Pitt is a lock for the NCAA.    With Gonzaga losing yesterday, we appear to be a lock for the WNIT.   If DU got into NCAA, it would be very surprising.

SkepticAl wrote:

Might wind up in the Women's NIT battling "Our Good Friends From Oakland"

I posted the rules and proceedures the WNIT uses to select its teams and the placement of these teams in brackets in another thread under the category of Women's basketball.  To correct some misconceptions about the selection procedure for the WNIT, I've provided the pertinent sections of the WNIT rules below.

1.  The Dukes will receive the automatic berth for the A-10.  If GW and Dayton are the only two teams getting into the NCAA tournament, then Duquesne, as the top finisher (3rd) in the regular season standings, will earn an automatic berth.   

2.  WNIT rules state that rematches of regular-season games shall be avoided, if possible, in the 1st round.  Thiis means that Duquesne will not likely play Pitt in the opening round.
 
Selecting Teams: Automatic Berths
Thirty-two (32) spots in the Postseason WNIT will be filled automatically by the best team available in each of the nation’s 32 conferences, after the NCAA Tournament committee makes its picks.
[list=1]
[*]A team that is offered an automatic berth by the WNIT shall be the team that is a.) the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings, and b.) is then not selected for the NCAA Tournament. It does not matter what the team’s overall record is. For the automatic qualifying berth, the WNIT believes that a team’s conference record is a more fair comparison among teams within their own conference, and that the conference record should pre-empt overall records among teams from the same conference. The automatic qualifying team is rewarded with the AQ spot for its in-conference play.
[*]Should a conference’s automatic qualifier team decline the WNIT invitation, then the conference forfeits its AQ spot and that berth goes into the at-large pool.
[*]In the event of a tie among teams under consideration for the WNIT automatic berth, the WNIT will abide by conference bylaws that have been set up specifically to address a tie-breaking situation in that specific conference.
[*]In the event of a tie among teams with identical conference records and there are no specific bylaws to address it, the WNIT will recognize the conference tiebreaker, and select the team with the best seed for its conference tournament.
[*]Multiple-division conferences receive one WNIT automatic berth. The qualifying process is the same as that for single-division conferences. However, if a conference designates more than one top seed (i.e. a No. 1 seed for each division), then the conference office shall determine, before its conference tournament begins, a seeding order for WNIT purposes.
[/list]

Selecting Teams: At-large Berths
The remaining 32 team slots in the Postseason WNIT will be filled by the top teams available. Any team from a Division I conference, or a Division I independent team, will be considered. Any team considered for an at-large berth must have an overall record of .500 or better. Overall record includes conference tournament games.
[list=1]
[*]The WNIT committee will utilize at least six women’s basketball ranking systems in the selection of the at-large tournament spots, such as Massey, Moore, NCAA RPI, RealTime RPI, and Sagarin. These rankings vary in their emphasis, which provides a good cross-ranking of factors such as win-loss record, strength of schedule, strength of opponents, strength of opponents’ schedule, record at home and on the road, record against Top 25 and Top 50 teams, and margin of victory, among other factors.
[*]The WNIT will consolidate the rankings, eliminate the high and the low rankings for each team, and average the remaining rankings. This consolidated ranking is an initial resource for at-large selections.
[*]The WNIT further looks at additional factors among the teams “on the bubble” such as how well a team is currently playing, common opponents, late-season win/loss runs, games against other potential invitees, and key injuries.
[*]Factors that are not taken into consideration at any time during team selection are host bids, location of school, attendance history, WNIT history, ability to host, etc.
[/list]

Tiered Grouping Procedures
The Process 
After the WNIT committee chooses the 64 teams adhering to the above-mentioned selection process, the teams are grouped into tiers. The system is used to establish teams’ strengths to assist in the bracketing process. 
The committee groups the 64 teams using a combination of tools, including the ranking systems and other criteria listed in the selection process. 
This is a general placement of what is considered a distribution of the field strength. 

The Bracket Process
Bracket guidelines
[list=1]
[*]The committee makes every attempt to distribute the top schools evenly across the bracket.
[*]First-round pairings are determined initially on team strength (i.e. a top tier team plays a bottom tier team; a middle tier team plays a middle tier team) and then may be adjusted with consideration to school location, conference, and prior meetings among teams, among other factors. See below for details.
[*]Teams from the same conference will not meet in the first round. If possible, conference teams will not meet in the second round as well.
[*]Rematches of regular-season games shall be avoided, if possible, in the first round.
[*]Some pairings are dictated by schools’ ability to host. For example, two schools that cannot host will not be paired with each other.
[*]Factors can preclude teams from being placed in their natural grouping when it comes to bracketing games. These factors include travel issues, school location, facility availability, lodging constraints, previous games with WNIT opponents, etc.
[*]The committee strives to achieve competitive balance within each quadrant of the bracket, as well as tries to limit teams’ travel and missed school days.
[/list]
How the host schools are chosen 
The host site for each game is selected by the WNIT committee based on several factors such as fan base, host bids, facility availability, tournament seed, travel constraints, etc. A team's desire or ability to host or not to host has absolutely no bearing on that team being chosen for the 64-team field. 

 

Last edited by godukes1970 (3/11/2015 6:42 am)

Although Charlie Creme still has us in First Four Out, both College Sports Madness and RealtimeRPI has us in NCAA.

Duquesne couldn't have asked for a better day. 

Arkansas Little Rock won Sun Belt

Western Kentucky won CUSA.   

According to Rogabee, DU needs Green Bay, James Madison and Witchita State to win tomorrow.

Green Bay plays at home.   Witchita State plays on a neutral court but in Missouri against Missouri State.

Last edited by duqkurt (3/14/2015 9:15 pm)