15 Mar16 - Our Lady Of Greensboro (PRECONTEST)
Volume XIX, No. 19 - 15 Mar16: PRECONTEST - [] FINAL TOP 25 BALLOT
Our Lady Of Greensboro
Pre-S. (Congratulations to the Princeton Women's Basketball Team for finishing its regular season 30-0 entering the NCAA tournament.)
Forget Kentucky's continuing pursuit of a perfect season -- (the Wildcats cruised through the SEC tournament. Ho-Hum.) Forget the top-rated BIG 12 tourney; forget the #2-rated BIG EAST. No, by far, the top storyline of the weekend was always going to be Ultimate Showdown among the ACC Elite teams (Duke, Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame and North Carolina) in Greensboro. Yes, Virginia won its second-straight regular season title, but it was only 3-2 vs the Elite; it was Duke that was higher rated overall (and 5-1 vs the Elite); Louisville (2-4, including a win over UVa after bChris Jones was dismissed); Notre Dame (3-2); North Carolina (1-5); even scrappy N.C. State managed to be 3-4 against the Elite. Unless Duke rolled through the field, anything short of that was a real toss-up.
Firstly, [2]@Duke did roll [6b]@N.C. State (@77-@53) and [5]@North Carolina beat [4]Louisville (@70-60) -- mild surprises but nothing more. In the semis, [5]@North Carolina kept its strong play going with a @71-67 upset of [1]Virginia (clearly not its full self without bJustin Anderson at 100% health). The shocker was [3]Notre Dame vs [2]@Duke -- the Irish and Blue Devils split on the season but DU thrashed ND @90-60 in Cameron -- this time, the Irish dealt with the pro-Duke Greensboro crowd and won impressively, 74-@64. In the final, [5]@North Carolina appeared to have the game under control before a late barrage by ND turned the tide for a 90-@82 victory. For Notre Dame, a longtime independent, it was the first conference tournament crown in school history; to have done so at the ACC tournament in Greensboro (taking out both Duke and UNC along the way), coach Mike Brey proclaimed the feat the top achievement in the history of the Irish basketball program -- ahead of stopping UCLA's 88-game win streak in 1974 and ahead of making the Final Four in 1978. (I might rank it third among those landmarks, but it's an arguable point.)
Kentucky had it even easier than it could have been in the SEC tourney in Nashville as [13]Auburn knocked off both [3c]Texas A&M (66-59) and [3b]LSU (73-70[OT]) while [11a]South Carolina upset [3d]Mississippi (60-58). Only the winner of [2]Arkansas and [3a]Georgia was a worthy opponent (Ark 60-49), but once again the Wildcats routed the Razorbacks (@78-63) to push their official record to 34-0.
The BIG 12 tourney in Kansas City was loaded as well. [4a]Baylor and [4b]West Virginia had to meet right away in the quarterfinals (Bayl 80-70) as did [2a]Iowa State and [6b]Texas (IowaSt 69-67) as well as [2b]Oklahoma and [5a]Oklahoma State (OK 64-59). Their semifinals were just below the ACC's in star power -- [1]@Kansas handled [4a]Baylor (@62-52) while [2a]Iowa State escaped past [2b]Oklahoma (67-65 as fRyan Spangler blew a point-blank layup at the end). It was one more endplay win for [2a]Iowa State in the final as the Cyclones beat [1]Kansas (70-@66).
The BIG EAST Wars of the regular season foretold a tightly contested conference tournament at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. Instead, it was the tale of just three teams who stood apart from the rest. [4]Providence looked mighty impressive routing host @[5]St. John's (74-@57). [6]Xavier upped its game and edged [2b]Butler (67-61[OT]) and then [2a]Georgetown (65-63). But it was [1]Villanova who shone above all, edging [4]Providence (63-61) in perhaps the highest quality single game of the entire weekend and then pounding [6]Xavier (69-52) in the final to look as dominant as any team in the nation (not named "Kentucky").
The early season PAC-12 leaders slumped midway through conference play, leaving [1]Arizona to cruise home in the regular season. In the tourney at MGM in Las Vegas, [5b]Stanford was crushed by [3b]Utah (56-80) in the quarters In the semis, surging [2a]Oregon edged [2b]Utah (67-64) while [1]Arizona held off [4]UCLA (70-64). The final was a runaway victory for [1]Arizona (80-52). Were the Wildcats that good or had the league fallen away from them? -- probably more of the latter than the former.
The issue in the BIG 10 was moreso that the league was so deep that no one could maintain any momentum of form, so you didn't know which version of a team would show up in Chicago. [3c]Iowa had seemed to get its act together, but fell right away to [13]Penn State (58-67) in the Round of 16. Form held in the quarters as [2]Maryland beat [7a]Indiana (75-69) and [3a]Michigan State beat [6]Ohio State (76-67). In the semis, [1]Wisconsin dumped [3b]Purdue (71-51) while it was [3a]Michigan State who found something in tournament mode that wasn't always there in the regular season, beating [2]Maryland (62-58) in the semis and then taking [1]Wisconsin to wire and beyond before falling (69-80[OT]) in the final.
In the ATLANTIC 10 at BARCLAYS CENTER, [2a]Dayton edged [2b]Rhode Island (56-52) in the semis, but it was [4b]VCU's turning on tournament mode that ran through the draw: (70-67) over city-rival [4a]Richmond, (93-73) over regular season champ [1]Davidson
and (71-65) over [2a]Dayton to claim the tourney crown.
In the MOUNTAIN WEST at UNLV, [1b]San Diego State handled [3]Colorado State (56-43), but it was a healthy [4]Wyoming who made the biggest noise of the weekend, beating [1a]Boise State (71-66) and then [1b]San Diego State (45-43
in a hideous-to-watch final) to claim the tourney crown and Crash The Party with an NCAA bid that would have gone to an at-large Bubble team.
As expected, [1]Gonzaga rolled through the WEST COAST tourney at ORLEANS in Las Vegas, including routing [2a]BYU (91-75) in the final. (Living up to its seed turned out to be [barely] enough for the Cougars to snag an at-large[PLAY-IN] bid.)
In the AMERICAN, defending National Champion @[5b]Connecticut's only hope of returning to the NCAAs was to run the table in the conference tourney (conveniently hosted on its own home court). It came close: upsetting [3a]Cincinnati (@57-54) and [2]Tulsa (@47-42); but in the end it was [1]SMU who handled [3b]Temple (69-56) and then host @[5b]UConn (62-@54) to restore order and prevent another Party-Crasher.
In the mess that is CONFERENCE USA, both [1]Louisiana Tech and [2b]Old Dominion may have had arguments that they were strong enough to merit at-large bids; but upset losses didn't help their case. [2b]ODU lost right away (52-59) in the quarters to [6]Middle Tennessee while host [4a]UAB edged [1]Louisiana Tech (@72-62[OT]) in the semis and then beat [6]MidTenn (@73-60) in the final to claim
the highest profile Jack Dawson bid.
More than half of the 1BCs wound up with TiTo champs.
In the MID-AMERICAN in Cleveland, tri-champ [1c]@Kent State fell to [7]@Akron (@51-@53); but tri-champ [1b]Buffalo took the final (89-84) over tri-champ [1a]Eastern Michigan. In the COLONIAL at Towson, quad-champ [1d]James Madison fell right away in the quarters vs [5]Hofstra (57-74); but quad-champ [1c]Northeastern took out quad-champ [1b]UNC-Wilmington (78-71) and then quad-champ [1a]William & Mary (72-61) in the final. In the HORIZON, @[1]Valparaiso cruised through while playing on its home floor. In AMERICA EAST, home court (barely) saved the day for @[1]Albany with two last-second wins. In the SOUTHLAND in Katy TX, [1]@Stephen F. Austin continued its dominance of [2]@Sam Houston State (@83-@70) in the final. In the SUN BELT, with its star pRyan Harrow sidelined with a quad injury and star tR.J. Hunter burdened with foul trouble all game long, it was pKevin Ware who stepped up and saved the day for [1]Georgia State over arch-rival [2a]Georgia Southern (38-36 in a hideous final); coach Ron Hunter injured his Achilles in the post-game celebration and will have to coach the NCAAs in a cast. In the SUMMIT at Sioux Falls SD, co-champ [1b]North Dakota State edged co-champ [1a]@South Dakota State (57-@56). In the IVY playoff at the PALESTRA, [1x]Harvard edged [1x]Yale (@53-@51 on fSteve Moundou-Missi's game-winner), extending the Bulldogs' 50-year NCAA drought. In the SOUTHERN in Asheville, [1]Wofford kept a lid on things to claim the title. In the ATLANTIC SUN, @[1]North Florida kept its roll going, winning the crown on its home floor (and securing the first NCAA bid in school history). [1]New Mexico State kept things tight in the WAC at ORLEANS in Las Vegas, cruising through the draw. In the BIG SKY, co-champ [1b]Eastern Washington edged host co-champ [1a]Montana (69-@65). In the SWAC, host @[1]Texas Southern had already earned its NCAA bid before winning the final over (ineligible) [3]Southern.
In the BIG SOUTH, host @[3a]Coastal Carolina wasn't such a bad swap for co-champs [1a]@Charleston Southern and [1b]@High Point.
Full-on Jack Dawsons claimed the remaining 1BC crowns.
In the BIG WEST in Anaheim, [2b]@UC-Irvine emerged with the crown (after [1]@UC-Davis fell [@58-63] to [5]Hawaii). In the PATRIOT, [4a]Lafayette shocked host @[1]Bucknell (80-@74) in the semis and went on to win the crown. In the METRO ATLANTIC, tired legs did in host @[1]Iona as arch-rival [3a]Manhattan took the crown (79-@69). In the NORTHEAST, host @[1]St. Francis(New York) couldn't control the game against [2a]Robert Morris, falling (@63-66). In the MEAC, [1]North Carolina Central couldn't get it done, falling to [6]Delaware State (57-63), allowing [6]@Hampton to take the crown.
Only one non-lock team managed to pull off an upset win to improve its standing -- and even Illinois State's MVC tourney win over Wichita State was enough to earn it a bid. [E12]Wyoming gave the NCAA Seeding Commitee no choice with its Party-Crashing MWC crown (but Connecticut couldn't quite do the same in the AMER). [E9]LSU (to Auburn) and [W11a]Mississippi (to South Carolina) got bids despite upset loses in the SEC tournament -- mostly likely since those two teams came close to knocking off Kentucky (but Texas A&M [to Auburn], which did the same, didn't get the nod). [M8]Cincinnati (to host Connecticut) got in despite its AMERICAN tourney upset (but Tulsa [also to host UConn] didn't). [E11a]Boise State (to Wyoming) got in despite its MOUNTAIN WEST tourney upset. [M11]Texas, [E8]N.C. State, [W11b]BYU, [W9]Oklahoma State, [S11]UCLA, [M9]Purdue, [E10]Georgia and [M10]Indiana all got bids without doing anything special.
Illinois' BIG 10 loss (to Michigan) and St. Mary's WEST COAST loss (to Portland) sealed their fates. Colorado State, Temple, Miami(Florida), Stanford, Rhode Island, Memphis, Richmond, George Washington and Utah State didn't do themsevles any favors (and none was received in return from the NCAA).
Here's the list of Tito champions vs. the bid-stealing spoilers and Jack Dawsons who are attending The Dance under false pretenses:
That's 19 thoroughbreds against 8(7) impostors -- much stronger than last year (13 up, 12[10] down). Don't get where they're coming from giving a bid to UCLA; but the highest rated team that didn't get in, Colorado State, has lost every big game on its schedule in the second half of the season. On the plus side of the cut line, I had: Murray State, Old Dominion, Temple, Miami(Florida), Louisiana Tech and Stanford; on the minus side of the cut line, I had: Mississippi, UCLA, Purdue, Georgia, (Wyoming) and Indiana -- I'd rather have seen Temple and Miami(Florida) rather than Georgia and Indiana.
FINAL TOP 25 - 15 Mar16: PRECONTEST - [] Column
Our Lady Of Greensboro
Pre-S. (Congratulations to the Princeton Women's Basketball Team for finishing its regular season 30-0 entering the NCAA tournament.)
Forget Kentucky's continuing pursuit of a perfect season -- (the Wildcats cruised through the SEC tournament. Ho-Hum.) Forget the top-rated BIG 12 tourney; forget the #2-rated BIG EAST. No, by far, the top storyline of the weekend was always going to be Ultimate Showdown among the ACC Elite teams (Duke, Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame and North Carolina) in Greensboro. Yes, Virginia won its second-straight regular season title, but it was only 3-2 vs the Elite; it was Duke that was higher rated overall (and 5-1 vs the Elite); Louisville (2-4, including a win over UVa after bChris Jones was dismissed); Notre Dame (3-2); North Carolina (1-5); even scrappy N.C. State managed to be 3-4 against the Elite. Unless Duke rolled through the field, anything short of that was a real toss-up.
Firstly, [2]@Duke did roll [6b]@N.C. State (@77-@53) and [5]@North Carolina beat [4]Louisville (@70-60) -- mild surprises but nothing more. In the semis, [5]@North Carolina kept its strong play going with a @71-67 upset of [1]Virginia (clearly not its full self without bJustin Anderson at 100% health). The shocker was [3]Notre Dame vs [2]@Duke -- the Irish and Blue Devils split on the season but DU thrashed ND @90-60 in Cameron -- this time, the Irish dealt with the pro-Duke Greensboro crowd and won impressively, 74-@64. In the final, [5]@North Carolina appeared to have the game under control before a late barrage by ND turned the tide for a 90-@82 victory. For Notre Dame, a longtime independent, it was the first conference tournament crown in school history; to have done so at the ACC tournament in Greensboro (taking out both Duke and UNC along the way), coach Mike Brey proclaimed the feat the top achievement in the history of the Irish basketball program -- ahead of stopping UCLA's 88-game win streak in 1974 and ahead of making the Final Four in 1978. (I might rank it third among those landmarks, but it's an arguable point.)
Kentucky had it even easier than it could have been in the SEC tourney in Nashville as [13]Auburn knocked off both [3c]Texas A&M (66-59) and [3b]LSU (73-70[OT]) while [11a]South Carolina upset [3d]Mississippi (60-58). Only the winner of [2]Arkansas and [3a]Georgia was a worthy opponent (Ark 60-49), but once again the Wildcats routed the Razorbacks (@78-63) to push their official record to 34-0.
The BIG 12 tourney in Kansas City was loaded as well. [4a]Baylor and [4b]West Virginia had to meet right away in the quarterfinals (Bayl 80-70) as did [2a]Iowa State and [6b]Texas (IowaSt 69-67) as well as [2b]Oklahoma and [5a]Oklahoma State (OK 64-59). Their semifinals were just below the ACC's in star power -- [1]@Kansas handled [4a]Baylor (@62-52) while [2a]Iowa State escaped past [2b]Oklahoma (67-65 as fRyan Spangler blew a point-blank layup at the end). It was one more endplay win for [2a]Iowa State in the final as the Cyclones beat [1]Kansas (70-@66).
The BIG EAST Wars of the regular season foretold a tightly contested conference tournament at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. Instead, it was the tale of just three teams who stood apart from the rest. [4]Providence looked mighty impressive routing host @[5]St. John's (74-@57). [6]Xavier upped its game and edged [2b]Butler (67-61[OT]) and then [2a]Georgetown (65-63). But it was [1]Villanova who shone above all, edging [4]Providence (63-61) in perhaps the highest quality single game of the entire weekend and then pounding [6]Xavier (69-52) in the final to look as dominant as any team in the nation (not named "Kentucky").
The early season PAC-12 leaders slumped midway through conference play, leaving [1]Arizona to cruise home in the regular season. In the tourney at MGM in Las Vegas, [5b]Stanford was crushed by [3b]Utah (56-80) in the quarters In the semis, surging [2a]Oregon edged [2b]Utah (67-64) while [1]Arizona held off [4]UCLA (70-64). The final was a runaway victory for [1]Arizona (80-52). Were the Wildcats that good or had the league fallen away from them? -- probably more of the latter than the former.
The issue in the BIG 10 was moreso that the league was so deep that no one could maintain any momentum of form, so you didn't know which version of a team would show up in Chicago. [3c]Iowa had seemed to get its act together, but fell right away to [13]Penn State (58-67) in the Round of 16. Form held in the quarters as [2]Maryland beat [7a]Indiana (75-69) and [3a]Michigan State beat [6]Ohio State (76-67). In the semis, [1]Wisconsin dumped [3b]Purdue (71-51) while it was [3a]Michigan State who found something in tournament mode that wasn't always there in the regular season, beating [2]Maryland (62-58) in the semis and then taking [1]Wisconsin to wire and beyond before falling (69-80[OT]) in the final.
In the ATLANTIC 10 at BARCLAYS CENTER, [2a]Dayton edged [2b]Rhode Island (56-52) in the semis, but it was [4b]VCU's turning on tournament mode that ran through the draw: (70-67) over city-rival [4a]Richmond, (93-73) over regular season champ [1]Davidson
and (71-65) over [2a]Dayton to claim the tourney crown.
In the MOUNTAIN WEST at UNLV, [1b]San Diego State handled [3]Colorado State (56-43), but it was a healthy [4]Wyoming who made the biggest noise of the weekend, beating [1a]Boise State (71-66) and then [1b]San Diego State (45-43
in a hideous-to-watch final) to claim the tourney crown and Crash The Party with an NCAA bid that would have gone to an at-large Bubble team.
As expected, [1]Gonzaga rolled through the WEST COAST tourney at ORLEANS in Las Vegas, including routing [2a]BYU (91-75) in the final. (Living up to its seed turned out to be [barely] enough for the Cougars to snag an at-large[PLAY-IN] bid.)
In the AMERICAN, defending National Champion @[5b]Connecticut's only hope of returning to the NCAAs was to run the table in the conference tourney (conveniently hosted on its own home court). It came close: upsetting [3a]Cincinnati (@57-54) and [2]Tulsa (@47-42); but in the end it was [1]SMU who handled [3b]Temple (69-56) and then host @[5b]UConn (62-@54) to restore order and prevent another Party-Crasher.
In the mess that is CONFERENCE USA, both [1]Louisiana Tech and [2b]Old Dominion may have had arguments that they were strong enough to merit at-large bids; but upset losses didn't help their case. [2b]ODU lost right away (52-59) in the quarters to [6]Middle Tennessee while host [4a]UAB edged [1]Louisiana Tech (@72-62[OT]) in the semis and then beat [6]MidTenn (@73-60) in the final to claim
the highest profile Jack Dawson bid.
More than half of the 1BCs wound up with TiTo champs.
In the MID-AMERICAN in Cleveland, tri-champ [1c]@Kent State fell to [7]@Akron (@51-@53); but tri-champ [1b]Buffalo took the final (89-84) over tri-champ [1a]Eastern Michigan. In the COLONIAL at Towson, quad-champ [1d]James Madison fell right away in the quarters vs [5]Hofstra (57-74); but quad-champ [1c]Northeastern took out quad-champ [1b]UNC-Wilmington (78-71) and then quad-champ [1a]William & Mary (72-61) in the final. In the HORIZON, @[1]Valparaiso cruised through while playing on its home floor. In AMERICA EAST, home court (barely) saved the day for @[1]Albany with two last-second wins. In the SOUTHLAND in Katy TX, [1]@Stephen F. Austin continued its dominance of [2]@Sam Houston State (@83-@70) in the final. In the SUN BELT, with its star pRyan Harrow sidelined with a quad injury and star tR.J. Hunter burdened with foul trouble all game long, it was pKevin Ware who stepped up and saved the day for [1]Georgia State over arch-rival [2a]Georgia Southern (38-36 in a hideous final); coach Ron Hunter injured his Achilles in the post-game celebration and will have to coach the NCAAs in a cast. In the SUMMIT at Sioux Falls SD, co-champ [1b]North Dakota State edged co-champ [1a]@South Dakota State (57-@56). In the IVY playoff at the PALESTRA, [1x]Harvard edged [1x]Yale (@53-@51 on fSteve Moundou-Missi's game-winner), extending the Bulldogs' 50-year NCAA drought. In the SOUTHERN in Asheville, [1]Wofford kept a lid on things to claim the title. In the ATLANTIC SUN, @[1]North Florida kept its roll going, winning the crown on its home floor (and securing the first NCAA bid in school history). [1]New Mexico State kept things tight in the WAC at ORLEANS in Las Vegas, cruising through the draw. In the BIG SKY, co-champ [1b]Eastern Washington edged host co-champ [1a]Montana (69-@65). In the SWAC, host @[1]Texas Southern had already earned its NCAA bid before winning the final over (ineligible) [3]Southern.
In the BIG SOUTH, host @[3a]Coastal Carolina wasn't such a bad swap for co-champs [1a]@Charleston Southern and [1b]@High Point.
Full-on Jack Dawsons claimed the remaining 1BC crowns.
In the BIG WEST in Anaheim, [2b]@UC-Irvine emerged with the crown (after [1]@UC-Davis fell [@58-63] to [5]Hawaii). In the PATRIOT, [4a]Lafayette shocked host @[1]Bucknell (80-@74) in the semis and went on to win the crown. In the METRO ATLANTIC, tired legs did in host @[1]Iona as arch-rival [3a]Manhattan took the crown (79-@69). In the NORTHEAST, host @[1]St. Francis(New York) couldn't control the game against [2a]Robert Morris, falling (@63-66). In the MEAC, [1]North Carolina Central couldn't get it done, falling to [6]Delaware State (57-63), allowing [6]@Hampton to take the crown.
Only one non-lock team managed to pull off an upset win to improve its standing -- and even Illinois State's MVC tourney win over Wichita State was enough to earn it a bid. [E12]Wyoming gave the NCAA Seeding Commitee no choice with its Party-Crashing MWC crown (but Connecticut couldn't quite do the same in the AMER). [E9]LSU (to Auburn) and [W11a]Mississippi (to South Carolina) got bids despite upset loses in the SEC tournament -- mostly likely since those two teams came close to knocking off Kentucky (but Texas A&M [to Auburn], which did the same, didn't get the nod). [M8]Cincinnati (to host Connecticut) got in despite its AMERICAN tourney upset (but Tulsa [also to host UConn] didn't). [E11a]Boise State (to Wyoming) got in despite its MOUNTAIN WEST tourney upset. [M11]Texas, [E8]N.C. State, [W11b]BYU, [W9]Oklahoma State, [S11]UCLA, [M9]Purdue, [E10]Georgia and [M10]Indiana all got bids without doing anything special.
Illinois' BIG 10 loss (to Michigan) and St. Mary's WEST COAST loss (to Portland) sealed their fates. Colorado State, Temple, Miami(Florida), Stanford, Rhode Island, Memphis, Richmond, George Washington and Utah State didn't do themsevles any favors (and none was received in return from the NCAA).
Here's the list of Tito champions vs. the bid-stealing spoilers and Jack Dawsons who are attending The Dance under false pretenses:
| TiTo | Spoiler | Jack Dawson |
BIG E: [1]+4 Villanova PAC-12: [1]+3 Arizona BIG 10: [1]+2 Wisconsin SEC: [1]u+5 Kentucky MAC: [1b] Buffalo WCC: [1]+4 Gonzaga COLON: [1c]+2 Northeastern AMER: [1]SMU HORIZ: [1]Valparaiso AMER E: [1]+3 Albany SLAND: [1]+2 Stephen F. Austin SUN B: [1]Georgia State SUMMIT: [1b]+2 North Dakota State IVY: [1x]+2 Harvard SOCON: [1] Wofford A-SUN: [1] North Florida WAC: [1]+5 New Mexico State SKY: [1b] Eastern Washington SWAC: [1]+2 Texas Southern | MWC: [4a] Wyoming | BIG W: "[1]+3 UC-Davis" (3-[2b]UC-Irvine) C-USA: "[1]+2 Louisiana Tech" ([4a]UAB) PAT: "[1]Bucknell" ([4a]Lafayette) OVC: "[1]u+5 Murray" (5-[2b/E1b]Belmont) MAAC: "[1]+2 Iona" ([3a]Manhattan) NEC: "[1]+3 St. Francis(New York)" ([2a]Robert Morris) MEAC: "[1]u+4 North Carolina Central" ([6]Hampton) |
That's 19 thoroughbreds against 8(7) impostors -- much stronger than last year (13 up, 12[10] down). Don't get where they're coming from giving a bid to UCLA; but the highest rated team that didn't get in, Colorado State, has lost every big game on its schedule in the second half of the season. On the plus side of the cut line, I had: Murray State, Old Dominion, Temple, Miami(Florida), Louisiana Tech and Stanford; on the minus side of the cut line, I had: Mississippi, UCLA, Purdue, Georgia, (Wyoming) and Indiana -- I'd rather have seen Temple and Miami(Florida) rather than Georgia and Indiana.
With five of the Hard Eight going TiTo, somebody was going to be the odd team out of a #1-seed; and, in fact, both [W2]Arizona and [S2]Gonzaga were given #2-seeds in favor of [S1]Duke -- not a big deal considering the Blue Devils have road wins over both [W1]Wisconsin and [E2]Virginia. With [W1]Wisconsin moving up to a #1-seed, it avoids being placed in the MIDWEST Regional opposite [M1]@Kentucky -- there might have been more pressure on UK facing Wisc in a Regional Final than there will be now in the National Semifinal -- the 'Cats will steamroll Kansas yet again inside the MIDWEST.
Georgetown's #4-seed means the BIG EAST was solidly a B-Major (with two Top-16 seeds). Utah's #5-seed means the PAC 12 was a B-Major only by the grace of #2-seed Arizona. Same for #5-seed Arkansas and #1-seed Kentucky in the SEC. [W11b]BYU's (PLAY-IN) seed changed the WEST COAST from
an Anti-Spoiler/1BC to a bona fide B-Major, thanks to [S2]Gonzaga. [E5]Northern Iowa's seed just kept the MISSOURI VALLEY down at Mid-Major status. Mid-Majors all: the AMERICAN was headed by [S6]SMU; the ATLANTIC 10 was led by [W7]VCU and the MOUNTAIN WEST by [S8]San Diego State. Of the dominant TiTo 1BCs, only [S12]Stephen F. Austin/SOUTHLAND appears capable of an upset; [W12]Wofford/SOUTHERN and [M13]Valparaiso/HORIZON and [M12]Buffalo/MID-AMERICAN didn't dominate their leagues but they all seem splashworthy. (If pRyan Harrow were at full strength, you could add [W14]Georgia State/SUN BELT to that list, but with just tR.J. Hunter alone, don't count on it.)
Worst overseeding decisions: [S4]Georgetown, [W5]Arkansas, [W6]Xavier, [E6]Providence, [W8]Oregon, [M9]Purdue, [E9]LSU, [E10]Georgia, [E13]UC-Irvine, [S14]UAB; worst underseeding decisions: [M7]Wichita State, [W10]Ohio State, [S10]Davidson, [M11]Texas, [E11a]Boise State, [W12]Wofford, [S12]Stephen F. Austin, [M12]Buffalo, [M13]Valparaiso.
Not too many cushy preferential Pods -- [M1]@Kentucky(Louisville), [E1]@Villanova(Pittsburgh), [S1]@Duke(Charlotte -- what else is new; EVERY DAMN YEAR the Blue Devils get a free ride into the Sweet 16 -- it's no wonder Coach K has such a sterling tournament record), [S2]@Gonzaga(Seattle). For the second-straight year [E1]Virginia knocked [W4]North Carolina out of the NC Pod(Charlotte). I absolute don't understand how a PLAY-IN not only gets to play on its actual home court but also gets fed into a cushy preferential Pod in Columbus, but that's exactly the gift the Committee gave to [E11b]@Dayton -- AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
Toughest first games: [M4]Maryland/[M13]Valparaiso, [W5]Arkansas/[W12]Wofford, [S5]Utah/[S12]Stephen F. Austin, [M5]West Virginia/[M12]Buffalo, [E6]Providence/{[E11a]BoiseSt/[E11b]@Dayton}, [M6]Butler/[M11]Texas, [W7]VCU/[W10]Ohio State, [S7]Iowa/[S10]Davidson. Best chances for 1BC upsets ([W12]Wofford over [W5]Arkansas, [S12]Stephen F. Austin over [S5]Utah).
I like Old Dominion (at home) over Murray State, Miami(Florida), Colorado State over Stanford and Louisiana Tech over (host) Temple as the NIT Final Four. The CBI field should get slumming B-Major Colorado, Loyola(Illinois), Eastern Michigan and Hofstra as its semifinalists. Sam Houston State, High Point, Kent State and Florida Gulf Coast are the closest thing to decent teams in the CIT -- only KentSt has to start on the road.
Can Kentucky really run the table and go the entire season UNDEFEATED? They've already passed their toughest tests -- the true road game in SEC play -- everything from here on out is a home-away-from-home game thanks to the massive Big Blue Nation that will travel anywhere to see them. They're head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field; but this is a year in which there are great teams just below #1. Take the 'Cats to go 40-0.
-- Ron
P.S. If you're interested, the 31st Annual Hoops Contest is now open for entry (through 6:30PMet TUESDAY, 17 MARCH).
- Key games this week:
- NCAA
- Tuesday:
- 1stRd/128s FIRST FOUR @DaytonOH
- [W11a]Mississippi v [W11b]BYU
- [M16a]
Manhattanv [M16b]Hampton
- Wednesday:
- 1stRd/128s FIRST FOUR @DaytonOH
- @ [E11b]Dayton v [E11a]Boise St
- [S16a]
N Floridav [S16b]Robert Morris
- Thursday, Saturday:
- 2ndRd/64s POD @LouisvilleKY
- [M1]@Kentucky v {[M16a]
Manhattan/[M16b]Hampton}
- [M8]Cincinnati v [M9]Purdue (BG)
- [S3]Iowa St v [S14]UAB
- [S6]SMU v [S11]UCLA
- 2ndRd/64s POD @PittsburghPA
- [E1]@Villanova v [E16]@
Lafayette(PA)
- [E8]NC State v [E9]LSU
- [M3]Notre Dame v [M14]
Northeastern
- [M6]Butler v [M11]Texas
- 2ndRd/64s POD @PortlandOR
- [W2]Arizona v [W15]
Texas So
- [W7]VCU v [W10]Ohio St
- [S4]Georgetown v [S13]
Ea Washington
- [S5]Utah v [S12]
Stephen F Austin
- 2ndRd/64s POD @JacksonvilleFL
- [W3]Baylor v [W14]
Georgia St
- [W6]Xavier v {[W11a]Mississippi/[W11b]BYU}
- [W4]N Carolina v [W13]
Harvard
- [W5]Arkansas v [W12]
Wofford
- Friday, Sunday:
- 2ndRd/64s POD @OmahaNE
- [W1]Wisconsin v [W16]
Co Carolina
- [W8]Oregon v [W9]Oklahoma St
- [M2]Kansas v [M15]
New Mexico St
- [M7]Wichita St v [M10]Indiana
- 2ndRd/64s POD @CharlotteNC
- [S1]@Duke v {[S16a]
NFlorida/[S16b]RobertMorris}
- [S8]San Diego St v [S9]St John's
- [E2]Virginia v [E15]
Belmont
- [E7]Michigan St v [E10]Georgia
- 2ndRd/64s POD @SeattleWA
- [S2]@Gonzaga v [S15]
ND State
- [S7]Iowa v [S10]Davidson
- [E4]Louisville v [E13]
UC-Irvine
- [E5]No Iowa v [E12]Wyoming
- 2ndRd/64s POD @ColumbusOH
- [E3]Oklahoma v [E14]
Albany
- [E6]Providence v {[E11a]BoiseSt/[E11b]@Dayton}
- [M4]Maryland v [M13]
Valparaiso
- [M5]W Virginia v [M12]
Buffalo
- NIT
- [W11a]Mississippi v [W11b]BYU
- Tuesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ [s2]Miami-FL v [s7]
NC Central
- @ [w2]Stanford v [w7]
UC-Davis(CA)
- @ [m2]Tulsa v [m7]
William & Mary
- @ [e2]Texas A&M v [e7]
Montana
- @ [e3]Louisiana Tech v [e6]
C Michigan
- @ [w3]Rhode Island v [w6]
Iona
- @ [s6]Alabama v [s3]Illinois
- @ [m3]
Murray Stv [m6]UTEP
- @ [e4]Pittsburgh v [e5]
Geo Washington
- Wednesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ [w1]Colorado St v [w8]
SD State
- @ [m1]Old Dominion v [m8]
Charleston So
- @ [e1]Temple v [e8]
Bucknell(PA)
- @ [s1]Richmond v [s8]
St Francis-NY
- @ [s4]Connecticut v [s5]Arizona St
- @ [m4]Illinois St v [m5]
Green Bay
- @ [w4]
St Mary'sv [w5]Vanderbilt
- Friday-Monday week:
- 16s on-campus
- @{[w1]ColoradoSt/[w8]
SDState} v {[w4]StMarys/[w5]Vanderbilt}
- @{[w2]Stanford/[w7]
UCDavis} v {[w3]RhodeIsland/[w6]Iona}
- @{[m1]OldDominion/[m8]
CharlestonSo} v {[m4]IllinoisSt/[m5]GreenBay}
- @{[m2]Tulsa/[m7]
William&Mary} v {[m3]MurraySt/[m6]UTEP}
- @{[e1]Temple/[e8]
Bucknell} v {[e4]Pittsburgh/[e5]GeoWashington}
- @{[e2]TexasA&M/[e7]
Montana} v {[e3]LouisianaTech/[e6]CMichigan}
- @{[s1]Richmond/[s8]
StFrancisNY} v {[s4]Connecticut/[s5]ArizonaSt}
- @{[s2]MiamiFL/[s7]
NCCentral} v {[s3]Illinois/[s6]Alabama}
- Tuesday week-Wednesday week:
- Qtrs on-campus
- Tue 31 Mar, Thu 2 Apr
- Semis,Final @ New York NY /MSG/
- {w/ColoradoSt} v {m/OldDominion}
- {e/Temple} v {s/Richmond}
- CBI
- @ [s2]Miami-FL v [s7]
- Tuesday:
- 1stRd/16s on-campus
- (mA): @ Loyola-IL v Rider
- Wednesday:
- 1stRd/16s on-campus
- (wA): @ Seattle v Pepperdine
- (eA): @ Hofstra v Vermont
- (sA): @ Mercer v
Stony Brook
- (wB): @
Coloradov Gardner-Webb
- (sB): @
LA-Monroev Ea Michigan
- (mB): @ Oral Roberts v UC-Santa Barbara
- (eB): @ Delaware St v Radford
- Monday week:
- Qtrs on-campus (by region)
- (w): {SeattlePepperdine} v {
Colorado/GardnerWebb}
- (m): {LoyolaIL/Rider} v {Oral Roberts/UCSantaBarbara}
- (e): {Hofstra/Vermont} v {DelawareSt/Radford}
- (s): {Mercer/
StonyBrook} v {LAMonroe/EaMichigan}
- Wednesday week:
- Semis on-campus (re-seeded)
- Mon 30 Mar, Wed 1 Apr, (if necessary: Fri 3 Apr):
- Finals on-campus (Best of 3)
- CIT
- (mA): @ Loyola-IL v Rider
- Monday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @
NJITv New Hampshire
- Tuesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ St Francis-PA v
Bowling Green
- @ SC Upstate v
James Madison
- @ Oakland v Ea Illinois
- @ {Incarnate Word} v Louisiana
- @ Ea Kentucky v Norfolk St
- Wednesday:
- 1stRd/32s on-campus
- @ Evansville v IPFW (IN)
- @ We Michigan v Cleveland St
- @ Mid Tennessee v
Kent St
- @ Portland v
Sacramento St
- @
Sam Houston StvUNC-Wilmington
- @
FL Gulf Coastv Texas A&M-CC
- @ Canisius v Dartmouth
- @
High Ptv MD-Ea Shore
- @ {Grand Canyon} v
No Arizona
- Friday-Monday week:
- 2ndRd/16s on-campus
- Wednesday week-Saturday week:
- Qtrs on-campus [re-seeded]
- Tue 31 Mar:
- Semis on-campus [re-seeded]
- Thu 2 Apr
- Final on-campus
- @
FINAL TOP 25 - 15 Mar16: PRECONTEST - [] Column
- Kentucky (33-0) SECu+5 [rr4vLEDFORD] (@@CHAMPS) (vBIG12) (:vSPORTS)
- Villanova (32-2) BIG.E+4 BIG5u [BIG.Et] [2v2:LEGENDS] (:JIMMY.V)
- Wisconsin (31-3) BIG10+2 [3:ATLANTIS]
- Arizona (31-3) PAC12+3 [PAC12t] [v3:MAUI]
- Duke (29-4) [2v2:CVC] (@BIG10) (@@CHAMPS) (@NYC-WIN) (:CQAP)
- Gonzaga (31-2) WCC+4 [WCCt] [2v2:NIT.T-O] (vSEATTLE)
- Virginia (29-3) ACC [2v2:BRK-THANX] (@BIG10)
- Iowa State (25-8) .5BIG4 [@BIG12t] (@CY-HAWK) (vSEC) (@@BIG4)
- Kansas (26-8) BIG12 [v3:ORLANDO] (vSEC)
- Notre Dame (29-5) [@ACCt] (vBIG10) (@@XROADS)
- North Carolina (24-11) (:SPORTS)
- Oklahoma (22-10) (vSEC)
- Maryland (27-6) [2v2:CBE]
- Louisville (24-8) [rr4vGS-A] (vBIG10) (:JIMMY.V) (:ARMED)
- Baylor (23-9) (@SEC)
- West Virginia (23-9) [2:P.RICO] (:GOTHAM) (@@CAPITAL)
- Wichita State (27-4) MVC
- Northern Iowa (30-3) .5BIG4 [MVCt] [2v2:CANCUN] (@@BIG4)
- Michigan State (23-10)
- Oregon (24-9)
- Utah (23-8) [rr3UTE] (@LV-SHOW)
- VCU (26-9) [A10t] (:VETERANS)
- SMU (26-6) AMER [AMERt] [.3rr4HOOSIERS]
- Providence (22-11) [2v2:HALL.FAME] (:BRK-HOLIDAY)
- Xavier (21-13) (@XTOWN)
- Honorable Mention:
- Arkansas (26-8) [rr4vROUNDBALL], Texas (20-13) [2v2:2KS], Ohio State (22-10) [rr4vBUCKEYE], Davidson (22-7) A-10, Butler (22-10) , Georgetown (19-12) (:NYC-XMAS/I), Wyoming (22-9) [MWCt], San Diego State (25-8) .5MWC, Colorado State (26-6) [3:GREAT.AK], Iowa (21-11) (@ACC),
Stephen F. Austin(24-4) SLAND+2 [vSLANDt]
Buffalo(22-9) .3MAC [MACt],
UC-Irvine(19-12) [vBIGWt] [2:LV-HOLIDAY],
Northeastern(23-11) .25COLON+2 [COLONt],
Valparaiso(25-5) HORIZ [vHORIZt],
Albany(21-8) AMER.E+3 [vAMER.Et],
Lafayette(19-12) [@PATt],
UAB (18-15) [vCUSAt],
Georgia State(23-9) SUN.B [SUN.Bt] [rr3@CBEconA],
North Dakota State(20-9) .5SUMMIT+2 [@SUMMITt],
Harvard(19-7) .5IVY+2 [@@IVYp],
Wofford(26-6) SOCON [SOCONt],
Manhattan(19-13) [MAACt],
Robert Morris(19-14) [@NECt],
New Mexico State(19-10) WAC+5 [WACt],
Hampton(16-17) [v@MEACt],
Eastern Washington(23-8) .5SKY [@SKYt] [.3rr4HOOSIERS],
Texas Southern(22-12) SWAC+2 [vSWACt].
posted by Ron @ Wednesday, April 01, 2015
