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Group 3
Week 10
Gonzaga- 64, Mercer- 45
Western Michigan- 65, Binghamton- 46
Rhode Island- 69, IPFW- 59
So Rhode Island does play spoiler, keeping Western Michigan in the tournament temporarily. Gonzaga had no trouble with Mercer. Let's look at the final standings for group 3:
#1 Gonzaga 10-0 (+140)
#2 Mercer 7-3 (+49)
#3 Western Michigan 5-5 (+1)
#4 Rhode Island 4-6 (-29)
#5 IPFW 4-6 (-22)
#6 Binghamton 0-10 (-139)
So as expected Gonzaga doesn't have much trouble getting through this tournament. They are the second team to finish undefeated in group play. We know they will be a higher seed than Duke based on point differential, as Duke was only +105. So there's still a chance for the Zags to be the #1 seed in the round of 128. Mercer finishes second but that point differential is way lower than any other team so far that finished second. I look for Mercer to be seeded 100 or lower. Western Michigan takes 3rd place and for right now holds a wildcard spot. They will hold one at least until Group 12 is completed, but with that 5-5 record, don't be surprised if they are bounced from the tournament by Group 13. Rhode Island, due to their sweep over IPFW in their 2 games played, actually finishes higher even though their point differential was worse. And of course Binghamton was Binghamton.
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