The Cornfield of 65: Projecting the NCAA Tournament

by huskerlibrarian on Jan 8, 2009 1:35 PM CST in Nebraska Husker Basketball

Well, after crunching numbers, looking at resumes, and trying to project who's going ot win the Summit League, the first ever Corn Nation NCAA Tournament Projections are here.

By my count, there are 8 at-large spots that are up for grabs, with 22 teams that are competitive for those spots. Of course, with conference play just getting started, there exists the possibility that some teams can fall onto, climb onto, or fall off of the bubble, opening up opportunities for surprise teams.

I'm not going to project seeds yet -- I'll wait for conference play to establish some stronger pecking orders in the middle of the bracket. If you're curious, I think North Carolina, Duke, Pittsburgh, and Connecticut will be the #1 seeds.

Projected NCAA Teams (by conference):

ACC(8): North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College, Miami, Florida State

Big XII (6): Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big East (9): Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Georgetown, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Louisville, West Virginia, Villanova, Marquette

Big Ten (7): Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue

Mountain West (2): BYU, UNLV

Pac-10 (4): UCLA, Cal, Arizona State, Stanford

SEC (4): Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida

West Coast (2): Gonzaga, St. Mary’s

Projected One-Bid Leagues with Projected Champions (Bold indicates team likely to receive at-large berth if they do not receive automatic bid): America East – Vermont; Atlantic 10 – Xavier; Atlantic Sun – Belmont; Big Sky – Portland State; Big South – Virginia Military Institute; Big West – Pacific; Colonial – George Mason; Conference USA – Memphis; Horizon – Butler; Ivy League – Cornell; MAAC – Niagara; MAC – Miami (OH); MEAC – Morgan State; Missouri Valley – Illinois State; Northeast – Robert Morris; Ohio Valley – Austin Peay; Patriot – Navy; Southern – Davidson; Southland – Stephen F. Austin; SWAC – Alabama State; Summit League – North Dakota State; Sun Belt – Western Kentucky; WAC – Utah State.

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Comments

Since I started

coaching basketball I really dont get the time to follow college basketball the way I used to or the way I would like to. That being said though I dont think the ACC will get 8, The Big East 9, or the Big Ten 7 teams into the tournament. I could be wrong but I just dont see it.

All of those teams look good right now but once conference play starts they will beat each other up and some will fall off the bubble (as you stated). Its pretty tough for 7 teams to go at or over 500 in a twelve team conference.

Just to let you know I like what you are doing with the basketball on here it makes it easier for me to follow basketball. One of these nights I will get on with you during a game. Heck one of these nights I might get to follow a game. I have only got to see one game, the two point loss to the small Maryland school. I think Doc is a great coach and I think he will take NU basketball to the level we seek. I actually got to meet him (coaches clinic) and enjoyed the chance to talk a little bball with him.

by taflorom on Jan 9, 2009 7:49 AM CST reply actions