The teams below are displayed below on an S-curve, so they are ranked from left to right within each seeding line.  The italicized teams are ones predicted to win their conference tourney and gain an automatic bid to the dance.  For the conferences who currently have NCAA tourney teams, it is assumed that one of those teams will win their conference tourney.  If not, then a stolen bid would result, and the number of at-large bids would drop.

You will notice that some of the # 13 seeded conference champions are listed both in the big dance field and the NIT field.  Their NIT inclusion simply shows what NIT seed that team would have if they were to lose in their conference tourney.  Obviously, if they were to win their respective conference tourneys, then they would be deleted from the NIT field, and little dance at-large spots would open up.  However, with the NIT, keep in mind that typically between 5-8 spots will be taken by small conference regular season champs who lose their conference tourneys and thereby get NIT auto bids.

NCAA Tourney Field:

1-seeds: Syracuse, Kansas, Kentucky, Purdue

2-seeds: Duke, Kansas State, Villanova, West Virginia 

3-seeds: Vanderbilt, New Mexico, Ohio State, Wisconsin

4-seeds: Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Georgetown

5-seeds: Temple, Gonzaga, Butler, Brigham Young

6-seeds: Richmond, Xavier, Texas, Baylor

7-seeds: Texas A & M, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma State

8-seeds: California, UTEP, Northern Iowa, Florida State

9-seeds: Clemson, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest

10-seeds: UNLV, Louisville, Cornell, Saint Mary’s

11-seeds: UAB, Rhode Island, Marquette, Illinois

12-seeds: Florida, Siena, Utah State, Old Dominion

13-seeds: Connecticut, Notre Dame, Kent State, Oakland

14-seeds: Murray State, Weber State, Sam Houston State, Wofford

15-seeds: North Texas, UC Santa Barbara, Coastal Carolina, Stony Brook

16-seeds: Jacksonville, Morgan State, Robert Morris, Lehigh, Jackson State

NIT Tourney Field:

1-seeds: Mississippi State, Dayton, San Diego State, Ole Miss

2-seeds: Seton Hall, Minnesota, South Florida, Memphis

3-seeds: Cincinnati, Charlotte, Washington, Arizona State

4-seeds: Saint Louis, Marshall, Wichita State, Northwestern

5-seeds: Tulsa, William & Mary, Virginia, VCU

6-seeds: New Mexico State, Northeastern, Texas Tech, Miami-FL

7-seeds: North Carolina, NC State, St. John’s, Louisiana Tech 

8-seeds: Kent State, Oakland, Nevada, Illinois State 

Ranking of Other Postseason Contenders: Rutgers, South Carolina, Boston College, Arizona, Portland, Washington State, Alabama

Did you know that there are eight schools the Big 6 power conferences that have never won a national championship in any sport?  These teams are: Virginia Tech, Kansas State, Seton Hall, South Florida, DePaul, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Pittsburgh.  Keep in mind that USF has only been playing in a major conference for a few years and DePaul and Seton Hall do not play football.  Therefore, the real underachievers here are VT, K-State, the two Mississippi schools, and Pittsburgh.  Sadly enough, none of the other division 1 schools in Mississippi (Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Southern Miss, etc.) have won a title of any type either.  Therefore, Mississippi joins South Dakota as the onlystates in the country to never celebrate a Division 1 national championship.  The major difference being that South Dakota has rarely participated in Division 1 athletics, whereas Mississippi has been doing it in every sport for over a century.  I will also note that there are a few major conference teams that have BARELY avoided being listed here.  The University of South Carolina has exactly won national championship coming in women’s track and field.  Vanderbilt also only has one and that was earned in the even more obscure sport of women’s bowling.

Because the NCAA doesn’t declare a  national champion in Division 1-A football, I decided to give credit for championships in that sport if they were unanimously voted on.  Therefore, Alabama is not included on this list because they have won several consensus national football championships, even though they have never won a title in any other sport.  Ole Miss, on the other hand, is on this list because even thought they won a couple of split titles in the 1950s and 60s, they were have never won an “undisputed national championship” of any type.

These spreads are based on the current lines according to the World Sports Exchange, and they are ordered from most confident to least confident.

California (-6.5) vs. Arizona State- The Bears looked impressive in their blowout win over Zona earlier this week, and they’ve already beaten ASU by 8 earlier in the season in Tempe.  Now that they get the Devils at home I think they win by double-digits here.

Virginia Tech (-1.0) vs. Maryland- When you have two evenly-matched teams playing in a game that is close to a pick’em, I always suggest take the home team.

Florida (-1.0) vs. Georgia-   The Gators beat the Dawgs by 16 at home, and I don’t see a change in venue making up that kind of difference.  My “rematch theory” has treated me well so far this year, so I’ll keep it up.

Miami-FL (-6.5) vs. NC State- Miami has been impressive at home as of late winning 2 of their last 3, all against quality opponents (wins over UVA and GT; loss against Duke).  Meanwhile, NC State has only won been able to stay within single-digits in 2 of their ACC road games this season.

Charleston (Pick) vs. Furman- I won with the Cougars on Thursday night, so I’m going to pick them again this weekend.  Rematch theory is again in place, as C of C beat the Paladins by 12 earlier this season.  The only thing to worry about here is if Charleston struggles to bounce back after an emotional loss to Wofford.  It might be an issue against an upper-echelon SoCon opponent.   But against 7-10 Furman I think they’ll be fine.

Yesterday’s Record: 1-0, Overall Season Record: 21-15

I have been following the United States’ quest for a rare victory in the Winter Olympic medal count, and it got me thinking about what sports this nation has never won gold in or has failed to medal altogether.  After doing some research, I have found out the United States has won a medal in every Winter Olympic sport.  Going into Vancouver, the Nordic Combined was the only sport the U.S. had never medaled in, but in the past 2 weeks, we’ve won 4 from there, including a gold.  However, we still have never won a gold medal in luge, curling, cross-country skiing, or ski jump.

In the Summer Olympics, the U.S. has never medaled in badminton, team handball, or table tennis.  In addition to those three, we’ve never won a gold medal in the modern pentathlon (really cool sport actually), judo, field hockey, or the triathlon.

Keep in mind that I’m referring to sports as a whole.  Not specific events.  There are many events the U.S. has never won.  For example, the United States has never won gold in women’s short track speed skating, but Apolo Ohno has won several golds for us on the men’s side.

I published the column below a couple of weeks ago, but due to several shifts in some of the conference standings, I think it might be best to update it by adding and subtracting a few teams.  Only teams in first or second place in their conference will be included in this column.

We are just a few days away from the start of the mid-major conference tourneys, so it’s time to see which Cinderella stories could emerge.  The mid-major conference tournaments are the source much of the early holiday season drama, as only the tourney champion will be able to put on their dancing shoes.  While almost all mid-major NCAA teams have the chance to play Cinderella come Christmas Day (aka the first round of the NCAA tourney), it is particularly special when these teams have an inspiring sentimental storyline.  Often times this involves a squad making its first trip to the Big Dance (see North Dakota State last year).  Other times there is a likable coach who warms the hearts of the nation (see Pete Carril in 1994).   Inevitably, when the second week of March comes around, these stories will come to fruition.  In the meantime, it’s worth looking at the standings and checking out which mid-major conference leaders/contenders could inspire us during ESPN’s annual championship week.  These are listed in alphabetical order by conference and then by conference record.

Stony Brook (America East)-They’ve opened up a 2 game lead  at the top of the conference standings now. Even though the Black Bears would have to be considered a better Big Dance storyline from this conference, the Seawolves are also a Big Dance virgin with a great shot at getting in.

Maine Black Bears (America East)- Even though they’ve been sliding a bit of late, the Black Bears are still tied for second in the American East standings with a fighting chance to get their first tourney bid.   Besides this being a potentially incredible story, I have another reason for putting the Black Bears at #1 on this list.I track all the visitation stats for this blog with Google Analytics, and in its six-month history I have had over 2,000 visitors from 10 countries (including Iraq, India, and Australia) and every U.S. state, except for  Maine .  I do realize many ad-filtering programs prevent Google Analytics from tracking all visitation data, but you would have thought that by now at least one of the documented visits would come from there.  Hopefully, with this profile on Maine Black Bear, someone from Maine will stumble their way on here.

Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)- The Dolphins (great college nickname) haven’t danced since 1986 but are currently leading the A-Sun.  Many of you probably don’t realize that Jacksonville was the surprising national runner-up to UCLA in 1970.  It would be great to see a team with such an impressive Cinderella pedigree rejoin the dance.

Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun)- The Church of Christ school has never danced, but they are only one game back of Jacksonville.

Northern Colorado (Big Sky)- The Bears have never danced, but they find themselves in second place in the Big Sky.   

Coastal Carolina (Big South)- The Chanticleers, which is maybe the most absurd/commonly misspelled nickname in all of sports, are dominating the Big South right now, even though they haven’t danced since 1993.  It would certainly be fun to see the chaos in Myrtle Beach if Coastal went on to take the conference crown.

Quinnipiac (Northeast)- They’ve knocked on the Big Dance door a few times recently, but have never made it through.   The Bobcats have another good chance this year, as they are only one game behind Robert Morris at the top of the conference standings.

Murray State (Ohio Valley)- The Racers used to be an annual Big Dance Cinderella threat, but it’s actually been 4 years since this squad has made it in.  Nevertheless, they are currently sporting an impressive 16-1 conference record and a 26-4 overall mark, as they could be dangerous 13 or 14 seed in March.

Wofford (Southern)- If you’re not from South Carolina, you probably don’t know a lot about this small school in Spartanburg.  The team has enjoyed some 1-AA football success but has never danced, and consistently finds itself in the shadow of next door neighbor Furman, both academically and athletically.  However, a dance bid changes everything, and Wofford is currently alone at the top of the SoCon.

College of Charleston (Southern)-Bobby Cremins back in the big dance for the first time since 1996?  What else needs to be said.  They’ve fallen out of first place in the conference with a loss at Wofford last night, but they’ll get them on a neutral site in the conference tourney. 

Jackson State (SWAC)- There is nothing sentimental about Jackson State itself, as they’ve been a dominant force in the SWAC for a while now.  The real storyline here comes from the fact that the Tigers started the season 0-10, and now find themselves leading the conference by 2 games!  Is Jackson State the most resilient team in the country, or is the SWAC just that bad of a conference?

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC)- If you’re impressed with Jackson State’s ability to turn things around after an 0-10 start, then I got one better for you.  The Golden Lions, who have never danced before, started the season 0-11!  They’re now 2nd in the SWAC tied with Prairie View.  I would call this another amazing turnaround, but Pine Bluff probably had one of the most brutal non-conference schedules in the country as they had to play 9 BCS /NCAA tourney teams.   Not to mention their first 14 games of the season were true road games, so they didn’t play at home this season until January 16th!  I think whoever does the scheduling around there needs to get canned immediately.

Siena (-6.5) vs. Rider- The Gaels have already beaten the Broncos by 22 this season, and Rider is not particularly good at home.

Yesterday’s Record: 1-1, Overall Season Record: 20-15

These spreads are based on the current lines according to the World Sports Exchange, and they are ordered from most confident to least confident.

South Carolina (+16.5) vs. Kentucky- The Gamecocks have won 3 straight versus the Cats and though I don’t see them making it 4 in a row, South Carolina is just one of those teams Kentucky always struggles with (both in football and basketball).  Obviously, the Cats aren’t going to overlook USC like they did in Columbia, as they will instead be seeking revenge.  However, the Gamecocks know they can play with Kentucky, and I think they’ll take that confidence into Rupp and make this one closer than the experts are predicting.

Charleston (+9.5) vs. Wofford- I’m staying in the Palmetto State with this pick because this line really puzzles me.  Charleston is favored by most to win the SoCon and has already beaten the Terriers earlier this season.  I’d give Wofford a slight advantage here since they are playing at home, but 9.5 points certainly isn’t slight. 

Yesterday’s Record: 3-1, Overall Season Record: 19-14 (I would have been 4-for-4 yesterday if Purdue didn’t collapse in the second half)

These spreads are based on the current lines according to the World Sports Exchange, and they are ordered from most confident to least confident.

Temple (-3.5) vs. Dayton- I absolutely love the Owls here!  Their only loss at home this year was Kansas, and Dayton is certainly not going to come to Philly and play like the Jayhawks did.  This is basically a 5 vs. 12 NCAA tourney game being played on the 5-seed’s home court. 

Purdue (-2.5) vs. Minnesota- The Boilermakers just beat Ohio State and Michigan State on the road, and now I’m supposed to believe they’re going to struggle in Minneapolis against the NIT-bound Gophers???

LSU (+2.0) vs. Arkansas- It’s so, so difficult to bet on a team that is winless in conference play and yet is only a two-point underdog versus a 7-5 opponent.  However, LSU has played well at home recently  besides the debacle against Kentucky.  The Tigers are just too good  to become the first winless SEC team of all-time, and a home game against Arkansas seems like the perfect time to end the streak.

Florida State (-2.0) vs. North Carolina- I thought the world would come to an end before the Noles would be favored to win in Chapel Hill.  Nevertheless, they are giving two to the Heels here and until UNC beats a postseason-bound team, then I’ll keep picking against them.  Keep in mind that Roy’s team has just as dreadful of a conference record against the spread as they do in real-life (3-9).

Overall Season Record: 16-13 (I’ve hit 9 of my last 11 blog picks!)

The teams below are displayed below on an S-curve, so they are ranked from left to right within each seeding line.  The italicized teams are ones predicted to win their conference tourney and gain an automatic bid to the dance.  For the conferences who currently have NCAA tourney teams, it is assumed that one of those teams will win their conference tourney.  If not, then a stolen bid would result, and the number of at-large bids would drop.

You will notice that some of the # 13 seeded conference champions are listed both in the big dance field and the NIT field.  Their NIT inclusion simply shows what NIT seed that team would have if they were to lose in their conference tourney.  Obviously, if they were to win their respective conference tourneys, then they would be deleted from the NIT field, and little dance at-large spots would open up.  However, with the NIT, keep in mind that typically between 5-8 spots will be taken by small conference regular season champs who lose their conference tourneys and thereby get NIT auto bids.

NCAA Tourney Field:

1-seeds: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Purdue

2-seeds: Duke, Villanova, Kansas State, New Mexico

3-seeds: West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Tennessee

4-seeds: Texas, Brigham Young, Georgetown, Ohio State

5-seeds: Wisconsin, Michigan State, Temple, Gonzaga

6-seeds: Butler, Richmond, Xavier, Maryland

7-seeds: Baylor, Florida State, Texas A & M, Wake Forest

8-seeds: Northern Iowa, Clemson, Missouri, Virginia Tech

9-seeds: UNLV, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, UTEP

10-seeds: Louisville, Rhode Island, California, Illinois

11-seeds: Cornell, Saint Mary’s, UAB, Florida

12-seeds: Marquette, Siena, Old Dominion, Connecticut

13-seeds: Dayton, Utah State, Oakland, Kent State

14-seeds: Murray State, Weber State, Charleston, Sam Houston State

15-seeds: North Texas, Pacific, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville

16-seeds: Stony Brook, Morgan State, Robert Morris, Lehigh, Jackson State

NIT Tourney Field:

1-seeds: San Diego State, Mississippi State, Utah State, Charlotte

2-seeds: Memphis, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Saint Louis

3-seeds: Wichita State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, South Florida,

4-seeds: Seton Hall, St. John’s, Washington, William & Mary

5-seeds: Minnesota, Marshall, Louisiana Tech, Virginia

6-seeds: VCU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Texas Tech

7-seeds: South Carolina, Tulsa, North Carolina, Miami-FL

8-seeds: New Mexico State, Illinois State, Oakland, Kent State 

Ranking of Other Postseason Contenders: Arkansas, Nevada, Rutgers, Alabama, Michigan, Arizona, NC State, Boston College, George Mason, Washington State, Portland

The teams below are displayed below on an S-curve, so they are ranked from left to right within each seeding line.  The italicized teams are ones predicted to win their conference tourney and gain an automatic bid to the dance.  For the conferences who currently have NCAA tourney teams, it is assumed that one of those teams will win their conference tourney.  If not, then a stolen bid would result, and the number of at-large bids would drop.

Yyou will notice that some of the # 13 seeded conference champions are listed both in the big dance field and the NIT field.  Their NIT inclusion simply shows what NIT seed that team would have if they were to lose in their conference tourney.  Obviously, if they were to win their respective conference tourneys, then they would be deleted from the NIT field, and little dance at-large spots would open up.  However, with the NIT, keep in mind that typically between 5-8 spots will be taken by small conference regular season champs who lose their conference tourneys and thereby get NIT auto bids.

NCAA Tourney Field:

1-seeds: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Purdue

2-seeds: Duke, Villanova, Kansas State, West Virginia

3-seeds: New Mexico, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Tennessee

4-seeds: Texas, Brigham Young, Georgetown, Ohio State

5-seeds: Wisconsin, Michigan State, Temple, Gonzaga

6-seeds: Butler, Richmond, Xavier, Maryland

7-seeds: Baylor, Florida State, Texas A & M, Wake Forest

8-seeds: Northern Iowa, Clemson, Missouri, Virginia Tech

9-seeds: UNLV, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, UTEP

10-seeds: Louisville, Rhode Island, California, Cornell

11-seeds: Illinois, Saint Mary’s, UAB, Florida

12-seeds: Marquette, Siena, Old Dominion, Dayton

13-seeds: San Diego State, Utah State, Oakland, Kent State

14-seeds: Murray State, Weber State, Charleston, Sam Houston State

15-seeds: North Texas, Pacific, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville

16-seeds: Stony Brook, Morgan State, Robert Morris, Lehigh, Jackson State

NIT Tourney Field:

1-seeds: Mississippi State, Connecticut, Utah State, Charlotte

2-seeds: Memphis, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Saint Louis

3-seeds: Notre Dame, South Florida, Cincinnati, Seton Hall,

4-seeds: St. John’s, Wichita State, Washington, Minnesota

5-seeds: William & Mary, Marshall, Louisiana Tech, Virginia

6-seeds: VCU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Texas Tech

7-seeds: South Carolina, Tulsa, North Carolina, Miami-FL

8-seeds: New Mexico State, Illinois State, Oakland, Kent State 

Ranking of Other Postseason Contenders: Arkansas, Nevada, Rutgers, Alabama, Michigan, Arizona, NC State, Boston College, George Mason, Oklahoma, Washington State, Portland

The teams below are displayed below on an S-curve, so they are ranked from left to right within each seeding line.  The italicized teams are ones predicted to win their conference tourney and gain an automatic bid to the dance.  For the conferences who currently have NCAA tourney teams, it is assumed that one of those teams will win their conference tourney.  If not, then a stolen bid would result, and the number of at-large bids would drop.

Yyou will notice that some of the # 13 seeded conference champions are listed both in the big dance field and the NIT field.  Their NIT inclusion simply shows what NIT seed that team would have if they were to lose in their conference tourney.  Obviously, if they were to win their respective conference tourneys, then they would be deleted from the NIT field, and little dance at-large spots would open up.  However, with the NIT, keep in mind that typically between 5-8 spots will be taken by small conference regular season champs who lose their conference tourneys and thereby get NIT auto bids.

NCAA Tourney Field:

1-seeds: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Villanova

2-seeds: Purdue, Duke, Kansas State, West Virginia

3-seeds: Vanderbilt, New Mexico, Brigham Young, Michigan State

4-seeds: Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, Gonzaga

5-seeds: Temple, Butler, Georgetown, Ohio State

6-seeds: Baylor, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Richmond

7-seeds: Maryland, Xavier, Georgia Tech, Texas A & M

8-seeds: Florida State, Northern Iowa, Virginia Tech, Missouri

9-seeds: Clemson, UNLV, Dayton, Illinois

10-seeds: Oklahoma State, UTEP, Louisville, Rhode Island

11-seeds: California, Cornell, Saint Mary’s, Siena,

12-seeds: UAB, Florida, Old Dominion, San Diego State

13-seeds: Charlotte, Utah State, Oakland, Kent State,

14-seeds: Murray State, Sam Houston State, Weber State, , Charleston

15-seeds: Pacific, Belmont, North Texas, Coastal Carolina

16-seeds: Morgan State, Robert Morris, Stony Brook, Lehigh, Jackson State

NIT Tourney Field:

1-seeds: Marquette, Ole Miss, Connecticut, Mississippi State

2-seeds: South Florida, Utah State, Cincinnati, Wichita State

3-seeds: Notre Dame, Memphis, Seton Hall, Arizona State

4-seeds: Saint Louis, Washington, Minnesota, Northeastern

5-seeds: Northwestern, Virginia, William & Mary, Marshall

6-seeds: Tulsa, South Carolina, St. John’s, Texas Tech

7-seeds: North Carolina, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas, VCU

8-seeds: Michigan, Arizona, Miami-FL, New Mexico State

Ranking of Other Postseason Contenders: Illinois State, Nevada, Rutgers, Oklahoma Alabama, Oakland, Kent State, George Mason, Portland, Drexel, Iowa State

These spreads are based on the current lines according to the World Sports Exchange, and they are ordered from most confident to least confident.

Northern Iowa (-3.5) vs. Old Dominion- I’ve been saying for weeks now that the Monarchs are overrated and do not deserve an at-large bid if they lose in their conference tourney.  I stand by that assertion, and I think you’ll see what I’m talking about tonight.  Also, it’s pretty much impossible to win in Cedar Falls, as the Panthers’ last home loss came over a year ago.

Cornell (-2.5) vs. Harvard- Can home court really make up for 36 points?  Because that’s how many the Crimson got beat by in Ithaca just a few weeks ago.  I know Cornell did have a tough road loss last week, but it’s because they got caught napping.  The Big Red will come ready to play tonight, as their conference title hopes hang in the balance.

Overall Season Record: 14-13 (I’m still 8 for my last 10!)

Only got one for you today, but I think it’s a good one…

Northwestern (-7.0) vs. Penn State- I won with the Wildcats at home on Sunday, so why not try it again.  Northwestern is definitely capable of woodsheding the Lions at home.

Yesterday’s Record: 2-0, Overall Season Record: 14-12 (I’ve hit 8 of my last 9!)

These spreads are based on the current lines according to the World Sports Exchange, and they are ordered from most confident to least confident

Wake Forest (+5.5) vs. Virginia Tech- I hate betting for or against my own team.  I really do.  But this line is just too high for me to ignore.  I know VT traditionally plays us very well, and Wake does struggle on the road.  In fact, I’ll even go as far as saying there is a decent chance VT beats Wake tonight, but at the very least it should be a close game decided in the final minute.

Georgia Tech (-5.5) vs. North Carolina- So here is another ACC game where the home team is favored by 5.5 points.  This time, however, I will take the home team, as GT should roll here.  I know they’ve been slumping, but  UNC only has one true road win all year and that was against the lowly NC State Wolfpack.  The Jackets should take this one by double-digits.