It’s Hard to Beat “Survive and Advance” Season, ASUN Gets It Started March 2

By Buzz King (@Fieldof68Freak)

ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY – As always, we start with a weekly “Field of 68” 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 2/23/25)
America East (1): Bryant (162)

American (1): Memphis (47)

ACC (5): *Duke (2), Clemson (22), Louisville (24), North Carolina (45), Wake Forest (63)

ASUN (1): North Alabama (124)

Atlantic 10 (1): VCU (31)

Big East (4): *Saint John’s (18), Marquette (27), Creighton (35), UConn (37)

Big Sky (1): Montana (153)

Big South (1): High Point (86)

Big Ten (10): Maryland (11), Wisconsin (13), *Michigan State (14), Purdue (19), Michigan (21), Illinois (23), UCLA (25), Oregon (32) Ohio State (34), Nebraska (54)

Big XII (8): *Houston (3), Texas Tech (7), Iowa State (8), Arizona (9), Kansas (20), BYU (29), Baylor (30), West Virginia (48)

Big West (1): UC-San Diego (36)

Coastal (1): Towson (145)

Conference USA (1): Jacksonville State (113)

Horizon (1): Robert Morris (155)

Ivy (1): Yale (68)

MAAC (1): Marist (210)

MAC (1): Akron (97)

MEAC (1): Norfolk State (175)

Missouri Valley (1): Drake (58)

Mountain West (4): Utah State (33), *New Mexico (42), Boise State (46), San Diego State (49)

NEC (1): Central Connecticut (154)

OVC (1): Southeast Missouri State (184)

Patriot (1): American (236)

SEC (11): *Auburn (1), Florida (4), Tennessee (5), Alabama (6), Kentucky (12), Missouri (15), Texas A&M (17), Ole Miss (26), Mississippi State (28), Vanderbilt (43), Oklahoma (51)

SoCon (1): Chattanooga (128)

Southland (1): McNeese (66)

SWAC (1): Southern (214)

Summit (1): Omaha (194)

Sun Belt (1): James Madison (143)

WCC (2): Gonzaga (10), *Saint Mary’s (16)

WAC (1): Utah Valley (119)
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Last 4 In: Oklahoma (51), North Carolina (45), Boise State (46), (last team in) Ohio State (34)

First 4 Out: (first team out) Texas (38), Indiana (56), George Mason (65), Arkansas (40)

Next 4 Out: Xavier (53), TCU (74), UC-Irvine (67), Santa Clara (52)

On the Radar O’Reilly (5): SMU (39), San Francisco (61), Villanova (50), Cincinnati (44), Georgia (41)

Last 4 Automatic Qualifiers: Omaha (194), Marist (210), Southern (214), American (236)

Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (5): Gonzaga (10), Utah State (33), Boise State (46), San Diego State (49)
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Record vs. the Field (all 68 teams)
Drake (1-0)
Auburn (14-2, .875)
New Mexico (6-2, .750)
Saint John’s (6-2, .750)
Saint Mary’s (6-2, .750)
Michigan State (8-3, .727)
Memphis (5-2, .714)
Florida (7-3, .700)
Alabama (11-5, .688)
Tennessee (11-5, .688)
Chattanooga (2-1, .667)
Duke (6-3, .667)
Texas A&M (10-5, .667)
UC-San Diego (2-1, .667)
Houston (7-4, .636)
Texas Tech (5-3, .625)
Utah State (5-3, .625)
Missouri (8-5, .615)
Kentucky (9-6, .600)
Maryland (6-4, .600)
Clemson (4-3, .571)
Michigan (5-4, .556)
BYU (4-4, .500)
High Point (1-1. 500)
Iowa State (5-5, .500)
Marquette (4-4, .500)
Nebraska (6-6, .500)
Norfolk State (2-2, .500)
Oregon (7-7, .500)
Purdue (7-7, .500)
Robert Morris (1-1, .500)
San Diego State (5-5, .500)
Towson (2-2, .500)
UCLA (6-6, .500)
UConn (4-4, .500)
Yale (1-1, .500)
Mississippi State (6-7, .462)
Wisconsin (5-6, .455)
Louisville (4-5, .444)
Arizona (6-8, .429)
Boise State (3-4, .429) – LAST 4 IN
Oklahoma (5-7, .417) – LAST 4 IN
West Virginia (5-7, .417)
Illinois (5-8, .385)
Ole Miss (5-8, .385)
Wake Forest (3-5, .375)
Creighton (4-7, .364)
Kansas (4-7, .364)
Akron (1-2, .333)
Jacksonville State (1-2, .333)
James Madison (2-4, .333)
Baylor (4-9, .308)
Vanderbilt (4-9, .308)
Gonzaga (2-6, .250)
Ohio State (3-10, .231) – LAST TEAM IN
North Carolina (2-9, 182) – LAST 4 IN
Central Connecticut (0-0)
Marist (0-0)
North Alabama (0-1)
VCU (0-1)
American (0-2)
McNeese (0-2)
Omaha (0-2)
Southeast Missouri State (0-2)
Utah Valley (0-2)
Bryant (0-3)
Montana (0-3)
Southern (0-3)

Received Consideration
UC-Irvine (2-1, .667)
Santa Clara (2-2, .500)
San Francisco (3-4, .429)
TCU (4-7, .364)
Villanova (3-6, .333)
Xavier (3-6, .333)
Indiana (4-9, .308) – FIRST 4 OUT
Texas (4-9, .308) – FIRST TEAM OUT
George Mason (1-3, .250) – FIRST 4 OUT
Arkansas (3-10, .231) – FIRST 4 OUT
Georgia (3-10, .231)
Cincinnati (1-8, .111)
SMU (0-6)

Heart of Bubblicious (NET #45-55)
45 North Carolina (IN)
46 Boise State (IN)
47 Memphis (IN)
48 West Virginia (IN)
49 San Diego State (IN)
50 Villanova (OUT)
51 Oklahoma (IN)
52 Santa Clara (OUT)
53 Xavier (OUT)
54 Nebraska (IN)
55 Pitt (OUT)

Final Power 5 Head-to-Head Standings (+Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s/San Diego State)
With Duke’s thumping of Illinois, the final regular season Power 5 head-to-head matchup is in the books. Here are the final standings:

1 SEC (60-19, 75.9%)
2 Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s/San Diego State (10-7, 58.8%)
3 Big Ten 33-27, 55%)
4 Big East (19-24, 44.2%)
5 Big XII (25-34, 42.4%
6 ACC (17-53, 24.3%)

6-Pack That Had a Good Week. …
BYU: Cougars approaching “lock” status after routing Kansas, win thriller @ Arizona

James Madison: Dukes late-season push has them leading the Sun Belt

Michigan State: Spartans take B1G lead with wins over Purdue, @ Michigan

Oregon: Ducks have won 4 straight after win in Madison

Saint Mary’s: Gaels complete season sweep of scuffling Zags

VCU: Rams take down George Mason to take A-10 lead

6-Pack That Had a Bad Week. …
Baylor: Bears fall twice, including Big XII bottom-feeder Colorado. Nearing bubble.

Illinois: free-falling Illini lose to Wisconsin & Duke by combined 64 points

Purdue: Boilers have lost 4 straight, the latest to the rival Hoosiers

St. Thomas: Tommies title hopes all but dashed after 1st back-to-back losses since mid-November

Texas A&M: Aggies fall @ Mississippi State, in College Station to Tennessee

Wake Forest: Deacons still in my field, but losing @ stinky NC State begs “leave me out”

B1G Weakling Wednesday Dropouts – B1G Tournament no-shows?
** The 3 Big Ten teams tracking toward an early end to their 2024-25 season with no invitation to Indianapolis:
#16 Northwestern (5-11)
#17 Penn State (5-12)
#18 Washington (4-12)

The Local NETters
#92 Minnesota (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten)
#121 St. Thomas (20-9, 10-4 Summit League)

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

Summit League Tournament (if held today)
The Summit League Tournament gets started March 5. Here’s how the first round and quarterfinal matchups look heading into the final week of the regular season.

March 5 (1st Round)
#8 Oral Roberts (3-11) vs. #9 Kansas City (3-11), 7 p.m.

March 6 (Quarterfinals)
#1 Omaha (12-3) vs. Oral Roberts/Kansas City winner, 6 p.m.
#2 St. Thomas (10-4) vs. #7 Denver (4-10), 8:30 p.m.

March 7 (Quarterfinals)
#3 South Dakota State (10-4) vs. #6 North Dakota (5-9), 6 p.m.
#4 North Dakota State (9-6) vs. #5 South Dakota (8-6), 8:30 p.m.

Gophers Week Ahead
Tuesday: #57 Northwestern
Saturday: @ #54 Nebraska

Tommies Week Ahead
Thursday: #277 North Dakota
Saturday: #247 Kansas City

Gophers Stat Leaders
Dawson Garcia (19.4 points per game), Garcia (7.5 rebounds per game), Femi Odukale (3.5 assists per game), Odukale (1.5 steals per game), Isaac Asuma (37.7% 3PFG), Parker Fox (1.1 blocks per game)

Tommies Stat Leaders
Miles Barnstable (14.6 points per game), Kendall Blue (4.2 rebounds per game), Drake Dobbs (3.7 assists per game), Barnstable (1.1 steals per game), Ben Oosterbaan (48.9% 3PFG), Nolan Minessale (1.1 blocks per game)

NET Kings
#1 Auburn (25-2)

Kinda’ Bubble Cutline
#50 Villanova (16-12)

Stuck in the Middle with You
#182 Wyoming (11-16)

Bottom of the Barrel
#364 Mississippi Valley State (1-24)

Deep (College Hoops) Thoughts, by Buzz Studley
The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament (the March Madness 96-Hour Marathon) always will be my favorite moment(s) on the sporting calendar. But a close second is “Championship Week”, the glorious two weeks of conference championship basketball leading into Selection Sunday.

On Sunday “the ball is tipped” when the ASUN gets things bouncing with a pair of first-round games (#9 vs. #10 and #7 vs. #8) on campus sites. Enjoy the ride and as Jimmy V taught us a long time ago, tournament basketball is all about three words: Survive and Advance!

Next Field of 68: TBD

SelectionSunday said:

Deep (College Hoops) Thoughts, by Buzz Studley
The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament (the March Madness 96-Hour Marathon) always will be my favorite moment(s) on the sporting calendar. But a close second is “Championship Week”, the glorious two weeks of conference championship basketball leading into Selection Sunday.

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A very thorough presentation! I liked seeing the pertinent stuff all in one place. Thank you!

The thought occurred to me some years ago that I actually may prefer "Championship Week." The reasons are that the teams are more closely matched in those conference tournaments and they seem to fight with a little more ferocity in those games.

With their center back, I think PSU is a better team than Washington but I agree that they'll likely finish behind them because Washington has the tie breaker and PSU has a tough slate of final games. Iowa has a tough schedule of remaining games too but they have a fair chance of finishing ahead of Northwestern.

TwistingMyMelon said:

A very thorough presentation! I liked seeing the pertinent stuff all in one place. Thank you!

The thought occurred to me some years ago that I actually may prefer "Championship Week." The reasons are that the teams are more closely matched in those conference tournaments and they seem to fight with a little more ferocity in those games.

With their center back, I think PSU is a better team than Washington but I agree that they'll likely finish behind them because Washington has the tie breaker and PSU has a tough slate of final games. Iowa has a tough schedule of remaining games too but they have a fair chance of finishing ahead of Northwestern.

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Thanks , I appreciate it!

Yep, I especially love the1-bid conference tournaments. It's all or nothing. You can see it in the players and coaches.

I think you’re being too generous to Ohio State.

ASUN looks like a pretty balanced league and campus sites will make it a really exciting tournament. My connection to the Fort Myers area has me pulling for FGCU. Big game tonight for seeding purposes for them.

Holy Man said:

I think you’re being too generous to Ohio State.

ASUN looks like a pretty balanced league and campus sites will make it a really exciting tournament. My connection to the Fort Myers area has me pulling for FGCU. Big game tonight for seeding purposes for them.

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My folks used to winter in Fort Myers, so Dad was going to games there when Andy Enfield really had them going. I'm a little surprised FGCU as a school hasn't moved up the conference food chain yet. Everything I've heard is they have nice facilities and they're serious about winning.

SelectionSunday said:

My folks used to winter in Fort Myers, so Dad was going to games there when Andy Enfield really had them going. I'm a little surprised FGCU as a school hasn't moved up the conference food chain yet. Everything I've heard is they have nice facilities and they're serious about winning.

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Great campus. Really nice facilities. The momentum continued a bit after Enfeld but has slowed a bit. Chambers has been scheduling tough non conference so it’s hard to tell until regular season starts how they will compete. Better in league than I thought in December though. Four teams within a game of each other with a week to go.

A-sun Bracket: