We've just moved into February, and a true hoops fan can probably feel the extra weight of significance that has dropped onto NCAA games. Nowhere is that more true than for the teams that cannot reasonably look forward to an at-large bid.
We'll skip over the top 10 of the conference RPI and look at which teams are positioning themselves for favorable conference tourney seeds, and, hopefully, the auto-bid.
1. ACC
2. Pac 10
3. Big East
4. Big 12
5. SEC
6. Big Ten
7. Atlantic 10
8. MVC
9. Mountain West
10. Horizon League
11. C-USA - Memphis. No auto-bid required after stomping Houston into a pulp on Wednesday, so it's up to the also-rans to somehow make it count in March.
12. WCC - Gonzaga's late-season ramblings are handing them losses, but none in conference. The Zags are 5-0, with St. Mary's and San Diego lurking at 4-1. Bulldogs and Gaels meet on Big Monday, but San Diego has a couple of weeks against lesser competition ahead.
13. MAC - Right now, this conference belongs to Kent State in the East (6-1), and Western Michigan in the West (5-2). Three other Ohio-based schools are lined up behind Kent State with 5-2 records, however, so every week is a big week.
14. CAA - George Mason moved to 7-3 by notching a thrilling home win over VCU (8-2). They have company, however. UNC-Wilmington and a surprising William & Mary squad are hanging right with them.
15. Sun Belt - North Texas handed South Alabama their first setback of the conference season last night. That moves the Team USA Jaguars into a 9-1 tie with Western Kentucky and their NBA-ready star Courtney Lee (21ppg). The two don't face off directly until Feb. 21
16. SoCon - As steady as they come. Davidson is flying high at 12-0, with 9-2 Chattanooga and 8-3 Appalachian State as their nearest rivals. The Wildcats and Mocs have a night game tomorrow that could render the remainder of the regular season moot.
17. WAC - Roughly half of the league is still hanging around in this one. Utah State has a slim edge at 5-1, with Boise, Nevada, NMSU, and Hawaii all within striking distance.
18. Metro Atlantic - Another case of a talented player slipping through the cracks to land at a mid-major. Which is good for us fans. Jason Thompson is averaging a double-double for Rider (9-2), who sit atop the MAAC with a slim 1/2 game lead over Siena.
19. Patriot - The Lafayette Leopards are 5-1, which gives them a paper-thin one-game lead on Lehigh and Bucknell. Both teams will have a shot at the league leader back-to-back in late February.
20. Big West - Cal State-Northridge still holds court here, perfect at 7-0. The Matadors have already notched one win vs. 5-2 Pacific, and will meet 6-2 Fullerton late on Saturday.
21. Southland - Constipated. Lamar is 4-1, SELA, Sam Houston, and SFA are 4-2.
22. Summit - Oral Roberts still 9-0.
23. Ivy - Cornell is 2-0. Penn and Princeton have yet to play a league game.
24. Big Sky - Weber State 6-2, with Portland State on the rise at 5-2.
25. NEC - Wagner Power Painters 8-1, Sacred Heart still beating at 9-2.
26. Big South - UNC-Asheville 6-0. Winthrop dangerously near at 5-1.
27. America East - Troika of UMBC, Vermont, and Binghamton share 6-2 records.
28. Mid Eastern - Todd Bozeman has Morgan State at 6-1, with Hampton and Norfolk 1/2 game back.
29. Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville is 7-1, with Belmont on their lee quarter at 6-2.
30. Ohio Valley - Austin Peay (10-3) took down Murray State (9-4) to stay strong.
31. Indies - No bids. Kyle wrote a nice piece about Texas Pan-American's Paul Stoll, however, so you should check that out.
32. SWAC - Alabama State 6-1. Arkansas-Pine Bluff wants a piece of that play-in game action at 5-2.
We'll skip over the top 10 of the conference RPI and look at which teams are positioning themselves for favorable conference tourney seeds, and, hopefully, the auto-bid.
1. ACC2. Pac 10
3. Big East
4. Big 12
5. SEC
6. Big Ten
7. Atlantic 10
8. MVC
9. Mountain West
10. Horizon League
11. C-USA - Memphis. No auto-bid required after stomping Houston into a pulp on Wednesday, so it's up to the also-rans to somehow make it count in March.
12. WCC - Gonzaga's late-season ramblings are handing them losses, but none in conference. The Zags are 5-0, with St. Mary's and San Diego lurking at 4-1. Bulldogs and Gaels meet on Big Monday, but San Diego has a couple of weeks against lesser competition ahead.
13. MAC - Right now, this conference belongs to Kent State in the East (6-1), and Western Michigan in the West (5-2). Three other Ohio-based schools are lined up behind Kent State with 5-2 records, however, so every week is a big week.
14. CAA - George Mason moved to 7-3 by notching a thrilling home win over VCU (8-2). They have company, however. UNC-Wilmington and a surprising William & Mary squad are hanging right with them.
15. Sun Belt - North Texas handed South Alabama their first setback of the conference season last night. That moves the Team USA Jaguars into a 9-1 tie with Western Kentucky and their NBA-ready star Courtney Lee (21ppg). The two don't face off directly until Feb. 21
16. SoCon - As steady as they come. Davidson is flying high at 12-0, with 9-2 Chattanooga and 8-3 Appalachian State as their nearest rivals. The Wildcats and Mocs have a night game tomorrow that could render the remainder of the regular season moot.
17. WAC - Roughly half of the league is still hanging around in this one. Utah State has a slim edge at 5-1, with Boise, Nevada, NMSU, and Hawaii all within striking distance.
18. Metro Atlantic - Another case of a talented player slipping through the cracks to land at a mid-major. Which is good for us fans. Jason Thompson is averaging a double-double for Rider (9-2), who sit atop the MAAC with a slim 1/2 game lead over Siena.
19. Patriot - The Lafayette Leopards are 5-1, which gives them a paper-thin one-game lead on Lehigh and Bucknell. Both teams will have a shot at the league leader back-to-back in late February.
20. Big West - Cal State-Northridge still holds court here, perfect at 7-0. The Matadors have already notched one win vs. 5-2 Pacific, and will meet 6-2 Fullerton late on Saturday.
21. Southland - Constipated. Lamar is 4-1, SELA, Sam Houston, and SFA are 4-2.
22. Summit - Oral Roberts still 9-0.
23. Ivy - Cornell is 2-0. Penn and Princeton have yet to play a league game.
24. Big Sky - Weber State 6-2, with Portland State on the rise at 5-2.
25. NEC - Wagner Power Painters 8-1, Sacred Heart still beating at 9-2.
26. Big South - UNC-Asheville 6-0. Winthrop dangerously near at 5-1.
27. America East - Troika of UMBC, Vermont, and Binghamton share 6-2 records.
28. Mid Eastern - Todd Bozeman has Morgan State at 6-1, with Hampton and Norfolk 1/2 game back.
29. Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville is 7-1, with Belmont on their lee quarter at 6-2.
30. Ohio Valley - Austin Peay (10-3) took down Murray State (9-4) to stay strong.
31. Indies - No bids. Kyle wrote a nice piece about Texas Pan-American's Paul Stoll, however, so you should check that out.
32. SWAC - Alabama State 6-1. Arkansas-Pine Bluff wants a piece of that play-in game action at 5-2.
1 comments:
Sun Belt is going to be a great race down to the end... I'm excited to see how that one turns out.
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