Placing 11 Big East Teams
March 11, 2011 03:50 PM | General
Does the NCAA selection committee place the 11 Big East teams that get into this year’s tournament first and then fill in the remaining 57 teams in the tournament field?
That might be the best way for the committee to avoid having Big East teams face each other in the earlier rounds of the tournament.
For instance, in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, he has 11 Big East teams making the tournament spread equally between the four regions.
Lunardi has two teams in the East, three in the Southwest, three in the West and three in the Southeast. And the way Lunardi has the tournament bracketed the earliest any Big East team could face each other is in the Sweet 16, should all of them advance.
Placement of Big East teams will be one more issue the selection committee will have to deal with this weekend.
- Speaking of Lunardi, he still has Pitt and Notre Dame as No. 1 seeds, although I would think the arrow is pointing up for the Irish and down for the Panthers, based on conference tournament play. Pitt fell at the buzzer to Connecticut while Notre Dame pounded a pretty good Cincinnati team in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.
Texas, North Carolina and Duke are still in contention for a No. 1 seed based on how they perform in their conference tournaments.
- All 11 Big East teams appear to be solidly in the NCAA tournament, according to Lunardi - even Villanova, which has lost five in a row and seven of its last nine. Villanova’s lone wins down the stretch were against DePaul and Seton Hall – two teams with losing records.
Lunardi has Villanova and Marquette as 10 seeds.
Other bracket experts, including CNNSI’s Andy Glockner and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm, have the Big East getting 11 into the tournament. Palm and Glockner have Villanova as a 9 seed.
- I had a feeling yesterday’s two early Big East tournament games would be great ones and the two later ones would not be. Tonight, I think Syracuse-Connecticut and Louisville-Notre Dame will be must-see television. I know UConn will be playing its third game in three days, but with Kemba Walker UConn might still have enough gas left in the tank to reach the finals. In the nightcap, I think Louisville is the team to beat.
- The latest ESPN women's bracketology has West Virginia a 9 seed playing in the Spokane Regional. The Big East women are likely to get 10 teams into this year's NCAA tournament.
- You know they say quarterback is one of the most cerebral positions on the playing field, well, West Virginia quarterbacks have proven that to be the case through the years. Two quarterbacks, Ed Pastilong and Oliver Luck, have gone on to become ADs at West Virginia University while several others are now doctors.
By my count, four of West Virginia’s former quarterbacks are in the medical profession – Danny Williams, Ade Dillon, Dick Ward and Chad Johnston.
I had a nice telephone conversation with Chad earlier this week and he said he spends his time between two offices in Christiansburg, Va., and is also an investor in a sports performance center similar to the one Monongahela County residents enjoy in Morgantown.
And despite living in Virginia Tech country, johnston said his boys still proudly wear their Pat White jerseys to school.
- The success the Big East Conference is enjoying as the No. 1 men’s basketball league in the country could mean more dollars for member schools when the next round of TV negotiations begin …
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-10/big-east-tv-contract-may-double-to-460-million.html
- If the men’s basketball top 25 were based on web searches, West Virginia would rank 19th, according to Yahoo!’s Matt Petersen. Here are the 25 most-searched college basketball programs on Yahoo!
1. Ohio State
2. Duke
3. Syracuse
4. Brigham Young
5. UCLA
6. Purdue
7. Michigan State
8. Kentucky
9. UConn
10. Gonzaga
11. University of Kansas
12. Kansas State
13. San Diego State
14. Wisconsin
15. Notre Dame
16. Villanova
17. North Carolina
18. St. John’s
19. West Virginia
20. University of Michigan
21. Indiana
22. Alabama
23. Kansas
24. UTEP
25. University of Illinois
- Safety Robert Sands is the highest ranked West Virginia player heading into this year’s NFL draft, according to NFLDraftScout.com …
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/TSX/2011?&start_row=51
Sands was the only WVU player rated among the top 100 at No. 83. Cornerback Brandon Hogan was next at No. 133, putting both players somewhere between the third-to-fifth-round range.
- Our department publications director Joe Swan said Virginia’s ACC tournament collapse against Miami yesterday was reminiscent of a collapse Virginia Tech had against West Virginia in 1999 when the Hokies saw their double-digit lead evaporate in the game’s final minute. I recall very little about that game, but I do seem to remember Brooks Berry played a big role in the comeback.
- Linebacker Darryl Talley and coach Jim Carlen are among those on this year’s College Football Hall of Fame ballot …
http://sundaygazettemail.com/Sports/201103070722
There are now 11 members of the College Football Hall of Fame with West Virginia University ties. The most recent one to be inducted was Major Harris in 2009.
This year’s hall of fame class will be announced on Dec. 6.
- The Mountaineer baseball team is hoping for a break in the weather this weekend. Friday's first game of a four-game series with Rider was wiped out because of poor playing conditions, but the Mountaineers could get a break in the weather on Saturday with temperatures expected to be in the mid-50s in Morgantown.
Bad weather forced West Virginia (5-6) to play a doubleheader with Bryant on Tuesday instead of regularly scheduled games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Games against Wake Forest and Wright State were already rained out.
- Providence has parted ways with Keno Davis after just three seasons …
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ap-providence-davisfired
The Friars have made just two NCAA tournament appearances since 1998, both under Tim Welsh, who Davis replaced.
- Look for an extensive sit-down interview with WVU Director of Athletics Oliver Luck right here on Sunday.
Enjoy your weekend!
That might be the best way for the committee to avoid having Big East teams face each other in the earlier rounds of the tournament.
For instance, in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, he has 11 Big East teams making the tournament spread equally between the four regions.
Lunardi has two teams in the East, three in the Southwest, three in the West and three in the Southeast. And the way Lunardi has the tournament bracketed the earliest any Big East team could face each other is in the Sweet 16, should all of them advance.
Placement of Big East teams will be one more issue the selection committee will have to deal with this weekend.
- Speaking of Lunardi, he still has Pitt and Notre Dame as No. 1 seeds, although I would think the arrow is pointing up for the Irish and down for the Panthers, based on conference tournament play. Pitt fell at the buzzer to Connecticut while Notre Dame pounded a pretty good Cincinnati team in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.
Texas, North Carolina and Duke are still in contention for a No. 1 seed based on how they perform in their conference tournaments.
- All 11 Big East teams appear to be solidly in the NCAA tournament, according to Lunardi - even Villanova, which has lost five in a row and seven of its last nine. Villanova’s lone wins down the stretch were against DePaul and Seton Hall – two teams with losing records.
Lunardi has Villanova and Marquette as 10 seeds.
Other bracket experts, including CNNSI’s Andy Glockner and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm, have the Big East getting 11 into the tournament. Palm and Glockner have Villanova as a 9 seed.
- I had a feeling yesterday’s two early Big East tournament games would be great ones and the two later ones would not be. Tonight, I think Syracuse-Connecticut and Louisville-Notre Dame will be must-see television. I know UConn will be playing its third game in three days, but with Kemba Walker UConn might still have enough gas left in the tank to reach the finals. In the nightcap, I think Louisville is the team to beat.
- The latest ESPN women's bracketology has West Virginia a 9 seed playing in the Spokane Regional. The Big East women are likely to get 10 teams into this year's NCAA tournament.
- You know they say quarterback is one of the most cerebral positions on the playing field, well, West Virginia quarterbacks have proven that to be the case through the years. Two quarterbacks, Ed Pastilong and Oliver Luck, have gone on to become ADs at West Virginia University while several others are now doctors.
By my count, four of West Virginia’s former quarterbacks are in the medical profession – Danny Williams, Ade Dillon, Dick Ward and Chad Johnston.
I had a nice telephone conversation with Chad earlier this week and he said he spends his time between two offices in Christiansburg, Va., and is also an investor in a sports performance center similar to the one Monongahela County residents enjoy in Morgantown.
And despite living in Virginia Tech country, johnston said his boys still proudly wear their Pat White jerseys to school.
- The success the Big East Conference is enjoying as the No. 1 men’s basketball league in the country could mean more dollars for member schools when the next round of TV negotiations begin …
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-10/big-east-tv-contract-may-double-to-460-million.html
- If the men’s basketball top 25 were based on web searches, West Virginia would rank 19th, according to Yahoo!’s Matt Petersen. Here are the 25 most-searched college basketball programs on Yahoo!
1. Ohio State
2. Duke
3. Syracuse
4. Brigham Young
5. UCLA
6. Purdue
7. Michigan State
8. Kentucky
9. UConn
10. Gonzaga
11. University of Kansas
12. Kansas State
13. San Diego State
14. Wisconsin
15. Notre Dame
16. Villanova
17. North Carolina
18. St. John’s
19. West Virginia
20. University of Michigan
21. Indiana
22. Alabama
23. Kansas
24. UTEP
25. University of Illinois
- Safety Robert Sands is the highest ranked West Virginia player heading into this year’s NFL draft, according to NFLDraftScout.com …
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/TSX/2011?&start_row=51
Sands was the only WVU player rated among the top 100 at No. 83. Cornerback Brandon Hogan was next at No. 133, putting both players somewhere between the third-to-fifth-round range.
- Our department publications director Joe Swan said Virginia’s ACC tournament collapse against Miami yesterday was reminiscent of a collapse Virginia Tech had against West Virginia in 1999 when the Hokies saw their double-digit lead evaporate in the game’s final minute. I recall very little about that game, but I do seem to remember Brooks Berry played a big role in the comeback.
- Linebacker Darryl Talley and coach Jim Carlen are among those on this year’s College Football Hall of Fame ballot …
http://sundaygazettemail.com/Sports/201103070722
There are now 11 members of the College Football Hall of Fame with West Virginia University ties. The most recent one to be inducted was Major Harris in 2009.
This year’s hall of fame class will be announced on Dec. 6.
- The Mountaineer baseball team is hoping for a break in the weather this weekend. Friday's first game of a four-game series with Rider was wiped out because of poor playing conditions, but the Mountaineers could get a break in the weather on Saturday with temperatures expected to be in the mid-50s in Morgantown.
Bad weather forced West Virginia (5-6) to play a doubleheader with Bryant on Tuesday instead of regularly scheduled games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Games against Wake Forest and Wright State were already rained out.
- Providence has parted ways with Keno Davis after just three seasons …
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ap-providence-davisfired
The Friars have made just two NCAA tournament appearances since 1998, both under Tim Welsh, who Davis replaced.
- Look for an extensive sit-down interview with WVU Director of Athletics Oliver Luck right here on Sunday.
Enjoy your weekend!
Ross Hodge & Honor Huff | Stanford Postgame
Friday, April 03
Geimere Latimer | April 2
Friday, April 03
Coach Deke Adams | April 2
Friday, April 03
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 2
Friday, April 03
