Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Tournament Field Projections, 3/12/08

Teams out there in bubble-land can rest a little easier for now, as the favorites won all three of Tuesday’s conference tournament games.

Wednesday brings the first of some all-day marathons in major conferences, as the Big East begins their post-season shindig at Madison Square Garden in New York. This red stater finds Big East basketball about as exciting as watching paint dry (If I were from New York, I’d have no use for the Big 12 or SEC), but it will be on TV all day. The Pac-10 will start their tournament Wednesday evening in Los Angeles. The Atlantic 10 and Conference USA play day games on Wednesday, as well. The daytime action kicks into high gear on Thursday as the Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, and ACC kick off their tournaments.

Not to be forgotten on Wednesday is the Northeast Conference tournament final between Mount St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart, live from Fairfield, Connecticut. Also on Wednesday evening is the Big Sky Conference final from Portland, between Northern Arizona and Portland State.

Not many changes in field projections, other than automatic bid winners (highlighted in bold):

Horizon League
In: Butler
The Butler did it, defending their top 10 ranking with a thumping of Cleveland State in the finals of the Horizon tournament. Butler now sets their sights on making noise in the NCAA tournament.

Summit League
In: Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles (I still want to call them Titans-I guess I’m old school) win their third Summit League (formerly Mid-Continent) tournament in a row with a win over IUPUI. Did you know that IUPUI is spelled the same backwards as it is forwards? The court at ORU still says “Expect a Miracle”, and the Golden Eagles will need a miracle for a first-round upset in the Big Dance. However, stranger things have happened.

Sun Belt
In: Western Kentucky, South Alabama
Western Kentucky returns to the Big Dance with a championship in the Sun Belt tournament. The Hilltoppers’ win also preserves the chances of the South Alabama Jaguars, upset losers in the semifinals. The Sun Belt looks to squeeze two teams into this year’s Field of 65.

Projections and predictions for teams in other conferences from earlier this week can be found here: Monday, Tuesday

Last four teams in (rooting really hard for teams like Xavier): Arizona State, South Alabama, Illinois State, Florida

Last four teams out (need to help themselves this week on the court and hope for help from others): Ole Miss, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona

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