Adam Glatczak writes the "Wednesday Onions" column for CollegeHoopsnet.  Bookmark the "Wednesday Onions" homepage and come back each week!

The Bracket Buster is back this year, and love it, hate it or indifferent, it’s a pretty important day for a number of its participants.

The ‘love it, hate it or indifferent’ part is important, because some of us know that this event could be much better. Last year, we pretty much went over the event in detail, so it would be repetitive to do so again this year. As we always try to get in as much as possible, if ESPN really wanted to help the schools in this event, it would use its incredible power to matchmake them some games against the BCS heavies on TV. The BB participants would prefer it in a heartbeat, the network has the money to do it, and the biggies would do it if the money was right, so there’s no excuse that it can’t be done.

Also, we will again question how interested the Worldwide Leader in Sports really is in seeing this succeed, considering almost all top BB games are relegated to their backup network (ESPN2). All of those games will also be played at the exact same time the main ESPN is showing games from the normal TV conferences. Really want to help the schools and conferences in this event? Don’t relegate them to your second channel, and don’t show their competition on your main network at the exact same time as their games. At the very least, put the Bracket Buster games on the big network as a token gesture.

All that said, give ESPN credit for at least doing something to get these teams a little exposure. When you’re Manhattan or Western Michigan, any chance to get on national TV is a big deal. Plus, the fact is this is a major weekend for some potential NCAA bubble teams. A win can help a team earn at least a little attention and maybe get a “quality win,” opponent’s RPI willing. On the other hand, a loss won’t exactly help them win the popular vote, but it’s a chance most will gladly take for now.

Watch how conferences perform as a whole. If a conference sweeps through impressively like the Missouri Valley did last year (4-0 in Buster) it could also provide a small boost to possible bubble teams in their league.

Categorizing the importance of these games to the participants that will probably be affected most:

Need a win badly…or else: Creighton, East Tennessee State, Austin Peay.

Let us first say that a number of the teams in this event have been flat-out rear-ended this year by the RPI and all of its statistics. There is no way that, for instance, a Mid-American Conference team with an 18-3 record, a virtually spotless non-conference run with some good wins and an 11-2 record in that league should even have to be begging for an at-large berth as Western Michigan is now. The Broncos proved their worth by destroying USC and winning at Arizona State and UAB, and the MAC is tough enough that their record should stand on its own for now. They’re only in the mid-50s in RPI right now, though, and may well miss the NCAAs in favor of some Big East or SEC team that is probably worse but has overly souped-up RPI numbers.

Creighton kind of falls in that category. The Bluejays have a recent poor loss at Drake but are still 18-4 overall, 10-4 in the always-tough Missouri Valley. They beat a pretty good Nebraska team and won at Wyoming and Fresno State. At the least, CU should be in at-large discussions for now, but with their RPI in the 70s, it’s likely the Jays aren’t even close now, and that’s just wrong. The Jays have somewhat put themselves into this position and aren’t playing very well now, but they still shouldn’t be counted as far out as they are. Those RPI numbers make winning at Kent State and probably Southern Illinois almost imperative if they have any at-large hopes. A win over the Golden Flashes keeps them alive; a loss puts them in a world of hurt. Of course, Creighton very well could also win the MVC tourney, but it’s more the principle that this Kent State game shouldn’t mean quite as much for them as it’s going to.

Austin Peay and ETSU make this category solely because a win will help them for argument’s sake. Even if both finish without a loss in their conferences as they are on track to, their RPIs are so poor they almost certainly won’t make the NCAAs without winning their league tourneys. That’s a shame, but if they win their BB games on the road (ETSU at Fresno State, APSU at Wichita State), they can at least stay on track for making for some interesting conversation in March.

Could really, really use a win: Kent State, Hawaii, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Manhattan, Wichita State.

In reality, most fall into this category in some form, but for our purposes we’re looking at teams that might be able to overcome a loss and still get into the NCAAs as an at-large. Kent State’s RPI is about the same as league mate Western Michigan’s, but more importantly, they already beat the Broncos and are on top of the MAC. One would think a regular season MAC title would mean something to the selection committee, but then again, the committee has rarely had much respect for a MAC title in the past. A win over Creighton would help and would be advised. Hawaii is facing a game it shouldn’t be expected to win at Southern Illinois. The Salukis are in the top 25 in the RPI, so a very, very good performance is most important. A win would certainly be big, though, not just because it’s on the road but also because SIU is that high in the RPI. As for UW-Milwaukee and Manhattan, neither is likely to get an at-large bid, especially after the Panthers blew a game to Youngstown State last week. However, they both are in that fringe 50s range in the RPI, and if they stay there and maybe don’t lose again before their conference tourney final, the winner of their game will at least have an argument to get in the tournament. Wichita State, incidentally, also has almost no at-large shot, though it did beat Manhattan. WSU and Creighton have almost the same profiles right now, but CU has better chances down the stretch to help itself out. However, if it beat Austin Peay and ran the table the rest of the season and maybe lost to Southern Illinois in the MVC tourney final, Wichita State could perhaps enter some at-large arguments. Unlikely, though.

Can’t afford a loss: Western Michigan, Nevada, Rice.

Both WMU and Nevada have legit at-large aspirations, but Saturday they play teams with RPIs way below them. The thing is, neither Charleston (Western’s opponent) nor Toledo (Nevada’s) are stiffs (combined 33-11 record), they’ve just also been badly shortchanged by the RPI. Both are more than capable of winning on the road, so if either the Broncos or Wolf Pack lose, it’s going to be regarded as a much worse loss than it really is. Without disrespecting the Cougars or Rockets, both certainly good enough to win their games, the truth is Western and Nevada needed more RPI-friendly opponents.

Rice is another team with a very, very slim shot at an at-large berth. Where the Owls’ Saturday game with Louisiana-Lafayette should be in these lists is debatable, but a loss to would almost certainly be more damaging than a win would help. Though the Ragin’ Cajuns are a solid team, a loss at their own Autry Court would knock Rice even lower than the 70-ish RPI range it’s already in, and that would make it virtually impossible to get an at-large spot. The Owls could conceivably still win the WAC regular season title, but you’d have to wonder how likely that would be if they can’t beat ULL at home.

Not as important as some may think: Southern Illinois.

The Egyptian Dogs would need to lose the rest of their games this season to be in danger of missing the NCAAs. They’ll wrap up the MVC regular season title outright with one win in their last four Valley games, and at this point they’re playing for NCAA seeding. If SIU keeps winning, it could certainly end up with a seed as good as Creighton’s No. 6 last year.

Spoilers: Fresno State, Tulsa

Gonzaga isn’t mentioned on any of the above lists because, face it, everyone knows how good the Zags are. If they somehow lose at Tulsa it would be a disappointment and might hurt their NCAA seeding a tad, but the Bulldogs shouldn’t really have much left to prove this year, as long as they don’t go into a bad slump and lose 2-3 down the stretch. They’ve given no indications that they’d do so, but there is always the chance Tulsa could get hot and shock GU on Saturday. Fresno State is mostly playing to get ready for the WAC tourney. A win over red-hot East Tennessee State would be a nice boost.

-The plea has to go out right now for Gonzaga: when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee is seeding teams, they need to WATCH THEM PLAY instead of just studying power rating numbers all day in Indianapolis. I could care less what their RPI is, if you see them on the court, there is no way the Bulldogs should be any less than a 3 seed in the tourney, and more than likely they deserve to be a 2. GU is setting them up and knocking them down in the West Coast Conference, and they took care of business in a non-conference schedule that wasn’t even as tough as expected but was still better than 90% of the country played. Their losses are to the only two undefeated teams in the country, and now we can say they’re the 1-2 teams in the land. Gonzaga needs to be treated with the same respect by the committee as Jerry Tarkanian’s UNLV teams were years ago, before that blasted “mid-major” label ever came into existence.

-All that praise aside, I still wouldn’t be shocked if St. Mary’s knocks off the Dogs in the WCC tourney. The Gaels didn’t play their best game Saturday night against Gonzaga and just seemed a step behind the whole game, even though they made a few runs. GU beat them for a second time, and in the fashion they’ve beaten almost everyone in the West Coast Conference, breaking away late (though they did hold a healthy lead much of the game). Give some credit to the zone Mark Few employed, which seemed to really confuse SMC. Perhaps the game was an indication of the inconsistency that is why this St. Mary’s team that has looked so good is only 15-10, but I still think the Gaels can beat GU. Maybe I’m just crazy.

-UNC-Charlotte (sorry, that’s the official school name) also may deserve an awfully high seed in the NCAA Tournament, even after it blew a five-point lead in the final minute to lose by 1 at Saint Louis on Saturday. If they keep going on the path they are and don’t get embarrassed in the Conference USA tourney, we’re talking as high as a 5 or 6. If you detach the conference affiliation and the name, it shouldn’t be a surprise, not for a team that last week beat Louisville and has won at Syracuse, at Southern Illinois and at Cincinnati and whose losses at home to UAB and George Washington are disappointing but not as embarrassing as some think (both are very good teams). The 49ers deserve a high seed, and perhaps UNCC and C-USA fans can take some heart in the fact that last year the Atlantic 10 had teams seeded 3, 4 and 7 in the tourney.

-It tells you something just how far Missouri has slipped in the national conscious when freshman Linas Kleiza is declared out for the rest of the season and it’s not even a big deal. Kleiza has been one of the few (only?) bright spots for the Tigers this year and no matter how disappointing they’ve been, that’s a huge loss. He is/was one of the best freshmen in the country.

-Christian Drejer’s leaving Florida, and it’s not going to hurt the Gators much in the long run. Just never worked out very well between him and UF, and he certainly didn’t meet the expectations he came in surrounded by. In the short run, though, the Gators are struggling and should feel very fortunate to have such a ridiculously high RPI. If not for that, they’d be in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament. They still could be, but it would take a continued streak of losses that left them at about 16-12 at the end of the year.

-Very classy (and smart) move by TCU coach Neil Daugherty Tuesday night in the final stages of the Horned Frogs’ blowout win over Louisville. The TCU student section started the usual chant of “Overrated”, and the TV cameras caught Daugherty facing the section and clearly motioning them to stop. The ‘overrated’ chant is only surpassed in its overuse by the storming of the court, and TCU fans/students/whoever did that, too. Maybe it’s time for all these bastions of higher education to start conducting prerequisite courses in originality for graduation. It was interesting, though, because these fans’ celebration apparently had nothing to do with the game. The bum-rushers didn’t even go near the players who had just won the game, they just all created a mosh pit at center court and started jumping up and down. Apparently, some just see any win as a reason to run amok for the TV cameras and could care less the people who won the game. You almost wonder if they even care who the opponent was. Or which team wins.

-Not sure if any team in the country has a worse homecourt advantage than Miami. That’s Miami of Florida, not Miami of Ohio. I feel for the cheerleaders at Hurricane games, it must feel like a futile endeavor sometimes, trying to get the crowd into their games. Not that Miami is necessarily very good, either-the Hurricanes basically found a way to lose to Boston College at home last week-but it’s hard to believe a major school like Miami can have such poor support.

-I suspect I was a lot less surprised than most by Hawaii losing at home to Louisiana Tech Thursday night, 62-61. One, the Rainbows are a good team but not dominant, and that was a fact even before they scraped past San Jose State the week before. They have a good record and RPI and have proven to be tougher on the road than in the past, but Hawaii’s still not a team that blows people out and occasionally labors on the offensive end. Two, the Men Techsters are improving in a hurry. Tech was supposed to finish in the bottom of the WAC this year and looked headed that way early this year, but as was mentioned here awhile back, freshman Paul Millsap is a man. The Bulldogs have a nice inside game and have for several years, and they brought in a highly rated recruiting class, it just didn’t seem like it would come together so much so quickly.

Of course, the Bulldogs lost to San Jose State two nights later…

-Fun game between Pepperdine and Santa Clara Saturday night, with the Waves pulling it out, 93-90. That was some good entertainment. If Pepperdine ever starts playing some defense on par with the athletes it has, it could be something special. Until then, though, the Waves will continue to win some and lose some in the WCC.

-Poor Vermont…what is it with Catamount players breaking wrists? Last year T.J. Sorrentine broke both of his wrists, and now Taylor Coppenrath is likely out for the year with a broken wrist. Of course, UVM now becomes the underdog to Boston U. in the America East, even though the two are tied for first in the standings. Even before that bad news, the Terriers fired the latest shot in the series between these two A-East titans, winning 87-80 at Vermont’s Patrick Gym. Considering that these two lead the rest of the conference pack by at least three games and have proven over the past three years to be the league’s best, it’s pretty impressive that both won on the other’s homecourt this year.

-Watching the beginning of the broadcast of the Western Carolina-Appalachian State game Friday night, and for the first time in years, saw the TV network show player introductions. Yes! They should still do this today on a regular basis, one of my biggest peeves watching games is when you have no idea who’s starting the game. One shouldn’t have to wait until three minutes of play and the first substitutions before finding out who’s on the court. Watching the introductions not only tells you who’s playing, it lets you see a full shot of them, making it much easier to identify them when running around on the court.

-Even with that seemingly unconscionable loss to Texas-Pan American (well, it was to most, anyway…not so much here), I think Air Force is still all right for an NCAA at-large bid as long as they win the Mountain West title. That will mean at least getting a split at Utah and BYU this weekend. A conference title in one of the top 7 or 8 conferences in the country (according to RPI) should force the selection committee to overlook the non-conference schedule to a point. Also, give some credit to the Broncs for their win over AFA. No one ever says a thing about the Division I independents, but UTPA has now won six in a row and three of those teams (Air Force, Arkansas State and fellow indie Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) aren’t that bad. Good to see.

-Foolish art those who discounted Pennsylvania from the Ivy League race after the Quakers lost their first two league games. Penn showed the folly of any such thoughts when it ripped Princeton and Cornell by a combined 42 points on the road last week. Any team that can win the ECAC Holiday Festival by beating Manhattan can’t be given up on as quickly as many did on the Quakers. Interestingly enough, Penn beat up the Big Red on the inside, outrebounding them 37-26 and dominating in the first half especially. Usually Penn does most of its damage from outside.

-Is Tom Davis doing a nice job with Drake this year, or what? Every school in the Missouri Valley Conference should be thankful he’s in Des Moines, because he could lift that program and that league to another level. The MVC needs some teams to not only start challenging Southern Illinois and Creighton for the top of the league, but also to get some national attention. He’s doing well with an incredibly young team, imagine how good the Bulldogs could be in a few years with some experience. If Wichita State and Northern Iowa continued their progress and Bradley, Illinois State and some others ever recapture even some of their past glory in the next few years, this league could muscle its way back among the top 10 D-I conferences yet.

First off, forgot to mention my letter from the Centenary fan last week was from Doug Greenwald, the Gents radio announcer. Wow, notes from radio guys two weeks in a row…rock on.

Got a winner from a North Carolina State fan, who I’ll only refer to as “J.J.” Didn’t particularly care for me asking how the Wolfpack was 15-5. It was meant to be a compliment, not a dig, but I could’ve made that clearer. Even though I’m not much of a fan of the “writers are idiots, you hate my team” letters, it was fair enough and somewhat deserved. I’m just surprised that the Pack is playing so well, considering they didn’t do much special out of conference and have basically the same team this year as last year, when they did little in the non-conference season and finished mid-pack in a worse ACC. I figured their ACC fate would be the same this year, if not worse, because the league is better this season, but they’ve done some kind of job to get to the top.

As I said, it was a lazy comment, and while it’s tough to get in-depth with everything when you’re trying to keep an eye on 300+ teams, we do like to find answers here, not just ask questions. I had seen them play a few times this year and checked out their fine upset win over Duke on Sunday, and from what I’ve seen of N.C. State this year, here are some reasons for their success:

1. Experience. A year older, a year better, you know, that sort of thing. More and more in recent years, experience hasn’t seemed to mean as much as it’s supposed to (see Missouri, Michigan State and many less prominent examples this year), so it’s refreshing to see a team that has almost the same cast as last year but looks like it’s gotten better.

2. Engin Atsur. He’s one of the few new cogs in the team this year. Not a standout, but he gives them another option and is one of the best three-point shooters on the team. That’s important, especially with how well the Pack shoots at home.

3. Free throw shooting! The Wolfpack leads all of NCAA Division 1 basketball in free throw percentage! Yes! Something that’s frequently mentioned in this column is attention to detail, because the margin between winning and losing games is often slim, particularly in conference play. At dang near 80% from the line, you better believe that’s a big reason why State is 8-2 in the ACC and a whole host of others are 5-5 or 4-6 in the league.

I don’t say Julius Hodge, because every time I see State play, he doesn’t really stand out to me any more than Scooter Sherrill or Marcus Melvin. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, and obviously his stats say ACC Player of the Year candidate, but I just go by what I see. I think it’s more a team effort than just one player doing it for the Wolfpack.

All that said, I stand by the point questioning State’s chances in the NCAA Tournament. Their play in the ACC has been impressive, but in reality, it looks like some teams in the league may have slipped since conference play started-see Wake Forest and North Carolina. More importantly, though, is that the Wolfpack lost to a fairly ordinary Boston College team (Ok, the Eagles are decent but far from great) and struggled to beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee at home. Those are the exact types of team they’ll face in the first round of the tourney, and with NCAA games not being at home, the wrong matchup could be a problem for NCS, which is just 3-5 on the road. In fairness, though, you could say the same thing about just about any team in the country.

Ah, the schedule is getting better as we get close to March. The bubble is starting to form…

Cincinnati at Alabama-Birmingham. Ok, we need to get a read on the Bearcats, and soon. If they don’t start beating some decent teams, particularly on the road, then it’s only going to be fair to deduce that this team isn’t any better than last years.

Boston University at Maine. BU and Vermont have deservedly gotten the most credit this year, and Northeastern has hung below them on the strength of a solid season and a win over West Virginia. Lurking right with these three, though, are the Black Bears, who are 16-7 overall and 10-4 in the America East and are having a very surprisingly nice year.

Old Dominion at Drexel. First in the CAA is on the line, as these two are tied with VCU for first. Oy, that league’s tourney should be a blast.

Dayton at George Washington. GW is having a very nice season under the radar.

Austin Peay at Samford. Dangerous game for Governors in their quest for Ohio Valley perfection. Bulldogs already upset Murray State this year, and they’re known to frustrate opponents with their Princeton-style offense.

Northwestern State at SE Louisiana. Haven’t heard much from the Demons since they made the NCAA Tournament in 2001, but NW State is near the top of the Southland. In fact, the Lions lead them for first by just half a game. SLC tourney will be wide, wide open.

Vanderbilt at Alabama. Commodores need to start winning some road games now. Bama will be tough but beatable. Crimson Tide’s RPI could be the eighth wonder of the world-their schedule was difficult, but not as tough as the numbers say. In fact, one could easily make a case that their non-league sked has a lot of the same qualities as St. Joseph’s, minus the road games.

Toledo at Western Michigan. Again, the Broncos are getting screwed by the RPI. In fact, one could say both of these teams are. No way MAC teams with 18 and 16 wins should be 57th and 101st in the RPI, respectively.

Wichita State at Northern Iowa. Just about ready to start believing in the Shockers again. This game will certainly help us find out if we should.

Nevada at Rice. The Wolf Pack will be on the NCAA bubble right up to Selection Sunday. Hopefully the WAC gets the 2 or 3 teams in the tourney it richly deserves.

Hawaii at Boise State. This is a big week for the Rainbows, with BSU and Southern Illinois both on the mainland. Center Haim Shiminovich is likely out for both, and that won’t help.

Arizona at Oregon. Contrary to what some think, this isn’t a make-or-break bubble game for the Ducks. Sorry to say this, but they aren’t even that close to the bubble yet.

Pacific at UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos are running out of chances to get it together this year. This is a prime opportunity against the Tigers, who are now tied with Utah State for the Big West lead.

Brown at Pennsylvania. Princeton is there, too, but these may be the two to beat in the Ivy League.

Delaware at George Mason. Seems like every game the Patriots have played lately has been huge, and it seems every game the Blue Hens play is close. Both should be very, very well tested for the CAA tournament.

Alabama-Birmingham at Memphis. If the conference domino nonsense ever stops and these two end up in the same league together, this could develop into a great rivalry.

LSU at Vanderbilt. Another the Commodores need. Sorry, still not a believer in LSU yet-at the very least, they’re way, way overrated in the RPI.

Air Force at Utah

Saint Louis at DePaul. The Billikens stole one last year at Rosemont or Allstate or whatever they call it. Blue Demons are coming on, but aren’t an NCAA shoo-in by any means.

Centenary at IUPUI. Another fun one in the Mid-Continent, and both are right there in the race for the conference title.

Texas at Oklahoma. There may be no more unsightly team in the country to watch than OU, but I still enjoy watching when these two play each other.

Northern Iowa at Wisconsin-Green Bay, SW Missouri State at Miami (Ohio).

We’ve reviewed the importance of most of these, and whether some of these teams turn you on or not, almost all games should be pretty good and competitive and you’ll see quite a few of these teams in your brackets in March. All but the last two are on some kind of TV, and SMS-Miami is a matchup of 1999 Sweet 16 teams and should be a low-scoring war.

Rutgers at Boston College. I’m not really sold on the Scarlet Knights’ NCAA hopes, but they have the chance to play their way in, and that should be enough for them. Seton Hall wins aside, the Eagles still have a good bit they need to show, too. Like Alabama, the RPI is much higher than it should be.

Northeastern at Boston University. Two big games in Boston today. It’ll be a war if these two meet again in the A-East tournament.

Lafayette at Lehigh. Of course they are archrivals, and first in the Patriot League will also likely be on the line, just like it was the first time they met. That game was a 112-104 Leopards win. Think this one won’t be fun?

Monmouth at Fairleigh Dickinson. Young, pesky Knights are having a nice season, while Monmouth may be the favorites in the NEC. But who really knows-this should be another conference tourney that’s wide open.

Air Force at BYU. This game is huge for both, and the Cougars seem to be coming on of late.

Hawaii at Texas-El Paso. Call this one the Bracket Buster chaser. If they could ever separate themselves from the rest of the WAC, both would have great arguments for NCAA inclusion. More likely, though, the league keeps beating itself up.

Long Island at St. Francis (N.Y.) Brooklyn neighbors square off…this time, it’s the Blackbirds’ turn to walk to SFC for the game. That’s how close these schools are.

Providence at Notre Dame. All right, the Irish are making a nice run, but let’s get something straight: they still have a ways to go to be an NCAA team. Like Rutgers, though, it’s all in their hands.

Creighton at Southern Illinois. Second straight huge game for the Bluejays. SIU may be safely in the NCAA field, but it wouldn’t want to lose to Hawaii and CU back-to-back at home.

Texas Tech at Nebraska. The Red Raiders Rollercoaster is currently at a low, and now gets a difficult road game.

Alabama at Auburn. Both are mediocre, but a bow to a great rivalry. I miss the old Alabama Plaid Players from when Wimp Sanderson coached the Tide.

Feel free to email Adam with questions he'll answer in the Audibles section: arfboy37@yahoo.com