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The Conference Races -- 2008
Publication Date: May 9, 2008
The Annual "Pay Attention" Column
I find myself somewhat conflicted about the conference races. They're valuable, in the same way that the CWS is valuable; it's a championship. On the other hand, a lot of folks, the selection committee unfortunately among them, misunderstand that it's a championship and not a determination of who's the best team overall, so those one- or two-game swings that can come up in a limited number of games get overcounted. Nonetheless, these things should be regarded highly (conference regular season championships, not the stupid but fun conference tournaments), so let's take a look.
ACC
W L GB Remaining
Miami, Florida 20 2 - @Virginia Tech, North Carolina
Florida State 22 5 0.5 North Carolina State
North Carolina 18 5 2.5 @Virginia, @Miami, Florida
North Carolina State 15 8 5.5 @Maryland, @Florida State
Now, this comes down to a great race between three good teams -- probably two great teams and one really good one, but the nature of these things is that the really good team still has a small chance of stealing it away. The Miami-FSU and UNC-FSU series were basically both about as close as a three-game series can get, so this has been a fun one. The only minor quibble to make is that, while it doesn't reach the level yet of calling for the conference to step in, there probably needs to be some peer pressure put on Miami to better manage the curfew situation.
America East
W L GB Remaining
Stony Brook 11 5 - Maryland-Baltimore County, @Albany
Binghamton 10 6 1 @Hartford, Maine
Maryland-Baltimore County 11 9 2 @Stony Brook
Hartford 8 8 3 Binghamton, Vermont
Vermont 7 9 4 Maine, @Hartford
Maine 6 10 5 @Vermont, @Binghamton
Albany 7 13 6 Stony Brook
Obviously, not all of these are still in it, but with all of these scheduled as four-game series, there's still a good bit of possibility here.
Atlantic 10
W L GB Remaining
North Carolina-Charlotte 15 7 - Richmond, Rhode Island
Duquesne 14 7 0.5 St. Louis, @Dayton
Xavier 14 7 0.5 @Fordham, George Washington
Rhode Island 12 8 2 Massachusetts, @North Carolina-Charlotte
Temple 12 9 2.5 Dayton, @St. Louis
St. Bonaventure 11 10 3.5 @St. Joseph's, @Richmond
Dayton 10 11 4.5 @Temple, Duquesne
George Washington 10 11 4.5 @LaSalle, @Xavier
Fordham 10 11 4.5 Xavier, @Massachusetts
Massachusetts 9 12 5.5 @Rhode Island, Fordham
I'm still not sure how Charlotte hasn't run away with this one, but none of their closest competitors have a clean shot at them now, so they're fairly safe.
Atlantic Sun
W L GB Remaining
Florida Gulf Coast 21 6 - East Tennessee State, @South Carolina-Upstate
Lipscomb 17 11 4.5 Mercer, @Campbell
Kennesaw State 16 11 5 North Florida, @Jacksonville
North Florida 15 12 6 @Kennesaw State, @Gardner-Webb
Welcome to Division I; try not to drip on the carpet. Oh, and here's a banner to remember us by. Very few changes in the game have come as fast as the rebuilding of the A-Sun.
Big 12
W L GB Remaining
Texas A&M 18 3 - @Nebraska, @Texas, Texas
Nebraska 15 5 2.5 Texas A&M, @Missouri
Oklahoma State 14 7 4 Texas Tech, Oklahoma
They'll basically settle this on in Lincoln this weekend, although the Big 12 has been prone to last weekend goofiness the last few years, so anything is possible.
Big East
W L GB Remaining
St. John's 16 5 - South Florida, @Villanova
Notre Dame 15 6 1 Pittsburgh, @South Florida
Cincinnati 14 7 2 @Seton Hall, West Virginia
Louisville 13 8 3 @West Virginia, Rutgers
Seton Hall 13 8 3 Cincinnati, @Georgetown
West Virginia 11 10 5 Louisville, @Cincinnati
South Florida 10 11 6 @St. John's, Notre Dame
Louisville left their move a little late, so the likely path is that St. John's coasts in. There are a lot of top-vs-bottom matchups left, which is unfortunate.
Big South
W L GB Remaining
Coastal Carolina 12 3 - High Point, @Radford
Liberty 12 6 1.5 High Point
Virginia Military 11 7 2.5 Charleston Southern
High Point 8 7 4 @Coastal Carolina, @Liberty
Winthrop 8 7 4 Radford, @North Carolina-Asheville
Another case where the clear favorite hasn't pulled away; CCU will probably put it away this weekend, though.
Big Ten
W L GB Remaining
Michigan 20 4 - @Minnesota, Northwestern
Purdue 17 7 3 Michigan State, @Illinois
Illinois 14 10 6 @Ohio State, Purdue
Eight games left, so anything is possible, but Michigan hasn't really been challenged often in the league this year.
Big West
W L GB Remaining
Cal State Fullerton 13 5 - Cal Poly, @Long Beach State
UC Riverside 10 5 1.5 UC Davis, @UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly
Long Beach State 9 6 2.5 UC Santa Barbara, @Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton
UC Santa Barbara 9 6 2.5 @Long Beach State, UC Riverside, @UC Irvine
UC Davis 9 6 2.5 @UC Riverside, UC Irvine, @Cal State Northridge
UC Irvine 8 7 3.5 Pacific, @UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara
Cal Poly 6 9 5.5 @Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, @UC Riverside
Long way to go here. The interesting parts right now involve the upsidedownness of Irvine and Riverside and whether that "rights" itself, since that has some interesting postseason implications.
C-USA
W L GB Remaining
Rice 15 3 - Houston, @Tulane
Tulane 10 6 4 @East Carolina, Rice
Houston 11 7 4 @Rice, Marshall
Southern Mississippi 11 7 4 Memphis, @Alabama-Birmingham
East Carolina 11 7 4 Tulane, @Memphis
Ya' 'member that brief moment after the USM series when they looked vulnerable?
CAA
W L GB Remaining
North Carolina-Wilmington 20 3 - @James Madison, Old Dominion
James Madison 18 5 2 North Carolina-Wilmington, @Northeastern
William and Mary 16 8 4.5 Northeastern, @George Mason
This weekend at JMU will settle this one; having the favorite on the road makes it at least somewhat interesting.
Horizon
W L GB Remaining
Illinois-Chicago 11 5 - @Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Cleveland State, Valparaiso
Wright State 13 6 -0.5 Youngstown State, Cleveland State
Cleveland State 9 7 2 @Wright State, @Illinois-Chicago, @Butler
Youngstown State 10 9 2.5 @Wright State, @Valparaiso, @Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Valparaiso 7 9 4 Youngstown State, @Butler, @Illinois-Chicago
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 7 12 5.5 Illinois-Chicago, Butler, Youngstown State
There's some odd scheduling going on here, with some of these matchups being makeup doubleheaders to correct for the fact that it snows in this area a lot, which means there could be some pretty big one-day swings as this one comes down to the wire.
Ivy
W L GB Remaining
Dartmouth 15 5 -
Columbia 15 5 -
Columbia won the series, so they're the first NCAA qualifier.
MAAC
W L GB Remaining
Canisius 14 4 - @Fairfield, @Niagara
Manhattan 13 5 1 St. Peter's, @Fairfield
Fairfield 11 7 3 Canisius, Manhattan
Rider 12 9 3.5 @St. Peter's
Siena 10 8 4 Iona, @Marist
Interesting chance for Fairfield to play kingmaker here, in addition to their own chances; it leaves this as an interesting race to watch.
MAC
W L GB Remaining
Eastern Michigan 12 6 - Toledo, @Central Michigan
Kent State 12 6 - @Akron, @Miami, Ohio
Ball State 11 7 1 Northern Illinois, @Toledo
Northern Illinois 12 9 1.5 @Ball State, Western Michigan
Bowling Green State 10 8 2 Buffalo, @Akron
Central Michigan 11 9 2 Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan
Akron 7 8 3.5 Kent State, Bowling Green State
Toledo 8 10 4 @Eastern Michigan, Ball State
Western Michigan 8 10 4 @Central Michigan, @Northern Illinois
Ohio 9 12 4.5 Miami, Ohio, @Buffalo
The schedule probably favors Kent State a bit here.
MEAC
W L GB Remaining
Bethune-Cookman 17 1 -
They thoroughly ran away from what is, this year, the country's worst conference.
MVC
W L GB Remaining
Wichita State 14 4 - @Evansville, Bradley
Missouri State 16 5 -0.5 @Northern Iowa
Creighton 13 8 2.5 Indiana State
Northern Iowa 11 7 3 @Bradley, Missouri State
Bradley 9 9 5 Northern Iowa, @Wichita State
With Wichita as a pretty clear at large team and Missouri State not, this race takes on all sort of overtones -- will the committee take an otherwise safe Wichita team if they finish second in the regular season and don't win the tournament?
Mountain West
W L GB Remaining
Texas Christian 16 5 - @New Mexico
New Mexico 13 5 1.5 @Nevada-Las Vegas, Texas Christian
San Diego State 15 7 1.5 @Brigham Young
It's not over, but you can see it from here. New Mexico has never really been able to turn the high-altitude aspects of their park into a solid home field advantage, but it couldn't hurt to be home to finish out, especially if they can pull to within a game in Vegas this weekend.
NEC
W L GB Remaining
Monmouth 16 4 - Fairleigh Dickinson, @Long Island
Central Connecticut State 14 6 2 Wagner, @Fairleigh Dickinson
Wagner 13 7 3 @Central Connecticut State, Sacred Heart
Mount St. Mary's 10 9 5.5 Long Island, @Quinnipiac
Sacred Heart 8 12 8 Quinnipiac, @Wagner
You'll notice that neither of Monmouth's remaining opponents are on this list, so it's probably about over.
OVC
W L GB Remaining
Jacksonville State 17 4 - Tennessee Tech, @Tennessee-Martin
Samford 15 5 1.5 Morehead State, @Tennessee Tech
Eastern Illinois 11 10 6 Austin Peay State, @Eastern Kentucky
Tennessee Tech 11 10 6 @Jacksonville State, Samford
Austin Peay State 11 10 6 @Eastern Illinois, Murray State
If you've got natural rivals (at least as far as these things to in 1-AA) with potential to be the best in the league, why wouldn't you schedule them last?
Pac 10
W L GB Remaining
Arizona State 12 6 - Washington, @Arizona
Stanford 10 5 0.5 California, @Arizona, @Washington
Washington 8 7 2.5 Washington State, @Arizona State, Stanford
California 9 9 3 @Stanford, UCLA
Oregon State 9 9 3 UCLA, @Southern California
UCLA 7 8 3.5 @Oregon State, Washington State, @California
Arizona 8 10 4 Stanford, Arizona State
Southern California 7 11 5 Oregon State, @Washington State
Washington State 5 10 5.5 @Washington, @UCLA, Southern California
Even more confusing than the Riverside-Irvine switch is the UDub-WSU one. Remember, though, that they're less than two-thirds of the way through here.
Patriot
W L GB Remaining
Army 13 7 -
The best of their kind, here, in the nation's most homogenous league.
SEC
W L GB Remaining
Georgia 17 6 - @Vanderbilt, Alabama
Vanderbilt 14 9 3 Georgia, @Florida
Florida 13 11 4.5 @Alabama, Vanderbilt
South Carolina 13 11 4.5 @Arkansas, Tennessee
Louisiana State 12 11 5 Mississippi State, @Auburn
Mississippi 12 12 5.5 Auburn, @Kentucky
Alabama 12 12 5.5 Florida, @Georgia
It's probably telling that nobody's really challenged what looks like the league's best team after that team got smacked around pretty good by a challenging non-conference schedule. A Vandy sweep this weekend, which isn't out of the question, could make this interesting, but that's about the only thing that could.
SWAC
W L GB Remaining
Jackson State 18 5 -
Tournament time.
Southern
W L GB Remaining
Furman 15 6 - @Appalachian State, Georgia Southern
Elon 19 8 -1
North Carolina-Greensboro 14 7 1 @Georgia Southern, Davidson
College of Charleston 13 8 2 Wofford, @Western Carolina
Georgia Southern 12 9 3 North Carolina-Greensboro, @Furman
The Citadel 12 12 4.5 Western Carolina
Appalachian State 10 11 5 Furman, @Wofford
Western Carolina 10 11 5 @The Citadel, College of Charleston
How do you finish your conference schedule two weeks before everyone else? I mean, I know how, but why? I guess it sets the mark for everybody else -- Furman needs to go 4-2 to tie, UNCG needs 5-1, and CofC has to sweep.
Southland
W L GB Remaining
Texas-San Antonio 18 6 - Nicholls State, Texas State, @Texas State
Lamar 16 8 2 @Northwestern State, @McNeese State, McNeese State
Sam Houston State 15 9 3 @Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin State
Northwestern State 14 9 3.5 Lamar, @Central Arkansas
Texas State 14 10 4 @McNeese State, @Texas-San Antonio, Texas-San Antonio
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 13 11 5 Central Arkansas, @Texas-Arlington
Texas-Arlington 12 12 6 @Stephen F. Austin State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
UTSA slipped a bit recently but should be able to essentially wrap it up at home against Nicholls State this weekend.
Summit
W L GB Remaining
Oral Roberts 16 4 - Oakland, @IPFW
Southern Utah 11 9 5 Centenary, @Oakland
South Dakota State 7 6 5.5 @IPFW, @North Dakota State
Western Illinois 8 8 6 North Dakota State, @Centenary
Centenary 10 11 6.5 @Southern Utah, Western Illinois
Oakland 6 7 6.5 @Oral Roberts, Southern Utah
IPFW 8 12 8 South Dakota State, Oral Roberts
It's the nature of the Summit nee Mid-Con that Oral Roberts losing four games in a season is news.
Sun Belt
W L GB Remaining
Louisiana-Monroe 19 8 - Troy
New Orleans 15 8 2 @Arkansas-Little Rock, @Louisiana-Lafayette
Troy 14 10 3.5 @Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama
Florida Atlantic 12 10 4.5 Arkansas State, @Florida International
South Alabama 13 11 4.5 @Florida International, @Troy
Ya know, I completely missed that UNO run. Another good weekend, and they're lookin at a decent chance at winning it (and are probably in good shape for an at large bid as well).
WAC
W L GB Remaining
Fresno State 16 8 - San Jose State, @Cal State Sacramento
Nevada 15 9 1 Cal State Sacramento, @San Jose State
Hawaii 16 13 2.5 @New Mexico State
San Jose State 12 11 3.5 @Fresno State, Nevada
New Mexico State 12 13 4.5 Hawaii, Louisiana Tech
Cal State Sacramento 11 12 4.5 @Nevada, Fresno State
It's not quite as good as a head-to-head finish, but the symmetry is nice.
WCC
W L GB Remaining
San Diego 15 3 - @San Francisco
Pepperdine 9 5 4 Portland, @Santa Clara
Santa Clara 9 6 4.5 St. Mary's, Pepperdine
USD basically finished this one off last week, but the race for second is interesting.
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