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America East (1)
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Conference champ: Vermont
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Catamounts PG T.J. Sorrentine is out with a wrist injury but will
return before the start of league play. His playmaking skills are
unmatched in the AEC and will ultimately be the difference in a
tight race with Boston U.
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ACC (6)
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Conference champ: Duke
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At-large: Maryland, Virginia, N.C. State, Georgia Tech,
North Carolina
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Bubble burst: Wake Forest
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Youth will have a significant say in this league's final at-large
bids. The performance of freshmen Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack
(GT), Ray Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May (UNC), and Eric
Williams, Justin Gray and Chris Ellis (Wake) will ultimately
determine the success of their teams.
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Atlantic Sun (1)
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Conference champ: Georgia State.
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Playing host to the league tournament should give the Panthers the
edge they need to get back to the NCAAs. Expect Hugh Durham's
Jacksonville team to pose a challenge, but winning in Atlanta is a
really tall order.
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Atlantic 10 (2)
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Conference champ: Xavier
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At-large: Richmond
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Bubble burst: Dayton, St. Bonaventure, UMass
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Xavier, by far the class of the league, should shepherd one of its
brethren into the tournament. The increased visibility the Muskies
receive will allow the nation to see the rest of the league's
improving teams. After receiving only one bid last year, the A-10
will rebound.
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Big East (6)
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Conference champ: Connecticut
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At-large: Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Georgetown, Notre Dame, St.
John's
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Bubble burst: Villanova, BC
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As has been the case the past few seasons, teams will play their
way in or out of the NCAAs in the league tournament. The overall
depth of the conference is terrific, with eight schools harboring
legitimate title aspirations. The six we're projecting are the
league's most balanced sides. BC boasts the Beast's top backcourt
but remains too thin up front. 'Nova is simply too young to swim
with the bigger sharks.
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Big Sky (1)
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Conference champ: Weber State
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Weber hasn't been back to the NCAA Tournament since Harold
Arceneaux stole the "Sheaux" by sending UNC packing in '99.
Bolstered by the return of top guard Jermaine Boyette and the
arrival of Ohio State transfer Slobodan Ocokoljic, the Wildcats
are favored to reappear in your bracket.
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Big South (1)
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Conference champ: UNC-Asheville
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All things must come to an end. Winthrop's run of four consecutive
NCAA Tournaments has been nice, but this is definitely the year
the rest of the league catches up. No fewer than four other
schools have legitimate reasons to feel this is their year, with
UNCA looming as the strongest candidate.
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Big Ten (5)
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Conference champ: Michigan State
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At-large: Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio State, Wisconsin
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Bubble burst: Illinois
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The Spartans, despite the loss of PG Marcus Taylor, are going to
be an absolute force. Not only do they have the nation's deepest
frontcourt rotation, they also figure to be just fine at the point
with sophomore Chris Hill adapting quickly. Dan Monson has
Minnesota on the cusp of big things, while Indiana's postseason
experience will make it dangerous. Rebuilding Illinois will be one
of the last team's left out.
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Big 12 (6)
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Conference champ: Texas
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At-large: Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa State, Texas Tech
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Bubble burst: Oklahoma State, Colorado, Texas A&M
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The nation's best conference has three potential No. 1 seeds, and
the best of the rest isn't bad either. Everyone knows about the
no-brainers at the top, but one team few know about is Iowa State,
which is poised to re-emerge after a one-year absence. JC transfer
Tim Barnes could be a household name by season's end.
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Big West (1)
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Conference champ: UC Santa Barbara
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Bubble burst: Utah State
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Mark Hull's 3-point shooting nearly shot down Arizona last year.
With him back to anchor a vetran supporting cast, the Gauchos are
going to be a threat to any team, anywhere. Utah State should be
used to getting snubbed by the selection committee by now; Desmond
Penigar and Co. could make a run in the NIT.
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Colonial (1)
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Conference champ: George Mason
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The Patriots are starting the season with seven scholarship
players but should have a couple of its injured players back for
the bulk of conference play. Chief among them is sophomore Lamar
Butler, who keys balances out the team's frontcourt advantage with
his shooting. If healthy, George Mason unseats defending champ
UNC-Wilmington.
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Conference USA (3)
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Conference champ: Cincinnati
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At-large: Louisville, Marquette
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Bubble burst: Memphis, Charlotte
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The league's top three teams are in the American Division, which
could make things very interesting down the stretch. Memphis
should pace the National, but the Tigers are going to have their
share of ups and downs given their youth. They will be in the
running for a bid, but a lot will have to go their way down the
stretch in order to get it done.
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Horizon League (1)
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Conference champ: Detroit
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Butler's ownership of the Horizon appears over, and Detroit, with
the league's top inside-outside combo (Terrell Riggs and Willie
Green) back, looks like the favorite. Wisconsin-Milwaukee and
Wisconsin-Green Bay also look strong, and Butler won't be giving
up their reign without a fight. They have enough pieces back to
mount a challenge in what should be an exciting race.
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Ivy League (1)
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Conference champ: Pennsylvania
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Penn's "Big Five" success may have merited an at-large bid last
year had it needed it. Fortunately for the nation's bubble teams,
the Quakers won the Ivy's mini-tournament that took place after a
three-way regular-season tie ensued. There should be no parity at
the top this year. Fran Dunphy's team is good enough to run the
table.
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MAAC (1)
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Conference champ: Manhattan
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This league's tournament is always full of surprises, but you have
to figure Manhattan has the talent in place to hold off the
upset-minded. With Rutgers transfer Luis Flores at the helm, the
Jaspers should survive challenges from Iona, Niagara, Siena and
whatever also-ran catches fire in Trenton.
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MAC (1)
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Conference champ: Ball State
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Bubble burst: Ohio U.
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The MAC's top two players, Ball State's Theron Smith and Ohio's
Brandon Hunter, will lead their teams to division titles. But
neither figures to be as dominant as Kent State was last season,
which figures to strand the league with just one bid.
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MEAC (1)
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Conference champ: South Carolina State
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Hampton has dominated this conference in recent years but will
have a much tougher fight on its hands in this go-round. Not only
is coaching wiz Steve Merfeld gone, but the other teams at the top
have been bolstered heavily by quality transfers. Clemson imports
Chuckie Gilmore and Dustin Braddick lead the Bulldogs back to the
NCAAs.
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Mid-Con (1)
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Conference champ: Valparaiso
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The Crusaders aren't as deep as they were last year, but do return
enough talent for first-year coach Scott Drew to continue the
winning tradition his father built. Oakland may emerge as a
darkhorse, but odds are the Crusaders and talented Oral Roberts
will duke it out in the league final.
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Missouri Valley (2)
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Conference champ: Creighton
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At-large: Southern Illinois
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Last year marked the first time two MVC teams won first-round
games in the same tournament. We may get to see if they can do it
again. The Blue Jays have more firepower than most teams, while
the Salukis are disciplined, well-coached and return experienced
leaders Kent Williams and Jermaine Dearman.
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Mountain West (2)
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Conference champ: UNLV
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At-large: Wyoming
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Bubble burst: BYU, Utah
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It's very difficult to beat the Rebels in Vegas in a tournament
setting. Given the development of Dalron Johnson and Marcus Banks,
this year promises to be even tougher. Wyoming should hit the
20-victory plateau and earn an invite, but Utah and BYU may be out
of luck. The improvement of former bottom-feeders San Diego State
and Air Force will hurt the W-L records of the league's bubble
teams.
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Northeast (1)
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Conference champ: St. Francis (N.Y.)
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Central Connecticut State has won 33 of of 38 league games the
past two seasons but lost big man Corsley Edwards to the pros. His
departure leaves the NEC up for grabs. If transfers Tory Cavalieri
and Mike Wilson jell in the backcourt, the Terriers will be the
league's strongest team come March.
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Ohio Valley (1)
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Conference champ: Murray State
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Poised to make its second consecutive appearance, Murray State may
be on the verge of recapturing its strangle hold on the OVC. The
Racers reached the NCAA Tournament seven times during the '90s but
fell back to the pack in recent years. Perennial contender
Tennessee Tech lost mastermind Jeff Lebo to Chattanooga and will
be hard-pressed to stand in Murray's way.
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Pac-10 (4)
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Conference champ: Arizona
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At-large: Oregon, USC, UCLA
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Bubble burst: Stanford, Arizona State
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The four teams at the top of the conference are very clear cut.
Too clear cut, in fact. Stanford, Arizona State and Washington may
be lumped in a middle of the pack that might be entirely passed
over by the committee. Of the three, the Cardinal stand to have
the best shot at an at-large bid (they already own a victory over
Xavier), but it won't be easy given the abundance of talent around
the nation.
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Patriot League (1)
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Conference champ: Holy Cross
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Ralph Willard added 7-foot-6 Neil Fingleton to a cast that was
already head and shoulders above the rest of the Patriot's clubs.
Barring an unlikely upset in the league tournament, the Crusaders
will make their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
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SEC (6)
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Conference champ: Alabama
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At-large: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State,
Ole Miss
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Bubble burst: LSU, South Carolina
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It was early, but Alabama's victory over Oklahoma in the Coaches
vs. Cancer Classic might be a key ingredient in a potential No. 1
seed. Also off to a good start is Florida, which has looked
impressive despite being without the services of Brett Nelson and
Danish import Christian Drejer.
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Southern (1)
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Conference champ: Furman
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Last year's race featured three-way ties in each of league's
divisions. There's no reason to think this year will be any less
tight. While there are no fewer than eight teams capable of
emerging as conference champ, we'll ride with the Paladins, who
haven't been to the NCAAs since 1980, but return the SoCon's top
playmaker (Guillherme Da Luz) and one of the top scorers (Karim
Souchu).
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Southland (1)
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Conference champ: Lamar
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After winning a league title in his first year at the helm,
veteran coach Mike Deane has been saddled with excessive youth the
past two years. With those players now experienced, the Cardinals
are poised to return to the to top of the Southland, unseating
McNeese State.
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Sun Belt (2)
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Conference champ: Louisiana-Lafayette
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At-large: Western Kentucky
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Michael Southall went toe-to-toe with Chris Marcus and nearly
helped trip up the Hilltoppers in last year's Sun Belt final. The
emerging sophomore center finishes the job this year, leading the
Ragin' Cajuns past Western Kentucky to earn a bid. WKU shouldn't
have a problem garnering an at-large bid.
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SWAC (1)
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Conference champ: Grambling
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The SWAC champ has been a part of the play-in game in consecutive
seasons, and this year's winner is likely headed there as well.
Davey Whitney came back for one last run with Alcorn State, but
will have to find away to stop Grambling's Paul Haynes in order to
get back to the NCAAs. Haynes, the league's top player, could lead
the Tigers into the tournament for the first time in school
history.
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WAC (1)
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Conference champ: Tulsa
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Bubble burst: SMU, Louisiana Tech
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Tulsa is far and away the top team in this league and should be
among the national leaders in victories by the time March rolls
around. The Golden Hurrricane should push for a top-four seed,
which would put them in excellent shape to make tournament run.
Keep an eye on SMU's re-emergence. Freshman PG Byran Hopkins will
get this team back to the Big Dance before his career ends.
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West Coast (2)
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Conference champ: Gonzaga
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At-large: Pepperdine
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After getting screwed with a No. 6 seed last year, Gonzaga knows
it can't take anything for granted in the selection process. For
that reason, the 'Zags have beefed up their non-conference slate
and shouldn't have a problem earning at top-four seed if it plays
to its potential. Pepperdine, also strong, will live on the bubble
if it can't take down the Bulldogs in the league race. The Waves
will be one of the last teams in or out.
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