"I Think It's His Ankle..."

"Yea, it's the right angle their looking at...". Obviously, they couldn't see the newly formed elbow approximately 1/2 way up his shin. And yes, Bryan, I agree that wasn't a shotgun going off. I can't believe it was that loud. Ahhh, sports injuries...

Monday Afternoon Bracketology

Fantasy Football is almost over so now March Madness can have my full attention.

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas vs Prairie View/Long Island
Kentucky vs Morgan State
Texas vs Stony Brook
Purdue vs Army

2 seed vs 15 seed
Duke vs College of Charleston
West Virginia vs Montana State
Syracuse vs Pacific
Villanova vs Coastal Carolina

3 seed vs 14 seed
North Carolina vs Denver
Michigan State vs UWGB
Connecticut vs IUPUI
Georgetown vs Belmont

4 seed vs 13 seed
Clemson vs Murray State
Tennessee vs Akron
Washington vs Sam Houston State
Florida State vs Lousiana Tech

5 seed vs 12 seed
New Mexico vs Old Dominion
Mississippi vs Cornell
Georgia Tech vs UNLV
Ohio State vs Northern Iowa

6 seed vs 11 seed
California vs Siena
Mississippi State vs Illinois
Texas A&M vs St. John's
Kansas State vs Oklahoma State

7 seed vs 10 seed
Florida vs Temple
Butler vs Louisville
Maryland vs Gonzaga
Texas Tech vs Pittsburgh

8 seed vs 9 seed
Wisconsin vs Memphis
UAB vs Dayton
Miami vs BYU
Rhode Island vs Minnesota

Last Four Out
Marquette
Xavier
Cincinnati
Missouri State

Next Four Out
Seton Hall
Notre Dame
Virginia Tech
Northwestern

Also Considered
William & Mary
VCU
Richmond
Missouri
St. Mary's
San Diego State
USC
Wake Forest
Portland
Vanderbilt
South Carolina
North Carolina State
Washington State
Alabama
Nevada
Niagara
Charlotte
Tulsa
Marshall
Baylor
Wright State
Witchita State
South Florida
Arizona State
Oklahoma
Boston College
Iowa State
Illinois State
Houston
UTEP
Utah State
Michigan

Daaaammmmnnnn

That's just plain nasty. I'm pretty sure you can hear the snap at 0.22, for the gruesome in all of you. you dont want to, but you'll give it a listen just to see if I'm right.

Hope you had a good Xmas Ben. See you in approx 3 months.

And to keep this real on the college Bball, Marquette knocks of Presbyterian. How's that for holiday spirit?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. I miss you all and I hope you have a safe, happy holiday.

Go Duke.

That Might Be Broken.

Wait for it...0.42 mark

Roy Williams Explanation

It’s strange that it has gotten a heck of a lot attention, but the good news is that I haven’t had to pay too much attention to it. I haven’t heard it, but people are telling me about it. It was unfortunate. Just to tell you in my opinion what happened… Let me give you some background first. In New York City, when we played Ohio State, it was the absolute worst scenario that I’ve ever had to put up with.

“A couple of guys about 10 feet from our bench screamed and yelled at us all night long. Yelled at our players and would say, ‘Deon Thompson – you stink.’ But they didn’t use the word ‘stink.’ Or ‘Dexter Strickland – you stink,’ but they didn’t use the word ‘stink.’ We had to listen to that garbage all night long and we had two different parents that sort of got a little disappointed, a little upset, could have gotten into a confrontation. The security guards did absolutely nothing and it really ticked me off. So I said, ‘I know we have to put up with that on the road, let’s just go.’ We didn’t say anything. Joe Holladay was sitting two or three feet from the guy, but we didn’t say anything whatsoever.

“Saturday night, all of a sudden, some guy stands up and starts yelling at Deon and it came from behind our bench. And you know how when some things happen, you instantly think of something? My first thought was, ‘Now our parents are having to listen to somebody else, and it’s in our own building.’ And so I turned around and I said, ‘Who said that?’ And about 40-50-60-70-80 people started pointing up at this guy. The guy gets up and starts gyrating with his arms and everything like, ‘Yeah, it was me,’ and that kind of thing. And it really did tick me off. I turned and said something to the ushers behind the bench and they started up through there, and I turned around and coached the game. I have no idea what happened. I never turned around to the guy again.

“But my feeling was immediately that our parents who sit right behind our bench have to put up with that stuff again in our own building. So that was it. And after the game, they told me that they had escorted the young man out. Supposedly what had happened was they had asked him for his ticket and he didn’t have a ticket or wasn’t supposed to be sitting in that seat. Supposedly, and I want to emphasis the word supposedly, he didn’t cooperate as much as they wanted, and they chose to take him out.

“Am I disappointed in the whole thing? Yeah, I’m disappointed that it happened. I’m disappointed that I even reacted to it. But again, in our own building, I don’t think that parents ought to have to listen to somebody chastising their son. And whether that’s right or wrong, that’s the way I am. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. I hate that it happened. I wish that it never happened. Evidently, people have been getting after us all day [on Monday] or getting after me all day. But I tell you what, if that’s the only thing they’ve got to get after me about, I’m a happy young man… If I’m wrong, then that’s good, but I’m not apologizing.”



What freaking planet is this guy from? Players shouldn't have to listen to negative fans? There are negative fans at little league games much less a UNC game. Man Roy Williams is a tool. Whoops, I shouldn't chastise a coach on the internet either according to him. D-Bagger

News Flash: Roy Williams is a Douche

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/story/6611583/

And Louisville sucks this year.

That is all.

Monday Afternoon Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas vs Jackson State/Morgan State
Kentucky vs Mount St. Mary's
Purdue vs Boston
Texas vs Jacksonville

2 seed vs 15 seed
Villanova vs Holy Cross
North Carolina vs Weber State
Michigan State vs UC-Santa Barbara
Duke vs Radford

3 seed vs 14 seed
West Virginia vs Murray State
Syracuse vs Cornell
Tennessee vs Oakland
Georgetown vs Sam Houston State

4 seed vs 13 seed
Florida vs Akron
Connecticut vs College of Charleston
Washington vs Western Kentucky
Georgia Tech vs Nevada

5 seed vs 12 seed
Florida State vs VCU
Butler vs Siena
Clemson vs Missouri State
Gonzaga vs Northern Iowa

6 seed vs 11 seed
Ohio State vs Mississippi State
Maryland vs BYU
Illinois vs Oklahoma
Dayton vs Louisville

7 seed vs 10 seed
California vs Pittsburgh
Mississippi vs UNLV
Oklahoma State vs New Mexico
Xavier vs Memphis

8 seed vs 9 seed
Wisconsin vs South Carolina
Cincinnati vs Tulsa
Texas A&M vs Kansas State
Texas Tech vs Minnesota

Last Four Out
Wake Forest
Seton Hall
Baylor
Notre Dame

Next Four Out
Vanderbilt
Illinois State
San Diego State
Northwestern

Also Considered
UCLA
Duquesne
Winthorp
George Mason
Old Dominion
UTEP
Wright State
Niagara
Northern Illinois
Houston
Arizona
Portland
Alabama
Washington State
Louisiana Tech
Richmond
Oregon State
Creighton
Michigan
Missouri
Miami
Virginia Tech
Utah State
Arkansas
Northeastern
Witchita State
Charlotte
Rhode Island
Temple
UAB
Marshall
Arizona State
St. Mary's

Amal McCaskill

since i went there in the previous post, I had to look it up:

After a four-year career at Marquette University, McCaskill was selected by the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic with the 49th pick (2nd round) of the 1996 NBA Draft. He appeared in 4 seasons with as many teams: 1996-97 with Orlando, 2001-02 with the San Antonio Spurs, 2002-03 with the Atlanta Hawks and 2003-04 with the Philadelphia 76ers.

After his release from Orlando in 1997 (and Philadelphia in 2004), McCaskill played as an import in Greece, Spain, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Italy and Lebanon. In the United States, McCaskill also appeared for the CBA's Fort Wayne Fury in 1997-98, and the Albany Patroons (2007-08).

In June 2008, McCaskill moved to the Philippine Basketball Association, as an import for the Magnolia Beverage Masters, helping it reach the semi-finals.[1]

In July 2009, he joined the KBL's Incheon ET Land Elephants, in South Korea.


I'll give the guy credit...that's dedication to a b-ball career. I'm not sure if I like the "Beverage Masters" or "Land Elephants" better!!

Ugh.

That sucked donkey di#$. Reminded me a lot of Duke-UW, Wisky jumped out early and never really looked back. Marquette needs a solid shooter.....and a big man. Where's Amal McCaskill when you need him?

I guess using the logic in the previous post, this makes UWGB the best team in the state. Go Team!

UW - Green Bay

Hmmm, UWGB beat Wisconsin who beat Duke. Therefore UWGB is better than Duke, right?

Monday Night Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas vs Jackson State/Morgan State
Kentucky vs Mount St. Mary's
Villanova vs Boston
Purdue vs Jacksonville

2 seed vs 15 seed
Texas vs Holy Cross
North Carolina vs Weber State
Michigan State vs UC-Santa Barbara
Duke vs Radford

3 seed vs 14 seed
West Virginia vs Murray State
Tennessee vs Cornell
Syracuse vs Oakland
Connecticut vs Sam Houston State

4 seed vs 13 seed
Florida vs Akron
Georgetown vs College of Charleston
Ohio State vs Western Kentucky
Washington vs Nevada

5 seed vs 12 seed
Georgia Tech vs VCU
Florida State vs UNLV
Louisville vs Illinois State
Butler vs Northern Iowa

6 seed vs 11 seed
Clemson vs Texas Tech
Gonzaga vs BYU
Maryland vs Memphis
Xavier vs Pittsburgh

7 seed vs 10 seed
Illinois vs Siena
Dayton vs Michigan
Wisconsin vs South Carolina
California vs Kansas State

8 seed vs 9 seed
Texas A&M vs Notre Dame
Mississippi vs Tulsa
Oklahoma State vs Cincinnati
Minnesota vs Vanderbilt

Last Four Out
Northwestern
Wake Forest
Oklahoma
Mississippi State

Next Four Out
Creighton
Arizona State
Arizona
New Mexico

Also Considered
UCLA
Duquesne
Winthorp
George Mason
Old Dominion
UTEP
Wright State
Niagara
Northern Illinois
Houston
San Diego State
Portland
Alabama
Washington State
Louisiana Tech
Richmond
Oregon State
Seton Hall
Baylor
Missouri
Miami
Virginia Tech
Utah State
Arkansas
Northeastern
Witchita State

Update

Most of my updates are light hearted and fun. Unfortunately I have some sad news for our group. Those of you who have been coming to March Madness at my house for many years remember Chad Bordwell from Direct Supply who always makes opening Thursday. I found out today that he's been diagnosed with Brain Cancer. He's got a caring bridge site if you are interested in seeing how he's doing. Say a prayer for him.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/chadbordwell

Disagree

I think it would be much better for Duke to lose to Marquette than Wisconsin. But last time we tried that it didnt work out so hot. Lets boil it down....are you more pissed that our 6-9 white guys beat your 6-9 white guys, or that Coach K decided he didnt want to coach in the last minute of the game? (Already discussed with Brian at BW3's...)

Side note, Ben - you should get your hair cut like Hughes...it would make you more aerodynamic with those speed grooves on the neck.

Let's also have a moment of silence, as Umaga has passed:
A rep from the WWE tells TMZ their former superstar wrestler Umaga has died.

Umaga, whose real name was Eddie Fatu, was 36 years old.

The WWE has released a statement on their website saying, "The WWE would like to express its deepest condolences to Mr. Fatu's family, friends and fans on his tragic passing."

Dammit. Why must the good die so young?

Duke - Wisconsin

Here's my analysis on the game: Better to lose to Wisconsin then to Marquette.

F'ing F.

Damn. Glad I didn't waste money on an airline ticket for this crap.

I'm getting my hair cut like Travon Hughes.

Monday Night Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas vs Jackson State/Morgan State
Kentucky vs Mount St. Mary's
Villanova vs Morehead State
Purdue vs Jacksonville

2 seed vs 15 seed
Duke vs Boston
North Carolina vs Weber State
Michigan State vs UC-Santa Barbara
Texas vs Holy Cross

3 seed vs 14 seed
Louisville vs Radford
West Virginia vs Cornell
Tennessee vs Oakland
Syracuse vs Texas A&M - CC

4 seed vs 13 seed
Connecticut vs Akron
Georgia Tech vs College of Charleston
Washington vs Western Kentucky
Florida State vs Nevada

5 seed vs 12 seed
Georgetown vs VCU
Clemson vs Illinois State
Ohio State vs Arizona State
Gonzaga vs Northern Iowa

6 seed vs 11 seed
Xavier vs Kansas State
Butler vs BYU
Maryland vs Cincinnati
Florida vs Pittsburgh

7 seed vs 10 seed
Michigan vs Siena
Dayton vs Wisconsin
Illinois vs South Carolina
California vs Portland

8 seed vs 9 seed
Texas A&M vs Minnesota
Mississippi vs Tulsa
Oklahoma State vs Wake Forest
Notre Dame vs Vanderbilt

Last Four Out
Mississippi State
Creighton
Memphis
Oklahoma

Next Four Out
Northwestern
UNLV
Arizona
UCLA

Also Considered
Texas Tech
Duquesne
Winthorp
George Mason
VCU
UTEP
Wright State
Niagara
Northern Illinois
Houston
San Diego State
New Mexico
Alabama
Washington State
Louisiana Tech
Richmond
Oregon State
Seton Hall
Baylor
Missouri
Oregon
Virginia Tech
Utah State
Arkansas
Northeastern
Witchita State

Buzzer Beater

My favorite part is when the Mascot tries to get involved in the celebration.

Rumblings

Well, Marquette pissed one away last night; youth will do that. Other losers include UCLA who is laughable right now. 2-4 with losses to Portland, Butler, and Long Beach State. It's one thing to lose to a couple Big East teams but you;re looking at the Horizon, West Coast, and Big West representatives (2 of which I didn't even have winning their conference preseason). The Pac-10 is looking like they'll be be a 2 bid league unless somebody starts representing. Lastly Wake Forest losing to William and Mary on Saturday should also not be dismissed. Wake lost a couple players and need to figure it out how to win before conference play begins.

No Championship for MU

Really, has anything good ever come out of Florida State? Marquette falls by 1 in the Old Spice Classic Championship after holding a 12 point lead at halftime and at one point having a 17 point lead earlier in the game. I didnt see much of it, but it appears it was a combination of the young team coming undone at a slowdown pace in the second half and a Buzz Williams lack of coaching by leaving Soloman Alabi single teamed down the stretch. Still a good showing for MU in this tourney, next up is currently unbeaten NC State on 12/5.

Tiger followup. It is funny now watching ESPN squirm, knowing they have to cover this and also knowing there is no good way to spin this. Nice statement he released. Here's the synopsis - "It was all my fault, dont ask any questions." Anyone with half a brain knows it was either drinking or a mad woman. The 911 portion where Elin is screaming to the police "He got weed" were edited out. Never cross a mad woman - I direct you to 3:05 of the Chris Rock video:
Chris Rock Police Video

Hmmmmmm followup

Yes, hopes are high with the Duke win but let's not get to fanatical about this 1 game. Uconn played dangerously out of control for most of the second half which plays right into the defense pressure of the charge taking defense of Duke. In the first 10 minutes of the game Uconn used the altheticism of Stanley Robertson to hold a 5 point lead. Once Duke climbed back in with a couple 3's the Uconn guards decided dribbling around and going one on one was the way to go. That falls right into what Duke wants with their weakside help sliding right in. Hey, when your center is 7-1 and slow as molassas you might as well park him just in front of the semi circle and pray. On the plus side Andre Dawkins and Nolan Smith looked good again and if you can beat the 13th ranked team in the country with your best player only scoring 5 things look positive.

Outside of the Duke game some promising trends continue. Butler beats UCLA perhaps foreshadowing the Pac-10 only getting 2 teams in and Portland beats Minnesota. Perhaps the WCC will get 2 bids this year as well.

Re: Hmmmm..

Yes, hopes are high. We shall see. Tell you what, let's just award Duke the title now and save ourselves some time.

As far as Tiger Woods is concerned, the better question is this: How many of you, after hitting the fire hydrant and neighbor's tree while managing to NOT roll your Cadillac over at 2:30 in the morning, have had your wife bust out the back window of said upright SUV with a golf club to rescue you? I wonder which club she used?

Hmmmm.

Perhaps my earlier posting about it being a long year in Marquette land was a bit premature. Nice win today over Michigan after taking out Xavier yesterday, gives me some hope for the year. Marquette is very quick...and very undersized, which will hurt them when the matchup isnt good. But they looked good the last two games at least. I'm just shocked that they've been able to make up that loss of shooting accuracy with Dominic James not being there. And you all thought Centenary, Grambling, and South Dakota werent good prep games. Shows what you all know.

Nice win by Duke. How hard is it for you guys not to get your hopes up exponentially high?

Lets see, Tiger Woods leaves the house at 2:25 AM and promptly hits a fire hydrant and the neighbor's tree. Dont overthink this. When is the last time you were stone sober and just happened to run into a hydrant and tree within 20 feet of your driveway? And who leaves at 2:25 AM anyways? yo qiero Taco Bell....

UCLA Sucks

Losing by 27 to Portland. Ha, that's funny. I did hype Portland earlier in the season and talk about how bad the Pac-10 was going to be but 74-47 Portland over UCLA is ridiculous.

Today's excuse to do nothing this weekend.

Sorry, Brian. It looks like you can't go shopping on Friday. These games don't watch themselves.


Wednesday, November 25th

Maui Invitational, 7th Place: TBD (ESPNU, 2pm)- Carter Blackburn, Jimmy Dykes
Maui Invitational, 3rd Place: TBD (ESPN2, 4:30pm)- Carter Blackburn, Jimmy Dykes
Sacred Heart @ Penn State (BTN, 6pm)- TBD
NIT Season Tip-Off, Semifinal: Connecticut v. Louisiana State (ESPN2, 7pm)- Dan Shulman, Bob Knight, Doris Burke
Maui Invitational, 5th Place: TBD (ESPN, 7pm)- Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery
Cancun Classic, Consolation: CLEV ST-UK loser v. STAN-UVA loser (CBS College Sports, 7pm)- Thad Anderson, Rich Zvosec
Oakland @ Kansas (Jayhawk TV, 8pm)- Dave Armstrong, Greg Gurley
NIT Season Tip-Off, Semifinal: Duke v. Arizona State (ESPN2, 8pm)- Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale, Doris Burke
Wyoming @ Denver (FSN Rocky Mountain, 9pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Central)
Cancun Classic, Championship: CLEV ST-UK winner v. STAN-UVA winner (CBS College Sports, 9:30pm)- Thad Anderson, Rich Zvosec
Maui Invitational, Championship: TBD (ESPN, 10pm)- Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery
Great Alaska Shootout, Pool A: Washington State v. Alaska-Anchorage (KCFT, 11:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN)
Great Alaska Shootout, Pool B: Oklahoma v. San Diego (KCFT, 1:45am)- TBD

Thursday, November 26th

Old Spice Classic, Quarterfinal: Creighton v. Michigan (ESPN2, Noon)- Lou Canellis, Len Elmore
Old Spice Classic, Quarterfinal: Marquette v. Xavier (ESPN2, 2pm)- Lou Canellis, Len Elmore
76 Classic, Quarterfinal: West Virginia v. Long Beach State (ESPNU, 2pm)- Justin Kutcher, Bob Wenzel, Andy Katz
76 Classic, Quarterfinal: Texas A&M v. Clemson (ESPN2, 4:30pm)- Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Andy Katz
Old Spice Classic, Quarterfinal: Alabama v. Baylor (ESPN2, 6:30pm)- Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla
76 Classic, Quarterfinal: Minnesota v. 10 Butler (ESPN2, 8:30pm)- Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Andy Katz
Old Spice Classic, Quarterfinal: Florida State v. Iona (ESPNU, 9pm)- Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla
Great Alaska Shootout, Pool A: Nicholla State v. Alaska-Anchorage (KCFT, 9pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN)
76 Classic, Quarterfinal: UCLA v. Portland (ESPN2, 10:30pm)- Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Andy Katz
Great Alaska Shootout, Pool B: Houston v. Oklahoma (KCFT, 11:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSS, MASN)

Friday, November 27th

Old Spice Classic, Semifinal: CREI-MICH winner v. MARQ-XAV winner (ESPN, Noon)- Lou Canellis, Len Elmore
76 Classic, Semifinal: WVU-LBSU winner v. TX A&M-CLEM winner (ESPN, 2:30pm)- Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Andy Katz
NIT Season Tip-Off, Consolation: CONN-LSU loser v. DUKE-ARIZ ST loser (ESPN2, 2:30pm)- Dan Shulman, Bob Knight, Doris Burke
Old Spice Classic, Consolation: CREI-MICH loser v. MARQ-XAV loser (ESPNU, 2:30pm)- Lou Canellis, Len Elmore
NIT Season Tip-Off, Championship: CONN-LSU winner v. DUKE-ARIZ ST winner (ESPN, 5pm)- Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale
Old Spice Classic, Semifinal: ALA-BAY winner v. FSU-IONA winner (ESPN2, 5pm)- Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla
76 Classic, Consolation: WVU-LBSU loser v. TX A&M-CLEM loser (ESPNU, 5pm)- Justin Kutcher, Bob Wenzel, Andy Katz
Legends Classic, Semifinal: Rutgers v. Massachusetts (HDNet, 5:30pm)- TBD
South Padre Island Invitational, Semifinal: Richmond v. Mississippi State (FCS Pacific, 6pm)- TBD
Charleston @ Tennessee (SEC Network, 7pm)- TBD
Jacksonville @ South Carolina (SportSouth, 7pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Atlantic)
Columbia @ Syracuse (Time Warner-NY, 7pm)- TBD (Will Air on SNY)
Old Spice Classic, Consolation: ALA-BAY loser v. FSU-IONA loser (ESPNU, 7:30pm)- Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla
Legends Classic, Semifinal: Florida v. Michigan State (HDNet, 8pm)- TBD (Will Air on SUN, FS Florida)
East Tennessee State @ Arkansas (ARSN, 8pm)- TBD
Tennessee Tech @ Kansas (Jayhawk TV, 8pm)- TBD
South Padre Island Invitational, Semifinal: Old Dominion v. Missouri (FCS Pacific, 8:30pm)- TBD
Notre Dame v. Northwestern (BTN, 8:30pm)- TBD
76 Classic, Semifinal: MINN-BUT winner v. UCLA-PORT winner (ESPNU, 9:30pm)- Justin Kutcher, Bob Wenzel, Andy Katz
Weber State @ Brigham Young (MTN, 9:30pm)- TBD
Great Alaska Shootout, Pool A: Nicholls State v. Washington State (KCFT, 9:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN)
76 Classic, Consolation: MINN-BUT loser v. UCLA-PORT loser (ESPNU, 11:30pm)- Justin Kutcher, Bob Wenzel, Andy Katz
Great Alaska Shootout, Pool B: Houston v. San Diego (KCFT, 11:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSS, MASN)
New Mexico @ Hawaii (Time Warner-Oceanic, 1am)- TBD

Saturday, November 28th

Central Michigan @ Purdue (BTN, 11:30am)- TBD
Youngstown State @ Pittsburgh (Big East Network, Noon)- TBD (Will Air on FSN Pittsburgh)
Lafayette @ Georgetown (MASN, Noon)- TBD
St. Francis-PA @ Iowa (BTN, 1:30pm)- TBD
Wichita State @ Cleveland State (STO, 2pm)- TBD
LaSalle @ Villanova (ESPN2, 3:30pm)- Scott Graham, Tim Welsh
Northwestern State @ Indiana (BTN, 3:30pm)- TBD
IUPUI @ Kansas State (FS Kansas City, 3:30pm)- TBD
Louisville @ Nevada-Las Vegas (Versus, 4pm)- TBD
Legends Classic, Semifinal: RUT-MASS loser v. FLA-MICH ST loser (HDNet, 5:30pm)- TBD
South Padre Island Invitational, Semifinal: RICH-MISS ST loser v. ODU-MIZZ loser (FCS Central, 5:30pm)- TBD
North Carolina Central @ Iowa (BTN, 5:30pm)- TBD
Legends Classic, Championship: RUT-MASS winner v. FLA-MICH ST winner (HDNet, 8pm)- TBD
South Padre Island Invitational, Championship: RICH-MISS ST winner v. ODU-MIZZ winner (FCS Pacific, 8pm)- TBD
Great Alaska Shootout, 3rd Place: Pool A #2 v. Pool B #2 (KCFT, 8:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN)
Montana State @ Oregon (OSN, 10:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSN Northwest)
Great Alaska Shootout, Championship: Pool A #1 v. Pool B #1 (KCFT, 11pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN)
Northwestern v. Iowa State or Saint Louis (BTN, TBD)- TBD

Sunday, November 29th

Old Spice Classic, 7th Place: TBD (ESPNU, 10pm)- Rich Hollenberg, Len Elmore
Old Spice Classic, 5th Place: TBD (ESPNU, Noon)- Rich Hollenberg, Len Elmore
76 Classic, 7th Place: TBD (ESPNU, 2:30pm)- Justin Kutcher, Bob Wenzel, Andy Katz
Texas @ Rice (CBS College Sports, 4pm)- TBD
Nebraska @ USC (FSN, 4:30pm)- TBD
76 Classic, 3rd Place: TBD (ESPN2, 5pm)- Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Andy Katz
Old Spice Classic, 3rd Place: TBD (ESPNU, 5pm)- Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla
Princeton @ California (CSN California, 5pm)- TBD
Nevada @ North Carolina (FSN, 6:45pm)- TBD
Old Spice Classic, Championship: TBD (ESPN2, 7:30pm)- Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla
76 Classic, 5th Place: TBD (ESPNU, 7:30pm)- Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Andy Katz
Montana @ Washington (FSN Northwest, 9pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific)
76 Classic, Championship: TBD (ESPN2, 2pm)- Dave O'Brien, Steve Lavin, Andy Katz

Monday Morning Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas vs Jackson St/Morgan State
Kentucky vs Mount St. Mary's
Villanova vs Morehead State
Purdue vs Jacksonville

2 seed vs 15 seed
North Carolina vs Boston
Duke vs Weber State
Michigan State vs UC-Santa Barbara
Texas vs Holy Cross

3 seed vs 14 seed
Louisville vs Radford
Butler vs Cornell
West Virginia vs Oakland
Tennessee vs Texas A&M - CC

4 seed vs 13 seed
Connecticut vs Akron
Georgia Tech vs College of Charleston
Washington vs Western Kentucky
Xavier vs Nevada

5 seed vs 12 seed
Florida State vs Old Dominion
Dayton vs Houston
Ohio State vs Kansas State
Gonzaga vs Northern Iowa

6 seed vs 11 seed
Clemson vs Cincinnati
Georgetown vs BYU
Maryland vs Wisconsin
Michigan vs Pittsburgh

7 seed vs 10 seed
Syracuse vs Siena
Oklahoma vs Mississippi
Illinois vs South Carolina
California vs Minnesota

8 seed vs 9 seed
Texas A&M vs Mississippi State
Wake Forest vs Tulsa
UCLA vs Oklahoma State
Notre Dame vs Vanderbilt

Last Four Out (4)
1 UTEP
2 Creighton
3 Memphis
4 Illinois State

Next Four Out (4)
1 Portland
2 UNLV
3 Arizona
4 Northwestern

Also Considered (26)
1 Idaho
2 Duquesne
3 Winthorp
4 George Mason
5 VCU
6 UWM
7 Wright State
8 Niagara
9 Northern Illinois
10 Houston
11 San Diego State
12 New Mexico
13 Alabama
14 Troy
15 Louisiana Tech
16 Richmond
17 Oregon State
18 Seton Hall
19 Baylor
20 Missouri
21 Oregon
22 Virginia Tech
23 Utah State
24 Arkansas
25 Northeastern
26 Witchita State

November Mid Major Mania

Just a quick update this morning about a couple mid major upsets last night. First VCU easily handles Oklahoma leading from start to finish for a 10 point win. Second, Portland, who I think will give Gonzaga a run for it's money in the WCC upends Oregon. Third Sacramento State, who I believe are the Hornets squeak out a victory at media darling Oregon State, coached by Craig Robinson. Robinson if you are not aware is the brother in law of Barack Obama who is SAVING AMERICA RIGHT NOW.
That's CHANGE baby!

Saturday Morning Update

North Carolina loses which is enought to make me happy for at least 24 hours but the real news is who they lost to. Syracuse completes a remarkable 2 week turnaround where they lost to a division 2 team but then comes back to win the Coaches vs Cancer tournament. In other news California got exposed for their lack of size against both Syracuse and Ohio State. If this is the best the Pac-10 has to offer don't look for any Pac-10 team in the sweet sixteen this year.

Come Uppence Part 2

Sorry for the Gansta Rap, can't control you tube.

Schedule for the rest of the week.

Hopefully Directv doesn't black out the Loyola-MD/Maryland-Baltimore County matchup tonight...


Wednesday, November 18th

Legends Classic: Georgia Southern @ Florida (SUN, 7pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS South)
Loyola-MD @ Maryland-Baltimore County (MASN, 7:30pm)- TBD
Toledo @ Cincinnati (FS Ohio, 7:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on SNY)
Butler @ Northwestern (BTN, 8pm)- TBD
Nebraska @ Saint Louis (FS Midwest, 8pm)- TBD
Utah State @ Utah (MTN, 8pm)- TBD
CBE Classic: Western Carolina @ Texas (ESPNU, 9pm)- Doug Bell, Reid Gettys
Texas Southern @ Colorado (FSN Rocky Mountain, 9pm)- TBD
Nevada @ Nevada-Las Vegas (MTN, 10:30pm)- TBD
UC-Irvine @ Loyola Marymount (Prime Ticket, 11pm)- TBD

Thursday, November 19th

Puerto Rico Tip-Off: Georgia Tech v. Dayton (CSS, 11:30am)- TBD
Charleston Classic: Tulane v. Miami (CSS, 1:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on CST)
Puerto Rico Tip-Off: George Mason v. Villanova (ESPNU, 2pm)- Doug Sherman, Fran Fraschilla
Charleston Classic: UNC-Wilmington v. Penn State (ESPNU, 4pm)- Justin Kutcher, Jay Williams
Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Quarterfinal: Indiana v. Mississippi (ESPN2, 5pm)- Jon Sciambi, Hubert Davis
2K Sports Classic: Syracuse v. California (ESPN2, 7pm)- Dan Shulman, Bob Knight
Sam Houston State @ Kentucky (SEC Network, 7pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS South, SUN)
Utah Valley @ Minnesota (BTN, 7pm)- TBD
2K Sports Classic: North Carolina v. Ohio State (ESPN2, 9pm)- Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale
Montana @ Denver (FSN Rocky Mountain, 9pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Central
Charleston Classic: LaSalle v. South Carolina (ESPNU, 9:30pm)- Justin Kutcher, Jay Williams
Fresno State @ Seattle (FSN Northwest, 10pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific)
Rice @ Arizona (FS Arizona, 10:30pm)- TBD

Friday, November 20th

Charleston Classic: TULN-MIA loser v. UNCW-PSU loser (CST, 12:30pm)- TBD
Puerto Rico Tip-Off: DAY-GT loser v. GMU-VILL loser (ESPNU, 1pm)- Doug Sherman, Fran Fraschilla
Puerto Rico Tip-Off: DAY-GT winner v. GMU-VILL winner (ESPNU, 3pm)- Jon Sciambi, Hubert Davis
Charleston Classic: TULN-MIA winner v. UNCW-PSU winner (CSS, 3pm)- TBD
2K Sports Classic: CAL-SYR loser v. UNC-OSU loser (ESPN2, 5pm)- Dan Shulman, Bob Knight
Charleston Classic: USF-DAV winner v. LAS-SCAR winner (CSS, 6pm)- TBD
Toledo @ Michigan State (BTN, 6:30pm)- TBD
2K Sports Classic, Championship: CAL-SYR winner v. UNC-OSU winner (ESPN2, 7pm)- Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale
Clemson @ UNC-Greensboro (FS South, 7pm)- TBD
Troy @ Florida (FS Florida, 7pm)- TBD
Seton Hall @ Cornell (Time Warner-Central NY, 7pm)- TBD (Will Air on SNY)
Puerto Rico Tip-Off: IND-MISS winner v. BOS-KSU winner (ESPNU, 8:30pm)- Jon Sciambi, Hubert Davis
IUPUI @ Gonzaga (KHQ, 9pm)- TBD (Will Air on FSN Northwest)
Cal State-Bakersfield @ UCLA (FS Regional, 10:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS Arizona, West; FCS Pacific)
San Jose State @ Washington (FSN Northwest, 11pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Central)

Saturday, November 21st

Rider @ Kentucky (SEC Network, 1pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS South, SUN)
Missouri-Kansas City @ North Dakota (FSSN, 2pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific)
East Tennessee State @ Louisville (Big East Network, 4pm)- TBD
Florida State @ Mercer (FS South, 4:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSN Washington, SUN)
Presbyterian @ Illinois (BTN, 8pm)- TBD
Georgia @ Alabama-Birmingham (CSS, 8pm)- TBD
Grambling @ Marquette (Big East Network, 8:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on Altitude, SNY)

Sunday, November 22nd

Puerto Rico Tip-Off, 7th Place: TBD (ESPNU, 10:30am)- Doug Sherman, Fran Fraschilla
Valpariaso @ Michigan State (BTN, Noon)- TBD
Puerto Rico Tip-Off, 5th Place: TBD (ESPNU, 12:30pm)- Doug Sherman, Fran Fraschilla
Morgan State @ Louisville (Big East Network, 1pm)- TBD (Will Air on MASN, SNY)
Texas-Pan American @ Missouri (Mizzou Sports, 2pm)- TBD (Will Air on FS Midwest)
Puerto Rico Tip-Off, 3rd Place: TBD (ESPNU, 5:30pm)- Jon Sciambi, Hubert Davis
Charleston Classic, Championship: TBD (ESPN2, 6pm)- Justin Kutcher, Jay Williams
Paradise Jam, Semifinal: DEP-UNI winner v. ECU-TENN winner (FCS Pacific, 6pm)- TBD
Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Championship: TBD (ESPN2, 8pm)- Jon Sciambi, Hubert Davis, Fran Fraschilla
Paradise Jam, Semifinal: STJOE-BC winner v. S DAK ST-PUR winner (FCS Pacific, 8:30pm)- TBD

Duke and other notes

So far they've looked good, but they usually do at this point of the season. Nolan Smith was impressive yesterday going for 24-5-5 while Kyle Singler looks like an All-American. By putting Scheyer at the point it really frees up Smith to florish as a off-guard. Right now they are going 9 deep with Czyz getting time and their top freshman won't see minutes until mid-December. Is it possible this team could be better than I thought?

As for the rest of the county lets run down the normal suspects. Kansas - won by 2 against a depleted Memphis, Kentucky needs a buzzer beater to beat Miami....of Ohio. UCLA loses at home to Cal...St Fullerton. On the flip side UNC looks like world beaters still and Villanova (with traitor Taylor King putting up 14) destroyed Penn.

It's early but still exciting.

Come Uppence

Years old but great. Defines getting your come uppance.

Updated Bracket, or not

Ran out of time for the updated bracket this week. Suffice to say Mississippi State will be dropping as will Notre Dame who I might have inflated a little bit pre-season. I guess I was thinking Haragody would have a Danny Manning like season. Geez, I pull out Danny Manning like he's still relevant; that was like 20 years ago. By the way, 34 years ago fellow OCMM'er Dan Niemi was born. Happy Birthday big fella. I hope you get a Duke win tonight.

Also, if you are home sick today check out ESPN as they are running 24 straight hours of college basketball.

Kentucky

Looking good Kentucky..looking good....

Unconfirmed

Nolan Smith was actually suspended for playing a pick up game against the guys from the And-1 Mix Tape Tour. Evidently he got pissed when called out by the Professor, and was taped mixing it up with Escalade, Helicopter, and 8th Wonder. Insert favorite crazy And-1 announcer muffled mic screaming here....

Mason Plumlee, in reality, tripped over his jaw while mouth-breathing his way down the court. Corn-Fed Wisconsin 6-10 white guys do not have this problem.

Hey, give me a break. Its gonna be a long year in Marquette land, I have to amuse myself somehow...

Perfect Start to the year

CBSSports.com wire reports







DURHAM, N.C. -- One of No. 9 Duke's projected starters is out indefinitely with a broken wrist.

Team officials said Thursday that freshman Mason Plumlee fell hard during practice a day earlier and broke his left wrist. They say he injury will not require surgery, and will be evaluated weekly by the team's medical staff.

The 6-foot-10 newcomer was expected to join his older brother Miles Plumlee in the Blue Devils' bulked-up frontcourt. He averaged 12 points and eight rebounds in a pair of exhibition routs.

That makes two projected starters who won't be in the lineup Friday night when Duke opens the season against North Carolina-Greensboro. Guard Nolan Smith must sit out two games for playing in an unsanctioned summer league.

It's Official

I am now a published author. OK, not really but it's cool anyway. I'm all over you Lunardi!

http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm

The Bracket Matrix

Hey, check out this site; http://bracketproject.blogspot.com/

They keep track of all the other sites that put out brackets. ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS etc.

No longer do you have to check multiple sites to see how bad Lunardi is. Just go here!

Stupid North Carolina

1 game into the season and I'm already angry.

Your College Basketball Announcing Schedule For The Week Of 11/9

Monday, November 9th

2K Sports Classic: Florida International @ North Carolina (ESPNU, 7pm)- Rob Stone, Jay Williams, Andy Katz
2K Sports Classic: Alcorn State @ Ohio State (BTN, 8pm)- Tom Hamilton, Bill Hosket
2K Sports Classic: Albany @ Syracuse (ESPNU, 9pm)- Dan McLaughlin, Tim Welsh, Quint Kessenich
2K Sports Classic: Murray State @ California (ESPNU, 11pm)- Carter Blackburn, Mark Gottfried, Steve Lavin

Wednesday, November 11th

2K Sports Classic: Robert Morris @ Syracuse (ESPNU, 7pm)- Dan McLaughlin, Tim Welsh
2K Sports Classic: North Carolina Central @ North Carolina (ESPNU, 9pm)- Rob Stone, Jay Williams
2K Sports Classic: Detroit Mercy @ California (ESPNU, 11pm)- Carter Blackburn, Mark Gottfried

Thursday, November 12th

2K Sports Classic: James Madison @ Ohio State (BTN, 7pm)- Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson

Friday, November 13th

Morehead State @ Kentucky (ESPNU, 6:30pm)- Dan McLaughlin, Jimmy Dykes, Andy Katz
UNC-Greensboro @ Duke (FS South, 7pm)- TBD
Alabama A&M @ South Carolina (SportSouth, 7pm)- TBD
Drexel @ St. Joseph's (Comcast Network, 7pm)- TBD
Florida Gulf Coast @ Michigan State (ESPN360, 7pm)- Frank Giardina, Tim McCormick
Cal State-Northridge @ Purdue (ESPN360, 7pm)- Jim Barbar, Mac McCausland
Youngstown State @ Xavier (FS Ohio, 7:30pm)- TBD
William & Mary @ Connecticut (Big East Network, 7:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on SNY)
Howard @ Indiana (BTN, 8pm)- Mark Neely, John Laskowski
Charleston Southern @ Maryland (CSN Washington, 8pm)- TBD
Loyola-Chicago @ Kansas State (FS Kansas City, 8pm)- TBD
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville @ Illinois (ESPN360, 8pm)- Lou Canellis, Dickey Simpkins
Centenary @ Marquette (Big East Network, 8:30pm)- TBD
Western Illinois @ Arizona State (FS Arizona, 9pm)- TBD
Austin Peay @ Tennessee (SportSouth, 9pm)- TBD
Bradley @ Brigham Young (MTN, 9:30pm)- TBD
Wright State @ Washington (FSN Northwest, 10pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific)

Saturday, November 14th

North Carolina Central @ Miami (SUN, 4pm)- TBD
Northern Michigan @ Michigan (BTN, 7pm)- Tom Hamilton, Jimmy King
Mississippi Valley State @ Gonzaga (KHQ, 8pm)- TBD (Will Air on FSN Northwest)

Sunday, November 15th

CBE Classic: UC-Irvine @ Texas (ESPNU, 2pm)- Dave Armstrong, Reid Gettys
Wake Forest v. East Carolina (MASN, 2pm)- TBD
CBE Classic: Farleigh Dickinson @ Wichita State (ESPNU, 4pm)- Dan McLaughlin, Mac McCausland
Stetson @ Florida (SEC Network, 4pm)- TBD (Will Air on SUN)
Valparaiso @ North Carolina (FS South, 4pm)- TBD (Will Air on NESN, FS Florida)
IPFW @ Wisconsin (BTN, 4pm)- TBA, Shon Morris
Northern Arizona @ Arizona (FS Arizona, 5pm)- TBD
CBE Classic: Texas-San Antonio @ Iowa (ESPNU, 6pm)- Jim Barbar, Mike Kelley
Colorado State @ Oregon (OSN, 6:30pm)- TBD (Will Air on CSN Northwest)
Portland State @ Washington (FSN Northwest, 10pm)- TBD (Will Air on FCS Pacific )

Syacuse

Who saw them lose to a Division II school on Wednesday? Hilarious. So, the AP has them ranked 25th in country and they can't beat what amounts to UW-Parkside. I guess I'll have to pull them out of my preseason bracket. Oh wait, I didn't put them in to begin with. Me > AP

Season Preview in a different format

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas vs Play in Winner
Kentucky vs Mount St. Mary's
Villanova vs Morehead State
Purdue vs Jacksonville

2 seed vs 15 seed
North Carolina vs Boston
Duke vs Weber State
Michigan State vs UC-Santa Barbara
Texas vs Holy Cross

3 seed vs 14 seed
California vs Radford
Butler vs Cornell
West Virginia vs Oakland
Tennessee vs Texas A&M - CC

4 seed vs 13 seed
Dayton vs Akron
Georgia Tech vs College of Charleston
Washington vs Western Kentucky
Louisville vs Utah State

5 seed vs 12 seed
Florida State vs Old Dominion
Connecticut vs Northern Iowa
Ohio State vs Pittsburgh
Oklahoma vs Illinois State

6 seed vs 11 seed
Gonzaga vs Tulsa
Clemson vs BYU
Xavier vs Kansas State
Mississippi State vs Wisconsin

7 seed vs 10 seed
Illinois vs Siena
Georgetown vs Mississippi
Michigan vs Cinncinati
South Carolina vs Minnesota

8 seed vs 9 seed
Texas A&M vs Notre Dame
Houston vs Wake Forest
UCLA vs Oklahoma State
Maryland vs Vanderbillt

Gus Johnson is awesome.

I now love Gus Johnson. If you ever thought to yourself, "how fast is Chris Johnson?" Gus has got an answer for you. Skip to :30 in.

Re: Sigh

Sigh,

Orlando Magic's JJ Redick Releasing Rap Album
Orlando Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick will soon become the latest basketball player with his own unnamed rap group.
According to Redick, he’s part of a “rap super group” that will release a new single before the end of the year titled “Waste Management.”

“We’re working on a rap CD,” Redick revealed. “We actually haven’t come up with a name from the group, we’re throwing around some ideas right now.”

Redick listed a number of potential names for his new rap crew, including Sub-par, Afterthought and No-“Profits.”


“The chorus has been written and the first verse and the direction we’re heading on the song has to deal with ‘waste management,’” Redick elaborated. “We’re not taking ourselves to seriously. We have some influences, and when you hear our sound eventually, you’ll pick up right away.”
Redick said he was hoping to have the single released virally and that the track could be released before the end of 2009.

“We’re hoping the single drops before the new year, but we have a pretty full time job, so we don’t have a whole lot of time to work on a rap album right now,” Redick said.

Other NBA players who have released rap albums include Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

Things I Think, err, Know About This Year

1. The ACC will be down this year but still get the most teams into the NCAA tournament. Respect and youth will do that for a conference
2. Memphis not only doesn't win C-USA but they don't even make the NCAA Tournament
3. Either Kansas or Kentucky, the two top teams, will implode due to character issues. Kansas seems like the obvious choice due to the off season issues but I bet it's Kentucky
4. The Big Ten won't be the worst major conference
5. The Pac-10 will. Thus giving us no reason to stay up late and watch USC-Washington State on FSN
6. A mid-major will make the Elite Eight (Butler of course)
7. There will be 10+ schools ranked #1 over the course of the season
8. The parity mentioned in #7 should make for a great tournament at the end of the season
9. Wisconsin and Marquette will struggle and struggle mightily. The state might not get a team in the tournament.
10. Due to #9 I expect all of you to be wearing Duke clothes by the end of the year
11. Duke probably won't win it all this year but they'll be the preseason #1 next year. (yes, I'm rationalizing a loss already)

Big East Analysis

Marquette will suck. End Communication.

And The Bracket Filled Out

The season preview is here.

Official Stats
Conference Tourney Winners = 31
Locks = 22 Great Bets = 8
Last 4 in = 4
Total At Large Bids = 34
Total Teams Invited = 65

Automatic Bids (31)
1 American East - Boston
2 ACC - Duke
3 Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville
4 Atlantic 10 - Dayton
5 Big East - Villanova
6 Big Sky - Weber State
7 Big South - Radford
8 Big 10 - Purdue
9 Big 12 - Kansas
10 Big West - UC-Santa Barbara
11 Colonial - Old Dominion
12 C-USA - Tulsa
13 Horizon - Butler
14 Ivy League - Cornell
15 MAAC - Siena
16 MAC - Akron
17 MEAC - Morgan State
18 Missouri Valley - Northern Iowa
19 Mountain West - BYU
20 NorthEast - Mount St. Mary's
21 Ohio Valley - Morehead State
22 Pac 10 - California
23 Patriot - Holy Cross
24 SEC - Kentucky
25 Southern - College of Charleston
26 Summit - Oakland
27 Southland - Texas A&M - CC
28 Sun Belt - Western Kentucky
29 SWAC - Jackson State
30 WAC - Utah State
31 West Coast - Gonzaga

Locks (22)
1 North Carolina
2 Clemson
3 Florida State
4 Georgia Tech
5 Xavier
6 West Virginia
7 Connecticut
8 Georgetown
9 Louisville
10 Ohio State
11 Michigan State
12 Illinois
13 Michigan State
14 Oklahoma
15 Texas
16 Texas A&M
17 Houston
18 UCLA
19 Washington
20 Tennessee
21 South Carolina
22 Mississippi State

Great Bets (8)
1 Maryland
2 Wake Forest
3 Notre Dame
4 Oklahoma State
5 Mississippi
6 Vanderbillt
7 Illinois State
8 Minnesota

Last Four In (4)
1 Cincinnati
2 Wisconsin
3 Kansas State
4 Pittsburgh

Last Four Out (4)
1 UTEP
2 Creighton
3 Northwestern
4 Syracuse

Next Four Out (4)
1 Richmond
2 Memphis
3 Arizona
4 Portland

Also Considered (5)
1 Idaho
2 Duquesne
3 Winthorp
4 George Mason
5 VCU
6 UWM
7 Wright State
8 Niagara
9 Northern Illinois
10 UNLV
11 San Diego State
12 New Mexico
13 Alabama
14 Troy
15 Louisiana Tech
16 Nevada
17 Oregon State
18 Seton Hall
19 Baylor
20 Missouri
21 Oregon
22 Virginia Tech
23 Florida
24 Arkansas
25 Northeastern
26 Witchita State

2009-2010 NCAA Preview

Is coming soon. Stay tuned.

Nothing to do w/basketball...

Announcing schedule.

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2009/10/your-2009-2010-espn-college-basketball.html

Know when Dickie V will be yelling so you can mute your tv!

1. With the mouthbreather gone will he refocus on Duke? (please, no!). Or will he gush over mouthbreather's acting abilities in that stupid AT&T commercial?

2. With all of the yelling and out of breath gasping Dickie V does will Erin Andrews think he's a cute old man or will she think the heavy breathing is directed at her?

Three Weeks It Begins!

We begin the NCAA season with a Florida International win at North Carolina.

Wow.

When they lost to Clemson by 27 I thought it couldn't get worse.

Scheyer & Henderson 4-32. That's under 13%.

26.7% from the field as a team.
18% shooting 3's.

Pathetic. And embarrassing.

The Paymon Scale....Only one thing to say to that:

Mmmmmmmbbbbllleeeehhhhhhh!

Re: Final Evaluation

You should have been closer. Arizona belongs in the NIT. Anyway, I won't rant on that one. Below is a link to all of the games and who will be announcing. At least we will know who to complain about ahead of time.

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2009/03/your-ncaa-tournament-announcing.html

Greensboro- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellog
Philadelphia- Dick Enberg, Carter Blackburn, Jay Bilas
Kansas City- Tim Brando, Mike Gminski
Portland- Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner
Dayton- Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery
Miami- Ian Eagle, Jim Sparnarkel
Minneapolis- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore
Boise- Craig Bolerjack, Dan Wenzel

ROUND ONE

Thursday, March 19th:

LSU vs. Butler (Greensboro, 12:20pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Memphis vs. Cal. St. Northridge (Kansas City, 12:25pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
BYU vs. Texas A&M (Philadelphia, 12:30pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Purdue vs. Northern Iowa (Portland, 2:30pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
North Carolina vs. Radford (Greensboro, 2:50pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
California vs. Maryland (Kansas City, 2:55pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Connecticut vs. Chattanooga (Philadelphia, 3pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Washington vs. Mississippi St. (Portland 5pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
Texas vs. Minnesota (Greensboro, 7:10pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Clemson vs. Michigan (Kansas City, 7:10pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Villanova vs. American (Philadelphia, 7:20pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Gonzaga vs. Akron (Portland, 7:25pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
Duke vs. Binghamton (Greensboro, 9:40pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Oklahoma vs. Morgan State (Kansas City, 9:40pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
UCLA vs. VCU (Philadelphia, 9:50pm)- Dick Enberg or Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas
Illinois vs. Western Kentucky (Portland, 9:55pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner

Friday, March 20th

Syracuse vs. Stephen F. Austin (Miami, 12:15pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Oklahoma St. vs. Tennessee (Dayton, 12:25pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Kansas vs. North Dakota State (Minneapolis, 12:30pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Marquette vs. Utah State (Boise, 12:30pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Arizona State vs. Temple (Miami, 2:45pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Pittsburgh vs. E. Tennessee St. (Dayton, 2:55pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
West Virginia vs. Dayton (Minneapolis, 3pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Missouri vs. Cornell (Boise, 3pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Utah vs. Arizona (Miami, 7:10pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Louisville vs. Alabama St./Morehead St. (Dayton, 7:10pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Boston College vs. USC (Minneapolis, 7:20pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Xavier vs. Portland State (Boise, 7:25pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Wake Forest vs. Cleveland State (Miami, 9:40pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Ohio State vs. Siena (Dayton, 9:40pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Michigan State vs. Robert Morris (Minneapolis, 9:50pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Florida State vs. Wisconsin (Boise, 9:55)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel

ROUND TWO

Saturday, March 21st

Villanova/American vs. UCLA/VCU (Philadelphia, 1:05pm)- Dick Enberg/Jay Bilas
Memphis/Cal St. Northridge vs. California/Maryland (Kansas City, 3:20pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Connecticut/Chattanooga vs. BYU/Texas A&M (Philadelphia, 3:35pm)- Dick Enberg/Jay Bilas
Purdue/N. Iowa vs. Washington/Mississippi State (Portland, 5:40pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
North Carolina/Radford vs. LSU/Butler (Greensboro, 5:45pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Oklahoma/Morgan State vs. Clemson/Michigan (Kansas City, 5:50pm)- Tim Brando/Mike Gminski Gonzaga/Akron vs. Illinois/Western Kentucky (Portland, 8pm)- Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner Duke/Binghamton vs. Texas/Minnesota (Greensboro, 8:05pm)- Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg

Sunday, March 22nd

Syracuse/Stephen F. Austin vs. Arizona State/Temple (Miami, 12:10pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Florida State/Wisconsin vs. Xavier/Portland State (Boise, 2:20pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Kansas/N. Dakota State vs. West Virginia/Dayton (Minneapolis, 2:30pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Wake Forest/Cleveland State vs. Utah/Arizona (Miami, 2:40pm)- Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Oklahoma State/Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh/E. Tennessee State (Dayton, 2:50pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Missouri/Cornell vs. Marquette/Utah State (Boise, 4:50pm)- Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel
Michigan State/Robert Morris vs. Boston College/USC (Minneapolis, 5pm)- Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Ohio State/Siena vs. Louisville/Alabama State or Morehead State (Dayton, 5:10pm)- Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery

Final Evaluation

Well, the little guys got screwed and so did I. Only 62 of 65 this year. I missed Arizona, Minnesota, and Maryland. On the Paymon scale, which is how Bracktologist are ranked, I scored a 280. The Paymon scale give you 3 points for each team correctly picked, 2 points for getting the correct seed, and 1 point for being only 1 seed away. In otherwords getting the correct team on the correct seed is worth 6 points and thus 390 is the maximum amount of points. There's room for improvement, and I look forward to next year. Speaking of next year I'm proud to announce my bracket prediction will be tracked on the below link. I'll be going up against Lunardi officially next year!

BTW, my 280 would have ranked pretty low...

http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm

Which #5 will go down?

Lunardi vs Me

2 different. He's got Maryland and Minnesota, I got San Diego State and St. Mary's.

Matchups

1 seed vs 16 seed
North Carolina vs Play in Winner
Pittsburgh vs Morehead State
Lousville vs Morgan State
Memphis vs CSU-Northridge

2 seed vs 15 seed
Connecticut vs East Tenn State
Duke vs Radford
Michigan State vs Cornell
Oklahoma vs Robert Morris

3 seed vs 14 seed
Missouri vs Portland State
Villanova vs Binghamton
Syracuse vs Akron
Kansas vs North Dakota State

4 seed vs 13 seed
Florida State vs American
Wake Forest vs Stephen F Austin
Purdue vs Cleveland State
Washington vs Western Kentucky

5 seed vs 12 seed
Clemson vs Northern Iowa
UCLA vs Mississippi State
Xavier vs Creighton
Tennessee vs St. Mary's

6 seed vs 11 seed
West Virginia vs VCU
Illinois vs Temple
Arizona State vs Wisconsin
Gonzaga vs San Diego State

7 seed vs 10 seed
Utah vs Utah State
Butler vs Texas A&M
Marquette vs Michigan
Oklahoma State vs California

8 seed vs 9 seed
Ohio State vs USC
LSU vs Siena
Dayton vs Boston College
BYU vs Texas

My Final Bracket

I decided to go with Minny out.

Automatic Bids (31)
1 American East - Binghamton
2 ACC - Duke
3 Atlantic Sun - East Tennessee State
4 Atlantic 10 - Temple
5 Big East - Louisville
6 Big Sky - Portland State
7 Big South - Radford
8 Big 10 - Purdue
9 Big 12 - Missouri
10 Big West - CSU-Northridge
11 Colonial - VCU
12 C-USA - Memphis
13 Horizon - Cleveland State
14 Ivy League - Cornell
15 MAAC - Siena
16 MAC - Akron
17 MEAC - Morgan State
18 Missouri Valley - Northern Iowa
19 Mountain West - Utah
20 NorthEast - Robert Morris
21 Ohio Valley - Morehead State
22 Pac 10 - USC
23 Patriot - American
24 SEC - Mississipi State
25 Southern - Chattanooga
26 Southland - Stephen F. Austin
27 Summit - North Dakota State
28 Sun Belt - Western Kentucky
29 SWAC - Alabama State
30 WAC - Utah State
31 West Coast - Gonzaga

Locks (22)
1 Wake Forest 16
2 Texas 43
3 North Carolina 3
4 Florida State 14
5 Connecticut 7
6 Clemson 27
7 Marquette 33
8 Pittsburgh 1
9 Syracuse 12
10 UCLA 35
11 BYU 32
12 Illinois 26
13 Michigan State 8
14 West Virginia 20
15 Oklahoma 6
16 Kansas 9
17 Washington 15
18 Villanova 13
19 California 40
20 LSU 37
21 Butler 22
22 Xavier 17

Great Bets (8)
1 Boston College 56
2 Dayton 31
3 Oklahoma State 17
4 Ohio State 24
5 Arizona State 34
6 Texas A&M 39
7 Michigan 42
8 Tennessee 47

Last Four In (4)
1 Wisconsin 38
2 San Diego State 27
3 Creighton 41
4 St. Mary's 47

Last Four Out (4)
1 Minnesota 38
2 Arizona 51
3 Maryland 53
4 Penn State 67

Next Four Out (4)
1 South Carolina 63
2 Virginia Tech 59
3 New Mexico 67
4 Florida 44

Also Considered (5)
1 Tulsa 57
2 Providence 72
3 Davidson 71
4 Auburn 62

College Gameday

Did anyone see it this morning? I learned two things:

1. Digger REALLY likes Arizona. I thought it was Lute sitting there.
2. Digger REALLY doesn't like Lunardi. Bilas doesn't seem to like him either.

Team Answers

A Wisconsin
B St. Mary's

C Penn State
D Creighton

E Michigan
F Arizona

G Minnesota
H Auburn

I Virginia Tech
J Maryland

Re: lets play a game

A: They may be 18-12, but comparing direct a 14 vs. 148 SOS overcomes the win discrepency. I cant see the 24-6 team any better than 18-12 playing the other schedule. But its probably more exciting for the tournament for the 24-6 team to get in!!
D: Better RPI, both SOS in that 100 range so I dont see that as a decider. Better last 12 and overall record.
E: Given how similar, i'll let the RPI/SOS decide this one
G/H: Ugh. I'll give the nod to G, even with the .500 last 12. maybe.
J: Pretty much equal, the last 12 record decides this one.

Sunday Morning Update

Here's how I see things so far. Marquette has fallen to a 7 seed, and there are 4 spots left on the bubble. I'm considering leaving Minnesota out due to their 5-7 record over their last 12. Only two teams are 5-7 in their last 12 that look in right now; Minnesota and Marquette.

Automatic Bids (31)
1 American East - Binghamton
2 ACC - Duke
3 Atlantic Sun - East Tennessee State
4 Atlantic 10 - Temple
5 Big East - Louisville
6 Big Sky - Portland State
7 Big South - Radford
8 Big 10 - Purdue
9 Big 12 - Missouri
10 Big West - CSU-Northridge
11 Colonial - VCU
12 C-USA - Memphis
13 Horizon - Cleveland State
14 Ivy League - Cornell
15 MAAC - Siena
16 MAC - Akron
17 MEAC - Morgan State
18 Missouri Valley - Northern Iowa
19 Mountain West - Utah
20 NorthEast - Robert Morris
21 Ohio Valley - Morehead State
22 Pac 10 - USC
23 Patriot - American
24 SEC - Tennessee
25 Southern - Chattanooga
26 Southland - Stephen F. Austin
27 Summit - North Dakota State
28 Sun Belt - Western Kentucky
29 SWAC - Alabama State
30 WAC - Utah State
31 West Coast - Gonzaga

Locks (22)
1 Wake Forest 16
2 Texas 43
3 North Carolina 3
4 Florida State 14
5 Connecticut 7
6 Clemson 27
7 Marquette 33
8 Pittsburgh 1
9 Syracuse 12
10 UCLA 35
11 BYU 32
12 Illinois 26
13 Michigan State 8
14 West Virginia 20
15 Oklahoma 6
16 Kansas 9
17 Washington 15
18 Villanova 13
19 California 40
20 LSU 37
21 Butler 22
22 Xavier 17

Great Bets (8)
1 Boston College 56
2 Dayton 31
3 Oklahoma State 17
4 Ohio State 24
5 Arizona State 34
6 Texas A&M 39
7 Michigan 42
8 Wisconsin 47

Last Four In (4)
1 Minnesota 38
2 San Diego State 27
3 Creighton 41
4 St. Mary's 47

Last Four Out (4)
1 Arizona 58
2 Florida 51
3 Maryland 53
4 Penn State 67

Next Four Out (4)
1 South Carolina 63
2 Virginia Tech 59
3 New Mexico 67
4 Davidson 71

Also Considered (5)
1 Tulsa 57
2 Providence 72
3 Baylor 49
4 Auburn 62

Ok, I Haven't Went to Bed Yet

I crunched some numbers tonight and here's my final thought before going to bed. Penn State is out. That leaves 7 Big 10 team in. I am predicting they only get 6 and one of Minny, Mich, or Wisky gets left out and that's the team Dicky V cries about tomorrow night at about 6:17 on ESPN. SDst deserves a bid. Plain and simple. More updates tomorrow.

A Lot To Think About

I'm going to bed. I won't sleep good, never do. But, if I were Creighton, St. Mary's, Maryland, Arizona, Minnesoata, Wisconsin, or Penn State, I wouldn't be sleeping good either.

Re: Let's Play a Game

B - SOS is high but 18-12 should not get you in, even if you play in a major conference.
D - Decent RPI and they are hot as of late.
E - I guess. Give it to C instead.
G or H - Get a coin out. Tails never fails.
J - See answer for B above.

Lunardi

Brian - I think you might be on to something. Joe, you owe us a mention on ESPN.

YES!

If you remember a couple weeks back I mentioned Ken Pomeroy's Adjusted Defensive Efficiency stat that no team has ever made the Final Four that wasn't in the top 25? Well, as of this morning North Carolina is ranked 28th. Cold hard facts that show they won't get it done this year! Sweet.

Let's Play a Game

Let’s play a blind resume game. Pick 1 from each group, Who gets in here?

A) 18-12, RPI = 48, Conf = 10-8, SOS = 14, Last 12 = 7-5
B) 24-6, RPI = 47 Conf = 10-4, SOS = 148, Last 12 = 7-5

C) 22-11, RPI = 67, Conf = 10-8, SOS = 87, Last 12 = 7-5
D) 26-7, RPI = 41, Conf = 14-4, SOS = 112, Last 12 = 11-1

E) 19-13, RPI = 43, Conf = 9-9, SOS = 11, Last 12 = 6-6
F) 19-13, RPI = 57, Conf = 9-9, SOS = 32, Last 12 = 7-5

G) 21-10, RPI = 37, Conf = 9-9, SOS = 33, Last 12 = 6-6
H) 21-10, RPI = 59, Conf = 10-6, SOS = 67, Last 12 = 9-3

I) 18-14, RPI = 58, Conf = 7-9, SOS = 24, Last 12 = 4-8
J) 20-12, RPI = 52, Conf = 7-9, SOS = 27, Last 12 = 6-6

Cheater

Lunardi updated his bracket this morning. Guess who he dropped out and who he added. Yep, Penn State out, St. Mary's in. Copycat.

Lunardi

Well, we have 1 different. I have St. Mary's in and he has Penn State. Ultimately there's a chance neither make it but I have a better feeling about St. Mary's then I do about Creighton or Maryland's chances against Duke.

Bubble Update

Wow, fluid stuff this morning. Here's what happend in the bracket last night. South Carolina, Penn State, and Virginia Tech all fall out. With little room for improvement they probably won't be able to climb back in but for now they will remain in the discussion. Taking their spots for today at least are Maryland, Creighton, and Temple. Temple is in due to them making the A-10 final. They probably don't have enough for At-Large all though their computer numbers are great (RPI = 39).

As for the overall bubble I figure there are 6 spots still open for discussion. Of the 6 spots, they can be split into 2 categories. 3 are almost locks and the other 3 are wide open. At this point the teams in those two categories are as such:
Almost Locks
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Michigan

Open
Creighton
Maryland
St. Mary's

The Almost locks all took hits yesterday and are not on firm ground anymore. Wisconsin is the biggest loser as their RPI fell to a dangerous 48 and are not as certain as they were yesterday.

The biggest threat to the bubble are Tulsa, Baylor, USC, and Auburn. They are all still alive in their conference tournament and all out at the moment. If they win the auto-bid they will start pushing these bubble teams off. St. Mary's, Creighton and the 3 Big 10 teams can do nothing but watch. Maryland still has today's game against Duke to hang on to.

Lots of movement today. Should be fun.

Today's Bids

-- AUTOMATIC BIDS AT STAKE --

America East: UMBC vs. Binghamton (at 11 a.m. ET)

Conference USA: Tulsa vs. Memphis (at 11:35 a.m. ET)

Atlantic 10: Duquesne vs. Temple (at 6 p.m. ET)

Big 12: 4. Baylor vs. Missouri (at 6 p.m. ET)

Pac-10: 3. Southern California vs. Arizona State (at 6 p.m. ET)

MEAC: Norfolk State vs. Morgan State (at 7 p.m. ET)

Mountain West: San Diego State vs. Utah (at 7 p.m. ET)

MAC: Akron vs. Buffalo (at 8 p.m. ET)

Big East: Syracuse vs. Louisville (at 9 p.m. ET)

SWAC: Jackson State vs. Alabama State (at 9 p.m. ET)

WAC: Nevada vs. Utah State (at 10 p.m. ET)

Big West: Pacific vs. Cal State-Northridge (at midnight ET)

UAB equals UBGone

See ya!

And my ass wasn't puckering. Pucker is puckering though.

Tee-hee

Syracuse Overtime.

Duke Survives. I almost got sucked into the vortex of ass-puckering to the east of my house....

Syracuse

Again?!?

A-10 Craziness

Duquesne vs Temple for the bid. Right now that hurts a bubble team. Later, that hurts a bubble team. Tomorrow, that hurts a bubble team. I guess what I'm saying is that it hurts a bubble team. Duke, down 7 at half, up 7 now.

Crazy Shiznit

Right now the Big 12 and A-10 look like they are sending Scrubby McScruberton to the finals. That's what you call Bubble stealing baby! Wisconsin, not a lock yet. Watch out for Temple, Baylor, and Duquesne. I think it's pronounced Doo-Kes-Knee. Correct me if I'm wrong. P.S. Wings not sitting well...

That's what I'm talkin about!!

Geek Dice. Page 1. Dig it.

Updated Bracket

Matchups

1 seed vs 16 seed
North Carolina vs Play in Winner
Pittsburgh vs Morehead State
Lousville vs Morgan State
Memphis vs CSU-Northridge

2 seed vs 15 seed
Michigan State vs East Tenn State
Connecticut vs Radford
Duke vs Cornell
Oklahoma vs Robert Morris

3 seed vs 14 seed
Missouri vs Bowling Green
Washington vs Binghamton
Wake Forest vs Portland State
Villanova vs North Dakota State

4 seed vs 13 seed
Kansas vs American
Syracuse vs Stephen F Austin
Florida State vs Cleveland State
Xavier vs Northern Iowa

5 seed vs 12 seed
UCLA vs Western Kentucky
Illinois vs Penn State
West Virginia vs Virginia Tech
Purdue vs St. Mary's

6 seed vs 11 seed
Clemson vs South Carolina
Marquette vs VCU
Tennessee vs San Diego State
Utah vs Utah State

7 seed vs 10 seed
Gonzaga vs Wisconsin
Butler vs Texas A&M
Arizona State vs Minnesota
Oklahoma State vs Siena

8 seed vs 9 seed
BYU vs Michigan
LSU vs California
Dayton vs Boston College
Texas vs Ohio State

Friday Morning Update

Wow, what a game in the Big East last night! Of course there were other games too; let's group them in a couple categories:

The Bye-Bye group, AKA: teams that you will not find in my blog anymore because they have no chance:
Kansas State
Rhode Island

The Fallout Boys, AKA: in the bracket yesterday, out today
New Mexico
Arizona

Rise and Fire, AKA: out yesterday, in today
Penn State
Virginia Tech

Hanging on For Dear Life, AKA: Keep winning, and praying
Florida
USC
Maryland

Climbing, AKA: Mid-Majors brewing for a conference upset
Temple
Tulsa
UAB

Dear God No!, AKA BCS conference spoilers
Kentucky
Baylor

Finally, I crunched a couple numbers last night and have a new bracket. Please note that I did not cheat or look at any matchups until I was done. Marquette, please meet VCU in the first round.

Today's Bids

Pariot League
American at Holy Cross
Cro-Mags graduated so buy American

Special Game of the Day
St. Mary's at Eastern Washington
Due to a scheduling quirk St. Mary's was able to schedule this game earlier this week. One more chance to get Patty Mills on track and impress the NCAA committee

3rd; That's Where

This game ranks third it the greatest games I've watched. The only two I can think of that were better of the top of my head is the 2006 Elite Eight game between Connecticut and George Mason and of course the 1992 Kentucky-Duke game. Bubble updates will be posted in an hour.

Well Done.

Well done, guys.

Never figured anyone would be up yet. Brian, to think I was debating texting you to wake you up to watch it.

See you all next week!

It's over.

How does Syracuse win by 10 in the 6th overtime when they never had the lead at all in the first 5?

By going 41-50 from the line in this game including 23-26 after regulation ended.

How does UConn respond to this heartbreaker next week? It may not matter on paper but it's gotta hurt to lose a game like this.

Where does this game rank all-time? Discuss.

Over!

I was not letting that game beat me. The last 2 nights I've fallen asleep on the couch. Not tonight baby. With 4 minutes left in the game I told myself I was seeing this one through to the end. 6 overtimes and 2 hours later it's time for bed!

Psst at 6 OT

Is it too much to ask for a seventh overtime?! Or maybe a single overtime game next thrusday/Friday? Or maybe a buzzer beater to end regulation next weekend? Or for the love of god...a close game!?! If the conference tourneys are any indication of what is to come, we may be picking up the slack on the opening rounds for the last couple of years. Hooray Beer!!

6OT

At least it is only 10pm for you, Ben.

Going to SIX.

Holy Crap. And Syracuse has not had the lead at any point in overtime yet.

And now we're going to #6

This is one of the best games I've ever seen and I hate both teams. 6 freaking overtimes! I should have gone to bed at 10 like I planned.

We're going to #5!

Sometimes AZ has benefits

Tonight, only because of the time zone. You will wake up in the morning to find out that you missed one of the best games of the year. Syracuse-UConn is currently in OT #4.

Yes, I said #4.

You have to watch the highlights. Syracuse drained a cold-blooded, absolutely cold blooded three to win at the end of regulation. Except on review he didn't get the shot off in time.

I can only dream that we get a game like this next Thursday to start off the tourney right.

Ugh...

I hadnt actually seen it until now, I had just listened on the radio. I believe that qualifies as a blown Defensive assignment.

Stupid Marquette

Way to come all the way back only to lose by one point. Hey...wait...that sounds familiar. Good analysis.

PS. Geek Dice. Geek Captain.

Stupid Marquette

Way to climb back just to lose at the buzzer. In other games Michigan wins to basically lock themselves in. Tulsa and Temple both win to stay in the conversation. Arizona is down 10 with 4 minutes to go. They might be on their way out of the bracket.

Bubble Update

Miami loses to Virginia Tech and they are eliminated. Providence loses and are probably out but I'm going to leave them in the Also Considered because they might still get some love for being in the Big East.

Thursday Morning Update

Two more bids went out last night, The Big Sky champion, Portland State and Northeast champion, Robert Morris. My analysis is as such; Robert Morris will be a 15 seed and getting 24 points. Take Louisville or Memphis -24 and bank it. Portland State will probably be a 14 seed and hang for a half. Ultimately they lose by 18.

Outside of the bids given out Notre Dame is eliminated by losing to West Virginia. In addition Texas A&M loses a 15 point lead to Texas Tech and ultimately the game. I think they are still safe but they slide out of the lock category.

For today, there are too many bubble games to mention so I'm just going to highlight 3 since they are basically elimination games for the losers:

Northwestern at Minnesota
Miami at Virginia Tech
San Diego State at UNLV

Oh, yeah. Almost forgot.

Geek dice.

Almost there.

Page 5 in google? Hell, "geek captain" got us on page 1 in march last year. We can do better.

Damn Skippy Geek Dice!

Just had to get in another title after I visited our beloved blog and caught up after watching a scintillating Robert Morris victory.

At least it appears Marquette can still beat someone. Nice to set a record for least points allowed in a half. 5 of us could probably put up 10 pts in a half. Villanova is not a good matchup tomorrow (not sure what would be at this point), MU split with Nova, but only won the first game after Nova completely collapsed after having a lead with 10 min left in the game.

Seton Hall and Syracuse may kill each other before this game is over, between the flagrants and the near fisticuffs. yes, i said fisticuffs. Raftery is whining like a bitch "Awww, c'mon guys, just play basketball" in his whiny Raftery voice.

PS. Geek Dice. Nice job going to page 5 to find it!!

Google Spoogle

There it is on Page 5 of the Google search; Geek Dice. Page 5 is weak, we need to step up. Geek Dice is storming the nation come 2010. Time to Copyright this sucker!

Rachel's worst nightmare

http://www.hulu.com/watch/61487/onion-news-network-ncaa-expands-march-madness-to-include-4096-teams

We're going to need more beer.

No luck

Sorry, Bryan. Your mention of geek dice has failed to move the blog up in google. In fact, we have fallen off of the first page when searching for "geek dice."

Geek dice.

Today's Bracket

As mentioned Cleveland State knocks Butler into the at-large pool. To compensate for this Creighton is removed from the bracket and into the last 4 out. Cincinnati has been completely removed as has Niagara. This leaves 28 teams alive for 12 spots. The big day is going to be tomorrow when the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC get into full gear.

St. Mary's got a lot to prove on Friday as well as they've scheduled another game against Eastern Washington. If Patty Mills looks good they can go to the committee with that lasting image. That'll go further than the 25 point loss to Gonzaga.

Today's Bids

Big Sky
Portland State at Montana State
Meh, Portland State might be able to hang for a half as a 15 seed.

Northeast
Mount St. Mary's at Robert Morris
Double Meh

Today's Bubble Games

DePaul at Providence
Providence needs this to stay on the bubble. Even a win does guarantee anything

St. John's at Marquette
Somebody needs to stop the bleeding....

Iowa State at Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State locks in a bid with a win. A loss really hurts.

Texas Tech at Texas A&M
Texas A&M might be able to afford a loss. I wouldn't push it though.

Bids Handed Out Last Night

Congratulations to Western Kentucky, North Dakota State, and Cleveland State on winning their conference tournament. The big news here is that Cleveland State beat Butler thus taking one Bubble slot away. Butler is a lock at this point so this is going to push out either St. Mary's or Penn State. Update in a few...

Geek Dice Sponsor

I cant believe we made it this long without an official sponsor for Geek Dice, but I proudly announce the signing on of Uncle's Games

I mean, there are numerous sites to go to when you're in search of geek dice to round out your collection, but when you need your dice in a hurry, no one delivers like Uncle's. I was able to procure full sets of 10 and 12 sided dice, ordered and delivered within 5 days. Now that's an understanding of the urgency of that situation!!

Side note - quit picking on Marquette. Its making me sad.

Side Side note - I was rooting for Oakland tonite, they came up just short, and in reality pissed it away. My man Ed who sits across from me is an Oakland alum. Who woulda thunk it?

Big Least

Goodbye Georgetown, it was nice knowing you. Good to see the #16 and #13 seed advance in the Big East Tournament. Can Notre Dame make it a trifecta of bubble bursting madness tonight?

Pop!

Cincinnati Loses this morning and they are eliminated.

Today's Bids

Horizon League
Cleveland State at Butler
Come along with Snorks on their win and in quest. Butler is a lock already so a win by Cleveland State makes the Horizon a two bid league

Summit
Oakland at North Dakota State
Oakland would be a 16 seed while North Dakota State is probably a 13 capable of giving a 4 seed a run

Sun Belt
South Alabama at Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky won last year as 12 seed. Can they do it again?

Today's Bubble

Not much bubble worthy matchups today although the Big East championship starts. Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Cincinnati all have 1st round games which are all elimination games if they lose. None will get in with a win however but it is a start.

Tuesday Morning Update

Four more bids went out last night, including a couple teams that can make some noise next week.

CAA - VCU
A dangerous 11 or 12 seed. Capable of winning a game or two

WCC - Gonzaga
Currently a 7 seed, they have a chance to move up to a 4 or 5 based on who loses when in their conference tourneys. I'm looking at you Marquette

MAAC - Siena
Beat Vandy last year as a 13 seed. With an RPI around 25 you're looking at a 10 seed or so

SoCon - Chattanooga
18-16 record, 180+ RPI. Hello 16 seed.....if you win the play in game.

Tonight's Games

Colonial Championship
George Mason at VCU
Loser is likely out as they would need tons of help (and love) to get in

West Coast
St. Mary's at Gonzaga
Gonzaga is in no matter what. St. Mary's need to avoid getting blown out to be a lock

Southern
College of Charleston at Tenn-Chattanogga
Formerly known as Davidson's Bid to lose, Davidson lost their bid. Charleston is capable of a 14 seed upset

Metro
Niagara at Siena
Siena has a top 30 RPI but might need the autobid to get in Niagara is just a little short

Overall these are some really good games. I suggest checking them out.

And Your Bracket

Monday Morning Bracketology

Official Stats
Conference Tourney Winners = 31
Locks = 22 Great Bets = 8
Last 4 in = 4
Total At Large Bids = 34
Total Teams Invited = 65

Automatic Bids (31)
1 American East - Binghamton
2 ACC - North Carolina
3 Atlantic Sun - East Tennessee State
4 Atlantic 10 - Xavier
5 Big East - Louisville
6 Big Sky - Weber State
7 Big South - Radford
8 Big 10 - Michigan State
9 Big 12 - Kansas
10 Big West - CSU-Northridge
11 Colonial - VCU
12 C-USA - Memphis
13 Horizon - Butler
14 Ivy League - Cornell
15 MAAC - Siena
16 MAC - Bowling Green
17 MEAC - Morgan State
18 Missouri Valley - Northern Iowa
19 Mountain West - BYU
20 NorthEast - Robert Morris
21 Ohio Valley - Morehead State
22 Pac 10 - Washington
23 Patriot - American
24 SEC - LSU
25 Southern - Charleston
26 Southland - Stephen F. Austin
27 Summit - North Dakota State
28 Sun Belt - Western Kentucky
29 SWAC - Alabama State
30 WAC - Utah State
31 West Coast - Gonzaga

Locks (22)
1 Wake Forest 10
2 Texas 36
3 Duke 3
4 Florida State 16
5 Connecticut 4
6 Clemson 18
7 Marquette 30
8 Pittsburgh 1
9 Syracuse 17
10 UCLA 28
11 Utah 11
12 Illinois 20
13 Purdue 31
14 West Virginia 27
15 Oklahoma 5
16 Missouri 12
17 Arizona State 34
18 Villanova 13
19 California 32
20 Tennessee 23
21 South Carolina 49
22 Boston College 56

Great Bets (8)
1 Dayton 22
2 Oklahoma State 25
3 Ohio State 35
4 Texas A&M 29
5 Wisconsin 38
6 Michigan 42
7 San Diego State 43
8 New Mexico 57

Last Four In (4)
1 Arizona 51
2 Minnesota 40
3 Creighton 41
4 St. Mary's 46

Last Four Out (4)
1 Penn State 63
2 Florida 48
3 Virginia Tech 62
4 Miami - Fla 52

Next Four Out (4)
1 UNLV 55
2 Providence 69
3 Temple 39
4 Tulsa 61

Also Considered (10)
1 USC 59
2 Niagara 53
3 Maryland 67
4 Cincinnati 73
5 Davidson 72
6 Notre Dame 71
7 Rhode Island 65
8 Auburn 64
9 George Mason 50
10 Kansas State 77

Davidson Loses

And are cast into the also considered. I'm calling it now; Davidson will be one of those teams shown during Selection Sunday that doesn't get called. Jim Nantz almost cries for them. Stephen Curry declares for the draft, is taken 5th and is nothing but a glorified Chuck Person.

Sunday Morning Update

Kentucky loses to Florida and are no longer considered. Taking their place is Illinois State who crushed Creighton yesterday. UNLV loses to San Diego State and they fall out. They are replaced by Arizona who got past Stanford at home. Minnesota loses as home to Michigan and they fall out as well. Taking their place is New Mexico who finished tied for 1st in the Mountain West at 12-4.

A couple other big games to look for today outside of Duke-Carolina are the following:

Virginia Tech at Florida State
This is VaTech's last chance.

Northwestern at Ohio State
N'Western is hanging on by a thread. Ohio State is in trouble with a loss

Miami Oh at Buffalo
The #1 seed in the MAC tournament is at stake

Illinois State at Northern Iowa
The Missouri Valley Final. Winner gets a bid

Portland at St. Mary's
Patty Mills is back for St. Mary's. They must prove they are back to their form with him.

Indiana at Wisconsin
A win gives Wisky a lock. Seeding is big at this point.

UWGB

Game was on the U. Just horrendous. Get up 16-4 to start the game, up 6 at half, and it just goes away. There were plenty of chances.....whoever their point guard is missed the front end of a 1-1 twice in the last few minutes, the first time when they were down 2. Oh, and did I also mention the 5 SECOND CALL??!?! Down 3 and they get a 5 second call on an inbound, again less than 30 sec left in the game. Unfortunately, they did their best to lose this game in the second half.

Morehead v Austin Peay was a great game, esp at the end of regulation. The alley-oop with 6 seconds left, and then the banker to send it to OT. Great game, can only hope the tourney gives us a few of those. I guess instead of "Lets go Peay", we have to hope for the cheerleaders to chant "We want Morehead!"

Gotta go now and review the Packer free agent signings...

Errrr, eeeerrr, errrrr

The Waterboy was just on yesterday. Combine the Waterboy noises with this movement. You could see him making that eerr, errr, errrr noise when running couldn't you? Admit it.

Ohio Valley

Hope you're watching it on ESPN2, double overtime. Sweet Game.

In addition I've moved Boston College and South Carolina to Locks which leaves 12 bids left up for grabs. UNLV at San Diego State on CBSCS right now is huge as the loser falls out of the bracket for now.

Marquette Update

I ran through the numbers and they are a 6 seed as of right now. I don't think a loss in the 1st round will drop them to a 7 seed so the bright side is that they've already bottomed out and have no place to go but up.

Late Night Update

So far East Tennessee State and Radford have punched their tickets. Marquette continues their late season fade and are losing a grip on a 5 seed. A loss in their first game of the Big East probably drops them down to an 6 seed and then you are looking at a first round game where they might not even be favored.
Kentucky lost and outside of making it to the SEC championship they are finished. Same goes for Cincinnati. I'll have a full bubble update tomorrow morning but for now I'll continue to watch the Ohio Valley Championship. You gotta love the Austin Peay chants "Let's go Peay!"

Free-fallin'

Officially free-fallin' after the loss to Syracuse, at home, in overtime. Again, stupid shot selection at the end of regulation as the man-love for the 3 ball was the choice shot selection. A great job of getting back into the game, only to piss it away with questionable shot selection at the end of the regulation. Stupid. yes, why would you drive the hoop when you can take a pull up fadeaway three from 2 feet behind the arc? So far, since James is out, all we've learned is that they can hang with top-25 caliber teams for most of the game....it just appears they cant beat one at this point. I'm not even sure #5 seed at this point. Stupid. Poop.

Our First Bid!

Congratulations to Cornell who gets the first Bid into the 2009 NCAA Tournament. In addition to Cornell there are 3 other bids going out today:

Atlantic Sun
East Tennessee State at Jacksonville
The 1 and 2 seeds meet up to see who gets to play Pittsburgh as a 16 seed come next Thursday.

Big South
VMI at Radford
Again, the 1 and 2 seeds go at it. For those interested in good NCAA games you should be hoping for the high flying Keydets to win today. 94+ points a game, I recommend you checking today’s game out.

Ohio Valley
Morehead State at Austin Peay
Ah, the Governors. What’s a tournament without them? No Head here, just Peay!

Fail.

Why is this man laughing? Keep reading to find out. There is a VERY valuable lesson here.


Ill-fated rest stop retrieval
Crews pull man from Filer rest area toilet after he tried to retrieve his keys
By David Cooper
Times-News writer

Filer emergency crews retrieved an unidentified Ada County man from a rest area toilet Thursday afternoon, after he climbed into a waste tank and became stuck.

The man was found just before noon by another driver that stopped at the U.S. Highway 30 rest area west of town, according to Filer Police Chief Cliff Johnson. Filer police responded to a 911 call, along with the Filer Fire Department, Filer Quick Response and a paramedic from St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center.

Johnson said the man, who asked police not to be identified, was unable to find his car keys after using the lavatory. Thinking his keys had fallen in the tank, the man removed a round plastic cover at the base of the toilet and climbed in to find them. Once inside he was unable to pull himself out, and waited until someone else arrived. (Imagine that conversation?)

"He hadn't been there too long, only 10 or 15 minutes," Johnson said.

At least 10 emergency response personnel responded to the 911 call, according to Johnson and a dispatch supervisor at Southern Idaho Regional Communication Center.

Eventually the man was retrieved through an access hole used to pump the waste out of the tank.

"It took some lifting to get him out, and he had cut himself pretty good trying to get himself out," Johnson said.

The man was allowed to wash off with the fire truck hose at the scene, where he made another painful discovery.

"That's when he discovered the keys were still in his back pocket," Johnson said.

Both the SIRCOMM supervisor and Johnson said crews didn't ask the man for his name, which wasn't required since no charges or citation were issued.

"He didn't want to give it to us, and that was fine with us," said Taylor Hunsaker, a dispatch supervisor at SIRCOMM. "We didn't want to embarrass him any more than that."

"It was recommended that he seek some medical treatment and get himself cleaned up," Johnson said.

Updated Bracket

And here's a tip; Marquette ain't no 3 seed.

Friday Morning Update

Another night, another couple bubble teams fail. Arizona loses at home to California to run their losing streak to 4 games. They are now out, replaced by San Diego State. Providence also loses and their computer numbers are awful so they fall out too. They are replaced by Michigan who is saved by their good computer numbers. They need to win at Minnesota on Sunday to stay in. Dayton lost to Xavier to fall closer to the bubble but they still look good enough for as bid at this point. Better not lose their first round conference game though.

This Year's Pools

Remember all the fun we had last year with the envelope pools? Well, they're back this year. I've decided to do away with the square pool that we had trouble filling last year. To make up for that I've "enhanced" the point spread pool by including over unders. So with that in mind here are this year's pools besides the big $100 pool.

$1 Envelope Pool
Just like the $100 this one has all 64 teams in envelopes and they cost 1 dollar a piece. Payouts are on the chart at the bottom of the stairs. These sell out fast!

$5 Point Spread Pool
This one started off slow but when there were winners still left in the envelopes this got going. This year I'll be adding in Overs and Unders. Envelopes still cost $5 withe the winner getting $10 per game or over/under

$2 Player Pool
Same as last year. Each envelope has 2 players on it. You collect points for your players based on how many points they score. Top 3 tandems pay out.
1st: 30
2nd: 20
3rd: 14

Pitino

Come on....How can anyone like Pitino? For Christ's sakes, the white suit?!?! What are you, f-ing Colonel Sanders? Gimme a 2 piece meal and a buffalo chicken snacker.....moron