Automatic Qualifiers (9)
RPI | SOS | T5W | T10 | T20 | 26+ L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 1 | 9 | 3-1 | 6-1 | 7-1 | — |
| Penn | 5 | 17 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 4-3 | — |
| Towson | 6 | 15 | 2-1 | 3-4 | 4-4 | — |
| Loyola | 7 | 12 | 2-2 | 4-2 | 6-3 | — |
| Denver | 13 | 14 | 1-2 | 4-3 | 5-4 | — |
| High Point | 19 | 48 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 6-0 | Jacksonville (41), St. John's (57) |
| Hobart | 26 | 54 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-3 | Saint Joseph's (51) |
| Marist | 30 | 51 | 0-1 | 0-3 | 0-4 | Bucknell (37), Detroit Mercy (49) |
| Vermont | 38 | 55 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-4 | Stony Brook (43), UMass Lowell (59) |
Penn Statevery much looked like the best team in the country Thursday, dismantling Rutgers just five days after struggling to dispatch the Scarlet Knights. The Nittany Lions play Johns Hopkins for the Big Ten title Saturday. … There are some teams at the edge of the field that would love it ifPenncould just send Brown packing Friday and remove the bid-snatching potential from the Ivy tournament. …
It was a great night forTowson. The Tigers ripped Delaware, saw Colonial top seed Massachusetts lose to Drexel and had their opening victory over Johns Hopkins elevated to top-10 status. …Loyolabegins Patriot League tournament play Friday night against Army. The Greyhounds are 8-1 in Patriot League tournament games, with the lone loss against Army in 2015. …
Denvermanhandled Villanova to reach the Big East title game. The Pioneers get Georgetown at home on Saturday to decide what will almost certainly be a one-bid league. … ThinkHigh Pointmight have remembered its 12-10 loss to Jacksonville earlier this season? The Panthers bulldozed the Dolphins 17-3 in the Southern semifinals. A rematch of last weekend’s regular season finale against Richmond is up Saturday. …
With Mount St. Mary’s falling in overtime to Robert Morris,Hobartis top seed left in the Northeast. The Statesmen just faced Robert Morris last week --- another overtime victory for the Colonials. …Maristgoes for its first NCAA tournament berth since 2015 on Saturday when it plays host to Quinnipiac in the Metro Atlantic final. …Vermontis seeking its first league tournament title and will face UMBC, which hasn’t won the America East since 2009.
At-Large Bids (13teams/8 slots)
RPI | SOS | T5W | T10 | T20 | 26+ L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 2 | 8 | 3-2 | 5-3 | 8-3 | — |
| Duke | 3 | 1 | 5-2 | 6-4 | 7-4 | — |
| Yale | 4 | 23 | 1-1 | 3-2 | 5-2 | — |
| Notre Dame | 8 | 4 | 2-2 | 5-4 | 5-5 | — |
| Johns Hopkins | 9 | 3 | 0-5 | 3-6 | 5-6 | — |
| Syracuse | 10 | 7 | 2-2 | 5-3 | 8-3 | Colgate (47) |
| Maryland | 11 | 5 | 1-4 | 4-4 | 7-4 | — |
| Cornell | 12 | 10 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 4-4 | — |
| Ohio State | 14 | 21 | 2-1 | 3-2 | 4-3 | Michigan (33) |
| Villanova | 15 | 14 | 1-2 | 2-5 | 2-5 | Drexel (27), Providence (46) |
| Georgetown | 16 | 35 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 3-4 | Marquette (39) |
| North Carolina | 17 | 2 | 2-5 | 2-7 | 3-7 | — |
| Army | 18 | 31 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 4-3 | Lehigh (35) |
Virginianosed ahead of Duke in the RPI replica. The Cavaliers will probably stay there with a victory over Notre Dame in the ACC final. … By virtue of its high-end victories,Dukeis going to end up as the No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Would the Blue Devils’ head-to-head victory over Virginia be enough to get them the second spot regardless of this weekend’s results? Good question. …
Like Penn,Yalecould make life easier for borderline teams (here’s looking at you, Maryland) if it can win its Ivy semifinal. The Bulldogs face Cornell on Friday night. …Notre Dameis playing for a home game in the NCAA tournament when it visits Virginia tomorrow, though it is plausible the Irish get one anyway even with a loss. …
Johns Hopkinsdid what it needed to, beating Maryland twice in less than a week. However, it managed to devalue its own victories in the process. That’s still better than the alternative. The Blue Jays wouldn’t face that problem if they topple Penn State on Saturday. A victory over the Nittany Lions could vault Hopkins into a first-round home game. …Syracuseis in the clubhouse, but it surely wouldn’t mind seeing some combination of Towson, Loyola, Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins all lose this weekend to keep its chances of a home game alive. …
Marylandcouldn’t have possibly figured when it escaped Penn at Franklin Field in February with an overtime victory that it would stand as the Terrapins’ lone top-10 victory. …Cornellcan help itself immensely by upending Yale, but the Big Red will probably be fine if the favorites hold serve over the weekend. Towson winning the CAA would boost Cornell’s chances on multiple fronts. …
Ohio State’s hopes took a hit with Johns Hopkins solidifying its status Thursday. A Cornell victory on Friday (or a Loyola loss, for that matter) would probably finish off the Buckeyes. … A victory over Yale isn’t going to get the job done this year forVillanova. …Georgetownwill reach Selection Sunday without a top-10 victory, a big part of why the Hoyas need to beat Denver in the Big East final for the second year in a row to make the field. …
North Carolinaadded a top-30 victory when Marist moved up a couple spots in the RPI, but the Tar Heels aren’t getting in. …Army’s hopes hinge on winning the Patriot League tournament, which means beating a rested Loyola team on Friday.
PROJECTED BRACKET
A few reminders on piecing together the bracket:
The committee seeds the top eight teams and then assigns the unseeded teams based on geography in an attempt to limit air travel while trying to maintain bracket integrity.
Conference matchups are to be avoided in the first round.
If applicable, quarterfinal host schools are funneled into their own site. Hofstra and Fairfield are this year’s quarterfinal hosts.
Of the nine automatic qualifiers, the two with the weakest resumes are assigned to the preliminary round game the Wednesday before the first round. At-large teams are not selected for play-in games.
Hempstead, N.Y.
(1) BIG TEN/Penn State vs. METRO ATLANTIC/Marist-AMERICA EAST/Vermont
(8) PATRIOT/Loyola vs. Syracuse
East Hartford, Conn.
(5) Yale vs. Johns Hopkins
(4) IVY/Penn vs. Maryland
Hempstead, N.Y.
(3) Virginia vs. SOUTHERN/High Point
(6) Notre Dame vs. BIG EAST/Denver
East Hartford, Conn.
(7) COLONIAL/Towson vs. Cornell
(2) Duke vs. NORTHEAST/Hobart
Last three in:Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Cornell
First three out:Ohio State, North Carolina, Villanova
Moving in:Hobart, Johns Hopkins, Vermont
Moving out:UMass, Mount St. Mary’s, Stony Brook
Multi-bid conferences:Atlantic Coast (4), Big Ten (3), Ivy (3)
