Preseason Field of 68

SelectionSunday

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
24,183
Reaction score
3,987
Points
113
Last year 38 of 68 in preseason projection made NCAA tourney.

*Denotes projected champion in multi-bid conference

ROAD TO PHOENIX
America East (1): New Hampshire

American (3): Cincinnati, *Connecticut, Memphis

ACC (7): Clemson, *Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia

Atlantic Sun (1): Florida Gulf Coast

Atlantic 10 (4): *Dayton, La Salle, Rhode Island, VCU

Big East (5): Creighton, Georgetown, Seton Hall, *Villanova, Xavier

Big Sky (1): North Dakota

Big South (1): Winthrop

B1G (7): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, *Purdue, Wisconsin

Big XII (5): Baylor, Iowa State, *Kansas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia

Big West (1): Long Beach State

Colonial (1): Hofstra

Conference USA (1): Middle Tennessee

Horizon (1): Valparaiso

Ivy (1): Princeton

Metro Atlantic (1): Siena

MAC (1): Akron

MEAC (1): Norfolk State

Missouri Valley (2): *Illinois State, Wichita State

Mountain West (1): San Diego State

Northeast (1): Wagner

Ohio Valley (1): Morehead State

Pac 12 (6): *Arizona, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, UCLA, Washington

Patriot (1): Bucknell

SEC (4): Arkansas, Florida, *Kentucky, Texas A&M

Southern (1): Chattanooga

Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin

SWAC (1): Texas Southern

Summit (1): Fort Wayne

Sun Belt (1): Louisiana

West Coast (3): BYU, *Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s

WAC (1): New Mexico State

Last 4 In: La Salle, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Washington

First 4 Out: Maryland, Notre Dame, Stanford, UAB

Non-Power 6 At-Large (8): BYU, Cincinnati, La Salle, Memphis, Rhode Island, Saint Mary’s, VCU, Wichita State

Others Considered (8): Alabama, Butler, Houston, Nevada, Penn State, SMU, Texas, Virginia Tech

MISCELLANEOUS
5 Sleepers: Colorado, Illinois, Illinois State, Memphis, Rhode Island

Final 4: Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Syracuse

National Champion: Kansas

Gophers Regular Season Prediction: 17-14 overall, 7-11 B1G, #11 seed for B1G Tournament
 

Projected B1G Non-Conference Records

Michigan (12-1)
Ohio State (12-1)
Wisconsin (12-1)
Maryland (11-2)
Purdue (11-2)
Indiana (10-3)
Illinois (9-4)
Iowa (9-4)
Michigan State (9-4)
GOPHERS (9-4)
Northwestern (9-4)
Penn State (9-4)
Rutgers (9-4)
Nebraska (7-5)
 

Michigan (12-1)
Ohio State (12-1)
Wisconsin (12-1)
Maryland (11-2)
Purdue (11-2)
Indiana (10-3)
Illinois (9-4)
Iowa (9-4)
Michigan State (9-4)
GOPHERS (9-4)
Northwestern (9-4)
Penn State (9-4)
Rutgers (9-4)
Nebraska (7-5)

Who do you have the Gophers losing to?
 


Arkansas, Florida State, and Northern Illinois (gotta' have at least one upset).

The potential 4th a wildcard, perhaps Louisiana, Texas-Arlington, or Vandy?

How bad is St. John's to not warrant a mention on this list?
 


How bad is St. John's to not warrant a mention on this list?

St. John's should be a lot better, similar to the Gophers. I just think that's the one Power 6 game the Gophers absolutely will not lose.

For what it's worth, 4 Gophers non-conference opponents have a better preseason KenPom ranking than the #71 Gophers:

#40 Florida State
#53 Arkansas
#64 Vanderbilt
#67 Texas-Arlington
 

Preseason KenPom ranking of all Gopher opponents

Gophers are #71. If they lose to all the teams ranked ahead of them and beat all those behind, they'd finish 13-18, 4-14 in the B1G. My expectation is they top those win numbers by about 3, perhaps 4.

#8 Wisconsin (2)
#13 Ohio State (2)
#14 Michigan State (2)
#15 Purdue (A)
#16 Indiana (H)
#31 Michigan (H)
#40 Florida State (A)
#48 Maryland (2)
#53 Arkansas (H)
#55 Iowa (H)
#61 Northwestern (A)
#64 Vanderbilt (N)
#67 Texas-Arlington (H)
#70 Illinois (A)
#87 Nebraska (H)
#98 Penn State (2)
#108 Saint John's (H)
#127 Northern Illinois (H)
#139 Georgia Southern (H)
#160 Louisiana (H)
#164 Southern Illinois (H)
#191 Rutgers (H)
#207 NJIT (H)
#281 Arkansas State (H)
#290 Mount Saint Mary's (H)
#304 Long Island (H)
 

Agree with the exception being the Mountain West. Eric Musselman will have the Nevada Wolfpack in the dance.
 

Agree with the exception being the Mountain West. Eric Musselman will have the Nevada Wolfpack in the dance.

Very possible, Ruppert. Thinking the Wolfpack are right there, but perhaps a year away. If they're in NCAA this season I'd expect at least a few major programs to be interested in him.
 



3 teams to pay attention to in B1G

Illinois

Ohio State

Purdue

Like all 3, with the Boilers as my B1G champ, OSU as a contender, and the Illini as the best of the question marks.
 


How Did I Do?

For the second straight year, 38 of the 68 teams (55.9%) I projected in the preseason to make the NCAA Tournament did so. Try to be in the low to mid 40s. The ones I got right (alphabetically):

Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Bucknell, Cincinnati, Creighton, Dayton, Duke, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Princeton, Purdue, Rhode Island, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, Texas Southern, UCLA, Villanova, Virginia, VCU, West Virginia, Wichita State, Winthrop, Wisconsin, Xavier

Some Home Runs: Arkansas, Bucknell, North Dakota, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, Winthrop

Some Swings & Misses: La Salle, Memphis, Ohio State, Pitt, UConn, Washington

3 of my preseason Final 4 are still playing (Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas), the other (Syracuse) was correctly sent packing to the NIT. Kansas was my preseason pick to cut down the nets.

And Ruppert, excellent call on Nevada in this thread. Saw Wolfpack in person in Milwaukee, a very impressive, though not very deep group of players. If everyone returns next season and their transfers are as good as advertised, Nevada could be a second weekend team in 2017-18.
 




Top Bottom