Time to take quick glances at the conference races, and to get you the information you need to make informed decisions about the bottom part of your bracket.
America East
The contenders:
Albany (9-7) (4-0) RPI 196 SoS 315
Vermont (9-8) (4-0) RPI 198 SoS 257
Stony Brook (12-7) (3-1) RPI 71 SoS 113
Hartford (11-7) (4-1) RPI 188 SoS 275
Stony Brook is clearly the best team in the conference, but they trail by a game early after losing to Vermont. SBU has a win at Washington and vs. WKU in hand already, and clearly represent the best chance for the league to win a game in March. And for the league to avoid the 16 line and possibly Dayton. No one else has a resume that's even close to avoiding such a fate.
No postseason projected:
UMass-Lowell (9-9) (3-2)
New Hampshire (9-9) (2-3)
Binghamton (2-18) (1-4)
Maryland-Baltimore County (2-15) (0-4)
Maine (1-16) (0-5)
Big South
The contenders:
Coastal Carolina (14-4) (5-1) RPI 124 SoS 297
High Point (13-4) (4-1) RPI 79 SoS 191
UNC Asheville (8-8) (4-1) RPI 281 SoS 325
Gardner-Webb (12-7) (4-2) RPI 101 SoS 97
Charleston Southern (10-7) (4-2) RPI 190 SoS 237
I actually think this race might be mildly interesting. CCU already beat High Point on the road, so they have control of the league for now. HPU is way up there on the RPI but it's kind of an empty-calories profile. And there's Gardner-Webb, who won at Purdue and beat Clemson on a neutral. So there's some teams in here who can nab a higher seed that you'd think. G-W did beat CCU on the road, so that could be useful for winning the league. Obviously, if UNCA or CSU win, it's a disaster for the league.
No postseason projected:
Radford (12-7) (3-3)
Winthrop (8-9) (3-3)
Presbyterian (6-13) (2-4)
Longwood (6-13) (2-4)
Campbell (7-12) (1-5)
Liberty (6-13) (0-6)
Colonial
The contenders:
Northeastern (13-5) (5-1) RPI 68 SoS 155
William & Mary (11-6) (5-1) RPI 86 SoS 134
Hofstra (13-6) (4-2) RPI 170 SoS 328
James Madison (11-8) (4-2) RPI 161 SoS 148
UNC Wilmington (9-8) (4-2) RPI 154 SoS 207
Well, at least the league seems to be separating into a top half and bottom half. N'eastern is the clear best team; they won at Richmond and FSU...they are a clear 13 seed, IMO. It gets trickier if you have to look deeper in the conference. There's not a lot of substance behind them, but the conference overall is better.
No postseason projected:
Elon (10-9) (2-4)
Drexel (4-13) (2-4)
Delaware (3-14) (2-4)
Towson (8-11) (1-5)
Charleston (6-13) (1-5)
Independents
NJIT (11-10) RPI 179 SoS 218 - hey, you might see this team in an EIEIO in March. They beat both St Francis teams in the NEC, who lead that conference....beat Yale...won at Michigan. There's substance here, folks.
MAAC
The contenders:
Iona (13-6) (6-2) RPI 72 SoS 190
Rider (12-7) (6-2) RPI 152 SoS 284
Monmouth (9-9) (6-2) RPI 208 SoS 239
Canisius (10-7) (5-3) RPI 171 SoS 256
The MAAC is a mess this year. Down year for them, with no real threat outside of Iona presenting a mild threat. Even worse, the conference standings are congested. I could easily list a few more teams with a chance to run down Iona for the conference lead. No one has really gotten a signature win for the conference.
No postseason projected:
Manhattan (8-9) (5-3)
Siena (7-10) (4-4)
Fairfield (6-12) (4-4)
Quinnipiac (9-8) (3-5)
St Peter's (9-10) (3-5)
Niagara (3-14) (2-6)
Marist (1-17) (0-8)
NEC
The contenders:
St Francis(NY) (11-8) (5-1) RPI 160 SoS 266
Bryant (8-7) (5-1) RPI 177 SoS 244
St Francis(PA) (10-7) (4-2) RPI 123 SoS 174
Robert Morris (8-10) (4-2) RPI 203 SoS 189
St Francis(PA) at least beat Rutgers on the road. But there's obviously nothing going on here, and I'll be surprised if their champion, whoever it is, avoids the 16 line. They're a non-entity for bracketing purposes.
No postseason projected:
Mount St Mary's (8-9) (4-2)
Wagner (5-12) (3-3)
Fairleigh Dickinson (7-10) (2-4)
LIU-Brooklyn (6-11) (2-4)
Sacred Heart (7-12) (1-5)
Central Connecticut St (2-17) (0-6)
Patriot League
The contenders:
Colgate (8-11) (5-1) RPI 230 SoS 235
American (11-7) (4-2) RPI 94 SoS 172
Bucknell (9-10) (4-2) RPI 189 SoS 157
Lafayette (11-6) (3-3) RPI 117 SoS 186
Colgate is an awful team who happens to lead the league. American is the team with the real chance to do damage in March, having at least beaten LaSalle on the road. As you can see, if anyone but American wins this conference, I wouldn't expect to care much about them in March.
No postseason projected:
Loyola(MD) (7-10) (3-3)
Boston (7-10) (3-3)
Navy (7-11) (3-3)
Army (11-6) (2-4)
Lehigh (8-9) (2-4)
Holy Cross (6-10) (1-5)
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