Deep field of contenders making life hard for power-conference teams

The Crimson likely won't be challenged for the Ivy League crown. That will make them the first team to clinch a bid for the tournament, but they won't be

Noah Vonleh and Indiana suffered a damaging home loss to Northwestern after a win over Wisconsin :: Darron Cummings/AP

Xavier Thames and San Diego State are tourney locks and might even have a chance at being a top seed :: Lenny Ignelzi/AP

The Crimson likely won't be challenged for the Ivy League crown. That will make them the first team to clinch a bid for the tournament, but they won't be heavily tested before the Big Dance. Harvard has played just three teams in the RPI top 100, beating UW-Green Bay and losing to Colorado and Connecticut. It will be a hard team to peg come March, but it should do enough to be seeded somewhere in the 10-11 range.