Monday, December 27, 2010

How the brackets roll

There's no need for an APB on my whereabouts, I'm perfectly fine. I just haven't had much to talk about since my preseason bracket. But now that bracket season is upon us, let me reset on how the brackets go.

1. All brackets are done as if the season has already ended. For a typical Monday bracket, the season ends on Sunday.
2. Every team is evaluated and placed accordingly if they were evaulated by by the committee, not my personal beliefs.
3. In determining the AQ's, the team with the best record in the conference in question will represent it. If there's a tie, the bid goes to the team who:
A) Has won the head-to-head matchup, or series(includes ties of more than two teams);
B) If no meeting has taken place, or the tie cannot be reasonably broken, the team that has the better RPI* rank.

*I'll be using Rivals' RPI numbers in determining tie-breakers again this year.

Note: I will try to do a daily recap of the major stories of the night previous, but it will not be a regularly scheduled post. Also, starting in Feburary, I'll post blind resumes of selected teams and you try to guess who they are. That's all from me, good day.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Bracket Watch '11-Preseason Look At the End Result

Yes, you've heard right. I'm doing a preseason bracket this year. And to put a twist to it, I've decided to dispense with the excuses and predict who will be the lucky 68. First a primer of what happened over the past seven months.

Enter the First Four
Part of the new NCAA tournament structure is the expansion of the segment formerly known as the "Opening Round" to four games(hence the title). Rather than force the eight lowest teams playing off to get creamed by Duke, only the four lowest on the "True Seed List" make it to Dayton. And there are two conferences that won't be there, the Big South and the SWAC. Apparently whoever wins those leagues will be placed in the regular field. The other teams diverted to Southwest Ohio are the four lowest at-large teams, so yes you'll find out who just made it in by the skin of their teeth. Now, I'm not sure if the pairings will be say 47 vs. 50 and 48 vs. 49(like in this projection) or 47 vs. 49 and 50 vs. 48. That will be known at the time of the placement. These games will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday, making it possible that the winners on Tuesday will play on Thursday and the Wednesday winners will play on Friday. That depends on where the placements are.

Turner the page
As I've posted earlier, Turner Broadcasting has joined CBS as a partner in NCAA coverage starting in March. The games will(besides being on CBS) be also shown on TBS, TNT and TruTV, making it very possible that every game will be available nationally. DirecTV could continue offering Mega March Madness as it's own GameMix channel(and available to everyone with DirecTV), but we haven't heard anything on that front.

The conferences they are a changin'
For a period of a day, the college conference landscape was on the verge of massive chaos. In the end, however, it may still explode. But for now, here's a scorecard:

*Nebraska will leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten(giving it 12 teams).
*Colorado will also leave the Big 12, heading for the Pac-12.
*Texas decided to stay put, keeping the Big 12 alive. But if their proposed Longhorn Network gets off the ground(and the Texas Legislature sits on their hands), look for the Horns to unhook themselves from the Big 12 and go independent.
*The Mountain West gained Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada. But they're going to lose Brigham Young(Independent in football, West Coast everywhere else) and Utah(Pac-12), and may still lose Texas Christian to the BIG East.
*The WAC missed out on BYU, and lost it's three highest profile members. Montana, UTSA, Texas State and Seattle may be fallback options.

Now that you're up to date, let's go to March 13th and see what develops.

Final Four Pairings
East(1) vs. West(4)
Southeast(2) vs. Southwest(3)

First Four Matchups(Dayton, OH/UD Arena)
Tuesday
Game A: IUPUI(Summit) vs. Texas-San Antonio(Southland)
Game B: New Mexico vs. Washington State
Wednesday
Game C: Virginia Commonwealth vs. Penn State
Game D: Robert Morris(Northeast) vs. Maine(America East)

2nd and 3rd Rounds:

EAST Region

At Charlotte(Time Warner Cable Arena)
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Lafayette(Patriot)
8-Marquette vs. 9-Wichita State
At Denver(Pepsi Center)
4-Illinois vs. 13-Fairfield(Metro Atlantic)
5-Tennessee vs. 12-New Mexico/Washington State
At Washington, DC(Verizon Center)
2-Pittsburgh(Big East) vs. 15-Cornell(Ivy League)
7-Xavier vs. 10-North Carolina State
At Tucson(McKale Center)
3-Baylor vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Wisconsin vs. 11-Connecticut

WEST Region

At Denver
1-Kansas State(Big 12) vs. 16-IUPUI/UTSA
8-Brigham Young vs. 9-Mississippi State
At Tucson
4-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 13-Utah State(Western Athletic)
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Clemson
At Washington, DC
2-Syracuse vs. 15-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
7-Virginia Tech vs. 10-Dayton(Atlantic 10)
At Chicago(United Center)
3-Purdue vs. 14-Ohio(Mid-American)
6-Washington vs. 11-Texas

SOUTHEAST Region

At Cleveland(Quicken Loans Arena)
1-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 16-Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Texas A&M vs. 9-UCLA(Pacific-10)
At Tampa(St. Pete Times Forum)
4-West Virginia vs. 13-Wofford(Southern)
5-Florida vs. 12-VCU/Penn State
At Tulsa(BOK Center)
2-Memphis(Conference USA) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-San Diego State(Mountain West) vs. 10-Minnesota
At Charlotte
3-North Carolina vs. 14-Winthrop(Big South)
6-Villanova vs. 11-Richmond

SOUTHWEST Region

At Cleveland
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Robert Morris/Maine
8-Nevada-Las Vegas vs. 9-Northwestern
At Tampa
4-Georgetown vs. 13-William & Mary(Colonial)
5-Missouri vs. 12-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
At Chicago
2-Ohio State vs. 15-North Texas(Sun Belt)
7-Florida State vs. 10-Louisville
At Tulsa
3-Kansas vs. 14-Long Beach State(Big West)
6-Temple vs. 11-Missouri State(Missouri Valley)

First Four left out: Maryland, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia
Next Four in line: Bradley, Saint Louis, Oklahoma State, Texas-El Paso
Also under consideration: Miami, Virginia, Rhode Island, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Colorado, Central Florida, Detroit, Creighton, California, Oregon, Alabama, Fresno State.

Reminder: The first "real" bracket will debut on January 3rd.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Coming soon....

Yes, I'm intending to do a preseason bracket this season, only to see what it looks like.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

The ESPN SuperLeague?

Now I don't have any link that would indicate such a thing, but the new rumor around the nation is that ESPN(TWWMIS) has proposed a new alignment that would merge various elements of the Mountain West, Sun Belt and Western Athletic Conferences and Conference USA into a single SUPERLEAGUE. 20 teams would be involved. The actual list of teams for the proposal is unknown, but I have a hunch it will involve the following:

Air Force, Brigham Young, Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, TCU, Nevada, UNLV, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, New Mexico, Utah State, Tulsa, Wyoming, Fresno State, Colorado State and 4 of the following: Rice, SMU, Tulane, New Mexico State, Hawai'i, North Texas, Memphis and Southern Mississippi.

The 1996-99 WAC thinks this is too spread out, but then again ESPN has a hand in this, and I would expect them to reshape the provinces in their desired shape, as well as to bich-slap CBS College Sports, FSN and Vs. at the same time with their other hand.

MWC+WAC=MAD

Now that Fresno State and Nevada have accepted the Mountain West's overtures, the ball is back in BYU's hands, and the Cougars have three options.

1) Continue to stick it to the MWC and say yes to the WAC(not to mention it's desired football independence);
2) Follow option 1, but go to the more stable West Coast Conference, to which it would immediately form rivalries with Gonzaga and St. Mary's, or;
3) Wimp out and return to the MWC, who will then try to lure Houston or Hawai'i into it's ranks for a 12-team Pac-12 Jr. Of course, this particular lineup still won't be able to secure a BCS Automatic Qualifying Berth because the BCS 6 is the sporting equivalent of a high school girl pack(The Big Ten+2 and SEC are fighting out for the role of The Libby(don't ask)).

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Give me Liberty, or a new TV deal

Appalled at the paltry $2 million dollars they were getting annually from CBS College Sports and Vs., Brigham Young has all but declared it's independence from the Mountain West Conference in football and pull a Notre Dame by placing basketball(and the other not-on-the-bus sports) in the Western Athletic Conference. The MWC, however, in the realignment equivalent of the formation of Mount Everest, has responded by inviting Fresno State and Nevada to join fellow ex-WACer Boise State and seven others in a new 10 team concoction, but a 5 million dollar penalty may make the Bulldogs and Wolfpack stay put(and allow the WAC to reclaim Boise, but also San Diego State and UNLV in the process). Not that it will mean much, even for the brief period of time the Cougars, Broncos, TCU and Utah there was little chance the MWC would even have a fleeting chance of securing a BCS AQ spot. It's all about BYU's opprotunity to present it's own sports programs on it's BYU-TV channel, which is available to about 50 million homes.

And speaking of confusing battle cries....
DEATH BY BROWN PANTS!!!!

Friday, July 16, 2010

What's taking the NCAA so long?

It amazes me that almost 3 years from now, the NCAA still hasn't named a host site for the 2013 Men's East Regional site. When the other sites were announced back in September, the smart money had Madison Square Garden as the money, but that was until the arena pushed back it's renovation completion schedule to the Fall of 2013, meaning it's likely to wait for 2015 or 16 before putting up a bid. Who else could serve as the host? It appears now that IMO, the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, and the Comcast Center in College Park, MD are the leading candidates to host the East Regional, unless the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is convinced to move up from hosting preliminary round games.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Dan Beebe - HERO!

Well, the deed is done. Dan Beebe, the Big 12-2 commissioner, was able to sell the University of Texas an 11th hour and 59th minute TV deal/bribe/payola scheme to secure the Longhorns place in the conference and preserve it at ten teams. The most striking part of the new TV deal, which is still being worked on, is the ability for schools, like the Longhorns, to create their own networks(Say hi to LonghornTV in a few years). Texas is said to have the opprotunity to make as much a $5 million a year within a few years. Oklahoma and Texas A&M are also expected to reap in more TV cash, as much as $20 million annually. One major loss, is the loss of the conference championship game in football. It's unlikely the NCAA will allow for a ten-team league to have such a contest, even if it would be held at JerryWorld. Losing Nebraska to the Big Ten+2 and Colorado to the Pacific-10+1 will do that to you.

What does this mean for superexpansion? Texas' move probably stops it dead in it's tracks for now, but it could all change. The SEC, for instance, could still court Texas A&M for it's league, but the Aggies are likely to say no. But if they do(and the SEC goes all-out to raid the ACC as well), it could once again leave the Longhorns making a phone call to Larry Scott of the Pacific-11 to join Colorado(and possibly Utah, whom the Pac-11 will now covet).

UPDATE: Both Oklahoma and Texas A&M have reversed course and will stay in the Big 12-2.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Bonkers....just bonkers

When I first read the link above this afternoon, I was agog with chills. The Pac-10 couldn't be the first one to act in the realignment dance, could they? Well unless Stanford exercises it's super veto, the left coasters are about to adopt a Texas twang. The report from Orangebloods.com says that Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech will be invited to join the Pac-10 as early as this weekend, possibly to trump the Mountain West's move to invite the Boise State Fighting Smurfs for 2011.

The move will force the Big Ten to respond in kind. Since Nebraska and Missouri are rumored to be close to accepting Jim Delany's affections, could Kansas also be on the radar(Don't snicker, KU will help secure the Kansas City market and it's hoops program would immediately bolster the Big Ten's hoop rep). For the east, look for Rutgers and Syracuse to be included, with Notre Dame and Pittsburgh left out. And of course the SEC will respond as well, but they won't take the likes of Clemson or Georgia Tech or even Miami. The SEC will want to rip the heart out of the ACC by inviting Duke and North Carolina, plus Virginia and Florida State. The ACC is then forced to merge with what's left of the Big East.

Far-fetched? Perhaps, but time will tell if the move goes through or not.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Supersize Me: The College Conference Edition

When I was thinking about making a post about the impending expansion of the Big Ten Conference, I had several titles in mind: 20 is the new 16, War of the College Conferences, Conference Roulette, The Axis of College Athletic Superiority, The Same Ole' Order(but in new packaging), and so on. But when I decided to pay homage to Morgan Spurlock's homage to American decadence by McNuggets, the title of this post made sense.

Now that it appears that the Big Televen is on the verge of becoming the Big Ten-Six, who's to say the conference landscape, with respect to the Division I-FBS level, won't stop at 16? Will 20 teams be the new level of dominance? Well, I got to thinking about it, and folks, it's not pretty.

The initial salvo
The Big Ten, as it has been speculated, is expected to open the proceedings in the next few weeks to formally announce it will add from 1 to 5 teams to it's harem. If it only one, particularly if it's only Notre Dame, the next move could be the Big East fortifying it's ranks by adding Memphis, East Carolina, Central Florida and either Buffalo or Temple. Conference USA would then add Louisiana Tech, Georgia State(Football newbie) and Florida Atlantic. If it's either Missouri or Nebraska, the Big 12 welcomes Texas Christian to the group. If it's Rutgers, the Big East finally convinces Notre Dame to surrender it's football independence (which would be detrimental to the success of the Big Ten).

An alternate route
Should the Big Ten go to 14, the shake out could end up like this:
-Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers to the Big Ten
-Colorado State and TCU to the Big 12
-Buffalo, Central Florida, East Carolina, Memphis, and Temple to the Big East
-Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada, and Utah State to the Mountain West
-Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State to Conference USA
-Marshall to the MAC(again)
-Sun Belt reorganizes with Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, UTSA, Troy, Western Kentucky
-Idaho and San Jose State leave the FBS to join the FCS(The Vandals to the Big Sky, the Spartans to the Great West)

Response and counter-response
If the Big Ten gets to the ultimate goal of 16 teams, the consequences could virtually render the scene unrecognizable:
Let's say the Big Ten gets Notre Dame to finally say yes to membership, it still leaves one spot open. With Missouri, Nebraska, and Rutgers already on board, Jim Delany offers membership to Syracuse(a compliment to Rutgers in the New York City market), completing the expansion with a collection of markets and research dollars far superior to the other conferences out there. However, Mike Slive and the SEC decide they need to "UP THE ANTE" by announcing that they will pursue 20 teams(in essence, Zillioning Down on their growth). To do so, they expel Mississippi State(no offense Bulldog Fans, it's a hypothetical expulsion) and proceed to go Rumsfeld on the Big 12 and the ACC. From the East; Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and Duke are invited(thereby pumping up the SEC's weak academic resume). From the West; Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State join in, thereby killing off the Big 12 in the process. In response, the Big Ten adds Iowa State and Kansas from what's left of the Big 12, also adding Pittsburgh from the comatose Big East and Maryland from the comatose ACC. Out West, the Pac-10, tired of Stanford's Supermega Veto, secretly vote to change the rules to require only 7 votes to expand, then they proceed to invite Colorado, Kansas State, Baylor and Texas Tech to the league. But to cement it's status as the Big Kahunas out West, they get BYU, New Mexico, UNLV, Utah, and Colorado State from the Mountain West, as well as Boise State of the WAC to become the Pac-20.
Meanwhile, the leftovers of the Big East(UConn, Cincinnati, Louisville, West Virginia and South Florida) and the ACC(Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest) come together with other misfits(Army, Navy, Temple, Memphis, East Carolina, South Florida, UAB, Georgia State and Missisippi State) to become the Eastern 20.

The End Result

Big 20:
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin

Eastern 20:
UAB, Army, Boston College, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Clemson, Connecticut, East Carolina, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Mississippi State, Navy, North Carolina State, South Florida, Temple, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia


Pacific-20:
Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Boise State, Brigham Young, California, UCLA, Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas State, UNLV, New Mexico, Oregon, Oregon State, Southern California, Stanford, Texas Tech, Utah, Washington, Washington State

SEC:
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Miami(FL), Ole Miss, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Virginia

The Left Behinds
Those not included in the new power structure are forced to drop down to the FCS level.

Note: This is all hypothetical, if it does turn out the way it does, feel free to call me a prophet.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Winners and Losers

If you've been living under a rock, paying attention to the NFL Annual Selection Meeting way too much, or just don't care for the past 24 hours, you've missed a huge sigh of relief from many in the sports world. The NCAA decided NOT to expand the Division I Men's Basketball Tournament to an ungodly 96 teams, but rather to 68, and it also signed a 14-year, 11 billion dollar agreement with CBS and Turner Broadcasting to carry it.

There are plenty of winners and losers in this deal, first the winners...

CBS
Back in the early 90's, Black Rock suffered a series of stinging losses and it looked possible that it could do so again starting with this event. But coming off ratings that were the highest in several years, it was able to gain leverage during negotiations that allowed it to continue to remain the primary partner until 2016, when it will begin alternating the Final Fourwith...

Turner
Lauded for it's presentation of NASCAR Sprint Cup races, the NBA and MLB, the TimeWarner division has been able to demonstrate that it produces high quality productions for the sports it carries. Now it gets a very high profile annual event it can effectively promote across many platforms and it helps lift the profile of TruTV, one of the new carriers alongside TNT and TBS, from that of a reoriented CourtTV into a channel of it's own.

Coaches...eh sort of
Much of the push for expansion came from a number of coaches, particularly from the likes of Jim Boeheim, who has always been an advocate of a larger field. The downside is that these coaches will be under even greater pressure to perform to ensure one of the new bids.

Advocates against a 96-team field
Many in the media were dreading a possible expansion to 96, but with the new deal in place, a lot have voiced their approval that it won't happen right away. In fact, if the new format proves successful, you'll might see public sentiment start to shift back to pursuring a 96-team option once again. But it's my belief that won't happen for awhile.

The NIT
Had there been a 96-team field been implemented, this venerable tournament would have gone the way of dodo. As it is, future fields will still be weaker as those that would have been 35-37th on the at-large list will now move up to the "Senior prom". Nonetheless, Madison Square Garden will still be rocking in the days before the Final Four.

ESPN
Why would I put the World Wide Monopolizer in the winners category, well it's for several reasons:
1) The money not spent on locking up the Final Four will now likely be used for pursing an even bigger event(The details of which I will spell out below momentarily);
2) It will still have far more games to air the regular season as well as it's popular Championship Week coverage; and
3) It still has the rights to the Women's Final Four and other NCAA tournaments(not to mention the BCS).

The losers in the aftermath are...
NBC Comcast and News Corporation
The immediate fallout of the new NCAA deal with CBS/Turner means that ESPN now has the cash on hand to make a serious run for future rights to the Olympic Games. Which means these companies(NBC Comcast in particular) will have to put up a lot more money to gain the lucrative U.S. rights.

DirecTV
Say goodbye to MegaMarchMadness as all games will now be available on a national basis for the 1st time. Now DirecTV could still create a mix channel that would show all channels on a single screen, but we'll have to wait and see what the NCAA does with the scheduling.

Advocates for a 96-team field
They believed that it would happen, but with the field now at 68, the dream of a 96-team field will be left to wonder whom screwed who? And why were they screwed?

The jury's still out on...

Those not in the BCS 6
With three additional bids now available, one would hope that those not apart of the BCS 6 would have greater access, but since every year is different, we'll look back next year and judge whether or not it will be a benefit, or will the BCS 6 will still dominate the selections.

Friday, April 16, 2010

OT: Guess the Minnesota Viking schedule

I'm inviting my readers to a challenge. Make out the Minnesota Vikings 2010 schedule, before it's released Tuesday Night.

For the sake of reference, here's the detailed breakdown of whom the Vikings are playing this upcoming season:

Home
Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, New York Giants, Buffalo, Miami, Arizona

Road
Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, New England, New York Jets, New Orleans

In case you were wondering, here's my attempt at it(all times Central):

Week 1: @ New Orleans(NBC; 7:30 Thursday 9-9)
Week 2: @ Washington(Fox; Noon)
Week 3: Chicago(Fox; Noon)
Week 4: @ Detroit(Fox; Noon)
Week 5: New York Giants(NBC; 7:20)
Week 6: Green Bay(Fox; 3:15)
Week 7: Miami(CBS; Noon)
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: @ Philadelphia(Fox; 3:15)
Week 10: @ New England(NBC; 7:20)
Week 11: Dallas(Fox; 3:15)*
Week 12: Arizona(Fox; Noon)*
Week 13: @ New York Jets(ESPN MNF; 7:30)
Week 14: @ Green Bay(Fox; Noon)*
Week 15: Buffalo(CBS; 3:15)*
Week 16: @ Chicago(Fox; Noon)*
Week 17: Detroit(Fox; Noon)*

*Subject to flexing

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Who's bidding for March Madness in 2014-2016

With anticipation that the NCAA will award early-round hosting duties for 2014-2016 as early as this fall, here are the cities that have thus far made their intentions known(* Indicates that venue is guaranteed a regional the year before it hosts Final Four):

Buffalo at HSBC Arena(Canisius College, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Niagara University)
Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena(Drake University)
Houston at Reliant Stadium(Big 12 Conference)*
Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium(Butler University, IUPUI and Horizon League)*
Jacksonville, FL at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena(Jacksonville University)
Milwaukee at Bradley Center(Marquette University)
St. Louis at either Edward Jones Dome or Scottrade Center(Missouri Valley Conference)
San Jose at HP Pavillion(Unknown host school and/or conference)
Wichita at InTrustBank Arena(Wichita State University)

School planning to bid, but unknown location:
University of Minnesota(Metrodome, Target Center, Xcel Energy Center or proposed Minnesota Vikings Stadium)

Not bidding:
Madison, WI at Kohl Center(scheduling conflicts with state high school tournaments)

This list will grow over the next several months, so if you have information as to who will bid, please post it in the comments section.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Bracket Watch - NIT Style

You thought I was done posting brackets? You're wrong! Yes, it's the NIT projection you've all been waiting for.

"Blacksburg" region

1-Virginia Tech vs. 8-QUINNIPIAC
4-Northwestern vs. 5-Saint Louis
2-Seton Hall vs. 7-Marshall
3-William & Mary vs. 6-Charlotte

"Oxford" region

1-Mississippi vs. 8-JACKSON STATE
4-Connecticut vs. 5-Fairfield
2-Arizona State vs. 7-WEBER STATE
3-Uab vs. 6-North Carolina

"Champaign-Urbana" region

1-Illinois vs. 8-JACKSONVILLE
4-KENT STATE vs. 5-Tulsa
2-Rhode Island vs. 7-STONY BROOK
3-Cincinnati vs. 6-Virginia Commonwealth

"Starkville" region
1-Mississippi State vs. 8-TROY
4-Miami(FL) vs. 5-Dayton
2-Memphis vs. 7-COASTAL CAROLINA
3-South Florida vs. 6-Wichita State

Pairings: Blacksburg(1) vs. Oxford(2); Champaign-Urbana(2) vs. Starkville(3)

Last four in the field: North Carolina, VCU, Charlotte, Marshall
First four left out: Texas Tech, Oregon, St. John's, Wright State

Analyzing the finished product

To all those who decried Minnesota's inclusion into the field at 5:17 PM this afternoon, I have only one thing to say to you....SHUT THE HELL UP!!! Thank you. Now on to the real deal.

Top 4 seeds overall
This was exactly as I predicted as Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse went as planned to the Midwest, East, South, and West regions (and all sub-regional sites too). The only other team who could have snuck on to the top line was West Virginia, who were hurt by the non-appearance in the Big East semifinals of Villanova and Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers fellow 2nd place BE teams. Syracuse was really hurt by being swept by Louisville, thus falling to the 4th seed. Kentucky's placement in New Orleans was not as easy a no-brainer as it seemed, there was a good chance they would've been sent to Jacksonville(which is actually closer to the Lexington than the Big Easy), but there was no way the Wildcats would go to Milwaukee, not with credible Big Ten and Big East teams available.

The Last In and the First ones blocked out
For the zillionth time, I missed a team in the field. Florida, rather than Virginia Tech, got in the field(with the Gators getting a surprisingly high 10th seed). The Hokies were hurt by UTEP and Utah State losing in their respective conference finals as well as Minnesota's hot finish in the Big Ten tournament(today's 2nd half after the 14 minute mark not withstanding). Both the Miners and Aggies, however, were included in the field as the last at-large teams, both of them were 12th seeds. Of course the Hokies shot their own foot by losing big to Miami(FL) in the ACC tourney. Besides the Hokies, among those on the outside are Mississippi State, Illinois, Seton Hall, Rhode Island, UAB, Mississippi and William & Mary.

Bracket of Death: Midwest
Kansas could face an angry Northern Iowa squad(angry in the sense that they were seeded two seed lines too low), followed by either Maryland or Michigan State. The bottom half is brutal with Ohio State possibly facing either Georgetown or Tennessee in the sweet 16 and the Hoyas and Vols could potentially face each other in round 2.

Bracket of Cake: South
Duke should have an easy time in the 1st 2 rounds, then for it's sweet 16 matchup, it could face either Siena or Utah State as both could upset Purdue and Texas A&M, respectively. Villanova and Baylor have the potential to meet in the sweet 16, or both could lose in the 2nd round.

Personal Stats
Teams correctly picked: 64/65
Missed on: Florida(in), Virginia Tech(out)
Exactas: 30
+/- 1 seed: 51
Biggest misses: 13 teams at +/- 2(Wake Forest was a true 11 but moved because of placement problems)
Biggest Headscratcher: Marquette in West Virginia's half of the bracket in the East.

Coming up, predicting the NIT.

The Absolute FINAL Bracket Watch projection this season

Since the Big Ten championship turned into an Ohio State runaway(and I still have Minnesota in the field since they had a 7-3 finish), it's high time to put out the final projection of the season. Please note that after the selection show, I'll analyze the actual field as well as my performance, and I'll project the NIT field again.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-KANSAS vs. 16-LEHIGH
8-Marquette vs. 9-Georgia Tech
@ Jacksonville
4-Tennessee vs. 13-HOUSTON
5-BUTLER vs. 12-SIENA
@ Milwaukee
2-OHIO STATE vs. 15-NORTH TEXAS
7-Xavier vs. 10-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-OHIO
6-Maryland vs. 11-Utah State

West region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
8-Oklahoma State vs. 9-OLD DOMINION
@ San Jose
4-New Mexico vs. 13-MURRAY STATE
5-Michigan State vs. 12-Virginia Tech
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC SANTA BARBARA
7-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 10-Louisville
@ San Jose
3-TEMPLE vs. 14-NEW MEXICO STATE
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-WASHINGTON

East Region

@ New Orleans
1-KENTUCKY vs. 16-ROBERT MORRIS
8-Notre Dame vs. 9-California
@ Spokane
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-WOFFORD
5-Texas A&M vs. 12-Wake Forest
@ Buffalo
2-WEST VIRGINIA vs. 15-VERMONT
7-Florida State vs. 10-SAINT MARY'S
@ New Orleans
3-Baylor vs. 14-SAM HOUSTON STATE
6-Brigham Young vs. 11-CORNELL

South region

@ Jacksonville
1-DUKE vs. 16-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
8-Texas vs. 9-SAN DIEGO STATE
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-OAKLAND
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-Minnesota
@ Providence
2-Georgetown vs. 15-MORGAN STATE
7-Clemson vs. 10-Missouri
@ Milwaukee
3-Purdue vs. 14-MONTANA
6-Richmond vs. 11-Texas-El Paso

Last four teams to make it: Utah State, Utep, Minnesota, Virginia Tech
Left to wonder what might have been: Mississippi State, Florida, Illinois

2nd draft of the final bracket

Please note, the absolute final one will be posted after the Big Ten championship.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-KANSAS vs. 16-LEHIGH
8-Marquette vs. 9-Georgia Tech
@ Jacksonville
4-Tennessee vs. 13-HOUSTON
5-BUTLER vs. 12-SIENA
@ Milwaukee
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-NORTH TEXAS
7-Xavier vs. 10-SAN DIEGO STATE
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-OHIO
6-Maryland vs. 11-Utah State

West region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
8-Oklahoma State vs. 9-OLD DOMINION
@ San Jose
4-New Mexico vs. 13-MURRAY STATE
5-Michigan State vs. 12-Virginia Tech
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC SANTA BARBARA
7-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 10-Louisville
@ San Jose
3-TEMPLE vs. 14-NEW MEXICO STATE
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-WASHINGTON

East Region

@ New Orleans
1-KENTUCKY vs. 16-ROBERT MORRIS
8-Notre Dame vs. 9-California
@ Spokane
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-WOFFORD
5-Texas A&M vs. 12-Wake Forest
@ Buffalo
2-WEST VIRGINIA vs. 15-VERMONT
7-Florida State vs. 10-SAINT MARY'S
@ New Orleans
3-Baylor vs. 14-SAM HOUSTON STATE
6-Brigham Young vs. 11-CORNELL

South region

@ Jacksonville
1-DUKE vs. 16-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
8-Texas vs. 9-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-OAKLAND
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-Minnesota
@ Providence
2-Georgetown vs. 15-MORGAN STATE
7-Clemson vs. 10-Missouri
@ Milwaukee
3-Purdue vs. 14-MONTANA
6-Richmond vs. 11-Texas-El Paso

Last four teams to make it: Utah State, Utep, Minnesota, Virginia Tech
Left to wonder what might have been: Mississippi State, Florida, Illinois

My projected seed list

Listed in 1-65 order, not 1-16.

1: KANSAS
2: Kentucky
3: Duke
4: Syracuse
5: WEST VIRGINIA
6: Ohio State
7: Kansas State
8: Georgetown
9: Purdue
10: Villanova
11: Baylor
12: Temple
13: Wisconsin
14: Pittsburgh
15: New Mexico
16: Tennessee
17: Michigan State
18: BUTLER
19: Vanderbilt
20: Texas A&M
21: Maryland
22: Brigham Young
23: Richmond
24: Gonzaga
25: Florida State
26: NORTHERN IOWA
27: Xavier
28: Clemson
29: Georgia Tech
30: Notre Dame
31: Texas
32: Marquette
33: Oklahoma State
34: Nevada-Las Vegas
35: California
36: SAINT MARY'S
37: Louisville
38: OLD DOMINION
39: SAN DIEGO STATE
40: Missouri
41: Wake Forest
42: WASHINGTON
43: Utah State
44: Texas-El Paso
45: CORNELL
46: Minnesota
47: Virginia Tech
48: SIENA
49: MURRAY STATE
50: OAKLAND
51: WOFFORD
52: HOUSTON
53: MONTANA
54: SAM HOUSTON STATE
55: NEW MEXICO STATE
56: OHIO
57: MORGAN STATE
58: UC SANTA BARBARA
59: NORTH TEXAS
60: VERMONT
61: EAST TENNESSEE STATE
62: ROBERT MORRIS
63: LEHIGH
64: WINTHROP
65: ARKANASAS-PINE BLUFF

Bracket Watch - Preliminary Final Bracket

This is what I think will happen should all the favorites (Duke, Temple, Ohio State, Kentucky) win today. In fact I have changed the bracket several times since initially putting it to paper. In fact it may change several times before the final one is released before 5 PM CT. That said, in my next post, I'll post my seed list.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-KANSAS vs. 16-LEHIGH
8-Marquette vs. 9-Georgia Tech
@ San Jose
4-Tennessee vs. 13-HOUSTON
5-BUTLER vs. 12-SIENA
@ Milwaukee
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-NORTH TEXAS
7-Xavier vs. 10-SAN DIEGO STATE
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-OHIO
6-Maryland vs. 11-Utah State

West region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
8-Oklahoma State vs. 9-OLD DOMINION
@ San Jose
4-New Mexico vs. 13-MURRAY STATE
5-Michigan State vs. 12-Virginia Tech
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC SANTA BARBARA
7-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 10-Louisville
@ Jacksonville
3-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 14-NEW MEXICO STATE
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-WASHINGTON

East Region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-ROBERT MORRIS
8-Notre Dame vs. 9-California
@ Spokane
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-WOFFORD
5-Texas A&M vs. 12-Wake Forest
@ Buffalo
2-WEST VIRGINIA vs. 15-VERMONT
7-Florida State vs. 10-SAINT MARY'S
@ New Orleans
3-Baylor vs. 14-SAM HOUSTON STATE
6-Brigham Young vs. 11-CORNELL

South region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
8-Texas vs. 9-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-OAKLAND
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-Minnesota
@ Providence
2-Georgetown vs. 15-MORGAN STATE
7-Clemson vs. 10-Missouri
@ Milwaukee
3-Purdue vs. 14-MONTANA
6-Richmond vs. 11-Texas-El Paso

Last four teams to make it: Utah State, Utep, Minnesota, Virginia Tech
First four left in the dust: Mississippi State, Florida, Illinois, Seton Hall
Everyone else who could be considered: Arizona State, William & Mary, Memphis, Miami(FL), Wichita State

Reminders

Look for my 1st draft of the final bracket to come out by Noon, with the final edition to be released after the Big Ten championship.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Saturday Setup

As I explained in yesterday's projection post, I'm not doing a full field projection today, just a rundown of how the seeds of the field would be. Before that, though, here's what happened yesterday:

In the Big East, West Virginia held off Notre Dame to secure a spot in the championship game where they'll faced Georgetown, a 78-50 conqueror of Marquette. In the ACC, the higher-seed-goes-down-to-defeat syndrome hit seeds 2 through 4, but Duke avoided it and should be heavily favored to knock off Miami(FL), an avowed enemy of the bubble. NC State is also an enemy and faces Georgia Tech, whose victory over Maryland secured it's spot. The Big Ten had 4 great finishes, kicked off by Evan Turner's last second desperation heave to lift Ohio State over hated Michigan, finished off by resillient Minnesota's OT triumph over Michigan State to help the Gophers stay in the chase. The Mountain West had one exciting finish and some officiating controversy, all in the same game. That game was San Diego State's 72-69 triumph over New Mexico, which secured the Aztecs' spot on the guest list. They'll face UNLV who beat BYU in semi #2. Chalk held up for the most part in the Atlantic 10, SEC, Pac-10, Big 12 and WAC(save for Nevada's loss to New Mexico State).

Thus it brings me to the seeds of the field; enjoy;

1: Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse
2: Ohio State, West Virginia, Kansas State, Purdue
3: Villanova, Tennessee, Georgetown, Michigan State
4: New Mexico, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Temple
5: BUTLER, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Baylor
6: Maryland, Richmond, Xavier, Gonzaga
7: Brigham Young, Texas, Notre Dame, California
8: Unlv, Utep, NORTHERN IOWA, Clemson
9: Florida State, SAINT MARY'S, Marquette, Oklahoma State
10: Georgia Tech, Utah State, San Diego State, OLD DOMINION
11: Wake Forest, Missouri, Louisville, CORNELL
12: Virginia Tech, Florida, SIENA, Washington
13: Illinois, Minnesota, MURRAY STATE, OAKLAND
14: MONTANA, Akron, WOFFORD, Sam Houston State
15: Morgan State, UC Santa Barbara, Vermont, NORTH TEXAS
16: ETSU, ROBERT MORRIS, LEHIGH, Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

New to the field: Minnesota
Out of the field: Mississippi
Last five to make it: Virginia Tech, Florida, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota
First four on the waiting list: Mississippi State, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Arizona State
Next four on the waiting list: William & Mary, Seton Hall, South Florida, Memphis
The enemies: Miami(FL), NC State, Houston, New Mexico State

Friday, March 12, 2010

Bracket Watch - Hell comes to bracketville

Thursday, March 11 will go down as one of the wackiest days in college basketball history as higher seed after higher seed went down after inglorious losses in conference tourneys. In the ACC, only Georgia Tech won amongst higher seeds. In the Big East, only West Virginia won amongst the top four. In Conference USA, UTEP held serve, but the three teams below the Miners did not. In the Mid-American, both division winners(Kent State and Central Michigan) lost. In the Pacific-10, California won, Arizona State did not. Form (fortunately) held for the most part in the SEC and held up in full in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West.

As a result of all this carnage, 57 of the 65 spots in the dance are spoken for, leaving 8 for the bubble and villans of the bubble. Here's how it shook out:

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Lehigh(Patriot)
8-Notre Dame vs. 9-Utep(Conference USA)
@ Spokane
4-Maryland vs. 13-WOFFORD
5-BUTLER vs. 12-San Diegon State*
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-NORTH TEXAS
7-Texas vs. 10-Wake Forest
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-OAKLAND
6-Vanderbilt vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)*

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-ROBERT MORRIS
8-California(Pacific-10) vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ Providence
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-SIENA
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-CORNELL
@ Milwaukee
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Vermont(America East)
7-Gonzaga vs. 10-Missouri
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-MONTANA
6-Marquette vs. 11-Georgia Tech*

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
8-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 9-Clemson
@ San Jose
4-Georgetown vs. 13-Washington*
5-Texas A&M vs. 12-Illinois
@ Buffalo
2-West Virginia(Big East) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Richmond vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ New Orleans
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Brigham Young vs. 11-Florida*

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening round winner
Opening round: WINTHROP vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff(Southwestern)
8-Nevada-Las Vegas vs. 9-SAINT MARY'S
@ Spokane
4-Michigan State vs. 13-MURRAY STATE
5-Baylor vs. 12-Mississippi*
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Florida State vs. 10-OLD DOMINION
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-Akron(Mid-American)
6-Xavier vs. 11-Louisville*

Procedural moves: Oklahoma State(up 1), Virginia Tech(down 1)

New to the field: Akron, Illinois, Washington
Out of the field: Arizona State, Kent State, Memphis

Last four in the field: San Diego State, Mississippi, Illinois, Washington
First four in line: Rhode Island, Minnesota, Arizona State, Memphis
Next four in line: Dayton, Seton Hall, Mississippi State, Tulsa
Also in line: Saint Louis, William & Mary, Southern Mississippi, South Florida, Nevada, Miami(FL)

Please note: I will not be doing a full bracket Tomorrow, as I will be going to the Minnesota state high school boy's hockey championships. I will be doing, however, a seeding of the top 16 teams.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Bracket Watch - A bored Thursday Projection

Sayonara South Florida. So Long Seton Hall. Those two teams had opprotunities to make their way into the field of 65 yesterday, and both proceeded to look lethargic in doing so. The Bulls fell flat against a Georgetown team it had defeated in Washington a few weeks back, whilst the Pirates were looted and pillaged by Notre Dame to the tune of a 12 point loss.

Elsewhere, Missouri got embarrased by Nebraska, 75-60, which may give the committee a convienent excuse to leave them out if it comes down to the Tigers and maybe say...William & Mary. In terms of Auto Bids, Anthony Johnson literally clinched Montana's bid via the Big Sky championship by scoring the Grizzlies' last 21 points in overcoming Weber State, 66-65 in Ogden. In the Northeast title bout, Robert Morris proceeded to become a defensive juggernaut and held off Quinnipiac by a 52-50 decision.

And to the brackets we go.

Notes: * denotes a bubble team. CAPS indicate team has won the automatic bid.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Lehigh(Patriot)
8-Marquette vs. 9-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)
@ Spokane
4-Maryland vs. 13-SIENA
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-San Diego State*
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-NORTH TEXAS
7-Clemson vs. 10-Missouri
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Richmond vs. 11-CORNELL

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
8-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ New Orleans
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Arizona State*
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-MURRAY STATE
@ Buffalo
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Gonzaga vs. 10-Louisville
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
6-Texas A&M vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)*

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-ROBERT MORRIS
8-California(Pacific-10) vs. 9-OLD DOMINION
@ San Jose
4-Baylor vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Georgetown vs. 12-Georgia Tech*
@ Providence
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Vermont(America East)
7-Brigham Young vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ Milwaukee
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-OAKLAND
6-Texas vs. 11-Florida*

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff(Southwestern)
8-Florida State vs. 9-SAINT MARY'S
@ Spokane
4-Michigan State vs. 13-Mississippi*
5-BUTLER vs. 12-Memphis*
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-MONTANA
7-Xavier vs. 10-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-WOFFORD
6-Wake Forest vs. 11-Notre Dame

New to the field: Montana, Robert Morris
Out of the field: Quinnipiac, Weber State
Procedural moves: Clemson(up 1), Richmond(up 1), Virginia Tech(up 1), Brigham Young(down 1), Marquette(down 1), Utah State(down 1)

Last four in the field: San Diego State, Memphis, Arizona State, Mississippi
First four in line: Illinois, Washington, Uab, Mississippi State
Next four in line: Dayton, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Saint Louis
Also in line: William & Mary, Seton Hall, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, South Florida

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Bracket Watch - It's All Downhill From Here

So far, it has mostly been chalk that has ruled in the conference tournaments. Last night was no exception. Butler continued to aid the good luck hopes of bubblers everywhere, routing Wright State 70-45 in the Horizon championship, Oakland cruised to a 76-64 win against IUPUI to reach the summit of the Summit, and North Texas knocked off Troy 66-63 in the Sun Belt final(OK the Mean Green were second seeded, but you get the point).

All however was not well with a few bubblers trying to hang on. Connecticut's plunge from top seed to non-factor on the bubble is complete, by way of a 73-51 late-game rout by St. John's, while Charlotte, trying to gain the fringe was denied by Massachusetts in a 59-56 decision.

The result of this carnage is the bracket is still little changed from yesterday.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Lehigh(Patriot)
8-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 9-Notre Dame
@ Spokane
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-BUTLER vs. 12-Georgia Tech*
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-NORTH TEXAS
7-Texas vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-OAKLAND
6-Xavier vs. 11-Nevada-Las Vegas*

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Quinnipiac(Northeast)
8-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA) vs. 9-California(Pacific-10)
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Mississippi*
5-Baylor vs. 12-San Diego State
@ Buffalo
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
7-Louisville vs. 10-OLD DOMINION
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Vermont(America East)
8-Missouri vs. 9-Marquette
@ San Jose
4-Maryland vs. 13-SIENA
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Memphis*
@ Providence
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Richmond vs. 10-Clemson
@ Jacksonville
3-Michigan State vs. 14-WOFFORD
6-Texas A&M vs. 11-CORNELL

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Wake Forest vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ New Orleans
4-Tennessee vs. 13-Arizona State*
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-MURRAY STATE
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Florida State vs. 10-SAINT MARY'S
@ Milwaukee
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Georgetown vs. 11-Florida*

New to the field: North Texas
Out: Troy

Procedural moves: Cornell(up 1), Notre Dame(up 1), Texas-El Paso(up 1), Clemson(down 1), Georgia Tech(down 1), Oklahoma State(down 1)

Last four in the field: Memphis, San Diego State, Arizona State, Mississippi
First four left out: Illinois, Washington, South Florida, Uab
Next four left out: Rhode Island Dayton, Mississippi State, Minnesota
Also on board: Saint Louis, Seton Hall, Marshall, Wichita State, Nevada

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Bracket Watch - Chalky Tuesday

Last night the chalk held up in 3 of the 4 games that decided bids for the NCAA, but not without some tense moments. In the Colonial final in Richmond, Old Dominion held the lead for most of the game, but William & Mary never gave up the ghost until late. Siena had to rally from 15 points down to force overtime vs. Fairfield in the MAAC final on it's homecourt. The Saints subsequently won it by 7. Wofford exploded to a 15 point lead over Appalachian State in the Southern final in Charlotte, but the roles reversed as the Mountaineers started to reel the Terriers in. It was, however, all in vain as Wofford scored a 56-51 win for it's first Big Dance invite. On the other hand, Gonzaga could not take down the steely resolve of Saint Mary's in Las Vegas for the West Coast title. With the score 46-43, Gaels center Omar Samhan was whistled for a technical foul. From that point onward, the Gaels went on a 35-19 binge to end it, and to insure that they wouldn't sweat it out on Sunday. Where does this all bring us? Read on.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Lehigh(Patriot)
8-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 9-Notre Dame
@ Spokane
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Georgia Tech*
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Troy(Sun Belt)
7-Texas vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Xavier vs. 11-Florida*

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Quinnipiac(Northeast)
8-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA) vs. 9-California(Pacific-10)
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Mississippi*
5-Baylor vs. 12-San Diego State
@ Buffalo
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
7-Louisville vs. 10-OLD DOMINION
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Gonzaga vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Vermont(America East)
8-Missouri vs. 9-Marquette
@ San Jose
4-Maryland vs. 13-SIENA
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Memphis*
@ Providence
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Richmond vs. 10-Clemson
@ Jacksonville
3-Michigan State vs. 14-WOFFORD
6-Texas A&M vs. 11-CORNELL

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Wake Forest vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ New Orleans
4-Tennessee vs. 13-Arizona State*
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-MURRAY STATE
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Florida State vs. 10-SAINT MARY'S
@ Milwaukee
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Georgetown vs. 11-Nevada-Las Vegas*

Procedural moves: Cornell(up 1), Notre Dame(up 1), Texas-El Paso(up 1), Clemson(down 1), Georgia Tech(down 1), Oklahoma State(down 1)

Last four in the field: Memphis, San Diego State, Arizona State, Mississippi
First four left out: Illinois, Washington, Uab, Rhode Island
Next four left out: South Florida, Dayton, Mississippi State, Minnesota
Also on board: Saint Louis, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Marshall, Wichita State, Nevada

Should there be any "upsets" tonight, here's how I would seed them:
Wright State(Horizon): 13-15
IUPUI(Summit): 14-15
North Texas(Sun Belt): 15-16

Monday, March 8, 2010

Bracket Watch - Time to get serious

The frivolousness of the season is done. Now it's time for teams all across the bubble to decide whether or not they want to play on the biggest tournament stage in the world. And after this past week, many of them want to sit out the big dance out.

From now until Selection Sunday, I'll be posting daily projections(except for Saturday) of the field. And even on Saturday, I'll post a Sweet 16 seed list. Also note, all teams that have qualified for the big dance are in CAPS for the duration of the projections and all teams that I've deemed to be on the bubble are asterisked*.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Lehigh(Patriot)
8-NORTHERN IOWA vs. 9-Notre Dame
@ Spokane
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Georgia Tech*
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Troy(Sun Belt)
7-Texas vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Xavier vs. 11-Florida*

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Quinnipiac(Northeast)
8-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA) vs. 9-California(Pacific-10)
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Mississippi*
5-Baylor vs. 12-San Diego State
@ Buffalo
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-EAST TENNESSEE STATE
7-Louisville vs. 10-Old Dominion(Colonial)*
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Vermont(America East)
8-Missouri vs. 9-Marquette
@ San Jose
4-Maryland vs. 13-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Memphis*
@ Providence
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Richmond vs. 10-Clemson
@ Jacksonville
3-Michigan State vs. 14-Wofford(Southern)
6-Texas A&M vs. 11-CORNELL

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening Round winner:
Opening Round: WINTHROP vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Wake Forest vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ New Orleans
4-Tennessee vs. 13-Arizona State*
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-MURRAY STATE
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Florida State vs. 10-Nevada-Las Vegas*
@ Milwaukee
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Georgetown vs. 11-St. Mary's*

Procedural moves: Cornell(up 1), Notre Dame(up 1), Texas-El Paso(up 1), Clemson(down 1), Georgia Tech(down 1), Oklahoma State(down 1)

New to the field: Vermont, East Tennessee State, Winthrop, Arizona State, Mississippi
Out of the field: Stony Brook, Jacksonville, Rhode Island, Coastal Carolina, Illinois

Last four in the field: Memphis, San Diego State, Arizona State, Mississippi
First four left out: Illinois, Washington, Uab, Rhode Island
Next four left out: South Florida, Dayton, Mississippi State, Minnesota
Also on board: Saint Louis, Connecticut, Seton Hall, William & Mary, Marshall, Wichita State, Nevada

Now there are four bids up for grabs tonight. Should there be any upsets, here are the seeds the upsetters would likely get:

Appalachian State: 14-16
Fairfield: 13-14
St. Mary's: 9-10
William & Mary: 11-12

Friday, March 5, 2010

Bracket Watch - Twisted Friday

I'm not going to say much about this bracket, but the most difficult part was not choosing the last team, it was trying to put them in bracket that was the most difficult thing this week. So many teams had to be moved around, I won't be able to list them all today.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Quinnipiac(Northeast)
8-Nevada-Las Vegas vs. 9-Northern Iowa
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
5-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 12-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@ Milwaukee
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Troy(Sun Belt)
7-Texas A&M vs. 10-Florida State
@ New Orleans
3-Vanderbilt vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Sun Belt)
6-Xavier vs. 11-Cornell(Ivy)

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Stony Brook(America East)
8-Marquette vs. 9-California(Pacific-10)
@ San Jose
4-Brigham Young vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Temple(Atlantic 10) vs. 12-Illinois
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Clemson vs. 10-Louisville
@ Providence
3-Villanova vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Wisconsin vs. 11-St. Mary's

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Opening round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA) vs. 9-Old Dominion(Colonial)
@ Spokane
4-Maryland vs. 13-Rhode Island
5-Baylor vs. 12-San Diego State
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Oklahoma State vs. 10-Georgia Tech
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-Wofford(Southern)
6-Georgetown vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Jacksonville(Atlantic Sun)
8-Missouri vs. 9-Wake Forest
@ Providence
4-Michigan State vs. 13-Memphis
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Notre Dame
@ Buffalo
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Richmond vs. 10-Florida
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Texas vs. 11-Virginia Tech

New to the field: Jacksonville, Memphis, Rhode Island, Virginia Tech
Out of the field: Uab, Connecticut, Lipscomb, Mississippi State

Last four in the field: San Diego State, Virginia Tech, Rhode Island, Memphis
First four left out: Connecticut, Mississippi State, Uab, Arizona State
Next four left out: Mississippi, Minnesota, Washington, Seton Hall
Also under consideration: South Florida, Arkansas, Texas Tech, William & Mary, Wichita State

Don't forget, I'll be doing daily updates starting Monday(except Saturday) and will continue through Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Woody Woodpecker Game

It's time to guess which team is hiding behind the resume and more importantly, you have two pick one team to fill up the field. All data is current as of today and comes from http://rivals.yahoo.com/.

Team A
RPI Rank: 70
Divsion I Record: 17-11
SOS Rank: 43
Record vs. RPI top 50: 3-6
Record vs. RPI 51-100: 2-2
Record vs. RPI 101-150: 1-2
Record vs. RPI 151-200: 5-0
Record vs. RPI 201-347: 6-1

Team B
RPI Rank: 39
Division I Record: 18-8
SOS Rank: 62
Record vs. RPI top 50: 2-5
Record vs. RPI 51-100: 1-1
Record vs. RPI 101-150: 2-1
Record vs. RPI 151-200: 7-0
Record vs. RPI 201-347: 6-1

Hint: The two teams are seperated by two spots on my seed list(one is in, the other is out).

Monday, March 1, 2010

Bracket Watch's Open Bracket is open!

Click on the link above this post and you have the chance to play against other brackets in the Yahoo! Tournament Pick 'em contest. To play in open bracket, just create a pick set, click join a group and enter id# 5850. It's open to the public so invite your friends to play.

Predicting the conference tournament champions

Once again this season, I'll attempt to predict the 30 conference tournament champions.

America East: Stony Brook
Atlantic Coast: Maryland
Atlantic Sun: Lipscomb
Atlantic 10: Temple
Big East: Syracuse
Big Sky: Weber State
Big South: Coastal Carolina
Big Ten: Minnesota
Big 12: Kansas State
Big West: UC Santa Barbara
Colonial: Northeastern
Conference USA: Memphis
Horizon: Butler
Metro Atlantic: Siena
Mid-American: Ball State
Mid-Eastern: Morgan State
Missouri Valley: Wichita State
Mountain West: New Mexico
Northeast: Mount St. Mary's
Ohio Valley: Murray State
Pacific-10: California
Patriot League: Bucknell
Southeastern: Kentucky
Southern: Wofford
Southland: Sam Houston State
Southwestern: Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Summit: South Dakota State
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee
West Coast: St. Mary's
Western Athletic: Nevada

Bracket Watch - And they want to expand the field to 96?

And now here's a reminder about leaving your telly on ESPN. Leave your telly on ESPN.

Seriously, it appears that nobody wants to make the field of 65 this year(I said this last year too). And yet some people still want to expand to 96 so that their favorite BCS 6 team makes it in(and Northwestern will still miss out). But this year, I could make the case for eliminating the Opening Round game. I can count 27 at-large teams in the newest projection that I could pick without having to throw up. But let's just say that I didn't throw up while making out the newest brackets.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Quinnipiac(Northeast)
8-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA) vs. 9-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ San Jose
4-Butler(Horizon) vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Maryland vs. 12-Connecticut
@ Providence
2-Villanova vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Baylor vs. 10-Florida
@ Milwaukee
3-Michigan State vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Xavier(Atlantic 10) vs. 11-St. Mary's

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Lipscomb(Atlantic Sun)
8-Texas vs. 9-Uab
@ Spokane
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
5-Temple vs. 12-Notre Dame
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Clemson vs. 10-Louisville
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Vanderbilt vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 9-Georgia Tech
@ Spokane
4-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 13-San Diego State
5-Texas A&M vs. 12-Mississippi State
@ Buffalo
2-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Wake Forest vs. 10-Marquette
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-Wofford(Southern)
6-Georgetown vs. 11-Cornell(Ivy)

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Stony Brook(America East)
8-Missouri vs. 9-California(Pacific-10)
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Illinois
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Troy(Sun Belt)
7-Oklahoma State vs. 10-Florida State
@ Providence
3-West Virginia vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Richmond vs. 11-Old Dominion(Colonial)

Procedural moves: Clemson(up 1), Cornell(up 1), Connecticut(down 1), Missouri(down 1)
New to the field: Lipscomb, Notre Dame, Quinnipiac, San Diego State, Troy
Out of the field: Jacksonville, North Texas, Rhode Island, Robert Morris, Virginia Tech

Last four in the field: Mississippi State, Illinois, Notre Dame, San Diego State
First four left out: Virginia Tech, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Dayton
Next four left out: Washington, Memphis, Arizona State, Wichita State
Also on board: Miami(FL), Cincinnati, Saint Louis, New Mexico State, South Florida, Mississippi, Texas Tech

Now if you want to complain about expansion, here's the address to complain to:
The Royal Frog Trampling Institiute
16 Rayners Lane
London, W.C. Fields

I'll just repeat that:
Tristam and Isolde Philips
7.30 Covent Garden
Saturday(near Sunday)
and afterwards at the Inigo Jones Fish Emporium

Friday, February 26, 2010

Bracket Watch - Friday, February 26th

UPDATE as of 12:08 PM: Fixed a few matchups so as to avoid a Georgetown-Temple or Old Dominion matchup.

A friendly reminder to all who visit that I also have another blog out there. It's called Conference Tournament Central. It's where I update all 31 conference tournaments daily. The blog can be accessed on the right hand side of the page in the college basketball statistics links.

Note: Starting now, the projected winner in some conferences will be the top seed in it's conference tournament.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Florida State vs. 9-Connecticut
@ San Jose
4-Tennessee vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
@ Buffalo
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Xavier vs. 10-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)
@ Milwaukee
3-Michigan State vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Wake Forest vs. 11-Nevada-Las Vegas

West region

@ Milwaukee
1-Purdue(Big Ten) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern Athletic)
8-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 9-Virginia Tech
@ Spokane
4-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 13-Mississippi State
5-Texas vs. 12-Marquette
@ Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-North Texas(Sun Belt)
7-Texas A&M vs. 10-Utah State(Western Athletic)
@ Providence
3-Georgetown vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Richmond(Atlantic 10) vs. 11-UAB

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Jacksonville(Atlantic Sun)
8-Missouri vs. 9-Clemson
@ San Jose
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Rhode Island
@ Providence
2-Villanova vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Baylor vs. 10-Florida
@ Jacksonville
3-Ohio State vs. 14-Wofford(Southern)
6-Maryland vs. 11-Old Dominion(Colonial)

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Stony Brook(America East)
8-California(Pacific-10) vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ New Orleans
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-Cornell(Ivy)
5-Wisconsin vs. 12-Georgia Tech
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Illinois vs. 10-Louisville
@ Spokane
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Temple vs. 11-St. Mary's

Procedural moves: Connecticut(up 1), Virginia Tech(up 1), Florida(down 1), UTEP(down 1)

New to the field: Jacksonville, Connecticut, Mississippi State, Wofford
Out of the field: Campbell, Dayton, Northeastern, College of Charleston

Last four in the field: Georgia Tech, Rhode Island, Marquette, Mississippi State
First four left out: San Diego State, Dayton, Notre Dame, Arizona State
Next four left out: Washington, Charlotte, Mississippi, South Florida
Also under consideration: Virginia, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Northwestern, Tulsa, New Mexico State

Next projection: Monday

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Woody Woodpecker game 3.0

Once again, it's your turn to pick out and guess who's resume you just picked: All info is current as of Tuesday night and comes from the college basketball section on http://rivals.yahoo.com/:

Team A:
RPI rank: 64
Division I record: 18-10
SOS rank: 58
record vs. RPI top 50: 4-6
record vs. 51-100 in RPI: 2-2
record vs. 101-150 in RPI: 0-2
record vs. 151-200 in RPI: 6-0
record vs. 201-347 in RPI: 6-0

Team B:
RPI rank: t-58
Division I record: 17-9
SOS rank: 53
record vs. RPI top 50: 1-6
record vs. 51-100 in RPI: 3-2
record vs. 101-150 in RPI: 3-1
record vs. 151-200 in RPI: 2-0
record vs. 201-347 in RPI: 8-0

Hints: Team A faces a tricky(but manageable) finish, while Team B is behind a non-bubble team in a weak division. It's a cross-regional comparison this week too.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

About last night - Get your mea culpas!

Ok, I'll admit it. I was wrong about not including the UConn Huskies in my latest bracket. The mistake was not letting them in last Friday, not yesterday. But after Kemba Walker had 21 points and Stanley Robinson racked up a double-double(15 points, 13 boards) in a 73-62 win over West Virginia, there's no denying that the Huskies are very much deserving of being one the 34 at-large teams. Their schedule, however, still remains tricky, with Louisville coming in to Storrs this weekend, followed by road games at desperate Notre Dame and at desperate South Florida.

Elsewhere; Kansas wrapped up half of the Big 12 regular season crown by blitzing Oklahoma and Morgan State secured the top seed in the MEAC tournament by edging UMES on the road.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Bracket Watch - 30 years after the 1st Miracle

Today marks the 30 year anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, where a collection of college kids representing the United States in Olympic hockey(average age: 22) shocked the sporting world defeating the Soviet Union 4-3 in Lake Placid, NY. The win set the stage for the USA to win gold and helped make Hockey cool throughout the country. Last night, a youthful US team did it again, downing heavily favored Canada 5-3 in front of a (mostly) partisan crowd in Vancouver. What does this have to do with Bracketology you ask? Well who can pull off a miracle finish and make the dance? Look at the first four out and next four out columns and you may find a team who could pull it off.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-North Texas(Sun Belt)
8-Florida State vs. 9-Louisville
@ Spokane
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-Oakland(Summit)
5-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 12-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Buffalo
2-Pittsburgh vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Xavier vs. 10-Old Dominion
@ Milwaukee
3-Michigan State vs. 14-Kent State(Mid-American)
6-Missouri vs. 11-California(Pacific-10)

West region

@ Milwaukee
1-Purdue(Big Ten) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening round: Jackson State(Southwestern Athletic) vs. Bucknell(Patriot)
8-Baylor vs. 9-Clemson
@ San Jose
4-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 13-Weber State(Big Sky)
5-Georgetown vs. 12-Rhode Island
@ Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Texas A&M vs. 10-Uab
@ Providence
3-West Virginia vs. 14-College of Charleston(Southern)
6-Richmond(Atlantic 10) vs. 11-Illinois

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Campbell(Atlantic Sun)
8-Oklahoma State vs. 9-Cornell(Ivy)
@ San Jose
4-Temple vs. 13-Marquette
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Georgia Tech
@ Providence
2-Villanova vs. 15-Stony Brook(America East)
7-Virginia Tech vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@ New Orleans
3-Ohio State vs. 14-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
6-Texas vs. 11-St. Mary's

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Wake Forest vs. 9-Florida
@ Spokane
4-Butler(Horizon) vs. 13-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
5-Wisconsin vs. 12-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-Sam Houston State(Southland)
7-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 10-Utah State(Western Athletic)
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-Northeastern(Colonial)
6-Maryland vs. 11-Dayton

Moving up for procedural purposes: Coastal Carolina(was a 15), Oakland(was a 14)
Moving down for procedural purposes: UC Santa Barbara(was a 14), Kent State(was a 13)

New to the field: Campbell, Marquette
Out of the field: Belmont, San Diego State

Last four in the field: Nevada-Las Vegas, Georgia Tech, Rhode Island, Marquette
First four left out: San Diego State, Connecticut, Mississippi State, Mississippi
Next four left out: Charlotte, Washington, Arizona State, Notre Dame
Also under consideration: Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, South Florida, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, Memphis, Tulsa, Wichita State, UCLA

Next projection is on Friday(after the US women win gold, of course!)

Friday, February 19, 2010

Bracket Watch - Friday freak-out

Can anyone figure out the Pacific-10 conference? Or for that matter, the Sun Belt? There's a five-way orgy for the lead, and I have no interest in sorting it out. So I went for North Texas as the leader, as they have the highest RPI rank of the five. As for the Pac-10, anyone who still clings to the belief that it deserves at least two teams in the dance should give up such notions after Washington lost at home to Southern California and California fell to sad-sack Oregon State.

As always, these projections are done as if the season ended the night before.

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Stony Brook(America East)
8-Xavier vs. 9-Louisville
@ New Orleans
4-Vanderbilt vs. 13-San Diego State
5-Wake Forest vs. 12-Uab
@ Milwaukee
2-Michigan State(Big Ten) vs. 15- UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 10-Utah State(Western Athletic)
@ Buffalo
3-Pittsburgh vs. 14-Northeastern(Colonial)
6-Missouri vs. 11-Dayton

West region

@ Milwaukee
1-Purdue vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern Athletic)
8-Old Dominion vs. 9-Clemson
@ San Jose
4- Georgetown vs. 13-Weber State(Big Sky)
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Rhode Island
@ Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Richmond(Atlantic 10) vs. 10-St. Mary's
@ Providence
3-West Virginia vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Texas vs. 11-Cornell(Ivy)

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
8-Georgia Tech vs. 9-Illinois
@ Spokane
4-Temple vs. 13-Kent State(Mid-American)
5-Texas A&M vs. 12-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
@ Providence
2-Villanova vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Maryland vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Baylor vs. 11-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Virginia Tech vs. 9-Oklahoma State
@ Spokane
4-Wisconsin vs. 13-Florida
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-North Texas(Sun Belt)
7-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 10-Florida State
@ Jacksonville
3-Tennessee vs. 14-College of Charleston(Southern)
6-Ohio State vs. California(Pacific-10)

Procedural moves up: Old Dominion(up 1), St. Mary's(up 1), Murray State(up 1), Butler(up 1)
Procedural moves down: Dayton(down 1), Illinois(down 1), Florida(down 1), Ohio State(down 1)

Last four in the field: Uab, Rhode Island, Florida, San Diego State
First four left out: Mississippi, William & Mary, South Florida, Charlotte
Next four left out: Seton Hall, Marquette, Mississippi State, Cincinnati
Also under consideration: Virginia, Saint Louis, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis, Tulsa, Arizona State, Washington, South Carolina

New to the field: San Diego State, Florida, North Texas, St. Mary's
Out of the field: Charlotte, Marquette, Mississippi, Middle Tennessee

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Week 2 of the Woody Woodpecker Game

Time to play another game of picking out blind resumes of NCAA tournament hopefuls. Information comes from rivals.yahoo.com and is through Tuesday night's games.

Team A
RPI Rank: 44
Division I Record: 21-5
Strength of Schedule rank: 106
Record vs. RPI top 50: 2-3
Record vs. 51-100 in RPI: 3-2
Record vs. 101-150 in RPI: 2-0
Record vs. 151-347 in RPI: 13-0
Conference Record: 8-3

Team B
RPI Rank: 52
Division I Record: 17-8
Strength of Schedule rank: 41
Record vs. RPI top 50: 2-3
Record vs. 51-100 in RPI: 4-3
Record vs. 101-150 in RPI: 4-1
Record vs. 151-347 in RPI: 7-1
Conference Record: 7-6

Hint: Both teams are in western conferences. I'll leave it at that.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Bracket Watch - Better late than never

My apologies for being a bit late today, but I'm currently posting from a rather old computer. The machine that I had been using, an MSNTV2, finally died after five and a half years of use. This forced me to post last Friday's projection somewhere else. Fortunately, I'm expecting a new one to arrive this Friday, but for now, I'm down in my basement posting this. Without more ado, here are the latest projections(through Sunday's games).

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Middle Tennessee(Sun Belt)
8-California(Pacific-10) vs. 9-Nevada-Las Vegas
@ Spokane
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Mississippi
5-Butler(Horizon) vs. 12-Florida State
@ Buffalo
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Xavier vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@ Milwaukee
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Kent State(Mid-American)
6-Maryland vs. 11-Texas-El Paso(Conference USA)

West region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Lehigh(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Oklahoma State vs. 9-Clemson
@Spokane
4-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 13-Northeastern(Colonial)
5-Vanderbilt vs. 12-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
@ Jacksonville
2-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 15-Stony Brook(America East)
7-Richmond(Atlantic 10) vs. 10-Missouri
3-Michigan State vs. 14-Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Baylor vs. 11-UAB

East region

@ New Orleans
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
8-Texas A&M vs. 9-Rhode Island
@ San Jose
4-Ohio State(Big Ten) vs. 13-Louisville
5-Wake Forest vs. 12-Utah State(Western Athletic)
@ Oklahoma City
2-Kansas State vs. 15-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
7-Brigham Young vs. 10-Charlotte
@ Providence
3-Georgetown vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Illinois vs. 11-Cornell(Ivy)

South region

@ Providence
1-Villanova(Big East) vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Georgia Tech vs. 9-Old Dominion
@ New Orleans
4-Texas vs. 13-College of Charleston(Southern)
5-Tennessee vs. 12-Dayton
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ San Jose
3-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 14-Weber State(Big Sky)
6-Temple vs. 11-Marquette

Up a seed: Maryland(should be a 7), Richmond(should be an 8), Old Dominion(should be a 10), Murray State(should be a 13)
Down a seed: Brigham Young(should be a 6), Georgia Tech(should be a 7), Virginia Tech(should be a 9), Louisville(should be a 12)

Last four in the field: Florida State, Dayton, Louisville, Mississippi
First four left out: Cincinnati, San Diego State, Mississippi State, Washington
Next four left out: St. Mary's, Seton Hall, Arizona State, Florida
Also on the list: St. John's, Northwestern, Tulsa, Memphis, Virginia, Saint Louis, Texas Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, South Carolina, South Florida, Marshall, Wichita State

Moving in: Louisville, Oklahoma State, Lehigh, Mississippi
Moving out: South Florida, Navy, Florida, Mississippi State

Friday, February 12, 2010

Bracket Watch - Live From the Dayton's Bluff Library

As the title indicates, I'm doing the first Friday Bracket Watch installment from the road. I'll explain why in another post, but for now, here are the latest projections(Through Thursday night's games).

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

Midwest region

@ Oklahoma City
1-Kansas(Big 12) vs. 16-Belmont(Atlantic Sun)
8-Clemson vs. 9-Rhode Island
@ Spokane
4-Gonzaga(West Coast) vs. 13-Northeastern(Colonial)
5-Ohio State vs. 12-South Florida
@ Providence
2-Georgetown vs. 15-Stony Brook(America East)
7-Nevada-Las Vegas vs. 10-Siena(Metro Atlantic)
@ New Orleans
3-Michigan State vs. 14-College of Charleston(Southern)
6-Northern Iowa(Missouri Valley) vs. 11-Florida State

West region

@ Jacksonville
1-Duke(Atlantic Coast) vs. 16-Robert Morris(Northeast)
8-Cornell(Ivy League) vs. 9-Dayton
@ Spokane
4-New Mexico(Mountain West) vs. 13-Florida
5-Texas vs. 12-California
@ Providence
2-Villanova vs. 15-Morgan State(Mid-Eastern)
7-Texas A&M vs. 10-Virginia Tech
@ New Orleans
3-Vanderbilt vs. 14-Kent State(Mid-American)
6-Temple vs. 11-Utah State(Western Athletic)

South region

@ Buffalo
1-Syracuse(Big East) vs. 16-Opening Round winner
Opening Round: Navy(Patriot) vs. Jackson State(Southwestern)
8-Illinois(Big Ten) vs. 9-Richmond
@ San Jose
4-Tennessee vs. 13-Murray State(Ohio Valley)
5-Georgia Tech vs. 12-Old Dominion
@ Milwaukee
2-Purdue vs. 15-Middle Tennessee(Sun Belt)
7-Xavier(Atlantic 10) vs. 10-Uab
@ Oklahoma City
3-Kansas State vs. 14- Sam Houston State(Southland)
6-Butler(Horizon) vs. 11-Marquette

East region

@ Milwaukee
1-Kentucky(Southeastern) vs. 16-UC Santa Barbara(Big West)
8-Wake Forest vs. 9-Missouri
@ San Jose
4-Pittsburgh vs. 13-Weber State(Big Sky)
5-Brigham Young vs. 12-Charlotte
@ Buffalo
2-West Virginia vs. 15-Coastal Carolina(Big South)
7-Baylor vs. 10-Utep(Conference USA)
@ Jacksonville
3-Wisconsin vs. 14-Oakland(Summit)
6-Maryland vs. 11-Mississippi State

Moves within: Charlotte(Down 1); Mississippi State(Up 1)
Last four in the field: Mississippi State, South Florida, Old Dominion, Florida
First four left out: Mississippi, South Carolina, St. Mary's, Louisville
Next four left out: Arizona State, Tulsa, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State
Also under consideration: Virginia, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Washington, Virginia Commonwealth, Seton Hall, Northwestern, Cincinnati, Wichita State, Arizona, St. John's, Miami(FL), Memphis, Wright State

Moving in: Belmont, South Florida, UCSB, Old Dominion, Navy, Mississippi State, Middle Tennessee
Moving out: Lipscomb, Louisville, Pacific, Lehigh, Mississippi, Arkansas State, St. Mary's

Next projection should come out on Monday.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

About Last Night - Can you figure this out?

Can you figure out why bracketologists keep insisting on putting Northwestern in their projected(or predictive) brackets? I've no idea why, except to say that I've resisted putting them in. Last night in Iowa City was the perfect example of my prudentialistic attitude to the Wildcats. They fell behind Iowa early and trailed pretty much the whole game, ending up a 78-65 loser. Now at 5-6 in Big Ten play, the Wildcats need to score a few scalps along the way if they want to even have a chance at an at-large.

Can anyone help out Florida State? No? Well, me neither. Not after the Seminoles went up to Clemson and left it with a 77-67 defeat. They did not look impressive either, thus a likely spot near the cut line for Tomorrow's projections(Yes, I'm going to twice-a-week brackets for the rest of the month). Elsewhere in the ACC, Duke officially buried North Carolina's NCAA hopes in a 64-54 victory. What made it even sweeter for Blue Devil fanatics, was that it occured on Tyler Hansbrough Night.

Where have you gone, Jimmy Calhoun, our lonely nation turns it's eyes to you, whoo-hoo-hoo? I'll admit that UConn can make big comebacks, but can't finish them off. After trailing by 16 late in the 2nd half, the Huskies proceeded to let Syracuse off the mat and then found themselves on it. Result: the Orange 72, the Huskies 67, with the Huskies limping along with a deflated resume.

Can you guess who makes it out of the A-10? Charlotte had their chances heavily damaged by Dayton, who's own chances improved significantly in the 75-47 rout of the 49ers, while Richmond scored a 69-67 win over Rhode Island in Kingston. Right now, it looks as if the league could have 5 of it's teams represented in the NCAA's with a 6th possible, but who will play the sixth? The last month will prove telling.

Elsewhere, Northern Iowa escaped Drake and wrapped up part of the Missouri Valley crown; Miami(FL) edged Georgia Tech on a game winner at the horn; New Mexico dumped UNLV in Las Vegas(which only was seen nationally in the 2nd half, due to a TCU-Utah women's thriller which took 4 overtimes); Old Dominion handled James Madison with sang froid; and Baylor beat Nebraska by 2 in Lincoln.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

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.

Monday, February 8, 2010

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.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

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.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

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).

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

About last night - Husky withdrawal

I think the time has come to cut the cord in regards to the Connecticut Huskies. When they play anywhere on someone else's home court this year, they just flat out stink(Even in Connecticut, they've been known to stink the place up, IYKWIM). Last night in Louisville was no exception. With the exception of the first few minutes of the second half, the Huskies were simply outplayed by the Cardinals. The 82-69 result means the Huskies' chances of getting in the field of 65, slim as they were before hand, are thinner than ever.

Elsewhere, Texas rebounded from it's 80-77 loss to Baylor at home to conquer Oklahoma State 72-60 in Stillwater, Morgan State beat North Carolina A&T on the road, Kent State took control of the Mid-American lead by walloping Northern Illinois, and Jackson State edged Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Pine Bluff to maintain the SWAC lead.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Projecting the lesser tournaments-One time only!

This is only time I will project out beyond the NCAA's and into the NIT, CBI and CIT. Enjoy while you can.

National Invitational Tournament:

"Storrs" region
1-Connecticut vs. 8-Northeastern
4-Virginia vs. 5-Memphis
2-Maryland vs. 7-San Diego State
3-Richmond vs. 6-Notre Dame

"Champaign-Urbana" region
1-Illinois vs. 8-Oklahoma
4-Miami(FL) vs. 5-St. John's
2-Tulsa vs. 7-Washington
3-Virginia Tech vs. 6-Alabama

"Chapel Hill" region
1-North Carolina vs. 8-Western Carolina
4-Minnesota vs. 5-Seton Hall
2-Louisville vs. 7- Green Bay
3-Virginia Commonwealth vs. 6-Texas Tech

"Milwaukee" region
1-Marquette vs. 8-Portland
4-Arizona State vs. 5-William & Mary
2-South Carolina vs. 7-South Florida
3-Northwestern vs. 6-Utah State

Collegiate Basketball Invitiational

South region
1-North Carolina State vs. 4-Florida Atlantic
2-Louisiana Tech vs. 3-Southern Mississippi

North region
1-Illinois State vs. 4-Saint Louis
2-Marshall vs. 3-Wofford

East region
1-Harvard vs. 4-Lafayette
2-Fairfield vs. 3-Detroit

West region
1-Washington State vs. 4-San Jose State
2-Colorado State vs. 3-Iowa State

Collegeinsider.com Tournament
Note: I'm not sure if there are seeds in this tournament or not, but these are unofficial.

1-Akron vs. 16-Quinnipiac
8-Wright State vs. 9-IUPUI
4-Morehead State vs. 13-Iona
5-Princeton vs. 12-Maine
2-Middle Tennessee vs. 15-Bethune Cookman
7-Appalachian State vs. 10-Eastern Kentucky
3-Stephen F. Austin vs. 14-South Dakota(Great West)
6-UC Santa Barbara vs. 11-Northern Colorado