PiRate Ratings: College Football for September 22-24, 2011

Let’s tune in to our favorite radio drama serial—All My Expansions.  In today’s episode, the evil John Swofford has taken away two suitors, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, from his neighbor, John Marinatto.  That leaves Marinatto in a bit of purgatory with his comrade Dan Beebe.  Beebe has already lost a suitor, Texas A&M, to Mike Slive, and that western, swashbuckling, showman Larry Scott is going to rustle away the rest of Beebe’s prime cattle in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Texas.

 

Tune in tomorrow to see if Baylor’s lawsuit against Texas A&M will have any effect on the SEC, or if it comes back to bite the Bears on the tush, leaving them out in the cold after every other conference shuns them.

 

We will find out if Texas Governor Rick Perry gets hit from Mitt Romney and Michelle Bachmann on his A&M to the SEC issue.  On second chance, they have so much ammunition on the Gardasil issue, a higher debt to GDP ratio in Texas than in California (that Perry has more than doubled since he has been governor), and the fact that Texas has the most minimum wage jobs per capita in the US.  So he can slide and continue to be just a former A&M yell leader.

 

Okay, political rants aside, there were some big games this past weekend.  Oklahoma went on the road and held Florida State at bay for most of the night.  Florida once again punished Tennessee in the Swamp.  Andrew Luck went on the road to Tucson and led Stanford to an impressive win.  Miami showed the nation that Ohio State will probably lose more games this season.  Temple almost upset Penn State.  Most of all, it is amazing to see a number of surprising 3-0 teams.  In the ACC, Clemson ended Auburn’s long winning streak, and the Tigers are 3-0.  North Carolina, without Butch Davis, is 3-0.  In the Big East, South Florida and West Virginia are only mildly surprising 3-0 teams, while you can say the same about Illinois and Michigan in the Big Ten.  Iowa State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, and Florida International may be the four biggest surprise teams at 3-0.  The Cyclones own wins over Iowa and Connecticut.  The Cowboys won at Bowling Green.  Vanderbilt blew Ole Miss off the field, while Florida International beat Central Florida after beating Louisville.

 

Here are the rankings for the 120 FBS teams this week:

 

#	Team	PiRate
1	Oklahoma	133.8
2	Alabama	130.7
3	Stanford	130.4
4	L S U	128.7
5	Texas A&M	128.4
6	Oregon	125.3
7	Boise St.	125.0
8	Oklahoma St.	122.7
9	Wisconsin	122.5
10	Florida St.	121.3
11	Notre Dame	120.6
12	Arkansas	119.9
13	Florida	119.2
14	S. Carolina	116.8
15	Nebraska	116.3
16	Miss. State	115.9
17	Miami	115.1
18	Va. Tech	114.7
19	Arizona St.	114.4
20	Utah	114.2
21	Missouri	114.0
22	Southern Cal	113.0
23	Michigan	112.8
24	Texas	112.5
25	Michigan St.	111.8
26	Georgia	111.5
27	Clemson	111.2
28	Penn State	110.8
29	Washington	110.4
30	California	110.2
31	Auburn	109.9
32	T C U	109.1
33	W. Virginia	108.9
34	Tennessee	108.9
35	Arizona	108.7
36	Illinois	108.6
37	Texas Tech	108.3
38	Maryland	107.6
39	Baylor	107.4
40	Iowa	107.2
41	Cincinnati	107.1
42	Pittsburgh	106.6
43	N.C. State	106.4
44	N. Carolina	106.3
45	S. Florida	105.3
46	Georgia Tech	104.9
47	Oregon St.	104.8
48	Washington St.	104.5
49	Ohio State	104.2
50	Vanderbilt	103.9
51	B Y U	103.8
52	Air Force	103.6
53	S.D. State	103.2
54	Tulsa	102.7
55	Navy	102.6
56	Iowa State	102.4
57	U C L A	102.2
58	Wake Forest	101.8
59	Colorado	101.5
60	Kansas St.	100.8
61	Connecticut	100.3
62	Northwestern	100.1
63	Nevada	99.6
64	Houston	99.3
65	S M U	99.1
66	Minnesota	99.0
67	Virginia	98.8
68	Duke	98.6
69	Boston Coll.	98.2
70	Hawaii	97.0
71	Utah St.	96.6
72	Purdue	96.5
73	E C U	96.4
74	Central Florida	96.2
75	Ole Miss	96.0
76	Kentucky	95.4
77	Rutgers	95.0
78	Southern Miss.	94.5
79	Toledo	94.0
80	Syracuse	93.9
81	Fresno St.	93.9
82	Florida Int’l	93.8
83	San Jose St.	92.8
84	La.Tech	92.4
85	Western Michigan	92.3
86	Miami (O)	92.2
87	Temple	91.9
88	Louisville	91.9
89	Kansas	91.1
90	Rice	90.9
91	Ohio U	90.8
92	Arkansas St.	90.8
93	Colorado St.	90.8
94	Northern Illinois	90.7
95	Wyoming	89.7
96	Army	86.8
97	UL-Monroe	85.9
98	Bowling Green	85.5
99	Idaho	85.4
100	Troy	85.1
101	UNLV	84.4
102	Indiana	83.9
103	Tulane	83.5
104	Marshall	83.5
105	Central Mich.	80.6
106	U A B	80.5
107	U T E P	80.1
108	Ball St.	79.5
109	New Mexico	79.0
110	New Mexico St.	78.8
111	Buffalo	76.9
112	UL-Lafayette	76.6
113	Middle Tennessee	76.6
114	Kent St.	76.1
115	N. Texas	73.1
116	Western Ky.	73.1
117	Eastern Mich.	72.9
118	Florida Atlantic	69.1
119	Akron	66.5
120	Memphis	64.2

 

Here they are by conference.

 

Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Florida State	0-0	2-1	121.3
Clemson	0-0	3-0	111.2
Maryland	1-0	1-1	107.6
North Carolina State	0-1	2-1	106.4
Wake Forest	1-0	2-1	101.8
Boston College	0-1	0-3	98.2
Coastal Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Miami-FL	0-1	1-1	115.1
Virginia Tech	0-0	3-0	114.7
North Carolina	1-0	3-0	106.3
Georgia Tech	0-0	3-0	104.9
Virginia	0-1	2-1	98.8
Duke	1-0	1-2	98.6

 

 

Big East Conference
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
West Virginia	0-0	3-0	108.9
Cincinnati	0-0	2-1	107.1
Pittsburgh	0-0	2-1	106.6
South Florida	0-0	3-0	105.3
Connecticut	0-0	1-2	100.3
Rutgers	0-0	1-1	95.0
Syracuse	0-0	2-1	93.9
Louisville	0-0	2-1	91.9

 

 

Big Ten
Leaders Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Wisconsin	0-0	3-0	122.5
Penn State	0-0	2-1	110.8
Illinois	0-0	3-0	108.6
Ohio State	0-0	2-1	104.2
Purdue	0-0	2-1	96.5
Indiana	0-0	1-2	83.9
Legends Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Nebraska	0-0	3-0	116.3
Michigan	0-0	3-0	112.8
Michigan State	0-0	2-1	111.8
Iowa	0-0	2-1	107.2
Northwestern	0-0	2-1	100.1
Minnesota	0-0	1-2	99.0

 

 

Big 12
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Oklahoma	0-0	2-0	133.8
Texas A&M	0-0	2-0	128.4
Oklahoma State	0-0	3-0	122.7
Missouri	0-0	2-1	114.0
Texas	0-0	3-0	112.5
Texas Tech	0-0	2-0	108.3
Baylor	0-0	2-0	107.4
Iowa State	0-0	3-0	102.4
Kansas State	0-0	2-0	100.8
Kansas	0-0	2-1	91.1

 

 

Conference USA
East Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
East Carolina	0-0	0-2	96.4
Central Florida	0-0	2-1	96.2
Southern Mississippi	0-1	2-1	94.5
Marshall	1-0	1-2	83.5
U A B	0-1	0-2	80.5
Memphis	0-0	1-2	64.2
West Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Tulsa	1-0	1-2	102.7
Houston	0-0	3-0	99.3
S M U	1-0	2-1	99.1
Rice	0-0	1-1	90.9
Tulane	1-1	2-1	83.5
U T E P	0-1	2-1	80.1

 

 

Independents
Team		Overall	Rating
Notre Dame		1-2	120.6
B Y U		1-2	103.8
Navy		2-1	102.6
Army		1-2	86.8

 

 

Mid American Conference
East Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Miami (O)	0-0	0-2	92.2
Temple	1-0	2-1	91.9
Ohio U	0-0	3-0	90.8
Bowling Green	0-0	2-1	85.5
Buffalo	0-1	1-2	76.9
Kent St.	0-0	0-3	76.1
Akron	0-1	0-3	66.5
West Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Toledo	0-0	1-2	94.0
Western Michigan	1-0	2-1	92.3
Northern Illinois	0-0	1-2	90.7
Central Michigan	0-1	1-2	80.6
Ball State	1-0	2-1	79.5
Eastern Michigan	0-0	2-1	72.9

 

 

Mountain West Conference
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Boise State	0-0	2-0	125.0
T C U	1-0	2-1	109.1
Air Force	0-1	1-1	103.6
San Diego State	0-0	3-0	103.2
Colorado State	1-0	2-1	90.8
Wyoming	0-0	3-0	89.7
UNLV	0-0	1-2	84.4
New Mexico	0-1	0-3	79.0

 

 

Pac-12 Conference
North Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Stanford	1-0	3-0	130.4
Oregon	0-0	2-1	125.3
Washington	0-0	2-1	110.4
California	0-0	3-0	110.2
Oregon State	0-0	0-2	104.8
Washington State	0-0	2-1	104.5
South Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Arizona State	0-0	2-1	114.4
Utah	0-1	2-1	114.2
Southern Cal	1-0	3-0	113.0
Arizona	0-0	1-2	108.7
U C L A	0-0	1-2	102.2
Colorado	0-0	1-2	101.5

 

 

Southeastern Conference
East Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Florida	1-0	3-0	119.2
South Carolina	1-0	3-0	116.8
Georgia	0-1	1-2	111.5
Tennessee	0-1	2-1	108.9
Vanderbilt	1-0	3-0	103.9
Kentucky	0-0	2-1	95.4
West Division
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Alabama	0-0	3-0	130.7
L S U	1-0	3-0	128.7
Arkansas	0-0	3-0	119.9
Mississippi State	0-2	1-2	115.9
Auburn	1-0	2-1	109.9
Ole Miss	0-1	1-2	96.0

 

 

Sunbelt Conference
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Florida International	1-0	3-0	93.8
Arkansas State	0-0	1-2	90.8
Louisiana-Monroe	0-0	1-2	85.9
Troy	0-0	0-2	85.1
U.of Louisiana	0-0	2-1	76.6
Middle Tennessee	0-0	0-2	76.6
North Texas	0-1	0-3	73.1
Western Kentucky	0-0	0-3	73.1
Florida Atlantic	0-0	0-2	69.1

 

 

Western Athletic Conference
Team	Conf.	Overall	Rating
Nevada	1-0	1-1	99.6
Hawaii	0-0	1-2	97.0
Utah State	0-0	1-1	96.6
Fresno State	0-0	1-2	93.9
San Jose State	0-1	0-3	92.8
Louisiana Tech	0-0	1-2	92.4
Idaho	0-0	1-2	85.4
New Mexico State	0-0	1-2	78.8

 

 

And, here are the PiRate Rating Spreads for this week with the opening lines.

 

This Week’s Games–PiRate Ratings
Thursday, September 22		PiRate Spread
Favorite	Underdog		Score	Line
CINCINNATI	North Carolina St.	3.7	27-23	NL
Friday, September 23		PiRate Spread
Favorite	Underdog		Score	Line
B Y U	Central Florida	11.6	24-12	4
Saturday, September 24		PiRate Spread
Favorite	Underdog		Score	Line
OHIO ST.	Colorado	6.7	27-20	16 1/2
DUKE	Tulane	18.1	35-17	10
SYRACUSE	Toledo	2.9	24-21	3 1/2
EAST CAROLINA	U a b	18.9	35-16	NL
SOUTH FLORIDA	U t e p	28.7	42-13	26
ILLINOIS	Western Michigan	20.3	30-10	15 1/2
RUTGERS	Ohio U	8.2	31-23	17 1/2
PENN ST.	Eastern Michigan	41.9	48-6	30
MIAMI (FL)	Kansas St.	18.3	28-10	11 1/2
S m u	MEMPHIS	32.4	52-20	21 1/2
MARYLAND	Temple	18.7	39-20	10
MICHIGAN ST.	Central Michigan	33.7	44-10	23
Georgia	OLE MISS	12.0	29-17	6 1/2
MIAMI (O)	Bowling Green	9.2	28-19	7
Army	BALL ST.	4.3	24-21	5 1/2
Virginia Tech	MARSHALL	28.2	42-14	20
ALABAMA	Arkansas	14.8	35-20	12 1/2
WASHINGTON	California	3.2	31-28	1
L s u	WEST VIRGINIA	16.3	30-14	6
MICHIGAN	San Diego St.	13.6	35-21	9 1/2
GEORGIA TECH	North Carolina	1.6	28-26	4 1/2
Florida	KENTUCKY	20.8	31-10	11
Notre Dame	PITTSBURGH	11.0	35-24	3 1/2
Florida St.	CLEMSON	6.6	31-24	3
SAN JOSE ST.	New Mexico St.	16.5	27-10	NL
Fresno St.	IDAHO	5.5	28-22	7
Connecticut	BUFFALO	20.9	31-10	12 1/2
OREGON ST.	U c l a	6.1	30-24	1 1/2
TEXAS TECH	Nevada	12.2	35-23	15 1/2
SOUTH CAROLINA	Vanderbilt	16.4	33-17	18 1/2
MISSISSIPPI ST.	Louisiana Tech	27.0	48-21	18
BAYLOR	Rice	19.5	41-21	19 1/2
VIRGINIA	Southern Miss.	7.8	28-20	1 1/2
TEXAS A&M	Oklahoma St.	9.2	45-36	3
Nebraska	WYOMING	23.6	44-20	25 1/2
OKLAHOMA	Missouri	23.3	37-14	19 1/2
UTAH ST.	Colorado St.	8.3	28-20	7 1/2
BOISE ST.	Tulsa	25.8	50-24	27
Oregon	ARIZONA	13.1	38-25	16
ARIZONA ST.	Southern Cal	4.9	21-16	1 1/2
AUBURN	Florida Atlantic	44.8	59-14	31 1/2
IOWA	Louisiana-Monroe	25.3	35-10	21 1/2
TROY	Middle Tennessee	11.5	28-16	9
Indiana	NORTH TEXAS	7.8	35-37	6 1/2
FLORIDA INT’L	Louisiana-Lafayette	20.2	34-14	19

 

A Better Way To Expand The NCAA Tournament

A Better Way To Expand The NCAA Tournament Field

Field of 88

The NCAA is tinkering with the idea of expanding the basketball tournament field from 65 to 96 teams.  Under this format, 32 teams would receive first round byes, while 64 teams would be forced into a “play-in” round. This would allow just about every .500 team in conference play in the top six conferences a great shot at making the field.  It supposedly would allow the regular season champions from the mid-majors to get in the field if they did not win their conference tournament championship.

I have a better idea, and I believe it would create maximum excitement.  Almost every fan fell in love with George Mason when they made their run to the Final Four.  It’s what is supposed to create all the excitement when a “little team” makes a deep run.  My plan would allow for a “little team” to make a deep run every season, while giving more of the power conference teams a chance to make the field.

Here’s how I propose an 88-team field.

1. Divide the conferences into two categories, similar to how football has BCS and non-BCS conferences.  Call the elite conferences the “56 Division” and the other conferences the “32 Division.”  

2. The 56 division will consist of the top 10 conferences in RPI over the previous five years, and the 32 Division will consist of the remaining 21 conferences (plus Independents and the yet-to-be-awarded an automatic bid Great West Conference).

3. The 32 Division will conduct their conference tournaments during the Wednesday through Saturday falling between February 25 to March 3, while the 56 Division will conduct their conference tournaments during the Wednesday through Sunday falling between March 4 and March 11.

4. On the Sunday following the 32 Division conference tournaments, the NCAA will announce their field of 32.  This will allow for all 21 conference tournament champions to make the field plus the top 11 at-large.  So, if a team from the Southland Conference finishes 29-4 but loses in the Southland Conference Tournament, that 29-4 team will get in the field of 32.

5. On the Sunday that concludes the 56 Division conferment tournaments, the NCAA will announce their field of 56 teams.  This averages out to 5.6 teams per large conference.  If the numbers ten, nine, and eight conferences receive just two bids each, then the remaining seven conferences will split 50 bids, more than seven per league.

6. The 32 Division will begin their opening two rounds of NCAA tournament play during the week that the 56 Division will be conducting their conference tournaments.  They will play two rounds, the first one falling on the Wednesday and Thursday of that week, and the second round falling on the Friday and Saturday of that week.  By Sunday, when the 56 Division field is announced, there will be eight teams remaining in the 32 Division field.

7. The 32 Division continues to play its own bracket for the next three games.  The 56 Division plays its own bracket for its first three rounds.  The next week after the 56 Division teams are selected will be much like it is now.  On the following Thursday through Sunday, two rounds will be played.  The 56 Division will have 14 teams remaining, while the 32 Division will have two teams left.  This leaves the same Sweet 16.

8. The following week, the two remaining 32 Division teams will join the bracket that included the overall #1 seed.  Those two teams will play for the 32 Division title, and the winner will then be one of the Elite 8.  The 56 Division will move from 14 to seven teams during this first game of the weekend.  The 32 Division champion will now play in the Elite 8 against a 56 Division team.

9.  Teams will be seeded 1-56 in the 56 Division and 1-32 in the 32 Division with no consideration given to conference affiliation.  Two teams from the same conference might play in the first round.

This guarantees that a mid-major or lower-prestigious team will advance to the Elite 8 every year.

Here’s an example of how this tournament might look.  For the sake of argument, let’s say these 10 conferences would be considered the 56 Division:  ACC, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Pac-10, and SEC.  

The 32 Division would then take the remaining conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sunbelt, WAC, and West Coast.

Let’s say these teams won the 32 Division conference tournaments:

America East—Vermont

Atlantic Sun—East Tennessee

Big Sky—Weber State

Big South—Coastal Carolina

Big West—Pacific

Colonial—George Mason

Horizon—Green Bay (upsetting Butler)

Ivy—Cornell

MAAC—Iona (upsetting Siena)

MAC—Kent State

MEAC—Morgan State

Northeast—Robert Morris

Ohio Valley—Morehead State (upsetting Murray State)

Patriot—Lafayette

Southern—Charleston

Southland—Stephen F. Austin (upsetting Sam Houston)

SWAC—Texas Southern

Summit—IUPUI

Sunbelt—Arkansas State

WAC—Utah State

West Coast—St. Mary’s (mild upset over Gonzaga)

These 21 conference champions automatically make the field of 32, and the five upset victims are easily chosen as well.  Additionally, six more teams are selected from these conferences—Louisiana Tech, Oakland, Old Dominion, Western Carolina, Akron, and Northern Colorado.

The 56 Division Field is announced on Selection Sunday, with these 56 teams in the field (Bold represents automatic qualifier by virtue of conference tournament championships)

ACC (8)—Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Virginia, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Clemson

Atlantic 10 (5)—Temple, Xavier, Rhode Island, Richmond, and Charlotte

Big East (10)—Villanova, Syracuse, Georgetown, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, and Marquette

Big Ten (5)—Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Illinois

Big 12 (7)—Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas A&M, Oklahoma St., and Baylor

CUSA (4)—UAB, Tulsa, UTEP, and Memphis

Missouri Valley (2)—Northern Iowa and Wichita State

Mountain West (4)—BYU, UNLV, New Mexico, and San Diego State

Pac-10 (3)—California, Arizona State, and Washington

SEC (8)—Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Alabama and Ole Miss

Villanova is named the overall number one seed, so the 32 Division champion will be placed in the bracket with Villanova.  Should Villanova win its first three tournament games, the Wildcats will face the 32 Division champion for a trip to the Final Four.  If Villanova is upset before making it to the Elite 8, the 32 Division champion will still play the team from that part of the bracket that makes it to the Elite 8 (the bracket will not be re-arranged).

Here is a computer simulated version of the tournament.

32 Division

Round One—played March 10 and 11

Butler  74  Texas Southern 62

Gonzaga 80  Lafayette 58

Cornell 72  Arkansas State 55

Old Dominion 68  Robert Morris 64

St. Mary’s 69  Vermont 52

Siena 75  East Tennessee 69

Stephen F. Austin 77  Utah State 74

Sam Houston 69  Coastal Carolina 67

Akron 58  Louisiana Tech 55

Green Bay 64  Kent State 60

Oakland 74  Morgan State 69

George Mason 62  Western Carolina 60

Pacific 83  Iona 78

Morehead State 72  Charleston 65

Weber State 90  Northern Colorado 77

Murray State 77  IUPUI 75 ot

Round Two—played March 12 and 13

Butler 69  Murray State 62

Gonzaga 85  Weber State 68

Cornell 67  Morehead State 62

Pacific 71  Old Dominion 67

St. Mary’s 70  George Mason 55

Siena 70  Oakland 60

Sam Houston 65  Akron 60

Stephen F. Austin 66  Green Bay 63

Round Three—played March 18 and 19

Butler 74  Sam Houston 60

Gonzaga 89  Stephen F. Austin 70

Cornell 82  Siena 80 2ot

St. Mary’s 73  Pacific 65

Round Four—played March 20 and 21

St. Mary’s 66  Butler 63

Gonzaga 78  Cornell 71

32-Division Championship—played March 25 or 26

St. Mary’s 72  Gonzaga 70

St. Mary’s moves on to the Elite 8 as the number 8 seed in the Villanova bracket.

56-Division

Round One—played March 18 and 19

Villanova 75  Alabama 66

Michigan State 65  Florida 63

Cincinnati 73  Northern Iowa 64

Oklahoma State 80  Richmond 66

Kansas 73  Illinois 70

Tulsa 70  New Mexico 61

Missouri 81  Temple 72

Clemson 77  UAB 70

Syracuse 73  Virginia 62

Vanderbilt 80  Washington 69

Texas 91  South Florida 69

Ohio State 73  California 60

Duke 91  Arizona State 72

Notre Dame 72  Rhode Island 71

B Y U 70  Wichita State 64

Texas A&M 74  Charlotte 67

West Virginia 83  UTEP 73

South Carolina 69  Purdue 67

Wake Forest 72  Florida State 67

Georgia Tech 80  UNLV 65

Kentucky 88  Memphis 77

Wisconsin 61  Marquette 58

Maryland 85  Pittsburgh 77

Louisville 65  Baylor 63

Kansas State 75  Virginia Tech 64

Mississippi State 71  Georgetown 69

Tennessee 82  San Diego State 68

Xavier 72  Ole Miss 60

Round Two—played March 20 and 21

Villanova 82  Oklahoma State 71

Michigan State 73  Cincinnati 66

Clemson 81  Kansas 74

Missouri 84  Tulsa 69

Syracuse 73  Ohio State 65

Vanderbilt 72  Texas 70

Duke 85  Texas A&M 70

Notre Dame 71  BYU 66

West Virginia 77 Georgia Tech 74

South Carolina 73  Wake Forest 70

Kentucky 84  Louisville 75

Maryland 68  Wisconsin 64

Kansas State 70  Xavier 67

Mississippi State 75  Tennessee 70

Round Three—played March 25 and 26

Michigan State 66  Villanova 64

Missouri 91  Clemson 83

Syracuse 72  Vanderbilt 64

Duke 81  Notre Dame 70

West Virginia 71  South Carolina 62

Kentucky 82  Maryland 70

Mississippi State 74  Kansas State 70

Elite 8 Round—played March 27 and 28

St. Mary’s 65  Michigan State 62

Mississippi State 76  Missouri 72

Kentucky 80  Syracuse 73

West Virginia 82  Duke 80

Final Four—played April 3

West Virginia 69  St. Mary’s 61

Kentucky 81  Mississippi State 72

Championship Game—played April 5

Kentucky 79  West Virginia 74