Bracketology: Say Goodbye To UConn And UNC, And Hello To... USF?
by Chris Dobbertean on Feb 8, 2010 12:00 PM EST
in bracket projections
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Editor's Note: This bracket is cross-posted at SB Nation.
Now that the Super Bowl is over (Congratulations New Orleans!) and football is finished for another year, just five weeks remain until Selection Sunday. That means it's time for more casual college basketball fans to hop on the bandwagon.
For those of you who are just merging onto the road to Indianapolis, welcome. It's been a wild season so far, so don't be surprised to see some unexpected names receive party invites come Selection Sunday, and a few old standbys relegated to the NIT. More on that in a minute, though.
Click here for this week's full bracket.
Here are links to this week's seed list and tracking spreadsheet.
This week, there wasn't much upheaval at the top of the bracket. For the third straight week, the same four teams occupy the top line, even with Villanova's burial by Georgetown's offensive blizzard on Saturday afternoon here in snowbound D.C. The Wildcats are fourth overall and head up the West region, falling behind Kansas (Midwest), Syracuse (South) and Kentucky (East).
In fact, there were only two switches in the top four lines. Purdue moves up to the 2 line to replace Michigan State, who dropped road games to Wisconsin and Illinois this week.
The Badgers made a move of their own, as they jump up to a 3, replacing BYU, who drops down to the 4 line after Saturday's road loss at UNLV.
Even though Texas fell at Oklahoma on Saturday, the Longhorns stay put on line 3, as they still have a stronger overall profile than this week's four seeds, even with their recent struggles.
But as I alluded to at the start of this piece, the big news this week is at the bottom of the at-large pool, where if the season ended Sunday, we would be looking at our first NCAA field without both North Carolina and UConn in recent memory. The Tar Heels followed up last Sunday's home loss to Virginia with two road setbacks, to Virginia Tech by 4 and Maryland by 21, to fall to 13-10 and 2-6 in the ACC. UNC is now just 2-7 since the calendar turned over to 2010, with a home game against Duke next on the schedule.
The Huskies drop out even though they split their two games, losing a bubble battle at Louisville on Monday, then sneaking past DePaul at home on Saturday, to sit at 4-6 in the Big East and 14-9 overall.
Before I get into some of this week's other storylines, here's a quick look at who is in and out this week.
Teams are listed in S-curve, or selection, order.
The Rundown
Top seeds: Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova
Last Four In: Illinois, South Florida, Dayton, Virginia Tech
First Four Out: Oklahoma State, VCU, Cincinnati, Old Dominion
Next Four Out: Mississippi State, Virginia, Northwestern, Notre Dame
Conference Breakdown
ACC: 7
Duke (2), Wake Forest (5), Georgia Tech (6), Maryland (9), Florida State (10), Clemson (10), Virginia Tech (12)
Big East: 7
Syracuse (1), Villanova (1), West Virginia (2), Georgetown (2), Pittsburgh (7), Louisville (9), South Florida (12)
Big 12: 6
Kansas (1), Texas (3), Kansas State (3), Baylor (6), Texas A&M (7), Missouri (8)
Atlantic 10: 6
Temple (5), Rhode Island (8), Charlotte (9), Xavier (10), Richmond (11), Dayton (12)
Big Ten: 5
Purdue (2), Michigan State (3), Wisconsin (3), Ohio State (5), Illinois (11)
SEC: 5
Kentucky (1), Tennessee (4), Vanderbilt (6), Mississippi (8), Florida (10)
Mountain West: 3
BYU (4), New Mexico (4), UNLV (6)
Conference USA: 2
UAB (9), UTEP (13)
West Coast: 2
Gonzaga (4), St. Mary's (8)
One Bid Leagues: 22
America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Pacific-10, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, Western Athletic
After the jump, I'll take a look at a few more of the main storylines for this bracket.
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Reforming The Tourney, Part 6: Two Ways To Get To 96
by Chris Dobbertean on Feb 6, 2010 11:43 AM EST
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Back on Monday, which seems like it was about a month ago at this point, rumors of NCAA Tournament expansion started to swirl again.
Over on SB Nation, I laid out a simple plan to expand the tournament, one that keeps both the regular season and conference tournaments relevant and gives the mid-majors a better shot at making an expanded field.
It turns out that this idea may not be as much of a non-starter as I thought, at least according to an AP story posted on ESPN.com Friday afternoon.
Another argument is that a larger field would give teams from smaller conferences a better chance of getting in. Giving automatic bids to the regular-season and conference tournament champions would reward consistency while still allowing for surprise.
I've spent much of the last two evenings building a pair of 96-team brackets based on this season. The first simply adds 31 at-large teams, the overwhelming majority of the NIT field, to the current 65-team Tournament. Each conference keeps their single auto-bid. I've labeled this one the NIT Option.
The second gives each conference two automatic bids, for 62 total, leaving 34 at-large spots. I've named this one the Auto Bid Option. Since conference tournaments haven't started yet, I simply entered the top two teams in each league into this field.
In constructing both brackets, I tried to keep as many of the current procedures in place as I could. In theory, teams from the same conference can meet as early as the second round today, but the Committee does a good job of keeping them separated until the regional final.
With an additional round thrown into a 96-team field, I've tweaked things so that teams from the same conference can meet in the regional semifinals.
Click here for the NIT Option bracket.
Click here for the Auto Bid Option bracket.
After the jump, I'll take a look at which conferences are getting the most bids in each field and some of the matchup difficulties a 96-team bracket poses.
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Because February Is A Crazy Month...There Are Some Site Changes
by Chris Dobbertean on Feb 5, 2010 11:22 AM EST
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You're probably wondering where today's College Hoops Go-Round is, as it's now approaching noon here on the East Coast (and Snowmaggedon has started here in DC).
There won't be one. After a particularly busy few days with my day job, and thanks to a whole lot of other stuff going on, I'm refocusing my efforts.
"Refocusing" doesn't mean leaving the blogging business, far from it. It's just that I've spent far too much time this season working on day-to-day coverage, meaning I haven't gotten to do a lot of the features I've wanted to do. Plus, the Olympics start a week from today,
So, I'm going to dial back my nightly coverage responsibilities both here and at SB Nation. I'll still be popping up over at the mothership to do commentaries on a regular basis, and bracketology still has another home there. I just won't be focusing so much on recaps and reaction.
However, I will be over there regularly during the Olympics, which start next Friday night, as that's another one of my passions. Those are 17 days every four years when college hoops takes a backseat for me.
The College Hoops Go-Round is another casualty, at least for the moment. It takes me around 1 to 2 hours to put one of those together, depending on the amount of action. That's time I can't spend paying attention to games.
In the end, these minor changes will give me more time to focus on Tournament talk over the next month or so, which is the main point of this site after all.
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Abbreviated College Hoops Go-Round: February 4
by Chris Dobbertean on Feb 4, 2010 8:54 AM EST
in College Hoops Go-Rounds
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Unfortunately, real life has made the past couple of days and nights busier than normal for me, so I haven't really gotten to see too much. That means writing has had to take a backseat as well. So, if you want to read more about USF upset win at No. 7 Georgetown and No. 1 Kansas OT win at Colorado, head over to SB Nation (where the scoreboard at the top of the page will lead you to recaps and the nightly rundown) and Searching for Billy Edelin.
Normal service will resume tomorrow. In the meantime, here's the rundown of tonight's key games from a bracket perspective.
No. 21 Georgia Tech at No. 10 Duke, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Florida at Alabama, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Detroit at No. 23 Butler, 7 p.m. ET (FS Detroit/WNDY/FCS Central)
No. 8 Purdue at Indiana, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Cincinnati at Notre Dame, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN Plus/Full Court)
No.14 Tennessee at LSU, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Maryland at Florida State, 9 p.m. ET (Raycom/Full Court)
North Carolina at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m. ET (Raycom/Full Court)
Arizona at Washington, 10:30 p.m. ET (FSN/Comcast Sports Net)
Portland at No. 17 Gonzaga, 11 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
In Thursday night's other, televised action...
New Hampshire at Boston University, 7 p.m. ET (CSN New England/Full Court)
Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart, 7:30 p.m. ET (FCS Atlantic/Full Court)
Western Kentucky at Louisiana-Monroe, 8 p.m. ET (FCS Central)
Winthrop at Liberty, 8 p.m. ET (MASN/Full Court)
Youngstown State at Loyola-Chicago, 8 p.m. ET (Lakeshore/Full Court)
Cal State Fullerton at Long Beach State, 11 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
For info on games that will be televised regionally, like Stanford at UCLA and Santa Clara at St. Mary's, visit Matt Sarz' College Sports on TV site.
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College Hoops Go-Round: February 3
by Chris Dobbertean on Feb 3, 2010 8:00 AM EST
in College Hoops Go-Rounds
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I didn't get to see much action last night, so I was surprised to see that the Big Ten race may have completely changed last night in Madison.
No. 5 Michigan State dropped their first Big Ten game of the season, 67-49 at No. 16 Wisconsin, but they suffered a bigger loss when All-Big Ten point guard Kalin Lucas went down with an ankle injury. In the night's other game, Northwestern swept Michigan with a 67-52 win in Evanston.
Elsewhere among the probable multi-bid leagues...
Wake Forest is 5-3 in the ACC, thanks to a 62-53 victory over Miami.
Rhode Island is 6-2 in the A-10 after they picked up a 90-83 win at La Salle.
No. 2 Villanova is now 9-0 in the Big East after an 81-71 home win over Seton Hall. No. 4 Syracuse crushed Providence, 85-68, to stay a game back of the Wildcats in the race. The Orange's 22-1 start is their best ever. In the night's other game, Rutgers won their second in a row, beating St. John's, 84-72.
No. 10 Kansas State shook off their loss to Kansas by pounding Nebraska in Lincoln, 76-57, in the lone Big 12game of the night.
It was a good night for favorites in the Mountain West. No. 12 BYU won at home over TCU, 76-56, and San Diego State did the same against Air Force, 70-48.
No. 25 Ole Miss dropped their second SEC game in 48 hours. The Rebels fell to third-ranked Kentucky, 85-75, and now sit at 4-4 in the conference.
In Tuesday's games outside of the major conferences...
Radford is a game and a half behind Coastal Carolina in the Big South. The Highlanders thumped VMI, 111-84.
Northeastern won easily at Delaware, 67-51, to stay in the thick of the CAA race. Drexel is now 8-4 after they blasted hapless Towson, 97-55.
Teams from outside C-USA's lead pack took center stage on Tuesday. UCF topped East Carolina, 67-56, while SMU couldn't build on their home win over Memphis. The Mustangs lost 56-53 at Southern Miss.
There was one MVC game Tuesday and it was a thriller. Bradley topped Drake, 67-65 in Peoria.
Southeast Missouri crushed , 68-49, in the only OVC contest to actually happen on Tuesday. Jacksonville State's game at Tennessee State was postponed.
If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a rundown of all of the night's scores on the right side of the page.
For more on Tuesday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.
After the jump, I'll take a look at what's ahead for Wednesday.
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College Hoops Go-Round: February 2
by Chris Dobbertean on Feb 2, 2010 9:00 AM EST
in College Hoops Go-Rounds
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The big news on Monday broke off the court, where talk about NCAA Tournament expansion heated up considerably, thanks to a Sports Business Journal report.
As you'd expect, I have pretty strong feelings about this. You can read those, along with my sensible proposal for a 96-team field over at SB Nation.
On the court, there was quite a bit of action, particularly among the mid-majors.
In the Big East two teams who sit on the bubble, but would probably make it in an expanded field met at Freedom Hall. That's where Louisville boosted their resume by damaging Connecticut's. The Cardinals claimed a 82-69 win over the Huskies at Freedom Hall.
No. 9 Texas recovered from Saturday's loss at home to Baylor by picking up a key Big 12 road win. The Longhorns pulled away from Oklahoma State to claim a 72-60 win.
Belmont handed ETSU their fifth conference loss, 74-67. The Bruins and Bucs both now sit two games back of leader Jacksonville in the loss column in the A-Sun race. Lipscomb, however, is the only team to be a game back, as they beat Campbell, 60-59.
Iona topped Canisius, 72-53, to remain three games behind Siena in the MAAC race.
Kent State sits alone atop the MAC East after Monday. The Golden Flashes blew out Northern Illinois, 76-46, while Akron fell at home to Eastern Michigan, 62-59. Western Michigan and Buffalo both sit at 4-4. The Broncos beat the Bulls on their home court, 85-70.
Morgan State won their second MEAC game in as many nights to move to 8-0. The Bears won 74-65 at North Carolina A&T. Wouldn't it be neat if both they and Murray State were unbeaten in their respective leagues when they meet in a BracketBuster game on February 20. Second place Delaware State moved to 6-2 with a 54-45 home win over Howard. Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State are tied for third. The Wildcats defeated Winston-Salem State, 74-48, while the Bulldogs topped Florida A&M, 77-62.
Jackson State remains in the top spot in the SWAC. The Tigers picked up a 72-67 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, moving the Lions into a tie for third. Texas Southern remains in second, a game back, after a 67-62 win at Alabama A&M. Prairie View joined UAPB at 6-3 in the conference by knocking Alabama State down to that same record. The Panthers topped the Hornets, 56-55.
Finally, in one of the more embarassing losses suffered by a Division I team this season, Appalachian State lost at home to King College, 87-76. The Tennessee school is transitioning into Division II.
If you don't see your team's score, click any of the score links. You'll find a rundown of all of the night's scores on the right side of the page.
For more on Monday's action, visit SB Nation and Searching for Billy Edelin.
After the jump, I'll take a look at what's ahead for Tuesday.
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Bracketology: No New No. 1 Seeds For The New Month
by Chris Dobbertean on Feb 1, 2010 12:00 PM EST
in bracket projections
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Editor's Note: This bracket is cross-posted at SB Nation.
Remember the four number one seeds from last week's bracket? They all remain at the top of the first projection for February, just in a slightly different order. At the bottom of the at-large pool, North Carolina and UConn are barely hanging in, but they will have to start winning games more consistently over the next six weeks to be in the real field on Selection Sunday.
Click here for this week's full bracket.
Here are links to this week's seed list and tracking spreadsheet.
Kansas is the new overall number one seed. The Jayhawks take the top spot in the Midwest after they routed Missouri in Lawrence on Monday and snuck past Kansas State in Manhattan Saturday. They replace Kentucky, who started off the week at number one in both polls, got a phone call from the President on Tuesday, then lost at South Carolina hours later. While the Wildcats rebounded with a win over Vanderbilt Saturday, it wasn't enough to remain at the very top.
Syracuse is now the second team overall, which is why they're in the South. (Remember that the Orange can't play in the East, as they'll host the regional.) The Orange move up after claiming a big win over Georgetown on Monday and a difficult victory at DePaul on Saturday.
The fourth top seed, West No. 1 Villanova, was off this weekend. They looked impressive in claiming a 90-72 win over Notre Dame on Wednesday.
Thanks to a whole slew of teams going 1-1 over the past week, there wasn't too much shuffling among the other protected seeds. I'll discuss those moves after I take a brief look at who's in and out of this bracket.
Teams are listed in S-curve, or selection, order.
The Rundown
Top seeds: Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova
Last Four In: Connecticut, Florida, Dayton, Seton Hall
First Four Out: Virginia Tech, Illinois, Minnesota, Old Dominion
Next Four Out: Louisville, Richmond, Wichita State, Marquette
Conference Breakdown
Big East: 8
Syracuse (1), Villanova (1), Georgetown (2), West Virginia (2), Pittsburgh (6), Cincinnati (10), Connecticut (12), Seton Hall (12)
Big 12: 7
Kansas (1), Texas (3), Kansas State (3), Baylor (6), Missouri (7), Texas A&M (8), Oklahoma State (9)
ACC: 6
Duke (2), Georgia Tech (5), Wake Forest (7), Florida State (8), Clemson (9), North Carolina (11)
SEC: 6
Kentucky (1), Tennessee (4), Vanderbilt (5), Mississippi (7), Mississippi State (10), Florida (12)
Atlantic 10: 5
Temple (5), Xavier (8), Rhode Island (9), Charlotte (10), Dayton (11)
Big Ten: 4
Michigan State (2), Purdue (3), Wisconsin (4), Ohio State (5)
Mountain West: 3
BYU (3), New Mexico (4), UNLV (6)
CAA: 2
Old Dominion (12), George Mason (13)
West Coast: 2
Gonzaga (4), St. Mary's (9)
One Bid Leagues: 22
America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Pacific-10, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, Western Athletic
After the jump, I'll take a look at the teams who made the biggest moves away from the top line during the past week.
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