Wench To Wonderful
By Ali Karimi - March 11, 2008
With conference tourneys about to begin, these teams could go on a magic carpet ride into the tournament and help erase their less than memorable regular seasons. The teams were chosen because if today were Selection Sunday their names would not be heard. They have only one shot, their conference tournament.
ACC - Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets are a team that can beat any ACC team on any given day and lose to them as well. Maddeningly inconsistent they are now on a two game win streak heading into a first round game against Virginia. Could a win over the Cavaliers spark an improbable run to the big dance for the Ramblin Wreck? A second round win over Duke could do wonders to help this far fetched theory.
Big 12 - Oklahoma State
The Cowboys have played much better as of late for Sean Sutton. Texas Tech under Pat Knight has been an abysmal road team. On the neutral court, I give the edge to OSU in their first round game. Which would then set up a fantastic game against Texas, a team that just slipped by the Pokes 72-67 last week.
Big Ten - Penn State
The Nittany Lions have some momentum heading into the Big 10 tournament after a 68-64 upset of Indiana. Ed DeChellis's crew has already swept Illinois in the regular season and will meet them in the first round, a very winnable game. A second round clash with Purdue, a team that handled them easily during the regular season, would await Penn State.
Atlantic 10 - Temple
The Owls are in sole possession of second place in the A-10, however, a 18-12 overall record is keeping them from at large consideration. They will be the second seed in the conference tournament. I would expect a battle with UMass for the right to play Xavier for the league crown.
SEC - Mississippi
Ole Miss has a sub par 7-9 conference record but has won three straight heading into a first round game against a Georgia team they beat last week by ten. Andy Kennedy's squad definitely needs a great showing in the conference tournament to garner at large consideration, he might have to win it all to get in. If they deliver against Georgia, they would meet Kentucky in the second round.
Big East - Villanova
The Wildcats are on a two game win streak heading into their game against Syracuse. The team that wins will make the tournament, and the loser will be headed to the NIT. I will ride the Cat train in the first round and then some. Nova is a solid team capable of beating any Big East foe.
MAC - Western Michigan
The Bronco's have no shot at an at large but are 12-4 in MAC play and lead the western division. They boast a win over Davidson and could make some noise in the MAC tourney. A definite sleeper nobody is talking about.
Pac-10 - Oregon
The Ducks could erase any bad memories from an up and down season by having a strong showing in the PAC 10 tournament. They open with Washington State, a win would do wonders for their confidence. A loss would have them NIT bound.
Posted by Ali Karimi at 01:09 PM on March 11, 2008
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David Scott