Home > March to Atlanta: Hoop Head > Archives > 2007 > February > 09 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTony Barnhart looks at the conferences
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today we break down all 31 conferences and how many bids they are projected to receive. We also look at the hot races as we head down the home stretch of the regular season.
Then post your own opinion in our daily blog.
ACC (8 teams):
• Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina (projected champion), Virginia, Virginia Tech.
• Weekend watch: Maryland (17-7, RPI 40) is in for now but the Terps, who are 1-4 in ACC road games, need to beat somebody away from home. Duke comes to College Park on Saturday.
AMERICAN EAST (1)
• Vermont (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Vermont (18-6, RPI 97) leads Albany (18-7, RPI 90) by one game in the standings. The two teams meet in Albany on Sunday.
ATLANTIC 10 (1)
• UMass (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: UMass (17-6, RPI 60) leads Xavier (17-7) and Rhode Island (12-10) by a half game. Xavier plays at fourth place George Washington (15-6) on Saturday.
ATLANTIC SUN (1)
• East Tennessee State (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: ETSU 16-8, RPI 134) should win its final four games against North Florida (twice), Stetson, and Mercer. The Buccaneers will still have to win the A-Sun tournament.
BIG EAST (6)
• Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh (projected champion), Villanova, West Virginia.
• Weekend watch: West Virginia (17-5, RPI 45) is creeping close to the bubble with UCLA (20-2, RPI 1) coming to Morgantown on Saturday followed by a trip to Georgetown. Ditto for Notre Dame (18-6, RPI 53) which is 1-5 in Big East road games after losing at DePaul Thursday night.
BIG SKY (1)
• Weber State (Projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Weber State (14-10, RPI 154) is 10-4 in the league and only has two regular season games left with Montana (11-11) on Feb. 14 and Sacramento State (6-17). Wildcats will have to win conference tournament.
BIG SOUTH (1)
• Winthrop (Projected champion)
• Weekend watch: The Eagles (16-4, RPI 75) are in command in the regular-season conference race but will still have to win their tournament to get in.
BIG TEN (5)
• Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: Purdue (16-8, RPI 38) has a chance to get in with a big game at Ohio State on Saturday followed by a home game with Indiana.
BIG 12 (5)
• Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: Texas Tech (15-9, RPI 42) has fallen out and may be permanently out after road games at Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in the next five days.
BIG WEST (1)
• Long Beach State (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Long Beach State (15-6, RPI 93) has a slight lead over UC Santa Barbara (14-6) and Cal State Fullerton (15-5) in the conference standings. The 49ers play both teams in the next five days.
COLONIAL (1)
• VCU (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: VCU (21-4, RPI 46) has a two game lead over Hofstra and Old Dominion (17-7) with five games left to play. The Rams travel to Old Dominion on Saturday.
CONFERENCE USA (1)
• Memphis (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Nobody is going to touch Memphis (20-3 RPI 8) in the league. But the Tigers do play Gonzaga in a Bracket Busters game on Feb. 17.
HORIZON (1)
• Butler (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Butler (22-2, RPI 30) has a half game lead over Wright State (18-8, RPI 101) for the regular season championship. The two teams meet Saturday at Wright State.
IVY (1)
• Yale (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Yale is 8-10 but right now the Elis lead Penn (11-8) by a full game in the standings. The two meet again March 2 at Penn. There is no conference tournament so the regular season winner gets the automatic bid.
METRO ATLANTIC (1)
• Marist (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Marist (18-7, RPI 17) has already split games with Loyola of Maryland, which is tied for second place in the league. A big game with Manhattan, also tied for second place, looms next week.
MAC (1)
• Akron (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Akron (17-4, RPI 96) currently has the best conference record (9-1) in the MAC, but the Zips have a big game Saturday at Toledo (8-2).
MEAC (1)
• Delaware State (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Delaware State (11-11, RPI 132) holds a slight edge in the standings over Norfolk State (8-13) and Morgan State (9-12), who beat the Hornets by 14 on Monday. This conference tournament looks wide open.
MID-CONTINENT (1)
• Oral Roberts (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: Oral Roberts (16-8, RPI 99) has climbed back on top of the conference standings ahead of Oakland (14-11). They meet again on Feb. 24 and probably once more for the tournament title and automatic bid.
MISSOURI VALLEY (3)
• Southern Illinois (projected champion), Creighton, Missouri State
• Weekend watch: Southern Illinois (19-5, RPI 11) and Creighton (17-7, RPI 25) share the lead atop the Valley. They meet in a huge game Saturday at Southern Illinois.
MOUNTAIN WEST (3)
• Air Force, BYU (projected champion), UNLV
• Weekend watch: All three schools are locks to get in the field, but BYU is playing the best right now with five straight wins heading into the weekend.
NORTHEAST (1)
• Central Connecticut State (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Central Connecticut (14-10, RPI 205) has a three-game lead in the conference standings but will still have to win its tournament to get in.
OHIO VALLEY (1)
• Austin Peay (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Austin Peay (14-7, RPI 125) has a two-game lead over Samford (13-10) in the conference standings. The two teams meet Saturday in Birmingham.
PAC-10 (6)
• Arizona, Oregon, Southern Cal, Stanford, UCLA (projected champion), Washington State.
• Weekend watch: Oregon (20-4, RPI 20), which has seen its seeding slip with losses to UCLA and Southern Cal, could use a win at home against Arizona (16-7 RPI 7) on Saturday.
PATRIOT (1)
• Holy Cross (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: Holy Cross (19-6, RPI 67) holds a half game lead over Bucknell (15-8, RPI 105) going into Friday night’s meeting at Bucknell.
SEC (6)
• Alabama, Arkansas, Florida (projected champion), Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
• Weekend watch: While Florida at Kentucky is the huge national game on Saturday night, the big game for NCAA Tournament purposes is Vanderbilt (15-7, RPI 49) at Tennessee (16-8, RPI 16).
SOUTHERN (1)
• Davidson (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: Davidson (19-4, RPI 71) has won five straight and has a big game Monday with Bobby Cremins and the College of Charleston (16-8, RPI 118).
SOUTHLAND (1)
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: TAMU-CC (17-5, RPI 92) has the most wins in the league but may be challenged in the conference tournament by Sam Houston (16-7), which beat the Islanders on their home floor on Feb. 3.
SUN BELT (1)
• South Alabama (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: After posting a big win over Western Kentucky (17-9) last Thursday, South Alabama (16-7, RPI) looks like the best team in this league. The Jaguars will still have to win the conference tournament.
SWAC (1)
• Jackson State (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: This race is going to be tight as Mississippi Valley (11-12) is tied atop the standings with Jackson State and Grambling and Alcorn State are only a game behind. The big game Saturday is Alcorn State (7-14) at Mississippi Valley.
WAC (1)
• Nevada (projected champion).
• Weekend watch: Nevada (21-2, RPI 24) will get in the field even if it doesn’t win the conference tournament. But the Wolf Pack is playing down the stretch to improve their seed.
WEST COAST (1)
• Gonzaga (projected champion)
• Weekend watch: Gonzaga (17-8, RPI 54) is tied for the lead in the WAC with Santa Clara (16-7, RPI 87). The two teams meet on Monday at Gonzaga.
• OK, there it is. Now let’s hear your thoughts.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment | Categories: Tony Barnhart's daily picks
Comments
By VandySteve
February 9, 2007 02:35 PM | Link to this
Vanderbilt is currently 16-7, get it right Tony.
By GT
February 9, 2007 02:37 PM | Link to this
If Tech could just win one ACC game away I think they are in, but that loss to Wake hurt. Still Carolina is looking beatable when Tech plays them at home, unlike a couple of weeks ago. The one I’m really pulling for is Bobby Cremins at Charleston. It looks like Davidson has the edge but Bobby is in the hunt his first year back which is pretty cool.
By Matt
February 9, 2007 02:55 PM | Link to this
Tony is still stuck in football season - I can’t understand why the AJC lets him write about hoops - he clearly knows nothing about it - Vandy and UT (right now) are both safely in the tournament.
By Dawgs80
February 9, 2007 02:58 PM | Link to this
I know Georgia has lost three in a row and must improve on its 1-4 road record in the SEC but they have played an extroadinarily tough schedule (#10 in the nation) and it finally seems to soften up. If they can go 4-2 in the SEC to finish at 9-7, 18-11 overall with one win in the SEC tourney are they not likely to make the NCAA’s? What do you think?
By Gabilldawg
February 9, 2007 04:09 PM | Link to this
Dawgs80
IF it happens then yes but that is a big if. They have to win 5 out of 7 plus the throw away KSU game.
Matt- The SEC is so wide open in the middle that anything could happen. Nothing is a done deal outside of UF and UK in the east.
By Scott
February 9, 2007 04:15 PM | Link to this
Dawgs80, I think you are exactly right: 4-2 in the SEC, with a win vs. Kennesaw, and a W in the tourney and I think they are in. I wish they had won that Western Kentucky game that they let slip away. Alabama would have been nice too.
By WhiteAndGoldSoul
February 9, 2007 04:20 PM | Link to this
I’m glad to see that Barnhart finally has some logical picks this week. Did anyone else read on ESPN.com about the NCAA inviting 20 sportswriters to pick a mock tourney field? Barnhart was one of the 20… looks like he got some sense knocked into him about SEC and ACC teams.
He is still wrong about Maryland. Both GT and Maryland with have to go 5-2 to finish the season. Tech needs a 4-2 ACC finish plus a win over UConn, with two wins on the road. Maryland similarly needs two more road wins. Both are tough orders considering how these teams play under those circumstances. ACC will only get 7 bids.
UGA on the other hand is out right now, but close to sneaking in. They look very good at times, while playing sporadic at others. They will be a bubble team, just barely making it in, with a 5-2 finish (4-2 SEC). Any slip-up will pop the bubble. SEC gets 6 bids right now… Georgia being the seventh if things fall in their favor.
But watch out for a mid-major tourney upset or something weird like that. Like if someone upsets Butler in the Horizon. Then that team gets the automatic bid and Butler takes an at-large from the SEC or ACC. Georgia gets screwed in that case, and their 5-2 finish won’t matter.
By lax55
February 9, 2007 08:09 PM | Link to this
UGA should be in, and so shoud Tech. I know they both struggle at home, but they also both have quality conference wins.
By ryan
February 10, 2007 02:26 AM | Link to this
With almost identical records (between Tech and UGA, if either team should get into the tourney it should be Tech by a landslide. They play in the best conference in the league and they defeated UGA (even though that has no standing as to who actually gets in and who doesn’t). It would be an absolute waste if UGA was invited. With just a few more games experience, Tech will have one of the best teams in the ACC, will make it to the tourney, and will go a hell of a lot further than anybody projected. UGA would probably lose to East Tennessee State in the first round if they got in.
Go ahead and blow a fuse dog fans… you’ll probably want to take a few baby aspirins to level off your blood pressure before you respond to this one.
By Ryan
February 10, 2007 02:33 AM | Link to this
With almost identical records, (Tech 15-8, UGA 13-9) if any of these two teams were to be invited to the tourney it should be Tech. Not only do they play in the best conference in the league, their inexperienced, turnover-prone team beat UGA (even though that has no bearing on who gets invited). With a few more games’ experience, and a couple road wins, Tech will be invited to the pool of 65, and will go much further than any sports writer predicted. On the other hand, if UGA was to go the the tourney (which would be the biggest mockery of college sports), they would probably lose to East Tennessee State in the first round. Good luck in football next year dogs. Hopefully Kentucky’s pig-skin warriors won’t “upset” you again.
Go ahead dog fans, take a few baby aspirins to level off your blood pressure before you respond to this blog. I’m pretty sure aspirin won’t kill a mutt.
By Brilliant!
February 10, 2007 05:52 AM | Link to this
“UGA should be in, and so shoud Tech. I know they both struggle at home, but they also both have quality conference wins.”
“They both struggle at home”. Wow, I am almost speachless…
Take your UGA diploma and step away from the computer. That UGA Basketball final exam was a tough one for you wasn’t it?
By randy
February 10, 2007 07:58 AM | Link to this
ryan is a dickhead!
By TRS421
February 10, 2007 03:40 PM | Link to this
Hey Ryan, does “SIAR,B” mean anything to you? Let me elaborate, “Six in a row, B***!”
By a tech guy
February 10, 2007 05:01 PM | Link to this
hey trs421, basketball isn’t football, you see a non-hick school can differtiate between football and basketball
do you really want to do this? Compare the puppies and the jackets historical the way u like to do in football? If you do the only part you have to look forward to is the part about dominique. You may have let this paper’s coverage of georgia tech sports rewrite the fact that the jackets have a tradition of final four runs and championship games, something you might not never know nothing about. And i know that you forget the fact that WE BEAT YOU! We have kids on our team who will have to decide whether to go pro, and you’ll have tough decesion what their going to have for dinner.We lead the historical series, but everytime we do that you guys try to point a different sport, it’s stupid, in basketball no comparison period. Seriously I personally like mark richt, but quit coming to our boards when we get excited about our recruits and talking junk about them. Quit starting rumors that josh nesbitt was going to sign with UGA (funny how that worked for you), quit voting in our polls, and maybe we’ll leave your cheating and overrated basketball program alone while we think about the tournament. Thank you and good night
By Charles
February 11, 2007 11:15 PM | Link to this
The “cheating” period is over. No one ever had any goods on Jim Harrick, unless he is gulty by paternity. That team should have gone to the NCAA. The guilty player and coach were gone. We have since had to endure a team with only 7 scholarships which scored a total of 15 points in the first half at Gainesville a year or so ago. I would have bever thought this team would be competitive after seeing how bad the 2004-2005 was, and last year’s team was better defensively and on the boards, but could seldom break 50 in conference play. This is a great improvement.