Three weeks from right about now, the NCAA committee will announce the field for the tournament. With Ohio St just beating Michigan St in Columbus -- a win OSU needs to keep from falling into the "also-ran" category -- the weekend is over and we know more than we did.
Number one seeds are still in the air. But it's still IU, Miami, Duke and Louisville. Only IU isn't suspect at this point, with Georgetown's win at Syracuse yesterday putting their name in the mix. Michigan, Michigan St, Gonzaga, -- well, someone has said there might be 14 teams with a shot at the number one line yet.
On the other end, my Big 6 watch continues. Iowa lost yesterday on the road to Nebraska. That's not a quality loss. Looking at the schedule, both Minnesota and Iowa might finish the last four at 2-2, but is that good enough to hold bids? Minnesota has the highest strength of schedule in the conference -- and they have IU this week -- so that may boost them.
Still not counting on both making it. Or either one, for that matter.
Villanova's win over Marquette yesterday puts them in -- for now. They finish @ Pitt and hosting Georgetown. They probably need one of those to make sure the "last few" indicator isn't against them.
Temple? They are probably in if they win the next three. Then they finish with VCU @ home. Depending on the bubble, they might need that to make the tournament. Probably not.
LaSalle? They should win their last three. If they don't, they deserve to miss the field.
Maryland? They finish with two teams ahead of them in the ACC standings -- UVA and UNC. Losing both is deadly; winning both assures them of a bid.
And, of course, Valpo. The Crusaders are in first in Horizon, but need to win the conference tourney to be sure. There's probably not an at-large out of the Horizon this year. So, we await that tournament week outcome. Fingers crossed.
The field is shaking out. Games are running out. Watch here.
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