With our alma mater Saint Louis falling in the A-10 quarterfinal, bringing Josh Schertz’s inaugural campaign to a close (save an NIT or lesser tourney run) let’s turn our attention to teams very much alive this year. Teams who are looking to break through to the second weekend. Teams who have only watched the Sweet Sixteen but have Never Been Kissed since the tournament first expanded to 64 teams back in 1985.
No new teams graduated in 2024, ending a streak of three straight years of promotions. Once again this year’s crop is heavy on the Mountain West with four clubs in our top five (below). The current NBK Rankings are led by a bold newcomer: UC San Diego out of the Big West. Eric Olen’s Tritons, in just their fifth year in Division I, carry the nation’s longest winning streak of fourteen games into tonight’s BW final vs UC Irvine. Neither appear to have the resume to earn an at-large bid so this one is a death match.
FRIDAY
No new tickets punched on Friday as it was day decidedly devoid of Finals. New Mexico & Utah St bowed out in the Mountain West semifinals. Both are safely in the field of 68 according to Joey Brackets — the Lobos as a 9-seed and the Aggies as a 10-seed. This arrangement looks like it will have worked out great for the MWC as the final between Boise St vs Colorado St is a coin toss and right now Lunardi has both in the field regardless. Advice to the MWC runner-up: keep your eyes on what happens in the American conference and root hard for Penny Hardaway’s top-seeded Memphis team to also lock down the auto-bid, and likewise pull for VCU to prevail in the Atlantic 10.
SATURDAY
Big West Final: UC San Diego (63%$) vs UC Irvine – 8:40 PM CST
MWC Final: Boise St (50%) vs Colorado St – 5 PM CST
WAC Final: Grand Canyon (56%) vs Utah Valley – 10:40 PM CST
MAC Final: Akron (66%) vs Miami OH – 6:40 PM CST
CUSA Final: Liberty (70%) vs Jacksonville St – 7:30 PM CST
MEAC Final: Norfolk St (52%) vs South Carolina St – 12 Noon CST
SWAC Final: Jackson St (58%) vs Alabama St – 8:30 PM CST
America East Final: Bryant (71%) vs Maine – 10 AM CST
MAAC Final: Mount St Mary’s (50%) vs Iona – 6:30 PM CST
Ivy Semifinal: Yale (78%) vs Princeton – 10 AM CST
Ivy Semifinal: Cornell (65%) vs Dartmouth – 1 PM CST
American semifinal: North Texas (66%) vs UAB – 4 PM CST
American semifinal: Tulane (29%) vs Memphis – 2 PM CST
As we prepared this delicious post, Yale squeaked past Princeton 59-57 to move on to the Ivy final, and Bryant trounced Maine 77-59 to seal the America East bid and a likely 15-seed.
Data courtesy Kenpom.com and ESPN Bracketology and ESPN Bubble Watch ($)