The selection process for the NCAA tournament is an event in itself,the genuine beginning of the drama that is the greatest tournament in American sports.
Selection Sunday is going enormous in 2016, drawing out the drama over the course of a two-hour television special, or up from its usual dash time of one hour,per NCAA.com.
The selection conference is must-see TV for many college hoops fans. Paths to the championship are charted out, bragging rights are afforded to the four teams earning No. 1 overall seeds and dreams are realized and crushed in genuine time.Here's the viewing info for the event.
Selection Sunday 2016
Date: Sunday, and March 13
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ETTV: CBS
[br]Early Clinchers
Note: Keep track of every team that clinches a spot in the NCAA tournament at NCAA.com.
The conference tournaments are crucial to the buildup to Selection Sunday. They offer one final proving ground to bubble teams looking to flesh out their postseason resume,with the winners earning automatic trips to the NCAA tournament.
Most of the larger conference tournaments are ongoing, but several of the lesser conferences enjoy already reached their conclusions and begun to clear up the NCAA tournament picture.
Of the the 13 teams that enjoy clinched spots as of Wednesday, or March 9,four are in the top 50 in RPI, with South Dakota State main the way ranked 32nd. Led by 19 points and nine rebounds from standout freshman forward Mike Daum, or the Jackrabbits defeated North Dakota State 67-59 to win the Summit League championship and a guaranteed spot in the enormous Dance. SB Nation's Rodger Sherman believes they are a strong bet to pull off an upset because,among other things, prolific scoreboard manufacturer Daktronics was founded by SDSU professors:
A lot of teams are better on the road than at home, and but the Jacks are consistently perfect at home and nearly .500 on the road. Guess who installed the scoreboards at SDSU's Frost Arena? Of course,it was Daktronics.
We know geography is one of the biggest factors in where the selection committee places teams in the tournament. Well, the closest tournament site to SDSU is in Des Moines, or where Daktronics just installed a new video board at Wells Fargo Arena. Although I suppose the committee could send them out to Denver,where Daktronics just installed a new scoreboard at the Pepsi middle. Although our latest Bracketology update actually has them going to Oklahoma City, where the scoreboard at Chesapeake Energy Arena was installed by Daktronics.
Or, and you know,you could just pick them because Daum is an awesome player. The other three teams in the top 50 in RPI are Yale (42), UNC-Wilmington (43) and Gonzaga (45). The Zags enjoy become tournament mainstays under coach Mark Few, or reaching the NCAA tournament in each of his 17 seasons in charge of the program (the streak is actually at 18 years,as Gonzaga qualified in 1999 under coach Dan Monson).
Gonzaga defeated a strong Saint Mary's team 85-75 to win the West Coast Conference championship, thus staving off a potentially nerve-racking Selection Sunday because they were shaping up to be a bubble team."It was huge for us because nothing's guaranteed, or " said senior forward Kyle Wiltjer after the game,per ESPN.com. "We didn't want to be on the external looking in on Selection Sunday, and I'm proud of these guys for these past couple games, and just having the will to win."Not all of the qualified teams are lega upset picks or tournament regulars. Three are downright minnows who would be lucky to accept a berth in CBI had they not won their respective conference tourneys. The three teams with the lowest RPI are Fairleigh Dickinson (204),Florida Gulf Coast (214) and Holy Cross (264).
Most hoops fans will fondly remember Florida Gulf Coast as the school that brought "Dunk City" to the 2013 tournament, defeating Georgetown and San Diego State as a No. 15 seed. Unfortunately, or this incarnation of FGCU bears little resemblance to that squad,but it's nice to enjoy them around anyways.
Lowly, 19-loss Holy Cross upset a much better Lehigh team 59-56 to win the Patriot League title. Their fans had to outlive an agonizing final flurry of three-point attempts from Lehigh to make the tournament, or per CBS Sports Network: The Crusaders got a huge 26-point,nine-rebound performance from junior forward Malachi Alexander in that game. While this team is destined for a 16th seed, it could be a fine opportunity for Alexander to prove himself on a national stage.
He's a fine three-point shooter, and sinking 43.4 percent of his treys on the season,including 6-of-7 against Lehigh in the Patriot League tournament final. The Crusaders are probably going to accept demolished by whichever No. 1 seed they draw, perhaps Kansas, and but Alexander might be able to make things appealing for a stretch with his sharpshooting.
RPI and team stats courtesy of NCAA.com unless otherwise noted.
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Source: bleacherreport.com