PiRate Ratings College Basketball — Wednesday, March 22, 2023

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PiRate Ratings College Basketball Conference Tournament Sneak Peak

The calendar seems to be accelerating these days, as conference tournament action just crept up on our PiRate Ship.  Three weeks from today, teams will begin playing for an automatic bid to the Big Dance.

The PiRate Ratings have created a guide for you to follow along online to see what’s what and who’s in and out.  As each tournament bracket becomes set, we will show you each team’s path to punching a Dance ticket, which teams are in line for at-large bids, and which teams can take out the Kleenex and shed some tears, maybe even necessitating the use of pink-shaded paper when delivering a message to the head coach.

There are 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, and in a 68-team tournament, 36 at-large teams will be selected.  Here is a preliminary breakdown on how each conference looks as of today.

American Athletic

Houston (10-1/22-2) has a strong chance to get a #1 bid, if the Cougars continue winning.  They are the only lock at the present time, because former near sure thing Memphis (7-3/17-6) keeps losing games they shouldn’t lose.  Three other teams are on the radar where a hot finish could get them into the discussion on Selection Sunday.  Cincinnati (7-4/16-8), Tulane (8-3/15-7), and Temple (8-3/14-10) most likely would have to get at least to the semifinals of the AAC Tournament and maybe make the Championship Game.

Atlantic Coast

Every year, some pundit or metric says the ACC is down.  If you think that 10 ACC teams should always make the Field, then yes it is down.  Because North Carolina and Duke aren’t the top two teams in the standings, the ACC is being dismissed as a potential championship league this year, but we wouldn’t be surprised if an ACC team makes the Final Four and if more than one make the Elite Eight.

As of today, it looks like seven teams could get into the tournament.  Surprising Clemson (10-3/18-6) has a half-game lead over Virginia (9-3/17-4) and surprising Pittsburgh (9-3/16-7).  Of the three, we think a hot finish by Virginia could make them a Final Four contender, because the Cavaliers are close to having the perfect resume for a Final Four team.

The other four teams that would be in the Field today are: North Carolina State (9-4/19-5), Miami (9-4/18-5), Duke (8-4/17-6), and North Carolina (7-5/15-8).

Three more teams, Wake Forest (7-6/15-9), Syracuse (7-6/14-10), and Virginia Tech (4-8/14-9) are in contention for bids but have a lot of work yet to do.

America East

This is a one bid league, and the perpetual top AEC team has slowly and deliberately climbed to the top again.  Vermont (7-2/13-10) has a 5-game winning streak and has a full game lead over the team that was hot at the start of the season, UMass Lowell (7-4/19-6).  The AEC Tournament is played on the home courts of the better seed, so getting home court advantage for the tournament might make it quite difficult to knock off the Catamounts.

Atlantic 10

In past years, three and four teams made the field from the A-10, but this year, it looks like a one-bid league.  The A-10 Tournament is in Brooklyn, and it will be a wide-open affair.  Current leader VCU (9-2/18-6) is not a clear-cut favorite, because this league tends to have more close games than blowouts.  The Rams need their defense to create offense, and in the postseason, offense becomes more important than defense by a little.

Saint Louis (7-3/15-8) has more offense than VCU, but the Billikens have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by other A-10 teams.  Dayton (7-4/15-9) may have the best talent in the league, but the Flyers have made numerous mistakes in games, where defensive lapses or lack of ball control has hurt them.  Saint Bonaventure (7-4/13-11) has improved by several points per game in the last three weeks, and the Bonnies have crept up the standings.  Coach Mark Schmidt has A-10 Tournament title success in recent years, so this is a team to keep an eye on.  Fordham (6-4/18-5) plays excellent pressure defense but has size limitations and can be exploited inside.  Duquesne (5-5/15-8) is a dark horse, but the Dukes haven’t been in the NCAA Tournament since 1977.

Atlantic Sun

This is definitely a one-bid league, and recent ASUN dynasty team Liberty (10-2/19-6) shares the lead with Kennesaw St. (10-2/18-7).  Neither team is a slam-dunk sure thing to make the Championship Game in this balanced league.  Keep an eye on Eastern Kentucky (9-3/16-9), where Coach A.W. Hamilton has the Colonels playing their typical disruptive defense and up-tempo offense.  His teams don’t start games tight like teams that play more patient basketball.  In the postseason, this style frequently pulls off upsets, but it is also vulnerable to laying an egg.  Lipscomb (7-5/15-10) just beat Liberty, and has a favorable schedule down the stretch to sneak into the 3-hole in the seeding.

Big 12

This is the best conference in college basketball this year, and a team with a losing conference record could very well make the Big Dance.  It’s been a year full of anxiety down in Austin with a mid-season coaching change necessitated by off-court actions, but Texas (8-2/19-4) has made it back to the top of the standings.  Iowa State (7-3/16-6) easily handled Kansas (6-4/18-5) over the weekend to move into second place.  These three are locks for the Dance.

Baylor (6-4/17-6), Kansas State (6-4/17-5), and TCU (6-4/17-6) are close to locks and need just to keep playing on their current paces.  Oklahoma State (5-5/14-9) is in good shape and short of a meltdown should be in the discussion on Selection Sunday.  West Virginia (3-7/14-9) may have the best chance of any team currently 4 games under .500 in their league to still make the field as an at-large team.  Oklahoma (2-8/12-11) is on the outside, looking in, even with a 24-point win over Alabama.  

Big East

The conference tournament at Madison Square Garden will be one of the most exciting of all this year, as it is in most seasons, because there are six teams with legitimate designs on the trophy.  Five of the six are at-large worthy today.  Marquette (11-2/19-5) has a 5-game winning streak, and Shaka Smart knows how to win in the postseason.  Xavier (11-2/19-5) has four victories over ranked opponents and Archie Miller knows how to win in the postseason.  Creighton (9-3/15-8) and Providence (9-3/17-6) will hear their names called on Selection Sunday, as will Connecticut (7-6/18-6).  Seton Hall (8-5/15-9) is in contention for an at-large spot, and Coach Shaheen Holloway has had recent tournament success at Saint Peter’s.

Big Sky

This is a one-bid league, and Eastern Washington (12-0/18-7) has lapped the field with 14 consecutive wins.  Montana State (10-2/17-8) is the top contender.  Any other team that wins the conference tournament could be looking at a First Four game in Dayton.

Big South

This is a one-bid league and probably #16-seed bid at that.  Longwood (8-4/16-9) led the race throughout most of January, but the Lancers fell behind UNC Asheville (10-2/18-7) and the red-hot Radford Highlanders (10-2/16-9), who have now won nine games in a row.  UNCA does not have the typical resume for postseason success, as they get beat in the hustle stats that become much more important in March.  Longwood won the automatic bid last year but quickly lost in the Round of 64 by more than 30 points.

Big Ten

The Big Ten figures to get at least seven teams into the Field, but this conference has disappointed year after year for the last 20 seasons.  Heavily favored teams have been upset early, as mid-major champions with more quickness have defeated more physical Big Ten teams.  Chief among the disappointing is Purdue (11-2/22-2).  Is this the year that Zach Edey leads the Boilermakers back to the Final Four for the first time since Joe Barry Carroll led PU there in 1980?  Since the Gene Keady era began in West Lafayette in 1981 and through his protege Matt Painter’s now 17th year, the Boilermakers have made 30 of the 41 NCAA Tournament fields, frequently with a top 4 seed.  PU has made just two Elite 8’s and eight Sweet 16’s in those 30 seasons, and there is a valid reason why even as a #1-seed three times, they have not had a lot of tournament success.  

Purdue has been an excellent half-court possession team in the regular seasons for the last 30 years, but the Boilermakers have not been up to snuff in the hustle points, especially in forcing turnovers and steals, where the elite teams usually perform quite well.  Just like Billy Beane stated in Moneyball that his methods did not work in the Playoffs, Boilerball doesn’t work in the NCAA Tournament.  Could this finally be the year where PU crosses the rubicon and makes it to the third weekend?  They have a dominating presence on the glass unlike most years in the past, but once again, they do not force turnovers and pick up steals that lead to cheap baskets.  Winning the title with a negative turnover margin isn’t something that has been done often since 1939.

Other Big Ten teams that figure to receive invitations are: Rutgers (8-4/16-7), Indiana (7-5/16-7), Illinois (7-5/16-7), Maryland (7-5/16-7), Northwestern (7-5/16-7), Iowa (7-5/15-8), and Michigan State (6-6/14-9).  Michigan (7-5/13-10) needs to close the season on a big winning streak to get onto the bubble.  The last time the Big Ten produced a national champion was 23 years ago, when Michigan State cut down the nets.  That’s a long time for a league that is supposed to be one of the top three.

Big West

This is a one-bid league in a very interesting conference race.  UC Santa Barbara (9-2/18-4) and UC-Irvine (8-3/15-8) have dominated the league in recent years, but Long Beach State (8-4/14-10) pulled of the upset last year to get the bid.  LBSU has a 6-game winning streak. LBSU relies more on inside play than hitting threes from the perimeter, and they are most likely to play more consistently in the Big West Tournament.

Hawaii (8-4/17-7) and UC Riverside (8-4/15-9) are forces to be reckoned with.  They are capable of beating any of the top three, making this a 5-team race for the bid.

Colonial Athletic

Until last week, Charleston (10-2/22-3) looked like a runaway choice to win the one bid from this league and maybe even earn a #11 or #12 seed.  From out of nowhere came the Hofstra Pride (10-2/17-8) with a 5-game winning streak that included beating C of C in Charleston.  Coach Speedy Claxton has done a bang-up job since taking over for legendary coach Joe Mihalich two years ago.  Claxton is a big hero in Hempstead, NY, where he donated a lot of money to help build the arena in which his jersey is retired.  He played for Jay Wright, and Wright proteges do quite well on the Eastern Seaboard.

Conference USA

This may become a two-bid league if somebody upsets Florida Atlantic (12-1/22-2) in the CUSA Tournament in Frisco, Texas.  Hometown favorite North Texas (10-3/19-5) has a pair of four-point losses to the Owls, and those four points can easily be made up when a Dance Ticket is on the line.  

UAB (8-5/17-8) beat FAU last week, and the Blazers have the talent to win this tournament.  An improving dark horse is Middle Tennessee (8-5/15-9).

If you want to see two college basketball games live at the same time, this tournament allows you to do so, from a large distance.  CUSA has two basketball courts set up at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility, separated by a thick curtain behind the bleachers.  By sitting deep in the end zone at curtain level extended, you can view both courts simultaneously.

Horizon

This is another one-bid league, and this is not a big year in the HL.  No team is powerful enough to pose as a legitimate surprise Sweet 16 team or even a Round of 32 team.  Youngstown State (11-3/19-6) has a fun offense to watch play, but the Penguins are probably another year away from being good enough to win a tournament game.  Keep an eye on Coach Jerrod Calhoun.  He won big at Division 2 Fairmont State, and he’s slowly built the Penguins into the top HL program. 

Milwaukee (10-3/16-7) and Northern Kentucky (10-4/15-10) figure to be the top contenders to YSU.

Ivy

The top four in the league make the conference tournament, which will be played at Jadwin Gymnasium at Princeton.  The home team Tigers (7-2/16-6) have raced past Cornell (5-4/15-7) and lead Yale (6-3/16-6) by a game.  Penn (5-4/13-11) and Brown (5-4/12-10) are tied with Cornell for third, and there is room for two of the three in the conference tournament.  Yale is the hot team, and the Bulldogs may give the Ivy its best chance for an upset win.

Metro Atlantic

It looked like Iona (9-3/16-7) with Rick Pitino coaching was the class of the league, but the Gaels hit a rough patch in January.  Siena (9-4/15-9) briefly took command of the conference lead but hit a rough patch in February.  The hot team de jour is Rider (10-3/13-9), with a 7-game winning streak.  

The one-bid for this league is up for grabs, and if there is a team from back in the pack with a slim chance to sneak up and win the automatic bid, it is Niagara (8-5/13-9).

Mid-American

Kent State (8-2/18-5) led the MAC by two games through January, as the Golden Flashes’ stingy pressure man-to-man defense devastated opponents.  They ceded their conference lead and fell into a second place tie due to two red hot teams.  Akron (9-1/17-6) has won eight games in a row, and Toledo (8-2/18-6) has won their last seven.  One of these three should win the one automatic bid, but there are others that could go on a run.

Mideastern Athletic

If you are old enough to have watched college basketball in the mid-1970’s, you might remember the 1974 NIT.  Maryland Eastern Shore was 26-1 and a logical top seed in the NAIA Tournament.  However, some African American leaders, led by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, lobbied the NIT to invite the Hawks, and he pressured the tournament enough to submit a bid to the NAIA program, the first and only time this happened.

UMES proved worthy by winning its first NIT game over Manhattan before falling by a deuce to Jacksonville in the second round.

That is the only real postseason success UMES (6-1/14-8) has had in the NCAA.  The Hawks are one of the most entertaining teams in college basketball.  This team is nothing like that great 1974 team that featured a fantastic inside game; they are more like the 1964 UCLA Bruins.  No starter is over 6 foot 5.  They are basically a 5-guard lineup, and they are defensive pests.  The Hawks created instant offense by stealing the ball and forcing turnovers, and then they limit three-point shooting on defense.  Plus, this team is loaded with experienced players, the type that can play above its expectations in March.  Should UMES get into the Tournament, they will still likely be placed in the First Four round in Dayton, but they will be really fun to watch play.

Of course, the MEAC is a one-bid league, and UMES must hold off Norfolk State (5-2/16-7), Howard (6-1/14-10 & 6 in a row), and Morgan State (4-3/12-11).

Missouri Valley

Arch Madness is going to be the most interesting in years this season, because the Valley is a lot better than most people realize, even if it remains a one-bid league.  This is a conference to look at in a potential double-digit NCAA Tournament team upsetting a single digit tournament team.

The race is currently tied with four teams, and if these four make the conference tournament semifinals, it may make Arch Madness the very best final two rounds of any conference tournament!

Drake (10-4/19-6) may have the best shot at winning a game in the Dance.  The Bulldogs are a 5-tool team, better than average shooting threes, getting inside baskets, playing defense, winning the rebound war, and having positive turnover margin.  The Bulldogs also have this league’s lone win over a ranked team.

The other three contenders are Bradley (10-4/17-8), Southern Illinois (10-4/18-7), and Belmont (10-4/17-8).  

Mountain West

Here is a conundrum.  The MWC has more tournament worthy teams than the Pac-12 at the moment.  Five teams deserve to be seriously considered, and even though the Selection Committee claims that they pay no attention to the number of teams from a conference that receive a bid, they definitely do but do it subtly.  If the Pac-12 only has three worthy teams with a fourth team on the Bubble, while this league has five tournament worthy teams, it is almost a metaphysical certitude that the fourth Pac-12 team will get in at the expense of the fight MWC team, and the Committee Chair will have statistical reasons to vindicate that selection.  Remember that there are three types of lies, and number three on the list is statistics.  No matter what the liability, the Committee will choose that one, whichever it is, to show that the other nine factors showing the MWC team to be better are not valid.

Editorial over.  The five teams that deserve to be in the Big Dance today are San Diego State (9-2/18-5), Nevada (8-3/18-6), Boise State (8-3/18-6), New Mexico (6-4/19-4), and Utah State (8-3/19-5).  We expect one of these five to get the shaft on Selection Sunday.

Northeast

This figures at the moment to be the weakest conference, and almost a sure bet to send its one-bid champion to the First Four in Dayton.  Unfortunately for the NEC, its current best team is not eligible for the NCAA Tournament due to its transition phase to Division 1 (a rule we find ridiculous).  Stonehill (8-3/12-14) can’t play in the NCAA or NIT this year.  Third place Merrimack (7-4/9-16) is also ineligible for the same reason.  That leaves Fairleigh-Dickinson (7-3/14-11) as the best bet, with Sacred Heart (6-5/13-13) and Wagner (5-5/12-9) the top contenders.  Last year’s Conference Tournament Champion Bryant is no longer in the league.

Ohio Valley

Thisone-bid league has been ravaged by team defections to other leagues, namely its former top four programs.  Only two of the original eight teams still remain in the league.  One of those two is Morehead State (9-3/16-9) leads the league with six other teams within striking distance of getting a #1 or #2 seed, which in this league gives them a bye to the semifinals.  One of those teams contending for a triple bye is Southern Indiana (6-6/13-12), but the Screaming Eagles are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament.  SIU Edwardsville (7-5/16-9) may be the best road team in the league this year, and the Cougars are riding high following a 55-foot game-winning buzzer beater on Saturday.

Pac-12

The Conference of Champions hasn’t had a basketball champion since 1997!  The league might even be only the third best in the West!  When you think about how far this league has fallen, if you eliminate UCLA in the John Wooden years, not much has changed in 60 years.

Not much else has changed that UCLA (10-2/19-4) is the premiere team in the league.  Coach Mick Cronin is a Rick Pitino protege, and he knows how to win in tournament action.  Cronin’s team has to be considered a strong Final Four contender this year, because the Bruins have all the necessary criteria to get there–a very experienced roster and coach, excellent defensive efficiency, almost great offensive efficiency, and outright dominance in the hustle stats.  The offensive efficiency is a tad lower than National Championship standards, but a hot finish could put them there.  If the Bruins run the table from here, they are getting a #1 seed.

Of the rest of the field, Arizona (10-3/21-3) is a lock and still has a chance to move up to the 1-seed line.  USC (9-3/17-6) isn’t a lock yet, but if the season ended today, the Trojans would be in the Field.  

Three others still have a chance to get to the good side of the Bubble.  Utah (9-5/16-9), Oregon (8-5/14-10), and Arizona State (7-6/16-8) must go on substantial winning streaks to break through.

Patriot

This is a one-bid league with no clear-cut slam dunk favorite.  Colgate (11-1/17-8) is close to securing the top seed in the conference tournament, and the Raiders have a highly efficient offense.  Their defense is not scary enough to pull off a big upset as a #15 seed in the Dance.  

Top contenders for the bid include: Lehigh (9-3/14-9), American (7-5/15-8), who just beat Colgate, and Army (7-5/13-12).

Southeastern

The SEC is always considered down when Kentucky (7-3/16-7) isn’t running away with the conference championship and staying in the top 5 nationally.  The Cats aren’t out of the picture for winning the SEC Tournament, where Nashville will become Lexington South in March.

Alabama (10-0/20-3) has to be considered a national title contender.  Coach Nate Oats has perhaps the nation’s top player in Brandon Miller, the closest thing to a college Lebron James.

Tennessee (8-2/19-4), Arkansas (5-5/16-7), and Auburn (7-3/17-6) will get bids, but none of this trio have a Final Four resume.  Missouri (5-5/17-6) might have the numbers to sneak into the Sweet 16 in year one under Dennis Gates.

Texas A&M (8-2/16-7)  is tied for second in the league, but the Aggies played a weak non-conference slate and have more work to do before being considered a definite Tourney team.  Florida (6-4/13-10) and Mississippi State (3-7/15-8) are within shouting distance with hot finishes, but as of today are NIT teams.

Southern

This is a one-bid league this year, as there are multiple fairly good teams but no teams that merit discussion for at-large bids.  Furman (10-2/19-6) is competent in every aspect but defending the perimeter.  The Paladins have the best chance at winning as a #13 or #14 seed in the Dance, but it’s still a slim chance.  Others in contention are Samford (10-2/16-9) and  UNC Greensboro (10-2/16-9).  

Southland

This one-bid league is another in danger of sending its champion to the First Four in Dayton.  No team has shone above the others this year, so the conference tournament should be wide open.  Northwestern State (8-3/16-8), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (8-3/15-9), and Southeast Louisiana (8-3/14-10) figure to provide the championship game combatants.  NW State has a ranked victory over TCU.

Southwestern Athletic

This league rarely has a Big Dance participant with an outstanding won-loss record, and that’s a result of the members in this league being forced to play a lot of road games against power conference opponents, just so they can cash a check and pay the bills.  The SWAC usually competes for bottom team in the NCAA field and almost always sends its one-bid champion to the First Four in Dayton.

This year, three teams may be good enough to at least win that First Four game.  Southern (8-2/12-11) is led by a Pitino protege.  Coach Sean Woods was one of Kentucky’s famed “Unforgettables,” and his team plays the same way UK played back then–press hard and take a lot of three-point shots.  The Jaguars’ top competitors are Alcorn State (7-2/10-11) and Grambling (7-3/14-8).  Grambling has two Power Conference wins this year, against Colorado and Vanderbilt.

Summit

This race was over in mid-January, as Oral Roberts (12-0/21-4) ran away from the field like the 1927 Yankees did to the rest of the American League.  All four of the Titans losses have come to teams that woud be in the NCAA Tournament if it began today.  ORU has profited through the Transfer Portal, where Coach Paul Mills added two SEC transfers to an experienced roster.  Multiple starters from the NCAA Tournament team that beat Ohio State and Florida to make the Sweet 16 and almost beat Arkansas for a chance at the Elite 8 are on this team.  They could be scary if they are in your favorite Power Conference team’s bracket.  

Among the rivals trying to steal this league’s bid are South Dakota State (9-4/14-11), Western Illinois (8-5/15-9), and UMKC (6-6/10-15).  If anybody other than ORU gets this bid, it will be shocking.

Sun Belt

Is it possible that this league deserves two bids?  Louisiana (10-2/20-4) and Southern Miss. (10-2/21-4) are solid teams but haven’t played a hard enough schedule to merit discussion.  Neither is guaranteed a spot in the conference tournament title game, because James Madison (8-4/17-8) and Marshall (8-4/19-6) are both talented enough to win three games in three days.  Any one of these four teams have enough talent to scare a Power Conference opponent in the Round of 64.

West Coast

This is a definite two-bid league with the chance for a third team getting in by winning the automatic bid.

Saint Mary’s (10-0/21-4) just staged a great second half comeback to beat Gonzaga (8-2/19-5) in overtime, likely giving the Gaels enough cushion to win the conference championship and earning the #1 seed.

Loyola Marymount (6-5/16-9) beat Gonzaga in January, and the Lions may have their best team since Bo Kimble shot his one-handed free throws in a memorable Big Dance.

BYU (6-5/16-10) is having an off year for Coach Mark Pope, but Pope has the coaching knowledge to prepare a gameplan on the quick and win in conference tournament play.

Santa Clara (5-5/17-8) gives the WCC five good teams.  The Broncos played SMC and Gonzaga close in January.

Western Athletic

This is a one-bid league with one team that could be a dark horse Sweet 16 candidate, if they can win the conference tournament.  Sam Houston State (7-4/17-6) is currently in a three-way tie for third in the league.  The Bearkats are quite difficult to prepare to play by a team that hasn’t seen them before.  Teams that play against their pressure defense come away thinking they have played against 6 defenders, because they always seem to have a double team on the ball with no open players for the ball handler to pass the ball.  SHSU limits shot opportunities, makes those opportunities tend to be poor percentage shots, and if a team tries to hold onto the ball too long, the Bearkats can take it away.

Utah Valley (9-2/18-6) is the current league leader.  The Wolverines solved SHSU’s defense and beat them by 16 points in January.  UVU is led by former Stanford standout and NBA banger Mark “Mad Dog” Madsen.

Here are the different styles of regular bracket seeding schedules for a 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 team conference tournament.  There are no 9-team tournaments this year.

4-Team Conference Tournament Bracket

Semifinals

#1 Seed vs. # 4 Seed

#2 Seed vs. #3 Seed

8-Team Conference Tournament Bracket

Quarterfinals

#1 Seed vs. #8 Seed

#4 Seed vs. #5 Seed

#2 Seed vs. #7 Seed

#3 Seed vs. #6 Seed

Semifinals

1-8 winner vs. 4-5 winner

2-7 winner vs. 3-6 winner

10-Team Conference Tournament Bracket

1st Round

#7 Seed vs. #10 Seed

#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed

Quarterfinals

#1 Seed vs. 8-9 winner

#4 Seed vs. #5 Seed

#2 Seed vs. 7-10 winner

#3 Seed vs. #6 Seed

Semifinals

1-8-9 winner vs. 4-5 winner

2-7-10 winner vs. 3-6 winner

11-Team Conference Tournament Bracket

1st Round

#6 Seed vs. #11 Seed

#7 Seed vs. #10 Seed

#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed

Quarterfinals

#1 Seed vs. 8-9 winner

#4 Seed vs. #5 Seed

#2 Seed vs. 7-10 winner

#3 Seed vs. 6-11 winner

Semifinals

1-8-9 winner vs. 4-5 winner

2-7-10 winner vs. 3-6-11 winner

12-Team Conference Tournament Bracket

1st Round

#5 Seed vs. #12 Seed

#6 Seed vs. #11 Seed

#7 Seed vs. #10 Seed

#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed

Quarterfinals

#1 Seed vs. 8-9 winner

#4 Seed vs. 5-12 winner

#2 Seed vs. 7-10 winner

#3 Seed vs. 6-11 winner

Semifinals

1-8-9 winner vs. 4-5-12 winner

2-7-10 winner vs. 3-6-11 winner

13-Team Conference Tournament Bracket

1st Round

#12 Seed vs. #13 Seed

2nd Round

#5 Seed vs. 12-13 winner

#6 Seed vs. #11 Seed

#7 Seed vs. #10 Seed

#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed

Quarterfinals

#1 Seed vs. 8-9 winner

#4 Seed vs. 5-12-13 winner

#2 Seed vs. 7-10 winner

#3 Seed vs. 6-11 winner

Semifinals

1-8-9 winner vs. 4-5-12-13 winner

2-7-10 winner vs. 3-6-11 winner

14-Team Tournament Bracket

1st Round

#11 Seed vs, #14 Seed

#12 Seed vs. #13 Seed

2nd Round

#5 Seed vs. 12-13 winner

#6 Seed vs. 11-14 winner

#7 Seed vs. #10 Seed

#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed

Quarterfinals

#1 Seed vs. 8-9 winner

#4 Seed vs. 5-12-13 winner

#2 Seed vs. 7-10 winner

#3 Seed vs. 6-11-14 winner

Semifinals

1-8-9 winner vs. 4-5-12-13 winner

2-7-10 winner vs. 3-6-11-14 winner

15-Team Tournament Bracket

1st Round

#10 Seed vs. #15 Seed

#11 Seed vs. #14 Seed

#12 Seed vs. #13 Seed

2nd Round

#5 Seed vs. 12-13 winner

#6 Seed vs. 11-14 winner

#7 Seed vs. 10-15 winner

#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed

Quarterfinals

#1 Seed vs. 8-9 winner

#4 Seed vs. 5-12-13 winner

#2 Seed vs. 7-10-15 winner

#3 Seed vs. 6-11-14 winner

Here is a look at the conference tournament schedules, sites, and formats.  If there is no footnote, then the conference uses the standard format shown in the above brackets.

1 = 1st Round; 2 = 2nd Round; Q = Quarterfinals; S = Semifinals; C = Championship

Conference Tournaments 2023

Teams in

February

M A R C H

Conference

Site

Bracket

27

28

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

America East

Better Seed Home

8 of 9

Q

S

C

American Athletic

Fort Worth, TX

All 11

1

Q

S

C

Atlantic 10

Brooklyn

15

1

2

Q

S

C

Atlantic Coast

Greensboro, NC

15

1

2

Q

S

C

Atlantic Sun (a)

Better Seed Home

10 of 14

1

Q

S

C

Big 12

Kansas City

10

1

Q

S

C

Big East

New York (MSG)

11

1

Q

S

C

Big Sky (b)

Boise, ID

10

1

Q1

Q2

S

C

Big South

Charlotte

10

1

Q

S

C

Big Ten

Chicago

14

1

2

Q

S

C

Big West (c)

Henderson, NV

10 of 11

1

Q

S

C

Colonial Athletic

Washington, D.C.

13

1

2

Q

S

C

Conference USA

Frisco, TX

11

1

Q

S

C

Horizon (d)

Campus, Indianapolis

11

1

Q

S

C

Ivy League

Princeton, NJ

4 of 8

S

C

Metro Atlantic (e)

Atlantic City, NJ

11

1

Q1

Q2

S

C

Mid-American

Cleveland

8 of 12

Q

S

C

Mideastern Athletic (f)

Norfolk, VA

8

Q1

Q2

S

C

Missouri Valley

Saint Louis

12

1

Q

S

C

Mountain West

Las Vegas

11

1

Q

S

C

Northeast (g)

Better Seed Home

8 of 9

Q

S

C

Ohio Valley (h)

Evansville, IN

8 of 10

1

Q

S

C

Pac-12

Las Vegas

12

1

Q

S

C

Patriot

Better Seed Home

10

1

Q

S

C

Southeastern

Nashville

14

1

2

Q

S

C

Southern

Asheville, NC

10

1

Q

S

C

Southland (i)

Lake Charles, LA

8 of 10

1

Q

S

C

Southwestern Athletic (j)

Birmingham, AL

8 of 12

Q1

Q2

S

C

Summit (k)

Sioux Falls, SD

10

1

Q1

Q2

S

C

Sun Belt

Pensacola, FL

14

1

2

Q

S

C

West Coast (l)

Las Vegas

10

1

2

Q

S

C

Western Athletic (m)

Las Vegas

12 of 13

1

Q

S

C

(a) Atlantic Sun: Opening round 10 vs. 9 at 1 & 8 vs. 7 at 2. Teams reseeded for Semifinals

(b) Big Sky: Opening round 10 vs. 9 & 8 vs. 7. Q1: 9-10 winner vs. 1 & 7-8 winner vs. 2. Q2 3-6 & 4-5

(c) Big West: UC San Diego non participating–ineligible while transitioning to D1

(d) Horizon League: 1st round and quarterfinals on better seed home floor; semis and championship at Indianapolis

(e) Metro Atlantic: #1 and #2 seeds play on M8 and #3 and #4 seeds play on M9 in quarterfinals

(f) Mideastern Athletic: #1 and #2 seeds play on M8 and #3 and #4 seeds play on M9 in quarterfinals

(g) Northeast: Merrimack, is allowed in NEC Tournament but ineligible for NCAA. Stonehill is not eligible for either tournament due to transition to D1

(h) Ohio Valley: Top 8 qualify, but Southern Indiana and Lindenwood not eligible for NCAA Tournament

(h) Ohio Valley: 5-8 & 6-7 in Rd 1; 5-8 winner vs. 4 & 6-7 winner vs. 3 in Q; 4-5-8 winner vs. 1 & 3-6-7 winner vs. 2 in S

(i) Southland: Top 8 teams qualify for conference tournament, but Texas A&M Commerce not eligible for NCAA tournament

(i) Southland: 5-8 & 6-7 in Rd 1; 5-8 winner vs. 4 & 6-7 winner vs. 3 in Q; 4-5-8 winner vs. 1 & 3-6-7 winner vs. 2 in S

(j) Southwestern Athletic: #1 and #2 seeds play on M8; #3 and #4 seeds play on M9

(k) Summit: #1 and #2 seeds play on M4; #3 and #4 seeds play on M5

(l) West Coast: 8-9 & 7-10 in Rd 1; 8-9 winner vs. 5 & 7-10 winner vs. 6 in Rd 2; 5-8-9 vs. 4 & 6-7-10 vs. 3 in Q; 4-5-8-9 vs. 1 & 3-6-7-10 vs. 2 in S

(m) Western Athletic: Top 12 teams qualify; Utah Tech and Tarleton State not eligible for the NCAA Tournament

PiRate Ratings College Football–Playoffs & Bowls

Post-Season Games

Team 1	Team 2	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Miami (O)	UAB	-8.6	-6.7	-8.2
UTSA	Troy	3.8	2.5	2.6
Cincinnati	Louisville	-4.8	-5.5	-4.7
SMU	BYU	-2.5	-2.0	-2.3
Washington St.	Fresno St.	1.6	1.9	1.6
Rice	Southern Miss.	-9.3	-10.1	-10.9
Florida	Oregon St.	-6.3	-5.0	-6.9
North Texas	Boise St.	-10.3	-10.2	-9.6
Marshall	Connecticut	10.6	10.4	13.0
Eastern Michigan	San Jose St.	-4.4	-3.6	-3.9
Liberty	Toledo	1.1	1.0	0.8
Western Kentucky	South Alabama	3.6	2.8	2.9
Baylor	Air Force	12.8	11.7	11.4
Louisiana	Houston	-8.0	-6.7	-6.1
Wake Forest	Missouri	3.7	3.2	3.6
Middle Tennessee	San Diego St.	-9.1	-8.1	-9.3
Bowling Green	New Mexico St.	5.3	3.4	5.7
Georgia Southern	Buffalo	1.7	0.4	1.8
Memphis	Utah St.	9.6	9.7	9.0
East Carolina	Coastal Carolina	9.1	7.9	8.5
Wisconsin	Oklahoma St.	2.6	3.6	2.3
Central Florida	Duke	-0.1	-1.5	0.5
Kansas	Arkansas	-8.7	-8.9	-10.6
Oregon	North Carolina	9.8	9.7	11.2
Ole Miss	Texas Tech	3.4	2.9	1.9
Minnesota	Syracuse	10.4	10.6	11.3
Florida St.	Oklahoma	10.9	11.6	11.2
Texas	Washington	6.8	5.6	4.7
Maryland	North Carolina St.	-1.6	-2.1	-1.7
Pittsburgh	UCLA	-2.3	-3.0	-5.1
Ohio	Wyoming	6.0	6.7	6.8
Tennessee	Clemson	0.7	1.1	1.5
Iowa	Kentucky	4.3	3.1	2.0
Alabama	Kansas St.	6.5	6.6	7.3
Notre Dame	South Carolina	3.8	2.9	3.7
Georgia	Ohio St.	3.9	4.3	4.9
Michigan	TCU	7.6	8.3	8.0
Mississippi St.	Illinois	0.4	-1.4	0.0
LSU	Purdue	3.4	3.8	5.2
USC	Tulane	4.2	4.4	4.4
Utah	Penn St.	-3.6	-4.0	-2.3

Bowl Schedule

Day	Date	Bowl	Time ET	Network	Team	Team
Fri	D 16	Bahamas	11:30 AM	ESPN	Miami (O)	UAB
		Cure	3:00 PM	ESPN	UTSA	Troy
Sat	D 17	Fenway	11:00 AM	ESPN	Cincinnati	Louisville
		New Mexico	2:15 PM	ESPN	SMU	BYU
		L.A.	3:30 PM	ABC	Washington St.	Fresno St.
		Lending Tree	5:45 PM	ESPN	Rice	Southern Miss.
		Las Vegas	7:30 PM	ABC	Florida	Oregon St.
		Frisco	9:15 PM	ESPN	North Texas	Boise St.
Mon	D 19	Myrtle Beach	2:30 PM	ESPN	Marshall	Connecticut
Tue	D 20	Famous Idaho Potato	3:30 PM	ESPN	Eastern Michigan	San Jose St.
		Boca Raton	7:30 PM	ESPN	Liberty	Toledo
Wed	D 21	New Orleans	9:00 PM	ESPN	Western Kentucky	South Alabama
Thu	D 22	Armed Forces	7:30 PM	ESPN	Baylor	Air Force
Fri	D 23	Independence	3:00 PM	ESPN	Louisiana	Houston
		Gasparilla	6:30 PM	ESPN	Wake Forest	Missouri
Sat	D 24	Hawaii	8:00 PM	ESPN	Middle Tennessee	San Diego St.
Mon	D 26	Quick Lane	2:30 PM	ESPN	Bowling Green	New Mexico St.
Tue	D 27	Camellia	12:00 PM	ESPN	Georgia Southern	Buffalo
		First Responder	3:15 PM	ESPN	Memphis	Utah St.
		Birmingham	6:45 PM	ESPN	East Carolina	Coastal Carolina
		Guaranteed Rate	10:15 PM	ESPN	Wisconsin	Oklahoma St.
Wed	D 28	Military	2:00 PM	ESPN	Central Florida	Duke
		Liberty	5:30 PM	ESPN	Kansas	Arkansas
		Holiday	8:00 PM	Fox	Oregon	North Carolina
		Texas	9:00 PM	ESPN	Ole Miss	Texas Tech
Thu	D 29	Pinstripe	2:00 PM	ESPN	Minnesota	Syracuse
		Cheez-It	5:30 PM	ESPN	Florida St.	Oklahoma
		Alamo	9:00 PM	ESPN	Texas	Washington
Fri	D 30	Duke’s Mayo	12:00 PM	ESPN	Maryland	North Carolina St.
		Tony the Tiger	2:00 PM	CBS	Pittsburgh	UCLA
		Arizona	4:30 PM	Barstool	Ohio	Wyoming
		Orange	8:00 PM	ESPN	Tennessee	Clemson
Sat	D 31	Music City	12:00 PM	ABC	Iowa	Kentucky
		Sugar	12:00 PM	ESPN	Alabama	Kansas St.
		TaxSlayer	3:30 PM	ESPN	Notre Dame	South Carolina
		Fiesta	4:00 PM	ESPN	Michigan	TCU
		Peach	8:00 PM	ESPN	Georgia	Ohio St.
Mon	J 2	Reliaquest	12:00 PM	ESPN2	Mississippi St.	Illinois
		Citrus	1:00 PM	ABC	LSU	Purdue
		Cotton	1:00 PM	ESPN	USC	Tulane
		Rose	5:00 PM	ESPN	Utah	Penn St.

PiRate Ratings–NFL Conference Championship Games

Margins

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Green Bay	Tampa Bay	1.1	1.3	1.4
Kansas City	Buffalo	-1.6	-2.4	-2.9

Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Green Bay	Tampa Bay	56.0
Kansas City	Buffalo	49.0

Sunday, Jan. 25th
Home	Visitors	Time (ET)	TV
Green Bay	Tampa Bay	3:05 PM	FOX
Kansas City	Buffalo	6:40 PM	CBS

PiRate Ratings For NFL Wildcard Round

PiRate Ratings Spreads For Wildcard Round

Margins

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Buffalo	Indianapolis	8.5	9.4	9.8
Seattle	LA Rams	3.0	3.3	3.1
Washington	Tampa Bay	-9.0	-9.1	-9.9
Tennessee	Baltimore	-6.4	-6.3	-6.4
New Orleans	Chicago	8.6	8.9	8.9
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	4.5	4.6	4.4

Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Buffalo	Indianapolis	49.5
Seattle	LA Rams	49.5
Washington	Tampa Bay	51.5
Tennessee	Baltimore	55
New Orleans	Chicago	46.5
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	44.5

NFL Playoff Schedule–Wildcard Round

Day	Date	Time (ET)	Network	Home	Visitor
Sat	Jan 9	1:05 PM	CBS	Buffalo	Indianapolis
Sat	Jan 9	4:40 PM	FOX	Seattle	LA Rams
Sat	Jan 9	8:15 PM	NBC	Washington	Tampa Bay
Sun	Jan 10	1:05 PM	ESPN	Tennessee	Baltimore
Sun	Jan 10	4:40 PM	CBS	New Orleans	Chicago
Sun	Jan 10	8:15 PM	NBC	Pittsburgh	Cleveland

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For March 11, 2020

Wednesday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Arizona	Washington	5.5
Arkansas	Vanderbilt	9.7
Clemson	Miami (Fla.)	2.6
Colgate	Boston U	6.7
Colorado	Washington St.	2.7
Florida Intl.	Rice	2.6
George Mason	Saint Joseph’s	5.9
George Washington	Fordham	1.7
Georgetown	St. John’s	0.6
Georgia St.	Georgia Southern	4.9
Indiana	Nebraska	9.7
Lamar	McNeese	-0.1
Marshall	UTEP	2.2
Minnesota	Northwestern	9.2
North Carolina A&T	Howard	11.2
North Carolina St.	Pittsburgh	5.1
Northern Arizona	Idaho St.	4.7
Northwestern St.	Texas A&M-CC	-0.5
Notre Dame	Boston College	8.2
Oklahoma St.	Iowa St.	2.6
Old Dominion	Florida Atlantic	2.2
Ole Miss	Georgia	0.7
Oregon St.	Utah	2.4
Saint Peter’s	Iona	1.5
Siena	Manhattan	7.0
Southern Utah	Idaho	11.0
Stanford	California	10.1
Syracuse	North Carolina	0.7
TCU	Kansas St.	0.8
Texas St.	Appalachian St.	7.9
UAB	UTSA	1.4
UNC Central	Delaware St.	10.7
Weber St.	Sacramento St.	-4.4
Xavier	DePaul	5.2

Wednesday’s TV Schedule

 

Time (EST)	Network	Team	Team
11:30 AM	watchbigsky.com	Weber St.	Sacramento St.
12:00 PM	ESPN	Clemson	Miami
1:00 PM	ESPN+	George Mason	Saint Joseph’s
2:00 PM	watchbigsky.com	Southern Utah	Idaho
2:00 PM	ESPN	North Carolina St.	Pittsburgh
3:00 PM	Pac12	Oregon St.	Utah
3:30 PM	ESPN+	George Washington	Fordham
4:30 PM	watchbigsky.com	Northern Arizona	Idaho St.
5:30 PM	Pac12	Arizona	Washington
6:00 PM	ESPN+	Northwestern St.	Texas A&M-CC
6:00 PM	BTN	Minnesota	Northwestern
6:00 PM	Flohoops (pay)	UNC Central	Delaware St.
7:00 PM	ESPN3	Siena	Manhattan
7:00 PM	ESPN+	Old Dominion	Florida Atlantic
7:00 PM	FS1	Georgetown	St. John’s
7:00 PM	SECN	Ole Miss	Georgia
7:00 PM	ESPNU	Oklahoma St.	Iowa St.
7:00 PM	ESPN+	Georgia St.	Georgia Southern
7:00 PM	ESPN2	Notre Dame	Boston College
7:30 PM	ESPN+	Florida Intl.	Rice
7:30 PM	CBSSN	Colgate	Boston Univ.
8:00 PM	ESPN+	Texas State	Appalachian State
8:30 PM	ESPN+	Lamar	McNeese
8:30 PM	Flohoops (pay)	North Carolina A&T	Howard
8:30 PM	BTN	Indiana	Nebraska
9:00 PM	SECN	Arkansas	Vanderbilt
9:00 PM	ESPNU	TCU	Kansas State
9:00 PM	ESPN2	Syracuse	North Carolina
9:00 PM	Pac12	Stanford	California
9:30 PM	FS1	Xavier	DePaul
9:30 PM	ESPN3	Saint Peter’s	Iona
9:30 PM	ESPN+	UAB	UTSA
10:00 PM	ESPN+	Marshall	UTEP
11:30 PM	Pac12	Colorado	Washington State

 

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS UPDATE

 

Championship Games Played Tuesday

 

Colonial Athletic Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Hofstra	70	Northeastern	61

 

 

Horizon League Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Northern Kentucky	71	Illinois Chicago	62

 

Northeast Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Robert Morris	77	St. Francis (PA)	67

 

Summit Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
North Dakota St.	89	North Dakota	53

 

West Coast Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Gonzaga	84	Saint Mary’s	66

 

Yesterday’s Results of Other Tournaments

 

America East Tournament
Semifinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Vermont	81	UMBC	74
Hartford	64	Stony Brook	58

 

Atlantic Coast Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Pittsburgh	81	Wake Forest	72
North Carolina	78	Virginia Tech	56

Metro Atlantic Athletic Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Manhattan	61	Fairfield	43
Iona	70	Canisius	60
Niagara	56	Marist	54

 

Mid-Eastern Athletic Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Delaware St.	68	Maryland Eastern Shore	64
Howard	70	South Carolina St.	63

 

Southwestern Athletic Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Prairie View	82	Alabama A&M	60
Jackson St.	69	Alcorn St.	52
Southern	67	Alabama St.	53
Texas Southern	75	Grambling	62

 

Wednesday’s Tournament Schedule

 

Atlantic 10 Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Brooklyn (Barclays Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
12 George Mason (16-15)	13 Saint Joseph’s (6-25)	1:00 PM	ESPN+
11 George Washington (12-19)	14 Fordham (8-22)	3:30 PM	ESPN+

Atlantic Coast Tournament
2nd Round	March 11	Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Clemson (15-15)	9 Miami (Fla.) (15-15)	12:00 PM	ESPN
5 North Carolina St. (19-12)	13 Pittsburgh (16-16)	2:00 PM	ESPN
7 Notre Dame (19-12)	10 Boston College (13-18)	7:00 PM	ESPN2
6 Syracuse (17-14)	14 North Carolina (14-18)	9:00 PM	ESPN2

 

Big 12 Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Kansas City (Sprint Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Oklahoma St. (17-14)	9 Iowa St. (12-19)	7:00 PM	ESPNU
7 TCU (16-15)	10 Kansas St. (10-21)	9:00 PM	ESPNU

 

Big East Tournament
1st Round	March 11	New York (Madison Square Garden)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Georgetown (15-16)	9 St. John’s (16-15)	7:00 PM	FS1
7 Xavier (19-12)	10 DePaul (15-16)	9:30 PM	FS1

 

Big Sky Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Boise, ID (Century Link Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Weber St. (12-19)	9 Sacramento St. (15-14)	11:30 AM	watchbigsky.com
7 Southern Utah (16-15)	10 Idaho (8-23)	2:00 PM	watchbigsky.com
6 Northern Arizona (16-13)	11 Idaho St. (7-22)	4:30 PM	watchbigsky.com
		Available on	Pluto TV 530

Big Ten Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Indianapolis (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
12 Minnesota (14-16)	13 Northwestern (8-22)	6:00 PM	Big Ten Network
11 Indiana (19-12)	14 Nebraska (7-24)	8:30 PM	Big Ten Network

Conference USA Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Frisco, TX (Ford Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Old Dominion (13-18)	9 Florida Atlantic (16-15)	7:00 PM Court A	ESPN+
5 Florida Intl. (18-13)	12 Rice (15-16)	7:30 PM Court B	ESPN+
7 UAB (18-13)	10 UTSA (13-18)	9:30 PM Court A	ESPN+
6 Marshall (16-15)	11 UTEP (17-14)	10:00 PM Court B	ESPN+

Mountain West Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 11	Atlantic City, NJ (Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Siena (19-10)	9 Manhattan (13-17)	7:00 PM	ESPN3
2 St. Peter’s (17-12)	7 Iona (12-16)	9:30 PM	ESPN3

 

Mid-Eastern Athletic Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 11	Norfolk, VA (Scope Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 North Carolina Central (17-13)	8 Delaware St. (6-25)	6:00 PM	Flohoops (pay)
2 North Carolina A&T (16-15)	7 Howard (4-28)	8:00 PM	Flohoops (pay)

 

Pac-12 Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Oregon St. (17-13)	9 Utah (16-14)	3:00 PM	Pac-12 Network
5 Arizona (20-11)	12 Washington (15-16)	5:30 PM	Pac-12 Network
7 Stanford (20-11)	10 California (13-18)	9:00 PM	Pac-12 Network
6 Colorado (21-10)	11 Washington St. (15-16)	11:30 PM	Pac-12 Network

 

Patriot League Tournament
Championship	March 11	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
1 Colgate (25-8)	3 Boston U (20-13)	7:30 PM	CBSSN

Southeastern Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Nashville (Bridgestone Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
12 Ole Miss (15-16)	13 Georgia (15-16)	7:00 PM	SEC Network
11 Arkansas (19-12)	14 Vanderbilt (11-20)	9:30 PM	SEC Network

 

Southland Tournament
1st Round	March 11	Katy, TX (Leonard E. Merrell Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
5 Northwestern St. (14-15)	8 Texas A&M-CC (14-17)	6:00 PM	ESPN+
6 Lamar (16-15)	7 McNeese St. (15-16)	8:30 PM	ESPN+

 

Sun Belt Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 11	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
4 Georgia St. (19-12)	5 Georgia Southern (19-13)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
3 Texas St. (20-11)	6 Appalachian St. (18-14)	8:00 PM	ESPN+

 

Dance Tickets Punched

 

Automatic Bids Earned
Team	Conference	Record
Utah St.	Mountain West	26-8
Belmont	Ohio Valley	26-7
Winthrop	Big South	24-10
Bradley	Missouri Valley	23-11
Liberty	Atlantic Sun	29-4
East Tennessee St.	Southern	30-4
Yale	Ivy	23-7
Northern Kentucky	Horizon	23-9
Robert Morris	Northeast	20-14
Hofstra	Colonial Athletic	26-8
North Dakota St.	Summit	25-8
Gonzaga	West Coast	31-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For March 8, 2020

Sunday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Boston U	Bucknell	7.6
Bradley	Valparaiso	2.3
Central Florida	East Carolina	8.4
Charleston	Delaware	1.7
Chattanooga	Wofford	-0.2
Colgate	Lafayette	9.3
East Tennessee St.	Western Carolina	7.3
Hofstra	Drexel	8.1
Houston	Memphis	8.1
Illinois	Iowa	2.2
Liberty	Lipscomb	13.4
Maryland	Michigan	3.4
Michigan St.	Ohio St.	5.7
Minnesota	Nebraska	13.6
Oral Roberts	Omaha	4.4
South Dakota	North Dakota	4.9
Towson	Northeastern	-0.7
Tulane	Connecticut	-6.9
Wichita St.	Tulsa	7.6
William & Mary	Elon	6.2
Winthrop	Hampton	13.9

 

Sunday’s Key TV Games

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
12:00 PM	Fox	Maryland	Michigan
12:00 PM	CBS	Houston	Memphis
12:00 PM	CBSSN	Boston	Bucknell
1:00 PM	ESPN	Winthrop	Hampton
2:00 PM	CBSSN	Colgate	Lafayette
2:05 PM	CBS	Bradley	Valparaiso
3:00 PM	ESPN	Liberty	Lipscomb
4:00 PM	CBSSN	Wichita St.	Tulsa
4:00 PM	ESPN+	East Tennessee St.	Western Carolina
4:30 PM	CBS	Michigan St.	Ohio St.
6:30 PM	ESPN+	Chattanooga	Wofford
7:00 PM	BTN	Illinois	Iowa

 

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS UPDATE

 

America East Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Vermont	61	Maine	50
Stony Brook	76	Albany	73
Hartford	89	UMass Lowell	75
UMBC	73	New Hampshire	67

 

Semifinals	March 10	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
1 Vermont (25-7)	4 UMBC (16-16)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
2 Stony Brook (20-12)	3 Hartford (17-15)	7:00 PM	ESPN+

 

 

 

Atlantic Sun Tournament
Championship	March 8	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
1 Liberty (29-4)	3 Lipscomb (16-15)	3:00 PM	ESPN

 

 

 

Big South Tournament
Championship	March 8	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
2 Winthrop (23-10)	5 Hampton (15-18)	1:00 PM	ESPN

 

 

Colonial Athletic Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Drexel	66	UNC Wilmington	55
Elon	63	James Madison	61

 

Quarterfinals	March 8	Washington, D.C. (Entertainment & Sports Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Hofstra (23-8)	8 Drexel (14-18)	12:00 PM	FloHoops (Subscrip.)
4 Charleston (17-13)	5 Delaware (21-10)	2:30 PM	FloHoops (Subscrip.)
2 William & Mary (21-10)	7 Elon (12-20)	6:00 PM	FloHoops (Subscrip.)
3 Towson (19-12)	6 Northeastern (15-15)	8:30 PM	FloHoops (Subscrip.)

 

 

 

Missouri Valley Tournament (Arch Madness)
Semifinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Bradley	76	Drake	66
Valparaiso	89	Missouri St.	82

 

Championship	March 8	St. Louis (Enterprise Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
4 Bradley (22-11)	7 Valparaiso (19-15)	2:10 PM	CBS

 

 

 

Mountain West Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Utah St.	59	San Diego St.	56

 

 

Northeast Tournament
Semifinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
St. Francis (PA)	84	Sacred Heart	72
Robert Morris	86	Long Island	66

 

Championship	March 10	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
1 Robert Morris (19-14)	2 St. Francis (PA) (22-9)	7:00 PM	ESPN2

 

 

 

Ohio Valley Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Belmont	76	Murray St.	75

 

 

 

Patriot League Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Bucknell	64	American	59
Boston U	69	Navy	63
Lafayette	73	Army	68
Colgate	83	Lehigh	70

Semifinals	March 8	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
3 Boston U (19-13)	Bucknell (14-19)	12:00 PM	CBSSN
1 Colgate (24-8)	5 Lafayette (19-11)	2:00 PM	CBSSN

 

 

 

Southern Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
East Tennessee St.	70	VMI	57
Western Carolina	70	Mercer	56
Wofford	77	Furman	68
Chattanooga	78	UNC Greensboro	68

 

Semifinals	March 8	Asheville, NC (Harrah’s Cherokee Center)
Team	Team	Time ET	TV
1 East Tennessee St. (28-4)	5 Western Carolina (19-11)	4:00 PM	ESPN+
6 Chattanooga (20-12)	7 Wofford (18-15)	6:30 PM	ESPN+

 

 

 

Summit Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
North Dakota St.	71	Denver	69
Purdue Fort Wayne	77	South Dakota St.	74

Quarterfinals Continued	March  8	Sioux Falls, SD (Sanford Premier Center)
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
4 Oral Roberts (16-13)	5 Omaha (16-15)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
3 South Dakota (20-11)	6 North Dakota (13-17)	9:30 PM	ESPN+

 

 

 

Sun Belt Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Louisiana	73	Arkansas St.	66
Coastal Carolina	63	UT-Arlington	62

 

2nd Round	March 9	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
5 Georgia Southern (18-13)	8 Louisiana (14-18)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
6 Appalachian St. (17-14)	10 Coastal Carolna (16-16)	7:00 PM	ESPN+

 

 

West Coast Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
San Francisco	72	Pacific	54
Saint Mary’s	89	Pepperdine	82 2ot

Semifinals	March 9	Las Vegas (Orleans Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Gonzaga (29-2)	5 San Francisco (22-11)	9:00 PM	ESPN
2 BYU (24-7)	3 Saint Mary’s (25-7)	11:30 PM	ESPN2

AUTOMATIC BIDS EARNED

 

Team	Conference	Record
Utah St.	Mountain West	26-8
Belmont	Ohio Valley	26-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For March 5, 2020

Thursday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Alabama A&M	Grambling	-2.9
Alabama St.	Jackson St.	-0.5
Alcorn St.	Prairie View A&M	-5.4
American	Bucknell	6.1
Arizona	Washington St.	16.3
Arizona St.	Washington	4.0
Army	Lafayette	0.3
Austin Peay	Eastern Illinois	4.3
Bethune-Cookman	Florida A&M	5.2
Boston U	Navy	8.5
Colgate	Lehigh	13.9
Connecticut	Houston	-1.8
Drake	Illinois St.	2.3
Eastern Kentucky	Tennessee St.	-2.1
Eastern Washington	Idaho St.	13.0
Gardner-Webb	UNC Asheville	5.2
Green Bay	Oakland	3.5
Howard	Delaware St.	2.8
Idaho	Weber St.	-1.2
Illinois Chicago	Youngstown St.	3.8
Liberty	Stetson	17.1
Long Beach St.	Cal Poly	4.6
Longwood	Hampton	1.6
Loyola Marymount	San Diego	1.3
Maryland-Eastern Shore	Coppin St.	-3.4
Memphis	Wichita St.	1.7
Michigan	Nebraska	16.1
Montana	Northern Colorado	-0.7
Montana St.	Southern Utah	-1.1
Morgan St.	Norfolk St.	-1.2
Nevada	Wyoming	13.1
New Mexico St.	California Baptist	8.6
North Carolina Central	North Carolina A&T	3.5
North Florida	Lipscomb	8.6
Ohio St.	Illinois	7.2
Oregon	California	16.0
Oregon St.	Stanford	-0.8
Portland St.	Northern Arizona	4.7
Radford	Charleston Southern	12.1
San Diego St.	Air Force	18.3
Santa Clara	Portland	7.7
Southern	Texas Southern	2.7
UC Davis	Hawaii	3.1
UC Santa Barbara	Cal St. Fullerton	9.9
UNLV	Boise St.	0.4
Utah St.	New Mexico	9.0
Utah Valley	UMKC	1.8
Valparaiso	Evansville	8.2
Winthrop	South Carolina Upstate	11.8

 

Key TV Games on Thursday

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
7:00 PM	ESPN	Ohio St.	Illinois
9:00 PM	ESPN	Memphis	Wichita St.

 

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT UPDATE

Wednesday’s Results

 

Mountain West Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Air Force	77	Fresno St.	70
New Mexico	79	San Jose St.	66
Wyoming	80	Colorado St.	74

 

 

Northeast Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Robert Morris	59	St. Francis (NY)	58
St. Francis (PA)	87	Bryant	61
Sacred Heart	61	Mount St. Mary’s	59
Long Island	73	Fairleigh-Dickinson	72

 

 

Ohio Valley Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Tennessee St.	74	Morehead St.	67
Eastern Illinois	67	Jacksonville St.	61

 

 

Thursday’s Games

 

Atlantic Sun Tournament
Semifinals	March 5	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
1 Liberty (28-4)	4 Stetson (16-16)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
2 North Florida (21-11)	3 Lipscomb (15-15)	7:00 PM	ESPN+

 

Big South Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 5	at #1 Seed Radford
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
2 Winthrop (21-10)	7 USC Upstate (13-19)	12:00 PM	ESPN3
3 Gardner-Webb (15-15)	6 UNC-Asheville (15-15)	2:00 PM	ESPN3
1 Radford (20-10)	8 Chas. Southern (14-17)	6:00 PM	ESPN3
4 Longwood (14-17)	5 Hampton (13-18)	8:00 PM	ESPN3

 

 

Horizon League Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 5	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
3 Green Bay (16-15)	6 Oakland (14-18)	8:00 PM	ESPN+
4 Illinois Chicago (15-17)	5 Youngstown (18-14)	8:00 PM	ESPN+

 

 

Patriot League Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 5	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
2 American (16-13)	7 Bucknell (13-19)	7:00 PM	Pat League Network
3 Boston U (18-13)	6 Navy (14-15)	7:00 PM	Pat League Network
4 Army (15-14)	5 Lafayette (18-11)	7:00 PM	Pat League Network
1 Colgate (23-8)	8 Lehigh (11-20)	7:00 PM	Pat League Network

 

 

 

Mountain West Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 5	Las Vegas (Thomas & Mack Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 San Diego St. (28-1)	9 Air Force (12-19)	2:30 PM	CBSSN
4 UNLV (17-14)	5 Boise St. (19-11)	5:00 PM	CBSSN
2 Utah St. (23-8)	7 New Mexico (19-13)	9:00 PM	CBSSN
3 Nevada (19-11)	11 Wyoming (8-23)	11:30 PM	CBSSN

 

 

 

Missouri Valley Tournament (Arch Madness)
1st Round	March 5	St. Louis (Enterprise Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Drake (18-13)	9 Illinois St. (10-20)	7:00 PM	MVC TV Network
7 Valparaiso (16-15)	10 Evansville (9-22)	9:30 PM	MVC TV Network

 

 

 

Ohio Valley Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 5	Evansville, IN (Ford Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
4 Eastern Kentucky (15-16)	5 Tennessee St. (18-14)	7:30 PM	ESPN+
3 Austin Peay (20-11)	6 Eastern Illinois (17-14)	9:30 PM	ESPN+

 

 

 

West Coast Tournament
1st Round	March 5	Las Vegas (Orleans Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Loyola Mary. (10-20)	9 San Diego (9-22)	9:00 PM	BYUtv
7 Santa Clara (19-12)	10 Portland (9-22)	11:30 PM	BYUtv

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PiRate College Football Ratings: December 1, 2019

This Week’s Conference Championships Spreads

All times given are Eastern Standard

Friday, December 6

Conference	Pac-12
North Division	Oregon 10-2
South Division	Utah 11-1
Site:	Santa Clara
Time:	8:00 PM
TV:	ABC
PiRate:	Utah by 7.1
Mean:	Utah by 6.3
Bias:	Utah by 6.8
Predicted Score:	Utah 27
	Oregon 20

 

 

Saturday, December 7

 

Conference	Sun Belt
East Division	Appalachian St. 11-1
West Division	Louisiana 10-2
Site:	Boone, NC (Appy St.)
Time:	12 Noon
TV:	ESPN
PiRate:	Appy St. by 9.2
Mean:	Appy St. by 8.4
Bias:	Appy St. by 9.1
Predicted Score:	Appalachian St. 35
	Louisiana 26

 

 

Conference	Mid-American
East Division	Miami (O) 7-5
West Division	Central Michigan 8-4
Site:	Detroit
Time:	12 Noon
TV:	ESPN 2
PiRate:	CMU by 2.0
Mean:	CMU by 3.9
Bias:	CMU by 3.1
Predicted Score:	Central Mich. 31
	Miami (O) 28

 

 

Conference	Big 12
1st Place	Oklahoma 11-1
2nd Place	Baylor 11-1
Site:	Arlington, TX
Time:	12 Noon
TV:	ABC
PiRate:	Oklahoma by 5.2
Mean:	Oklahoma by 4.6
Bias:	Oklahoma by 5.4
Predicted Score:	Oklahoma 38
	Baylor 33

 

 

Conference	Conference USA
East Division	Florida Atlantic 9-3
West Division	UAB 9-3
Site:	Boca Raton, FL (FAU)
Time:	1:30 PM
TV:	CBSSN
PiRate:	FAU by 11.9
Mean:	FAU by 10.0
Bias:	FAU by 12.2
Predicted Score:	Florida Atlantic 28
	UAB 17

 

 

Conference	American Athletic
East Division	Cincinnati 10-2
West Division	Memphis 11-1
Site:	Memphis
Time:	3:30 PM
TV:	ABC
PiRate:	Memphis by 6.9
Mean:	Memphis by 7.8
Bias:	Memphis by 8.1
Predicted Score:	Memphis 35
	Cincinnati 27

 

 

Conference	Mountain West
Mountain Division	Boise St. 11-1
West Division	Hawaii 9-4
Site:	Boise, ID
Time:	4:00 PM
TV:	ESPN
PiRate:	Boise St. by 16.9
Mean:	Boise St. by 15.7
Bias:	Boise St. by 18.0
Predicted Score:	Boise St. 48
	Hawaii 31

 

 

Conference	Southeastern
East Division	Georgia 11-1
West Division	LSU 12-0
Site:	Atlanta
Time:	4:00 PM
TV:	CBS
PiRate:	LSU by 5.6
Mean:	LSU by 5.3
Bias:	LSU by 5.5
Predicted Score:	LSU 35
	Georgia 30

 

 

Conference	Atlantic Coast
Atlantic Division	Clemson 12-0
Coastal Division	Virginia 9-3
Site:	Charlotte
Time:	7:30 PM
TV:	ABC
PiRate:	Clemson by 30.2
Mean:	Clemson by 28.3
Bias:	Clemson by 30.9
Predicted Score:	Clemson 40
	Virginia 10

 

 

Conference	Big Ten
East Division	Ohio St. 12-0
West Division	Wisconsin 10-2
Site:	Indianapolis
Time:	8:00 PM
TV:	Fox
PiRate:	Ohio St. by 19.4
Mean:	Ohio St. by 18.8
Bias:	Ohio St. by 20.5
Predicted Score:	Ohio St. 44
	Wisconsin 24

 

 

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

 

#	Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average
1	Ohio St.	141.9	141.1	143.0	142.0
2	Clemson	138.8	137.0	140.0	138.6
3	L S U	135.5	133.5	135.7	134.9
4	Georgia	128.4	126.7	128.7	127.9
5	Alabama	128.8	125.7	129.1	127.9
6	Utah	126.8	125.9	127.5	126.7
7	Michigan	125.6	124.3	125.9	125.3
8	Florida	125.9	123.5	125.8	125.0
9	Oklahoma	122.9	122.4	122.5	122.6
10	Wisconsin	122.5	122.3	122.6	122.5
11	Auburn	122.9	121.1	122.7	122.2
12	Penn St.	121.4	120.5	121.4	121.1
13	Notre Dame	120.8	119.9	121.0	120.6
14	Oregon	119.5	119.4	120.2	119.7
15	Iowa	118.4	116.9	118.0	117.8
16	Baylor	117.7	117.8	117.1	117.5
17	Minnesota	117.2	116.8	116.5	116.8
18	Texas A&M	115.1	112.5	113.3	113.7
19	Washington	113.1	112.8	114.0	113.3
20	Iowa St.	112.9	113.2	112.7	112.9
21	Kansas St.	112.4	112.3	112.3	112.3
22	Kentucky	112.4	111.3	111.6	111.8
23	Central Florida	111.6	111.1	112.1	111.6
24	U S C	111.0	111.6	111.8	111.5
25	Texas	111.1	111.4	111.0	111.2
26	Memphis	110.2	110.6	111.4	110.7
27	Virginia Tech	110.5	110.5	111.2	110.7
28	Tennessee	110.7	110.4	110.1	110.4
29	Oklahoma St.	110.3	110.8	109.7	110.3
30	Mississippi St.	109.8	106.6	113.3	109.9
31	Washington St.	110.0	109.2	110.0	109.7
32	Indiana	109.9	108.9	109.5	109.4
33	Appalachian St.	109.6	109.1	109.0	109.2
34	Virginia	108.6	108.7	109.1	108.8
35	Missouri	109.9	107.5	108.5	108.6
36	T C U	107.7	109.7	107.9	108.4
37	Boise St.	107.9	108.2	108.0	108.0
38	South Carolina	109.0	107.1	108.0	108.0
39	North Carolina	107.7	107.6	108.4	107.9
40	Arizona St.	107.9	107.3	108.1	107.8
41	Ole Miss	107.8	106.9	108.1	107.6
42	Michigan St.	107.7	106.8	106.7	107.1
43	Nebraska	106.3	106.5	105.6	106.1
44	Cincinnati	105.8	105.3	105.8	105.6
45	Air Force	104.6	106.4	105.6	105.5
46	SMU	104.8	104.7	105.4	105.0
47	Florida St.	104.8	104.6	104.9	104.8
48	Miami (Fla.)	104.5	104.0	105.1	104.5
49	Texas Tech	104.6	104.9	103.7	104.4
50	Purdue	104.1	103.9	103.7	103.9
51	California	103.7	103.5	104.2	103.8
52	Wake Forest	103.1	102.4	103.3	102.9
53	Louisiana	102.9	103.2	102.4	102.8
54	Northwestern	103.4	102.6	102.1	102.7
55	West Virginia	102.7	102.7	102.3	102.5
56	Illinois	102.2	102.8	101.8	102.3
57	Pittsburgh	102.4	101.8	102.3	102.2
58	BYU	102.1	102.3	101.6	102.0
59	Boston College	101.9	101.4	102.0	101.8
60	Oregon St.	101.2	102.1	101.5	101.6
61	Navy	100.3	102.6	101.6	101.5
62	Stanford	101.6	100.6	100.8	101.0
63	Louisville	100.2	99.8	99.9	100.0
64	Tulane	99.6	100.2	100.0	99.9
65	Temple	99.4	99.3	100.5	99.7
66	Wyoming	98.6	100.3	98.9	99.3
67	Syracuse	99.7	98.9	98.9	99.2
68	Duke	99.4	98.6	99.1	99.0
69	Georgia Southern	99.0	99.1	98.7	99.0
70	Florida Atlantic	98.5	98.5	99.6	98.9
71	Colorado	98.6	98.5	98.7	98.6
72	U C L A	98.7	98.3	98.2	98.4
73	Ohio	98.4	97.6	98.9	98.3
74	San Diego St.	97.6	99.2	97.6	98.1
75	Hawaii	97.0	98.4	96.4	97.3
76	Western Michigan	97.6	96.6	97.1	97.1
77	Arizona	97.0	96.8	96.8	96.9
78	Utah St.	96.8	96.5	97.1	96.8
79	Western Kentucky	95.3	95.9	96.5	95.9
80	Houston	94.8	95.7	96.4	95.6
81	Buffalo	94.8	95.4	96.2	95.4
82	Tulsa	94.1	95.1	95.4	94.9
83	Kansas	93.7	94.7	93.8	94.1
84	Army	94.1	94.3	93.4	94.0
85	Louisiana Tech	93.9	94.1	93.7	93.9
86	Southern Miss.	93.7	92.6	93.9	93.4
87	Central Michigan	92.3	93.1	93.5	92.9
88	Maryland	93.5	92.6	92.0	92.7
89	Fresno St.	92.4	93.4	92.2	92.7
90	Marshall	92.0	91.7	92.5	92.1
91	North Carolina St.	92.3	91.4	91.6	91.8
92	Vanderbilt	92.5	90.9	90.9	91.4
93	Ball St.	91.0	90.7	91.2	91.0
94	Nevada	89.8	91.3	89.1	90.1
95	Arkansas St.	90.0	90.4	89.7	90.0
96	Liberty	89.5	90.8	89.8	90.0
97	U A B	89.1	91.0	89.9	90.0
98	Miami (Ohio)	90.3	89.2	90.4	90.0
99	Georgia Tech	90.2	88.9	90.2	89.8
100	Kent St.	89.0	89.1	89.8	89.3
101	Colorado St.	88.0	91.2	88.7	89.3
102	Georgia St.	89.3	90.1	88.4	89.3
103	Troy	89.6	89.8	88.1	89.2
104	Florida Int’l.	89.1	89.0	89.3	89.1
105	South Florida	88.8	89.3	88.9	89.0
106	Middle Tennessee	88.9	88.5	89.2	88.9
107	San Jose St.	87.9	89.7	88.1	88.6
108	Charlotte	87.9	88.3	88.6	88.3
109	Eastern Michigan	87.8	88.0	88.2	88.0
110	Arkansas	88.0	87.8	87.3	87.7
111	Northern Illinois	87.5	86.9	87.8	87.4
112	Coastal Carolina	86.9	87.8	86.3	87.0
113	Louisiana-Monroe	86.7	87.4	86.4	86.9
114	North Texas	86.3	86.0	86.2	86.2
115	Rutgers	85.1	84.6	83.6	84.4
116	U N L V	83.7	85.4	83.5	84.2
117	Toledo	84.0	83.9	84.1	84.0
118	Rice	82.4	83.7	82.4	82.8
119	East Carolina	82.4	83.6	82.3	82.8
120	New Mexico	79.7	81.7	78.6	80.0
121	Texas St.	79.2	79.9	78.9	79.3
122	South Alabama	77.0	79.5	77.0	77.8
123	Texas-San Antonio	76.1	77.9	76.5	76.8
124	New Mexico St.	75.6	77.3	75.2	76.0
125	Old Dominion	73.5	73.5	73.2	73.4
126	Connecticut	71.3	73.9	70.8	72.0
127	U T E P	68.5	71.8	68.6	69.6
128	Bowling Green	68.1	67.5	67.8	67.8
129	Akron	62.8	62.5	61.7	62.3
130	Massachusetts	56.7	58.2	55.7	56.9

 

 

PiRate Ratings By Conference

 

American Athletic Conference
East Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	AAC	Overall
Central Florida	111.6	111.1	112.1	111.6	6-2	9-3
Cincinnati	105.8	105.3	105.8	105.6	7-1	10-2
Temple	99.4	99.3	100.5	99.7	5-3	8-4
South Florida	88.8	89.3	88.9	89.0	2-6	4-8
East Carolina	82.4	83.6	82.3	82.8	1-7	4-8
Connecticut	71.3	73.9	70.8	72.0	0-8	2-10
West Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	AAC	Overall
Memphis	110.2	110.6	111.4	110.7	7-1	11-1
SMU	104.8	104.7	105.4	105.0	6-2	10-2
Navy	100.3	102.6	101.6	101.5	7-1	9-2
Tulane	99.6	100.2	100.0	99.9	3-5	6-6
Houston	94.8	95.7	96.4	95.6	2-6	4-8
Tulsa	94.1	95.1	95.4	94.9	2-6	4-8
AAC Averages	96.9	97.6	97.6	97.4
Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	ACC	Overall
Clemson	138.8	137.0	140.0	138.6	8-0	12-0
Florida St.	104.8	104.6	104.9	104.8	4-4	6-6
Wake Forest	103.1	102.4	103.3	102.9	4-4	8-4
Boston College	101.9	101.4	102.0	101.8	4-4	6-6
Louisville	100.2	99.8	99.9	100.0	5-3	7-5
Syracuse	99.7	98.9	98.9	99.2	2-6	5-7
North Carolina St.	92.3	91.4	91.6	91.8	1-7	4-8
Coastal Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	ACC	Overall
Virginia Tech	110.5	110.5	111.2	110.7	5-3	8-4
Virginia	108.6	108.7	109.1	108.8	6-2	9-3
North Carolina	107.7	107.6	108.4	107.9	4-4	6-6
Miami (Fla.)	104.5	104.0	105.1	104.5	4-4	6-6
Pittsburgh	102.4	101.8	102.3	102.2	4-4	7-5
Duke	99.4	98.6	99.1	99.0	3-5	5-7
Georgia Tech	90.2	88.9	90.2	89.8	2-6	3-9
ACC Averages	104.6	104.0	104.7	104.4
Big 12 Conference
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	B12	Overall
Oklahoma	122.9	122.4	122.5	122.6	8-1	11-1
Baylor	117.7	117.8	117.1	117.5	8-1	11-1
Iowa St.	112.9	113.2	112.7	112.9	5-4	7-5
Kansas St.	112.4	112.3	112.3	112.3	5-4	8-4
Texas	111.1	111.4	111.0	111.2	5-4	7-5
Oklahoma St.	110.3	110.8	109.7	110.3	5-4	8-4
T C U	107.7	109.7	107.9	108.4	3-6	5-7
Texas Tech	104.6	104.9	103.7	104.4	2-7	4-8
West Virginia	102.7	102.7	102.3	102.5	3-6	5-7
Kansas	93.7	94.7	93.8	94.1	1-8	3-9
Big 12 Averages	109.6	110.0	109.3	109.6
Big Ten Conference
East Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	BTen	Overall
Ohio St.	141.9	141.1	143.0	142.0	9-0	12-0
Michigan	125.6	124.3	125.9	125.3	6-3	9-3
Penn St.	121.4	120.5	121.4	121.1	7-2	10-2
Indiana	109.9	108.9	109.5	109.4	5-4	8-4
Michigan St.	107.7	106.8	106.7	107.1	4-5	6-6
Maryland	93.5	92.6	92.0	92.7	1-8	3-9
Rutgers	85.1	84.6	83.6	84.4	0-9	2-10
West Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	BTen	Overall
Wisconsin	122.5	122.3	122.6	122.5	7-2	10-2
Iowa	118.4	116.9	118.0	117.8	6-3	9-3
Minnesota	117.2	116.8	116.5	116.8	7-2	10-2
Nebraska	106.3	106.5	105.6	106.1	3-6	5-7
Purdue	104.1	103.9	103.7	103.9	3-6	4-8
Northwestern	103.4	102.6	102.1	102.7	1-8	3-9
Illinois	102.2	102.8	101.8	102.3	4-5	6-6
Big Ten Averages	111.4	110.8	110.9	111.0
Conference USA
East Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	CUSA	Overall
Florida Atlantic	98.5	98.5	99.6	98.9	7-1	9-3
Western Kentucky	95.3	95.9	96.5	95.9	6-2	8-4
Marshall	92.0	91.7	92.5	92.1	6-2	8-4
Florida Int’l.	89.1	89.0	89.3	89.1	4-4	6-6
Middle Tennessee	88.9	88.5	89.2	88.9	3-5	4-8
Charlotte	87.9	88.3	88.6	88.3	5-3	7-5
Old Dominion	73.5	73.5	73.2	73.4	0-8	1-11
West Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	CUSA	Overall
Louisiana Tech	93.9	94.1	93.7	93.9	6-2	9-3
Southern Miss.	93.7	92.6	93.9	93.4	5-3	7-5
U A B	89.1	91.0	89.9	90.0	6-2	9-3
North Texas	86.3	86.0	86.2	86.2	3-5	4-8
Rice	82.4	83.7	82.4	82.8	3-5	3-9
Texas-San Antonio	76.1	77.9	76.5	76.8	3-5	4-8
U T E P	68.5	71.8	68.6	69.6	0-8	1-11
CUSA Averages	86.8	87.3	87.2	87.1
FBS Independents
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	Conf.	Overall
Notre Dame	120.8	119.9	121.0	120.6	x	10-2
BYU	102.1	102.3	101.6	102.0	x	7-5
Army	94.1	94.3	93.4	94.0	x	5-7
Liberty	89.5	90.8	89.8	90.0	x	7-5
New Mexico St.	75.6	77.3	75.2	76.0	x	2-10
Massachusetts	56.7	58.2	55.7	56.9	x	1-11
Indep. Averages	89.8	90.5	89.4	89.9
Mid-American Conference
East Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	MAC	Overall
Ohio	98.4	97.6	98.9	98.3	5-3	6-6
Buffalo	94.8	95.4	96.2	95.4	5-3	7-5
Miami (Ohio)	90.3	89.2	90.4	90.0	6-2	7-5
Kent St.	89.0	89.1	89.8	89.3	5-3	6-6
Bowling Green	68.1	67.5	67.8	67.8	2-6	3-9
Akron	62.8	62.5	61.7	62.3	0-8	0-12
West Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	MAC	Overall
Western Michigan	97.6	96.6	97.1	97.1	5-3	7-5
Central Michigan	92.3	93.1	93.5	92.9	6-2	8-4
Ball St.	91.0	90.7	91.2	91.0	4-4	5-7
Eastern Michigan	87.8	88.0	88.2	88.0	3-5	6-6
Northern Illinois	87.5	86.9	87.8	87.4	4-4	5-7
Toledo	84.0	83.9	84.1	84.0	3-5	6-6
MAC Averages	87.0	86.7	87.2	87.0
Mountain West Conference
Mountain Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	MWC	Overall
Boise St.	107.9	108.2	108.0	108.0	8-0	11-1
Air Force	104.6	106.4	105.6	105.5	7-1	10-2
Wyoming	98.6	100.3	98.9	99.3	4-4	7-5
Utah St.	96.8	96.5	97.1	96.8	6-2	7-5
Colorado St.	88.0	91.2	88.7	89.3	3-5	4-8
New Mexico	79.7	81.7	78.6	80.0	0-8	2-10
West Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	MWC	Overall
San Diego St.	97.6	99.2	97.6	98.1	5-3	9-3
Hawaii	97.0	98.4	96.4	97.3	5-3	9-4
Fresno St.	92.4	93.4	92.2	92.7	2-6	4-8
Nevada	89.8	91.3	89.1	90.1	4-4	7-5
San Jose St.	87.9	89.7	88.1	88.6	2-6	5-7
U N L V	83.7	85.4	83.5	84.2	2-6	4-8
MWC Averages	93.7	95.1	93.6	94.2
Pac-12 Conference
North Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	P12	Overall
Oregon	119.5	119.4	120.2	119.7	8-1	10-2
Washington	113.1	112.8	114.0	113.3	4-5	7-5
Washington St.	110.0	109.2	110.0	109.7	3-6	6-6
California	103.7	103.5	104.2	103.8	4-5	7-5
Oregon St.	101.2	102.1	101.5	101.6	4-5	5-7
Stanford	101.6	100.6	100.8	101.0	3-6	4-8
South Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	P12	Overall
Utah	126.8	125.9	127.5	126.7	8-1	11-1
U S C	111.0	111.6	111.8	111.5	7-2	8-4
Arizona St.	107.9	107.3	108.1	107.8	4-5	7-5
Colorado	98.6	98.5	98.7	98.6	3-6	5-7
U C L A	98.7	98.3	98.2	98.4	4-5	4-8
Arizona	97.0	96.8	96.8	96.9	2-7	4-8
Pac-12 Averages	107.4	107.2	107.7	107.4
Southeastern Conference
East Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	SEC	Overall
Georgia	128.4	126.7	128.7	127.9	7-1	11-1
Florida	125.9	123.5	125.8	125.0	6-2	10-2
Kentucky	112.4	111.3	111.6	111.8	3-5	7-5
Tennessee	110.7	110.4	110.1	110.4	5-3	7-5
Missouri	109.9	107.5	108.5	108.6	3-5	6-6
South Carolina	109.0	107.1	108.0	108.0	3-5	4-8
Vanderbilt	92.5	90.9	90.9	91.4	1-7	3-9
West Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	SEC	Overall
L S U	135.5	133.5	135.7	134.9	8-0	12-0
Alabama	128.8	125.7	129.1	127.9	6-2	10-2
Auburn	122.9	121.1	122.7	122.2	5-3	9-3
Texas A&M	115.1	112.5	113.3	113.7	4-4	7-5
Mississippi St.	109.8	106.6	113.3	109.9	3-5	6-6
Ole Miss	107.8	106.9	108.1	107.6	2-6	4-8
Arkansas	88.0	87.8	87.3	87.7	0-8	2-10
SEC Averages	114.1	112.2	113.8	113.4
Sunbelt Conference
East Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	SBC	Overall
Appalachian St.	109.6	109.1	109.0	109.2	7-1	11-1
Georgia Southern	99.0	99.1	98.7	99.0	5-3	7-5
Georgia St.	89.3	90.1	88.4	89.3	4-4	7-5
Troy	89.6	89.8	88.1	89.2	3-5	5-7
Coastal Carolina	86.9	87.8	86.3	87.0	2-6	5-7
West Division
Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average	SBC	Overall
Louisiana	102.9	103.2	102.4	102.8	7-1	10-2
Arkansas St.	90.0	90.4	89.7	90.0	5-3	7-5
Louisiana-Monroe	86.7	87.4	86.4	86.9	4-4	5-7
Texas St.	79.2	79.9	78.9	79.3	2-6	3-9
South Alabama	77.0	79.5	77.0	77.8	1-7	2-10
SBC Averages	91.0	91.6	90.5	91.1

 

Conference Power Ratings
#	League	Average
1	Southeastern	113.4
2	Big Ten	111.0
3	Big 12	109.6
4	Pac-12	107.4
5	Atlantic Coast	104.4
6	American	97.4
7	Mountain West	94.2
8	Sun Belt	91.1
9	Independents	89.9
10	Conference USA	87.1
11	Mid-American	87.0

 

 

Our Guess at Top 6
1	Ohio St.
2	LSU
3	Clemson
4	Georgia
5	Utah
6	Oklahoma

 

 

Top 5 Group of 5
1	Memphis
2	Boise St.
3	Appalachian St.
4	Cincinnati
5	Louisiana

 

PiRate Bowl Projections

One is the loneliest team that you’ll ever know–79 Bowl Eligible Teams For 78 Spots

 

Bowl	Conf	Conf	Team	Team
Bahamas	MAC	CUSA	Buffalo	Charlotte
Frisco	AAC	At-large	SMU	[Louisiana Tech]
Cure	AAC	SBC	Navy	Georgia St.
New Mexico	CUSA	MWC	UAB	Air Force
Boca Raton	AAC	MAC	Central Florida	Miami (O)
Camellia	MAC	SBC	Western Michigan	Arkansas St.
Las Vegas	MWC #1	Pac-12	Boise St.	Washington St.
New Orleans	CUSA	SBC #1	Western Kentucky	Appalachian St.
Gasparilla	AAC	CUSA	Cincinnati	Florida Atlantic
Hawaii	BYU/MWC	AAC/MWC	BYU	Hawaii
Independence	ACC	SEC	North Carolina	[Florida Int’l.]
Quick Lane	ACC	Big Ten	Florida St.	Michigan St.
Military	ACC	AAC	Boston College	Temple
Pinstripe	ACC	Big Ten	Pittsburgh	Michigan
Texas	Big 12	SEC	Texas	Texas A&M
Holiday	Pac-12	Big Ten	Washington	Iowa
Cheez-It	Big 12	Pac-12	[Liberty]	[Nevada]
Camping World	ACC	Big 12	Notre Dame	Iowa St.
Cotton	At-large	At-large	Oklahoma	Memphis
First Responder	CUSA	Big 12	Southern Miss.	[Kent St.]
Redbox	Pac-12	Big Ten	Arizona St.	Illinois
Music City	SEC	ACC	Kentucky	Indiana
Orange	ACC	BTen/SEC	Virginia	Alabama
Belk	ACC	SEC	Wake Forest	[Marshall]
Sun	ACC	Pac-12	Virginia Tech	California
Liberty	Big 12	SEC	Kansas St.	Mississippi St.
Arizona	SBC	MWC	Louisiana	San Diego St.
Alamo	Big 12	Pac-12	Oklahoma St.	USC
Citrus	SEC	BTen/ACC	Florida	Wisconsin
Outback	Big Ten	SEC	Minnesota	Auburn
Rose	Big Ten	Pac-12	Penn St.	Oregon
Sugar	Big 12	SEC	Baylor	Georgia
Birmingham	AAC	SEC	Tulane	[Miami (Fla.)]
Taxslayer/Gator	SEC	Big Ten	Tennessee	Louisville
Idaho Potato	MAC	MWC	Toledo	Utah St.
Armed Forces	Big Ten	MWC	[Ohio]	Wyoming
Lending Tree	MAC	SBC	Central Michigan	Georgia Southern
FBS PLAYOFFS
Fiesta	Top 4	Top 4	LSU	Clemson
Peach	Top 4	Top 4	Ohio St.	Utah
Championship	Fiesta	Peach	Clemson	Ohio St.
Teams in [Brackets] are at-large selections

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings 2019 Final Four Preview

PiRate Ratings

Home	Rating	HCA	Visitor	Rating	Spread
Virginia	120.3	0.0	Auburn	116.8	3.5
Michigan St.	121.2	0.0	Texas Tech	119.7	1.5

 

 

Schedule

All Times Eastern Daylight

Team	Team	TIME (EDT)	TV	LOCATION
Auburn	Virginia	6:09 PM	CBS	Minneapolis
Texas Tech	Michigan St.	8:49 PM	CBS	Minneapolis

 

Bracketnomics

Note–These comparisons are totally unrelated to the PiRate Ratings above.  This system is only used for the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia vs. Auburn

Team	SOS	TS Marg	OReb%	DReb%	TOV%	DTOV%	R+T
Virginia	60.22	11.7	30.2	75.0	12.7	15.7	10.6
Auburn	60.67	2.2	31.9	67.8	14.4	21.5	2.3

Strength of schedule is even, so the remaining stats can be weighted equally without handicap.  Virginia has a large advantage in both true shooting % margin and R+T Rating.  The rebounding rates in this game should allow Virginia to overcome the extra turnovers they will commit against Auburn’s defense.  Virginia faced teams with similar defenses this year, committed more turnovers than their norm while not forcing many, and yet still won.  Their losses to Duke came about because the Blue Devils could neutralize their inside muscle.  Auburn cannot do this, especially one big man down.

Prediction: Virginia 66  Auburn 58

 

Michigan St. vs. Texas Tech

Team	SOS	TS Marg	OReb%	DReb%	TOV%	DTOV%	R+T
Michigan St.	61.76	13.2	33.6	73.9	16.0	12.9	11.8
Texas Tech	59.64	10.1	27.0	72.3	16.0	20.0	3.6

Michigan State has a slightly stronger strength of schedule, but not so much that the Red Raiders cannot overcome it.  The Spartans’ true shooting % margin is also slightly better, but their R+T rating is considerably better.  Texas Tech would not be given much chance to win this game if it wasn’t for the fact that their biggest strength is Michigan State’s biggest weakness.

All year, the PiRate Ratings have been telling you that Michigan State’s biggest weakness was their ability to hold onto the ball.  Texas Tech made it this far by playing an aggressive defense that has forced turnovers almost as frequently as Auburn.  This gives TTU a chance to win this game.  However, Michigan State has a commanding advantage on the glass in this game.  While this wasn’t Sparty’s best rebounding team, in fact one of its worst under Tom Izzo, but it is still much better than Chris Beard’s club.  Rebounding, especially on the offensive glass was mediocre.

This will be an interesting game, and the team that can force their asset on the other’s liability will win.  While it may be close to a 50-50 tossup, due to these two extremes in the rebounding and turnovers, the winner might win by double digits.  The reason this edition has not been released until Thursday is that it has taken the PiRates a couple of days to determine which way the Bracketnomics point to in this game.  

Prediction:  Michigan State 71  Texas Tech 65