Under the Radar Game of the Day: Canisius at Iona

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Chad

Canisius at Iona, 1:00 PM Eastern, espn3

Don’t miss Jon Teitel’s interview with Selection Committee chair Bruce Rasmussen!!!

First place is on the line this afternoon in the Metro Atlantic as our Under the Radar Game of the Day heads to New Rochelle, NY for a battle between Canisius and Iona.  The visiting Golden Griffins enter the game tied with Iona at 6-1 in league play.  They have won 8 of their last 9 games overall, including a game Friday night at Manhattan.  Isaiah Reese led the way for the Griffs in that win, scoring 22 points and dishing out 6 assists.  Also keep an eye on Jermaine Crumpton who added a dozen points on Friday, after scoring 23 in the game before that against Monmouth.

Iona also sits at 6-1 in MAAC play (12-7 overall), having won five straight since falling in the first matchup between these two teams back on December 31.  Despite losing that game by 7 points, the Gaels did have five players score in double figures, including a double-double from Deyshonee Much.  Another team effort like that today, especially bolstered by the home crowd, could put the Gaels in sole possession of first place by this evening.

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Sowing the seeds we love: HoopsHD interviews Selection Committee chairman/Creighton AD Bruce Rasmussen

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Jon Teitel

For those of you who simply cannot wait 7 more weeks until Selection Sunday to find out what the Selection Committee is thinking, the top-16 teams will be revealed in a sneak preview next month on February 11th.  There will not be a crystal ball previewing exactly which schools will be protected seeds on March 11th…although 3 of the #1 seeds from last year’s preview DID become #1 seeds last Selection Sunday (Gonzaga/Kansas/Villanova).  Rather, it will serve as a peek behind the curtain at what the committee is thinking and what criteria they are using in their analysis of everyone’s body of work.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Selection Committee chairman Bruce Rasmussen about the hardest thing to do in college basketball and his view of predictive metrics.

How many hours/week have you been working on selection stuff this month, and what changes would you recommend to keep you from losing your sanity on Selection Sunday? I have not kept track of the hours: in a way I am fearful of doing so! I have been so impressed with the committee members and all of the homework they have done: they are very intelligent people and are passionate about getting it right. Every past committee member will say that it was 1 of the best experiences that they have ever had. As an athletic director we serve many different kinds of people from student-athletes to fans to corporate sponsors, which is very different than working with a group of only 10-15 people to attain perfection as part of a committee/team. It is a bit mystical and hard to describe but you build a unique relationship with the other members, which helps keep you sane while you try to balance it with everything else going on in your life.

Which primary conferences are you assigned to this year, and how much weight do you give to input from representatives of these conferences? As the chair of the committee this is the 1 year that I do not have any primary conferences so I look as it more holistically. We are a conduit for information from conference representatives. When I was a 1st-year member of the committee I panicked because I had 8 conferences and wanted to know about every single team in those conferences. When we began meeting that January I started to hyperventilate after realizing that I should have paid more attention to the other 24 conferences. I had to really shift my focus over the next 2 months to a comparison of the schools in my conferences to schools from other conferences.

What are the major categories that have the biggest impact on a team’s seed (big road win, bad home loss, other), and why are they more important than other categories? The public puts more credence on a good win/bad loss than the committee does. To use a golf analogy, your handicap is based on a review of your most recent 20 scores. With the committee, by the time we get to selection week each team has about 30 scores and we try to weigh each of them the same. I coached basketball for 22 years and as a former coach I know there are a handful of games each season where your team is just struggling so some of a team’s success is based on timing: are you getting an unexpected result when your team happens to be playing poorly? I think the data backs up the theory that the hardest thing to do in college basketball is win games on the road, so we look at 3 things: who did you play, where did you play them, and how did you do? If you win games against good teams on the road, that is a powerful statement. We also realize that it is harder to win at Duke then at a place like Illinois-Chicago. We look at outliers to see if there was a reason for such games, while also looking at consistency.

This season the committee has implemented a new 4-tier system that emphasizes the location of wins/losses: has it made your life easier/harder, and do you think that this new system renders the “eye test” a thing of the past? The RPI was not a selection method but rather a sorting method. There was a perception that there were silos so that a win over the #24 team in the nation was much better than a win over the #26 team, but that was simply not true for the committee. The new system helps us sort wins at home vs. wins on the road vs. wins at neutral sites. It will help us be transparent.

What role do injuries (such as Rawle Alkins of Arizona)/suspensions (such as Reggie Lynch of Minnesota) have on a team’s seed? That is a very difficult question to answer because the 10 of us may each look at it differently. We try to understand why the results ended up the way they did. I think it has less impact on which teams are selected but more so on how teams are seeded. We are not predictive in nature: we just try to describe the animal (D-1 basketball) and get a better understanding of why the events happened. It is hard to quantify but does not have a dramatic impact on seeding, although it is a discussion item for the committee.

If a team wants to make the tourney, are they better off scheduling decent teams who they think they can beat, or great teams who they can only hope to upset, or a nice mix of both, or other? That is a great question that I cannot properly answer. We get asked that by conferences/coaches who want to determine the best way to schedule, but every school/conference is unique and has different priorities. Some teams need to go on the road for economic reasons and get “buy” games, while other schools need more home games because they draw so well at home. If you are from a smaller conference that is typically an automatic qualifier, you may schedule some quality teams early to give yourself the opportunity to see what it will take to win your conference. You also have to play some games where you can develop your entire roster: if Duke were to only play against top-25 teams, do you think that they could develop the #8-#15 players on their team by getting them meaningful minutes? There are a lot of factors that go into it but 50% of the RPI concerns the won-loss record of your opponent: only 25% of it is about how you did yourself.

For those who want to compare your committee to the College Football Playoff committee, what significance (if any) is there to the fact that 1 is governed by the NCAA and 1 is not? I do not put any credence in that. The College Football Playoff committee has to pick the top-4 teams while we pick 68 teams with about half of whom get in by winning their conference tournament. The CFP committee is passionate about getting it right and spends numerous hours “peeling the onion” where the layers between each team are very thin.

Your Bluejays have looked great this year with a 15-5 record and nice wins over UCLA/Butler/Seton Hall: how proud are you of all that they have accomplished, and how devastated were you to learn of Martin Krampelj’s torn ACL the other day? We turned over a lot of kids from last year so in many ways we have a completely new roster this year. We had a fairly challenging schedule this season and I think that we have over-performed. I want there to be an element of joy to the process and have our kids play hard and play the right way: we have done that. Last year our All-American PG (Mo Watson) tore his knee, which made us all realize how fragile the game is. Martin was a key part of our team this year so his loss could significantly impact the outcome of our games. His injury drives home that the addition/subtraction of 1 player can have a key impact.

Earlier this week NCAA tournament media coordinator David Worlock stated that for the 1st time you and the other committee members will see many other rankings on the official team sheets in addition to the traditional RPI (such as BPI/KPI/KenPom): have you made great use of these advanced metrics in the past, and do you have a favorite 1? We have made great use of them in the past but I think they were put on the team sheets for 2 reasons: it is more convenient/efficient to have them right on the team sheet without having to go to another screen, and it allows us to be transparent to the public about the process. I just returned from a 4-hour mock selection meeting in Indianapolis. I look at all of the advanced metrics and I think that Kevin Pauga has as good an understanding of what the committee does as anyone. Our responsibility is to not be predictive but to base everything on results.  KPI tries to explain why differences exist between the 2 types of metrics by digging into that. My concern about predictive metrics is that they care about unintended consequences such as point spreads.  For example, there might be a 1-possession game down the stretch that turns into a 10-PT outcome due to the losing team committing fouls/missing threes.  Therefore, if point spreads are a factor, will coaches keep their starters in at the end of games (to win by as many points as possible) or give their bench guys some playing time (to help them develop)?

For the 2nd straight year the selection committee will unveil its top-16 seeds on February 11th: what was the reaction like to last year’s unveiling, and what do you think fans will get out of this year’s snapshot? I sense that the public liked that last year, maybe more as an educational tool to explain the bracketing process in a little more detail (where teams are sent, why they are paired against someone else, why there is not any conspiracy theory when Indiana gets put in the same region as Kentucky, etc.).  There are more than 1000 games that will be played after February 11th and each of them may have an impact on why we end up putting teams where we do. Last year we did it on a Saturday morning…and due to some upsets later that afternoon it became outdated in a matter of hours. This year we are doing it on a Sunday so perhaps some games the day before will impact it instead.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Jan 20th

Posted on January 20, 2018 by David Griggs

For Chad’s UTR Game of the Day between Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky – CLICK HERE

NEWS AND NOTES

-Indiana came into last night’s game at Baylor Michigan State and ended up thoroughly getting boatraced in a game that they really needed to at least get themselves in NCAA discussion. The Spartans had their best outing since their game at home against Maryland earlier this month.

-Thanks to St. Bonaventure’s loss at Davidson last night, Rhode Island now looks to be the only team in the Atlantic 10 with any remote shot of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. If Rhody wins at Dayton today, the odds are decent that they can run the table in the A-10 this season.

-Buffalo added some further separation in the MAC with a win on the road against preseason favorite Western Michigan last night.

-Both Iona and Canisius won last night – this sets up a first-place showdown on Sunday at Iona between both teams. Canisius already won the first of 2 games between the teams at Buffalo earlier in the season.

UPDATE (11:30 AM EST) – Air Force is suspending all interscholastic events during the current federal goverment shutdown, including what was to be today’s home game against Fresno State. Navy will still play Boston University at 2 PM EST as scheduled. Army will also play their home game (also 2 PM EST) against Lehigh today.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-VILLANOVA AT UCONN.  It’s a January OOC game between two good brand names, one of which is a good team and another that will likely miss the NIT.  Having said that, UConn is 8-1 at home, so maybe they can be sort of competitive.

-PURDUE AT IOWA (Big Ten).  This may be one of the most winnable road games that Purdue has remaining on their schedule.  They are way up in the rankings and are gunning for the #1 line.

-WICHITA STATE AT HOUSTON (American).  Wichita State is coming off a surprising home loss to SMU, and there isn’t a whole lot of really good stuff on their resume right now.  Houston has been up and down this year.  They’re at home and they should be jacked for this one.  Both teams have been somewhat inconsistent throughout the year so it’s hard to say what will happen.

-OHIO STATE VS MINNESOTA (Big Ten – Madison Square Garden).  Ohio State continues to roll and has another winnable game away from home today.  The way their schedule is laid out, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they were 11-0 in league play going into the game against Purdue. This is an MSG day-night doubleheader involving Minnesota’s basketball and hockey teams.

-FLORIDA STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Florida State has a lot of room for improvement and is just 2-4 in league play.  Picking this one up on the road would certainly help.

-LSU AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  LSU is squarely on our bubble right now, and winning on the road would certainly help.  This is the kind of road game that any tournament team would be expected to win.

-THE CITADEL AT VMI (SoCon).  This has no tournament implications.  In fact it has no implications at all and neither team is even good within the SoCon seeing as how they are a combined 1-11.  It’s just a fun rivalry.  Expect to see a lot of intensity if you tune in.

-RHODE ISLAND AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton has been mostly cold this season, but they have been hot at times.  Rhody is blowing through the conference and will have to keep doing so in order to land in the top half of the bracket.

-OKLAHOMA AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  BEDLAM!!!!!!  Oklahoma could still get a #1 seed, but at the very least looks like they belong on one of the top two lines (at least for right now) and should be able to win this one, but there’s a lot of venom in this rivalry and winning it on the road is never easy.  Oklahoma State doesn’t appear to be going to the tournament, but winning this would be a feelgood moment in their season.

-TEXAS AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  I keep saying I like this Texas team, and I do, but I think they’re swinging way over their heads in this one.  West Virginia had a bit of a rough week with two straight losses and if they’re as tough as I think they are they may really be out for blood today.

-TEXAS TECH AT IOWA STATE (Big 12).  Texas Tech is trying to rebound from a loss at Texas and stay solidly in protected seed range.  This isn’t an easy road game, but it is perhaps less difficult than any other road game they have remaining.

-GEORGIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  The Tar Heels have a really strong profile and seem to be improving.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble at home in this one.

-TEMPLE AT PENN (Big Five).  Only because it’s a Big Five game.  Penn is making a lot of noise in the Ivy, but they’ll need the automatic to get in and may end up as low as the #16 line.

-BUTLER AT DEPAUL (Big East).  Butler has played a rough schedule and has a decent profile, but this is a winnable road game and they need to win it.

-XAVIER AT SETON HALL (Big East).  I’m not nearly as impressed with Seton Hall as the rest of the Hoops HD staff, but they do have the kind of resume that can land them a protected seed and knocking of Xavier at home would certainly help with that. As for Xavier, this is their remaining opportunity to beat a potential protected seed away from home in the regular season.

-CREIGHTON AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  We have Providence close to the bubble right now, but in.  We have Creighton in the top half of the bracket, but toward the bottom end of it.  Both teams certainly have room for improvement and a win in this game would certainly help.

-OLE MISS AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  I like this Arkansas team, but they have some work to do.  At just 2-4 in SEC play, they cannot afford to lose at home to an Ole Miss team that is miles outside the bubble right now.

-PITTSBURGH AT DUKE (Buy Game) (ACC).  Oh wait, this is an ACC game and not a buy game.  My mistake.

-EAST CAROLINA AT CINCINNATI (Buy Game) (American).  Oh wait, this is an American game and not a buy game.  My mistake.

-ARIZONA AT STANFORD (Pac-12).  This is a hugely interesting game.  This is a red hot Stanford team that can win their sixth in a row, improve to 6-1 in conference play, and beat a top 25 team for the second time in 48 hours.  They’re still outside our bubble, but they are sprinting toward it and will wind up not just inside of it, but safely inside of it if they keep this up for a few more weeks.  Arizona is a fringe protected seed that I think will ultimately end up there by the end of the season.  Having said that, they need to be winning games like this in order to do it. The winner of this game takes sole possession of first place in the Pac-12.

-NOTRE DAME AT CLEMSON (ACC).  Clemson is having a great year and can keep that momentum going with another win over a possible/probable tournament team in Notre Dame.  The Irish are dealing with injuries and are coming off an emotional double overtime loss to Louisville.  A win in this game would be a hugely defining moment in their season, and may be their best win of the year up to this point.

-TCU AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve).  This game has a very pivotal feel for both teams.  TCU has had a good season, but is just 2-4 in conference play and has just one true road win on the year.  A win on the road today would obviously really help them out.  K State still has a lot of work to do, but has been playing well and is coming off a near win at Kansas and a blowout win against Oklahoma.

-MISSOURI AT TEXAS A&M (SEC).  Mizzou is inside our bubble now, but can hardly just start riding the cruise control.  TAMU has completely fallen apart.  They finally won a conference game in their last game, but it was at home against an Ole Miss team that isn’t that good, and they barely won.  They still have some work to do.

-LOUISIANA AT TEXAS STATE (Sun Belt).  A win for Louisiana will get them to 17-3, and since Texas State has just one conference loss this is looking like one of their more difficult remaining games.  One can’t help but wonder if any top 25 will start to notice their bloated record and begin giving them a little bit of love.

-BAYLOR AT KANSAS (Big 12).  Kansas had a huge week last week where they picked up a win at West Virginia.  Their resume is looking like a #1 seed caliber resume despite some surprising losses.  They’re at home today and they should be able to knock off a Baylor team that just doesn’t seem to have it this year.

-GEORGIA AT AUBURN (SEC).  We have Georgia on the bubble and Auburn as a protected seed.  Georgia could really help their cause if they can pick up this road win.  Auburn is coming off just their second loss of the year in a somewhat surprising (but hardly shocking) road loss to rival Alabama earlier this week.

-TENNESSEE AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC).  South Carolina hasn’t looked good at all points throughout the year, but I think they’ve looked good these last couple weeks and wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them knock off the Vols at home and end up with a tournament caliber resume by the end of the season.

-TULANE AT SMU (American).  It was hard to be excited about SMU a week ago, but after their huge win at Wichita State it’s hard to not be excited about them now.  Let’s see if they can keep it going at home against a Tulane team who’s program is improving but still has work to do. There is also a revenge factor in play as Tulane beat the Mustangs at home earlier this month.

-WASHINGTON AT COLORADO (Pac-12).  Washington is just outside of our bubble and winning on the road against a Colorado team that’s a bit of a home court hero would certainly help.

-UTAH VALLEY AT NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC).  These are two of the best teams in the WAC, and New Mexico State could be marching toward an at-large bid and a top 25 ranking if they keep winning.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West).  San Diego State’s NCAA Tournament hopes have not been completely dashed, but they need to absolutely thunder down the stretch.  They can’t afford to lose any games to sub NIT teams, be it at home or on the road.  Otherwise, one of their wins had better be that last one because they’ll need the auto-bid.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT WESTERN KENTUCKY (Conference USA).  Also highlighted as Chad’s UTR Game of the Day, Middle Tennessee is coming off a rare loss, which was their first in conference.  Western Kentucky is unbeaten and has played and beaten some of the better teams in the league.  They are inside our bubble for now, and will remain there if they continue to win like they have been.  With a big OOC win against Purdue and some other wins of note on top of that, hopefully the real committee shows them some love if they keep it up.

-GONZAGA AT SANT CLARA (West Coast).  Gonzaga will look to bounce back from a home loss to rival Saint Mary’s, and shouldn’t have too much trouble doing it.

-USC AT OREGON STATE (Pac Twelve).  USC is right on our bubble and could use a conference road win, and this is the game they should be expected to win if they want to safely make The Dance.

-FLORIDA AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Florida has been hot and cold this year, but they’ve been hot enough of the time to lead me to believe they could still end up with a really good profile and maybe a protected seed.  The problem is they’ve been cold enough of the time to make me think they could land more in the middle of the bracket.  A big game today as both teams look to add a quality win to their resume.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Bama is coming off a huge win against rival Auburn and shouldn’t have too much trouble at home against a Mississippi State team that’s looked good at times, not on the road against tournament caliber teams.

-SAINT MARY’S AT PACIFIC (West Coast).  SMC picked up a huge season defining win at Gonzaga.  They just need to avoid a letdown against a Pacific team that doesn’t have anything in terms of a resume, but that has played well in the WCC so far.

-BOISE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  I like both of these teams, but Nevada clearly has the stronger resume right now.  This would be a huge win for a Boise State team that looks to be on the bubble.  I don’t think they’d be on the bubble if they were able to win this one.

-UCLA AT OREGON (Pac-12).  UCLA is another team that is squarely on our bubble and could really use a road win against an Oregon team that’s had a rough year, but does seem to be getting better (at least at home).

-ARIZONA STATE AT CALIFORNIA (Pac-12).  Arizona State has now lost four of their last six since starting conference play.  Boy, are they glad to see Cal!!

-UC DAVIS AT HAWAII (Big West).  No at-large implications here but a really good Big West game between a UC Davis team that’s having a good year and is off to a 3-1 start, and a Hawaii team with the same record in league play.  This is one of UC Davis’s toughest remaining games so it’ll be interesting to see what they can do.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Chad

Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky, 7:00 PM Eastern, Stadium/watchstadium.com

The top two teams in Conference USA.  Two of the top three teams in the latest HoopsHD Under the Radar Top Ten.  Is that not enough?  How about a rivalry that is known as “100 Miles of Hate”?  Today’s game is not only the Under the Radar Game of the Day, it may be one of the top Under the Radar games of the entire year!

Middle Tennessee enters tonight’s game at 13-5 overall and 5-1 in CUSA play.  The Blue Raiders already have wins over Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Florida Gulf Coast (twice) and Murray State.  Despite the impressive resume, their at-large bid hopes took a hit earlier this week when they suffered a 10 point loss at Marshall.  Giddy Potts did have 15 points while Nick King just missed a double-double with 14 and 9 boards.  Brandon Walters was held to only 6 points after scoring 19 in a win over Southern Miss.  If he can put together a big game along with Potts and King tonight, the Blue Raiders have a great shot at a road win.

Western Kentucky is currently 14-5 overall and 6-0 in CUSA.  The Hilltoppers’ resume is extremely impressive, including wins over Purdue and SMU.  In fact, our latest Bracket Rundown podcast had this team inside the bubble and in line for an at-large bid should they need one.  Five players scored in double figures earlier this week in a win over UAB, including a double-double from Dwight Coleby.  A win tonight in this rivalry game will just continue to bolster the WKU resume and move them closer to a point where they may feel safe on Selection Sunday, regardless of what happens in their conference tournament.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Buffalo at Western Michigan (and other news & notes)

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Chad

Buffalo at Western Michigan, 7:00 PM Eastern, ESPNU

Don’t miss our latest Bracket Rundown video podcast!

It is time for some #MACtion tonight at the Under the Radar Game of the Day features a matchup of two of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference.  The visiting Buffalo Bulls enter with an impressive 13-5 overall record (5-0 in MAC play) and feature the best metrics in the conference, including a top 30 RPI.  Nick Perkins has been leading the way for the Bulls including a career-high tying 26 points last time out in a win over Northern Illinois.  With their sole games against Toledo and Ball State already in the books as wins, tonight’s contest in Kalamazoo, Michigan is likely Buffalo’s toughest test left this season.

Western Michigan enters tonight’s game at 11-7 overall and 3-2 in MAC play.  The Broncos have lost 2 of their last 3, including a tough two point loss last time out at Kent State.  WMU did have four payers score in double figures in that game, led by 16 from Josh Davis.  Thomas Wilder was held to only 10 in the loss, tied for his second lowest point output on the season, and needs to get the ball through the hoop more if his team wants to pull off the upset in tonight’s contest.

 

OTHER GAMES AND NOTES

-INDIANA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Michigan State has been slumping, but not to the point to where I’d expect them to lose at home to a sub-NCAA team.

-ST. BONAVENTURE AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic 10). The lights aren’t completely out on the Bonnies’ at-large chances, but a loss at Davidson (who is 5-0 at their campus home arena) may cause us to take them off of our board.

-IONA AT MONMOUTH (MAAC). Both Metro Atlantic co-leaders are on the road tonight and Iona has the easier of the two games on paper. Even though Monmouth is rebuilding, this rivalry still has a little heat remaining from the past couple of seasons.

-YALE AT BROWN (Ivy League). Only in the Ivy League would you have travel partner games scheduled back-to-back. We highlight this game because it is only one of 7 games being played in Division I tonight.

-ILLINOIS AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Hard to believe that Wisconsin is a game under .500 overall, but it would be even harder to imagine them losing at home to an Illinois team that is in freefall mode in the B1G.

-CANISIUS AT MANHATTAN (MAAC). Not only are the Golden Griffins playing to retain a share of the lead in the Metro Atlantic, they’re also looking to avoid falling into a tie with the Jaspers in the league standings.

-It was a big night as far as UTR Games go.  Belmont held off Murray State at home in an OVC showdown between two of the three best teams, William & Mary was blown off the court at home for the second game in a row after earning our praise on UTR the other week, Vermont held on to beat New Hampshire in a game between two teams near the top of the America East Standings, Western Kentucky had to come from behind to hold of UAB at home to remain atop Conference USA, East Tennessee State held of Furman in a thriller between two top SoCon teams, FGCU held off Lipscomb to stay atop the Atlantic Sun, Wright State is continuing to blow through Horizon League play (with NKU not far behind), Middle Tennessee fell at Marshall and is now almost certainly relegated to needing the auto-bid to make the NCAAs, and Louisiana had to come from behind to win at UT Arlington.

-In non-UTR news, Saint Mary’s picked up their biggest signature win of the year, which will also end up being their biggest regular season win of the year, with a close win at Gonzaga.  The game was a great game to watch between two rivals who seesawed back and forth.  SMC clearly needed the win more than the Zags.  They now have a much needed signature win on their resume.

-Of the Pac-12 bubble teams last night, the only team that stood out in a good way was USC – they came from behind to win at Oregon last night. Both UCLA and Washington took hits to their profiles with respective losses on the road at Oregon State and Colorado.

-Nebraska is starting to look like a homecourt hero with a decisive win against Michigan last night. Whereas it may keep the Wolverines out of a protected seed for the time being, it gives the Huskers some momentum going into their game at Ohio State on Monday night.  This will be their last shot at beating an NCAA Tournament-caliber team away from home until the Big 10 Tournament in March.

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Hoops HD Bracket Rundown: January 18th

Posted on January 18, 2018 by David Griggs

Chad and the panel once again put together their seedlist line by line and debate and discuss all of the teams as they go.  This is not an attempt to predict what the committee will do in March, nor is it an attempt to guess what the actual selection committee would do if they were building the bracket today.  This is simply what WE would do as a staff if we were the selection committee.  The areas of most debate are the #1 seeds, where Wichita State and Cincinnati belong, where Miami FL should be, and who the last teams in the field should be. And, after the Gonzaga v Saint Mary’s game went final, we actually scrub the final results!   All that, and much more…

 

Below is the bracketed form of the seedlist, but you should watch the show before you look at it!

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…

Posted in Bracketology, Podcasts, Videocasts | 1 Comment