For this week's Top 10, we made a list (and checked it twice) of 10 wishes we have for the world of college basketball this holiday season. As always, we welcome your comments, and and we invite our readers to post their own lists.
For the holidays, we wish...
1. That Adam Morrison got rid of the pre-pubescent mustache.
2. That Dick Vitale would just marry J.J. Redick already.
3. That Stanford would beat a UC-somebody.
4. That Savannah State would give up on being a Division I team.
5. That Marcus Williams would give us back our laptop so we could finish this list.
(waiting)
(waiting)
(waiting)
(Thank you to the UConn campus police department. Back to the list.)
6. That LSU could graduate someone...anyone...ever.
7. That Conference USA would do something about its #19 RPI rating.
8. That Oklahoma would stop getting spanked by every decent team they play.
9. That Jared Dudley would stop whining about EVERY call.
10. That Bracketology 101 would stop worrying about defending the country and buying houses and post a freakin' bracket once in a while.
To all of our readers: Bracketology 101 wishes all of you a happy holiday season and a happy, healthy New Year. A new "Field of 65" will be posted shortly.
Chris and Craig
Friday, December 23, 2005
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Bracketology 101's Top 10 Best Conference Match-ups
This week's Top 10 ranks the biggest and best conference games that will be played this season. With conference play set to begin in a few weeks, there are plenty of high-profile match-ups to look forward to. As always, we welcome your comments, and we invite our readers to post their own lists. Enjoy...
Top 10 Best Conference Match-ups
Match-ups were ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale by the three voters. First place votes are in parentheses.
1. UConn-Villanova 30 (3) (Feb. 13 at Villanova, Feb. 26 at UConn)
2. Texas-Oklahoma 26 (Jan. 28 at Oklahoma, Mar. 5 at Texas)
3. Michigan State-Illinois 24 (Jan. 5 at Illinois, Mar. 4 at Michigan State)
4. Florida-Kentucky 18 (Feb. 4 at Florida, Mar. 5 at Kentucky)
5. UConn-Louisville 16 (Jan. 21 at Louisville, Mar. 4 at UConn)
6. Duke-North Carolina 12 (Feb. 7 at North Carolina, Mar. 4 at Duke)
7. Michigan State-Michigan 9 (Jan. 25 at Michigan, Feb. 18 at Michigan)
8. Duke-Boston College 9 (Feb. 1 at Boston College)
9. Washington-UCLA 6 (Jan. 14 at UCLA, Feb. 11 at Washington)
10. Villanova-Louisville 5 (Jan. 5 at Louisville, Jan. 30 at Villanova)
Also receiving votes: Memphis-Houston 5 (Mar. 4 at Memphis), Duke-Maryland 4 (Jan. 11 at Duke, Feb. 11 at Maryland), Northern Iowa-Missouri State 3 (Jan. 7 at Missouri State, Feb. 11 at Northern Iowa)
Top 10 Best Conference Match-ups
Match-ups were ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale by the three voters. First place votes are in parentheses.
1. UConn-Villanova 30 (3) (Feb. 13 at Villanova, Feb. 26 at UConn)
2. Texas-Oklahoma 26 (Jan. 28 at Oklahoma, Mar. 5 at Texas)
3. Michigan State-Illinois 24 (Jan. 5 at Illinois, Mar. 4 at Michigan State)
4. Florida-Kentucky 18 (Feb. 4 at Florida, Mar. 5 at Kentucky)
5. UConn-Louisville 16 (Jan. 21 at Louisville, Mar. 4 at UConn)
6. Duke-North Carolina 12 (Feb. 7 at North Carolina, Mar. 4 at Duke)
7. Michigan State-Michigan 9 (Jan. 25 at Michigan, Feb. 18 at Michigan)
8. Duke-Boston College 9 (Feb. 1 at Boston College)
9. Washington-UCLA 6 (Jan. 14 at UCLA, Feb. 11 at Washington)
10. Villanova-Louisville 5 (Jan. 5 at Louisville, Jan. 30 at Villanova)
Also receiving votes: Memphis-Houston 5 (Mar. 4 at Memphis), Duke-Maryland 4 (Jan. 11 at Duke, Feb. 11 at Maryland), Northern Iowa-Missouri State 3 (Jan. 7 at Missouri State, Feb. 11 at Northern Iowa)
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Slackers
Sorry for the lack of posts this week and for being late on our schedule. Chris has been busy buying a house and I've been trying to learn how to fly the F-18. It has been a fairly uneventful week anyways with the light game schedule due to exams. There have been some interesting games this week though....
DePaul somehow beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem and after a rocky start in which they lost to Bradley and Northern Illinois, they have reeled off wins against Creighton, UAB, Dayton and now Wake. Their tough out of conference schedule continues this weekend when they play at ODU.
Cincinnati destroyed an undefeated Ohio team and are now on a little roll after beating Vanderbilt over the weekend.
Minnesota continued its run by edging UAB and Princeton could only manage 21 points against Monmouth.
Interesting RPI notes.....
The MVC is the #4 ranked conference and the Colonial is ranked #7, while the PAC-10 is #9 and C-USA is way down at #19.
DePaul somehow beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem and after a rocky start in which they lost to Bradley and Northern Illinois, they have reeled off wins against Creighton, UAB, Dayton and now Wake. Their tough out of conference schedule continues this weekend when they play at ODU.
Cincinnati destroyed an undefeated Ohio team and are now on a little roll after beating Vanderbilt over the weekend.
Minnesota continued its run by edging UAB and Princeton could only manage 21 points against Monmouth.
Interesting RPI notes.....
The MVC is the #4 ranked conference and the Colonial is ranked #7, while the PAC-10 is #9 and C-USA is way down at #19.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Bracketology 101's "Best Week, Worst Week"
In this weekly feature, we rank the five teams, players, conferences, etc. that had the best week, as well as those that had a week they would like to forget.
Five Best Weeks
Adam Morrison
Banks are apparently open late Saturdays in Oregon. What a shot.
J.J. Redick
There have been a few 40-plus point performances in college basketball this year, but considering the competition and hype, no performance was as good as Redick's. By the way...who wins in a game of H-O-R-S-E? Redick or Morrison? Is there a way to arrange this?
Temple
The Owls won at Princeton and at home against Alabama to help pad their non-conference resume. With games against Duke, Villanova, and Maryland left on the schedule, Temple's RPI will have them in the conversation come Selection Sunday.
Notre Dame
The Irish bounced back from a loss at Michigan by winning a tough one at Alabama and then crushing Florida International With a cupcake-filled schedule coming up, ND will have a nice-looking record as they open conference play.
Ohio State
On Thursday night, Buckeye-bound Greg Oden put up 23 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks in a nationally televised high school game. On Saturday, his future teammates went on the road and won at St. Joseph's, earning them a spot in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll. Not a bad couple of days for The Ohio State University...and just wait 'til next year.
Five Worst Weeks
Kentucky
After finding out that they will be without Randolph Morris for the rest of the season, they went out and got pounded by an Indiana team that had just lost to Indiana State. It doesn't get any easier this week with Louisville coming in.
Alabama
First a desperate Notre Dame team comes to their home court and beats them, and then they lose over the weekend to Temple.
Boston College
This was supposed to be the week that BC was worthy of its top 10 ranking. Instead, they went out and lost Michigan State and to Maryland in their first ACC game.
Iowa
A real tough week to be a Hawkeye fan. Not only did they lose to Northern Iowa early in the week, they then went out and lost to Iowa State over the weekend. Granted, both games were on the road to teams that were in our pre-season bracket, but most though they should win at least one of these games.
Oklahoma State
I wonder how much the Cowboys ended up paying Northwestern State to come into Stillwater and beat them. Then they traveled up to Seattle to have their hearts ripped out by Adam Morrison.
Five Best Weeks
Adam Morrison
Banks are apparently open late Saturdays in Oregon. What a shot.
J.J. Redick
There have been a few 40-plus point performances in college basketball this year, but considering the competition and hype, no performance was as good as Redick's. By the way...who wins in a game of H-O-R-S-E? Redick or Morrison? Is there a way to arrange this?
Temple
The Owls won at Princeton and at home against Alabama to help pad their non-conference resume. With games against Duke, Villanova, and Maryland left on the schedule, Temple's RPI will have them in the conversation come Selection Sunday.
Notre Dame
The Irish bounced back from a loss at Michigan by winning a tough one at Alabama and then crushing Florida International With a cupcake-filled schedule coming up, ND will have a nice-looking record as they open conference play.
Ohio State
On Thursday night, Buckeye-bound Greg Oden put up 23 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks in a nationally televised high school game. On Saturday, his future teammates went on the road and won at St. Joseph's, earning them a spot in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll. Not a bad couple of days for The Ohio State University...and just wait 'til next year.
Five Worst Weeks
Kentucky
After finding out that they will be without Randolph Morris for the rest of the season, they went out and got pounded by an Indiana team that had just lost to Indiana State. It doesn't get any easier this week with Louisville coming in.
Alabama
First a desperate Notre Dame team comes to their home court and beats them, and then they lose over the weekend to Temple.
Boston College
This was supposed to be the week that BC was worthy of its top 10 ranking. Instead, they went out and lost Michigan State and to Maryland in their first ACC game.
Iowa
A real tough week to be a Hawkeye fan. Not only did they lose to Northern Iowa early in the week, they then went out and lost to Iowa State over the weekend. Granted, both games were on the road to teams that were in our pre-season bracket, but most though they should win at least one of these games.
Oklahoma State
I wonder how much the Cowboys ended up paying Northwestern State to come into Stillwater and beat them. Then they traveled up to Seattle to have their hearts ripped out by Adam Morrison.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Bracketology 101's Weekend Recap
Here's a quick recap of key scores from Friday night and Saturday afternoon...
Friday's Games
Iowa State 72, Iowa 60
The slumping Hawkeyes go oh-for-Iowa.
Saturday's Games
Duke 97, Texas 66
That should satisfy all the Duke doubters.
Kansas 69, California 56
The Jayhawks needed a good non-conference win, and they finally got one.
Ohio State 81, St. Joseph's 74
The unbeaten Buckeyes may be a win away from a spot in the Top 25.
Drexel 61, Old Dominion 42
Looks like the Colonial won't be a walk in the park for ODU.
Gonzaga 64, Oklahoma State 62
Anything J.J. can do, Adam can do better.
Indiana 79, Kentucky 53
A bad week for the Wildcats got even worse.
Temple 68, Alabama 58
The Owls play a brutal non-conference schedule. This one will look nice on their resume.
UCLA 67, Nevada 56
Duke-Texas wasn't the only ranked team vs. ranked team clunker on Saturday.
Ohio 71, Rhode Island 63
Are the Bobcats the team to beat in the MAC?
Buffalo 62, Rutgers 53
Or are the Bulls?
Michigan State 83, Wichita State 64
Seems like Maui was a positive for the Spartans after all.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 58, Hawaii 52
These mid-major over mid-major wins are key come Selection Sunday.
Indiana State 57, Ball State 56
Can the MVC get three teams in the Dance again?
Cincinnati 92 Vanderbilt 83
Cinci gets huge road win over a previously undefeated Vanderbilt team.
Illinois 89 Oregon 59
Losing by 30 at home?! Not good for Oregon as they finish of 0-3 in there tough out of conference stretch. I thought Illinois was supposed to take a big step down from last year.
Maryland 73, Boston College 71
An awful night at the line (5-for-15) sent the Eagles to their second loss of the week.
Friday's Games
Iowa State 72, Iowa 60
The slumping Hawkeyes go oh-for-Iowa.
Saturday's Games
Duke 97, Texas 66
That should satisfy all the Duke doubters.
Kansas 69, California 56
The Jayhawks needed a good non-conference win, and they finally got one.
Ohio State 81, St. Joseph's 74
The unbeaten Buckeyes may be a win away from a spot in the Top 25.
Drexel 61, Old Dominion 42
Looks like the Colonial won't be a walk in the park for ODU.
Gonzaga 64, Oklahoma State 62
Anything J.J. can do, Adam can do better.
Indiana 79, Kentucky 53
A bad week for the Wildcats got even worse.
Temple 68, Alabama 58
The Owls play a brutal non-conference schedule. This one will look nice on their resume.
UCLA 67, Nevada 56
Duke-Texas wasn't the only ranked team vs. ranked team clunker on Saturday.
Ohio 71, Rhode Island 63
Are the Bobcats the team to beat in the MAC?
Buffalo 62, Rutgers 53
Or are the Bulls?
Michigan State 83, Wichita State 64
Seems like Maui was a positive for the Spartans after all.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 58, Hawaii 52
These mid-major over mid-major wins are key come Selection Sunday.
Indiana State 57, Ball State 56
Can the MVC get three teams in the Dance again?
Cincinnati 92 Vanderbilt 83
Cinci gets huge road win over a previously undefeated Vanderbilt team.
Illinois 89 Oregon 59
Losing by 30 at home?! Not good for Oregon as they finish of 0-3 in there tough out of conference stretch. I thought Illinois was supposed to take a big step down from last year.
Maryland 73, Boston College 71
An awful night at the line (5-for-15) sent the Eagles to their second loss of the week.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Bracketology 101's Top 10 Coaches
This week's Top 10 ranks the best coaches in college basketball - some old, some new, some Hall of Famers, and some up-and-comers. As always, we welcome your comments, and we invite our readers to post their own lists. Enjoy...
Top 10 Coaches
Coaches were ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale by the three voters. First place votes are in parentheses.
1. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) 29 (2)
2. Jim Calhoun (UConn) 25
3. Tom Izzo (Michigan State) 23 (1)
4. Lute Olson (Arizona) 21
5. Bobby Knight (Texas Tech) 18
6. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) 15
7. Rick Pitino (Louisville) 10
8. Roy Williams (North Carolina) 9
9. Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State) 5
10. Tubby Smith (Kentucky) 5
Also receiving votes: Gary Williams (Maryland) 4, John Chaney (Temple) 1
Top 10 Coaches
Coaches were ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale by the three voters. First place votes are in parentheses.
1. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) 29 (2)
2. Jim Calhoun (UConn) 25
3. Tom Izzo (Michigan State) 23 (1)
4. Lute Olson (Arizona) 21
5. Bobby Knight (Texas Tech) 18
6. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) 15
7. Rick Pitino (Louisville) 10
8. Roy Williams (North Carolina) 9
9. Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State) 5
10. Tubby Smith (Kentucky) 5
Also receiving votes: Gary Williams (Maryland) 4, John Chaney (Temple) 1
Monday, December 05, 2005
Bracketology 101's "Best Week, Worst Week"
This new weekly feature on Bracketology 101 will recap the week that was in college basketball. We will rank the five teams, players, conferences, etc. that had the best week, as well as those that had a week they would like to forget.
Five Best Weeks
Houston
Coming off a week in which they lost to VCU at home, the Cougars come from behind to win at LSU and then shock Arizona at home. Maybe someone will be able to compete with Memphis in C-USA afterall.
ACC
They won 6 out of 11 in the Big Ten-ACC challenge and they are on top in the first conference RPI poll to come out. They also have more ranked teams then any other conference.
Villanova
Picked up a big win against Oklahoma, which should answer the questions as to whether or not they would still be a top 5 team without Curtis Sumpter.
UNC
Played Illinois very tough on Tuesday and then won at Kentucky on Saturday. This team may be young but they definitely look like a tournament team so far. Roy William's stock continues to rise.
Washington
Were able to beat Gonzaga for the first time since 1997. They are the only undefeated team left in the Pac-10 and also the only one ranked in the top 15.
Five Worst Weeks
This week was supposed to be a trip to the bakery for Stanford, but the cupcakes didn’t exactly cooperate. The Cardinal were blown out byMontana
It wasn’t a very good couple days for the middle of the pack in the Big 12.Iowa State , Nebraska Kansas State Missouri Kansas Nevada
MWC
So much for the conference’s pre-season favorites. UNLV has lost three in a row (including two this past week toOklahoma State Oregon State Utah San Diego State San Diego Colorado State
Arizona
The first weekend in December has not been kind in recent years to the Wildcats. Losing early season games to UConn and Michigan State is acceptable, losing to Houston isn't.
Not a good 24 hours for Hokie football and basketball fans. But, hey, the men's and women's pole vault teams won the VMI Invitational. That should help ease the pain.
Five Best Weeks
Houston
Coming off a week in which they lost to VCU at home, the Cougars come from behind to win at LSU and then shock Arizona at home. Maybe someone will be able to compete with Memphis in C-USA afterall.
ACC
They won 6 out of 11 in the Big Ten-ACC challenge and they are on top in the first conference RPI poll to come out. They also have more ranked teams then any other conference.
Villanova
Picked up a big win against Oklahoma, which should answer the questions as to whether or not they would still be a top 5 team without Curtis Sumpter.
UNC
Played Illinois very tough on Tuesday and then won at Kentucky on Saturday. This team may be young but they definitely look like a tournament team so far. Roy William's stock continues to rise.
Washington
Were able to beat Gonzaga for the first time since 1997. They are the only undefeated team left in the Pac-10 and also the only one ranked in the top 15.
Five Worst Weeks
This week was supposed to be a trip to the bakery for Stanford, but the cupcakes didn’t exactly cooperate. The Cardinal were blown out by
It wasn’t a very good couple days for the middle of the pack in the Big 12.
MWC
So much for the conference’s pre-season favorites. UNLV has lost three in a row (including two this past week to
Arizona
The first weekend in December has not been kind in recent years to the Wildcats. Losing early season games to UConn and Michigan State is acceptable, losing to Houston isn't.
Not a good 24 hours for Hokie football and basketball fans. But, hey, the men's and women's pole vault teams won the VMI Invitational. That should help ease the pain.
"Bracketology 101's" Weekly Schedule
Here's what to expect from us in the coming weeks:
Monday
Best Week, Worst Week
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Games to Watch
Friday
Top Ten List
Saturday and Sunday
Weekend Recaps
Starting in mid-January we will release a bracket every Sunday night. Until then expect another bracket in the middle of December and another one in the beginning of January.
Monday
Best Week, Worst Week
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Games to Watch
Friday
Top Ten List
Saturday and Sunday
Weekend Recaps
Starting in mid-January we will release a bracket every Sunday night. Until then expect another bracket in the middle of December and another one in the beginning of January.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Bracketology 101's Top 10 White Guys
This week's Top 10 ranks some of the rarest players in the land - the best white guys in the country. All teams in all conferences were considered. As always, we welcome your comments, and we invite our readers to post their own list. Enjoy...
Players were ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale by the three voters. First place votes are in parentheses.
1. Adam Morrison (Gonzaga) 30 (3)
2. J.J. Redick (Duke) 26
3. Paul Davis (Michigan State) 24
4. Nick Fazekas (Nevada) 20
5. Kevin Pittsnogle (WVU) 18
6. Chris Hernandez (Stanford) 10
7. James Augustine (Illinois) 10
8. Gerry McNamara (Syracuse) 7
9. Adam Huluska (Iowa) 6
10. Mike Gansey (WVU) 5
Also receiving votes: Josh McRoberts (Duke) 4, Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) 2, Steve Novak 2 (Marquette), Nate Funk (Creighton) 1
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