CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS: (Those in my Revised Bracket are underlined)

 

AMERICA EAST

Vermont is out of the Northeast slot, losing to Stony Brook in the quarterfinals. Stony Brook meets Boston U March 12 for automatic bid.

 

ACC

Boston College and Virginia Tech could put to rest bubble talk with first round wins on Wednesday.

Duke, North Carolina and Florida State have first round byes
and
are solidly in the NCAA bracket; but Clemson, the #4 seed, has slowly crept into contention for a bid.

 

ATLANTIC 10

Xavier, Temple, Richmond and Duquesne get first round byes in the tournament that runs Tuesday-Friday.

 

ATLANTIC SUN

Belmont beat down North Florida, 87-46 to pick up the bid in an audition for the role of Cinderella.

 

BIG EAST

The war being waged in the Big East continues Tuesday through Saturday in Madison Square Garden as the 16 members try to sort out which 10 or 11 make it to the NCAA tournament. UConn, Villanova and Marquette all have first round games. Marquette is the only one that can't afford to lose.

 

BIG SOUTH

UNC-Asheville took out favored Coastal Carolina, 60-47, in the finals to continue the madness as a 16 seed against Ohio State in my mock bracket.

 

BIG SKY

Montana and Colorado State, the two top seeds have byes into the semifinals Tuesday night. Only one will get a bid.

 

BIG TEN

Michigan State, which most have "in", starts first round play on Thursday. Illinois and Michigan, both of whom are on the bubble in my analysis, meet each other in Friday's second round; and the winner will gain some credibility with the selection committee. Ohio State is my #1 seed and can only lose ground with an early exit. Purdue, Notre Dame and Wisconsin are all playing at a high level and are looking for higher NCAA seeds.

 

BIG WEST

Long Beach State, winner of the regular season title, will try to run the table to secure the automatic bid.

 

BIG XII

Missouri slipped to a #6 seed and plays Texas Tech in the late game Wednesday. The winner meets Texas A&M on Thursday. The Tigers may need the first round win to avoid the dreaded "bubble".

 

COLONIAL

Virginia Commonwealth, one of my bubble teams, knocked off George Mason Sunday in the semis and tonight plays Old Dominion for the automatic bid. A VCU win probably will result in a TKO (tournament knock out) for one of three Colonial hopefuls.

 

CONFERENCE USA

How many teams from this conference can earn a spot in the NCAA field? I have UTEP, UAB and Memphis "in" right now, but I'm thinking only two will make it. That means Southern Miss needs to win the tourney for a bid.

 

GREAT WEST

Utah Valley (19-10, 11-1) will try to defend its home court and regular season title in a 4-team tournament in Orem.

 

HORIZON

Butler beat Cleveland State, and UW-Milwaukee beat Valparaiso to set up Tuesday night's final. Cleveland State, one of my "last four in", falls from tournament grace, surrendering a spot to a major conference bubble team.

 

IVY

Princeton must beat Penn to force a 1-game playoff with Harvard for the league crown. The Ivy League has no time for non-academic nonsense like a conference tournament.

 

MAAC (Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference)

Saint Peter's sent conference winner Fairfield to bracket hell Sunday in the semis and will meet 2^nd-seeded Iona in tonight's final.

 

MAC (Mid-American Conference)

Kent State (21-10, 12-4) is the first MAC team to win consecutive outright conference titles in 21 years and must now run the tournament gauntlet to secure an automatic bid.

 

MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)

Hampton (21-8, 11-5) and Bethune-Cookman (20-11, 13-3) are the class of the league, but only the tournament champion will celebrate in Winston-Salem on Saturday.

 

MISSOURI VALLEY

Indiana State punched its ticket to the Big Dance Sunday but may have knocked out Missouri State.

I now have the Sycamores in a "First Four" play-in game against the loser of the Horizon finals for a 12 seed in the West against Georgetown.

 

MOUNTAIN WEST

Everyone knows BYU and San Diego State will get high NCAA seeds. The question is: What happens to UNLV and Colorado State? I have the Rebels "in" as a 7^th seed and Colorado State as one of the "last four out", but the Rams could jump up with a win in the semifinals against one of the top two seeds.

 

NORTHEAST

Long Island edged Connecticut State, 69-67, and Robert Morris slipped by Quinnipiac, 64-62, to earn finals berths Wednesday night. Only the winner will be selected.

 

OHIO VALLEY

Morehead State (24-9, 13-5) grabs the ticket to play on in March.

 

PAC-10

Arizona (3), UCLA (8) and Washington (8) have invitations in my faux bracket. Talk of USC and Washington State as "bubble" teams stems from lack of anything better to do.

 

PATRIOT LEAGUE

Bucknell (24-8, 13-1) and Lafayette (13-18, 6-8) face off Friday for the sole bid out of the Patriot League.

The selection committee has to be dreading a Lafayette upset.

 

SOUTHEASTERN

Three teams in my "Revised Bracket", Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, all play Thursday in first round games. Alabama, which I have on the outside looking in, gets a first round bye. If Georgia makes it past Auburn, it sets up a rematch with the Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs probably need to win two games to stay in the NCAA picture. Mississippi State, another of my bubble teams, also has a first round bye but needs to do some work to earn a bid. Florida and Kentucky, with its win over Tennessee Sunday, are in my Revised Bracket on the three and six lines. The Selection Committee must wait until Sunday to sort out the SEC train wreck. If five SEC teams go to the NCAA's, look for a mid-major to be slighted. [Editor's Note: I'd love to see Tennessee and its cheating coach get bumped in the first round and dropped from selection committee consideration.]

 

SOUTHERN

College of Charleston (24-9, 14-4) meets Wofford (20-12, 14-4) tonight to chose which Southern belle will go to the Big Dance.

 

SOUTHLAND

McNeese State (19-10, 11-5) will try to validate its regular season championship with a tournament title.

 

SUMMIT

Oakland (23-9, 17-1), the class of the league, must still win two tourney games to march on.

 

SUN BELT

Western Kentucky, North Texas, Middle Tennessee and Arkansas-Little Rock are in tonight's semifinals, looking to take the slot previously reserved for Florida Atlantic, which lost in the second round.

 

SWAC

League champ Texas Southern (18-11, 16-2) will try to dodge the slings and arrows of the conference tourney.

 

WAC

Number 1 seed Utah State (28-3, 15-1) gets a double bye through to the semifinals on Friday. The Aggies have been in the Top 25 most of the season and are "in" regardless of their showing in Vegas.

 

WEST COAST

Gonzaga and St. Mary's play a rubber game in tonight's finals. They split the regular season series, and tonight's game is probably just a battle for NCAA seeding.