Two more conferences kick off today with the Big South and American East going.
In the Big South Winthrop is the 1 seed and is currently a 12/13 seed in the tournament. They have the potential to beat a 5 or 4 seed in the NCAA tournament so we will be cheering them on.
The America East's 1 seed is UMBC but the favorite is probably 2 seeded Vermont. These teams top out at a 14 line but I wouldn't be surprised to see them lower. TJ Sorrentine and Taylor Coppenrath ain't walking through that door.
|
1
seed vs 16 seed |
|
Gonzaga
(WCC) vs Texas St(Sbelt)/ PVA&M (SWAC) |
|
Baylor
(B12) vs NC A&T(MEAC)/S.Dakota(Smmt) |
|
Michigan
(B1G) vs Cleveland St (Hor) |
|
Illinois
vs Wagner (NEC) |
|
2
seed vs 15 seed |
|
Ohio
State vs Grand Canyon (WAC) |
|
Villanova
(Beast) vs Siena (MAAC) |
|
Alabama
(SEC) vs James Madison (Col) |
|
Houston
vs E.Washington (Bsky) |
|
3
seed vs 14 seed |
|
West
Virginia vs Furman (SoCon) |
|
Iowa
vs UMBC (Aeast) |
|
Florida
St (ACC) vs North Texas (Cusa) |
|
Oklahoma
vs Abilene Christian (Sland) |
|
4
seed vs 13 seed |
|
Texas
vs Liberty (Asun) |
|
Kansas
vs Colgate (Pat) |
|
Virginia
vs UCSB (Bwest) |
|
Arkansas
vs Belmont (OVC) |
|
5
seed vs 12 seed |
|
Creighton
vs Winthrop (Bsouth) |
|
Tennessee
vs Toledo (MAC) |
|
Purdue
vs Indiana/North Carolina |
|
Wisconsin
vs W.Kentucky/Connecticut |
|
6
seed vs 11 seed |
|
Virginia
Tech vs Colorado St |
|
Missouri
vs Wichita St (AAC) |
|
Texas
Tech vs St. Bonaventure |
|
Oklahoma
St vs Xavier |
|
7
seed vs 10 seed |
|
Florida
vs Drake |
|
Clemson
vs Oregon |
|
UCLA
(P10) vs VCU (A10) |
|
USC
vs Boise State |
|
8
seed vs 9 seed |
|
Colorado
vs Loyola (Mvalley) |
|
San
Diego St (Mwest) vs Maryland |
|
Louisville
vs LSU |
|
BYU
vs Rutgers |
|
First
Four Out |
|
Duke |
|
Michigan
State |
|
Seton Hall |
|
Stanford |
|
Next
Four Out |
|
Minnesota |
|
Georgia Tech |
|
St.
Louis |
|
SMU |
|
Also
Considered |
|
St.
John's |
|
Memphis |
|
Louisiana
Tech |
|
UAB |
|
Richmond |
|
Syracuse |
|
Utah State |
Michigan State got another huge win and is now one of the
First Four out. Belmont took the one
loss they could not take and probably need the auto bid now.
With Ohio State losing to Michigan State I am moving
Illinois to the top line. I might be the
only person who thinks this but I like the Illini better.
The game of the night on the bubble is St. Louis vs Richmond. Neither team is in but a loss may drop them
out of consideration.
Bracket coming later today
Conference Tournaments start tonight with the Horizon league kicking us off. Cleveland State is the 1 seed but I will be taking Wright State for the mild upset. We are looking at 14 seed or so if Wright St wins. Everybody else and it's 15/16.
North Carolina was the big loser last night. Took a chance on a home game versus Marquette and came up short. I still have them as my last team in but that’s by a thread. Who are they playing in First Four according to my bracket? Fellow Blue Blood Indiana, who also lost last night. Quite the battle brewing for those last couple spots with Duke and Michigan State right there.
Tonight's big game is Iowa vs Michigan but we have some bubble action too. Western Kentucky has a gift game against Houston. They are in my Next Four out but a win here is probably enough to leap several teams. Boise State plays San Diego State and while both teams are in they don’t have a lot of room for error. I currently have 3 Mountain West teams in and Utah State as my first team out. I feel like they end up with 3 in March but best to keep winning. Speaking of Michigan State, they get another shot at a huge win with Ohio State tonight. They are coming on strong and no matter what the committee says, a big win at the end of the season just does mean more.
Also in action tonight is Minnesota who is falling like a
lead balloon and needs to string some wins together to get back on track. Lastly is Mid-Major Belmont, who is currently
24-1 and leading the Ohio Valley. Their
resume is a bit bare but it’s a unique year.
If they go undefeated in conference until their tournament and lose will
it be enough?
Last Night Michigan State and Connecticut got big wins to
stay in contention for an at-large bid.
On the flip side St. John’s and St. Louis took steps backwards. St. John’s wasn’t in before the night but St.
Louis was. I think they are now out but
I won’t reformulate the bracket until after tonight’s games.
As for tonight we have a few games to keep an eye on.St.
Boanventure plays Davidson and the Bonnies’ are one of my last 4 in. Marquette takes on North Carolina and boy
would I love to see the Tar Heels drop one here. They are secure even with a loss but they don’t
have ton of room for error. I give
credit to Roy Williams for finding these games to help bolster their resume. It can work in their favor but if they lose…
The last game worth mentioning is Rutgers vs Indiana. These teams are in the 9-11 range and I don’t
think the loser drops out but I think one of these 2 teams is left our come
March. This game could be the sticking
point to some people on the committee.
