Last Eight In: Texas Tech, UCLA, San Diego State, VCU, Seton Hall, St. Joseph’s, Gonzaga, Utah
First Eight Out: Oregon State, Syracuse, LSU, Stanford, BYU, Ohio State, Marquette, Mississippi
There is certainly parity in college basketball this season. While last year at this time we were wondering if Kentucky would ever lose, this year the #1 spot has rotated through a plethora of teams. The parity is not just on the national level though, it is also in conferences from the NEC to the Pac-12. In the Pac-12, ten teams still have a legitimate shot at making the NCAA Tournament, with Arizona State and Washington State being the two on the outside. It will be tough for the conference to get eight teams in, but that is what we are projecting right now. It is highly unlikely that any team will run away with the conference title, so there should be a slew of teams hovering around .500. And thanks to strong nonconference play as a whole, for most teams a .500 record in Pac-12 action will be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. The ACC is in a similar situation with their 15 teams. But unlike the Pac-12, it is feasible that somebody like North Carolina and/or Louisville will run out ahead of everybody else, handing out plenty of losses along the way.
ACC: Duke, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Virginia
American: Connecticut
Big East: Butler, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, Xavier
Big 12: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Big Ten: Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue
Pac-12: Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington
SEC: Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas A&M
A-10: Dayton, George Washington, St. Joseph’s, VCU
CAA: James Madison
C-USA: UAB
Horizon: Valparaiso
MAC: Kent State
MVC: Wichita State
MWC: Boise State, San Diego State
WCC: Gonzaga, St. Mary’s
America East: Stony Brook
A-Sun: North Florida
Big Sky: Montana
Big South: High Point
Big West: UC Irvine
Ivy League: Harvard
MAAC: Monmouth
MEAC: Norfolk State
NEC: Wagner
OVC: Belmont
Patriot: Navy
Southern: Mercer
Southland: Stephen F. Austin
Summit: South Dakota State
Sun Belt: Georgia State
SWAC: Jackson State
WAC: New Mexico State
