It is Chad’s turn this week to post the Staff Bracket — a weekly look by one of our staffers on where they feel the Feld of 68 should be right now. This is not an attempt to guess what the actual Selection Committee would do, as Jon Teitel posts that and is way more accurate at guessing them then the rest of us, and way better than the majority of the alleged experts out there as well.
Below of Chad’s bracket through games of Sunday, February 21, followed by his notes and comments from others on the staff:
CHAD’S NOTES
– There can be little debate left about the 1 line, as Michigan’s win over Ohio State not only put the Wolverines solidly at #3 overall, but has them within striking distance of the top two teams should either one lose a game (and should Michigan win out). The gap between Ohio State and the 4 line is still fairly significant and the Buckeyes should have no fear of dropping down unless they lose at least one more game, and it may even take more than one more loss.
– I said a week ago that Florida State needs to be the highest ranked ACC team, and Virginia’s loss at Duke should hopefully make that a consensus decision now. That is why they are a protected seed on the 3 line and the Hoos have fallen down to the 5 line.
– I know that USC lost this weekend to Arizona, but the Trojans are still (barely) a protected seed for me. I guess I just feel that a conference leader (at least via tiebreaker with UCLA) should get a little extra weight placed on their profile. Plus, the team right behind them (Virginia) also lost.
– While we have seen a conference place five teams in the protected seeds (top 4 seed lines) before, I do not believe a conference has ever gotten six teams up there — especially not a conference with only 10 teams in it. Yet, right now, I have 60% of the entire Big 12 conference on the top 4 seed lines, with Kansas rejoining the party up there after the Jayhawks huge win (and now season sweep) over Texas Tech.
– Once again, David is not allowed to complain about my East Region (yes, I am still using East/Midwest/South and West to name them until I hear otherwise from the NCAA). The 4 vs 5 game there would be amazing if it happened.
– David has been yelling the Louisville is not very good for a while now, and I have been ignoring him (as I do with most of the things he says). I am starting to come around after they looked like a bad rec league team against North Carolina this weekend. That game sent the Tar Heels up to my 9 line and has the Cardinals on the bubble, though hanging in for now at the bottom of the 10 line.
– I have Belmont and Western Kentucky “inside the bubble” in that they are both rated higher than my last at-large team, UConn. I also have the A-10 with only a single bid, VCU on the 12 line, though the Bonnies and Richmond were both among my top teams out, and both Saint Louis and Davidson are at least on my Board.
– My top four teams out, in order, were Stanford, St Bonaventure, Duke and St. John’s. Yes, I said Duke. The Blue Devils are suddenly seriously back in the at-large bid conversation after their huge win over Virginia. They really cannot afford another loss before the ACCC Tournament though, which will include having to win a home game over Louisville and a road game 8 miles away at UNC.
– Also considered were Richmond, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Saint Louis, Memphis, Utah State, SMU and Davidson.
STAFF COMMENTS
FROM DAVID: I hate to admit this, but I really don’t have any huge issues with his protected seeds. I still think Iowa is being valued a little too much, but they have been playing a lot better lately and picked up a very impressive protected seed caliber win at Wisconsin earlier in the week. I also like Virginia a little more, but after the week they’ve had I can understand moving them down a line.
As for the rest of Chad’s bracket, I don’t understand Louisville. It’s not just Chad that seems to like them, but everyone. They’ve beaten Virginia Tech at home, and that’s pretty much their entire resume. North Carolina has been outside our bubble for the entire season, and while they have been playing much better, they’re still not in the top half of anyone’s bracket. They just beat Louisville by 45. That’s an indication that maybe Louisville isn’t all that good.
San Diego State doesn’t really have a resume worth mentioning either. They were swept by Utah State, and have home wins over UCLA and Colorado State. While those two teams are good, they are a modest 4-3 and 5-3 on the road. Those wins aren’t bad, but if that’s the best thing on a team’s profile I just don’t think that’s good enough for the freakin’ #9 line!! COME ON CHAD!!!! Wichita State, Western Kentucky, Colorado State, and Boise State are all teams Chad selected, but they are also teams he has seeded behind San Diego State despite the fact that they all appear to be much better.
Minnesota did something this weekend that they haven’t done all season, and that’s demonstrate that they are also capable of playing lousy basketball on their home court! They’ve shown they can do that on the road all year long, but this is the first time they’ve looked pathetic at home! I know they’ve got big wins, and I know their schedule has been rough, but I just cannot bring myself to select a team that hasn’t won a single road game.
Lastly, I think the teams on Chad’s bubble are really weak. One of the biggest mistakes that he made was that he took too many teams!! This is a sign of Chad simply not having enough courage to say “68 TEAMS IS TOO MANY THIS YEAR!! WE ARE ONLY TAKING 64!!” #StupidChad
HoopsHD Staff Bracket – Monday, February 22
It is Chad’s turn this week to post the Staff Bracket — a weekly look by one of our staffers on where they feel the Feld of 68 should be right now. This is not an attempt to guess what the actual Selection Committee would do, as Jon Teitel posts that and is way more accurate at guessing them then the rest of us, and way better than the majority of the alleged experts out there as well.
Below of Chad’s bracket through games of Sunday, February 21, followed by his notes and comments from others on the staff:
CHAD’S NOTES
– There can be little debate left about the 1 line, as Michigan’s win over Ohio State not only put the Wolverines solidly at #3 overall, but has them within striking distance of the top two teams should either one lose a game (and should Michigan win out). The gap between Ohio State and the 4 line is still fairly significant and the Buckeyes should have no fear of dropping down unless they lose at least one more game, and it may even take more than one more loss.
– I said a week ago that Florida State needs to be the highest ranked ACC team, and Virginia’s loss at Duke should hopefully make that a consensus decision now. That is why they are a protected seed on the 3 line and the Hoos have fallen down to the 5 line.
– I know that USC lost this weekend to Arizona, but the Trojans are still (barely) a protected seed for me. I guess I just feel that a conference leader (at least via tiebreaker with UCLA) should get a little extra weight placed on their profile. Plus, the team right behind them (Virginia) also lost.
– While we have seen a conference place five teams in the protected seeds (top 4 seed lines) before, I do not believe a conference has ever gotten six teams up there — especially not a conference with only 10 teams in it. Yet, right now, I have 60% of the entire Big 12 conference on the top 4 seed lines, with Kansas rejoining the party up there after the Jayhawks huge win (and now season sweep) over Texas Tech.
– Once again, David is not allowed to complain about my East Region (yes, I am still using East/Midwest/South and West to name them until I hear otherwise from the NCAA). The 4 vs 5 game there would be amazing if it happened.
– David has been yelling the Louisville is not very good for a while now, and I have been ignoring him (as I do with most of the things he says). I am starting to come around after they looked like a bad rec league team against North Carolina this weekend. That game sent the Tar Heels up to my 9 line and has the Cardinals on the bubble, though hanging in for now at the bottom of the 10 line.
– I have Belmont and Western Kentucky “inside the bubble” in that they are both rated higher than my last at-large team, UConn. I also have the A-10 with only a single bid, VCU on the 12 line, though the Bonnies and Richmond were both among my top teams out, and both Saint Louis and Davidson are at least on my Board.
– My top four teams out, in order, were Stanford, St Bonaventure, Duke and St. John’s. Yes, I said Duke. The Blue Devils are suddenly seriously back in the at-large bid conversation after their huge win over Virginia. They really cannot afford another loss before the ACCC Tournament though, which will include having to win a home game over Louisville and a road game 8 miles away at UNC.
– Also considered were Richmond, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Saint Louis, Memphis, Utah State, SMU and Davidson.
STAFF COMMENTS
FROM DAVID: I hate to admit this, but I really don’t have any huge issues with his protected seeds. I still think Iowa is being valued a little too much, but they have been playing a lot better lately and picked up a very impressive protected seed caliber win at Wisconsin earlier in the week. I also like Virginia a little more, but after the week they’ve had I can understand moving them down a line.
As for the rest of Chad’s bracket, I don’t understand Louisville. It’s not just Chad that seems to like them, but everyone. They’ve beaten Virginia Tech at home, and that’s pretty much their entire resume. North Carolina has been outside our bubble for the entire season, and while they have been playing much better, they’re still not in the top half of anyone’s bracket. They just beat Louisville by 45. That’s an indication that maybe Louisville isn’t all that good.
San Diego State doesn’t really have a resume worth mentioning either. They were swept by Utah State, and have home wins over UCLA and Colorado State. While those two teams are good, they are a modest 4-3 and 5-3 on the road. Those wins aren’t bad, but if that’s the best thing on a team’s profile I just don’t think that’s good enough for the freakin’ #9 line!! COME ON CHAD!!!! Wichita State, Western Kentucky, Colorado State, and Boise State are all teams Chad selected, but they are also teams he has seeded behind San Diego State despite the fact that they all appear to be much better.
Minnesota did something this weekend that they haven’t done all season, and that’s demonstrate that they are also capable of playing lousy basketball on their home court! They’ve shown they can do that on the road all year long, but this is the first time they’ve looked pathetic at home! I know they’ve got big wins, and I know their schedule has been rough, but I just cannot bring myself to select a team that hasn’t won a single road game.
Lastly, I think the teams on Chad’s bubble are really weak. One of the biggest mistakes that he made was that he took too many teams!! This is a sign of Chad simply not having enough courage to say “68 TEAMS IS TOO MANY THIS YEAR!! WE ARE ONLY TAKING 64!!” #StupidChad