Gopher Basketball
With 17 days until Selection Sunday, I have 18 teams in contention for 8 available at-large bids. It is possible that a team can drop from lock status back to the bubble, but I feel comfortable that the at-large locks will be in the Field of 68 barring a major meltdown down the stretch. Here’s the breakdown through games played on Wednesday. Remember, this list will become more fluid once conference tournaments begin next Tuesday.
Automatic, Lock or Near-Lock — 60 (*denotes conference leader)
1. Vermont* (America East)
2. Duke* (ACC)
3. Florida State (ACC)
4. North Carolina (ACC)
5. Belmont* (Atlantic Sun)
6. Temple (A-10)
7. Xavier* (A-10)
8. Cincinnati (Big East)
9. Georgetown (Big East)
10. Louisville (Big East)
11. Notre Dame (Big East)
12. Pitt* (Big East)
13. St. John’s (Big East)
14. Syracuse (Big East)
15. UConn (Big East)
16. Villanova (Big East)
17. West Virginia (Big East)
18. Montana* (Big Sky)
19. Coastal Carolina* (Big South)
20. Illinois (Big 10)
21. Ohio State* (Big 10)
22. Purdue (Big 10)
23. Wisconsin (Big 10)
24. Kansas (Big 12)
25. Kansas State (Big 12)
26. Mizzou (Big 12)
27. Texas* (Big 12)
28. Texas A&M (Big 12)
29. Long Beach State* (Big West)
30. George Mason* (CAA)
31. Old Dominion (CAA)
32. UAB* (Conference USA)
33. Cleveland State* (Horizon)
34. Harvard* (Ivy)
35. Fairfield* (MAAC)
36. Kent State* (MAC)
37. Bethune-Cookman* (MEAC)
38. Missouri State* (Missouri Valley)
39. BYU* (Mountain West)
40. San Diego State (Mountain West)
41. UNLV (Mountain West)
42. Long Island* (Northeast)
43. Morehead State* (OVC)
44. Arizona* (Pac 10)
45. UCLA (Pac 10)
46. Washington (Pac 10)
47. Bucknell* (Patriot)
48. Alabama* (SEC)
49. Florida (SEC)
50. Georgia (SEC)
51. Kentucky (SEC)
52. Tennessee (SEC)
53. Vandy (SEC)
54. College of Charleston* (SoCon)
55. McNeese State* (Southland)
56. Texas Southern* (SWAC)
57. Oakland* (Summit)
58. Florida Atlantic* (Sun Belt)
59. St. Mary’s* (WCC)
60. Utah State* (WAC)
On the Bubble — 18 for 8 Spots (in RPI order with records vs. RPI top 50/RPI top 100)
1. Memphis (#34) — 4-3/9-5
2. Michigan State (#38) — 5-8/9-10
3. Southern Miss (#42) — 1-3/6-5
4. Colorado State (#44) — 2-5/4-7
5. Butler (#45) — 2-3/5-4
6. GOPHERS (#48) — 3-7/5-8
7. Wichita State (#49) — 0-3/1-4
8. Boston College (#50) — 1-5/7-10
9. VCU (#58) — 3-4/6-6
10. Richmond (#61) — 1-3/5-6
11. Penn State (#62) — 4-6/7-11
12. Virginia Tech (#63) — 0-5/8-5
13. Clemson (#64) — 1-3/8-7
14. Michigan (#65) — 2-9/7-11
15. Marquette (#69) — 3-10/5-11
16. Gonzaga (#71) — 1-6/6-7
17. Nebraska (#77) — 2-6/6-7
18. Colorado (#86) — 4-6/5-9
My next “Field of 68” projection will be Monday, with a more in-depth look at the truest of true bubble teams. Hopefully the Gophers will remain on this list, which will require a win over Michigan on Saturday. There’s just no way I could justify considering a team that is 6-10 in its conference with losses in 7 of its last 8 games. Gophers, how about a little Bachman Turner Overdrive vs. the Wolverines. … Takin’ Care of Business.