American East: Albany Great Danes (24 - 10)
- Albany finished in 5th place in their conference standings but got hot at the right time to win the American East tournament. The Great Danes only played one school from the power 6 conferences, Ohio State, and lost by 24. I don't expect to see them last too long in the tournament, as they should be a one and done.
- Tournament appearances: 3 (last appeared in 2007)
- Miami was the hottest team in the country for the months of January and February and although they did not finish quite as hot as they started, they were able to win both the ACC regular season and tournament championships. Shane Larkin has proven himself as one of the best Point Guards in the country and when he starts knocking down his shot, he is lethal from anywhere inside of half-court.
- Tournament appearances: 6 (last appeared in 2008)
- FGC earns their first ever trip to the tournament. The Eagles have two guards that average over 14ppg. They will most likely be a 15 or 16 seed.
- Tournament appearances: none
- Tournament result last year: did not play
- At the beginning of the season I did not expect St. Louis to be as good as they were the past few seasons. After their former head coach Rick Majerus decided to retire before the start of the season and then passed away a few weeks later, I expected St. Louis to have an off year. But it was the exact opposite. St. Louis had a better season than last year and should earn a top 4 seed.
- Tournament appearances: 7 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in second round to Michigan State
- The Cardinals were at one point this season ranked #1 before losing at home to Syracuse which was the first of three straight losses. But since those 3 losses, Louisville has only fallen one other time, which was against Notre Dame in a 5 OT thriller. Louisville was in the Final Four last season and is led by head coach Rick Patino who knows how to get to the Final Four, but also knows how to win it all. They will likely receive a #1 seed and should be considered a threat to once again reach the Final Four and possibly win it all.
- Tournament appearances: 39 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the Final Four to Kentucky
Big Sky: Montana Grizzlies (25 - 6)
- The Grizzlies are a tournament regular but are also usually a one game fixture. This will be their 10th appearance in the big dance and only twice before have they won a game. The first time was all the way back in 1975 and the other time, in 2006, as a #12 seed, they knocked off Nevada in the first round. Montana does not have a win this season against a big name opponent and will probably receive somewhere around a 14 seed.
- Tournament appearances: 10 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the first round to Wisconsin
- Liberty is only the second ever 20 loss team to make it to the tournament. They will be a 16 seed. This is why I love sports. Two years ago a 7-9 Seattle Seahawks team went to the NFL playoffs and knocked off the defending Champs. In 2009, Real Salt Lake who had a losing record went into the MLS playoffs and won the title. In sports, anything can happen. And who knows, maybe Liberty can win a tournament game, if that game happens to be the play-in game against another #16 seed.
- Tournament appearances: 3 (last appeared in 2004)
- The Buckeyes have won 8 straight games and have gotten hot at the right time. They remind me of Connecticut from 3 years ago when Kemba Walker inspired the team that finished 8th in the Big East to win the Big East tournament and eventually the National Championship. Could OSU be this year's version of UConn? I would not be surprised if Ohio State makes a Final Four run. Having a Point Guard, Aaron Craft, who has great experience leading his team will benefit the Buckeyes as they try and win their first national title since 1960.
- Tournament appearances: 28 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost to Kansas in the Final Four
- I'm not sure why, but when I think back to last season, I always seem to forget that Kansas made it all the way to the championship game only to fall to Kentucky. I guess it's true what they say, no one ever remembers the team who finishes in second. The Jayhawks have at times this season looked like one of the nation's top teams and at other times, they looked like a team that didn't belong anywhere near the tournament, or in head coach Bill Self's own words, they looked like "the worst Kansas team since Doctor Naismith was the coach." Having said all that, Kansas too will be hoping to receive a #1 seed. They have one of the nations top players, Ben McLemore, who is hoping that this year, they not only make it to the title game but that they win it and this time next year, people will remember them.
- Tournament appearances: 42 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the championship game to Kentucky
- The Tigers beat the Anteaters (which seems like an unfair advantage) to win the Big West tournament. Pacific has beaten some decent teams this season including Saint Marys and Xavier. The Tigers have once made it all the way to the elite 8, back in 1967. In 2006 they were a #13 seed and took Boston College to 3 OT before losing and being sent home. Pacific is a good team and will be a tough out for whoever they are matched against in the first round.
- Tournament appearances: 9 (last appeared in 2006)
- The Dukes make it back to the Madness for the first time since 1994. Their two leading scorers are Seniors which is often a recipe for a potential first round Cinderella.
- Tournament appearances: 5 (last appeared in 1994)
- Memphis started the season 6-3 and chatter begin to circulate about how coach Josh Pastner was on the hot seat. Since that start, the Tigers have gone 24-1 with their only loss on the road against Xavier. They finished the conference season undefeated and won the conference tournament for the third straight year. I think Memphis will possibly get as high as a 5 seed, but I expect them to most likely receive a 6 or 7. Even still, I think this team is good enough to win their first two games and advance to the Sweet Sixteen. If you get a chance to watch Memphis, keep your eye on Chris Crawford who can score with the best in the country. In the conference quarter finals he had 6 triples and followed that up by scoring 30 points in only 27 minutes of play and knocking down 8 of 10 from behind the arc. Oh and did I mention, he is not a starter. Also take a look at DJ Stephens who may be one of the most athletic players in the country with a 41" vertical jump. He plays above the rim and can block, rebound, and oh yes, dunk.
- Tournament appearances: 25 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the first round to St. Louis
- Any time Valpo is in the tournament I have to assume an upset is a possibility. After all, Bryce Drew is their head coach.
- Tournament appearances: 8 (last appeared in 2004)
- Harvard goes to their second straight tournament. The Ivy League has given us some exciting first round games the past few seasons. Harvard has some good wins this year, including a victory against the second place Pac-12 team, Cal.
- Tournament appearances: 3 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the round of 64 to Vanderbilt
- The Gaels gave up a 25 point lead last year against BYU in the first round. They will be back for a second season led by Momo Jones who averages over 23 ppg and last season dropped 43 in a game. Momo has some tournament history including an elite 8 in 2011 when he played for Arizona.
- Tournament appearances: 10 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the play-in round to BYU
- The Zips are pretty good. They are in the top 60 in the nation in 4 major categories Points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, and field goal percentage. But unless the Zips get a favorable first round matchup, I don't expect their tournament lives to be long lived.
- Tournament appearances: 4 (last appeared in 2011)
- When people think about the state of North Carolina, the first team everyone thinks about is the Aggies from North Carolina A&T. No one thinks about Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, it's all about NC A&T. Welcome to the tournament Aggies, hope you enjoy being a #16 seed.
- Tournament appearances: 10 (last appeared in 1995)
- The Jays spent most of this season in the top 25. They may play in a smaller conference but they played 7 games this season against teams in the RPI top 50 and have wins over Cal and Wisconsin. Creighton is led by one of the Wooden Award finalists Doug McDermott. They may get as high as a 6 seed and could knock off a few teams in the tournament.
- Tournament appearances: 18 (were in it last year)
- Tournament Result last year: lost in the Round of 32 to North Carolina
- You gotta cheer for a team that is named after a Shakira song. The Lobos finished the season with only 5 losses. UNM is a quality team that has 4 players who average 10 points or more a game. They do not have a superstar but play strong defense and hold the majority of their opponents under 60 points a game.
- Tournament appearances: 14 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the second round to Louisville
- Brooklyn played the number 303 strength of schedule this year and will likely end up as a 16 seed. Who knows, maybe they will be the team to finally do the impossible and knock off a #1, but don't count on it.
- Tournament appearances: 6 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the round of 64 to Michigan St.
- The Bruins have been to the tournament a few times before and in previous seasons have been chosen by a lot of people as their "upset pick". They have yet to actually upset anyone, but this may be the year.
- Tournament Appearances: 6 (were in it last year)
- Tournament Result last year: Lost in the first round to Georgetown
- The Ducks finished the Pac 12 season losing two in a row to Colorado and Utah. Going into the Pac 12 tournament they were the #3 seed but many people expected them to be a one and done in the tourney. The Ducks are led by E.J. Singler, brother of the Pistons forward and former Duke standout Kyle Singler. Depending on their seeding, the Ducks may be a first round threat, even though they would not be considered the best team from the Pac 12 in the tournament.
- Tournament appearances: 11 (last appeared in 2008)
- The Bison are led by a 6'11" Senior Mike Muscala who averages a double double on the season (19 pts and 11 reb). Back in 2005 Bucknell, who was a number 14 seed, knocked off Kansas in a shocking first round upset. The majority of their players are upper class-men which means many of them will remember what it was like being in the tournament just two years ago. Bucknell will probably be a 13 or 14 seed, but depending on the match up, they have the potential to pull off another repeat of the 2005 season.
- Tournament appearances: 5 (last appeared in 2011)
- Before today, the Rebels were a bubble team and were going to have to wait and see if the committee found them worthy of the tournament. But instead of waiting on the committee, the Rebels decided to take care of business and win the SEC tournament. Guard Marshall Henderson leads the team with 20 ppg and is the white man Reggie Miller. He trash talks, taunts the crowd, and even hits on the cheerleaders during the game. He plays with a lot of emotion and is someone you either love or hate, surprised me he didn't go to Duke, he would've fit right in.
- Tournament appearances: 6 (last appeared in 2006)
- You can't think Davidson without thinking Steph Curry. They made a run to the Elite 8 back in 2008, losing to the eventual champions Kansas. Davidson has been here before. They will likely be seeded somewhere between 11 and 13 and those 4 v 13, 5 v 12, and 6 v 11 match ups always bring an upset or two. Especially if they find themselves playing a power conference team who has started to slump like Arizona or Syracuse.
- Tournament appearances: 12 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the first round to Louisville
- NW St has been to the tournament two other times and both times won at least one game. Once was only a play in game but the other time in 2006 they knocked off the #3 seed Iowa. The Demons will probably be a 14 or 15 seed and may be able to pull off a similar upset, but don't count on it.
- Tournament appearances: 3 (last appeared in 2006)
- Southern University has only one tournament win, back in 1993. I'm assuming they will be a 16 seed and will not likely get another one this season.
- Tournament appearances: 8 (last appeared in 2006)
- One thing that I don't love about college athletics is the amount of teams that share the same mascot. There are too many Bears, Bulldogs, Wildcats, etc. So anytime there is a team called the Roadrunners like at UT San Antonio, or the Gauchos from UC Santa Barbara, or the Jackrabbits from South Dakota State, I automatically want to see that team win. But the sad thing is that those schools with unique names usually aren't very good. But South Dakota State does have one very very good player. Nate Wolters is averaging 23 ppg this season and that includes a 53 point game earlier this year. I don't expect the Jackrabbits to get a win in this year tournament, but I hope they do.
- Tournament appearances: 2 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the round of 64 to Baylor
- Remember what I said about South Dakota State's mascot? Well go ahead and ditto that entire section here for the Hilltoppers. WKU will likely be a 15 or 16 seed, but so what, I am excited to see Big Red dance on the court.
- Tournament appearances: 23 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the round of 64 to Kentucky
- The Zags have won 14 straight going into the tournament. They do play in a "weaker" conference, but as mid-majors go, it is one of the better ones. Gonzaa went undeafeated in conference play and their only two losses were to teams in the BPI top 50. In my opinion, what Mark Few has been able to do with his group of players makes him the leading candidate for coach of the year. And Kelly Olynyk may have long hair to go along with his girl's name, but he plays like a man. He too is a leading candidate for player of the year. Gonzaga should get a #1 seed and may get the top overall seed. Maybe this is the year Gonzaga advances to their first Final Four. Be aware though, that Gonzaga is largely untested, and may be the first #1 seed to go down.
- Tournament appearances: 16 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the round of 32 to Ohio State
- New Mexico State once went to the Final Four, well, back in 1970. So don't expect them to repeat that feat of 1970. The Aggies will likely go home after one game.
- Tournament appearances: 20 (were in it last year)
- Tournament result last year: lost in the first round to Indiana
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