Twenty-six of 31 NCAA Basketball league or conference titles were settled Monday (3-9-09). Twenty-three teams won outright championships, 3 wound up in ties with other teams, and playoffs will decide the other 5. Here is the scorecard:
The Dominators
Teams that won outright league titles by a 2-game-or-more-advantage included 2nd-ranked North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 13-3 mark and an overall record of 27-3. The Tar Heels were 14-1 at home. Two other teams also only lost once at home-Wake Forest and Duke-but neither could begin to match North Carolina's 8-2 road performance.
Eighth-ranked Michigan State took the Big Ten title with a 15-3 mark and a 4-game winning advantage. The Spartans were 25-5 overall with a 12-2 home showing and a killer 9-1 road record. Indiana was 1-17 in conference play, begging the question: Where are the real clowns who sent Bobby Knight packing?
Fourteenth-ranked Gonzaga ran the table in West Coast Conference play with a perfect 14-0 mark and a 4-game winning advantage. The Zags were 25-5 overall with a sterling 9-1 road record.
Utah State won the Western Athletic title with a 14-2 mark and a 3-game winning advantage. The Aggies were 27-4 overall with a perfect 17-0 home record.
Weber State (21-8 overall) won the Big Sky with a 15-1 mark and a 4-game winning advantage. Radford (21-11 overall) won the Big South with a 15-3 mark. Butler (26-4 overall) took the Horizon title with a 15-3 record. Cornell (21-9 overall) won the Ivy League with an 11-3 mark and a 3-game winning advantage. Siena (25-7 overall) won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a 16-2 and a perfect 16-0 home record.
Morgan State (20-11 overall) won the Mid-Eastern Conference with a 13-3 mark and a 3-game winning advantage. Robert Morris (23-10) won the Northeast with a 15-3 mark and 3-game winning advantage. American University (23-7) won the Patriot League with a 13-1 mark. North Dakota State (24-6) took the Summit League with a 16-2 mark.
All You Need Is One More Win
Teams that won outright titles by a 1-game advantage included 6th-ranked Louisville in the Big East with a 16-2 mark and an overall record of 25-5. No. 3-ranked Pittsburgh (28-3 overall) was a runner-up with a perfect 19-0 record at home but could not match Louisville's 8-1 road mark. Top-ranked Connecticut was also a runner-up and had a 27-3 record, but Louisville took home the trophy.
Ninth-ranked Kansas won the Big 12 with a 14-2 and an 18-1 home record. The Jayhawks were 25-6 overall. Fifteenth-ranked Missouri was third with a perfect 18-0 mark at home but could not win when it really counted.
Sixteenth-ranked Washington won the Pacific 10 (Pac 10) title with a 14-4 mark and an 18-1 home record. The outright championship was the Huskies' first in 56 years. Washington was 24-7 overall. The Huskies started the year at 3-3 and then went 21-4.
Seventeenth-ranked Xavier (24-6 overall) won the Atlantic 10 title with a 12-4 mark and was 14-1 at home. Dayton, a runner-up, was a perfect 18-0 at home but the Flyers lost more games than they won on the road.
Jacksonville (18-3 overall) won the Atlantic Sun with a 15-5 mark. Cal State Northridge (15-13 overall) won the Big West title with an 11-5 mark even though Cal State was 5-11 on the road. Virginia Commonwealth (23-9) won the Colonial Athletic Conference with a 14-4 mark. Runner-up George Mason (22-9) was a perfect 14-0 at home but lost more games than it won on the road.
Tulsa (22-9) won the Conference USA title with a 12-4 mark. Tennessee-Martin (22-9) won the Ohio Valley championship with a 14-4 mark. Alabama State (19-9) won the Southwestern Athletic title with a 16-2 mark. Runner-up Jackson State was a perfect 9-0 at home but a terrible 6-13 on the road.
A Tie Is Better Than Runner-Up
Among the teams that tied for a title were Brigham Young (24-6), Utah (21-9) and New Mexico (21-10). All three went 12-4 for a 3-way tie in the Mountain West Conference.
Vermont (23-8) and Binghamton (22-8) both went 13-3 to tie for the America East title.
Creighton (26-7) and Northern Iowa (23-10) both went 14-4 to tie for the Missouri Valley championship.
Several Titles Are Still Undecided
Among the conferences with divisional champions but not league or conference champions are the Mid-American Conference that has East Champion Buffalo (19-10 overall) and West Champion Ball State (13-16 overall). The Southeastern (SEC) Conference has South Carolina (21-8) and Tennessee (19-10) as East Champions and LSU (25-6) as the West Champion.
The Southern Conference has Chattanooga (17-16) as the North Champion and Davidson (26-7) as the South Champion. The Southland Conference has Stephen F. Austin (21-7) as the East Champion and Sam Houston State (18-11) as the West Champion. The Sun Belt has Western Kentucky (22-8) as the East Champion and Arkansas-Little Rock (23-7) as the West Champion.
League playoffs are underway and the NCAA National Championship Tournament (better known as March Madness) will start March 19 after a play-in game to determine the 64th team to complete the bracket for the single-elimination tournament.
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley
Read my articles on track and field, cross-country and distance running, including:
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"Arthur Lydiard, the World's Greatest Middle Distance Coach, on How to Train Effectively"
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"USA Middle Distance Outdoor Records for Male Super Master Runners Ages 50-74"
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