SLAYER’S SPORTS AND STUFF
Hi Everybody! Welcome to another edition of Slayer’s Sports and Stuff! Next week is Championship Week and every day on championship week, you’ll get an update telling you what’s what! Yes, I know! You have no idea what’s what right now. So I present to you………
A bunch of lists!
But these lists aren’t just any lists. They’re special lists! First of all, it took me a long time to put this dam thing together, so BACK OFF! Second of fall, after you read this, you’ll know everything there is to know about the College Hoops world going into Championship Week. You’ll be able to impress all your friends by saying things like “I think Creighton could get an at-large bid if they jump Northern Iowa in the RPI but for both to get in, the key may be Southern Illinois winning the Missouri Valley Tournament.” See? You can sound like one of those asinine sports reporters! Speaking of assinine reporters. I have one thing to say about the Chaney incident.
Chaney is acting properly. If you’re one of those witchhunters asking for his job, then you should die. I mean that. People who have no respect for the theory of Grace ought not to live.
Moving on…
We’ll se who’s IN, who’s on the bubble and this weekend’s games on national television.
THE IN-CROWD
The following are IN! I can put my personal guarantee on it. Meaning if they don’t go in, you have permission to e-mail me and go “HA! See you jerk! You were wrong!” Some are obvious. Where they are not obvious, I made a side note. The reankings represent the Coaches,AP, and RPI respectively.
19,21,18: Alabama
11,11,10: Arizona
5,5,7: Boston College
18,18, 22: Charlotte- A tournament favorite. Besides, a sweep over Cincy and late season streak locks them anyway.
21,22, 13: Cincinnati
16,15, 14: Connecticut
6,6,3: Duke
13,12, 15: Gonzaga
1,1,2: Illinois These guys are really good.
7,7,1: Kansas
3,3,9: Kentucky
9,9,20: Louisville
12,14,19: Michigan St.
x,x,27: Mississippi St-No love in the polls, but they are over the magic 20 number which is enough for the traditional powerhouses.
26,25,26: Nevada- Have piled up a heap of wins against a fair shcedule
2,2,4: North Carolina
20,20,12: Oklahoma
8,8,12: Oklahoma St.
17,17,28: Pacific- This year’s bandwagon cinderella
x,42,101: Penn-Winner of the Ivy. Officially in the tournament.
25,26,21: Southern Illinois Could get 6 or 7 seed
13,13,17: Syracuse
34,29,30: Texas Tech-Up and down all year, but have wins over Kansas and Oklahoma. Plus Bobby Knight $$ factor.
15,16,23: Utah
4,4,6: Wake Forest
10,10, 8: Washington
23,23,16: Wisconsin Even without the magic 20 number, high RPI offsets that.
22,19,11: Villanova-The win over B.C. got them through the bottle-neck.
So with 34at-largebids blahblahminusmajoronferenceautosblahblahminusinteamsblahblah. That gives us about TEN Spots to spare and over 40 bubble teams! Teams that have the possibility of getting into the tournament WITHOUT winning their conference tournaments. Remember though this Rule: If a conference is NOT won by a team in the IN-Crowd, the number of available spots decreases! That means if a Bubble Team or even a Bad team wins the tournament, it does not effect the ABOVE! It only effects the BELOW! Everybody got that! Ok!
BUBBLE TEAMS
x,x,74: Akron
Only because the Tourney likes to take a few MAC teams. They need to do some damage in the tournament and win their final game against Buffalo.
x,x,53: Arizona St.
Maybe if they get to the championship game and beat one of the Big Two along the way. Only Maybe though.
x,x,66: Buffalo: Buffalo 66!!!! That is so cooooool! Anyway, see the Akron one. Same Deal.
x,x,60: Creighton
MVC Semi-Finals minimum. This mid-major conference has become a little popular and yes, that does sway the committee.
x,x,68: Davidson
Hard to see the tournament taking two Southern Teams but a hefty win column could sway and this conference does have a nice history with the Tournament. Finals minimum but will still most likely have to win.
35,x,37: DePaul
Either a win against Louisville or two wins in the tournament seals the deal.
27,28, 25: Florida
A win against Kentucky will obviously put them in. But they just probably need one win, period.
x,x,43: Georgetown
If they lose to Providence, it’s over. Needs to get to the Big East Semis.
37,42,80: George Washington
A-10 Finals and even at that, very small chance.
x,33,32: Georgia Tech
Probably needs to get to the ACC Finals. Anything less and they could be out of the loop.
29,38,62: Holy Cross
Would the Tournament take two teams out of the Patriot League? Probably not, but they’re worth putting in the list.
x,x,63: Houston:
This is a tourney favorite with some legacy so that always helps. Still, CUSA Semis are needed and a win against a good team.
x,x,40: Indiana
Man, did this team come out of nowhere last week! But can they do it with only 14 wins so far? Well, Top 50 in the RPI+10 Big Ten Wins+ Indiana=in many ways, in. Probably needs to do some damage in the tournament though.
x,x,59: Iowa St.
Get to the Big 12 Finals, then they can squawk.
x,x,71: Kent St.
See Buffalo and Akron.
30,27,24: Louisiana St.
As In as you can be without being in. Just needs one more win really.
x,x,49: Marquette:
Getting to the CUSA finals is needed. They have a win against Wisconsin but it was so long ago, probably doesn’t mean much. Probably need to win it all.
28,31,31: Maryland
You would think a team that sweeps Duke is in but 16 wins isn’t enough. They need a couple more.
x,x,44: Miami (FL)
Probably need to get to the ACC finals. Win against Duke could do wonders though.
X,38, 52: Miami (OH)
The MAC is confusing. Anyone who tells you anything otherwise is lying. The selection committee probably has no idea what to do with these guys. Miami is in the same boat with the rest of the MAC.
37,42,34: Minnesota
Eh, a couple more wins should do it for the Gophers. A couple more losses will send them to the NIT.
35,34,90: New Mexico
The most unimpressive 22 wins in college basketball and a strength of schedule of 289. They are from the Mountain West which could help them out a little.
x,x,67:: North Carolina St.
Their biggest hurdle is that Six ACC teams have a better RPI then them. Maybe with a finals appearance.
x,x,45: Northern Iowa
Needs to do impressive damage in the tournament. Descent RPI a huge plus. Could get the dis if the tournament doesn’t want more then 2 MVC teams.
x,x,36: Notre Dame
Two weeks ago, everybody swore they were in. A lot of losses to a lot of average teams. Still, they are Notre Dame. Two more wins should do it.
34,35,64: Old Dominion
An at-large team out of the CAA? Not likely. Still, 25 wins (and still growing) is hard to ignore.
24,24, 29: Pittsburgh
Just needs one more Big East win to clinch it. But an end season tailspin could have them locked out.
33,38,39: St. Mary’s
The Dance loves to take two WCC teams. They should have no problem barring a really bad loss in the conference tournament.
x,x,94: St. Joseph’s
Very thin bubble. The A-10 just sucks this year, period.
x,x,41: Stanford
Descent RPI. Not too many Pac-10 Teams eligible. Very likely to dance if they have a good tournament.
30,30,35: Texas
A loss in the Big-12 opener will be the only reason they may not get in. Even then, the chances look good.
37,35,50: Texas A&M
Need to get to the Big 12 Semis and raise that RPI.
x,x,73: TCU
Probably need to win the whole thing. The only at-large hope is a two point loss in the USA final. Even then, it’s iffy.
x,x,72: UAB
See above.
x,42,33: UCLA
16 Wins + High RPI + Marquis Program=In with one or two more wins.
37,x,56: UTEP
This is weird. Second place in the WAC with 23 wins but awful non-conference schedule. It would be hard to not see them dance, still UTEP needs to show something in the WAC tournament.
x,x,46: Vanderbilt
They have a descent RPI but there are five SEC teams above them. A win against LSU could definitely do it. A couple wins in the SEC tourney would be more helpful.
x,35,51: Vermont
Record is good enough, but an at-large team from the AEC? In most cases, no. They need bigger schools in the more established mid-majors to knock each other off.
x,38,48: West Virginia
This is 50/50 right now. Two more Big East Wins should do it. Less then 20 wins and the tourney may pass.
x,x,47: Wichita St.
Went on a losing streak at the end of the season and that is always looked down upon. Sorry Laflin, they probably gotta win the whole thing.
30,31,79: Wis-Milwaukee
At-Large team out of the Horizon League probably is not happening with this RPI. But they keep getting mentioned, so I thought I would too.
So the two lists above I will update you every day next week! Sound Good? Good!
Alight, let’s go over the next the next few days and see what’s on TV. Remember, we got some early tournament finals as well!
THROWDOWN THURSDAY
x,x,44: Miami (FL) vs. 6,6,3: Duke 7:00/ESPN
If Miami could get this win, then maybe they won’t need to run the tables in the conference tournament.
18,18, 22: Charlotte vs. 9,9,20: Louisville 7:00/ESPN2
This win is imperative for Louisville if they want a #2 seed. Charlotte Could use it to get at least a 4.
x,x,146: Purdue vs. 1,1,2: Illinois 9:00/ESPN2
Two more games until Regular Season perfection!
MANIC SATURDAY
9,9,20: Louisville vs. 35,x,37: DePaul Noon/ESPN
If DePaul wins this, they should be in.
Big South Final Sat/Noon ESPN2
64/65 if anybody but Winthrop wins this.
24,24, 29: Pittsburgh vs. x,x,36: Notre Dame 2:00/CBS (reg)
Could be an elimination match. Pitt needs one more win, Notre Dame needs two.
19,21,18: Alabama vs. x,x,27: Mississippi St 2:00/CBS (reg)
Two teams in search of a higher NCAA seeding.
37,42,80: George Washington vs. x,x,303: Rhode Island 2:00/ESPN
G.W. has a thin bubble to begin with. They lose this, it’s over for them.
Atlantic Sun Final 2:00/ESPN2
64/65 if anyone but Central Florida wins this.
13,13,17: Syracuse vs. 16,15, 14: Connecticut 4:00/CBS (reg)
The two legendary future hall of famers go at it one more time! Always a sweet game for hoops fans.
10,10, 8: Washington vs. x,x,41: Stanford 4:00/CBS (reg)
Stanford could clinch their spot in the Dance right here.
21,22,13: Cincinnati vs. x,x,84: Memphis 4:00/ESPN
Memphis’ bubble popped last week. Their RPI is too low no matter what happens here. But still, if they don’t think that it could be a good game.
Ohio Valley Final 4:00/ESPN2
Winner of this conference tends to be a bracket buster if they can avoid a #16 seed.
20,20,12: Oklahoma vs. 34,29,30: Texas Tech 6:00/ESPN
To IN Teams that hate each other. Always nice.
Southern Final 8:00/ESPN2
Winner of this conference tends to make noise in the NCAA. See the Davidson blurb.
30,30,35: Texas vs. 8,8,12: Oklahoma St. 9:00/ESPN
As stated above, Texas should be in. This win would clinch it. The Cowboys could lose hold on a 2 seed if they get clumsy.
HANGOVER SUNDAY
1,1,2: Illinois vs. x,x,54: Ohio St. Noon/CBS (nat)
Could be for the perfect season! The Buckeyes are ineligible for post-season play.
3,3,9: Kentucky vs. 27,28, 25: Florida 2:00/CBS (reg)
As stated, the Gators just need one more SEC win regardless. Kentucky wants that #1 seed. A loss knocks them out of there.
7,7,1: Kansas vs. x,x,55: Missouri 2:00/CBS (reg)
Nothing to gain and a seed to lose for the Jayhawks.
6,6,3: Duke vs. 2,2,4: North Carolina 4:00/CBS (nat)
Tournament wise, it’s slightly meaningless as usual. But still, who can resist?
OK! So we’re set, right? I’ll be back on Monday to give everyone an update as we trek on the insanity known as championship week!
