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)
Showing posts with label Conferences. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conferences. Show all posts
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
2010 - 2011 Rules
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
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
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Looking at Next Year's BabbleImprovements
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.
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.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Championship Week II
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
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
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Championship Week I
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
Conference Tournaments are underway, and we will be allocating points now to teams when they win their tourneys. So far we have:
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
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.
- 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 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
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)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Week 16 BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
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
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)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Upcoming Conference Points in Week 16
Recapping the rules for Conference Champs and Tourneys:
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.
- A team that wins a major conference regular season earns 7 pointsPoints 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.
- 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.
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.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Close Conference Showdowns
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.
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.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Friday Lunch Talk
Akaoni - Best (but not really)
Akaoni is at it again, 8-1 for the week bringing home the bacon, but can he win any conferences? His best teams (which are really damn good) are NOT in first place in their conferences, Texas is 2 games back from Kansas, Syracuse is a half game back from Villanova... How can he keep winning game after game and still not be winning conferences? Lucky bastard I say.
The REALLY exciting race
As I update the leaderboard every day, the "race" that has been fascinating me the most is the race for SECOND PLACE. Boaris, Gunz, and until recently Jaybird have been jockeying back and forth between 2nd and 4th, with every day one leaping the other. Jaybird finally tanked two weeks ago and is struggling this week, but Gunz and Boaris are neck and neck and keeping pace just 20 or so points behind Akaoni.
Wednesday Gunz went 3-2 for 5 points to pull ahead of Boaris (2-2 for 4 pts). Last night Boaris nailed 5 points (3-0) tying up Gunz (2-0 for 4 pts). On Saturday they have two head to head games against each other:
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?
NINETY SIX
Lastly, what do you think about a 96 Team Tournament???
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.
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)
NINETY SIX
Lastly, what do you think about a 96 Team Tournament???
Monday, March 9, 2009
Tight Race & Higher Stakes
Its getting down to the wire and the leader board is tightening just as each game seems to be worth so much more than a point!
Conference Champs
All the regular season champs have been determined, and those points have catapulted Jaybird, Jutdog, CEO and ProgressMedia into contention with Top Dogs Akaoni, Babblemur & Boaris. Jaybird took in 32 points off 5 conferences, Jut 31 off 5 conferences, The CEO took in 25 from 4, ProgressMedia took in 24 from 4. The other 11 conferences were split among the others.
Now just 25 points separates 6th place from 1st place, while almost 100 points separates 12th place from 1st place.
Losers
Now a tribute to the little teams that sucked just enough to not win their conference tournaments so far and thus will likely be going to the NIT, if that:
Drake (Akaoni); Wright St (Akaoni); Creighton (Babs); VMI (Babs); Jacksonville (Babs); Austin Peay (Boaris); Southern Ill (Gunz); Old Dominion (Gunz); Murray St (HippieD); Northeastern (Jaybird); Green Bay (Jutdog); Milwaukee (Turtle); Belmont (Phun); Vermont (Phun); Davidson (Progress); Illinois St (Progress); Mid Tenn St (CEO); Oral Roberts (CEO);
It was fun, losers, although Creighton & Davidson might still be on the "at large" bubble and many of these guys will wind up in the NIT.
Bubble Teams
If you ain't sure, you are on the bubble. These teams need a good couple of wins during championship week to be considered for the NCAA Tourney. Who do you think should be in? I've added teams as "Locks" if they have already secured an automatic bid.
Conference Champs
All the regular season champs have been determined, and those points have catapulted Jaybird, Jutdog, CEO and ProgressMedia into contention with Top Dogs Akaoni, Babblemur & Boaris. Jaybird took in 32 points off 5 conferences, Jut 31 off 5 conferences, The CEO took in 25 from 4, ProgressMedia took in 24 from 4. The other 11 conferences were split among the others.
Now just 25 points separates 6th place from 1st place, while almost 100 points separates 12th place from 1st place.
Losers
Now a tribute to the little teams that sucked just enough to not win their conference tournaments so far and thus will likely be going to the NIT, if that:
Drake (Akaoni); Wright St (Akaoni); Creighton (Babs); VMI (Babs); Jacksonville (Babs); Austin Peay (Boaris); Southern Ill (Gunz); Old Dominion (Gunz); Murray St (HippieD); Northeastern (Jaybird); Green Bay (Jutdog); Milwaukee (Turtle); Belmont (Phun); Vermont (Phun); Davidson (Progress); Illinois St (Progress); Mid Tenn St (CEO); Oral Roberts (CEO);
It was fun, losers, although Creighton & Davidson might still be on the "at large" bubble and many of these guys will wind up in the NIT.
Bubble Teams
If you ain't sure, you are on the bubble. These teams need a good couple of wins during championship week to be considered for the NCAA Tourney. Who do you think should be in? I've added teams as "Locks" if they have already secured an automatic bid.
- Akaoni
- Locks: (4) Purdue, Florida, Texas A&M, Washington,
- Bubble: (4) New Mexico, Dayton, Michigan, South Carolina
- Jutdog
- Locks: (4) Louisville, Wake Forest, Cornell, Utah,
- Bubble: (3) Ohio St, Temple, Rhode Island,
- Babblemur
- Locks: (4) Michigan St, Arizona St, Syracuse, West Virginia,
- Bubble: (2) Creighton, San Diego St,
- Boaris
- Locks: (2) Pittsburgh, Oklahoma,
- Bubble: (3) Virginia Tech, Butler, Providence,
- The CEO
- Locks: (4) Duke, Villanova, LSU, UNI
- Bubble: (1) Siena,
- Jaybird
- Locks: (3) North Carolina, Marquette, Kansas,
- Bubble: none
- Progress Media
- Locks: (2) Texas, E. Tenn St.
- Bubble: (4) Davidson, St. Mary's, Arizona, Utah St,
- Phunmunki
- Locks: (4) Gonzaga, Xavier, BYU, California,
- Bubble: (2) Wisconsin, Maryland,
- Gunz
- Locks: (2) Memphis, Missouri
- Bubble: (2) Boston College, Minnesota,
- NotaTurtle
- Locks: (2) UCLA, Illinois,
- Bubble: (1) Miami,
- Musashisan
- Locks: (3) Tennessee, Clemson, Florida State,
- Bubble: (1) Penn State,
- HippieD
- Locks: (1) UCONN,
- Bubble: (2) UNLV, Oklahoma St,
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Conference Showdowns
Things are heating up as we approach 11 days from Selection Sunday. Conference championships are on the line, and the leader board is tightening.
ACC: It all comes down now to Sunday's North Carolina-Duke game. If North Carolina wins, they win sole possession of the ACC championship, and Jaybird picks up 7 points. If Duke wins, they share the championship (they will have split their 2 meetings) and both Jaybird and The CEO will get 7 points each.
Big 12: Missouri's (Gunz) huge win over Oklahoma (Boaris) could have given Kansas (Jaybird) the conference championship but Kansas fell to Texas Tech, meaning that Kansas must beat Texas on Saturday to become sole Big 12 Champ, or both Missouri and Oklahoma must lose. If Kansas loses and Missouri wins, Gunz and Jaybird will both get the 7 points. If Kansas loses and Oklahoma wins, Boaris gets nothing because Oklahoma lost to both Missouri and Kansas in their only games against each other.
Big East: The Big East has come down to UCONN (HippieD), Pittsburgh (Boaris) and Lousiville (Jutdog). Pitt & Louisville both won Wednesday night, putting the pressure on UCONN to win their final game on Saturday against Pittsburgh in order to take the Big East championship (and 7 points for HippieD). If Pitt beats UCONN, and Louisville beats West Virginia, Louisville will get sole possession of the Big East. If Pitt beats UCONN and Louisville falls to West Virginia, we have a three way tie, and all three (HippieD, Jaybird, & Boaris) will get 7 points each. Pitt will have beaten Louisville twice, but Louisville beat UCONN in their only matchup, and UCONN beat Pitt in their only match up.
Pac 10: This is Washington (Akaoni) to win or lose. If Washington beats Wash St on Saturday they get the sole championship in the Pac 10 (and Akaoni gets 7 points). If Wash loses, UCLA (NotaTurtle) could share that championship but only if they sweep both Oregon & Oregon St this week. They face Oregon St on Thursday, and a loss gives Akaoni the title.
Mountain West: It is a horse race. BYU (Phunmunki), Utah (Jutdog) and New Mexico (Akaoni) are all 11-4, with one game remaining. San Diego St (Babs) is 10-5, with one game remaining. None of them play each other in their final game, so whichever teams win on Saturday will get the 6 points for the MWC. If all three lose, and San Diego St wins, Babs will get 6 points along with the other three.
MAC: Buffalo (Jaybird) not only needs to win both of their final two games, but they need Bowling Green to lose at least one of their final games. If they finish tied as they are now, Buffalo won't get squat because they lost twice to Bowling Green this year. Buffalo plays Kent St (Turtle) on Thursday and Miami (OH) (Gunz) on Sunday. Technically both Miami (OH) and Kent St. are still in the running, but Buffalo would have to lose their final games to put them into play.
Ivy: Cornell (Jutdog) is taking their time securing these 6 points, plus the 4 points for an automatic bid into the NCAA Tourney. They have 2 games left.
Big West: Cal Northridge (NotaTurtle) has a one came lead with two games remaining. They are on the road in both games, and will need to win at least one to get these 6 points.
I predict Jaybird scoring points for the ACC, Big 12, and MAC. Jutdog is going to get the Big East and Ivy. Akaoni will get the Pac 10, Turtle the Big West, and the Mountain West will give 6 to Jut, Phunmunki & Akaoni.
ACC: It all comes down now to Sunday's North Carolina-Duke game. If North Carolina wins, they win sole possession of the ACC championship, and Jaybird picks up 7 points. If Duke wins, they share the championship (they will have split their 2 meetings) and both Jaybird and The CEO will get 7 points each.
Big 12: Missouri's (Gunz) huge win over Oklahoma (Boaris) could have given Kansas (Jaybird) the conference championship but Kansas fell to Texas Tech, meaning that Kansas must beat Texas on Saturday to become sole Big 12 Champ, or both Missouri and Oklahoma must lose. If Kansas loses and Missouri wins, Gunz and Jaybird will both get the 7 points. If Kansas loses and Oklahoma wins, Boaris gets nothing because Oklahoma lost to both Missouri and Kansas in their only games against each other.
Big East: The Big East has come down to UCONN (HippieD), Pittsburgh (Boaris) and Lousiville (Jutdog). Pitt & Louisville both won Wednesday night, putting the pressure on UCONN to win their final game on Saturday against Pittsburgh in order to take the Big East championship (and 7 points for HippieD). If Pitt beats UCONN, and Louisville beats West Virginia, Louisville will get sole possession of the Big East. If Pitt beats UCONN and Louisville falls to West Virginia, we have a three way tie, and all three (HippieD, Jaybird, & Boaris) will get 7 points each. Pitt will have beaten Louisville twice, but Louisville beat UCONN in their only matchup, and UCONN beat Pitt in their only match up.
Pac 10: This is Washington (Akaoni) to win or lose. If Washington beats Wash St on Saturday they get the sole championship in the Pac 10 (and Akaoni gets 7 points). If Wash loses, UCLA (NotaTurtle) could share that championship but only if they sweep both Oregon & Oregon St this week. They face Oregon St on Thursday, and a loss gives Akaoni the title.
Mountain West: It is a horse race. BYU (Phunmunki), Utah (Jutdog) and New Mexico (Akaoni) are all 11-4, with one game remaining. San Diego St (Babs) is 10-5, with one game remaining. None of them play each other in their final game, so whichever teams win on Saturday will get the 6 points for the MWC. If all three lose, and San Diego St wins, Babs will get 6 points along with the other three.
MAC: Buffalo (Jaybird) not only needs to win both of their final two games, but they need Bowling Green to lose at least one of their final games. If they finish tied as they are now, Buffalo won't get squat because they lost twice to Bowling Green this year. Buffalo plays Kent St (Turtle) on Thursday and Miami (OH) (Gunz) on Sunday. Technically both Miami (OH) and Kent St. are still in the running, but Buffalo would have to lose their final games to put them into play.
Ivy: Cornell (Jutdog) is taking their time securing these 6 points, plus the 4 points for an automatic bid into the NCAA Tourney. They have 2 games left.
Big West: Cal Northridge (NotaTurtle) has a one came lead with two games remaining. They are on the road in both games, and will need to win at least one to get these 6 points.
I predict Jaybird scoring points for the ACC, Big 12, and MAC. Jutdog is going to get the Big East and Ivy. Akaoni will get the Pac 10, Turtle the Big West, and the Mountain West will give 6 to Jut, Phunmunki & Akaoni.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Conference Breakdown Part III The Minors
Three cheers for the little conferences, full of little players and funny looking players and really tall players from foreign lands! The 14 seeds, the 15 seeds, the 16 seeds and the play-in gamers! Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah!
America East
Phunmunki picked Vermont (5-2, 14-6), The CEO picked Boston U. (5-2, 10-9). They both sit tied at the top of the A-East along with Binghampton (5-2, 12-7) with Albany right behind (4-3, 12-8). This conference is a crap shoot, let Phunmunki and the CEO shoot the crap here.
Atlantic Sun
Phunmunki has the Belmont Bruins (8-2, 12-7), who should have run away with this conference but instead is facing stiff competition from East Tennessee State (9-1. 15-5) and Jacksonville (9-1, 11-8). I actually considered taking Jacksonville, and both the Jacksonville Dolphins and the E. Tenn St. Buccaneers are worth a look.
Big Sky
Phunmunki again holds the Portland State Vikings (6-1, 15-5), favorites to win but Weber State (6-1, 12-8) are breathing down their necks and beat them once already.
Big South
VMI, the Virginia Military Institute (8-1, 16-3) is the team I wish I would have picked instead of Charlotte. They beat Kentucky, they beat Richmond, they lost to Virginia, they beat Winthrop. They have got to be favorites to take the Big South and go dancing, with only Radford in their way.
Big West
NotaTurtle bet the bank on Cal St. Northridge (4-3, 7-10) and lost. Long Beach St. (5-1, 10-8) have taken the lead in the Big West but Pacific, Davis, & Riverside all will compete in the little Big West Tourney.
Ivy League
Jutdog's Cornell (2-0. 12-6) should wrap up the Ivy. Don't bother with Yale or Columbia this year.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
Siena Siena Siena. The CEO took Siena (10-0, 16-5) in the third round for this reason alone - Siena will win the MAAC. Hell they might go a round or two in the Big Dance.
Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
ProgressMedia bet on Morgan State (5-2, 10-10), who did manage to beat Maryland and Depaul, but in conference just lost to Hampton tonight and earlier to Florida A&M. They should be putting this away but instead find themselves tied up with Bethune Cookman, Norfolk State and Hampton. MEAC is poison, I'd stay away from it.
Northeastern
The CEO's Mount St. Marys (5-2, 11-9) is still the best horse in this race with wins over Boston and American but they have been streaky. Fortunately for them they have won six straight to match their six straight losses in December. Despite this Robert Morris (8-1, 13-7) are giving them a run. Robert Morris plays Pittsburgh Feb. 2 so do me a favor and don't give Boaris the free 2 points because you won't beat Pitt for 5 points.
Ohio Valley
I never understood Progress Media's pick of Murray State (5-4, 10-9). Austin Peay (8-1, 12-7) and Tennessee-Martin (7-3, 14-6) have much better chances of winning the OVC Tourney.
Patriot
Progress Media's American University (3-1, 11-7) is still the favorite here but is getting a run from Holy Cross (4-1, 9-11) who just beat American last week.
Southern
Progress Media can count on Davidson (9-0, 16-3) getting an at-large bid in the unlikely chance they lose their conference tourney. You can go maverick and consider Charleston (7-2, 15-4) who has played a tough schedule and is playing hard ball but you won't get an at-large bid.
Southland
Jutdog's Stephen F. Austin (4-1, 12-5) are still favorites but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is putting up some good numbers (5-0, 11-9) and could make a play for the Tourney Spot.
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
Jaybird's Alabama State (6-0, 9-7) are solid and favorites to win the possibly worst conference in Division I. They may be the only team with a winning record when the chips are all counted.
Summit
Jaybird's North Dakota State (8-1, 14-5) was on my short list. They are dominating Summit League play, giving Oral Roberts (8-1, 10-11) some competition for a change. Oakland is the only other team that might challenge.
Sun Belt
The CEO took Middle Tennessee State (6-3, 12-8) and have found themselves in a competitive conference against Western Kentucky (7-2, 13-7) and Arkansas Little Rock (7-2, 14-6), either of which has as much a shot as the Mid Tenn Staters.
Independents
None will dance. Chicago St. (10-9) has played well.
Summary - all these potential picks are a gamble. If they don't win their conference tourney they are a wasted pick.
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)
Austin Peay (Ohio Valley)
Arkansas Little Rock (Sun Belt)
Charleston (Southern)
VMI (Big South)
Albany (America East)
East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun)
Texas A&M CC (Southland)
Weber St. (Big Sky)
Robert Morris (Northeastern)
Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)
Long Beach St. (Big West)
Binghampton (America East)
Oakland (Summit)
Oral Roberts (Summit)
Tenn-Martin (Ohio Valley)
Holy Cross (Patriot)
America East
Phunmunki picked Vermont (5-2, 14-6), The CEO picked Boston U. (5-2, 10-9). They both sit tied at the top of the A-East along with Binghampton (5-2, 12-7) with Albany right behind (4-3, 12-8). This conference is a crap shoot, let Phunmunki and the CEO shoot the crap here.
Atlantic Sun
Phunmunki has the Belmont Bruins (8-2, 12-7), who should have run away with this conference but instead is facing stiff competition from East Tennessee State (9-1. 15-5) and Jacksonville (9-1, 11-8). I actually considered taking Jacksonville, and both the Jacksonville Dolphins and the E. Tenn St. Buccaneers are worth a look.
Big Sky
Phunmunki again holds the Portland State Vikings (6-1, 15-5), favorites to win but Weber State (6-1, 12-8) are breathing down their necks and beat them once already.
Big South
VMI, the Virginia Military Institute (8-1, 16-3) is the team I wish I would have picked instead of Charlotte. They beat Kentucky, they beat Richmond, they lost to Virginia, they beat Winthrop. They have got to be favorites to take the Big South and go dancing, with only Radford in their way.
Big West
NotaTurtle bet the bank on Cal St. Northridge (4-3, 7-10) and lost. Long Beach St. (5-1, 10-8) have taken the lead in the Big West but Pacific, Davis, & Riverside all will compete in the little Big West Tourney.
Ivy League
Jutdog's Cornell (2-0. 12-6) should wrap up the Ivy. Don't bother with Yale or Columbia this year.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
Siena Siena Siena. The CEO took Siena (10-0, 16-5) in the third round for this reason alone - Siena will win the MAAC. Hell they might go a round or two in the Big Dance.
Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
ProgressMedia bet on Morgan State (5-2, 10-10), who did manage to beat Maryland and Depaul, but in conference just lost to Hampton tonight and earlier to Florida A&M. They should be putting this away but instead find themselves tied up with Bethune Cookman, Norfolk State and Hampton. MEAC is poison, I'd stay away from it.
Northeastern
The CEO's Mount St. Marys (5-2, 11-9) is still the best horse in this race with wins over Boston and American but they have been streaky. Fortunately for them they have won six straight to match their six straight losses in December. Despite this Robert Morris (8-1, 13-7) are giving them a run. Robert Morris plays Pittsburgh Feb. 2 so do me a favor and don't give Boaris the free 2 points because you won't beat Pitt for 5 points.
Ohio Valley
I never understood Progress Media's pick of Murray State (5-4, 10-9). Austin Peay (8-1, 12-7) and Tennessee-Martin (7-3, 14-6) have much better chances of winning the OVC Tourney.
Patriot
Progress Media's American University (3-1, 11-7) is still the favorite here but is getting a run from Holy Cross (4-1, 9-11) who just beat American last week.
Southern
Progress Media can count on Davidson (9-0, 16-3) getting an at-large bid in the unlikely chance they lose their conference tourney. You can go maverick and consider Charleston (7-2, 15-4) who has played a tough schedule and is playing hard ball but you won't get an at-large bid.
Southland
Jutdog's Stephen F. Austin (4-1, 12-5) are still favorites but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is putting up some good numbers (5-0, 11-9) and could make a play for the Tourney Spot.
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
Jaybird's Alabama State (6-0, 9-7) are solid and favorites to win the possibly worst conference in Division I. They may be the only team with a winning record when the chips are all counted.
Summit
Jaybird's North Dakota State (8-1, 14-5) was on my short list. They are dominating Summit League play, giving Oral Roberts (8-1, 10-11) some competition for a change. Oakland is the only other team that might challenge.
Sun Belt
The CEO took Middle Tennessee State (6-3, 12-8) and have found themselves in a competitive conference against Western Kentucky (7-2, 13-7) and Arkansas Little Rock (7-2, 14-6), either of which has as much a shot as the Mid Tenn Staters.
Independents
None will dance. Chicago St. (10-9) has played well.
Summary - all these potential picks are a gamble. If they don't win their conference tourney they are a wasted pick.
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)
Austin Peay (Ohio Valley)
Arkansas Little Rock (Sun Belt)
Charleston (Southern)
VMI (Big South)
Albany (America East)
East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun)
Texas A&M CC (Southland)
Weber St. (Big Sky)
Robert Morris (Northeastern)
Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)
Long Beach St. (Big West)
Binghampton (America East)
Oakland (Summit)
Oral Roberts (Summit)
Tenn-Martin (Ohio Valley)
Holy Cross (Patriot)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Conference Breakdowns Part 1 The Majors
The Majors
With the mid-season draft fast approaching, and conference play under way, I thought I would look at the conferences, potential tourney teams and potential draft picks.
The Majors (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac 10) are worth 7 points for winning the regular season and 5 points for winning the conference tournament.
Big East - The BEAST
9 teams could potentially go to the Big Dance. All nine are owned by players. Could a tenth team go? Providence at 4-2 in the Big East, 12-6 overall? I would say not unless they win the tournament. The Big East will be a blood bath, Notre Dame and Villanova have lost 3 games already. Marquette and Louisville have managed to go 5-0 so far, but that won't last. UCONN, Pitt or Louisville have to be considered the favorites at this point to take the regular season and/or the conference tourney, but it is anyone's guess at this point. Providence would be a risky pick for the expansion draft if you want another Big Dance team but they will get plenty of chances to score some big points against 4 Top 10 teams.
ACC - Nothing to See Here, Move Along
North Carolina was supposed to run away with this season but now that they have proven to be mortal even the ACC is up for grabs. Duke, Wake, North Carolina are shoe ins for the Tourney and the favorites to win the ACC for sure. Miami, Clemson and Florida St are looking like they are tourney bound but I don't think any one of these three have shown that they are killer teams. Clemson and Florida St. especially have not a lot of showcase wins. What about Virginia Tech (Boaris) who just knocked off Wake Forest? Or Boston College (Gunz) who beat North Carolina at NC? Boston College at 2-3, 12-6 overall doesn't have a strong enough case yet, but Virginia Tech could make a strong case with a few more big wins and both teams will have the opportunity to get them. Maryland is worth considering for the expansion draft just for the opportunity to score against Top 10 teams but they are likely NIT bound barring some big big wins.
Big Ten - Seven Dancers?
Illinois (4-2, 16-3) and Michigan (3-4, 13-6) are the two "woops" in the Big 10, as in someone should have picked them. Gunz gets the "Crystal Ball" award for taking Minnesota (4-2, 16-2). These three teams may well be joining Michigan St, Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio St in the Big Dance. But then again, why Michigan given Penn St (4-3, 15-5)? Better wins, thats why. The Big 10 just doesn't have a Powerhouse Team like the Big East and ACC. Michigan St coulda but the loss at home to Northwestern...? Nonetheless I think Michigan St (Babblemur) is the favorite to win the regular season but the conference tourney will be a crap shoot. Expansion draft teams: Illinois and Michigan for sure. Penn St... nah.
Big 12 - Sooners or Later
Shitty pun, I know, but Oklahoma (4-0, 18-1) has turned into the best second round pick anywhere for Boaris. Preseason favorite Texas (ProgressMedia) will still challenge for the Big 12 championship, and Kansas (Jaybird) and Baylor (NotaTurtle) are likely locks for the NCAA tourney. Texas A&M (Akaoni) entered conference play with a 13-1 record and has gone 1-3 since. Still Tourney bound? Oklahoma St (HippieD) was a gamble pick that seems to be paying off, especially if they can survive the rest of the season and make it to the NCAA as predicted. Look for six teams tourney bound from the Big 12, and OSU and Texas A&M are going to have to beat back free agents Missouri (3-1, 16-3) and Nebraska (2-2, 12-5) if they want in. Which of course is a nice segue to the expansion draft: Missouri and Nebraska should both be given consideration, with Missouri as a very strong option.
Pac 10 - Still a Major Conference, Really
Okay, for some unexplained reason EIGHT teams from the Pac 10 were picked by players. Of the two that weren't, one (California) just happens to be on top of the conference standings, making the Pac 10 a big WTF. Here is what is clear: UCLA (Turtle), Washington (Akaoni), Arizona St (Babblemur) and California (Unclaimed team) are locks for the NCAA, and will be fighting it out for the conference tourney and regular season champ. Oregon (Musa) and Arizona (Progress) should be jettisoned as useless teams. Stanford (Boaris), Washington St. (Musa) and USC (HippieD) are NIT bound unless they get some big big wins and finish in the top 3 or 4. For the expansion draft California should be a top pick (unless you have UCLA, ahem, Turtle).
SEC - Fluster Cluck
9 of these 12 teams were drafted. The three that weren't are Georgia (0-3, 9-9), Auburn (1-3, 11-7), and South Carolina (2-2, 13-4). I guess the gamecocks might be worth drafting... But seriously, of the nine teams picked out of the SEC is there any chance that more than 5 will go to the Big Dance? But which five? Or will there be six? I think the SEC is really hard to judge. Tennessee (Musashisan), Kentucky (Boaris) and Florida (Akaoni) should be in, and ought to be in the running to win the SEC. Mississippi St (Boaris as well) looks like a contender, and what is up with LSU (CEO) who is now 3-1, 15-3 overall, but with a weak schedule. Arkansas (Gunz), if they start winning conference games, could fight their way into contention as well. Alabama (Jaybird), Ole Miss (Turtle) and Vandy (ProgressMedia) may have to win the SEC Tournament to go dancing. I think there is no clear front runner in the SEC. As for the expansion draft - well, there is always South Carolina...
So in summary, for expansion draft consideration I would include from the Majors:
California (Pac 10)
Illinois (Big 12)
Missouri (Big 12)
Michigan (Big 10)
South Carolina (SEC)
Nebraska (Big 12)
Maryland (ACC)
Providence (Big East)
Looks like we'll all be digging into the mid majors and below for our expansion teams!
With the mid-season draft fast approaching, and conference play under way, I thought I would look at the conferences, potential tourney teams and potential draft picks.
The Majors (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac 10) are worth 7 points for winning the regular season and 5 points for winning the conference tournament.
Big East - The BEAST
9 teams could potentially go to the Big Dance. All nine are owned by players. Could a tenth team go? Providence at 4-2 in the Big East, 12-6 overall? I would say not unless they win the tournament. The Big East will be a blood bath, Notre Dame and Villanova have lost 3 games already. Marquette and Louisville have managed to go 5-0 so far, but that won't last. UCONN, Pitt or Louisville have to be considered the favorites at this point to take the regular season and/or the conference tourney, but it is anyone's guess at this point. Providence would be a risky pick for the expansion draft if you want another Big Dance team but they will get plenty of chances to score some big points against 4 Top 10 teams.
ACC - Nothing to See Here, Move Along
North Carolina was supposed to run away with this season but now that they have proven to be mortal even the ACC is up for grabs. Duke, Wake, North Carolina are shoe ins for the Tourney and the favorites to win the ACC for sure. Miami, Clemson and Florida St are looking like they are tourney bound but I don't think any one of these three have shown that they are killer teams. Clemson and Florida St. especially have not a lot of showcase wins. What about Virginia Tech (Boaris) who just knocked off Wake Forest? Or Boston College (Gunz) who beat North Carolina at NC? Boston College at 2-3, 12-6 overall doesn't have a strong enough case yet, but Virginia Tech could make a strong case with a few more big wins and both teams will have the opportunity to get them. Maryland is worth considering for the expansion draft just for the opportunity to score against Top 10 teams but they are likely NIT bound barring some big big wins.
Big Ten - Seven Dancers?
Illinois (4-2, 16-3) and Michigan (3-4, 13-6) are the two "woops" in the Big 10, as in someone should have picked them. Gunz gets the "Crystal Ball" award for taking Minnesota (4-2, 16-2). These three teams may well be joining Michigan St, Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio St in the Big Dance. But then again, why Michigan given Penn St (4-3, 15-5)? Better wins, thats why. The Big 10 just doesn't have a Powerhouse Team like the Big East and ACC. Michigan St coulda but the loss at home to Northwestern...? Nonetheless I think Michigan St (Babblemur) is the favorite to win the regular season but the conference tourney will be a crap shoot. Expansion draft teams: Illinois and Michigan for sure. Penn St... nah.
Big 12 - Sooners or Later
Shitty pun, I know, but Oklahoma (4-0, 18-1) has turned into the best second round pick anywhere for Boaris. Preseason favorite Texas (ProgressMedia) will still challenge for the Big 12 championship, and Kansas (Jaybird) and Baylor (NotaTurtle) are likely locks for the NCAA tourney. Texas A&M (Akaoni) entered conference play with a 13-1 record and has gone 1-3 since. Still Tourney bound? Oklahoma St (HippieD) was a gamble pick that seems to be paying off, especially if they can survive the rest of the season and make it to the NCAA as predicted. Look for six teams tourney bound from the Big 12, and OSU and Texas A&M are going to have to beat back free agents Missouri (3-1, 16-3) and Nebraska (2-2, 12-5) if they want in. Which of course is a nice segue to the expansion draft: Missouri and Nebraska should both be given consideration, with Missouri as a very strong option.
Pac 10 - Still a Major Conference, Really
Okay, for some unexplained reason EIGHT teams from the Pac 10 were picked by players. Of the two that weren't, one (California) just happens to be on top of the conference standings, making the Pac 10 a big WTF. Here is what is clear: UCLA (Turtle), Washington (Akaoni), Arizona St (Babblemur) and California (Unclaimed team) are locks for the NCAA, and will be fighting it out for the conference tourney and regular season champ. Oregon (Musa) and Arizona (Progress) should be jettisoned as useless teams. Stanford (Boaris), Washington St. (Musa) and USC (HippieD) are NIT bound unless they get some big big wins and finish in the top 3 or 4. For the expansion draft California should be a top pick (unless you have UCLA, ahem, Turtle).
SEC - Fluster Cluck
9 of these 12 teams were drafted. The three that weren't are Georgia (0-3, 9-9), Auburn (1-3, 11-7), and South Carolina (2-2, 13-4). I guess the gamecocks might be worth drafting... But seriously, of the nine teams picked out of the SEC is there any chance that more than 5 will go to the Big Dance? But which five? Or will there be six? I think the SEC is really hard to judge. Tennessee (Musashisan), Kentucky (Boaris) and Florida (Akaoni) should be in, and ought to be in the running to win the SEC. Mississippi St (Boaris as well) looks like a contender, and what is up with LSU (CEO) who is now 3-1, 15-3 overall, but with a weak schedule. Arkansas (Gunz), if they start winning conference games, could fight their way into contention as well. Alabama (Jaybird), Ole Miss (Turtle) and Vandy (ProgressMedia) may have to win the SEC Tournament to go dancing. I think there is no clear front runner in the SEC. As for the expansion draft - well, there is always South Carolina...
So in summary, for expansion draft consideration I would include from the Majors:
California (Pac 10)
Illinois (Big 12)
Missouri (Big 12)
Michigan (Big 10)
South Carolina (SEC)
Nebraska (Big 12)
Maryland (ACC)
Providence (Big East)
Looks like we'll all be digging into the mid majors and below for our expansion teams!
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