in NCAA F Articles

Davidson already in

Why wait for Selection Sunday to analyze the teams going to the NCAA Tournament? We already know the identity of a handful of dancers, thanks to those conferences who wanted to get their own tournaments out of the way in the first week of March – or, in the case of the Ivy League, don’t even hold a conference playoff to determine a champion.

Here’s a look at some of the clubs that lined up early to get their tickets to the dance.

Pennsylvania Quakers (IVY, 20-7 SU, 12-11-1 ATS)

Penn didn’t exactly light things up at the pay window, but a 12-1 SU romp through the Ivy was more than enough to clinch the Quakers’ sixth conference championship in eight years.

The Quakers are on a five-game winning streak, but have dropped the cash in their last four straight outings. Such is life when you’re laying double digits to nearly every other team in the conference. Penn is a mere No. 94 in the RPI and a not-so-hot No. 165 in SOS. But there were profits to be made in Pennsylvania. Team defense led the under to a 16-8 record in Quakers contests.

Southern Illinois Salukis (MVC, 22-10 SU, 16-13-2 ATS)

The Salukis closed strong to nail down the automatic Missouri Valley berth, winning four in a row (3-1 ATS) and beating a strong Northern Iowa club twice. Good thing for the Salukis, too, because they were on the bubble two weeks ago. SIU had lost five of seven SU before pulling things out, and closed the regular season on a 1-7 ATS slide.

There are five MVC teams remaining in the hunt for an at-large Tournament bid. The Salukis posted victories over all five, including Top-25 RPI wins against Wichita State and Missouri State. That experience should make SIU one of the preferred Cinderella picks at the big dance.

Murray State Racers (OVC, 24-6 SU, 11-17 ATS)

Handicappers have been singing the praises of the 17-12 ATS Samford Bulldogs, but the Racers were clearly the best team in the Ohio Valley, closing the regular season at 11-1 SU (5-7 ATS) and thumping Samford in the OVC final.

However, beating up on the Bulldogs is the only thing of note Murray State has done on its way to the big dance. Check out that horrible No. 189 ranking in SOS. That, plus a lousy ATS mark versus soft opposition, makes the Racers unlikely to pose a major threat in the Tournament.

Davidson Wildcats (SC, 19-10 SU, 11-14-1 ATS)

On one hand, it’s no surprise the Wildcats won the Southern crown. They went a perfect 16-0 SU (11-4-1 ATS) in last year’s regular-season conference action. But the ‘Cats were upset by NC-Greensboro in the final and had to settle for an NIT invite. They also played like an NIT team for most of this season before winning three in a row to claim the title.

Davidson at least had the good sense to play a tough non-conference schedule that included an overtime upset of St. Joseph’s and a near-upset of Charlotte; otherwise, the Wildcats’ No. 108 RPI and No. 162 SOS would have been much worse. But don’t let that stop you from watching senior Brendan Winters do his thing at the big dance. The reigning SoCon Player of the Year has taken a slight downturn at 16.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, but he’s still a solid player and should give someone fits in the first round.

Belmont Bruins/Winthrop Eagles

These two teams have the misfortune of playing in two of college basketball’s ignored conferences, the Atlantic Sun and the Big South respectively. The Bruins played just one game with a betting line: their thrilling 74-69 overtime win over Lipscomb, cashing in as 1 ½-point faves to win the ASun title. Winthrop had an impressive non-con win at Marquette as part of a 2-2 ATS season, boosting the Eagles’ RPI to No. 71. That could be enough to earn Winthrop a No. 13 seed at the big dance and plenty of attention from handicappers looking for a “4-13” first-round upset.

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