SLAYER’S SPORTS AND STUFF!
Hi Everybody! Welcome to another edition of Slayer’s Sports and Stuff! I’ll be here all week to update you on the how the tournament is shaping up. I know some of you may need catch up, so check out Thursday’s Column to catch up.
Well, that was one hell of a weekend in college hoops, wasn’t it? Personally, I wouldn’t know. I’ve been spending the last four days in a rabbit hole, but now I’m out and ready to celebrate Championship Week. One of the finest weeks in sports! Don’t you love it? Teams are In, teams are Out, Teams are somewhere on the bubble. Plus the 20 different tournaments going on and most likely there is a school near you, big or small that’s fighting for something this week and getting all the local press. Can you feel it? Can you smell the air of college basketball heating up into an inferno of insanity???????? Aren’t you just salivating to bite into the yummy goodness that is championship college basketball? Don’t you wanna just drink it up like a fine wine? Are you ready to chop it up with a razor, roll a hundred dollar bill and
Anyway, if not you can go check out Gloomchen where she talks about two fun bands, lesbians, and people who think I’m going to hell.
Or you can check out Patrick N’s Latest. Let’s just say despite his new PG-13 vocabulary, he doesn’t disappoint.
Let’s go over these wonderfully crafted lists!!!!
IN! IN! IN!
The following are really IN because they won their conference tournament and there is nobody anything can do about it.
Central Florida-Atlantic Sun
They are tournament regulars which should help them avoid too high of a seed. They’ve OWNED this conference for about ten years and move on to the CUSA.
Chatanooga-Southern
Remember when they made the Sweet 16 in 1997 as a 14 seed? No? Ok.
Creighton-MVC
Moves off the bubble list and gets home.
Eastern Kentucky-OVC
Don’t recognize them? You shouldn’t. This is there first tournament since 1979. Getting over the 20 win mark should keep them out of the 16 spot.
Gonzaga-WCC
No surprise here. If all works out, they should get a 4 or 5 seed without a problem.
Old Dominion-CAA
They did it and now all is right with the world. And it’s one less thing for the selection committee to sweat about.
Niagara-MAAC
Their first appearance in 34 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got nothing much to say except the MAAC is one of the few chances a NYC Metro school gets to go in the tournament so the Old Apple is a bit disappointed. Hey, they’re still in the State!
Pennsylvania-IVY
The League’s premiere team goes in again. They’ve become a definite fixture, haven’t they?
Winthrop-Big South
Funny Name. Another regular and with 27 wins, should avoid the play-in game.
THE IN-CROWD
Here is the list again. These teams I can personally guarantee will be in the tournament. If it doesn’t look obvious then I probably commented in the last column.
1) Alabama
2) Arizona
3) Boston College
4) Charlotte
5) Cincinnati
6) Connecticut
7) Duke
8) Gonzaga
9) Illinois
10) Kansas
11) Kentucky
12) Louisville
13) Michigan St.
14) Mississippi St
15) Nevada
16) North Carolina
17) Oklahoma
18) Oklahoma St.
19) Pacific
20) Southern Illinois
21) Syracuse
22) Texas Tech
23) Utah
24) Wake Forest
25) Washington
26) Wisconsin
27) Villanova
JOINED THE IN-CROWD
5 new teams have joined the In-Crowd
28) Florida
Reached the Magic 20 Number!
29) Louisiana St.
Got the one more win they needed,
30) Pittsburgh
Win over Notre Dame puts them at the magic 20 number too!
31) St. Mary’s
Secured their position for the traditional second WCC representative.
32) Stanford
Win over Washington clinches it.
33) Texas
Win over Oklahoma St. puts the Longhorns at the magic 20 number as well!
34) UCLA
Remember when I said one or two more wins will thet them in? They got two.
BUBBLE TEAMS
Ok. Let’s do the math. We have We have 34 at-large bids and 34 that I claim to be in. So that’s it. No more bids. End of Column
Just kidding. This is how it works.. First, take the numeral of 0. Now let’s take the conferences represented in the In-Crowd that have not had their finals yet. We have the ACC. Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, CUSA, MW, Pac-10, SEC, and WAC. That’s 9. Assuming 9 teams will move from the In-Crowd to the Automatic List, we have 9. That’s NINE! So the magic number is NINE! Remember, these nine conferences have a champion not in the list above, then the number goes down. So we’re good, right? Let’s see who we have on the bubble.
Akron
Remember how I said they needed to win their final regular season game against Buffalo to have a chance? Well they lost. They play Western Michigan in the MAC quarters this Thursday.
Arizona St.
Maybe if they get to the championship game and beat one of the Big Two along the way. Only Maybe though. I know I said that last time, but nothing has changed. What do you want from me? They play Washington in the Quarters this Thursday.
Buffalo
They are officially in the mix. I can’t believe it. You should have seen this team when I went to school there. Worst Team Ever! They play Toledo in the MAC.
Davidson
Ooooooo. A loss in the Southern Semis. Not good, not good at all.
DePaul
Need to beat Tulane this Wednesday to stay alive.
Georgetown
“If they lose to Providence, it’s over.” That’s what I said. But I just looked at the bracket and they lucked out and got the strong side. So if they should beat Connecticut and Syracuse on their way to the finals, they could get it. Of course, let’s see if they can pass Seton Hall first.
George Washington
Nothing has changed. A-10 Finals and even at that, very small chance.
Georgia Tech
Now we all know the Dance will take more then three ACC teams. The Jackets have the highest RPI of the non-big three. So this is their spot to lose. They play Virginia Tech this Friday.
Holy Cross
They got to the PAT finals and have a good solid bubble. They play Bucknell this Friday. Most likely need to win though.
Houston:
Ended the regular season badly. They need to get the finals. They play South Florida on Wednesday.
Indiana
The team that made one heck of a comeback this year. They play Minnesota this Friday which could possibly be a clincher.
Iowa St.
Needs 1 or 2 more impressive wins in the Big 12 tournament. Thursday’s game against Baylor can’t help them.
Kent St.
Put up a 91 spot in the first round of the MAC. Need to keep on trucking. They play Ohio Thursday.
Marquette:
USA Finals to even have a bubble. They play TCU next. See TCU
Maryland
They lost there last three games. They have to inflict major damage in the ACC tournament. First round game against Clemson will be of no help either.
Miami (FL)
Same as above. They have to make an impression. First game against Virginia no help.
Miami (OH)
They have the most solid bubble in the confusing MAC. That I can tell you. Should be in barring a loss against Bowling Green this Thursday,
Minnesota
They don’t have to win against Indiana but they need to hold up their own.
New Mexico
You would think the Dance would have no trouble taking two teams from the Mountain West. First thing’s first though. They need to beat BYU this Thursday.
North Carolina St.
Same situation as Maryland and Miami. Let’s see if they can pass Florida St. first.
Northern Iowa
They have a great RPI but suffered a horrible loss against Southwest Missouri of all teams. Right now a coin toss between them and Wichita St.
Notre Dame
Late season slide, now they have work to do. Like Georgetown, they are on the strong side of the Big East bracket so the bid is theirs to lose. They face Rutgers this Wednesday.
St. Joseph’s
Losing to any team in the A-10 tournament will most likely knock them out. The only slight exception is a finals loss against George Washington. Still slight though.
Texas A&M
Like I said before, need to get to the Big 12 Semis and raise that RPI. They lose to Kansas St. and they are done.
TCU
See Marquette.
UAB
Hmmm..went on a four game win streak to close out the season. Maybe if they beat Louisville in the Semis. Their quarterfinal is on Thursday.
UTEP
You would think the Dance would take two WAC teams, but they might have to audition some more in the tournament. Their quarterfinal is on Thursday.
Vanderbilt
Doesn’t look good but hey, beat LSU and Kentucky to get to the finals and all of a sudden it looks good. Needs to get past Auburn first.
Vermont
They play Northeastern in the AEC final this Saturday. They actually have the biased Northeast Media rallying around them plus a wicked high RPI so it’s possible they could go in as an at-large.
West Virginia
Still 50/50 right now. Needs two wins in the tournament. Less then 20 wins and the tourney may pass.
Wichita St.
I’m pulling for ya, Laflin. See Northern Iowa.
Wis-Milwaukee
Too many teams ahead of them. Needs to beat Detroit in the Final. Speaking of which….
TONIGHT’S IMPORTANT GAMES
MCC Final: 1) Oral Roberts vs. 7) Oakland (7:00/ESPN2)
If Oakland wins this, they get a first class ticket to the 64/65 game. Doesn’t this game sound weird without Valpo in it?
Horizon Final: 1) Wis-Milwaukee vs. 3) Detroit (9:00/ESPN)
Detroit is a sub .500 team so Milwaukee can’t lose and expect to make the Tournament. Detroit vs. Oakland in the 64/65 game…has a nice ring to it.
Sun Belt Final: 1W) Denver vs. 2W) LA-Lafayette (9:00/ESPN2)
What is it with the major cities tonight? First Oakland, then Detroit, now Lafayette.
Ok, I’ll update you all tomorrow. I’m getting wasted tonight so who knows what the hell it’s going to look like.
