Babblemur BBall Challenge

New Website!

2011-09-19T23:59:00.002-05:00

The 2011-12 Babblemur College B-Ball Challenge has now moved to:

www.babblemur.net

Bookmark it now!

Confirmed Playas for 2011-12

2011-09-09T10:28:00.003-05:00

2011-12 Roster of Players

Jutdog
Babblemur
Akaoni
McGrumps
Mad Mader
Gunz
Musashisan
The CEO
Boaris
Mooseye
Slake B
Jaybird
Some Guy in Illinois

Waiting List:

McGrump's Buddy
Greendale Thug
Slake B's Cousin
Dirk L. Hass One
Rambis H. Hass Two

If you played any of the first four seasons and want in, leave a comment or send an email.

Proposed Rules for 2011-12

2011-09-07T20:57:00.002-05:00

Below are the Proposed Rules for 2011-12. There are no substantial changes to the rules, because frankly I think we have gotten this down pretty tight. However there are a few clarifications. I specified more clearly when the expanda-draft teams come into play (first Monday in February), and that you can exceed the 2 teams per conference rule during the expanda-draft. I also added enumeration for the broad categories of the rules (but I was too lazy to enumerate within...) and I rearranged some of the rules so that they made more sense. All changes are noted in highlighting.

If anyone playing wants to propose any changes do so now.

Rules

I. Overview:
Players select teams from NCAA D-1 Men's Basketball in a draft before the season begins. Points are earned by winning games, tournaments, conference standings, and by beating other players. The goal - to have the most points at the end of the season.

II. Preseason Draft:

- Each player will draft 8 NCAA D-1 Men's Basketball Teams
- No team can be drafted by more than one player
- Round 1 draft order is chosen randomly and videotaped
- Draft will follow snake draft method (team A picks 1 and 10, team B picks 2 and 9, etc depending on the number of players)
- No player can draft more than 1 team from the same conference in the first 4 rounds
- No player can draft more than 2 teams from the same conference (in preseason)

III. Scoring:

- A team earns 1 point for every 1 D-1 win
- A team loses 2 points for every loss to a non-D-1 team (because that is a sorry loss)
- A team earns 2 extra points for a vicory over another player's non-AP top 10 team (3 total)
- A team earns 2 extra point for a victory over a non-player AP top 10 team (3 total)
- A team earns 4 extra point for a victory over another player's AP top 10 team (5 total)

- A team that wins a pre / in-season tournament receives points as follows (subject to change each season, following are the 2010-11 tourneys and points):

Coaches vs. Cancer (November 18-19) - 3 points
CBE Classic (Nov. 22-23) - 3 points
NIT Tip-Off (Nov. 15-26) - 5 points
Charleston Classic (Nov. 18-21) - 3 points
Puerto Rico Tip-Off (Nov. 18-21) - 4 points
Paradise Jam (Nov. 19-22) - 4 points
Cancun Challenge (Nov. 23-24) - 2 points
Legends Classic (Nov. 26-27) - 3 points
Maui Invitational (Nov. 22-24) - 4 points
Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 24-27) - 3 points
76 Classic (Nov. 25-28) - 4 points
Old Spice Classic (Nov. 25-28) - 4 points
Chicago Invitational (Nov. 26-27) - 2 points
South Padre Invitational (Nov. 26-27) - 2 points
MSG Holiday Festival (Dec. 20-21) - 2 points
Las Vegas Classic (Dec. 22-23) - 2 points
Cancun Governor's Cup (Dec. 22-24) - 3 points
Hawaii Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22-25) - 4 points
Cable Car Classic (Dec. 29-30) - 2 points

- A team that wins a major conference (6) regular season earns 9 points
- A team that wins a mid-major conference (9) regular season earns 7 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference regular season earns 6 points

- A team that wins a major conference (6) tournament earns 7 points
- A team that wins a mid-major conference (9) tournament earns 5 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference (16) tournament earns 4 points

- A team that completes the regular conference season undefeated earns +3 points.

- A team that makes the post-season NIT final 4 receives 2 points*
- A team that makes the post-season NIT championship receives 4 points*
- The team that wins the post-season NIT championship receives 7 points*

- Each team that makes the NCAA tourney receives 3 points
- Each team earns 2 points for a NCAA tourney play-in game win*
- Each team earns 4 points for a NCAA tourney round 1 win*
- Each team earns 6 points for a NCAA tourney round 2 win*
- Each team earns 8 points for a NCAA tourney round 3 win*
- Each team earns 11 points for a NCAA tourney round 4 win*
- Each team earns 14 points for reaching the NCAA final*
- The team that wins the NCAA tourney earns 17 points.*

- * Each post-season win over another player will also include +2 points

IV. Mid-season Draft and Release:

- The last week of January, each player must draft 2 additional teams. These teams may exceed the 2 per conference rule above.
- Draft order will utilize snake method, with pick 1 going to last place point earner
- A voluntary third round will take place following the 2-round draft, in which one team from the original roster can be dropped and a new team picked up. All existing points from original team will remain. Order will continue snake method from round 2.
- Points will begin to be earned by the new teams on the first Monday in February, and new points will no longer be added for the discarded team effective the first Monday in February. (In the case of 2011-12, the expanda-draft would begin Monday January 30, with the changes taking affect Monday February 6...)

V. Clarifications

- Major Conferences include: ACC, Big 10, Big East, Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC

- Mid-Major Conferences include: Atl 10, MWC, MVC, CUSA, Horizon, WAC, WCC, MAC & CAA

- Re. Playing your own team. A victory over your own team does not produce the +2 effect, nor the +4 effect if it is a top 10 team. You would still earn 1 point for a victory.

- While the CBI or any other post season tourney itself isn't worth anything, a team will still earn 1 point for each victory, and +2 for a victory over another player's team throughout CBI play

- Only the preseason tourneys listed are worth additional points for winning.

- AP poll is effective 2:00pm on each Monday throughout the pre and regular season, and lasts through the end of conference tourneys. Following the conference tourney, you will no longer receive a +2 bonus for defeating a "top ten" team

- If two teams tie for conference regular season champs, head to head winner is awarded the points. If still a tie, both teams are awarded full points.

- Winning a division within a conference does not produce additional bonus points under the conference champion rule. If a conference is divided into divisions, only the overall conference champion will be awarded the bonus points, with no bonus points for winning a division but not the overall conference

- Winner receives, in theory, highly coveted & valued prizes from the BabblemurVault & ProgressMedia

- Winner also receives a place in the honorable Babbleball Hall of Fame

2010-2011 Final Standings

2011-09-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Four months late, but here is the Final Standings of the 2010 - 2011 Babblemur-B-Ball Challenge:

Final Standings 2010-2011
1. Mooseye 576 (203-102)
2. Gunz 481 (192-108)
3. McGrumps 460 (206-95)
4. Jutdog 460 (199-97)
5. Babblemur 434 (192-100)
6. Boaris 412 (194-92)
7. Mad Mader 407 (185-104)
8. Jaybird 405 (191-105)
9. Akaoni 403 (182-110)
10. Slake B 370 (171-117)
11. The CEO 369 (188-102)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 352 (176-111)
13. Musashisan 270 (149-138)

After 17 weeks of fluctuation on the leader board, League Rookie Mooseye made his move in Week 18, the Big Conference Championship Week, where he had Kansas win the Big 12, UCONN win 5 straight to take the Big East, and Hampton won the MEAC. Although he went into the NCAA Tournament with only 4 teams, Kansas, Florida and UCONN drove into the Regionals, and in the end, his UCONN won it all and Wichita State won the NIT to boot. Mooseye has assured us he will be back for a Sophmore Slump.

Gunz finished in second place for the second year in a row, led by the power trio of Duke, Georgetown and Wisconsin, but it was VCU that brought home the bacon for Gunz in the end, fighting their way into the Final Four. No doubt Gunz will be back for a Fifth Season.

McGrumps and Jutdog finished tied for third place, with a nudge to McGrumps for a better record. This was McGrumps best season yet led by the risky Kentucky pick, a surprisingly good Richmond team, an aggressive Marquette, and a disappointing Memphis.

Jutdog's gamble with North Carolina and Texas paid off in spades, but BYU (Jimmer!) rounded out his power trio and kept him near the top of the leaderboard for much of the season.

COMING SOON - 2011-2012 BABBLEMUR-B-BALL CHALLENGE

Mooseye Wins, but Mid-Majors are the Real Winners

2011-03-28T08:45:00.004-05:00

League Rookie MOOSEYE has unofficially secured the 2010-2011 Babblemur B-Ball Championship despite losing 2 of 3 over the weekend. Mooseye has a 42 point lead over second place Gunz.

Gunz' unlikely heroes VCU, if they beat Butler and go on to beat Kentucky for the National Championship, would pick up 37 points, plus with Santa Clara in the CIT finale another one point, not enough to overcome the difference.

Currently in 3rd place, McGrumps has Kentucky in the Final Four, 62 points out of first, but just 20 points behind Gunz. We have a battle for second place. Babblemur, in 5th now, has Colorado in the NIT but winning it all will not put him in contention for 2nd. Akaoni was redeemed with Butler in the final four but 136 points out of first place is too much. Currently in 9th place he could finish as high as 6th.

This year will mark the first time the (invisible) Trophy goes to the state of Iowa, where it rightfully belongs given the strong tradition of 6 on 6 high school girls basketball in the cornfield state. When informed of his victory, Mooseye said, "I won? Where's my money?"

Last year's winner Jutdog, upon losing his last team on Sunday, said "Fuckin' mother fucker I needed second place in this bitch dammit." Jut intends to now just enjoy the rest of the games instead of stressing out about his teams. He had no comment as to whether he would compete next year after this year's crushing defeat.

But it ain't over yet! We got championship games this week! Lets go!

CIT Championship Game (Wednesday)

Santa Clara (Gunz) vs. Iona (_)

Gunz has a shot at ONE POINT if he can win this nail biter.

CBI Three Game Finale (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

Oregon (Slake B) vs. Creighton (Jaybird)

Each win here is 3 points, so a 3-0 sweep could net one of these losers 9 points.

NIT Final Four (Tuesday)

Wichita St (Mooseye) vs. Washington St (The CEO)
Colorado (Babblemur) vs. Alabama (Musashisan)

The semis are worth an additional +4, winning the NIT Crown is worth another +7. One of these four players will go home with +17, one will get +7, and nothing for the two losers on Tuesday. If Alabama wins this game Musashisan will compete again next year (with Alabama as his first round pick).

NCAA Final Four (Saturday)

Butler (Akaoni) vs. VCU (Gunz)
UCONN (Mooseye) vs. Kentucky (McGrumps)

Is the story here the absence of Kansas, Ohio State, Duke and Pittsburgh? Or the rise of two strong mid-majors to turn the basketball world on its head? Is this a boon or blow to the expanded tournament field given that VCU started off in a "play in" game?

No, the story is that the Saturday games are worth +14 on top of the 3 points for the win, and the Monday Championship game is worth +17 on top of the 3 points for the win. One of these lucky bastards will go home with +37, one with +17, and two get NOTHING.

No, Mooseye already won the Contest, so this is about redemption and good basketball.

Kentucky, bad boys in blue, one and done rookies, taking on UCONN, who won five games in five days to win the Big East Tournament. Butler, who rocked the brackets last year only to lose to Duke in the Championship, against VCU, you know, they are in the same conference as George Mason. No matter who wins on Saturday, Monday April 4th is going to be a hell of a good game.

Standings after Week 20:

Current with all Mar 27 (Sunday) Games
1. Mooseye 522 (199-102)
2. Gunz 480 (191-107)
3. McGrumps 460 (206-94)
*4. Jutdog 460 (199-97)
5. Babblemur 434 (192-99)
*6. Boaris 412 (194-92)
*7. Mad Mader 407 (185-104)
8. Jaybird 402 (190-103)
9. Akaoni 386 (181-109)
10. The CEO 369 (188-101)
11. Slake B 364 (169-116)
*12. Some Guy in Illinois 352 (176-111)
13. Musashisan 263 (148-137)

crazy

2011-03-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

now - this is impressive! Other than overestimating UL, and underestimating Arizona and Marquette, this bracket is near perfect!

DWTS: Race for the Mirror Ball

2011-03-25T08:59:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the official Dancing With the Stars thread. With the constant pandering of the new team of judges to the lousy crop of contestants this year I simply can't stand to watch American Idol any more. Dancing With the Stars however continues to deliver with train wreck moments on the floor from semi-washed up stars followed inappropriate sexual innuendo and your occasional funny comment from the judges. And the show doesn't take itself all that seriously (most of the time).

I'll recap each of the dancers below.

Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas started off the night. I had no idea who Chelsea Kane was before the show but apparently she's another kid from the Disney entertainment combine. She's cute and her dancing was OK, if a bit stiff. Not terrible, just boring and sevens from the judges seemed about right at the time but a little high in retrospect.

Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani were up next. For some reason I always feel like Williams may be a male to female transexual, but apparently she has birthed some babies so what do I know. Her talk show bluster faded in the face of her obvious lack of coordination. On the floor she looked like a deer in the headlights but she made it through the dance without falling on her ass so I guess that's a moral victory. fours and a five from the judges gave her a total of 13.

Hines Ward and Kym Johnson were the 3rd couple on the floor. Hines was pretty good and showed some pizazz. He could be good with a bit more polish and follow in the footsteps of former DWTS champion and football Hall of Fame running back Emmett Smith. Definitely a challenger for the Mirror Ball going forward. 3 sevens for a total of 21.

Supermodel Petra Nemcova and her partner, former So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) contestant Dmitry Chaplin hit the floor next. Nemcova was made famous by surviving the typhoon which hit Thailand and South East Asia a few years back and her emotion relating to the Japanese tragedy was evident. Still, she was surprisingly graceful and may be amongst the early favorites as well. Her marks (sixes) from the judges seemed a bit low to me.

Master P's spawn Li'l Romeo and SYTYCD graduate Chelsie Hightower were the next team up. Romeo seemed embarrassed by the hip action he was being asked to display and he looked stiff and out of sorts on the dance floor. He obviously has the talent but he must get over his self-consciousness if he's to go far in the show. Sixes and a seven (from Carrie Anne who thought he looked sexy) were his final scores.

Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya with a Fox Trot. Sugar Ray looked decent when out of hold, but when it came to closer dancing he couldn't do much. I think he'll be a middle-of-the-pack dancer for the duration of his stay on the show. He recieved two sixes and a five from the judges.

Playboy Girl Next Door Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel were next with a surprisingly good cha cha cha. Van Amstel took her booty-shaking background and tamed it into a reasonable dance. Wilkinson might be a contender if she gets a bit more polish, but I think she'll probably be gone before that due to her background and personality. Sixes across the board from the Judges.

Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff were up next. The Karate Kid did his best to lower expectations by repeatedly pointing out that he's an "ancient" 49 years old. But he then turned it around and wowed the judges with his dancing and received high score of the night with eights from all three judges. I can't really comment as to the quality of the dancing as I was mesmerized throughout the performance by Macchio's horrible wig.

WWE wrestler Chris Jericho and two time champion Cheryl Burke were next with a mediocre Tango. Jericho was stiff and didn't bring much to the dance floor. Even his gimicky tearing the arms off of his leather shirt was mediocre. Surprisingly he got two sixes and a seven from the judges.

"Psycho" Mike Catherwood of "Loveline" and SYTYCD alum Lacey Schwimmer were up next and were terrible. Since Catherwood is one of the least known stars on the show and showed that he couldn't dance a lick I expect him to be the first gone. He received a five and two fours.

Kirstie Alley and her partner Maksin Chmerkovsky danced the Cha Cha Cha to finish up the show. She was surprisingly good and received the lame "Look who's dancing!" comment from one of the judges. She ended up one outside the the top spot with two eights and a seven.

Looking at the show as a whole, it was able to keep my attention in between baby duties and as such it beats out Idol for cheesy TV competition this year. Hope you all enjoy the synopsis.

Happy reality TV viewing!

~akaoni

Contenders & Pretenders

2011-03-20T21:13:00.005-05:00

Honestly at this point some of you can't win. And frankly, we have a few Contenders and a handful of Pretenders, clinging to a glimmer of hope.

Lets go straight to the numbers. In the NCAA Tournament, given that every game is now a player-vs-player (and including those points below), this is how many points are at stake:

National Champion: +62
Runner Up: +42
Final Four Losers (x2): +25
Elite Eight Losers (x6): +11
The rest of the sweet 16 (x8): +0

Already you can see your magic number after Sunday - if you only have one team in the sweet 16, 62 more points is what you have left.

But we could be close enough now that the NIT may come into play. There are 11 teams still alive in the NIT, 5 have already reached the (nit)elite 8. This is how the potential for points breaks down depending on if a team has already reached the (nit)elite 8:

NIT Champ: 22 or 25
NIT runnerup: 12 or 15
NIT Final 4 (x2): 5 or 8
NIT Elite 8 (x6): 0 or 3

CBI & CIT? Forget it. Worth no more than 2-3 points total, if it comes down to one of these games I will be shocked.

So now lets break down the players into three categories: Contenders, Pretenders, & Done

Done:

Musashisan - at over 200 points down with no NCAA teams left, Musashisan is unfortunately beyond done. True, he has four teams still alive, including Miami and Alabama in the NIT, UNI in the CIT and Duquesne in the CBI, but he has no more than 30-35 potential points left. Michigan State, his only NCAA Tourney team, finished as his highest scoring team with 43 points, but Alabama with 40 could meet or pass that.

Some Guy in Illinois - with the Illinois loss on Sunday SGII lost his last team in post season play, freezing him at 352 points and securing 12th place for the season. With four teams advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament SGII was looking like he could rise to the level of Contender, but as all four fell over the weekend, it all ended. With 68 points, first round pick Washington was his leading scorer.

Boaris - With a league leading eight teams in the Big Dance, Kansas State's loss eliminated the last of the Mighty Boaris' teams from competition, freezing him at 412 points, in 6th place and dropping. Louisville's fall to Morehead State on Thursday was probably the nail in his coffin, but early falls by Tennessee, UAB, UNLV, Northern Colorado and Princeton didn't help.

The CEO - The CEO's last NCAA team Gonzaga fell on Saturday, ending any chance he has. At 361 points, over 100 out from first place, with only Washington St (possible +25) in the NIT and Buffalo (possible +3?) in the CBI The CEO can finally inscribe his tombstone. Gonzaga at 65 total was his top team.

Mad Mader - With Syracuse and Notre Dame's losses on Sunday Mad Mader, who has been competitive all year in his rookie season, is officially out of contention for the Championship. With 3 teams in the second round he had a chance, but no longer. Only Charleston (potential +22) remains alive in competition. With 74 points Notre Dame was the Mader's lead team, Syracuse close behind at 69.

Pretenders:

Slake B - Ohio State is probably the favorites to win the National Championship. Unfortunately, that is the only Sweet 16 team Slake has. Points out of first: -110. Point potential: +62. But wait - what about Oregon in the CBI? Sorry, not getting 40 points out of the CBI. Slake is as good as done, but has the potential to influence a lot of other potentials as Ohio State marches to the Final Four (Kentucky, Marquette, North Carolina are in the same bracket...)

Jaybird - Pittsburgh OUT! Temple OUT! Only Arizona remains alive in the NCAA, with the potential for +62 if they win the next four and become National Champions. Wait, Jaybird is -81 points out of first place! Can Creighton in the CBI make up the difference? No. Jaybird is done. But Arizona will get the pleasure of trying to deny points to their following Sweet 16 bracket-buddies: Duke, UCONN, San Diego State.

Akaoni - 109 points out of first place, Akaoni stunned the field by putting TWO teams into the Sweet 16 with #8 seed Butler's upset over #1 seed Pitt and #10 seed Florida State's win over #2 seed Notre Dame. Does Akaoni have a chance? If one of these two teams wins it all (+60) and the other makes it to the Final Four (+25) he still sits 24 points behind. But wait! Northwestern is in the Elite 8 of the NIT, where a Title could net +25, and throw in Missouri State in the NIT where another +15 is possible... and Akaoni is technically still in the game!

Babblemur - Purdue's loss leaves Babs relying only on San Diego State in the NCAA (potental +62), Colorado in the NIT (potential +22) and Ohio in the CIT (potential +2 or +3 at best). At 41 points behind, Babblemur "technically" is still in it, but would need to see Mooseye lose at least 2 games in the first round of the sweet 16, and see a lot of other contender teams lose as well. Is it possible? Yes. Will it happen?

Contenders:

Mooseye - Mooseye has taken 3 of his 4 NCAA teams into the Sweet 16, and not just any 3 teams but #1 seed Kansas in the Southwest, #2 seed Florida in the Southeast, and #3 seed UCONN in the West. He enters the week with a 17 point lead, 3 strong teams in the NCAA, plus Wichita State and New Mexico alive in the NIT, not a bad pair of teams. At this point, Mooseye is in the driver's seat.

Gunz - Gunz was on top of the leaderboard for most of the season until a rocky trip through Championship Week knocked him off the top of the mountain. Now, with Duke, Wisconsin, and Virginia Commonwealth in the Sweet 16, Gunz is not only back in it, but in prime position to win it. At only 17 points behind Mooseye, Gunz and Mooseye don't have a single potential matchup until the Elite 8, at which point all six of their teams could be facing off. We got game here!

Jutdog - Jut lost Texas on Sunday but is sitting in third place, 21 points down, with two tough teams in the Sweet 16 with #2 seed North Carolina and #3 seed BYU. Every game counts now, but particularly BYU's next game against Mooseye's Florida, where a loss could end Jut's chances. North Carolina draws 11 seed Marquette but sees 1 seed Ohio State on the horizon. If it gets close we have to watch Kent State (potential +22) in the NIT and Rhode Island in the CBI.

McGrumps - Rising from the depths of the leader board, McGrumps has made a statement by putting three teams (Kentucky, Richmond, Marquette) into the Sweet 16, rising from 6th place to 4th just 35 points out of first place. Unfortunately it gets hard now, as Kentucky faces Ohio State, Marquette takes on North Carolina, and Richmond gets Kansas. McGrumps needs to get at least one of these teams into the Final Four to stay a contender.

Weekly Recap:

Gunz +57 (9-4)
Mooseye +53 (9-3)
Jutdog +51 (9-4)
McGrumps +49 (7-5)
Akaoni +39 (7-4)
Babs +30 (6-4)
Jaybird +29 (5-5)
SGII +28 (4-7)
Mad Mader +26 (6-7)
Slake B +25 (5-4)
The CEO +17 (5-7)
Musashisan +10 (4-2)
Boaris +5 (1-10)

Standings after week 19:

Current with all Mar 20 (Sunday) Games
1. Mooseye 470 (194-99)
2. Gunz 453 (185-104)
3. Jutdog 449 (198-93)
4. McGrumps 435 (204-92)
5. Babblemur 429 (191-97)
6. Boaris 412 (194-92)
7. Mad Mader 407 (185-103)
8. Jaybird 389 (187-102)
9. The CEO 361 (186-100)
10. Akaoni 361 (179-106)
11. Slake B 360 (167-115)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 352 (176-111)
13. Musashisan 254 (145-134)

Elimination Postation

2011-03-15T07:05:00.011-05:00

Let the End of Seasons Begin! Here is the list of who is Finished - growing daily now! Last updated through games on 3/19/11.
Red = half of teams gone.
Blue = two or less teams left!
ORANGE = ELIMINATED.

Akaoni:
~ Villanova (pick 6 ) - 42 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to George Mason
~ Dayton (pick 47) - 42 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ Southern Miss (pick 73) - 27 pts
~ Texas Tech (pick 99) - 13 pts
~ Hofstra (expandadraft) - 7 pts. Lost opening round of CIT
~ Colorado St (expandadraft) - 6 pts. Lost in opening round of NIT
~ Denver (expandadraft) - 4 pts

Babs:
~ Georgia (pick 29) - 46 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Washington
~ St Johns (pick 50) - 59 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Zaga
~ USC (pick 81) - 50 pts. Lost play-in NCAA game to VCU
~ Maine (pick 102) - 16 pts
~ Long Island (expandadraft) - 26 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to UNC
~ Florida Atlantic (expandadraft) - 13 pts. Lost opening round of NIT

Boaris: (FINAL SCORE: 412)
~ Kansas St (pick 5) - 49 pts. Lost 2nd round of NCAA to Wisconsin
~ Tennessee (pick 22) - 55 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Michigan
~ Utah St (Pick 31) - 54 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Kansas St
~ Louisville (pick 57) - 62 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Morehead St
~ UAB (pick 74) - 40 pts. Lost play-in NCAA game to Clemson
~ Loyola Marymount (pick 93) - 9 pts
~ Princeton (pick 100) - 43 pts. Lost in opening round of NCAA to Kentucky
~ N. Colorado (expandadraft) - 27 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to San Diego St
~ Bethane-Cookman (expandadraft) -16 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ Nebraska (expandadraft) - 12 pts. Lost opening round of NIT

CEO: (No NCAA Teams)
~ Gonzaga (pick 8) - 65 pts. Lost 2nd round of NCAA to BYU
~ Missouri (pick 19) - 40 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Cincy
~ Minnesota (pick 34) - 39 pts
~ Vanderbilt (pick 45) - 52 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Richmond
~ Wofford (pick 71) - 34 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to BYU
~ UC Santa Barbara (pick 86) - 13 pts
~ Bucknell (expandadraft) - 23 pts. Lost in opening round of NCAA to UCONN
~ Marshall (expandadraft) - 9 pts. Lost opening round of CIT

GUNZ:
~ Georgetown (pick 25) - 57 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to VCU
~ Stanford (pick 77) - 25 pts
~ Bradley (pick 103) - 14 pts
~ Harvard (expandadraft) - 18 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ Vermont (expandadraft) - 14 pts. Lost opening round of NIT

Jaybird: (Only NCAA team left is Arizona)
~ Pitt (pick 7) - 79 pts. Lost 2nd round of NCAA to Butler
~ Temple (pick 20) - 59 pts. Lost 2nd round of NCAA to San Diego St
~ UTEP (pick 46) - 40 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ Mississippi St (pick 59) - 33 pts
~ Morgan St (pick 72) - 23 pts
~ Georgia Tech (pick 98) - 23 pts
~ Valporaiso (expandadraft) - 15 pts. Lost opening round of CIT
~ Austin Peay (expandadraft) - 6 pts. Lost opening round of CIT

Jutdog:
~ Old D (pick 44) - 57 pts. Lost in opening round of NCAA to Butler
~ Seton Hall (pick 61) - 25 pts
~ Weber St (pick 87) - 8 pts
~ Detroit (pick 96) - 22 pts
~ Belmont (expandadraft) - 23 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Wisconsin
~ California (expandadraft) - 16 pts. Lost 2nd round of NIT

MadMader:
~ Texas A&M (pick 39) - 42 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Florida St
~ UCLA (pick 40) - 58 pts. Lost 2nd round of NCAA to Florida
~ St Louis (pick 66) - 6 pts
~ Penn St (pick 91) - 44 pts. Lost in opening round of NCAA to Temple
~ North Texas (pick 92) - 28 pts
~ Montana (expandadraft) - 7 pts. Lost opening round of CBI
~ UMASS (expandadraft) - 4 pts

McGrumps:
~ Memphis (pick 16) - 51 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Arizona
~ St. Marys (pick 63) - 48 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ Oakland (pick 68) - 43 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Texas
~ Boston College (pick 89) - 37 pts. Lost in 2nd round of NIT
~ Quinnipiac (pick 94) - 26pts. Lost opening round of CIT
~ Ball St (expandadraft) - 10 pts
~ Jackson St (expandadraft) - 5 pts

Mooseye:
~ Wake Forest (pick 69) - 10 pts
~ Charlotte (pick 88) - 20 pts
~ Western Kentucky (pick 95) - 18 pts
~ Texas Southern (expandadraft) - 17 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ Coastal Carolina (expandadraft) - 14 pts
~ Hampton (expandadraft) - 16 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Duke

Musashisan: (NO NCAA TEAMS LEFT)
~ Michigan St (pick 1) - 43 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to UCLA
~ Baylor (pick 27) - 31 pts
~ Arizona St (pick 52) - 24 pts
~ Long Beach St (pick 79) - 31 pts
~ Iowa (pick 104) - 8 pts
~ South Carolina (expandadraft) - 4 pts
~ Providence (expandadraft) - 2 pts

Slake B: (Only NCAA team left is Ohio State)
~ West Virginia (pick 23) - 50 pts. Lost in 2nd round of NCAA to Kentucky
~ Xavier (pick 30) - 60 pts. Lost opening round of NCAA to Marquette
~ Maryland (pick 49) - 35 pts
~ Cornell (pick 56) - 12 pts
~ Wright St (pick 75) - 23 pts
~ Miami OH (pick 101) - 21 pts. Lost opening round of CBI
~ Cleveland St (expanadraft) - 18 pts
~ Arkansas (expanadraft) - 6 pts

SGII:
~ NC State (pick 38) - 23 pts
~ Murray St (pick 41) - 33 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ Old Miss (pick 34) - 38 pts. Lost opening round of NIT
~ New Mexico St (pick 67) - 14 pts
~ Tulsa (pick 90) - 33 pts
~ Cincy (expandadraft) - 27 pts. Lost 2nd round of NCAA to UCONN
~ McNeese St (expandadraft) - 14 pts. Lost opening round of NIT

NCAA Scoring and Chatter

2011-03-14T11:14:00.002-05:00

Number of bids in the NCAA Tournament (57 of 68):

8 = Boaris
6 = Babblemur
5 = The CEO, Gunz, Jutdog, Mad Mader, McGrumps,
4 = Mooseye, SGII,
3 = Akaoni, Jaybird, Slake B,
1 = Musashisan

Scoring rules for the NCAA Tournament:

- Each team that makes the NCAA tourney receives 3 points
- Each team earns 2 points for a NCAA tourney play-in game win*
- Each team earns 4 points for a NCAA tourney round 1 win*
- Each team earns 6 points for a NCAA tourney round 2 win*
- Each team earns 8 points for a NCAA tourney round 3 win*
- Each team earns 11 points for a NCAA tourney round 4 win*
- Each team earns 14 points for reaching the NCAA final*
- The team that wins the NCAA tourney earns 17 points.*

- * Each post-season win over another player will also include +2 points

Unrelated Bracket Group

Per request, a "Group" on ESPN for anyone interested:

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=67117

NIT

2011-03-14T07:31:00.000-05:00

Check out the NIT bracket here.

What do we know? All but 3 or 4 of the 32 teams are BabblePlayer squads, making this tourney a game changer for our league.

In total, this year's NIT is probably worth around 100 pts, unless UW Milwaukee or another non-player team takes it all.

- A team that makes the post-season NIT final 4 receives 2 points*
- A team that makes the post-season NIT championship receives 4 points*
- The team that wins the post-season NIT championship receives 7 points*
- * Each post-season win over another player will also include +2 points

Champion Week (18) Recap

2011-03-13T21:56:00.004-05:00

McGrumps started the week in 8th place. 17 wins later he added +75 to his score, won three conference championships and put five teams in the Big Dance. Now he is in 6th place, but just 31 points out of first place.

Mooseye started the week in fourth place, then he won the MEAC, the Big 12, and the Big East, but only Florida was given an at large bid. Nonetheless, Mooseye holds first place with a 10 point lead and a number one seed.

Boaris was bitching and moaning about Tennessee while in 5th place last Monday. Despite a lack-luster performance during championship week he got two automatic bids and six at-large bids to put a league leading 8 teams in the Big Dance. All in all he added +62 points for the week and put himself in second place.

These three were the big winners of Championship Week, but lets not discount the valiant efforts of Babblemur (+47 and the MWC Title), Gunz (+43 and the ACC Title), The CEO (+42 and the Patriot League Title), Jutdog (+41 and the Colonial Title), and Mad Mader (+41 with five at-large bids).

However there is a thumping in the basement, and with some strong flagship teams leading them in the Big Dance it is time to pay more attention to Slake B (+32 and Ohio St) and SGII (+36 and Washington). On the other hand, I think we can wish a fond farewell to the hopes of Akaoni (+26 with 3 NCAA bids) and Musashisan (+15 with one NCAA bid.)

Standings after Week 18:

Current with all Mar 13 (Sunday) Games
1. Mooseye 417 (185-96)
2. Boaris 407 (193-82)
4. Babblemur 399 (185-91)
3. Jutdog 398 (189-89)
5. Gunz 396 (176-100)
6. McGrumps 386 (197-87)
7. Mad Mader 381 (179-96)
8. Jaybird 360 (182-97)
9. The CEO 344 (181-93)
10. Slake B 335 (162-111)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 324 (172-104)
12. Akaoni 322 (172-102)
13. Musashisan 244 (141-132)

Number of Bids to the NCAA Tournament:

8 = Boaris
6 = Babblemur
5 = The CEO, Gunz, Jutdog, Mad Mader, McGrumps,
4 = Mooseye, SGII,
3 = Akaoni, Jaybird, Slake B,
1 = Musashisan

Number of Bids to the NIT:

4 = Akaoni, Mooseye,
3 = Gunz, Musashisan, SGII,
2 = Babblemur, Boaris, CEO, Jut, Mad Mader, McGrumps,
1 = Jaybird, Slake B,

What do you think? Like your seeds? Are you screwed?

Per request, a "Group" on ESPN for anyone interested:

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=67117

Mooseye Dominates Saturday Tourneys

2011-03-13T08:23:00.005-05:00

Mooseye was the clear winner on Saturday, going 4-0 and winning the MEAC for +7, Kansas won the Big 12 for +10, and UCONN took 5 games to win the Big East for +10. This resulted in a 41 point DAY for Mooseye, catapulting him into a 22 point first place lead. On top of that, Florida made it to the SEC final today that could further pad his position.

Jutdog dropped 3 games, with only North Carolina advancing to an opportunity for a major conference tournament championship. He fell from first place to third place, as Boaris grabbed the Ivy League automatic bid and Utah State took the WAC for a total of 15 points.

Babblemur dropped to fourth place despite 13 points for San Diego State's affirming and dominating victory over BYU and Jutdog. Gunz held onto the fifth place spot despite Clemson and Harvard losses, but he has Duke facing off for the ACC title today.

Mad Mader got knocked out of the ACC race, but Penn State has risen to the Big Ten final today against Ohio State. Mader holds onto 6th place, 48 points out of first, down but not out.

McGrumps did his best to stay in contention by winning Conference USA and advancing Richmond and Kentucky into Sunday's tournament finales. The 17 points pushed him ahead of Jaybird, who followed a 4-0 Friday with an 0-4 Saturday. The CEO also had a goose egg on Saturday, while Akaoni in 10th place got Dayton into the Sunday A-10 final.

Some Guy in Illinois won the Pac-10 with Washington to pull within a point of 11th place Slake B, who is feeding off Ohio State and looking good for taking the Big 10 today. Musashisan lost 3 games to secure last place.

Four More Tournaments

The last four tournaments are today, giving seven players one last crack and a point boost before the NCAA Tournament kicks off.

SEC
Florida (Mooseye) vs. Kentucky (McGrumps)
Mooseye could really pad his lead going into the Big Dance with a win of the SEC, but McGrumps needs those points badly to remain competitive. At 55 points down, a win by Kentucky would narrow that deficit to 42 and threaten for 5th place.

Atlantic 10
Richmond (McGrumps) vs. Dayton (Akaoni)
McGrumps is the only player with two teams alive today, and a win over slumping Akaoni would add another 11 points to the day, which combined with a Kentucky win would put McG just 31 points down. For Akaoni the 11 points at best will keep him at pace with Slake B.

ACC
North Carolina (Jut) vs. Duke (Gunz)
Jutdog fell 25 points out of first yesterday, Gunz sits 43 points out. This clash of Top 10 teams guarantees the winner a 15 point return, critical for entering the Tournament competitively.

Big 10
Ohio St (Slake) vs. Penn St (Mad Mader)
Mad Mader has the odds stacked against him this game, but Penn State may have proven they are Tourney-worthy after their Big 10 run.

Selection Sunday

Tournament selection begins tonight - every team that receives a bid to the NCAA Tournament will get +3 points.

Saturday Smackdown

2011-03-12T11:37:00.003-06:00

Friday was a HUGE day that paid off for some and sunk the rest. Almost every game was a head to head match up, and for Jutdog (4-1), Jaybird (4-1), Mooseye (4-2), and McGrumps (4-3) it paid off.

And for Babblemur (1-4), Some Guy in Illinois (1-4), Slake (1-3), and Akaoni (1-2) dreams were dashed like whiskey across the bar.

Others still cling to home like McGrumps who lost the MAC and SWAC but put three teams into games today, and Musashisan who could give three teams auto-bids this weekend with Michigan State, Alabama and Long Beach State.

Mad Mader lost both his Big East games (Syracuse and Notre Dame) but has the unlikely duo of Virginia Tech and Penn State in the Semis.

Gunz lost the Big 10 last night but went double down for the ACC with Duke and Clemson facing Mad Mader and Jut today.

The CEO lost teams earlier in the week but is still gaining points thanks to Vanderbilt and Bucknell's victory in the Patriot League.

Boaris lost three tourney games but has Louisville in the Big East Finale, Utah State prepared to take the WAC, and Princeton facing off with Harvard for the Ivy auto-bid.

___________

Saturday Smackdown

This is the day that Lord Jut could take an insurmountable lead.

Championships on the Line:

Big 12 (7 points +3 for the auto-bid)
#10 Texas (Jut) vs. #2 Kansas (Mooseye)
This is a big one for both Jut and fourth place Mooseye, who is just 13 points down.

Mountain West (5 points +3 for the auto-bid)
#8 BYU (Jut) vs. #7 San Diego St (Babblemur)
Babblemur's last team playing this week, with smack talk all year about these two teams. Aztecs need payback for two losses, Jimmer needs a date.

Pac 10 (7 points +3 for the auto-bid)
Arizona (Jaybird) vs. Washington (Some Guy in Illinois)
A must win for SGII to avoid being written off.

Big East (7 points +3 for the auto-bid)
UCONN (Mooseye) vs. Louisville (Boaris)
A great match up pitting second place Boaris against fourth place Mooseye for a pile of points.

Ivy (+3 for the auto-bid)
Princeton (Boaris) vs. Harvard (Gunz)
Fifth place Gunz needs another auto-bid to keep up with the pack, Duke can't carry Gunz anymore.

WAC (5 points +3 for the auto-bid)
Utah State (Boaris) vs. Boise St (_)
Second place Boaris needs these uncontested points.

Conference USA (5 points +3 for the auto-bid)
Memphis (McGrumps) vs. UTEP (Jaybird)
Jaybird is contesting four conference championships at this point, McGrumps is contesting three.

Southland (4 points +3 for the auto-bid)
McNeese St (SGII) vs. Texas San Antonio (_)
SGII should lock up these easy points.

Big West (4 points +3 for the auto-bid)
Long Beach St (Musashisan) vs. UC Santa Barbara (_)
Come on, Musa.

MEAC (4 points +3 for the auto-bid)
Hampton (Mooseye) vs. Morgan St (Jaybird)
The Hampton pick totally redeems itself with a win here.

MAC (5 points +3 for the auto-bid)
Kent State (Jut) vs. Akron (_)
Easy points for Lord Jut

Big Ten
Michigan St (Musa) vs. Penn St (Mad Mader)
Ohio St (Slake B) vs. Michigan (_)
No Illinois, no Purdue, no Wisconsin... -yawn-

ACC
North Carolina (Jut) vs. Clemson (Gunz)
Duke (Gunz) vs. Virginia Tech (Mad Mader)
Heading for a big Sunday showdown.

Charts & Graphs

2011-03-11T14:49:00.003-06:00

Lunch Break Charts and Graphs

of a most trivial nature

Who is bringing home the bacon so far this week?

OK so you are losing, but are you gaining ground?

Who gets to try and take down Lord Jut today?

Top Teams heading into the Beast of the Season

2011-03-09T11:52:00.002-06:00

1. Duke with 74 (Gunz) - pick 2
2. Kansas with 72 (Mooseye) - pick 10
2. Ohio State also with 72 (Slake B) - pick 4
4. Pittsburgh with 71 (Jaybird) - pick 7
5. North Carolina with 65 (Jutdog) - pick 9
5. Florida with 65 (Mooseye) - pick 17

7. Notre Dame with 63 (Mad Mader) - pick 65
8. Arizona with 62 (Jaybird) - pick 33
9. BYU with 60 (Jutdog) - pick 35
10. Gonzaga with 58 (CEO) - pick 8
10. Syracuse with 58 (MadMader) - pick 13

12. Purdue with 57 (Babs) - pick 3
12. Old Dominion with 57 (Jutdog) - pick 44
12. Xavier with 57 (Slake B) - pick 30
15. Butler with 55 (Akaoni) - pick 21
15. St. John's with 55 (Babs) - pick 50

Absent from this list:

Pick 1: Mich St

Pick 5: Kansas St

Pick 11: Kentucky

Pick 12: Washington

Week 17: Jutdog, Jaybird, Boaris, Mooseye and Slake Win Big

2011-03-07T12:51:00.003-06:00

As the regular season (mostly) came to a close on Sunday, conference champ points and a few conference tournaments were doled out and the Leader Board was shaken up and stirred. It was a big time week for five players, and a pile of shit for the other 8. Lets recap:

Conference Champs

Mooseye came on strong winning two Major conferences (SEC and Big 12), and thanks to the expanda-draft two minors (BigSouth and SWAC) for 30 points. Jutdog was right behind him also with four conferences: ACC, Mountain West, MAC, and the Atlantic Sun for 29 points. Boaris was the only other player to win four conferences (WAC, CUSA, Big Sky, MEAC) and could make it five with the Ivy. He picked up 26 points for his efforts.

Slake B took 3 conferences (Big10, A-10, Horizon) for 23 points, the CEO took 3 conferences (WCC, MAAC, and Patriot) for 19 points, and Some Guy in Illinois took 3 (Colonial, OVC, Southland) for 19 points. The rest of us had 2 conferences or less, with special notice going to Jaybird who won two majors (Big East and Pac 10) for 18 points.

Who's Dancing and Who Isn't

Belmont (Jutdog) is the only player team that has made it to the Dance so far. Other conference winners have choked in their tournaments leaving their futures in the hands of the Tourneygods, including Missouri St (Akaoni), Florida Atlantic (Babs), Fairfield (The CEO), Vermont (Gunz), Coastal Carolina (Mooseye), Cleveland State (Slake), and Murray State (SGII). Unlike George Mason (SGII), most of these teams will NOT get an at-large bid, despite some impressive seasons. The NIT will be a full boat.

Player Performance Ratings

Here's how everyone did this last week. Note that with all of the conference champ points added in points were quite inflated, but not also that those with the best W-L records were the recipients of those points...

Jutdog +61 (15-5)
Jaybird +52 (16-5)
Boaris +48 (15-4)
Mooseye +44 (14-7)
Slake B +42 (12-9)
SGII +26 (10-9)
McGrumps +22 (12-7)
Mad Mader +21 (11-7)
Gunz +19 (11-8)
Babs +18 (10-8)
Akaoni +15 (7-11)
The CEO +14 (10-10)
Musashisan +14 (8-10)

Week 18 Preview

This week is all about winning. The only games scheduled are tournament games, and if you lose, you don't play anymore games and can't get any more points for the week. Duh, right? Consider that almost all of the Major conference teams are player owned - that means possibly 2-4 games this week per team, almost all against other players, with big points for surviving undefeated, plus guarantees for the Big Dance. Here's the points that are important this week:

- A team that wins a major conference (6) tournament earns 7 points
- A team that wins a mid-major conference (9) tournament earns 5 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference (16) tournament earns 4 points

Wait! There's more!

- Each team that makes the NCAA tourney receives 3 points

So Six teams will run the Majors and bring in 10 points each, plus a likely 9 more from 3 wins over other players. The 9 Mid-Majors will have 9 teams bringing home 8 points each plus wins against others. Remaining Minors will bring home 7 points.

Then on Sunday, as the NCAA Selection is announced, all at-large teams selected for the Big Dancey Dance will have their +3 points added up as well.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! TREMBLE IN FEAR & HOPE!

Standings After Week 17

Current with all Mar 6 (Sunday) Games
1. Jutdog 357 (179-82)
2. Gunz 353 (171-93)
3. Babblemur 352 (175-85)
4. Mooseye 346 (170-92)
5. Boaris 345 (182-75)
6. Mad Mader 340 (169-86)
7. Jaybird 336 (175-90)
8. McGrumps 311 (180-82)
9. Slake B 303 (156-105)
10. The CEO 302 (173-87)
11. Akaoni 296 (166-96)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 288 (163-97)
13. Musashisan 229 (135-123)

Open Thread for Sunday Trash Talk

2011-03-06T15:16:00.002-06:00

Austin Peay and Murray State blew it in the OVC.

Fairfield just bombed out in the MAAC.

Coastal Carolina Caves in the whatever conference.

BYU wins with Virgins.

George Mason loses first in 18 games to VCU in Colonial

Boston College downed by Wake?

Tennessee sucks to Kentucky

Minnesota can't beat anyone

And Jut's in first place???? WTF???????????

Tie for First, Leaderboard Tightens as Conferences Close

2011-02-27T08:02:00.008-06:00

Tie for First

Gunz' lead finally eroded after a dismal 9-9 week, netting only 15 points (6 less than Musashisan). Babblemur took advantage of that netting 40 points off a 16-3 record, including two wins over Top 10 teams (USC over Arizona, Colorado over Texas) and 6 points for the Sun Belt Championship. Gunz and Babblemur now sit tied at 334 points, but with more competition nipping at their heels.

Tightening of the Pack

Only 50 points separate 9th place from first place, and Week 17 and 18 coming up can dump 40-50 points on a player with conference champs and conference tournaments.

Mad Mader brought in the most points last week, netting 42 points off a 14-6 record, including two wins over Top 10 teams (Virginia Tech over Duke, UCLA over Arizona) and 6 points for the Southern. On the other hand, Mooseye stumbled, going 11-9 for 25 points, 6 of that from winning the SWAC. Moose needs to try to win the Big 12 with Kansas and the SEC with Florida for 9 points each to stay in the top 4.

Winning is everything now, and Boaris (15-3), Jutdog (16-3) and McGrumps (14-4) have teams that are winning. Boaris picked up 34 points and won the WAC to move into 5th place. He is in a strong position to win the CUSA, the IVY and the Big Sky, so more points are on the way. Jutdog also added 34 points with a huge win over Top 10 San Diego State that will likely also give him the Mountain West. If he keeps winning like this he could add the Big 12, the MAC, and if Duke stumbles, a share of the ACC. McGrumps hit 29 points with a share of the WCC for 7 and big wins over UCONN and Florida, but can he capture any more tournaments? Memphis is a game back in the CUSA, and Ball State is a game back in the MAC...

The CEO got a big win when Gonzaga beat St. Mary's for a share of the WCC making 27 for the week, but 7 losses included Buffalo giving up on the MAC, Vandy giving it up in the SEC, and Minnesota dropping two in the Big 10. The CEO at 46 points down is not out though. Nor is brother Jaybird, although a 10-13 week for a paltry 18 points does not look good. Pitt lost and is clinging to the top of the Big East, Arizona dropped two instead of clinching the PAC 10, UTEP lost two and the lead in the CUSA, and Morgan St fell a game behind Bethune in the MEAC.

What's that noise in the Cellar?

Akaoni isn't in the Cellar yet, but another 6-11 week will put him there. His teams are collapsing all around him, Villanova 0-2, Northwestern 0-2, Dayton 0-1, Colorado St 0-2, Southern Miss 0-1, Denver 0-2 - Jesus, who won? Butler somehow managed to win a share of the Horizon...

But just 20 points below Akaoni lays Some Guy in Illinois, who picked up 31 points on a 12-8 week which included winning the Ohio Valley and the Colonial, a Cincinnati win over Georgetown, and two wins for McNeese State which could pull off the Southland this week. Just below SGII is Slake B, who went 11-8 for 26 points, including winning a share of the Horizon, and a lot of potential as Ohio State is a game up in the Big 10, Xavier is poised to win the A-10, and Miami Ohio is in the hunt for the MAC. Musashisan has cursed every team he has selected, but still managed 21 points thanks to Long Beach State, now if Alabama can manage not to blow the SEC, well, anything's possible?

More Conference Championship Points Distributed (on top of the 42 points distributed last week):

Big West (6) goes to Long Beach State (Musashisan)
OVC (6) goes to Murray State (SGII)
Southern (6) goes to Charleston (Mad Mader), who finished tied with Wofford (CEO) but beat Wofford at both meetings.
SWAC (6) goes to Texas Southern (Mooseye), with a 3 game lead (and two wins over) Jackson St (McGrumps)
Sun Belt (6) goes to Florida Atlantic (Babblemur)
Colonial (7) goes to George Mason (SGII)
Horizon (7 + 7) with a three way tie, and since Butler swept Cleveland State, and Milwaukee swept Butler, and Milwaukee and Cleveland St split, 7 points for both Butler (Akaoni) and Cleveland St (Slake)
Missouri Valley (7) goes to Missouri St (Akaoni)
West Coast (7 + 7) with a tie, and split victories, both St. Mary's (McGrumps) and Gonzaga (CEO) get 7 points each for the West Coast.
WAC (7) goes to Utah State (Boaris)

Conference Champ Points Remaining:

Big Sky: Northern Colorado (Boaris) is one game up on Montana (MM) with two games remaining.
Ivy: Princeton (Boaris) has a one game lead over Harvard (Gunz) with 3 games remaining.
MEAC: Bethune Cookman (Boaris) has a one game lead over Morgan St (Jaybird) with one game remaining. If they wind up tied, Morgan State wins the tie breaker, and the points.
Southland: Can McNeese St (SGII) hold on for two more games?
Atlantic 10: Xavier (Slake) 13-1; Temple (Jay) 12-2;
C-USA: UAB (Boaris) one game up but 7 teams in the running...
MAC: 2 games left, 6 teams in contention...
MWC: BYU (Jut) has a 1 game lead over SDSt (Babs) with 2 games remaining...
ACC: 3 teams, final week
Big East: 4 teams, final week
Big 12: Kansas (Mooseye) or Texas (Jut), final week
Big 10: 3 teams, final week
Pac 10: 3 teams, final week
SEC: 3 teams, final week

Tournament Time! Week 17 Tournaments:

• America East --
• Atlantic Sun --
• Big South --
• Colonial --
• Horizon --
• MAAC --
• Missouri Valley --
• Northeast --
• Ohio Valley --
• Patriot --
• Summit --
• Sun Belt --
• West Coast --

Standings after Week 16

Current with all Feb 27 (Sunday) Games
1. Babblemur 334 (165-77)
2. Gunz 334 (160-85)
3. Mad Mader 319 (158-79)
4. Mooseye 302 (156-85)
5. Boaris 297 (167-71)
6. Jutdog 296 (164-77)
7. McGrumps 289 (168-75)
8. The CEO 288 (163-77)
9. Jaybird 284 (159-85)
10. Akaoni 281 (159-85)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 262 (153-88)
12. Slake B 261 (144-96)
13. Musashisan 215 (127-113)

Bow Before the Mighty Babblemur

2011-02-20T15:49:00.007-06:00

Babblemur went to the bank this week, bringing in an un-surmountable +44 points off 14-4 record for the week. How all the points? Purdue knocked off #10 Wisconsin and #2 Ohio State for 10 points alone; St. Johns knocked off #4 Pitt plus Marquette for 8 points, lowly USC beat California and Stanford for 6 points, and Long Island won two to win the Northeastern Conference for 6 points. All in all, Babs went 9-3 against other players.

But Babs wasn't the only one kicking ass. Boaris went on a rampage, and despite a Tennessee loss to Georgia and a Louisville loss to Cincy Boaris went 14-4 for 34 points, including K-State knocking off #1 Kansas on Monday, and Nebraska nipping #3 Texas on Saturday. Boaris shot up from 9th place to 6th.

The CEO turned in 35 points of his own, although 12 of them were for winning the MAAC and the Patriot. But that shouldn't overshadow a 15-4 week including a sweep in the bracket busters.

Breakdown performance chart

Babblemur +44 (14-4)
The CEO +35 (15-4)
Boaris +34 (14-4)
Gunz +27 (9-11)
Mad Mader +26 (12-7)
McGrumps +26 (12-8)
SGII +25 (13-7)
Jutdog +24 (10-8)
Jaybird +23 (13-7)
Akaoni +23 (15-4)
Slake B +23 (11-8)
Mooseye +21 (9-11)
Musashisan +19 (9-10)

Conference Champ Points Allocated (Week 15):

America East = Vermont (Gunz) 6 pts
Atlantic Sun = Belmont (Jut) 6 pts
Big South = Coastal Carolina (Mooseye) 6 pts
MAAC = Fairfield (CEO) 6 pts
NEC = Long Island (Babs) 6 pts
Patriot = Bucknell (CEO) 6 pts
Summit = Oakland (McGrumps) 6 pts

Many more conference championships should be determined this week (Week 16), so expect to see the points flying. Below is a breakdown of the Conferences yet to be determined.

Conference Champ Points TBD:

Minors:

Big Sky: Montana (MM) or Northern Colorado (Boaris)
Big West: Long Beach St (Musa) or Cal Poly (_)
Ivy: Harvard (Gunz) or Princeton (Boaris)
MEAC: Beth-Cook (Boaris), Morgan St (Jaybird) or Hampton (Mooseye)
OVC: 4 teams in the running
Southern: 5 teams in the running
Southland: 10 teams in the running
SWAC: 5 teams in the running
Sun Belt: 4 teams in the running

Mid Majors (7 pts each)

A-10: Xavier (Slake), Temple (Jaybird), Richmond (McGrumps), Duquesne (Musa), Rhode Island (Jut);
Colonial: George Mason (SGII), Old D (Jut), VCU (Gunz), Hofstra (Akaoni)
C-USA: 10 teams in the running
Horizon: Cleveland St (Slake), Valpo (Jaybird), Butler (Akaoni), Milwaukee (_)
MAC: 8 teams in the running
MVC: Wichita St (Mooseye) or Missouri St (Akaoni)
MWC: San Diego St (Babs), BYU (Jut) or Colorado St (Akaoni)
WCC: St. Mary's (McGrumps), Gonzaga (The CEO) or San Fran (_)
WAC: Utah St (Boaris) or New Mexico St (SGII)

Majors: (9 points each)

ACC: With three to four games remaining, it is down to Duke (Gunz) at 12-1, North Carolina (Jut) at 10-2, and Florida State (Akaoni) at 9-3. North Carolina travels to Florida State March 2, and Duke travels to North Carolina for a big game March 5th, but for this week all three need to win win win to survive to next week.
Big East: With four games left, 'technically' 10 teams could still tie up for a share of the title, but realistically this is down to Pittsburgh (Jaybird) at 12-2 who could almost lock it up with two wins this week. 2 games back is Notre Dame (Mad Mader) at 10-4, who beat Pitt at their only meeting this year. Others (Georgetown, Villanova, Louisville, St. John's etc.) are longshots at best, needing Pitt to lose the rest of their games to be in contention.
Big 10: With four games remaining the Big 10 is down to Ohio State (Slake) at 12-2, Purdue (Babs) at 11-3, and Wisconsin (Gunz) at 10-4. Purdue split their games with Ohio State and Wisconsin, but Wisconsin is 1-0 vs. Ohio State with one final game coming up March 6 that could determine a share of the Big Ten Title (and points for all!)
Big 12: There are four games remaining, and Texas (Jut) at 11-1 has a slim lead over Kansas (Mooseye) at 10-2, while technically in the hunt is Texas A&M (Mad Mader) at 8-4 and Missouri (The CEO) at 7-5. Texas beat Kansas in their only matchup, meaning Kansas would need to win the Big 12 outright to get those 9 points - a tall order at this point.
Pac 10: It is down to three, and Arizona (Jaybird) is looking to lock it up this week, giving Jaybird potentially two major conference champs. Arizona is 12-2, they play this week UCLA (Mad Mader) at 10-4, while the third contender Washington (SGII) at 10-5 needs a small miracle to pull of the Pac 10 this year.
SEC: The SEC is CrAzY! Four games left - Alabama (Musashisan) at 10-2 and Florida (Mooseye) at 10-2 have a two game lead over a pack that includes Vandy (CEO) at 8-4, Kentucky (McGrumps) at 7-5, Georgia (Babs) at 7-5, Missississippi State (Jaybird) at 6-6 and Tennessee (Boaris) at 6-6. This week should eliminate three or four of those teams, but the Big Show will be March 1 when Alabama heads to Florida for their only matchup this year. Florida has a tough row to hoe given their next four games (Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Vandy), as does Vandy (Tenn, LSU, Kentucky, Florida).

STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 15:

Current with all Feb 20 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 319 (151-76)
2. Babblemur 294 (149-74)
3. Mad Mader 277 (144-73)
4. Mooseye 277 (145-76)
5. Jaybird 266 (149-72)
6. Boaris 263 (152-68)
7. Jutdog 262 (148-74)
8. The CEO 261 (151-70)
9. McGrumps 260 (154-71)
10. Akaoni 257 (153-74)
11. Slake B 235 (133-88)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 231 (141-80)
13. Musashisan 194 (120-100)

Week 14 & 15 Things are getting HOT

2011-02-14T15:27:00.002-06:00

Well it is in the 40s in Wisconsin, H-O-T!

The top of the Leader Board showed why they are there last week with the Top 6 players scoring +24 or greater, while the Bottom 7 could barely squeak past +20, if that. There was no change in the Top 4 as Gunz (+30), Mooseye (+26), Mad Mader (+24) and Babblemur (+26) all found reasons to be happy this week, like Wisconsin (Gunz) knocking off Ohio State, or Florida (Mooseye) sweeping two big games to take the SEC Lead, or Notre Dame (Mad Mader) beating Louisville and moving into second place in the Big East, or St. Johns (Babblemur) upsetting UCONN and moving into the top half of the Big East.

However two bad-ass brothers have moved up into the #5 and #6 slots. Jaybird hit +30 for the week with Pittsburgh winning two big games to build a solid lead in the Big East, Arizona moved into first place in the Pac 10, and Valparaiso beat Wright State and Detroit to move into first place in the Horizon. Brother Jut though passed two more players with a +26 week, and more importantly he now has first place in the Big 12 (Texas), MWC (BYU), Atlantic Sun (Belmont), and the MAC (Kent State) and Old Dominion is playing strong two games out of first in the Colonial.

Player Performances for Week 14:

Gunz +30 (14-5)
Jaybird +30 (12-5)
Mooseye +26 (12-5)
Babblemur +26 (11-8)
Jutdog +26 (14-5)
Mad Mader +24 (12-5)
Akaoni +21 (11-8)
McGrumps +20 (12-6)
The CEO +20 (14-6)
SGII +20 (14-4)
Boaris +19 (11-9)
Slake B +17 (11-9)
Musashisan +12 (7-10)

Bracket Busters

This week we have Bracket Buster Games Friday-Sunday, pitting mid-majors and minors against each other for our amusement. I've highlighted those head-to-head games on the sidebar. Best games?

VCU (Gunz) vs. Wichita St (Mooseye) - First we have the #1 and #2 players on the leader board facing off, both with exceptionally good teams. Wichita State was the pre-season mid-major darling that failed to stun and is now locked into a first place tie in the MVC. VCU just lost to Old Dominion and is one game out of first place in the Colonial.
Austin Peay (Jaybird) vs. Fairfield (CEO) - a butter brother battle in a bottle, Fairfield has gone 20-5 for the CEO, 13-2 in the MAAC, a three game lead with three games remaining. Austin Peay has gone 2-2 since being drafted, but still sits 2 games back in the Ohio Valley.
Missouri State (Akaoni) at Valparaiso (Jaybird) - Valpo is on a 3 game win streak with 2 wins against other players, they now have a half game lead in the Horizon. At 32 points, Missouri State is the best 7th round draft pick on the board for Akaoni, and is tied up with Wichita State for first place in the MVC.
Cleveland State (Slake) at Old Dominion (Jut) - this is the marquis matchup. Cleveland State came out of nowhere to become the dominant force in the Horizon until two recent losses to Butler and Detroit. Their point guard last game scored 41 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals - that's good. Old Dominion at 2 games back in the Colonial might be counting on an at-large bid - a loss here would hurt a LOT. Old D has won 6 of their last 7, the only loss to George Mason (are they ranked in the top 25?)

Conference Showdowns

America East - Vermont (Gunz) can seal the America East conference with a win over Maine (Babblemur) on Wednesday.

Atlantic 10 - Temple (Jaybird) and Richmond (McGrumps) are both 9-2 and in second place, half game behind Xavier (Slake). They face off on Thursday.

Atlantic Sun - Belmont (Jut) can lock up the Atlantic Sun with a win over East Tennessee State on Thursday.

Big South - Coastal Carolina (Mooseye) is 15-0 with three conference games remaining. Undefeated in conference would be a bonus +3 points...

Big Ten - There are only 3 teams that can win the Big 10 now: Ohio St (Slake) at 11-1, Purdue (Babs) at 9-3, and Wisconsin (Gunz) at 9-3. Wisconsin heads to Purdue on Wednesday, followed by Ohio State going to Purdue on Sunday. After this week there may be only two contenders remaining.

Colonial - Tuesday - George Mason (SGII) 13-2 takes on VCU (Gunz) 12-3 in a critical game for both. This is their only regular season game together, so it is the tie breaker as well. There are three games remaining for both in the Colonial including this one.

Conference USA - There are four teams within a game of first place in the CUSA, UTEP 7-2, UAB 8-3, Memphis 7-3, Southern Miss 7-4. Every game is a bracket buster for these four, an at-large bid will not come easily. UAB (Boaris) plays Memphis (McGrumps) on Wednesday, while UTEP (Jaybird) takes on Southern Miss (Akaoni) the same day.

MAAC - Fairfield (CEO) could lock up the MAAC with a win over Marist on Wednesday.

MAC - Kent State (Jutdog) at 8-2 holds a slim lead in the conference over Miami Ohio (Slake) at 8-3. They play on Wednesday, its a big game for the MAC. Kent State won their last match up.

MEAC - Saturday Hampton (Mooseye) at 9-2 faces conference rival Bethune-Cookman (Boaris) at 8-3. Hampton won the last match up, a win here could seal the conference.

PAC 10 - Saturday first place Arizona (Jaybird) at 10-2 faces Washington (SGII) at 9-4 in a key conference game for both.

Summit - If Oakland (McGrumps) sweeps the Dakotas this week they will have the Summit all locked up.

Leader Board after Week 14:

Current with all Feb 13 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 292 (142-65)
2. Mooseye 256 (136-65)
3. Mad Mader 251 (132-66)
4. Babblemur 250 (135-70)
5. Jaybird 243 (136-65)
6. Jutdog 238 (138-66)
7. McGrumps 234 (142-63)
8. Akaoni 234 (138-70)
9. Boaris 229 (138-64)
10. The CEO 226 (136-66)
11. Slake B 212 (122-80)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 206 (128-73)
13. Musashisan 175 (111-90)

Perspective on the upcoming 8 weeks of Babblemur

2011-02-13T11:08:00.005-06:00

Just how huge can end of year point bursts be? Consider conference reg season points, all of the head to heads in league play in a condensed time period, topped with tourney points and more, and you get a scenario in which anyone but Mushasisan can win.

As of Feb 12, 2011, the standings in league play are as follows:
1. Gunz 285 (139-65)
2. Mooseye 253 (135-65)
3. Mad Mader 245 (130-65)
4. Babblemur 244 (133-70)
5. Jaybird 239 (134-64)
6. Jutdog 238 (138-66)
7. McGrumps 234 (142-62)
8. Akaoni 234 (138-69)
9. Boaris 229 (138-64)
10. The CEO 224 (134-66)
11. Slake B 209 (121-80)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 205 (127-71)
13. Musashisan 175 (111-86)

So where were we last year on Feb 15, 2010? The post title of the day was "Jutdog Suffers Worst Performance in Three Year History of Babbleball". Akaoni was the sure lock to win the league, with about a 40 point lead - a 76 point lead over Jutdog!

Standings as of Feb 15, 2010:
•1. Akaoni - 287 (155-51)
•2. Jaybird - 249 (148-58)
•2. Gunz - 247 (145-62)
•4. Boaris - 245 (155-51)
•5. Babblemur - 222 (144-60)
•6. The CEO - 216 (140-65)
•7. NotaTurtle - 215 (125-77)
•8. Phunmunki - 214 (131-71)
•9. Jutdog - 211 (136-62)
•10. Some Guy in Illinois - 189 (135-73)

And then, shoot forward several weeks to the conclusion of the league:
Final Standings for 2009-10 (with last team "alive")
•1. Jutdog - 483 (207-90) West Virginia lost to Duke in the Final Four
•2. Gunz - 478 (203-101) Duke as National Champions
•3. Akaoni - 469 (210-89) Baylor lost to Duke in Elite 8
•4. Babblemur - 455 (205-90) Butler lost to Duke in championship game
•5. Boaris - 448 (214-85) Ohio St lost to Tennessee in Sweet 16
•6. Jaybird - 429 (206-94) Dayton won NIT championship
•7. The CEO - 409 (192-104) Michigan St lost to Butler in Final Four
•8. NotaTurtle - 376 (176-113) Purdue lost to Duke in Sweet 16
•9. Phunmunki - 335 (173-110) Xavier lost to Kansas St in Sweet 16
•10. Some Guy in Illinois - 311 (185-112) North Carolina lost to Dayton in NIT finals

So what does that mean? Well, a few things:
1. Bab's and CEO's claims that GUNZ has sealed the league is just foolish. He might even have DUKE win it all and somehow still lose.

2. Less than half of the points available have been distributed. The season is just getting started.

3. Akaoni really sucked down the stretch last year!

4. Gunz is actually doing worse this year than AKAONI was doing last year at this time, considering he has fewer points and we have far more teams this year providing additional head to head opportunities.

5. If a 76 point lead is able to be overcome, that would mean that Slake B is right in contention for the championship along with the other 10 players ahead of him. A comeback from SGII and Musash would be unprecedented.

6. So who is doing better this year (in terms of points) than last year besides the obvious in Gunz (up 38 pts)? Jutdog is up 27 points. Babblemur is up 22 points. McGrumps (player formerly known as Turtle) is up 19 points. Even SGII is up 16 points! And rounding out the batch, the CEO is actually up 8 points. Everyone else is doing worse this year.

7. CEO feels better about his season after reading this.

2011-02-11T12:27:00.000-06:00

Gunz Extends his Lead

2011-02-07T09:29:00.003-06:00

Gunz won Week 13, scoring 35 points off a 15-5 record, including an 11-2 record against other players. His top four teams went undefeated for 22 of his 35 points. If there is a bright side for the rest of us, Harvard lost to Princeton which may be enough to keep Gunz from winning the Ivy, but otherwise it looks bad as Gunz' lead is now at 32 ahead of second place with Duke, VCU and Vermont poised to win their conference titles.

How did the rest of us fare?

Gunz +35 (15-5)
Mooseye +28 (14-4)
Akaoni +26 (12-8)
Jutdog +24 (14-5)
Slake B +23 (13-7)
Mad Mader +21 (9-10)
Babblemur +19 (11-7)
Jaybird +19 (11-7)
Musashisan +17 (9-9)
Boaris +15 (13-7)
McGrumps +15 (9-8)
SGII +15 (9-8)
The CEO +13 (9-10)

Best Expanda-Draft Squad

In a short week for the expanda-draft teams, Babblemur can brag about the most success so far as Florida Atlantic went 2-0 with a win over North Texas to take a 2 1/2 game lead in the Sun Belt; and Long Island went 2-0 with a win over Quinnipiac to take a 1 game lead in the NEC.

Conference Leaders:

Jutdog (A-Sun, Big 12, MAC, MWC)
Mooseye (Big South, MEAC, MVC, SWAC)
Jaybird (Big East, C-USA, PAC 10)
Gunz (American East, ACC, Colonial)
Musashisan (A-10, Big West, SEC)
Slake B (A-10, Big 10, Horizon)
Boaris (Big Sky, Ivy, WAC)
McGrumps (Summit, West Coast)
SGII (Colonial, OVC)
CEO (MAAC, Patriot)
Babblemur (NEC, Sun Belt)
Mad Mader (Southern)
Akaoni (_)

Standings after Week 13

* Current with all Feb 6 (Sunday) Games
* 1. Gunz 262 (128-60)
* 2. Mooseye 230 (124-60)
* 3. Mad Mader 227 (120-61)
* 4. Babblemur 224 (123-62)
* 5. McGrumps 214 (130-57)
* 6. Jaybird 213 (124-60)
* 7. Akaoni 213 (127-62)
* 8. Jutdog 212 (124-61)
* 9. Boaris 210 (127-55)
* 10. The CEO 206 (122-60)
* 11. Slake B 195 (111-71)
* 12. Some Guy in Illinois 186 (114-69)
* 13. Musashisan 163 (105-80)

Mid Major Standings

2011-02-04T08:37:00.002-06:00

The Mid Majors are very competitive this year. A team that wins a mid-major regular season earns 7 points, and the conference tournament is worth 5 points (and an automatic bid to the Big Dance, another 3 points). Plus, if a team should go undefeated in their conference, there is an additional +3 for the super-feat.

That makes a potential 135 points out there for Mid-Majors. There are 42 player teams in these 9 conferences. WINNING GAMES NOW IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.

Note that in the case of a tie for the conference championship, the tie breaker is head to head matchups. If those are a tie, both teams get full points.

"Official" Babbleball Mid-Majors: Atl 10, CAA, CUSA, Horizon, MAC, MWC, MVC, WAC, & WCC

Standings as of February 4, 2011:

Atlantic 10
1. Duquesne (Musa) 8-0, 16-5
2. Xavier (Slake) 7-1, 15-6
3. Temple (Jaybird) 6-2, 15-6
3. Richmond (McGrumps) 6-2, 17-6
5. UMASS (Mad Mader) 5-3, 13-8
5. Rhode Island (Jut) 5-3, 14-8
7. Dayton (Akaoni) 4-4, 16-7
12. Charlotte (Moose) 2-6, 10-12

Colonial
1. George Mason (SGII) 10-2, 18-5
2. VCU (Gunz) 10-2, 18-6
3. Old Dominion (Jut) 9-3, 18-5
4. Hofstra (Akaoni) 8-4, 14-9

Conference USA
1. UTEP (Jaybird) 5-2, 17-5
2. Southern Miss (Akaoni) 6-3, 17-5
3. Memphis (McGrumps) 5-3, 16-6
3. Tulsa (SGII) 5-3, 12-10
3. UAB (Boaris) 5-3, 15-6
7. Marshall (CEO) 3-4, 15-7

Horizon
1. Cleveland St (Slake) 10-2, 21-3
2. Valparaiso (Jaybird) 8-3, 16-7
3. Wright St (Slake) 8-4, 15-9
5. Butler (Akaoni) 6-5, 14-9
7. Detroit (Jut) 6-6, 12-12

Mid American
1. Buffalo (CEO) 6-2, 14-6
1. Bowling Green (_) 6-2, 11-11
3. Kent State (Jut) 5-2, 14-7
4. Ball State (McGrumps) 5-3, 13-8
4. Miami-Ohio (Slake) 5-3, 10-12
7. Ohio (Babblemur) 3-5, 10-12

Missouri Valley
1. Wichita St (Moose) 10-2, 19-4
2. Northern Iowa (Musa) 9-3, 18-6
2. Missouri St (Akaoni) 9-3, 17-6
6. Creighton (Jaybird) 6-6, 14-10

Mountain West
1. BYU (Jut) 7-1, 21-2
2. San Diego St (Babs) 7-1, 22-1
3. Colorado St (Akaoni) 5-3, 15-7
3. UNLV (Boaris) 5-3, 17-5
5. New Mexico (Moose) 4-4, 16-7

West Coast
1. St. Mary's (McGrumps) 7-1, 19-4
2. Santa Clara (Gunz) 5-2, 15-9
2. San Fran (_) 5-2, 11-11
4. Gonzaga (CEO) 5-3, 15-8

Western Athletic
1. Utah St (Boaris) 10-0, 21-2
2. New Mexico St (SGII) 6-4, 12-12

2011 PowerHouse Trios

2011-02-02T12:49:00.002-06:00

As we learned last year, it is important to have the best team in the country (Gunz and his perennial favorite Duke), but possibly more important to have the best trio of teams (Jutdog's West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kansas State, which generated enough points for the win). So, who looks to be in a good position with a dominant trio to challenge for the Hall of Fame spot this year:

1.Moose Eye: This guy has Kansas, UCONN, and Florida. This is a good bunch. Kansas has no faults on the year, and in most places is a lock for a 1 seed in the tourney. UCONN has gone beyond everyone's expectations in reaching 17-3 with a top 10 SOS and no bad losses. This wins list is pretty impressive: Texas, UK, Michigan State (when they were #2), NOVA, and Tennessee. Florida brings in a big question mark. They are 4-3 against sub-100 talent, while going 5-1 against top 50 talent. They are 17-5 though, a top 25 team, and leading the SEC. They are a strong #3 team to have, placing Moose Eye with the best TRIO.

2. Gunz. Things seem good for Gunz, and he has built a decent lead. However, Duke has lost 2 of their last 6 games, and appears to be entering the toughest part of their season. Despite this, they are still elite-8 material. Georgetown has rebounded and is actually 17-5 with the #2 SOS. They have NO bad losses and 7 wins over top 50 teams. That places them as at least a sweet 16 contender. However, isn't this the same Georgetown team that bowed out last year in the opening round (this year's team is far worse inside without Monroe). They appear to be playing far better this year as a team and could contend for a Big East titel. Then you have Wisconsin, who beat Purdue, Minnesota, and Illinois, and has 5 close losses all on the road. He also has Clemson who is 15-6 but with no real impressive wins. So Gunz is most likely a contender, but clearly not a lock for even a top 3 finish. Further, he does not have the best trio in our league.

3. Mad Mader: The Cuse have been slippin, and the XCuse is because they don't play D. 4 Straight losses (note that two were against top 10 talent) has their future in doubt. Thankfully the mad man has a supporting cast of Notre Dame who is 17-4 (!) with a top 10 SOS (!) and 7 (!) wins over top 50 teams including Wisconsin, Georgetown, UCONN, and PITT. Up until meeting Texas, his third team in Texas A&M was looking pretty good. At 17-4 and no losses to terrible teams, they are looking great aside from the losing 3 of their last 4. Mader was probably the most dangerous player 4 games ago, before the Cuse and A&M entered their winter falls.

4. Jutdog: Of course, no list would be complete without the Hall of Fame representation, and Jutdog has again assembled a worthy collection of teams. Texas has proven to be a great pick, giving Kansas their only loss while also picking up wins against Illinois, UNC, Michigan St, A&M (twice), and Mizz. Losses against UCONN and PITT are excusable, but at USC?? They have won 7 straight and play NO additional ranked teams for the remainer of the regular season. BYU comes in at the second spot, with the #12 SOS including wins over San Diego St, Utah St, St Marys, Arizona, and UTEP. They are 6-1 on the road, and have no bad losses. However, they have yet to face a real national contender and may be considered unproven. The final team is UNC, who is tied for first in the ACC with a 16-5 overall record. Somehow, these guys scored 106 last night at Boston College while only producing 58 at Georgia Tech. They are 2nd in the nation in rebounding, and have quietly won 9 of their last 10 games. At only 2-4 against top 50 talent, they have yet to prove themselves.

Honorable Mention:

6. Babs?? Purdue is obviously a contender, but with only two starters and 12 subs, it is a serious stretch to call them a final four lock. San Diego State? They have only one loss (BYU), and have wins over St Marys, Gonzaga, California, UNLV, and New Mexico. All very impressive wins over what will likely be teams that do NOT make the sweet 16. San Diego St is at best an uncertainty - they might dominate, or they may fade against the best in the country.

But even if we give both Purdue and San Diego St tickets to the Sweet Sixteen, who else? Georgia? St Johns? How 'bout Maine? Babs will at best finish 2nd this year, and more likely will be somewhere in the 4 - 8 range, which is not too bad considering his main squad took a serious blow on the first day of practice (See Robbie Hummel).

6. Jaybird?? PITT, Temple, and Arizona. Well.. probably better than Babs, but good enough to win? Temple has been his major let down, while by some accounts Arizona has exceeded expectations. If PITT stays focused, they are well coached and skilled, and are a leading candidate for a 1 seed.

6. Slake B. Ohio State is by almost all accounts the best team in the nation. 7-0 on the road, 5-0 against top 50 teams, and unbeaten. However, they only have played 4 rated teams all year, including Florida and Purdue. If they can win AT Minnesota, AT Wisconsin, and AT Purdue, then I will be sold. Until then, and considering that over half of their wins are from teams outside of the top 100, they are not enough to be considered a lock. Maryland is 1-6 against top 50 teams, and 7 of their wins came from sub-200 teams. West Virginia is only 6-4 in their last 10 games, but they do have 5 wins over top 50 talent including Purdue and Georgetown.

Week 12 Winners & Losers

2011-01-31T10:59:00.002-06:00

Week 12 was a roller coaster, with some big winners and some big losers.

Winners & Losers

Jutdog (+30, 12-4) was the big winner, as Seton Hall knocked off #9 Syracuse, BYU defended their home court against #4 San Diego State, and 5 more wins against other players catapulted him out of 10th place and into the running again (although only 8th place...).

Mooseye (+25, 11-4) was the other big winner, with New Mexico picking off #9 BYU, and 5 more wins against other players. Western Kentucky won two, keeping them from getting dropped, Wichita State swept 2 to keep them in the Missouri Valley hunt, and even lowly Wake Forest won a game before being dropped. Mooseye rose from 7th place a week ago to 4th place, just 25 back from the Mighty Gunz.

Other good scores for the week: Boaris is back with +22 off a 12-3 record, Gunz is firing again with +21 despite a 9-7 record, Jaybird picked up +20 off a 10-6 record, and Slake B started winning again picking up +20 off a 10-6 record.

The biggest loser this week was Akaoni, who could only get three of his teams to win a game, and one of them, Texas Tech, he dropped after a 2-0 performance. Villanova, Butler, Florida St, Northwestern, and Dayton all went win-less for the week, netting Akaoni a total of +7 off a depressing 5-9 week.

Teams of the Week

Louisville (Boaris) beat West Virginia (Mad Mader) and #5 UCONN (Mooseye) for 8 points, moving them into second place in the Big East, and moving Boaris from 9th place to 6th place on the leader board.

Georgetown (Gunz) beat St. Johns (Babblemur) and #8 Villanova (Akaoni) for 8 points, giving the Hoyas a winning record (5-4) in the Big East and Gunz some ammo for holding onto first place.

Standings After Week 12

* Current with all Jan 30 (Sunday) Games
* 1. Gunz 227 (113-55)
* 2. Mad Mader 206 (111-51)
* 3. Babblemur 205 (112-55)
* 4. Mooseye 202 (110-56)
* 5. McGrumps 199 (121-49)
* 6. Boaris 195 (114-48)
* 7. Jaybird 194 (113-53)
* 8. The CEO 193 (113-50)
* 9. Jutdog 188 (110-56)
* 10. Akaoni 187 (115-54)
* 11. Slake B 172 (98-64)
* 12. Some Guy in Illinois 161 (105-61)
* 13. Musashisan 146 (96-71)

Expanda Draft: the Rundown

2011-01-25T02:00:00.019-06:00

At CEO's request, I thought I'd post the Expanda Draft picks on the front page.

1. Musashisan - Duquesne A10
2. SGII - Cincinnati Big East
3. Slake B - Cleveland State Horizon
4. Jutdog - Belmont Atl Sun
5. Boaris - Northern Colorado Big Sky
6. Jaybird - Valparaiso Horizon
7. Mooseye - Coastal Carolina Big South
8. The CEO - Bucknell Patriot
9. Akaoni - Colorado State Mountain West
10 McGrumps - Ball State MAC
11. Babblemur - Florida Atlantic Sun Belt
12. Mad Mader - Montana Big Sky
13. Gunz - Harvard Ivy

14. Gunz - Vermont American East
15. Mad Mader - Charleston Southern
16. Babblemur - Long Island NEC
17. McGrumps - Jackson State SWAC
18. Akaoni - Hofstra Colonial
19. The CEO - Buffalo MAC
20. Mooseye - Hampton MEAC
21. Jaybird - Austin Peay
22. Boaris - Bethune-Cookman
23. Jutdog - California
24. Slake B - Arkansas
25. SGII - McNeese State
26. Musashisan - Providence Big East

Add / Drop Round (Optional)

27. Musashisan - Drops Iowa, Adds South Carolina
28. SGII - PASS
29. Slake B - PASS
30. Jutdog - Drops Weber St, Adds Kent State
31. Boaris - Drops Loyola Marymount, Adds Nebraska
32. Jaybird - PASS
33. Mooseye - Drops Wake Forest, Adds Texas Southern
34. The CEO - Drops Satan Barbara, Adds Marshall
35. Akaoni - Drops Texas Tech, Adds Denver Sun Belt
36. McGrumps - PASS
37. Babblemur - PASS
38. Mad Mader - Drops St. Louis, Adds UMASS
39. Gunz - Drops Bradley, Adds Santa Clara

Let's Roll!

Parity Marks Week Eleven

2011-01-24T19:16:00.003-06:00

The mandatory weekly update - Week Eleven

No standouts this week. Every player picked up between 12 and 19 points, between 6 and 11 wins, between 4 and 10 losses. The CEO topped all in most wins and fewest losses.

Rundown:

The CEO +19 (11-4) - Vandy wins in and out of conference against Ole Miss and St. Mary's
Akaoni +19 (9-7) - Villanova's win over Syracuse atones for the loss to UCONN
Mad Mader +18 (10-4) - Syracuse drops two, are they still final four material?
Gunz +18 (8-7) - Duke is back on track (unlike Clemson, Stanford and Bradley = 0-6)
Slake B +17 (9-5) - Ohio State and Xavier picking up the slack
Some Guy in Illinois +17 (9-7) - Washington earning their first round draft status
Jaybird +17 (7-6) - Arizona & Temple stumble, Pitt and UTEP rumble
Jutdog +16 (8-7) - Two big wins for Texas, BYU ready for the Aztecs this week
Mooseye +16 (8-8) - at least UCONN is still kicking ass
Boaris +15 (7-7) - K-State bombs, Utah State looks fine
Babblemur +15 (7-8) - Takes a beating but still beating most of you
McGrumps +14 (10-7) - Damn, what happened to Quinnipeac?
Musashisan +12 (6-10) - Bright sides: Northern Iowa and Alabama; Dark sides: everyone else

Standings after Week Eleven:

Current with all Jan 23 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 206 (104-48)
2. Mad Mader 189 (106-42)
3. Babblemur 189 (104-47)
4. McGrumps 180 (112-44)
5. Akaoni 180 (110-45)
6. The CEO 179 (105-44)
7. Mooseye 177 (99-52)
8. Jaybird 174 (103-47)
9. Boaris 173 (102-45)
10. Jutdog 158 (98-52)
11. Slake B 152 (88-58)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 151 (97-55)
13. Musashisan 133 (89-63)

A Collection of Trivial Pieces of Information

2011-01-21T10:25:00.004-06:00

If Conference Points were distributed Today:

McGrumps (WCC, CUSA, Summit) = 20
Mooseye (Big12, SEC) = 18
Jaybird (BigEast, CUSA) = 16
Slake B (Big10, A10) = 16
Musashisan (SEC, BigWest) = 15
Boaris (CUSA, WAC) = 14
Babblemur (MWC, AmEast) = 13
Jutdog (Big12) = 9
Akaoni (ACC) = 9
Some Guy in IL (Pac10) = 9
Gunz (CAA) = 7
CEO (MAAC) = 6
Mad Mader ( zip ) = 0

Team Parity Award

McGrumps is STILL the only player whose entire squad has 10 wins or more. Next closest: Babblemur & Akaoni each have one team two wins away (could be a long wait for Ohio and Texas Tech...)

Giant Killer Award

Mooseye has logged in the most wins over Top 10 teams to date with 5, mostly due to surprising UCONN:

#8 UCONN (Mooseye) defeats #7 Villanova (Akaoni)
Charlotte (Mooseye) defeats #7 Tennessee (Boaris)
Florida (Mooseye) defeats #6 Kansas State (Boaris)
UCONN (Mooseye) defeats #2 Michigan St (Musa)
UCONN (Mooseye) defeats #9 Kentucky (McGrumps)

The Babbleball Top 10 Rankings:

Duke (Gunz) 48 pts
Pittsburgh (Jaybird) 41 pts
Syracuse (Mad Mader) 41 pts
Notre Dame (Mad Mader) 37 pts
San Diego St (Babs) 35 pts
Ohio St (Slake B) 35 pts
Tennessee (Boaris) 35 pts
Minnesota (CEO) 34 pts
Kansas (Mooseye) 34 pts
Georgetown (Gunz) and UCONN (Mooseye) 33 pts

Best 8th round pick so far:

Quinnipeac by McGrumps, with 16 points off a 12-6 record, 2 wins over other players.

Gunz Versus The World

Gunz has been in first place most of the season. He leads the league in points off other players with 84 (next closest is 70 to put it in perspective). So who has he been thumping on, and who gives him fits? Below is Gunz' W/L record against the other 12 players, in order of dominance:

vs. McGrumps: 4-1
vs. Slake B: 3-1
vs. Musashisan: 6-2
vs. The CEO: 5-2
vs. Some Guy in IL: 7-3
vs. Boaris: 6-3
vs. Jutdog: 4-2
vs. Mad Mader: 3-3
vs. Mooseye: 1-1
vs. Akaoni: 2-4
vs. Babblemur: 1-3
vs. Jaybird: 1-4

Rare Video of Lord Jut's first Basketball game as a little boy

Akaoni Blazes Week TEN

2011-01-17T20:53:00.004-06:00

In another brutal week five top 10 teams fell, every player lost at least 4 games, top to bottom league parity tightened by five points as first place Boaris was held to +13 points while last place Musashisan picked up +18, only 67 points separate first from last.

Akaoni had the big week in points, scoring 27 off an 11-5 week, including Florida State knocking off #1 Duke and NC State, Villanova sweeping Louisville and Maryland, and Missouri State continuing their undefeated conference record in the Missouri Valley. His hot performance shot him up from 9th place to 5th place and just 27 back from first place.

Slake B brought in +24 points thanks to West Virginia's pop of Top 10 Purdue, as well as Ohio State and Xavier sweeping the week. Wright State won a big one against Butler, and Oregon beat USC before falling to UCLA. Slake slipped past Some Guy in Illinois on the leader board.

Some Guy in Illinois had the fewest points for the week, a measly +10 off an 8-8 record. He was 1-8 against other players, Illinois dropped two, NC State dropped two, Ole Miss dropped two, and SGII dropped back to 12th place.

The CEO and Jaybird turned in the best records for the week at 11-4. Gonzaga, Minnesota, Wofford and Santa Barbara all went undefeated for the week for The CEO. Pitt, Arizona, UTEP, Miss St and Morgan St. all went undefeated for Jaybird.

Gunz and Boaris were the only two players with losing records for the week. Gunz went 7-8 with 6 of his teams taking hits this week. Boaris needed a strong Saturday to make up for a 1-5 start for the week, finishing 6-7.

Week 11 looks to be loaded for points as Top 10's square off and conference play heats up.

Standings after Week 10

Current with all Jan 16 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 188 (96-41)
2. Babblemur 174 (97-39)
3. Mad Mader 171 (96-38)
4. McGrumps 166 (102-37)
5. Akaoni 161 (101-38)
6. Mooseye 161 (91-44)
7. The CEO 160 (94-40)
8. Boaris 158 (95-38)
9. Jaybird 157 (96-41)
10. Jutdog 142 (90-45)
11. Slake B 135 (79-53)
12. Some Guy in Illinois 134 (88-48)
13. Musashisan 121 (83-53)

The Expanda-Draft Cometh

2011-01-13T11:09:00.003-06:00

The Expanda-Draft aspect of this contest was put in for several reasons - to allow players to pick up teams that surprised everyone and are marching towards an NCAA birth, to add the possibility of "tweaking" your squad to improve your chances - especially for those bottom dwellers, and to give players a chance to pick up mid and low major conference teams that look like they are going to stomp their way into the Big Dance.

As we think about our draft options, consider these point rules:

- A team that wins a major conference (6) regular season earns 9 points
- A team that wins a mid-major conference (9) regular season earns 7 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference regular season earns 6 points
- A team that wins a major conference (6) tournament earns 7 points
- A team that wins a mid-major conference (9) tournament earns 5 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference (16) tournament earns 4 points
- A team that completes the regular conference season undefeated earns +3 points.

This is where a non-major team can be worth drafting - they win a dozen games (12 points) plus win their conference (6 pts) and tournament (4 pts). Plus keep in mind...

- Each team that makes the NCAA tourney receives 3 points

So while picking up a major conference team like Cincy or Virginia has the advantage of possible points against Duke or Pittsburgh, they may not see any of the points above.

RULES OF THE INTERIM DRAFT & RELEASE

- The last week of January, each player must draft 2 additional teams.

- Draft order will utilize snake method, with pick 1 going to last place point earner

- A voluntary third round will take place following the 2-round draft, in which one team from the original roster can be dropped and a new team picked up. All existing points from original team will remain. Order will continue snake method from round 2.

- Points will begin to be earned by the new teams on February 2, and new points will no longer be added for the discarded team effective February 2.

The draft order is set following the last game on: Sunday, January 23, 2011. Due to the number of picks, we'll be looking to get going right away Monday Jan 24. Current Draft Order if it happened today:

1. Musashisan 113 (79-49)
2. Slake B 116 (72-48)
3. Some Guy in Illinois 125 (81-43)
4. Jutdog 131 (83-40)
5. Jaybird 142 (89-39)
6.....

Top Major and Mid-Major Teams on the Radar:

1. Cincinnatti (16-1)
2. Virginia (10-6 every game is head to head)
3. Nebraska (13-3)
4. UCF (14-1)
5. Hostra (5-0 conf with 3 other players in)
6. Arkansas (11-4)
7. Boise St (4-0 conf)
8. Cleveland State (15-3)
9. Colorado St (11-5)
10. Tulane (12-4)
11. Marshall (12-4)
12. James Madison (13-3)
13. Iowa St (13-4)
14. George Washington (3-0 conf play; 10-5)
15. Duquense (2-0 conf play; 10-5)
16. Portland (12-4)

Babblemur on Top of Bloody Week Nine

2011-01-10T18:45:00.005-06:00

Week Nine was bloody. Every player but one lost at least 5 games, and every player but two won no more than 10 games. Three top 10 teams were beat, and upsets struck everywhere. The point spread though was not as wide, the lowest was +12 (The CEO), the highest was Babblemur (+25). Everyone else took in between +14 and +20.

Gunz held onto first place for the 8th consecutive week. Although he struggled with a 9-7 record he still brought in +19 points off big wins by Clemson and Oklahoma State and consistent winning by Duke. Georgetown is a big concern now after losses to St. Johns and West Virginia. Bradley dropped three straight.

McGrumps held onto second place off a 12-5 record for +18, but Kentucky's loss to Georgia and Boston College's loss to Harvard sting. Richmond, St. Mary's and Oakland all brought home the bacon.

Babblemur rose from 6th place to 3rd place after winning 9 of 12 games for +25. The high points is credited to Georgia upsetting #10 Kentucky and Colorado upsetting #9 Missouri. Purdue picked up 6 points off wins over Penn St and Iowa, San Diego State won two straight to remain undefeated, St. John's picked off Georgetown, and USC nailed UCLA. Ohio however lost against Miami (OH) which is a bad sign, and Maine lost one they should have won.

The rest of the upper echelon include Mad Mader (+19, 7-5), Mooseye (+15, 9-7) and Boaris (+15, 9-5).

There was no change on the leader board for the bottom seven. The CEO lost ground off a 10-5 record for +12, Jaybird gained some off 10-5 record for +18. Akaoni went 11-8 for +17, Jutdog went 10-5 for +14, and Some Guy in Illinois went 10-5 for +16. Slake B turned up the volume with 20 points thanks to a strong week for Ohio State, West Virginia, Wright State and Miami (OH). Musashisan is keeping pace with +19 off a 9-7 record.

Looking Forward to Week Ten

Ran out of time. Sorry.

Standings after Week Nine

Current with all Jan 9 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 175 (89-33)
2. McGrumps 151 (93-32)
3. Babblemur 151 (88-32)
4. Mad Mader 149 (86-32)
5. Mooseye 148 (82-38)
6. Boaris 146 (89-31)
7. The CEO 137 (83-36)
8. Jaybird 136 (85-37)
9. Akaoni 134 (90-33)
10. Jutdog 126 (80-40)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 124 (80-40)
12. Slake B 111 (69-48)
13. Musashisan 103 (73-48)

Ugly Saturday

2011-01-09T01:04:00.002-06:00

A Recap (and new thread) of our Saturday:

Mad Mader (5-0) +13
Babblemur (4-1) +12
McGrumps (6-2) +8
Jutdog (5-2) +7
Gunz (3-1) +7
Musashisan (3-3) +7
Boaris (4-2) +6
SGII (4-3) +6
Mooseye (2-3) +6
Slake B (3-1) +5
Jaybird (2-3) +4
The CEO (2-4) +4
Akaoni (0-3) +0

January 8th is also the birthday of David Bowie and Elvis Presley, both of whom I appreciate and love very much. Therefore the video below kind of sucks, but isn't far off of accurate.

McGrumps Wins Week Eight

2011-01-03T09:51:00.002-06:00

Week Eight started many teams into conference play, the bread and butter of the schedules, and the beginning of the march to March Madness. (Shitty intro, but I had nothing else here.)

Last Week the Iowa Boys were big winners: McGrumps pulled in 20, Mooseye 19, and Akaoni 18. Some Guy in Illinois hit 19 to creep to within 4 points of Lord Jut, and Babblemur hit 18 to climb past the CEO. Our Leader board:

1. Gunz held his first place position off 17 points led by 4 for Duke and 4 for VCU who won back to back games. Gunz' lead has slipped to 23 points and he has a tough week ahead as Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Clemson have tough conference schedules. Duke and Georgetown however are likely to earn 6 points a piece in Week 9.

2. McGrumps rose from 5th to 2nd place off 20 points, going 12-3 for the week. Kentucky, Memphis, St. Mary's and Oakland had a solid week, Richmond bumped Wake, and St. Mary's took down short staffed Miss St. For McGrumps to make ground on Gunz he will need Memphis to take down Tennessee on Wednesday and Marquette to win a tough one against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

3. Mooseye rose from 4th to 3rd going 9-5 for 19 points. Those points came off 5 wins against other players, but 4 losses to other players were a lost opportunity to pass McGrumps. Charlotte came through against Georgia Tech, Florida won a big one against hot Xavier, but Wake and Western Kentucky are looking weak. This coming week Wichita State has a chance to prove themselves with 3 conference games, Florida faces Rhode Island and Ole Miss for 6 possible points, and UCONN has two big games against Texas and Notre Dame.

4. Boaris continued his downward descent, this week more to the lack of games against other players as he went 9-3 for 11 points. Tennessee continued to look weak in a blowout loss to Charleston, but everyone else held their own. Boaris has a BIG Wednesday where he could redeem himself - Tennessee vs. Memphis, UNLV vs. BYU, Louisville vs. Seton Hall, UAB vs. Duke, and Loyola Marymount vs. St. Mary's, for a potential 17 point day.

5. Mad Mader dropped from 3rd to 5th despite going 10-4 for 16 points. It is only going to get tougher for his teams now, Penn State faces Purdue and Michigan State next week, St. Louis is looking at Dayton and Temple, Notre Dame has UCONN and St. Johns.

6. Babblemur went 12-3 for 18 points to leap frog past the CEO, Purdue, St. Johns, Georgia and Colorado all went 2-0, but Ohio and Maine both lost winnable games. Babblemur only has 13 games next week with some very tough matchups (Georgia vs. Kentucky, St. Johns vs. Georgetown and Notre Dame, Colorado vs. Missouri).

7. The CEO won 8 games for 16 points but lost 7 with Washington State dropping two to USC and UCLA and Wofford losing back to back to VCU and Cornell. Fortunately for the CEO Gonzaga began earning their first round draft status with 3 wins. The CEO only has three games against other players but all of their games are winnable. If he goes 15-0 he is looking at 23 points next week.

8. Jaybird picked up 14 points to stay in 8th place. Going 2-4 against other players won't move him up the leader board. Georgia Tech's loss to Charlotte hurt, but Mississippi State's internal fighting is going to hurt the most in the long run. Jaybird has a lot of point opportunities this coming week, but can he win more than 3 of his 9 games against other players?

9. Akaoni climbed to 9th place pulling 5 points ahead of struggling Lord Jut off of a 10-2 record for 18 points. His mid majors Missouri State, Southern Miss and Dayton are bringing home the bacon, and Akaoni proved he can win against other players by going 4-2 in that category. Week 9 will be critical as Butler has 3 conference games including red hot Cleveland State, Northwestern has 3 conference games including Illinois and Michigan St, and Missouri State has 3 conference games including Creighton and Wichita State.

10. Jutdog went 7-5 for 9 points, but frankly he didn't have a lot of point opportunities this week. That's why Weber State's two losses to Montana schools hurt. He could turn it around in Week 9 though with Texas playing UCONN on Saturday, BYU facing UNLV, Seton Hall has two tough games against Louisville and Syracuse, and Rhode Island is looking at Florida and Xavier. If he tanks this week, look for hot SGII to pass him on the leader board.

11. Some Guy in Illinois is hot, going 11-2 for 19 points. His meat and potatoes are in conference play as Washington swept USC and UCLA and Illinois swept Iowa and Wisconsin. If he keeps winning in Week 9 he will be moving up the leader board. NC State has a winnable game against Wake on Saturday, Tulsa faces conference rival UTEP on Tuesday, and George Mason has 3 conference games including a tough Old Dominion on Saturday.

12. Slake B's losing streak continued going 7-8 for 9 points. West Virginia lost 2 conference games, Oregon lost 2, Miami Ohio lost 2, but on the bright side Ohio State is hot, Wright State went 2-0, and next week Slake has 8 games against other players for a lot of point opportunities.

13. Musashisan continues to raise the basement floor, going 7-5 for 13 points, only 7 down from Slake. Michigan State excels in Big 10 play and has a couple of good games this week. Baylor, Miami, Arizona State and Alabama could all score big this week, and Long Beach St is looking like winners after going 2-0 last week.

Standings after Week 8:

Current with all Jan 2 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 156 (80-26)
2. McGrumps 133 (81-27)
3. Mooseye 133 (73-31)
4. Boaris 131 (80-26)
5. Mad Mader 130 (79-27)
6. Babblemur 126 (79-29)
7. The CEO 125 (73-31)
8. Jaybird 118 (75-32)
9. Akaoni 117 (79-25)
10. Jutdog 112 (70-35)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 108 (70-35)
12. Slake B 91 (59-43)
13. Musashisan 84 (64-41)

Akaoni Destroys Christmas

2010-12-27T11:08:00.005-06:00

In the seventh week Akaoni rose from his slumber and destroyed Christmas, earning in one week 25% of his total points for the season. How did this happen??? It started with a disappointing Northwestern loss to St. Johns (Babblemur) in the MSG Holiday Festival, but quickly turned around on Wednesday with teams going 7-0, followed by a 3-1 Thursday, his only loss to himself (Butler over Florida St). On X-Mas Eve Southern Miss dropped the Cancun Cup to Colorado State, but on X-Mas day Butler took the 4 point Hawaii Diamond Head and Florida State won the consolation game giving him a total of 26 points for the week on a 14-3 performance.

There was no change at the top of the leader board as Gunz (+11), Boaris (+13) and Mad Mader (+11) all maintained their top 3 spots. Mooseye tied up Mad Mader in points (114) to rise from 5th to 4th, McGrumps hanging on 1 point back in 5th thanks to a strong Richmond defeat of Seton Hall on Sunday.

The CEO and Babblemur moved from 7th and 9th to 6th and 7th off of strong performances this week. The CEO picked up 15 off big wins and a 7-1 record - Gonzaga over Xavier and Missouri over Illinois, plus a couple of wins out of Wash St in the Diamondhead. Babblemur grabbed 19 points off an 11-2 record led by St. Johns in the MSG Tournament.

Jaybird (+9) and Jutdog (+10) fell to 8th and 9th place respectively, 4-5 points behind Babblemur. Akaoni's huge week powered him out of 12th place and into 10th place just 4 points down from Jutdog. Some Guy in Illinois was bumped to 11th, Slake B's tough week (+5, 3-5) dropped him to 12th, and Musashisan's +12 moved him just 11 points away from getting off the floor.

Standings after Week Seven:

1. Gunz 139 (69-21)
2. Boaris 120 (71-23)
3. Mad Mader 114 (69-23)
4. Mooseye 114 (64-26)
5. McGrumps 113 (69-24)
6. The CEO 109 (65-24)
7. Babblemur 108 (67-26)
8. Jaybird 104 (67-27)
9. Jutdog 103 (63-30)
10. Akaoni 99 (69-23)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 89 (59-33)
12. Slake B 82 (52-35)
13. Musashisan 71 (57-36)

Oh Shit, More Tournaments

2010-12-20T21:46:00.002-06:00

That's right - Five Tournaments are left for points, four this week, one next. Here's the breakdown:

MSG Holiday Festival (Dec. 20-21) - 2 points

Northwestern (Akaoni) vs. St. Francis
St. John's (Babs) vs. Davidson

Both of these guys could use the two points.

Las Vegas Classic (Dec. 22-23) - 2 points

Northern Iowa (Musa) vs. Indiana
New Mexico (Mooseye) vs. Colorado (Babblemur)

Cancun Governor's Cup (Dec. 22-24) - 3 points

St. Louis (Mad Mader) vs. Northeastern
Southern Miss (Akaoni) vs. East Tenn St.
Ole Miss (SGII) vs. Texas St.
Colorado St. vs. Appalac St.

Hawaii Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22-25) - 4 points

Miss St (Jaybird) vs. Washington St (CEO)
Baylor (Musashisan) vs. San Diego
Butler (Akaoni) vs. Utah
Florida St (Akaoni) vs. Hawaii

Cable Car Classic (Dec. 29-30) - 2 points

Santa Clara vs. Northeastern
Wofford (The CEO) vs. Kent St

Its all CEO's to win or lose!

Everyone Gains on Gunz and Boaris

2010-12-20T13:07:00.002-06:00

Week Six was supposed to be a slow week, but a slew of upsets and fulfilled curses held #1 Gunz to 9 points and #2 Boaris to a mere 5 points and a rare losing record for the week (5-6).

8 others scored in double digits, led by Mooseye who nailed 18 points off 8 wins due to knocking off two Top 10 teams for 5 pts each. Lowly Charlotte stung #7 Tennessee on Friday, followed by Florida taking down #6 Kansas State on Saturday.

Jaybird rose 3 spots with 17 points and an 11-1 record for the week. CEO scored 14 off an 8-1 week, and Akaoni actually beat other players' teams to score 14 off an 8-1 week. McGrumps had the biggest coup of the week with an Oakland win over #7 Tennessee helping him to 13 points.

Biggest losers this week: Boaris +5 (5-6), Jutdog +6 (6-3), Musashisan +7 (7-4).

Standings after Week Six:

Current with all Dec 19 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 128 (62-19)
2. Boaris 107 (62-20)
3. Mad Mader 103 (60-20)
4. McGrumps 101 (61-21)
5. Mooseye 101 (57-22)
6. Jaybird 95 (60-22)
7. The CEO 94 (58-23)
8. Jutdog 93 (57-26)
9. Babblemur 89 (56-24)
10. Some Guy in Illinois 79 (51-29)
11. Slake B 77 (49-30)
12. Akaoni 73 (55-20)
13. Musashisan 59 (47-32)

Tennessee Leads Boaris to Top of Boring Week of Basketball

2010-12-13T13:43:00.003-06:00

Week Five Recap

Week Five resulted in little to no change to the Leader Board, as players saw an average of 12.3 games and a total of 25 head to head match ups (averaging 3.8 each). Given these meaningless statistics, an average "perfect week" for week five would result in 20 points.

Boaris was the only player this week to reach this target, going 12-1 and 3-0 against other players, with an additional 2 points for popping Top 10 Pittsburgh. #6 Kansas State, #7 Tennessee, #21 Louisville, and #22 UNLV are testament to his success. He narrowed the gap between himself and Gunz by 3 points to 17.

Gunz held onto the top spot with 17 pts (9-4) thanks to a 4-3 performance against other players (i.e. it could have been worse for the rest of us). Mad Mader held onto the #3 position with 17 of his own.

In the "Cluster" McGrumps held onto 4th place with 17 pts, Jut flipped into 5th place with 18 points, Mooseye stayed in 6th with 13 points, The CEO tumbled into 7th with 9 pts, Babblemur and Jaybird stayed at 8th and 9th with 12 points each.

No change in the Cellar where Slake B's 8-1 record gave him 10 pts, SGII matched that with 10 off an 8-4 week, Akaoni squeeked out 8 pts (6-4) and Musashisan struggled for 7 pts (5-6).

Week Six Preview

It is Finals Week on many campuses, another week of fewer games and fewer point opportunities. Players will average only 9.8 games this week, with 21 head to head matchups (3.2 average per player) so an average "perfect" week this week will result in 16 points, not a lot of room to move up and down the Leader Board.

At the top of the Leader Board, Gunz has only 8 games with 2 head to heads, and assuming Stanford beats struggling Butler he is looking at 12 points. Boaris can gain more ground with 11 games including 5 head-to-head matchups, 4 of which are winnable, but Kansas State vs. Florida (Mooseye) is the important one.

Down in the Cellar, Musashisan has some big opportunities as Baylor takes on struggling Gonzaga (The CEO), but Alabama will need a Crimson Miracle to beat Oklahoma State (Gunz). A 10 point week won't do much toward catching Akaoni, who could get 3 from Florida St vs. Loyola Marymount (Boaris) and Texas Tech vs. UTEP (Jaybird) and don't be too surprised if Missouri State knocks off St. Louis (Mad Mader). Slake B and Some Guy in Illinois won't be caught by those two yet though, but won't climb out of the Cellar, either.

Also, watch out for Mooseye who has a potential 24 points, but that includes Charlotte playing a red-hot Tennessee team so lets call it 19 potential points.

Standings After Week Five

Current with all Dec 12 (Sunday) Games
1. Gunz 119 (55-18)
2. Boaris 102 (57-14)
3. Mad Mader 91 (52-19)
4. McGrumps 88 (54-19)
5. Jutdog 87 (51-23)
6. Mooseye 83 (49-20)
7. The CEO 80 (50-22)
8. Babblemur 79 (48-22)
9. Jaybird 78 (49-21)
10. Slake B 68 (42-27)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 67 (43-27)
12. Akaoni 59 (47-19)
13. Musashisan 52 (40-28)

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

2010-12-06T09:51:00.003-06:00

After two tumultuous weeks of high stakes (and high points) tournaments, Week Four returns us to a more routine 13-16 games-per-week schedule, less fluctuation in point differences between players, and slower movement on the Leaderboard, particularly at the top and at the bottom.

Almost everyone picked up between 12-18 points, almost everyone won between 8-12 games, almost everyone lost between 4-7 games. Here are our standouts:

Gunz had a routine 9-5 week but led the field with +23 points thanks to a 5-0 record against other players last week, including Duke's win over then #2 Michigan State.
Boaris picked up a mediocre +15 points, but his teams went 13-3, best record of the week. Unfortunately those three losses were all against other players.
Slake B's teams took a nose dive this week, going 5-9 overall, 2-7 against other players, for a total +9 for the week.

Our Leaderboard has divided into three tiers, with a big cluster in the middle one. Lets look closer:

Top Tier (82+)

Gunz (102) and Boaris (82) have risen far enough above the rest of the pack so as to ensure their #1-#2 positions for an additional week barring major surprises. Mad Mader could argue that he deserves to be in this Top Tier in 3rd Place but a weak 9-6 record last week for +13 didn't help his case, and only 4 points separate him from 5 other players on the leader board.

Cluster Tier (66-74)

7 players have between 66-74 points, a slim 8 point difference that could put 9th place into 3rd with a solid Wednesday or Saturday performance. Mad Mader (74) sits on top, but close behind are McGrumps (71) who had a solid 11-4 outing last week and The CEO (71) who picked up 20 points of 12-4 record. Following closely behind is Mooseye (70) and Jutdog (69) who had respectable weeks. Babblemur (67) rose out of the Basement Tier off 21 points thanks to USC's upset over Texas, and Jaybird (66) pretty much fell from the top of the cluster to the bottom with a low +12 week.

For these 7 players a solid week could lift anyone of them to the top of the cluster, maybe even gain some ground on the Top Tier.

Basement Tier (45-58)

An extra room was added onto the Basement to accommodate Slake B (58), whose slide from 2nd place two weeks ago has him just one point up on Some Guy in Illinois (57) and clinging to 10th place. SGII has been trying to pound his way up the Leaderboard, and although he went 8-7 last week he gained 18 points by going 5-4 against other players. Illinois knocked off North Carolina and Gonzaga, and Washington beat Long Beach St and Texas Tech. Another +18 week could move SGII out of the Basement.

Akaoni (51) however has to contend with a scrappy and tenacious Musashisan (45), who has been ensuring wins due to his teams playing each other so often. Musa picked up 14 points last week to Akaoni's 13 points, slowly narrowing the gap and raising the floor. These four Basement Dwellers need exceptional weeks to climb out of the Basement. Musa has 4 games against other players this coming week, Akaoni has 4, SGII has 5 and Slake 2, winning these would help but NOT losing the other games is essential.

Week Five Preview

Nothing interesting happening this week. Well, fine -

Michigan State (Musa) vs. Syracuse (Mad Mader) on Tuesday should be a quality game to watch;
Memphis (McGrumps) vs. Kansas (Mooseye) on Tuesday should be another quality matchup;
On Wednesday the CEO plays with himself in a double header: Gonzaga (CEO) vs. Wash St (CEO), and Missouri (CEO) vs. Vandy (CEO);
Georgetown (Gunz) vs. Temple (Jaybird) pits two hot teams this year;
Butler (Akaoni) vs. Xavier (Slake) in a Basement Buster game on Thursday;
Dayton (Akaoni) vs. Old Dominion (Jut) will be another great mid-major clash.

That's it I'm done

Standings after Week Four:

Current with all Dec 5 Games
1. Gunz 102 (46-14)
2. Boaris 82 (45-13)
3. Mad Mader 74 (43-15)
4. McGrumps 71 (45-15)
5. The CEO 71 (41-18)
6. Mooseye 70 (40-18)
7. Jutdog 69 (39-20)
8. Babblemur 67 (38-18)
9. Jaybird 66 (41-17)
10. Slake B 58 (34-26)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 57 (35-23)
12. Akaoni 51 (41-15)
13. Musashisan 45 (35-22)

Dream Team vs Scream Team

2010-12-02T15:26:00.004-06:00

This is the squad you wished you had, the top scoring teams from each round of the draft:

1. Duke (Gunz) - 26 pts
2. Georgetown (Gunz) - 20 pts
3. Minnesota (CEO) - 18 pts
4. UNLV (Boaris) - 19 pts
5. (tie) UCONN (Mooseye) / Notre Dame (Mad Mader) - 18 pts
6. (tie) UAB (Boaris) / Wake Forest (Mooseye) - 6 pts
7. (tie) Tulsa (SGII) / VCU (Gunz) - 8 pts
8. (tie) George Mason (SGII) / Bradley (Gunz) - 7 pts

Total: 122 points.

This is the squad you don't want to have, the lowest scoring teams from each round of the draft:

1. North Carolina (Jut) - 4 pts
2. Northern Iowa (Musa) - 2 pts
3. (tie) NC State (SGII) / Wichita St (Mooseye) - 4 pts
4. UCLA (Mad Mader) - 3 pts
5. Cornell (Slake B) - 2 pts
6. New Mexico St (SGII) - 1 pt
7. Weber St (Jut) - 2 pts
8. Maine (Babs) - 1 pt

Total: 19 pts

Your squad doesn't look so bad now, does it?

Tournaments Shake Up Leader Board

2010-11-29T08:49:00.003-06:00

Feast Week Tournaments turned into Feast or Famine for players, with five of them feasting and the rest of us starving for points.

Gunz held onto the top spot for the second week in a row, picking up 31 points this was off a 12-6 record. #1 Duke's win over #4 Kansas State in the CBE on Tuesday netted 8 points alone, and while he didn't win any other tournaments this week he was competitive in several, picking up points off other players with Wisconsin over Boston College, Clemson over Seton Hall, and VCU over UCLA.

But the big winner of Week Three was Boaris who went 16-4 for 41 points, vaulting him from 8th place a week ago to just 12 points back from rival Gunz. Even though K-State lost to Gunz's Duke, Boaris had Tennessee take out VCU in the NIT then upset Top 10 Villanova to take the Tournament (and ten points with it). Then there was UNLV in the 76 Classic that won three straight against player teams (Tulsa, Murray State, Virginia Tech) to win that puppy. Utah State, UAB and Louisville all did their jobs as well.

A 35 point week shot league rookie Mad Mader from 7th place to 3rd. He went 16-5, led by four big wins by Notre Dame over Maine, Georgia, California and Wisconsin and the Old Spice tClassic Title. Syracuse beat down Michigan and Georgia Tech to win the Legends Classic on Saturday. Virginia Tech and Texas A&M both went 2-1 in tournaments, and St. Louis managed to win both their games this week.

Pulling into 4th place this week is McGrumps, up from 9th place the week before. Despite losing titles at Maui, CBE, South Padre, and the Old Spice, he scooped up 29 points off a 15-6 record, led by the Richmond Spiders who upset Top 10 Purdue to win the less glamorous Chicago Invitational. Memphis remained undefeated, St. Mary's went 2-1, Boston College 3-1, Oakland 2-1, and Quinnipiac 1-0 getting ready for one of their last player v. player games tonight against the Maine Black Bears.

Also feasting this week was Mooseye, who pulled himself out of the cellar and into 6th place with 30 points off a 12-4 performance. Kansas went 3-0 for 7 points, Florida 2-0 for 4, and UCONN went down to Maui and beat Wichita State, #2 Michigan State, and #9 Kentucky for a 3 day total of 15 points.

Jaybird fell one spot to 5th place off 18 points, The CEO added 14 points to fall from 3rd to 7th, and Jutdog despite losing only 3 games and adding 24 points dropped two spots from 6th to 8th. Slake B had the honor of the worst performance of the week going 7-9 for 11 points and dropping from 2nd place to 9th. Babblemur fell five spots to 10th place from a disappointing 11-7 week, Akaoni's 10-6 week dropped him into 12th, allowing Some Guy in Illinois to climb to 11th place with 16 points. Musashisan went 11-5 for 15 points, putting SGII, Akaoni and Babblemur on notice that he's getting closer...

Final Standings after Week Three:

1. Gunz 79 (37-9)
2. Boaris 67 (32-10)
3. Mad Mader 61 (34-9)
4. McGrumps 54 (34-11)
5. Jaybird 54 (33-12)
6. Mooseye 54 (30-13)
7. The CEO 51 (29-14)
8. Jutdog 51 (31-15)
9. Slake B 49 (29-17)
10. Babblemur 46 (29-14)
11. Some Guy in Illinois 39 (27-16)
12. Akaoni 38 (32-10)
13. Musashisan 31 (25-16)

Keeping Up With These Damned Tournaments

2010-11-26T21:46:00.002-06:00

It has been a bloody week of Tournaments, with the beneficiaries gaining lots of traction. Here is where we are at with the Tournaments so far:

Last Week

Coaches vs. Cancer (3 pts) - Pittsburgh (Jaybird) beat Texas (Jutdog)
Puerto Rico Tip-off (4 pts) - Minnesota (The CEO) stunned the pundits by knocking off Western Kentucky (Mooseye), #8 North Carolina (Jutdog) and West Virginia (Slake B) to take home the prize and points.
Charleston Classic (3 pts) - Georgetown (Gunz) defeats Wofford (CEO) and NC State (SGII) to pad his lead.
Paradise Jam (4 pts) - Old Dominion (Jutdog) goes through St. Peters, Clemson (Gunz) and Xavier (Slake B) for the surprising win.

This Week (done)

Maui Invitational (4 pts) - Did anyone expect UCONN (Mooseye) to take down Wichita St (Mooseye), #2 Michigan St (Musashisan) and #9 Kentucky (McGrumps) to win Maui???
CBE Classic (3 pts) - Duke (Gunz) dispatched Marquette (McGrumps) and #4 Kansas State (Boaris) to secure their #1 Status.
Cancun Challenge (2 pts) - Missouri (CEO) beats Wyoming and LaSalle for the whole enchilada.
NIT Tip Off (5 pts) - Lets give Tennessee (Boaris) a little credit here, despite all the bad press their coach brought upon them they beat Belmont, Missouri St (Akaoni), VCU (Gunz) and finally #7 Villanova (Akaoni) to earn these five points.

This Week (not done)

76 Classic (4 pts) - UNLV (Boaris) beat Tulsa (SGII) and is looking like they will knock off Murray St (Jaybird) to go to the Sunday finals. Virginia Tech (Mad Mader) has beat Northridge and Oklahoma St (Gunz) to earn a spot in the finals.
Old Spice Classic (4 pts) - Wisconsin (Gunz) has knocked off Manhattan and Boston College (McGrumps) to play in the final on Sunday. Notre Dame (Mad Mader) has done the same to Georgia (Babs) and California to earn a Sunday match up with the Badgers.
Legends Classic (3 pts) - Georgia Tech (Jaybird) faces Syracuse (Mad Mader) on Saturday for the finale.
Great Alaska Shootout (3 pts) - St. Johns (Babs) is playing Drake tonight, Arizona St (Musa) plays Weber St (Jutdog) for the right to play in the finale on Saturday night.
Chicago Invitational (2 pts) - Richmond (McGrumps) plays Purdue (Babs) in the finale on Saturday
South Padre (2 pts) - BYU (Jut) plays St. Mary's (McGrumps) for the finale on Saturday.

Turkey Week Tournaments - Week Three Preview

2010-11-22T11:00:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving Week is a week of Tournaments, see the run down below for all the line ups. Here are some thoughts for this week:

Monday: Gonzaga (The CEO) vs. Kansas State (Boaris) in the CBE Tourney. This is a must-see game.
Monday: Xavier (Slake B) vs. Old Dominion (Jutdog) in the Paradise Jam final
Saturday: Kansas (Mooseye) vs. Arizona (Jaybird) - a good test for both to see if either are any good.
Sunday: Florida (Mooseye) vs. Florida State (Akaoni) - another good test for these instate rivals
Musashisan's Recovery - if Musa wants to get out of the basement he needs to make a move this week. Michigan State needs to power through the Maui Invitational for 10 points total; Arizona State needs to sweep the Great Alaska Shootout for 10 points total; And the rest of his teams need to win all of their games against weaker opponents.
Ready, Set, Duke - Not that Gunz needs any help, but Duke is finally going to get it on starting Monday against Marquette, and Tuesday against either Kansas State or Gonzaga, and wrapping up Saturday against 4-0 Oregon, for a potential 14 points.
Is the Pac 10 down this year? Arizona is 3-0 with a win over New Mexico State; Stanford is 3-0 with a win over Virginia; UCLA is 3-0; no one took California but they are 2-0 with a win over New Mexico; Washington State and Washington 2-0; But on the other hand USC is 3-2 with losses to Rider and Bradley, Oregon lost to San Jose St, and ASU lost to New Mexico...
But the Mountain West is going to be HOT: San Diego State (Babs) is 4-0 with wins over Gonzaga and Long Beach St; BYU (Jut) is 3-0 with a win over Utah State; UNLV (Boaris) is 3-0 with a win over Wisconsin; and New Mexico (Mooseye) is 2-1 with wins over ASU and Oakland.
Minnesota Golden Gophers kicked ass, the Big 10 will be bloody. The Gophers sweep of Western Kentucky, North Carolina and West Virginia is huge. Lets see how they handle North Dakota State this week.
Player teams with losing records: Loyola Marymount (Boaris) 0-3; Detroit (Jut) 0-2; St. Louis (Mad Mader) 0-2; UNI (Musa) 0-2; New Mexico St (SGII) 1-3; Colorado (Babs) 1-2; Fairfield (CEO) 1-2; Morgan St (Jaybird) 1-2; Weber St (Jut) 1-2; Oakland (McGrumps) 1-2; Charlotte (Mooseye) 2-3; Wofford (CEO) 2-3;
Still waiting for this week's AP Poll, but the Coaches Poll says: Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Villanova, Purdue, Kentucky & Syracuse.

Tourney Watch Tourney Watch Tourney Watch Tourney Watch

Paradise Jam Finals (Monday Nov. 22) 4 pts - Mids top Majors

Xavier (Slake B) vs. Old Dominion (Jutdog) for the title
Clemson (Gunz) vs. Seton Hall in the runner up game
Musashisan's teams play with each other in the loser bracket

Maui Invitational (Nov. 22-24) 4 pts - This is the last year that the Maui will be as sweet as it is. Next year they will go to the pre-determined regionals and screw this tradition up.

Wichita St (Mooseye) vs. UCONN (Mooseye)
Michigan St (Musashisan) vs. Chaminade (Div. II, better not lose)
Kentucky (McGrumps) vs. Oklahoma
Washington (SGII) vs. Virginia

NIT Tip-Off Final Four (Nov. 24 & 26) 5 pts - the only 5 point tournament, 16 team field narrowed down to these four lucky bastards:

VCU (Gunz) vs. Tennessee (Boaris)
Villanova (Akaoni) vs. UCLA (Mad Mader)

CBE Classic (Nov. 22 & 23) 3 pts - A very good 4 team tourney starts tonight!

Duke (Gunz) vs. Marquette (McGrumps)
Kansas St (Boaris) vs. Gonzaga (The CEO)

Cancun Challenge (Nov. 23 & 24) 2 pts - This one is kind of weird with a winners bracket and losers bracket pre-determined, sucks to be Morgan State in this case. For the "winners" bracket, only Missouri (The CEO) is player owned, so lets wish them luck against Wyoming, Providence or LaSalle.

Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 24-27) 3 pts - only 3 player teams are in the 8 team field.

St. Johns (Babs) plays the 24th against Ball State, plays the winner of Southern Utah and Drake if they win.
Arizona St (Musashisan) plays Houston Baptist on the 25th,
Weber St. (Jutdog) plays Alaska Anchorage (Div II, better not lose!) on the 25th.

Legends Classic (Nov. 26 & 27) 3 pts - Meh.

Georgia Tech (Jaybird) vs. UTEP (Jaybird)
Syracuse (Mad Mader) vs. Michigan

76 Classic (Nov 25, 26, & 28) 4 pts - The second two rounds will have some good matchups and points

Virginia Tech (Mad Mader) vs. Northridge
Oklahoma St (Gunz) vs. DePaul
Stanford (Gunz) vs. Murray St (SGII)
UNLV (Boaris) vs. Tulsa (SGII)

Old Spice Classic (Nov 25, 26, & 28) 4 pts - could be some good matchups and points

Boston College (McGrumps) vs. Texas A&M (Mad Mader)
Wisconsin (Gunz) vs. Manhattan
Georgia (Babblemur) vs. Notre Dame (Mad Mader)
Temple (Jaybird) vs. California

Chicago Invitational (Nov. 26-27) 2 pts - forget about the "regionals" for this one, it is a four team final:

Richmond (McGrumps) vs. Wright St (Slake B)
Purdue (Babblemur) vs. Southern Illinois

South Padre Invitational (Nov. 26-27) 2 pts - again, forget about the "regionals" that don't count. Four teams:

BYU (Jutdog) vs. South Florida
Texas Tech (Akaoni) vs. St. Mary's (McGrumps)

Gunz Shoots and Scores! Week 2 Wrap-up

2010-11-22T09:21:00.004-06:00

Gunz dominated Week Two Basketball, netting 38 points off 19 wins with 3 losses to pull firmly into first place. Georgetown led the way by going 4-0 and sweeping the Charleston Classic for 3 more points. Virginia Commonwealth knocked off Winthrop and Wake Forest to head to the NIT Final Four next week. Stanford went 3-0, Duke and Oklahoma State went 2-0, and Bradley whipped two other players for 7 points for the week.

The CEO also rocked Week Two but not until the final day when Minnesota beat off Western Kentucky, North Carolina and West Virginia to claim the Puerto Rico Title and four points. Vanderbilt, also in Puerto Rico, got the five points for beating #8 North Carolina in the runner up round. 30 points total for the week boosted The CEO from 11th place a week ago into 3rd place after week two.

Holding onto 2nd place was Slake B, who earned 21 points off an 11-6 week, including Xavier wins over Iowa and Seton Hall to head to the Paradise Jam finals tonight, West Virginia's two wins in Puerto Rico, and Ohio State's domination over Florida earlier in the week.

The other 10 players all gained between 12 points (Musashisan) and 20 points (Jutdog), winning between 9 games (SGII & Jaybird) and 14 games (Akaoni), losing between 3 games (Mad Mader) and 9 games (SGII). Jaybird fell from 1st to 4th, Babs held onto 5th place, Jutdog shot up from the basement to 6th place, and Mad Mader dropped 3 spots into 7th place.

Standings after Week Two:

# 1. Gunz 48 (25-3)
# 2. Slake B 38 (22-8)
# 3. The CEO 37 (19-9)
# 4. Jaybird 36 (21-5)
# 5. Babblemur 28 (18-7)
# 6. Jutdog 27 (17-12)
# 7. Mad Mader 26 (18-4)
# 8. Boaris 26 (16-6)
# 9. McGrumps 25 (19-5)
# 10. Akaoni 24 (22-4)
# 11. Mooseye 24 (18-9)
# 12. Some Guy in Illinois 23 (17-10)
# 13. Musashisan 16 (14-11)

Rainbow Squigly Chart

2010-11-21T14:15:00.002-06:00

For your entertainment. Click to embiggen.

Weekend Watch

2010-11-19T10:52:00.003-06:00

The leader board is getting shaken up like a magic 8-ball every night now, with "outlook cloudy" the most common answer.

Gunz - undefeated, including Virginia Commonwealth knocking Wake out of the NIT and Bradley sticking it to Loyola Marymount.
The CEO rockets out of the cellar with three teams advancing to the second rounds of tournaments this week.
Jutdog finally winning important games as Texas overthrows Illinois and BYU out-weds Utah State.
Musashisan struggles as the underdog, waits for Michigan State to come alive in Maui next week.
Akaoni can't win a game against another player.
Babblemur can't either, unless it is San Diego State versus (fill in the blank).

TOURNEYDO WATCH ISSUED (If you live in a trailer, go lay in a ditch)

Coaches V. Cancer (3 pts) Friday Night

The consolation game: Illinois (SGII) vs. Maryland (Slake B)
The Main Event: Texas (Jutdog) vs. #5 Pittsburgh (Jaybird)

Puerto Rico Tip-off (4 pts) Friday & Sunday

#8 North Carolina (Jutdog) vs. Minnesota (The CEO)
Vanderbilt (The CEO) vs. West Virginia (Slake B)
(Western Kentucky is in the consolation bracket)

Charleston Classic (3 pts) Friday & Sunday

Georgetown (Gunz) vs. Wofford (The CEO)
George Mason (SGII) vs. NC State (SGII)
(Charlotte in the consolation bracket)

Paradise Jam (4 pts) Starts Friday:

Old Dominion (Jutdog) vs. St. Peters
Clemson (Gunz) vs. Long Beach St. (Musashisan)
Seton Hall (Jutdog) vs. Alabama (Musashisan)
Xavier (Slake B) vs. Iowa (Musashisan)

Other interesting games this weekend:

UNLV (Boaris) vs. Wisconsin (Gunz) - a great Boaris v. Gunz battle, can Boaris deal Gunz his first loss of the season?
North Texas (Mad Mader) vs. Kansas (Mooseye) - The Mean Green already showed Texas Tech whose boss, Kansas better prepare for this game.
Ole Miss (SGII) vs. Dayton (Akaoni) - the A-10 has been taking some lumps, can Dayton hold their own against a mid-level SEC team?

Week Two Preview (Top 10 Showdown)

2010-11-15T09:39:00.004-06:00

Games and points pick up during week two, as a handful of those early tournaments get started (see this post for week two's tournament lineups) and some fantastic head-to-head games are presented for our entertainment.

Some of the best head to heads this week:

Monday

Ohio (Babblemur) vs. Oakland (McGrumps) face off in a good mid-major v. minor contest.

Tuesday

Kansas State (Boaris) vs. Virginia Tech (Mad Mader) - Just how good is #3 Kansas State? How good is #22 Virginia Tech?

#4 Ohio State (Slake B) vs. #9 Florida (Mooseye) - another great major battle, Ohio State and Florida are both considered leaders in their conferences, this game will be a big test for both of them. The momentum from a win here will be big.

#11 Gonzaga (The CEO) vs. #25 San Diego State (Babblemur) - pitting the reigning mid-major monsters versus the up and coming mid-major hot shots. Gonzaga was one of the few teams willing to play the Aztecs, and the Aztecs were one of the few teams willing to play at Gonzaga. This one better be on TV.

Butler (Akaoni) vs. Louisville (Boaris) - Butler gets a chance to earn their stripes early with a win over a Big East squad that isn't Fordham. They need the practice before facing Duke, Xavier and Stanford in December.

Wednesday

BYU (Jutdog) vs. Utah State (Boaris) - Grudge Match! Boaris' Utah State just knocked out Jut's Weber St last week, but can they handle JIMMER? JIMMER! This game is hot Mormon on Mormon action and might even be worth pay-per-view.

And these are on top of some potential beauties in the Tournaments. Dream matchups:

All four CVC games will be good: #13 Illinois (SGII) vs. Texas (Jut), #5 Pitt (Jaybird) vs. Maryland (Slake B)
Puerto Rico - show me North Carolina (Jut) vs. West Virginia (Slake B)
Charleston - how about George Mason (SGII) vs. Wofford (CEO)
Paradise Jam - Iowa (Musashisan) vs. Long Beach St (Musashisan) = championship round or consolation bracket?
NIT - #6 Villanova (Akaoni) vs. #24 Tennessee (Boaris) will it happen?

Jaybird Wins Week One

2010-11-15T09:26:00.002-06:00

Jaybird and Slake B pulled out to early leads after the first week of the season, finishing with 18 and 17 points respectively.

Jaybird was led by Pittsburgh's 5 points off 3 games, Temple's 4 points off 2 games and Morgan State's big win over WCC darlings Loyola Marymount. Slake B got production from two lower draft picks in Maryland with 5 points off 3 games and Oregon's 3-0 run in some round robin tournament.

All other players are hovering between 7-10 points except for one struggling 4 point week for Musashisan who to his credit had the fewest point opportunities in the opening week.

Standings after week one:

1. Jaybird 18 (12-1)
2. Slake B 17 (11-2)
3. Gunz 10 (6-0)
4. Mad Mader 10 (8-1)
5. Babblemur 9 (7-1)
6. Akaoni 8 (8-0)
7. Some Guy in Illinois 8 (8-1)
8. Boaris 8 (6-2)
8. Mooseye 8 (6-2)
10. McGrumps 7 (7-1)
11. The CEO 7 (7-3)
12. Jutdog 7 (5-5)

Those Gowd Damned Tournaments Approacheth

2010-11-13T09:56:00.005-06:00

As the opening weekend games continues, we look ahead to some of the tournaments that kick off next week. Note that the tournaments that are worth points are listed on the official rules page here.

NIT (5 points)
This is the only five point pre-conference tournament, because it includes a 16 team field where every team may advance to the finals, unlike some of the pussy tournaments that pre-select their final four. There is also some prestige from winning it, Duke won it last year, Oklahoma the year before. This year only 6 of the 16 teams are player-controlled.

UCLA (Mad Mader) starts up on the 15th with an easy bracket playing Pepperdine, and if they win, they face the winner of Nevada and Pacific on the 16th.
Villanova (Akaoni) starts up on the 16th playing Marist, and if they win they face the winner of the George Washington / Boston U. game on the 17th.
Wake Forest (Mooseye) starts on the 15th against Hampton, then plays the winner of the VCU / Winthrop game.
VCU (Gunz) plays Winthrop on the 15th, then if they win play the winner of the Wake / Hampton game.
Tennessee (Boaris) opens on the 16th against Belmont, winner plays Missouri St or Arkansas St.
Missouri St (Akaoni) plays Arkansas St, winner plays Tennessee or Belmont.

Coaches Versus Cancer (3 points)
Now that the booby round is over, the featured four square off on Thursday the 18th:

Pittsburgh (Jaybird) vs. Maryland (Slake B)
Illinois (SGII) vs. Texas (Jutdog)

Puerto Rico Tip-Off (4 points)
A true 8 team tournament, featuring five player-owned teams, starts Thursday the 18th:

West Virginia (Slake B) vs. Davidson
Vanderbilt (The CEO) vs. Nebraska
North Carolina (Jutdog) vs. Hofstra
Minnesota (The CEO) vs. Western Kentucky (Mooseye)

Charleston Classic (3 points)
A slightly less sexy 8 team tournament, featuring five player-owned teams, also starts on Thursday the 18th:

Georgetown (Gunz) vs. Coastal Carolina
Wofford (The CEO) vs. USC Upstate
North Carolina St (SGII) vs. Hofstra
Charlotte (Mooseye) vs. George Mason (SGII)

Paradise Jam (4 points)
Virgin Islands based 8 team tournament features a whopping 7 player teams, starts Friday the 19th:

Old Dominion (Jutdog) vs. St. Peters
Clemson (Gunz) vs. Long Beach St. (Musashisan)
Seton Hall (Jutdog) vs. Alabama (Musashisan)
Xavier (Slake B) vs. Iowa (Musashisan)

Week One Preview, or, "Let's get ready to rumble!!!"

2010-11-07T13:34:00.003-06:00

The teams are drafted, the injured are injured, bad boys suspended, and we are ready to launch into Week One of the Babble-Ball Competition!

Week One comes in like a lamb but leaves like a lion. The Coaches Vs. Cancer tournament kicks us off on Monday and Wednesday with five players active, and the season kicks off for real on Friday as every player team (except a half dozen) sees action at least once this weekend. With all the pre-season trash talk of who sucks and who doesn't, none of that means shit now. Let's play ball!

Coaches versus Cancer

The preliminary rounds of the Coaches V. Cancer tournament start us off, just window dressing since the four teams that will play in the championship round have been pre-determined, one of the most presumptuous and moronic trends in pre-conference tournaments. #5 Pittsburgh (Jaybird) is the favorite going into the CVC, but face the stiffest first week competition in Jutdog's Rhode Island. Some Guy in Illinois hopes to get off to an early start with #13 Illinois playing UC Irvine and Toledo. Besides Rhode Island, Jutdog has Texas facing Navy and Louisiana Tech, and lastly Maryland (Slake B) takes on Seattle and Charleston.

Weekend Watch

Of course your own teams are the teams to watch, but there are some great matchups this weekend. On Friday we get to see how good the A-10's Temple (Jaybird) really is as they host Jutdog's Seton Hall. We also get to see if Old Dominion (Jutdog) is worth all the hype as they host Georgetown (Gunz). A great mid-minor matchup pits Morgan State (Jaybird) against Loyola Marymount (Boaris) on Saturday, and another one with Weber State (Jutdog) playing Utah State (Boaris). Sunday unveils the Duke Blue Devils (Gunz) playing Ivy League favorites Princeton (Boaris).

Rules for Points

Just to dust off the ole Rule Book, each team will get 1 point for a win, +2 if it is against another player, and +2 more if the win is against a AP Top 10 team. Pre-conference tourneys can net more points for the winners of those. NOTE wins against NON-Division one teams are worth NOTHING, but losses against NON-Division one teams result in -2 points...

Possible points this week:

Akaoni 8
Babblemur 12
Boaris 16
The CEO 16
Gunz 10
Jaybird 19
Jutdog 24
Mad Mader 11
McGrumps 10
Mooseye 9
Musashisan 11
Slake B 21
Some Guy in Illinois 9

All games, results, points etc can be found on the Most Illuminating Spreadsheet of Points, which is linked to on the Right Side of this Web Page. If you ever question the accuracy of something there please don't hesitate to speak up.

Charts and Graphs

2010-11-05T17:58:00.001-05:00

It was requested that we post more charts and graphs this year, so you got it!

Click it to make it even bigger.

Pre-Season Player Poll

2010-11-01T16:48:00.002-05:00

As usual, we asked the 13 squad captains to vote on what order they think each player will finish this year. With 10 responses, and with no further ado, the pre-season "coaches poll"

1. Gunz (2) 98
2. Jaybird (1) 91
3. Akaoni (1) 87
4. Boaris 83
5. Jutdog (1) 78
6. Mad Mader (2) 72
7. McGrumps (1) 69
8. Mooseye (1) 63
8. The CEO 63
10. Some Guy in Illinois 58
11. Babblemur (1) 58
12. Slake B 48
13. Musashisan 41

Could this be Gunz' year?
Can Jaybird live up to his own hype and expectations?
Will Jutdog continue is one year winning streak, including a one year streak of finishing ahead of Babblemur?
Will rookies Mooseye, Slake B and Mad Mader suffer first year blues or shocking upsets?
Will returning player Musashisan ride Michigan State to the top of the pack?
Will Jutdog now accuse everyone of voting for themselves?

Babblemur Predicts...

2010-10-29T15:19:00.004-05:00

No, I don't think I am going to win this year. In fact I'll probably tank, like I should have done last year but somehow (Butler) managed to stay in it until the Final Four. My predictions below are based on a complex algorithm running between two laptops, an android, and a deck of Tarot cards.

Before you skip this though, you have until Sunday to submit your own predictions of what you think the final finish will be. Click here to submit your ballot in our "coaches poll".

Now my predictions (and contrary to what Jut thinks, I'm more right than wrong).

1. Gunz - This will be a close race between Gunz and Jaybird, and in a way it comes down to which one of these two are more likely to put a team in the National Championship game against Michigan State, and I think Duke is more likely to be that team. Gunz' squad is well anchored behind Duke with Georgetown and Wisconsin who should rake in big points. Oklahoma State is going to be good for 40 points, and VCU will surprise Jut and win the Colonial. Stanford has a lot of opportunities for points in the PAC 10, all the PAC 10 teams do, but only 3 will go dancing (it won't be Stanford). Bradley is the only drag on this squad.

2. Jaybird - Jaybird has a monster squad though. It may be too powerful to defeat, even if he fails to reach the National Championship game (like Jut last year). Pitt, Temple, Arizona and Mississippi State is the best 1-4 on the field. Morgan State, UTEP and Georgia Tech are all going to be good for 35-45 points each, and Creighton won't hurt him. I predict we'll be hating Jaybird most of the season.

3. Boaris - he knows what he's doing, he was in the race all year last year, and might have pulled it off if it hadn't have been for Northern Iowa knocking off Kansas in the second round of the tournament. This year it will be Kansas State that has to carry him, and they have that potential. Tennessee is critical, if they implode Boaris will be in trouble. Princeton, Louisville, UNLV and Utah State are all strong medium teams, UAB has potential in a topsy turvey Conference USA, and Loyola Marymount has some good point opportunities.

4. Mooseye - league rookie Mooseye put together a solid group that will be competitive throughout. Kansas, Florida, and Wichita State are going to be huge point winners. New Mexico and UCONN also have a lot of potential. Western Kentucky will lose to North Texas though, Charlotte will be passed over in the A-10, and Wake will pick up some cheap points in the ACC but see nothing but NIT in the end.

5. Akaoni - He hates his squad I'm sure, but I'd take it over mine any day. #6 Villanova and #17 Butler will be leaders, and Florida State will bring in solid points in the ACC. Northwestern better make the NCAA Tourney, but the rest of his teams need to win their conferences or at least kick a lot of ass. Dayton could turn in more points than Northwestern given the thick A-10 this year. If he gets three of these guys in the Sweet 16 he'll be fighting to the end.

6. McGrumps - McGrumps could have had better prospects if not for a lost player at Memphis, but McGrumps probably has the most parity among his teams from top to bottom. Quinnipiac, maybe his worst team, will bring in 25 points and win the NEC, Oakland will do even better in the Summit, can't complain about that. St. Mary's, Memphis, and Richmond are a beatiful trinity of mid-majors. The questions are whether Kentucky turns it on, and how many points Marquette and Boston College scoop up.

7. Musashisan - Musashisan has the advantage of having Michigan State, which will balance the drag that he will get from Northern Iowa and Long Beach State. Baylor is going to rack up points, and his other Majors (Arizona State, Alabama, Miami) will be good for 25-35 each. It all comes down to Iowa, who has no where to go but up. The irony is that Michigan State is my favorite to win the National Championship, but unless 2 or 3 other teams on this squad step up and become top tier teams it won't be enough.

8. Slake B - League Rookie Slake B has some excellent teams and some so-so teams. Ohio State has Final 4 potential. West Virginia and Xavier have Sweet 16 potential. The rest just need to earn a lot of points, and for some of them that won't be easy. Wright State comes with a curse, they burn any player that picks them.

9. Some Guy in Illinois - A vastly improved squad over last year, the major problem is the lack of a Final 4 contender unless Illinois rises out of the Big 10 to shock the prognosticators. Illinois and Washington will bring in big points, NC State and Ole Miss will bring in pretty good points, and Murray State is a solid pick. If Tulsa, George Mason and New Mexico State step up and dominate their tough respective mid-major conferences SGII could rise much higher than this.

10. Mad Mader - I like two of Mad Mader's teams a lot, Syracuse is a favorite as is North Texas. Mad Mader doubled down in the Big East with Syracuse and Notre Dame, both good for 50 points each, plus has players in the ACC (VA Tech), Pac 10 (UCLA), Big 12 (Texas A&M) and the Big 10 (Penn State), a version of the "Akaoni Method" of staying with the Majors. If 5 of those 6 turn out strong, Mad Mader will be competitive, but other than Syracuse and Virginia Tech I can't see strong post season opportunities (Maybe UCLA in the NIT...). St. Louis is going to tank in the A-10 as well, sorry.

11. Babblemur - Woo hoo! Not last! But bottom 3, as predicted by Jaybird. Losing Hummel hurt, bumping Purdue down a tier. Majors Georgia, St. John's, and Colorado all pretty much start off on the bubble, and USC is just a novelty pick. Any success here will have to rest on San Diego State winning the MWC, which is no guarantee, and Ohio having a monster year in the MAC. But, no real duds here, Maine will shock you.

12. The CEO - At first I really liked The CEO's squads, even thought they were Top 3 potential, but you know, they just don't have it. Here's why: 1. Three minors - Santa Barbara, Wofford, and Fairfield, good for padding but won't go past the first round of the NCAA if they even get in. 2. Gonzaga is the best he's got, and Gonzaga is great, don't get me wrong, but when is the last time they made it into the second week of the NCAA tournament? The gem of this squad is Missouri, who I DO think can make the Sweet 16 if not further. Minnesota, Washington State and Vanderbilt will be good point producers but not stellar in the end. Sorry buddy.

13. Jutdog - WHAAAT? That's right, I think he's got a squad of teams he likes but they are going to keep him in the basement. Here's why: Only three Major conference teams, although North Carolina and Texas could really shine as second place finishers in their conferences, and Seton Hall could bring in some points, that's it for that major conference minimum wage of 30-40 points. The rest of his teams are all gambles that they win their mid-major and minor conferences and score an upset in the NCAA Tourney. BYU - great team. 50-50 shot to win their conference, 50-50 shot to win the MWC tournament. 50-50 shot to score a round one upset. Weber State, Old Dominion, Rhode Island, Detroit - all four of them need to win their conferences and tourneys to give Jut the points he needs from them. 2 of them probably will, the other two have a steeper hill to climb. So I'm predicting terrible disaster for Jut this year, where his hope in the end will be the possibility of finishing 11th, ahead of me.

There you are! Suck it up, homeys!

Drafted Teams by Conference (for your pleasure)

2010-10-16T19:57:00.041-05:00

The round by round draft picks are on the post below, but this "bonus" post shows which teams have been drafted (and by whom) by conference. Majors first, Mids and Minors after.

MAJORS

ACC
2. Duke (Gunz)
9. North Carolina (Jutdog)
14. Virginia Tech (Mad Mader)
32. Florida State (Akaoni)
38. North Carolina St. (SGII)
49. Maryland (Slake B)
53. Miami (Musashisan)
54. Clemson (Gunz)
69. Wake Forest (Mooseye)
89. Boston College (McGrumps)
98. Georgia Tech (Jaybird)

Big East
6. Villanova (Akaoni)
7. Pittsburgh (Jaybird)
13. Syracuse (Mad Mader)
23. West Virginia (Slake B)
25. Georgetown (Gunz)
42. Marquette (McGrumps)
50. St. John's (Babblemur)
57. Louisville (Boaris)
61. Seton Hall (Jutdog)
62. UCONN (Mooseye)
65. Notre Dame (Mad Mader)

Big 10
1. Michigan State (Musashisan)
3. Purdue (Babblemur)
4. Ohio St. (Slake B)
15. Illinois (Some Guy in Illinois)
28. Wisconsin (Gunz)
32. Minnesota (The CEO)
58. Northwestern (Akaoni)
91. Penn State (Mad Mader)
104. Iowa (Musashisan)

Big 12
5. Kansas St. (Boaris)
10. Kansas (Mooseye)
18. Texas (Jutdog)
19. Missouri (The CEO)
27. Baylor (Musashisan)
39. Texas A&M (Mad Mader)
51. Oklahoma State (Gunz)
76. Colorado (Babblemur)
99. Texas Tech (Akaoni)

SEC
11. Kentucky (McGrumps)
17. Florida (Mooseye)
22. Tennessee (Boaris)
29. Georgia (Babblemur)
45. Vanderbilt (The CEO)
59. Mississippi St (Jaybird)
64. Ole Miss (SGII)
78. Alabama (Musashisan)

Pac 10
12. Washington (Some Guy in Illinois)
33. Arizona (Jaybird)
40. UCLA (Mad Mader)
52. Arizona State (Musashisan)
60. Washington St. (The CEO)
77. Stanford (Gunz)
81. USC (Babblemur)
82. Oregon (Slake B)

MID MAJORS: Atl 10, MWC, MVC, CUSA, Horizon, WAC, WCC, MAC & CAA

Atlantic 10
20. Temple (Jaybird)
30. Xavier (Slake B)
37. Richmond (McGrumps)
47. Dayton (Akaoni)
66. St. Louis (Mad Mader)
70. Rhode Island (Jutdog)
88. Charlotte (Mooseye)

CUSA
16. Memphis (McGrumps)
46. UTEP (Jaybird)
73. Southern Miss (Akaoni)
74. UAB (Boaris)
90. Tulsa (SGII)

Missouri Valley
26. Northern Iowa (Musashisan)
36. Wichita St (Mooseye)
84. Missouri St. (Akaoni)
85. Creighton (Jaybird)
103. Bradley (Gunz)

Mountain West
24. San Diego St. (Babblemur)
35. BYU (Jutdog)
43. New Mexico (Mooseye)
48. UNLV (Boaris)

WCC
8. Gonzaga (The CEO)
63. St. Mary's (McGrumps)
83. Loyola Marymount (Boaris)

Horizon
21. Butler (Akaoni)
75. Wright St. (Slake B)
96. Detriot (Jutdog)

Colonial
44. Old Dominion (Jutdog)
80. VCU (Gunz)
93. George Mason (SGII)

WAC
31. Utah State (Boaris)
67. New Mexico St. (SGII)

MAC
55. Ohio (Babblemur)
101. Miami Ohio (Slake B)

MINORS

Ivy
56. Cornell (Slake B)
100. Princeton (Boaris)

Big West
79. Long Beach St. (Musashisan)
86. UC Santa Barbara (The CEO)

Sun Belt
92. North Texas (Mad Mader)
95. Western Kentucky (MooseEye)

OVC
41. Murray State (SGII)

Summit
68. Oakland (McGrumps)

Southern
71. Wofford (The CEO)

MEAC
72. Morgan State (Jaybird)

Big Sky
87. Weber State (Jutdog)

NEC
94. Quinnipiac (McGrumps)

MAAC
97. Fairfield (CEO)

America East
102. Maine (Babblemur)

2010-11 Draft Begins

2010-10-11T13:53:00.068-05:00

Round one of the Draft has begun. When you are up you can pick your team by either:
1. Posting it in a comment here with your name.
2. Emailing everyone or just emailing myself or Jut
3. Calling myself or Jut.

ROUND ONE
1. Musashisan - Michigan State (Big 10)
2. Gunz - Duke (ACC)
3. Babblemur - Purdue (Big 10)
4. Slake B - Ohio State (Big 10)
5. Boaris - Kansas State (Big 12)
6. Akaoni - Villanova (Big East)
7. Jaybird - Pitt (Big East)
8. The CEO - Gonzaga (WCC)
9. Jutdog - North Carolina (ACC)
10. Mooseye - Kansas (Big 12)
11. McGrumpy - Kentucky (SEC)
12. Some Guy in Illinois - Washington (Pac 10)
13. Mad Mader - Syracuse (Big East)

Round Two
14. Mad Mader - Virginia Tech (ACC)
15. Some Guy in Illinois - Illinois (Big 10)
16. McGrumps - Memphis (CUSA)
17. Mooseye - Florida (SEC)
18. Jutdog - Texas (Big 12)
19. The CEO - Missouri (Big 12)
20. Jaybird - Temple (A-10)
21. Akaoni - Butler (Horizon?)
22. Boaris - Tennessee (SEC)
23. Slake B - West Virginia (Big East)
24. Babblemur - San Diego St. (MWC)
25. Gunz - Georgetown (BigEast)
26. Musashisan - Northern Iowa (MVC)

ROUND THREE
27. Musashisan - Baylor (Big 12)
28. Gunz - Wisconsin (Big 10)
29. Babblemur - Georgia (SEC)
30. Slake B - Xavier (A 10)
31. Boaris - Utah State (WAC)
32. Akaoni - Florida State (ACC)
33. Jaybird - Arizona (Pac 10)
34. The CEO - Minnesota (Big 10)
35. Jutdog - BYU (MWC)
36. Mooseye - Wichita State (MVC)
37. McGrumpy - Richmond (A-10)
38. Some Guy in Illinois - NC State (ACC)
39. Mad Mader - Texas A&M (Big 12)

ROUND FOUR
40. Mad Mader - UCLA (Pac 10)
41. Some Guy in Illinois - Murray State (Ohio Valley)
42. McGrumps - Marquette (Big East)
43. Mooseye - New Mexico (MWC)
44. Jutdog - Old Dominion (Colonial)
45. The CEO - Vanderbilt (SEC)
46. Jaybird - UTEP (CUSA)
47. Akaoni - Dayton (A-10)
48. Boaris - UNLV (MWC)
49. Slake B - Maryland (ACC)
50. Babblemur - St. John's (Big East)
51. Gunz - Oklahoma State (Big 12)
52. Musashisan - Arizona State (Pac 10)

ROUND FIVE
53. Musashisan - Miami (ACC)
54. Gunz - Clemson (ACC)
55. Babblemur - Ohio (MAC)
56. Slake B -Cornell (Ivy)
57. Boaris - Louisville (Big East)
58. Akaoni - Northwestern (Big 10)
59. Jaybird - Mississippi St. (SEC)
60. The CEO - Washington St (Pac 10)
61. Jutdog - Seton Hall (Big East)
62. Mooseye - UCONN (Big East)
63. McGrumpy - St. Mary's (WCC)
64. Some Guy in Illinois - Ole Miss (SEC)
65. Mad Mader - Notre Dame (Big East)

ROUND SIX
66. Mad Mader - St. Louis (A-10)
67. Some Guy in Illinois - New Mexico St (WAC)
68. McGrumps - Oakland (Summit)
69. Mooseye - Wake Forest (ACC)
70. Jutdog - Rhode Island (A-10)
71. The CEO - Wofford
72. Jaybird - Morgan State (MEAC)
73. Akaoni - Southern Miss (CUSA)
74. Boaris - UAB (CUSA)
75. Slake B - Wright State (Horizon)
76. Babblemur - Colorado (Big 12)
77. Gunz - Stanford (Pac 10)
78. Musashisan - Alabama (SEC)

ROUND SEVEN
79. Musashisan - Long Beach St (Big West)
80. Gunz - VCU (Colonial)
81. Babblemur - USC (Pac 10)
82. Slake B - Oregon (Pac 10)
83. Boaris - Loyola Marymount (WCC)
84. Akaoni - Missouri State (MVC)
85. Jaybird - Creighton (MVC)
86. The CEO - UC Santa Barbara (Big West)
87. Jutdog - Weber State (Big Sky)
88. Mooseye - Charlotte (A-10)
89. McGrumpy - Boston College (ACC)
90. Some Guy in Illinois - Tulsa (CUSA)
91. Mad Mader - Penn State (Big 10)

ROUND EIGHT
92. Mad Mader - North Texas (Sun Belt)
93. Some Guy in Illinois - George Mason (Colonial)
94. McGrumps - Quinnipiac (NEC)
95. Mooseye - Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)
96. Jutdog - Detriot (Horizon)
97. The CEO - Fairfield (MAAC)
98. Jaybird - Georgia Tech (ACC)
99. Akaoni - Texas Tech (Big 12)
100. Boaris - Princeton (Ivy)
101. Slake B - Miami (OH)
102. Babblemur - Maine (Amer East)
103. Gunz - Bradley (MVC)
104. Musashisan - Iowa Hawkeyes!

2010-2011 Draft Order Announced!!!

2010-10-09T18:35:00.002-05:00

The 2010-2011 Babblemur BBall Contest Draft Order has been determined!

Watch the video to see the order. Remember, after the first round, the person picking last (#13th) picks first (#14) in the next round. It is the snake method, you know.

The player with the #1 pick this year may go ahead and select their team any time! There is no pressure though to hurry yet but as soon as you know who you want go ahead and post it here in the comments so the next person can pick.

And we're off!

Rookies

2010-10-08T11:28:00.001-05:00

Ohio State's rookie Jared Sullinger:

Harrison Barnes (North Carolina):

2010-2011 Tournament Points

2010-10-03T14:30:00.004-05:00

This is the proposed point values for the regular season pre-conference tournaments. This year are more tournaments included than usual, mostly to include some of the ones that have more mid-major teams.

The rule I basically followed was that 8 team tournaments are worth four points if they are high-caliber tournaments, other wise worth 3 or nothing. 4 team tournaments are worth 3 points if they are high-caliber, but 2 or nothing if not.

16 team tournaments in which the final four teams are pre-determined are bull-shit. They are considered 4 team tournaments for our sake. The NIT, which is a true 16 team tournament, is worth 5 points. Round robin style tournaments are worth nothing. Conference vs. conference series (ACC/Big 10 for example) are also worth nothing.

Coaches vs. Cancer (November 18-19) - 3 points
CBE Classic (Nov. 22-23) - 3 points
NIT Tip-Off (Nov. 15-26) - 5 points
Charleston Classic (Nov. 18-21) - 3 points
Puerto Rico Tip-Off (Nov. 18-21) - 4 points
Paradise Jam (Nov. 19-22) - 4 points
Cancun Challenge (Nov. 23-24) - 2 points
Legends Classic (Nov. 26-27) - 3 points
Maui Invitational (Nov. 22-24) - 4 points
Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 24-27) - 3 points
76 Classic (Nov. 25-28) - 4 points
Old Spice Classic (Nov. 25-28) - 4 points
Chicago Invitational (Nov. 26-27) - 2 points
South Padre Invitational (Nov. 26-27) - 2 points
MSG Holiday Festival (Dec. 20-21) - 2 points
Las Vegas Classic (Dec. 22-23) - 2 points
Cancun Governor's Cup (Dec. 22-24) - 3 points
Hawaii Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22-25) - 4 points
Cable Car Classic (Dec. 29-30) - 2 points

Any complaints? Otherwise these will be considered final.

2010 - 11 Babblemurball Challengers

2010-09-08T19:58:00.004-05:00

The challenge is just about set. Draft order will be determined in about 3-4 weeks. To view last years episode, click here.

1. Jutdog, Oshkosh, WI (defending champion, hall of fame)

2. Gunz, Menasha, WI (last year's runner-up)

3. Akaoni, Iowa City, Iowa

4. Babblemur, Oshkosh, WI

5. Boaris, New Berlin, WI

6. Jaybird, Las Vegas (hall of fame)

7. The CEO, Brookfield, WI

8. NotaTurtle, Iowa City, Iowa (waiting on confirmation but almost certainly in)

9. Some Guy In Illinois (SGII), Somewhere in Illinois

10. Musashisan, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

11. MadMader, Appleton, WI (Newcomer)

12. Samic the Hawk, Miami, OH, waiting for confirmation (Newcomer)

13. Mooseye, Cornfield, Iowa, waiting for confirmation (Newcomer)

2010 - 2011 Rules

2010-08-30T21:48:00.002-05:00

Reposting this so as to come to a final agreement on the new rules. Please take a look and comment on your thoughts. Note in the NCAA tourney point section, I added ( ) around numbers. Based on past commentary, numerous folks didn't like the small decrease in NCAA points, so the ( ) represents a possible option for adding back a few points.

Overview:

Players select teams from NCAA D-1 Men's Basketball in a draft before the season begins. Points are earned by winning games, tournaments, conference standings, and by beating other players. The goal - to have the most points at the end of the season.

Scoring:

- A team earns 1 point for every 1 D-1 win
- A team loses 2 points for every loss to a non-D-1 team (because that is a sorry loss)
- A team earns 2 extra points for a vicory over another player's non-AP top 10 team (3 total)
- A team earns 2 extra point for a victory over a non-player AP top 10 team (3 total)
- A team earns 4 extra point for a victory over another player's AP top 10 team (5 total)

- A team that wins a pre / in-season tournament receives points as assigned by babblemur here

- A team that wins a major conference (6) regular season earns 9 points
- A team that wins a mid-major conference (9) regular season earns 7 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference (16) regular season earns 6 points

- A team that wins a major conference (6) tournament earns 7 points
- A team that wins a mid-major conference (9) tournament earns 5 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference (16) tournament earns 4 points

- A team that completes the regular conference season undefeated earns +3 points.

- A team that makes the post-season NIT final 4 receives 2 points*
- A team that makes the post-season NIT championship receives 4 points*
- The team that wins the post-season NIT championship receives 7 points*

- Each team that makes the NCAA tourney receives 3 points
- Each team earns 2 points for a NCAA tourney play-in game win*
- Each team earns 4 points for a NCAA tourney round 1 win*
- Each team earns 6 points for a NCAA tourney round 2 win*
- Each team earns 8 points for a NCAA tourney round 3 win*
- Each team earns 11 points for a NCAA tourney round 4 win*
- Each team earns 14 points for reaching the NCAA final*
- The team that wins the NCAA tourney earns 17 points.*

- * Each post-season win over another player will also include +2 points

Preseason Draft:

- Each player will draft 8 NCAA D-1 Men's Basketball Teams
- No team can be drafted by more than one player
- Round 1 draft order is chosen randomly and videotapped
- Draft order will follow snake draft method (team A picks 1 and 10, team B picks 2 and 9, etc)
- No player can draft more than 1 team from the same conference in the first 4 rounds
- No player can draft more than 2 teams from the same conference (in preseason)

Interim Draft and Release:

- The last week of January, each player must draft 2 additional teams.
- Draft order will utilize snake method, with pick 1 going to last place point earner
- A voluntary third round will take place following the 2-round draft, in which one team from the original roster can be dropped and a new team picked up. All existing points from original team will remain. Order will continue snake method from round 2.
- Points will begin to be earned by the new teams on February 2, and new points will no longer be added for the discarded team effective February 2.

Additional Rule Elements:

- Major Conferences include: ACC, Big 10, Big East, Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC

- Mid-Major Conferences include: Atl 10, Mountain West, Miss Valley, CUSA, Horizon, WAC, West Coast, MAC, & CAA

- Winner receives highly coveted & valued prizes from the BabblemurVault

- Winner also receives a place in the honorable Babbleball Hall of Fame

- Re. Playing your own team. A victory over your own team does not produce the +2 effect, nor the +4 effect if it is a top 10 team. You would still earn 1 point for a victory.

- While the CBI or any other post season tourney itself isn't worth anything, a team will still earn 1 point for each victory, and +2 for a victory over another player's team throughout play

- Only the preseason tourneys listed are worth additional points for winning.

- AP poll is effective 2:00pm on each Monday throughout the pre and regular season, and lasts through the end of conference tourneys. Following the conference tourney, you will no longer receive a +2 bonus for defeating a "top ten" team

- If two teams tie for conference regular season champs, head to head winner is awarded the points. If still a tie, both teams are awarded full points.

- Winning a division within a conference does not produce additional bonus points under the conference champion rule. If a conference is divided into divisions, only the overall conference champion will be awarded the bonus points, with no bonus points for winning a division but not the overall conference

Pre / Early Season Tourneys Announced

2010-08-05T20:12:00.001-05:00

November is just around the corner folks - Here are the preseason / early season tourneys:

2010-2011 Season Just Around the Corner

2010-07-25T22:08:00.003-05:00

Midnight Madness is now only 12 weeks away. In the next few weeks we'll be looking to confirm participation for this next season, as well as looking to solidify our rules concerning the NCAA tourney shake up and other league proposals.

For a bit of news, Babblemur has resigned from his municipal post of Chair on a powerful advisory board so as to dedicate more time to this year's preparations. Babs has yet to win his own contest, and has posted the worst score in the long history of the league. Early odds place him at 249-to-1.

NBA Draft Tonight

2010-06-24T17:02:00.000-05:00

Although no impact on next year's challenge, it is interesting to see who goes, and who should've stayed another year (or two) in the college realm.

Draft Predictions: www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2010/

Declared Underclassmen: www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13033792

May 8th is Coming

2010-05-01T10:01:00.002-05:00

Who cares, right? Well, Come May 9, we should have a very good idea of who next year's players are. May 8 is the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw from the draft. Players like James Anderson of OklaSt, Avery Bradley of Texas, Jordan Crawford of Xavier, and Gordon Hayward of Butler have entered their names but have refrained from signing with an agent.

Check out the Underclassmen Entry List here.

Further, we have the recruiting classes for next year established - Check it out here.

Early predictions: Lord Jut wins the league.

Expansion.. Just not too big.

2010-04-22T12:25:00.003-05:00

The expansion is set to adding only 3 teams to the NCAA tourney, making the total a balanced 68 teams.

So, let's reconsider the following rule improvements:

Restructure NCAA Tourney Points:

~ Reduce the point reward for "making the NCAA" from 4pts to 3 pts. For many teams, there is already a significant boost from winning their league tourney. (Past Comments suggest this is highly supported)

~ Increase round 1 win from 2pts to 3 pts (Past Comments suggest this is highly supported)

~ New proposal: Play-In round win: 2 pts

Thoughts?

Best and Worst of 09/10 part 3 of 3

2010-04-14T20:26:00.005-05:00

Round 3:

~ Best: In looking at the teams taken in round 3, it really looks like a pile of shit. Out of this, Babs and Maryland snagged this award, pulling in 60 pts from pick #30. While Maryland was looking good coming into the season, I don't think many - including Babs - had Maryland sharing the ACC title.

~ runner-up: Xavier was very good this year despite losing some key players from last year's solid squad. Yet, they still managed to make a strong run at the end and snag Phunmunki one of her only positive notes this year, bringing in 55 points from pick 25.

~ Worst: CEO and Oklahoma at pick 23.Remarkably, this team has 3 players who think they did well enough to jump to the League. Maybe a little more teamwork, practice, and execution first boys, or its the D-League calling. Oklahoma's disappearance from all things important in college basketball snagged the CEO only 23 points and a Babblemur Worst of the Worst Award. Well done.

~ runner-up: TIE. Tulsa and SGII, Gunz and UCLA. 26 points from both. Not good boys. UCLA only won 14 games all year. Seven more wins from these fools and Gunz wins the league.

Round 2:

~ Best: Babs and Butler, at pick 11, bringing in the second highest point total of all teams this year at 119. This is amazing - I just didn't think a team from a conference with few others selected could snag so many points. But with undefeated conf season, tourney champs, a few good wins during the year, and an awesome NCAA run, this team snags a Babblemur Top 5 award.

~ runner-up: Jutdog and Tennessee. Tenn brought in 75 points from pick 12, which is a solid outing when considering half your lineup is arrested and jailed for drugs and illegal guns with the ID removed. Bab's was right to say he just didn't feel comfortable with those thugs. That said, it really seemed that getting rid of their preseason all-american thug and the other junkies made the team seriously better, taking them deep in the tourney and getting wins over #1 Kansas and #1 Kentucky.

~ Worst: Not too difficult here. Phunmunki wins a Babblemur Worst of the Worst award scoring only 26 points from the 16th pick. I didn't like this pick, but Babs was talking them up highly and Phunny bought it. Michigan just was not good this year.

~ runner-up: Turtle's UCONN, bringing 36 points from pick 13. Maybe here is a trend - lose a monster interior player and your stock goes way down (see Oklahoma). These guys just didn't have it together this year.

Round 1:

~ Best: Hands down Gunz and Duke snag this trophy. 168 points is just massive, and they did it with much more than just the NCAA Final Four points. Duke had endless wins over other players (almost 50 pts!!), they won a preseason and postseason tourney, and they tied for the ACC league. Surprisingly, Duke had ZERO wins over another AP Top 10 team. Duke does win a Babblemur Top 5 award.

~ runner-up: TIE. Jutdog with West Virginia (pick 9) and Jaybird with Kentucky (pick 2). West Virginia really paid off for Jutdog bringing in a third best 112 points. Kentucky snagged Jaybird 108 points. Both of these squads tie for a Babblemur Top 5 award.

~ Worst: SGII rounds out the last Worst of the Worst awards with UNC bringing in 41 points from pick 4. This would explain his horrendous performance this past year. Might we suggest placing teams in a hat and allowing Cara to pick (its been over 12 years, so if that's not her name we can pretend).

~ runner-up: Despite spending over half of the season in the top 5 in the country, Akaoni's Texas disappeared when anything mattered, bringing in only 50 points. Texas is starting to become consistent, in that they bring in great players who don't win when it matters. May Iowans take them again and again.

Best and Worst of 09/10 part 2 of 3

2010-04-11T08:22:00.004-05:00

Round 6:

~ Best: Pittsburgh and Akaoni. Bringing in 53 pts in this round was 12 better than the closest squad, and was a bit of a surprise to many who saw Pitt lose a lot from the previous year. Pitt is looking to be a top 10 team in the preseason next year.

~ runner-up: San Diego State by CEO. Overall, this round was an underperformer, with the 2nd place team only bringing in 41 points from pick 59.

~ Worst: Oregon State by Phunmunki - expected by many to have a repeat season of the previous year, Oregon State brought back much of its core along with a solid recruiting class only to finish far worse than the previous year. While this team was eventually dropped, they only brought in 11 points, making them the lowestest performer of the regular draft. Pick 56.

~ runner-up: TIE: Boston College by Jutdog brining in only 27 points from pick #52 and Jacksonville by Babs with only 28 points from pick #51. Boston college returned 4 starters and 2 bench players from a 20+ win squad last year, but the loss of their leading scorer proved to be too much. This shows the difference between a program such as BC and the likes of Pitt and Syracuse, who both lose tons and yet are excellent squads the following year. BC kicked out their coach after that performance. Jacksonville was fine, but probably could have been picked in the last round.

Round 5:

~ Best: This was a great round, with 6 teams scoring over 45 points. But Akaoni's Syracuse brought in 34 points more than is closest competitor. The 94 total points from Cuse snagged them a Babblemur Top 5 pick.

~ runner-up: Gunz's Wisconsin was another excellent, finishing with 60 points from pick 46. The Badgers have continually shown that they need to be a top pick in our league, due to their tough out of conference scheduling and solid big 10 play. The Badgers knocked off two of the final four teams this year, including Duke.

~ Worst: Creighton, selected by SGII, bringing in only 18 points from the #44 pick. This was a bad one.

~ runner-up: Jaybird and Western Kentucky just did not meet any of the expectations coming into this year, and as a result, WK ended with only 25 pts from the 42 pick. This continues the trend of underperforming mid majors picked early, strengthening the rule that unless the team is a top 25 squad or in a conference with multiple teams selected, they aren't worthy of a top 4 round pick. WK finished 21-13, which isn't too bad, but even had they won 6 more games finishing 27-7, they would probably only have brought in an additional 7 - 10 points.

Round 4:

~ Best: Tie: Jutdog's Kansas State was a solid performer this year, bringing in 75 points from the #32 pick. This slot is shared though, by the somewhat suprisingly high score brought in by the CEO's Northern Iowa, with 73 points from pick 38. These two teams both receive Babblemur top 5 picks (they tie, meaning we'll have 6 in the top 5).

~ runner-up: Notaturtle's Gonzaga was a surprise to many, losing 4 of their top 6 players. However, as we've seen with many of the best systems in the league, their bench players were better than most other conference starters. Zaga brought in 59 pts from the 33 pick, and will only be better next year.

~ Worst: South Carolina was bad this year. This probably cost Akaoni the league, as a few of his other picks made the top 5 list. At pick 34, SC only snagged 29 points.

~ runner-up: Arizona State was called out early as a bad pick, and proved to be as bad as expected. Although appearing as a possible contender in the aweful Pac 10, Zona St didn't really accomplish anything this year, and brought in only 34 points from the 37th pick. SGII again makes the worst of the worst list.

2009-10 Babbleball Final Standings

2010-04-07T10:39:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Jutdog, Gunz and Akaoni for finishing 1-2-3 this year!

Final Standings for 2009-10 (with last team "alive")

1. Jutdog - 483 (207-90) West Virginia lost to Duke in the Final Four
2. Gunz - 478 (203-101) Duke as National Champions
3. Akaoni - 469 (210-89) Baylor lost to Duke in Elite 8
4. Babblemur - 455 (205-90) Butler lost to Duke in championship game
5. Boaris - 448 (214-85) Ohio St lost to Tennessee in Sweet 16
6. Jaybird - 429 (206-94) Dayton won NIT championship
7. The CEO - 409 (192-104) Michigan St lost to Butler in Final Four
8. NotaTurtle - 376 (176-113) Purdue lost to Duke in Sweet 16
9. Phunmunki - 335 (173-110) Xavier lost to Kansas St in Sweet 16
10. Some Guy in Illinois - 311 (185-112) North Carolina lost to Dayton in NIT finals

Good year everyone!

Jutdog Clinches 2010 Babbleball Championship

2010-03-31T11:45:00.005-05:00

Rhode Island's loss in the NIT Semis last night eliminated the last player capable of surpassing Jutdog's score, clinching the championship for Jutdog.

Four players have teams alive in the Final Four: Jutdog (West Virginia) with 483 points, Babblemur (Butler) with 436 points, Gunz (Duke) also with 436 points, and The CEO (Michigan State) with 409 points. Winning the national championship would net 42 points between the semi-final game and the championship, not enough to surpass Jut's 47 point lead over Babs and Gunz.

Akaoni at 469 and Boaris at 448 have both been eliminated from further post season play.

Jutdog's success this year can be attributed to a number of factors. First his teams performed very well against other players, his 152 points in this category was second only to Akaoni's 162. Secondly his teams powered up in post season play - 7 teams made the NCAA Tournament, 4 reaching the Sweet 16, 3 the Elite 8, and one in the Final Four, for 92 points so far, 34 more than the next closest. And credit must be given to fine basketball by West Virginia (112 pts), Tennessee and Kansas State (75 pts each), Cornell (50 pts) as well as Utah State (48 pts) and Minnesota (47 pts).

Jutdog's victory this year will add to his braggery as it is his first championship that will not be accompanied by an asterisk.

Second Place is still up in the air. Akaoni stands in second place now with 469, and can hang on as long as either Michigan State or West Virginia win the National Championship. Babblemur and Gunz could finish in second place with a National Championship for Butler or Duke respectively.

Best and Worst of 09/10 - Part 1 of 3

2010-03-29T07:12:00.000-05:00

Part 1 of a 3 part look at this past season's draft, who was brilliant and who was an idiot.

Expandadraft:

~ Best: Temple by SGII. Pick 81 (first in expansion) bringing in 33 pts. Not too much thinking involved in this pick.
~ runner-up: Murray St by Jaybird. And. UTEP by Notaturtle - both bringing in 31 points.
~ Note: Gunz's Rhode Island is still alive, and could bring in a solind number of points from the NIT.

~ Worst: Virginia by Gunz. Pick 93 bringing in only 4 pts.
~ runner-up: Charlotte by CEO - dropped a shitty team to pick up an even worse one worth only 3 pts.

Round 8:

~ Best: Baylor by Akaoni, bringing in a huge 66 points from pick 66. This almost doubles the closest competitor from this round. This was one of the top 5 picks of the year.
~ runner-up: Northwestern by Jaybird and Houston by Boaris. The last picks in the regular draft, both teams brought in 36 points.

~ Worst: Radford by Jutdog. Despite preseason hype to win the league again, Radford only generated 17 wins all season, and produced no other bonuses. Pick 73
~ runner-up: Penn State by Notaturtle. Only 17 points. This team could not win a game. Pick 74.

Round 7:

~ Best: St Marys by Boaris, bringing in 56 points from the 61st pick. This team's points were significantly boosted by a strong and surprising run into the sweet 16.
~ runner-up: Cornell by Jutdog, bringing in 50 pts from the 69th pick. This is the third year that Jutdog snagged Cornell, and is likely the last, as this strong run into the sweet 16 was led by 6 seniors.

~ Worst: Niagara by Phunmunki, bringing in only 22 points from the 65th overall pick.
~ runner-up: Long Beach State by Notaturtle, with only 21 points scored by the 68th overall pick.

The Departed (updated 3.28.10)

2010-03-27T10:54:00.007-05:00

There have been some changes in the last week, in case anyone missed it. Some folks are out and teamless, while others have no chance at winning the league. Let's see:

Update: Akaoni: The giant has fallen, ending a season in which Akaoni was the league leader for an estimated 80% of the weeks. Akaoni's strategy this year was simple: No mid majors till exandadraft. It paid off huge for him, bringing in late round picks like Baylor, Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh. In fact, his last 4 picks were almost worth double what his first 4 picks were, thanks to the unexpected performaces by Syracuse and Baylor this year. Akaoni's draft mentality appears to be a winner - had any one of Texas, Illinois, or South Carolina lived up to their hype and potential, Akaoni would have walked away with the league after the second round of the NCAA tourney. In the end though, he was shut out of the Final Four, and sits in 2nd place with no remaining teams. Should Michigan State or West Virginia win the NCAA tourney, Aka would finish with a solid 2nd place standing. However, a Butler (Babs) or Duke (Gunz) win would push Aka out down the ladder.

Jaybird: Following the Kansas loss, Jaybird's Kentucky was considered by most to be the top team remaining. Even with Kentucky nabbing a national title, Jaybird would have needed some magic to occur. This ended quicker than expected, with West Virginia taking down Kentucky in the Elite 8. Jaybird still has Dayton left, which could be a significant player in determining the babblemur champ with Gunz and Akaoni both benefiting greatly from NIT points. Overall, Jaybird did a decent job drafting, with Kentucky, Georgetown, Florida State, and Murray State. The excessive emphasis on mid-to-low majors really hurt Jaybird, as none of them produced up to the hype. This may have been Jaybird's last run in the contest.

Babblemur: Babs still has Butler, who is making a very impressive run to the Final Four. Butler has brought in 100 points, and could snag another 42 points. Congrats on Babs for making this risky pick, which has earned a Best Pick of the Year award. Even with Babs winning the whole thing, he won't be able to top Jutdog's 483. Babs didn't really have a bad pick this year, although California greatly underproduced and really cost him the league. It was a tough choice at pick 10 for Babs. Last year's last pick was Oklahoma, followed by Pitt, which were huge for Boaris. Babs will be back next year, and should again contend.

Boaris: He was unexpectedly and suddenly teamless, having his two remaining squads shut down in the sweet 16. With no teams left, Boaris is stuck at 448. This should be good enough to secure a top-half finish, which should in turn be enough to motivate Boaris to return for yet another year of the challenge. His late pick of St Marys was an excellent one, and the surprising exits of Kansas and Ohio State left this one time favorite with nothing.

NotaTurtle: Purdue was crushed last night, ending his hopes at a title. Even with the win, Turtle was so far behind it would only have helped his pride. Turtle was hurt this year with UCONN's poor season, as well as the gamble of Arizona not paying off. Of course, it didn't help that Long Beach State couldn't finish a game, while Penn State returned most of their 27 win squad only to snag 11 wins this year for turtle. Of particular note is that Turtle snagged zero points in the conference tourney area (one of only 2 to go pointless), while finishing second to last in post season points (only SGII did worse).

Phunmunki: Phunmunki was plaugued all season with two of the worst picks of the year in Michigan (rd 2) and Oregon State (only 11 pts). Somehow, though, Munki managed to get 5 teams past the first round of the NCAAs - good teams too, in Texas A&M, Xavier, Villanova, Wake Forest, and New Mexico. However, even an amazing NCAA finish wouldn't have produced enough for Phun to contend, as she only reached the low 300s while the leaderboard was in the mid 400s. Villanova never really produced, which really hurt. Xavier was a bit of a surprise, and should be excellent next year if Phun can snag them yet another year. Phun has no remaining teams.

SGII: He was a rookie, so this year was a good learning experience for him. UNC received one of the worst pick of the year awards, but could actually salvage a little with an NIT championship. SGII's rounds 3-5 never really produced. He didn't win much in any of the extra categories (0 opening season pts, only one reg season champ and conf tourney champ with expandadraft Temple, and a dismal 18 pts in post season pts). However, SGII does have two squads left in the NIT, and these wins could influence the leaderboard a bit should Jaybird's Kentucky or Gunz's Duke make a run, as both players still have NIT teams at play. Even if SGII had the national champ, he'd likely finish 5th at best. SGII's first year is remeniscent of Bab's first year (finished with negative points).

CEO: He claims to have figured this league out for next year, and we all hope he has figured something out following such a dismal season this year. Should Michigan State make another run into the final, CEO will finish on a high note, and will end in the top 5 in the league. Northern Iowa was a good snag, although this wasn't a surprise. Oklahoma was also awarded a worst pick of the season award, generating only 23 pts for the 23 overall pick. CEO's point distribution was pretty balanced, with only his head to head point bonus lacking a bit.

The Odds on Favorites

2010-03-22T10:44:00.000-05:00

Approaching the final wire, who still has a shot at this?

At this point it may be down to 3 players: Akaoni, Boaris, and Jutdog. These three have a huge advantage going into the Sweet 16, and with just 20 points separating the three it is safe to say that they are neck and neck.

But don't count out yet those clinging to NCAA championship hopes: Babblemur, Gunz, Jaybird, The CEO and NotaTurtle. At this point I claim that these five are longshots but technically still in it.

The Leaders

Akaoni

Akaoni built a strong lead early this season and held it almost all the way through, but now he must pull off the big finish to claim the title. Syracuse is key to his success, and he may need them to win it all depending on what happens with Boaris and Jutdog's teams. Having Baylor and Washington in the Sweet 16 helps as both back ups in case Syracuse gets stunned by Butler or the following game. Baylor should pick up the win over St. Mary's, but Washington has a tough game against a very good West Virginia. I would put Akaoni's odds at 1:4 now, with a few extra points possible from Virginia Tech in the NIT and Charleston good for a point or two in the CBI.

Boaris

Boaris' stock went way down with Kansas on Saturday. His back up, Ohio State, are no slouches though, consider that they won the Big 10 regular season, the Big 10 Tournament, ranked 5th in the nation, and are now the top seed in the Midwest Bracket. The Buckeyes do not have an easy road to the Final Four though, facing a critical game with Tennessee on Friday and if they win, either Michigan State or Northern Iowa. St. Mary's, on the other hand, is a long shot against Baylor, and if they win, they face either Duke or Purdue. Louisiana Tech in the CIT is only good for a few points at best. Boaris' Championship hopes depend on Ohio State getting not only to the Final Four but the championship game. I would put his odds at 1:8.

Jutdog

Somehow this bastard managed to get 4 teams in the Sweet 16, in 3 of the 4 brackets to boot. This makes Jutdog a strong contender to win the championship based on numbers alone. His teams are no pushovers though, and if he makes enough noise this week he may not even need to win the championship. Kansas State has good odds against Xavier, and will likely face off with Syracuse on Saturday. Tennessee can match up with Ohio State and knock Boaris out with a win on Thursday. Conference underdogs Cornell are going to be everyone's favorite against Kentucky, but West Virginia is likely Jut's best bet to reach the Final Four. They face Akaoni's Washington on Thursday, and unless Cornell got lucky they have their toughest contest to date with Kentucky on Saturday. I put Jutdog at 1:4 odds to win the Babbleball championship at this point.

The Long Shots

Gunz

Gunz is 8 points below Babs, but in much better shape, because he has Duke instead of Butler, and Rhode Island instead of UAB. Gunz needs Rhode Island to roll some more games in the NIT, but like Babs, he needs Duke in the Final Four, in the Championship game, and likely needs them to win it all. Duke faces a tough Purdue on Friday, and if they win they take on either Boaris' St. Mary's or Akaoni's Baylor. Like Babs, Gunz needs The CEO to get into the Final Four out of the Midwest Region, and Jaybird's Kentucky from the East, again to deny the Top 3 players more points. Gunz should be rooting for Phunmunki's Xavier to mess things up for Jut and Akaoni as well in the West. Gunz has the benefit of Duke being a strong choice to win the National Championship, which greatly helps his cause, but he needs Akaoni, Boaris and Jut to lose some big games along the way. Odds for Gunz: 1:12

Jaybird

Same situation for Jaybird, but it is Kentucky that holds the cards for reigning Babbleball Champ Jaybird. Kentucky is a damn good team to have holding the cards however, #1 seed for good reason, and West Virginia is about the only real challenge to keep them out of the Final Four. With Kansas out, Kentucky has become that much closer to sailing in for a National Championship. Jaybird also will pick up needed points along the way from Nevada and Dayton in the NIT, but its all about Kentucky winning and Boaris, Akaoni and Jut losing big games. Odds for Jaybird: 1:16

Babblemur

The CEO put the dagger in Babblemur's chances when Michigan State took down Maryland. Left now with Butler in the Sweet 16, and UAB in the NIT, it doesn't look good for Babs. If UAB were to somehow win the NIT, that's a total of about 20-25 points. But to win the Babbleball championship Butler is going to have to go all the way, National Champions. He would have to destroy Akaoni's dreams by knocking off Syracuse on Thursday, defeat Jut's Kansas State on Saturday, and still hope to meet up with one of The CEO's teams in the Final Four, Gunz's Duke, and Jaybird's Kentucky, just to stop Boaris, Akaoni, and Jut from picking up more points. Odds for Babblemur: 1:50

The CEO

The good news is two teams in the Sweet 16. The bad news is they play each other on Friday. The good news is The CEO will have one team for sure in the Elite 8, and their opponent will either be #2 seed Ohio State (Boaris) or #6 seed Tennessee (Jutdog). It goes without saying that The CEO needs to put either Northern Iowa or Michigan State in the Final Four. They also need to see Boaris, Jutdog, and Akaoni kept out of the Final Four. And if one gets in, The CEO needs to beat them. Cincinnati in the NIT could bring critical points to keep the CEO competitive, Pacific is good for 1-3 points at best in the CIT. Odds for The CEO: 1:75

NotaTurtle

Purdue and UCONN remain for the one who is not a turtle. UCONN may be favorites to win the NIT for 25 points when it is all said and done, and if Purdue wins the National Championship that is another 68 points. Can 93 points win it for NAT? He's 78 points down... He needs a perfect storm. He needs: 1. Win the NIT, 2. Purdue to win the National Championship, AND: 3. Butler over Akaoni's Syracuse, AND 4. Xavier over Jut's K-State, AND 5. Kentucky in the Final Four, AND 6. St. Mary's over Akaoni's Baylor OR West Virginia over over Akaoni's Washington. So yes, it is possible, NotaTurtle, but highly improbable. Odds for NotaTurtle: 1:200.

Out

Phunmunki - down to Xavier in the sweet 16. If the X were to win the National Championship, they would pick up 68 points along the way. Unfortunately she is 130 points out from first place right now. She's out.

Some Guy in Illinois - With two teams in the NIT and one in the CIT, the best he can do for the remainder of the season is 39 points, a far cry from the 160 he needs to vie for the championship. He's out.

Looking at Next Year's BabbleImprovements

2010-03-21T11:26:00.004-05:00

Time to start considering rule improvements, if any, to the league. I'll start by offering a few reflections on a few changes from the past two years:

Wins over AP top 10 teams (rule implemented two seasons ago): Akaoni dominated this field this field this year, capturing twice as many points (24) as other players, except for his fellow Iowan Turtle (16). This added significant interest to games against top teams, and appropriately rewarded teams for these big wins. I think this is a great addition to the league.

Undefeated regular season conference play: Only Babs snagged this 3 point bonus with Butler going undefeated. This is a nice perk that adds a little interest as conference play concludes, and appropriately rewards a team that acheives this significantly challenging feat. I would not be opposed to making this a 4 point bonus for next year.

Some early thoughts on potential improvements to the league:

This year's MWC and Atl10 proved to be significant players, with a combined 7 teams making the NCAA cut. The Atl10 also had three 20+ win teams that didn't make the cut in Rhode Island, Dayton, and St Louis. Meanwhile, the Pac10 obviously had a down year, with only two squads making the cut. Even the Big 10 only had 5, with Minnesota just making the chopping block. This leads me to again offer the following simple creation of a three tier conference system that I believe more appropriately reflects the state of college basketball:

Conf Grouping & Point Restructuring - Create 3 conference tiers: Major, Mid-Major, and Minor.

~ Major conferences (6 confs) would not change.
~ Mid-Major (9 confs) would consist of Atl 10, Mountain West, Miss Valley, CUSA, Horizon, WAC, West Coast, MAC, & CAA.
~ Minor would consist of the rest (16 confs).

~ Regular Season Champ Points: Tier one reg season championship: 10 pts; Tier two reg season championship: 8 pts; Tier three reg season championship: 6 pts.

~ Conference Tourney Champ Points: A conf tourney champion would receive: 8, 6, and 4.

At current, there is no mid-major tier, a team that wins a major conference regular season earns 7 points and a non-major conference regular season earns 6 points; A team that wins a major conference tournament earns 5 points and a non-major 4 points.

Additional potential changes:

Last years rule change discussion happened here.

Restructure NCAA Tourney Points:

~ Reduce the point reward for "making the NCAA" from 4pts to 3 pts. For many teams, there is already a significant boost from winning their league tourney.
~ Increase round 1 win from 2pts to 3 pts
~ Reduce round 3 win from 8 pts to 7 pts
~ Reduce round 4 win from 12 pts to 10 pts
~ Reduce Final Four win from 16 pts to 13 pts
~ Reduce Final win from 20pts to 17 pts.

This basically gives the NCAA winner 55 pts, plus 3 for making the tourney, plus 6 for each win, and plus a few 2's for wins vs other players. It is only a slight reduction of 8 total points, but I believe produces a more even and balanced point system. As our initial point system (and this proposal) was arbitrary, this is obviously wide open to discussion.

And finally: I thought the league was a bit more entertaining with 12 players as opposed to this year's 10. Even with the increased number of picks a round, we still saw numerous quality selections throughout ( SEE HERE ). Jaybird still pulled it off with the #1 and #24 picks, but Babs stormed into 2nd with the 10th and 15th picks. Overall I felt that this season's picks were much more informed and researched.

On to the 2nd Round

2010-03-20T07:57:00.002-05:00

A harrowing first round!

You have to be in it to win it, and here's who is still in it:

Boaris, 432 points, 4 teams in the NCAA, 1 in the CIT. Kansas and Ohio State are definite contenders, and BYU has potential.
Akaoni, 430 points, 4 teams in the NCAA, 2 in the NIT, 1 in the CBI. With Syracuse, Baylor, and Pitt he's looking solid.
Jutdog, 405 points, 4 teams in the NCAA. West Virginia and Kansas State are tough, Tennessee and Cornell could make the Sweet 16.
Babblemur, 401 points, 3 teams in the NCAA, 2 in the NIT. How long can Maryland, Butler and California carry - likely not much further.
Gunz, 394 points, 3 teams in the NCAA, 2 in the NIT. As long as Duke is in, Gunz is a contender.
Jaybird, 385 points, 2 teams in the NCAA, 2 in the NIT. Murray St is only going so far, its all about Kentucky now for Jaybird.
NotaTurtle, 368 points, 3 teams in the NCAA, 1 in the NIT. Turtle is still in it if he can keep Purdue, Gonzaga and Georgia Tech winning two more rounds, with UCONN as the clear favorite in the NIT.
The CEO, 367 points, 2 teams in the NCAA, 1 in the NIT, one in the CIT. With only Michigan State and Northern Iowa to rely on The CEO's days are numbered.
Phunmunki, 327 points, 5 teams in the NCAA. Say WHAT? If all five (Villanova, Xavier, Texas A&M, Wake Forest, New Mexico) win their round two games that is 40 points this weekend. Phunmunki is still in this. Thems some good teams.
Some Guy In Illinois, 292 points, 1 in the NCAA (Missouri), 2 in the NIT, 1 in the CIT. Not gonna happen.

ESPN Bracket Group for Babblemur B-Ball

2010-03-15T14:22:00.001-05:00

You can put as many entries as you want into this group:

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=72313

After all, its just the tournament, not the whole she-bang like we have here!

Tournament Time!

2010-03-14T22:53:00.002-05:00

It is anyone's game! In theory...

Championship Week proved that the Endgame is worth as much as the rest of the season, as in one week Boaris shot into first place, Jutdog and Babblemur replaced Gunz and Jaybird in the #3 and #4 slots, and NotaTurtle slipped back down into 8th place.

Lets get right to it - the NCAA Tournament

Jutdog and Boaris lead the pack with 7 bids a piece. Babblemur and The CEO follow with 6 each, Phunmunki, Gunz, and Akaoni got 5 bids each, 4 for Jaybird and NotaTurtle, and 3 for struggling Some Guy in Illinois.

Quality vs. Quantity?

#1 and #2 seeds are at a decided advantage.
Boaris: Kansas (#1), Ohio St (#2),
Akaoni: Syracuse (#1),
Gunz: Duke (#1),
Jaybird: Kentucky (#1),
Jutdog: West Virginia (#2), Kansas St (#2)
Phunmunki: Villanova (#2),

Distribution

Unlike last year, when the match ups put the bulk of Jut's teams in the same bracket-branch, this year sees player teams pretty well distributed. Boaris has BYU vs. Florida in round one, Babblemur has Butler and Vandy potentially facing off in round two, The CEO has both Clemson and Morgan St in the same group of 4, but otherwise all players have the potential to see all their teams in the Sweet 16.

NIT

There is a direct correlation between how many NCAA bids a player got versus how many NIT bids a player got. Whose in the running for the NIT? Some Guy in Illinois: 5, followed by Jaybird with 4.

The NIT may be as much fun to follow as the NCAA Tourney. Its the WCS - the "woulda coulda shoulda" tournament, featuring top seeds Illinois, Virginia Tech, Mississippi St, and Arizona St.

NCAA Scoring:

From the rules:
- A team that makes the post-season NIT final 4 receives 2 points*
- A team that makes the post-season NIT championship receives 4 points*
- The team that wins the post-season NIT championship receives 7 points*

- Each team that makes the NCAA tourney receives 4 points
- Each team earns 2 points for a NCAA tourney round 1 win*
- Each team earns 5 points for a NCAA tourney round 2 win*
- Each team earns 8 points for a NCAA tourney round 3 win*
- Each team earns 12 points for a NCAA tourney round 4 win*
- Each team earns 16 points for reaching the NCAA final*
- The team that wins the NCAA tourney earns 20 points.*

- * Each post-season win over another player will also include +2 points

Boaris Takes Lead Position!

2010-03-13T23:02:00.002-06:00

Boaris continued his romp through Championship Week on Saturday with 28 points, passing Akaoni and moving into first place. Akaoni has held the #1 spot for the entire season. Boaris' big day was led with Kansas' win over #9 Kansas State taking the Big 12 Tourney, along with Houston's stunning upset of UTEP to take the Conference USA Tourney. Ohio State fought their way into the Big Ten finals tomorrow with a win over Illinois. This follows earlier captures of the West Coast with St. Mary's and the MAAC with Siena.

Sunday closes out the last four championship tournaments, with more points on the line:
Temple (SGII) vs. Richmond (Babs)
#4 Duke (Gunz) vs. Georgia Tech (NAT)
#5 Ohio St (Boaris) vs. Minnesota (Jutdog)
#2 Kentucky (Jaybird) vs. Miss St (Gunz)

Following these games, the NCAA Tournament Selection begins - and every team that gets a bid gets 4 points.

Championship Week II

2010-03-12T10:50:00.003-06:00

Almost every game now in Championship Week is against other players, points are rolling in, more points when the tournaments are ended, and 4 points for every team that gets a bid to the NCAA Tournament - SUNDAY bracket day!

ACC:
Duke (Gunz) vs. Virginia (Gunz)
Virginia Tech (Akaoni) vs. Miami (NAT)
Maryland (Babs) vs. Georgia Tech (NAT)
Florida St (Jay) vs. NC State

Big East:
Marquette (Jut) vs. Georgetown (Jay)
West Virginia (Jut) vs. Notre Dame (Babs)

Big Ten:
Ohio St (Boaris) vs. Michigan (Phun)
Wisconsin (Gunz) vs. Illinois (Akaoni)
Purdue (NAT) vs. Northwestern (Jay)
Michigan St (CEO) vs. Minnesota (Jut)

Big 12
Kansas (Boaris) vs. Texas A&M (Phun)
Kansas St (Jut) vs. Baylor (Akaoni)

Pac 10
California (Babs) vs UCLA (Gunz)
Washington (Akaoni) vs. Stanford

SEC
Kentucky (Jay) vs. Alabama (Phun)
Tennessee (Jut) vs. Ole Miss (SGII)
Miss St (Gunz) vs. Florida (Boaris)
Vanderbilt (Babs) vs. Georgia

Atlantic 10
Temple (SGII) vs. St. Bonnies
Rhode Island (Gunz) vs. St. Louis
Dayton (Jay) vs. Xavier (Phun)
Richmond (Babs) vs. UMASS

Mountain West
New Mexico (Phun) vs. San Diego St (CEO)
BYU (Boaris) vs. UNLV (Gunz)

Conference USA
Houston (Boaris) vs. Southern Miss
UTEP (NAT) vs. Tulsa (SGII)

Western Athletic Conference
Utah St (Jut) vs. Louisiana Tech (Boaris)
Nevada (Jay) vs. New Mexico St

MAC
Akron (Jay) vs. Western Michigan
Ohio vs. Miami-Ohio

Big West
Pacific (CEO) vs. Long Beach St (NAT)
Davis vs. Santa Barbara

MEAC
Morgan St (CEO) vs. Hampton
SC St vs. Delaware St

Championship Week I

2010-03-07T21:18:00.006-06:00

The regular season games wrap up with the end of Week 17. All regular season conference champions have been determined and scored. Conference Tournaments are underway, some already complete.

Regular Season Conference Champs

The following points were awarded this week for the 14 remaining conferences (12 others shelled out last week):

Majors

ACC: Duke (Gunz) and Maryland (Babblemur) tied up at the top and split their games against each other. +7 for Gunz and +7 for Babblemur.
Big 12: Kansas (Boaris) won this hands down. +7 for Boaris.
Big East: Syracuse (Akaoni) survived to win. +7 for Akaoni
Big Ten: Ohio St (Boaris), Purdue (NotaTurtle) and Michigan St (The CEO) all finished on top. +7 for Boaris, +7 for NotaTurtle, and +7 for The CEO.
Pac 10: California (Babblemur) survived to win. +7 for Babblemur.
SEC: Kentucky (Jaybird) finishes +7 for Jaybird.

Non-Majors

A-10: Temple (SGII) and Xavier (Phun) finished in first, but Temple won their only meeting this year. +6 for Some Guy In Illinois!
Big West: Pacific (CEO) tied it up at the top but lost both games this year against UC Santa Barbara. NO points.
C-USA: UTEP (Turtle) takes it. +6 for NotaTurtle.
Ivy: Cornell got what they deserved. +6 for Jutdog.
MAC: Akron couldn't cut it. NO points.
MEAC: Morgan St (The CEO) hands down. +6 for The CEO.
Mountain West: New Mexico (Phun) clinched it. +6 for Phunmunki!
WAC: Utah St takes it. +6 for Jutdog.

Conference Tournaments

Conference Tournaments are underway, and we will be allocating points now to teams when they win their tourneys. So far we have:

MVC: Northern Iowa (CEO) wins it, +4 for The CEO.
OVC: Murray St (Jaybird) wins it, +4 for Jaybird.
Big South: Winthrop knocked off Coastal, sorry Akaoni
A-Sun: E. Tenn St won it, sorry Babblemur

The rest will be determined in the next 7 days...

Weekly Score

Babblemur was the big winner this week, going 13-4 for 31 points, not including winning four regular season championships.

Babblemur +31
Jutdog +25
Phunmunki +25
Jaybird +24
Akaoni +22
Boaris +22
The CEO +21
Some Guy in Illinois +20
NotaTurtle +19
Gunz +15

Standings after Week 17

1. Akaoni - 374 (191-73)
2. Babblemur - 334 (187-73)
3. Boaris - 333 (191-71)
4. Jaybird - 327 (185-79)
5. Gunz - 319 (178-87)
6. Jutdog - 312 (181-76)
7. NotaTurtle - 307 (160-97)
8. The CEO - 303 (172-90)
9. Phunmunki - 277 (162-95)
10. Some Guy in Illinois - 251 (169-96)

Open Thread - Conferences wrapping up, end of reg season

2010-03-06T08:12:00.003-06:00

Saturday and Sunday finishes off the regular season and wraps up some loose ends, such as who will win the Big 10, who will win the ACC, and perhaps other drama.

Also a dozen or so conferences have already gotten their conference tournaments underway, and some players have already suffered casualties in that battle. For some, that is the end of the road unless they can make the NIT.

Radford (Jut) got knocked out in the Big South Semis, won't even get a chance to face Coastal (Akaoni) for the auto-bid.
Creighton (SGII) left early in the MVC round, I'm not sure they are NIT material.
Jacksonville (Babs) eliminated in the semis of the A-Sun, but if there is a bright side, they have dibs on a NIT bid as regular season champs in the A-Sun. Right? Right?

What else is new -

Cornell (Jutdog) has clinched the Ivy regular season, and by doing so clinches the first bid into the NCAA Tournament. Congrats!
Akron's loss to Kent State Friday lost Jaybird the MAC and the 6 points that would have come with a win.
ACC is on the line Saturday: Duke (Gunz) plays North Carolina, Maryland (Babs) takes on Virginia. If both teams win (or if both lose), they both get +7 for the ACC. If one wins and the other loses...
BIG 10 is on the line Saturday: Purdue (Turtle) at Penn St, Mich St (CEO) has Michigan
Atlantic 10 is on the line - if Temple (SGII) wins, they get the +6. If Temple loses and Xavier wins, Xavier gets the +6. If both lose, and Richmond wins, ALL THREE get +6. If all three lose, Temple gets +6.
Other conferences should be locked up by now: UTEP (Turtle) got the CUSA; Morgan St (CEO) got the MEAC; New Mexico (Phun) got the MWC; Utah St (Jut) got the WAC.

Week 16 BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

2010-02-28T09:17:00.006-06:00

What a week! Kansas falls! Kentucky falls! Purdue falls! Damn - will Syracuse be #1??? It might be fitting for first place Akaoni to actually have the #1 team in the nation as we enter the last week of regular season play.

Ten conferences dished out points for regular season champs, Week 17 will see 12 more plus some conference tournaments getting underway - points shall be flying from the left and from the right and the leader board shall shake. For now, Akaoni holds onto a 45+ point lead, Boaris and Gunz are locked up in second place, and Babblemur is climbing up to bite the butt of Jaybird's hold on 4th. Jutdog & NotaTurtle both had stellar weeks, and The CEO is launching his comeback. Can Phunmunki and Some Guy in Illinois finish week 17 in the running or on the out...

Conference Points Distributed for Week 16:

Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville (Babblemur) finished in a four way tie for first place, but split their contests with each of their challengers, giving them a share of the conference regular season. +6 for Babblemur
Big South - Coastal Carolina (Akaoni) finished 2 games up over rival Radford (Jutdog) to win the Big South. +6 for Akaoni
Colonial - Old Dominion (Gunz) finished strong to win the Colonial outright over a late stumbling Northeastern (Jaybird) and never quite there William & Mary (Babs). +6 for Gunz
Horizon - Butler (Babblemur) met pre-season expectations and easily won the Horizon, and went undefeated in the process, earning an extra +3 points. Wright St (SGII) had no chance. +9 for Babblemur
MAAC - Siena (Boaris) also met pre-season expectations and handily won the MAAC, their only loss in conference to the Purple Eagles of Niagara (Phunmunki). +6 for Boaris
Missouri Valley (MVC) - Northern Iowa (The CEO) dominated a weakened MVC to lock the MVC down weeks ago. +6 to The CEO
NEC - Quinnipiac (Phunmunki) had to work for it, but defeated Robert Morris to win the Northeastern Conference. +6 for Phunmunki
Ohio Valley (OVC) - Murray St (Jaybird) lost this week to rival Morehead St, ruining their undefeated conference record, but they still won the OVC. +6 for Jaybird
Southern (SoCon) - Charleston (Akaoni) lost to Wofford on Thursday, costing them the regular season champs for the SoCon. Jutdog's Western Carolina's five losses in February lost it for them. No Points for the SoCon.
Summit - Oakland (The CEO) clinched the Summit weeks ago, finishing with a 17-1 record. Nicely done. +6 for The CEO
Sun Belt - Western Kentucky (Jaybird) couldn't pull it off, while Middle Tennessee, Troy, and North Texas finished a game up on the Hilltoppers. No points for the Sun Belt.
West Coast (WCC) - Gonzaga (NotaTurtle) at 12-2 beat out St. Mary's (Boaris) 11-3 and Portland (Babs) 10-4 to win the West Coast Conference, as usual. +6 for NotaTurtle

There are 5 conferences with no player-teams involved, so we will ignore them: America East, Big Sky, Patriot, Southland, and the SWAC.

Points for the Week (not including conference winners above):
Jutdog +31
Akaoni +27
Babblemur +27
Boaris +25
NotaTurtle +24
Gunz +21
Some Guy in IL +20
The CEO +19
Jaybird +18
Phunmunki +15

Standings after Week 16

1. Akaoni - 345 (177-66)
2. Boaris - 297 (179-65)
3. Gunz - 297 (169-77)
4. Jaybird - 292 (171-73)
5. Babblemur - 289 (174-68)
6. Jutdog - 275 (168-69)
7. NotaTurtle - 275 (149-89)
8. The CEO - 265 (159-83)
9. Phunmunki - 246 (149-89)
10. Some Guy in Illinois - 225 (157-90)

Basketball for a Basketball Site

2010-02-27T12:32:00.002-06:00

Nothing in particular - just getting the ADD back on track.

American Idol Open Thread

2010-02-24T09:25:00.001-06:00

Go!

Jutdog Rebounds, Turtle Scores

2010-02-22T10:25:00.003-06:00

Well Jutdog bounced back after that scathing score last week to lead the pack this week with an astounding 33 points off 17-3 record. All 8 of his original teams won every game, only his expansion teams tripped up although Marquette came through against Cincy on Sunday. Jut can now claim to be "back init" just 68 points down from first place.

NotaTurtle dished out some damage as well this week - 30 points, 12-5 record, BIG wins for Purdue, UCONN, UTEP, and even Penn State won two games over other players to supply 6 points to the cause.

Points rundown for Week 15:
Jutdog +33
NotaTurtle +30
Babblemur +25
Akaoni +25
Gunz +22
Boaris +21
Jaybird +19
The CEO +18
Some Guy in Illinois +16
Phunmunki +11

Standings after Week 15:

1. Akaoni - 312 (166-58)
2. Gunz - 269 (157-71)
3. Jaybird - 268 (159-65)
4. Boaris - 266 (166-58)
5. Babblemur - 247 (159-65)
6. NotaTurtle - 245 (137-82)
7. Jutdog - 244 (153-65)
8. The CEO - 234 (150-75)
9. Phunmunki - 225 (140-80)
10. Some Guy in Illinois - 205 (145-82)

HOT GAMES FOR WEEK 16:

Monday: Turtle's hot UCONN faces off with Jutdog's West Virginia. UCONN needs a good show to keep their conference hopes alive.
Tuesday: Some Guy in Illinois may be wondering if he'll have ANY at large bids to the Big Dance! Louisville might be his best shot - and a win over Georgetown (Jaybird) would help.
Wednesday: San Diego St (The CEO) needs to beat BYU (Boaris) to prove they are worthy.
Thursday: Jacksonville (Babs) locks up 6 points IF they can beat Campbell...
Thursday: Charleston (Akaoni) locks up 6 points IF they can beat Wofford...
Saturday: Syracuse (Akaoni) vs. Villanova (Phun) = Big East
Sunday: Richmond (Babs) vs. Xavier (Phun) = A-10

Upcoming Conference Points in Week 16

2010-02-21T12:25:00.008-06:00

Recapping the rules for Conference Champs and Tourneys:

- A team that wins a major conference regular season earns 7 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference regular season earns 6 points
- A team that wins a major conference tournament earns 5 points
- A team that wins a non-major conference tournament earns 4 points
- A team that completes the regular conference season undefeated earns +3 points.

Points for conference regular season champs and undefeated records will be allocated on Sunday Feb 28 for 12 conferences, and Sunday March 7 for 14 more conferences. 5 conferences have no player teams involved.

Conference Tournament points will be allocated on the night the champ is determined.

Here are the 12 Conferences that will be determined at the end of Week 16, Feb 28. All are worth 6 points for the winners of each conference.

Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville (Babs) is 13-5, tied with Campbell. Campbell won their first meeting, and they play each other on Thursday. This is a must win for Jacksonville - if they win, they will get the 6 points, if they lose, they won't.

Big South - Coastal Carolina (Akaoni) is 13-3 with two games remaining. Radford (Jut) is 11-5 with two games remaining. Winthrop is 11-4 with three games remaining. Coastal can lock it up with a single win (they split with Winthrop). Radford needs to win both games AND see Coastal lose both games to pick up a share of the Big South.

Colonial - Northeastern (Jaybird) is 13-3, Old Dominion (Gunz) is 13-3, William & Mary (Babs) is 11-5 - all with two games remaining. W&M is a long shot, both the others would have to lose both games to make a 3 way tie possible. Northeastern beat Old Dominion in their only match up this year, which means OD will have to win both remaining games AND see Northeastern lose. Long odds.

Horizon - Butler (Babs) has secured the 6 points for the Horizon with a 17-0 record, and could be getting 3 more if they stay undefeated with one game remaining. Wright St (SGII) at 11-5 has to hope for a conference tournament miracle to go to the Big Dance.

MAAC - Siena (Boaris) may have had their undefeated conference record snapped by Niagara (Phunmunki) but at 15-1 with 2 games remaining, the MAAC is theirs.

Missouri Valley (MVC) - With two games remaining, Northern Iowa (The CEO) has won the MVC regular season with a 14-2 record. Wichita St (Boaris) is 11-5, Illinois St (Gunz) is 10-6, and Creighton (SGII) is 8-8. It isn't likely that any one of these three will get an at-large bid, so conference tourney is their last chance or face the NIT.

NEC - Quinnipiac (Phunmunki) is one game back from Robert Morris with two games remaining. All they need to do is tie this up - Quin beat RM in their only meeting, earlier this week.

Ohio Valley (OVC) - Murray State (Jaybird) has clinched the OVC with 2 games remaining. At 16-0 in conference, two more wins will net them 3 more points.

Southern (SoCon) - Jutdog's gamble with Western Carolina failed as they lost 5 of their last 6 to play themselves out of contention. Akaoni's Charleston however sits at 13-3, tied with Wofford, with 2 games left. Charleston won the last match up with Wofford, and play them again on Feb 25.

Summit - Oakland (The CEO) has clinched the Summit with a 16-1 record.

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky (Jaybird) is the only player team in the Sun Belt. At 10-6, they are one game behind 3 other teams at 11-5, and tied with 3 other teams also at 10-6. Tough odds for the Hilltoppers.

West Coast (WCC) - Gonzaga (Turtle) is 10-2 with 2 conference games remaining. St. Mary's (Boaris) follows at 9-3 with 2 games remaining. Portland (Babs) is in 3rd at 8-4. Gonzaga beat both St. Mary's and Portland twice this year, meaning Portland is out, and St. Mary's only chance is if the Zags lose their next two and St. Mary's wins their two.

There are 5 conferences with no player-teams involved, so we will ignore them: America East, Big Sky, Patriot, Southland, and the SWAC.

Jutdog Suffers Worst Performance in Three Year History of Babbleball

2010-02-15T18:20:00.004-06:00

The Top News this week was the horrendous performance of Jutdog's teams, who managed to lose 12 of 18 games, earning a mere 6 points. While the Babbleball Archivist is still reviewing last year's performance by Musashisan to verify that Jutdog has set a record, for now we are reporting that it was the worst one week performance ever in history. The result was Jut plummeting from a solid 5th place at the beginning of the week to 9th place by the close of Sunday, just 22 points ahead of a resurgent Some Guy In Illinois, who went 12-7 for 20 points, including a big win over #2 Syracuse.

Phunmunki Tops All

The other surprise this week was a 30 point performance by the typically invisible Phunmunki, who went 14-4, led by a Villanova win over Jut's West Virginia, and a surprise Niagara Purple Eagles upset over Siena (Boaris). Phun's phantastic week moved her from 9th place to 8th place.

Rounding out the bottom 6, NotaTurtle went 11-8 for 19 points, falling from 6th to 7th, and The CEO hit 22 off a fine 12-6 week to move from 8th place to 6th place. Babblemur put up an unusually strong performance, going 15-4 and taking 27 points to pull into 5th place.

Akaoni Back on Track

Akaoni stretched his lead out nine more points this week, hitting 29 points off 13 wins. The 2nd through 4th positions flipped and flopped all week, with Jaybird ending up on top by Sunday off 25 points from 15 wins. Gunz finished 2 points behind him off 20 points from 10 wins, and Boaris ended 2 points behind Gunz off 21 points from 13 wins. All three remain poised to move on Akaoni at the first sign of weakness.

Standings after Week 14

1. Akaoni - 287 (155-51)
2. Jaybird - 249 (148-58)
2. Gunz - 247 (145-62)
4. Boaris - 245 (155-51)
5. Babblemur - 222 (144-60)
6. The CEO - 216 (140-65)
7. NotaTurtle - 215 (125-77)
8. Phunmunki - 214 (131-71)
9. Jutdog - 211 (136-62)
10. Some Guy in Illinois - 189 (135-73)

Close Conference Showdowns

2010-02-12T13:34:00.004-06:00

Atlantic 10
3 teams tied for first place, 4 more are within a game and a half. 6 points go to any team that finishes the season in first place here.
Status Report:
Xavier (Phunmunki) 8-2, they go out of conference to play Florida Saturday, then they have: St. Joes, @Charlotte, @St. Louis, Richmond, @Fordham, St. Bonnies;
Charlotte (The CEO) 8-2, in good position with four of their last six at home: Duquesne, Xavier, St. Joes, @George Washington, @Rhode Island, Richmond;
Richmond (Babblemur) 8-2, four of last six are on the road, only two easy games: @Temple, @St. Louis, Fordham, @St. Bonnies, Charlotte, @UMASS;
Temple (Some Guy) 7-2, four of seven left on the road, with two of the toughest at home: Rhode Island, @St. Bonnies, @St. Joes, Dayton, @LaSalle, @St. Louis, George Washington;
Rhode Island (Gunz) 7-3, a tough road schedule left: @Temple, @St. Louis, Fordham, @St. Bonnies, Charlotte, @UMASS;
Dayton (Jaybird) 6-3, coming off two big home wins over Xavier and Charlotte, they face: @St. Louis, LaSalle, @Duquesne, @Temple, UMass, @Richmond, St. Louis;
St. Louis (No one) 6-3, have to be considered potential contenders - 3 game winning streak, 5 of their last 7 are at home.

Big East
Syracuse (Akaoni) 11-1
Villanova (Phunmunki) 10-1
Their only scheduled meeting this year is Feb 27, at Syracuse.

Big South
Coastal Carolina 11-3
Radford 10-4
Coastal Carolina (Akaoni) and Radford (Jutdog) play Saturday in a must win for both. Radford won their last match up at Coastal. Saturday is at Radford.

Big Ten
Michigan State 9-3 (The CEO)
Illinois 9-3 (Akaoni)
Ohio State 9-3 (Boaris)
Purdue 8-3 (Turtle)
Wisconsin 8-4 (Gunz)
Michigan State's last tough match up is at Purdue on the 27th, other wise they are looking at a solid finish. Purdue has been streaky and has some tough road games against Ohio St and Minn, but host MSU and Illinois at home. Ohio State is on a five game winning streak (two vs. Iowa though) and now face Illinois twice, Purdue, Penn St and Michigan. Illinois is also on a five game winning steak, but now face OSU (x2), Purdue, Minn, Mich, and finish with Wisconsin. Ouch. Wisconsin's last six are considerably easier (Indiana, Minn, Northwestern, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois), so they are definitely in the running.

Pac 10
California (Babblemur) with a one game lead over... Arizona (Turtle) and Arizona St (SGII)? USC and UCLA 1.5 games back? What a messed up conference. Arizona is the one to keep an eye on.

West Coast
Gonzaga 8-1 (NotaTurtle)
St. Mary's 8-2 (Boaris)
Portland 6-3 (Babblemur)
Portland probably isn't in the running here, but I included them because I felt like it. Gonzaga's win over St. Mary's yesterday may have sealed this up for NotaTurtle. They beat St. Mary's on both meetings, beat Portland on both meetings, and their five remaining conference games are not challenging. St. Mary's faces Portland tomorrow, but otherwise shouldn't have a problem. If Zaga slips, St. Mary's could get a piece of the pie.

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

2010-02-07T22:37:00.002-06:00

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

2010-02-05T12:54:00.000-06:00

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?

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

2010-02-05T12:46:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-01-31T21:46:00.005-06:00

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

2010-01-29T12:06:00.000-06:00

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

2010-01-25T13:10:00.016-06:00

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

2010-01-25T10:01:00.003-06:00

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)

Expanda-Draft Part Two - The Rest

2010-01-23T21:38:00.000-06:00

#16 Temple 16-3 (4-0 Atl 10) - I would be shocked if they weren't the first team drafted. They are the only ranked team not owned by a player, their A-10 run includes wins over Rhode Island and Xavier, they have wins over Villanova, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech. Their three losses: Georgetown, St. Johns, and Kansas.
Rhode Island 15-2 (3-1 Atl 10) - while we are on the Atlantic 10, you can't ignore Rhode Island's success this year. They are 15-2! Those two losses? A two point loss on the road to Virginia Commonwealth, and a four point loss in overtime to Temple. Basically, they've never been blown out. Have they had any significant wins? Oklahoma St, Boston College, Providence. They play Saturday at Xavier, lets see how that turns out.
Other Atlantic 10 teams worth considering: Charlotte 13-5 (3-1) beat the poop out of Louisville back in December, and their five losses are all to pretty decent programs (Duke, Ga Tech, Tennessee, Xavier, Old Dominion). St. Louis 12-6 (3-1) is probably more of a fluke.
New Mexico 17-3 (3-2 Mountain West) was ranked in the Top 25 for a while, when they were 12-0 it was hard to deny them. A loss to Oral Roberts may have bumped them out, but the Lobos only other two losses were to San Diego State and UNLV. They have quality wins over Louisiana Tech, California, Texas A&M, Creighton, Dayton, and Texas Tech. Their coach is an a-hole, but unless you are from Iowa, you might want to consider picking these guys up.
UAB 16-2 (4-0 Conference USA) UAB is turning into a team to look at. Their only losses are an early tournament loss to Kent State and a road game at Virginia. They haven't gotten to the "tough" part of the CUSA schedule, but they have wins over Georgia, Cincinnati, Butler and Arkansas. Can they win the C-USA?
Marshall 15-3 (4-0 Conference USA) Another surprise, but when you look at the teams they have beat, the 15 wins isn't that impressive. Their three losses are to Old Dominion, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Check the Marshall-UAB game Saturday (1/23) to see if either team is "hot".
UTEP 12-5 (3-1 Conference USA) why not? Good wins over Oklahoma and Memphis. Losses to New Mexico St, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, BYU and Houston. Can they win the CUSA?
Wichita State 17-3 (6-2 Missouri Valley) - The CEO had the smart pick in the MVC with UNI, but could Wichita St make a play for it? Only Pitt, Illinois St and Creighton have beaten them so far. About the best win though is Texas Tech, but they did beat Bradley, Drake and a bunch of other mid and minor teams.
Louisiana Tech 17-3 (5-1 WAC) - Jut took Utah State and Jaybird took Nevada, but Louisiana Tech is the WAC team that has marched to a 17-3 record and top of the WAC. Do they deserve it? Their 10 game winning streak was just snapped by a loss to San Jose St (10-8), their only other two losses were at Arizona and at New Mexico. They have wins over TCU, Houston, and Nevada, but nothing of higher quality than that. The question now is can they win the WAC?
New Mexico State 12-7 (5-1 WAC) - the Aggies had a rough start with a relatively tough schedule but have won 9 of their last 10 games to give them a strong start in the WAC.

The Mid-Majors here have a shot at taking their conferences, but also benefit from possible player v. player games in every conference. This is not always the case with the "Low Majors". If they don't win their conference, they weren't worth taking.

Some Low Majors to think about:

Vermont (14-6, 5-1 AmEast) and Maine (13-6, 5-1 AmEast) are in heavy competition for this conference. Maine took out Boston College earlier in the season, and got creamed by Syracuse and UCONN. Vermont's best win was over, well, Maine.
Campbell (12-6, 7-2 AtlSun) beat Babblemur's Jacksonville (10-8, 7-3 AtlSun) and sits a half game ahead of the Dolphins in the Atlantic Sun. I would say that it would be a risky and foolish gamble to draft Campbell, except for the fact that they are the "Fighting Camels". Dude.
The Big Sky is wide open, but no clear leader. Weber State (12-7, 6-1) sits a half game up on Northern Colorado (17-4, 6-2). NoCol came within one point of knocking off Oklahoma. Weber St lost to BYU by 17 and UNLV by 9. Northern Colorado won the only match up between these two so far.
Coastal Carolina (18-3, 8-1 Big South) - Zing! What a record! Eat your heart out, Radford! Their only losses are to Duke, Cal St. Northridge, and, um, well, Radford. Select at your own risk.
In the Big West, Turtle took a chance with Long Beach St that isn't playing out. Take a chance and try and steal the conference with Pacific (11-6, 4-1) or UC Santa Barbara (9-7, 4-2) but every other team here has a losing record. Pacific has wins over Nevada and San Diego St. Santa B has wins over Weber State and Pacific. Meh.
William & Mary (14-5, 6-3 Colonial) at one point had a 10 game winning streak, with big wins over Richmond, Wake Forest, Maryland and Radford. Now they've hit a two game slide in the Colonial. Can they turn it around? They obviously got the right stuff. But don't write off Northeastern (13-7, 8-1 Colonial) who is riding an 11 game winning streak and tied for first in the conference.
Harvard (13-3, 2-0 Ivy) - the conference without a tournament, best record wins it. Cornell is hot hot hot, is Harvard even worth a shot? They have wins over Boston College, George Washington, William & Mary. Their three losses are to Georgetown, UCONN, and Army. Still, they can't beat Cornell.
Fairfield (14-5, 7-2 MAAC) - I wasn't going to include them at all because Siena is already 9-0 and likely to go undefeated to take the MAAC. However, consider that Niagara is a player team as well in the MAAC, meaning you might actually pick up a few points here.
In the MAC you can take your chances. No clear dominant team here. Jaybird's Akron is probably the best of the bunch. Buffalo (10-6, 3-2) or Kent St (12-7, 3-2) could give them some trouble.
Morgan State (13-7, 5-0 MEAC) is running away here, with Bethune-Cookman (12-7, 5-1 MEAC) hot on their tail. Props to Morgan State for beating Arkansas, for what its worth.
Robert Morris (12-8, 7-1 NEC) have a half game lead over pre-season favorite Quinnipiac (12-6, 6-1 NEC), but keep your eye on Sacred Heart (12-7, 5-3). Ha Ha Ha!
Can Murray State (17-3, 9-0 Ohio Valley) pull off the undefeated conference record? Their 3 losses are to California, Western Kentucky, and Louisiana Tech, all pretty good teams. Morehead State (14-6, 8-1 Ohio Valley) is ready to step in if Murray State stumbles.
Lafayette (13-7, 4-1 Patriot) and LeHigh (13-7, 4-1 Patriot) are duking it out. Note that Lehigh just beat Lafayette 75-57 Saturday, so this will be a barn burner.
College of Charleston (13-6, 8-0 Southern) is shooting for the undefeated conference record, and is at least 2 games up over the competition even if they stumble. Oh, and they beat North Carolina 82-79 in overtime.
The Southland Conference has two undefeated teams in Texas A&M Corpus Christi (9-8, 4-0) and Sam Houston State (11-5, 3-0). Two other teams are going to fight for this conference as well - Stephen F. Austin (13-5, 3-2) and Texas San Antonio (12-4, 2-1). Sam Houston knocked off Auburn, Texas A&M-CC finished 7 points down against Texas. San Anton beat Houston and Iowa, SF Austin lost to Minnesota by 40 points.
Prairie View A&M (9-7, 4-1 SWAC) is the only team in the conference with a winning record. But Texas Southern (9-9, 5-1), Jackson State (7-11, 5-1) and Arkansas Pine Bluff (4-12, 4-1) all are making a play for it. I'd stay far far away from this fluster cluck.
IUPUI (14-7, 7-1 Summit) look like the only challengers to The CEO's Oakland, who are carrying an undefeated conference record.
The Sun Belt is a colossal mess, and I'm not going to try to sort it out. Jaybird's Western Kentucky has their hands full with competition from Denver (13-7, 6-3), North Texas (12-7, 5-4), and a hand full of others. This conference is a huge risk.

All in all I don't think there are any really strong picks anywhere in the Mids or Lows. Everyone is a gamble at this point. Who will win the conferences? Who will win the conference tournaments? Who can nab you some quick points, or flame out on you?

The Expanda-Draft begins Monday January 25 at sunrise - last place player picks first, etc.

Expanda Draft Part One - the Big Six

2010-01-22T13:27:00.000-06:00

Expanda-Draft Watch - Part One

Believe it or not, we actually drafted most of the best teams out there, with a few exceptions. The Expanda-Draft begins Monday, so in the interest of helping my fellow players pick the best teams, I shall begin my babbanalysis of available teams.

The Big Six (Conferences that is).

Akaoni buttered his bread with teams from the Big Six Conferences, and frankly there isn't much left out there to pick through. But if you must... There are 22 teams in the Big Six that haven't been selected yet, 15 of them with a winning record.

The ACC: There's some potential in these teams.

Virginia 12-4 (3-0 ACC) - how did this happen? Surely it must be a fluke. The Cavs have beat #19 Georgia Tech and Miami at home, and NC State on the road. The only other significant win might be UAB at home. Losses? Before this 8 game winning streak Virginia lost to Auburn, Stanford, Penn St., and South Florida. This Week: See how they do at Wake Forest on Saturday if you want to know if these punks are worth it.
Miami (FL) 15-4 (1-4 ACC) - these guys were on my short list until they dropped two games last week on the road at Virginia Tech and Virginia. Their only other loss was on the road at Boston College. Can they win on the road? Does Pepperdine count? Stetson? On the other hand, they've beaten Wake, Minnesota, South Carolina and Tulane. This Week: Miami lost to Boston College in their only game this week. At home.
North Carolina State 12-6 (1-3 ACC) - I don't know, are they worth considering or not? Losses: Clemson, Virginia, Florida, @Arizona, @Wake, Northwestern. No "bad" losses, just a lot of them. Quality wins? @Marquette, @Florida State. This Week: Looking good by beating Duke on Wednesday, they play Saturday at Maryland.

Big 12

Iowa State 12-6 (1-2 Big 12) - They really don't have a "bad" loss - Northwestern, UNI, California, Duke and Texas. But they really don't have a "great" win either, Houston is about the best they've beat. This Week: they lost to Texas Tech and play Kansas this weekend. I say if they beat Kansas, they might be worth taking (in the second round of expandadraft...)
Texas Tech 13-5 (1-3 Big 12) - three game losing streak and a loooong conference schedule ahead of them. I don't think they can handle it. Best win: Washington in overtime. This Week: they beat Iowa State and play Oklahoma this weekend.
Nebraska 12-6 (0-3 Big 12) - three game losing streak and a loooong conference schedule ahead of them. I don't think they can handle it. This Week: Saturday at Missouri
Colorado 10-8 (1-3 Big 12) - Are they any good? They lost to Oregon State. Nuff said. (They did beat Baylor though...)

Big East - this conference is too damn big. Ten of 16 teams are already player owned - are any of the remaining 6 worth it? None are likely to win this beast, but all would likely get a lot of opportunity for points.

Providence 11-7 (3-3 Big East) - nothing impressive here. They beat bad teams and lose to good ones. They play South Florida Saturday.
St. Johns 12-6 (2-4 Big East) - They beat Cincy and Temple, and no bad losses really. They play Villanova on Saturday.
Marquette 11-7 (2-4 Big East) - They looked good early on, beat Georgetown, Michigan, Xavier, and their worst loss is Depaul. Hmmm. They play Syracuse on Saturday.
South Florida 11-7 (1-5 Big East) - Put it this way, they've lost every game they've played against another player's team. Saturday is at Providence.
Rutgers 9-9 (0-6 Big East) - The 7 game losing streak doesn't inspire confidence.
Depaul 8-10 (1-5 Big East) - Losing record, come on. They are one of the only teams that have beat Northern Iowa though, beat Marquette Wednesday, and take on Notre Dame Saturday.

Big 10 - Not only were two many teams taken here (i.e. Penn St) but what's left is hardly worth mentioning.

Indiana 9-9 (3-3 Big Ten) - Could they actually be worth it? They are coming off wins over Penn St and Minnesota and have wins over Michigan and Pittsburgh. They play Iowa Sunday.
Iowa 7-12 (1-5 Big Ten) - Don't do it.

Pac 10 - The Pac 10 is just one messed up conference. The four teams un-picked are playing better than several teams that were picked. The Pac 10 is completely up for grabs, and since they all suck, there are points a poppin' there.

Washington St 14-5 (4-3 Pac 10) - I think their record is deceiving. The best win they have is over Arizona, but their five losses are against Cal, Arizona St, Oregon, Kansas St, and Gonzaga. They face UCLA Saturday.
USC 11-7 (3-3 Pac 10) - Good wins: Arizona St, Arizona, Tennessee, UNLV, St. Mary's. Bad losses: Loyola Marymount back in November. These guys are worth a look. See how they do against Washington on Saturday.
Stanford 9-9 (3-3 Pac 10) - They've lost every road game they've played, and a few home games as well. They beat Oregon St. Wednesday and play Oregon Saturday.
Oregon 10-8 (2-4 Pac 10) - Their four game losing streak follows a win at Washington and a bunch of other patsy games. But really, a losing record in the Pac-10?

SEC - The teams left are completely unbearable. Georgia (8-8, 0-3), Auburn (10-9, 1-3) and LSU (9-9, 0-4) would all be horrible picks at this point. I won't even waste bullets on them.

So there's the Big Six. See anyone you like? Next post - "The Rest", in which the teams that might actually be worth drafting will be listed.

Annual Idol Post

2010-01-19T20:13:00.007-06:00

Pants on the Ground Edition.

General Larry Platt

Neil Young

You're welcome!

Edit: It appears that the embed isn't working properly, until I figure it out here's the link.