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TGS COLLEGE HOOPS UPDATE: COMING SOON…MARCH MAYHEM! by The Gold Sheet
We don’t think there was ever quite as exciting a time for us as the early ’80s, when the ACC finally had some company with its postseason event, and the conference tournaments became standard fare. To this day, we still think those early days of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden were some of the most-magical for us, with the realization that college basketball had finally arrived as a big-time sport, with wall-to-wall TV action (thanks largely to ESPN’s arrival on the scene) providing the sort of coverage we had only dreamed about in previous years.
So, it’s no surprise that we’re getting excited again, as we at TGS are again fast approaching our favorite time of the year! Indeed, from this point forward, “March Mayhem” will become the major talking point of the college basketball campaign. And the postseason is approaching quicker than you might imagine, as, believe it or not, we’ll be starting our conference tournament previews later next week.
Hey, didn’t they just play the Super Bowl?
We first began an early “scoping” of the conference tournaments and an early lookahead to the NCAA Tournament in 1994, and it quickly become one of our favorite editorial assignments of the hoops season. Now is the time we really begin to count the days to the conference tourneys and Selection Sunday, now less than four weeks away. And we have long believed that a mid-February look at college hoop squads vying for potential NCAA invitations to be a worthwhile exercise. Knowing where teams might (or might not) fit into the postseason equation can be especially useful handicapping information this time of the year. The Big Dance prospects of many teams (especially those on the proverbial “bubble”) will be decided in the next few weeks, adding an extra factor to be considered when forecasting their upcoming games.
Beyond the aforementioned “bubble” teams that need every win to stay in the good graces of the NCAA Tourney Committee, it’s also worth paying attention to the squads with Big Dance bids securely in hand. Those squads might not all approach the final weeks of the regular season (or conference tourneys) in the same manner, some seeking to develop extra depth and avoid key injuries, others emphasizing a strong drive through the regular-season tape and hopefully carry that momentum into the postseason.
Following is our annual mid-February look at the major “board” conferences and their chances of sending multiple entries to the NCAA Tournament. We have divided the teams into three categories-Solid, Looking Good, and Bubble. Solid is self-explanatory. Looking Good teams can expect an NCAA invitation as long as they don’t slump badly in the next few weeks. Bubble teams, however, remain at the mercy of the Tourney Committee, and desperately need every win to keep their Big Dance hopes alive.
Keep in mind that nearly every Division I team can qualify for an automatic Big Dance berth by winning its conference tournament. With the Big Ten finally relenting early in the last decade, and the Pac-Ten re-instituting its tourney in 2002 after a 12-year hiatus, the Ivy League remains the lone conference tourney holdout-and even the Ivies are now talking about conducting their own postseason bash in the near future! Stay tuned for further developments. In the meantime, as always, the number of upsets in conference tournaments can alter the look of the Big Dance. Also included below are conference tourney sites and dates; Conference Power Rankings (thru Feb. 13); and last year’s postseason participants, including NCAA, NIT, CBI, and CIT action. We will be providing similar conference previews for the remainder of the D-I leagues later next week.
ACC-Solid…Duke, North Carolina. Looking Good…Florida State, Virginia Tech. Bubble…Clemson, Boston College, Maryland, Miami-Florida. Conference Power Rating-4th. Notes…Tourney March 10-13 at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC. Last year…NCAA-6 (Duke-Champion, Maryland-2nd round, Wake Forest-2nd round, Georgia Tech-2nd round, Clemson, Florida State); NIT-3 (North Carolina-2nd place, Virginia Tech-quarterfinals, NC State-2nd round).
ATLANTIC TEN-Solid…Temple. Looking Good…Xavier, Richmond. Bubble…Duquesne, Dayton. Conference-9th. Notes…Tourney first round March 8 at campus sites; quarters, semis, and final March 11-13 at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ. Last year…NCAA-3 (Xavier-Sweet 16, Richmond, Temple); NIT-2 (Dayton-Champs, Rhode Island-semifinals); CBI-3 (Saint Louis-2nd place, Duquesne, George Washington).
BIG EAST-Solid…Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Georgetown, UConn, Villanova, Syracuse, Louisville. Looking Good…Cincinnati, West Virginia. Bubble…Marquette, St. John’s. Conference-1st. Notes…Tourney March 8-12 at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY. Last year…NCAA-8 (West Virginia-Final Four, Syracuse-Sweet 16, Villanova-2nd round, Pittsburgh-2nd round, Notre Dame, Marquette, Louisville, Georgetown); NIT-5 (UConn-2nd round, Cincinnati-2nd round, Seton Hall, South Florida, St. John’s).
BIG TEN-Solid…Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin. Looking Good…Illinois, Minnesota. Bubble…Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State. Conference-2nd. Notes…Tourney March 10-13 at Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN. Last year…NCAA-5 (Michigan State-2nd place, Purdue-Sweet 16, Ohio State-Sweet 16, Wisconsin-2nd round, Minnesota); NIT-2 (Illinois-3rd round, Northwestern).
BIG XII-Solid…Kansas, Texas, Missouri. Looking Good…Texas A&M. Bubble …Baylor, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Kansas State. Conference-3rd. Notes…Tourney March 9-12 at Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO. Last year…NCAA-7 (Kansas State-Elite Eight, Baylor-Elite Eight, Kansas-2nd round, Missouri-2nd round, Texas A&M-2nd round, Oklahoma State, Texas); NIT-1 (Texas Tech-quarterfinals).
BIG WEST-Conference tourney champ will be only NCAA rep. Conference-20th. Notes…Tourney March 10-12 at Honda Center, Anaheim, CA. Last year…NCAA-1 (UC Santa Barbara); CIT-1 (Pacific-2nd place).
COLONIAL-Looking Good…George Mason. Bubble…Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion. Conference-11th. Notes…Tourney March 4-7 at Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, VA. Last year…NCAA-1 (Old Dominion-2nd round); NIT-2 (William & Mary, Northeastern); CBI-2 (Virginia Commonwealth-Champs, Hofstra); CIT-1 (George Mason).
CONFERENCE USA-Looking Good…UTEP. Bubble…Memphis, Southern Miss, UAB. Conference-8th. Notes…Tourney March 9-12 at Don Haskins Center, El Paso, TX. Last year…NCAA-2 (Houston, UTEP); NIT-3 (UAB-quarterfinals, Memphis-2nd round, Tulsa); CIT-2 (Marshall-2nd round, Southern Miss).
HORIZON-Looking Good…Cleveland State. Bubble…Butler, Valparaiso. Conference-10th. Notes…Tourney March 1 at campus sites (first round); quarters and semis March 4-5 at home of regular-season champions, also the number one seed; Final March 8 at home of highest-remaining seed. Last year…NCAA-1 (Butler-2nd place); CBI-1 (UW-Green Bay-2nd round).
MAC-Conference tourney champ will be only NCAA rep. Conference-17th. Notes…Tourney March 8 at campus sites (first round); quarters, semis, and Final March 10-12 at Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH. Last year…NCAA-1 (Ohio-2nd round); NIT-1 (Kent State-2nd round); CBI-1 (Akron).
MISSOURI VALLEY-Solid…Wichita State. Bubble…Missouri State. Conference-13th. Notes…Tourney (“Arch Madness”) March 3-6 at Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO. Last year…NCAA-1 (Northern Iowa-Sweet 16); NIT-2 (Illinois State, Wichita State); CBI-1 (Indiana State); CIT-2 (Missouri State-Champs, Creighton-Semifinals).
MOUNTAIN WEST-Solid…San Diego State, BYU. Bubble…Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico. Conference-5th. Notes…Tourney March 9-12 at Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV. Last year…NCAA-4 (BYU-2nd round, New Mexico-2nd round, UNLV, San Diego State); CBI-1 (Colorado State).
PAC 10-Solid…Arizona. Looking Good…UCLA, Washington. Bubble…Washington State. Conference-7th. Notes…Tourney March 9-12 at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA. Last year…NCAA-2 (Washington-Sweet 16, California-2nd round); NIT-1 (Arizona State); CBI-1 (Oregon State).
SEC-Solid…Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky. Looking Good…Georgia, Tennessee. Bubble…Alabama. Conference-6th. Notes…Tourney March 10-13 at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA. Last year…NCAA-4 (Kentucky-Elite Eight, Tennessee-Elite Eight, Florida, Vanderbilt); NIT-2 (Ole Miss-semifinals, Mississippi State-2nd round).
SUN BELT-Conference tourney champ will be only NCAA rep. Conference-22nd. Notes…Tourney March 5-8 at Summit Arena, Hot Springs, AR. Last year…NCAA-1 (North Texas); NIT-1 (Troy); CIT-1 (Middle Tennessee).
WEST COAST-Solid…Saint Mary’s. Bubble…Gonzaga. Conference-12th. Notes…Tourney March 4-7 at Orleans Hotel Arena, Las Vegas, NV. Last year…NCAA-2 (Saint Mary’s-Sweet 16, Gonzaga-2nd round)); CIT-2 (Loyola Marymount, Portland).
WAC-Solid…Utah State. Conference-14th. Notes…Tourney March 9-12 at Orleans Hotel Arena, Las Vegas, NV. Last year…NCAA-2 (New Mexico State, Utah State); NIT-1 (Nevada-2nd round); CIT-1 (La Tech-quarterfinals).
