ESPN does a phenomenal job predicting the NCAA Tournament field. At this point there are a couple of conferences that have been given one too many bids and a couple that have been dissed.
Despite what Butler was able to do last year, the Horizon deserves no more than one team. The conference champion should go...that's it. Butler, Cleveland State, and Valpo have beaten nobody. Giving this conference more than one bid is a mistake.
The SEC deserves no more than 5 teams. Georgia beat Kentucky earlier in the year, but have no other quality wins. I'm sorry, but 7-5 in the SEC at this point in the year is not impressive. Tennessee should be the last team in for the SEC, and they deserve no better than an 11 seed. I don't care that they beat Vandy tonight...this league is sub-par.
The Big 12 is similar to the SEC. Nebraska and Kansas State have beaten Kansas, but nobody else of consequence. While the giant killer wins are impressive, most of the Big 12 is awful. Four teams from this league is fair...five tops.
The Atlantic 10 can make a sound argument for 3 teams in the field. Temple and Xavier are locks at this point, but Richmond and Duquesne can make a case as well. The A-10 is just as competitive a league as the SEC this year and is better than the PAC-10. Furthermore, the A-10 is a half a step behind the ACC. More will be revealed when we see Temple play Duke this week, but I suspect the Owls will hang tough.
We'll see how things shape up, but the PAC 10, SEC and BIG 12 should not be given the number of bids that ESPN has slotted for them.
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