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Friday, February 16, 2007
Tony Barnhart’s Weekend Watch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today we break down the NCAA bids for each conference, projecting league champions and point out teams and games to watch over the weekend:
ACC (9) — Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina (projected champion), Virginia, Virginia Tech.
Weekend watch: Georgia Tech (17-8, RPI 43) got in this week as the ninth team from the ACC. The Yellow Jackets would probably lock down a bid with a win Sunday at Duke (19-7, RPI 11). Clemson (19-6, RPI 28) has lost six of its last eight and could use a win at home against Maryland (19-7 RPI 32).
March Madness in Atlanta:
Weekend watch: Vermont (20-6, RPI 84) has won eight straight and will enter the America East Tournament (March 2-4, 10) as the No. 1 seed.
ATLANTIC 10 (1) — Xavier (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Xavier (18-7, RPI 41) is locked in a battle with Rhode Island (14-10) and UMass (17-7) for the regular season championship. Xavier and Rhode Island meet on Feb. 21.
ATLANTIC SUN (1) — East Tennessee State (projected champion)
Weekend watch: ETSU (17-8, RPI 135) will easily win the regular-season championship but must win the tournament (March 1-3 on its home floor) to get in the field.
BIG EAST (5) — Georgetown, Marquette, Pittsburgh (projected champion), Villanova, West Virginia.
Weekend watch: Notre Dame (18-6, RPI 55) dropped out this week. Georgetown (19-5, RPI 20) has a big game Saturday at Villanova (17-7, RPI 15).
BIG SKY (1) — Weber State (Projected champion)
Weekend watch: Weber State (15-10, RPI 147) does not play again until its regular-season finale at Sacramento State on Feb. 26. The semifinals and finals of the Big Sky Tournament (March 6-7) will be played at Weber State.
BIG SOUTH (1) — Winthrop (Projected champion)
Weekend watch: Winthrop (18-4, RPI 83) steps out of conference tonight with a Bracket Buster game at Missouri State (18-8, RPI 34) of the Missouri Valley.
BIG TEN (6) — Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin (projected champion).
Weekend watch: Purdue (16-9, RPI 42) makes the field today after beating Indiana (81-68) Thursday night.
BIG 12 (5) — Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M (projected champion), Texas Tech.
Weekend watch: Oklahoma State (18-6, RPI 24) has lost three of its last four games. After a Saturday home game with Missouri, the Cowboys have to play Texas A&M (21-4, RPI 18), Texas Tech (16-10, RPI 36), and Kansas State (18-8, RPI 53) in the span of six days.
BIG WEST (1) — Long Beach State (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Long Beach State (17-6, RPI 72) still leads the conference with wins over UC Santa Barbara and Cal State-Fullerton over the last seven days. The 49ers have a Bracket Buster game on Saturday with Hawaii.
COLONIAL (1) — VCU (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Old Dominion (20-7, RPI 50) is only a half game back of VCU (22-5 RPI 45). The teams split games during the regular season. VCU has a Bracket Buster game with Bradley (17-10, RPI 41) at home on Saturday.
CONFERENCE USA (1) — Memphis (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Memphis (22-3 RPI 9) is now playing for the highest possible seed it can get. The Tigers could help that cause by winning at Gonzaga (18-9, RPI 69) in a Bracket Buster game on Saturday.
HORIZON (1) — Butler (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Butler (22-3, RPI 29) should be in the NCAA field whether or not it wins the Horizon Tournament. The Bulldogs will be a lock if they beat Southern Illinois (21-5, RPI) in a Bracket Buster game at home.
IVY (1) — Penn (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Penn (14-8, RPI 105) is back on top in the league but has big games left with Cornell (12-9) and Yale (9-11) who are tied for second place. The regular season champ gets the automatic bid.
METRO ATLANTIC (1) — Marist (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Marist (20-7, RPI 113) holds a half-game lead in the conference standings but steps out of the league to play a Bracket Buster game with Colgate (8-16) on Saturday.
MAC (1) — Toledo (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Toledo (14-10, RPI 94) beat Akron last Saturday to become the favorite to win the conference tournament. The Rockets have a huge Bracket Buster game with Old Dominion on Saturday.
MEAC (1) — Delaware State (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Delaware State (13-11, RPI 138) holds a 2 game lead in the standings with five games to play. The Hornets do not play a team with a winning record down the stretch.
MID-CONTINENT (1) — Oral Roberts (projected champion).
Weekend watch: Oral Roberts (17-8, RPI 95) has won four straight going into a Bracket Buster game with Utah State (18-7, RPI 65) on Saturday.
MISSOURI VALLEY (3) — Southern Illinois (projected champion), Creighton, Missouri State
Weekend watch: Southern Illinois (21-5, RPI 8) posted huge wins over Creighton and Missouri State over the past seven days. The Salukis, who are vying for a No. 3 seed, play at Butler on Saturday.
MOUNTAIN WEST (3) — Air Force, BYU (projected champion), UNLV
Weekend watch: BYU (19-6, RPI 22) has a one game lead over Air Force and a two-game lead over UNLV in the conference standings.
NORTHEAST (1) — Central Connecticut State (projected champion)
Weekend watch: The Blue Devils (17-10, RPI 167) have a four-game lead in the standings with only three games left to play. They will get to play all of their conference tournament games on their home floor.
OHIO VALLEY (1) — Austin Peay (projected champion)
Weekend watch: With a win over Samford last Saturday, Austin Peay (16-7, RPI 107) has already clinched the regular-season championship. The Governors play at Akron in a Bracket Buster game on Saturday.
PAC-10 (6) — Arizona, Oregon, Southern Cal, Stanford, UCLA (projected champion), Washington State.
Weekend watch: UCLA had to rally to beat Arizona State (67-61) Thursday night and has a big game at Arizona (17-8, RPI 10) on Saturday. Oregon (20-6, RPI 32) continues to plummet as it has lost five of its last seven. The Ducks could lose again Saturday at Stanford.
PATRIOT (1) — Holy Cross (projected champion).
Weekend watch: Holy Cross (19-7, RPI 67) and Bucknell (16-8, RPI 95) are tied for the conference lead going into the weekend. Both have Bracket Buster games on Saturday as Holy Cross plays Hofstra and Bucknell plays Towson.
SEC (5) — Alabama, Florida (projected champion), Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
Weekend watch: Arkansas (15-10, RPI 47) drops out after a bad loss to Mississippi State (84-60). The Hogs could still play their way back in or a team like Georgia (14-9, RPI 52) might have a shot. The SEC should still get six teams.
SOUTHERN (1) — Davidson (projected champion). Weekend watch: Davidson (20-4, RPI 59) has been leading this league all season but will still have to beat Appalachian State (17-6, RPI 60) to win the conference tournament (Feb. 28-March 3), which will be played in Charleston.
SOUTHLAND (1) — Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Sam Houston (15-7, RPI 96) is closing fast on TAMU-CC (16-5, RPI 87) in the conference standings. The two teams meet again on March 3.
SUN BELT (1) — South Alabama (projected champion).
Weekend watch: South Alabama (18-7, RPI 98) has won 13 straight games with only three games left in the regular season.
SWAC (1) — Jackson State (projected champion).
Weekend watch: Jackson State (14-11), Mississippi Valley State (12-13), and Texas Southern (9-11) are all tied in the loss column in the conference standings with three weekends left in the regular season.
WAC (1) — Nevada (projected champion).
Weekend watch: Nevada (22-2, RPI 26) will be trying to improve its NCAA seed when it hosts Northern Iowa (15-11, RPI 88) in a Bracket Buster game on Saturday.
WEST COAST (1) — Gonzaga (projected champion)
Weekend watch: Gonzaga (18-9, RPI 69) is now in second place behind Santa Clara (18-7, RPI 77). Things won’t get much better on Saturday when the Bulldogs host Memphis in a Bracket Buster game.
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