To organize the 347 programs there are 32 Division I conferences in NCAA men‘s college basketball. There are just two teams that are independents, operating with no conference affiliation.
A glance at today’s RPI (CBS Sports) shows that half of those conferences have at least one team in the top 60. On Selection Sunday (Mar. 17) schools not in the top 60 then will have little or no chance of getting an at-large invitation to the Big Dance. Teams in the 40s and 50s of the RPI that don’t win their conference’s tournament, to get an automatic bid, are the ones we tend to see as being “on the bubble.”
Four D-I conferences have just one team on the list of 60: Mid-American; Ohio Valley; Patriot; Sun Belt. Three of the leagues have two teams: Conference USA; West Coast; Western Athletic.
That leaves nine conferences with three or more teams in today‘s top 60. They are: Big East w/9; A-10 w/7; Big 10 w/7; Big 12 w/5; SEC w/5; Mt. West w/5; Pac 12 w/5; ACC w/4; Mo. Valley w/3.
ACC fans may not like to think of their favorite league as being the eighth best in D-I, but that’s exactly how it looks today.
March Madness-wise, this may not be such a good year for college basketball fans in the Commonwealth of Virginia, either. The only in-state team currently in the RPI top 60 is VCU at No. 36. So, with UVa. sitting at No. 73 and Richmond at No. 78, both have some work to do.
Since 1985, in various formats, SLANT -- an independent voice based in Richmond's Fan District -- has offered its readers original commentary on politics and popular culture, including cartoons and selected sundries. Warning: Sometimes that means satirical content. All rights are reserved.
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