“This is March”- John Rothstein. The most exciting time of the year in college basketball, where anything can happen. While the madness unfolds, Women’s Club is preparing for absurdity in April. Over half of the field is set with a month to go. The road to Erie, PA looks like it will go through these 24 teams:
*= Clinched regional playoff berth.
Great Lakes Regional:
1 Ohio State* (South Champion) VS 4 Grand Valley State* (North Runner-Up)
Ohio State has been dominant all year. They won the Happy Valley Fall Tip-Off tournament with ease and sit at #4 in the country with a 14-1 overall record. Their lone stumble came to Purdue by 2, but otherwise the #4 Buckeyes have an average margin of victory of over 20 points a game (check out the CBT Domination Rankings to see where they stack up). They will end conference play against undefeated #7 Indiana, both of which have already secured spots in the regional.
2 Michigan State (North Champion) VS 3 Indiana* (South Runner-Up)
Mid-America Regional:
1 SIUE* vs 2 WUSTL
SIUE recently fell from the ranks of the undefeated after splitting with WUSTL. The #8 Cougars have already wrapped up the conference championship with Creighton splitting with WUSTL as well. They could become very familiar with the Bears as they will host them or the Bluejays in a 3-game series to decide the Mid-America region.
Mid-Atlantic Regional:
1 Villanova* VS 2 Penn
Villanova sits atop the largest conference in the league with an 13-1 record. The Wildcats have been the top ranked team in the nation with their lone loss coming to Penn by 16. They responded by winning the second game of the series by 10. They currently sit at #3 in the polls and will end the regular season traveling to Georgetown to end the marathon of a 16-game conference slate.
New England Regional:
1 UMASS* (North Champion) VS 8 Lehigh* (West Runner-Up)
The UMASS Minutewomen have been the most impressive team in the NCBBA-W (again check out the CBT Domination Rankings) winning their 10 games by over 30 points a game. They swept the entire NE-North and are #1 in the top 15 poll. With no games left before April, count on them to be the top seed in the New England regional.
4 Montclair State* (West Champion) VS 5 UCONN* (South Runner-Up)
3 Boston College* (East Champion) VS 6 Vermont (North Runner-Up)
2 Sacred Heart (South Champion) VS 7 Northeastern (East Runner-Up)
North Atlantic Regional:
1 Penn State* (East Champion) VS 4 Oswego (West Runner-Up)
Penn State recently split with SUNY-Courtland in their conference series, but only have 2-4 Binghamton left on their schedule. The Nittany Lions should take care of business and secure the NA-East championship. They are 11 in the latest top 15 poll, but except them to be the top seed of the North Atlantic.
2 Brockport (West Champion) VS 3 SUNY-Courtland* (East Runner-Up)
Pacific Regional:
1 Nevada VS 2 Stanford*
Not much action has gone on out west in the Pacific region. Nevada is just 2-0 with their sweep over Stanford. Stanford swept San Jose and Chico State in the only other conference games thus far. That means the Cardinal have already secured their spot and going .500 the rest of the way will give the #13 Wolfpack home court advantage.
South-Atlantic Regional:
1 Kennessaw State VS 2 Furman
Kennesaw State is 4-0 after sweeping Coastal Carolina twice and are in first place with these being the only conference games played. They will face Furman twice before all is said and done in the South Atlantic. This is the smallest conference in the NCBBA-W, so anything could happen before the tournament rolls around.
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