By Ron Jumper
Here is another edition of Jumpology, I’ll have my final version out later this week as we approach Selection Sunday. For this one, we have really started to narrow down the field. I feel as though the pecking order has really started to lay itself out. The four conferences that most experts have the greatest difference of opinions on are the A10, C-USA, Mountain West, and Pac-10. As to where I stand, I liked the A10 more a month ago, but schools like Charlotte, Dayton, and Rhode Island have played themselves out of the field. I like C-USA more than others, as I like UTEP a lot and Memphis is still a pretty talented club. In the Mountain West, I really like the top four teams and think they all deserve to be in over this weak “high-major” at-large field. For a long time, it appeared Cal was the lone Pac-10 school in the mix but Arizona State and Washington have played themselves back onto the bubble.
1 Seeds:
Kansas** Big 12
Syracuse** Big East
Kentucky** SEC
Duke**ACC
2 Seeds:
Ohio State**Big Ten
New Mexico**Mountain West
West Virginia
Purdue
3 Seeds:
Kansas State
Villanova
Pittsburgh
Michigan State
4 Seeds:
Vanderbilt
Wisconsin
Temple**Atlantic 10
Maryland
5 Seeds:
Butler**Horizon
Texas A&M
BYU
Tennessee
6 Seeds:
Baylor
Northern Iowa**MVC
Xavier
Georgetown
7 Seeds:
Gonzaga
Texas
Richmond
UTEP**C-USA
8 Seeds:
Clemson
UNLV
Oklahoma State
Cal**Pac-10
9 Seeds:
Florida State
Wake Forest
Louisville
Old Dominion**CAA
10 Seeds:
Marquette
Missouri
Virginia Tech
Florida
11 Seeds:
Memphis
Utah State**WAC
Notre Dame
St. Mary’s**WCC
12 Seeds:
Illinois
San Diego State
Arizona State
Cornell**Ivy
13 Seeds:
Ole Miss
Siena**MAAC
Kent State**MAC
Murray State**OVC
14 Seeds:
Wofford**Southern
North Texas**Sun Belt
Weber State**Big Sky
UCSB**Big West
15 Seeds:
Oakland**Summit
Vermont**America East
East Tennessee State**Atlantic Sun
Winthrop**Big South
16 Seeds:
Sam Houston State**Southland
Lehigh**Patriot
Robert Morris**Northeast
Morgan State**Mid-Eastern (Play-In)
Jackson State**SWAC (Play-In)
Last Four In:
Ole Miss
Illinois
San Diego State
Arizona State
First Four Out:
UAB
Washington
Mississippi State
Rhode Island