ESPN.com - At-large hopefuls angle for a bid

ESPN.com: Katz

Tuesday, October 14, 2008
At-large hopefuls angle for a bid

The pool of teams that could find their way in as at-large teams is larger than what I provided Monday.

The top 25, plus the 12 up for discussion, was only a portion. Plenty of others have a legitimate shot to make a run toward a bid as practice begins Friday.

Here are some of them (I'm sure I'll miss others as new teams emerge).

I'm going alphabetically by conference here:

Elsa/Getty Images

Tyrese Rice will provide the scoring
punch for BC this season.

ACC
In offseason discussions the only team that comes up that probably has no shot to make the NCAAs is Virginia. Everyone else is pretty confident then they'll be in the mix. They won't be. But that isn't stopping the optimism.

Boston College: The Eagles firmly believe that if their freshmen play up to their potential, notably Reggie Jackson, that they have a legit shot with Tyrese Rice to finish in the 4-7 range and put them in position for a bid.

Clemson: The Tigers lost key players in Cliff Hammonds and James Mays but there is enough in place with K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby in the backcourt to make a run.

Florida State: The Seminoles' staff and guard Toney Douglas are adamant that Florida State has a shot to make the NCAAs. Their banner recruiting class gives them hope.

Georgia Tech: The consensus was the Yellow Jackets were missing a point guard and they got one in Iman Shumpert. If he's as good as projected then the Yellow Jackets should be bubble bound.

Maryland: Gary Williams isn't considering not making the NCAAs. With the return of Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes I've heard nothing from Williams other than this team will be better and on the verge of a bid.

NC State: The Wolfpack lost J.J. Hickson, but may have gained more cohesion back with Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner. The Wolfpack believe that point guard Farnold Degand being healthy will be the difference.

Virginia Tech: You could argue I should have had the Hokies in the top 25 or the 12 beyond. That's a fair point. Virginia Tech lost one player of note in Deron Washington. The rest of the crew returns that nearly took out UNC in the ACC tourney.

Atlantic 10
The league is usually good for three or four contenders for bids. So, to put just Xavier down isn't probable. The problem is who to choose next?

Charlotte: The 49ers return four starters. Bobby Lutz doesn't stay down too long. The NIT appearance last season was a turn toward a run to the NCAAs.

Temple: The Owls bring back scorer Dionte Christmas after the surprising run to the A-10 tournament title.

UMass: I wouldn't dismiss UMass with the return of Chris Lowe and Ricky Harris and a plethora of role players inside. They should thrive in Derek Kellogg's system.

Big 12
You can dismiss Iowa State, Colorado and likely Texas Tech and Nebraska from being in the NCAA discussion come March. Kansas State coach Frank Martin firmly believes the Wildcats will be in play, but it's hard to make that argument with Michael Beasley and Bill Walker gone.

Missouri: The Tigers have DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons to run Mike Anderson's system and Anderson says he has his incoming players on board who are committed to his style.

Oklahoma State: New coach Travis Ford walked into a good situation with a solid nucleus back including double-figure scorers James Anderson, Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris. Size will be an issue here but Ford has done well with perimeter-based teams.

Big East
St. John's, South Florida, Rutgers, DePaul are probably out of the discussion for the NCAA. Seton Hall would likely be added to that list if the Pirates can't get a number of players eligible

Cincinnati: The Bearcats get a healthy Mike Williams and already have one of the top scoring guards in Deonta Vaughn. And this club doesn't wilt under pressure.

Providence: Keno Davis has a chance to make the NCAAs with point guard Sharaud Curry returning and scoring guards Weyinmi Efejuku, Jeff Xavier and forward Geoff McDermott.

West Virginia: I probably took more flak for leaving the Mountaineers out of the top 37 than any other team. The Mountaineers usually don't get their due until mid-season when they've surprised everyone yet again. Bob Huggins usually has his teams in the mix by March. Losing Joe Alexander is a tough blow but the addition of Devin Ebanks gives them plenty of scoring pop to go with Joe Mazzulla, Alex Ruoff and Da'Sean Butler.

Big Ten
Once again it is a lean year in the Big Ten for locks. But there are a handful of bubble teams that should be in the mix come March.

Illinois: The Illini don't have a star, but they've got enough solid role players and the passion of Bruce Weber to make a run toward a bubble berth.

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

Robert Vaden spurned the NBA to
return to UAB and try and compete
for a tourney spot.

Minnesota: The Gophers will continue to be a solid defensive team under Tubby Smith. I fully expect Smith to have Minnesota in play late in February. He's too good.

Ohio State: For the third straight season the Buckeyes have a big-time freshman center. B.J. Mullens will join a solid cast that was denied a bid late in the season. Ohio State probably will make it in the end.

Conference USA
Memphis dominated this league last season but the Tigers can't expect to run the table again. Memphis lost too much and the rest of the league has improved greatly.

Tulsa: The CBI champs return one of the more unheralded big men in Jerome Jordan. Ben Uzoh is a nice compliment on the perimeter. Doug Wojcik has this program back where it belongs -- on the verge of NCAA bids.

UAB: The Blazers have one of the top scorers in the country in Robert Vaden and added back a point guard in Paul Delaney III who should set him up quite nicely. UAB was close to a bid last season. The Blazers should get in this year.

UTEP: Tony Barbee is quick to remind me that the Miners should be a quality team and a tough out this season. There's no reason to dismiss his optimism. The Miners return one of the better scoring guards in senior Stefon Jackson.

Missouri Valley
The Valley had the story last season in Drake. But unfortunately there wasn't enough else to stand out and the Valley got only one team in the field. That could be the case again, although, there are plenty of teams that can make it to mid-March.

Creighton: The Bluejays have an experienced crew again and led by Josh Dotzler and P'Allen Stinnett should be the team to beat in the league. Dana Altman always seems to sniff close to the NCAAs and this shouldn't be any different.

Southern Illinois: The Salukis slipped a bit last year but SIU is poised to climb back to be one of the top teams in the league yet again. SIU has experience, defense, and an impact newcomer in freshman forward Anthony Booker.

Illinois State: The Redbirds had a legit gripe about not getting a bid last season. You can argue the schedule, as I did, but the team didn't help itself by getting blown out by Drake in the Valley tourney final. Still, enough returns for Tim Jankovich, led by Osiris Eldridge for the Redbirds to be in the mix yet again.

MWC
The Mountain West has two locks in UNLV and BYU being in the chase for the title and bids. But there are others who could disrupt that by March.

San Diego State: The Aztecs returns the starting five intact and won 20 games a year ago with this crew. San Diego State has a MWC stud in Lorrenzo Wade.

Utah: The Utes have one of their best schedules in years and a frontcourt that should be hard to match in the league with Luke Nevill and Kim Tillie.

Pac-10
The easy thing to do is tear down the Pac-10 as heading for a down year. Oregon is reshuffling, Oregon State is starting anew, Cal lost Ryan Anderson and has a new staff and Stanford will go without the Lopez twins, Brook and Robin, and forge ahead with a new coach, too. But to dismiss the Washington schools would be a mistake.

Washington: The Huskies are the sleeper pick in the league to grab a bid and finish possibly as high as third. Jon Brockman is back and ready to make a run at player of the year in the conference. Quincy Pondexter should have a breakout season and the point is being turned over to a hyped newcomer Isaiah Thomas (not a bad name to have at that position).

Washington State: Tony Bennett isn't folding up because Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver and Robbie Cowgill are gone. The core of Taylor Rochestie at the point and Daven Harmeling and Aron Baynes inside give the Cougars the nucleus to go along with star newcomer Klay Thompson. WSU is here to stay as a potential NCAA team under Bennett.

SEC
The SEC continues to be one of the most consistent conferences for bids in the country. You can almost always lock in five or six teams to the NCAAs. This won't be any different.

Ole Miss: The Rebels lost the inside game but bring back one of the top point guards in the South in Chris Warren. If the Rebels can get someone inside to score and defend then they'll have a shot.

Vanderbilt: The Commodores lost Shan Foster but bring back A.J. Ogilvy inside and still have a scoring option on the perimeter in Jermaine Beal. You're foolish if you think Kevin Stallings' teams are ever out of the NCAA discussion.

AP Photo/John Raoux

Shan Foster's departure means
Vandy will rely more heavily on
Aussie big man A.J. Ogilvy .

WAC
The league may not be a deep from top to bottom but has at least one candidate for at-large.

Nevada: The Wolf Pack brought in one of the top recruits in the country in Luke Babbitt and returns a solid guard in Brandon Fields. Give this team time and Nevada could be in the mix for a bid in March. Nevada's nonconference schedule should be rated high, especially with a home game against North Carolina on the schedule.

WCC
The league put in three of its eight teams a year ago for one of the better percentages in the country. Don't be shocked if it happens again.

San Diego: The Toreros got hot in the WCC title and beat Gonzaga for the championship at home. It wasn't a fluke after they took out Connecticut in the first round. Everyone of note returns.