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Week 17 and Beyond: The rest of the regular season (Part II)
Since I got off-track...
Conference Tournaments (cont'd)
Southern: #1 Citadel has become a bit of a kingpin in the conference. They trounced everyone before crushing the Ciderellian dreams of #7 VMI, 98-62, to reach the NCAA. The Bulldogs are ranked 25th in the nation, at 26-7, and have a far amount of talent. Their starting line goes G/G, Y/G, G/G, G/B, B/B, with all green pots on the bench. They are starting four seniors, but this is the group that helped the Citadel take the next step, from NIT perennial to feared team nationally.
ACC: Maryland swept the regular season and conference tournament titles, beating #2 Duke, 86-73. They beat Wake 81-41 in the semis. This team is not to be trifled with (more trifling).
Big East: Seton Hall ended up as the six-seed. That's how jumbled the Big East was (and how bottom-heavy it was). The Pirates did the unthinkable though, going through third-seeded Pitt (who finished the year at 15-14), #7-seed St. John's (11-21), and #8 seed Syracuse, who finished at 11-22. That's right, an 12-21 team could have made the NCAA. Good for Seton Hall, and good for GW, too.
ECC: St. Joe's crushed #2 seed Rider, 101-79, to get in. The big wonder now is, what to do with Drexel? They are 23-7 and considered to be in the tournament. Does Seton Hall's win push them out? Or did the Pirates push Boston College out of the tournament?
NCAA Selection Show
BYU is the #1 seed in the West. Texas A&M, Southern Cal, North Carolina (7-seed?) all end up there. Princeton got #1 in the South. That's awful news for GW. That means they're in the East, where they are a 5-seed, and Maryland is the top seed. They are probably properly seeded, but I bet they'd love to be the six-seed, where Baylor, Clemson, and Columbia all are the high-seeds.
The Colonials get 12-seed Mississippi (18-12) in the first round, and the winner of New Mexico (21-7) and Iowa State (18-13) in the second round. After that...unless Maryland or LSU knock off Maryland, the Terrapins await.
Picks
West
1) BYU over 16) Drake
8) Kansas State over 9) Drexel
4) Wake Forest over 13) Southern Illinois
5) Southern Cal over 12) Detroit
2) Texas A&M over 15) Nevada
7) UNC over 10) Western Michigan
14) Purdue over 3) Kansas
11) Long Island over 6) Oregon State
Midwest
1) Rice over 16) St. Joe's
9) Davidson over 8) Arizona State
4) Yale over 13) La Salle
5) Nebraska over 12) Oral Roberts
2) Wasihngton over 15) Seton Hall
7) Cornell over 10) Illinois
3) UTEP over 14) South Florida
11) Miami-OH over 6) SMU
South
1) Princeton over 16) Montana State
9) South Carolina State over 8) Florida
4) TCU over 13) Bradley
5) Virginia over 12) Southern Miss
2) Duke over 15) Wisconsin
7) Colorado State over 10) Texas
3) Missouri over 14) Long Beach State
11) East TN State over 6) Pennsylvania
East
1) Maryland over 16) Eastern Kentucky
8) Indiana over 9) LSU
4) New Mexico over 13) Iowa State
5) George Washington over 12) Mississippi
2) Baylor over 15) Tulsa
10) Citadel over 7) Clemson
3) Columbia over 14) Rider
6) California over 11) Canisius
Final Four Picks:
BYU over North Carolina
Yale over Washington
Duke over Virginia
Maryland over Columbia
BYU over Duke; Maryland over Yale
Maryland over BYU
They've been such a favorite all year, it is too hard to pick against Maryland this year. They are the best team in the nation, the one most equipped for this run.
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