Wednesday Games

Game of the Night:

Auburn at Tennessee - Tennessee looks to be the one team in the SEC who plays enough offense and defense to make a Final Four run.  Auburn needs to have better guard play but can keep up with most teams.  Tonight should be interesting.

Bubble Games:

James Madison at Georgia State - JM keeps moving up due to High Major team losing.  they can't afford a loss.

Northwestern at Maryland - This won't help Northwestern but would ding them with a loss.

California at Colorado - The Buffs are my last team in this morning.

Drake at UIC - I'm not sure the Missouri Valley can get 2 teams anymore but Drake is barely hanging on.

Oregon at Oregon St - The Ducks are behind Utah, who are behind Colorado....

SEC Bubble:  South Carolina at Texas A&M and Alabama at Mississippi

Big East Bubble:  Providence at Marquette, St. John's at Butler, Seton Hall at Creighton.  Can we get another upset or two here?

Tuesday Winners and Losers

Winners:

Houston - holds off Cincinnati and at this point joins Purdue and Connecticut as 1 seed locks

Kentucky - they hit a game winner at Mississippi State to build their resume

Nevada - lets Colorado come back down by 7 in the last minute but banks in a 3 at the buzzer to win

Losers:

Pittsburgh - welcome to the NIT

Cincinnati - might be out of chances without a deep conference tournament run

Wake Forest - pisses away the great win by losing to Notre Dame

Tuesday Night Games

We are under 1 week to conference tournaments starting and the bubble is going to tighten up.  Tonight we have some matchups to watch on the bubble and just in general.  Let's start with the bubble games:

Georgetown at Villanova - Nova is in my Next Four Out but have solid computer numbers.  Can't lose to Georgetown if they want to dance

Cincinnati at Houston - Cincinnati is dropping and is just below Villanova.  Can they catch Houston sleeping after a big win at Baylor?

Pittsburgh at Clemson - I'm barely watching Pittsburgh and will stop watching them if they lose tonight.

Texas at Texas Tech - Texas is in Dayton in my last bracket.  They need a win tonight or they drop out of the bracket to the First Four Out.

Wake Forest at Notre Dame - Wake can't have a let down and this would be a bad loss.

Now, let's get on to the top games on the board:

3.  Nevada at Colorado State - The Mountain West continues to thrive with solid games night in and night out.  Both teams really need this win to stay in the 7-8 seed line

2.  Kentucky at Mississippi State - I think I have Kentucky figured out.  Tonight, after scoring 117 against Alabama, they tighten up, shoot 38% and lose at Mississippi State 67-59.

1.  BYU at Kansas - Looks to be the best game of the night.  Kansas *should* handle BYU but BYU should be hungry after losing 2 of their last 3.

Monday Bracketology

 

1 seed vs 16 seed

Uconn(Beast) vs Norfolk(MEAC)/Merrimack(NEC)

Purdue(B1G) vs EKY(Asun)/Grambling(SWAC)

Houston(B12) vs Fairfield(MAAC)

N.Carolina(ACC) vs S.Dakota St(Summit)

2 seed vs 15 seed

Tennessee(SEC) vs Colgate(Pat)

Arizona(P12) vs Oakland(Horizon)

Marquette vs High Point(Bsouth)

Kansas vs E.Washington(Bsky)

3 seed vs 14 seed

Iowa State vs Vermont(Aeast)

Auburn vs LaTech(CUSA)

Alabama(SEC) vs Morehead(OVC)

Duke vs Charleston(CAA)

4 seed vs 13 seed

Illinois vs UC-Irvine(Bwest)

Baylor vs Akron(MAC)

Creighton vs McNeese St(Sland)

Clemson vs App St(Sbelt)

5 seed vs 12 seed

Utah State(MW) vs Samford(SoCon)

San Diego St vs South Florida(AAC)

Kentucky vs Princeton(Ivy)

Wisconsin vs Richmond(A10)

6 seed vs 11 seed

South Carolina vs Indiana St(MVC)

St. Mary's(WCC) vs Grand Canyon(WAC)

Dayton vs Colorado/Wake Forest

Texas Tech vs Seton Hall/Texas

7 seed vs 10 seed

Colorado St vs Gonzaga

Florida vs Virginia

Oklahoma vs Michigan St

TCU vs New Mexico

8 seed vs 9 seed

Washington St vs Mississippi State

FAU vs Boise State

BYU vs Nebraska

Nevada vs Northwestern

First Four Out

Providence

Mississippi

Utah

Butler

Next Four Out

St John's

Texas A&M

Villanova

Cincinnati

Also Considered

SMU

San Francisco

Kansas St

Drake

Miami

Memphis

Pittsburgh

James Madison

Oregon

Sunday Update

 Lots of action on Saturday will the big news being the Wake Forest court storming.  As for basketball the 2 big things of note were Alabama's defense and Virginia's offense.  Kentucky scores 117 yesterday while Virginia has a total of 134 in their last 3!  Bad basketball...and I'm guessing Virginia is going to be one of my last 4 in on Monday.

As for that bubble, let's look at my First Four Out and Next Four Out:

First Four Out:

Utah - LOST

Mississippi - LOST

Texas A&M - LOST

Seton Hall - WIN

Next Four Out:

Wake Forest - BIG WIN

Oregon - LOST

Villanova - LOST

Cincinnati - LOST

Not a good look this weekend.  Got to figure Wake will replace Butler in my bracket while Seton Hall will be compared to the likes of Virginia, Texas, and Nebraska.

Speaking of Nebraska, they are one of 5 games I'm keeping an eye on today as they host a feisty Gopher team.

Other games include Creighton at St. John's, Ohio State at Michigan State, and Xavier at Marquette. 

That being said, the game of the day is FAU at Memphis in what I expect to be a great high scoring affair.  Both team really need this win.

Friday Bracketology

 

1 seed vs 16 seed

Uconn(Beast) vs Norfolk(MEAC)/Merrimack(NEC)

Purdue(B1G) vs EKY(Asun)/Southern(SWAC)

Houston(B12) vs Quinnipiac(MAAC)

N.Carolina(ACC) vs S.Dakota St(Summit)

2 seed vs 15 seed

Tennessee(SEC) vs Colgate(Pat)

Arizona(P12) vs Oakland(Horizon)

Marquette vs High Point(Bsouth)

Kansas vs E.Washington(Bsky)

3 seed vs 14 seed

Alabama(SEC) vs Vermont(Aeast)

Duke vs LaTech(CUSA)

Creighton vs Morehead(OVC)

Iowa State vs Charleston(CAA)

4 seed vs 13 seed

Baylor vs UC-Irvine(Bwest)

Auburn vs Akron(MAC)

Clemson vs Yale(Ivy)

Illinois vs App St(Sbelt)

5 seed vs 12 seed

Utah State(MW) vs Samford(SoCon)

San Diego St vs South Florida(AAC)

Colorado St vs McNeese St(Sland)

Wisconsin vs Richmond(A10)

6 seed vs 11 seed

Kentucky vs Indiana St(MVC)

Texas Tech vs Colorado/Providence

Dayton vs Grand Canyon(WAC)

St. Mary's(WCC) vs Butler/Gonzaga

7 seed vs 10 seed

Washington St vs Mississippi State

South Carolina vs Texas

FAU vs Boise State

BYU vs Nebraska

8 seed vs 9 seed

Florida vs Virginia

Oklahoma vs Michigan St

TCU vs New Mexico

Nevada vs Northwestern

First Four Out

Utah

Mississippi

Texas A&M

Seton Hall

Next Four Out

Wake Forest

Oregon

Villanova

Cincinnati

Also Considered

SMU

San Francisco

Kansas St

Drake

Miami

Memphis

Xavier

James Madison

St John's

Virginia Tech

Iowa

Pittsburgh

Thursday Morning

There were some solid games last night but also some questionable losses.  Illinois gave away a 9 point lead and lost at Penn State, Dayton lost at George Mason, and surprisingly, or maybe not surprising, Kentucky lost to LSU.  These are all seed line loses at a minimum right now.

As for the bubble, Cincinnati had a costly loss at home to Oklahoma State.  They are in a freefall.  Providence got a nice win at Xavier and at 13-13 we can cross the Musketeers off.  Mississippi State won the battle of Mississippi and Ole Miss will probably drop out on tomorrow's bracket.

Getting solid bubble wins to stay relevant were Drake, Memphis, and St. John's.

Tonight is a little slim with the headliners being Rutgers at Purdue and Washington State at Arizona.  Let's see how these projected number 1 seeds do especially after Purdue lost on Sunday.

A sneaky good game is SMU at FAU as FAU has been slow all year and SMU has at least a punchers chance at an at-large.  Also in action are Northwestern, Gonzaga, and Oregon....all at various points on the bubble.

Wednesday Morning

Well, another big upset as Connecticut has that letdown and gets destroyed by Creighton.  The Blue Jays will trade places with San Diego State who lost to Utah State.

In bubble games, Michigan State, Butler, and Texas A&M all took losses.  Texas, Wake Forest, and Villanova on the other hand had nice wins.  San Francisco lost at St. Mary's and will be removed from consideration.  Added to the list will be Iowa, who now have 2 Quad 1 wins after beating Wisconsin and Michigan State back to back.

Tonight is another good slate headlined by Florida at Alabama and Colorado State at New Mexico.

In Bubble World, James Madison goes to Marshall to hang onto their slim at large hopes.  Providence is at Xavier, Cincinnati hosts Oklahoma State, and Nebraska goes to Indiana.

The top Bubble game is Mississippi at Mississippi State, with both teams right around the 10-11 seed line.

Tuesday Morning

Virginia once again looks nothing like a tournament team mustering just 41 against Virginia Tech last night.  90 total points in 2 games......gross.

Houston holds off Iowa State and Kansas State goes down to Texas.

Tonight has a bunch of bubble and great games.

The Headliner is Connecticut at Creighton.  Will the Huskies have a let down after the weekend beatdown of Marquette?

Wisconsin has a chance to turn their season around against Maryland and Baylor goes to BYU.

Bubble Games:

Butler vs Villanova

Arkansas vs Texas A&M

Pittsburgh vs Wake Forest

Wyoming vs Nevada

Bonus Bubble/Sneaky good game of the night:

San Francisco at St. Mary's

Monday Bracketology

 

1 seed vs 16 seed

Uconn(Beast) vs Norfolk(MEAC)/Merrimack(NEC)

Purdue(B1G) vs EKY(Asun)/Southern(SWAC)

Houston(B12) vs Quinnipiac(MAAC)

Arizona(P12) vs S.Dakota St(Summit)

2 seed vs 15 seed

N.Carolina(ACC) vs Colgate(Pat)

Tennessee(SEC) vs Oakland(Horizon)

Marquette vs High Point(Bsouth)

Kansas vs E.Washington(Bsky)

3 seed vs 14 seed

Alabama(SEC) vs Vermont(Aeast)

Baylor vs Akron(MAC)

Iowa State vs Morehead(OVC)

Duke vs Charleston(CAA)

4 seed vs 13 seed

San Diego St vs UC-Irvine(Bwest)

Illinois vs LaTech(CUSA)

Auburn vs Yale(Ivy)

Dayton(A10) vs App St(Sbelt)

5 seed vs 12 seed

Creighton vs Samford(SoCon)

Clemson vs South Florida(AAC)

Colorado St vs McNeese St(Sland)

Kentucky vs Indiana St(MVC)

6 seed vs 11 seed

Utah State(MW) vs Texas A&M/Colorado

South Carolina vs Mississippi/Gonzaga

Wisconsin vs Grand Canyon(WAC)

St. Mary's(WCC) vs Northwestern

7 seed vs 10 seed

Washington St vs Mississippi State

Florida vs Texas

Boise State vs Butler

TCU vs Nebraska

8 seed vs 9 seed

Michigan St vs Virginia

FAU vs Oklahoma

BYU vs New Mexico

Texas Tech vs Nevada

First Four Out

Utah

Cincinnati

Providence

Pittsburgh

Next Four Out

Wake Forest

Oregon

Villanova

Drake

Also Considered

SMU

San Francisco

Kansas St

Seton Hall

Miami

Memphis

Xavier

James Madison

St John's

Monday Games

 Another Light Monday night with only 3 games of note.

The battle against bad basketball is at Virginia Tech as they host Virginia.

Iowa State goes to Houston and they might score less than Virginia-VaTech.

Kansas States needs a win bad at Texas at 8pm.  They might fall off the Also Considered with a loss here.

Bracketology in a few!

Sunday Update

Yesterday the NCAA gave their top 16 bracket reveal so I revamped my bracket to represent that.  Of the 16 teams listed, all but 2 played.  The losers of the group were Auburn, Marquette, and Wisconsin.

Marquette was expected at Uconn and even Auburn is somewhat understandable.  Wisconsin is in total freefall, losing 6 of their last 7 and the only win was against a team that fired their coach.  Not Good.

In bubble-land, Wake Forest lost as well as Indiana St, who probably need the auto-bid now.  3 of my first 4 out won, Mississippi, Colorado, and Cincinnati.  One of them will replace Wake in tomorrow's bracket.  I'm going to take another look at Texas A&M as well.  They were a 10 seed but I'm not sold on their resume.

Today has some solid games.  As of this writing FAU is getting smoked by South Florida and suddenly they are an unstable 8-9 seed.  Northwestern is traveling to Illinois and they are one of my last 4 in.  St.John's hosts Seton Hall while Memphis, Drake, and Utah are also in action.

Should be some changes to tomorrow's Bracketology!

Virginia Ruins Basketball Again

Virginia 49, Wake Forest 47.  Awful basketball and bubble team Wake loses.

In other news Texas A7M is being dismantled by Alabama and Iowa State looks to be able to get by Texas Tech.

Solid day so far.

Saturday Games

Lots of teams in action today.  The top 3 games of the day are: 

Kansas at Oklahoma - Which Kansas do we see today?

Kentucky at Auburn - Repeat, "Which Kentucky do we see today?"

and of course

Marquette at Connecticut - Can the Warriors pull off the upset?

In bubble land here are the early games I'm keeping an eye on:

Wake Forest at Virginia - Will Virginia stumble two games in a row?

TCU at Kansas St - K-State needs this win more but TCU is no lock.

Creighton at Butler - Could be a huge win for Butler and they need this Q1 opportunity.

Friday Night

We have another great weekend coming up and I will get into that tomorrow.  As for tonight the only game of note besides Villanova avoiding a bad loss at Georgetown is New Mexico traveling to San Diego St.  New Mexico needs this Quad 1 win right now but a loss is expected and shouldn't drop them out of the bracket.

Friday Bracketology

 

1 seed vs 16 seed

Uconn(Beast) vs Norfolk(MEAC)/Merrimack(NEC)

Purdue(B1G) vs EKY(Asun)/Southern(SWAC)

Houston(B12) vs Quinnipiac(MAAC)

Arizona(P12) vs S.Dakota St(Summit)

2 seed vs 15 seed

Marquette vs Colgate(Pat)

Tennessee(SEC) vs Oakland(Horizon)

Iowa State vs High Point(Bsouth)

Kansas vs E.Washington(Bsky)

3 seed vs 14 seed

Alabama(SEC) vs Vermont(Aeast)

N.Carolina(ACC) vs Akron(MAC)

Duke vs Morehead(OVC)

Illinois vs UNCW(CAA)

4 seed vs 13 seed

Baylor vs South Florida(AAC)

Creighton vs LaTech(CUSA)

Auburn vs Yale(Ivy)

San Diego St vs App St(Sbelt)

5 seed vs 12 seed

Dayton(A10) vs Samford(SoCon)

Clemson vs UC-Irvine(Bwest)

Utah State(MW) vs McNeese St(Sland)

South Carolina vs Northwestern/Wake Forest

6 seed vs 11 seed

FAU vs Providence/Gonzaga

Colorado St vs Indiana St(MVC)

St. Mary's(WCC) vs Grand Canyon(WAC)

Wisconsin vs Nebraska

7 seed vs 10 seed

Oklahoma vs Mississippi State

Kentucky vs Texas A&M

BYU vs New Mexico

Texas Tech vs Nevada

8 seed vs 9 seed

Washington St vs Virginia

Florida vs Butler

Boise State vs Texas

TCU vs Michigan St

First Four Out

Mississippi

Colorado

Utah

Cincinnati

Next Four Out

St John's

Villanova

Pittsburgh

Memphis

Also Considered

SMU

San Francisco

Drake

Kansas St

Seton Hall

Miami

Oregon

Xavier

James Madison