NCAA Tournament Crystal Ball
by Dan Hauptman and Michael Protos
March 10, 2007
With 14 of the 30 conference tournaments complete, there are 11 more automatic bids at stake today, and five more champions will be crowned Sunday afternoon. As at-large bids become a scarce commodity, here’s a look at the bubble’s shape as of this morning.
Out of Their Hands:
Need One More Win:
Need to Claim Conference’s Automatic Bid:
Let’s take a look at the field as Hauptman and Protos see it right now.
| Hauptman’s Hoops Horoscope | Protos’ Prognostications |
|---|---|
 Ohio State Florida UCLA Wisconsin |
Ohio State Wisconsin UCLA Kansas |
 Kansas North Carolina Memphis Georgetown |
Florida North Carolina Georgetown Memphis |
 Texas A&M Pittsburgh Texas Washington State |
Pittsburgh Texas A&M Washington State Texas |
 Southern Illinois Oregon Virginia Tech BYU |
Southern Illinois UNLV Virginia Tech Tennessee |
 Maryland Tennessee UNLV Nevada |
Marquette BYU Oregon Maryland |
 Marquette Boston College Creighton* Notre Dame |
Nevada Creighton* Boston College USC |
 Louisville Virginia USC Kentucky |
Arizona Duke Kentucky Indiana |
 Arizona Duke Butler Villanova |
Notre Dame Butler Michigan State Louisville |
 Gonzaga* Vanderbilt Texas Tech Indiana |
Vanderbilt Villanova Virginia Georgia Tech |
 Michigan State Georgia Tech Syracuse Xavier |
Xavier Missouri State Syracuse Stanford |
 Illinois Air Force Winthrop* VCU* |
Winthrop* VCU* Gonzaga* Air Force |
 Stanford Wright State* Davidson* West Virginia |
Illinois Texas Tech Davidson* Utah State |
 New Mexico State George Washington Akron Holy Cross* |
Akron George Washington Holy Cross* Vermont |
 Penn* Long Beach State Oral Roberts* Vermont |
Oral Roberts* Wright State* Penn* Texas A&M – Corpus Christi |
 Weber State* Eastern Kentucky* Niagara* North Texas* |
Long Beach State Niagara* Eastern Kentucky* Belmont* |
 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Central Connecticut St.* Delaware State Belmont* Mississippi Valley State |
North Texas* Delaware State Weber State* Central Connecticut St.* Mississippi Valley State |
 Bubble Bursting:Old Dominion Purdue Missouri State Kansas State |
Bubble Bursting: Purdue Drexel Arkansas West Virginia |
| Conference Breakdown: Big East: 8 ACC: 7 Pac-10: 6 Big Ten: 5 Big 12: 4 SEC: 4 Mountain West: 3 Atlantic 10: 2 Horizon: 2 Missouri Valley: 2 WAC: 2 20 one-bid conferences |
Conference Breakdown: ACC: 7 Big East: 7 Pac-10: 6 Big Ten: 5 Big 12: 4 SEC: 4 Missouri Valley: 3 Mountain West: 3 Atlantic 10: 2 Horizon: 2 WAC: 2 20 one-bid conferences |
* denotes won conference’s automatic bid.
Listen carefully and you can hear the Crystal Basketballers chanting, “One more day! One more day!”
Whose field looks more accurate to you? Or are both Hauptman and Protos off target? E-mail us your comments on the Crystal Basketball or give us your own NCAA Tournament prognostications. The calendar reads March. Madness ensues.
