Things are really heating up - and I guess ESPN's Championship Week officially begins today. Murray State and Morehead State play in the OVC. Mercer hosts East Tennessee in the Atlantic Sun, Coastal Carolina tries to get it done in the Big South - Winthrop which has owned the conference in recent years takes on the underdog role in this one.
Meanwhile, three more conferences get their shindigs underway.....
BIG SKY
The Big Sky has an interesting concept. Only six of its teams make the party - dislike. The top two teams get byes - like. The other four play tonight at the home court of the higher seed - like. And then the winners play the top two in a four team tournament at the conference champ next weekend. Weber State is the conference champ - and should be the favorite. They will have two tough games next weekend though. Montana is the #4 seed and might very well be the second best team in the conference. Northern Colorado or Montana State most likely would be the opponent in the final and both would be capable of an upset.
SUMMIT
Eight conference members meet in Sioux Falls South Dakota. Sounds like fun. The conference champ was Oakland - and they are solid. However IUPUI is a little bit better. I would be shocked if those two don't meet in the final - anything could happen in that game, but I'd give IUPUI a little bit of an edge.
SUN BELT
For me this is another situation where the conference champ, Troy, isn't a deserving favorite. I think any of the three good directional schools pose a better chance. Having to win four games in four days might hurt Western Kentucky's chances. But I do think that either North Texas or Middle Tennessee could spring an upset. This conference is usually a tough out in the NCAA tournament - and often times provides some surprises in the conference go around. I wouldn't expect this to be any different.
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Hey Raff couldn't ETSU or Mercer be in the play-in?
ReplyDeleteOne would think they would both be candidates. Mercer moreso than ETSU. As far as RPI's go Mercer is 221, ETSU is 131.
ReplyDeleteBy Comparison, the Mount is 172, Robert Morris is 155 and QU is 138.
So take that for what its worth.
As far as the other teams with a chance to get in playing today -- Winthrop is 178, Coastal is 117 and Murray is 70 and Morehead is 92. So probably only Winthrop is a real candidate.
We're probably only looking for one team in the Play-In. The highest RPI in the SWAC is 191 - so the champ there seems ever so likely.
Winthrop beats CC and takes their low rating into the tourney. Play in game.
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