Ok...I have been lax on this thread for over a week. But I will try and get caught up. Instead of listing possibilities and since selection sunday is only two weeks away, I'm going to project seeds 9 and down:
9 seeds
OU - good week; two good scalps.
Virginia - big win over Duke yesterday. But the ACC is VERY down this year, so their record is a little inflated. Not a ton of big wins.
Xavier - started 1-4 in the Big East, but have really played well over the last 5 weeks. They have some good road scalps as well.
Providence - they actually have (4) Q3/Q4 losses; but they also have (7) Q-1 wins. Those trump their really bad losses in November....imo.
10 seeds
Indiana - tough loss today, but they've been playing better the last 3 weeks or so.
Rutgers - they have some good wins at home, but only ONE win away from home....one. And they won't be playing NCAA tournament games in Piscataway.
LSU - they were once in the 5/6 range when they were winning all those close games, but now things are evening out and they've slipped to the bubble.
Florida - they have a really high NET ranking for some reason, but their resume isn't great outside of a couple of good home wins.
11 seeds
USC - picked up a pair of good wins this week....safely in.
Arizona State - had been playing well until this week. Safely in for now.
East Tennessee State - it would be wise to go ahead and win the Southern Conference tournament, but they may be able to get in anyway.
Stanford - the win over Colorado gets them back into the field today.
Wichita State (play-in) - saved their season today with a 24-pt comeback in the 2nd half.
NC State (play-in) - who would've thought that the mighty ACC would only get 4 teams in the tournament
Just outside:
- Cincy - loss @Houston today, but need to make some noise in the Athletic Conf. Tourney or they will be out.
- Rhode Island - loss to St Louis at home today; I think that knocks them down to the first four out.
- Utah State - damaging loss last night to the Lobos. They have to absolutely make the MWC finals....and that might not be enough. Just not enough quality on their resume.
- Richmond - see above (Utah State). Probably need to at least knock off Rhode Island in the A-10 tournament.
- Texas - if they split their last two games and win one in KC, I think they sneak into the tournament.
- UCLA - Even though they have been hot of late and they actually lead the PAC-12, the metrics say they aren't as close to getting in as the pub they are receiving.
- Purdue - have great metrics and quality wins, but their W/L record is killing them. Need to get a couple of more big scalps to make an argument.
- Mississippi State - have a good record, but not enough meat on their resume; need to likely get to the SEC conference semis while beating someone noteworthy in the process.
*If ETSU wins the Southern Conf. tournament, that opens up another spot for an at-large.
**Since UCLA is leading the PAC-12, they would be the automatic qualifier for the time being.