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

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...

1. Jutdog +61 (15-5)
2. Jaybird +52 (16-5)
3. Boaris +48 (15-4)
4. Mooseye +44 (14-7)
5. Slake B +42 (12-9)
6. SGII +26 (10-9)
7. McGrumps +22 (12-7)
8. Mad Mader +21 (11-7)
9. Gunz +19 (11-8)
10. Babs +18 (10-8)
11. Akaoni +15 (7-11)
12. The CEO +14 (10-10)
13. 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)

Week 14 & 15 Things are getting HOT

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)

Jaybird Wins Week One

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)

Akaoni Expands Lead Going Into Slow Finals Week

Akaoni's stranglehold on first place was threatened briefly but last week he expanded his lead to 9 points led by Syracuse's win over #10 Florida. Akaoni picked up 19 points off of 9 wins with only 2 losses.

Jaybird pulled from fourth to second place going undefeated (10-0) and picking up 20 points let by Georgetown's wins over Butler and Washington. Boaris was bumped down to 3rd place. Phunmunki actually returned a losing record last week (6-7) but still climbed from fifth place to fourth thanks to big wins by Xavier and Niagara.

The CEO climbed out of the cellar and into 8th place off 16 points from 11 wins to just 2 losses.

Week Six is a slow week as most schools are in Finals Week. Nonetheless there are a lot of potential points and movement on the Leader Board, especially on Saturday when 75% of the teams will see some action. Notable games:

Wednesday: South Carolina (Akaoni) vs. Richmond (Babblemur) - is South Carolina worth their weight? Can Richmond knock off another big school team?

Saturday: #2 Texas (Akaoni) faces #10 North Carolina (Some Guy) in the "Must See" game of the week.

Saturday: #1 Kansas (Boaris) faces Phunmunki's scrappy Michigan Wolverines.

Saturday: #7 Duke (Gunz) takes on a persistent Gonzaga (NotaTurtle).

Standings after Week 5:

# 1. AKaoni - 94 (60-10)
# 2. Jaybird - 86 (51-15)
# 3. Boaris - 85 (55-11)
# 4. Phunmunki - 76 (49-23)
# 5. Jutdog - 73 (50-17)
# 6. Gunz - 72 (50-18)
# 7. NotaTurtle - 72 (48-19)
# 8. The CEO - 71 (51-22)
# 9. Babblemur - 69 (45-24)
# 10. Some Guy in Illinois - 65 (49-21)

2008-09 Season Recap

I was too bitter to do this last spring, but in an effort to bring closure to last season here it is.

The Second Annual contest came down to the final week, the Final Four, and the Final Game. Entering the Final Four were North Carolina (Jaybird), Villanova (The CEO), Michigan State (Babblemur), and Connecticut (HippieD). Of these four, Jaybird, The CEO, and Babblemur all could potentially win this season's contest by winning the NCAA Tournament. The other 9 players had all been essentially eliminated. In the semis, Michigan St (Babs) knocked off UCONN (HippieD) putting their fate in their own hands. North Carolina (Jaybird) knocked off brother Villanova (The CEO) setting up a showdown for the Championship. A Michigan State win would make Babblemur the undisputed winner of the 2nd Annual Babblemur Basketball Challenge. A North Carolina win would push Jaybird past Babblemur by a single point stealing the championship. (Detecting media bias?)

As it happened, North Carolina spanked Michigan State hard, really hard, it was over before half time, with no chance of a come back. Jaybird became the winner of the Second Annual Babblemur Basketball Challenge, joining his cheatin' brother Jutdog who won the first year as the only two winners of this insane contest!

The final standings:
1. Jaybird (202-88) - 476 points
2. Babblemur (208-94) - 475 points
3. Jutdog (192-82) - 442 points
4. Boaris (196-101) - 437 points
5. The CEO (200-91) - 433 points
6. Akaoni (198-100) - 431 points
7. Phunmunki (195-91) - 383 points
8. ProgressMedia (199-92) - 382 points
9. Gunz (181-108) - 370 points
10. NotaTurtle (172-117) - 348 points
11. Musashisan (167-126) - 340 points
12. HippieD (176-108) - 332 points

Highest scoring Teams from 2008-09 season:
1. North Carolina (Jaybird) 159 points (#1 pick overall)
2. Michigan State (Babblemur) 127 points (#10 pick overall)
3. Louisville (Jutdog) 106 points (#4 pick overall)
4. UCONN (HippieD) 100 points (#2 pick overall)
5. Pittsburgh (Boaris) 93 points (#11 pick overall)
6. Villanova (The CEO) 90 points (#19 pick overall)
7. Oklahoma (Boaris) 89 points (#14 pick overall)
8. Duke (The CEO) 88 points (#6 pick overall)
9. Washington (Akaoni) 75 points (#41 pick overall)
10. Memphis (Gunz) 74 points (#12 pick overall)


2008-09 season spreadsheet

Good season, all! Looking forward to Season 3!!!

THE FINAL WEEK

Our long nightmare is almost over, just in time for planting season for us farmers.

It is down to three potential winners, all in the Final Four

Semi-Finals on Saturday are worth 17 points (plus 2 for beating another player, 1 for the win):
North Carolina (Jaybird) vs Villanova (The CEO)
UCONN (HippieD) vs Michigan State (Babblemur)

Championship Game is worth 21 points (plus 2 for beating another player, 1 for the win)

Prognosis: If North Carolina, Michigan State or Villanova win the National Championship, Jaybird, Babs or The CEO, currently in 5th, 1st and 4th place, will win it all.

If UCONN wins the National Championship, HippieD will rise from 11th to 9th place, but who will finish in first then??? Jaybird or The CEO will pick up 20 points Saturday, putting them at either 452 or 453, still 2 points behind Babblemur. With neither having teams playing in the NIT, CBI, or CIT, that's it - if UCONN wins, Babblemur wins.

NIT - Butter Battle in a Bottle

Still points going on here - Semi Finals on Tuesday are worth 4 points (plus 2 for beating another player, 1 for the win):

San Diego State (Babblemur) vs Baylor (NotaTurtle)
Penn State (Musashisan) vs Notre Dame (Gunz)

Finals on Thursday are worth 7 points (plus the you know)

Commentary: If the CEO or Jaybird were just a little closer to Babs, the NIT may have become the decider in either putting Babblemur over the top or keeping them below the mark. Now it is for glory only.

CBI: Best 2 out of 3?

Whatever, I guess it is something different. Tonight UTEP (NotaTurtle) and Oregon St (Musashisan) play the first in a best of 3 game series for the CBI Title, worth nothing but the points they get playing each other.

CIT: [insert witty comment]

Tuesday is the finals of the CIT, with Old Dominion (Gunz) taking on Bradley for that single point that comes from a win. Combine that point with a Notre Dame NIT Champ and Gunz could move into seventh place leaping past ProgressMedia and Phunmunki.