Friday NCAAB Rooting Interests
Before I start, a win today makes this entire thread useless. Beat Illinois and we can discuss seeding instead of inclusion.
That said, here is a list of rooting interests for today's games:
Xavier over Dayton-Xavier is a lock and we want them to win the A-10. Dayton won 68-67. Ugh.
UNC over Miami-Same as above. UNC won.
NW over OSU-Cheering for NW is a lot easier and fun provided they don't make a run at the B1G title. We can deal with NW when we beat Illinois, so go NW. OSU won in OT.
Georgia over Alabama-Georgia probably has a better shot at an at-large then Alabama. Root for Georgia. Bama won.
Clemson over BC-Might be a play-in game but we beat Clemson on the road.
Saint Joseph's over Duquesne-Duquesne has a much better chance at grabbing the A-10 title which would be bad.
Kentucky over Mississippi State-SEC locks winning is a plus.
Tulsa-UTEP/Memphis-ECU-Tossup. UTEP and Memphis are both on the bubble and only one can win the CUSA. UTEP winning the tourney helps as their RPI rises, but it's always dicey cheering for other bubble teams. If either wins, pray they win tomorrow as well. If they both win today, you want UTEP to win tomorrow. Otherwise hope both UTEP and Memphis implode today.
Temple over La Salle-Temple's a lock.
Purdue over Sparty-Derp.
UConn-Syracuse-No real rooting interest. Just remember that last time they met in this tournament it went 6 OT's. Good Friday evening television.
Kansas over Colorado-Colorado probably leapfrogged us yesterday. Let's try and reverse that.
Duke over Maryland-Duke's a lock.
Wisconsin over PSU-Derp.
Rhode Island over Richmond-Richmond's a bubble team and a loss to URI could cripple them.
Utah State over San Jose State-You do not want anyone but Utah State to win the WAC.
BYU over New Mexico-New Mexico would have a season sweep of BYU with a win. That could very well put them in.
Arizona over USC-USC probably steals a bid with a win in this game, either by at-large or having an easier opponent in the final.
FSU over VTech-FSU's a lock, VTech isn't.
Weber State over St.Mary's-Why are they even playing??? Anyway, a loss to Weber St kicks St.Mary's out.
Vandy over Miss St.-Vandy's a lock.
Washington over Oregon-I tossed up on this one since Washington's a bubble team but I think they've done enough to get an at-large at this point. With bid-stealers in both Pac-10 semifinals, we really want to see and Arizona-Washington final.
Now that that's done, GO BLUE! BEAT THE ILLINI!
March 11th, 2011 at 10:40 AM ^
but think the Washington one is pretty clear. Washington is a solid 10 on the Matrix right now, and I don't think they can fall out of the tourney. The Pac 10 tourney is a bit of a mess at the moment, and we really want chalk.
March 11th, 2011 at 10:48 AM ^
are really insigficant at this point. Projections right now are based on the idea that one or two teams that was unlikely to get in sneak in, so I would not pay much attention to other conference tourneys with regard to our tourney hopes.
Here is the bottom line, IMO. Big Ten will get six teams. There are seven teams with hope (or guaranteed) for a spot. Three possibilities for M to get into the tourney. 1. Michigan beats Illinois, nothing else matters. 2. Penn State loses today. 3. Michigan State loses today. There is no feasible way that the committee could snub Michigan if any of the above takes place. With 6 getting in, the only outcome today that will cause significant concern for M is if M loses, and both PSU and MSU pull the upset. I still think at that point, M would be in assuming Penn State does not go all Cinderella to the BTT tourney finals, due to our sweep over them in the season and their less than impressive overall record.
March 11th, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^
the Committee doesn't go "the Big 10 was the 2nd best conference -- it gets 6 teams." If there are 6 teams with deserving resumes, 6 will get in. If there are only 3, 3 will get in.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
this is really flawed logic.
1) projections assume that the top seed in each conference tournament will win the auto-bid; there is no cushion built in for bid-stealers.
2) out of conference bubble team losses are incredibly important IF we lose to illinois (which we won't). while i don't think a loss to illinois would damage our resume too much, it gives every team behind us a chance to improve their resume and jump over us while we remain stagnant. we went bubble teams to lose. at least until 4:00, when our victory of illinois is complete and we can stop caring.
March 11th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^
I know that you were half serious, but we need OSU to solidify themselves as the overall #1 seed. If Michigan can't win the BTT, let's hope OSU does. An OSU loss to Northwestern would most certainly knock them out of #1 overall. This could damage the Big Ten's rep as the second best conference in the country which could, in turn, hurt the chances for 6 invites.
March 11th, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^
The Big XII isn't going to unseat us as #2 at this point. Not when they're only playing themselves and the top 3 seeds are still around.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
But the ACC certainly could.
The Big 10, Big 12, and ACC all have an argument for 6 teams but, with so much uncertainty over the next few days, there is no gauarantee that any of the conferences get 6 teams. Having the #1 overall seed will certainly help the Big 10's case more than it could hurt it.
March 11th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^
I have been looking at this game as a must win. This game is on the same level as the MSU game last Saturday. It sucks being on the brink like this but the positive outlook is that Michigan is in control of their destiny and is not relying upon other teams to lose just to be considered in the tourney.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:05 AM ^
And taking a step back, I think almost everyone on this board would have killed to be on the bubble at this time when the season started.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^
We always want more.
Missing the tournament won't be a disappointment, but it would be disappointing.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:07 AM ^
I'm going to use the KISS principle here and reduce my rooting to a couple of teams. As long as Michigan wins, and MSU loses, I think things will be just fine.
My main concern is MSU getting a "courtesy bid" based on past years' performance. That could mean that Michigan has to watch a team they swept get in ahead of them. That would slightly diminish the speed at which Michigan is overtaking MSU to once again become the dominant instate program.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
Yeah, I know. I'm really hoping we just win today and I can not have to keep track of 30ish games to get an idea of how we're doing.
March 11th, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
Root for Syracuse, and not just for me, SU is a former Michigan opponent.
March 11th, 2011 at 12:23 PM ^
well it looks like we're screwed re xavier. they're losing 21-3 half way through the first half.
March 11th, 2011 at 12:24 PM ^
Every year, the A-10 does it's best to blow everything up.
Not a great start to the day...
Northwestern is hanging in there with the Bucks. Go 'Cats! It could clear a nice path for us if we win today.
All the games have gotten closer:
Ohio State looks like they'll pull this out
Xavier has a 1 point lead
NC has tied it up with 30seconds left.
Dayton pulled off the upset but North Carolina and OSU won.