Welcome to the Championship Week Monday edition of the Schmolik 64!
I am trying a new format this edition.
* - Automatic Bid
If the place is blank, it is reserved for a play in game winner.
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| Play In Games | |||
| Dayton | MW | American | 17-15 |
| Tue March 17 | 16 | North Florida * | 20-11 |
| Dayton | E | St. Francis | 22-10 |
| Wed March 18 | 16 | Coastal Carolina * | 20-9 |
| Dayton | S | Texas | 19-12 |
| Tue March 17 | 11 | Old Dominion | 24-6 |
| Dayton | MW | Indiana | 19-12 |
| Wed March 18 | 12 | Buffalo | 21-9 |
Highest RPI (by CBS Sports RPI) Left Out: Georgia (40), LSU (50)
Bids By Conference:
Big 12 (7): Kan, Bay, ISU, Okl, WV, OkSt, Tex
Big Ten (7): Wisc, Md, MSU, Iowa. OSU, Pur, Ind
ACC (6): Va, Duke, ND, UNC, Lville, NC St
Big East (6): Vill, Prov, GTown, Butl, St. J, Xav
AAC (4): SMU, Cin, Tulsa, Temp
Pac 12 (3): Ariz, Utah, Ore
A-10 (3): VCU, Dav, Day
MWC (3): BSU, SDSt, CSU
SEC (2): Ky, Ark - No, that's not a typo!
WCC (2): Gonz, BYU
MVC (2): Wich St, N Iowa
MAC (2): C Mich, Buff
C-USA (2): LaT, ODU
One Bid: 19
As always, the assumption is the season ends today. I'm pretty sure that the final Schmolik 64 will have more than 2 SEC teams but right now just three SEC teams ranks in the top 49 of the RPI (LSU ranks 50th) and Georgia, which ranks 40th, has zero top 50 wins. I feel LSU is the third best SEC team, but they have only played five games (out of 31) vs. top 50 opponents. If you don't think Old Dominion belongs in over LSU, Old Dominion beat LSU (and their RPI is way higher). If you're an SEC bubble team, this is the week to send a message to put yourself in the tournament. I would say making the SF is a must and making the final would help a lot.
As always, the assumption is the season ends today. I'm pretty sure that the final Schmolik 64 will have more than 2 SEC teams but right now just three SEC teams ranks in the top 49 of the RPI (LSU ranks 50th) and Georgia, which ranks 40th, has zero top 50 wins. I feel LSU is the third best SEC team, but they have only played five games (out of 31) vs. top 50 opponents. If you don't think Old Dominion belongs in over LSU, Old Dominion beat LSU (and their RPI is way higher). If you're an SEC bubble team, this is the week to send a message to put yourself in the tournament. I would say making the SF is a must and making the final would help a lot.
Right now, Old Dominion and Buffalo have RPI's too high to ignore. If either fall early (especially Buffalo, which has no top 50 wins and lost twice to Central Michigan, the next highest RPI team from the MAC), they're in trouble. But the worst case scenario for other bubble teams is if both make their conference finals and lose to quality teams. If Buffalo and Old Dominion remain in the top 40 after the tournament, they will be harder to ignore (and LSU would like Old Dominion out of the at large pool for sure).
In determining the official representative for a conference, I usually took the "best" of the remaining teams (if it is just two teams, I took the "better"). In the Patriot League, American beat Lafayette twice so I put them in over Lafayette even though Lafayette is the higher seed. Of course, it's irrelevant and the winner will get it. As for Harvard and Yale, at the time this was posted, Yale's RPI was 64 to Harvard's 65. The last time Yale made the field was 1962 (before I was born!) So if Harvard does win, at least Yale gets to see their name in a bracket for a few days (then again, I'm sure they're still in shock over their last game).
In determining the official representative for a conference, I usually took the "best" of the remaining teams (if it is just two teams, I took the "better"). In the Patriot League, American beat Lafayette twice so I put them in over Lafayette even though Lafayette is the higher seed. Of course, it's irrelevant and the winner will get it. As for Harvard and Yale, at the time this was posted, Yale's RPI was 64 to Harvard's 65. The last time Yale made the field was 1962 (before I was born!) So if Harvard does win, at least Yale gets to see their name in a bracket for a few days (then again, I'm sure they're still in shock over their last game).
As for the top, I think there are six candidates for #1 seeds. There's a decent chance the team that doesn't win the ACC Tournament falls to a #2 (especially if they don't make the final) and either Wisconsin or Arizona wins their conference tournament. Wisconsin would probably rather have Duke win the ACC because they don't have a claim for a #1 over Duke. Villanova will also have to win its tournament to claim a #1 seed or it opens the door for Wisconsin and/or Arizona to pass them.
I would expect an update either Wednesday or Thursday and of course the final bracket on Sunday.
