I am so heartened. People really care about the new "play-in" game scheduled for Tuesday, March 13 in Dayton, Ohio. Here are answers to your basic questions about it:
WHO? Teams rated No. 64 and No. 65 on the men's basketball committee seeding chart will meet on the Tuesday prior to the first-round games on Thursday and Friday.
WHAT? The NCAA mandates that there be no fewer than 34 at-large bids in a given year. Both the WAC and MWC have automatic bids this season, creating 31 automatic qualifying conferences. As a result, the committee must accommodate 65 teams in the tournament.
WHEN? The NCAA has announced the so-called "play-in" game will take place on Tuesday, March 13, with the winner becoming a No. 16 seed within the full 64-team bracket.
WHERE: The University of Dayton Arena will host the play-in game. If a No. 1 seed is subsequently assigned to that sub-regional site, the play-in winner will most likely remain in Dayton to play its first-round game on Friday, March 16.
WHY? The committee reserves the right to move the play-in winner to another first-round site if necessary. Where the "play-in" winner is assigned within the 64-team bracket will be determined on Selection Sunday. A Friday-Sunday site is preferred due to travel considerations. It is not required that the "play-in" winner be paired with the No. 1 overall tournament seed.
HOW? The two lowest-rated tournament teams on Selection Sunday (No. 64 and No. 65 on the all-important "S-curve") will be assigned to the play-in game. While these teams will most likely come from traditionally lower-rated conferences, that is not necessarily the case. If there are severe upset winners from major or mid-majors conferences, those team(s) could also be rated low enough for play-in consideration.
Aren't you glad you asked?
A reminder: Teams preceded by their conference name in ALL CAPS are the current league (or RPI) leaders of those conferences. Teams so labeled are projected to qualify via their league's automatic bid.
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MIDWEST REGION
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March 16: Dayton, Ohio
University of Dayton Arena
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1. Michigan State
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16.BIG SOUTH/Radford vs. SWAC/Alabama State
(NCAA play-in game)
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8. Providence
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9. Cincinnati
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5. Mississippi
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12. BIG WEST/UC-Irvine
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4. Maryland
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13. MAC/Central Michigan
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March 16: Kansas City, Mo.
Kemper Arena
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3. Arizona
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14. MAAC/Iona
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6. Georgetown |
11. Ohio State
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7. Xavier
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10. Creighton
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2. Kansas
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15. SOUTHLAND/McNeese State
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REGIONAL FINAL
March 23-25: Alamodome, San Antonio
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SOUTH REGION
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March 16: New Orleans, La.
Superdome
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1. Duke
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16. MEAC/South Carolina State
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8. Missouri
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9. Purdue
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5. UCLA
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12. SOUTHERN/Charleston
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4. Boston College
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13. SUN BELT/Western Kentucky
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March 16: Memphis, Tenn.
The Pyamid
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3. Iowa
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14. CAA/George Mason
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6. Wake Forest |
11. C-USA/Marquette
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7. Oklahoma
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10.TAAC Georgia State
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2. Tennessee
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15. MCC/Cleveland State
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REGIONAL FINAL
March 23-25: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
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EAST REGION
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March 15: Greensboro, N.C.
Greensboro Coliseum
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1. North Carolina
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16. IVY/Princeton
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8. California |
9. St. Joseph's (Pa.)
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5. Florida |
12. MVC/Indiana State
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4. Wisconsin
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13. AMERICA EAST/Hofstra
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March 15: Uniondale, N.Y.
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
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3. Iowa State
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14. PATRIOT/Holy Cross
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6. Alabama |
11. Butler
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7. Southern California |
10. Indiana
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2. Syracuse
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15. OVC/Tennessee Tech
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REGIONAL FINAL
March 22-24: First Union Center, Philadelphia
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WEST REGION
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March 15: San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Bowl Arena
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1. Stanford
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16. NEC/St. Francis N.Y.
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8. Texas |
9. Georgia Tech
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5. Notre Dame
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12. WCC/Gonzaga
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4. Kentucky
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13. A-10/Massachusetts
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March 15: Boise, Idaho
Boise State University Pavilion
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3. Virginia
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14. BIG SKY/Cal State Northridge
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6. Fresno State
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11. MWC/Wyoming
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7. Georgia
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10. Oklahoma State
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2. Illinois
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15. MID-CONTINENT/Southern Utah
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REGIONAL FINAL
March 22-24: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, Calif.
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FINAL FOUR
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Humphrey Metrodome
Minneapolis, Minn.
Semifinals: March 31 (East vs. West; Midwest vs. South)
Championship Game: April 2
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Bracket Bits
Please note that Georgia Tech cannot be placed in the South Region, where it is an institutional host at the Georgia Dome for the regional semifinals and finals.
Why were these teams chosen from individual conferences?
Marquette: Defeated co-leaders South Florida and Memphis.
Massachusetts: Won at co-leader Xavier in head-to-head meeting.
Princeton: Higher RPI than co-leader Pennsylvania.
Tennessee Tech: Defeated co-leader Eastern Illinois.
Who's hot? The following projected postseason teams are 10-0 in their last 10 games: Hofstra, North Carolina, UC-Irvine, Gonzaga.
Who's not? With less-than-great records in their last 10 games, the wheels are perhaps falling off the wagon at: LSU (3-7), North Carolina State (3-7), Auburn (4-6), Connecticut (4-6), Fordham (4-6) Miami (4-6), Minnesota (4-6), Mississippi State (4-6), Oregon (4-6), Penn State (4-6), Seton Hall (4-6), South Carolina (4-6), Vanderbilt (4-6), Villanova (4-6), Wake Forest (4-6).
The committee continues to emphasize a team's play away from home. Check out the following R+N (road+neutral) records: Stanford (10-0), Duke (9-1), North Carolina (9-1), Georgetown (7-1), UC-Irvine (7-1), Hofstra (10-2), Kansas (8-2), Xavier (8-2), Georgia State (10-3).
Movin' Up: (Alphabetical order, as determined by RPI): Butler, BYU, Charleston, Eastern Illinois, Florida, Georgia State, Gonzaga, Hofstra, Miami, Navy, Pennsylvania, Providence, South Carolina State, UAB, UC-Irvine, UTEP, Wyoming.
Goin' Down: (Alphabetical order, as determined by RPI): Fordham, Fresno State, LSU, Memphis, Mississippi State, Saint Louis, Seton Hall, South Florida, Tennessee Tech, Utah, Utah State, Western Kentucky, West Virginia.
Multiple-conference breakdown: Big Ten (7), ACC (6), Big 12 (6), SEC (6), Big East (5), Pac-10 (5), Atlantic 10 (3), Conference USA (2), Midwestern Collegiate (2), Missouri Valley (2).
Overrated: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgetown.
Underrated: Iowa, Kentucky, UCLA.
Seemingly moments after we wrote this year off for "mid-majors" to receive at-large bids, there has been a dramatic resurgence among them. According to our own S-curve, the following mid-majors -- as of Sunday, Feb. 4 -- would not have to win their conference tournaments to visit the Big Dance: Creighton, Georgia State, Butler.
Last Four In: Creighton, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Butler.
Last Four Out: St. John's, Penn State, Seton Hall, Minnesota.
Joe Lunardi is a regular in-season contributor for ESPN.com. He is also
contributing editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook,
www.collegebaskets.com. Write to Joe at jlunardi@home.com.
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ALSO SEE
Chat with Joe Lunardi, Thursday at 5 p.m. ET
Cinderella Watch: Feb. 2
Feb. 4: Sweet 16
Bracketology: Jan. 29
Jan. 22: Bracketology
2001 NCAA Tournament Sites
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