2017 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Chad

HERE IT IS!!!!  The Official NCAA Tournament Bracket — Feel free to print out, fill out and enjoy!!!!

Posted in Bracketology, CBB, News and Notes | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Bracketology 2017: March Madness Predictions (Final Version)

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Jon Teitel

Selection Sunday has arrived as our NCAA tourney predictions turn into reality. Last March HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 65 of the 68 teams that made the tourney, each of which was within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 37 right on the money. Here is the final update predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on the Selection Show. See below for his list of who will make the cut and let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments section. To see how we stack up with other websites (ranked 3rd out of 88 entries over the past 3 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com

SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Villanova (Big East): AUTO-BID
1: Kansas (Big 12)
1: North Carolina (ACC)
1: Gonzaga (WCC): AUTO-BID

2: Kentucky (SEC): AUTO-BID
2: Oregon (Pac-12)
2: Duke (ACC): AUTO-BID
2: Arizona (Pac-12): AUTO-BID

3: Louisville (ACC)
3: Baylor (Big 12)
3: UCLA (Pac-12)
3: Florida State (ACC)

4: Florida (SEC)
4: West Virginia (Big 12)
4: Butler (Big East)
4: Notre Dame (ACC)

5: Purdue (Big 10)
5: Virginia (ACC)
5: SMU (AAC): AUTO-BID
5: Iowa State (Big 12): AUTO-BID

6: Cincinnati (AAC)
6: Minnesota (Big 10)
6: Wisconsin (Big 10)
6: Michigan (Big 10): AUTO-BID

7: St. Mary’s (WCC)
7: Maryland (Big 10)
7: Creighton (Big East)
7: Virginia Tech (ACC)

8: Northwestern (Big 10)
8: Arkansas (SEC)
8: Wichita State (MVC): AUTO-BID
8: Miami FL (ACC)

9: South Carolina (SEC)
9: Oklahoma State (Big 12)
9: Dayton (A-10)
9: Seton Hall (Big East)

10: VCU (A-10)
10: Marquette (Big East)
10: Vanderbilt (SEC)
10: Michigan State (Big 10)

11: Xavier (Big East)
11: Providence (Big East)
11: Wake Forest (ACC)
11: Middle Tennessee (CUSA): AUTO-BID
11: USC (Pac-12)
11: Kansas State (Big 12)

12: Rhode Island (A-10): AUTO-BID
12: Nevada (MWC): AUTO-BID
12: UNC-Wilmington (CAA): AUTO-BID
12: Vermont (America East): AUTO-BID

13: Princeton (Ivy): AUTO-BID
13: East Tennessee State (SoCon): AUTO-BID
13: Bucknell (Patriot): AUTO-BID
13: Winthrop (Big South): AUTO-BID

14: New Mexico State (WAC): AUTO-BID
14: Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
14: Iona (MAAC): AUTO-BID
14: Northern Kentucky (Horizon): AUTO-BID

15: Kent State (MAC): AUTO-BID
15: Texas Southern (SWAC): AUTO-BID
15: North Dakota (Big Sky): AUTO-BID
15: Jacksonville State (OVC): AUTO-BID

16: Troy (Sun Belt): AUTO-BID
16: South Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
16: NC Central (MEAC): AUTO-BID
16: New Orleans (Southland): AUTO-BID
16: Mount St. Mary’s (NEC): AUTO-BID
16: UC Davis (Big West): AUTO-BID

 

BRACKET NOTE: The puppet did this in a rush.  The bracket was built after the Selection Show started, but the seed list above was posted just before the start.  

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The Hoops HD’s Selection Committee Final Bracket: March 12th

Posted on March 12, 2017 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for the final Championship Week Video Notebook

CLICK HERE for the Hoops HD Committee Report – (We have since scrubbed the seed list, so the new bracket isn’t quite the same)

CLICK HERE for Joby Fortson’s Nitty Gritty Ratings, which are among the most accurate of any metric when it comes to guessing the Committee

The staff here at Hoops HD, along with some help from other Bracket gurus, replicate the selection process and build a bracket of our own every year.  It is worth nothing that the goal is to replicate the PROCESS, and build the bracket the way we think it SHOULD be built if we were the committee.  The goal is NOT to guess the Actual Committee.  Jon Teitel, who is on our staff, does guess the actual committee and has done so with near pinpoint accuracy in recent years.  His most recent bracket can be seen HERE

One thing is for certain.  Of the ten of us that participated, this is far from unanimous.  Every individual on this committee strongly disagrees with something.  But, it was our consensus.

BRACKET NOTE:   If this matches what the real committee does, it would be the first time that North Carolina will have played a team from Durham, NC in the NCAA Tournament

 

 

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Bracketology 2017: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.7)

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Jon Teitel

***UPDATE***  Jon Teitel is at the Big Ten Tournament and hard at work with his coverage.  He may not have time to make any adjustments to the American or Big Ten final, but it’s unlikely that any of the teams would have been moved more than a seed line (Sunday, March 12th, 5:21pm, est)

CLICK HERE for the final Championship Week Video Notebook

CLICK HERE for the Hoops HD Committee Report

CLICK HERE for the Hoops HD’s Mock Selection Committee’s Final Bracket

CLICK HERE for Joby Fortson’s Nitty Gritty Ratings, which are among the most accurate of any metric when it comes to guessing the Committee

For Jon Teitel’s coverage of the Big Ten Tournament – CLICK HERE

Selection Sunday has arrived as our NCAA tourney predictions turn into reality. Last March HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 65 of the 68 teams that made the tourney, each of which was within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 37 right on the money. He will try to send out a final update later today predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on the Selection Show. See below for his list of who will make the cut and let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments section. To see how we stack up with other websites (ranked 3rd out of 88 entries over the past 3 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com

SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Villanova (Big East): AUTO-BID
1: Kansas (Big 12)
1: North Carolina (ACC)
1: Gonzaga (WCC): AUTO-BID

2: Kentucky (SEC)
2: Oregon (Pac-12)
2: Duke (ACC): AUTO-BID
2: Arizona (Pac-12): AUTO-BID

3: Louisville (ACC)
3: Baylor (Big 12)
3: UCLA (Pac-12)
3: Florida State (ACC)

4: Florida (SEC)
4: West Virginia (Big 12)
4: Butler (Big East)
4: Notre Dame (ACC)

5: Purdue (Big 10)
5: Virginia (ACC)
5: Cincinnati (AAC)
5: Minnesota (Big 10)

6: SMU (AAC)
6: Iowa State (Big 12): AUTO-BID
6: Wisconsin (Big 10)
6: Creighton (Big East)

7: St. Mary’s (WCC)
7: Maryland (Big 10)
7: Michigan (Big 10)
7: Miami FL (ACC)

8: Dayton (A-10)
8: Arkansas (SEC)
8: Wichita State (MVC): AUTO-BID
8: Virginia Tech (ACC)

9: South Carolina (SEC)
9: Oklahoma State (Big 12)
9: Northwestern (Big 10)
9: VCU (A-10)

10: Seton Hall (Big East)
10: Marquette (Big East)
10: Xavier (Big East)
10: Michigan State (Big 10)

11: Vanderbilt (SEC)
11: Providence (Big East)
11: Wake Forest (ACC)
11: Middle Tennessee (CUSA): AUTO-BID
11: USC (Pac-12)
11: Kansas State (Big 12)

12: Rhode Island (A-10)
12: Nevada (MWC): AUTO-BID
12: UNC-Wilmington (CAA): AUTO-BID
12: Vermont (America East): AUTO-BID

13: Princeton (Ivy)
13: East Tennessee State (SoCon): AUTO-BID
13: Bucknell (Patriot): AUTO-BID
13: New Mexico State (WAC): AUTO-BID

14: Winthrop (Big South): AUTO-BID
14: Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
14: Iona (MAAC): AUTO-BID
14: Northern Kentucky (Horizon): AUTO-BID

15: Kent State (MAC): AUTO-BID
15: Texas Southern (SWAC): AUTO-BID
15: North Dakota (Big Sky): AUTO-BID
15: Jacksonville State (OVC): AUTO-BID

16: Troy (Sun Belt)
16: South Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
16: NC Central (MEAC): AUTO-BID
16: New Orleans (Southland): AUTO-BID
16: Mount St. Mary’s (NEC): AUTO-BID
16: UC Davis (Big West): AUTO-BID

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HoopsHD at the Big 10 Tourney: Photo essay (Day 3)

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD is always hovering around the edge of legitimacy (see Puppet, The), but thanks to the good folks at the Big 10 we are kicking it up a notch this week with a media credential to the Big 10 Tourney in DC. From his prime perch in the now-3rd row Jon Teitel will be bringing you daily updates of all the action from the Verizon Center via a series of photo essays. Day 3 finally saw a quartet of games with the top-4 seeds in action, but since we are already a day behind we are going to focus a little more on the “photo” part and a little less on the “essay” part.

Bad news: now that all the best teams are playing I got pushed out of press row and into the “media overflow” seating.

Good news: it was actually in the 1st row of the crowd and there were plenty of seats available so I got to sit at midcourt: not bad eh?!

Directly in front of me was former NBA champ Rick Mahorn, who was doing color commentary on the radio.  I walked by him and he is almost as tall as me even though he was sitting down:

And right in front of Mahorn was Dan Dakich, who was doing color commentary on TV for his son Andrew, who is a member of the Wolverines:

Game 1 featured Boiler Up vs. Go Blue:

 

Caleb Swanigan had yet another double-double before fouling out, but DJ Wilson was unstoppable with 26 PTS/8 REB/3 BLK in a 74-70 win by Michigan, which made Coach John Beilein very happy:

The Purdue postgame press conference was short and sweet:

I got to ask Michigan SR G/F Zak Irvin if his former teammate Spike Albrecht (who now plays for Purdue) had reached out to him after the airplane incident earlier this week, and he said that he indeed had: kudos to Spike!

Game 2 was Gophers against Spartans:

 

You know it’s a big game when the best NFL ref in the business is in the house: Gene Steratore!

I went to grab a snack at halftime in the media room and spied Jim Nantz preparing for tomorrow’s CBS broadcast.  It took all my willpower to keep from walking up to him and saying “Hello friends”:

Minnesota was able to hang on for a 63-58 win despite SR SG Akeem Springs going down with a right Achilles injury (not pictured) and JR C Reggie Lynch getting smacked in the mouth and having a tooth bent back before later returning to the game:

In the postgame press conference Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said that he was disappointed in his team’s effort, which as you might imagine is a rather rare occurrence:

Minnesota only won 8 games last year but have looked great since last month as they have won 9 of 10:

Game 3 saw Wisconsin beat Indiana 70-60, and since my  brother-in-law is a Badger alum, here are a bunch of Wisconsin photos:

 

 

 

The nightcap was the least “neutral” site game that I have ever attended, as the Scott Van Pelt-led Maryland crowd was out in force to see their Terps play only a subway ride away from College Park:

…and then it all went horribly wrong as Northwestern overcame a 10-PT 2nd half deficit to win it 72-64.  I got to say hi to Terp alum/NBA veteran Walt Williams, who I had just interviewed on the phone the previous week for an article about Len Bias:

In the postgame press conference I asked Coach Collins why his team has been able to shoot the lights out this week after finishing the regular season 10th in the conference in FG%, and he said the gradual return to health of Scottie Lindsey has made all the difference in the world:

Check back (hopefully) later today for my Day 4 photo essay about the 2 semifinal games!

Posted in CBB | 1 Comment

Championship Week Video Notebook: FINAL DAY!!

Posted on March 12, 2017 by David Griggs

WELCOME SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS!!  It is very important that you double check your work with what we’ve done to ensure that you did it right!!  CLICK HERE to view our Survival Board

For the Hoops HD Selection Committee Report, and a look at our seed list and bracket as it stands prior to Sunday’s Games – CLICK HERE

This is our final Championship Week Video Notebook, and it was a busy day as 14 automatic bids were handed out.  UC Davis and North Dakota made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, Duke knocked off Notre Dame to complete their run through the ACC Tournament and give their resume a huge boost in the process, Arizona picked up their second big win in two nights to win the Pac Twelve, and much more.  We review all of today’s games, preview tomorrow’s games, and discuss what the Hoops HD Selection Committee did on their final evening of deliberations.  And as always, we begin with our mailbag and end by updating the Survival Board.

 

SUNDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK ACTION

AMERICAN
Format: Standard
Location: Hartford, CT
Sunday, March 12 – Championship
3:15 PM – (1) SMU vs (2) Cincinnati, ESPN

ATLANTIC TEN
Format: Ladder (top four seeds bye into quarterfinals)
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday, March 12 – Championship
12:30 PM – (2) VCU vs (4) Rhode Island, CBS

BIG TEN
Format: Ladder (top four seeds bye into quarterfinals)
Location: Washington, DC
Sunday, March 12 – Championship
3:00 PM – (2) Wisconsin vs (8) Michigan, CBS

SEC
Format: Ladder (top four seeds bye into quarterfinals)
Location: Nashville, TN
Sunday, March 12 – Championship
1:00 PM – (1) Kentucky vs (3) Arkansas, ESPN

IVY LEAGUE
Format: Standard
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Sunday, March 12 – Championship
12:00 PM – (1) Princeton vs (3) Yale, ESPN2

SUN BELT
Format: Standard
Location: New Orleans, LA
Sunday, March 12 – Championship
2:00 PM – (4) Texas State vs (6) Troy, ESPN2

 

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

Posted in Bracketology, Championship Week Video Notebook, Commentary, News and Notes, Podcasts, Survival Board, Videocasts | 2 Comments