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DEL.ICIO.USA look the tourneys, NCAA field
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In today’s projected NCAA field, the AJC’s Tony Barnhart first offers his conference-by-conference breakdown.
Following Tony’s forecasts, log your own opinion in our daily blog.
WHO’S IN
• Penn (20-8) Ivy League champs.
• Belmont (21-9) Atlantic Sun champions.
• Winthrop (24-4), Big South champs
• Eastern Kentucky (21-11), Ohio Valley champs.
• Davidson (29-4), Southern Conference champs.
WHO GETS IN TODAY
• Southern Illinois (26-5) meets Creighton (21-10) for the Missouri Valley championship
WHO’S BACK ON THE BUBBLE
• Arkansas (18-12, RPI 48): The Razorbacks were impressive in winning at Vanderbilt (19-10) on Saturday. If the Hogs can win a couple in the SEC Tournament they may get back into the mix.
• Florida State (19-11, RPI 46): The ACC has seven locks but the Seminoles could make it eight if they can win a couple of games in the conference tournament.
• Kansas State (21-10, RPI 61): At first glance the Wildcats should be out but they did finish alone in fourth in the Big 12 (10-6) and they did beat Texas on the road.
• West Virginia (20-8, RPI 56): The Mountaineers finished 9-7 in the Big East and still have a win over No. 1 UCLA. They still need to win a couple of games in the tournament.
• Illinois (21-10, RPI 35): The Illini had a bad loss to Iowa (60-53) on Saturday.
BY CONFERENCE
We project that 22 of the 31 conferences will receive only one bid. The other 43 spots in the NCAA Field will be divided among the nine remaining conferences as follows:
ACC (7)
• Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech. Tournament: March 8-11, Tampa.
Big East (7):
• Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Syracuse, Villanova. Tournament: March 7-10, New York.
Big Ten (5):
• Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin. Tournament: March 8-11, Chicago
Big 12 (4):
• Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech. Tournament: March 8-11, Oklahoma City.
Colonial (3):
• Drexel, Old Dominion, VCU. Tournament: Today-March 5, Richmond.
Missouri Valley (3):
• Creighton, Missouri State, Southern Illinois. Tournament: Creighton faces Southern Illinois for championship today.
Mountain West (3):
• Air Force, BYU, UNLV Tournament: March 6, 8-10, Las Vegas.
PAC-10 (6):
• Arizona, Oregon, Southern Cal, Stanford, UCLA, Washington State. Tournament: March 7-10, Los Angeles.
SEC (5):
• Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt. Tournament: March 8-11, Atlanta.
ONE BID LEAGUES WITH PROJECTED CHAMPS (Conference tournament in parentheses)
AMERICA EAST: Vermont (Semifinals today, Championship Saturday)
ATLANTIC 10: Xavier (March 7-10)
BIG SKY: Weber State (Tuesday, Wednesday)
BIG WEST: Long Beach (March 7-10)
CONFERENCE-USA: Memphis (March 7-10)
HORIZON: Butler (27-5) plays Wright State for championship Monday night. Butler will likely get at-large if Wright State wins tournament.
METRO ATLANTIC: Marist (Semifinals today, Championship Monday)
MID-AMERICAN:
Toledo (March 7-10)
MID-CONTINENT: Oral Roberts (Semifinals Monday, Championship Tuesday)
MEAC: Delaware State (March 6-10)
NORTHEAST: Central Connecticut (Semifinals today, Championship Wednesday)
PATRIOT: Holy Cross (Semifinals today, Championship Friday)
SOUTHLAND: Sam Houston (March 8-9, 11)
SUN BELT: South Alabama (Today, Monday, Tuesday)
SWAC: Jackson State (March 7-10)
WAC: Nevada (March 6, 8-10)
WEST COAST: Gonzaga (Semifinals today, Championship Monday)
• What do you think of Tony’s projections?
• Do they differ from yours?
Permalink | Comments (23) | Post your comment | Categories: Tony Barnhart's daily picks
Comments
By Bob
March 4, 2007 9:32 PM | Link to this
Tony, you’re dead wrong about Fla ST. having a chance once again if anything Clemson has played themselves back on the bubble not FSU. Clemson beat VT who had a chance to win the regular season crown and they have beat FSU twice already this year with a first round game in the ACC tournment coming up between the two again. FSU needs to win that game and beat North Carolina to get in. Clemson only needs to beat FSU again. Clemson’s on the bubble not FSU!
By JV
March 4, 2007 10:55 PM | Link to this
Tony, did you write this before Bama lost to Miss St. today? I would think they would have to make it to the finals of the SEC tourney to get selected after posting a losing conference mark. Maybe Ole Miss will get that spot if they win at least one SEC tournament game.
By Don
March 4, 2007 10:55 PM | Link to this
Today’s shellacking by Miss. St. was Alabama’s 4th SEC road loss by over 20 points. They will be 7-10 in the SEC after they lose Friday’s opening game to Kentucky. No chance they get in.
By Curt
March 5, 2007 2:21 AM | Link to this
Hey, lets just forget Ole Miss all together. If they can win a game in the tourney, they should at least be considered as a bubble team. Lets give the overrated Alabama some more credit for that 7-9 SEC record(sarcasm).
By Jason
March 5, 2007 2:30 AM | Link to this
You know it’s typical for the “so called experts” to show us what’s going to happen. Let’s give an Alabama team, who got handled like a high school team, the final SEC bid, while you push aside the division winners, Ole Miss and State. I don’t care about Bama’s RPI, it should be measured by the teams acheivements and the way they’re playing headed to the tournament. Whoever goes further, State or Ole Miss, should get the final bid, no doubt. Call my bias, but I’m an Ole Miss student that would hand it to state over Bama. Way to go Barnhart!!
By Willis
March 5, 2007 4:51 AM | Link to this
If the committee considers the last 10 games criteria, there is no way Alabama can get into the NCAA Tournament without an impressive showing in the SEC Tournament. It looks like Alabama has packed it in for this year. I would say 4 teams in the SEC West are better than Alabama right now. I do think the SEC is so balanced this year that at least 6 teams should be selected.
By WFC
March 5, 2007 5:59 AM | Link to this
I would love to see an SEC vs. ACC challenge some year.
By Brian Jones TECH FAN
March 5, 2007 7:03 AM | Link to this
where is all the uga fans talking about how they would get in before tech 20-10 8-8 not to bad in the toughest conf.and i agree about bama they are very poor team i wish the committe would put them as a 1 seed so we can finnaly see a 16 seed beat a 1 seed.
By ACC is #1
March 5, 2007 7:16 AM | Link to this
The ACC would get the better of the SEC in an ACC/SEC challenge, just as the ACC has done year in and year out against the Big Ten, …plain and simple the ACC is just the better conference.
By Bama Sucks
March 5, 2007 7:44 AM | Link to this
Tony, Bama is a joke. Are you trying to cozy up to those redneck fans before your first Nick Satan interview this fall? Give me a break. Ole Miss wins first round they should get considered. Andy Kennedy is coach of the year in the SEC, bar none.
By pat
March 5, 2007 8:57 AM | Link to this
Tony, I think the WAC gets 2 Santa Clara/Gonzanga.
By JustMe
March 5, 2007 9:22 AM | Link to this
The winner of Clemson vs. FSU also gets in. No doubt, baby!
IMHO, both should get in, but there are too many haters of the ACC out there.
Barnhart has too many in from the Colonial League, and too many from the Big East in. Look at their RPI and their wins against top 50 - they just do not deserve that many bids this year….
By JustMe
March 5, 2007 11:03 AM | Link to this
WFC -
I would like to see an ACC/SEC challenge in FOOTBALL!!! IMHO, the ACC would win that challenge overall, every year!
In basketball, that match up would be a real joke. The ACC would completely dominate. Maybe the ACC would consider that as a warm up for any Division II games….
By Don
March 5, 2007 11:26 AM | Link to this
Hey “Bama Sucks”, when the people of your redneck school stop waving Confederate flags and the band stops playing Dixie, THEN you can call somebody else rednecks.
By DOC
March 5, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this
Now how would the SEC teams schedule their usual 18 games to open the season against Southeast Missouri Valley State Technical College if they had to play ACC teams early?
By Curt
March 5, 2007 11:47 AM | Link to this
Forgetting a perennial last place team such as Ole Miss is easy, but Andy Kennedy has turn around the same team that finished last last year. Barnhart -at least give credit where credit is deserved.
By bob scrabis
March 5, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this
Why are voters so out of touch with the RPI…especilally when if comes to SEC teams not gettting the respect they deserve? Mr. Barnhardt would you mind commenting?Thanks in advance.
By bob scrabis
March 5, 2007 12:05 PM | Link to this
For example….UT is 7th in the nation in RPI but isnt ranked in top 25….In fact it isnt even close! Check the voting..Others receiving votes: Michigan State 135, Winthrop 123, Virginia 103, UNLV 78, Brigham Young 70, Xavier 42, Tennessee 40, West Virginia 27, Arizona 24, Indiana 15, Kentucky 12, Kansas State 11, Old Dominion 10, Boston College 9, Massachusetts 6, Akron 3, Davidson 3, Virginia Commonwealth 3, Stanford 2, Vermont 2, Syracuse 1. HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN? MY GUESS IS THAT MEDIA LOCATED UP NORTH,THE MIDWEST AND WEST COAST ARE BIASED TO THE LOCAL TEAMS THEY COVER
By a tech guy
March 5, 2007 12:12 PM | Link to this
just me,
i am sorry we kill them in basketball, but the sec is an awesome football conference. Scout.com has 7 or 8 teams in a 12 team league in the top 25 in recruiting whereas our acc didn’t have that many. They had lsu, florida, arkansas, tenn., auburn in the top 25 this year with their second tier being south carolina, georgia ( calm down not every year just this year), and kentucky. They have tenn, flor, south carolina, alabama, and auburn ( i am counting 2004) as programs with a head coach who have a title. So even though i think our conference is disrespected in football, I wouldn’t compare the two until virginia, nc state, bc, maryland and nc ( with butch davis) rise a little to become consistent second tiers. like 7 or 8 wins a year clemson and georgia tech are good second tier teams both can take a step up and be maybe 1 b teams.virginia tech, florida state, and miami, your heavy hitters who don’t need to lose to louisville and have a scare against troy. Basketball though there isn’t a contest, it’s florida and everyone else in the sec. In the acc you have a bunch of teams who beat elite teams from other conferences i.e. unc beating osu and gt beating memphis. Just give the sec respect for football and hopefully they will respect us at basketball. I feel a united front between the two conferences because they play physical in both sports, whereas espn loves finesse pac-10 in football and slow and big-10 in football, and florida showed what southern football is all about. I have no problem with the big 12 in either sport.
By Curt
March 5, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this
Only a tech guy would ramble like that.
By JustMe
March 5, 2007 12:28 PM | Link to this
a tech guy….
You sound like you MIGHT be smart, so think about a COMPLETE match up in football, top to bottom. POSSIBLY, the ACC would have losses in some spots, but I feel that overall, the ACC and SEC match up very well in football.
In no way would the SEC dominate year in and year out.
The ACC is rated as a top 4 football conference every year. I think that from top to bottom we CAN compete with the SEC.
By Curt
March 5, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this
Why are talking about football. This is basketball.
By JustMe
March 5, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this
Curt,
Read all of the post to understand the line of discussion. First, someone mentioned an ACC/SEC challenge in basketball. After that was squashed, an ACC/SEC challenge in football was mentioned. This is how we got to the topic.