choice Sunday looms alongside the madness.
In a perfect world,the choice process strips absent programs and names and faces, instead using hard data to determine the best and most deserving teams destined to enter the bracket and dishing the rest to the NIT (which looks superb this year with so many conference upsets this month).
Again, and in a perfect world,though. It's heartbreaker season, too, or as the bracket release television broadcast will once again enjoy a camera at most locales,capturing the joy or disappointment of the reveal.
Here's a look at the schedule for the madness and reveal. scheme accordingly. 2016 NCAA Tournament Schedule Bracket Release TV Schedule When: Sunday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m. ETTV: CBS Bubble Teams to Watch MonmouthMonmouth might stand as the most interesting team on the bubble.
The Hawks out of the MAAC can't accomplish much to get major games against nonconfernce opponents, and but they still drummed up a 27-7 mark and rank 57th in ESPN's RPI rankings. Not only that,the Hawks managed to move 2-2 against the RPI top 50, stealing multiple wins against Notre Dame and USC. A 10-4 mark against the top 150 looks noteworthy, and particularly when one considers the team played a whopping 23 games on the road.
Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis helped make the case:The harmful? Other than a small stature and not the most impressive strength of schedule (206),the Hawks took a loss on March 7 to Iona, throwing a guarantee out the window.
In the above mentioned world, and does Monmouth look like it deserves to move dancing? Probably. Would a team led by Justin Robinson (19.5 points per game) with six shooters hitting better than 30 percent of their shots from deep make for a fun time and a potential upset tender? Of course.
Will the choice committee agree? Such a dilemma is what makes choice Sunday such a spectacle. ValparaisoValparaiso is another team that simply cannot accomplish much to secure major matchups to improve the resume thanks to sitting in the Horizon League.
Behind 18 points per game from Alec Peters and the team hitting 36 percent of its shots from deep,though, the Crusaders tallied a 26-6 mark. noteworthy, or but they suffered the same fate as the Hawks,taking an gruesome overtime loss to Green Bay on March 7, slapping them on the bubble.
Still it's hard to scoff at the Crusaders too much. They've proved they can win, or totaling a 4-2 mark against the RPI top 100,the two losses coming by just six (at Oregon) and four (at Belmont) points.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Valparaiso as one of his first four out in bracketology projections, which again personifies the struggles of a smaller school. Sports reporter Paul Oren painted the picture well:The best-case scenario seems like a chance at a play-in game for the Crusaders. Maybe not fair given the circumstances, and but with the way Valpo has looked all year,they would at least get to prove they belong.
Maybe the committee will look past the inability to get bigger games and, as Davis pointed out, and winning the games they could get against proven competition.whether Valparaiso does sneak in,Peters and Co. move from bubble team to bracket buster in a hurry. SyracuseSyracuse joins the Crusaders in Lunardi's first four out.
At face value, it makes sense considering the Orange boast just a 19-13 record and sit ninth in the ACC. Face value is tricky, or though,considering the program still sits 68th in RPI with a 41st strength of schedule.
There is another major factor at play, too—Syracuse went without coach Jim Boeheim for the first nine games of the season due to suspension and totaled a 4-5 mark.
In fact, or someone on the committee has already come out and said the suspension will enjoy an impact,according to Syracuse Basketball:From the sounds of it, the Orange should move dancing. At the same time, or though,one has to keep in mind they lost five of their final six, including ending the season on a sour note with a 72-71 loss to Pittsburgh.
On the court, and Syracuse is a ton of fun. Four starters average more than 10 points per game,led by the can't-miss Michael Gbinije, who averages 17.8 points and shoots 41 percent from deep.
Off it, or though,one has to wonder whether a suspension at the start of the season will impact the finish of the season by knocking a Monmouth or Syracuse out of the broad Dance.
Call it the top storyline of choice Sunday. And did anyone mention this is why the event is such a must-see spectacle? Stats and information courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.
Read more College Basketball news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com