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Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Tony Barnhart’s daily picks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In today’s projected NCAA field, the AJC’s Tony Barnhart first offers his conference-by-conference breakdown, then his 65 daily picks.
Following both of Tony’s forecasts, log your own opinion in our daily blog.
BY CONFERENCE
ACC (7 teams):
• In: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech.
• Bubble: Georgia Tech, Maryland.
• Stock up: Boston College (16-6, RPI 28) is tied for ACC lead despite the loss of center Sean Williams, who was dismissed from the team on Jan. 18.
• Stock down: Clemson, which has lost five of its last six after a 17-0 start. Tigers need a win Wednesday night against Florida State at Littlejohn.
BIG EAST (6):
• In: Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Villanova, West Virginia.
• Bubble: Louisville, Providence, Syracuse.
• Stock up: Marquette (19-4, RPI 15) has won seven straight.
• Stock down: Syracuse 16-8, RPI 50) has lost four of five and might not make the Big East Tournament.
BIG TEN (4):
• In: Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin.
• Bubble: Illinois, Michigan.
• Stock up: Ohio State (20-3, RPI 5) has won seven straight going into tonight’s game with Michigan.
• Stock down: Michigan State (17-7) is 4-5 in the Big Ten after losing three straight.
BIG 12 (6):
• In: Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech.
• Bubble: Nebraska, Oklahoma.
• Stock up: Texas A&M (20-3) has solidified a No. 2 seed with back-to-back wins over Kansas and Texas.
• Stock down: Despite huge numbers by freshman Kevin Durant, Texas (16-7) has lost four of seven and seen its RPI drop to 54.
MISSOURI VALLEY (3)
• In: Creighton, Missouri State, Southern Illinois.
• Bubble: Wichita State, Bradley, Northern Iowa.
• Stock up: Southern Illinois (18-5, RPI 12) has won five straight and is pushing for a No. 4 seed.
• Stock down: Northern Iowa (15-9, RPI 62) looked like a possible at-large before losing three of its last four.
MOUNTAIN WEST (3)
• In: Air Force, BYU, UNLV.
• Bubble: None.
• Stock up: BYU (16-6, RPI 27) has won five of its last six to get into the NCAA field.
• Stock down: None.
PAC-10 (6)
• In: Arizona, Oregon, Southern Cal, Stanford, UCLA, Washington State. Bubble: California.
• Bubble: California.
• Stock up: Washington State (19-4, RPI 31) has won four of its last five to move into second place behind UCLA.
• Stock down: Oregon (19-4, RPI 17) was a lock for a No. 2 seed before losing three of its last four.
SEC (6)
• In: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Vanderbilt.
• Bubble: LSU, Tennessee, Auburn.
• Stock up: Florida (21-2, RPI 13). The Gators have won 14 straight. The RPI means nothing. Right now they are the best team in the country.
• Stock down: LSU (13-9, RPI 83), a Final Four team last season, is dead last in the SEC West after losing five straight.
WAC (2)
• In: Nevada, New Mexico State.
• Bubble: None.
• Stock up: Nevada (20-2, RPI 29) should get in the field even if doesn’t win the WAC Tournament.
• Stock down: New Mexico State (17-5, RPI 78) really isn’t down but it might not make the field because of a schedule rank of 219.
TONY RANKS THE NCAA FIELD
If he made his bracket today, AJC’s Tony Barnhart would pick these teams to make it to the Big Dance:
1: Florida (SEC champ)
2: North Carolina (ACC champ)
3: UCLA (Pac-10 champ)
4: Pittsburgh (Big East champ)
5: Wisconsin (Big Ten champ)
6: Texas A&M (Big 12 champ)
7: Ohio State (at-large)
8: Kansas (at-large)
9: Kentucky (at-large)
10: Butler (Horizon champ)
11: Memphis (C-USA champ)
12: Duke (at-large)
13: Oregon (at-large)
14: Air Force (Mountain West champ)
15: Nevada: (WAC champ)
16: Marquette (at-large)
17: Indiana (at-large)
18: Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley champ)
19: Arizona (at-large)
20: Notre Dame (at large)
21: Stanford (at-large)
22: Oklahoma State (at-large)
23: Washington State (at-large)
24: Virginia Tech (at-large)
25: Southern Cal (at-large)
26: Boston College (at-large)
27: Villanova (at-large)
28: Vanderbilt (at-large)
29: Texas (at-large)
30: Texas Tech (at-large)
31: BYU (at-large)
32: Michigan State (at-large)
33: Virginia (at-large)
34: Georgetown (at-large)
35: Kansas State (at-large)
36: Alabama (at-large)
37: Arkansas (at-large)
38: Clemson (at-large)
39: Gonzaga (at-large)
40: UNLV (at-large)
41: Creighton (at-large)
42: Georgia (at-large)
43: Florida State (at-large)
44: West Virginia (at-large)
45: VCU (Colonial champ)
46: Davidson (Southern champ)
47: New Mexico State (at-large)
48: Missouri State (at-large)
49: UMass (Atlantic 10 champ)
50: Texas A&M-CC (Southland champ)
51: Vermont (America East champ)
52: Penn (Ivy champ)
53: Winthrop (Big South champ)
54: East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun champ)
55: Toledo (MAC champ)
56: Holy Cross (Patriot champ)
57: South Alabama (Sun Belt champ)
58: Delaware State (MEAC champ)
59: Oral Roberts (Mid-Continent champ)
60: Austin Peay (Ohio Valley champ)
61: Long Beach State (Big West champ)
62: Jackson State (SWAC champ)…WON
63: Weber State (Big Sky champ)
64: Loyola of Maryland (MAAC champ)
65: Central Connecticut State (Northeast champ)
• What do you think of Tony’s conference choices, along with those on his up and down lists?
• And how does his overall 65 picks differ from yours?
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