Bracketology '17

[Bill Marsh]

Was just going to post this.... Gonzaga still a consensus #1 and Oregon the top #2

Does that matter? None of them are decision makers. Gonzaga has dropped to #11 RPI. Even if/when they win their tournament, they're still not back to a top 4 or 5 RPI. Unless the committee is going to completely disregard that, it's the PAC-12 champ or someone from another region.

Yeah, I guess I'm saying RPI doesn't matter. Otherwise, schools like PC & MU wouldn't be on the bubble at their RPIs. There must be other things more important these days.

I'm asking if it matters that Gonzaga is still a consensus #1 among a bunch of bloggers with websites? They don't know anything that we don't know, they have no say in the selections, and the committee doesn't pay any attention to their opinions.

As for PC and MU, we don't know if they're on the committee's bubble. To the extent that they're assumed to be there, it's based more on their projected RPI than what it is currently.

[DudeAnon]

This site is badass

http://www.seed-madness.com/

[herodotus]

Jerry Palm's Bracketology - CBS Sports - updated Sunday morning, February 26th

Seed No. - Team
1 - Villanova
3 - Butler
6 - Creighton
9 - Xavier
10 - Seton Hall
11 - Providence
11 - Marquette (play-in game at UD Arena)

Last four in: Rhode Island, Marquette, Syracuse, Wake Forest

I hate to b*tch, but it would be pretty freakin' ridiculous if Wisconsin plays in Milwaukee as a #6. Might as well just give them the Sweet Sixteen.

In 2004, 3 seed Pitt played 6 seed Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Pitt won.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Jerry Palm's Bracketology - CBS Sports - updated Monday morning, February 27th

Seed No. - Team
1 - Villanova
3 - Butler
6 - Creighton
10 - Xavier
10 - Seton Hall
11 - Providence
11 - Marquette (play-in game at UD Arena)

Last four in: Rhode Island, Marquette, Wake Forest, TCU
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Bracketology: Slumping Xavier joins the bubble - Jerry Palm, CBS Sports - February 27th

Xavier is still in the field for now, but is slipping fast and could join Cuse on the outside

One team has now fallen far enough that it is time to add it to the bubble, and that team is Xavier. The Musketeers lost at home to Butler on Sunday, which marked their fifth consecutive loss. This tailspin did not start with the loss of Edmond Sumner for the season to an injury, but this is a team that will be judged a little more on what it does without him than what it did with him. It is not looking good.

I am not sure Xavier, a No. 10 seed in the latest projected bracket can play its way entirely out of the tournament, but their remaining games are at home to Marquette, which really needs that win for its own NCAA hopes, and at DePaul, which has shown some feistiness on its home floor. If Xavier ends the season on an eight-game skid, assuming an opening round Big East Tournament loss as well, that might do too much damage to their profile for the committee to take the Musketeers.

Bracket Matrix – Xavier Musketeers – games through Sunday February 26th. (Xavier is projected to win their last two regular season games.)
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Good news for the Big East’s hopes of getting 6 or 7 teams in the NCAA Tournament. The lengthy article is well worth a read.

Mid-majors may receive a record-low number of at-large bids this March – Jeff Eisenberg, The Dagger – February 27th

Teams from outside college basketball’s six power conferences are in jeopardy of receiving a record-low number of at-large bids this year. BracketMatrix.com, a site that combines dozens of online mock brackets into one composite list, projects as of Monday that just four out of 36 available at-large bids will be awarded to teams hailing from mid-major conferences.

Four non-power-six at-large bids would match the modern low set in 2009 before the NCAA tournament expanded from 65 to 68 teams. Teams from outside the power conferences have averaged eight at-large bids since 2000 and have received as many as 12 back in 2004.

Of the handful of non-power-six teams even in contention for at-large bids this year, most should hardly be classified as mid-majors. Programs like Gonzaga, Cincinnati, Wichita State, and Dayton charter flights to games, practice in top-notch facilities and pay their coaches millions of dollars, hardly the hallmarks of the small-conference Cinderellas that typically give the NCAA tournament its charm.

The dearth of mid-major at-large candidates this season stems largely from the underwhelming performance of three of Division I basketball’s 32 conferences - the Mountain West, the Atlantic 10, and the American Athletic Conference.

There will be a herd of unremarkable power-conference teams vying for America’s attention this March, but Cinderella might be left out in the cold.

[Bill Marsh]

This site is badass

http://www.seed-madness.com/

That is a badass site.

I really like this guy for a couple of reasons. First, he has 7 Big East teams "safely in." Gotta raise a glass to that.

Second, he has Syracuse in his first 4 out. That gives me a nice warm feeling because it can only mean that St John's cost the Orange a bid. If Syracuse wins that game, they're in. To think, this could be Boeheim's last season and he could go out with a bitter taste in his mouth because the Johnnies blocked him from the tournament. Oh, the pain. The humanity. Cry me a river.

[stever20]

looking at the ratings from bracket matrix-
seed madness is 79 of 88 in terns if all the bracketologists....

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

College Basketball Bubble Watch - Eamonn Brennan, ESPN - February 28, 2017

Can Indiana save its upside-down season?

Big East Conference

Locks:

Team that should be in: Xavier

Work left to do: Seton Hall, Providence, Marquette

A month ago, we assumed Xavier would have joined Villanova, Butler and Creighton as the Big East's obvious fourth lock; in November and December, the Musketeers looked every bit an Elite Eight contender, along with the Bulldogs and Bluejays (if not quite at Villanova's level). Now, thanks to injuries and a five-game slide, Xavier is closer to the rest of the Big East's bubble teams than the cool kids' table at which it used to sit.

Xavier [18-11 (8-8), RPI: 27, SOS: 10] In a vacuum, losing at home to Butler, even by a nonflattering margin, is not a big deal. In a vacuum, losing at home to Villanova is also not a big deal. Losing on the road at any one of Providence, Marquette or Seton Hall, in isolation, needs not be a big deal. The problem for Xavier is that the above losses are not in isolation or in a vacuum, but rather the components of a five-game losing streak since Feb. 11. Worse, the losing has largely coincided with the loss of guard Edmond Sumner, who accounted for 24.5 percent of the Musketeers' possessions before tearing his ACL. Throw in Trevon Bluiett's nagging injuries along the way, and it's clear that Chris Mack's team isn't playing anywhere near the level it was early in the season -- and the committee isn't shy about evaluating a team differently if its play falters after a significant injury. (Word to Robbie Hummel and Purdue.) In any case, the Musketeers should be buoyed somewhat by strong RPI and SOS numbers, but they need to avoid losses in their last two Big East games (versus Marquette, at DePaul) to avoid having some work to do in the Big East tourney.

Seton Hall [18-10 (8-8), RPI: 48, SOS: 55] Seton Hall very nearly pulled a Georgetown this weekend, which is to say, the Pirates almost lost at DePaul. (It would have been more like a three-fourths Georgetown, actually -- the Hoyas lost at home to DePaul.) Fortunately for the Pirates, they avoided that ignominy via an 82-79 win and maintained coin-toss bubble status in the exchange. Speaking of Georgetown, the Hoyas come to town Tuesday.

Providence [18-11 (8-8), RPI: 53, SOS: 34] On Saturday, Providence continued its late push with a fourth straight win, beating Marquette with a come-from-behind rally and taking a bite out of a fellow bubble team. There are no more big-victory opportunities until the Big East tournament. Senior night against DePaul is next, followed by a road trip to St. John's, which is still probably better than most people think (and thus the trickiest kind of potential bad loss to take, particularly on the road). But if Providence wins both, it will go into Madison Square Garden for the Big East tournament with as much momentum as any team in the league -- and, arguably, any team on the bubble.

Marquette [17-11 (8-8), RPI: 69, SOS: 67] Marquette was the latest victim of Providence's unrelenting push into the field, falling 73-69 on Saturday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., which essentially left the Golden Eagles in the same place they've been for weeks, if not months: on the bubble. The RPI and nonconference strength of schedule (in the low 240s) is shaky, but wins over Creighton and Villanova (and three other top-50 victories) are more than a lot of bubble teams can boast. Marquette may get more yet: Next up is Wednesday's trip to Xavier, followed by a weekend home game against Creighton.

[DudeAnon]

looking at the ratings from bracket matrix-
seed madness is 79 of 88 in terns if all the bracketologists....

I wasn't really looking at it for the bracket, just the historical stats. I realize March is coming and Georgetown will yet again be doing nothing, but I hope your yapping is kept under control by the mods this year.

[DudeAnon]

@FieldhouseFlyer. Its probably better to just give a quick summary of a link and then just give the URL. I don't think ESPN or any company would appreciate you data dumping their content.

[MUWarrior1090]

Marquette getting some help from the dregs of their schedule the last week or so. About 10 days ago, a 9-9 BE finish projected MU for a low-mid 70s RPI.

Now they are projected for a 65/66 RPI at 9-9.