The four programs at the top of the T100 have separated themselves as the elite of the elite. With about 6 weeks to go before the Final Four is locked in, it is difficult to fathom any one of them not having punched their ticket on April 20th. However, with the quality of teams among the top 10, it would be foolhardy to ever predict such a thing. The fact still remains, it is impossible for all teams from this top 10 to even be invited to the NCAA Tournament this year because the CVC, UVC and CCIW each have 2 of its members there. This troublesome fact also assumes no upsets among the top 5 conferences at tournament time, precisely where they are more likely to occur, AND North Central failing to find a way into its conference final match, too! I would bet on seeing Stevens, Wentworth, Southern Virginia, and Loras in the Final Four before I would bet on those assumptions I just stated being true! Having already established the more likely of these two events would be a sucker bet, what’s that mean regarding the chances those assumptions hold up? Should they not, get ready to have two top 10 teams not in the NCAA tournament for the first time ever in the 16 team era!
All too premature, I know. Even conference simulations with more than two-thirds of matches still to be played (as I did a couple days ago in Conference Corner) was apparently premature, too. Rutgers-Newark & Elmira performances might corroborate this as I am nearly certain their average number of conference wins in the next simulation will bear out later this week! And these dogs didn’t eke out 3-2 wins dependent on some suspect call or low hanging obstructions on ceilings, either. No Sir/Ma’am! They swept their ranked opponents pretty convincingly by winning 3 in a row by an average of 5 points per set. Let’s just say I checked the schedules of teams I am rooting for to make sure they aren’t traveling to these gyms any time soon. Home court matters! (Don’t think the Loras folks aren’t aware of this, either.)
The one thing the simulations did do, however, is show us there are at least 5 conferences who will have no less than 3 solid contenders, a couple with as many as 5. It wouldn’t shock me if the UVC standings ended up having team win counts at 5,5,4,3,3,3,3, & 2 requiring a 4 way tie breaker to determine who doesn’t get to go to its tournament this year. The CCIW, MCVL, and NACC all out of Region 4 are among the conferences likely to be “Must See TV,” too. Or should it be called “Must See Dream Stream,” now? And the AMCC has already had 3 different teams this year as the best ranked team in its conference, none of which are the 2022 & 2023 National Tournament Qualifiers to come from it, who many are predicting will get there again. Yeah, this season keeps on getting better every week. Couldn’t ask for much more. Maybe we could, but we wouldn’t deserve it.
Here is the T100:
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