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Road to Selection Sunday: Affinity For March Madness Started With Joe Ponsetto, Now Includes Championship Week
By SelectionSunday
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/233418?referrer_id=388419
THERE WILL BE TIME FOR SLEEP IN APRIL, Minn. -- Wanna' know how I know the "most wonderful time of the year" (R.I.P., Andy Williams) is just around the corner? I know March Madness is peaking through the dirt-covered snow when every year in about the third week of February -- without exception -- I start waking up about an hour before my alarm, eyes wide open and ready to attack the day. I can't explain it. My work day starts at 6:30 a.m. and I've always treasured my sleep, so how else can I explain waking up bright and early on workdays and weekends, when there's plenty more time to get some shut-eye?
I'm not a psychologist, but my guess is my lust for all things March Madness started when my father started taking my brothers and I to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 2A State Tournament in the early 70's, with my first March Madness experience coming in 1974. To this day, I can still feel the excitement I felt when Dad picked me up at lunchtime at Caledonia Grade School on a Thursday in tiny Caledonia, IL, as we began our trek to Champaign, IL, to attend the state tournament at the arena I dubbed "The Giant Mushroom" (Assembly Hall). How else do I explain nearly 40 years later remembering the name Joe Ponsetto, the star of the championship Proviso East team who went on to a nice college career playing for the legendary Ray Meyer at DePaul?
Perhaps that helps explain why I enjoy anything March Madness related, including the lead-up to the NCAA Tournament. That includes Championship Week, which begins next week when the Big South Conference and Horizon League kick off their tournaments Tuesday. So I offer a friendly warning to any co-workers, friends, acquaintances, and family (though my family already knows this) wanting to get in touch me. Don't bother to call, email, or text in the next three weeks. I'll be too busy enjoying the best three weeks of the sporting calendar. ... Championship Week, Big Ten Tournament Week/Selection Sunday, and the first week of the NCAA Tournament. (OK, maybe you can call me after midnight, after all the day's games are over)
Thumbnail Look At How Field of 68 Is Shaping Up
Now, let's take a look how the NCAA Tournament field is shaping up through games played Thursday night. There have been a few changes since we last looked at this on Monday, most notably the Gophers moving to "lock" status after their pulsating win over #1 Indiana at a hellacious Williams Arena.
Currently I have 85 teams in contention for the 68 bids, of which 54 (including the automatic bids) I'd consider locks. So with just over two weeks remaining until Selection Sunday, by my count there are 14 at-large bids up for grabs.. That number will shrink, obviously, once Championship Week gets into full swing and the upsets start occurring. Teams are listed in order of current RPI. "Automatics" with ^^ indicates a potential "bid stealer" if they fail to win their conference tournament.
Automatics/Conference Leader (31)
#2 New Mexico (Mountain West)
#3 Miami-Florida (ACC)
#4 Kansas (Big 12)
#5 Florida (SEC)
#6 Gonzaga (West Coast)
#8 Indiana (Big Ten)
#10 Georgetown (Big East)
#20 Memphis^^ (Conference USA)
#23 Belmont^^ (Ohio Valley)
#28 Middle Tennessee^^ (Sun Belt)
#30 Saint Louis (Atlantic 10)
#35 Akron^^ (MAC)
#41 Creighton (Missouri Valley)
#47 Louisiana Tech^^ (WAC)
#48 Oregon (Pac 12)
#52 Bucknell (Patriot)
#66 Valparaiso (Horizon)
#72 South Dakota State (Summit)
#74 Stephen F. Austin (Southland)
#77 Davidson (Southern)
#82 Stony Brook (America East)
#87 Harvard (Ivy)
#105 Montana (Big Sky)
#116 Long Beach State (Big West)
#119 Robert Morris (Northeast)
#123 Niagara (Metro Atlantic)
#130 Northeastern (Colonial)
#144 Mercer (Atlantic Sun)
#175 Norfolk State (MEAC)
#192 Charleston Southern (Big South)
#196 Southern (SWAC)
Locks (23)
#1 Duke
#7 Michigan State
#9 Louisville
#11 Michigan
#12 Syracuse
#13 Marquette
#14 Arizona
#15 GOPHERS
#16 UNLV
#17 Colorado State
#18 North Carolina
#19 Ohio State
#22 Colorado
#24 Wisconsin
#21 Kansas State
#25 Oklahoma
#26 Oklahoma State
#27 NC State
#29 Butler
#34 VCU
#37 Missouri
#44 Pitt
#45 Notre Dame
In the Field, But Just A Tad More Work To Do (9)
#31 San Diego State
#33 Illinois
#38 Temple
#39 LaSalle
#40 UCLA
#42 Wichita State
#43 Saint Mary's
#46 Cal
#51 Cincinnati
Squarely on the Bubble (12) -- only 5 of these would make the tournament
#36 Southern Miss
#49 Boise State
#50 Kentucky
#53 Tennessee
#54 Iowa State
#55 Ole Miss
#56 Villanova
#57 UMass
#58 Virginia
#60 Baylor
#62 Saint John's
#63 Alabama
Longshots (10) -- win out, pick up at least 2 quality wins in conference tourney, then pray
#64 Air Force
#67 Charlotte
#69 Indiana State
#75 Maryland
#84 Xavier
#85 Providence
#89 Arkansas
#90 Arizona State
#91 Iowa
#92 LSU
Enjoy the Madness. ... it starts Tuesday!
By SelectionSunday
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/233418?referrer_id=388419
THERE WILL BE TIME FOR SLEEP IN APRIL, Minn. -- Wanna' know how I know the "most wonderful time of the year" (R.I.P., Andy Williams) is just around the corner? I know March Madness is peaking through the dirt-covered snow when every year in about the third week of February -- without exception -- I start waking up about an hour before my alarm, eyes wide open and ready to attack the day. I can't explain it. My work day starts at 6:30 a.m. and I've always treasured my sleep, so how else can I explain waking up bright and early on workdays and weekends, when there's plenty more time to get some shut-eye?
I'm not a psychologist, but my guess is my lust for all things March Madness started when my father started taking my brothers and I to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 2A State Tournament in the early 70's, with my first March Madness experience coming in 1974. To this day, I can still feel the excitement I felt when Dad picked me up at lunchtime at Caledonia Grade School on a Thursday in tiny Caledonia, IL, as we began our trek to Champaign, IL, to attend the state tournament at the arena I dubbed "The Giant Mushroom" (Assembly Hall). How else do I explain nearly 40 years later remembering the name Joe Ponsetto, the star of the championship Proviso East team who went on to a nice college career playing for the legendary Ray Meyer at DePaul?
Perhaps that helps explain why I enjoy anything March Madness related, including the lead-up to the NCAA Tournament. That includes Championship Week, which begins next week when the Big South Conference and Horizon League kick off their tournaments Tuesday. So I offer a friendly warning to any co-workers, friends, acquaintances, and family (though my family already knows this) wanting to get in touch me. Don't bother to call, email, or text in the next three weeks. I'll be too busy enjoying the best three weeks of the sporting calendar. ... Championship Week, Big Ten Tournament Week/Selection Sunday, and the first week of the NCAA Tournament. (OK, maybe you can call me after midnight, after all the day's games are over)
Thumbnail Look At How Field of 68 Is Shaping Up
Now, let's take a look how the NCAA Tournament field is shaping up through games played Thursday night. There have been a few changes since we last looked at this on Monday, most notably the Gophers moving to "lock" status after their pulsating win over #1 Indiana at a hellacious Williams Arena.
Currently I have 85 teams in contention for the 68 bids, of which 54 (including the automatic bids) I'd consider locks. So with just over two weeks remaining until Selection Sunday, by my count there are 14 at-large bids up for grabs.. That number will shrink, obviously, once Championship Week gets into full swing and the upsets start occurring. Teams are listed in order of current RPI. "Automatics" with ^^ indicates a potential "bid stealer" if they fail to win their conference tournament.
Automatics/Conference Leader (31)
#2 New Mexico (Mountain West)
#3 Miami-Florida (ACC)
#4 Kansas (Big 12)
#5 Florida (SEC)
#6 Gonzaga (West Coast)
#8 Indiana (Big Ten)
#10 Georgetown (Big East)
#20 Memphis^^ (Conference USA)
#23 Belmont^^ (Ohio Valley)
#28 Middle Tennessee^^ (Sun Belt)
#30 Saint Louis (Atlantic 10)
#35 Akron^^ (MAC)
#41 Creighton (Missouri Valley)
#47 Louisiana Tech^^ (WAC)
#48 Oregon (Pac 12)
#52 Bucknell (Patriot)
#66 Valparaiso (Horizon)
#72 South Dakota State (Summit)
#74 Stephen F. Austin (Southland)
#77 Davidson (Southern)
#82 Stony Brook (America East)
#87 Harvard (Ivy)
#105 Montana (Big Sky)
#116 Long Beach State (Big West)
#119 Robert Morris (Northeast)
#123 Niagara (Metro Atlantic)
#130 Northeastern (Colonial)
#144 Mercer (Atlantic Sun)
#175 Norfolk State (MEAC)
#192 Charleston Southern (Big South)
#196 Southern (SWAC)
Locks (23)
#1 Duke
#7 Michigan State
#9 Louisville
#11 Michigan
#12 Syracuse
#13 Marquette
#14 Arizona
#15 GOPHERS
#16 UNLV
#17 Colorado State
#18 North Carolina
#19 Ohio State
#22 Colorado
#24 Wisconsin
#21 Kansas State
#25 Oklahoma
#26 Oklahoma State
#27 NC State
#29 Butler
#34 VCU
#37 Missouri
#44 Pitt
#45 Notre Dame
In the Field, But Just A Tad More Work To Do (9)
#31 San Diego State
#33 Illinois
#38 Temple
#39 LaSalle
#40 UCLA
#42 Wichita State
#43 Saint Mary's
#46 Cal
#51 Cincinnati
Squarely on the Bubble (12) -- only 5 of these would make the tournament
#36 Southern Miss
#49 Boise State
#50 Kentucky
#53 Tennessee
#54 Iowa State
#55 Ole Miss
#56 Villanova
#57 UMass
#58 Virginia
#60 Baylor
#62 Saint John's
#63 Alabama
Longshots (10) -- win out, pick up at least 2 quality wins in conference tourney, then pray
#64 Air Force
#67 Charlotte
#69 Indiana State
#75 Maryland
#84 Xavier
#85 Providence
#89 Arkansas
#90 Arizona State
#91 Iowa
#92 LSU
Enjoy the Madness. ... it starts Tuesday!
