Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Wednesday's Games To Watch

What a night it's going to be in Bubbleville...

Duke at Florida State

It all comes down to this for the much-debated 'Noles.

Texas at Texas A&M
Same goes for the Aggies. A win and they jump ahead of resume-challenged Colorado (who they beat head-to-head) for the Big XII's fourth bid.

Colorado at Kansas
People have been holding their noses when putting the Buffs in their brackets the last couple weeks. Here's one final chance to prove they belong.

Indiana at Purdue
Resurgent Hoosiers won't lose this one...right?

Vanderbilt at Mississippi
Vandy needs 4 wins in a row to have a chance to dance. It starts with this one.

Kentucky at Tennessee
Wildcats are the sixth team out of the SEC right now, and by far the most in danger to not go dancing. A split this week is all they need to feel safe, but they have a tough road left.

Miami (FL) at Maryland
'Canes are hanging onto the bubble by a thread. They can't afford another loss until pretty deep into the ACC tournament.

Virginia at North Carolina
Virginia is on life support too, needing to win their last two. By the end of the night, will all of the ACC bubbles be popped?

Wyoming at San Diego State
Aztecs look to clinch sole possession of the MWC regular season title.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 26

Bracket Reasoning

Colonial...Hofstra's huge win over George Mason earlier in the week made us believers in them again. They still have work to do though. They will most likely face Mason again in the conference tourney semi's and if they can win that game then they can get an at-large bid even if they were to lose to UNC-Wilmington in the championship. UNC-Wilmington needs to reach the championship game to feel safe.

MVC...A huge mess. The conference tourney starting this week will determine so much. The game between Creighton and Bradley on Friday is the most important one. Both teams have their share of good wins and bad losses in and out of conference (Creighton's resume is slightly better). With the Bluejays tourney history we like them in this game so they received one of the last bids. Bradley has really played well down the stretch but they still will need this one to secure an at-large bid for themselves. If Creighton were to lose they would really be sweating it out come Selection Sunday. Southern Illinois kept themselves alive with their win over UNI but they will need to get to the the conference championship to get an at-large because of their bad losses and poor finish. UNI and Missouri State are probably both safe regardless of the outcome of their game.

MWC...We still like SDSU to win the conference tourney (their at-large hopes are non-existant) and as long as Air Force can get by BYU and into the championship it will be enough for a bid.

ACC...No bubble team wants to be the 5th bid out of this league. Out of the teams still clinging to the bubble Miami has the best chance to finish 9-7 in conference, but even if they do they still most likely need to make it to the tourney semi's to get an at-large. Someone will really need to step up to make the ACC a 5 bid conference.

Big 12...Colorado cannot afford anymore bad losses and still get a bid and will need to get to the semi's of the conference tourney to get a bid. Texas A&M is coming on strong but they need a big win for their ugly resume before they can be taken too seriously.

A-10...St. Louis is playing really well right now and look like they are the only team with a shot to take down GW in the conference tourney. If they can take care of business this week there is a good chance you'll see them in the bracket next week as the A-10 automatic bid.

Here is Chris and Craig's latest field:

Last Four In
Colorado, Air Force, Creighton, Hofstra

Last Four Out
Bradley, Southern Illinois, Texas A&M, Seton Hall

In This Week
Indiana, Hofstra, Kent State, Manhattan, Oral Roberts, Lipscomb

Out This Week

Seton Hall, Florida State, Akron, Iona, IUPUI, Gardner-Webb

Conference Breakdown
(Automatic bids in multiple-bid conferences are the first teams listed.)
Big East (8), Big Ten (7), SEC (6), ACC (4), MVC (4), Big 12 (4), PAC-10 (4), Colonial (3), MWC (2), C-USA (2)

America East - Albany

ACC - Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Boston College

Atlantic Sun - Lipscomb

A-10 - George Washington

Big East - UConn, Villanova, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Georgetown, Marquette, Cincinnati, Syracuse

Big Sky - Northern Arizona

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana

Big 12 - Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado

Big West - Pacific

Colonial - UNC-WIlmington, George Mason, Hofstra

C-USA - Memphis, UAB

Horizon - Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Manhattan

MAC - Kent State

MCC - Oral Roberts

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Wichita State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Creighton

MWC - San Diego State, Air Force

Northeast - Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley - Murray State

PAC-10 - UCLA, Washington, Arizona, California

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Tennessee, LSU, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky

Southern - Georgia Southern

Southland - Northwestern State

SWAC - Southern

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

WAC - Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
Duke, UConn, Memphis, Villanova

The 2s
Texas, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Illinois

The 3s
Pittsburgh, Tennessee, UCLA, George Washington

The 4s
Iowa, West Virginia, LSU, North Carolina

The 5s
Washington, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Michigan State

The 6s
Boston College, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina State

The 7s
Marquette, Michigan, Florida, Nevada

The 8s
Wichita State, Arkansas, Alabama, Bucknell

The 9s
Arizona, George Mason, Missouri State, Kentucky

The 10s
Cincinnati, California, Northern Iowa, Syracuse

The 11s
Indiana, UNC-Wilmington, UAB, Creighton

The 12s
Colorado, Air Force, Hofstra, San Diego State

The 13s
Western Kentucky, Kent State, Manhattan, Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The 14s
Northwestern State, Winthrop, Murray State, Northern Arizona

The 15s
Pacific, Albany, Penn, Oral Roberts

The 16s
Georgia Southern, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lipscomb (Play-In Game), Southern (Play-In Game)

The Bracket

This Week's Bracket

Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Chris and Craig at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Weekend Recap

Georgetown 68, Syracuse 53
'Cuse got the split it needed this week to stay in the bracket. Their fate will likely ultimately be decided by the Big East tourney.

Vanderbilt 57, South Carolina 56
'Cocks officially punched their ticket to the NIT.

Arkansas 73, Tennessee 69
Heck of a three-game run by the Razorbacks.

Colorado 78, Missouri 60
This one was close early, but the bubbleicious Buffaloes eventually took care of business.

Ohio State 64, Michigan 54
Wolverines can't pull of an impressive sweep for the week. OSU will go back to being the Big Ten's best seed.

Clemson 90, Virginia 64
Losing the game was bad enough for Virginia, but losing by 26 pushes them a little further down the bubble.

Kent State 70, Miami (OH) 63
Golden Flashes hold on to first place in the MAC.

Southern Illinois 46, Northern Iowa 45
Huge win for the Salukis in the season finale for both teams. The MVC went from a four-bid lock conference to a huge mess the last couple weeks. At this point, making it to the conference tourney semis is imperative for everyone.

DePaul 67, Seton Hall 64
That's three straight bad losses by Hall, who's in a whole lot of trouble. Will the Big East - after all the eight and nine bid talk - be a seven bid league?

San Diego State 73, New Mexico 66
The Aztecs come out of the Pit with the win and their lead in the MWC.

LSU 71, Kentucky 67
Wildcats lose first game of their brutal three-game stretch the end the season.

Boston College 74, North Carolina State 72
Eagles get their first good conference win in a month.

Hofstra 70, Drexel 68
Pride get the win, Craig (in Vegas for the weekend) gets the loss, taking Hofstra -7.

George Washington 78, Fordham 67
First game without Pops is a win for GW.

Texas A&M 66, Nebraska 55
That's five straight for the resume-challenged Aggies as they prep for a make-or-break showdown Wednesday vs. Texas.

Marquette 80, Notre Dame 72
Golden Eagles keep improving their seed.

Illinois 71, Iowa 59
Buckeye fans can thank the Illini for their one game lead with two to play.

Air Force 68, UNLV 55
Falcons can't afford any more losses the rest of the way.

Stanford 39, Washington State 37
Hey, when you're Stanford, you'll take a win anyway you can get one. The Cardinal still need to win out, though, to have a shot.

Virginia Tech 72, Florida State 61
This was supposed to be the "gimme" game left for FSU. Can any ACC bubble team win a game? Anyone?

UAB 73, SMU 68
Blazers now set their sights on a season-making rematch with Memphis.

UTEP 69, Houston 63
Most expected Houston to handle the Tofi-less Miners. Whoops.

Bradley 86, Drake 66
Get on the Bradley bandwagon while you still can.

Missouri State 60, Creighton 54
Missouri State may be the safest team in the MVC right now. This win also gives the Bears slumping Northern Iowa in the MVC first round.

Nevada 75, Utah State 57
So much for an Aggies sweep and an at-large bid. Nevada is on cruise control right now.

Texas 80, Kansas 55
Statement game for the Longhorns as they try to win out and, with some luck, grab the final one seed.

Indiana 78, Michigan State 71
Just when you thought the Hoosiers were dead, they pull off this miracle. Before Indiana fans get too excited, though, remember that the Hoosiers haven't won a road game since December and have two roadies (at Purdue and Michigan) left.

UConn 89, Villanova 75
Nice revenge win for the Huskies, as they tie 'Nova atop the Big East.

Alabama 82, Florida 77
The Tide have officially rolled themselves off the bubble.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Bracketology 101's Top 10 Games That Can Turn Bubble Teams Into Tourney Teams

This week's Top 10 ranks the biggest games left this season for teams currently on or around the bubble. Over the next two weeks, these bubble teams have chances to pick up a marquee win in these games and solidify their invitation to the dance. As always, we welcome your comments, and we invite our readers to post their own lists. Enjoy...

Top 10 Games That Can Turn Bubble Teams Into Tourney Teams
Games were ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale by the three voters.

1. Duke at Florida State 29
2. Nevada at Utah State 25
3. Memphis at UAB 21
3 (tie). Colorado at Kansas 21
5. Houston at Memphis 12
6. West Virginia at Cincinnati 10
6 (tie). Arkansas at Tennessee 10
8. Virginia at North Carolina 8
9. Villanova at Syracuse 7
10. Cincinnati at Seton Hall 6
10 (tie). Charlotte at George Washington 6

Also receiving votes: Texas A&M at Texas 5, Michigan State at Indiana 3, UCLA at Stanford 1, UCLA at Cal 1

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 19

Here is Chris and Craig's latest field:

Last Four In
Syracuse, Florida State, Air Force, UNC-Wilmington

Last Four Out
Southern Illinois, Maryland, Indiana, Utah State

In This Week
Cincinnati, Florida State, Air Force, UNC-Wilmington, Gardner-Webb

Out This Week
Southern Illinois, Maryland, Indiana, Hofstra, Lipscomb

Conference Breakdown
(Automatic bids in multiple-bid conferences are the first teams listed.)
Big East (9), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (5), MVC (4), Big 12 (4), PAC-10 (4), MWC (2), C-USA (2), Colonial (2)

America East - Albany

ACC - Duke, North Carolina State, Boston College, North Carolina, Florida State

Atlantic Sun - Gardner-Webb

A-10 - George Washington

Big East - Villanova, UConn, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Marquette, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, Syracuse

Big Sky - Northern Arizona

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan

Big 12 - Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado

Big West - Pacific

Colonial - George Mason, UNC-Wilmington

C-USA - Memphis, UAB

Horizon - Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Iona

MAC - Akron

MCC - IUPUI

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Northern Iowa, Wichita State, Creighton, Missouri State

MWC - San Diego State , Air Force

Northeast - Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley - Murray State

PAC-10 - UCLA, Washington, California, Arizona

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas

Southern - Georgia Southern

Southland - Northwestern State

SWAC - Southern

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

WAC - Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds
The 1s
Duke, Villanova, UConn, Memphis

The 2s
Texas, Gonzaga, Illinois, Tennessee

The 3s
Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, George Washington

The 4s
UCLA, Iowa, West Virginia, North Carolina State

The 5s
Boston College, North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin

The 6s
Kansas, LSU, Washington, Oklahoma

The 7s
Marquette, Georgetown, Northern Iowa, Nevada

The 8s
Wichita State, Creighton, Bucknell, Michigan

The 9s
Alabama, Seton Hall, Kentucky, George Mason

The 10s
California, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri State

The 11s
Cincinnati, Arkansas, UAB, Florida State

The 12s
Syracuse, Western Kentucky, San Diego State, Air Force

The 13s
UNC-Wilmington, Iona, Akron, Winthrop

The 14s
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Northwestern State, Murray State, Northern Arizona

The 15s
Pacific, Albany, Penn, IUPUI

The 16s
Georgia Southern, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Gardner-Webb (Play-In Game), Southern (Play-In Game)

The Bracket

This Week's Bracket

Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Chris and Craig at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Weekend Recap

Cincinnati 66, Providence 64
Good week for the Bearcats.

Nevada 88, Akron 61
This is the Wolfpack team that everyone expected this year. Their seed will continue to climb.

Northern Iowa 65, Bucknell 61 2OT
Bison had this game in the bag but blew it. Why are the UNI students rushing?

Oklahoma 83, Iowa State 82
Cyclones blew this game and all their at-large hopes.

Kentucky 79, South Carolina 66
Might have been the biggest bubble game of the day. 'Cocks rising at-large chances take a huge hit.

Kansas State 72, Colorado 60
Huge let down for Buffs after big win over Sooners.

Missouri State 72, Wisc.-Milwaukee 63
Bears get a huge road win to add to their at-large profile.

Arkansas 85, Florida 81 OT
Razorbacks get the marquee win their profile was in desperate need of.

Western Kentucky 79, Northern Arizona 58
Hilltoppers have a legitimate shot at an at-large.

UConn 81, West Virginia 75
Mountaineers can't hand Huskies 2 straight losses.

Texas Tech 70, Nebraska 64
Just when you though the Huskers would climb back in the at-large picture.

Alabama 92, Tennessee 79
Tide recovers nicely from early week loss.

Maryland 87, Georgia Tech 84 OT
Terps barely hanging on to tourney hopes. Not an impressive showing at home for them.

Florida State 76, Virginia 62
Basically an elimination game in ACC. Brutal schedule left for Cavs leaves them in big trouble.

Minnesota 74, Iowa 61
Gophers playing well at home in February.

Louisiana Tech 54, Southern Illinois 51
May be a very devastating loss for SIU. Out of conference profile is disgusting for the Salukis.

George Mason 70, Wichita State 67
Patriots are the big winners in this year's Bracket Buster. This was a gigantic road win for them over the MVC's top team.

Arizona State 65, Cal 64
Bad home lose for Bears only affects their seed at this point.

Vanderbilt 72, Georgia 55
Vandy is just hanging on to the rear end of the bubble.

Marquette 84, Pittsburgh 82
Eagles have best week out of everyone in the whole country.

Notre Dame 102, Seton Hall 91
Real tough trying to figure out Hall right now. It's just a good thing that got the win over WVU this week.

Syracuse 79, Louisville 66
Orange get a must win, while the Cardinals now have to worry about making the Big East tourney more then the NCAA tourney.

Arizona 76, Stanford 72
Cardinal really needed this one at home. They now have to sweep this week in Washington just to get back in the conversation.

USC 71, UCLA 68
Loss sends the Bruins back into a first place tie in the Pac-10.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Radio Appearance

Those in the Cincinnati area can hear us Thursday at 6:25PM on the ESPN radio affiliate 1450 AM.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Thursday's Games To Watch

Miami at Boston College
One win this week (at BC or at Duke) would do wonders for the Hurricanes' previously shrinking at-large chances.

Georgetown at Marquette
Golden Eagles need to stop their recent skid down the Big East standings.

San Diego State at UNLV
Only chance for SDSU to get an at-large will be to win out, which will tough with the road schedule they have remaining.

Arizona State at Stanford
Good chance for Stanford to pad its Pac-10 record and prep for a huge game Sunday vs. Arizona.

Arizona at California
The road has not been kind to the Arizona in conference this season.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Thank You

Late last night we went over 100,000 hits.

If you'd like to hear us talk about this week's bracket on AOL's Sports Blogger Live, click on the following link: (http://us.video.aol.com/audio.full.adp?pmmsid=1466432).

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 12

Here is Chris and Craig's latest field:

Last Four In
Missouri State, UAB, Arkansas, Hofstra

Last Four Out
Florida State, Cincinnati, Stanford, Vanderbilt

In This Week
Missouri State, Arkansas, Hofstra, Akron, Georgia Southern, Pacific

Out This Week
Stanford, Miami (FL), Iowa State, Kent State, Davidson, UC-Irvine

Conference Breakdown
(Automatic bids in multiple-bid conferences are the first teams listed.)
Big East (8), Big Ten (7), SEC (6), ACC (5), MVC (5), Big 12 (4), PAC-10 (4), C-USA (2), Colonial (2)

America East - Albany

ACC - Duke, North Carolina State, Boston College, North Carolina, Maryland

Atlantic Sun - Lipscomb

A-10 - George Washington

Big East - UConn, Villanova, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Georgetown, Marquette, Seton Hall, Syracuse

Big Sky - Northern Arizona

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana

Big 12 - Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado

Big West - Pacific

Colonial - George Mason, Hofstra

C-USA - Memphis, UAB

Horizon - Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Iona

MAC - Akron

MCC - IUPUI

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Northern Iowa, Creighton, Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Missouri State

MWC - San Diego State

Northeast - Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley - Murray State

PAC-10 - UCLA, Washington, California, Arizona

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas

Southern - Georgia Southern

Southland - Northwestern State

SWAC - Southern

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

WAC - Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds

The 1s
UConn, Duke, Memphis, Texas

The 2s
Villanova, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Ohio State

The 3s
Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Illinois, West Virginia

The 4s
George Washington, Iowa, Florida, UCLA

The 5s
Boston College, Georgetown, North Carolina State, North Carolina

The 6s
Kansas, LSU, Oklahoma, Washington

The 7s
Northern Iowa, Bucknell, Wisconsin, Creighton

The 8s
Michigan, Wichita State, California, Nevada

The 9s
Marquette, Southern Illinois, Arizona, Seton Hall

The 10s
Alabama, Kentucky, Colorado, Maryland

The 11s
Syracuse, UAB, George Mason, Missouri State

The 12s
Indiana, Arkansas, Hofstra, San Diego State

The 13s
Western Kentucky, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Iona, Akron

The 14s
Northwestern State, Winthrop, Northern Arizona, Pacific

The 15s
Penn, Albany, Murray State, Georgia Southern

The 16s
IUPUI, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lipscomb (Play-In Game), Southern (Play-In Game)

The Bracket

This Week's Bracket

Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Chris and Craig at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Weekend Recap

Iowa 70, Indiana 67
Different coach, same result for the struggling Hooisers.

Purdue 84, Michigan 70
What's gotten into the bottom of the Big Ten lately?

Duke 96, Maryland 88
Another huge day by J.J. (35) sends Terps to fourth loss in five games. The Terps play four of their final six games on the road, and have to get to 9-7 in conference to feel safe.

Florida 71, LSU 62
Good bounce-back win for the Gators at home.

Arizona 80, Oregon State 58
Wildcats avoid loss No. 10 with an easy win over the Beavers.

Southern Illinois 74, Creighton 67
Huge win for the Salukis' at-large hopes.

N.C. Wilmington 69, Georgia State 57; Hofstra 89, N'eastern 78; VCU 80, ODU 74; George Mason 65, Towson 53
CAA might get two bids with the lack of quality at-large candidates in the big conferences.

George Washington 64, St. Joseph's 62
It's games like this that make sure wonder if GW is a lock to win the A-10 tourney.

Minnesota 69, Michigan State 55
Does anyone want to win this conference?

Utah 67, San Diego State 65
Can't lose MWC home games and get an at-large bid. Mountain West is looking like a one bid conference.

Vanderbilt 84, Kentucky 81
Another head-scratching loss for Kentucky, this time against a Vandy team that had lost four straight. Season sweep for Vandy puts them right back in the hunt for a bid.

Washington 70, UCLA 67
Huge home sweep over the LA schools for the Huskies will do wonders to their seed and shut up their doubters.

Alabama 64, Mississippi 50
Tide's seed will get a nice bump after a two-win week.

Tennessee 83, Georgia 78
Major opportunity blown by the Bulldogs.

Kansas 88, Iowa State 75
Terrible week for the Cyclones will likely leave them out of the field this week.

Colorado 66, Texas Tech 64
Buffs take care of business at home.

UConn 99, Seton Hall 57
Huskies seem untouchable right now, but they should get tested this week at 'Nova and WVU.

Missouri State 66, Northern Iowa 63
Bears get a huge road win and keep themselves alive for an at-large and the MVC alive for 5 bids.

UAB 72, East Carolina 64
Blazers have no room for error after loss to UTEP earlier on the week.

Arkansas 84, Auburn 64
Can't think of another team that has been in basically the same spot on the bubble in the past month like the Razorbacks.

New Mexico State 83, Utah State 77
Just a few hours ago we were talking about the Aggies' at-large chances. Now that conversation is moot since tourney teams don't get swept by NMSU.

Gonzaga 80, Stanford 76
Cardinal made a valient effort on the road but blew their opportunity this week to get a good road win. Don't count them out though because they have 4 of their last 6 at home and have chances to beat ranked teams (@ Wash., UCLA).

Georgia Tech 71, North Carolina State 67
First real bad slip-up for the Wolfpack this season.

Ohio State 69, Illinois 53
Streaking Buckeyes might be the Big Ten's highest-seeded team this week.

Syracuse 75, St. John's 60
Orange get back to .500 in conference with nice road win over the Johnnies. A sweep this week at home over Cincinnati and Louisville is still a must though.

Rutgers 91, Marquette 84
Would have been nice for the Golden Eagles to have this one with Georgetown and Pitt coming in this week.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Bracketology 101's Top 10 Bubble Match-ups This Weekend

This week's Top 10 ranks the weekend's biggest match-ups featuring at least one bubble team. The next two days will be critical for a handful of struggling big conference and mid-major teams. Some face tough road tests and others will try to stop a recent losing skid at home against a quality opponent. As always, we welcome your comments, and we invite our readers to post their own lists. Enjoy...

Top 10 Biggest Bubble Match-ups This Weekend
Match-ups were ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale by the three voters.

1. Stanford at Gonzaga 28
2. Iowa State at Kansas 24
3. North Carolina at Miami 21
4. Syracuse at St. John's 17
5. Tennessee at Georgia 15
6. Texas Tech at Colorado 14
7. Iowa at Indiana 12
8. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh 11
8 (tie). Southern Illinois at Creighton 11
10. Missouri State at Northern Iowa 9

Also receiving votes: Oregon State at Arizona

Monday, February 06, 2006

Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - Feb. 5

Here is Chris and Craig's latest field:

Last Four In
Miami (FL), Alabama, Southern Illinois, Stanford

Last Four Out
Missouri State, Air Force, Arkansas, Nebraska

Conference Breakdown
(Automatic bids in multiple-bid conferences are the first teams listed.)
Big East (8), Big Ten (7), ACC (6), Big 12 (5), SEC (5), PAC-10 (5), MVC (4), C-USA (2)

America East - Albany

ACC - Duke, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Boston College, Maryland, Miami (FL)

Atlantic Sun - Lipscomb

A-10 - George Washington

Big East - UConn, Villanova, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Marquette, Seton Hall, Syracuse

Big Sky - Northern Arizona

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin

Big 12 - Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa State

Big West - UC-Irvine

Colonial - George Mason

C-USA - Memphis, UAB

Horizon - Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy - Penn

Metro Atlantic - Iona

MAC - Kent State

MCC - IUPUI

MEAC - Delaware State

MVC - Northern Iowa, Creighton, Wichita State, Southern Illinois

MWC - San Diego State

Northeast - Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley - Murray State

PAC-10 - UCLA, Washington, Arizona, California, Stanford

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Kentucky, Alabama

Southern - Davidson

Southland - Northwestern State

SWAC - Southern

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

WAC - Nevada

WCC - Gonzaga

The Seeds

The 1s
UConn, Duke, Memphis, Texas

The 2s
Villanova, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Illinois

The 3s
Tennessee, West Virginia, Iowa, Florida

The 4s
UCLA, George Washington, Pittsburgh, North Carolina State

The 5s
Georgetown, Ohio State, North Carolina, Michigan

The 6s
Boston College, Northern Iowa, Creighton, LSU

The 7s
Oklahoma, Bucknell, Kansas, Marquette

The 8s
Indiana, Wichita State, UAB, Kentucky

The 9s
Seton Hall, Colorado, Washington, Wisconsin

The 10s
Arizona, Maryland, California, Iowa State

The 11s
Syracuse, Nevada, Miami (FL), Alabama

The 12s
George Mason, San Diego State, Southern Illinois, Stanford

The 13s
Western Kentucky, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Iona, Kent State

The 14s
Northwestern State, Winthrop, Penn, Northern Arizona

The 15s
Davidson, Albany, Murray State, UC-Irvine

The 16s
IUPUI, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lipscomb (Play-In Game), Southern (Play-In Game)

The Bracket

This Week's Bracket


Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Chris and Craig at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Weekend Recap

West Virginia 66, Cincinnati 57
Bearcats' freefall continues.

Duke 97, Florida St. 96 OT
Could have been a huge win for FSU. Might have been if not for the refs.

Louisville 89, Notre Dame 86 OT
Gotta feel for those kids at ND.

Wichita State 71, Southern Illinois 63 2OT
SIU might need some help to stay in this week's bracket.

Alabama 67, LSU 62
Tide losses the game they were supposed to win (Georgia) this week and wins the game they were supposed to lose.

UConn 88, Indiana 80
Huskies looking very strong.

Virginia 75, Wake Forest 73; Miami 70, Georgia Tech 53
Cavs and 'Canes look like they will be battling down the stretch for a 6th bid out of ACC.

Butler 63, Wisc.-Milwaukee 60 OT
Any of the Panthers hopes for an at large were destroyed this week.

Kent State 63, Akron 57
That's 10 of 11 for the streaking Golden Flashes.

BYU 65, Air Force 59
Losses like this don't help your at-large chances.

Utah State 62, Louisiana Tech 62
Tech's hold on the WAC's top spot is slipping away pretty fast.

UCLA 84, Arizona 73
Tough to argue a 13-9 team deserves to be in the bracket - unless they have an RPI like Arizona's.

LaSalle 62, Temple 56
Temple stubs its toe again.

Washington State 77, Washington 64
Huskies need some home cooking in the worst way.

Georgia 74, Vanderbilt 73
So much for the Vandy in-or-out argument.

Iowa 94, Michigan 66
The Hawkeyes are due for a nice seed bump.

Arizona State 68, USC 65
Trojans blew their chance at a bracket cameo.

George Mason 69, UNC-Wilmington 62
Patriots win the battle for Colonial supremacy.

California 62, Oregon 60
Cal has gone from Bubbleville to a game out of first in the Pac-10 in no time.

Stanford 71, Oregon State 64
Welcome to the field, Cardinal.

Penn State 66, Illinois 65
Looks like 'Nova was a better choice for that last No. 1 seed after all.

Purdue 70, Wisconsin 62
First North Dakota State, and now this?

Missouri State 70, Bradley 62
Good start for the Bears; they need a few more games like this to get back in the conversation.

Nevada 90, New Mexico State 81
Wolfpack avoid the upset bug and move into a tie for first in the wacky WAC.

Georgetown 61, Pittsburgh 58
Rough week on the road for the Panthers.

Seton Hall 73, Rutgers 67
Hall handles its business at home.

Kansas 59, Oklahoma 58
Impressive comeback win for the Jayhawks.

NC State 62, Maryland 58
Maryland will be a tough call this week.

Saint Louis 61, Xavier 47
A-10 is back to being a one-bid conference.

Iowa State 96, Colorado 79
Huge statement made by the Cyclones.

Friday, February 03, 2006

Bracketology 101's Top 10 Bubble Match-ups This Weekend

This week's Top 10 ranks the weekend's biggest match-ups featuring at least one bubble team. The next two days will be critical for a handful of big conference and mid-major teams, as some face tough road tests and others try to stop a recent losing skid or keep a recent win streak alive. As always, we welcome your comments, and we invite our readers to post their own lists. Enjoy...

Top 10 Biggest Bubble Match-ups This Weekend
1. Southern Illinois at Wichita State
2. Colorado at Iowa State
3. UNC-Wilmington at George Mason
4. Xavier at Saint Louis
5. Stanford at Oregon State
6. California at Oregon
7. Bradley at Missouri State
8. Nevada at New Mexico State
9. Air Force at BYU
10. Georgia at Vanderbilt

Also receiving consideration: Arizona at UCLA, Rutgers at Seton Hall, Arizona State at USC

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Random Thoughts

Tough break for SIU that they had to face Indiana State the first game they got Moss back. Their game Saturday at Wichita State is enormous now.

Tough loss for Xavier against GW. They needed it for their resume which is unimpressive and the only chance they will get to improve on it is in the A-10 tourney.

Wisc.-Milwaukee and ODU killed their at-large chances. Big conferences will benefit.

Syracuse was seconds from being out.

Creighton sweeps UNI and will also likely jump them in seeding.

With Wichita State and SIU's remaining schedules, the MVC might not get four teams after all.

Chris Hernandez may single-handedly save Stanford's season.

Quincy Douby isn't bad either. What's up with all these 40-point games this year?

Enough with the Doug Flutie reaction shots.

Maryland is going to have a real tough time getting to 8-8 in conference. It could be a rerun of last year's late-season skid for the Terps.

Louisiana Tech showed their true colors a little bit against Nevada. Tech hasn't won a big game yet, and with their remaining schedule, holding onto the WAC's top spot will be a difficult task.

Thursday's Games To Watch

George Washington at Xavier
Colonials have lost nine straight games at Xavier. Can they defend their Top 10 ranking?

North Carolina at Maryland
Terps need to bounce back from tough loss at Temple.

Nevada at Louisiana Tech
The WAC is a three-team race for one spot. This result will be big down the road.

Arizona at USC
Trojans must have this one to get some bubble consideration.

Stanford at Oregon
Four straight road games - starting with this one - will make or break Stanford's disappointing season.