Mar. 3-9, 2025
34 games on the schedule this week, but no feature games. Let's get to it.
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 22-9, 12-4 America East.
3/6/25- America East Quarterfinal vs. (7) Albany (W 75-52).
An easy win to open the America East Tourney for the Hawks. Semifinals and championship (hopefully) next week.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 13-17, 8-10 T-6th American.
3/8/25 vs. South Florida (L 76-66).
1 game for the Huskies this week, and they end the regular season with a loss. They finished in a 3 way tie for 6th place, and took 2nd out of those 3 teams, giving them the 7th seed in the American Tournament. They'll open up against 10th seed ECU.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 10-20, 6-12 11th (last) American.
3/5/25 at #25 SMU (L 74-65).
3/8/25 at Cincinnati (W 58-57).
A split for the Golden Hurricane, who have clinched the worst season in Tulsa history (at least since this dynasty started). They'll go into what will be Coach Brown's last tournament at Tulsa, as they'll be the 11th seed in the American Tournament and open up with 6th seed South Florida.
Notre Dame (Al Mighty) -- 11-19, 4-14 T-14th (T-last) ACC.
3/5/25 vs. #2 Syracuse (L 82-64).
3/8/25 at Wake Forest (L 92-78).
2 more losses for the Fighting Irish in an absolutely terrible season. Fans are already calling for coach Mighty to resign and never come back to South Bend. They tied for last in the ACC, but won the tiebreaker with Pittsburgh. They'll be the 14th seed in the ACC Tournament and open up against 11th seed Wake Forest.
North Florida (Felix Abel) -- 16-16, 8-6 Atlantic Sun.
3/4/25- Atlantic Sun Quarterfinal vs. (7) Stetson (W 71-52).
3/6/25- Atlantic Sun Semifinal vs. (6) NJIT (L 94-70).
Just a terrible loss for the Ospreys in the Atlantic Sun Semifinals, made slightly less terrible by the fact that NJIT also beat the #1 seed USC Upstate in the Atlantic Sun Championship. This will almost certainly end the season for Coach Abel in his first season as a coach. They could sneak into the CIT, but highly doubtful.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-19, 5-13 T-9th (T-last) Big 12.
3/3/25 vs. Texas (W 92-83).
3/8/25 vs. #1 Baylor (L 109-75).
A split for the Horned Frogs, and no surprise with the bad loss to Baylor. They've made a lot of teams look bad this season. They tied for last in the Big 12, but won the tiebreaker over Kansas and will be the 9th seed in the Big 12 Tourney. They'll open up against 8th seed Kansas State.
#13 St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 23-7, 15-3 1st Big East.
3/5/25 vs. Xavier (W 84-80).
3/8/25 vs. #5 Providence (W 83-71).
2 more wins for the Red Storm, who are absolutely rolling in defense of their NCAA Title. They've won the Big East regular season championship, and will be the #1 seed in the Big East Tourney. They'll open up against either 9th seed Marquette or 8th seed DePaul.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 12-18, 6-12 T-10th Big Ten.
3/5/25 at Purdue (W 76-63).
3/8/25 at #18 Indiana (L 89-71).
A split for the Wildcats this week, and they finished in a 4 way tied for 10th. Out of that they were 3rd, so they'll be 12th seed in the Big Ten Tourney and open up against 13th seed Michigan. This could very well be Coach Vee's last Big Ten Tournament, at least with Northwestern.
FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 15-15, 8-10 T-8th Conference USA.
3/6/25 vs. Western Kentucky (W 72-63).
3/8/25 at South Dakota State (W 88-80, OT).
The Golden Panthers win 2 games this week, taking some momentum into the C-USA Tourney. They tied for 8th place with South Dakota State, and by virtue of beating them just this week, they won the tiebreaker. They'll be the 8th seed in the C-USA Tourney and will open up against.. 9th seed South Dakota State. A favorable draw.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 16-13, 11-7 T-4th Conference USA.
3/6/25 at Florida Atlantic (W 79-61).
3/8/25 at George Mason (W 72-66).
2 solid road wins for the Owls this week, who are playing some really good basketball going into the conference tournament. They tied for 4th with North Texas and lost the tiebreaker. They'll be the 5th seed in the C-USA Tourney and will open up against either 13th seed Charlotte or 12th seed Old Dominion.
Fairfield (Ariel Pryde) -- 11-20, 8-12 MAAC.
3/6/25- MAAC First Round vs. (9) Marist (W 72-57).
3/8/25- MAAC Quarterfinal vs. (1) Quinnipiac (L 84-77).
The Stags fought hard, but will end their season at 11-20 after another tough loss to Quinnipiac. Not the initial season Coach Pryde wanted, but hopefully they'll bounce back.
San Jose State (Thomas Sheppard) -- 16-13, 11-7 T-2nd Mountain West.
3/3/25 vs. Cal Poly (W 84-69).
3/8/25 vs. Wyoming (W 98-88).
2 strong performances this week for the Spartans, who win both a conference and non-conference game this week. If Coach Sheppard doesn't get some consideration for MWC and maybe even national coach of the year, it'll be very disappointing. This team was not even projected to win 10 games, and last in the MWC. They tied with 2 other teams for 2nd, and won the tiebreaker with both. They'll be the 2nd seed in the Mountain West Tourney and open up against either 10th seed Air Force or 7th seed Fresno State.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 14-16, 8-10 T-6th Pac 12.
3/6/25 at #12 Arizona (L 91-73).
3/8/25 vs. Oregon (W 68-54).
Another split for the Buffaloes, as Coach Nielsen might be coaching his last games with Colorado. They finished on top of a 3 way tie for 6th, and will be the 6th seed in the Pac 12 Tourney. They'll open up against 11th seed Arizona State.
#10 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 24-6, 13-5 T-2nd Pac 12.
3/6/25 vs. Washington (W 84-66).
3/8/25 at Oregon State (W 86-72).
The Cardinal rebound to win their last 2 games, and 5 of their last 6 games. Unfortunately they lost the tiebreaker to Arizona for the #2 seed. They'll be the 3rd seed in the Pac 12 Tourney and will open up against either 11th seed Arizona State or 6th seed Colorado.
#4 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 27-3, 17-1 1st Pac 12.
3/6/25 vs. Utah (W 101-40).
3/8/25 at Washington (W 73-61).
Domination city for the Bruins, who took that California loss out on Utah in a big way, holding them to 15 second half points and 27.1% shooting. They win the Pac 12 Regular Season Title and will be the #1 seed in the Pac 12 Tourney. They'll open up against either 9th seed California or 8th seed Oregon.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 17-13, 9-9 t-4th Pac 12.
3/6/25 at Arizona State (W 89-76).
3/8/25 vs. #12 Arizona (L 94-87).
A split for the Cougars, who have tied the team record for most season and overall wins, but they can break the overall win record for a season with a win in the Pac 12 Tourney. Speaking of, they won a tiebreaker with Gonzaga for 4th place, and will be the 4th seed in the Pac 12 Tourney. They'll open up against either 12th seed Oregon State or 5th seed Gonzaga.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 16-15, 6-12 14th (last) SEC.
3/5/25 at Georgia (L 58-50).
3/8/25 at Kentucky (W 67-66).
A disaster of a season for the Crimson Tide, who split this week, with the win over Kentucky breaking a 5 game losing streak. They'll be the 14th seed in the SEC Tourney and open up against 11th seed VCU, hoping to get hot.
Arkansas Pine Bluff (B.B. Gunn) -- 16-13, 11-7 T-3rd SWAC.
3/8/25 at Mississippi Valley State (W 60-48).
A win for the Golden Lions to finish the regular season on a 4 game winning streak. They lost the tiebreaker for 3rd to Jackson State and will be the 4th seed in the SWAC Tourney. They'll open up against 5th seed Alcorn State.
Troy (Benton Gale) -- 14-15, 10-10 6th Sun Belt.
3/6/25 vs. South Alabama (W 80-78).
Just 1 game for the Trojans this week, but they get a nice momentum building win to clinch a spot in the Sun Belt Tourney. They'll be the 6th seed and open up against 7th seed Florida Gulf Coast in a weird and wacky tourney format.
Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Mar. 10-16, the final week before Selection Sunday.
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Baylor (70) 30-1 1798 1 Big 12 Conference
2. Syracuse (2) 28-2 1722 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. UCLA 27-3 1654 4 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Villanova 26-5 1592 3 Big East Conference
5. Wisconsin 24-6 1467 7 Big Ten Conference
6. Michigan State 26-4 1453 6 Big Ten Conference
7. Providence 24-6 1402 5 Big East Conference
8. Georgetown 23-7 1291 8 Big East Conference
9. Vanderbilt 23-7 1185 11 Southeastern Conference
10. Arizona 22-8 1094 12 Pacific-12 Conference
11. Stanford 24-6 1062 10 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Virginia 24-6 1049 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. St. John's 23-7 962 13 Big East Conference
14. Memphis 25-6 856 16 American Athletic Conference
15. Tennessee State 28-4 799 14 Ohio Valley Conference
16. Indiana 22-8 686 18 Big Ten Conference
17. Oklahoma 22-8 676 17 Big 12 Conference
18. Mercer 26-5 593 20 Southern Conference
19. Pepperdine 23-6 504 19 West Coast Conference
20. USC Upstate 27-6 322 21 Atlantic Sun Conference
21. Princeton 23-6 315 24 Ivy League
22. Louisville 21-9 263 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. SMU 23-7 166 25 American Athletic Conference
24. Middle Tennessee 23-7 157 NR Conference USA
25. Tennessee 20-10 148 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Boise State 22-8 117 Mountain West Conference
Saint Joseph's 22-8 29 Atlantic 10 Conference
Sacramento State 23-7 20 Big Sky Conference
Florida 21-10 11 Southeastern Conference
Loyola Chicago 22-9 7 Missouri Valley Conference
UCLA moves up 1 spot and puts themselves in position for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Stanford, with their split, moves down a spot, while St. John's stays right where they are at.
And now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Mar. 10-16:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Memphis (66) 25-6 1792 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Tennessee State 28-4 1696 3 Ohio Valley Conference
3. Pepperdine (6) 23-6 1631 2 West Coast Conference
4. Boise State 22-8 1506 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Mercer 26-5 1496 6 Southern Conference
6. Saint Joseph's 22-8 1344 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. SMU 23-7 1326 7 American Athletic Conference
8. Princeton 23-6 1285 8 Ivy League
9. Davidson 21-9 1257 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Middle Tennessee 23-7 1202 12 Conference USA
11. Wichita State 23-10 1197 14 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Loyola Chicago 22-9 1051 10 Missouri Valley Conference
13. USC Upstate 27-6 944 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
14. Harvard 21-8 781 18 Ivy League
15. San Diego 21-10 741 13 West Coast Conference
16. St. Bonaventure 20-10 720 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Eastern Michigan 21-9 625 20 Mid-American Conference
18. Akron 19-11 538 21 Mid-American Conference
19. Furman 21-9 431 16 Southern Conference
20. Sacramento State 23-7 411 15 Big Sky Conference
21. Boston University 22-9 300 NR Patriot League
22. Illinois State 20-13 255 NR Missouri Valley Conference
23. Indiana State 19-12 235 22 Missouri Valley Conference
24. Robert Morris 24-8 147 19 Northeast Conference
25. Temple 20-9 130 NR American Athletic Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Utah State 19-11 128 Mountain West Conference
Long Beach State 19-11 79 Big West Conference
Louisiana Tech 19-11 77 Conference USA
Evansville 19-12 29 Missouri Valley Conference
Cleveland State 21-11 16 Horizon League
Hartford 22-9 13 America East Conference
Oral Roberts 21-8 6 Summit League
Southern Miss 19-11 4 Conference USA
Northeastern 20-10 3 Colonial Athletic Association
Hawaii 19-11 2 Big West Conference
New Mexico 17-12 1 Mountain West Conference
Quinnipiac 21-10 1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Well I had to do a double take, but we have our first representation in the Mid-Major top 25 in quite a while. Hartford can continue to make noise by winning the America East Tournament.
Now for the final edition of the Bubble Watch and we have 1 team represented in the Overall Bubble Watch:
Code:
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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SMU 23-7 .569 (37) 0-2 4-1 7-1 12-3 179 In
Utah State 19-11 .558 (50) 2-2 4-5 6-3 7-1 66 In
Evansville 19-12 .557 (51) 4-7 3-0 5-3 7-2 57 In
Indiana State 19-12 .558 (49) 0-10 2-1 8-0 9-1 59 In
St. Bonaventure 20-10 .543 (70) 3-2 4-2 8-5 5-1 130 In
Temple 20-9 .546 (63) 1-4 1-1 4-0 14-4 169 In
Penn State 19-11 .545 (65) 3-4 4-3 4-2 8-2 125 In
Iowa 18-12 .544 (69) 2-6 6-3 5-3 5-0 85 In
Illinois 18-12 .538 (76) 3-6 5-3 5-3 5-0 111 Out
Southern Miss 19-11 .536 (80) 1-4 3-1 7-4 8-2 151 Out
Minnesota 17-12 .569 (38) 1-5 8-2 4-4 4-1 28 Out
Northeastern 20-10 .538 (79) 0-2 1-1 8-3 11-4 178 Out
New Mexico 17-12 .546 (62) 1-4 5-3 4-3 7-2 55 Out
Hartford 22-9 .519 (117) 0-1 2-2 4-5 16-1 318 Out
Sacramento State 23-7 .528 (98) 1-1 1-0 4-2 17-4 326 Out
Nice to see that the committee is giving Hartford a fighting chance at an at-large birth, but let's get real here. With that SOS and RPI, the only chance they have of making the NCAA Tournament is by winning the America East Tournament. I suppose if they win their semifinal game by about 50 or so and lose by 1 in the championship, they could make a case, but it's highly unlikely.
Now for the rest of the teams:
Locks: St. John's, UCLA, Stanford
No real changes from the past couple weeks.