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Top of the Arc - March 3, 2009

March 3, 9 a.m.: Huge opportunities for Virginia Tech and Maryland tonight over the next two days. Maryland gets Wake Forest tonight. The Hokies get North Carolina tomorrow. Victories would go a long way to solidifying tournament berths.

As for Notre Dame, the Irish will need to attempt to win the Big East tournament. At least get to the final. I am putting ND at the bottom of this list today.

Each morning, I will post my last four teams in the field and my first teams out. As you can tell, it is very difficult to separate one team from another, and selection committee members often differ on which credentials they value most. (SOS means strength of schedule; all records reflect Division I competition; all data courtesy of Jerry Palm’s Web site, www.collegerpi.com)

IN
Maryland (18-10, 7-7)
Pros: two top five victories
Cons: 2-5 on road

Virginia Tech (17-11, 7-7)
Pros: 5 road wins
Cons: 59 RPI

LAST FOUR IN
Texas A&M (20-8, 7-7)
Pros: 35 RPI
Cons: 1-3 vs. top 25

Penn State (20-9, 9-7)
Pros: 3-2 vs. top 25
Cons: 64 RPI, 10-0 vs. top 200 or worse

Florida (21-8, 8-6)
Pros: 49 RPI
Cons: 2-6 on road, 2-6 vs. top 50

Miami (16-10, 6-8)
Pros: 10 SOS, 44 RPI
Cons: 6-8 in ACC

FIRST TEAMS OUT
Michigan (17-12, 8-9)
Pros: 9 SOS, 5 top 50 wins
Cons: 2-8 on road

Providence (18-11, 10-7)
Pros: 10-7 in Big East
Cons: 68 RPI, 2-7 vs. top 50

Cincinnati (17-11, 8-8)
Pros: 4 top 50 wins, 19 SOS
Cons: 1-8 vs. top 25

Georgetown (15-12, 6-10)
Pros: 1 SOS, won at U-Conn.
Cons: 6-10 in Big East

Kansas State (19-9, 8-6)
Pros: 3-4 vs. top 50, 5-4 on road
Cons: 89 SOS, 73 RPI

San Diego State (17-8, 9-5)
Pros: Beat Utah, UNLV
Cons: 4-8 vs. top 100

Saint Mary’s (22-5, 10-4)
Pros: 8-3 road record
Cons: 167 SOS, 3-3 vs. top 100

Temple (17-11, 9-5)
Pros: 8 road wins
Cons: 1 top 50 win

Notre Dame (15-13, 7-10)
Pros: pounded Louisville, 90-57
Cons: 73 RPI

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