Thumbnail Sketch of Field of 68 With 4 Days to Go

[SelectionSunday]

Now the fun starts. With 4 days left in Championship Week, I still have 12 available at-large bids. There's still time for a late bloomer like Georgia Tech to sneak into the field with a long conference tournament run. Here's the breakdown. Bold/italic = already earned the automatic bid. RPI is listed only for the locks and the bubble teams.

Automatic Qualifiers/Highest Remaining Seed In Conference Tournament (32)
Stony Brook, Temple, North Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast, Dayton, Villanova, Weber State, NC-Asheville, Indiana, Kansas, Hawaii, NC-Wilmington, UAB, Green Bay, Yale, Iona, Akron, Hampton, Northern Iowa, San Diego State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Austin Peay, Oregon, Holy Cross, Texas A&M, Chattanooga, Stephen F. Austin, Texas Southern, South Dakota State, UALR, Gonzaga, New Mexico State

Locks (24)
Arizona (25)
Baylor (26)
Cal (15)
Colorado (30)
Duke (18)
Iowa (23)
Iowa State (19)
Kentucky (13)
Maryland (12)
Miami (7)
Michigan State (14)
Notre Dame (37)
Oklahoma (5)
Oregon State (31) -- I like Beavers resume much more than Joe Lunardi does
Purdue (16)
Seton Hall (34)
Texas (24)
Texas Tech (35)
USC (40) -- Ditto for the Trojans
Utah (8)
Virginia (2)
West Virginia (10)
Wisconsin (29)
Xavier (6)

On the Bubble (26 teams fighting for 12 bids)
Alabama (73)
Butler (46)
Cincinnati (38)
Florida (58)
George Washington (62)
Georgia (71)
Georgia Tech (63)
Houston (72)
LSU (93)
Michigan (68)
Monmouth (55)
Ohio State (76)
Pitt (48)
Providence (44)
Saint Bonaventure (27)
Saint Joseph's (28)
Saint Mary's (36)
South Carolina (56) -- Lunardi is much higher on the Gamecocks than I am
Syracuse (67)
Tulsa (50)
UConn (60)
Valparaiso (54)
Vanderbilt (51)
VCU (41)
Washington (78)
Wichita State (47)

Win Thursday and They Lock Up A Bid
1 Butler/Providence winner
2 Pitt

Lose Thursday and Will Be Removed from At-Large Board
1 Alabama
2 Florida
3 George Washington
4 Georgia
5 Georgia Tech
6 Michigan
7 Ohio State
8 Washington

 

[WanderingGopher]

Reading Lunardi's bubble watch today, I'm again reminded of my pet peeve about SOS, RPI and the selection process. The whole "strength of schedule" rating isn't irrelevant per se -- it is one of many variables that has *some* meaning -- but it is completely overused and misleading. For example, it's hard for me to believe that Texas Tech at 19-13 (and clearly the 7th best out of 10 teams in its conference) is a lock to be in while Michigan, at 22-11 and 7th of 14 teams in a comparable conference, might be out if it loses today in the semi's. I've watched both teams, and I'll take Michigan every day of the week.

We all know from the Tubby years how the SOS can be manipulated by playing a bunch of not-good-but-not-terrible teams in the non-conference. IMO, if you're a Power-5 school, it shouldn't make any difference whether you beat a bunch of teams ranked in the 100's or a bunch of teams ranked in the 250-300's.

There are other examples too. Look, I'm no SEC fan, but it is absurd that South Carolina sits on the bubble at 24 wins and 3rd (or whatever) in a major conference like the SEC.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Reading Lunardi's bubble watch today, I'm again reminded of my pet peeve about SOS, RPI and the selection process. The whole "strength of schedule" rating isn't irrelevant per se -- it is one of many variables that has *some* meaning -- but it is completely overused and misleading. For example, it's hard for me to believe that Texas Tech at 19-13 (and clearly the 7th best out of 10 teams in its conference) is a lock to be in while Michigan, at 22-11 and 7th of 14 teams in a comparable conference, might be out if it loses today in the semi's. I've watched both teams, and I'll take Michigan every day of the week.

We all know from the Tubby years how the SOS can be manipulated by playing a bunch of not-good-but-not-terrible teams in the non-conference. IMO, if you're a Power-5 school, it shouldn't make any difference whether you beat a bunch of teams ranked in the 100's or a bunch of teams ranked in the 250-300's.

There are other examples too. Look, I'm no SEC fan, but it is absurd that South Carolina sits on the bubble at 24 wins and 3rd (or whatever) in a major conference like the SEC.

That's why I think top 50 and top 100 records are much more valuable than the overall rankings.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Texas Tech is 21-11, not 19-13.

As far as Tech vs. South Carolina, the resumes aren't even close. Tech by a wide margin.

 

[GoldenShower]

I'll take Michigan every day of the week.

Because Harbaugh!