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DEL.ICIO.USTony 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.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment | Categories: Tony Barnhart's daily picks
Comments
By Luke
February 16, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this
The SEC west doesn’t deserve to have a team in the tournament. Though the regular season winner and the top 5 from the east should be dancing. So yes, the SEC should have 6.
It doesn’t matter anyway, Florida is the best team in the nation by far.
By Ramble ON!
February 16, 2007 01:23 PM | Link to this
you mean that impressive win over Kennesaw State did lock the leg-humpers in?
By Steven Godfrey
February 16, 2007 02:15 PM | Link to this
So if a team like Ole Miss finishes out with wins over Georgia, South Carolina and UT and 20 wins (pre-SEC tourney) they don’t deserve to dance>
By baloney
February 16, 2007 02:26 PM | Link to this
They ain’t got a china mans chance. Not a snowballs chance in hell.They have as much of a chance as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest. As much of a chance as Norv Turner getting a date with a super model. As much of a chance as Loran Smith doing play by play of UGA football games.
By randy
February 16, 2007 02:46 PM | Link to this
dogs will make the dance!
By Skydawg
February 16, 2007 11:05 PM | Link to this
Tony, stick to football. ACC with 9 invites…please. SEC with 5 invites in the highest rated RPI conference in the country??? Please! Just like football, the SEC has beat each other to death this year. No one gave the SEC credit last year and had 2 teams in the Final 4 and the Gayturds winning it. When will people wake up. The SEC is not just a football conference anymore.
By Nate
February 16, 2007 11:13 PM | Link to this
Looks like Ramble On! finnaly got his mom off match.com to come join us on the blog. What a dork. Go back to the basement and play with your star trek action figures. Losser! Must be a tech fan. Acc gets 9 teams for being average. Barnhart must be drunk, again.
By J
February 16, 2007 11:37 PM | Link to this
Sounds like sour grapes from SEC lovers, you can’t beat ACC basketball!…Florida may be the best team but will lose, it’s hard to repeat
By Thorpe
February 17, 2007 10:16 AM | Link to this
Go BC!
By noel malone
February 17, 2007 10:47 AM | Link to this
nate is obviously a UGAg grad - he can’t spell! ! ! !
By dbo
February 18, 2007 09:52 AM | Link to this
How is Tech the ninth team in from the ACC. There is no way FSU gets in before them. Barnhardt, not only are you a fat@$$, but a dumb@$$ as well.
By dbo
February 18, 2007 09:57 AM | Link to this
Please, watch how many teams from the SEC make ATL fools. LSU was a fluke and FL won’t make it there. The SEC WILL NEVER be better than the ACC. Hey, and look at NATE the dooog fan. Another Ugag sidewalk fan bent over with a big fat c0ck up his @$$. Bunch of f’n females!