Bracketogoly 165 – March 12th Edition

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The March 12^th, 2008 Bracket (Click to Enlarge)

 

Next Bracket: Thursday, March 13th.

A good night for bubble teams, mainly thanks to Butler pulling away in the second half to claim the Horizon League title, assuring the leauge only gets one bid into the dance. Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) and Oral Roberts (Summit) also avoided upsets to clinch their conference titles on a relatively uneventful night.

I have been debating back and forth the last couple days between Ohio State and Syracuse for the last spot, and it’s really a tough call. Both have simular RPIs (OSU 49, SU 46), SU has two wins against the RPI top 25, OSU has 3 against the top 50. Both teams have two “bad losses” (OSU to Iowa and Michigan, Syracuse to Cinncinatti and South Florida). Both teams struggled in their last ten, but picked up key wins in the last week. Being that evenly matched, this comes down to two deal breakers – 1) Ohio State’s AD is on the Selection Committee, and while he can’t vote, there seems to be a “you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours” brotherhood in recent years, and 2) Way back when, Ohio State picked up a 79-65 win over the ‘Cuse in the NIT Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.

So, after spending the last 24 hours going back and forth on this, I’m swapping these two out. This is a debate that most likely will be rendered mute in a cuople hours after the big Syracuse/Villanova opener to the Big East Tournament. But for now, if the bracket were being set this morning, I think Ohio State would get the edge. Barely.

Today’s Big Games:

Syracuse/Villanova, Noon, Big East Tournament – First Round. Quite possibly one of the weekend’s biggest bubble games get’s underway early today. The loser is out, done, over with. The winner get’s a spot on the bubble, and the opportunity to sure up their bid with a win over Georgetown Thursday.

Saint Louis vs Dayton, A10 Opening Round. The Flyers need at two –the second against Xavier – if they hope to make the cut.

Mount Saint Mary’s @ Sacred Heart, Northeast Championship Game. Sacred Heart looks to get their first bid to the dance, as D3 football powerhouse MSM looks to gain some credibility as a basketball school. The winner looks bound for the play-in game against the SWAC champ.

Arizona vs. Oregon State, Pac Ten Opening Round. The Wildcats should be able to avoid the upset vs. the Beavers, who went 0-18 in Pac 10 play. An upset however, and the ‘Cats might be left on the outside looking in.

tHe BrEaKdOwN:

LAST FOUR IN: South Alabama, Illinois State, Oregon, Ohio State

FIRST FOUR OUT: Syracuse, VCU, Arizona State, Villanova

NEXT FOUR OUT: UAB, Temple, Ole Miss, Florida

(They’re saying) Moooooooovers:

New to the show: Ohio State

Show’s over: Syracuse

Conference-by-Conference (*Current Conference Leaders/Highest Remaining Seed, all teams are placed where they would be without the protection of an automatic bid )

Conference Champions, Bids Locked: Cornell (Ivy), Belmont (A-Sun), Winthrop (Big South), Drake (MVC), Austin Peay (OVC), Davidson (SoCon), George Mason (Colonial), Siena (MAAC), San Diego (WCC), Oral Roberts (Summit), Butler (Horizon), Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)

Big East (7 Bids) Locked In: *Georgetown, Louisville, UConn, Marquette, Notre Dame

Nearly Locked In: Pitt, West Virginia

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: Syracuse, Villanova

Big 12 (6 Bids) Locked In: *Texas, Kansas

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In: Kansas State, Oklahoma, Baylor

On the Bubble, but in: Texas A&M

On the Bubble, but out:

Pac-10 (6 Bids) Locked In: *UCLA, Stanford, Washington State, USC

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In: Arizona

On the Bubble, but in: Oregon

On the Bubble, but out: Arizona State

SEC (5 Bids) Locked In: *Tennessee, Vanderbilt

Nearly Locked In: Mississippi State

Solidly In: Kentucky

On the Bubble, but in: Arkansas

On the Bubble, but out: Florida, Ole Miss

Big Ten (5 Bids) Locked In: *Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in: Ohio State

On the Bubble, but out:

ACC (4 Bids) Locked In: Duke, *UNC

Nearly Locked In: Clemson

Solidly In: Miami (FL)

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: Maryand, Virginia Tech

West Coast (3 Bids) Locked In: Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: **San Diego

A10 (2 Bids) Locked In: *Xavier

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in: UMass

On the Bubble, but out: Temple, Dayton, St. Joe’s

Missouri Valley (2 Bids) Locked In: **Drake

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the bubble, but in: Illinois State

On the bubble, but out:

Mountain West (2 Bids) Locked In: *BYU

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In: UNLV

On the Bubble, but in: New Mexico

On the Bubble, but out:

Colonial (1 Bid) Locked In:

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: **George Mason, VCU

Sun Belt (2 Bids) Locked In:

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in: South Alabama

On the Bubble, but out: **Western Kentucky

Conference USA (1 Bid) Locked In: *Memphis

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: UAB

The One-and-Done Conference Leaders Locked In:

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in: Kent State (MAC),

On the Bubble, but out: Stephen F. Austin (Southland)

Gotta win the tournament: Portland State (Big Sky), Winthrop (Big South), Morgan State (MEAC), Sacred Heart (Northeast), American (Patriot), Alabama State (SWAC), Utah State (WAC), UCSB (Big West)

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