The Woody Woodpecker Game

Each Tuesday from now until the end of the season, I'll put forward resumes of two teams competing for spots either in the NCAA tournament or for top seeds. All data is from http://rivals.yahoo.com/ and is current through Monday night.

Team A:
Team RPI rank: 62
Won-Loss 18-4
SOS rank: 186
W-L vs. RPI top 50: 1-2
W-L vs. 51-100: 6-2
W-L vs. 101-150: 1-0
W-L vs. rest of Division I: 11-0
RPI rank of Conference: 3

Team B:
Team RPI rank: 53
Won-Loss: 15-8
SOS rank: 26
W-L vs. RPI top 50: 2-3
W-L vs. 51-100: 3-4
W-L vs. 101-150: 2-0
W-L vs. rest of Division I: 8-1
RPI rank of Conference: 1

Hint: Team A has no real bad losses, but no good wins OOC. Team B has recently scored an important road win, but it has a bad home loss. I'll give you the answer in the comments section later on.

About last night - Free Falling

What sound does a longhorn make when it falls off a cliff and hits the valley below? You don't want to know. What sound are the Texas Longhorns making as they're heading for the proverbial valley floor? Clang, that's what. Oh and HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPP!!!! It can't be denied much longer, this team is no longer a threat to claim a #1 seed. Not after Kansas came into Austin(with a few of their followers in tow) and stomped all over the Horns 80-68, yes the score doesn't indicate the level of domination the Jayhawks had over the Horns, but it's also a warning sign to those seeking to challenge them over the next month. This may be the odds-on favorite to cut down the nets in Indy.

After it's flameout in Washington over the weekend, Villanova was dropped by most bracketologists from a top seed to a two in most projections. Big mistake on those who did. The Wildcats seized the lead early in the 1st half and never let West Virginia come closer than three in the second to post an 82-75 win in Morgantown. Still, with games against Pittsburgh and Syracuse forthcoming, not to mention a visit from the Mountaineers in their regular season finale, it's still not an easy road to climb for the Wildcats if they have any aspirations for being on the top line. Speaking of Pittsburgh, the Panthers were strongly challenged in the first half by Northeast leader Robert Morris, but it turned into a rout in the second, leading to a 77-53 decision.

Elsewhere, Siena's 69-67 win over Fairfield gave the Saints the top seed in the Metro Atlantic tournament(Only Iona can catch them for a tie of the regular season title, but the Saints already hold the tie-breaker by virtue of a sweep of the Gaels); Butler clinched a tie for the Horizon League title by beating Loyola of Chicago 62-47(this despite falling behind 21-9 in the 1st half); Morgan State edged Bethune-Cookman, 48-47, to stay three games clear in MEAC play; and The Citadel completed a season sweep of the College of Charleston, the Southern leader, 72-65.

Bracket Watch - Beyond the Super Bowl

And so, another National Football League season has ended and at the pinnacle of it are the New Orleans Saints, forever shorn of their losing image....ahh, who am I kidding? There are more important things to discuss(no the Olympics aren't one of them). Like why I completely misread Maryland's resume last week, or what happened to North Carolina recently. Thus I bring you the projections, done as always as if the college hoops season ended the day before.

Final Four pairings
Midwest(1) vs. West(4)
South(2) vs. East(3)

Midwest region

@Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Arkansas State(Sun Belt)
8-Mississippi vs. 9-St. Mary's(West Coast)
@San Jose
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Georgia Tech vs. 12-Dayton
@Milwaukee
2-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Baylor vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@Providence
3-Georgetown vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Vanderbilt vs. 11-Virginia Tech

West region

@Providence
1-Villanova vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Texas A&M vs. 9-Cornell(Ivy)
@Spokane
4-Gonzaga vs. 13-Utah State(Western Athletic)
5-New Mexico vs. 12-California(Pacific-10)
@Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-Lipscomb(Atlantic Sun)
7-Rhode Island vs. 10-Illinois
3-Tennessee vs. 14-College of Charleston(Southern)
6-Butler(Horizon) vs. 11-Louisville

South region

@Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Charlotte(Atlantic 10) vs. 9-Missouri
@Spokane
4-Wake Forest vs. 13-Northeastern(Colonial)
5-Nevada-Las Vegas(Mountain West) vs. 12-Florida
@Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Pacific(Big West)
7-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 10-Clemson
@Oklahoma City
3-Kansas State vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Temple vs. 11-UAB

East region

@New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Stony Brook(America East)
8-Florida State vs. 9-Richmond
4-Texas vs. 13-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
5-Ohio State vs. 12-Marquette
@Buffalo
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Maryland vs. 10-Xavier
@San Jose
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Brigham Young vs. 11-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)

Last four in the field: Dayton, Florida, Virginia Tech, Marquette
First four left out: Mississippi State, South Florida, Northwestern, Oklahoma State
Next four out: Wichita State, Washington, Connecticut, Old Dominion
Also under consideration: Notre Dame, Arizona State, Virginia Commonwealth, Cincinnati, Virginia, Texas Tech, Miami(FL), Minnesota, Seton Hall, William & Mary, Arizona, North Carolina, Portland, St. John's

Moving in: Maryland, Virginia Tech, Lipscomb, Richmond, Louisville, Marquette, Illinois, Northeastern, Utah State
Going out: Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, George Mason, Old Dominion, Wichita State, Arizona, Mississippi State, New Mexico State

Friendly reminder to all, the next projection will be on Friday.

About last night - Tribe withdrawal

OK, let's be honest. Who didn't have William & Mary in their brackets at one point or another? Heh, just as I predicted....everyone has had them. Well no more of that business of the Tribe in the field, or anywhere near it. After Old Dominion gave them the business 61-42, it's time to declare the Tribe's run for an at-large over and done with. Which is just as well as the Colonial is just beating each other up. At the top of the league, there's a three-way between the Monarchs, Northeastern, a Tuesday night winner over Delaware, and George Mason, fresh off a 61-57 loss in Atlanta to Georgia State. The Huskies have the edge having beaten both the Patriots and Monarchs.

South Florida is legit and so is Dominique Jones. Jones, held to 7 points in the first half by Georgetown's defense, proceeded to light up the Hoyas for 22 in the second, leading his Bulls to 72-64 shocker for USF's fourth Big East road win....EVER. Some will dismiss this loss by the Hoyas as a trap, but I won't. The Bulls still have to play at Notre Dame, Marquette and Villanova in the next few weeks, but they'll still be in the discussion for next Monday's bracket.

Kansas almost met the same fate as Kentucky did last week, but it prevailed over Colorado in OT. The Jayhawks' struggles at the line were appaling, but the Buffs let them off the hook by their own poor shooting. Elsewhere in Big 12 territory, Texas A&M had their own poor shooting night against Missouri, but the Aggies still won 77-74, boosting their at-large chances, whilst hurting the Tigers.

It's all over but the shouting in the Valley, the Missouri Valley that is. In a game that no one could get nationally, Northern Iowa defended the McLeod Center floor from Wichita State, 59-56, all but securing at least an at-large bid and going a long way to claiming an outright conference crown.

Mississippi State is reeling, falling to Vanderbilt 75-72 in Nashville. It's difficult to see the Bulldogs in the projections on Monday, barring unforseen results.

Elswhere, Virginia held off NC State, Akron dumped Northern Illinois to keep pace in the Mid-American, Richmond and Charlotte won key A-10 bubble battles, and Memphis crippled UAB in a key Conference USA clash.

About last night - One of these days...

...Villanova will get crushed
But it wasn't to be last night, not after the Wildcats held off a game Seton Hall 81-71. This inspite of an off-night by their leader, Scottie Reynolds(whom, it should be noted, did score his 2,000th point in the service of his team).

...Michigan State will win in the Kohl Center
But it didn't occur last night as Wisconsin blew out the Spartans 67-49. What's worse for Spartisans out there, is that Kalin Lucas will miss several weeks due to an ankle injury suffered with 11 minutes to go in the game. I doubt the Spartans would have won with him, as the Badgers were leading by 11 when the injury occured.

...There will be an uglier spat between John Calipari and John Wall during a game
This situation didn't occur either, as Kentucky defeated a spiraling-out-of-control Mississippi by an 85-75 count. This was mostly due to Demarcus Cousins' performance.

Elsewhere; Northwestern got a key bubble-enhancing win over Michigan, Brigham Young downed Texas Christian, Syracuse blew out Providence in the 2nd half, and Wake Forest held off Miami(FL), all but ending the Hurricanes' hopes of an at-large.

And later tonight
An experimental bracket(not involving an expansion to 96 teams).