February 16 Notebook
February 16, 2005 04:53 PM | General
February 16, 2005
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – So, who’s in and who’s out? With three full weeks of regular season men’s basketball play remaining, which Big East teams have locked up NCAA tournament berths, which teams still have some work to do, and which teams still have a lot of work to do?
If you are a West Virginia University basketball fan then you are following a team that still has a lot of work to do to put itself into NCAA tournament consideration. According to the web site CollegeRPI.com, which simulates an RPI rating similar to what the NCAA selection committee uses, the 14-8 Mountaineers are ranked 65th heading into tonight’s game against St. John’s.
That rating is obviously too low to earn an at-larger berth at this point, meaning remaining games against St. John’s, Seton Hall (twice), Pitt and Rutgers will go a long way in determining West Virginia’s post-season fate. The Mountaineers could also gain some bonus points if out-of-conference foes N.C. State, George Washington and LSU all finish strong.
West Virginia has by far the most work to do of any of the serious Big East contenders for the NCAA tournament.
At the top, both Boston College (20-1) and Syracuse (22-4) have already earned its way into the Big Dance. The Eagles, with games remaining against Rutgers, Syracuse, at Villanova, Seton Hall, Pitt and at Rutgers; and Syracuse, with games left against BC, St. John’s, Providence and at UConn, are playing for tournament seeding.
Even though Pitt (18-4) has a low RPI at 51, the Panthers are almost in and probably need just one more victory against Villanova, West Virginia, Connecticut, Boston College or Notre Dame to lock up a bid. Pitt has one of the toughest remaining schedules in the conference with three of their final five games on the road.
Connecticut (16-6), like Pitt, is also nearly in the tournament. The Huskies have games left against Rutgers, Notre Dame, Pitt, Georgetown and Syracuse. Two wins out of their last five will probably be good enough for the defending national champs.
Surprising Georgetown (16-6) has a fairly strong RPI of 36 but still has some work to do to get off the bubble. The Hoyas have road games remaining at Notre Dame, St. John’s and Connecticut, and home games against Villanova and Providence. Georgetown probably needs to win at least three of those to lock up a bid.
Villanova (15-6) has the Big East’s best non-conference victory of the year against Kansas and has the third strongest RPI in the league at 19. The Wildcats are the one bubble team with the most room for error, having games remaining against Seton Hall (twice), Pitt, BC, Georgetown, and St. John’s. Like Pitt, three of Villanova’s five remaining regular season games are on the road.
Notre Dame (14-7) is in the same position it was in last year when it didn’t make the tournament. The Irish, with an RPI of 46, still need victories to get to safer ground. Notre Dame has tough games remaining against Georgetown, Connecticut, UCLA and Pitt to go with Rutgers and Providence. Fortunately for Notre Dame it has four of its remaining six games at the Joyce Center.
Many experts predict seven Big East teams will make the Big Dance this year, but as you can see several of them still have work to do to reach the tournament.
News and Notes
Adrian has more than 30 years worth of coaching experience at the collegiate level. Most recently he served seven seasons as defensive coordinator at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Fla. Adrian also had coaching stops at WVU (graduate assistant), Rhode Island, Idaho State and Bloomsburg. He was also an assistant with the Chicago Enforcers of the defunct XFL.
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| Dick Leftridge was the third overall selection in the 1966 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
WVU Sports Communications |
Selected ahead of Leftridge that year was a pair of perennial all-pros in Texas linebacker Tommy Nobis (Atlanta) and Michigan offensive tackle Tom Mack (Los Angeles).
Leftridge remains the highest WVU football player ever drafted. Other top 10 Mountaineer picks were No. 5 Joe Marconi to the Rams in 1956, No. 6 Joe Stydahar to the Bears in 1936 and No. 6 Chuck Howley to the Bears in 1958, and No. 7 Brian Jozwiak to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1986.
I hope I am wrong about that.
Miami has games remaining against Virginia Tech, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Duke to wrap up the regular season. Three of the four (excluding Georgia Tech) are on the road, meaning the Hurricanes have some work to do to get back into the NCAA tournament.
Jones needs four more victories to become the school’s all-time winningest wrestler and with a pair of victories, West Virginia can lock up a share of the Eastern Wrestling League dual meet championship. The Mountaineers have won two of the last three EWL dual meet titles.
Have a great week!
Note: The views and opinions expressed here aren’t necessarily those shared by West Virginia University or the Mountaineer Sports Network.
