Hoop, Line And Sinker

A weekly column on men's college basketball.

Sunday, December 01, 2019

19 Mar11 - The King Is Dead! (ENDCONFERENCE/Major)

Volume XXIII, No. 19 - 19 Mar11: ENDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Top 25 Ballot The King Is Dead! After an NCAA-RECORD FOURTEEN-STRAIGHT SEASONS, Kansas/Bill Self's streak of consecutive BIG 12 titles officially came to an end when the Jayhawks lost at forgotten Oklahoma (68-@81). Meanwhile, Texas Tech dumped forgotten Texas (@70-51 only allowing 3 assists) and won on the road at slumping Iowa State (80-@73 as gJarrett Culver[31p] starred). Also, Kansas State won on the road at forgotten TCU (64-@52) and dumped Ok (@68-53). Elsewhere, IowaSt tanked at forgotten West Virginia (75-@90 on fJermaine Haley[28p7r]'s star turn) while Baylor dropped two: first, tripping at home against forgotten Oklahoma State (@64-67); then, falling at Kans (70-@78 despite 31p3a6r from bJared Butler). TxT and KansSt shared the title (with Kans two games back in third). In the SEC, Tennessee dumped Mississippi State (@71-54) but blew its chance in the regular season race when it tripped at Auburn (80-@84 despite 25p9r from fGrant Williams). Meanwhile, Lousiana State edged tumbling Florida in overtime on the road (79-@78[OT] despite 33p0a from Jalen Hudson). Elsewhere, Kentucky won twice: first, edging Mississippi on the road (80-@76 despite 25p12r from xTerence Davis); then, beating Fla (@66-57). LSU won the title (with Tenn and UK both a game back).      In the ACC, North Carolina beat undermanned Duke again (@79-70 despite 26p12r from xR.J. Barrett). Meanwhile, Virginia swept two: first, dumping host Syracuse (79-@53 as bKyle Guy[25p7r] and pTy Jerome[16p14a] both starred); then, edging Louisville (@73-68). Elsewhere, Florida State edged Virginia Tech in overtime (@73-64[OT]) while North Carolina State tripped at home against lowly Georgia Tech (@61-63 on James Banks III's game-winner) and 'Cuse also fell at forgotten Clemson (55-@67). UVa and UNC shared title (the second-straight for the Cavaliers; the third in four years for the Tar Heels; with Duke two games back in third.)      In the BIG 10, Purdue gave back sole possession of first place, tripping at Minnesota (69-@73 on fAmir Coffey[32p8r]'s star turn). That left arch-rivals Michigan State and Michigan to battle it out for a share of the lead: MichSt beat Mich (@75-63 dominating the boards 46-20). Elsewhere, Wisconsin dumped slumping Iowa (@65-45 dominating the boards 49-29; allowing no double-figure scorers) while Maryland beat Minn (@69-60) and tumbling Ohio State tanked at lowly Northwestern (50-@68). MichSt and Purd share the title (with Mich a game back in third).      In the BIG EAST, Seton Hall saved its season with a huge week: first, the SH-Pirates beat slumping Marquette (@73-64 rallying to close the game 18-0 as pMyles Powell[34p5a5r] dueled 25p9r from tSam Hauser); then, they edged Villanova (@79-75). Meanwhile, Marq also tripped at home against Georgetown (@84-86 on pJames Akinjo[25p5a5r]'s star turn). Elsewhere, St. John's fell at forgotten Xavier (68-@81). Nova claimed its FIFTH TITLE IN SIX YEARS (with Marq a game back).      In the PACIFIC-12, forgotten Oregon won on the road at 3-gap champ Washington (55-@47 only allowing 4 assists).      In the AMERICAN, a bad week ruined the title hopes of Cincinnati: first, the C-Bearcats tripped at UCF (55-@58); then, they were blown out at home in the showdown with Houston (@69-85 as pCorey Davis Jr.[31p6a] starred). Elsewhere, Temple edged UCF (@67-62 despite 36p11r from xAubrey Dawkins). Hous took the title (with Cincy two games back); for the H-Cougars, its their FIRST REGULAR SEASON TITLE IN OVER 25 YEARS - - CONGRATS! In the IVY LEAGUE, both Yale and Harvard dropped a game on the road in the final week. Penn beat the Y-Bulldogs (@77-66) while the Crimson fell at Cornell (59-@72 thanks to gMatt Morgan[31p3a]'s One-Man Show). Yale and Harv both shared the title (with Princeton and Penn both making the conference tourney [at Yale]. For Harv it's the second-straight and SEVENTH IN NINE YEARS for the dominant team of the decade.) In the poorly rated MOUNTAIN WEST, Nevada dumped San Diego State (@81-53 as pCaleb Martin[25p7a6r] starred). Nev and Utah State shared the regular season title (the third-straight for the N-Wolf_Pack).      The SUN BELT race went down to the final game. Tri-leader Texas State fell at Texas-Arlington (73-@81). That left the showdown between arch-rivals Georgia State and Georgia Southern to determine the regular season champ. In one of the sweetest wins in their grudge series, it was "State, not Southern" as the GaSt-Panthers edged the GaSo-Eagles on the road (90-@85). GaSt took the title (with TxArl, Gaso and TxSt all one game back). In the BIG SKY, Montana went 2-1 on the week to earn its second-straight regular season title - - EXCELLENT!!      In the SWAC, Prairie View A&M thumped host Alabama State (96-@69 on 60 percent shooting) to earn the regular season title. - - - - - - In the OHIO VALLEY final, for the second-straight year, it was [1b]Murray State beating [1a]Belmont (77-65 as fJa Morant[36p7r7to] starred). (Now the deserving B-Bruins have to sweat it out on The Bubble in hopes of an NCAA bid.)      In the MISSOURI VALLEY tourney: in the semifinals, [1b]Drake tripped against [5b]Northern Iowa (58-60) while resurrected [5a]Bradley edged [1a]Loyola(Illinois) (53-51); then, [5a]Brad edged [5b]NoIowa in the final (57-54) to claim the Jack Dawson bid. [1]South Dakota State tripped right away in the SUMMIT tourney quarters, falling to [8]Western Illinois (@76-79). (That means it won't be four-for-four trips to the NCAAs for superstar xMike Daum. Meanwhile, last year's foil [gMatt Mooney, who made the GT-jump from 1BC South Dakota to B-Major Texas Tech] cruised into the tourney as a starter for the BIG 12 co-champs ... AAARRRGGGHHH!!!)      In the ATLANTIC SUN final, the rubber game between co-champs [1a]Lipscomb and [1b]Liberty was a road win for the third time as the [1b]Libty beat host [1b]Lips (74-@68) to claim the rare Carpetbagger TiTo crown - - CONGRATS! (Even though Lips has rated as Splashworthy all season, there's no way they'll get an At-Large NCAA bid coming from a Flop league; so they'll have to settle for the NIT.)      In the BIG SOUTH, neither co-champ made it through to the tourney crown as Jack Dawson [3b]Gardner-Webb pulled off two road wins: first, edging [1a]Campbell (79-@74 on 60 percent shooting); then, beating [1b]Radford (76-@65 on fD.J. Laster[32p6r]'s star turn). (That means no NCAAs for Camp superstar gChris Clemons [3000+ points; #4 all-time] while JD [3b]GarWeb's FIRST-EVER TRIP TO THE NCAAs - - CONGRATS! - - will likely land in the Play-In game.) - - - - - - Both WCC/Gonzaga (with a FIVE-GAME GAP) and SOCON/Wofford (with a three-game gap) went unbeaten in conference. Frankly, it's high time for Gonz to Do The Right Thing and leave the WCC. [Wichita State moved out of the MISSOURI VALLEY when it was dominating, and now is only a contender in the AMERICAN.] Problem is that both the PACIFIC-12 and the MOUNTAIN WEST both rated below the WEST COAST this year!) Woff looks every bit the part of a Splashworthy squad with its three-point prowess. WAC/New Mexico State (15-1 with a three-game gap), BIGW/UC-Irvine (15-1 with a FIVE-GAME GAP) and SWAC/Prairie View A&M (17-1 with a three-game gap) all dominated their leagues as well. NMSt has never been able to translate it into postseason success while UCI and PVAM probably come from too lowly rated leagues to expect anything from them.      (On the negative side, four teams were winless in conference: SEC/Vanderbilt [0-18 two games back], AMERICAN/Tulane [0-18 three games back], WCC/Portland [0-16 FOUR GAMES BACK] and WAC/Chicago State [0-16 SIX GAMES BACK]. Only managing one win were SLAND/Incarnate [1-17 FOUR GAMES BACK] and BIGS/South Carolina Upstate [1-15].) - - - - - - With 36 at-large bids, we're no longer arguing about quality teams that don't get into the NCAAs. Now, it's a question of how many poor-quality teams get in anyway. There are only a handful of 1BC teams who appear to be Splashworthy this year and their high ratings have more to do with dominating in conference rather than having quality out-of-conference wins in the preseason. Only WCC/Gonzaga, Buffalo (from the B-Major-rated MAC)and SOCON/Wofford should expect to be Anti-Spoiler's guaranteed an At-Large bid if they fail to win their conference tourneys. (Too bad for the likes of already-out OVC/Belmont and COLON/Hofstra.) Otherwise, all other At-Large bids will go to B-Major also-rans.      Here are the locks (and nots) for this year's At-Large bids among the B-Major and MM leagues:
  • BIG 10 (4/2) - Michigan State + (lock: Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland; not: Iowa, Minnesota)
  • ACC (6/1) - Virginia/North Carolina + (lock: Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse; not: North Carolina State)
  • SEC (6/1) - Louisiana State + (lock: Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Florida; not: South Carolina)
  • BIG 12 (4/1) - Texas Tech/Kansas State + (lock: Kansas, Baylor, Iowa State; not: Texas)
  • BIG EAST (1/4) - Villanova + (lock: Marquette; not: Seton Hall, Creighton, Georgetown, St. John's)
  • MID-AMERICAN (0/2) - Buffalo + (lock: NONE; not: Toledo, Bowling Green)
  • WCC (0/2) - Gonzaga + (lock: NONE; not: St. Mary's, BYU)
  • AMERICAN (2/1) - Houston + (lock: Cincinnati, UCF; not: Temple)
  • PAC-12 (0/2) - Washington + (lock: NONE; not: Arizona State, Utah)
  • SOCON (0/3) - Wofford + (lock: NONE; not: UNC-Greensboro, Furman, East Tennessee State)
  • OVC (0/1) - *Murray State + (lock: NONE; not: Belmont)
  • A-10 (0/2) - VCU + (lock: NONE; not: Davidson, Dayton)
  • MWC (0/1) - Nevada/Utah State + (lock: NONE; not: Fresno State)
That's a just 23 lock bids, leaving some 13 soft bids up for grabs among 23 contenders who could play themselves in or out of a bid. Living up to your seed is the bare minimum for the likes of BIG10/Iowa|Minn, ACC/NCSt, SEC/SCar and BIG12/Tx and BIGE/Seton|Creigh|Gtown|StJohn and they'll still need help from the 1BC Anti-Spoilers WCC/Gonz, MAC/Buff and SOCON/Woff to deliver. Unfortunately, it looks like TiTo-or-Bust for some powerhouse 1BC teams:WAC/New Mexico State, COLON/Hofstra, BIGW/UC-Irvine and IVY/Yale. (MVC/Drake|Loyola(Illinois) and ASUN/Lipscomb all are probably already SOL.) - - - - - - Four weeks later, the entire the official "PRESIXTEEN" teams still look pretty good. Duke and Tennessee have fallen back to #2-seeds at the expense of Michigan State and North Carolina. B-Major title champs LSU, Purdue and Texas Tech/Kansas State all warrant #2- or #3-seeds with the likes of slumping Iowa State, Louisville and Marquette all likely on the outside of top-four seeds. Winning your B-Major tourney can still earn a #1-seed for most anyone (except Villanova or Buffalo). Nevada probably needs to win a rubber game with Utah State to stay top-four.      The BIG 10 and ACC both rated beyond-elite status with (two) and (three) Final Four-calibre teams at their top. The SEC and BIG 12 both have multiple Final Four-level teams on top as well. The BIG EAST's top teams haven't quite rated beyond Sweet 16-level while the MAC's top team might go deep in the NCAAs. The top teams out of the WEST COAST, AMERICAN and MOUNTAIN WEST are plenty dangerous. [1a]Michigan State handled all the top contenders in the BIG 10 so no reason to expect anything otherwise; [3]Michigan/[1b]Purdue will vie for runner-up while [4]Wisconsin/[5]Maryland must settle the last semifinal spot. [1a]Virginia beat both top ACC contenders when they were complete while [3]@Duke longs to get a fully loaded shot at [1b]North Carolina; not much to choose between [4]Florida State/[5]Virginia Tech. After splitting two home blowouts, the rubber-game [2b]@Tennessee/[2a]@Kentucky SEC semi in Nashville might be the best matchup all weekend; [1]LSU's squeak wins might come back to haunt them while [4b]Auburn has an easy path to the semis. In the BIG 12, [1b]Texas Tech will have its hands full against [3]@Kansas with a chip on its shoulders in one semi while [1a]@Kansas State-[4]Baylor-[5]Iowa State is a tough draw in the top half. [1]Villanova's path in the BIG EAST looks clear while [2]Marquette must fight to get past @[7]St. John's and [3a]Seton Hall just to make the final. 3-gap [1/E1]Buffalo has bigger fish to fry this postseason than any challenge it will get in the MAC tourney.      UNBEATEN/5-GAP [1]Gonzaga should coast through the remaining WCC field. [1]Houston (past [3b]UCF) and [2]Cincinnati (past [3a]Temple) will have closer semis than the than a third H-Cougar rout in the AMERICAN final. 3-gap [1]Washington took the pedal off the gas after clinching the PAC-12 title (but is anybody willing to take the crown away?) Unbeaten/3-gap [1]Wofford will have no problem blowing out [2]@UNC-Greensboro for the third time in the SOCON final. 3-gap [1]New Mexico State expects to cruise through the WAC draw. [1a]Harvard went 4-0 against @[1b]Yale and [4a]Penn in the IVY regular season. Gap [1]VCU shouldn't get any trouble from anyone besides [2]Davidson in the A10 final.      Bubble [1b]Utah State (past [3]Fresno State) will have more to play for in a rubber-game MWC final than Anti-Spoiler [1a]Nevada (past [4a]San Diego State). The regular season didn't settle much at all among the SUN BELT top four ([1]Georgia State/[2c]Texas State//[2a]Texas-Arlington/[2b]Georgia Southern). Bubble [1]Hofstra is no shoo-in against [2]Northeastern in the expected COLONIAL final. [1b]Northern Kentucky/[1a]Wright State didn't settle much splitting squeak home wins in the HORIZON regular season. [1]Old Dominion is the best of a bad bunch in the C-USA draw. 5-GAP [1]@UC-Irvine expects to cruise through the BIG WEST draw. Home court could well decide the rubber-game PATRIOT final between @[1a]Colgate/[1b]Bucknell.      The remaining SUMMIT draw is [2]Omaha's for the taking. Gap [1]@Sam Houston State expects to cruise through the SOUTHLAND draw. Look for [1]@Iona to wrap up the MAAC final (past [6]Monmouth). Gap @[1]Vermont only fears AMERICA EAST arch-rival [3]Maryland-Baltimore County (even at home). @[1a]St. Francis(Pennsylvania)/[1b]Fairleigh Dickinson traded road-routs in the NORTHEAST regular season. [1]Montana only fears [2]Northern Colorado (and [4b]Portland State) in the BIG SKY draw. @[1]Norfolk State expects to cruise at home through the MEAC draw. 3-gap [1]Prairie View A&M's only concern is arch-rival [2]Texas Southern on a neutral site in the SWAC final. -- Ron P.S. Look for the official Hoops Contest invite Sunday overnight.      (And don't forget the deadline is TUESDAY 6:30P because of the FIRST FOUR games.)
Key games this week:
Monday:
SOCON TOURNAMENT Final @AshevilleNC -([1]Wofford-[2]@UNCGreensboro), MAAC TOURNAMENT Final @AlbanyNY/Siena/ -([1]@Iona-[6]Monmouth),
Monday-Tuesday:
WCC TOURNAMENT Semis,Final @LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/ -([1]Gonzaga-[8]Pepperdine, [2a]StMarys-[7]SanDiego[CA]), COLONIAL TOURNAMENT Semis,Final @CharlestonSC/ColofCharleston/ -([1]Hofstra-[4]Delaware, @[3]ColofCharleston-[2]Northeastern), HORIZON TOURNAMENT Semis,Final @DetroitMI/Detroit/ -([1a]WrightSt-[4a]GreenBay, [1b]NoKentucky-[3]@Oakland), SUMMIT TOURNAMENT Semis,Final @SiouxFallSD/PENTAGON/ -([2]Omaha-[3a]PurdueFW, [3b]NDState-[8]WeIllinois),
Monday, Thursday-Saturday:
MAC TOURNAMENT on-campus, @ClevelandOH -(Mon 1st/16s: @[5]CMichigan-[12]WeMichigan[MI], @[6]EaMichigan-[10b]BallSt, @[7a]NoIllinois-[10a]OhioU, @[7b]Akron-[9]MiamiOH[OH];    Thu 2nd/Qtrs: [1/E1]Buffalo-{[7b]/[9]}, [2/W1]@Toledo-{[7a]/[10a]}, [3]@BowlingGreen-{[6]/[10b]}, [4]@KentSt-{[5]/[12]}),
Monday-Saturday:
MEAC TOURNAMENT @NorfolkVA/NorfolkSt/ -(@[1]NorfolkSt, [2]NCA&T, [3a]NCCentral, [3b]Howard),
Tuesday:
NORTHEAST TOURNAMENT Final on-campus -(@[1a]StFrancisPA-FairleighDickinson),
Tuesday, Friday-Saturday:
SWAC TOURNAMENT on-campus, @BirminghamAL -([1]PrairieViewA&M, [2]TexasSo),
Tuesday, Saturday:
AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT Semis,Final on-campus -(@[1]Vermont-[7]SUNYB, @[3]MDBaltimoreCo-[4]Hartford),
Tuesday-Saturday:
ACC TOURNAMENT @CharlotteNC -(Tue Open/32s: [10]GeorgiaTech-[14b]NotreDame, [11a]BostonCol-[14a]Pittsburgh, [11b]MiamiFL-[13]@WakeForest;    Wed 1st/16s: [5]VirginiaTech-{[11b]/[13]}, [6a]Syracuse-{[11a]/[14a]}, [6b]Louisville-{[10]/[14b]}, [8a]@NCState-[8b]Clemson;    Thu 2nd/Qtrs: [1a]Virginia-{[8a]/[8b]}, [1b]@NCarolina-{[6b]//[10]/[14b]}, [3]@Duke-{[6a]//[11a]/[14a]}, [4]FloridaSt-{[5]//[11b]/[13]}),
Tuesday, Thursday-Sunday:
SUN BELT TOURNAMENT @NewOrleansLA -(Tue Open/32s: [6b]@LAMonroe-[10]AppalachianSt, [8]SAlabama-[9]ArkansasSt;    Thu 1st/16s: [5]@Louisiana-{[8]/[9]}, [6a]CoCarolina-{[6b]/[10]};    Fri 2nd/Qtrs: [2b]GeorgiaSo-{[6a]//[6b]/[10]}, [2c]TexasSt-{[5]//[8]/[9]};    Sat 3rd/Semis: [1]GeorgiaSt-{[2c]///[5]//[8]/[9]}, [2a]TXArlington-{[2b]///[6a]//[6b]/[10]}),
Wednesday:
PATRIOT TOURNAMENT Final on-campus -(@[1a]Colgate-[1b]Bucknell),
Wednesday-Saturday:
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT @KansasCityMO/SPRINT/ -(Wed 1st/16s: [7a]Oklahoma-[10]WVirginia, [7b]TCU-[9]OklahomaSt;    Thu 2nd/Qtrs: [1a]@KansasSt-{[7b]/[9]}, [1b]TexasTech-{[7a]/[10]}, [3]@Kansas-[6]Texas, [4]Baylor-[5]IowaSt), BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @NewYorkNY/MSG/ -(Wed 1st/16s: @[7]StJohns-[8c]DePaul, [8a]Providence-[8b]Butler;    Thu 2nd/Qtrs: [1]Villanova-{[8a]/[8b]}, [2]Marquette-{[7]/[8c]}, [3a]@SetonHall-[3d]Georgetown, [3b]Xavier-[3c]Creighton), PAC-12 TOURNAMENT @LasVegasNV/T-MOBILE/ -(Wed 1st/16s: [4b]Colorado-[12]California, [4c]Oregon-[11]WashingtonSt, [7]UCLA-[8c]Stanford[CA], [8a]USC-[8b]Arizona;    Thu 2nd/Qtrs: [1]Washington-{[8a]/[8b]}, [2]ArizonaSt-{[7]/[8c]}, [3]Utah-{[4c]/[11]}, [4a]OregonSt-{[4b]/[12]}), MWC TOURNAMENT @LasVegasNV/UNLV/ -(Wed 1st/16s: [6]AirForce-[11]SanJoseSt, [7a]NewMexico-[10]Wyoming, [7b]BoiseSt-[7c]ColoradoSt;    Thu 2nd/Qtrs: [1a]@Nevada-{[7b]/[7c]}, [1b]UtahSt-{[7a]/[10]}, [3]FresnoSt-{[6]/[11]}, @[4b]UNLV-[4a]SanDiegoSt), C-USA TOURNAMENT @FriscoTX/NTexas/ -([1]OldDominion, [2a]WeKentucky, [2b]SoMissisippi, [2c]@TXSanAntonio, [2d]UAB), SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT @KatyTX -([1]@SamHoustonSt, [2]@AbileneChristian, [3b]NewOrleans, [3c]@Lamar), BIG SKY TOURNAMENT @BoiseID -([1]Montana, [2]NoColorado),
Wednesday-Sunday:
BIG 10 TOURNAMENT @ChicagoIL/UNITED//Northwestern/ -(Wed Open/32s: [10b]@Illinois-[14]@Northwestern[IL], [10c]Rutgers-[13]Nebraska;    Thu 1st/16s: [5]Maryland-{[10c]/[13]}, [6]Iowa-{[10b]/[14]}, [7]Minnesota-[10a]PennSt, [8a]OhioSt-[8b]Indiana[BG];    Fri 2nd/Qtrs: [1a]MichiganSt-{[8a]/[8b]}, [1b]Purdue-{[7]/[10a]}, [3]Michigan-{[6]//[10b]/[14]}, [4]Wisconsin-{[5]//[10c]/[13]}), SEC TOURNAMENT @NashvileeTN/BRIDGESTONE//Vanderbilt/ -(Wed Open/32s: @[14]Vanderbilt-[11]TexasA&M, [12]Missouri-[13]Georgia;    Thu 1st/16s: [4b]Auburn-{[12]/[13]}, [6a]MississippiSt-{[11]/@[14]}, [6b]Mississippi-[9b]Alabama, [8]Florida-[9a]Arkansas;    Fri 2nd/Qtrs: [1]LSU-{[8]/[9a]}, [2a]@Kentucky-{[6b]/[9b]}, [2b]@Tennessee-{[6a]//[11]/@[14]}, [4a]SCarolina-{[4b]//[12]/[13]}), A-10 TOURNAMENT @BroooklynNY/BARCLAYS/ -(Wed Open/32s: [10b]Richmond-[14]@Fordham, [12a]GeoWashington-[12b]Massachusetts;    Thu 1st/16s: [5]GeoMason-{[12a]/[12b]}, [6a]StLouis-{[10b]/[14]}, [6b]Duquesne-[10a]StJoseph[PA], [8]RhodeIsland-[9]LaSalle;    Fri 2nd/Qtrs: [1]VCU-{[8]/[9]}, [2]Davidson-{[6b]/[10a]}, [3]Dayton-{[6a]//[10b]/[14]}, [4]StBonaventure-{[5]//[12a]/[12b]}),
Thursday-Saturday:
WAC TOURNAMENT @LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/ -([1]NewMexicoSt-[8]ChicagoSt, [2]UTValley-[6b]MOKansasCity, [3]GrandCanyon-[6a]Seattle, [4]TXRGValley-[5x]CalStBakersfield), BIG WEST TOURNAMENT @AnaheimCA/HONDA/ -([1]@UCIrvine, [2a]UCSantaBarbara),
Thursday-Sunday:
AMERICAN TOURNAMENT @MemphisTN/Memphis/ -(Thu 1st/16s: @[5]Memphis-[12]Tulane, [6]WichitaSt-[11]ECarolina, [7a]Tulsa-[9b]SMU, [7b]SFlorida-[9a]Connecticut;    Fri 2nd/Qtrs: [1]Houston-{[7b]/[9a]}, [2]Cincinnati-{[7a]/[9b]}, [3a]Temple-{[6]/[11]}, [3b]UCF-{[5]/[12]}),
Saturday-Sunday:
IVY TOURNAMENT @NewHavenCT/Yale/ -([1a]Harvard-[4a]Penn, @[1b]Yale-[3]Princeton).
Sunday (ST. PATRICK'S):
(NCAA BRACKET SELECTION) (NIT BRACKET SELECTION) (CBI [COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL] BRACKET SELECTION) (CIT [COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT] BRACKET SELECTION)
Top 25 - 19 Mar11: ENDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Column
  1. Gonzaga (28-2) 7-PEAT;18TH/19 WCCu+5
  2. Virginia (28-2) repeat .5ACC+2
  3. North Carolina (26-5) 3rd/4 .5ACC+2
  4. Michigan State (25-6) repeat .5BIG10
  5. Louisiana State (26-5) SEC
  6. Purdue (23-8) 2nd/3 .5BIG10
  7. Duke (26-5)
  8. Tennessee (26-4)
  9. Kentucky (26-5)
  10. Michigan (26-5)
  11. Texas Tech (26-5) .5BIG12+2
  12. Kansas State (24-7) .5BIG12+2
  13. Houston (29-2) AMER+2
  14. Villanova (22-9) 5TH/6 BIG.E
  15. Kansas (23-8)
  16. Florida State (25-6)
  17. Wisconsin (22-9)
  18. Virginia Tech (23-7)
  19. Washington (24-7) PAC12+3
  20. Buffalo (27-3) repeat MAC+3
  21. Wofford (25-4) SOCONu+3
  22. Utah State (24-6) .5MWC+2
  23. Nevada (27-3) 3-peat .5MWC+2
  24. Murray State (25-4) repeat .5OVC; repeat [OVCt]
  25. Hofstra (26-5) COLON
Honorable Mention:
Auburn (21-9), Minnesota (19-12), Oklahoma (19-12), UCF (23-7), Oregon (19-12), Seton Hall (18-12)/Georgetown (19-12), Temple (23-8), Toledo (23-6), Bradley (19-14) [MVCt], Yale (19-7)/Harvard (16-10) (repeat;7TH/9) IVY+2, - - - - - - Georgia State (21-9) SUN.B, - - - - - - Gardner-Webb (20-11) [@BIG.St], Liberty (23-6) Carpetbagger .5A-SUN+5 [@A-SUNt], Montana (21-8) repeat SKY, Prairie View A&M (18-12) SWAC+3.

posted by Ron @ Sunday, December 01, 2019