Gert T 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2004 I thought I'd make this thread and update the conference champions in each conference as a reference. Next to each team is their record & RPI. (RPI based on March 7th) America East: Vermont (22-8, 125) Atlantic 10: Xavier (23-10, 52) ACC: Atlantic Sun: Central Florida (24-5, 61) Big 12: Big East: UConn (27-6, 7) Big Sky: Eastern Washington (17-12, 145) Big South: Liberty (17-14, 166) Big Ten: Big West: Pacific (24-7, 70) Colonial: Virginia Commonwealth (23-7, 62) C-USA: Cincinnati (24-6, 19) Horizon: Illinois-Chicago (24-7, 96) Ivy: Princeton (19-7, 132) MAAC: Manhattan (24-5, 45) Mid-Continent: Valparaiso (18-12, 157) MAC: Western Michigan (26-4, 55) MEAC: Florida A&M (14-16, 291) MVC: Northern Iowa (20-9, 68) MWC: Utah (24-8, 43) NEC: Monmouth (21-11, 119) OVC: Murray State (25-5, 57) Pac-10: Stanford (29-1, 6) Patriot: Lehigh (20-10, 205) SEC: Southern: East Tennessee State (24-5, 58) Southland: Texas-San Antonio (20-12, 236) SWAC: Alabama State (16-14, 253) Sun Belt: Louisiana-Lafayette (20-8, 87) WCC: Gonzaga (27-2, 9) WAC: Nevada (22-8, 38) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted March 6, 2004 East Tennessee State beat UT-Chattanooga to win the SoCon tourney. Troy State plays Central Florida in the Atlantic Sun final. High Point is playing Liberty right now in the Big South final. Austin Peay plays Murray State in the OVC final. And Princeton can earn the Ivy leagues' automatic bid with a win tonight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Southwest Missouri State beat Sothern Illinois in the MVC semis today, so the Richmond's, FSU's & Colorado's of the world better bring their 'A' game to the conference tourneys because they just lost one spot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fökai 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Monday's tournament finals: CAC (Colonial): Virginia Commonwealth v. George Mason MAAC (Mid-Atlantic): Manhattan v. Niagara MVC (Missouri Valley): Southern Missouri State v. Northern Iowa WCC (West Coast): St. Mary's (CA) v. Gonzaga Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Southwest Missouri State beat Sothern Illinois in the MVC semis today, so the Richmond's, FSU's & Colorado's of the world better bring their 'A' game to the conference tourneys because they just lost one spot. The funny thing about this is I remember my sports econ professor talking about how (unofficially, of course) the MVC would want SIU to lose so the MVC could get two teams in and thus get more money (which in turn is good for my alma mater, even if they lost today) Amazing how things come to pass Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 I hope UW gets in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob E Dangerously 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Baylor's not in the Big 12 tourney, due to obvious reasons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 I would be pretty surprised if Washington does not get in now. As long as they win that first round game (not sure who the #7 seed is) at the very least they either beat Arizona three times in a season or lose in the semi's to a team they've beat twice. I think they're in, but who knows the way things change with these conference tourneys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Conference tournaments are a huge waste of time and make the regular season irrelevent in many ways. Anyways on Washington they are #76 in the RPI thru yesterday. New Mexico in 1999 got in as an at-large ranked #74 which was the lowest ever. They play UCLA in the first round and tournament is in L.A. so they'll have home court. See that's what I also hate about conference tournaments that a lot of the conferences use the same venue every year. The Pac-10 has an NBA arena in every region of the conference yet they only play it in L.A. It's a joke that the So Cal schools get home court advantage every year. UCLA upset Arizona last year in the first round when U of A was the #1 seed and I'm sure it helped that they were pretty much playing at home. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Washington's in. No way the selection committee only has 2 Pac 10 teams. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Conference tournaments are a huge waste of time and make the regular season irrelevent in many ways. Yeah, the regular season usually means nothing in college basketball. However, I like the fact that a team who is on the bubble or didn't play well in the regular season, can still win their conference tournment and get in the big dance. The final game is always really good and it gives me a chance to check out teams that I usually don't get to see in the regular season. That way I will be able to do better in my predictions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 Washington's in. No way the selection committee only has 2 Pac 10 teams. Not if they lose that first-rounder. The Pac 10 has sucked big time this year...they don't really deserve more than two. I think they might even need to reach the finals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jimbo Report post Posted March 8, 2004 New Mexico in 1999 got in as an at-large ranked #74 which was the lowest ever. do you remember the reasoning behind that? That means tha tlike 20+ teams with better RPI's got in. That's pretty amazing (and ridiculous). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted March 8, 2004 I think it was back before the Mountain West and WAC split, back when they had an obscene amount of members. I think they won the regular season, but lost in the tournament. Not sure on that though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Washington's in. No way the selection committee only has 2 Pac 10 teams. Not if they lose that first-rounder. The Pac 10 has sucked big time this year...they don't really deserve more than two. I think they might even need to reach the finals. The committe looks at conference when deciding. No way they only have 2 Pac 10 teams. Only 2 should make it if Washington loses it's 1st round game, that won't be the case though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Washington's in. No way the selection committee only has 2 Pac 10 teams. Not if they lose that first-rounder. The Pac 10 has sucked big time this year...they don't really deserve more than two. I think they might even need to reach the finals. The committe looks at conference when deciding. No way they only have 2 Pac 10 teams. Only 2 should make it if Washington loses it's 1st round game, that won't be the case though. The committee does NOT say they need x teams from any particular conference. Bottom line is, if they're not good enough, they won't get in. The Pac-10 has been the drizzling shits this year, and doesn't deserve to have three teams go. If Washington goes over a team like Air Force, I'll be really pissed. And the last time the Huskies went down to LA to play the Bruins, they lost. That first-round win isn't nearly a sure thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 You really believe the committe doesn't look at conference? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Maryland is screwed if a bunch of crappy teams pull out miracles and win their conference tourney. Lets hope that doesn't happen.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spicy McHaggis 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Who are everyone's #1 seeds? I love the Duke program but they should not get a 1. I would go with: St. Joe's Stanford Gonzaga Mississippi St. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 If OSU were to win the Big XII tourney I'd almost have to say they should be a #1 seed since they'd be doing what they're doing now......whipping the ass of anything in sight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Duke has done far too much not to deserve a #1. Right now, Duke, St. Joseph's, Stanford, and either Mississippi State or Gonzaga would be my top seeds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jimbo Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Who are everyone's #1 seeds? I love the Duke program but they should not get a 1. I would go with: St. Joe's Stanford Gonzaga Mississippi St. You're right, having the BEST record in the BEST conference in America certainly doesn't deserve a #1 ranking... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spicy McHaggis 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Which team on my list would you replace with Duke and why? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jimbo Report post Posted March 9, 2004 As much as I wish for them to get a #1 seed, you gotta take the Zag's off. You can't deny St. Joe's or Stanford-- they were undefeated for the entire season. Miss St. has been solid all year and has palyed terrific basketball in the SEC. Conversely, Gonzaga, although very good in their own right, lost to both St. Joe's and Stanford. Yeah, I know they are the only two teams they lost to, but still, one would logically say they are therefore worse than them. In addition, I don't think you can make a decent arguement for them being a better or more deserving team than Duke or Miss St. considering both were just as good, and played in a much more difficult conferences than Gonzaga's. btw, Gert T, Virginia Commonwealth just wrapped up the CCA tournement and a bid for the NCAA's in a 55-54 victory over George Mason a few minutes ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Which team on my list would you replace with Duke and why? If I had to make a case, I'd toss Gonzaga. Mississippi State won the SEC outright, and has seven wins against the RPI top 50. Gonzaga did go undefeated in conference, but a much weaker one, and has only two wins against the RPI top 50, and none against the top 25. Duke won the toughest conference in America, and has 6 wins against the RPI top 25 (11 against the top 50). My top 8 seeds would probably be: East - St. Joseph's, Pittsburgh South - Duke, Kentucky Midwest - Mississippi State, Gonzaga West - Stanford, Oklahoma State Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jimbo Report post Posted March 9, 2004 It would be awesome to see St. Joe's 'n Pitt. I'd love to see how Pitt would handle Nelson, West, and the rest of their perimeter players... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Manhattan has hung on to beat Niagara 62-61 and win the MAAC championship. Southwest Missouri State (the team that beat Southern Illinois) and Northern Iowa are in overtime in the Missouri Valley championship game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lomasmoney 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 does SiU get into the Big Dance as an at large. What about Kent State, does anyone rememeber their run to the Elite Eight two years back that won me over 300 dollars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Southern Illinois is a Top 30 RPI team so they are a lock so somebody lost an at-large bid because of them not winning their tournament. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2004 Kent State played themselves off the bubble with their losing streak after Bracket Buster Saturday. They're going to need to win the MAC to get in. Gonzaga gets the WCC automatic bid, Northern Iowa wins in double OT to win the MVC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
