Home > March to Atlanta: Hoop Head > Archives > 2007 > February > 12
Monday, February 12, 2007
Breaking down the seeds
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NOTE: At this moment there are 23 conferences that will receive only one bid to the NCAA Tournament. We project that the remaining 42 spots in the field will be distributed as follows.
ACC (8)
In: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech.
Bubble: Georgia Tech (16-8, RPI 56).
Comment: After four straight losses Duke (18-7, RPI 18) has dropped to a No. 7 seed and is falling fast. The ACC has eight teams in the RPI Top 35.
BIG EAST (6)
In: Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Villanova, West Virginia.
Bubble: None.
Comment: West Virginia (18-5, RPI 39) did itself a world of good by knocking off UCLA, which was No. 1 in the RPI. The Mountaineers still need to beat somebody decent on the road. They’ll get a chance tonight against Georgetown (18-5, RPI 26).
BIG TEN (5)
In: Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin
Bubble: Purdue (16-9, RPI 41)
Comment: Some folks already have Purdue in the field. If the Boilermakers, who took Ohio State to the wire last Saturday, came at home Wednesday against Indiana, we might put them in as well.
BIG 12 (5)
In: Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M. Bubble: Texas Tech (15-10, RPI 45)
Comment: With an RPI of 54, some folks think Texas (17-7) may not belong in the field. Beating Oklahoma State (18-5, RPI 20) tonight in Austin would probably put and end to that argument.
MISSOURI VALLEY (3)
In: Creighton, Missouri State, Southern Illinois.
Bubble: Bradley (16-10, RPI 48).
Comment: Southern Illinois (20-5, RPI) proved itself to be the class of the league by beating Creighton on Saturday. We have the Salukis as a No. 4 seed but they could move up by beating Missouri State (18-7, RPI 32) on the road Tuesday night.
MOUNTAIN WEST (3)
In: Air Force, BYU, UNLV.
Bubble: None.
Comment: Slow week in the MWC. Next week the leaders start to face off. BYU (18-6, RPI 23) has won six straight.
PAC-10 (6)
In: Arizona, Oregon, Southern Cal, Stanford, UCLA, Washington State.
Bubble: None.
Comment: UCLA (20-3, RPI 1) drops to a No. 2 seed after losing to West Virginia. The Bruins have lost three of their last four road games. Southern Cal (18-7, RPI 47) has a big game at Arizona (17-7, RPI 6) Thursday night.
SEC (6)
In: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Bubble: Georgia (13-9, RPI 43).
Comment: Despite Alabama’s loss to Ole Miss and Arkansas’s loss to LSU, both teams remain in the RPI top 40. Alabama (18-6, RPI 30) has a tough patch coming up with road games at Florida (Wednesday) and Tennessee (Feb. 21) plus a home game with Kentucky on Saturday. That could open the door for Georgia.
BARNHART’S TOP 65 BY SEEDS FOR MONDAY, FEB. 12
1-Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas A&M
2-UCLA, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Kansas
3-Kentucky, Washington State, Memphis, Marquette
4-Southern Illinois, Virginia, Oregon, Boston College
5-Butler, Indiana, Air Force, Oklahoma State
6-Villanova, Virginia Tech, Southern Cal, Stanford
7-Nevada, Gonzaga, Duke, Florida State
8-BYU, Arizona, UNLV, Tennessee
9-Creighton, Texas, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame
10-Missouri State, Maryland, Georgetown, Kansas State
11-Clemson, Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan State
12-VCU, Illinois, UMass, West Virginia
13-Holy Cross, Davidson, Winthrop, Long Beach State
14-TAMU-CC, Akron, Vermont, Oral Roberts
15-South Alabama, Penn, Marist, Austin Peay,
16-Delaware State, East Tenn. State, Weber State, Jackson State, Central Conn
Play-in game: Jackson State vs. Central Connecticut
Permalink | Comments (21) | Post your comment | Categories: Tony Barnhart's daily picks
Rebels catching on
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After knocking off Alabama on Saturday, Ole Miss is tied with the Crimson Tide with a 5-5 record in the SEC West. More importantly, the Rebels are making a serious bid for NCAA tournament consideration with a 16-8 record and an RPI of 55.
First-year coach Andy Kennedy may be doing the most surprising job in the SEC. On Saturday, the Rebels played before a school record home crowd of 9,452 and have already clinched their first winning seasons in five years.
Which SEC teams do you have listed as being NCAA-worthy? Does Ole Miss merit a look, or do they still have some work remaining?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: SEC Watch
Terrapins snap back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maryland breathed life into its fading NCAA hopes Sunday with a 72-60 win over Duke. The Terrapins settled down after a slow start to send the Blue Devils to their fourth straight loss, the longest skid for a Duke team in 11 years.
The win pushes Maryland to an 18-7 win overall and 4-6 in the ACC, the same as Georgia Tech. Wednesday’s game at N.C. State could determine the fate of the Terps, who have been an enigmatic team all season.
A number prognosticators have the ACC pegged for eight NCAA berths, with Maryland riding the bubble. Which ACC teams would you put in your bracket if you were filling one out today?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: ACC Watch
Raiders and Boilers make their move
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Heartland is the place to find this week’s NCAA Party Crashers as the number of teams around the country vying for tourney bids thickens.
Butler’s status as king of the mid-majors took a bit of a blow with a 77-65 loss to Wright State, which has a half-game lead over the Bulldogs in the Horizon League. The Raiders of Wright State are 19-8 overall, but probably will have to win the conference tourney to get an NCAA berth, since their RPI is 85.
One state over, in Indiana, Purdue is in the thick for a berth from the Big Ten despite a close loss to Ohio State over the weekend. The Boilermakers, who play archrival Indiana Thursday (in a game postponed a day because of Midwestern snow storms), are 16-9 with an RPI of 40.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Party Crashers
