The Double Bonus

The best college basketball team in Connecticut is…Quinnipiac?

Well, considering the Bobcats are on the brink of earning a berth into the NCAA Tournament how can you not agree?

With UConn playing like dogs down the stretch of the regular season and seemingly choking away what only a few weeks ago appeared to be a berth in the big dance for the taking, Quinnipiac can do Wednesday night what the Huskies so brilliantly failed to.

Win a meaningful game and make it to the promised land that is the field of 65.

While UConn embarrassed itself the past two weeks, most notably with a feeble showing in the first round of the Big East Tournament Tuesday, the Bobcats have quietly had themselves a very successful 21-8 regular season under head coach Tom Moore – the former UConn assistant coach – and are poised to secure the school’s first ever spot in the NCAA Tournament when the NEC Conference championship tips off at the TD Banknorth Center this evening.

Moore, in his third season at the helm of the Hamden-based school, led the Bobcats to the NEC’s regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament thanks to some outstanding individual talent and the team’s uncanny nose-for-the-ball mentality.

Quinnipiac features the NEC Player of the Year in Justin Rutty who averages 15.2 ppg and 11 rpg. And when Rutty’s not shining in the spotlight, the rest of Rutty’s teammates are helping the Bobcats out-rebound opponents by 9.5 boards per game, while leading the league in offensive rebounds and field goal percentage.

So clearly the Bobcats can a play a little. They went undefeated at home this year and have already won more games than any other team in Quinnipiac history (23). And if previous performance is any indication of future results, the Bobcats took this season’s only meeting with No. 2 seed Robert Morris, tonight’s opponent, an 87-79 victory on the road back on Feb. 20.

So with the 7 pm tip – televised nationally on ESPN2 – drawing closer, all signs are seemingly pointing toward the NCAA Tournament for the Bobcats. Sure, once they get there it’s going to be a quick stay – several projections have the Bobcats slotted in as a No. 16 seed, likely to face Syracuse in the first round. And sure, if Quinnipiac and UConn ever met on the court the Huskies would be favored by about 20 points. But none of that matters now.

The Bobcats have the chance to have an infinitely more successful season than UConn without very many knowing it. They’re on the brink of the NCAA Tournament. They’ve won the games that mattered, they’ve performed when the pressure has been on them. They’ve finished the season strong. They have a chance to win a championship.

That’s a whole lot more than UConn will ever be able to say about its sorry 2009-10 season. And that’s why Quinnipiac is the best college basketball team in Connecticut.