Bracket Projections: February 13th

Posted on February 13, 2015 by David Griggs

BRACKET NOTES

Bracket was updated by Chad Sherwood on Friday, February 14th at 1:05am, est

-This bracket is based on the Seed List built on our latest Bracket Rundown – CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT

 

Bracketing the top three lines of this list turned into a nightmare due to the presence of four ACC and three Big 12 teams.  Without moving a few teams around to their second or third best choice of region, it would have been impossible to both follow the bracketing rules requiring the first four teams from the same conference (when within the top 4 seed lines) to all be in different regions while at the same time maintaining balance amongst the four regions.  This is why Kansas ended up in the Midwest instead of the South, Villanova went South instead of East, and Notre Dame got sent out West.  It was one of the tougher Seed Lists to bracket at the top that I have encountered in some time.

As tough as the top was, the rest of the field really fell into place nicely without any need to move a team off of its natural seed line.  The Xavier vs Dayton 8/9 matchup in the West Region was produced naturally.  While I would love to see the game happen, the simple fact was that Dayton was the very last 9 seed team and as such ended up having to take the spot out in Seattle.  It just so happened that their in-state rival was sitting there waiting for them.  I know that when matchups like this are actually set by the Committee many people think it was intentionally done.  With all the bracketing rules out there, it is next to impossible to try to arrange games like this — it s just a matter of pure luck.

If you think that Boise State pick as the 10 seed in the East is insane, I agree with you.  Blame John and David for that, and check out our podcast (linked above) for their insane reasons.

The top teams left out of the field were Purdue, Oregon, Connecticut, Tulsa, Minnesota, Seton Hall, George Washington, NC State and Wyoming (in no particular order).

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UNDER THE RADAR

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-For our most recent Under the Radar Podcast where we discuss the teams from outside the major conferences – CLICK HERE

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Friday, February 13, 2015: Green Bay at Valparaiso

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Chad

For our latest Bracket Rundown Podcast, CLICK HERE.

Green Bay at Valparaiso, 7:00 PM Eastern, ESPN2

While the UTR Game of the Day desperately wanted to head back to Newark, NJ tonight as NJIT (the Team of the People!) hosts UAlbany in a huge non-conference game, in the end, the importance of tonight’s first place battle in the Horizon League trumped the Highlanders and we instead are off to Indiana.  Valparaiso enters tonight’s showdown with a 9-2 conference mark, part of a three-way tie with Green Bay and surprising Cleveland State at the top of the league standings.  The Crusaders are an impressive 22-4 overall, though none of those 22 wins have come against anyone that is in any serious at-large bid contention.  The best victory was a neutral court win over OVC leader Murray State.  When you add in somewhat disappointing losses to Oakland and Missouri, Valpo probably cannot even get onto the at-large radar even if they were to win every game from now up to the conference tournament championship game.  That being said, the Crusaders do have a chance to win the Horizon League regular season title, which would get them a bye into the conference tournament semifinals and home court advantage throughout the conference tournament — making their road to an automatic bid that much easier.

In order to win the league title, Valpo is in an almost must-win situation tonight, having already lost at Green Bay back on January 23.  Green Bay enters tonight’s game with a 20-5 overall record and a solid enough resume that they might get a long look from the Selection Committee if they falter during the conference tournament.  The Phoenix have wins at Miami and at home over Georgia State, together with what could be a sweep of a solid Valpo team if they win tonight.  However, with losses to UC-Irvine, Cleveland State and Oakland, the Phoenix have no margin for error, and even winning out may not be enough.  That being said, a win tonight will give them the one game lead and the tiebreaker advantage in the conference over Valpo, and with a home game left against Cleveland State, would put the Phoenix in the driver’s seat for the Horizon League title.

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Bracket Rundown: February 12th

Posted on February 13, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad, John and David once again put together an NCAA Tournament seed list.  They run through each of the 68 teams that they feel should be in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today.  This week they did things a little different.  Instead of taking into consideration the criteria that the actual selection committee uses and how they think the committee will evaluate that criteria, they just ranked the teams strictly on how good they thought they were.  In other words, they were not trying to speculate on what the committee would do if the season ended today.  As always, there were disagreements and banter as they were putting the list together.

 

To see how the teams were bracketed after they had been ranked – CLICK HERE

 

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

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Highlighted Games for Thursday, Feb 12th

Posted on February 12, 2015 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-We will be recording our Bracket Rundown Video Podcast tonight.  The current plan is for us to throw any and all attempts to guess the committee out the window and just do our own criteria for how good we think the teams are.  That may change, though, but for now that is the plan.

-Our latest Under the Radar Video Podcasts features a discussion about Jerry Tarkanian, as well as what’s happening at South Carolina State.  We also run through all 23 of the non-power conferences.  To check it out – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day, which is HUGELY important – CLICK HERE

 

TONIIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TULSA AT UCONN (American).  Tulsa is right on the bubble, and this is a hugely important road game for them.  It won’t be easy to win, but to make the NCAA Tournament you have to be able to show that you’re capable of winning games that aren’t easy to win.

-MINNESOTA AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Iowa appears to be solid, and they should be able to beat non-tournament teams at home.

-PURDUE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  Purdue is pretty far outside the bubble, but has been playing well lately.  They really need to sprint to the finish if they want a chance at making the field, though.

-OLE MISS AT FLORIDA (SEC).  We have Ole Miss pretty far inside the bubble.  If they’re a true at-large caliber team, this is the kind of road game they should be able to win.  It’s not easy to win at Florida, but tournament teams can win games that aren’t easy to win.

-OLD DOMINION AT UTSA (Conference USA).  If ODU wins out they should end up inside the bubble.

-SMU AT HOUSTON (American).  I originally had this labeled as a CUSA game, which is what happens when you rush through it and forget what year it is.  Houston has given some teams fits on their home court, but it’s the kind of game you would expect SMU to be able to win.

-SAINT MARY’S AT BYU (West Coast).  Both teams are outside the bubble, and if they want any shot at all at getting in they pretty much need to win out.  This will at least be a notable win for whoever pulls it off.

-LMU AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  This is a conference game that will probably end up looking like a buy game.

-STANFORD AT UTAH (Pac Twelve).  Stanford is plummeting fast.  If they win this it could turn their season around, but that’s far easier said than done.

-MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Illinois is starting to play a little better, but they need to be able to beat non-tournament teams at home.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Thursday, February 12, 2015: Sacramento State at Eastern Washington

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Chad

For our latest Under the Radar podcast and more, CLICK HERE.

Sacramento State at Eastern Washington, 9:00 PM Eastern, free streaming at watchbigsky.com

The game of the season to date may very well be here in the Big Sky Conference as the league’s top two teams meet up tonight for the second time this year to break the tie in the loss column for the conference lead and determine which team will have a leg up in the battle for the right to host the conference tournament.  Sacramento State, which won the first matchup back on January 17 in Sacramento, enters tonight’s showdown with a 10-1 conference record and a 16-6 overall record.  They are ranked 136 in the RPI and 201 by KenPom, based mostly on a sub-300 Strength of Schedule.  But the SOS does not matter if the Hornets can keep winning games in what has already been their best season at the Division I level ever.  With 5 of their last 7 games on the road, starting tonight, Sac State will need to prove themselves if they want to clinch their first ever Big Sky regular season title.  A win tonight, however, will give them a sweep of Eastern Washington on the season and put them in the driver’s seat for the championship.

Eastern Washington made headlines back in November when they went to Assembly Hall and knocked off the Indiana Hoosiers by an 88-86 score.  The Eagles now sit at 9-1 in Big Sky play and 18-5 overall.  None of their losses have been awful (at SMU, at Washington, at Sam Houston State and at Cal in addition to the Sacramento State loss), but their RPI of 62, KenPom of 126 and overall SOS of 203 are not good enough for serious at-large consideration.  That being said, we do believe this to be a dangerous team should they make the field of 68 that could definitely win at least one game there.  In order to get to the field, winning the Big Sky regular season title and getting to host the conference tournament on their home floor is a huge advantage.  And that makes winning tonight pretty much a necessity.

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Under the Radar: February 11th

Posted on February 11, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and David begin by discussing the passing of Jerry Tarkanian, who spent his entire career coaching in UTR conferences.  They also discuss the situation at South Carolina State and talk what closing the school for two years will mean if they want to rejoin div1 upon its reopening.  As always, they run through all the non-major conferences, reveal their UTR Top Ten, and look at this week’s upcoming games.

 

A BONUS LINK!!  Check out this article in the New York Times about Saint Francis College.  It’s a FANTASTIC read and gives a great insight into their program – CLICK HERE

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

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