Daily Bracket Outlook Starting Wednesday Night As Championship Week Kicks In

[SelectionSunday]

By Buzz King (@Fieldof68Freak)

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY – With Championship Week already underway (ASUN #7 seed Austin “Let’s Go Peay” & #10 Central Arkansas were the first to survive & advance Sunday night), we’re adding a new wrinkle this week. After the projection, I’ll put potential tournament teams into five boxes: “auto bid”; “locks”; “almost there”; “squarely on the bubble”; and “longshots”.

I plan to update the Field of 68 outlook daily starting late Wednesday night (after the Kansas City-Oral Roberts 8-9 game) from the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, at least through Thursday, March 13, before I hunker down for the final “Field of 68” projection early Selection Sunday morning.

As always, we start with a projection. In multiple-bid conferences, projected automatic qualifiers (current #1 seed for conference tournament) are noted with a *.

FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (through games played 3/2/25)
America East (1): Bryant (151)

American (1): Memphis (45)

ACC (5): *Duke (2), Clemson (21), Louisville (24), North Carolina (42), Wake Forest (68)

ASUN (1): Lipscomb (87)

Atlantic 10 (1): VCU (29)

Big East (4): *Saint John’s (19), Marquette (22), UConn (35), Creighton (39)

Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado (124)

Big South (1): High Point (86)

Big Ten (11): *Michigan State (11), Maryland (12), Wisconsin (14), Illinois (16), Purdue (17), Michigan (25), UCLA (27), Oregon (31), Ohio State (36), Indiana (55), Nebraska (57)

Big XII (8): *Houston (3), Texas Tech (7), Iowa State (9), Arizona (10), Kansas (20), BYU (26), Baylor (32), West Virginia (48)

Big West (1): UC-San Diego (34)

Coastal (1): Towson (139)

Conference USA (1): Jacksonville State (115)

Horizon (1): Robert Morris (153)

Ivy (1): Yale (73)

MAAC (1): Quinnipiac (187)

MAC (1): Akron (98)

MEAC (1): Norfolk State (179)

Missouri Valley (1): Drake (60)

Mountain West (4): Utah State (38), Boise State (43), *New Mexico (44), San Diego State (50)

NEC (1): Central Connecticut (157)

OVC (1): Southeast Missouri State (184)

Patriot (1): Bucknell (206)

SEC (10): *Auburn (1), Florida (4), Tennessee (5), Alabama (6), Missouri (13), Kentucky (15), Texas A&M (23), Ole Miss (28), Mississippi State (30), Vanderbilt (37)

SoCon (1): Chattanooga (114)

Southland (1): McNeese (61)

SWAC (1): Southern (219)

Summit (1): Omaha (182)

Sun Belt (1): South Alabama (119)

WCC (2): Gonzaga (8), *Saint Mary’s (18)

WAC (1): Utah Valley (111)
--------------------------------------
Last 4 In: Nebraska (57), Boise State (43), North Carolina (42), (last team in) Wake Forest (68)

First 4 Out: (first team out) Xavier (49), Georgia (33), Villanova (51), Oklahoma (53)

Next 4 Out: UC-Irvine (63), Colorado State (58), Arkansas (47), TCU (70)

On the Radar O’Reilly (6): George Mason (74), San Francisco (62), Cincinnati (40), SMU (41), Texas (46), Northwestern (54)

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Southeast Missouri State (184), Quinnipiac (187), Bucknell (206), Southern (219)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Gonzaga (8), Utah State (38), Boise State (43), San Diego State (50)
----------------------------------------
AVAILABLE BIDS THROUGH SUNDAY, MARCH 2 (10)
1-Bid Conference Placeholders (24)
America East: Bryant
American: Memphis
ASUN: Lipscomb
Atlantic 10: VCU
Big Sky: Northern Colorado
Big South: High Point
Big West: UC-San Diego
Coastal: Towson
Conference USA: Jacksonville State
Horizon: Robert Morris
Ivy: Yale
MAAC: Quinnipiac
MAC: Akron
MEAC: Norfolk State
Missouri Valley: Drake
NEC: Central Connecticut
OVC: Southeast Missouri State
Patriot: Bucknell
SoCon: Chattanooga
Southand: McNeese
SWAC: Southern
Summit: Omaha
Sun Belt: South Alabama
WAC: Utah Valley

Multiple-Bid Conference/Auto Bid Placeholder & Lock (7)
ACC: Duke
Big East: Saint John’s
Big Ten: Michigan State
Big XII: Houston
Mountain West: New Mexico
SEC: Auburn
WCC: Saint Mary’s

Locks Not Among Auto Bids (27)
Alabama, Arizona, BYU, Clemson, Creighton, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, UConn, Wisconsin

Almost There, Seal the Deal With 1 More Regular Season Win (2)
Utah State, Vanderbilt

Squarely on the Bubble (12) – 8 of these would be selected
Baylor, Boise State, Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Xavier

Longshots/I Got 99 Problems, and the Bubble Is 1 (10)
Arkansas, Cincinnati, Colorado State, George Mason, Northwestern, San Francisco, SMU, Texas, TCU, UC-Irvine

Heart of Bubblicious (NET #45-55)
45 Memphis (IN)
46 Texas (OUT)
47 Arkansas (OUT)
48 West Virginia (IN)
49 Xavier (OUT)
50 San Diego State (IN)
51 Villanova (OUT)
52 Santa Clara (OUT)
53 Oklahoma (OUT)
54 Northwestern (OUT)
55 Indiana (IN)

The Local NETters
#93 Minnesota (15-14, 7-11 Big Ten)
#117 St. Thomas (22-9, 12-4 Summit League)

Big Ten +/- Power Rankings (Road Wins – Home Losses)
1 Michigan State (+6)
2 Michigan (+5)
3 Purdue (+3)
4 Maryland (+3)
5 Wisconsin (+3)
6 Illinois (+2)
7 UCLA (+2)
8 Oregon (+1)
9 Indiana (even)
10 Ohio State (-1)
11 Rutgers (-2)
12 Minnesota (-2)
13 Nebraska (-2)
14 Northwestern (-2)
15 USC (-3)
16 Iowa (-3)
17 Washington (-5)
18 Penn State (-5)

Summit League Tournament
March 5 (1st Round)
#8 Kansas City (12-19) vs. #9 Oral Roberts (7-22), 7 p.m.

March 6 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Omaha (19-12) vs. Kansas City/Oral Roberts winner, 6 p.m.
#2 St. Thomas (22-9) vs. #7 Denver (11-20), 8:30 p.m.

March 7 (Quarterfinals)
#3 South Dakota State (20-11) vs. #6 North Dakota (11-20), 6 p.m.
#4 North Dakota State (21-10) vs. #5 South Dakota (18-13), 8:30 p.m.

Gophers Stat Leaders
Dawson Garcia (19.3 points per game), Garcia (7.5 rebounds per game), Femi Odukale (3.6 assists per game), Odukale (1.4 steals per game), Isaac Asuma (37.5% 3PFG), Odukale (1.2 blocks per game)

Tommies Stat Leaders
Miles Barnstable (14.7 points per game), Kendall Blue (4.5 rebounds per game), Drake Dobbs (3.6 assists per game), Nolan Minessale (1.1 steals per game), Ben Oosterbaan (46% 3PFG), Minessale (1.1 blocks per game)

NET Kings
#1 Auburn (27-2)

Kinda’ Bubble Cutline
#50 San Diego State (19-7)

Stuck in the Middle with You
#182 Omaha (17-12)

Bottom of the Barrel
#364 Mississippi Valley State (1-26)

Deep (College Hoops) Thoughts, by Buzz Studley
Seth Davis has an interesting definition of “elite.” And do not schools like Wisconsin, UConn, Michigan State, etc., also have cold weather climates? They seem to do OK, no?

I’m tired of the constant excuses why Minnesota can’t win.

Next Field of 68: late Wednesday evening, March 5

 

[MaxyJR1]

A 4-12 SEC teams with the 312th ranked Non-Conference SOS is currently projected as last 4 in.

 

[SelectionSunday]

A 4-12 SEC teams with the 312th ranked Non-Conference SOS is currently projected as last 4 in.

Not here, at least!

In fairness, I believe the Sooners' non-conference (NET) SOS Is #145 (per Warren Nolan), definitely not a bad slate, and it includes some really nice wins (Arizona, Michigan, Louisville).

In the end, I will not even consider Oklahoma unless they go 6-12 + a win in the SEC Tournament. And even then, I'd have a hard time taking that leap of faith they'd get selected.

 

[whogoofed]

By Buzz King (@Fieldof68Freak)

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY – With Championship Week already underway (ASUN #7 seed Austin “Let’s Go Peay” & #10 Central Arkansas were the first to survive & advance Sunday night), we’re adding a new wrinkle this week. After the projection, I’ll put potential tournament teams into five boxes: “auto bid”; “locks”; “almost there”; “squarely on the bubble”; and “longshots”.

I plan to update the Field of 68 outlook daily starting late Wednesday night (after the Kansas City-Oral Roberts 8-9 game) from the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, at least through Thursday, March 13, before I hunker down for the final “Field of 68” projection early Selection Sunday morning.

As always, we start with a projection. In multiple-bid conferences, projected automatic qualifiers (current #1 seed for conference tournament) are noted with a *.

FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (through games played 3/2/25)
America East (1): Bryant (151)

American (1): Memphis (45)

ACC (5): *Duke (2), Clemson (21), Louisville (24), North Carolina (42), Wake Forest (68)

ASUN (1): Lipscomb (87)

Atlantic 10 (1): VCU (29)

Big East (4): *Saint John’s (19), Marquette (22), UConn (35), Creighton (39)

Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado (124)

Big South (1): High Point (86)

Big Ten (11): *Michigan State (11), Maryland (12), Wisconsin (14), Illinois (16), Purdue (17), Michigan (25), UCLA (27), Oregon (31), Ohio State (36), Indiana (55), Nebraska (57)

Big XII (8): *Houston (3), Texas Tech (7), Iowa State (9), Arizona (10), Kansas (20), BYU (26), Baylor (32), West Virginia (48)

Big West (1): UC-San Diego (34)

Coastal (1): Towson (139)

Conference USA (1): Jacksonville State (115)

Horizon (1): Robert Morris (153)

Ivy (1): Yale (73)

MAAC (1): Quinnipiac (187)

MAC (1): Akron (98)

MEAC (1): Norfolk State (179)

Missouri Valley (1): Drake (60)

Mountain West (4): Utah State (38), Boise State (43), *New Mexico (44), San Diego State (50)

NEC (1): Central Connecticut (157)

OVC (1): Southeast Missouri State (184)

Patriot (1): Bucknell (206)

SEC (10): *Auburn (1), Florida (4), Tennessee (5), Alabama (6), Missouri (13), Kentucky (15), Texas A&M (23), Ole Miss (28), Mississippi State (30), Vanderbilt (37)

SoCon (1): Chattanooga (114)

Southland (1): McNeese (61)

SWAC (1): Southern (219)

Summit (1): Omaha (182)

Sun Belt (1): South Alabama (119)

WCC (2): Gonzaga (8), *Saint Mary’s (18)

WAC (1): Utah Valley (111)
--------------------------------------
Last 4 In: Nebraska (57), Boise State (43), North Carolina (42), (last team in) Wake Forest (68)

First 4 Out: (first team out) Xavier (49), Georgia (33), Villanova (51), Oklahoma (53)

Next 4 Out: UC-Irvine (63), Colorado State (58), Arkansas (47), TCU (70)

On the Radar O’Reilly (6): George Mason (74), San Francisco (62), Cincinnati (40), SMU (41), Texas (46), Northwestern (54)

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Southeast Missouri State (184), Quinnipiac (187), Bucknell (206), Southern (219)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Gonzaga (8), Utah State (38), Boise State (43), San Diego State (50)
----------------------------------------
AVAILABLE BIDS THROUGH SUNDAY, MARCH 2 (10)
1-Bid Conference Placeholders (24)
America East: Bryant
American: Memphis
ASUN: Lipscomb
Atlantic 10: VCU
Big Sky: Northern Colorado
Big South: High Point
Big West: UC-San Diego
Coastal: Towson
Conference USA: Jacksonville State
Horizon: Robert Morris
Ivy: Yale
MAAC: Quinnipiac
MAC: Akron
MEAC: Norfolk State
Missouri Valley: Drake
NEC: Central Connecticut
OVC: Southeast Missouri State
Patriot: Bucknell
SoCon: Chattanooga
Southand: McNeese
SWAC: Southern
Summit: Omaha
Sun Belt: South Alabama
WAC: Utah Valley

Multiple-Bid Conference/Auto Bid Placeholder & Lock (7)
ACC: Duke
Big East: Saint John’s
Big Ten: Michigan State
Big XII: Houston
Mountain West: New Mexico
SEC: Auburn
WCC: Saint Mary’s

Locks Not Among Auto Bids (27)
Alabama, Arizona, BYU, Clemson, Creighton, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, UConn, Wisconsin

Almost There, Seal the Deal With 1 More Regular Season Win (2)
Utah State, Vanderbilt

Squarely on the Bubble (12) – 8 of these would be selected
Baylor, Boise State, Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Xavier

Longshots/I Got 99 Problems, and the Bubble Is 1 (10)
Arkansas, Cincinnati, Colorado State, George Mason, Northwestern, San Francisco, SMU, Texas, TCU, UC-Irvine

Heart of Bubblicious (NET #45-55)
45 Memphis (IN)
46 Texas (OUT)
47 Arkansas (OUT)
48 West Virginia (IN)
49 Xavier (OUT)
50 San Diego State (IN)
51 Villanova (OUT)
52 Santa Clara (OUT)
53 Oklahoma (OUT)
54 Northwestern (OUT)
55 Indiana (IN)

The Local NETters
#93 Minnesota (15-14, 7-11 Big Ten)
#117 St. Thomas (22-9, 12-4 Summit League)

Big Ten +/- Power Rankings (Road Wins – Home Losses)
1 Michigan State (+6)
2 Michigan (+5)
3 Purdue (+3)
4 Maryland (+3)
5 Wisconsin (+3)
6 Illinois (+2)
7 UCLA (+2)
8 Oregon (+1)
9 Indiana (even)
10 Ohio State (-1)
11 Rutgers (-2)
12 Minnesota (-2)
13 Nebraska (-2)
14 Northwestern (-2)
15 USC (-3)
16 Iowa (-3)
17 Washington (-5)
18 Penn State (-5)

Summit League Tournament
March 5 (1st Round)
#8 Kansas City (12-19) vs. #9 Oral Roberts (7-22), 7 p.m.

March 6 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Omaha (19-12) vs. Kansas City/Oral Roberts winner, 6 p.m.
#2 St. Thomas (22-9) vs. #7 Denver (11-20), 8:30 p.m.

March 7 (Quarterfinals)
#3 South Dakota State (20-11) vs. #6 North Dakota (11-20), 6 p.m.
#4 North Dakota State (21-10) vs. #5 South Dakota (18-13), 8:30 p.m.

Gophers Stat Leaders
Dawson Garcia (19.3 points per game), Garcia (7.5 rebounds per game), Femi Odukale (3.6 assists per game), Odukale (1.4 steals per game), Isaac Asuma (37.5% 3PFG), Odukale (1.2 blocks per game)

Tommies Stat Leaders
Miles Barnstable (14.7 points per game), Kendall Blue (4.5 rebounds per game), Drake Dobbs (3.6 assists per game), Nolan Minessale (1.1 steals per game), Ben Oosterbaan (46% 3PFG), Minessale (1.1 blocks per game)

NET Kings
#1 Auburn (27-2)

Kinda’ Bubble Cutline
#50 San Diego State (19-7)

Stuck in the Middle with You
#182 Omaha (17-12)

Bottom of the Barrel
#364 Mississippi Valley State (1-26)

Deep (College Hoops) Thoughts, by Buzz Studley
Seth Davis has an interesting definition of “elite.” And do not schools like Wisconsin, UConn, Michigan State, etc., also have cold weather climates? They seem to do OK, no?

I’m tired of the constant excuses why Minnesota can’t win.

Next Field of 68: late Wednesday evening, March 5

Nebraska should be kicked out for losing to MN at home. Seriously though, I'm not paying close attention this year so did realize that Nebby was near being in.

 

[howeda7]

A 4-12 SEC teams with the 312th ranked Non-Conference SOS is currently projected as last 4 in.

Oklahoma doesn't deserve a bid. But how on earth their non-conference SOS can be 312 is beyond me. They played six of twelve non-conference games against the Power 5: Providence, Arizona, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and Michigan (and won them all.)

 

[blevanhoval]

By Buzz King (@Fieldof68Freak)

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY – With Championship Week already underway (ASUN #7 seed Austin “Let’s Go Peay” & #10 Central Arkansas were the first to survive & advance Sunday night), we’re adding a new wrinkle this week. After the projection, I’ll put potential tournament teams into five boxes: “auto bid”; “locks”; “almost there”; “squarely on the bubble”; and “longshots”.

I plan to update the Field of 68 outlook daily starting late Wednesday night (after the Kansas City-Oral Roberts 8-9 game) from the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, at least through Thursday, March 13, before I hunker down for the final “Field of 68” projection early Selection Sunday morning.

As always, we start with a projection. In multiple-bid conferences, projected automatic qualifiers (current #1 seed for conference tournament) are noted with a *.

FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (through games played 3/2/25)
America East (1): Bryant (151)

American (1): Memphis (45)

ACC (5): *Duke (2), Clemson (21), Louisville (24), North Carolina (42), Wake Forest (68)

ASUN (1): Lipscomb (87)

Atlantic 10 (1): VCU (29)

Big East (4): *Saint John’s (19), Marquette (22), UConn (35), Creighton (39)

Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado (124)

Big South (1): High Point (86)

Big Ten (11): *Michigan State (11), Maryland (12), Wisconsin (14), Illinois (16), Purdue (17), Michigan (25), UCLA (27), Oregon (31), Ohio State (36), Indiana (55), Nebraska (57)

Big XII (8): *Houston (3), Texas Tech (7), Iowa State (9), Arizona (10), Kansas (20), BYU (26), Baylor (32), West Virginia (48)

Big West (1): UC-San Diego (34)

Coastal (1): Towson (139)

Conference USA (1): Jacksonville State (115)

Horizon (1): Robert Morris (153)

Ivy (1): Yale (73)

MAAC (1): Quinnipiac (187)

MAC (1): Akron (98)

MEAC (1): Norfolk State (179)

Missouri Valley (1): Drake (60)

Mountain West (4): Utah State (38), Boise State (43), *New Mexico (44), San Diego State (50)

NEC (1): Central Connecticut (157)

OVC (1): Southeast Missouri State (184)

Patriot (1): Bucknell (206)

SEC (10): *Auburn (1), Florida (4), Tennessee (5), Alabama (6), Missouri (13), Kentucky (15), Texas A&M (23), Ole Miss (28), Mississippi State (30), Vanderbilt (37)

SoCon (1): Chattanooga (114)

Southland (1): McNeese (61)

SWAC (1): Southern (219)

Summit (1): Omaha (182)

Sun Belt (1): South Alabama (119)

WCC (2): Gonzaga (8), *Saint Mary’s (18)

WAC (1): Utah Valley (111)
--------------------------------------
Last 4 In: Nebraska (57), Boise State (43), North Carolina (42), (last team in) Wake Forest (68)

First 4 Out: (first team out) Xavier (49), Georgia (33), Villanova (51), Oklahoma (53)

Next 4 Out: UC-Irvine (63), Colorado State (58), Arkansas (47), TCU (70)

On the Radar O’Reilly (6): George Mason (74), San Francisco (62), Cincinnati (40), SMU (41), Texas (46), Northwestern (54)

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Southeast Missouri State (184), Quinnipiac (187), Bucknell (206), Southern (219)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): Gonzaga (8), Utah State (38), Boise State (43), San Diego State (50)
----------------------------------------
AVAILABLE BIDS THROUGH SUNDAY, MARCH 2 (10)
1-Bid Conference Placeholders (24)
America East: Bryant
American: Memphis
ASUN: Lipscomb
Atlantic 10: VCU
Big Sky: Northern Colorado
Big South: High Point
Big West: UC-San Diego
Coastal: Towson
Conference USA: Jacksonville State
Horizon: Robert Morris
Ivy: Yale
MAAC: Quinnipiac
MAC: Akron
MEAC: Norfolk State
Missouri Valley: Drake
NEC: Central Connecticut
OVC: Southeast Missouri State
Patriot: Bucknell
SoCon: Chattanooga
Southand: McNeese
SWAC: Southern
Summit: Omaha
Sun Belt: South Alabama
WAC: Utah Valley

Multiple-Bid Conference/Auto Bid Placeholder & Lock (7)
ACC: Duke
Big East: Saint John’s
Big Ten: Michigan State
Big XII: Houston
Mountain West: New Mexico
SEC: Auburn
WCC: Saint Mary’s

Locks Not Among Auto Bids (27)
Alabama, Arizona, BYU, Clemson, Creighton, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, UConn, Wisconsin

Almost There, Seal the Deal With 1 More Regular Season Win (2)
Utah State, Vanderbilt

Squarely on the Bubble (12) – 8 of these would be selected
Baylor, Boise State, Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Xavier

Longshots/I Got 99 Problems, and the Bubble Is 1 (10)
Arkansas, Cincinnati, Colorado State, George Mason, Northwestern, San Francisco, SMU, Texas, TCU, UC-Irvine

Heart of Bubblicious (NET #45-55)
45 Memphis (IN)
46 Texas (OUT)
47 Arkansas (OUT)
48 West Virginia (IN)
49 Xavier (OUT)
50 San Diego State (IN)
51 Villanova (OUT)
52 Santa Clara (OUT)
53 Oklahoma (OUT)
54 Northwestern (OUT)
55 Indiana (IN)

The Local NETters
#93 Minnesota (15-14, 7-11 Big Ten)
#117 St. Thomas (22-9, 12-4 Summit League)

Big Ten +/- Power Rankings (Road Wins – Home Losses)
1 Michigan State (+6)
2 Michigan (+5)
3 Purdue (+3)
4 Maryland (+3)
5 Wisconsin (+3)
6 Illinois (+2)
7 UCLA (+2)
8 Oregon (+1)
9 Indiana (even)
10 Ohio State (-1)
11 Rutgers (-2)
12 Minnesota (-2)
13 Nebraska (-2)
14 Northwestern (-2)
15 USC (-3)
16 Iowa (-3)
17 Washington (-5)
18 Penn State (-5)

Summit League Tournament
March 5 (1st Round)
#8 Kansas City (12-19) vs. #9 Oral Roberts (7-22), 7 p.m.

March 6 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Omaha (19-12) vs. Kansas City/Oral Roberts winner, 6 p.m.
#2 St. Thomas (22-9) vs. #7 Denver (11-20), 8:30 p.m.

March 7 (Quarterfinals)
#3 South Dakota State (20-11) vs. #6 North Dakota (11-20), 6 p.m.
#4 North Dakota State (21-10) vs. #5 South Dakota (18-13), 8:30 p.m.

Gophers Stat Leaders
Dawson Garcia (19.3 points per game), Garcia (7.5 rebounds per game), Femi Odukale (3.6 assists per game), Odukale (1.4 steals per game), Isaac Asuma (37.5% 3PFG), Odukale (1.2 blocks per game)

Tommies Stat Leaders
Miles Barnstable (14.7 points per game), Kendall Blue (4.5 rebounds per game), Drake Dobbs (3.6 assists per game), Nolan Minessale (1.1 steals per game), Ben Oosterbaan (46% 3PFG), Minessale (1.1 blocks per game)

NET Kings
#1 Auburn (27-2)

Kinda’ Bubble Cutline
#50 San Diego State (19-7)

Stuck in the Middle with You
#182 Omaha (17-12)

Bottom of the Barrel
#364 Mississippi Valley State (1-26)

Deep (College Hoops) Thoughts, by Buzz Studley
Seth Davis has an interesting definition of “elite.” And do not schools like Wisconsin, UConn, Michigan State, etc., also have cold weather climates? They seem to do OK, no?

I’m tired of the constant excuses why Minnesota can’t win.

Next Field of 68: late Wednesday evening, March 5

You're one of the few giving Villanova some love. Lunardi has them in his next 4 out, but I've seen a lot of professional and amateur bracketologists not even mention them.

I fell in love with their play during the Jay Wright runs and they've become my second favorite team. Been rooting for them and Neptune to get in the dance. Do you think they must make the Big East finals to have a chance? Or could reaching the semis be enough as long as other bubble teams stumble?

 

[SelectionSunday]

Not real high on Nova's resume, but they're not out of the picture yet despite the bad non-conference performance. Working against them is they're a bit of a "homecourt hero". ... all their significant wins came at home, none on a neutral court or a true road game. Roughly, I think they need two wins vs. teams that will make the field to have a strong case.

Boise is the team I've been higher on than most of the bracket guys I follow. Think their resume is more than solid compared against most bubble teams.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Oklahoma doesn't deserve a bid. But how on earth their non-conference SOS can be 312 is beyond me. They played six of twelve non-conference games against the Power 5: Providence, Arizona, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and Michigan (and won them all.)

I'm going to guess that number is wrong. However, it is a new age of conference basketball with no more PAC12. Those teams are now in larger conference and someone has to lose every game. The MN women are on the bubble at 13th in the conference.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Barring a ton of bid-stealers during Championship Week, two mid-major teams I'll absolutely select as at-larges if they don't win their conference tournament:

Drake (Missouri Valley) & UC-San Diego (Big West)

I actually hope they lose in their conference championship game so that the committee is forced to make a decision. IMO, those are 2 teams they have to take in place some of the middlin' major-conference teams inhabiting the bubble. If either or both don't get in, that will be a true pre-cursor of what's going to happen when the field expands in a couple years. ... more screwing of the quality mid-majors.

 

[Holy Man]

Barring a ton of bid-stealers during Championship Week, two mid-major teams I'll absolutely select as at-larges if they don't win their conference tournament:

Drake (Missouri Valley) & UC-San Diego (Big West)

I actually hope they lose in their conference championship game so that the committee is forced to make a decision. IMO, those are 2 teams they have to take in place some of the middlin' major-conference teams inhabiting the bubble. If either or both don't get in, that will be a true pre-cursor of what's going to happen when the field expands in a couple years. ... more screwing of the quality mid-majors.

Not sure what’s happening out west but Drake has struggled the last week or so. Would not be surprised if an Arch Madness rival takes them down. Drake has shown some staying power and chose a good coach, but from a distance it appears the league might be figuring them out.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Not sure what’s happening out west but Drake has struggled the last week or so. Would not be surprised if an Arch Madness rival takes them down. Drake has shown some staying power and chose a good coach, but from a distance it appears the league might be figuring them out.

Great observation. Needed OT (at home) Sunday to beat the worst team in the MVC. I like Bradley to win Arch Madness.

 

[Holy Man]

Great observation. Needed OT (at home) Sunday to beat the worst team in the MVC. I like Bradley to win Arch Madness.

Arch Madness is on my bucket list. Lots of friends in St. Louis, almost always a well played and competitive tournament and ticket price is about 30% of Big Ten tournaments. A win all the way around. May need to wait until retirement though.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Arch Madness is on my bucket list. Lots of friends in St. Louis, almost always a well played and competitive tournament and ticket price is about 30% of Big Ten tournaments. A win all the way around. May need to wait until retirement though.

I’m finding the same thing with Summit League. A lot cheaper, it’s becoming a competitive league, and Sanford Premier Center & Sioux Falls do a great job hosting. I’m now kind of hoping St. Thomas stays put for awhile because I’m pretty familiar with all the teams after 4 years + Sioux Falls is an easy drive.

But when UST does move up, MVC would be a nice next step!

 

[Drake University Gopher]

Great observation. Needed OT (at home) Sunday to beat the worst team in the MVC. I like Bradley to win Arch Madness.

The Bulldogs have definitely struggled at home in recent weeks. Our star in Stirtz has been nursing something with his wrist as of late, but they just absolutely refuse to lose. They remind me of the Vikes a couple years back with the amount of 1 score victories (5-0 in OT). I would and wouldn’t be surprised if Drake lost in the tournament. Then again it’s been a long time since they lost a game in Arch Madness and away from home they’ve been insanely good. For some reason neutral site games (outside of late game collapses in the NCAA tournament - sigh) they’ve been dominant. I almost hope to get to see a long NIT run instead of getting screwed again with a low seed and having to run a gauntlet just to blow a late lead to a 5/6 seed in the 1st round.

 

[Drake University Gopher]

Barring a ton of bid-stealers during Championship Week, two mid-major teams I'll absolutely select as at-larges if they don't win their conference tournament:

Drake (Missouri Valley) & UC-San Diego (Big West)

I actually hope they lose in their conference championship game so that the committee is forced to make a decision. IMO, those are 2 teams they have to take in place some of the middlin' major-conference teams inhabiting the bubble. If either or both don't get in, that will be a true pre-cursor of what's going to happen when the field expands in a couple years. ... more screwing of the quality mid-majors.

What’s weird about mid majors is how they almost need to be perfect and even then they’ll be discredited. Drake (27-3) went 3-0 in their non-con tourney beating all three P4/5 schools by double digits. They then went on the road and beat a decent K State team. If they had lost last week to Mo State, even I would have found it hard to argue they deserve to be in if they lost in Arch Madness. That still seems silly in the end considering anyone could understand having a hiccup after winning your conference outright, but it is what it is. Last year I was adamant that Indiana State deserved to be a tournament team and was baffled by the selection show. In the end, their impressive run in the NIT I believe will only help other mid majors this year.