Bracketology

Predicting the Field of 65.. for 2008

Jeff Borzello — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 23:54:45 -0700

Bracketology (2/20/07)

ljk2171 — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:02:38 -0800

1-N.Carolina*, Wisconsin*, UCLA*, Florida*
2-Kansas*, Pitt*, Texas A&M, Ohio St
3-Memphis*, Duke, Washington St, Georgetown
4-S.Illinois*, Virginia, Nevada*, Kentucky
5-Butler*, Indiana, Marquette, Arizona
6-Texas, Air Force*, Michigan St, Boston College
7-Oklahoma St, Oregon, VA Tech, Tennessee
8-W.Virgina, Stanford, Notre Dame, Maryland
9-Louisville, USC, Texas Tech, Purdue
10-Winthrop*, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Illinois
11-Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, GA Tech
12-Xavier*, Gonzaga*, BYU, Creighton
13-VCU*, Akron*, Davidson*, Vermont*
14-S.Alabama*, Penn*, Marist*, Austin Peay*
15-ETSU*, Oral Roberts*, Weber St*, Holy Cross*
16-Texas A&M-CC*, Long Beach St*, Del St*, CCSU*, Jackson St*
*Automatic Qualifier

Last Four In: Creighton, BYU, Clemson, Georgia
Last Four Out: Florida St, Michigan, Missouri St, UNLV
Next Four Out: Bradley, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas St

National Notes: Another "Bracket Buster" has come and gone, however, uncertainty for several mid-major programs has remained. At the forefront of the chaos was Drexel's victory in Omaha against Creighton. The Blue Jays now find themselves on the bubble and cannot afford anything less than a strong finish to the regular season combined with a run to at least the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals to ensure their berth in the NCAA Tournament safely. Creighton was not the only MVC team to take a hit over the weekend, Missouri State stumbled against Winthrop Friday night on their home court with an uninspiring second half that put Winthrop on the bubble, which is all they can ask for if disaster strikes in the Big South Tournament. The win would have been a nice feather in the cap of Missouri State who will now need to follow a similar path to that of Creighton and reach the MVC semifinals at the minimum. Memphis received a scare from a Gonzaga team trying to find its identity at a very precarious time of the season thanks to some off the court troubles. While Memphis' win may not look overly impressive on the surface, for a team who has faced weak competition from Conference USA over the past few months, going across country to a hostile environment and having to pull out a win in overtime versus a desperate team may go a long way come March. Two national powers that have struggled as of late, Duke and Arizona, may benefit from the suicide schedules they put together this season more than many experts seem to think. With a lack of standout teams being considered for number 3, 4, and 5 seeds, the Blue Devils and Wildcats could secure number three seeds and possibly slide up to a number two seed if several things break right, this includes taking care of their own business, which may prove to be each club's downfall. Lastly, credit has to be given to Mississippi Head Coach Andy Kennedy, the Rebels' first year coach has surpassed everyone's expectations guiding Ole Miss to 17 victories through Monday, most since the 2001-02 season, as well as a share of the SEC West lead. Kennedy served as interim head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats last season before being passed over in favor of Mick Cronin. The Bearcats currently reside in the basement of the Big East and will not qualify for the conference tournament.

Bracketology 2/16/07

ljk2171 — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:25:26 -0800

March Madness has long been known for dramatic buzzer beaters, memorable upsets, and crushing defeats. Guys named Tyus go coast to coast and become heroes for several hours as fans throughout the country breathe a sigh of relief and put that red pen away, the same pen that comes out a few hours later to get some heavy work as some guy named Bryce stakes his claim in March Madness history with a play called "pacer". It's moments like these that make March special, unless the thought of Ryan Howard taking BP off some AA pitcher in Clearwater gets you going, then these are the type of moments that make Jammes Forrest, Mike Miller, and Tate George legends (possibly begrudged) to college basketball fans everywhere.
Granted, nothing beats the NCAA Tournament in my mind, but the month leading up to the tournament is very close. Teams jockeying for that one last win to stick in the minds of the selection committee, teams making 4 day runs through their conference tournamnets to make up for futile seasons, it almost seems like something important happens everyday in regards to the infamous "bubble". Ahh the bubble, the greatest phrase in sports, nothing better than waking up to the replay of the late night SportsCenter, which happens to be showing for the seventh consecutive hour to see Dickie V and Digger argue over the merits of the Missouri Valley Conference versus the eight and ninth teams from the ACC.
The best though is trying to do the work of the 10 member selection committee by yourself in a few hours, for them it takes what seems to be 5 days of voting teams in the tournament and seeding them 1 through 65 while waiting for the results of conference tournaments from A.C. to L.A. Around the middle of February each season, experts start their "Bracketology" and I love it, because apparently there are other poor souls out there like myself that week after week start putting together their own brackets and wait for Selection Sunday about as patiently as a teenager waiting for the release of PS3. Then the brackets get released we all wonder who will be this year's George Mason or Harold "The Show" Arceneau, remember him? Carolina fans do. Yes, March is upon us.

Here are my current seed projections for February 12, 2007:

1-Wisconsin, UCLA, Florida, UNC
2-Ohio St, Pitt, Texas A&M, Kansas
3-Georgetown, Washington St, Kentucky,S.Illinois
4-Duke, Arizona, Indiana, Oklahoma St
5-Butler, Memphis, Marquette, VA Tech
6-Virginia, Texas, Oregon, BC
7-W.Virginia, Nevada, Tennessee, Air Force
8-USC, GA Tech, Villanova, Florida St
9-Clemson, Michigan St, Maryland, Notre Dame
10-Stanford, Purdue, Tx Tech, Louisville
11-Illinois, Georgia, Creighton, Missouri St
12-Oklahoma, Xavier*, Winthrop*, Gonzaga*
13-Vermont*, Akron*, VCU*, Davidson*
14-Oral Roberts*, Penn*, Marist*, South Alabama*
15-ETSU*, Weber St*, Austin Peay*, Long Beach St*
16-Holy Cross*, MVSU*, Del St*, CCSU*, Holy Cross*
*Automatic Qualifier

Last Four In: Georgia, Creighton, Missouri St, Oklahoma
Last Four Out: Alabama, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Syracuse
Next Four Out: Michigan, Bradley, BYU, Mississippi