2016 Bracketology: Frequent Flyer Miles

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -7

American-3

A10-4

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Florida

Syracuse

Michigan

George Washington

First Four Out

Vanderbilt

Cincinnati

St. Bonaventure

Butler

Next Four Out

Gonzaga

Georgia Tech

UCLA

Davidson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Washington

Florida State

South Dakota State

BYU

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

The theme of the week seems to be teams surviving scares from inferior competition, and that's exactly what the Dayton Flyers did Tuesday night. 

Dayton escaped a St. Louis Billikens squad that entered 10-16 overall with a 52-49 win.  To make that sound even uglier, that final was after a five minute overtime was played, as Dayton won the bonus session by a score of 6-3. 

Dayton has not looked good recently, losing to St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph's last week, and won their games against Rhide Island and Duquesne by a combined four points the week before. 

That said, Dayton avoided catastrophe with the loss and is still a five seed on my board. 

Texas Tech pulled a similar escape against TCU, coming back from a 12 point halftime deficit to get an 83-79 win.  Texas Tech has now one five straight games despite forward Norense Odiase still being sidelined with an injury. 

As far as the bubble is concerned, Tulsa helped their cause in convincing fashion by taking down Temple 74-55.  The win is their fifth in their last six games and they have a favorable match ups against Memphis and South Florida to end the regular season.

Tulsa moved up from the first four to a nine seed with the win and interestingly enough, Temple is still on the board.  They still lead the American Conference standings by a half a game, so by rule, they remain on the board.

Speaking of the bubble, Vanderbilt helped their cause by getting a double digit win at Florida last night to put themselves in position to make the field.  The win has them moving up to be my first team out and they will have chances against Kentucky and Texas A&M to pick up key resume-building wins. 

The loss dropped Florida, who was now lost 11 games this season, into my first four.  Florida has good computer numbers, but they do not have many quality wins and the eye test is not pretty.

Ohio State likely needs to win out and make surge in the Big Ten Tournament to get in the field.  They fell at home to Michigan State 81-62, snapping their four game winning streak. 

For Wednesday, we are in for a good slate of games.  I have both Xavier and Villanova as one seeds as they showdown in a rematch of what was a 30 point blowout win for Villanova in December. 

Wisconsin is looking to essentially lock up an NCAA Tournament bid as they hit the road to face Iowa.  Pittsburgh could do the same if they can get a win away from the Peterson Events Center against Louisville. 

Colorado has been trending in the wrong direction in recent weeks and will look to right the ship against Arizona. 

Kick back and enjoy because tomorrow there will likely be big changes to the bracket. 

2016 Bracketology: Get Ready for the Hurricanes

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -7

American-3

A10-4

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Syracuse

Michigan

George Washington

Tulsa

First Four Out

Cincinnati

St. Bonaventure

Butler

Vanderbilt

Next Four Out

Gonzaga

UCLA

Washington

Davidson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Florida State

Clemson

South Dakota State

BYU

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

There were not too many games that had an effect on the bracket on Monday, but the ones that did were exciting. 

Miami prevented Virginia from jumping up to the top seed line as they bounced back from being steamrolled against North Carolina to earn a 64-61 victory.  The win also kept Miami from falling to the four line. 

Texas was able to escape "The Octagon of Doom" with a 71-70 win over Kansas State.  Texas remains a seven seed while Kansas State now needs to win the Big XII Tournament to get in the field.  Nine of Kansas State's 13 losses have been by 10 points or fewer.

The other big game involved West Virginia bumping themselves up to a three seed with their 94-84 triumph over Iowa State.  Jaysean Tate had a career-high 30 points off the bench for Bob Huggins' West Virginia group. 

Iowa State somehow remained a four seed despite the loss, their ninth of the season. 

Looking forward to Tuesday, the club will not be going up, but Kansas vs Baylor, Alabama vs Kentucky, and Michigan State vs Ohio State will be.  Also keep an eye on Clemson vs Georgia Tech as both teams look to keep their flimsy hopes of a bid alive.

2016 Bracketology: Crisis Averted

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -7

American-3

A10-4

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Syracuse

Michigan

George Washington

Tulsa

First Four Out

Cincinnati

St. Bonaventure

Butler

Vanderbilt

Next Four Out

Gonzaga

UCLA

Washington

Davidson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Florida State

Clemson

South Dakota State

BYU

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

Sunday had the potential to be doomsday for a couple teams that have been flirting with the bubble this year, but in every case, they were able to claw out a close win. 

In the American, Temple had to come back from down 10 against Houston in the second half to earn a three point win.  Temple would have been in win or lose due to their size able lead in the conference, but this now puts them in the driver's seat for the regular season crown. 

Their next opponent also had a close call, but, Tulsa was able to scrape out a win against South Florida to keep themselves among my last four in. 

Seton Hall really looked like they wanted to give their game against St. John's away, but managed to back their way into a 62-61 win. 

Seton Hall had a 19 point lead at one point and let it completely evaporate as a loss at MSG would have taken them out of my field of 68. 

It should be noted that this game had one of the worst endings I've ever seen.  Both teams called premature timeouts and completely clanked a bunch of late free throws.  To top it all off, a scrub broke out at center court after the game. 

I guess St. John's wanted to remind fans that the New York Knocks are not the worst team that plays at MSG.

The Big Ten also saw some craziness as Maryland held off Michigan to get back on track with an 85-82 win.  Michigan remains one of my last four teams in despite the loss while Maryland avoids dropping down to a four seed.

Thanks to some help from the officials, Wisconsin overcame a double-digit deficit against Illinois to earn a nine point win.  They went on a 17-0 run with the fouls at one point in the second half being 11-2 in favor of Wisconsin. 

In the Pac-12, Utah stayed a four seed thanks to their win over USC and California remained a six as they took care of Washington State. 

As far as tonight is concerned, a surprisingly good slate of games.  Iowa vs West Virginia and Virginia vs Miami headline it with Texas vs Kansas State also being on to keep an eye on. 

2016 Bracketology: A Murky Board

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -7

American-3

A10-4

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Syracuse

Michigan

George Washington

Tulsa

First Four Out

Cincinnati

St. Bonaventure

Butler

Vanderbilt

Next Four Out

Gonzaga

UCLA

Washington

Davidson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Florida State

LSU

Clemson

South Dakota State

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

I don't know what to tell you guys anymore, there is mass exodus chaos going on in college basketball this year. 

The top seed line with Villanova, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Xavier seems pretty solid with all four winning yesterday. 

The two and three seedlings essentially reversed themselves with Duke, Miami, and West Virginia all losing to ranked foes. 

North Carolina curb-stomped Miami to make the two line, Oregon took down Oregon State to get there, and I put Michigan State there just so that I don't get fined.

The bubble is a flaming pile of trash with essentially any team with less than 12 losses and pocket lint still in play.

Two days ago, St. Bonaventure was sent to the bubble burial grounds with their loss to La Salle, who was 1-11 in A10 play, now they are back in the picture with a win over Dayton. 

LSU should be dead and gone unless that win out as they lost to a mediocre Tennessee team by double figures despite the Volunteers best player, Kevin Punter, being sidelined. 

Everyone wants to see Ben Simmons in the field, but it's not going to happen unless Duke channels some magic down the stretch. 

Their best out of conference wins came against Oral Roberts and North Florida.  Also, the worst RPI to make the NCAA Tournament was New Mexico's 74 in 1999, theirs is currently an 87.

Butler moved out whatever semblance of a bracket there is remaining as VCU took their bid because they are the current A10 conference leader.

Syracuse lost to Pittsburgh which took Pittsburgh up to the nine seed line while Syracuse slide into the 10 position.

Gonzaga is also out of the field after their loss to St. Mary's.  Gonzaga has not missed the big dance the millennium but they are in grave danger of going to the NIT this year. 

Gonzaga was swept by St. Mary's and they have just one win against the RPI top 50, which came against UConn. 

Speaking of UConn, they lost to Cincinnati yesterday but held their nine seed because there was nobody worthy of leapfrogging them.  Cincinnati is now my first team out of the field thanks to their win. 

The field this year is as wide open as ever and it should lead to a whole lot of tournament fun!  Enjoy the games today, I'll be back to break them down tomorrow. 

2016 Bracketology: Mid-Level Collapse

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -7

American-3

A10-3

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Michigan

George Washington

Butler

Tulsa

First Four Out

Cincinnati

Florida State

VCU

LSU

Next Four Out

Kansas State

Vanderbilt

St. Mary's

UCLA

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Washington

St. Bonaventure

Clemson

South Dakota State

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

For the first time in the history of doing bracketology, I have one of the first four games pitted against two ten seeds. 

Before last night, both were atop the 11 seed line, but Monmouth's loss to Iona dropped them from a nine seed to an 11 and put a big damper on their at-large hopes. 

This also means that if the season ended today, 25 of the 32 conference champions would be unworthy of making the NCAA Tournament if they had to get in via an at-large bid. 

It did not help matters that Akron, one of the best mid-majors in the country, also lost to Kent State last night.  They were a 12 seed entering Friday and are now a 13 seed with Chattanooga taking their spot. 

The other big game last night involved Princeton taking a share of the conference lead in the Ivy League with their win over Yale. 

We have been seeing it quite often the past few years where the Ivy produces two teams that are capable of winning an NCAA Tournament game and that appears to be the case again in 2016.

Since there is no conference tournament, the league's NCAA Tournament representative is the conference season champion.  If Yale and Princeton remain tied atop the standings, they will play a one game, winner take all playoff.

Looking towards Saturday's slate, there are five battles of top-25 teams in action and tons of other intrigue in between, expect chaos and wholesale changes on Sunday's bracket. 

2016 Bracketology: Fragile Shell

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -7

American-3

A10-3

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Michigan

George Washington

Butler

Tulsa

First Four Out

Cincinnati

Florida State

VCU

LSU

Next Four Out

Kansas State

Vanderbilt

St. Mary's

UCLA

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Washington

St. Bonaventure

Clemson

South Dakota State

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

A night that saw only a few ranked teams in action saw one of the biggest stunners of the college basketball season. 

Minnesota, who entered 0-13 in Big Ten play,  slayed Maryland 68-63 just hours after dismissing one of the two seniors from the team.

It should be noted that Diamond Stone was out of the lineup for Maryland, but that does not take away from how much this loss damages Maryland and boosts the morale of Minnesota.

Maryland fell from a two seed to a four with the loss as Duke has captured the vacant spot on the two line. 

Sticking in the Big Ten, Wisconsin saw their seven game win streak snapped by Michigan State as they trailed by double digits for the vast majority of the game. 

Nigel Hayes had a night to forget as he shot just 1-of-13 from the floor in what was a bad night for the Wisconsin offense. 

Wisconsin's loss dropped them to a 10 seed with UConn claiming their nine seed. 

UConn was able to pull out a hard fought win against SMU to give them yet another quality win, and put them in a good position as we approach the home stretch of the non-tournament season.

The American currently has three teams in the field with some shuffling going on last night with those at-large bids. 

Tulsa defeated Cincinnati in overtime to go from out of the field to in, claiming Cincinnati's spot. 

There are no ranked teams in action tonight, though Yale and Princeton are playing a monumental game that will go a long way in deciding the Ivy League champion.  Keep in mind, the Ivy League is the only one not to decide their NCAA Tournament representative with a conference tournament. 

2016 Bracketology: Tobacco Highway

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -7

American-3

A10-3

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Michigan

George Washington

Cincinnati

Butler

First Four Out

VCU

Florida State

Tulsa

LSU

Next Four Out

Washington

UCLA

Kansas State

Vanderbilt

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

St. Bonaventure

St. Mary's

Clemson

Davidson

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

Another great Wednesday of college basketball leaves us with a bracket that has seen significant changes from Tuesday. 

The big game last night was Duke taking down North Carolina to win their fifth straight, with the last three coming against ranked foes.  

That win puts Duke on the three line and drops North Carolina to that same seed. 

The two seed North Carolina relinquished went to their ACC counterpart Miami, who was able to pick up a win over Virginia Tech. 

The bubble team with the best night was Texas Tech, who leaped from a 10 seed to an eight with their victory over Oklahoma. 

The loss dropped Oklahoma a little, but they are still on the top line as the fourth number one overall seed. 

Xavier jumped ahead of the for the third one seed after they were able to take down a free falling Providence team.  Providence isn't necessarily on the bubble yet, but another loss or two could push them to that state. 

Hopefully a sneaky St. Joseph's team gets a little more respect after they were able to get a 79-70 win over Dayton.  The big knock on St. Joseph's was that their wins have come against lesser opponents but they have mowed down all the top A10 teams to back up their hot start. 

The worst loss of the night was Iowa, who fell to a sub-.500 Penn State team 79-75.  Their problems began when they were in a dogfight against a Minnesota team that has as many Big XII conference wins as Dudes on Sports. 

Iowa is a team that has had its share of late season collapses so it's critical that they bounce back to avoid a similar ending to their 2014 blowup. 

A bubble that completely burst last night was St. Bonaventure' says they lost to a La Salle team that entered the night 5-18 overall and 1-11 in the A10.  The Bonnie's went from my first four out to needing to win out to have any sort a prayer to get a bid. 

Hopefully tonight can live up to the excitement of Wednesday as SMU vs UConn and Michigan State vs Wisconsin are the marquee matchup son the docket. 

2016 Bracketology: SECurity Escort

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

American-3

A10-3

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Florida State

Michigan

George Washington

Cincinnati

First Four Out

Butler

VCU

LSU

St. Bonventure

Next Four Out

Tulsa

Washington

UCLA

Vanderbilt

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Kansas State

St. Mary's

Clemson

Davidson

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

Tuesday night was one to forget for the SEC with South Carolina and Vanderbilt taking losses to teams with losing records. 

South Carolina got outplayed the whole night by a Missouri team that just kicked starting guard Wes Clark off the squad.  When you add in that this team got completely blitzed against Kentucky even though John Calapari got tossed out of the game before fans could even touch their popcorn, it's been a rough couple days for South Carolina.

Vanderbilt, meanwhile, completely dominated the first 30 minutes of their game against a reeling Mississippi State squad, but went cold at the end, suffering a loss that will likely cause them to miss the dance. 

Vanderbilt was squarely on the bubble entering Tuesday night and was able to hang their hat on the fact that their worst losses were on the road against Ole Miss and Arkansas. 

That narrative can be chucked out the window along with their at-large hopes unless they can beat Kentucky, Florida, and Texas A&M in a two week stretch. 

Outside the SEC, there were some good tilts in the Big XII.  It took an extra five minutes, but Baylor pulled out an overtime win against Iowa State and Texas took down West Virginia.

With these teams being so solid, not much movement resulted from the outcomes.  Baylor moved up a seed thanks to South Carolina's loss, but everyone else stood pat.

Michigan played their way to Dayton with a loss to Ohio State.  Michigan has a resume that makes you scratch your head a little because they have a decent 19-8 record, have any really awful losses, but lack quality wins. 

Their lone non-conference win that is of substance came against Texas and they have wins over Maryland and Purdue in conference.  That said, they are 3-7 against RPI top-50 opponents, with most of their losses being by double digits. 

Wednesday should offer more excitement with most of the top-25 in action including Duke vs North Carolina! 

2016 Bracketology: Standstill

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

American-3

A10-3

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Florida State

George Washington

Seton Hall

Cincinnati

First Four Out

Butler

Vanderbilt

VCU

St. Bonventure

Next Four Out

LSU

Tulsa

Washington

Georgia

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

St. Mary's

Kansas State

Clemson

Arizona State

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

If you saw my bracket yesterday, you might be saying to yourself "today's bracket looks the exact same" and that's because it is. 

Virginia and Kansas were the only two ranked teams in action and both won by at least 20 points. 

Oklahoma State played Kansas tighter than the 94-67 final would indicate and actually lead 8-0 in this one, but Kansas proved to be too much down the stretch.  A 32-11 run by Kansas at the end of the game led to the lopsided final. 

Same goes for NC State, who led most of the first half against Virginia and had it tied at halftime, but lost by 20.  Virginia shot 10-of-17 from three and ran away from NC State in the second stanza. 

Also of note, Monmouth defeated last year's MAAC NCAA Tournament representative Manhattan 79-70, and Wichita State started a new home win streak by crushing New Mexico State by 30.

2016 Bracketology: Dishing Out Some Love

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

American-3

A10-3

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Florida State

George Washington

Seton Hall

Cincinnati

First Four Out

Butler

Vanderbilt

VCU

St. Bonventure

Next Four Out

LSU

Tulsa

Washington

Georgia

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

St. Mary's

Kansas State

Clemson

Arizona State

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

There were some really fun games yesterday and it netted close to no movement whatsoever on the bracket. 

Michigan Dtate maintained their three seed with a win over Indiana, a game that did not drop the Hoosiers because there was nobody on either the eight or nine seed lines worthy of claiming their spot. 

Another good one in the Big Ten was a shocker as Iowa held on for dear life at home against Minnesota, winning by four points.

Minnesota is now 0-13 in the Big Ten, but has played a bunch of single digit games.  They are due for a big win eventually. 

Miami got a double digit first half lead on Florida State and barley maintained it, getting a two point win.

Pittsburgh cannot seem to get a quality win (as is the case often for them) as they fell to a North Carolina team that has been reeling of late. 

Temple thrashed South Florida to take sole possession of the lead in the American while Stony Brook extender their record to 22-4 with a one point win over New Hampshire. 

As for tonight, it looks like we will have battles between a bunch of outmatched foes with Virginia playing NC State and Kansas going to Stillwater to battle Oklahoma State.  These games cause for either the most of the least movement on the bracket. 

2016 Bracketology: That Escalated Quickly

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

American-3

A10-3

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Florida State

George Washington

Seton Hall

Cincinnati

First Four Out

Butler

Vanderbilt

VCU

St. Bonventure

Next Four Out

LSU

Tulsa

Washington

Georgia

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

St. Mary's

Kansas State

Clemson

Arizona State

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

It was another wild and crazy Saturday of college hoops that caused a boatload of movement. 

The game of the day had to be the Oklahoma vs Kansas with the Jayhawks showing why they win the conference every year.

Buddy Hield got hot and Oklahoma was able to erase a 14 point first half deficit, but Devonte' Graham's career-best 27 points propelled Kansas to victory.  The amazing part is, this game was a letdown compared to their first showdown when the game went to three overtimes. 

The team that helped their bubble cause the most last night was Wisconsin, who handed second-ranked Maryland a 70-57 loss. 

Wisconsin controlled this game from start to finish turnovers proved to be very costly for Maryland, as the committed 10 in the first 15 minutes and trailed by 16 at one point. 

Wisconsin was my 20th team out of the field just a month ago and has now vaulted to a nine seed, it is one of the biggest turnarounds I've ever seen from a power conference team. 

Your stat of the day: the Wisconsin Badgers are now 8-3 in their last 11 games against top five teams. 

Also helping their cause was Alabama, who surged up the board this week with victories over Texas A&M and Florida.  They have quietly jumped up to the nine seed line while both teams they knocked off seem to be falling apart. 

Texas A&M was a one seed just three weeks ago and has dipped to a seven after they lost their fourth straight game.  Three of those losses have been to bubble teams: Vanderbilt, LSU, and Alabama. 

Texas Tech has also reemerged onto the board with their big win over Baylor.  With Kansas State's loss to Oklahoma State, it looks like the Big XII can get a maximum of seven bids.

Michigan also helped their bubble cause by knocking off Purdue thanks to a good second half.  Michigan entered the contest with a 60 RPI so they desperately needed that win to stay in the field. 

Mother intriguing results include Wichita State's nation-long home win streak being snapped, Oregon losing to call, Xavier defeating Butler, and St. Bonaventure helping their bubble bid with a win over George Washington. 

Today is Valentines Day, and I am single, so I will be spending it watching tons of college basketball.  That means that if you want to kick it with your lady friend/spouse, feel free to do so, I've got you covered. 

2016 Bracketology: Trojan Fall

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

American-3

A10-3

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -6

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Wisconsin

Butler

Seton Hall

Cincinnati

First Four Out

VCU

Texas Tech

Tulsa

Washington

Next Four Out

St. Bonventure

Vanderbilt

Kansas State

Davidson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

LSU

St. Mary's

Clemson

Arizona State

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

There were not a ton of games Friday night, but it seemed like every one of them had some intrigue. 

The loser of the night was USC, who lost to an Arizona State squad that entered just 2-8 in Pac-12 play.  The loss took USC from a four seed all the way down to the six line. 

Arizona survived a tough first half against UCLA to get a win and kept themselves from falling into a possible 8-9 matchup.  It also essentially dashed any hopes of UCLA getting an at-large bid. 

Monmouth kept their at-large hopes alive by making a furious comeback against Rider to earn a one point victory.  They ended the game on a 17-3 run, capped by a Justin Robinson three with 3.4 seconds remaining.

Yale was able to overcome their own sluggish start to stave off Dartmouth and maintain control of the Ivy League. 

As for today, there are tons of good games and there should be tons of movement in the bracket. 

2016 Bracketology: The American Way

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

American-3

A10-3

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -6

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

Last Four In

Wisconsin

Butler

Seton Hall

Cincinnati

First Four Out

VCU

Texas Tech

Tulsa

Washington

Next Four Out

St. Bonventure

Vanderbilt

Kansas State

Davidson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

LSU

St. Mary's

UCLA

Clemson

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

We must hit the important stuff first: with Wagner's loss last night, Fairleigh Dickinson is now the Northeast Conference representative at 13-11! 

As far as other news, it was a big night for the American with Temple taking down UConn in a whale of a showdown. 

The American entered the night with UConn as their at-large representative, but moved two teams into the field with Thursday's results. 

Temple is now the conference leader, so they would be at conference tournament winner if the season ended today.

Cincinnati entered last night as my first team out and snuck into the field with VCU's catastrophic loss to a UMass team that was previously 9-15. 

Both California and Indiana moved up from the nine line after critical wins against a pair of projected two seeds. 

Cal handled Oregon by 20 points while Indiana scrapped out an 85-78 win over Iowa.  Both Iowa and Oregon remained two seeds despite the losses. 

Chattanooga damaged their at-large hopes with a loss to Western Carolina last night.  Chattanooga entered the night with a top 35 RPI and a record of 22-3.  Western Carolina had been just 9-15 on the campaign and had a sub-250 RPI. 

Its a game neither team will ever want to watch again as the does combined for 46 turnovers. 

In the Pac-12, Oregon helped their cause to get off the bubble by defeating Stanford on the road 62-50.  It was a grind, but Colorado avoided a massive tumble by taking down Washington State in overtime. 

The West Coast team with the worst night was St. Mary's, who fell off the bracket and into my "next four to being my next four out" with 69-63 loss to Pepperdine.

Gonzaga now has sole possession of first place in the conference with their 92-66 triumph over Portland. 

Gonzaga has a golden opportunity to help their resume on Saturday when they play SMU.

As for tonight, Dayton will be in action as well as Arizona, UCLA, and USC.  Should be another fun-filled night of hoops!

2016 Bracketology: Building a Résumé

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

A10-4

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -6

Pac-12-7

SEC-4

WCC-2

Last Four In

Alabama

Seton Hall

Wisconsin

Butler

First Four Out

Cincinnati

Texas Tech

Washington

Vanderbilt

Next Four Out

Tulsa

St. Bonventure

LSU

Kansas State

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Clemson

Temple

Davidson

UCLA

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

I predicted in my article yesterday that the bubble picture would see some changes and I was on the money with that. 

Kansas State fell off the board after losing to a Baylor team that did not have Rico Gathers due to the flu and Washington also fell out after a tough road loss to Utah. 

Kansas State does not have too many chances at big wins the rest of the year, so their loss hurt a lot more than Washington's, as each of their next five opponents are in the RPI top 75. 

Butler and Alabama claimed the two open bids on the backs of big wins.  Butler seems to have stopped the bleeding and got a huge win over Seton Hall, overcoming a 23 point first half by Isaiah Whitehead. 

Meanwhile, Texas A&M dropped their third straight game with their loss to Alabama, with Anthony Collins missing two free throws with 2.3 seconds left in the game and Texas A&M trailing by one. 

Staying in the SEC, LSU was the automatic qualifier for the conference entering the night, but their loss to South Carolina makes it a three way tie atop the standings between those two and Kentucky.  With LSU's 74 RPI and weak out of conference schedule, they got taken out of the field of 68. 

Tulsa and Marquette are both long shots to make the field, but kept hope alive with wins over ranked teams last night. 

Tulsa got their second win over a ranked for by defeating SMU in Moody Colosseum while Marquette tried so hard to give away the game against Providence, but prevailed in double overtime.  

San Diego State likely was not going to be considered for an at-large bid this year had they won last night, but their loss to Fresno State did them no favors.  They are in the drivers set in the Mountain West at 11-1 in conference, but they lost to San Diego and Grand Canyon out of conference to put a mega damper on their resume. 

As for tonight, Indiana has a chance to skyrocket up the board with a win over Iowa and California can do the same if they can slay Oregon. 

2016 Bracketology: Just Getting By

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

A10-4

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-8

SEC-4

Last Four In

Michigan

Kansas State

Wisconsin

Washington

First Four Out

Cincinnati

Vanderbilt

Butler

Gonzaga

Next Four Out

Alabama

UCLA

St. Bonventure

Clemson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Texas Tech

Davidson

Temple

Tulsa

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

The theme last night with a bunch of ranked teams playing lesser competition on the road was survive and advance, with most teams being able to execute the gameplan.

The big exception to this was Xavier taking a loss against a very befuddling Creighton team.  Mo Watson was on fire and there was nothing Xavier could do about it.  That loss dropped them for a one-seed to a two.

Kansas reclaimed that one-seed after the continued to do what they do at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, win.  They took down West Virginia 66-56 as they look to extend their crazy streak of Big XII regular season championships.

North Carolina got multiple scares against Boston College.  They trailed for most of the game before taking the lead for good in the closing minutes, but the bigger story is Roy Williams collapsing during a second half timeout. 

Williams was reportedly ok after the game, fortunately, but it does lead to questions with this team as he has had health scares prior to Tuesday.

With everything that happened last night, my biggest question is, why in the world was Maryland playing Bowie State, a DII school!? 

I understand that they had a tough stretch of games recently, but that's frowned upon in November, let alone February! 

There haven't been many bubble teams in action since last night, but that will change on Wednesday.  Marquette looks to make their last stand against Providence and Tulsa will do the same against SMU. 

Alabama needs a quality win and can pick one up against Texas A&M, the same goes for Texas Tech, who will battle Iowa State. 

Kansas State picked up a mammoth win against Oklahoma to get back in the field of 68 and will need to defeat Baylor to stick around. 

Wisconsin is in the field by a sliver and needs to defeat Nebraska to hang around, same goes for Washington, who will face Utah. 

George Washington and St. Joseph's might be playing a tournament elimination game, though I currently have both teams in the field.

Should be an awesome night of hoops! 

2016 Bracketology: Yeah Buddy!

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

A10-4

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-8

SEC-4

Last Four In

Michigan

Kansas State

Wisconsin

Washington

First Four Out

Vanderbilt

Butler

Gonzaga

Cincinnati

Next Four Out

Alabama

UCLA

St. Bonventure

Clemson

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Texas Tech

Georgia

Davidson

Temple

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

There weren't a whole lot of games on last night, but the ones that were turned out to be very good. 

Duke was able to pad their résumé with a big win over Louisville.  Had this happened last week, it would have likely caused for s bit more bracket movement, but since Louisville cannot play in the postseason, they cannot be moved down for the loss. 

Meanwhile, the rumbles about Duke missing the NCAA Tournament seem to have subsided.  Duke had a bad skid a few weeks ago, but they also had a week or two period last season where they forgot how to play basketball and went on to win the championship. 

The most exciting finish of the night was Oklahoma storming back to take down Texas behind 21 second half points by Buddy Hield. 

Hield hit a clutch three with under two seconds left to propel his team to victory, getting hot when it counted after a tough start.

The word "Clemsoning" should be used to describe the basketball team instead of the football team.  I was ready to move Clemson into the field of 68, but they lost to Virginia Tech on Saturday and lost to Notre Dame last night.  Clemson has some quality wins to their credit, but their RPI is an 87 and they have lost to the likes of Minnesota and UMass. I also cannot name a quality win that they achieved outside of ACC play. 

To top it off, Stony Brook and Chattanooga continued their winning ways.  Stony Brook likely will not be in-play for an at-large if they lose in their conference tournament, but Chattanooga could be. 

Chattanooga is 22-3, has a 36 RPI, and road wins over Georgia, Illinois, and Dayton.  If they win their final six regular season games, they would enter their conference tournament with a 28-3 record.  Though they end with some soft opponents, their RPI should be in the top 40 if they do lose in the SOCON Tournament and with how many losses their power conference counterparts will have, I would hope the committee rewards them with a bid. 

2016 Bracketology: Now College Basketball Takes Center Stage

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

A10-4

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-8

SEC-4

Last Four In

Michigan

Kansas State

Wisconsin

Washington

First Four Out

Vanderbilt

Butler

Gonzaga

Clemson

Next Four Out

Cincinnati

Alabama

UCLA

St. Bonventure

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Texas Tech

Georgia

Stanford

Temple

EXPERT ANALYSIS:

I'll be completely honest with you, not a whole lot happened yesterday.  The big game of the day was Oregon taking down Utah, while Iowa took care of Illinois and Miami dispatched Georgia Tech. 

While the college basketball lacks on Super Bowl Sunday, it should be treated as New Year's is to those who are casual fans.  There are tons of people that like college basketball, but football is priority number one.

With football out of the picture, that shifts the focus onto college basketball for the next two months.  Most do not care about the NBA until the playoffs and the intrigue of watching MLB spring training games isn't there for most. 

College basketball is set to take center stage and this year should provide a ton of entertainment. 

From No. 1-351, the field has never been so even and with scoring way up from last year, the overall product should be improved. 

Parody plus added excitement will hopefully equal one unbelievable tournament.

2016 Bracketology: Super Bowl Time!

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -8

A10-4

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -7

Pac-12-8

SEC-4

Last Four In

Michigan

Kansas State

Wisconsin

Washington

First Four Out

Vanderbilt

Butler

Gonzaga

Clemson

Next Four Out

Cincinnati

Alabama

UCLA

St. Bonventure

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Texas Tech

Georgia

Stanford

Temple

EXPERT ANALYSIS

This crazy season continues as the top two teams in land goes down.  I've been saying all year that the difference between team number one and 351 is as slim as ever and yesterday proved me right again. 

The top teams from the Big Ten got wins while the middle-tier teams took some body blows.  Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin all have RPIs between 54 and 59, with the three all having different records. 

They are crowding the 11 seed line as Michigan went 0-2 this week, Indiana took a horrific loss to Penn State, and Wisconsin has won their way back into the picture. 

The Pac-12 picture seems to be getting a little bit more clear, finally!  Oregon State played their way out of the First Four with a big win over Colorado while Washington became my last team in after a close loss to Arizona.

George Washington went from my last team in to being considered for a nine seed with a much-needed win over VCU.  A team's résumé can change with one big win because had they lost, George Washington would likely be among my next four out. 

Maryland's win over Purdue vaulted them into the last one seed position, it was a tough call between Maryland, Iowa, Kansas, and even Oregon and Virginia, but in the end, Maryland's win over Iowa served as the tiebreaker.  If you are distraught about this, it will likely change next week anyway. 

We need to pump the breaks on Duke missing the tournament as they won again yesterday.  Though this season has not been a thing of beauty, Duke is 16-6 and is in the RPI top 25.  The way this year is going, they could lose 13 games and still possibly go dancing. 

The lone at-large team that fell out of the field was Vanderbilt, who lost one of the most poorly officiated games in the history of basketball.  Though the loss is damaging,  they are somehow my first team out with a 13-10 record.

The record for most losses by a team that receives an at-large bid is 14, and while I don't see that mark falling, we could definitely see multiple 14 loss teams go dancing.

2016 Bracketology: First Louisville-less Bracket

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -10

American-2

A10-3

Big East -5

Big Ten-7

Big XII -6

Pac-12-8

SEC-5

Last Four In

Oregon State

Wisconsin

Vanderbilt

Butler

First Four Out

George Washington

LSU

Clemson

Texas Tech

Next Four Out

Alabama

BYU

UCLA

Gonzaga

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Kansas State

St. Bonaventure 

Georgetown

Stanford

EXPERT ANALYSIS

Typically, Friday is the most dead day of the week for college basketball news and bracket shakeups, but there is little typical about this Louisville scandal.

The school self-imposed a ban from the 2016 postseason, meaning that potentially two teams from the top-25 will be ineligible for the postseason.

In a season where there is little separation between the top and bottom teams, it will be a welcome headline for all the bubble teams. 

Louisville was a four seed before the ban, so everyone moved up one spot in the rankings, with many teams going up a seed line in the process.

In terms of game, there isn't much to write home about as Monmouth, Akron, and Yale picked up victories. 

2015 Bracketology: Sweet Releif

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Bids By Conference:

ACC -10

American-2

A10-3

Big East -4

Big Ten-7

Big XII -6

Pac-12-8

SEC-5

Last Four In

Seton Hall

Oregon State

Wisconsin

Vanderbilt

First Four Out

Butler

George Washington

LSU

Clemson

Next Four Out

Texas Tech

Alabama

UCLA

Gonzaga

Next Four Out to the Next Four Out

Kansas State

St. Bonaventure  

Georgetown

Stanford

EXPERT ANALYSIS

After I spoke about how awful the bubble picture was entering Thursday, those teams heeded my advice and got some much needed wins. 

The biggest was Vanderbilt earning a 17 point win over Texas A&M to go from my next four out, to my last team in. 

Vanderbilt has been able to avoid ugly losses this season and are in the field because they are beginning to pick up good wins. 

It started last week with their narrow escape of Florida and they earned a second win over the RPI with their win over Texas A&M. 

This team has to be kicking themselves for so many close losses to good teams, losing to Dayton, Kansas, and Baylor by a combined 16 points, but if they can pick up another good win and take care of business against the weak remaining does, the have a good chance of making the field. 

My last team in from yesterday, Wisconsin, needed a win to stay in and they got it.  Greg Gard's squad has now won five straight games including victories over Michigan State and Indiana to put themselves in this position. 

Oregon State also sneaked their way into the field with a win over Utah.  The win came less than three weeks after they played a game against this same Urah squad.  The players were so angry at the referees in that game that a senior tripped one of them. 

With the addition of Vanderbilt and Oregon State, Butler and George Washington fell out of the field, but both have chances to reclaim their spots. 

George Washington will be playing VCU on Saturday, a team that has won 12 straight games and has climbed into the RPI top-30, while Butler will play St. John's on Saturday in a game that won't help them much, but can certainly derail their at-large hopes. 

UConn stayed put as an 11-seed with their win over Memphis as Cincinnati remains the projected conference winner with their triumph over South Florida.

The only other notable game was Oregon thrashing Colorado 76-56, which dropped Colorado from a six-seed to a seven.

The mid-majors will take center stage on Friday as Yale, Monmouth, Akron, Princeton all take the floor.  Only Monmouth has a real shot of getting an at-large bid, but all should be tough outs if they make the field of 68.