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Projecting the Field - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Sports News
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Projecting the Field

Palm's projections: Fun with fliers

Updated Nov. 9

It was this time last year that I projected a North Carolina vs. Louisville title game.

Is that what materialized?

No.

But both schools did earn No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament -- point being that I was solid with that projection, and there's reason to believe I'll be solid again this season because I value talent over pretty much everything else. The most talented teams are typically safe bets to play on the first Monday in April.

So put me down for Kansas (lots of future pros) vs. Kentucky (lots of future pros) in the title game, for a rematch of that Bill Self/John Calipari showdown from two years ago. And though I can't guarantee Calipari will again be ahead nine points with two minutes left, what I can guarantee is that he'll win if he is because it's impossible to blow two leads like that in one lifetime.

Anyway, the field ...

The Seeds

 

Last four in: Utah State, San Diego State, UTEP, UNLV
Last four out: Florida, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Florida State

Quick Breakdown

Conference Bids Conference Bids Conference Bids Conference Bids
ACC 6 Big 12 6 MEAC 1 Southern 1
America East 1 Big West 1 Missouri Valley 2 Southland 1
Atlantic Sun 1 Colonial 1 Mountain West 3 Summit 1
Atlantic 10 2 C-USA 2 Northeast 1 Sun Belt 1
Big East 8 Horizon 1 Ohio Valley 1 SWAC 1
Big Sky 1 Ivy 1 Pac-10 3 WAC 2
Big South 1 MAAC 1 Patriot 1 West Coast 1
Big Ten 6 MAC 1 SEC 5    

Detailed Breakdown

ACC (6)
Projected champ: North Carolina
At-large: Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest
On the fence: Florida State, Virginia Tech, Boston College
 
AMERICA EAST (1)
Projected champ: Boston University
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
ATLANTIC 10 (2)
Projected champ: Dayton
At-large: Xavier
On the fence: Richmond, La Salle
 
ATLANTIC SUN (1)
Projected champ: Jacksonville
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
BIG 12 (6)
Projected champ: Kansas
At-large: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State
On the fence: Missouri
 
BIG EAST (8)
Projected champ: Villanova
At-large: Connecticut, West Virginia, Louisville, Georgetown, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Cincinnati
On the fence: Pittsburgh, Seton Hall
 
BIG SKY (1)
Projected champ: Weber State
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
BIG SOUTH (1)
Projected champ: Radford
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
BIG TEN (6)
Projected champ: Michigan State
At-large: Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota
On the fence: Wisconsin
 
BIG WEST (1)
Projected champ: Long Beach State
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
COLONIAL (1)
Projected champ: Old Dominion
At-large: None
On the fence: VCU
 
CONFERENCE USA (2)
Projected champ: Tulsa
At-large: UTEP
On the fence: Memphis
 
HORIZON (1)
Projected champ: Butler
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
IVY LEAGUE (1)
Projected champ: Cornell
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
MAAC (1)
Projected champ: Siena
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
MAC (1)
Projected champ: Akron
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
MEAC (1)
Projected champ: Morgan State
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
MISSOURI VALLEY (2)
Projected champ: Northern Iowa
At-large: Creighton
On the fence: Illinois State
 
MOUNTAIN WEST (3)
Projected champ: BYU
At-large: San Diego State, UNLV
On the fence: Utah, New Mexico
 
NORTHEAST (1)
Projected champ: Mt. St. Mary's
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
OHIO VALLEY (1)
Projected champ: Morehead State
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
PAC-10 (3)
Projected champ: Washington
At-large: California, UCLA
On the fence: Arizona
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE (1)
Projected champ: Holy Cross
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
SEC (5)
Projected champ: Kentucky
At-large: Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina
On the fence: Florida, Vanderbilt
 
SOUTHERN (1)
Projected champ: Charleston
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
SOUTHLAND (1)
Projected champ: Sam Houston State
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE (1)
Projected champ: Oakland
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
SUN BELT (1)
Projected champ: Western Kentucky
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
SWAC (1)
Projected champ: Jackson State
At-large: None
On the fence: None
 
WAC (2)
Projected champ: Nevada
At-large: Utah State
On the fence: None
 
WEST COAST (1)
Projected champ: Gonzaga
At-large: None
On the fence: Portland
 
 
 
For more from Gary Parrish, check him out on Twitter: @GaryParrishCBS
 

Talk Back
Reputation:87
Level:All-Star
Since:Sep 5, 2009

November 11, 2009 11:46 pm
Kentucky and Kansas are clearly much better than the rest of the teams in the NCAA.  Most people with a somewhat working knowledge of college basketball realize this fact.  The talent level at UK and KU are superior than any of the other teams. 

My predictions are much like yours.  Although, I would go ahead and say Kentucky will beat Kansas in the finals.  At
...(more)
Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 1, 2006

November 17, 2009 11:03 am
Now, i'm not saying they'll beat Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Ok St. like they did last year, but, outside of the top 2, I think they have as good of a shot as any, and i think they'll lock up a return to the Tournament. With the way they play, its going to be hard to keep up, and next season, with 2 Top 54 Recruits (according to Rivals) in Tony Mitchell and Phil Pressey, The Tigers under Ande ...(more)
Reputation:86
Level:All-Star
Since:Mar 30, 2009

November 9, 2009 9:50 pm
Parrish you are smoking weed to truly believe UNC is a #1 seed.  All this love for the National chumps are a joke.  You better watch out for Maryland and Vasquez.  My Terps are loaded and have depth at every position.  If their front court develops my late in the season this is a dangerous team that will contend for the title.  UNC will not even touch Maryland this year.&n ...(more)
Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Jun 4, 2008

November 9, 2009 11:09 pm
does 2 titles make up for 3 straight years of failure?

I really disagree. We're much improved over last year. Last year we had Calathes, a guy who his teammates hated. He was a jerk, and although he had high assist numbers, was a selfish punk. Why else would he go to Greece? Boynton is a better talent than him, and also has one key attribute that Nick had NONE of. That's Clutch. Throw i
...(more)
Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 4, 2006

November 10, 2009 1:25 pm
What up y'all it that time of year again and I know we are all ready to battle, Yes my choice to win it all is the Univ. of Cinn., yes mark it down, take it to the bank for those that live near Vegas, we will see a Cinny victory this year.  My new comer of the year is going to be Lance, he remind's me of a smaller version of Carmelo, and we all know what Carmelo did for the Cuse.  Cinn p ...(more)
Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Jan 14, 2008

November 9, 2009 4:28 pm
Kentucky?  I dont think so.  Yes Kentucky is loaded with young talent, but that is just it.  They are young.  They are lacking senior leadership.  Generally, teams that succeed in the tournament have a mature ball handler / leader.  Uk does not have that.  No one on that team is a leader like Derrick Rose was.  Uk will be good, but I dont think they will&nbs ...(more)
Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Dec 21, 2006

November 10, 2009 6:59 pm
how come every year the MAC gets no respect, yet almost every year, there is a team from there that makes noise in the tourney? 

akron as a #13 seed??  they return 10 of their top 11 scorers and recruited one of the top big men in the country......

GO ZIPS!!!!!
Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Feb 4, 2008

November 9, 2009 3:44 pm
I love Butler, and I root for them to do well.  However, there is no freaking way they get a 3 seed.  For them to get a 3 seed they would have to have only 1 loss.  They will lose more than that and when they do the selection committee will kill them.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong but they got a 9 seed last year after going 26-5,  they got a 7 s ...(more)
Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 23, 2006

November 10, 2009 9:27 pm
Gary, you must not be trying to ACTUALLY predict seedings, or be accurate, because there is no way three teams form one conference get the same seed. Absolutely no way. Oh and Ohio State's a 3 or 4, Michigan is a 6 or 7, and illinois will be a 4 or 5. I'm sure this sounds nitpicky, but I guess that's just about standards...
Reputation:91
Level:All-Star
Since:Feb 13, 2009

November 10, 2009 6:46 pm
Parrish, I can tell that you don't follow the Atlantic 10 very much. You think that Dayton is very good, because you don't pay attention to how they do on the road. Not that impressive. I don't think they lost a home game  last year and they were an 11 seed in the tournament. You have Richmond on the fence, and not Temple and Dusquesne who will both at least be on the bubble this year.
Reputation:94
Level:All-Star
Since:Oct 15, 2008

November 9, 2009 3:26 pm
Will be no lower than a four when all is said and done. Non-Con sets up to play, and hopefully win, some big games. KSU gets Texas, A&M, and Okie State at home from the south.

Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 30, 2007

November 10, 2009 12:52 pm
They were a seven seed last year and they are probable much better having lost one player. They are well rounded and deep but just like the football team @ BC does every year, they will finish well ahead of what people predict.
Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 17, 2006

November 9, 2009 4:11 pm
I think anyone who projects the field in the preseason had North Carolina going to the title game against one of a few opponents. This isn't something to pat your back about, in fact it's pretty embarrassing that you feel the need to bring that up. I'd like to see some statistics on how well you projected the field back in November of 2008, and how it compared to the actual field come Mar ...(more)
Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Jun 26, 2009

November 9, 2009 6:30 pm
Pitt has lost a few players, but Jamie Dixon has gotten better as a coach and he no longer will settle for Pitt has a nice program.  They will make the NCAA this year and will struggle early.  Next year Pitt will be back on top of Big East, but to take them lightly this year would be a mistake.

Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 26, 2006

November 9, 2009 3:08 pm
Go ahead and count Wisconsin out. We've been there for the past 11 years, and we'll be there again.
 
 
 
 
Gary Parrish
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