Richard Pitino and his daughter were all smiles when they found out that GopherHole’s SelectionSunday projects the U will be in the NCAA Tournament this year!
ROAD LESS TRAVELED, MINN. — Surprise, surprise, surprise (insert your best Jim Nabors impersonation here)! The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball program, whose mere mention over the years seemingly has become synonymous with the sweat-inducing phrase “on the bubble”, should not be anywhere near the NCAA Tournament cut line on March 15, 2015.
At least, so says GopherHole.com’s Road to Selection Sunday Preseason NCAA Tournament Field of 68 Projection. On Monday we welcomed you to the 2014-15 college basketball season with a preseason top 25. Today we tell you who’ll be trippin’ the light fantastic on Selection Sunday. Though I say this with some trepidation because, well, I’m a Gopher fan, fear not ye Gopher fans, our only worry on Selection Sunday will be where our squad is seeded, not whether or not they’ll make the NCAA field. RTSS sees the Gophers as one of seven from the Big Ten making the field. Save for perhaps Illinois, I don’t think any of ’em will have to sweat it out, but that will not be the case for NCAA hopefuls Indiana, Maryland, and Nebraska.
Preseason Field of 68 Projection (10/15/14)
America East (1): Stony Brook
AAC (3): Memphis, SMU, UConn
ACC (7): Duke, Louisville, Miami-Florida, North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia
Atlantic Sun (1): Florida Gulf Coast
Atlantic 10 (3): Dayton, UMass, VCU
Big East (4): Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova, Xavier
Big Sky (1): Weber State
Big South (1): High Point
Big Ten (7): Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, MINNESOTA, Ohio State, Wisconsin
Big XII (6): Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia
Big West (1): UC-Irvine
CAA (1): Towson
Conference USA (1): Louisiana Tech
Horizon (1): Cleveland State
Ivy (1): Harvard
MAAC (1): Iona
MAC (1): Toledo
MEAC (1): Norfolk State
Missouri Valley (1): Wichita State
Mountain West (3): Boise State, New Mexico, San Diego State
NEC (1): Bryant
OVC (1): Murray State
Pac 12 (6): Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Utah
Patriot (1): Holy Cross
SEC (4): Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky
Southern (1): Wofford
Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin
SWAC (1): Texas Southern
Summit (1): Denver
Sun Belt (1): Georgia State
WCC (3): BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s
WAC (1): New Mexico State
Last 4 In: Miami-Florida, New Mexico, Oregon, Seton Hall
First 4 Out: George Washington, Nebraska, Notre Dame, San Francisco
Others Considered (12): Auburn, Florida State, Illinois State, Indiana, Maryland, Rhode Island, Saint John’s, Tulsa, UNLV, UTEP, William & Mary, Wyoming
Last Season’s Projection
Last year the RTSS preseason projection accurately pegged 42 of the tournament qualifiers (61.8%), down one from the previous season. Of those 42, 16 were automatic qualifiers: Louisville (AAC); Virginia (ACC); Coastal Carolina (Big South); Michigan State (Big Ten); Iowa State (Big XII); Cal Poly (Big West); Harvard (Ivy); Manhattan (MAAC); Wichita State (Missouri Valley); New Mexico (Mountain West); UCLA (Pac 12); Florida (SEC); Texas Southern (SWAC); North Dakota State (Summit); Gonzaga (WCC); and New Mexico State (WAC). Of some note, of the Power 6 Conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac 12, SEC), the Pac 12 is the only one I pegged right on the money (6 teams projected in, those exact 6 made it).
Let’s Take A Look At the Schedules of the Last 4 In & First 4 Out
These are the 8 teams projected to finish most squarely on the bubble. To follow are their games vs. opponents projected into the field of 68 + those among the “First 4 Out” & “Others Considered”. Games are listed in the order they occur.
Last 4 In
Miami-Florida (12): @ Florida; ILLINOIS; VIRGINIA; @ Duke, @ Notre Dame; @ Syracuse; @ Florida State; LOUISVILLE; @ Louisville; FLORIDA STATE; NORTH CAROLINA; @ Pitt
New Mexico (10): NEW MEXICO STATE; @ New Mexico State; @ San Diego State; BOISE STATE; @ UNLV; @ Wyoming; SAN DIEGO STATE; UNLV; @ Boise State; WYOMING
Oregon (12): TOLEDO; vs. Michigan; vs. Villanova/VCU; vs. Illinois; UC-IRVINE; ARIZONA; UCLA; @ Arizona; @ UCLA; COLORADO; UTAH; @ Stanford
Seton Hall (11): GEORGE WASHINGTON; @ Wichita State; @ Georgia; SAINT JOHN’S; VILLANOVA; @ Xavier; XAVIER; GEORGETOWN; @ Villanova; @ Saint John’s; @ Georgetown
First 4 Out
George Washington (7): @ Virginia; @ Seton Hall; @ VCU; @ Rhode Island; DAYTON; VCU; UMASS
Nebraska (16): @ Rhode Island; @ Florida State; INDIANA; @ Iowa; ILLINOIS; @ Wisconsin; MINNESOTA; MICHIGAN STATE; @ Michigan; @ Minnesota; WISCONSIN; @ Maryland; IOWA; @ Ohio State; @ Illinois; MARYLAND
Notre Dame (11): vs. UMass; MICHIGAN STATE; FLORIDA STATE; @ North Carolina; VIRGINIA; MIAMI-FLORIDA; DUKE; @ Pitt; @ Duke; SYRACUSE; @ Louisville
San Francisco (9): @ Colorado; CAL POLY; @ Cleveland State; @ Saint Mary’s; BYU; @ Gonzaga; @ BYU; GONZAGA; SAINT MARY’S
And In the Event the Gophers End Up on the Bubble (’cause I know you’re thinking that). …
Minnesota (15): vs. Louisville; vs. Saint John’s; vs. Georgia/Gonzaga; @ Maryland; OHIO STATE; @ Michigan; IOWA; @ Nebraska; ILLINOIS; NEBRASKA; @ Iowa; @ Indiana; @ Wisconsin; @ Michigan State; WISCONSIN. … that means of the Gophers’ 15 most critical games (on paper) only 5 will be played at Williams Arena. That’s something to chew on.