- Mar 19, 2006
- 38,712
- 599
- 113
- 75
Projecting the Field
By Gary Parrish
CBS SportsLine.com Sports Writer
Tell Gary your opinion!
Updated morning of March 2
CBS SportsLine.com's projections of the 65 schools that will make up this year's NCAA Tournament.
The Ivy League regular-season champion earns an automatic bid, as do the winners of the 30 conference tournaments. At-large bids are handed out to 34 additional schools, based on the strength of their regular seasons (which takes into account won-loss record, conference mark and strength of schedule).
Bubble teams
Last four in: West Virginia, Old Dominion, Drexel, Georgia Tech
Last four out: Alabama, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Appalachian State
Bids by conference
America East (1)
Projected champ: Vermont
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Vermont finished the regular season with a 23-6 record.
ACC (7)
Projected champ: Virginia
At-large: North Carolina, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech
Bubble: Clemson, Florida State
Georgia Tech's win over North Carolina gets the Yellow Jackets in the field, for now.
Atlantic Sun (1)
Projected champ: East Tennessee State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
ETSU, led by Courtney Pigram, went 16-2 in the Atlantic Sun this season.
Atlantic 10 (1)
Projected champ: Xavier
At-large: None
Bubble: UMass
UMass is 1-4 against the top 50 with 18 of their 22 victories coming against teams rated outside the Top 100 at CollegeRPI.com.
Big East (8)
Projected champ: Georgetown
At-large: Pittsburgh, Marquette, Villanova, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse
Bubble: Providence, DePaul
Syracuse's big win over Georgetown secured a place in the field.
Big Sky (1)
Projected champ: Weber State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Weber State and Northern Arizona each finished with 11 league victories.
Big South (1)
Projected champ: Winthrop
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Winthrop's win at Missouri State makes it a legitimate at-large candidate, just in case.
Big Ten (5)
Projected champ: Ohio State
At-large: Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State
Bubble: Illinois, Michigan
Iowa's loss at Penn State probably cost the Hawkeyes a chance at an at-large bid. Now can they burst Illinois' bubble Saturday?
Big 12 (4)
Projected champ: Kansas
At-large: Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech
Bubble: Kansas State, Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State helped itself with a Tuesday win over Kansas State, but the Cowboys still lack a road win.
Big West (1)
Projected champ: Long Beach State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Long Beach State won its first Big West regular-season title in 11 years.
Colonial (3)
Projected champ: Virginia Commonwealth
At-large: Old Dominion, Drexel
Bubble: None
Old Dominion's early win at Georgetown is looking better and better these days. :00hour
Conference USA (1)
Projected champ: Memphis
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Memphis hasn't lost since it was at Arizona on Dec. 20.
Horizon League (1)
Projected champ: Butler
At-large: None
Bubble: Wright State
Butler is the No. 2 seed in the Horizon Tournament, but still the pick here.
Ivy League (1)
Projected champ: Penn
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Penn is in clear control of the Ivy League.
MAAC (1)
Projected champ: Marist
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Marist hasn't lost since Jan. 30 at Manhattan.
MAC (1)
Projected champ: Toledo
At-large: None
Bubble: Akron
Toledo's win over Akron makes the Rockets the favorites in the MAC, but the Zips might be the better team.
MEAC (1)
Projected champ: Delaware State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Former Cincinnati player Roy Bright is leading Delaware State back to the NCAA Tournament.
Mid-Continent (1)
Projected champ: Oral Roberts
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Oral Roberts lost at Oakland, but the Golden Eagles are still the obvious pick in the Mid-Continent.
Missouri Valley (3)
Projected champ: Southern Illinois
At-large: Missouri State, Creighton
Bubble: Bradley
Expect SIU to get a No. 2 seed if it wins the MVC Tournament.
Mountain West (3)
Projected champ: BYU
At-large: UNLV, Air Force
Bubble: San Diego State
Air Force has dropped three consecutive games.
Northeast (1)
Projected champ: Central Connecticut State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Central Connecticut State plays Mount Saint Mary's in a tournament semifinal Sunday.
Ohio Valley (1)
Projected champ: Austin Peay
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Drake Reed is averaging 16 points per game for Austin Peay.
Pac-10 (6)
Projected champ: UCLA
At-large: Washington State, USC, Arizona, Oregon, Stanford
Bubble: None
The Bruins secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with Thursday's win at Washington State.
Patriot League (1)
Projected champ: Holy Cross
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Holy Cross is at home the rest of the Patriot League Tournament.
SEC (4)
Projected champ: Florida
At-large: Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Bubble: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia
Georgia Tech's win over North Carolina bumped Alabama out of the field.
Southern (1)
Projected champ: Davidson
At-large: None
Bubble: Appalachian State
This is very close to being a two-bid league, but just not quite there.
Southland (1)
Projected champ: Sam Houston State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Sam Houston State and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi will play for the regular-season title this weekend.
Sun Belt (1)
Projected champ: South Alabama
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Three straight losses is no way to close the regular season, but that's how South Alabama did it.
SWAC (1)
Projected champ: Mississippi Valley State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Only one Mississippi Valley State player, Stanford Speech, is averaging double figures in points.
WAC (1)
Projected champ: Nevada
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Nevada's loss at Utah State will cost Mark Fox's team on Selection Sunday even though it's not a terrible defeat.
West Coast (1)
Projected champ: Gonzaga
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Despite all their problems, the 'Zags still won their seventh consecutive WCC regular-season title.
By Gary Parrish
CBS SportsLine.com Sports Writer
Tell Gary your opinion!
Updated morning of March 2
CBS SportsLine.com's projections of the 65 schools that will make up this year's NCAA Tournament.
The Ivy League regular-season champion earns an automatic bid, as do the winners of the 30 conference tournaments. At-large bids are handed out to 34 additional schools, based on the strength of their regular seasons (which takes into account won-loss record, conference mark and strength of schedule).
Bubble teams
Last four in: West Virginia, Old Dominion, Drexel, Georgia Tech
Last four out: Alabama, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Appalachian State
Bids by conference
America East (1)
Projected champ: Vermont
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Vermont finished the regular season with a 23-6 record.
ACC (7)
Projected champ: Virginia
At-large: North Carolina, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech
Bubble: Clemson, Florida State
Georgia Tech's win over North Carolina gets the Yellow Jackets in the field, for now.
Atlantic Sun (1)
Projected champ: East Tennessee State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
ETSU, led by Courtney Pigram, went 16-2 in the Atlantic Sun this season.
Atlantic 10 (1)
Projected champ: Xavier
At-large: None
Bubble: UMass
UMass is 1-4 against the top 50 with 18 of their 22 victories coming against teams rated outside the Top 100 at CollegeRPI.com.
Big East (8)
Projected champ: Georgetown
At-large: Pittsburgh, Marquette, Villanova, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse
Bubble: Providence, DePaul
Syracuse's big win over Georgetown secured a place in the field.
Big Sky (1)
Projected champ: Weber State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Weber State and Northern Arizona each finished with 11 league victories.
Big South (1)
Projected champ: Winthrop
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Winthrop's win at Missouri State makes it a legitimate at-large candidate, just in case.
Big Ten (5)
Projected champ: Ohio State
At-large: Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State
Bubble: Illinois, Michigan
Iowa's loss at Penn State probably cost the Hawkeyes a chance at an at-large bid. Now can they burst Illinois' bubble Saturday?
Big 12 (4)
Projected champ: Kansas
At-large: Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech
Bubble: Kansas State, Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State helped itself with a Tuesday win over Kansas State, but the Cowboys still lack a road win.
Big West (1)
Projected champ: Long Beach State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Long Beach State won its first Big West regular-season title in 11 years.
Colonial (3)
Projected champ: Virginia Commonwealth
At-large: Old Dominion, Drexel
Bubble: None
Old Dominion's early win at Georgetown is looking better and better these days. :00hour
Conference USA (1)
Projected champ: Memphis
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Memphis hasn't lost since it was at Arizona on Dec. 20.
Horizon League (1)
Projected champ: Butler
At-large: None
Bubble: Wright State
Butler is the No. 2 seed in the Horizon Tournament, but still the pick here.
Ivy League (1)
Projected champ: Penn
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Penn is in clear control of the Ivy League.
MAAC (1)
Projected champ: Marist
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Marist hasn't lost since Jan. 30 at Manhattan.
MAC (1)
Projected champ: Toledo
At-large: None
Bubble: Akron
Toledo's win over Akron makes the Rockets the favorites in the MAC, but the Zips might be the better team.
MEAC (1)
Projected champ: Delaware State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Former Cincinnati player Roy Bright is leading Delaware State back to the NCAA Tournament.
Mid-Continent (1)
Projected champ: Oral Roberts
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Oral Roberts lost at Oakland, but the Golden Eagles are still the obvious pick in the Mid-Continent.
Missouri Valley (3)
Projected champ: Southern Illinois
At-large: Missouri State, Creighton
Bubble: Bradley
Expect SIU to get a No. 2 seed if it wins the MVC Tournament.
Mountain West (3)
Projected champ: BYU
At-large: UNLV, Air Force
Bubble: San Diego State
Air Force has dropped three consecutive games.
Northeast (1)
Projected champ: Central Connecticut State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Central Connecticut State plays Mount Saint Mary's in a tournament semifinal Sunday.
Ohio Valley (1)
Projected champ: Austin Peay
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Drake Reed is averaging 16 points per game for Austin Peay.
Pac-10 (6)
Projected champ: UCLA
At-large: Washington State, USC, Arizona, Oregon, Stanford
Bubble: None
The Bruins secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with Thursday's win at Washington State.
Patriot League (1)
Projected champ: Holy Cross
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Holy Cross is at home the rest of the Patriot League Tournament.
SEC (4)
Projected champ: Florida
At-large: Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Bubble: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia
Georgia Tech's win over North Carolina bumped Alabama out of the field.
Southern (1)
Projected champ: Davidson
At-large: None
Bubble: Appalachian State
This is very close to being a two-bid league, but just not quite there.
Southland (1)
Projected champ: Sam Houston State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Sam Houston State and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi will play for the regular-season title this weekend.
Sun Belt (1)
Projected champ: South Alabama
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Three straight losses is no way to close the regular season, but that's how South Alabama did it.
SWAC (1)
Projected champ: Mississippi Valley State
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Only one Mississippi Valley State player, Stanford Speech, is averaging double figures in points.
WAC (1)
Projected champ: Nevada
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Nevada's loss at Utah State will cost Mark Fox's team on Selection Sunday even though it's not a terrible defeat.
West Coast (1)
Projected champ: Gonzaga
At-large: None
Bubble: None
Despite all their problems, the 'Zags still won their seventh consecutive WCC regular-season title.
