The regular season is in the books, a few teams have already punched their ticket to the Dance, the mid major conferences tournaments are just about complete, and the major conference tournaments get underway this week. All this can only mean one thing; the madness of March is in full swing as NCAA Tournament seeds are up for grabs over the next six days culminating with the field of 65 being unveiled this Sunday, March 14th at 6:00 P.M. The following is a brief look at which teams from each conference should make it in.
ACC
The ACC should place seven teams in the NCAA’s. #4 Duke (26-5) finished the regular season tied with #19 Maryland (23-7) at 13-3 in the ACC and still has a good shot at a #1 seed with a strong showing in the conference tournament. The other five teams that should be in are Florida State (22-8, 10-6), Virginia Tech (23-7, 10-6), Wake Forest (19-9, 9-7), Clemson (21-9, 9-7), and Georgia Tech (19-11, 7-9).
Big 12
The Big 12 should place seven teams in the NCAA’s. #1 Kansas (29-2, 15-1) is a lock as a number one seed and will most likely be the overall number one team in the tournament. The other six teams should be #9 Kansas State (24-6, 11-5), #20 Baylor (24-6, 11-5), #24 Texas A&M (22-8, 11-5), Missouri (22-9, 10-6), Texas (23-8, 9-7), and Oklahoma (21-9, 9-7).
Big East
The Big East should place eight teams in the NCAA’s. With a strong showing in the Big East Tournament, #3 Syracuse (28-3, 15-3) should be the third #1 seed. The other seven teams will most likely be #6 West Virginia (24-6, 13-5), #10 Villanova (24-6, 13-5), #16 Pittsburgh (24-6, 13-5), Marquette (20-10, 11-7), Louisville (20-11, 11-7), Notre Dame (21-10, 10-8),and Georgetown (20-9, 10-8)
Big 10
There was a three way tie at the top of the Big 10 with #5 Purdue (26-4, 14-4), #7 Ohio State (24-7, 14-4), and #11 Michigan State (27-7, 14-4) all turning in identical conference records. The other team that should get in would be #18 Wisconsin (23-7, 13-5). Any other team would most likely have to win the Big 10 Tournament to get a spot.
SEC
# 2 Kentucky (29-2, 14-2) is another virtual lock as a number one seed. Along with the Wildcats, # 13 Tennessee (23-7, 11-5), #23 Vanderbilt (23-7, 12-4) and Florida (20-11, 9-7) will get a spot. Ole Miss or Mississippi State will pretty much need to win the SEC Tournament to guarantee a place.
PAC 10
While only the winner of the PAC 10 Tournament will get an automatic bid, right now it looks as if three teams could make it in from the weakest of all the major conferences; California (21-9, 13-5), Arizona State (22-9, 12-6), and Washington (21-9, 11-7)
Mid Majors
The Mountain West could get up to four teams in with #8 New Mexico, #15 BYU, UNLV, and San Diego State. The Atlantic 10 should have three teams with #17 Temple, Xavier, and Richmond. Two teams; #14 Gonzaga and St. Mary’s will make it in from the West Coast Conference. Conference USA should also place two teams; #21 UTEP and Memphis. #12 Butler is in from the Horizon Conference, #25 Northern Iowa is in from the Missouri Valley Conference, and Old Dominion is in from the Colonial Athletic Conference.
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