ESPN's experts have boiled down the tournament to 7 teams fighting for 3 spots with Arizona among those 7. If Mississippi State manages to win tomorrow then it will be 7 teams fighting for 2 spots so let's all hope that Tennessee can take care of business in the SEC final. Arizona will have to fight for the final spots with Creighton, St. Mary's, San Diego State, Maryland, Penn State, and Auburn. So how do the tournament résumés of these teams compare?
Arizona Wildcats:
RPI: 58 SOS: 31
Record: 19-13 Overall (9-9 Conference)
Big Victories: Kansas, UCLA, USC, Washington, Gonzaga, San Diego State
Creighton Bluejays:
RPI: 41 SOS: 111
Record: 26-7 Overall (14-4 Conference)
Big Victories: Dayton, Illinois State
St. Mary's Gaels:
RPI: 47 SOS: 141
Record: 26-6 Overall (10-4 Conference)
Big Victories: Utah State, San Diego State
San Diego State Aztecs:
RPI: 35 SOS: 46
Record: 21-8 Overall (13-5 Conference)
Big Victories: BYU, Utah
Maryland Terrapins:
RPI: 55 SOS: 21
Record: 20-13 Overall (7-9 Conference)
Big Victories: North Carolina, Michigan State, Michigan Wake Forest
Penn State Nittany Lions:
RPI: 71 SOS: 92
Record: 22-11 Overall (10-8 Conference)
Big Victories: Michigan State, Illinois 2x, Purdue, Minnesota, Michigan
Auburn Tigers:
RPI: 63 SOS: 63
Record: 22-11 Overall (10-6 Conference)
Big Victories: Tennessee, LSU
(RPI and SOS are as of 11:56 PM EDT 3-14-09)