At-Large (19 teams/8 slots)
|
W-L
|
RPI
|
League
|
Road
|
Notable Wins
|
Notable Losses
|
Virginia |
9-2 |
1 |
2-2 |
3-1 |
at Notre Dame, at North Carolina, Army, at Loyola, Richmond |
--- |
Duke |
10-1 |
2 |
2-1 |
3-1 |
North Carolina, Syracuse, Denver, at Richmond |
--- |
Army |
5-2 |
3 |
3-1 |
3-2 |
at Syracuse, at Loyola, Saint Joseph's |
--- |
North Carolina |
8-2 |
4 |
1-2 |
2-1 |
at Virginia, Denver, at Richmond |
--- |
Syracuse |
5-3 |
5 |
1-2 |
0-1 |
Virginia, Vermont, Stony Brook, Albany |
--- |
Notre Dame |
6-1 |
9 |
2-1 |
1-0 |
Duke, at Syracuse |
--- |
Rutgers |
6-2 |
10 |
6-2 |
3-1 |
at Ohio State, Ohio State |
--- |
UMass |
3-3 |
12 |
3-2 |
1-2 |
at Hofstra, Drexel |
--- |
Drexel |
5-2 |
14 |
3-2 |
1-1 |
at Delaware, UMass |
--- |
Georgetown |
8-1 |
15 |
7-1 |
5-1 |
at Villanova, Villanova |
--- |
Bryant |
5-2 |
17 |
3-1 |
2-1 |
Vermont |
Hobart |
Albany |
6-3 |
18 |
4-2 |
2-2 |
UMass, UMBC |
--- |
UMBC |
5-2 |
20 |
4-2 |
1-2 |
Stony Brook, Vermont |
at Binghamton |
Villanova |
4-3 |
21 |
4-3 |
2-2 |
--- |
--- |
Loyola |
5-4 |
22 |
3-2 |
2-2 |
at Richmond |
at Towson |
Vermont |
5-3 |
34 |
5-1 |
3-3 |
at Albany |
--- |
Hofstra |
6-3 |
35 |
3-2 |
3-1 |
Stony Brook, at UMass |
at Towson, St. John's |
Ohio State |
4-4 |
37 |
4-4 |
2-2 |
--- |
at Penn State |
FOUR SOLIDLY IN ACCs
Duke’s profile remains strong despite its loss to Notre Dame. One thing that might hold the Blue Devils back is the absence of a truly high-end road victory — a problem they can rectify Thursday at Virginia. … Speaking of the Cavaliers, Virginia owns the only victory over Notre Dame and one of two against North Carolina — both away from Charlottesville. Even with two losses, you could argue the Hoos into a No. 1 seed at the moment. …
Notre Dame is only playing 10 regular-season games, so every one carries a bit more influence in the bracketing process than the larger schedules other ACC teams are facing. The upshot: The Irish’s victories over Duke and Syracuse will likely carry them far. … North Carolina’s back-to-back losses to Duke and Virginia are a hit to its seeding, but its overall profile remains strong.
HAVE TAKEN CARE OF BUSINESS (MOSTLY)
Army is the only team to win a non-conference game against an ACC school, and the Black Knights’ victory over Syracuse is a valuable asset. Of course, more performances like Saturday’s 12-7 defeat of Loyola could lead to a Patriot League tournament title and no at-large anxieties. … Syracuse is probably the most vulnerable of the five ACC teams, but that’s nothing a couple more league victories couldn’t solve. That, of course, is easier said than done against North Carolina and at Virginia and Notre Dame. …
Rutgers has to be in full control-what-you-can-control mode for the next two weeks, much like it was while blistering Penn State 22-10 last week. The Scarlet Knights close the regular season against Johns Hopkins and Michigan, a pair of 2-6 teams. … There might be only one other team with more to gain this week than Georgetown, which gets a second shot at Denver after losing in the Mile High City last month.
AND THAT OTHER TEAM IS …
… Ohio State, which is 4-4 with a trip to Maryland looming on Sunday. If the Buckeyes win that game, they’ll own one of the best victories on the board and create a far wider path to the postseason. Lose, and they’ll pretty much be on the spot to make a lot of noise in the Big Ten tournament.
OTHER TIDBITS
There is enough parity in both the CAA (Drexel, Hofstra and UMass, as well as league leader Delaware) and the America East (Albany, UMBC and Vermont, plus projected automatic qualifier Stony Brook) that no one has been able to dominate. That reduces the chances of either league producing multiple NCAA teams. …
It’s looking more and more like Loyola will have to win the Patriot League tournament to earn its way into the field after falling to Army. The Greyhounds’ most valuable remaining opportunity in the regular season is a May 1 visit from Georgetown. … Villanova had a similar experience, losing at Denver to fall to 0-3 against the Big East’s top two teams. The Wildcats will need a run in the league tournament to earn their way in.
BRACKET
Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal
(1) BIG TEN/Maryland vs. METRO ATLANTIC/Monmouth (Mid-Atlantic site)
(8) Army vs. Syracuse (Northern site)
Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal
(5) North Carolina vs. COLONIAL/Delaware (Mid-Atlantic site)
(4) Duke vs. SOUTHERN/Richmond (Southern site)
Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal
(3) Notre Dame vs. AMERICA EAST/Stony Brook (Mid-Atlantic site)
(6) BIG EAST/Denver vs. Rutgers (Northern site)
Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal
(7) PATRIOT/Lehigh vs. Georgetown (Mid-Atlantic site)
(2) Virginia vs. NORTHEAST/Saint Joseph’s (Southern site)