Selection chair: Nothing 'magical' about .500 in league

The ACC remains No. 1. The Pac-10? It's now fourth. In between are the Big 12 (second) and the Big East (third), which had been third and fourth behind the Pac-10 until Wednesday.

That shift probably closes the door on the Pac-10's slimmest bubble hopefuls, Oregon State (16-13) and Arizona State (18-12), whose best argument for at-large consideration was their placement -- fifth and sixth -- in the country's second-best league. Finishing fifth and sixth in the country's fourth-best league? Enjoy the NIT.

Other items of interest

The tweak to the RPI, which now rewards road victories and punishes home losses rather than counting all wins (and losses) the same, has made a huge impact on a conference-by-conference scale -- leaping mid-majors like the West Coast, Missouri Valley and Mid-American conferences into the seventh, eighth and ninth RPI slots. But Bowlsby said the impact of the new RPI on the bracket will be minimal.

"I think it will look very similar to the fields we've had in the past," he said. "This is not a change in a system. ... I don't see it having any profound effect on the field, because (the RPI) is not a tool that ever has a profound effect on the tool."

• Bowlsby said he will be paying especially close attention to a handful of "critical matchups" in conference tournaments. He wouldn't say which ones, but our best guesses: Minnesota vs. Indiana in the Big Ten ... UAB vs. DePaul (if DePaul advances) in Conference USA ... Texas Tech vs. Iowa State (if Iowa State advances) in the Big 12 ... Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech in the ACC.
• Indiana was granted clemency for its 2-6 start. The Hoosiers (15-12) are 13-6 since late December, and CBS SportsLine.com projects they'll receive a bid if they beat Minnesota on Thursday. Here's what Bowlsby said: "We're looking for teams that are playing well the second half of the season, that are playing their best basketball. That doesn't mean you can ignore what happened in the first half of the season, but you're certainly looking to put the best 34 at-large teams into the tournament."
• Interpreting Bowlsby's measured words is like reading tea leaves, and the leaves didn't look kind to Southern Conference titan Davidson (21-8, 16-0), which joined Pacific of the Big West as the only teams to go unbeaten in league play. Asked if Davidson's rare league perfection would weigh heavily, Bowlsby said: "It's 16 games and 16 wins. It's like going undefeated in your non-conference. It's the same thing. Those games count the exact same."
• On the one hand, Bowlsby indicated picking the four No. 1 seeds wouldn't be as difficult this season as in some past years. On the other hand, he refused to anoint anyone -- even Illinois or UNC -- as No. 1 locks. Yeah ... right.
• Committee members have discussed making their RPI available to the public during the season but haven't decided to do so (yet?).