Continuing at our look at all of the conferences today has a few more of our Mid Majors. Parts 1 and 2 are viewable from the archive on the right and you can get a full list of teams by conference from the Countdown to 68 in the tabs above.
The Colonial Athletic Association has produced some of the best story lines in college basketball in some of the past few tournaments and has produced some solid bubble candidates along the way as well. But this year they've taken a step back and have no at large candidates. They will be getting one bid this year and no more. Of the eleven teams in the conference, only seven will play in the conference tournament. Towson and UNC Wilmington are ineligible to participate in the postseason due to low Academic Progress Ratings. Georgia State and Old Dominion are barred from the tournament by the conference due to the fact they are leaving the conference after this season. That leaves Northeastern, Delaware, George Mason, James Madison, Drexel, William & Mary, and Hofstra alive to compete for the automatic berth. Northeastern has clinched the top seed in the conference and will be the team to beat, but any of the seven could come out with the bid. The tournament will be taking place March 9-11, with the championship game on March 11 televised on NBCSN.
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Conference USA is interesting this year as it will be the last time the conference looks the way it does. Four members - Memphis, UCF, Houston, and SMU - will be joining the Big East next year. Most of the conference will be relying on the automatic bid in order to make the tournament, with UTEP, East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, Marshall, Houston, SMU, and Rice needing to win the tournament. UCF is ineligible for the postseason and will not be playing in the conference tournament due to NCAA sanctions. The tournament will be held from March 13-16 with the championship game on March 16 televised on CBS.
At Large Contenders:
Memphis has been the front-runner in the conference from the beginning and still has yet to lose a game in conference. However, a closer look at their profile suggests some cause for concern. A season sweep of Southern Miss has been their best win, although Tennessee's late season surge helps as well. The rest of their schedule provides no more opportunities for good wins, and they'll want to avoid any bad losses before the conference tournament final. Taking the automatic bid would be the safest bet for Memphis at this point.
Southern Miss has a similar profile to Memphis, except they have lost both games to Memphis in conference and have no other good wins to show off. There are no terrible losses, but they'll wish the loss to UCF wasn't on the profile. Unfortunately for Southern Miss, there are no other opportunities for good wins left this season, and they won't play Memphis again unless both teams reach the conference championship game. It would probably be in Southern Miss's best interest to win the championship if they want to get to the tournament.
BID THIEF ALERT: In my opinion, Memphis will be in the tournament regardless, and if they win the conference tournament this will be a one bid league. If any other team were to take the automatic bid from Conference USA, it would steal an at large bid from someone else in the country.
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The Horizon League features a couple of promising schools, but none that could make a serious case for an at large bid. The winner of the conference tournament will be the only school in the tournament this season. All nine schools will participate in the conference tournament, and until they are eliminated during the tournament are alive for the automatic berth. The contenders from the Horizon are, in order of current standings: Valparaiso, Detroit, Green Bay, Wright State, Illinois-Chicago, Youngstown State, Cleveland State, Loyola-Chicago, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Valparaiso and Detroit will be the favorites, but until eliminated any of them could take the automatic bid. The tournament will take place from March 5-12 with the championship game coming on March 12, television channel TBD.
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The Ivy League remains the only conference that gets an automatic bid that does not hold a conference tournament. The regular season champion will get the automatic bid, and no one else in the conference will be receiving an at large. As of today, most teams have four more games to play in conference. Harvard leads the way so far, and Princeton would be its only true contender. Cornell and Yale aren't officially eliminated from contention, but would need a miracle to make overtake Harvard. Penn, Brown, Columbia, and Dartmouth are officially out of contention for the automatic bid.
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The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is another conference destined to become a one bid league. The tournament champion will obtain the automatic berth and everyone else will be left waiting for next year. All ten teams in the conference are eligible and will be participating, and the contenders are, in order of current standings: Niagara, Loyola (MD), Canisius, Rider, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Siena, and St Peters. All teams are alive until the tournament begins. It will take place from March 8-11, with the automatic bid being awarded on March 11 and televised on ESPN.
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The Mid-American Conference (MAC) has occasionally put some teams in the tournament that can make a run, and as recently as last year's Ohio team that made the sweet 16. Most years they only get one team into the tournament, and this year could be the same as almost every school will need to win the conference tournament in order to make the NCAA tournament. Toledo is ineligible for the postseason due to low Academic Progress Ratings, but the other eleven teams in the conference will all participate in the conference tournament. The teams that will need to claim the automatic bid are Ohio, Kent State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami (OH), Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Northern Illinois, and Central Michigan. Only Akron would have the opportunity to make the tournament if they fail to claim the automatic bid. The tournament will take place March 11-16, with the final televised on March 16 on ESPN2.
At Large Contenders:
Akron leads the way in the MAC with a perfect conference record so far. Their best win is over highly rated Middle Tennessee State, but they also carry a bad loss from early in the season to Coastal Carolina. If they fail to obtain the automatic bid from the MAC tournament, they will remain in the discussion for an at large berth, but certainly wouldn't feel confident about it on Selection Sunday. Their best bet remains to take care of business in the MAC and walk out with a conference tournament championship.
BID THIEF ALERT: No guarantees here, but if Akron does not take the automatic bid, they will remain in the hunt for an at large spot. They are not guaranteed an at large, but will be an extra team added to the bubble which if selected, would take a spot from someone else.
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More to come tomorrow, and hopefully should have all conference to-date posts done by this weekend, at which point we'll take a closer look at the games that will have an impact on the field the rest of the way.
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