College Hoops 2/27/2006 - 03/12/2006

[Celtic Guardian 0]

George Mason won't get in. It's not their fault, but there simply aren't enough at-large spots up for grabs.

 

I think as of tonight, George Mason or Hofstra/UNCW are going to be interchangable as to who in this group of 3 gets left out. However with GM, they would be the first team with an RPI in the Top 30, should their numbers even out as such to be left out of the tournament. Needless to say, I think the scenario that everyone is fearing is going to come to pass. Someone who is very deserving is going to get screwed. The comittee is going to be extremely tested in the next week. Lets hope it does the right thing.

 

One more factor, Mason star player Tony Skinn has been suspended for the first postseason game after punching Hofstra's Loren Stokes down there. The absence of Skinn will no doubt be taken into account by the NCAA selection committee and significantly hurt the Patriots' chances of getting into the dance.

[SilverPhoenix 0]

George Mason won't get in. It's not their fault, but there simply aren't enough at-large spots up for grabs.

 

I think as of tonight, George Mason or Hofstra/UNCW are going to be interchangable as to who in this group of 3 gets left out. However with GM, they would be the first team with an RPI in the Top 30, should their numbers even out as such to be left out of the tournament. Needless to say, I think the scenario that everyone is fearing is going to come to pass. Someone who is very deserving is going to get screwed. The comittee is going to be extremely tested in the next week. Lets hope it does the right thing.

 

One more factor, Mason star player Tony Skinn has been suspended for the first postseason game after punching Hofstra's Loren Stokes down there. The absence of Skinn will no doubt be taken into account by the NCAA selection committee and significantly hurt the Patriots' chances of getting into the dance.

 

*Watches the tape and goes "Oh Fuck!"* And I think the CAA went "fuck" collectively. That is pretty damn huge, Skinn IS what makes that team go, and is the reason why George Mason was nationally ranked until Hofstra kicked its ass. And now that I think about it (and I will write about this my full thoughts in a couple of posts.) George Mason really could be the first top 30 team to be left out. Escpecially since Hofstra swept them this season. Forget about the OOC SOS for a second here. If I had 1 final bid and I had to pick Hofstra or George Mason, I'd pick Hofstra just because they beat them twice. Congrats Skinn, you may have just robbed the CAA of 3 bids.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Damn, that really is going to hurt George Mason. I wasn't high on them making it in the first place... especially since a lot of their OOC games look worse now than they did when they played them. Plus, UNCW and Hofstra have likely locked up bids, no matter what. Don't see 3 teams getting out of there.

 

Also, the talking heads on the usual network need to stop playing up O'Bryant's injury for Bradley. O'Bryant was there for every conference game. He didn't play for only 2 of Bradley's 10 losses... both of which were blowout losses at Loyola and Butler. Under this logic, shouldn't we also ignore that they won at DePaul and beat W. Kentucky without him? And also, it should be taken into account that he didn't miss games because of injury.

[Damaramu 0]

Texas' lack of consistency worries me. Especially away from home. Gibson and Aldridge can be spectacular at times, then others it seems like they do nothing. When they attack the rim, they seem like a lot better team. They're another one of those teams I wouldn't be surprised to see make the final 4, or lose 2nd round.

 

OU... they're in trouble. And I have the feeling they're facing an MVC team in the first round of the tourney.

 

And Texas fans really suck. They don't deserve a good b-ball team. I hope Dama doesn't read that, though.

 

I'm not a Texas fan...and I didn't go to Austin b/c I was covering the softball games so I know nothing of their fans except what I see on TV

[Dangerous A 0]

Is there a case where if Duke gets bounced in the ACC tourney this weekend that they don't get a #1 seed? If so, who would get it? Nova and UConn are probrably #1's with Memphis I think.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Duke is a #1 seed, no matter what. And will probably stay ahead of Nova, and remain in the Atlanta bracket.

 

27-4 with the toughest schedule would still be more than good enough.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I doubt it. Tremendous out of conference resume, and the only team I could really see passing them is Gonzaga. Maybe Ohio State if they absolutely tear through the Big 10 tourney. I don't know how you'd make an argument for a 3-loss Gonzaga team over a 4-loss Duke, considering Duke's thrashing of several other top teams and stellar ACC season. As long as Duke doesn't lose by 50 to Clemson in the ACC quarters, I think they have it absolutely sealed. Duke gets Clemson/Miami in the quarters, so I think it's going to be close to impossible for them to not at least make the semis.

[iggymcfly 0]

Their whole resume looks worthy of a one seed, but the committee does take into account how you finish the season. If Duke finishes the season on a three-game losing streak, there's no way that they'll be a 1 seed. With that being said, I'm sure they'll come back strong to beat Miami or Virginia, so it shouldn't be an issue. I think they can afford a loss in the second round of the ACC tourney without dropping to a 2 seed.

[Dangerous A 0]

Ok, who are YOUR #1 seeds as of right now, and who is in danger of losing a #1 seed if they are bounced early in their conf. tourney's?

[Guest Princess Leena]

Try reading the rest of the thread.

 

So funny to see such ineptness from someone who gets off on insulting people because they don't know wrestling like him.

[Dangerous A 0]

I like being redundant.

[Guest Princess Leena]

The final regular season polls have UConn at #1. Duke at #3. And one silly coach giving UNC a 1st-place vote.

[cabbageboy 0]

I think George Mason will still get in. As long as that RPI stays in the top 30 they absolutely 100% cannot screw them without doing something unprecedented. I just checked teamrankings.com and they are still #19 in the RPI.

 

As far as seeds go I think you can predict it best by averaging out someone's AP poll rating with the RPI. For instance, UAB is actually about 24 now in the polls but only 46 in RPI. Average that out and they are roughly an 8/9 type seed (and a dangerous one at that). Someone like GW is ranked 6th but they are only 26 in the RPI. Average it out and they are hovering around a 4/5 seed.

[Guest]

How much does the RPI really mean to the committee? That's what it comes down to in George Mason's case.

[SilverPhoenix 0]

Oh yeah. Before I begin today's Championship Previews, I just want to thank Bored and 2GOLD for the complements. It's an honor coming from you both.

 

It is now Monday, March 6th, 2006. The regular season is officially over, and we are now in Championship Week. Championship Week is loved by some, loathed by others as it is filled with both good and bad aspects. No matter how you feel about it, you can't the hype or the drama it creates. And like the BCS, it is a flawed event that we can't all help but watch (and get more behind it, but that's for a blog entry). For the past week and last weekend, numerous small and mid-major (and a certain conference that is about to push its way into the major category) conferences have all begun their tournaments. In fact 5 Tournaments finished on the weekend and all of these teams join Pennslyvania as the first teams guranteed a spot in the tournament. And they are

 

Big South: Winthrop

Atlantic Sun: Belmont

Ohio Valley: Murray State

Southern: Davidson

Missouri Valley: Southern Illinois

 

And there you have it. The first 6 Teams in the tournament. Congratulations to them all

 

Now onto the real business at hand. 3 Conference Championships will be decided within the next 12 hours. These are the Colonial, MAAC and WCC Conferences. Each of these games promises to be a very exciting one with enough storylines to live up to what March Madness is all about.

 

And here we go.

 

First the Colonial

 

 

Dates: March 3rd - 6th

Location: He...Richmond Virginia (Richmond Coliseum)

TV: ESPN @ 7PM

 

Teams

 

#1 Seed Vs. #3 Seed

 

Roads to the Championship Game

 

#1 UNC Willmington Seahawks (24-7 (15-3) 37 RPI 115 SOS)

def #9 Deleware 69-56

def #5 Northeastern 69-54

 

#3 Hofstra Pride (24-5 (14-4) 25 RPI 141 SOS)

def #6 Virginia Commonwealth 72-66

def #2 George Mason 58-49

 

Past Tournament Champions

 

1983 James Madison

1984 Richmond

1985 Navy

1986 Navy

1987 Navy

1988 Richmond

1989 George Mason

1990 Richmond

1991 Richmond

1992 Old Dominion

1993 East Carolina

1994 James Madison

1995 Old Dominion

1996 Virginia Commonwealth

1997 Old Dominion

1998 Richmond

1999 George Mason

2000 UNC Wilmington

2001 George Mason

2002 UNC Wilmington

2003 UNC Wilmington

2004 VCU

2005 Old Dominion

[Hawk 34 0]

If Gonzaga blows this game, you'll see a few pissed and scared bubble teams.

[Guest Princess Leena]

C'mon LMU. I don't want Belmont to be in the play-in game.

[Danville_Wrestling 0]

Wonder if this game will negatively impact Gonzaga's seed in the tourney.

[Bored 0]

Gonzaga is going to be an early exit if Morrison shoots like he has the last two nights. At least they held on, no team with a losing record should be allowed in the tournament.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Poop. Damn, Gonzaga barely pulled out a lot of games at the end of the season... if they get a 2 seed, they're very fortunate.

[naiwf 0]

The Zags win after both teams blow layups in the final 30 seconds. A guy that had to be at least 6'8 blew a bunny from point blank range. It was like watching a WNBA game.

[2GOLD 0]

You messed up the spelling of Delaware. Thank god you did though, they sucked so bad this year.

And to close out Silver's post, UNCW beat down Hofstra 78-67 to win the Colonial title.

 

Also, Gonzaga survives to win the West Coast Conference tournament 68-67.

 

Add Iona to the tournament as well with a 80-61 domination of St Peter's to win the Metro Atlantic Conference.

[Guest Princess Leena]

He also misspelled compliments in his ass-kissing.

 

I hope Iona gets at least a 13 seed. There's a team that could upset a reeling middle seed.

[cabbageboy 0]

I totally agree about Iona. I saw them back in Dec. against UK at the annual Freedom Hall game. They gave UK all they wanted (which isn't saying much, I know) before losing by 6. I did think to myself "Man, I bet we'll see these guys again come tourney time." With a guard like Steve Burtt they could pull a 3/14 or 4/13 type upset.

 

Tomorrow's WKU vs. South Alabama Sun Belt final might well be the best of the jobber conference title games. Two teams that are both 22-6. I seriously hope Western wins that one, since I don't think they'll be an at large at #43 in the RPI.

 

Oh, as far as RPI goes it is pretty critical stuff to the committee I'd say. Nobody with an RPI of 32 or better has ever been left out and with the changes made to it last year nobody who is 38 or better should be left out. The bracket analysts on TV need to consider this stuff before saying stupid stuff like "Missouri St. is a definite bubble team" even though their RPI is like 19-21.

[Bored 0]

Good rule of thumb with the RPI is if you're in the Top 30 you're a lock and if you're outside the Top 70 you're NIT.

[Damaramu 0]

What is OU's RPI? I have no clue. Never really came into play b/c we always assumed they were a lock.

[Guest]

They are a lock, but I don't think their RPI is pretty. ESPN's page takes too long for me to load.

[Guest Princess Leena]

It's not such an assurity since the RPI changed last year. Plus, remember the flaws they had last year. They had Buffalo in the 20's, then by some "error" they were around 40. That happened with a lot of teams.

 

Although, I do think all the current Top 30 RPI teams will get in. But, I wouldn't be comfortable if I were Missouri St., Hofstra or George Mason.

[Guest Princess Leena]

What is OU's RPI? I have no clue. Never really came into play b/c we always assumed they were a lock.

 

12 on CollegeRPI.

[Guest]

What the fuck