SelectionSunday
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By Buzz King (@Fieldof68Freak)
ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY -- A look back at the week in college basketball, as always starting with our weekly “Field of 68” projection. Projected automatic qualifiers in multiple-bid conferences are noted with an *. Teams are listed in order of NET ranking.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (through games played 12/27/24)
America East (1): UMass-Lowell (166)
American (1): Memphis (46)
ACC (4): *Duke (3), Pitt (11), North Carolina (34), Clemson (39)
ASUN (1): Lipscomb (93)
Atlantic 10 (2): *Dayton (40), Saint Bonaventure (55)
Big East (3): *Marquette (9), UConn (16), Saint John’s (28)
Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado (130)
Big South (1): High Point (125)
Big Ten (11): Maryland (7), Illinois (14), Oregon (15), *UCLA (21), Michigan State (22), Ohio State (23), Michigan (24), Penn State (32), Purdue (36), Wisconsin (37), Nebraska (44)
Big XII (7): *Houston (6), Iowa State (8), Kansas (12), Cincinnati (18), Baylor (20), West Virginia (33), Arizona State (50)
Big West (1): UC-San Diego (58)
Coastal (1): Hampton (197)
Conference USA (1): Liberty (61)
Horizon (1): Youngstown State (192)
Ivy (1): Columbia (98)
MAAC (1): Merrimack (186)
MAC (1): Kent State (114)
MEAC (1): Norfolk State (162)
Missouri Valley (2): Drake (48), *Indiana State (175)
Mountain West (3): *Utah State (29), San Diego State (42), Boise State (52)
NEC (1): Central Connecticut (136)
OVC (1): Southeast Missouri State (236)
Patriot (1): Holy Cross (226)
SEC (13): *Auburn (1), Tennessee (2), Florida (4), Alabama (10), Mississippi State (13), Kentucky (19), Georgia (25), Texas A&M (27), Ole Miss (31), Vanderbilt (38), Oklahoma (41), Missouri (45), Arkansas (47)
SoCon (1): Furman (80)
Southland (1): Lamar (183)
SWAC (1): Southern U (225)
Summit (1): North Dakota State (86)
Sun Belt (1): Arkansas State (99)
WCC (1): Gonzaga (5)
WAC (1): Grand Canyon (128)
--------------------------------------
Bid Stealer (1): Indiana State (175)
Last 4 In: Penn State (32), Nebraska (44), Arizona State (50), Saint Bonaventure (55)
First 4 Out: Texas Tech (17), SMU (30), Texas (35), Iowa (49)
On the Radar (4): Oregon State (51), Northwestern (54), Saint Mary’s (56), Creighton (72)
Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): San Diego State (42), Drake (48), Boise State (52), Saint Bonaventure (55)
-----------------------------------------
The Unconquered 4
#2 Tennessee (12-0)
#4 Florida (12-0)
#41 Oklahoma (12-0)
#48 Drake (11-0)
Say Goodbye to In-Season Tournaments as We Know ‘Em
There were 29 in-season tournaments this season. It will be interesting to see how much that number shrinks as the major conferences move away from giving the “little guys” opportunities to improve their NCAA Tournament resumes. For example, the new Players Era Festival (NIL payments to players) will be 16 teams (up from 8) next season, with the trickle-down impact being watered-down fields in traditionally strong tournaments like the Maui Invitational. (to this day I still miss the Great Alaska Shootout, RIP 2017)
2024 Tournament Winners
Big Ten (6): Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, Purdue, Washington, Wisconsin
SEC (5): Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
ACC (3): Boston College, Clemson, SMU
Big South (2): Gardner-Webb, Radford
Conference USA (2): Liberty, UTEP
Missouri Valley (2): Bradley, Drake
Atlantic 10 (1): Saint Joseph’s
Big East (1): Butler
Big Sky (1): Weber State
Big XII (1): Arizona State
Big West (1): UC-San Diego
MAC (1): Miami-Ohio
Mountain West (1): Utah State
Southland (1): UTRGV
WCC (1): Loyola Marymount
Heart of the Bubblicious (NET #45-55)
#45 Missouri (IN), #46 Memphis (IN), #47 Arkansas (IN), #48 Drake (IN), #49 Iowa (OUT), #50 Arizona State (IN), #51 Oregon State (OUT), #52 Boise State (IN), #53 Louisville (OUT), #54 Northwestern (OUT), #55 Saint Bonaventure (IN)
POWER 5 HEAD-TO-HEAD STANDINGS (+ Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s/San Diego State)
1 SEC (60-19, 75.9%)
2 Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s/San Diego State (10-6, 62.5%)
3 Big Ten (32-26, 55.2%)
4 Big East (19-24, 44.2%)
5 Big XII (25-34, 42.4%)
6 ACC (16-53, 23.2%)
Power 5 Head-to-Head This Week
Saturday
Gonzaga vs. UCLA, (3 pm/FOX)
Team Non-Conference Record vs. Power 5
6-0: Oklahoma, Tennessee
5-0: Florida
4-0: Oregon, Vanderbilt
5-1: Auburn
4-1: Marquette, Wisconsin
6-2: Texas A&M
3-1: Georgia, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Saint Mary’s, UConn
5-2: Alabama
4-2: Kansas
2-1: Cincinnati, Clemson, Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Texas Tech
3-2: Butler, Kentucky, LSU, Pitt, San Diego State, South Carolina, West Virginia
4-3: Gonzaga
3-3: Michigan, Purdue
2-2: Arkansas, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Rutgers, Saint John’s, Texas
1-1: Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, UCLA
2-3: Baylor, Houston, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Xavier
2-4: Creighton, Louisville
1-2: Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Georgetown, Providence, SMU, TCU, UCF, Villanova
1-3: Cal, Virginia
1-4: Notre Dame
1-5: North Carolina
0-1: Boston College, Minnesota, Stanford
0-2: DePaul, Florida State, Kansas State, USC
0-3: Miami, Seton Hall, Utah
0-4: Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia Tech
0-5: Arizona, Syracuse
Wins vs. NET Top 25 Opponents
3
Auburn
2
Alabama, Dayton, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Memphis, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UConn
1
Arkansas, Butler, Clemson, Colorado, Creighton, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pitt, Saint Joseph's, San Diego State, UCLA, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin
The Local NETters
#100 St. Thomas Tommies (10-4)
#155 Minnesota Gophers (7-5)
St. Thomas Week Ahead
Sunday: @ #157 UC-Riverside (4 pm/ESPN+)
Thursday: @ #86 North Dakota State
Tommies Stat Leaders
Miles Barnstable (13.5 points per game), Kendall Blue (4.3 rebounds per game), Drake Dobbs (3.5 assists per game), Ben Oosterbaan (1.2 steals per game), Dobbs & Oosterbaan (50 3PFG%), Nolan Minessale (.9 blocks per game)
Tommies (D1) Non-Conference D1 Opponents (Non-Conference SOS Rank: #262)
Arizona State (9-2)
Oklahoma State (8-3)
Milwaukee (7-4)
UC-Riverside (6-5)
Northern Colorado (5-5)
Portland State (5-5)
Montana (4-5)
Wofford (4-7)
Bowling Green (3-7)
Western Michigan (2-8)
Green Bay (2-11)
Chicago State (0-14)
Totals: (55-76, 42%)
Minnesota Week Ahead
Sunday: Host #353 Morgan State (1 pm/Peacock)
Thursday: Host #36 Purdue (7 pm/FS1)
Gophers Stat Leaders
Dawson Garcia (19.2 points per game), Garcia (7.3 rebounds per game), Lu’Cye Patterson (3.8 assists per game), Femi Odukale (2 steals per game), Mike Mitchell Jr. (41.4 3PFG%), Odukale (1.3 blocks per game)
Gophers Non-Conference D1 Opponents (Non-Conference SOS rank: #353)
Wichita State (9-3)
North Texas (7-3)
Wake Forest (9-4)
Cleveland State (5-6)
Yale (5-6)
Omaha (4-9)
Bethune-Cookman (3-9)
Central Michigan (2-6)
Morgan State (2-9)
Oral Roberts (1-8)
Fairleigh Dickinson (1-10)
Totals: (48-73, 39.7%)
B1G Tenuous Trio – Dreaming of of Weakling Wednesday
** The 3 Big Ten teams tracking toward an early end to their 2024-25 season (no invitation to Indianapolis & the Big Ten Tournament):
#16 Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2)
#17 Washington (8-4, 0-2)
#18 Minnesota (7-5, 0-2)
NET Kings
#1 Auburn (11-1)
Kinda’ Bubble Cutline
#50 Arizona State (9-2)
Stuck in the Middle with You
#182 Ohio (5-6)
Bottom of the Barrel
#364 Mississippi Valley State (0-10)
Teams to Beat/Regular Season Picks
As we look ahead to the New Year and conference play, I’ll take a stab at who’s going to be crowned regular-season champions in all 31 conferences. No wagering, please.
Bryant (America East), FAU (American), Duke (ACC), Lipscomb (ASUN), Saint Bonaventure (Atlantic 10), Marquette (Big East), Montana (Big Sky), High Point (Big South), Michigan (Big Ten), Iowa State (Big XII), UC-Irvine (Big West), College of Charleston (Coastal), Liberty (Conference USA), Milwaukee (Horizon), Princeton (Ivy), Marist (MAAC), Miami-Ohio (MAC), Norfolk State (MEAC), Bradley (Missouri Valley), Boise State (Mountain West), Central Connecticut (NEC), Little Rock (OVC), Bucknell (Patriot), Auburn (SEC), Furman (SoCon), McNeese (Southland), Bethune-Cookman (SWAC), North Dakota State (Summit), Arkansas State (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Grand Canyon (WAC)
The Locals’ Final Projections
Gophers (11-20, 3-17 Big Ten): let’s roll with wins over Ohio State, Washington, and a random road win somewhere.
Tommies (22-9, 12-4 Summit): splits with North Dakota State & South Dakota State + a pair of random road losses.
Headed for the San Antonio River Walk?
We finish the calendar year with a look back at my preseason Final 4 picks, as well as who I’d have making the trip at this moment in time. The preseason picks, of course, are the ones that count on my record!
Preseason Final 4: Alabama, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State (national champ = Gonzaga)
Current Final 4: Auburn, Duke, Iowa State, Marquette (national champ = Iowa State)
Happy New Year and see you in 2025!
Next Road to Selection Sunday/Field of 68: Saturday morning, January 4
ROAD TO SELECTION SUNDAY -- A look back at the week in college basketball, as always starting with our weekly “Field of 68” projection. Projected automatic qualifiers in multiple-bid conferences are noted with an *. Teams are listed in order of NET ranking.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (through games played 12/27/24)
America East (1): UMass-Lowell (166)
American (1): Memphis (46)
ACC (4): *Duke (3), Pitt (11), North Carolina (34), Clemson (39)
ASUN (1): Lipscomb (93)
Atlantic 10 (2): *Dayton (40), Saint Bonaventure (55)
Big East (3): *Marquette (9), UConn (16), Saint John’s (28)
Big Sky (1): Northern Colorado (130)
Big South (1): High Point (125)
Big Ten (11): Maryland (7), Illinois (14), Oregon (15), *UCLA (21), Michigan State (22), Ohio State (23), Michigan (24), Penn State (32), Purdue (36), Wisconsin (37), Nebraska (44)
Big XII (7): *Houston (6), Iowa State (8), Kansas (12), Cincinnati (18), Baylor (20), West Virginia (33), Arizona State (50)
Big West (1): UC-San Diego (58)
Coastal (1): Hampton (197)
Conference USA (1): Liberty (61)
Horizon (1): Youngstown State (192)
Ivy (1): Columbia (98)
MAAC (1): Merrimack (186)
MAC (1): Kent State (114)
MEAC (1): Norfolk State (162)
Missouri Valley (2): Drake (48), *Indiana State (175)
Mountain West (3): *Utah State (29), San Diego State (42), Boise State (52)
NEC (1): Central Connecticut (136)
OVC (1): Southeast Missouri State (236)
Patriot (1): Holy Cross (226)
SEC (13): *Auburn (1), Tennessee (2), Florida (4), Alabama (10), Mississippi State (13), Kentucky (19), Georgia (25), Texas A&M (27), Ole Miss (31), Vanderbilt (38), Oklahoma (41), Missouri (45), Arkansas (47)
SoCon (1): Furman (80)
Southland (1): Lamar (183)
SWAC (1): Southern U (225)
Summit (1): North Dakota State (86)
Sun Belt (1): Arkansas State (99)
WCC (1): Gonzaga (5)
WAC (1): Grand Canyon (128)
--------------------------------------
Bid Stealer (1): Indiana State (175)
Last 4 In: Penn State (32), Nebraska (44), Arizona State (50), Saint Bonaventure (55)
First 4 Out: Texas Tech (17), SMU (30), Texas (35), Iowa (49)
On the Radar (4): Oregon State (51), Northwestern (54), Saint Mary’s (56), Creighton (72)
Non-Power 5 At-Large Bids (4): San Diego State (42), Drake (48), Boise State (52), Saint Bonaventure (55)
-----------------------------------------
The Unconquered 4
#2 Tennessee (12-0)
#4 Florida (12-0)
#41 Oklahoma (12-0)
#48 Drake (11-0)
Say Goodbye to In-Season Tournaments as We Know ‘Em
There were 29 in-season tournaments this season. It will be interesting to see how much that number shrinks as the major conferences move away from giving the “little guys” opportunities to improve their NCAA Tournament resumes. For example, the new Players Era Festival (NIL payments to players) will be 16 teams (up from 8) next season, with the trickle-down impact being watered-down fields in traditionally strong tournaments like the Maui Invitational. (to this day I still miss the Great Alaska Shootout, RIP 2017)
2024 Tournament Winners
Big Ten (6): Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, Purdue, Washington, Wisconsin
SEC (5): Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
ACC (3): Boston College, Clemson, SMU
Big South (2): Gardner-Webb, Radford
Conference USA (2): Liberty, UTEP
Missouri Valley (2): Bradley, Drake
Atlantic 10 (1): Saint Joseph’s
Big East (1): Butler
Big Sky (1): Weber State
Big XII (1): Arizona State
Big West (1): UC-San Diego
MAC (1): Miami-Ohio
Mountain West (1): Utah State
Southland (1): UTRGV
WCC (1): Loyola Marymount
Heart of the Bubblicious (NET #45-55)
#45 Missouri (IN), #46 Memphis (IN), #47 Arkansas (IN), #48 Drake (IN), #49 Iowa (OUT), #50 Arizona State (IN), #51 Oregon State (OUT), #52 Boise State (IN), #53 Louisville (OUT), #54 Northwestern (OUT), #55 Saint Bonaventure (IN)
POWER 5 HEAD-TO-HEAD STANDINGS (+ Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s/San Diego State)
1 SEC (60-19, 75.9%)
2 Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s/San Diego State (10-6, 62.5%)
3 Big Ten (32-26, 55.2%)
4 Big East (19-24, 44.2%)
5 Big XII (25-34, 42.4%)
6 ACC (16-53, 23.2%)
Power 5 Head-to-Head This Week
Saturday
Gonzaga vs. UCLA, (3 pm/FOX)
Team Non-Conference Record vs. Power 5
6-0: Oklahoma, Tennessee
5-0: Florida
4-0: Oregon, Vanderbilt
5-1: Auburn
4-1: Marquette, Wisconsin
6-2: Texas A&M
3-1: Georgia, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Saint Mary’s, UConn
5-2: Alabama
4-2: Kansas
2-1: Cincinnati, Clemson, Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Texas Tech
3-2: Butler, Kentucky, LSU, Pitt, San Diego State, South Carolina, West Virginia
4-3: Gonzaga
3-3: Michigan, Purdue
2-2: Arkansas, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Rutgers, Saint John’s, Texas
1-1: Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, UCLA
2-3: Baylor, Houston, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Xavier
2-4: Creighton, Louisville
1-2: Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Georgetown, Providence, SMU, TCU, UCF, Villanova
1-3: Cal, Virginia
1-4: Notre Dame
1-5: North Carolina
0-1: Boston College, Minnesota, Stanford
0-2: DePaul, Florida State, Kansas State, USC
0-3: Miami, Seton Hall, Utah
0-4: Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia Tech
0-5: Arizona, Syracuse
Wins vs. NET Top 25 Opponents
3
Auburn
2
Alabama, Dayton, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Memphis, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UConn
1
Arkansas, Butler, Clemson, Colorado, Creighton, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pitt, Saint Joseph's, San Diego State, UCLA, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin
The Local NETters
#100 St. Thomas Tommies (10-4)
#155 Minnesota Gophers (7-5)
St. Thomas Week Ahead
Sunday: @ #157 UC-Riverside (4 pm/ESPN+)
Thursday: @ #86 North Dakota State
Tommies Stat Leaders
Miles Barnstable (13.5 points per game), Kendall Blue (4.3 rebounds per game), Drake Dobbs (3.5 assists per game), Ben Oosterbaan (1.2 steals per game), Dobbs & Oosterbaan (50 3PFG%), Nolan Minessale (.9 blocks per game)
Tommies (D1) Non-Conference D1 Opponents (Non-Conference SOS Rank: #262)
Arizona State (9-2)
Oklahoma State (8-3)
Milwaukee (7-4)
UC-Riverside (6-5)
Northern Colorado (5-5)
Portland State (5-5)
Montana (4-5)
Wofford (4-7)
Bowling Green (3-7)
Western Michigan (2-8)
Green Bay (2-11)
Chicago State (0-14)
Totals: (55-76, 42%)
Minnesota Week Ahead
Sunday: Host #353 Morgan State (1 pm/Peacock)
Thursday: Host #36 Purdue (7 pm/FS1)
Gophers Stat Leaders
Dawson Garcia (19.2 points per game), Garcia (7.3 rebounds per game), Lu’Cye Patterson (3.8 assists per game), Femi Odukale (2 steals per game), Mike Mitchell Jr. (41.4 3PFG%), Odukale (1.3 blocks per game)
Gophers Non-Conference D1 Opponents (Non-Conference SOS rank: #353)
Wichita State (9-3)
North Texas (7-3)
Wake Forest (9-4)
Cleveland State (5-6)
Yale (5-6)
Omaha (4-9)
Bethune-Cookman (3-9)
Central Michigan (2-6)
Morgan State (2-9)
Oral Roberts (1-8)
Fairleigh Dickinson (1-10)
Totals: (48-73, 39.7%)
B1G Tenuous Trio – Dreaming of of Weakling Wednesday
** The 3 Big Ten teams tracking toward an early end to their 2024-25 season (no invitation to Indianapolis & the Big Ten Tournament):
#16 Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2)
#17 Washington (8-4, 0-2)
#18 Minnesota (7-5, 0-2)
NET Kings
#1 Auburn (11-1)
Kinda’ Bubble Cutline
#50 Arizona State (9-2)
Stuck in the Middle with You
#182 Ohio (5-6)
Bottom of the Barrel
#364 Mississippi Valley State (0-10)
Teams to Beat/Regular Season Picks
As we look ahead to the New Year and conference play, I’ll take a stab at who’s going to be crowned regular-season champions in all 31 conferences. No wagering, please.
Bryant (America East), FAU (American), Duke (ACC), Lipscomb (ASUN), Saint Bonaventure (Atlantic 10), Marquette (Big East), Montana (Big Sky), High Point (Big South), Michigan (Big Ten), Iowa State (Big XII), UC-Irvine (Big West), College of Charleston (Coastal), Liberty (Conference USA), Milwaukee (Horizon), Princeton (Ivy), Marist (MAAC), Miami-Ohio (MAC), Norfolk State (MEAC), Bradley (Missouri Valley), Boise State (Mountain West), Central Connecticut (NEC), Little Rock (OVC), Bucknell (Patriot), Auburn (SEC), Furman (SoCon), McNeese (Southland), Bethune-Cookman (SWAC), North Dakota State (Summit), Arkansas State (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Grand Canyon (WAC)
The Locals’ Final Projections
Gophers (11-20, 3-17 Big Ten): let’s roll with wins over Ohio State, Washington, and a random road win somewhere.
Tommies (22-9, 12-4 Summit): splits with North Dakota State & South Dakota State + a pair of random road losses.
Headed for the San Antonio River Walk?
We finish the calendar year with a look back at my preseason Final 4 picks, as well as who I’d have making the trip at this moment in time. The preseason picks, of course, are the ones that count on my record!
Preseason Final 4: Alabama, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State (national champ = Gonzaga)
Current Final 4: Auburn, Duke, Iowa State, Marquette (national champ = Iowa State)
Happy New Year and see you in 2025!
Next Road to Selection Sunday/Field of 68: Saturday morning, January 4
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