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.
Big Sky
The contenders:
Sacramento St (11-6) (5-1) RPI 156 SoS 252
Eastern Washington (13-5) (4-1) RPI 60 SoS 141
Northern Colorado (9-7) (4-1) RPI 216 SoS 295
Montana (8-8) (4-1) RPI 236 SoS 255
EWU has the RPI and the win at Indiana; but not much else. As you can see, the rest of the conference is rather barren. You never know with the selection committee and RPI; EWU can easily be on the 12 line, but otherwise I don't hold much optimism for this conference.
No postseason projected:
Northern Arizona (8-10) (3-2)
Portland St (9-7) (3-3)
Weber St (8-9) (3-3)
Idaho (7-9) (2-3)
Southern Utah (5-11) (2-3)
North Dakota (5-11) (1-4)
Idaho St (4-14) (1-5)
Montana St (3-14) (0-5)
Big West
The contenders:
UC Davis (14-3) (4-0) RPI 84 SoS 283
Long Beach St (9-11) (3-1) RPI 63 SoS 5
UC Irvine (9-8) (2-1) RPI 162 SoS 149
Hawaii (13-6) (1-2) RPI 211 SoS 271
UC Santa Barbara (8-9) (1-2) RPI 146 SoS 69
Every year, there's 12 top conferences (the power 5, Big East, AAC, MWC/WCC/A-10/MVC, and the MAC). And it's a rotating slot for best-of-the-rest. Right now, the Big West has moved into that slot. It's more by default than anything else. The Horizon is down. CUSA way down. MAAC down. Kind of a default position for the Big West, because looking at the computer numbers, I'm not sure where it's coming from.
The benefit is that the league champ will benefit greatly. LBSU has contributed with an insane SoS (non-con SoS 3). Irvine has the signature win over Green Bay. UCSB scheduled up. That's how you build a conference profile. Even the teams below contributed greatly to it just by racking up wins.
No postseason projected:
UC Riverside (9-9) (2-2)
Cal St Northridge (6-13) (2-2)
Cal Poly (8-8) (1-3)
Cal St Fullerton (8-10) (0-3)
Horizon
The contenders:
Cleveland St (11-9) (5-1) RPI 135 SoS 139
Valparaiso (17-3) (4-1) RPI 90 SoS 262
Green Bay (15-4) (4-1) RPI 81 SoS 220
There's a pretty good 3-man race forming here. Green Bay won at Miami but lost a couple crucial mid-major matchups (Ga State, Irvine) to lose bubble traction for good. While the rest of the league didn't go anything special, they've collectively won enough to get their champion to the 13 line, most likely. Valpo in particular has a gaudy record with little substance, but 17-3 is 17-3, you know.
No postseason projected:
Detroit (9-10) (3-2)
Oakland (7-12) (2-2)
Wright St (10-9) (2-3)
Milwaukee (6-12) (1-3)
Illinois-Chicago (5-14) (1-3)
Youngstown St (9-12) (0-6)
Southland
The contenders:
Sam Houston St (13-4) (5-0) RPI 110 SoS 241
Stephen F Austin (14-3) (4-0) RPI 96 SoS 268
I'm only listing 2 because I don't believe in anyone else. SFA actually scheduled up a bit, to 142 in the non-con. They fixed some things, and their only 3 losses are to top 35 teams. They won at Memphis, beat LBSU...and not much else, which means no at-large bid. But still, it's a marked improvement, and the committee will notice. If they get by SHSU.
No postseason projected:
Abilene Christian (9-8) (3-1)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-8) (3-1)
Lamar (9-8) (3-2)
Northwestern St (8-8) (3-2)
SE Louisiana (5-12) (2-2)
Houston Baptist (7-8) (2-3)
Incarnate Word (9-5) (1-3)
New Orleans (5-8) (1-3)
Nicholls St (4-10) (1-3)
McNeese St (6-9) (0-4)
Central Arkansas (0-15) (0-4)
Summit
The contenders:
North Dakota St (12-6) (4-1) RPI 159 SoS 285
Oral Roberts (10-8) (4-1) RPI 157 SoS 208
South Dakota St (13-7) (4-2) RPI 143 SoS 261
This conference is down from past years. No team has emerged with a legit good profile like in past years. It's tough to get excited about any of the leading profiles here, and you can discard them accordingly.
No postseason projected:
South Dakota (9-10) (3-2)
IUPUI (7-12) (3-2)
Denver (8-10) (2-3)
Western Illinois (7-10) (2-4)
IPFW (8-10) (1-4)
Omaha (7-11) (1-5)
WAC
The contenders:
Seattle (9-8) (2-1) RPI 263 SoS 251
New Mexico St (10-10) (2-1) RPI 169 SoS 92
The conference is garbage. GCU is transitioning so Seattle is your leader. Whatever.
No postseason projected:
Grand Canyon (11-8) (2-0)
Utah Valley (6-10) (1-1)
UMKC (6-13) (1-1)
Texas Pan American (7-12) (1-2)
Cal St Bakersfield (5-13) (1-2)
Chicago St (4-15) (0-2)
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