Stock Watch

Vermont

One of four teams to lose just once in conference play — Virginia, No. 7 Gonzaga and South Dakota State were the others — Vermont cruised through the first round of the America East Tournament, and just got back leading scorer Anthony Lamb from a foot injury that cost him 17 games. Remember, this group nearly upset Kentucky at Rupp Arena and lost by just two to likely tournament team St. Bonaventure. Don’t forget the Catamounts when filling out your bracket.

Rhode Island

Is this a blip or an ominous sign of underlying issues creeping to the surface? No. 17 Rhode Island has lost two straight games, three of five, and barely escaped La Salle. If nothing else, back-to-back defeats to St. Joseph’s and Davidson will hurt the Rams’ seed significantly, considering their lack of quality wins in a down year for the Atlantic 10. Their NCAA Tournament status isn’t in question, but Rhode Island needs to right itself in its league tourney to get its mojo back.

Chris Mack

His stock has never been higher. His Musketeers snapped Villanova’s four-year reign atop the Big East, and will enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. Barring an early upset, they should get a No. 1 seed in the tournament, too, which would be a program first. In Mack’s nine years as a head coach, Xavier has missed the dance once, reached four Sweet 16s, one Elite Eight, and won at least 21 games eight times. You have to figure Louisville will come calling. The question is whether Mack will be interested.

Big Ten

Barring a stunner, the league will have just four NCAA Tournament teams, nearly half of its seventeam allotment from a year ago. Nebraska and Penn State needed to at least to get to the conference final to garner serious consideration, and neither did. The Nittany Lions’ résumé consists of three wins over 13th-ranked Ohio State and little else, while the Cornhuskers have a victory over No. 15 Michigan, and nothing much after that. While Michigan, which won the tournament, looks like a Final Four contender, Ohio State has been shaky, and something seems amiss with No. 2 Michigan State, which has the talent to win it all, but also the inconsistency to fail to get out of the first weekend.