There’s no doubt that the beast of college hoops this season is the Big East Conference.
The best example of that is the conference’s projected 11 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament. But what makes that record-setting number of NCAA Tournament teams even more impressive is that the conference would get that many even if the field didn’t expand to 68 teams.
Starting at the bottom, Marquette figures to earn a No. 11 seed if the selection committee did its business today. The Golden Eagles are the closest Big East team to the bubble, and without expansion, Marquette would probably need to feel nervous as one of the last eight teams in the field. However, with expansion and a crop of weak bubble teams, the Golden Eagles have an excellent shot at making the tournament as long as they keep beating the teams they’re supposed to.
Cincinnati is the next shakiest Big East team. But the Bearcats might have done enough to legitimize a weak non-conference schedule by beating Louisville Wednesday night. They have 20 wins, including three against the RPI top 25. That’s a far more impressive résumé than most bubble teams’, and the Bearcats are on pace for a No. 9 seed.
From there, the other nine Big East teams all rank as a No. 6 seed or better, with West Virginia closer to being a No. 5 seed than a No. 7 seed. That’s ridiculously impressive.
Let’s get to the brackets. As always, please share your thoughts.
Previous brackets:
1 |
Pittsburgh
Ohio State Notre Dame Texas |
2 |
Kansas
Duke BYU Connecticut |
3 |
Georgetown
San Diego State Florida Wisconsin |
4 |
Purdue
Syracuse Kentucky Villanova |
5 |
Louisville
North Carolina St. John’s Vanderbilt |
6 |
Arizona
West Virginia Texas A&M Tennessee |
7 |
Missouri
George Mason (CAA) Xavier (Atlantic 10) UCLA |
8 |
Old Dominion
Temple Minnesota UNLV |
9 |
Illinois
Florida State Cincinnati Washington |
10 |
Utah State (WAC)
Kansas State Memphis (Conference USA) Saint Mary’s (West Coast) |
11 |
Marquette
Georgia Virginia Tech Cleveland State (Horizon) |
12 |
Colorado State
Baylor Michigan State vs. New Mexico Boston College vs. Penn State |
13 |
Missouri State (Missouri Valley)
Princeton (Ivy) Belmont (Atlantic Sun) Oakland (Summit) |
14 |
Charleston (Southern)
Coastal Carolina (Big South) Fairfield (Metro Atlantic) Bucknell (Patriot) |
15 |
Vermont (America East)
Long Beach State (Big West) Miami, Ohio (MAC) Long Island (NEC) |
16 |
Montana (Big Sky)
Morehead State (Ohio Valley) Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt) vs. Hampton (MEAC) Texas Southern (SWAC) vs. Texas State (Southland) |
Last Eight In: |
Virginia Tech
Cleveland State (if needed) Colorado State Baylor Michigan State Boston College New Mexico Penn State |
First Eight Out:
|
Richmond
Oklahoma State Butler Southern Miss Clemson Mississippi Valparaiso Wichita State |
Conference
|
Big East: 11
Big Ten: 7 Big 12: 6 ACC: 5 Mountain West: 5 SEC: 5 Pac-10: 3 Atlantic 10: 2 CAA: 2 22 one-bid conferences |
