Week 13 Recap: Points Coming Down Like Honey From The Mountain

Points Coming Down Like Honey From The Mountain

...but who's getting them? Lets run it down:

• Akaoni +33 - turned around a bad week to go 15-4, including an Illinois win over #5 Michigan State. Virginia Tech nailed two big ACC wins, Washington won 2 in the Pac 10, and newbies Charleston and Coastal went 2-0 a piece. Lead extended to 31 points.
  
• Gunz +26 - pulled into second place past Boaris off 12 wins (coupled with 8 losses). Duke over Georgetown was worth 5, as was Wisconsin over Michigan St. UNLV won two big games in the Mountain West, and newbie Temple is keeping in the A-10 race with a 2-0 record.
  
• Jaybird +26 - went 14-5, capped by a huge Georgetown win over Villanova on Saturday, and an important Dayton win over Xavier in the A-10. Newbies Northeastern and Murray St went undefeated as well. Jaybird is back in the hunt.
  
• Jutdog +26 - The 26 points isn't as telling as the mere TWO losses that came with his 16 wins. Jut's teams won the big games and the little games and he is trying to make the case he is a contenda. Its easier to do when your teams win all their games.
  
• Babblemur +26 - enough to put him ahead of The CEO, Babs could have done more given the 12-7 record for the week. Maryland, Notre Dame and Richmond all stepped up to keep Babs in the hunt.
  
• Phunmunki +25 - The 11 wins netted enough points to cover up the 7 losses, all 7 of which were to other players. The bright points have to be Texas A&M winning 2 biggies, Wake winning two more in the ACC, and New Mexico's win over San Diego St.
  
• Boaris +18 - The mighty Boaris went 3-5 against other players, versus a 12-6 record for the week. I can't say any of those 6 losses were upsets, but Boaris' success so far has been from winning the big games, and he didn't win them this week. Kudos to Florida though for two big SEC wins to keep in the hunt, and check out St. Mary's who is now 20-3 after 2 wins this week.
  
• NotaTurtle +17 - One of two players with a losing record for the week (9-10) we have to give a rose to Gonzaga for wins over Portland and Memphis this week, and a thistle to Miami for dropping both of their games. Newby UTEP is going to make the CUSA interesting.
  
• The CEO +17 - CEO couldn't win the head to head games, but Oklahoma's win over Texas salvaged the week and made up for Michigan State's choke. CEO went 11-7 for the week. Charlotte is looking like a promising draft choice...
  
• Some Guy in Illinois +15 - 9-11 record for the week. 3-9 against other players. Louisville is the only team of 10 that didn't lose a game.
  

90 points now separate last place from first place. Still anyone's game?

Standings

• 1. Akaoni - 258 (142-44)
• 2. Gunz - 227 (135-55)
• 3. Boaris - 224 (142-44)
• 4. Jaybird - 224 (133-52)
• 5. Jutdog - 205 (130-50)
• 6. NotaTurtle - 196 (114-69)
• 7. Babblemur - 195 (129-56)
• 8. The CEO - 194 (128-59)
• 9. Phunmunki - 184 (117-67)
• 10. Some Guy in Illinois - 169 (123-67)

Friday Lunch Talk

Akaoni - Best (but not really)

Akaoni is at it again, 8-1 for the week bringing home the bacon, but can he win any conferences? His best teams (which are really damn good) are NOT in first place in their conferences, Texas is 2 games back from Kansas, Syracuse is a half game back from Villanova... How can he keep winning game after game and still not be winning conferences? Lucky bastard I say.

The REALLY exciting race

As I update the leaderboard every day, the "race" that has been fascinating me the most is the race for SECOND PLACE. Boaris, Gunz, and until recently Jaybird have been jockeying back and forth between 2nd and 4th, with every day one leaping the other. Jaybird finally tanked two weeks ago and is struggling this week, but Gunz and Boaris are neck and neck and keeping pace just 20 or so points behind Akaoni.

Wednesday Gunz went 3-2 for 5 points to pull ahead of Boaris (2-2 for 4 pts). Last night Boaris nailed 5 points (3-0) tying up Gunz (2-0 for 4 pts). On Saturday they have two head to head games against each other:

• Miss St (Gunz) vs. Florida (Boaris) in the SEC. Both teams are 16-6 with 3 losses a piece in conference.
  
• BYU (Boaris) vs. UNLV (Gunz) in the Mountain West. UNLV at 18-4 has managed to stay just a game behind red hot BYU (22-2), and BYU won the last meeting, but this one is in Vegas.
  

PAC 10

We now have a four way tie for first place - at 6-4! Including Arizona (Turtle), UCLA (Gunz), California (Babs) and Arizona St (Illinois Guy). Seriously, WTF? Some are suggesting that the Pac 10 could be a single bid conference this year. I'm guessing two bids - who ever wins the tournament, and who ever finishes with the best conference record.

CONFERENCES

If it were all over today, who would be winning the conferences?

1. The CEO (37 pts) - Big 10, Big West, MEAC, MVC, OVC, Summit,
   
2. Boaris (31 pts) - Big 12, MAAC, MWC, WCC(tie), WAC(tie),
   
3. Babblemur (26 pts) - SEC(tie), Pac 10(tie), Atl Sun, Horizon,
   
4. Gunz (20 pts) - ACC, Pac 10(tie), Colonial
5. NotaTurtle (19 pts) - Pac 10(tie), CUSA(tie), WCC(tie)
6. Phunmunki (13 pts) Big East, Atl 10,
   
7. Jaybird (13 pts) - SEC(tie), Colonial(tie)
8. Some Guy in Illinois (13 pts) - Pac 10(tie), CUSA(tie)
9. Akaoni (12 pts) - Big South, SoCon
10. Jutdog (12 pts) - Ivy, WAC(tie)

FYI - if the CEO had those 37 points now he would be in second place.

NINETY SIX

Lastly, what do you think about a 96 Team Tournament???

Babblemur Bracket Feb 5

1. Kansas
1. Kentucky
1. Syracuse
1. Duke

2. Villanova
2. Purdue
2. Texas
2. Wisconsin +

3. Michigan St -
3. Kansas State
3. West Virginia +
3. Ohio State +

4. Georgetown
4. BYU +
4. Vanderbilt -
4. Gonzaga

5. Florida State -
5. Tennessee +
5. Clemson
5. Northern Iowa +

6. Temple
6. Georgia Tech -
6. New Mexico
6. Baylor

7. Florida -
7. Butler
7. Illinois +
7. Wake Forest

8. Texas A&M +
8. Virginia Tech
8. Mississippi St
8. UNLV

9. Pittsburgh -
9. Missouri +
9. Rhode Island +
9. Louisville +

10. St Marys +
10. Northwestern +
10. Notre Dame
10. Cincinnati -

11. Richmond +
11. Washington +
11. Marquette
11. Xavier +

12. Cornell
12. Sienna
12. Arizona State +
12. Maryland +

13. Utah State
13. Tulsa
13. Murray State
13. Old Dominion

14. Akron
14. Weber State
14. Pacific
14. Oakland

15. Coastal Carolina
15. Western Carolina
15. Jacksonville
15. Middle Tennessee

16. Sam Houston State
16. Stoney Brook
16. Morgan State
16.5. Quinnipiac
16.5. Jackson State


If they allowed 3 more teams in:
-North Carolina
-South Carolina
-Charlotte

Welcome New Teams!

Lets welcome our 22 New Teams to the Babbleball Contest!

• The Atlantic 10 got a boost with Temple, Rhode Island and Charlotte all jumping in to join Dayton, Xavier, and Richmond. Temple plays Duquesne on Wed and at Richmond Saturday, Charlotte draws GW and Fordham this week, and Rhode Island gets LaSalle and UMASS.
• New Mexico joins the Mountain West fray by hosting San Diego State on Saturday.
  
• UAB and UTEP jump into the CUSA in a three way tie with Tulsa, and Memphis a game out. UAB is on the road this week against Memphis and Rice. UTEP is at home against two player owned squads, Houston and Tulsa.
  
• Morgan State looks to remain undefeated in the MEAC this week.
  
• Marquette and St. Johns join the other shitload of Big East teams - Marquette draws DePaul and Providence this week, St. Johns will likely get pounded by a hot Rutgers and West Virginia.
  
• Virginia and Miami (FL) join the rest of the floundering ACC looking for some easy points. Virginia gets NC State and and Wake this week. Miami sees Wake and Florida St.
  
• Murray State looks to hold onto their undefeated record in the OVC
• Wichita State enters the MVC already 2 games down on Northern Iowa. They can make that one game down by beating them on Wednesday. Indiana St is on deck for Saturday.
  
• The SOCON gets Charleston and Western Carolina into play and into competition for the conference. Guess what? They've already played each other in their only match up and WC won.
  
• Coastal Carolina starts off 2 games up on Radford in the Big South, they'll face off in two weeks (Radford won the last meeting).
  
• Louisiana Tech joins Utah St and Nevada in the WAC. They will eventually have road games against both, but for this week, San Jose St.
  
• Northeastern and William & Mary were picked up in the Colonial, but no one took George Mason? GM has a 1 game lead over Northeastern and Old D. Northeastern faces Delaware and Hofstra this week. The Tribe are on the road at Old D and Georgia St.
  
• Pacific joins the Big West with a 1.5 game lead. They take on Santa Barbara and Cal Poly this week.
  
• Quinnipiac is in da house, in da NEC, one game back. They play Sacred Heart twice this week.
  
• Finally, Oregon St is no more, and Washington State takes their place in the Pac 10. Can you believe that at 4-5 they are only two games out of first place? They could grab a quick 6 points by hosting Arizona and Arizona St this week.
  

Welcome to the new teams!

Week 12 Recap:

Virtually no change in the leader board by the end of the week. Akaoni extended his first place lead by a half dozen points by going 12-4 for 22 points, leading all players for the week. Boaris hit 17 to stay in second place, 13 for Gunz kept him in third, Jaybird bounced back with 16 points to remain in 4th. Jutdog's 20 points tied him up with NotaTurtle, who hit 15. The CEO remains just a few points back after a fine 19 point week. Babblemur's 15 kept him solidly in 8th place, ahead of Phunmunki (10 pts for the week) and Some Guy from Illinois (10 pts for the week).

Standings After Week 12:

• 1. Akaoni - 225 (127-40)
• 2. Boaris - 206 (130-38)
• 3. Gunz - 201 (123-47)
• 4. Jaybird - 198 (119-47)
• 5. Jutdog - 179 (114-48)
• 6. NotaTurtle - 179 (105-59)
• 7. The CEO - 177 (117-52)
• 8. Babblemur - 169 (117-49)
• 9. Phunmunki - 159 (106-60)
• 10. Some Guy in Illinois - 154 (114-56)

Babblemur Bracket

Based upon an interpretation of the Babblemur Rating Index:

1. Kansas
1. Kentucky
1. Syracuse
1. Duke

2. Villanova
2. Purdue
2. Texas
2. Michigan St

3. Wisconsin
3. Kansas State
3. West Virginia
3. Vanderbilt

4. Gonzaga
4. Florida State
4. Georgetown
4. Ohio State

5. BYU
5. Georgia Tech
5. Florida
5. Clemson

6. New Mexico
6. Temple
6. Tennessee
6. Baylor

7. Northern Iowa
7. Butler
7. Cincinnati
7. Wake Forest

8. UNLV
8. Mississippi St
8. Pittsburgh
8. Virginia Tech

9. Oklahoma St
9. Texas A&M
9. Mississippi
9. Illinois

10. North Carolina
10. Notre Dame
10. Missouri
10. California

11. UCONN
11. Dayton
11. Marquette
11. UAB

12.Northwestern
12. Sienna
12. St Marys
12. Cornell

13. Old Dominion
13. Tulsa
13. Murray State
13. Utah State

14. Akron
14. Weber State
14. Pacific
14. Oakland

15. Jacksonville
15. Western Carolina
15. Middle Tennessee
15. Coastal Carolina

16. Stoney Brook
16. Sam Houston State
16. Quinnipiac
16.5. Morgan State
16.5. Arkansas Pine Bluff

ExpandaDraft Happening

1. SGII - Temple
2. Phun - New Mexico
3. Babs - UAB
4. CEO - Morgan State
5. Jutdog - Marquette
6. Turtle - UTEP
7. Jaybird - Murray State
8. Gunz - Rhode Island
9. Boaris - Wichita St
10. Akaoni - Charleston

11. Akaoni - Coastal Carolina
12. Boaris - Louisiana Tech
13. Gunz - Virginia
14. Jaybird - Northeastern
15. Turtle - Miami (FL)
16. Jutdog - Western Carolina
17. CEO - Pacific
18. Babs - William & Mary
19. Phun - Quinnipiac
20. SGII - St. Johns

Optional Drop / Pick:
21. SGII - No Drops
22. Phun - Drops Oregon St, Adds Washington St
23. Babblemur - No Drops
24. CEO - Drops Arkansas, Adds Charlotte
25. Jutdog - No Drops
26. NotaTurtle - No Drops
27. Jaybird - No Drops
28. Gunz - No Drops
29. Boaris - No Drops
30. Akachoka - YOU'RE UP

Week 11 Recap: Boaris & Gunz Capitalize on Akaoni's Crash

A 30 point lead at the beginning of the week has been slashed to a 14 point lead as Akaoni suffered his worst losses of the season. Lets look closer:

Akaoni won only five of his 15 games this week, with a 2-10 record against other players. #1 Texas took their first two losses of the season. #9 Pittsburgh dropped two games against other players. Washington lost to UCLA. Illinois 0-2. South Carolina 0-2. If there was a bright side for Akaoni it was Syracuse holding out and Virginia Tech winning two to go to 15-3. Akaoni netted nine points total - but this was bound to happen sooner or later.

The very competitive positioning all season between Gunz, Boaris, and Jaybird for second place may now carry over into a skirmish for first place.

Boaris was the big winner this week. He slammed in 29 points off of 13 wins, 7-2 against other players, including 5 points off the Seton Hall win over Pitt. Kansas, BYU, Florida and Seton Hall are all turning it on for Boaris, who slid from fourth place to second.

Gunz held on to third place by taking 26 points, winning 12 games to 3 losses, 6-1 against other players. Wisconsin and UNLV and Oklahoma St are peaking, and even the "big mistake" UCLA is turning into an advantage, whacking Washington and Wash St this week. (Did you know UCLA has more points than 5 of Jutdog's teams...)

Jaybird slipped into fourth place off mediocre 8-7 for 18 points, but NotaTurtle shot up into fifth off 23 points, Purdue and UCONN seem to have turned their games around. Jutdog held onto 6th place, The CEO dropped to seventh thanks to 9 losses and 9 points for the week. Babblemur's 13-2 record for the week netted him a mere 15 points. Phun took 15 and Illinois Guy's 12 kept him in the basement for another week.

Standings after Week 11:

• 1. AKaoni - 203 (115-36)
• 2. Boaris - 189 (119-35)
• 3. Gunz - 188 (116-40)
• 4. Jaybird - 182 (111-39)
• 5. NotaTurtle - 164 (96-53)
• 6. Jutdog - 159 (104-42)
• 7. The CEO - 156 (106-49)
• 8. Babblemur - 154 (106-44)
• 9. Phunmunki - 149 (98-54)
• 10. Some Guy in Illinois - 144 (106-49)