Expertise's Politics and Sports Blog


Sunday, March 13, 2005
Here's my picks for the NCAA Tournament.

There are only six conference championship games left, and all of them will be decided by tomorrow.  However, all of the finalists of the major conferences are pretty much locked, and the remaining two's losers won't go to the Dance, so I'll give you 63 teams.

This is based on what who I "think" the tournament will grant bids to, not necessarily who I feel should get them.  In the cases of teams like Holy Cross and Davidson, I will leave them off the list. I think because of their outstanding conference records and winning streak during the season, they should have gotten a bid, but the committee won't see it my way.  Nevertheless, I hope they prove me wrong.

First, the 25 Conference Champions, which get automatic bids:

Pennsylvania Eastern Kentucky Central Florida Winthrop Chattanooga
Niagara Old Dominion Creighton  Gonzaga  Oakland 
Louisiana-Lafayette  Wisc-Milwaukee  Fairleigh Dickerson  Montana  Bucknell 
Vermont  Louisville  Delaware State  Washington  Ohio 
George Washington  Syracuse  Texas-El Paso  New Mexico  Utah State 


Now, the remaining 38, which are receiving at-large bids or their conference title tomorrow:

North Carolina Duke  Wake Forest  Georgia Tech  NC State 
Boston College  Connecticut  West Virginia  Pittsburgh  Villanova 
Illinois  Michigan State  Wisconsin  Minnesota  Iowa 
Kansas  Oklahoma  Oklahoma State  Texas Tech  Pacific 
Cincinnatti  Charlotte  Utah  Arizona  Stanford 
UCLA  Kentucky  Florida  Alabama  LSU 
St. Mary's  Nevada  St. Joseph's  Iowa State  UAB
Southern Illinois  Notre Dame  Texas     


















So there it is.  That should be 63 teams.  The last two spots are reserved for the SWAC champion, as Alabama State matches up against Alabama A&M (Isn't it funny that two Alabama teams are playing for the SouthWestern Championship?), and the Southland Champion, as Southeastern Louisiana faces Northwestern State.

I say again:  NCAA Selection Committee PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG, but if you're going to do it, do it with teams that are actually worthy of getting in.

Posted at 06:11 am by Expertise

 

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