Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Dec. 28

There have been plenty of upsets and interesting non-conference results in the two weeks since our last bracket, and those results are reflected in our latest Field of 68. While there were only two changes in terms of teams in the field, the biggest differences came in how many bids some conferences received and how some big-name programs were seeded.

The two teams that were bumped from this week's bracket were both from the ACC. Virginia's head-scratching home loss to Seattle knocked them out, and Maryland, whose so-so resume caught up with them, dropped from the last team in to the second team out. Replacing them in the bracket are Drexel and Cincinnati. The Dragons' upset of Louisville and the Colonial's strong conference RPI (10) earned them a bid, while the Bearcats' still unblemished record earned them a spot.

There were a lot of teams that moved up or down several seed lines in this week's bracket. Baylor's six seed line drop and Michigan State's five seed line drop were the biggest downgrades, while Tennessee, Kansas State, and Richmond each fell three lines. The biggest jump was made by Texas (6 seed lines), while Missouri, UCF, Washington State, and Butler each moved up three lines.

Note: Bracket is based on games played through Monday, Dec. 27.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Northwestern, St. Mary's, Drexel, New Mexico

First Four Out
Oklahoma State, Maryland, Georgia, Virginia

Next Four Out
St. John's, Dayton, Northern Iowa, Virginia Tech

"First Four" Games
Northwestern vs. St. Mary's, Drexel vs. New Mexico, Montana vs. Morgan State, American vs. Jackson State

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Conference Breakdown
Big East (9), Big Ten (7), Big XII (6), ACC (5), SEC (4), MWC (4), Pac-10 (3), A-10 (3), Colonial (2), C-USA (2), Horizon (2), WCC (2)

America East - Vermont

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

Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville

A-10 - Temple, Richmond, Xavier

Big East - Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Connecticut, Villanova, Louisville, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Cincinnati

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Coastal Carolina

Big Ten - Ohio State, Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, Northwestern

Big XII - Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Baylor

Big West - UC-Santa Barbara

Colonial - Old Dominion, Drexel

Conference USA - UCF, Memphis

Horizon - Butler, Cleveland State

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Morgan State

MVC - Wichita State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, New Mexico

Northeast - Quinnipiac

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - Washington, Washington State, Arizona

Patriot - American

SEC - Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt

Southern - Wofford

Southland - Stephen F. Austin

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - North Texas

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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The Seeds
The 1s

Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse

The 2s
Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Connecticut, Kentucky

The 3s
San Diego State, Villanova, Texas, Missouri

The 4s
Temple, Purdue, Louisville, BYU

The 5s
Notre Dame, Minnesota, Kansas State, Tennessee

The 6s
UNLV, Texas A&M, Illinois, Wisconsin

The 7s
Michigan State, Boston College, Old Dominion, West Virginia

The 8s
UCF, Memphis, Florida, Washington

The 9s
Vanderbilt, Butler, Washington State, North Carolina

The 10s
Wichita State, Richmond, Gonzaga, Arizona

The 11s
Baylor, Miami (FL), Florida State, Xavier

The 12s
Cleveland State, Cincinnati, Northwestern vs. St. Mary's (FF), Drexel vs. New Mexico (FF)

The 13s
Utah State, UC-Santa Barbara, Princeton, Kent State

The 14s
Oakland, Fairfield, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville

The 15s
Wofford, Vermont, Quinnipiac, Murray State

The 16s
Stephen F. Austin, North Texas, Montana vs. Morgan State (FF), American vs. Jackson State (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)
















Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com or send us a tweet at twitter.com/Bracketology101.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Dec. 13

It's been almost a month since our Preseason Field of 68, and as expected, there are a ton of changes to our latest bracket. Putting together the field before most teams have started conference play is still tough, but this bracket is how we see things right now.

You'll notice that some teams have essentially "earned" their ranking and are seeded where they are because of one or more big non-conference wins (see: Connecticut, Tennessee, Louisville). Others are hanging on to a decent seed line or remain in the field because, even though their resume is weak right now (see: Michigan State, Gonzaga, Butler, Washington), we project that once conference play starts, they will regroup and earn their spot.

Gonzaga and Butler are probably two of the toughest calls to make right now, but both ended up in First Four games in our latest bracket. Gonzaga isn't even a .500 team as of today, but they still have plenty of chances to get quality OOC wins (they have games left with Baylor, Xavier, Oklahoma State, and Memphis) and they'll finish no worse than second in a pretty weak WCC. Butler, meanwhile, has whiffed on all of its OOC challenges to date (and lost a resume-killer to Evansville), but they still have a chance to pick up some quality wins at the upcoming Diamond Head Classic. A couple wins there, followed by a one- or two-loss season in the Horizon, will put the Bulldogs firmly on the bubble come March.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Butler, New Mexico, Gonzaga, Maryland

First Four Out
Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Cincinnati

Next Four Out
North Carolina State, Mississippi, South Carolina, California

"First Four" Games
Butler vs. New Mexico, Gonzaga vs. Maryland, Morgan State vs. Liberty, American vs. Jackson State

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Conference Breakdown
Big East (8), ACC (7), Big Ten (7), Big XII (6), SEC (4), MWC (4), Pac-10 (3), A-10 (3), C-USA (2), Horizon (2), WCC (2)

America East - Vermont

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

Atlantic Sun - Lipscomb

A-10 - Temple, Richmond, Xavier

Big East - Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Villanova, Louisville, Notre Dame, West Virginia

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - Liberty

Big Ten - Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern

Big XII - Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas

Big West - UC-Santa Barbara

Colonial - Old Dominion

Conference USA - Memphis, UCF

Horizon - Cleveland State, Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Morgan State

MVC - Wichita State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, New Mexico

Northeast - Quinnipiac

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - Washington, Arizona, Washington State

Patriot - American

SEC - Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt

Southern - Wofford

Southland - Stephen F. Austin

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - St. Mary's, Gonzaga

----------------------------------------------------------------

The Seeds
The 1s

Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse

The 2s
Kansas State, Tennessee, Connecticut, Pittsburgh

The 3s
Georgetown, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan State

The 4s
Villanova, Louisville, San Diego State, BYU

The 5s
Purdue, Temple, Baylor, Memphis

The 6s
UNLV, Notre Dame, Missouri, Minnesota

The 7s
Florida, North Carolina, Texas A&M, Richmond

The 8s
Wisconsin, Old Dominion, Boston College, West Virginia

The 9s
Washington, Vanderbilt, Texas, Wichita State

The 10s
Miami (FL), Florida State, Arizona, Xavier

The 11s
UCF, Northwestern, Cleveland State, Virginia

The 12s
Washington State, St. Mary's, Butler vs. New Mexico (FF), Gonzaga vs. Maryland (FF)

The 13s
Utah State, Princeton, Kent State, Lipscomb

The 14s
Wofford, Stephen F. Austin, Oakland, Fairfield

The 15s
UC-Santa Barbara, Western Kentucky, Murray State, Vermont

The 16s
Quinnipiac, Weber State, Morgan State vs. Liberty (FF), American vs. Jackson State (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)
















Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com or send us a tweet at twitter.com/Bracketology101.