pfrduke
02-12-2013, 09:28 PM
I will admit to posting this mostly because of a scheduling oddity that could (heavy emphasis on could) lead to a result that I suspect has never happened in college basketball, but I thought it was worth a look at which teams have made it through conference play this far unscathed.
Team
Conf
Record
Miami
ACC
10-0
Montana
Big Sky
14-0
Memphis
CUSA
9-0
Akron
MAC
10-0
Norfolk St
MEAC
11-0
NCCU
MEAC
10-0
Gonzaga
WCC
10-0
Louisiana Tech
WAC
12-0
Now, for the oddity. Norfolk St. and NCCU do not play each other in conference this season. At all. They're not on each other's schedule. That means that both could finish the regular season undefeated in conference play. Now, it's probably not likely to happen - the teams would have to combine to finish 11-0, and NCCU has 3 games left against the 3rd and 4th place teams in the conference, 2 of those being on the road (Norfolk also has a road game against the 4th place team, and almost all its remaining games are against the top half of the conference). But it's crazy to me that a 13-team conference with a 16-game schedule can't have everyone play each other at least once. And I'll definitely be rooting for both of them to go 16-0 (if for no other reason than to see how the NIT - which guarantees a spot to any conference regular season champ that doesn't make the NCAAs - handles it).
Team
Conf
Record
Miami
ACC
10-0
Montana
Big Sky
14-0
Memphis
CUSA
9-0
Akron
MAC
10-0
Norfolk St
MEAC
11-0
NCCU
MEAC
10-0
Gonzaga
WCC
10-0
Louisiana Tech
WAC
12-0
Now, for the oddity. Norfolk St. and NCCU do not play each other in conference this season. At all. They're not on each other's schedule. That means that both could finish the regular season undefeated in conference play. Now, it's probably not likely to happen - the teams would have to combine to finish 11-0, and NCCU has 3 games left against the 3rd and 4th place teams in the conference, 2 of those being on the road (Norfolk also has a road game against the 4th place team, and almost all its remaining games are against the top half of the conference). But it's crazy to me that a 13-team conference with a 16-game schedule can't have everyone play each other at least once. And I'll definitely be rooting for both of them to go 16-0 (if for no other reason than to see how the NIT - which guarantees a spot to any conference regular season champ that doesn't make the NCAAs - handles it).