With an eye toward March...
Power-conference mediocrity was supposed to be a blessing for mid-majors. But analysts everywhere are rewarding the big six conferences for their own weakness.
There are 34 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament and, while opinions vary from week to week, the consensus seems to be that those six conferences will get somewhere between 28 and 30 of those bids. How did this happen?
While the mid-majors certainly have not risen to the occasion, the power-conference teams have done themselves a favor beating up on one another. Now, average-level teams that would have been ignored in the past are going to reach 20 wins and be .500 in conference play – two near-gold standards of the past.
The premier Bracketology expert, ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi, had a record nine – NINE! – ACC teams in his projected field just last week. With the Mountain West Conference a near-lock to steal two of those remaining at-larges, it seems all of the progress made by George Mason, Wichita State and Bradley last season will be negated and one of the most exciting NCAA Tournaments in history will be succeeded by the one with the most blowouts.
Unless you think Oklahoma State (19-8, 5-7) will be competitive against the likes of Virginia Tech.
Questions or Comments?
Contact Ryan at rdunleav@hotmail.com.