And so, another National Football League season has ended and at the pinnacle of it are the New Orleans Saints, forever shorn of their losing image....ahh, who am I kidding? There are more important things to discuss(no the Olympics aren't one of them). Like why I completely misread Maryland's resume last week, or what happened to North Carolina recently. Thus I bring you the projections, done as always as if the college hoops season ended the day before.
Final Four pairings
Midwest(1) vs. West(4)
South(2) vs. East(3)
Midwest region
@Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Arkansas State(Sun Belt)
8-Mississippi vs. 9-St. Mary's(West Coast)
@San Jose
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Georgia Tech vs. 12-Dayton
@Milwaukee
2-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Baylor vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@Providence
3-Georgetown vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Vanderbilt vs. 11-Virginia Tech
West region
@Providence
1-Villanova vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Texas A&M vs. 9-Cornell(Ivy)
@Spokane
4-Gonzaga vs. 13-Utah State(Western Athletic)
5-New Mexico vs. 12-California(Pacific-10)
@Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-Lipscomb(Atlantic Sun)
7-Rhode Island vs. 10-Illinois
3-Tennessee vs. 14-College of Charleston(Southern)
6-Butler(Horizon) vs. 11-Louisville
South region
@Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Charlotte(Atlantic 10) vs. 9-Missouri
@Spokane
4-Wake Forest vs. 13-Northeastern(Colonial)
5-Nevada-Las Vegas(Mountain West) vs. 12-Florida
@Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Pacific(Big West)
7-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 10-Clemson
@Oklahoma City
3-Kansas State vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Temple vs. 11-UAB
East region
@New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Stony Brook(America East)
8-Florida State vs. 9-Richmond
4-Texas vs. 13-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
5-Ohio State vs. 12-Marquette
@Buffalo
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Maryland vs. 10-Xavier
@San Jose
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Brigham Young vs. 11-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)
Last four in the field: Dayton, Florida, Virginia Tech, Marquette
First four left out: Mississippi State, South Florida, Northwestern, Oklahoma State
Next four out: Wichita State, Washington, Connecticut, Old Dominion
Also under consideration: Notre Dame, Arizona State, Virginia Commonwealth, Cincinnati, Virginia, Texas Tech, Miami(FL), Minnesota, Seton Hall, William & Mary, Arizona, North Carolina, Portland, St. John's
Moving in: Maryland, Virginia Tech, Lipscomb, Richmond, Louisville, Marquette, Illinois, Northeastern, Utah State
Going out: Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, George Mason, Old Dominion, Wichita State, Arizona, Mississippi State, New Mexico State
Friendly reminder to all, the next projection will be on Friday.
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howard,
ReplyDeleteHow is North Carolina still under consideration? They have a terrible conference record and are not just losing games, they are getting blown out.
Minnesota won at State College despite not playing very well. Do you think the Gophers can get hot and make a run to earn a bid?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of seed can Ohio State earn if they win the Big Ten regular season?
To the first poster, I'm still willing to give the Tar Heels a chance to redeem themselves, but I think it will be a fruitless one, especially if they can't do well on the road.
ReplyDeleteTo Dennis, the Gophers might need to do some damage in the Big Ten tourney to erase some of the bad losses they've had recently, plus struggles by Miami(FL), Portland and Texas A&M.
This is the best college hoops blog on the net! Thank you for keeping fans informed. Could West Virginia get a 1 seed? Which Big East team has a better at large resume? Marquette or Louisville?
ReplyDeleteThank you and keep up the excellent work!
who do you think will win the Big 10? How many conference wins will Illinois, Northwestern, and Minnesota need to clinch an ncaa birth?
ReplyDeleteTo 3:36,
ReplyDeleteFor the Big Ten race, I still like Michigan State to get the outright regular season title, but Purdue to win the tourney in Indy.
As for the Big Ten Bubble, I'd rank them in this order:
Illinois
Northwestern
Minnesota
The Illini should be the 5th Big Ten team with the Wildcats and Gophers just missing out.
Do you see any scenario where the pac 10 gets more than 1 bid?
ReplyDelete49ers Fan, I think it'll take California not winning the conference tournament, or Washington making a run late into the season(including beating the Bears in Berkeley tonight). I'd lean more towards the former, rather than the latter.
ReplyDeleteBut then again, teams like Butler, Gonzaga, UTEP, Northern Iowa, Siena and possibly Northeastern could lose in their conference tourneys and steal bids, making them unavailable to those who need to make a run.
Does Northeastern really have a shot at an at large? I have a bad feeling they would get overlooked to include another mediocre ACC team.
ReplyDelete