubble will morph in various shapes this week.

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More college hoops

As for the two teams close to home, UTC's abrupt and surprising end to the season begs the question about the Mocs final grade for the 2015 season.

Thoughts on UTC's grade for this season?

photo UTC's Tre' McLean, right, tries to rebound over ETSU's Petey McClain (1) and Jalen Riley (5) during their game against the ETSU Buccaneers on Feb. 21, 2015, at McKenzie Arena.

Pros: UTC notched 22 wins and went 15-3 in the SoCon. That's good.

Cons: Well, you know the cons.

As a side bonus, as Stewwie posted Monday, this almost guarantees that Will Wade will be back in Chattanooga next season.

For the 15-15 Vols, the first round of the SEC tournament is an elimination game. A loss to Vandy on Wednesday and UT is done for the year. A win, however, coupled with UT's lofty RPI and a smattering of impressive wins, and the Vols will likely get an invite to one of the alphabet-soup postseason tournaments.

How cool would a UT-UTC first-round tournament game in the CBI or the PDQ invitational be?

Count us in.

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NFL free agency

The moves will happen quickly today.

photo In this Oct. 5, 2014, file photo, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) works his way through the Buffalo Bills offensive line during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit.
photo Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (80) has the ball knocked free by Indianapolis Colts inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman, rear, during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Ndamukong Suh will get life-changing money. So will Julius Thomas, who is going from catching passes from Peyton Manning to reaching for overthrows from Blake Bortles (which is like going from a big part in a Spielberg movie to being the lead actor in a late-night Skinemax feature). Darrelle Revis is about to get some heavy courting from New England and the New York Jets.

An interesting storyline to follow this offseason will center on the Philadelphia Eagles, and head coach Chip Kelly's belief that his system can succeed regardless of the pieces in place.

Certainly, Kelly needs effective and poised play at quarterback - and the Eagles' interest in getting former Oregon star Marcus Mariota is understandable - but he has jettisoned top Eagles playmakers like DeSean Jackson and Shady McCoy and will lose Jeremy Maclin in free agency today.

In truth, the Kelly experiment will be an interesting one to follow, and if he can find success with a hodgepodge of players and without high-priced stars, the rest of the league and other owners will surely take notice.

In fact, if Kelly can win, it will open the floodgates into the league of system coaches like Auburn's Gus Malzahn and potentially a guy like Ohio State's Urban Meyer.

Should be interesting to say the least.

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This and that

- Mississippi State quarterback and preseason frontrunner for SEC player of the year Dak Prescott was involved in a fight in Panama City Beach. Apparently Prescott and a couple of MSU teammates were jumped and assaulted at a concert there. Ah, college kids at PCB for the spring.

- Speaking of foolishness, here's a potential nominee for dumb criminal honors. Yes, that's s group of thieves who broke into an MMA fighter's car, and said MMA fight tracked them down. Thank you sir, may we have another.

photo Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott looks for an open receiver in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in Starkville, Miss. No. 4 Mississippi State won 51-0. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

- In addition to the title of pound-for-pound baddest boxer on the planet, now comes news that the winner between the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight will get a lit of spoils that only a Vegas strip club could envision.

Yep, Deja Vu Showgirls is offering the winner free lap dances for life, a $500,000 bottle of champagne, a commemorative drink named after the victor (either the Mayweather Mayhem or the Pacquiao Punch-Out), four strippers willing to get the winner's name tattooed somewhere on their body and to be the guest of honor at a topless boxing match. Ah, Vegas.

- Simply the best story of the spring is here, with a Navy veteran and amputee who lost the lower part of his left leg trying out for the Detroit Tigers. Thank you for your service Daniel Jacobs, and God bless America.

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Today's question

We are interested in the group's grade for the UTC basketball team.

photo Luther Masingill

As for yesterday's Rushmore of Luther on Luther Masingill Day, we'll go with Lex Luther, Luther Vandross Martin Luther and Luther Masingill.

March 10 is a pretty impressive day for celebrity birthdays. OG's fav Jon Hamm (44) as well as vixens from the previous generation Sharon Stone (57) and Shannon Tweed (58) not to mention Carrie Underwood (32) and Timbaland (43). Also, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex is 51 today. Side note: The British do a much better job with titles. Think how much easier Billy Carter would have had it if he had been Prince William, Earl of Eatonton or Duke of Dublin or Sage of Savannah.

As for the Rushmore, Chuck Norris is 75 today. Yes, Chuck Norris. What's our Rushmore of Chuck?

Go and remember the mailbag.

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