NCAA Men's Round of 16 - By The Numbers (Whole Lot Of Them)

The regional rounds are over so now we can look forward to Friday's Round of 16. Before I start in on my match previews I wanted to let everyone see the figures on each team's top seven singles players.

I have them broken down by team, player, winning percentage, Universal Tennis Rating, ITA Ranking, ATP ranking, country, and then broken down by individual position. It'll probably be easier to view them on the google doc at this link.

Chaotic Sunday - SMU, Texas, and Stanford Pull Off Upsets

What a crazy day it was on Sunday with not one, not two, but three regional hosts going down. The day started off in College Station with the resumption of Saturday's match between Texas A&M and Texas and it finished in Lubbock with SMU kicking the door down and stunning Texas Tech.

When the season started if you told me that Texas would be in Tulsa for the NCAA Round of 16 I would have told you to go see a doctor. Well Texas made a believer of me and many today after going into enemy territory and knocking off Texas A&M in a 4-3 thriller.

The match originally began on Saturday but after Texas A&M took the doubles point the match was stopped early in singles due to rain. Play resumed Sunday morning at 11am central and within a matter of minutes Texas had five first sets in the bag after Rodrigo Banzer, Adrian Ortiz, and George Goldhoff closed out sets on 4, 2, and 1.

Sunday Score Update

Second Round:
[1] Virginia def. [33-48] Penn State 4-1
[2] North Carolina def. [17-32] Tulane 4-0
[5] Ohio State def. [33-48] Virginia Tech 4-2
[7] Georgia def. [33-48] Baylor 4-1
[17-32] SMU def. [8] Texas Tech 4-2
[9] Florida def. [17-32] South Florida 4-0
[13] Cal def. [17-32] Ole Miss 4-0
[17-32] Stanford def. [14] Northwestern 4-3
[16] Oklahoma State def. [17-32] Arkansas 4-0
[17-32] Texas def. [12] Texas A&M 4-3

Saturday Recap: Mississippi State Routs Illinois, Wake Holds Off Michigan, USC Pulls Away From Ga Tech, & More

It's hard to believe that going into the fall Matt Roberts only had two returning players from his 2014-15 squad yet here we sit today with Mississippi State heading to the Round of 16 after routing Illinois 4-0.

State got off to a quick start in doubles and went up early breaks at No. 2 and No. 3. State's No. 3 team of Rishab Agarwal and Niclas Braun would win four straight games to go up 5-2 and they'd end up winning 6-3. State's Trevor Foshey and Luka Sucevic led 4-2 at No. 2 but Illinois's Alex Jesse and Aiden Jiang would end up breaking back and forcing a tiebreak. Before the tiebreak really got going State's No. 1 team of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter would break serve to win 7-5 and clinch the doubles point. It was the first time since mid-February that State had won the doubles point in back-to-back matches.

Saturday Score Update

First Round:
[1] Virginia def. Monmouth 4-0
[2] North Carolina def. College of Charleston 4-0
[5] Ohio State def. Tennessee Tech 4-0
[7] Georgia def. South Carolina State 4-0
[8] Texas Tech def. New Mexico State 4-0
[9] Florida def. North Florida 4-0
[13] Cal def. Army 4-0

Friday Men's Recap - LSU and Oregon Pull Off Seeding Upsets

The opening day of the NCAA Tournament is in the books and as you can see from the scores below there were a few surprises. All the top seeds cruised with only Illinois yielding a point while a pair of 33-48 seeds pulled off mild upsets.

Friday Finals:
[3] UCLA def. Weber State 4-0
[4] TCU def. Jackson State 4-0
[6] Wake Forest def. Coastal Carolina 4-0
[10] USC def. UNLV 4-0
[11] Oklahoma def. UT Arlington 4-0
[12] Texas A&M def. George Washington 4-0
[15] Illinois def. Western Michigan 4-1
[17-32] Texas def. Lamar 4-0
[17-32] San Diego def. Vanderbilt 4-0
[17-32] Michigan def. East Tennessee State 4-3
[17-32] Georgia Tech def. UC Santa Barbara 4-1
[17-32] Mississippi State def. Memphis 4-1
[33-48] LSU def. Rice 4-3
[33-48] Oregon def. Tulsa 4-1

Bobby's Bracket

Here were all my picks listed out for what it's worth.

First Round:
[1] Virginia def. Monmouth 4-0
[17-32] Columbia def. Penn State 4-0
[16] Oklahoma State def. Bryant 4-0
[17-32] Arkansas def. Wichita State 4-2

NCAA Men's Tournament Facts & Figures

We are less than 24 hours away from the start of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. All 16 women's sites will play Friday/Saturday while 7 men's sites will do the same with the other 9 playing Saturday/Sunday.

Here are your live scoring links and daily schedules for all men's and women's matches

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: North Carolina & Illinois Regionals

North Carolina Regional
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center - Chapel Hill, NC

[2] North Carolina Tar Heels (25-4) vs. [49-64] College of Charleston Cougars (19-6) - Saturday Noon ET - North Carolina got in as an at-large after falling to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament while Charleston punched its ticket by defeating UNC Wilmington in the finals of the Colonial Conference Tournament. Charleston went 1-5 against ranked opponents with the one win coming over UNC Wilmington. Charleston went 0-2 against ACC opponents falling to Virginia Tech and Clemson by a combined score of 13-1. Charleston has two starters that began their collegiate careers elsewhere with Juan Estevarena transferring in from Mississippi State while Garrett Gordon transferred in from Georgia Tech. 

Doubles Records: North Carolina 22-7, College of Charleston 15-9

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: North Carolina 84, College of Charleston 75

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Georgia & USC Regionals

Georgia Regional
Dan Magill Tennis Complex - Athens, GA

[7] Georgia Bulldogs (20-4) vs. [49-64] South Carolina State Bulldogs (12-8) - Saturday 1pm ET - Georgia was awarded an at-large berth after falling to Florida in the finals of the SEC Tournament while South Carolina State got the MEAC's automatic berth for the eighth year in a row after defeating Florida A&M in the finals. SCSU played five teams that were ranked during the season and went 0-5 while being outscored 32-1. SCSU will be making its 14th all-time appearance at the NCAAs with a record of 0-13. 

Doubles Records: Georgia 16-7, South Carolina State 10-10

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Georgia 84, South Carolina State 74

NCAA D1 Bracket Challenge

Fill out your men's bracket and see how you do against the field - all just for fun so enjoy it!

2016 NCAA D1 Men's Championships
2016 NCAA D1 Women's Championships

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Wake Forest & Oklahoma Regionals

Wake Forest Regional
Wake Forest Tennis Complex - Winston-Salem, NC

[6] Wake Forest Demon Deacons (29-5) vs. [49-64] Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (21-3) - Friday 3pm ET - Wake Forest earned the ACC's automatic berth after defeating No. 1 Virginia in the finals of the conference tournament while Coastal Carolina won the Big South's automatic berth after defeating Presbyterian 4-3. CCU only faced one ranked team this season with Duke shutting them out 4-0. 

Doubles Records: Wake Forest 27-6, Coastal Carolina 15-9

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Wake Forest 84, Coastal Carolina 75

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: UCLA & Northwestern Regionals

UCLA Regional
Sunset Canyon Recreation Center - Los Angeles, CA

[3] UCLA Bruins (22-2) vs. [49-64] Weber State Wildcats (14-7) - Friday 1pm PT - Both schools earned their conference's automatic berth after UCLA defeated Cal in the finals of the Pac-12 Tournament while Weber State punched its first ticket since 1992 with a win over Idaho in the finals of the Big Sky Tournament. Weber State went 0-3 against teams that were ranked at some point during the season the Wildcats losing to BYU, Utah, and UC Irvine by a combined score of 18-2. 

Note: These matches will be played at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, which is on the campus of UCLA, instead of the Los Angeles Tennis Center due to construction of the new football and basketball training facilities.

Doubles Records: UCLA 18-6, Weber State 13-8

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: UCLA 85, Weber State 72

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: TCU & Cal Regionals

TCU Regional
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center - Fort Worth, TX

[4] TCU Horned Frogs (24-3) vs. [49-64] Jackson State Tigers (6-18) - Friday 1pm CT - The only similarity between these two is that they both earned their leagues automatic berth with TCU defeating Texas Tech to win the Big 12 while Jackson State beat Alabama State to win the SWAC. TCU was one of the best teams in the country this year while Jackson State lost three times as many matches as they won. Jackson State won three matches in the SWAC, beat a D2 school, and beat a NAIA school twice while going 0-7 against ranked opponents. To make matters even worse Jackson State's post season roster does not include their usual No. 3 and No. 4 singles players, Miguel Martin Gomez and Stylianos Gkontsaris.  

Doubles Records: TCU 19-8, Jackson State 5-16

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: TCU 85, Jackson State 65

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Ohio State & Texas A&M Regionals

Ohio State Regional
Stickney Tennis Center (Varsity Courts) - Columbus, OH

[5] Ohio State Buckeyes (30-2) vs. [49-64] Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (15-6) - Saturday 1pm ET - Ohio State earned the Big Ten's automatic berth after defeating Illinois in the finals of the conference tournament while Tennessee Tech earned the Ohio Valley's automatic berth after knocking off Eastern Kentucky in the finals. TTU will be playing without its No. 2 singles player, Alex Arovin, who was defaulted in the finals of the conference tournament so I'm guessing whatever he did must have carried at least a two-match suspension - rough way to end your collegiate career. 

Doubles Records: Ohio State 28-4, Tennessee Tech 11-10

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Ohio State 85, Tennessee Tech 74

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Florida & Texas Tech Regionals

Florida Regional
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex (Linder Stadium) - Gainesville, FL

[9] Florida Gators (18-6) vs. [49-64] North Florida Ospreys (11-11) - Saturday Noon ET - The Florida regional is the only regional that had all four teams get in after winning their conference tournament. Florida got the SEC's automatic bid after beating Georgia in the finals of the SEC Tournament while North Florida earned its first-ever NCAA berth after defeating USC-Upstate in the finals of the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Florida has won the doubles point nine straight times (7 of 9 opponents ranked inside top 50) and in fact they've only dropped three individual doubles matches in that nine-match span. UNF has won the doubles point in 12 of its last 13 matches though none of those opponents were ranked inside the top 50. 

Doubles Records: Florida 19-5, North Florida 14-6

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Florida 84, North Florida 78

NCAA First/Second Round Previews: Virginia & Oklahoma State Regionals

Virginia Regional
Snyder Tennis Center - Charlottesville, VA

[1] Virginia (24-4) vs. [49-64] Monmouth (11-9) - Saturday Noon ET - Virginia is the No. 1 overall seed though it got in as an at-large after losing to Wake Forest in the finals of the ACC Championship. Monmouth earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth after coming back from 3-0 down to beat Quinnipiac in the finals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). 

Doubles Records: Virginia 24-4, Monmouth 11-8

UTR Starting 6 Power Rating: Virginia 86, Monmouth 72

Pre-NCAA Tournament Rankings Released

The final set of rankings that was used to determine the NCAA field for both teams and individuals was released on Thursday. There weren't many differences from what I projected on Monday with the men's at-large cut-off falling at No. 42 while the women's at-large cut-off was No. 43. The Alabama men missed the field by .08 while the Fresno State women missed the field .23.

The men's singles at-large cut-off was No. 56 since there were eight automatic qualifiers that were ranked below that number.  No. 57 Strong Kirchheimer is listed as the first alternate though past experience tells us that at least three or four alternates (if not more) will make it in due to people dropping out due to injury or fatigue.

Welcome Back Arizona State's Men's Tennis

Finally some good news on the men's tennis front - Arizona State is bringing back its men's tennis program .

Here is the full release from ASU which you can also read below and here was the video of the press conference.

2016 NCAA Men's Team Selections

NCAA Men's Field

Interactive Bracket
Printable Bracket
Master Lineups - seems to cut-off after Tulsa - others listed below

Click below for more info

2016 NCAA Women's Team Selections

NCAA Women's Field

Interactive Bracket
Printable Bracket
Master Lineups

Final Women's Ranking Projections & Potential NCAA Selections & Seeds

64 teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament with that number comprised of 32 automatic qualifiers and 32 at-large bids (the AQs are at the bottom of the link). The at-large cut-off for the women's field ended up at 43 since there were 11 conference champions that were ranked in the top 43.

Final Men's Ranking Projections & Potential NCAA Selections

Well it has been one heck of a regular season but we are now officially headed to the postseason. The final regular season rankings were run twice to account for all the weekend's results and this set of rankings will be used to determine the NCAA Tournament field.

64 teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament with that number comprised of 31 automatic qualifiers and 33 at-large bids (the AQs are at the bottom of the link). The at-large cut-off for the men's field ended up at 42 since there were 9 conference champions that were ranked in the top 42. 

TCU Tops Texas Tech To Win the Big 12, Ohio State Is The King of the B1G, & More Conference Tournament Winners

Championship Sunday delivered some great matches throughout the country but the highest profile match took place in Stillwater as Texas Tech met TCU in the finals of the Big 12 Championships. The teams were regular season co-champs but Texas Tech got the No. 1 seed due to its win over TCU in the regular season.

Texas Tech won the doubles point in the regular season meeting and they'd do it again today after picking up a 7-5 win at No. 1 and a 6-4 win at No. 2.

MVC Finals: Wichita State Wins An Epic 4-3 Thriller

I thought I had seen it all after witnessing last year's 4-3 thriller but I think today's finish may have taken the cake. This was the sixth year in a row that Wichita State and Drake had met in the finals of the Missouri Valley Championships with Drake having won four of the last five. The weather in Wichita was definitely not ideal with match time temperatures right at 50 degrees, gray skies, and a stiff wind that was just under 20 miles per hour.

Wichita State came out fired up in doubles and would grab its first lead when Sergio de Vilchez and Eddie Stoica broke Calum MacGeoch to go up 3-1 at No. 3. Wichita State's No. 2 team of Miroslav Herzan and Haru Inoue would take their first lead when they broke Ben Lott to go up 4-2. Then seconds later Wichita State would go up a break at No. 1 when Jocelyn Devilliers and Tin Ostojic broke Bayo Philips to go up 3-2.