Bracketology 101

The Future Of Bracketology 101

2011-12-23T20:18:00.006-05:00

For the past six years, we have spent more hours than we can count breaking down the "bubble."

It’s only fitting then, that the future of Bracketology 101 rests squarely on it.

Last November, Chris’s wife gave birth to their family’s first child, Ryan, and in late October, Craig’s wife gave birth to their first child, Jaren. Those new additions to the B101 family, coupled with the time commitments of our day jobs, have unfortunately left us with little to no time to devote to the world of bracketology. We still watch our fair share of games and we’ve kept up as much as we can on the college basketball landscape, but not nearly enough to analyze nightly games or put together and debate a weekly bracket.

(At this point, even Lunardi could probably come up with a better Field of 68 than we could.)

(OK…maybe not.)

In the last week or so, we’ve read several comments and received several e-mails wondering where we’ve been, and wondering if last year’s less-than-stellar final bracket had driven us into early retirement. The truth is we have two very important reasons why we haven’t posted anything yet this season. We can’t believe we are saying this, but bracketology – and the hours each week it takes to do it right – just don’t fit into our schedules right now. We’re not ruling out a late-season return, but in the near future, we won’t be adding any new content to B101.

To all of our fans and die-hard commenters, we already miss and will continue to miss all of the daily banter. We feel that over the last six years, no site has been better at debating all things bracketology than B101, and that’s because of the knowledgeable and passionate college basketball fans that visit every day. Don’t forget about us – we’ll let you know about the short and long-term future of the site just as soon as we figure it out.

In the meantime, enjoy the games...

Chris & Craig

Bracketology 101's Bracket Picks

2011-03-15T15:14:00.001-05:00

To view or download Chris', Craig's, and Matt's complete tournament brackets, click on the title of this post.

The brackets are downloadable, printable, and are saved in .pdf format. There is also a blank downloadable bracket that you can use for your own picks.

Good luck in your office pools...

Also, if you haven't done so yet, sign up for Bracketology 101's Tournament Challenge group at ESPN.com.

Private Group Name: B101 Bracket Challenge

Password: b101

Sign up for the group ASAP. The group locks at the tip-off of the first game on Thursday. Only one bracket per person, please.

B101's Bracket Reaction

2011-03-13T18:43:00.007-05:00

Wow. What a baffling job by the selection committee. Our heads are still spinning, and we have a ton of questions.

Here's 10 of them:

1. Is it possible that we could have done any worse? Four wrong? Seriously?

2. How do UAB and Clemson make the field with one Top 50 win combined, and Colorado get left out with six Top 50 wins (six!), including three wins over a 5 seed?

3. How does VCU, who finished in fourth place in the Colonial and went 3-5 down the stretch, get a bid, and St. Mary's, who was co-champ of the WCC and beat St. John's and Gonzaga, get left out? How is that consistent?

4. How in the world did Utah State and Richmond get 12s?

5. How does Georgia get a 10 and Alabama, who beat them twice in the last week, get left out?

6. How does George Mason get a higher seed than Old Dominion?

7. How do any of the Big Ten bubble seeds make sense? Michigan's a 8?? Illinois a 9? Penn State a 10?

8. How is Butler an 8? How are they three seed lines better than Gonzaga?

9. How is Missouri an 11? How is Kansas State two seed lines ahead of A&M?

10. Why did the SEC title game not even matter? Why is Florida a 2 and Kentucky a 4?

Bracketology 101's Final Field of 68

2011-03-13T16:22:00.004-05:00

Here is Bracketology 101's Final Field of 68 (5:22 p.m. ET):

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Virginia Tech, Georgia, St. Mary's, Alabama

First Four Out
Clemson, USC, UAB, Harvard

Next Three Out
Boston College, VCU, Missouri State

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Duke

The 2s
Notre Dame, San Diego State, North Carolina, Connecticut

The 3s
Louisville, Florida, Kentucky, Texas

The 4s
Syracuse, BYU, Purdue, Wisconsin

The 5s
St. John's, West Virginia, Arizona, Texas A&M

The 6s
Cincinnati, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Kansas State

The 7s
Old Dominion, UNLV, Xavier, Temple

The 8s
Washington, Utah State, George Mason, UCLA

The 9s
Tennessee, Richmond, Missouri, Villanova

The 10s
Marquette, Gonzaga, Illinois, Florida State

The 11s
Butler, Michigan State, Michigan, Colorado

The 12s
Memphis, Penn State, Virginia Tech vs. Georgia (FF), St. Mary's vs. Alabama (FF)

The 13s
Belmont, Princeton, Oakland, Indiana State

The 14s
Bucknell, Morehead State, Wofford, Long Island

The 15s
Akron, St. Peter's, Northern Colorado, Boston University

The 16s
Hampton, UC-Santa Barbara, UNC-Asheville vs. Texas-San Antonio (FF), Arkansas-Little Rock vs. Alabama State (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

Bracketology 101's Sunday Morning Thoughts

2011-03-13T08:49:00.008-05:00

We are currently in lockdown mode in Bracketology 101 headquarters with "One Shining Moment" playing on a continuous loop.

Saturday was a wild day filled with buzzer-beaters and crazy finishes, and as is the case every Championship Saturday, the final results answered some questions and opened up several more.

Here is how we see things heading into today's games:

1. Penn State and Richmond are in regardless of what happens today. A Dayton win today would not put Richmond in any jeopardy of getting squeezed.

2. San Diego State will probably end up on the 2 line after beating BYU in the MWC final last night. The Cougars could be as low as a 4.

3. We don't like Clemson's resume at all, but we can also see a fifth ACC bid being handed out. The Tigers would be the logical choice for that fifth bid.

4. Perhaps the biggest question mark is what the committee will do with Alabama and Georgia. We can't see both getting in or both getting left out. Alabama has beaten Georgia twice in the last week, but the Tide looked awful yesterday against Kentucky and don't have the RPI or OOC resume wins that Georgia has. 'Bama does have a much prettier Top 50 record, though (4-4 vs. 3-9). This will be one of the toughest calls of the day to make.

5. The other bubble team to watch today is St. Mary's. We think the Gaels are still in decent shape to get a bid because we think the committee will want to reward some mid-majors, and we like their resume better than UAB's, Missouri State's, or VCU's. A win by Dayton today, though, could change things that outlook and could leave St. Mary's on the outside looking in.

6. If Duke wins today, they will probably get the final 1 seed and Notre Dame will get bumped to a 2.

We will release our Final Field of 68 between 4-5 p.m. ET today. Until then, we will check the comments section periodically to answer any questions.

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - March 12

2011-03-12T02:33:00.016-05:00

Wow, what a day/afternoon/night! The buzzer beaters, the overtimes, the comebacks, the great individual performances...that 36-33 game (ugh). Here's a recap of yesterday's events and a quick overview of how we see things with just about 36 hours to go before the Selection Show:

Saturday Update
We have been waiting for the bubble teams to make their moves for a few weeks and it just never happened. Better late than never, right? Michigan State, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Alabama, and Richmond (and St. Mary's) all won last night, and in many cases (Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia Tech) the wins look to be bid-clinchers.

The hardest thing for us to do was pick the 37th an final at-large team from a pool of pretty ugly and very smiliar resumes. We said in our Friday notes that if Penn State beat Wisconsin, that they woud "likely" end up on the Last Four In line. The Nittany Lions held up their part of the deal, but as you can see in our bracket, we didn't hold up on our end. Clemson, not Penn State, is the final team in our field, as a result of the Tigers' blowout win over Boston College. The Nittany Lions may still be able to sneak in the field, even with a loss to Michigan State today, but we think they are still just shy of a bid heading into Saturday's action. Depending on how well they play and what Clemson does against UNC, they can get in. Right now, though, they are our last team out.

Big picture-wise, there are five teams in our bracket that we could potentially see getting left out - Alabama, Colorado, St. Mary's, Georgia, or Clemson. The three teams we think that have a chance for an at-large over any of these teams are Penn State, UAB, or USC. Obviously, if a bid- stealer comes out of the WAC or A-10 today, everything changes.

Some other important notes from Friday night:

- The Pac-10 results on Friday were a dream come true for bubble teams.

- There is still the chance for bid stealers out of the A-10 and WAC.

- Bubble teams need to pull for Memphis to beat UTEP.

- With ND losing to Louisville, there is definitely a potential opening on the 1 line. Can Duke get there if Nolan Smith is out? Can BYU climb back up? Those questions will get answered today.

This is our last bracket that will be released before our final Field of 68, which will be posted bracket on Sunday afternoon. We will answer as many questions as we can via Twitter and the comments section today and tomorrow. Enjoy Championship Weekend!

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Colorado, St. Mary's, Georgia, Clemson

First Four Out
Penn State, UAB, USC, Boston College

Next Four Out
Memphis, VCU, Missouri State, Harvard

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (5), A-10 (3), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), WCC (2)

America East - Boston University

ACC - Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier, Temple, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse, Connecticut, St. John's, West Virginia, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Marquette, Villanova

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - UNC-Asheville

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion, George Mason

Conference USA - UTEP

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - St. Peter's

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Morgan State

MVC - Indiana State

MWC - BYU, San Diego State, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Morehead State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia

Southern - Wofford

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Arkansas-Little Rock

SWAC - Alabama State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame

The 2s
Duke, BYU, North Carolina, Florida

The 3s
Louisville, San Diego State, Texas, Syracuse

The 4s
Connecticut, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Purdue

The 5s
Arizona, St. John's, West Virginia, Georgetown

The 6s
Temple, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

The 7s
Xavier, Kansas State, Old Dominion, UNLV

The 8s
Utah State, UCLA, George Mason, Tennessee

The 9s
Missouri, Marquette, Gonzaga, Illinois

The 10s
Washington, Butler, Michigan, Villanova

The 11s
Michigan State, Florida State, Richmond, Virginia Tech

The 12s
Alabama, Colorado vs. St. Mary's (FF), Georgia vs. Clemson (FF), UTEP

The 13s
Belmont, Princeton, Oakland, Kent State

The 14s
Bucknell, Indiana State, St. Peter's, Wofford

The 15s
Morehead State, Long Beach State, Long Island, Northern Colorado

The 16s
Boston University, UNC-Asheville, Morgan State vs. McNeese State (FF), Arkansas-Little Rock vs. Alabama State (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - March 11

2011-03-11T01:50:00.028-05:00

Thursday Recap
Here's what we learned from Thursday's games:

1. UAB looks like they will be joining Missouri State in the NIT. The regular season champs from Conference USA were unceremoniously dumped by East Carolina in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney on Thursday, and as a result, they fell to the First Four Out list in today's bracket. For the last week, we thought an outright C-USA title might be enough for the Blazers, but we also figured they would make at least the semis of the conference tourney. Losing their first game is a crushing blow, and one that they probably won't recover from. They needed at least one win to help offset a 2-4 record against Memphis, UTEP, Tulsa, and Southern Miss combined.

2. UAB's loss is Virginia Tech's gain. The Hokies have been our First Team out since Monday, but they now slide into the field to take the Blazers' vacated spot. Virginia Tech needs to beat Florida State today to stay in the field on Saturday.

3. Colorado officially owns Kansas State, and the Buffs are probably going dancing as a result. They're still not a lock by any means, but it's probably going to be tough for the selection committee to ignore a third win over the Wildcats, on top of wins over Texas and Missouri. (If only they could have beaten someone out of conference...) Kansas State, meanwhile, falls from the end of the 5 line to the top of the 7 line.

4. The Pac-10 is a mess, and it's probably going to get messier. UCLA got blown out by Oregon to fall from a 7 seed to an 8, Washington needed a second-half comeback to edge Washington State, and USC beat Cal to keep their steadliy improving at-large chances going. A strong case could be made that the Trojans deserve a bid if they beat Arizona today. If they do win, and then beat Washington in the final, will the Pac-10 get four bids? Is Washington in danger if they lose in the final to USC? What happens if the Huskies lose to the Ducks in the semis and USC wins the tourney? Could Washington get squeezed?

5. Michigan State (vs. Iowa), Boston College (vs. Wake Forest), Georgia (vs. Auburn), and Tennessee (vs. Arkansas) are safe - for now - after avoiding what could have been bubble-bursting first-round conference tournament losses. Michigan State moved from the Last Four In list to the bottom of the 11 line.

6. Penn State is also still alive after their win over Indiana. The Nittany Lions need at least a win over Wisconsin today to get in. That win might be enough, it might not, depending on what else happens over the next 48 hours.

7. Kemba Walker vs. Gary McGhee is not a fair fight. What a step-back move. Yikes.

8. Pitt's still a 1 seed. The Panthers won the regular season title in the best league in the country and have nine Top 50 wins. Could Duke really get a 1 seed over Pitt despite finishing second in the ACC and potentially needing to win just one tough game to get to the ACC tourney final?

9. Notre Dame looked an awful lot like a 1 seed and Syracuse looked a lot like a 2 seed. Cincinnati and Marquette looked like teams that knew their jobs in New York were already done.

10. Kansas is good enough to sleepwalk their way through at least one round of the Big XII tournament. Missouri looks destined for an 8/9 game after their quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M. The Aggies, meanwhile, could be a 5 if they beat Texas today.

11. Colorado State's bubble is burst, but New Mexico's is still very much intact. The Lobos beat the Rams 67-61 in the MWC quarters last night, setting up a third meeting with BYU today. New Mexico swept the season series from BYU, and if they can pick up a third win, they would be a very interesting at-large candidate. They'll have to hope three wins over the Cougars cancel out an ugly 8-8 conference record.

12. Kent State (MAC), Long Beach State (Big Sky), and McNeese State (Southland) are still the favorites to win their conference tournaments.

Friday Preview
We'll keep it simple. Here's what every bubble team has to do today:

Colorado - Win and they are an absolute lock. Lose and they should still be safe, but they will have a long two days of waiting.

New Mexico - Beat BYU (again) and they get serious consideration. They have no chance with a loss.

Penn State - Win and they likely end up on the Last Four In line. They have no chance with a loss.

USC - Win and they will either be the last team in or out. No chance with a loss.

Georgia - Same as Colorado. Win and they are an absolute lock. Lose and they should still be safe, but they will have a long two days of waiting.

Alabama - Win and they are fairly safe. Lose and it's tough to imagine scenarios where they don't get squeezed.

Michigan State - Win and they are an absolute lock. Lose and they should still be safe.

Michigan - Win and they are an absolute lock. Lose and they should still be safe, but it also depends on what Penn State and Michigan State do.

Boston College - Win and they're in, lose and they're out.

Clemson - Win and they likely will be one of the last teams in, lose and they are done.

Richmond - Win and they are an absolute lock. Lose and they should be safe, but it will be a long two days.

Virginia Tech - Win and they are in, lose and they are likely out.

St. Mary's - Nothing really to gain from the Weber State game. They are expected to win big and need to do so.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
St. Mary's, Boston College, Alabama, Virginia Tech

First Four Out
UAB, USC, Clemson, Penn State

Next Four Out
Missouri State, VCU, New Mexico, Memphis

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (5), A-10 (3), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), WCC (2)

America East - Boston University

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier, Temple, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Louisville, Connecticut, St. John's, West Virginia, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Marquette, Villanova

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - UNC-Asheville

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion, George Mason

Conference USA - UTEP

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - St. Peter's

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Bethune-Cookman

MVC - Indiana State

MWC - BYU, San Diego State, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Morehead State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Wofford

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Arkansas-Little Rock

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame

The 2s
Duke, BYU, Syracuse, Purdue

The 3s
North Carolina, San Diego State, Florida, Texas

The 4s
Louisville, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Connecticut

The 5s
St. John's, Xavier, Arizona, West Virginia

The 6s
Texas A&M, Temple, Georgetown, Cincinnati

The 7s
Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Old Dominion, UNLV

The 8s
Utah State, UCLA, George Mason, Tennessee

The 9s
Missouri, Illinois, Florida State, Marquette

The 10s
Villanova, Gonzaga, Butler, Washington

The 11s
Richmond, Michigan, Georgia, Michigan State

The 12s
Colorado, St. Mary's vs. Boston College (FF), Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (FF), UTEP

The 13s
Belmont, Princeton, Oakland, Kent State

The 14s
Bucknell, Indiana State, St. Peter's, Wofford

The 15s
Morehead State, Long Beach State, Long Island, Northern Colorado

The 16s
Boston University, UNC-Asheville, McNeese State vs. Texas Southern (FF), Bethune-Cookman vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - March 10

2011-03-10T00:31:00.009-05:00

Wednesday Recap
Here are six things we learned from Wednesday's games:

1. All Big East Tournament games last 40 minutes, except when the referees are tired and just want to go home.

2. The Big East is going to get 11 bids, thanks to Marquette's win over West Virginia. The Golden Eagles are up to a 9 seed in today's bracket.

3. There's a very good chance that Villanova ends up the lowest seeded Big East team.

4. Colorado is the last Big XII bubble team left standing. Baylor and Nebraska are done after losing to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, respectively.

5. If the Buffs want to stay on the right side of the bubble, they probably need to beat Kansas State today - and they definitely need to play better than they did against Iowa State.

6. Long Island (from the Northeast) and Northern Colorado (from the Big Sky) are going dancing. Both are on the 15 line in today's bracket.

Thursday Preview
Today is shaping up to be the biggest day of Championship Week for about a dozen residents of Bubbleville. Just about every major conference has games going on that feature teams fighting for tourney bids.

We'll start in the ACC, where Boston College and Virginia Tech will look to avoid upsets that would surely ensure them of top seeds in the NIT. Both teams will need two wins this week to ensure that their name is called on Sunday, but both will first need to get by ACC bottom feeders Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.

The Big Ten conference tourney also gets started today and features Penn State and Michigan State both playing for their bubble lives. As long as the Spartans avoid an upset against Iowa, they should be safe. Penn State, meanwhile, will need to beat Indiana today and then take down Wisconsin tomorrow to get any serious consideration.

The SEC tourney kicks off today with Georgia looking to take care of Auburn, which would set up another bubble battle against Alabama for tomorrow. Tennessee also needs to take care of Arkansas (who already beat them earlier in the year) in order to avoid being talked about in the same breath as Virginia Tech's and Michigan State on the bubble.

A few weeks ago, it looked like there would be no bubble battles in the Pac-10 tourney. Since then, the bubble has gotten even softer and USC won five of six down the stretch to finish above .500 in conference. Washington State also picked up wins over Washington and USC to keep their name in the mix. USC faces off with Cal today (who can also climb onto the bubble with a win), and if the Trojans can pick up the win, they will be in decent shape for a bid. A win over Arizona on Friday would likely lock down their spot. If Washington State is able to take down Washington for the third time this season, that could create an interesting scenario and potentially put Washington in danger.

Elsewhere on the bubble, Colorado will attempt to take down Kansas State for the third time this season and, in the process, solidify their tourney bid. In the MWC, Colorado State faces off against New Mexico in what is an at-large elimination game. In C-USA action, UAB needs to avoid an upset at the hands of East Carolina to stay in the at-large mix. If they do that, we like their chances to go dancing. Memphis, meanwhile, opens up with Southern Miss. The Tigers will need a deep tourney run (probably a trip to the finals) to get at-lare worthy. Fans of bubble teams throughout the country need to root hard against UTEP this week. The Miners are playing the C-USA tourney on their home floor, where they went 16-2 this year, and are looking like the best bid-stealer candidate left out there.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Michigan State, Alabama, Boston College, Colorado

First Four Out
Virginia Tech, Clemson, USC, Missouri State

Next Four Out
Penn State, VCU, Colorado State, Washington State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (4), A-10 (3), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), Conference USA (2), WCC (2)

America East - Boston University

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier, Temple, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Louisville, St. John's, Connecticut, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - UNC-Asheville

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion, George Mason

Conference USA - UTEP, UAB

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - St. Peter's

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Bethune-Cookman

MVC - Indiana State

MWC - BYU, San Diego State, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Morehead State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Wofford

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Arkansas-Little Rock

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame

The 2s
Duke, BYU, Syracuse, Purdue

The 3s
North Carolina, San Diego State, Florida, Texas

The 4s
Louisville, Wisconsin, St. John's, Kentucky

The 5s
Connecticut, Xavier, Arizona, Kansas State

The 6s
West Virginia, Cincinnati, Temple, Texas A&M

The 7s
Georgetown, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Old Dominion

The 8s
UNLV, Missouri, Utah State, George Mason

The 9s
Illinois, Florida State, Tennessee, Marquette

The 10s
Villanova, Gonzaga, Butler, Washington

The 11s
Richmond, Michigan, Georgia, St. Mary's

The 12s
UAB, Michigan State vs. Alabama (FF), Boston College vs. Colorado (FF), UTEP

The 13s
Belmont, Princeton, Oakland, Kent State

The 14s
Bucknell, Indiana State, St. Peter's, Wofford

The 15s
Morehead State, Long Beach State, Long Island, Northern Colorado

The 16s
Boston University, UNC-Asheville, McNeese State vs. Texas Southern (FF), Bethune-Cookman vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - March 9

2011-03-09T08:31:00.003-05:00

Tuesday Recap
The Big East Tournament kicked off with a big upset as South Florida took down Villanova. The Wildcats finished the season in absolute free-fall mode, losing five straight, which has dropped them from a 4 seed just over two weeks ago all the way down to a 9 now. It will be interesting to see what the committee does with the Wildcats, but we can see anything from an 8-11 seed come Sunday. Elsewhere in Big East action, Marquette took care of business against Providence and are now just playing for tournament seeding the rest of the way.

Three more automatic bids were handed out on Tuesday, the most important of which was Butler winning the Horizon by (finally) beating Milwaukee. We thought the Bulldogs were safe regardless, but now there's no need to debate their at-large credentials. Butler's win really had no effect on our bracket, since we already anticipated the Bulldogs winning the Horizon title. The most thrilling finish of the night happened in the Sun Belt with lowly Arkansas-Little Rock taking down North Texas in the closing seconds to earn a bid (and an almost certain appearance in one of the First Four games.) In the Summit final, Oakland stamped their ticket with a convincing win over Oral Roberts.

The final notable result of the night was Princeton's win over Penn, which sets up a de facto conference title game against Harvard on Saturday.

Wednesday Preview
The Big XII, Pac-10, C-USA, MWC, and WAC all begin their conference tournaments today. The most important game in any of those tournaments is in the Big XII, as Colorado looks to keep its at-large hopes alive with a win over Iowa State. Missouri will be looking to avoid a Villanova-esque ending to its season as they take on Texas Tech. Baylor and Nebraska will also try to get off to strong starts and climb back into the bubble discussion with deep Big XII tourney runs.

In the Big East tournament, every game is crucial in regards to tournament seeding. A high noon showdown between Georgetown and UConn will decide which of these teams will be on the 5 line tomorrow, as both teams try to right the ship after late season slides. In other second round action, hometown favorite St. John's will continue its quest for a top 4 seed as they take on Rutgers. Cincinnati will try to solidify their spot on the 6 line with a win over USF, while the defending Big East tourney champ, West Virignia, will try to defend its title in the late game against Marquette.

Two more automatic bids will also be handed out tonight. Montana plays at Northern Colorado in the Big Sky final, and Robert Morris takes on Long Island in the Northeast final.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Michigan State, Alabama, Boston College, Colorado

First Four Out
Virginia Tech, Clemson, USC, Missouri State

Next Four Out
Penn State, VCU, Colorado State, Washington State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (4), A-10 (3), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), Conference USA (2), WCC (2)

America East - Boston University

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier, Temple, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Louisville, St. John's, West Virginia, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - UNC-Asheville

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion, George Mason

Conference USA - UTEP, UAB

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - St. Peter's

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Bethune Cookman

MVC - Indiana State

MWC - BYU, San Diego State, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Morehead State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Wofford

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Arkansas-Little Rock

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame

The 2s
Duke, BYU, Syracuse, Purdue

The 3s
North Carolina, San Diego State, Florida, Texas

The 4s
Louisville, Wisconsin, St. John's, Kentucky

The 5s
West Virginia, Xavier, Arizona, Connecticut

The 6s
Kansas State, Cincinnati, Temple, Georgetown

The 7s
Texas A&M, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Old Dominion

The 8s
UNLV, Missouri, Utah State, George Mason

The 9s
Villanova, Illinois, Florida State, Tennessee

The 10s
Gonzaga, Butler, Richmond, Washington

The 11s
Michigan, Marquette, Georgia, St. Mary's

The 12s
UAB, Michigan State vs. Alabama (FF), Boston College vs. Colorado (FF), UTEP

The 13s
Belmont, Princeton, Oakland, Kent State

The 14s
Bucknell, Indiana State, St. Peter's, Wofford

The 15s
Morehead State, Long Beach State, Long Island, Northern Colorado

The 16s
Boston University, UNC-Asheville, McNeese State vs. Texas Southern (FF), Bethune Cookman vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - March 8

2011-03-08T02:25:00.005-05:00

Monday Recap
The residents of Bubbleville dodged their first bullet of Championship Week on Monday as Old Dominion held off VCU in the Colonial final. The win moved the Monarchs up to the top of the 8 line in today's bracket, but they could end up as high as a 7 depending on what happens the rest of the week. Elsewhere, Gonzaga avenged last year's WCC finals loss to St. Mary's by knocking off the Gaels 75-63 in Vegas. We thought both teams were fairly safe to get at-larges regardless of the outcome Monday night, and we still feel that way now. The Zags moved up to the top of the 10 line in today's bracket with the win, while St. Mary's fell to the bottom of the 11 line. Depending on what happens the rest of the week, we can see the Gaels perhaps slipping to the 12 line (and maybe to the First Four) on Selection Sunday because of how they finished up (losing four of six), but in the end, we fully expect their name to be called.

There were two other automatic bids handed out Monday night. Wofford knocked off top-seeded Charleston in the Southern final and St. Peter's, who got blown out by Iona twice during the regular season, beat the Gaels 62-57 in the MAAC final. Wofford and St. Peter's are both on the 14 line in today's bracket.

In other small conference action, North Texas and Arkansas-Little Rock advanced to today's Sun Belt final and top-seeded Oakland and Oral Roberts advanced to today's Summit final.

Tuesday Preview
The Big East Tournament gets underway at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with four first round games - UConn vs. DePaul, Rutgers vs, Seton Hall, Villanova vs. South Florida, and Marquette vs. Providence. If the Big East is going to get 11 bids, Marquette is going to have to avoid the upset against the Friars. The Golden Eagles lost two very winnable games last week (at home against Cincinnati and at Seton Hall) and if they end the season on a three-game skid, we think there's a good chance they end up on the wrong side of the bubble. On the flip side, if Marquette does win tonight, we think they're safe going forward.

The other game with gigantic bubble implications tonight is the Horizon final between Butler and Milwaukee. If Butler wins, the Horizon is a one-bid league and the rest of the bubble can breathe a sigh of reilef. If Milwaukee can somehow find a way to beat the Bulldogs for a third time this season, though, the debate begins: is Butler at-large worthy? We, for one, think that they (barely) are. They have OOC wins over Florida State and Washington State, they tied for the Horizon regular season title, they beat Cleveland State three times, and (conspiracy theory alert) they're Butler. That resume, underwhelming as it is, is probably good enough this year.

The third and final key game of the night is Princeton at Penn. If the Tigers win, they'll face Harvard in a one-game playoff at Yale on Saturday for the Ivy's automatic bid. If the Quakers pull the upset, Harvard would make the tournament for the first time since 1946. The Crimson are the only Ivy League school to never won a regular season championship since the Ivy League was formed in 1956-57.

The Atlantic-10, MAC, and MEAC also begin first round conference tournament play today. The Big Sky plays its semifinals, as Weber State takes on Montana and Northern Arizona takes on Northern Colorado.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Michigan State, Alabama, Boston College, Colorado

First Four Out
Virginia Tech, Clemson, USC, Missouri State

Next Four Out
Penn State, VCU, Colorado State, Washington State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (4), A-10 (3), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), Conference USA (2), WCC (2)

America East - Boston University

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier, Temple, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Louisville, St. John's, West Virginia, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - UNC-Asheville

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion, George Mason

Conference USA - UTEP, UAB

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - St. Peter's

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Bethune Cookman

MVC - Indiana State

MWC - BYU, San Diego State, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Morehead State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Wofford

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - North Texas

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame

The 2s
Duke, BYU, Syracuse, Purdue

The 3s
North Carolina, San Diego State, Florida, Texas

The 4s
Louisville, Wisconsin, St. John's, Kentucky

The 5s
West Virginia, Xavier, Arizona, Connecticut

The 6s
Kansas State, Cincinnati, Temple, Georgetown

The 7s
Texas A&M, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Villanova

The 8s
Old Dominion, UNLV, Missouri, Utah State

The 9s
George Mason, Illinois, Florida State, Tennessee

The 10s
Gonzaga, Richmond, Washington, Butler

The 11s
Michigan, Georgia, Marquette, St. Mary's

The 12s
UAB, Michigan State vs. Alabama (FF), Boston College vs. Colorado (FF), UTEP

The 13s
Belmont, Princeton, Oakland, Kent State

The 14s
Bucknell, Indiana State, St. Peter's, Wofford

The 15s
Morehead State, Long Beach State, Long Island, Northern Colorado

The 16s
Boston University, North Texas, UNC-Asheville vs. McNeese State (FF), Texas Southern vs. Bethune Cookman (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - March 7

2011-03-06T20:31:00.010-05:00

It seems like a lot more than a week has passed since our last bracket, considering how many crucial games were played throughout the college basketball world. At times during the week, it looked like we would have to do a major overhaul to the bottom of the bracket, but ultimately, the seeds towards the top of the bracket actually saw the most changes. On each of our 3-8 lines, three of the four teams there this week weren't there last week. That's a crazy amount of movement that high in the bracket, especially this late in the season.

The only at-large teams that fell out of last week's bracket were Virginia Tech and Baylor. Virginia Tech was replaced by Boston College after the Eagles' 2-0 week, which included a road win against the Hokies. Virginia Tech would have still remained in the bracket, but we think their loss to Clemson may have been a bubble-bursting one. The Hokies have to win their first ACC tourney game against Georgia Tech to have any chance, and then likely will need to take down Florida State in the quarterfinals to secure a bid. We are not too confident in their ability to win that game against the 'Noles, so we left the Hokies out. The likely matchup between Boston College and Clemson in the quarterfinals is basically a tourney play-in game. (A play-in for a play-in?)

Baylor had a disasterous week, losing both of its games, and it will now take a run to the Big XII final to get them back into the discussion. The Bears ended up being replaced by UAB, who clinched the outright Conference USA title this week. We think that title should get them an at-large, as long as they avoid a loss in their first conference tourney game. We also included UTEP in the bracket as a bid-stealer out of C-USA. The Miners will be playing the conference tourney on their home floor, and with the draw they have, we like their chances. Elsewhere on the bubble, Michigan's win over Michigan State moved them ahead of the Spartans in the Big Ten pecking order and pushed Michigan State down to the Last Four In line. Alabama held onto their bid because of their victory over Georgia this weekend. The Tide will likely need to beat the Bulldogs again in their first SEC tourney game to secure their bid. Colorado, meanwhile, barely held onto their bid after their disappointing lose at Iowa State. The Buffs will get a rematch with the Cyclones in their first Big XII tourney game and then will look to beat Kansas State for the third time in the quarterfinals. A win in that game would lock down their bid.

We will update our bracket every day this week and our final bracket will be posted in the mid-afternoon on Selection Sunday. Enjoy the madness of Championship Week...

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Michigan State, Alabama, Boston College, Colorado

First Four Out
Virginia Tech, Clemson, USC, Missouri State

Next Four Out
Penn State, VCU, Colorado State, Washington State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (4), A-10 (3), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), Conference USA (2), WCC (2)

America East - Boston University

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier, Temple, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Louisville, St. John's, West Virginia, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - UNC-Asheville

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - George Mason, Old Dominion

Conference USA - UTEP, UAB

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Iona

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Bethune Cookman

MVC - Indiana State

MWC - BYU, San Diego State, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Morehead State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Charleston

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - North Texas

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame

The 2s
Duke, BYU, Syracuse, Purdue

The 3s
North Carolina, San Diego State, Florida, Texas

The 4s
Louisville, Wisconsin, St. John's, Kentucky

The 5s
West Virginia, Xavier, Arizona, Connecticut

The 6s
Kansas State, Cincinnati, Temple, Georgetown

The 7s
Texas A&M, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Villanova

The 8s
UNLV, Missouri, Old Dominion, Utah State

The 9s
George Mason, Illinois, Florida State, Tennessee

The 10s
Richmond, Washington, Gonzaga, Butler

The 11s
Michigan, St. Mary's, Georgia, Marquette

The 12s
UAB, Michigan State vs. Alabama (FF), Boston College vs. Colorado (FF), UTEP

The 13s
Belmont, Princeton, Oakland, Charleston

The 14s
Iona, Bucknell, Kent State, Indiana State

The 15s
Morehead State, Long Beach State, Long Island, Northern Colorado

The 16s
Boston University, North Texas, UNC-Asheville vs. McNeese State (FF), Texas Southern vs. Bethune Cookman (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-03-04T19:43:00.005-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Friday's Games
Will Harvard (vs. Penn) or Princeton (at Dartmouth) get caught looking ahead to their Saturday showdown?

Saturday's Games
Can Duke sweep North Carolina and win the ACC regular season title? If the Blue Devils win, is there any way they don't end up on the 1 line?

Will Michigan be the latest bubble team to blow their shot an at-large? Are the Wolverines safe if they beat Michigan State and then win the 4/5 game in the Big Ten tourney?

Would a win for Alabama over Georgia be enough for the Tide to hang on to their spot on the 12 line?

Can BYU overcome its recent distractions and take care of Wyoming at home to secure the 1 seed for the MWC tourney?

Is the Virginia Tech at Clemson match-up the biggest bubble battle of the weekend?

Or is Nebraska at Colorado?

Will Kansas win at Missouri to secure their 1 seed? Will Pitt do the same at home against Villanova?

Can Baylor take down a slumping Texas squad and once again climb back onto the bubble?

Will Notre Dame be able to win at UConn and stay in the mix for a 1 seed? How far would UConn fall with an 0-2 week and a .500 Big East finish?

Will an appearance in the Horizon final be enough to get Butler an at-large?

Is there any chance that Colorado State can pull off a shocker at SDSU?

Would Florida climb into the mix for a 2 seed if they can win at Vandy and finish 13-3 in conference?

Can Cincinnati complete a season sweep of Georgetown and climb above the Hoyas on the S-curve?

How high will West Virginia's seed climb if they complete a 2-0 week with a win over Louisville?

Will a bid-stealer come from the Colonial conference tourney?

Who will win the Ohio Valley, Big South, and Atlantic Sun championship games? Will Belmont or Coastal Carolina see their dream seasons end early?

If Richmond takes down Duquesne, is there any way the Spiders get left out at 13-3 in the A-10?

If Kansas State takes care of Iowa State, will they get this week's biggest seed bump?

Could Missouri State lose in the MVC semis and have any chance for an at-large?

Will a win over UCLA be enough for Washington State to climb back into the bracket?

If Seton Hall upsets Marquette, like they did St. John's already this week, would 11 Big East bids be in jeopardy?

Can Princeton win at Harvard and secure this year's first automatic bid?

Sunday's Games
Would a win over Wisconsin at home lock up the No. 1 overall seed for Ohio State?

Can Tennessee beat Kentucky in Knoxville and move into lock status?

Will Florida State survive a trip to N.C. State? If the 'Noles were to lose their next two games, would they get squeezed out of the field?

BC can't lose at home to Wake Forest...right?

Does it even matter who wins the Penn State-Minnesota game?

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-03-03T09:40:00.003-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
Over the last 72 hours, the bubble has gone from a fun thing to criticize to a full-blown laughingstock. Virginia Tech, Colorado, Baylor, Alabama, Penn State, Clemson, Minnesota, Maryland, Memphis, and Southern Miss all lost critical bubble battles in the past three days, making the already weak bubble weaker than ever.

Those results have had an interesting impact on the three biggest games on tonight's schedule - Tennessee at South Carolina, UCLA at Washington, and USC at Washington State. Washington's seed slipped all the way to the bottom of the 10 line after a home loss to Wazzu over the weekend, and it appeared that a 2-0 week was going to be necessary to keep the Huskies in the bracket for another week. After all the bubble craziness the past three days, though, that might not be the case. A split, plus one Pac-10 tourney win, is probably all Washington needs to go dancing at this point.

Tennessee entered the week in a similar position. The Vols laid an egg at home against Mississippi State on Saturday, which gave them 12 losses on the year and made it seem like a 2-0 week was going to be necessary to keep them in the field. Now, it looks like a split plus one SEC tournament win will be enough to get Tennessee an at-large, despite the fact that they could finish with 14 losses. That would tie Georgia's record from 2001, when the Bulldogs got an at-large at 16-14. Georgia had the No. 1 SOS in the country and eight Top 50 wins that year; Tennessee has the No. 2 SOS and seven Top 50 wins heading into tonight's game against the Gamecocks.

Finally, USC takes on Washington State in a bubble battle that could only happen in the context of a 68-team field. These two teams have a combined nine losses to teams outside the Top 100 (nine!!), yet the winner will still be very much alive for an at-large berth. The loser of this game will need to win the Pac-10 tournament to get a bid; the winner will need to get to to the final to still be in the mix on Selection Sunday.

Conference Tournaments
The Big South semifinals are tonight, with top-seeded Coastal Carolina taking on VMI and second-seeded UNC-Asheville taking on High Point. Top seed Long Island plays St. Francis (PA) in the Northeast Conference quarterfinals, the Atlantic Sun quarterfinals continue with Jacksonville facing North Florida and Lipscomb facing Mercer, and the Ohio Valley quarters continue with Austin Peay taking on SE Missouri State and Tennessee Tech taking on UT-Martin. First round play in the Missouri Valley and American East also begins tonight. Top seed Missouri State will take on the winner of tonight's Illinois State-Southern Illinois game in the MVC quarters on Friday.

Also keep an eye on: Wisconsin at Indiana, St. John's at Seton Hall, Oregon State at Arizona

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-03-02T07:30:00.009-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the nights games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Wednesday's Games
Do you think if we started a rumor that the NCAA decided to go back to a 65-team tourney because of the weak bubble that it would have any legs? After last night's performance by a few bubble teams (we're talking to you Virginia Tech, Baylor, and Alabama) we wish that rumor were true.

The games in Bubbleville tonight are not as significant as last night, but there are still some important must-win games for bubble teams. Michigan State and Colorado State must take care of business at home against teams in the bottom half of their conference standings (Iowa and Utah), while bracket newcomer Colorado has to navigate through a tricky road trip to Iowa State (just ask Nebraska). The games for Michigan State and Colorado State are warm-ups for critical road games this weekend (Michigan and SDSU), while Colorado returns home for a bubble elimination game against the Huskers.

The other focus tonight will be on teams in the Big XII, MWC, Big East, A-10, and C-USA who have the chance to clinch at least a share of the regular season crown. Kansas has Texas A&M visiting, and if the Jayhawks can pick up a win over the Aggies and then at Missouri over the weekend, they are likely a lock for a one seed. BYU will be looking to secure the top seed in the MWC tourney and avenge their only conference loss of the season in their game against New Mexico. The other important storyline to this game is how BYU will play in their first game without Brandon Davies.

Pitt and Xavier can also clinch at least a share of their conference titles with wins over bottom feeders South Florida and Charlotte. In C-USA, UAB plays at Southern Miss in another key bubble battle. If UAB can pick up the road win, they would only need a home win over East Carolina over the weekend to clinch the outright regular season title. That title could lead to an at-large bid if they need it. If Southern Miss completes a season sweep of the Blazers, they will pass them in the bunched-up C-USA pecking order.

Elsewhere in power conference action, Duke and North Carolina will look to avoid stumbles prior to their weekend showdown in Chapel Hill, which will determine the ACC title. Clemson heads to Cameron Indoor looking to pull off the huge upset that would finally catapult them into the bracket, and down in Tallahassee, Florida State looks to lock down their bid by knocking off the Tar Heels. In Big East play, UConn travels to West Virginia and Cincinnati plays at Marquette. These two games will have a major impact on the final Big East pecking order and on which teams earn first round byes in the Big East tourney.

Conference Tournaments
The Atlantic Sun, Ohio Valley, and Patriot League begin conference tourney play tonight. Heavily favored Belmont, out of the A-Sun, will start things off against a Kennesaw State team they just beat by 43 points on the road. In the Patriot, top-seeded Bucknell kicks things off against Army as the Bison look to get back to the tournament for the first time in five years.

Also keep an eye on: Providence at Louisville, LSU at Georgia, Temple at UMass, Utah State at New Mexico State, Minnesota at Northwestern, Memphis at East Carolina, Maryland at Miami

B101's Bracket Banter - Tuesday

2011-03-01T09:20:00.006-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Tuesday's Games
Debates about 1 seeds are fun and all, but the first week in March is all about the bubble. Tonight, a half dozen bubble teams get to stake their claim to a spot in the bracket.

The biggest and most anticipated game of the night is Ohio State at Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been one of the most talked about teams on this site over the past couple weeks, and much of that discussion has centered around their ability to win this game. If they do win, and follow up that win with a victory at Minnesota this weekend, they'll be dancing. If they lose tonight, they'll need a win over the Gophers and a trip to the Big Ten semis to be in the at-large mix. If they win tonight and then lose at Minnesota, one Big Ten tourney win would probably be enough, and two would almost certainly get them a bid. Got all that?

The other hotly debated bubble team in action tonight is Alabama, which travels to Gainesville to take on Florida. There is probably no better poster child right now for why the 68-team field is a bad idea than the Crimson Tide. Despite an 89 RPI (89!) and a resume that features more bad losses than good wins, the Tide are very much alive for an at-large bid. If they win this game against the Gators, it's hard to see them getting left out. If they lose, the debate continues. Would a win over Georgia this weekend, and a 12-4 finish, be enough? How many SEC tourney wins would they need at that point to be safe? One? Two?

In Big XII bubble action, Baylor plays at Oklahoma State and Nebraska hosts Missouri. The Huskers are barely clinging to a spot on the bubble right now after their brutal loss at Iowa State over the weekend. A win here won't get them back in the bracket, but it will at least keep them relevant heading into the weekend. They'd have to win at Colorado on Saturday and then make a very deep Big XII tourney run to get in. Baylor, meanwhile, enters the final week of the regular season on the right side of the bubble, but not by much. They're probably going to need a sweep of the Cowboys and Longhorns this week to have a chance at an at-large. Two wins would get them to 9-7 in conference, which should make up for their lack of an OOC resume. A 1-1 week would leave them needing two Big XII tourney wins to stay alive.

The final bubble game of night takes place in the ACC, where Boston College plays at Virginia Tech in what is essentially a "play-out" game for the Eagles. If they lose to the Hokies, we can't see any way that BC gets an at-large. If they're able to pull the upset, and then take care of Wake Forest at home on Sunday, they'll probably be in the bracket heading into the ACC tourney. A loss would definitely put a crack in Virginia Tech's resume, but it wouldn't necessarily knock them out next week. They'd have to win at Clemson this weekend and win a game (maybe two) in the ACC tourney to like their chances.

Finally, in non-bubble action, Vanderbilt plays at Kentucky and Illinois plays at Purdue. The Vandy-Kentucky game is important for both in terms of seeding, but it's more important for the Wildcats considering they already lost to the Commodores once and trail them by a game in conference. There aren't many teams in the country playing better than Purdue over the last three weeks, and they take a six-game win streak into their game against the Illini. A 2-0 finish to their regular season would put them in great shape for a 2 seed heading into the Big Ten tournament. Illinois probably just needs to win at home against Indiana this weekend and then win one Big Ten tourney game to lock down a bid.

Conference Tournaments
The Horizon and the Big South both begin conference tournament action tonight. In the first round of the Horizon, Cleveland State plays Illinois-Chicago, Valparaiso plays Youngstown State, Loyola (IL) takes on Detroit, and Green Bay takes on Wright State. Top-seeded Milwaukee and second-seeded Butler have byes to the semifinals. In the Big South, top-seeded Coastal Carolina opens with Gardner-Webb.

Also keep an eye on: San Diego State at Wyoming

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Feb. 28

2011-02-28T01:23:00.015-05:00

Just when it looked like the bubble couldn't get any weaker, Upset Saturday struck again.

In a span of 12 hours, Virginia Tech knocked off top-ranked Duke, Colorado had a second half for the ages and stunned Texas, Kansas State and Baylor beat ranked opponents at home, Alabama lost at Mississippi, Minnesota lost - again - this time at home to Michigan, Memphis got obliterated at UTEP, Colorado State lost at Air Force (Air Force?!), and Nebraska lost at Iowa State (Iowa State??!!) By the end of the night, our 10-12 lines were in shambles, and we were left to sift through some of the worst at-large resumes we can remember to try to fill a 68-team field.

Ultimately, we decided on the following changes: Minnesota, Boston College, Colorado State, and Nebraska dropped out, and Virginia Tech, Michigan, Colorado, and Baylor jumped in. Nebraska was the easiest team to take out because the Huskers are now eighth in the Big XII pecking order. Colorado State was an easy removal as well because we don't give them much of a chance to win at San Diego State this week. Minnesota has the best wins of the four teams we took out, but they are in complete free-fall mode right now. The Gophers need to win their last two games just to get to 8-10 in conference, and even then, they'll probably have to get to the Big Ten final to get an at-large. BC was done in by their brutal home loss to Miami and the fact that they have to play at Virginia Tech on Tuesday. If they lose that game, which we think they will, they'll finish at best 8-8 in conference, which won't be enough.

Replacing those four teams in the bracket was a struggle. We wanted to include a bid-stealer for at least one of the open spots, but incredibly - in a year with three more at-large spots available and an awful bubble - there are just no bid-stealers out there right now. We don't like Missouri State's chances to get an at-large if they lose in the MVC final, and Conference USA is such a mess right now that the regular season champ probably won't be worthy of an at-large (if needed) down the road, either. The only bid-stealer possibility that we gave serious consideration to was the Horizon getting two bids (Milwaukee as the automatic and Butler an at-large). In the end, though, we stuck with the resurgent Bulldogs as our pick to win the Horizon tourney, and left the league with just one bid.

With no bid-stealers available, we had to pick from a group of teams with a lot of warts and a lot of work left to do. Virginia Tech was the easiest inclusion because of their win over the Blue Devils and their upcoming home game against BC. Michigan made the cut, despite their loss at home to Wisconsin on Wednesday, because we think they have a decent chance to beat Michigan State at home this weekend and then win their first Big Ten tourney game. Colorado made the cut because, after their upset of the Longhorns, the Buffs have five Top 50 wins overall and four Top 50 wins in conference. Their season sweep of Kansas State is huge, and their final two games (at Iowa State, vs. Nebraska) are very winnable. A 9-7 finish, even with an OOC SOS of 323, should put Colorado on the right side of the bubble heading into the Big XII tournament.

Our fourth at-large hole was filled by Baylor, who completed a season sweep of A&M on Saturday night to get back to .500 in conference. The Bears' final two games are both tough - at Oklahoma State and at home against Texas - but we think they have an outside chance to win both, especially with the Gameday crew coming to town over the weekend. If they split those two games, they'll have to make a deep run in the Big XII tournament to get back in the mix for a bid. Finally, in a decision that will surely cause some spirited debate in the comment section this week, we kept Alabama in the bracket as our last team in. We really can't defend the Tide's overall profile (two Top 50 wins, an 89 RPI), but we still think that if they finish 12-4, especially on this bubble, that the committee will give them a bid. Until 12-4 is mathematically impossible, we're sticking with them.

Elsewhere in the bracket, there was a change on the 1 line as BYU replaces Duke. The Cougars are likely going to have to win the MWC tourney to get a 1 seed, but given the way they played in front of a raucous SDSU crowd on Saturday, we think they can do that. In other changes to the top quarter of the bracket, SDSU fell from a 2 to a 3, Florida fell from a 3 to a 4, Louisville climbed from a 4 to a 3, and St. John's and North Carolina both went from 5s to 4s. The biggest upgrades of the week were BYU (who moved from a 3 to a 1), Syracuse (from a 5 to a 3), Kansas State (from an 11 to an 8), and Marquette (from am 11 to a 9). The biggest downgrade was Georgetown (from a 3 to a 5).

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Michigan, Colorado, Baylor, Alabama

First Four Out
Boston College, Penn State, UAB, Colorado State

Next Four Out
Clemson, Memphis, USC, Minnesota

"First Four" Games
Michigan vs. Colorado, Baylor vs. Alabama, Murray State vs. Bethune-Cookman, Texas Southern vs. McNeese State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (7), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (4), A-10 (3), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), WCC (2)

America East - Vermont

ACC - Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Virginia Tech

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Xavier, Temple, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse, St. John's, Connecticut, Georgetown, Villanova, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Marquette

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - George Mason, Old Dominion

Conference USA - Southern Miss

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Bethune Cookman

MVC - Missouri State

MWC - BYU, San Diego State, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Charleston

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - St. Mary's, Gonzaga

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, BYU

The 2s
Duke, Notre Dame, Purdue, Texas

The 3s
Louisville, Wisconsin, Syracuse, San Diego State

The 4s
St. John's, Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina

The 5s
Georgetown, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Villanova

The 6s
Xavier, Texas A&M, Arizona, West Virginia

The 7s
Missouri, Temple, UCLA, UNLV

The 8s
Cincinnati, George Mason, Old Dominion, Kansas State

The 9s
Utah State, Marquette, Florida State, Illinois

The 10s
Tennessee, Georgia, Michigan State, Washington

The 11s
Richmond, St. Mary's, Gonzaga, Virginia Tech

The 12s
Butler, Michigan vs. Colorado (FF), Baylor vs. Alabama (FF), Southern Miss

The 13s
Missouri State, Princeton, Belmont, Oakland

The 14s
Charleston, Coastal Carolina, Bucknell, Fairfield

The 15s
Vermont, Kent State, Long Beach State, Long Island

The 16s
Florida Atlantic, Northern Colorado, Murray State vs. Bethune Cookman (FF), Texas Southern vs. McNeese State (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-02-25T07:03:00.006-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Saturday's Games
Who would have ever thought the best game of the year, based on RPI, would be between San Diego State and BYU? When was the last regular season game between two top 4 RPI teams?

If the winner of SDSU-BYU wins out, what's the percent chance they get a 1 seed?

Can Virginia Tech jump into the bracket (for good?) with a win over Duke in Blacksburg?

Can Texas avoid a second straight weekend loss to a Big XII bubble team? (Is Colorado still a bubble team...?)

Will Georgetown (vs. Syracuse) or Villanova (vs. St. John's) go 0-2 at home this week?

Can Arizona complete a season sweep of UCLA? Can Florida do the same to Kentucky?

Will Kansas State cement its spot in the bracket with a home win over Missouri?

Is Baylor done? Is there any chance the Bears upset Texas A&M in Waco to stay in the hunt for an at-large?

Did VCU and BC see their at-large bubbles burst this week? Can they bounce back with wins over James Madison and Virginia?

Does Minnesota still deserve a bid even if they beat Michigan at home? How will the Wolverines play in the wake of Wednesday's brutal buzzer-beating loss to Wisconsin?

Was Wednesday night's beatdown at Maryland a blip on the radar for Florida State, or is it a sign of things to come? Can the 'Noles take care of Miami at home?

Did Alabama really need a last second tip-in to beat Auburn? Can they shake off that awful performance and win at Mississippi?

Is Gonzaga in the bracket for good after their enormous win at St. Mary's? Can they do what the Gaels could not do and win at San Diego?

Will a trip to the WCC final be enough for St. Mary's to get in?

Should the loser of Wichita State at Missouri State start printing NIT tickets?

Is winning a share of the Horizon regular season title enough to get Butler an at-large?

Could Conference USA be more of a mess? If Memphis hands UTEP its third loss of the week, will it be hard to deny the Tigers an at-large?

Can UAB and Southern Miss stay alive in the race for the C-USA regular season title with road wins over Houston and UCF?

Can Vanderbilt and Temple win on the road and avoid 0-2 weeks?

Will Nebraska keep its slim at-large hopes alive with a road win at Iowa State?

Will a win at Air Force be enough to keep Colorado State in the bracket on Monday?

Can Utah State avoid a season sweep at the hands of Idaho?

Sunday's Games
Does Pitt need to win at Louisville to stay on the 1 line?

If Michigan State beats Purdue, is there any chance they don't get an at-large?

If UConn loses at Cincinnati, will the Bearcats have a better seed than the Huskies on Monday?

Can Maryland win at North Carolina? Will one Top 50 win be enough for them to climb into the bracket?

Can West Virginia avoid an upset at Rutgers (and the big seed drop that would follow)?

Marquette picked up a ticket-punching win at UConn this week; they couldn't possibly give their ticket back by losing at home to Providence, right?

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-02-24T09:26:00.002-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
After a night of upsets (Kentucky, BC), buzzer beaters (Wisconsin), bubbles burst (Nebraska, UTEP, VCU), and dance cards punched (Cincinnati), Thursday night is setting up to be much less exciting.

Easily the biggest bubble battle of the night is out West, with Gonzaga visiting St. Mary's. The Gaels looked like a sure thing just two weeks ago, but since then they have dropped games to lowly San Diego and to fellow mid-major power Utah State. Their OOC win over St. John's keeps looking better and better, but other than that, there isn't too much else on their resume. A win tonight would give them the WCC regular season title, which should be enough for a bid. Gonzaga's at-large hopes have been helped by St. Mary's recent struggles, and a win for them tonight will likely lead to a share of the conference title. That very well could be their only hope for an at-large, since they will end up with double-digit losses and an RPI in the mid-70s.

Back East, the biggest games are in the Big East with West Virginia playing at Pittsburgh and Marquette playing at UConn. The Huskies will be without Jim Calhoun on the sidelines as they face a Golden Eagles team looking to solidify their spot in the bracket. Marquette has three Top 25 wins, which is more than any other bubble team can claim, but those wins all have come at home. A win at UConn would pretty much stamp their ticket and would make 11 Big East bids almost a certainty. West Virginia, meanwhile, will be looking to upset another Top 10 team after their huge home win over Notre Dame this past weekend, while Pitt will be looking to bounce back from their loss to the Red Storm. The Mountaineers need a strong finish to end up in the top eight of the Big East standings and avoid having to play on the first day of the Big East tourney.

Elsewhere in Mid-Majorville, Old Dominion visits James Madison and Milwaukee takes on Cleveland State. The Monarchs likely just need to win their final two regular season games to be an absolute lock heading into the CAA tourney. Cleveland State likely destroyed their chances for an at large in losing their BracketBuster game to ODU over the weekend, and if they want to stay in the discussion, they must win their last two and win the Horizon regular season conference title. That title is also important because it would give them home court advantage throughout the conference tourney.

Also keep an eye on: Georgia at Florida, Penn State at Northwestern, Northeastern at George Mason, Arizona State at UCLA, Arizona at USC

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-02-23T08:15:00.006-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

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Wednesday's Games
It's going to be a busy night in Bubbleville, as two teams on our Last Four In list and four teams on our First Eight Out list are in action.

The biggest bubble battle of the night takes place in Lincoln, where bracket newcomer Nebraska hosts Kansas State. The game is essentially a must-win for the Huskers, who will need to finish 9-7 in conference and win at least one Big XII tournament game to be position for an at-large. It's hard to see them getting to 9-7 if they don't win tonight, considering they have two tricky road games (at Iowa State and at Colorado) and a home game against Missouri left. Kansas State can probably get a bid with an 8-8 finish and one Big XII tourney win, and if they come away victorious tonight, that mark is very attainable.

The other game tonight involving a Last Four In team is Colorado State at BYU. The Rams missed out on a huge opportunity on Saturday by losing at home to UNLV, and as a result, they need to go at least 2-2 down the stretch to have any chance of an at-large. We certainly don't expect them to beat the Jimmers on the road, but we do expect them to win at Air Force on Saturday. A good showing tonight (even in a loss) would give them some much-needed momentum heading into the weekend.

Of the four games involving teams just off the bubble, the most intriguing is Wisconsin at Michigan. The Wolverine faithful have hijacked our poll questions the last couple of weeks in support of their team, but all of those mouse clicks won't mean anything if Michigan doesn't take care of business in its two remaining home games. A 3-0 finish would get Michigan on the right side of the bubble heading into the Big Ten tournament; a 2-1 mark means they'll have to win two Big Ten tourney games to be in the mix.

In other Last Eight Out action, Baylor plays at Missouri, Boston College hosts Miami, and VCU plays at Drexel. The Bears' final four games are brutal, which makes their loss over the weekend to Texas Tech all the more crushing. They'll need two wins down the stretch to stay alive for an at-large. BC has now lost five of its last seven and needs a win over the Hurricanes tonight to stay in the bracket on Monday, and VCU needs to keep winning games period to keep the Colonial's dream of three bids alive. The Rams wrap up their regular season this week with tonight's tricky road game against the Dragons and a home game against James Madison on Saturday. If they finish 2-0 and make the Colonial final, they will be one of the toughest calls to make on Selection Sunday.

The three other must-watch games of the night are Temple at Duke, Cincinnati at Georgetown, and Florida State at Maryland. The Blue Devils moved up to the 1 line in our bracket this week, and they'll remain there on Monday provided they don't slip up at home against the Owls tonight or at Virginia Tech on Saturday. Cincinnati and Florida State, meanwhile, are in pretty similar positions with to weeks to go in the regular season. The Bearcats will get an at-large if they can win two of their final four games (at Georgetown, UConn, at Marquette, Georgetown). If they go 1-3, they'll have to win two Big East tournament games to feel completely safe. The 'Noles need two wins in their final four games to be a lock, and will need two ACC tournament wins to feel totally safe if they finish 1-3.

Also keep an eye on: Notre Dame at Providence, Purdue at Indiana, Oklahoma at Texas A&M, North Carolina at North Carolina State, DePaul at St. John's, Kentucky at Arkansas, Auburn at Alabama, UNLV at New Mexico, UTEP at East Carolina, Creighton at Wichita State, Missouri State at Southern Illinois

B101's Bracket Banter - Tuesday

2011-02-22T08:57:00.003-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Tuesday's Games
The focus is on the Big Ten tonight, where there are two big bubble battles on tap. The most important bubble game of the night is the match-up between Michigan State and Minnesota. The Gophers' late season slide (they have lost five of six) needs to come to an end this week or else they won't find themselves in the bracket next week. They have a huge week ahead with the Michigan schools coming in, and they need to win three of their last four just to finish 9-9 in conference. If they can't get to 9-9 in conference, a deep Big Ten run would likely be required to lock down a bid. A win for the Spartans would do wonders for their tourney hopes as it would give them the season sweep over the Gophers and make them a virtual lock for at least a 9-9 conference finish.

The other Big Ten bubble team in action is Illinois, which travels to Ohio State. Obviously a road win over the Buckeyes isn't a requirement for the Illini to make the tournament, and at least a 9-9 conference finish looks like a certainty for them with home games against Iowa and Indiana remaining. A win here could turn the focus back towards how high of a seed the Illini could end up with instead of what they need to do to secure their bid.

The two other games of note tonight are Tennessee at Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech at Wake Forest. The Volunteers gave themselves little wiggle room by losing to Georgia over the weekend, and they now have to pick up at least two wins in their last four games to feel good about their tourney hopes heading into the SEC tournament. The Hokies had an even worse loss over the weekend in losing at Virginia, which knocked them out of our latest bracket. They are once again setting the table to be one of the most debated bubble teams come Selection Sunday, and their game at Wake Forest should just be a tune-up for their make-or-break game against Duke this weekend.

Also keep and eye on: Iowa State at Texas, Louisville at Rutgers, LaSalle at Xavier, Houston at Memphis, UNC-Asheville at Coastal Carolina

B101's Questions For The Competition

2011-02-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

Questions For The Competition is a weekly column that addresses our issues with the brackets of other bracketology "experts." Today's questions are reserved for ESPN's Joe Lunardi and SI.com's Andy Glockner. Keep in mind that these questions are about each expert's most recent brackets, which were released before Monday's games.

Joe Lunardi (ESPN) - Feb. 21 Bracket
What do you have against Richmond? The Spiders are 10-3 in the A-10, they have an OOC win over Purdue, and they're not in? Worse yet, they're behind UAB on your First First Out list?

Speaking of UAB, how are the Blazers so close to being in? Conference USA deserves three bids more than the Colonial does? More than the A-10? Based on what?

How does Cleveland State move up to a 12 seed after getting blown out at Old Dominion?

Isn't Kansas State a little high as a 9? How is Washington still a 7? Virginia Tech is a 10 and is two seed lines above BC?

Andy Glockner (Sports Illustrated) - Feb. 21 Bracket
No Alabama? Memphis and Butler both have better chances at an at-large if the season ended today?

We're not opposed to the Colonial getting three bids, but VCU's an 11? They're not a 12 or Last Four In?

How is UConn two seed lines better than Louisville? The Cardinals beat the Huskies twice and are a game better in conference.

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Feb. 21

2011-02-21T02:24:00.034-05:00

When we put together the bracket each week, we fully expect there to be a debate about the last four teams in. This week, the debate started with the first four teams in, and it continued all the way down to the bubble.

Losses by Pittsburgh, Kansas, Ohio State, and Texas caused a shake-up on the 1 line for the first time in over a month. Texas' loss at Nebraska knocked the Longhorns down to the top of the 2 line and allowed Duke to move up. Also in the top quarter of the bracket, Purdue moved from a 4 to a 2 after beating Wisconsin and Ohio State, Georgetown fell to a 3 after losing at UConn, and UConn fell to a 4 after losing at Louisville.

Three at-large bids changed hands this week as Virginia Tech, Baylor, and Memphis dropped out and Kansas State, Nebraska, and Gonzaga jumped in. The Wildcats got the nod thanks to their upset of Kansas in Manhattan, and Nebraska earned their spot after upsetting Texas in Lincoln. Neither team is a lock at this point to get to 9-7 in conference, which is troubling, but we think there's still a decent chance that both can get in. Nebraska needs to beat Kansas State at home on Wednesday and finish 9-7 finish in conference to stay in the hunt, while Kansas State needs at least an 8-8 finish and at least one win in the Big XII tourney.

The final spot in the bracket went to Gonzaga, which won both of its games this week (over Santa Clara and San Francisco) and got some help when St. Mary's lost at San Diego. If the Zags can win at St. Mary's on Thursday (and we think they can given the week the Gaels just had), they will likely share the WCC regular season title with St. Mary's. That title, plus a decent OOC resume and a trip to the WCC final, will probably be enough for Gonzaga to get an at-large if they need it.

Another notable development this week was the difficulty we had finding teams for the First Eight Out list. Usually, we have a dozen (or more) teams to pick from, but this week, we were stretching to find candidates. Even the teams on the First Four Out list have tough roads ahead in order to get into the bracket. Virginia Tech has to face Duke at home this weekend, Memphis needs to win its final four regular season games and plays at UTEP on Saturday, VCU is still stuck behind George Mason and Old Dominion in the Colonial pecking order (probably the only way the Colonial is going to get three bids is if VCU wins the conference tourney), and Michigan has three tough games left (vs. Wisconsin, at Minnesota, vs. Michigan State). Boston College, Colorado State, Nebraska and Gonzaga may not have great resumes, but they're in better shape than the teams chasing them.

Other notable upgrades seed-wise this week were St. John's, who moved up from a 7 to a 5 after their wins over Marquette and Pitt; Cincinnati, who moved up from a 10 to an 8 after their win over Louisville); and George Mason, who climbed six spots on the S-curve to the top of the 8 line. Notable downgrades were St. Mary's, who dropped from a 7 to a 10 after their 0-2 week; and Minnesota, who fell from an 8 to a 10 after losing at Penn State.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Boston College, Colorado State, Nebraska, Gonzaga

First Four Out
Virginia Tech, Memphis, VCU, Michigan

Next Four Out
Baylor, Clemson, Cleveland State, Missouri State

"First Four" Games
Boston College vs. Colorado State, Nebraska vs. Gonzaga, Murray State vs. Morgan State, Texas Southern vs. McNeese State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (4), MWC (4), A-10 (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), WCC (2)

America East - Vermont

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Temple, Xavier, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Connecticut, Louisville, Villanova, Syracuse, St. John's, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Marquette

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - George Mason, Old Dominion

Conference USA - UTEP

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Harvard

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Morgan State

MVC - Wichita State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, Colorado State

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Charleston

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - St. Mary's, Gonzaga

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Kansas, Duke

The 2s
San Diego State, Texas, Notre Dame, Purdue

The 3s
BYU, Georgetown, Florida, Wisconsin

The 4s
Connecticut, Louisville, Villanova, Vanderbilt

The 5s
Syracuse, North Carolina, Kentucky, St. John's

The 6s
Arizona, Texas A&M, Missouri, West Virginia

The 7s
Temple, Xavier, UNLV, UCLA

The 8s
George Mason, Florida State, Cincinnati, Old Dominion

The 9s
Utah State, Illinois, Tennessee, Washington

The 10s
Georgia, St. Mary's, Minnesota, Michigan State

The 11s
Richmond, Marquette, Alabama, Kansas State

The 12s
Butler, Boston College vs. Colorado State (FF), UTEP, Harvard

The 13s
Nebraska vs. Gonzaga (FF), Wichita State, Belmont, Charleston

The 14s
Coastal Carolina, Oakland, Fairfield, Vermont

The 15s
Kent State, Bucknell, Long Beach State, Long Island

The 16s
Montana, Florida Atlantic, Murray State vs. Morgan State (FF), Texas Southern vs. McNeese State (FF)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

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

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-02-18T09:52:00.010-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Friday's Games
Can UConn avenge last month's home loss to Louisville? Do the Huskies deserve to be on the 2 line next week if they do?

Whose at-large hopes will be crushed by the result of VCU at Wichita State?

Can Princeton pass a tricky road test at Yale and stay unbeaten in the Ivy?

Saturday's Games
Could the Jayhawks lose two in a row? Colorado beat Kansas State and Kansas State beat Kansas, so does that mean Colorado can beat Kansas?

It's hard to take a power conference team seriously when their last tourney appearance was 1998, but won't we have to if Nebraska can knock off Texas?

If Kansas State and Baylor can win home games against Big XII bottom feeders, and Colorado and Nebraska somehow pulled off Ws, can you imagine the Big XII bubble mess on Monday?

Will SDSU get caught overlooking Air Force in anticipation of its showdown with BYU next weekend?

St. John's has already beaten three of the top four Big East teams at home. Will they take down Pitt and make it 4-for-4?

West Virginia hasn't beaten a Big East team in the top half of the bracket since early January. Will they break that streak at home against Notre Dame?

Can Washington climb back into the hunt for the Pac-10 title and beat Arizona in Tucson?

Considering that BC hasn't won a conference road game in 2011, do they really have any chance to win in Chapel Hill?

If Virginia Tech can win at Virginia, then they have to finally be ahead of BC on the ACC bubble, correct?

A few days ago it was a given that Utah State needed the win more than St. Mary's in their BracketBuster showdown, but after the Gaels' loss to San Diego this week, who needs this game more?

Florida State couldn't have asked for an easier opponent in their first post-Singleton game. He's not so important that the Seminoles could possibly lose to Wake Forest, is he?

Given the way Georgia has fared against superior opponents in the past month, we have no expectations for them to win at Tennessee. The question is, will they be in the bracket on Monday with another loss?

Can Michigan win at Iowa and keep their slim at-large hopes alive?

We know that Colorado State cannot match the OOC resume of UNLV, but if they beat the Rebels again and have a three-game lead in the loss column on the Rebels, how are they not ahead of them on the MWC bubble?

Cincinnati got the marquee Big East win its resume so desperately needed this week, but can they avoid giving it all back and losing at Providence?

Gonzaga's at-large resume improved this week without them doing much of anything. Can the Zags avoid a season sweep at the hands of San Francisco and keep their at-large dreams alive?

Does Michigan State have the biggest must-win game of any bubble team this weekend with Illinois coming in?

Are we wrong in thinking the most likely scenario for Conference USA is Memphis getting an at-large and someone else (UTEP? UAB? Southern Miss?) winning the conference tourney?

Why does the ESPN Gameday schedule come out in the beginning of the season? Shouldn't they hold off until a week or two before so we aren't stuck watching them in Lansing at such a mediocre game?

Sunday's Games
Can Purdue knock off Wisconsin and Ohio State in the same week?

We were reminded again on Thursday that Penn State is pretty tough to beat at home. Any chance they win at the Kohl Center?

Will Old Dominion continue to state its case for an at-large with a BracketBuster win over Cleveland State?

Will Clemson see its at-large chances end for good with a loss at Miami?

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-02-17T09:10:00.006-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
There are few things better for a bubble team's resume than a late-season road win - regardless of who the opponent is - and that's the challenge facing several bubble dwellers tonight.

In power conference bubble action, Washington State plays at Arizona, Clemson plays at N.C. State, Minnesota plays at Penn State, and Alabama plays at LSU. Minnesota is the safest of those bubble because of their impressive OOC wins over North Carolina and West Virginia, but the Gophers have seen their seed slip in recent weeks because of what they've done - or haven't done - in Big Ten play. They only have one quality conference win (vs. Purdue) and they've lost four of their last five overall. They're going to need to finish 9-9 in conference to get a bid, and if they lose to the Nittany Lions tonight, they'll have to win three of their last four to get there.

Washington State is trying to climb back in the bracket after a home loss to Stanford knocked them out last week. The Cougars, who are just 2-4 in conference road games, play three straight on the road beginning with Arizona tonight. They need to win four of their last five games to stay alive in the at-large mix heading into the Pac-10 tourney. Clemson, meanwhile, begins a tricky week with a trip to Raleigh to take on the Wolfpack (the Tigers play at Miami on Saturday). If they want to be taken seriously as an at-large contender, a 2-0 week is a must.

The final important bubble battle of the night is in the A-10, where Richmond visits Temple. The Spiders are a half game out of first in conference, have won seven of eight, and have a nice OOC win over Purdue on their resume, yet they remain on the bubble because they still have not beaten a quality A-10 opponent. That's not entirely their fault - the schedule broke so that they only face Xavier and Temple once - but they didn't do themselves any favors by losing at home to the Musketeers back on Jan. 19. If the Spiders lose tonight, they can't afford any more losses until the A-10 tourney.

Also keep an eye on: UCLA at Stanford, Washington at Arizona State, Santa Clara at Gonzaga

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-02-16T10:07:00.002-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Wednesday's Games
Last night was highlighted by teams at the bottom of the bracket trying to avoid bad losses or trying to pick up that marquee win that their resume was in desperate need of. Tonight is highlighted by some big match-ups at the top of the bracket, particularly Georgetown at UConn and Wisconsin at Purdue.

The match-up between Georgetown and UConn may be one of two teams heading in opposite directions. Georgetown is arguably playing the best ball in the nation, having won 8 in a row, while UConn suddenly cannot win a tough game and has lost three of five. The Huskies' schedule down the stretch is brutal, and a home loss to the Hoyas could make it hard for them to finish above .500 in league play. This is Georgetown's toughest game left, and if they get a win, they would be looking at the potential for a 1 seed heading into the Big East tourney.

The game between Wisconsin and Purdue is a battle for second place in the Big Ten and a battle for a better spot in the Big Ten pecking order. The Badgers are probably still on a high after their weekend win over Ohio State, and a win here on the road will give them a good chance for a 2 seed next week. Purdue looks great on paper (a 20-5 record and an 11 RPI) but they still have zero Top 25 wins. They will get two chances for Top 25 wins on their home court this week as Ohio State visits this weekend. The Boilermakers must win at least one of these two games to prove that they belong in the top quarter of the bracket.

Elsewhere on the Big Ten bubble, Michigan plays at Illinois. It's hard to say which team needs this one more. The Illini have a tough final stetch and may need to pick up this win to ensure at least a .500 finish in league play. Michigan has a been on a roll lately, winning five of their last six, and a 2-0 week (they play at Iowa this weekend) would likely push them into next week's bracket.

The biggest bubble games of the night are in Conference USA, with UAB playing at Memphis and UTEP visiting Southern Miss. C-USA is currently the 8th-rated conference in the country, and a first place finish in the regular season may just be enough to earn a team an at-large bid this year. All four of the teams in action tonight have a chance to finish at the top of the standings and tonight's games will go a long way in determining who ends up on top in the end. A win for Memphis would be huge since it would give them a season sweep over Southern Miss and UAB and their RPI would likely climb into the top 30. UTEP really doesn't have much of an at-large resume, but this trip to Hattiesburg is their toughest road game remaining. If the Miners can pull out a win, they will be in great shape to win the league outright, potentially by multiple games.

A few other bubble games of interest tonight are Louisville at Cincinnati and Vanderbilt at Georgia. Both Georgia and Cincinnati sit on similar spots on the bubble: each of them has beaten the teams they should beat, but they struggle to pick up wins over tournament teams. If the Bearcats go 0-2 this week (some would argue if they just lose this game) the Big East will be down to 10 bids on Monday. If Marquette slips up against Seton Hall over the weekend, that number might be down to nine.

Also keep an eye on: Oklahoma State at Texas, New Mexico at San Diego State, South Carolina at Tennessee, Duke at Virginia, South Florida at Pittsburgh, Iowa State at Texas A&M, Xavier at St. Joseph's, St. Mary's at San Diego, Colorado State at TCU, Montana-Western at Utah State, Duquesne at UMass, Nebraska at Oklahoma

B101's Bracket Banter - Tuesday

2011-02-15T14:17:00.013-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Tuesday's Games
A night after Kansas State emphatically stated its case for an at-large bid, several other bubble teams will try to do the same. In the Big Ten, Michigan State kicks off a make-or-break week with a trip to Columbus to take on Ohio State. The Spartans snuck back into our Field of 68 this week because we think, despite their well-documented struggles, that they still can finish 9-9 in conference. We don't expect this game to be one of those wins, but it's important that they play well with a ginormous home game against Illinois looming this weekend. A 1-1 week will keep Sparty in the bracket next Monday.

In the ACC, Maryland plays at Virginia Tech in what is an absolute must-win for the Terps. Maryland lost to Virginia Tech at home back on Jan. 20, and if they have any chance to get back in the at-large picture, they'll have to avoid a season sweep. The game is also huge for Virginia Tech, which must finish 10-6 in conference to stay on the right side of the bubble heading into the ACC tournament. The Hokies still have home games left against Duke and BC as well as a road game at Clemson to close out the season, so they'll have chances to pad their resume. A win here, though, would take a little pressure off going forward.

There are also some key bubble battles tonight in the Big East (St. John's at Marquette), the Colonial (George Mason at VCU, Georgia State at Old Dominion) and the Missouri Valley (Wichita State at Evansville, Drake at Missouri State). St. John's has the overall record of a bubble team, but their five Top 25 wins (five!) has them up to a 7 seed this week. They should easily get to 9-9 (probably 10-8) in conference, which will get them a bid. Marquette, meanwhile, needs this game to avoid picking up its 11th loss and to avoid falling under .500 in conference. The Golden Eagles have an easy schedule left (four of their six are at home and one of their road games is at Seton Hall), so this isn't necessarily a must-win, but it could give them some much-needed breathing room.

George Mason comes into the night on an 11-game win streak that has vaulted them all the way up to a 9 seed in our latest bracket. The Patriots are currently in the field as the Colonial automatic, but they have a great chance at an at-large if they win at VCU tonight. A win would give them a two game lead with just two games to play in conference. It's hard to see a resume with a Colonial regular season title and a sub-30 RPI on it not warranting a bid this year with the bubble as soft as it is.

In the MVC, current auto bid Wichita State faces a tricky road test at Evansville, which has wins over Missouri State and Northern Iowa in its last two home games. If the Shockers, or Missouri State, have designs on earning an at-large bid out of what looks like a one-bid league, they can't afford a slip-up tonight. Both teams have BracketBuster games on tap this weekend, with Wichita hosting VCU and Missouri State playing at Valparaiso.

Also keep an eye on: Villanova at Seton Hall, Mississippi State at Kentucky, Wake Forest at North Carolina, Texas Tech at Missouri, Wayland Baptist University at Baylor (seriously?), Air Force at UNLV, Butler at Green Bay

B101's Questions For The Competition

2011-02-15T07:20:00.004-05:00

What's with all the love for the Pac-10? Arizona's a 5? Washington's a 7?

Speaking of Washington, how are they two seed lines better than UCLA? Shouldn't that be the other way around, considering that UCLA is ahead in conference and has two OOC wins (BYU, St. John's) that are better than anything Washington has OOC?

How is there a two seed line difference between Temple (a 6) and Xavier (an 8)?

Andy Glockner (Sports Illustrated) - Feb. 14 Bracket

What year did you graduate from Colorado? Does your brother play on the team or something?

Seriously, how are the Buffaloes still in? With 10 losses, a 5-6 conference record, two wins in their past eight games, a 92 RPI, and one decent OOC win? They'd get a bid if the season ended today?

Isn't West Virginia a little high as a 4? Isn't Baylor a little high as a 10?

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Feb. 14

2011-02-14T00:52:00.016-05:00

The bubble carousel continued to spin round and round this week, and when it stopped, four at-large bids ended up changing hands. Kansas State, VCU, Washington State, and Duquesne dropped out of the bracket, and Old Dominion, Memphis, Alabama, and Michigan State jumped in.

Old Dominion was the easiest of the four teams to put in after their convincing win at VCU over the weekend. The Monarchs are back in the field this week on the 9 line, alongside the Colonial automatic bid, George Mason. Memphis was in the field last week as the automatic bid out of Conference USA, but this week, UTEP gets the nod as the auto and Memphis is in as an at-large. We think the Tigers have a great chance to finish 12-4 in conference to go along with a top 40 RPI and a win at Gonzaga. That resume, in the eighth rated conference in the country, should be enough for them to sneak in. UTEP, meanwhile, has a home game left with Memphis, which if they win, should put them in the driver's seat to win the C-USA regular season title. (That alone might get them an at-large if they need it down the road.)The Miners also have the luxury of playing the C-USA conference tourney on their home floor, which makes them even more attractive as the auto bid.

The last two teams in - and the two bubble teams most likely to spark debate this week - are Michigan State and Alabama. The Spartans' woes are well-documented and their resume of late is certainly not pretty, but looking ahead, we still think they can finish 9-9 in conference. The key to getting to 9-9 is beating Illinois at home this weekend. If they lose that game, they might be out of the bracket for good. Unlike Michigan State, Alabama's record looks very nice on paper. What doesn't look nice is their 87 RPI and their four bad losses to go along with just two quality wins. Fortunately for the Tide, their at-large chances are more about quantity than quality at this point, and we think that they'll be able to get to 12-4 (maybe 13-3) in conference, which will be enough for a bid. Anything less than 12 wins, and they'll have to win the SEC tourney to go dancing.

We strongly considered Michigan and Gonzaga for the final two at-large spots, but we couldn't look past the Wolverines' difficult remaining schedule or the Zags' looming road game with St. Mary's. Michigan probably still has a better chance at finishing 8-10 then it does at finishing 9-9, and 8-10 won't be enough with their mediocre OOC resume. If Gonzaga can't exact some revenge and beat the Gaels 10 days from now, their only hope at a bid will be winning the WCC tourney.

There wasn't a ton of movement seed-wise this week, but there were a few notable changes. Pittsburgh replaces Ohio State as the new No. 1 overall seed, just edging Kansas because of their four Top 25 and eight Top 50 wins (Kansas has 1 Top 25 win and seven Top 50 wins; Texas has two Top 25s and seven Top 50s). After two more impressive wins last week, Georgetown moved up from a 3 to a 2 seed, and Florida and Wisconsin moved up from 4s to 3s. The biggest upgrades of the week were Vanderbilt (from a 6 to a 4), St. John's (from a 9 to a 7), and George Mason (from an 11 to a 9). The only team to fall more than one seed line was Syracuse (from a 3 to a 5).

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Michigan State, Baylor, Virginia Tech, Alabama

First Four Out
Michigan, Gonzaga, Clemson, Missouri State

Next Four Out
VCU, Colorado, Washington State, Kansas State

"First Four" Games
Michigan State vs. Baylor, Virginia Tech vs. Alabama, Murray State vs. Hampton, Texas Southern vs. Stephen F. Austin

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big Ten (6), SEC (6), ACC (5), Big XII (5), MWC (4), A-10 (3), Pac-10 (3), Colonial (2), Conference USA (2)

America East - Vermont

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Temple, Xavier, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Connecticut, Louisville, Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia, St. John's, Marquette, Cincinnati

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - George Mason, Old Dominion

Conference USA - UTEP, Memphis

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Hampton

MVC - Wichita State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, Colorado State

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama

Southern - Charleston

Southland - Stephen F. Austin

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Texas Southern

WAC - Utah State

WCC - St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Pittsburgh, Kansas, Ohio State, Texas

The 2s
Duke, Notre Dame, San Diego State, Georgetown

The 3s
BYU, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Florida

The 4s
Louisville, Purdue, Villanova, Vanderbilt

The 5s
Syracuse, North Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky

The 6s
Missouri, Temple, Arizona, Xavier

The 7s
West Virginia, St. John's, St. Mary's, Tennessee

The 8s
UNLV, UCLA, Illinois, Minnesota

The 9s
Florida State, Washington, George Mason, Old Dominion

The 10s
Utah State, Richmond, Marquette, Cincinnati

The 11s
Memphis, Georgia, Boston College, Michigan State vs. Baylor (FF)

The 12s
Wichita State, Colorado State, Butler, Virginia Tech vs. Alabama (FF)

The 13s
UTEP, Princeton, Belmont, Coastal Carolina

The 14s
Charleston, Kent State, Oakland, Vermont

The 15s
Fairfield, Bucknell, Montana, Florida Atlantic

The 16s
Long Beach State, Long Island, Murray State vs. Hampton (FF), Texas Southern vs. Stephen F. Austin (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.

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-02-12T08:52:00.014-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Saturday's Games
Ohio State is undefeated and Wisconsin is undefeated at home. What's gonna give?

Has anyone picked Ohio State to win this game?

Baylor made their first bracket appearance in weeks on Monday. Would a win at Texas keep them there for good?

If 'Nova can't trip up Pitt at home, is there really any chance that the Panthers don't win the Big East regular season title?

Is there any chance that SDSU or BYU loses a game before their much-anticipated rematch in San Diego? Is it OK that we are hoping that they don't?

Which Big East beast - Syracuse or Louisville - will avoid an 0-2 week and win their high noon battle?

Can Utah State afford to lose another game conference game and still manage to get an at-large bid?

If Florida keeps up their current run, how high can they climb? A 2 seed?

Who will be a higher seed after their match-up today, Vanderbilt or Kentucky?

Will Clemson beat Carolina and get the big win that their resume so desperately needs? If they do, will it be enough to vault them into the bracket?

Is Maryland's game at Boston College the biggest bubble battle of the day? Who needs to win this game more?

Will we be a week ahead of everyone in having Old Dominion out and VCU in this past week? Or will the Monarchs win and leave us a week behind?

If Michigan can hold court against Indiana, could the Wolverines actually make it into the bracket on Monday?

Alabama missed out on a huge opportunity against Vandy this week, but will a win over Mississippi and a soft remaining schedule get the Tide in next week's bracket anyway?

Does Georgia still deserve a bid if they lose at South Carolina?

Will Memphis' at-large hopes be destroyed with a loss to Southern Miss?

We don't really have any questions for Wazzu in regards to their match-up against Cal, except: who's going to replace the Cougars in Monday's bracket?

Will Oklahoma State finally win its first conference road game at Nebraska?

Who will win and be in the bracket on Monday: New Mexico or Colorado State?

Can Kansas State hold onto their spot in the bracket and win at Colorado?

Can Wichita State exact some revenge on Northern Iowa? More importantly, can anyone come up with a likely scenario in which the MVC gets two bids?

Sunday's Games
Illinois picked up a huge road win on Thursday over Minnesota. How far will their seed soar with a win over Purdue at home?

How far will the Gophers' seed fall if they slip up at Iowa and lose their fifth straight?

If Marquette manages to win at Georgetown and if Cincinnati completes a season sweep of St. John's, is there anyway the Big East does not get at least 10 bids?

Is Duquense's home game against Xavier the biggest make-or-break game for any one team this weekend? Can the Dukes win and prove once and for all that they are a legitimate at-large candidate?

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-02-10T10:05:00.003-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
It's a big night in Bubbleville, as a half dozen teams play games that could have long-term impact on their at-large hopes.

The most important game of the night is UConn at St. John's. The Red Storm have a top 25 RPI and more big wins than any other bubble team, but they also have nine losses and a difficult schedule left. This game isn't necessarily a must-win, but a loss would leave St. John's at 6-5 in conference and with a little less margin for error going forward. They play at Cincinnati on Sunday and then at Marquette and at home against Pittsburgh next week.

In the SEC, Alabama plays at Vanderbilt, and in the Big Ten, Illinois plays at Minnesota and Penn State plays at Michigan State. The Tide have been the most debated team in our comments section over the past week because of their 7-1 SEC record, their terrible RPI, and their ratio of bad losses to good wins. They aren't at-large worthy yet, even with the bubble as soft as it is, but a road win against the Commodores would get them some serious consideration next week. Bama's schedule is pretty soft the rest of the way, and a 12-4 finish (even in the awful SEC West) would probably be enough to get the Tide a bid.

The Penn State-Michigan State game is a must-win for both teams. Despite some nice wins, neither of these teams look like NCAA tournament teams right now and neither would be in the bracket if the season ended today. The loser is going to have to go on a huge run to get back on the right side of the bubble. The Illinois-Minnesota game features two teams that just need to stop the bleeding. Illinois has lost five of seven and is down to an 8 seed this week, while Minnesota has lost three straight and has slid down to a 7. The Illini might be in more trouble with a loss here; they have three tough road games left and a date with Purdue in Champaign on Saturday. A 9-9 finish, with their decent OOC resume, might be enough for a bid, but they'd need a win in the Big Ten tournament to feel safe. Having Maryland and Gonzaga (two of their OOC victories) win some games down the stretch wouldn't hurt, either.

Finally, in the Pac-10, UCLA hosts Oregon, Washington hosts Cal, and Washington State hosts Stanford. The Cougars barely hung on to a bid in our latest bracket after getting drubbed at Oregon State, and they'll have to sweep Stanford and Cal at home over the weekend to stay in on Monday.

Also keep an eye on: Florida State at Georgia Tech, St. Mary's at Santa Clara, Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount, Wright State at Butler

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-02-09T11:46:00.008-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Wednesday's Games
The year's first installment of Duke-North Carolina is the main event tonight, but the undercard is shaping up to be pretty solid as well. Thirteen ranked teams are in action, with seven of those teams facing unranked opponents on the road, and the other six facing each other in three huge conference games.

The biggest of those games, and the most likely to cause Dick Vitale to spontaneously combust, will take place at Cameron Indoor. The freshly-ranked Tar Heels come in as the hottest team in the ACC over the last few weeks, winning their last three games by a combined 68 points. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, bounced back from their nightmarish performance against St. John's with blowout victories over Maryland and N.C. State last week. The winner of this game will have temporary control over first place in conference and will have temporary bragging rights until the teams meet again in the regular season finale on March 5. If Duke wins, they will add a sixth Top 50 win to their resume and inch a little closer towards returning to the 1 line. If Carolina wins, and then beats Clemson on the road this weekend, they could be as high as a 3 seed next week.

In the other two marquee games of the night, Notre Dame hosts Louisville and Syracuse hosts Georgetown. These four teams are pretty tightly packed between the 2 and 4 lines, and they could very well swap spots on those lines depending on what happens tonight. If Notre Dame or Georgetown win, they would tie Texas for the most RPI Top 50 wins in the country with eight.

There are also some huge bubble battles tonight in the Big XII, as Colorado hosts Texas A&M and Baylor hosts Nebraska, and in the Colonial, as VCU plays at Delaware and Old Dominion plays at William & Mary. We have Colorado behind Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State on the Big XII bubble list because of their 1-5 record in their last six games, but they have a chance to leap to the front of that line with a 2-0 week. They play a struggling Aggies team tonight and then host Kansas State on Saturday. Baylor, meanwhile, made it back in the bracket this week, (despite an underwhelming resume) because of the easy schedule they have left. One of the presumed wins on that schedule is this game against the Huskers. If the Bears lose, they'll be back on the outside looking in. VCU just edged ODU for the Colonial's second bid this week, and if both take care of business tonight on the road, their showdown at ODU on Saturday will determine who gets that at-large bid on Monday.

The last intriguing game of the night is Florida at South Carolina. The Gators are coming off a huge two-win week that vaulted them ahead of Kentucky in the SEC pecking order and up to the top of the 4 line in our latest bracket. Their victories over Vandy and Kentucky last week gave them a very respectable six Top 50 wins on the year. On the flip side, they also have three losses outside the Top 100, one of which was a home loss to the Gamecocks back on Jan. 15. If they can exact some revenge tonight, they'll open up a 2.5 game lead over Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia in the SEC East standings with six games to play.

Also keep an eye on: Texas at Oklahoma, BYU at Air Force, Villanova at Rutgers, Wisconsin at Iowa, UNLV at TCU, Utah State at Idaho, Marquette at South Florida, Fordham at Temple, Richmond at George Washington, Memphis at UCF, Bradley at Missouri State, Wyoming at New Mexico, Northwestern at Michigan

B101's Bracket Banter - Tuesday

2011-02-08T07:10:00.004-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Tuesday's Games
A lot of SEC questions are going to be answered this week, and we'll get some of those answers tonight as Kentucky hosts Tennessee and Georgia hosts Xavier. Kentucky is looking to regroup after off an 0-2 week that dropped them down to the 5 line in our latest bracket, while Tennessee (with Bruce Pearl back on the bench) is looking to bounce back from a bad home loss to Alabama over the weekend. Both teams need this game if they want to keep within striking distance of Florida in the SEC East standings, and Kentucky needs it to avoid falling under .500 in conference. Kentucky plays at Vanderbilt this weekend and Tennessee plays at Florida, so the loser of this game could be in for a tumble seed-wise next week.

The most intruiging game of the night, though, might be Xavier at Georgia. The Bulldogs hung on to their bid this week by beating Arkansas and Auburn, but their remaining schedule is no picnic. They still have four tough road games left as well as a home game against Vanderbilt next week. Getting a win here over a quality OOC opponent would be huge for a resume that has just two Top 50 wins on it. The game is equally big for Xavier, who could also use a quality OOC win to pair with their 8-1 record in the A-10. The Musketeers play at Duquesne this weekend, so it would be nice to get a win here to ensure at worst a 1-1 week.

Elsewhere, Boston College plays at Clemson in what is a key game for the Eagles. BC has a nice OOC win over A&M on its resume, but they haven't done much in ACC play besides win at Maryland (which isn't all that great of a win right now). The Eagles got blown out by North Carolina and eeked by Virginia Tech at home last week, and they'll have to play a lot better than that down the stretch if they want to finish with a winning record in conference.

Two mid-majors who slipped into this week's bracket are also in action tonight. Wichita State, this week's lone MVC representative, hosts Southern Illinois, and George Mason, our new automatic bid out of the Colonial, plays at UNC-Wilmington.

Also keep an eye on: Indiana at Purdue, Utah at San Diego State, Cincinnati at DePaul, Penn at Princeton

B101's Questions For The Competition

2011-02-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

Questions For The Competition is a weekly column that addresses our issues with the brackets of other bracketology "experts." Today's questions are reserved for ESPN's Joe Lunardi and SI.com's Andy Glockner. Keep in mind that these questions are about each expert's most recent brackets, which were released before Monday's games.

Joe Lunardi (ESPN) - Feb. 7 Bracket
Missouri State would get an at-large if the season ended today? With two bad losses and one Top 50 win? How?

Who has Purdue beaten to deserve a 3 seed? They have a better resume than Syracuse?

Isn't Arizona a little high as a 5? Isn't Marquette a little high as an 8?

Andy Glockner (Sports Illustrated) - Feb. 7 Bracket
We know the Big XII bubble is complicated, but how in the world did you put Colorado in this week? Is it their one win (one!) in their last six games? How are they in over Kansas State, whose RPI is 56 points better?

The Colonial would really get three bids if the season ended today? Old Dominion is not only in, but they deserve a 10 seed? George Mason deserves a 9?

How is Butler, at 7-5 in conference, still one of your First Four Out?

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Feb. 7

2011-02-07T02:00:00.015-05:00

Last week we saw very little turnover in the bracket, so it is not too surprising to see five teams replaced this week. We ended up dropping Penn State, Michigan State, Missouri State, Old Dominion, and Gonzaga from the bracket in favor of Colorado State, Wichita State, Kansas State, Baylor, and George Mason.

It was obviously a bad week for the Big Ten, as they saw both Michigan State and Penn State drop a pair of games. The Spartans are in absolute free-fall mode, having lost five of six and losing both games this week by 20+ points. Penn State made its first appearance in the bracket last week, but it appears to have been short-lived. Their bracket inclusion was based on the expectation that they could finish above .500 in conference , but it's very hard to envision that after their home loss to Michigan.

For weeks now, we have had two bids coming out of the Colonial and just one out of the Missouri Valley. The only thing that has changed week-to-week has been the teams that are in from each conference, which was again the case this week. Wichita State managed to slide back in out of the MVC, while George Mason replaced Old Dominion because of their head-to-head victory over the weekend. BracketBuster games will likely have a big say in which of these mid-major conferences gets two bids, with VCU playing at Wichita State and George Mason playing at Northern Iowa. If the MVC win both of these games and also does well elsewhere, they could very well be the conference with two bids in the end.

As we get closer and closer to March, we are sorting through the bubble even more in depth to try and find that team that has a good chance to go on a run and steal a bid in their conference tournament A team that got a lot of discussion this week was UTEP, based on the fact that the Conference USA tournament is in El Paso and the Miners sit atop the C-USA standings and have only lost one home game all year. If the Miners continue to stay atop the conference standings in the coming weeks, we will likely add them to our bracket as the C-USA auto bid. Right now, we think Memphis is the league's best team, so we kept them in as the automatic.

This week's biggest seed decliner was Texas A&M, who went from a 3 to a 6 because of their 20- point home loss to Texas and their home loss to Baylor. The other decliners this week were Kentucky and Washington, both of which slipped two seed lines after 0-2 weeks. The biggest seed increase was given to UCLA, who jumped from an 11 to an 8 because of their big OOC win over St. John's and because they now have sole possession of second place in the Pac-10. Other climbers were Syracuse, Arizona, and Richmond, who saw their seeds jump up two lines each.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Colorado State, Washington State, Baylor, Duquesne

First Four Out
Michigan State, Old Dominion, Gonzaga, Missouri State

Next Four Out
Alabama, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, UTEP

"First Four" Games
Colorado State vs. Washington State, Baylor vs. Duquesne, Long Island vs. Hampton, Jackson State vs. McNeese State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big XII (6), ACC (5), Big Ten (5), SEC (5), A-10 (4), MWC (4), Pac-10 (4), Colonial (2)

America East - Vermont

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Temple, Xavier, Richmond, Duquesne

Big East - Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, Louisville, West Virginia, St. John's, Cincinnati, Marquette

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - George Mason, VCU

Conference USA - Memphis

Horizon - Cleveland State

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Hampton

MVC - Wichita State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, Colorado State

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - Arizona, UCLA, Washington, Washington State

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia

Southern - Charleston

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Texas

The 2s
Duke, Notre Dame, San Diego State, Connecticut

The 3s
BYU, Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse

The 4s
Florida, Wisconsin, Louisville, Purdue

The 5s
Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, West Virginia

The 6s
Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Temple, Tennessee

The 7s
Arizona, Minnesota, UNLV, Xavier

The 8s
St. Mary's, Illinois, UCLA, Florida State

The 9s
St. John's, Washington, Utah State, Cincinnati

The 10s
Georgia, Boston College, Marquette, Richmond

The 11s
Wichita State, George Mason, Kansas State, Memphis

The 12s
VCU, Virginia Tech, Colorado State vs. Washington State (FF), Baylor vs. Duquesne (FF)

The 13s
Cleveland State, Belmont, Princeton, Coastal Carolina

The 14s
Charleston, Kent State, Oakland, Vermont

The 15s
Fairfield, Florida Atlantic, Bucknell, Montana

The 16s
Long Beach State, Murray State, Long Island vs. Hampton (FF), Jackson State vs. McNeese 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.

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-02-04T10:51:00.007-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Friday's Games
Who's the best team in the Ivy? The winner of Harvard at Princeton will give us an early leader in the clubhouse.

Saturday's Games
Nebraska knocked off A&M at home last weekend...can the Huskers do the same to Kansas this weekend?

Can Texas take care of Texas Tech at home to lock down a spot on the 1 line?

Is Florida the best team in the SEC? If the Gators beat Kentucky in Gainesville on Saturday, they might be seeded that way on Monday.

Who deserves the best seed from the Pac-10? After Washington's slip-up against Oregon State, it might be Arizona (if the Wildcats can take care of Cal).

Could Washington State have played any worse against Oregon? Are the Cougars worthy of a bid even if they win at Oregon State?

Can the Flying Jimmers complete a season sweep of UNLV?

Can Pitt take care of Cincinnati at home? Isn't it about time the Bearcats picked up a second quality win in conference?

Will Villanova complete a nice 2-0 week with a home win over West Virginia?

Can Missouri and A&M bounce back from losses earlier in the week and beat Baylor and Colorado, respectively, at home?

Will a win at Iowa State be enough to get Kansas State back in the bracket?

Has Syracuse righted the ship? If so, they should no problem at South Florida.

Can Vandy avoid falling to 3-5 in conference and beat South Carolina?

Will Illinois survive a tricky road game at Northwestern?

Does VCU still deserve the Colonial automatic? If George Mason beats ODU at home, the Rams might get bumped.

Can Duquesne improve to 9-0 in the A-10 (9-0!) with a road win over the Bonnies?

Can Xavier and Temple stay within striking distance of the Dukes by beating Saint Louis and Rhode Island at home?

How bad is Conference USA right now? Is Memphis still the team to beat?

Speaking of the Tigers, can they burst Gonzaga's bubble with a win in Spokane?

Does Butler have any chance of winning at Cleveland State after the way they played at Youngstown State?

Seriously, Youngstown State?

Who deserves the Missouri Valley automatic right now? Missouri State (after their head-scratching loss at Evansville)? Northern Iowa (who's won eight in a row)? Or Wichita State (who is a game up in conference but already has home losses to the other two?)

Does the Valley deserve two bids on Monday?

Who needs the win more - St. John's or UCLA? Who gets it?

Can BC save its spot in the bracket and beat Virginia Tech at home?

Can Tennessee avoid losing a trap game at home against Alabama? The Vols play at Kentucky and at Florida next week.

Sunday's Games
Can Minnesota knock off Ohio State? The Gophers will have play a tiny bit better than they did against Indiana on Wednesday.

Doesn't Michigan State just seem destined for the NIT at this point? Do the Spartans still deserve a bid on Monday (with 10 losses) if they don't upset Wisconsin at the Kohl Center?

Is Penn State a one-week wonder? Can the Nittany Lions beat Michigan at home to stay in the bracket?

How will Larry Drew's departure affect North Carolina? Can the Tar Heels beat Florida State at home and keep pace with Duke in conference?

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-02-03T11:45:00.009-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
There are only a few power conference games worth watching tonight, which means two mid-majors battling for at-large bids will take center stage.

In the biggest game of the night, Gonzaga faces an absolute must-win at Portland. The Zags are the last team in our bracket this week after their home loss to St. Mary's, and they'll need to win this game and then beat Memphis at home this weekend to avoid dropping out. If they lose one of those two games, they would likely have to win out to have any hope at an at-large.

The second key mid-major game of the night is Valparaiso at Cleveland State. Both of these teams are fighting for the Horizon regular season title (Cleveland State leads by a half game) and for a chance at an at-large. Cleveland State has a very pretty record and a nice RPI, but one of their three losses was at Valpo. A season sweep at the hands of the Crusaders would not exactly look good on a resume. If the Vikings do get the win at home and then beat Butler over the weekend, they have to be considered a serious at-large contender. If Valpo wins, they'd have a big leg up in the race to win the Horizon title, which in a 68-team field, could be viewed as an at-large worthy accomplishment.

Three of the four Pac-10 teams in our bracket are also in action tonight, and all play on the road. Washington, which is looking to bounce back from its loss to Washington State, plays at Oregon State, Arizona plays at Stanford, and Washington State plays at Oregon. The Cougars stayed in the field this week thanks to their upset of the Huskies, but their spot is far from secure. They still have the fourth-best resume in a league that might only deserve three bids, and they play five of their next seven on the road. They're just 1-3 on the road in conference so far, with the lone win coming at Stanford.

The only other notable game of the night is Michigan at Ohio State. This game had all the makings of a blowout a week ago, but the Wolverines have now won two straight and looked very good in winning at Michigan State last Thursday. (Or maybe the Spartans are just that bad right now.) This is the unbeaten Buckeyes' easiest game for a while: their next five games are all against tourney-caliber Big Ten teams, starting with a trip to Minnesota this weekend.

Also keep an eye on: Notre Dame at DePaul, Tennessee at Auburn, Pepperdine at St. Mary's, Butler at Youngstown State, Belmont at Jacksonville, Liberty at Coastal Carolina

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-02-02T09:49:00.008-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Wednesday's Games
If there are going to be significant changes in our next bracket, it will likely be because of what happens tonight across the country. Twenty-six of the 68 teams we have in our current field are in action tonight, as are seven of the eight teams on our First Eight Out list.

The two most important games of the night involve teams that are thisclose to earning a bid - Maryland and Colorado State. The Terps host Duke tonight in College Park, three days after the Blue Devils were embarrassed by St. John's in the Garden. That loss knocked Duke off of the 1 line, and they'll have a tougher road getting back there if they lose this one. Maryland, meanwhile, has won three in a row to get back into the bubble mix after a 1-3 start in conference. The Terps have don't have any terrible losses on their resume, but they only have one Top 50 win and they've yet to beat a tourney-caliber ACC team. A victory here would give them a second marquee win, a much-needed RPI bump, and most importantly, a resume worthy of an at-large.

In the Mountain West, Colorado State can stake their claim to an at-large with a win over the visiting Aztecs. The Rams have a nice profile already - they have a road win at UNLV and are in third place in the fourth-ranked conference in the country - but they need a second signature win. They missed out on an opportunity to get that second win at home against BYU a week and a half ago, and if they miss out again tonight, they are going to have to beat SDSU or BYU on the road to be at-large worthy.

In other important bubble games, Georgia plays at Arkansas, Virginia Tech plays at N.C. State, Baylor plays at Oklahoma, Nebraska plays at Kansas State, and Missouri plays at Oklahoma State. The Big XII bubble is an absolute mess right now, and has left the third ranked conference in the country with as many bids as the Mountain West, Pac-10, and A-10. Oklahoma State has dropped below Baylor, Kansas State, and Nebraska in the Big XII pecking order, but they can return to relevance with an upset at home against the Tigers. Kansas State has the easiest remaining schedule of any Big XII bubble team, but they've also lost five of their last seven. Nebraska, meanwhile, stunned everyone with the defensive effort they put forth against Texas A&M this past weekend. If the Huskers can get past the Wildcats tonight, their schedule sets up nicely for them to make a real run at a bid. They host Kansas this weekend and they still have home games left against Oklahoma State, Texas, Kansas State, and Missouri.

There are also two huge games tonight in the Big East, as Syracuse plays at UConn and Marquette plays at Villanova. The Orange have now famously lost four in a row are down to a 5 seed in out latest bracket. They face a Huskies team tonight that will be out to avenge a rare Gampel Pavilion loss at the hands on Louisville on Saturday. UConn was our fourth and final 1 seed this week, but their hold on that spot is very tenuous given the tear that Texas has been on the last three weeks. A slip-up here, and they'll be back on the 2 line. In the other notable Big East game, Marquette will try to avoid picking up its ninth loss of the year by winning on the road against the struggling Wildcats. The Golden Eagles resume is shaping up to be one of the toughest resumes to evaluate in the country. They have three Top 25 wins, but they've lost a ton of close games and their RPI (59) has been hurt because of some really bad small conference teams they played early in the year. A win tonight would keep Marquette safely in the field, while a loss would leave as one of the last teams in.

It's also a big night in the Colonial and the A-10. In the Colonial, Old Dominion hosts (and looks for revenge against) Delaware, VCU plays at Northeastern, and George Mason hosts Hofstra. In the A-10, Temple plays at LaSalle, Xavier plays at Charlotte, Richmond hosts St. Joseph's, and bracket newcomer Duquesne hosts George Washington.

Also keep an eye on: Michigan State at Iowa, Minnesota at Indiana, Rutgers at St. John's, Seton Hall at West Virginia, Clemson at Virginia, BYU at Wyoming, Utah at UNLV, USC at UCLA, Nevada at Utah State, Missouri State at Evansville, Tulsa at Memphis, Southern Miss at UAB, Illinois State at Northern Iowa

B101's Bracket Banter - Tuesday

2011-02-01T08:00:00.002-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Tuesday's Games
Who's the second best team in the Big Ten? The SEC? The ACC? We'll get at least some temporary answers to those questions tonight.

In the Big Ten, Purdue visits the Kohl Center to play a Wisconsin team looking to bounce back from their loss at Penn State on Saturday. The Boilermakers have a game and a half lead over the Badgers for second place in conference, and if they have designs on catching Ohio State, they probably need this game. That won't be an easy task against a Wisconsin team that is undefeated at home, a mark that includes wins over Minnesota and Illinois. In the SEC, Vanderbilt plays at Florida in a game that features two teams looking to regroup after bad losses over the weekend. The Gators are slightly ahead of Vandy on our S-curve this week, and if they can win this game and they beat Kentucky at home this weekend, an argument could be made for Florida to be the lowest-seeded SEC team.

Finally, in the ACC, North Carolina plays at BC in what is a key game for both teams. The Tar Heels have won eight of nine, are alone in second place in conference, and are up to a 6 seed in our latest bracket. They can put a little more room between themselves and Florida State in the ACC pecking order if than can win this one. The Eagles, meanwhile, have been trending the other way. They've lost three of four (all on the road), and they'll need at least a split this week (they host Virginia Tech on Saturday) to avoid slipping onto the bubble.

The biggest bubble game of the night is Penn State at Illinois. The Nittany Lions jumped into the field this week after their big win over Wisconsin, but their spot is by no means safe. Their road schedule is very difficult from here on out, and they are going to have to win at least one road game to impress the committee and to get to 10-8 in conference. They have to like their chances tonight against an Illini team that has lost four of five, which includes a road loss to Penn State back on Jan. 11.

Also keep an eye on: Kansas at Texas Tech, Kentucky at Mississippi, Wake Forest at Florida State, Wichita State at Indiana State, New Mexico at Air Force

ESPN Announces BracketBuster Schedule

2011-02-01T00:45:00.006-05:00

ESPN announced the 2011 BracketBuster schedule on Monday, and it's highlighed by 11 televised games. In all, 114 teams from 15 conferences will play BracketBuster games from February 18-20.

Here are the televised games, with dates and times:

Friday, February 18
VCU at Wichita State (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET)
Kent State at Drexel (ESPNU, 9 p.m. ET)

Saturday, February 19
Hofstra at Wright State (ESPNU, 11 a.m. ET)
Austin Peay at Fairfield (ESPNU, 1 p.m. ET)
Iona at Liberty (ESPNU, 3 p.m. ET)
Missouri State at Valparaiso (ESPN2, 5 p.m. ET)
Vermont at Charleston (ESPNU 5 p.m. ET)
George Mason at Northern Iowa (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET)
Utah State at St. Mary's (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET)
Montana at Long Beach State (ESPN2, 11:00 p.m. ET)

Sunday, February 20
Cleveland State at Old Dominion (ESPN or ESPN2, 1 p.m. ET)

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There are five huge games on this year's BracketBuster schedule. Here's our quick take on each one:

1. Utah State at St. Mary's
St. Mary's is the class of this year's BracketBuster crop, and unlike most other teams in the field, their at-large status does not necessarily depend on how well they do in this event. That said, a victory over Utah State would be a nice addition to a resume that already has two quality wins on it (St. John's and at Gonzaga). Utah State has a nice RPI and looks to be on cruise control on its way to a WAC title, but the Aggies have a grand total of zero Top 100 wins, which puts their at-large hopes in some doubt. A win here plus a WAC regular season title would almost guarantee Utah State an at-large if they needed it; a loss would leave them little margin for error going forward.

2. VCU at Wichita State
Old Dominion might have the best at-large resume in the Colonial, but don't sleep on VCU as an at-large candidate as well. The Rams beat UCLA, they are two games better than ODU in conference, and they've already beaten the Monarchs on the road. A win here over a Wichita team that is currently tied for first in the MVC would put VCU in great shape down the final stretch of the season. Wichita needs this game not only because they are at home, but more importantly, because they have no Top 100 wins. A victory over VCU plus a top-two finish in conference would keep the Shockers very much alive in the at-large mix.

3. Cleveland State at Old Dominion
With Butler struggling, Cleveland State has emerged as the team to beat in the very competitive Horizon. The Vikings have a gaudy record and a Top 30 RPI, but they've also lost all three games they've played against real quality competition this season (at West Virginia, at Butler, and at Valparaiso). A win on the road against ODU would work wonders for their resume, and it might get them a bid if they finish no worse than second in conference. ODU, meanwhile, has compiled arguably the best OOC resume of any BracketBuster team (wins over Xavier, Richmond, Dayton, and Clemson), but they've already lost three conference games with road games at George Mason and at VCU still left. A win here plus a top-two finish in the Colonial would put ODU in very, very good shape for an at-large.

4. Missouri State at Valparaiso
Is Valpo for real? The Crusaders didn't do anything OOC, but they've been great at home in conference play, knocking off Cleveland State and Butler en route to an 8-2 mark. If they can win at Cleveland State this week and then beat Missouri State, they'd have to be considered a serious at-large contender. Missouri State has been great on the road this season (they have wins at Wichita and at Northern Iowa), and another quality road win here would continue to strengthen the MVC's best at-large resume.

5. George Mason at Northern Iowa
This match-up wouldn't have seemed that big a couple of weeks ago, but both teams have now won seven in a row and are just a game back in their respective conferences. Northern Iowa's recent run has included road wins over Wichita and Missouri State, and Mason's seven-game streak has left them sandwiched in between VCU and ODU in the Colonial standings. The loser of this game is going to be hard-pressed to get an at-large, while the winner will put themselves in great shape with a couple weeks to go in the regular season.

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For a list of all the non-televised BracketBuster games, click here.

B101's Questions For The Competition

2011-01-31T18:00:00.010-05:00

Questions For The Competition is a weekly column that addresses our issues with the brackets of other bracketology "experts." Today's questions are reserved for ESPN's Joe Lunardi and SI.com's Andy Glockner. Keep in mind that these questions are about each expert's most recent brackets, which were released before Monday's games.

Joe Lunardi (ESPN) - Jan. 31 Bracket
Is their a better example of why "season ending today" brackets are flawed than Alabama (and their one Top 50 win and 116 RPI) getting the SEC automatic bid this week? Talk about a lazy move.

Kansas State and Butler are still in as at-larges? Are you sure this isn't your bracket from two weeks ago?

Seriously, how in the world would Kansas State deserve an at-large if the season ended today? Because of their zero Top 50 wins and 2-5 record in the Big XII? And they'd get a 10 seed? Really?

Where are Penn State, Georgia, and Richmond? Wichita State and Kansas State (with a combined zero Top 50 wins) have better resumes if the season ended today than those three teams do?

How is Georgetown not higher than a 6 seed?

How does Texas get a 1 seed over UConn when the Huskies beat the Longhorns on their home floor?

Andy Glockner (Sports Illustrated) - Jan. 31 Bracket
Are you trying to ruin Questions For The Competition for us? Our brackets are way too similar this week. What's the fun in that?

Want to bet a byline in Sports Illustrated that Alabama doesn't get the SEC auto bid?

Isn't Old Dominion a little high as a 9? Isn't Marquette a little low as a 12?

Doesn't Northern Iowa have a better resume right now than Wichita State?

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Jan. 31

2011-01-31T01:34:00.017-05:00

Just when we thought the bracket couldn't get harder to put together...this past weekend happened. On what was easily the two craziest days of the season, a total of 13 ranked teams lost (13!), with nine of those teams losing to unranked opponents. These results - somehow - had very little effect on the bubble, but they had an enormous impact on how the bracket was seeded.

This week's field features a new 1 seed (UConn, which got the nod over red-hot Texas thanks to their head-to-head win over the Longhorns in Austin), two new 2 seeds (Duke and Notre Dame), and a new 3 seed (Georgetown). There were a bunch of teams that jumped up two or three lines this week (Louisville, Tennessee, North Carolina, and St. John's) and several teams that fell two or three lines (Villanova, Syracuse, Illinois, Florida State, Washington, Georgia, and UCLA).

Only two at-large bids changed hands this week, as Penn State and Duquesne replaced Oklahoma State and Wichita State. The Cowboys were an easy removal after an 0-2 week, but taking out Wichita (after a 2-0 week) was a little more difficult. Unfortunately for the Shockers, Northern Iowa's win at Missouri State on Sunday makes it increasingly likely that the Missouri Valley is going to be a one-bid league. As is the case in many other mid-major conferences across the country (see: Conference USA, Horizon), parity is killing the MVC. No one team or two teams are pulling away from the pack, and all of the league's contenders are beating up on each othe on a weekly basis. In Wichita's case, UNI now has a better overall resume (road wins at Wichita and Missouri State and an OOC win over New Mexico), and Missouri State has a slight edge over the other two for the MVC automatic.

Penn State made the Big Ten a seven-bid league this week thanks to their win Saturday over Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions have eight losses and a tough road schedule left, but they now have three quality wins in conference, which is good enough - for the moment - to get a bid. Our other addition to the field this week was Duquesne. We admit we are still not believers in the Dukes, but we can't ignore the fact that by the end of this week they should be 9-0 in the A-10. They have just one Top 50 win on the season (Temple), but with this weak bubble, that's sadly enough to get a spot on the 12 line. Our final at-large bid this week went to Gonzaga, despite the Zags' terrible computer numbers (88 RPI) and their two-game deficit in the WCC standings. Their decent OOC resume is saving them at this point and is keeping them in over a team like Colorado State that has just one quality win. That said, Gonzaga will still need to win at Portland and at home against Memphis this week to stay in.

One other notable change to the bracket this week was Cleveland State replacing Butler as the Horizon automatic. Cleveland State probably deserves better than a 13 given their strong computer numbers (29 RPI), but they still have no big wins and we aren't 100% sold that they are the best team in the league. They'll be able to earn that title this week with home games against Valparaiso and Butler.

We had to make one move to avoid seeding conflicts this week - Florida and Minnesota swapped spots on the 5 and 6 lines.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Washington State, Virginia Tech, Duquesne, Gonzaga

First Four Out
Colorado State, Maryland, UAB, Baylor

Next Four Out
Kansas State, Butler, Northern Iowa, George Mason

"First Four" Games
Washington State vs. Virginia Tech, Duquesne vs. Gonzaga, Austin Peay vs. Hampton, Jackson State vs. McNeese State

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Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big Ten (7), ACC (5), SEC (5), Big XII (4), A-10 (4), Pac-10 (4), MWC (3), Colonial (2), WCC (2)

America East - Maine

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Temple, Xavier, Richmond, Duquesne

Big East - Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, Louisville, West Virginia, St. John's, Cincinnati, Marquette

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - VCU, Old Dominion

Conference USA - Memphis

Horizon - Cleveland State

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Hampton

MVC - Missouri State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Austin Peay

Pac-10 - Washington, Arizona, UCLA, Washington State

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia

Southern - Charleston

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - St. Mary's, Gonzaga

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Connecticut

The 2s
Texas, Duke, Notre Dame, San Diego State

The 3s
BYU, Kentucky, Georgetown, Texas A&M

The 4s
Missouri, Purdue, Villanova, Louisville

The 5s
Syracuse, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Florida

The 6s
Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, North Carolina

The 7s
Washington, Illinois, Temple, Xavier

The 8s
UNLV, Florida State, St. John's, Michigan State

The 9s
St. Mary's, Arizona, Cincinnati, Boston College

The 10s
Marquette, Utah State, Old Dominion, Penn State

The 11s
Missouri State, Georgia, VCU, UCLA

The 12s
Memphis, Richmond, Washington State vs. Virginia Tech (FF), Duquesne vs. Gonzaga (FF)

The 13s
Cleveland State, Belmont, Princeton, Charleston

The 14s
Oakland, Kent State, Coastal Carolina, Fairfield

The 15s
Montana, Long Beach State, Bucknell, Florida Atlantic

The 16s
Maine, Long Island, Austin Peay vs. Hampton (FF), Jackson State vs. McNeese 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.

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-01-28T10:26:00.002-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Saturday's Games
Will the Big East be down to a 9 bid league on Monday? If Marquette (vs. Syracuse on Saturday) and St. John's (vs. Duke on Sunday) both lose this weekend, it probably will be.

Can Northwestern shock the world and hand the Buckeyes their first loss?

Does UConn deserve a spot on the 1 line if they beat Louisville?

How awesome would it be if Thomas Robinson had a career day for the Jayhawks against Kansas State?

Can BYU avoid a SDSU hangover and beat New Mexico in The Pit?

What could Jimmer Fredette possibly do for an encore?

Has any team looked better over the last 10 days than Texas? Can the Longhorns picked up a fourth straight quality win by beating Missouri?

Can Pitt and Texas A&M fight off the upset bug that has run rampant throughout the power conferences this week and win at Rutgers and at Nebraska?

Does San Diego State stay on the 2 line with a win at home over Wyoming?

Can Villanova avoid an 0-2 week and beat Georgetown at home?

Can St. Mary's avoid a letdown after their thriller against Gonzaga and win what should be a tough game at Portland?

Which side of the bubble do the Zags deserve to be on? Will a decent OOC resume and a pillow-soft bubble be enough to keep them in next week?

Is Penn State worthy of an at-large if they beat Wisconsin?

Can Kentucky exact some revenge on Georgia? Can Purdue do the same to Minnesota?

Will Florida State pass a tricky road test at Clemson?

Does Richmond deserve to be the lowest-seeded A-10 team if they beat Xavier?

Will the loser of the Colorado-Baylor game ever be heard from again?

Assuming they both win on Saturday, who should be higher on the S-curve - Florida or Vandy?

Can UCLA get back on track after losing pretty easily to Arizona on Thursday? Should the Bruins stary in the bracket if they lose to the woeful Sun Devils?

Does the Horizon deserve two bids? If Butler wins at Valpo and Cleveland State wins at Loyola (IL), that might be the case on Monday.

Does C-USA deserve two bids? If Memphis wins at Marshall and UAB wins at UCF, that might be the case on Monday, too.

Will Oklahoma State ever win a road game in conference?

Can Cincinnati get its first win over a tourney-caliber Big East team?

Can Colorado State stay on the bubble and get a road win at Utah?

With the bubble so weak right now, does Utah State have a legitimate shot at an at-large if they need it? Can the Aggies run their current win streak to 15 at Hawaii on Saturday?

Sunday's Games
Can Washington State save its spot in the bracket and knock off Washington in Pullman?

Is Duquesne for real? If the Dukes beat Dayton at home, and add a second quality win to their resume, we'll start taking them seriously.

Will Virginia Tech bounce back from their bad road loss at Georgia Tech and beat Miami at home?

Can Missouri State take care of a visiting Northern Iowa team that has already beaten Wichita State on the road?

Is Maryland ready to climb back into the bracket? They can start by winning a not-so-easy road game at Georgia Tech.

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-01-27T10:04:00.006-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
A day after the two best mid-major teams in the country stole the show, the most famous mid-major of them all headlines an interesting night of games.

Gonzaga certainly isn't used to life on the bubble, but that's exactly where they find themselves after a pair of head-scratching losses last week at Santa Clara and at San Francisco. The Zags have quietly compiled a pretty good OOC resume this season (wins over Xavier, Marquette, Oklahoma State, and Baylor), but if they can't beat St. Mary's in Moraga tonight, they'll fall three games behind the Gaels in the WCC standings. Depending on what some other bubble teams do this week, a loss tonight could knock the Zags out of our next bracket, and it would make their remaining games against Memphis and St. Mary's almost must-wins if they want to keep their at-large hopes alive going forward.

Also out West, Arizona plays host to UCLA with the temporary title of "second best team in the Pac-10" on the line. The game's big for both teams, but it's bigger for Arizona. The Wildcats have a nice RPI (24), but they have a poor OOC resume and their only notable win in conference was against a Washington State team that is barely hanging onto a bid. That's why we have UCLA a seed line better than Arizona in this week's bracket (that BYU win is looking nicer by the minute). If UCLA can win this game and then take care of Arizona State this weekend, they could be as high as a 7 on Monday. The Bruins' next four games are at home after this one, including a big OOC match-up against St. John's next weekend.

In the only other must-watch game of the night, Duke plays host to Boston College. The Blue Devils have bounced back nicely from their loss to Florida State with three straight double-digit wins, while BC is just 4-4 over its last eight games. The Eagles are safely in the field right now, but their tournament chances might ultimately depend on how they fare over the next two weeks. They play three of their next four games at home - UNC, VT, and Maryland - with a game at Clemson in between.

Also keep an eye on: Illinois at Indiana, Michigan at Michigan State, Vanderbilt at Mississippi State, Maryland at Virginia, Utah State at San Jose State, Hofstra at VCU, Kent State at Ball State

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-01-26T08:58:00.006-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Wednesday's Games
It's not often that a game can be accurately hyped as the biggest game in the history of a conference. But that's what's on tap tonight in Provo as ninth-ranked BYU hosts fouth-ranked and still-unbeaten San Diego State. Both of these teams are locks for the NCAA tournament, but this game is still ginormous for a number of reasons. If the Aztecs win, they would have only three more obstacles standing between them and the first undefeated regular season since UNLV in 1990. They'd also make a very strong case to be a 1 seed in our next bracket. If the Cougars win, they'd jump up to the 2 line, and more importantly, they would get a early leg up in the race for the MWC regular season title. You also may have heard of Jimmer Fredette, who could stake his claim to the POY award with another Jimmeresque performance in front of a large TV audience. The country also gets a chance to watch SDSU's Kawhi Leonard, who looks every bit like a lottery pick in June. Other than that, this game's not that big, really.

Elsewhere, there are two key games in the Big East, as West Virginia plays at Louisville and St. John's plays at Georgetown. The Red Storm, who have now lost four of their last five games after a a 3-0 Big East start, are playing for the bracket lives against the Hoyas. A loss tonight would mean they'd have to upset Duke in the Garden on Sunday to avoid falling out of the field on Monday.

In the Big XII, Oklahoma State hosts new No. 2 seed Texas in what is a make-or-break game for the Cowboys. The Big XII bubble is a mess right now, and with Kansas State winning Monday against Baylor, Oklahoma State can't afford to miss out on chances like this one. In the ACC, Miami begins its quest to get back on the right side of the bubble at home against North Carolina. A 2-0 week for the Tar Heels would keep them even for the moment with Duke and Florida State in the ACC title race. UNC hosts N.C. State on Saturday.

There are also some imporant games tonight in the MVC and Conference USA. Wichita State, our last team in this week, will try to get a bid-saving win at Southern Illinois, and in Conference USA, UAB hosts Marshall and Memphis hosts UCF. C-USA was back to a one-bid league this week after all its contenders beat up on each other last week. Memphis looks like the best team in the league right now after winning at Southern Miss and at UAB last week. They can go a long way in securing that status with a win over the free-falling Knights tonight and a victory at Marshall on Saturday.

Also keep an eye on: Villanova at Providence, Northwestern at Minnesota, Iowa at Penn State, LSU at Tennessee, Rutgers at Cincinnati, George Washington at Xavier, Charlotte at Temple, Old Dominion at Georgia State, Air Force at Colorado State, Tulane at UTEP

B101's Bracket Banter - Tuesday

2011-01-25T10:30:00.004-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Tuesday's Games
Three of the top five teams on our S-curve are in action tonight, as Ohio State hosts Purdue, Kansas plays at Colorado, and UConn plays at Marquette. The unbeaten Buckeyes, who toughed out a huge road win against Illinois on Saturday, face a Boilermaker team that is just a game back in conference and is coming off an impressive home win over Michigan State. For Purdue, this is the second game of a tough, four-game stretch against ranked Big Ten teams. They host Minnesota this weekend and then play at Wisconsin next Tuesday.

Kansas will be looking to bounce back from its stunning home loss to Texas against a Colorado team that limps home after two straight losses. The Buffaloes were off to a 3-0 start in the Big XII and looked like they were ready to set up camp in the bracket, but road defeats at the hands of Nebraska and Oklahoma (ouch) altered those plans. The good news for Colorado is that they are back in Boulder tonight, where they've already beaten Missouri, Oklahoma State and Colorado State this season. If they can upset the Jayhawks, they'll be back on the right side of the bubble.

In the Big East, UConn plays a Marquette team that needs a split this week to stay in the bracket. The Golden Eagles host the Huskies tonight and then play host to Syracuse on Saturday. One win in those two games will not only keep Marquette in the field next week, but it will likely vault them over St. John's in the Big East pecking order.

Elsewhere, Georgia hosts Florida in what is a pretty big game for the Bulldogs. Georgia has been hanging around the 8-9 line in the bracket for a couple weeks now because of their win over Kentucky, but they need a second marquee conference win to secure their spot. After not doing much OOC (their best wins are Colorado and UAB), and after losing at home to Tennessee last week, a win over the Gators would look extra nice on the Bulldogs' resume.

There's also a key bubble battle on tap tonight in the A-10 as Richmond plays at Dayton. The Spiders, who snuck back into our latest bracket, could be in first place in conference if they beat the Flyers tonight and then beat Xavier at home on Saturday. Dayton, meanwhile, has a little work to do to get back in the bracket, but a 2-0 week might do it. They play at 5-0 Duquesne this weekend.

Also keep an eye on: Seton Hall at Syracuse, Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, UNLV at Wyoming, Missouri State at Drake, Belmont at Lipscomb

B101's Questions For The Competition

2011-01-25T00:36:00.003-05:00

Questions For The Competition is a weekly column that addresses our issues with the brackets of other bracketology "experts." Today's questions are reserved for ESPN's Joe Lunardi and SI.com's Andy Glockner. Keep in mind that these questions are about each expert's most recent brackets, which were released before Monday's games.

Joe Lunardi (ESPN) - Jan. 24 Bracket
How in the world would Kansas State - at 1-4 in conference with zero Top 50 wins - deserve an at-large if the season ended today? Not only are they in, but they'd get a 9 seed? How?

How is UCLA five seed lines higher than Arizona? Five?

How is Baylor more worthy of an at-large than Richmond and Washington State if the season ended today? Is it their 87 RPI and one Top 50 win?

How did a win over DePaul and a loss to Notre Dame move Marquette up two seed lines?

Andy Glockner (Sports Illustrated) - Jan. 24 Bracket
The A-10 would really get four bids if the season ended today? And we thought Lunardi was the A-10 homer...

We agree that Old Dominion still belongs in, but do they really deserve a 10 seed? They're that safe?

Isn't St. John's a little high as an 8? Isn't Florida State a little low as an 8?

UCLA belongs three seed lines higher than Arizona? The Bruins don't have a better resume right now? Who has Arizona beaten?

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Jan. 24

2011-01-24T01:44:00.025-05:00

Of all the storylines from this college basketball season, the biggest has to be the parity that has spread like crazy throughout the sport. Not only are there no truly dominant teams this season (sorry, Buckeye fans), road wins have become an endangered species, and two-win weeks have become cause for celebration. This parity has been great for fans across the country - anyone can beat anyone on any given night - and it's certainly made for some wild and unpredictable results. It's also made predicting the field, especially around the bubble, harder than ever before.

How hard? On Saturday and Sunday alone, 12 teams that we had on the 8-13 lines last week all lost games. For six of those teams, it was their second loss of the week. Four of those teams lost to inferior conference opponents at home. These results left us with a long list of teams that deserved to be removed from our Field of 68 - and, unfortunately, a way-too-short list of teams that were worthy of replacing them. In any other year, teams like Gonzaga, ODU, Butler, and Wichita State would be on the outside looking in right now. But with three extra bids to give out and parity abound in almost every conference, those teams are still hanging on to their spots in the bracket.

When the dust settled, we ended up taking five teams out of last week's bracket (UCF, Kansas State, Miami, Colorado, and Southern Miss), and replacing them with UCLA, Richmond, Memphis, VCU, and Oklahoma State. The big winners in the shake-up were the Pac-10 (which is now a four-bid league for the first time all season), the A-10 (now a three-bid league), and the Colonial (now a two-bid league with VCU in as the auto bid and ODU clinging to an at-large). The biggest losers were the Big XII and C-USA, both of which are suffering from the same issue - their bubble teams can't seem to get out of their own way. In the Big XII, Kansas State has lost four of five, Oklahoma State has lost three of four, Colorado suddenly can't beat the league's bottom feeders, and Baylor has no big wins and terrible computer numbers. We decided to give the fifth, and for the moment final, Big XII bid to Oklahoma State over Baylor, despite the Cowboys' loss to the Bears on Saturday, because of their easier upcoming schedule and their significantly better RPI (37 vs. 88). Baylor's upcoming schedule was too difficult (three of their next four are on the road) to give the Big XII a sixth bid. Memphis, meanwhile, has emerged as the team to beat in what has quickly become a cluttered C-USA. The conference is probably better than a one-bid league, but its problem is that UCF and Marshall (the only teams other than Memphis with quality OOC wins) are buried in the conference standings. Until that changes, or until a UAB or a UTEP pulls away from the pack, Memphis will be in the bracket as the lone C-USA representative.

Elsewhere in the bracket, there were significant changes along the 1-3 lines as well. Pittsburgh jumped up to the 1 line thanks to their win over Syracuse, Texas moved up to a 2 after their wins against Texas A&M and Kansas, and Villanova went up to a 2 after winning at the Carrier Dome. A two-loss week knocked the Orange down to the top of the 3 line. Other notable upgrades included Florida State (from a 9 to a 6) and Xavier (from a 12 to an 8). The most notable downgrades were St. John's (from a 7 to a 10) and Gonzaga (from an 8 to a 12). We had to make one change to avoid seeding conflicts this week - Michigan State and Tennessee swapped spots on the 7 and 8 lines.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Old Dominion, Oklahoma State, Washington State, Wichita State

First Four Out
Baylor, Dayton, Kansas State, Cleveland State

Next Four Out
Colorado, Colorado State, Miami (FL), UAB

"First Four" Games
Old Dominion vs. Oklahoma State, Washington State vs. Wichita State, Austin Peay vs. Northern Colorado, Jackson State vs. Texas-San Antonio

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), Big Ten (6), ACC (5), Big XII (5), SEC (5), Pac-10 (4), MWC (3), A-10 (3), Colonial (2), MVC (2), WCC (2)

America East - Maine

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Temple, Xavier, Richmond

Big East - Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Villanova, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Georgetown, West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, St. John's, Marquette

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - VCU, Old Dominion

Conference USA - Memphis

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Ball State

MEAC - Hampton

MVC - Missouri State, Wichita State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Austin Peay

Pac-10 - Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Washington State

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia

Southern - Charleston

Southland - Texas-San Antonio

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - St. Mary's, Gonzaga

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Duke, Kansas

The 2s
Connecticut, San Diego State, Texas, Villanova

The 3s
Syracuse, BYU, Kentucky, Texas A&M

The 4s
Missouri, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Purdue

The 5s
Illinois, Georgetown, Washington, Vanderbilt

The 6s
Minnesota, West Virginia, Florida, Florida State

The 7s
Louisville, Temple, UNLV, Michigan State

The 8s
Tennessee, Xavier, North Carolina, Cincinnati

The 9s
St. Mary's, UCLA, Georgia, Boston College

The 10s
Arizona, St. John's, Virginia Tech, Utah State

The 11s
Missouri State, Marquette, Memphis, Richmond

The 12s
Gonzaga, VCU, Old Dominion vs. Oklahoma State (FF), Washington State vs. Wichita State (FF)

The 13s
Butler, Belmont, Princeton, Charleston

The 14s
Oakland, Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Fairfield

The 15s
Long Beach State, Bucknell, Maine, Florida Atlantic

The 16s
Long Island, Hampton, Austin Peay vs. Northern Colorado (FF), Jackson State vs. Texas-San Antonio (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.

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-01-21T11:09:00.006-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Saturday's Games
Can both Ohio State (at Illinois) and Kansas (vs. Texas) both make it through the weekend undefeated?

How ready is Jay Wright for this week to be over? Fresh off a last-second loss at Gampel Pavilion, Villanova has to head to the Carrier Dome on Saturday, where 33,000 Syracuse fans await.

What's the over-under on Wake Forest's point total against Duke? 40?

How much of a difference will having Bruce Pearl back on the bench make for Tennessee against UConn?

Can Jimmer and Friends survive a tough road test at Colorado State? Do the Rams deserve a spot in the bracket if they finish off an already big week with a victory over the Cougars?

Will Texas A&M bounce back from its loss at Texas and, in the process, bounce Kansas State from the bracket?

Can Kentucky finally win an SEC road game?

Will Terrence Jones stop being such a SELFISH MOTHERF....?

Can anyone win on the road in the Big Ten? Can Michigan State avoid its seventh loss of the season and win at Mackey Arena?

Can Notre Dame avenge its 22-point beatdown at the hands of Marquette back on Jan. 10 and take care of the Golden Eagles in South Bend?

Will Washington State complete a much-needed 2-0 week and beat Arizona in Pullman? Should the Wildcats be bumped from the bracket in favor of UCLA if they lose?

St. Mary's might be the least talked-about good team in the country, but are they good enough to win at Vanderbilt?

Will the A-10 be back to a three-bid league on Monday? If Richmond wins at UMass, there's a good chance the answer to that question is yes.

Even with a win at Oklahoma, is Colorado (after losing by 12 at Nebraska on Tuesday) going to keep its spot in next week's bracket?

Will a win at Baylor be enough to get Oklahoma State back in the bracket? (If A&M beats Kansas State, yes.)

Is Florida State really the second best team in the ACC? If they are, they should beat BC at home.

How many questions will we have to answer from panicked FSU fans if the 'Noles lose?

Is Virginia Tech in the bracket to stay after their convincing win at Maryland? The Hokies have a pretty easy schedule from here on out, and there's no reason they can't finish in the top four in the ACC.

Will Georgia and Southern Miss be able to bounce back from crushing last-second home losses earlier in the week?

Can Xavier seize control of the A-10 race and beat Temple?

Will the winner of the Memphis-UAB game be the only C-USA team in our next bracket?

Will ODU take care of VCU at home and avoid falling two games behind the Rams in the Colonial?

What happened to UNLV on Wednesday? Will the Rebels regroup and take care of New Mexico in Vegas?

How much longer will the loser of the Cincinnati-St. John's game be in the bracket?

Will the MVC be back to a one-bid league on Monday? After Wichita State's home loss to Northern Iowa on Wednesday, that's a very good possibility.

Will Florida play better against Arkansas than they did against Auburn? Is it possible for them to play worse?

Sunday's Games
Can Northwestern finally get a quality Big Ten win and beat Wisconsin at home?

Is Miami worthy of a bid next week even if they win at N.C. State?

Could West Virginia really lose to Marshall and South Florida in the same week?

Can Belmont continue to tear through the Atlantic Sun? (The Bruins have won their first eight conference games by an average of 29 points.) What seed would Belmont deserve if they finish the regular season 28-3, with their only three losss coming to Tennessee (twice) and Vandy?

Did we really just ask a Belmont question?

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-01-20T09:10:00.000-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
The Pac-10 takes center stage tonight with a pair of key games: Arizona at Washington and Arizona State at Washington State.

Washington is still the most talented team in the Pac-10, but their underwhelming OOC resume and road loss to Stanford last weekend dropped them to a 7 seed in our latest bracket. The Huskies face an Arizona team tonight that is newly ranked but is still extremely unproven. The Wildcats have zero Top 50 wins on their resume, and their most notable victory to date is a home win over Cal.

If the Pac-10 is going to be a three-bid league on Monday, Washington State might have to win both its games this weekend. The good news for the Cougars is that they are back in Pullman, where they have lost just once this season (to Kansas State back on Dec. 3).

The other key game of the night is Virginia Tech at Maryland. The Hokies are barely hanging onto a bid in our latest bracket, and they'll need this win to stay in the field next week. Maryland, meanwhile, has played very well in its last two big games (Duke and Villanova), but has nothing to show for it. Winning this game might be imperative for the Terps' at-large chances down the road, especially considering they've already lost one game at home to a fellow ACC bubble team (BC). If Maryland does win, their upcoming schedule is easy enough (Clemson, at Virginia, at GT) that they could crack the bracket in the near future.

Also keep an eye on: California at UCLA, Florida at Auburn, Indiana at Wisconsin, Gonzaga at Santa Clara

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-01-19T07:23:00.008-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Wednesday's Games
It's a big night for several teams jockeying for position in their respective leagues, and it's an even bigger night for a handful of teams who have taken up residence on the bubble. The headline game of the night is Texas A&M at Texas, the winner of which can claim (for now, at least) the title of second best team in the Big XII. The Aggies are coming off a big home win over Missouri, while the Longhorns are beginning their toughest two-game stretch of the year - they make a trip to Lawrence to face the second-ranked Jayhawks on Saturday.

There are two huge games in the Big East tonight as well, as St John's plays at Louisville and Cincinnati plays at Notre Dame. The Bearcats have lost by double digits in both of their Big East road games so far (Villanova and Syracuse), and if they have an 0-2 week this week (they play at St. John's on Saturday), the Big East will likely be back to a 10-bid league on Monday.

Elsewhere in the power conferences, newly minted No. 1 Ohio State hosts Iowa, and the old No. 1, Duke, plays another tricky road game at North Carolina State. Also in the ACC, Florida State plays at Miami in what will likely be a big result for both down the road, and Virginia plays at Boston College. In the Big Ten, Penn State looks to continue its solid play of late as they travel to Purdue. The Nittany Lions have played really well of late and nearly upset Ohio State on the road their last time out. If they were to get a victory in Mackey Arena, a case could be made for them to get a bid in next week's bracket.

There are several important games involving mid-majors tonight as well. The biggest of those games is the C-USA battle between Memphis and Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss replaced Memphis as the league's automatic bid in our latest bracket thanks to a home win over UCF on Saturday. If the Golden Eagles can beat the Tigers tonight, they will have a big leg up in the race for the C-USA regular season title. In the MVC, Missouri State faces a tough road test at surprising Indiana State, and our last team in, Wichita State, hosts Northern Iowa. In the A-10, bracket newcomer Xavier plays at St. Bonaventure and bracket dropout Richmond hosts George Washington.

Also keep an eye on: Air Force at San Diego State, Iowa State at Oklahoma State, Colorado State at UNLV, Marshall at West Virginia, Mississippi at Vanderbilt, Penn at Temple, San Diego at St. Mary's, James Madison at Old Dominion, Arkansas at South Carolina, New Mexico at Utah

B101's Questions For The Competition

2011-01-19T07:20:00.003-05:00

Questions For The Competition is a weekly column that addresses our issues with the brackets of other bracketology "experts." Today's questions are reserved for ESPN's Joe Lunardi and SI.com's Andy Glockner. Keep in mind that these questions are about each expert's most recent brackets, which were released before Monday's games.

Joe Lunardi (ESPN) - Jan. 18 Bracket
First off, are we the only bracketologists working on Martin Luther King Day? What's with the Tuesday bracket?

How is Washington a 4 seed if the season ended today? Is it their one Top 50 win (over Portland)? How did they go up a seed line after losing at Stanford?

How did North Carolina go up to an 8 seed after losing by 20 at Georgia Tech?

How is Oklahoma State in over Colorado when the Buffaloes are two games better in conference and beat the Cowboys head-to-head?

Isn't Florida a little high as a 5 seed? Isn't West Virginia a little low as a 7 seed?

Andy Glockner (Sports Illustrated) - Jan. 18 Bracket
What would you do without Twitter? Seriously, we love following you, but we're getting a little worried about you. Help us help you...

Giving Old Dominion an at-large is debatable in itself, but the Monarchs deserve an 8 seed too?

Butler would deserve an at-large over Marquette if the season ended today?

Aren't Temple and UNLV a little low as 8 seeds?

B101's Bracket Banter - Tuesday

2011-01-18T10:38:00.001-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Tuesday's Games
Conference road wins have been an endangered species of late, but that's the challenge facing several teams in our bracket tonight as Kentucky plays at Alabama, Georgetown plays at Seton Hall, and bracket newcomer Colorado plays at Nebraska.

The marquee game of the night, though, is in the Big Ten, as Illinois hosts Michigan State. The Spartans seemed to have righted the ship a little with back-to-back overtime wins at home, but now they open up a tough two game roadie in Champaign (they play at Purdue over the weekend) against an Illini squad looking to snap a two-game losing streak. If either of these teams plan on catching Ohio State for the Big Ten title, this is a must-win game.

Elsewhere, North Carolina looks to bounce back from their embarrassing 20-point loss (20!) at Georgia Tech as they host Clemson, and Tennessee looks to build off of their much-needed home win over Vanderbilt and get a victory at Georgia. The Bulldogs, who are unbeaten at home this season, could use a second quality win on their resume. They play their next three games in Athens.

Also keep an eye on: TCU at BYU, DePaul at Marquette, Maine at Vermont

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Jan. 17

2011-01-17T00:51:00.021-05:00

It's pretty cliche at this point of the season to say that the bracket is fluid and even more cliche to say that the bubble is nearly impossible to figure. This week's Field of 68, though, has more turnover than any in recent memory. The changes begin at the top of the bracket, where Ohio State replaces Duke as the No. 1 overall seed, and they continued to the bubble, where a whopping five at-large bids changed hands this week. Oklahoma State, Richmond, Baylor, Dayton, and New Mexico all dropped out of the field and were replaced by Florida State, Marquette, Colorado, Xavier, and Wichita State. Southern Miss also replaces Memphis in the field as C-USA's automatic bid.

These changes left the Big East with a hard-to-fathom 11 bids this week. Mathematically, this means that a team with a losing record in conference could get a bid, but the way things are shaping up across the country, that possibility is very real. The Pac-10 is barely a three-bid league right now, the A-10 is only a two bid-league, and the only other mid-majors who are deserving of multiple bids at the moment are the MWC, WCC, C-USA, and MVC (with Missouri State and a generous second bid to Wichita State). No other mid-major conference has been able to take advantage of the weak bubble, and several power conference teams (see: Maryland and Penn State) were unable to pull off upsets over the weekend that would have gotten them one of the last at-large bids.

The biggest upgrade in terms of seeding this week was West Virginia, who moved from the 7 line to the 4 line thanks to their win over Purdue. The biggest downgrade was Kansas State, who fell eight spots on our S-curve, and down to the 9 line, after their home loss to Colorado. We had to make one change to avoid bracketing conflicts this week - Georgetown and Michigan State swapped spots on the 5 and 6 lines.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Xavier, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Wichita State

First Four Out
Richmond, Oklahoma State, Dayton, Baylor

Next Four Out
Memphis, Clemson, UCLA, Penn State

"First Four" Games
Xavier vs. Virginia Tech, Washington State vs. Wichita State, Northern Colorado vs. McNeese State, Morgan State vs. Jackson State

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (11), ACC (6), Big XII (6), Big Ten (6), SEC (5), MWC (3), Pac-10 (3), A-10 (2), C-USA (2), MVC (2), WCC (2)

America East - Vermont

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

Atlantic Sun - Belmont

A-10 - Temple, Xavier

Big East - Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Villanova, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Louisville, Georgetown, St. John's, Cincinnati, Marquette

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion

Conference USA - Southern Miss, UCF

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Kent State

MEAC - Morgan State

MVC - Missouri State, Wichita State

MWC - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV

Northeast - Long Island

Ohio Valley - Austin Peay

Pac-10 - Washington, Arizona, Washington State

Patriot - Bucknell

SEC - Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia

Southern - Charleston

Southland - McNeese State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse, Duke

The 2s
Pittsburgh, Connecticut, San Diego State, Kentucky

The 3s
Villanova, BYU, Texas A&M, Texas

The 4s
Missouri, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, West Virginia

The 5s
Illinois, Louisville, Purdue, Georgetown

The 6s
Michigan State, Temple, UNLV, Minnesota

The 7s
St. John's, Washington, Vanderbilt, Florida

The 8s
UCF, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Tennessee

The 9s
Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia, Kansas State

The 10s
Arizona, Cincinnati, Boston College, Miami (FL)

The 11s
Old Dominion, Marquette, Butler, Missouri State

The 12s
Colorado, Utah State, Xavier vs. Virginia Tech (FF), Washington State vs. Wichita State (FF)

The 13s
Southern Miss, Princeton, Charleston, Oakland

The 14s
Belmont, Kent State, Coastal Carolina, Vermont

The 15s
Fairfield, Long Beach State, Bucknell, Florida Atlantic

The 16s
Long Island, Austin Peay, Northern Colorado vs. McNeese State (FF), Morgan State 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.

B101's Questions For The Weekend

2011-01-14T15:41:00.005-05:00

Here's what we're wondering heading into this weekend's games:

Friday's Games
Can Butler play better on the road at Detroit (and at Wright State on Sunday) than they did in their first conference road game (a 24-point beatdown at Milwaukee)?

Saturday's Games
We know Penn State can play spoiler at home...now can they shock the nation and upset Ohio State in Columbus?

How good is Cincinnati? We'll find out at the end of a three game roadie (at Syracuse, at Notre Dame, at St. John's) that begins at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.

Is the Mountain West a four-bid league after all? It will be on Monday if New Mexico can upset San Diego State in The Pit.

Can Maryland get back into the bubble mix - and maybe the bracket? - by winning at Villanova?

Who's the second best team in the Big XII? Is Missouri ready to win a big true road game? We'll find out as the Tigers pay a visit to Texas A&M.

How will Wisconsin respond from their late-game breakdown against Michigan State? Can the Badgers avoid a season sweep at the hands of Illinois?

Can the Big East really get 11 bids? Marquette winning at Louisville on Saturday would continue to strengthen the league's case.

Will Georgetown really start 1-5 (1-5!) in the Big East, or will they end their free-fall with what should be a convincing win at Rutgers?

Is Kansas State on its way out of the bracket? The Wildcats better take care of Texas Tech at home on Saturday with games at Missouri and at Texas A&M looming next week.

Can Temple restore some legitimacy to the A-10 and not lose at Duquesne?

Is UCF the best team in C-USA? If they are, they shouldn't lose at Southern Miss.

Is Michigan State finally back on track? If so, they should have no problem at home against Northwestern.

Is Memphis at-large worthy even if they beat Marshall at home?

When will they start printing NIT tickets in Knoxville? Might want to start soon if the Vols can't hold serve at home against Vanderbilt. That'd be seven (seven!) losses already for Tennessee.

Who will win the winner's-in-loser's-out bubble battle between Oklahoma State and Colorado?

Can Florida State avoid a Blue Devil hangover and beat N.C. State at home? Will they deserve a single digit seed on Monday with a win?

Can Arizona avoid the upset bug in the Pac-10 and take care of Arizona State at home?

Can ODU avoid suffering another resume-killing road loss (at Hofstra)?

Will Georgia still be worthy of a bid if they lose at Mississippi?

Can Baylor avoid looking ahead to their Big Monday game at home against Kansas and win at Iowa State?

Will Miami hang on to their spot in the bracket by beating BC at home?

Will Washington State ever win a conference road game?

Could the A-10 be just a two-bid league? The winner of the Xavier-Dayton game might be the only A-10 team other than Temple in our bracket come Monday.

Sunday's Games
Which Big East team - Notre Dame or St. John's - will bounce back better from a blowout loss earlier in the week?

Can West Virginia add a second marquee OOC win to their resume by upsetting Purdue?

Can Washington avoid getting swept by Stanford and Cal?

B101's Bracket Banter - Thursday

2011-01-13T13:28:00.003-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's Games
There are some very intruiging games featuring bubble teams tonight. In the Pac-10, Washington State plays at Cal and USC plays at Oregon. Despite a slew of bad losses to start the season, the Trojans are still very alive in the bubble mix thanks to OOC wins over Texas and Tennessee and a home win over Wazzu last weekend. If they can sweep the Oregon schools, and if Wazzu slips up against Cal or Stanford over the weekend, USC would likely snag the Pac-10's third bid in our next bracket.

Elsewhere, Virginia Tech gets a chance to pick up a huge road win at North Carolina, and Minnesota, who is still dealing with the Trevor Mbakwe mess, hosts Purdue. In the Colonial, Old Dominion kicks off a huge week with a game at Drexel. If the Monarchs want to solidify their at-large status, they are going to have to win games like this (and the game they play at Hofstra on Saturday.)

Also keep an eye on: Washington at Stanford, UCLA at Oregon State, Rhode Island at Richmond, Providence at West Virginia, Utah State at Boise State.

B101's Bracket Banter - Wednesday

2011-01-12T11:52:00.001-05:00

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Wednesday's Games
Could there finally be some shake-up on the 1 line? The top four teams in our bracket face tough road tests tonight as Duke plays at Florida State, Ohio State plays at Michigan, Kansas plays at Iowa State, and Syracuse plays at St. John's.

Elsewhere, there are two huge games on tap in the Big East with Georgetown (trying to avoid a 1-4 conference start) hosting Pittsburgh, and Villanova hosting Louisville. A loaded Big XII slate features Nebraska at Missouri, Oklahoma State at Texas A&M, and Colorado at Kansas State. In the Mountain West, unbeaten San Diego State kicks off a challenging week by playing host to UNLV. The second-seeded Aztecs play at New Mexico on Saturday. In the SEC, bracket newcomer Georgia plays at Vanderbilt.

Also keep an eye on: Colorado State at New Mexico, UMass at Xavier, St. Joseph's at Dayton, South Florida at Cincinnati, St. Bonaventure at Temple, Maryland at Wake Forest, Memphis at SMU, Wichita State at Creighton.

B101's Questions For The Compeititon

2011-01-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

Questions For The Competition is a weekly column that addresses our issues with the brackets of other bracketology "experts." Today's questions are reserved for ESPN's Joe Lunardi and SI.com's Andy Glockner. Keep in mind that these questions are about each expert's most recent brackets, which were released before Monday's games.

Joe Lunardi (ESPN) - Jan. 10 Bracket
How would Wichita State get an at-large if the season ended today? Because of their one Top 100 RPI win? How did the Shockers go from a 12 seed in your last bracket to an 11 seed this week after losing at home to Missouri State. We're confused.

If the season ended today, the committee would give three bids to C-USA? They'd give two to the WAC? Utah State, and their one Top 100 win, would be at-large worthy?

How are Maryland and Florida State ranked ahead of Georgia? Because of all their marquee wins?

A six-loss USC team (with four questionable losses) would get in if the season ended today?

Andy Glockner (Sports Illustrated) - Jan. 10 Bracket
Michigan State's been a big disappointment, but do they really deserve to be a 9/10 seed? Arizona has a better resume than the Spartans do?

What does BC have to do to fall further than the 6 line? Lose to Dartmouth and Columbia too?

Based on the season ending today, how is Maryland's resume better than Miami's? Or Florida State's for that matter?

How is Georgetown still a 3 seed? How does Tennessee still deserve an 8?

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Jan. 10

2011-01-10T00:22:00.018-05:00

When the NCAA announced that the tournament was expanding to 68 teams, the consensus was that the change would make it easier to predict the field. That may end up being the case on Selection Sunday, but as things stand right now, the bubble is as hard to sift through and the bracket is as tough to seed as ever. Part of that difficulty is because we are still waiting for some big-name programs with big-time expectations (Michigan State, North Carolina, Kansas State, Baylor, Tennessee) to play to their full potential. The other factor is that, in a year where they are three more at-large bids to be had, there are very few standout at-large candidates from mid-major conferences. There were two mid-major casualties in this week's bracket alone in Drexel and Cleveland State.

In the end, five at-large teams dropped out of this week's field (Florida State, Xavier, Cleveland State, Northwestern, and Drexel) and they were replaced by St. John's, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, and Dayton. Of those five, St. John's, Georgia, and Oklahoma State earned their way in with marquee wins to begin conference play, and Virginia Tech and Dayton essentially replaced FSU and Xavier out of the ACC and A-10, respectively, because of slightly better resumes to date. Our second First Four Game this week - New Mexico vs. Miami (FL) - features two holdover teams with very iffy resumes, but we like the Lobos' chances to pick up some quality conference wins in The Pit, and we like the fact that Miami (FL) has an OOC win over West Virginia and has a couple of winnable, resume-padding home games (BC and FSU) coming up over the next 10 days.

Elsewhere in the bracket, the Big East has pushed its bid total to 10 with the addition of St. John's as a 9 seed this week. The Big XII also has a season-high seven bids with the addition of Oklahoma State. The biggest upgrades in terms of seeding this week were Washington and Vanderbilt, who each moved up three seed lines. Tennessee's losses to Charleston and Arkansas knocked them from a 5 seed to a 10, while Georgetown fell four lines and Minnesota and Boston College fell three lines each.

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Virginia Tech, Baylor, New Mexico, Miami (FL)

First Four Out
Xavier, Wichita State, Cleveland State, Florida State

Next Four Out
Marquette, Arkansas, USC, Clemson

"First Four" Games
Virginia Tech vs. Baylor, New Mexico vs. Miami (FL)

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

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

America East - Vermont

ACC - Duke, North Carolina, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Miami (FL)

Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville

A-10 - Temple, Richmond, Dayton

Big East - Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Villanova, Louisville, Georgetown, West Virginia, St. John's, Cincinnati

Big Sky - Northern Colorado

Big South - Coastal Carolina

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

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

Big West - Long Beach State

Colonial - Old Dominion

Conference USA - UCF, Memphis

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Akron

MEAC - Morgan State

MVC - Missouri State

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

Northeast - Wagner

Ohio Valley - Austin Peay

Pac-10 - Washington, Arizona, Washington State

Patriot - American

SEC - Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Tennessee

Southern - Charleston

Southland - Sam Houston State

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Florida Atlantic

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga, St. Mary's

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse

The 2s
Pittsburgh, Connecticut, San Diego State, Kentucky

The 3s
Notre Dame, Villanova, BYU, Purdue

The 4s
Texas, Illinois, Texas A&M, Missouri

The 5s
Temple, Louisville, Wisconsin, Washington

The 6s
Florida, UNLV, Georgetown, Vanderbilt

The 7s
Michigan State, UCF, North Carolina, Kansas State

The 8s
West Virginia, Minnesota, Gonzaga, Memphis

The 9s
St. John's, Butler, Old Dominion, Georgia

The 10s
Tennessee, Cincinnati, St. Mary's, Boston College

The 11s
Arizona, Richmond, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech vs. Baylor (FF)

The 12s
Washington State, Missouri State, Dayton, New Mexico vs. Miami (FL) (FF)

The 13s
Utah State, Princeton, Charleston, Jacksonville

The 14s
Oakland, Akron, Coastal Carolina, Fairfield

The 15s
Vermont, Long Beach State, Wagner, Austin Peay

The 16s
Florida Atlantic, Sam Houston State, Northern Colorado 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.

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Dec. 28

2010-12-28T20:06:00.011-05:00

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

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

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

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

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.

Bracketology 101's Field of 68 - Dec. 13

2010-12-13T01:23:00.015-05:00

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

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

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.

Bracketology 101's First Field of 68 - Nov. 15

2010-11-15T00:02:00.008-05:00

Here is Bracketology 101's first Field of 68 for the 2010-2011 season:

Bracket Breakdown
Last Four In
Texas A&M, Clemson, New Mexico, Creighton

First Four Out
Dayton, Seton Hall, Colorado, Miami (FL)

Next Four Out
Louisville, Notre Dame, George Mason, St. Mary's

"First Four" Games
Texas A&M vs. Clemson, New Mexico vs. Creighton, Quinnipiac vs. Lipscomb, Jackson State vs. American

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

Conference Breakdown
Big East (8), ACC (7), Big Ten (7), SEC (6), Big XII (5), MWC (4), A-10 (3), Pac-10 (3), MVC (2)

America East - Stony Brook

ACC - Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Maryland, Clemson

Atlantic Sun - Lipscomb

A-10 - Temple, Richmond, Xavier

Big East - Pittsburgh, Villanova, Syracuse, Georgetown, West Virginia, Marquette, St. John's, Connecticut

Big Sky - Weber State

Big South - UNC-Asheville

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

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

Big West - UC-Santa Barbara

Colonial - Old Dominion

Conference USA - Memphis

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Princeton

MAAC - Fairfield

MAC - Ohio

MEAC - Morgan State

MVC - Wichita State, Creighton

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

Northeast - Quinnipiac

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - Washington, Arizona, UCLA

Patriot - American

SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State

Southern - Wofford

Southland - Stephen F. Austin

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

SWAC - Jackson State

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Duke, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Kansas State

The 2s
Villanova, Ohio State, North Carolina, Syracuse

The 3s
Kansas, Florida, Kentucky, Gonzaga

The 4s
Illinois, Purdue, Butler, Washington

The 5s
Memphis, Georgetown, Missouri, Temple

The 6s
Baylor, San Diego State, Wisconsin, Tennessee

The 7s
West Virginia, Wichita State, Florida State, BYU

The 8s
Virginia Tech, Texas, Minnesota, Georgia

The 9s
Richmond, UNLV, North Carolina State, Vanderbilt

The 10s
Xavier, Mississippi State, Murray State, Arizona

The 11s
Marquette, UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern

The 12s
Utah State, St. John's, Connecticut, Texas A&M (FF) vs. Clemson (FF)

The 13s
New Mexico (FF) vs. Creighton (FF), Ohio, Wofford, Old Dominion

The 14s
Weber State, UC-Santa Barbara, Western Kentucky, Oakland

The 15s
Morgan State, UNC-Asheville, Fairfield, Princeton

The 16s
Stony Brook, Stephen F. Austin, Quinnipiac (FF) vs. Lipscomb (FF), Jackson State (FF) vs. American (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.

Coming Soon To Bracketology 101...

2010-10-17T21:39:00.010-05:00

UPDATE - November 10th: We apologize for the delay in posting our preseason bracket, but Chris has been busy playing dad to his first son, Ryan, who was born last week. Ryan's job at B101 this year will be to make sure Chris stays up until the end of every Pac-10 game.

Our first bracket should be up (hopefully) by Monday.

Chris & Craig

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

The 2010-2011 college basketball season officially tips off in a few weeks - and so does a new season at (the newly re-designed!) Bracketology 101.

Over the next five months - just as we have for the last six years on this site - we will bring you our projections, insight, and opinions on all things bracket-related. As always, our focus will remain on our weekly bracket, but we will supplement the bracket with weekly and weekend recaps, mailbags, tweets, and more.

Our first order of business is putting together our first Field of 68, which will be posted later this month. Our preseason Final Four and national championship picks will also be posted.

See you soon,

Chris & Craig
Bracketology 101

Donate To Wilson's "Ultimate Assist" Charity!

2010-03-17T09:27:00.003-05:00

During the NCAA basketball tournament, Wilson Sporting Goods runs a program on Facebook called Ultimate Assist. This program asks people to make the “ultimate assist” in the fight against cancer by "passing a basketball" to their Facebook friends using a simple application. For every ball passed, Wilson donates money to Coaches vs. Cancer, which is a non-profit organization that unites the National Association of Basketball Coaches with the American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer.

To date, Coaches vs. Cancer has raised nearly $50 million since its inception to support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a life-threatening disease. Wilson makes it free and easy for Facebook users to join in this effort.

To check out the Ultimate Assist Facebook application page, click here:

To check out Wilson Sporting Goods' Facebook Page, click here:

To follow Ultimate Assist on Twitter, go to: twitter.com/WilsonBasktball

Bracketology 101's Bracket Picks

2010-03-16T15:35:00.009-05:00

To view or download Chris, Craig, and Matt's complete tournament brackets, click on the title of this post.

The brackets are downloadable, printable, and are saved in .pdf format. There is also an editable and downloadable blank bracket that you can use for your own picks.

Good luck in your office pools...

Also, if you haven't done so yet, sign up for Bracketology 101's Tournament Challenge group at ESPN.com.

Private Group Name: B101's Bracket Challenge

Password: b101

Sign up for the group ASAP. The group locks at the tip-off of the first game on Thursday. Only one bracket per person.

Bracketology 101's Final Bracket Stats

2010-03-15T00:30:00.015-05:00

The Bracket Matrix has posted his final results matrix for all 83 brackets he monitors. He lists overall results based on the Paymon scoring system, which gives brackets three points for each correct team, two points for each exact seed, and one point for each team within one seed line.

Here are our final stats:

Teams correct: 63/65
Exact seeds: 31/65
Seeds within one of seed line: 54/65
*Paymon score: 305

For a complete breakdown of how every bracketologist did in predicting the field, click here.

All in all, we were very disappointed with our final Paymon score, which was down 10 points from last year and put us right in the middle of the pack after four straight years of having a top-five bracket. Missing Utah State, and getting 63 teams instead of 64, cost us six points on our final score and really hurt us in the end. A score of 311 (had we put the Aggies in) would have put us in the Top 10 score-wise.

The strangest part of this year's results was that most of the brackets done by the four or five year bracketology "veterans" (with the exception of Jerry Palm) were at or below the average Paymon score (299.8). Here's how we stacked up against some of the more seasoned experts:

Bracketville (who had the best bracket of the year): 322
March Madness All Season: 313
Jerry Palm (CollegeRPI and CBS): 312
Bracketology 101: 305
Andy Glockner (SI): 302
Joe Lunardi (ESPN): 300
David Mihm (Bracketography): 284

For the fifth straight year, we had a higher Paymon score than Lunardi and for the fifth straight year we outscored the Sports Illustrated bracket (which was done by Glockner the last two years).

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

We'll be back later today with more bracket stats, our Final Four picks, and our complete downloadable brackets. We will also set up the annual Bracketology 101 Tournament Challenge group on ESPN.com.

In the meantime, feel free to post any bracket-questions in the comments section of this post. We'll check in periodically to answer as many of them as we can.

We'd also like to thank to the tens of thousands of people who visited the site over the couple of days (we destroyed our Selection Sunday hits record yesterday), as well as the hundreds of readers who posted comments and questions. We think that over the past few months, no site had better debates and discussions about all things bracket-related than we did at B101. The credit for that goes to our loyal readers, who are the most knowledgeable group of college basketball fans around. Thanks for all of your contributions to the site this year. You all deserve a huge chest bump.

Enjoy filling out your brackets...

Bracketology 101's Bracket Reaction

2010-03-14T21:18:00.012-05:00

"There shall not be more than two teams from a conference in one region unless a ninth team is selected from a conference."

"Conference teams shall not meet prior to the regional final unless a ninth team is selected from a conference. If the committee is unable to reconcile the bracket after exhausting all reasonable options, it has the flexibility to waive this principle to permit two teams from the same conference to meet each other after the first round."

Apparently these rules do not apply to the Big East. The selection committee placed three Big East teams in the South Region and set up two potential Big East Sweet 16 matchups (Villanova-Notre Dame and West Virginia-Marquette). We decided to follow the rules when bracketing, and it led to us missing all three Big East teams by more than one seed line.

That wasn't our only gripe with the selection committee, though. Here are some other seeds that we are still scratching our heads about:

1. Temple should be a 3, and certainly no worse than a 4. We guess the committee didn't think they should be seeded that far ahead of fellow A-10 teams (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense). The Owls also drew a dangerous Cornell team in the first round, which is a real double whammy.

2. Tennessee as a 6 seed is really harsh considering they beat the top two teams in the tournament.

3. SDSU and UNLV should swap seeds. The Aztecs have the biggest complaint of any team in terms of the seed they got. How can they possibly be seeded three lines lower than UNLV when their RPI was 30 spots higher, they finished tied in conference, and they beat UNLV two out of three times they played? The biggest joke, though, has to be the fact that SDSU has to travel all the way to Providence to play their first round game.

4. The two potential Sweet 16 match-ups weren't the questionable moves involving the Big East. Notre Dame and Marquette played well at the end of the year, but neither deserves 6 seeds, and Villanova, who stumbled down the stretch, wasn't deserving of the last 2 seed. (How does Temple not get the 2 over Villanova considering they beat them head-to-head?)

In terms of the teams selected, we can't really complain too much. Florida is seeded too high as a 10, but looking back, their overall body of work is slightly better than Mississippi State. We now regret watching the Mississippi State-Kentucky game on Sunday afternoon. We thought that the committee would be impressed by the Bulldogs' performance and that they would put more emphasis on conference tourney results. We also got too hung up on the fact that Florida had lost four of their last five. We couldn't imagine the SEC only getting three bids; we just picked the wrong team for the fourth bid.

Our biggest regret is leaving Utah State out of our final bracket, even though we are happy to see the committee give some more bids to mid-majors. In our opinion, Utah State is more deserving than Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, or Illinois. We should have done what we usually do and just go with what we think should happen, instead of what we think the committee will do. We finally bailed on the little guy and it cost us. It also appears from the final bracket that committee members were probably paying attention to how many bids each conference was getting. They didn't want to give the ACC seven bids, so they left Virginia Tech out; they wanted the SEC to get four bids so they went with Florida; and they didn't want the Big Ten to get six bids so they left out Illinois.

Stat-wise, we ended up with 31 teams seeded exactly and 54 teams within one seed line. By our math, we once again beat Lunardi. We'll post some more scores when all the math is complete. One thing we do know is that we ended up winning the Selection Sunday Expert's Challenge on NCAA.com over experts from CBS, The Sporting News, and Sports Illustrated, as well as some other bloggers.

Bracketology 101's Final Field of 65

2010-03-14T16:23:00.003-05:00

Here is Bracketology 101's Final Feld of 65:

This was the hardest last three teams to pick that we can remember. Most seasons, it's tough to pick the last one or two teams, but this year, it was three.

We think that any of our last three in (Virginia Tech, UTEP, Mississippi State) could get left out for either Utah State and Florida. We think Minnesota has done enough to get in regardless of how the Big Ten final ends up. We went with Mississippi State over Florida because we can't imagine the fourth best conference in the country getting just three bids. We also like the Bulldogs' neutral court victory over the Gators two days ago and the way they played against Kentucky today.

We have been on the Utah State bandwagon for a while, but in the end, C-USA is better than the WAC because UAB and Memphis are better than New Mexico State (or anyone else in the WAC). We also can't see the committee rewarding both little guys. Outside of the power six conferences, we already have seven at-large bids. We think eight is too many.

We only had one grouping issue with the final bracket. Louisville had to be bumped to be bumped down to a 12 seed.

The Breakdown
Last Four In
Minnesota, Virginia Tech, UTEP, Mississippi State

Last Four Out
Utah State, Florida, Illinois, Seton Hall

Next Four Out
Rhode Island, Arizona State, William & Mary, South Florida

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

The Seeds
The 1s
Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke

The 2s
West Virginia, Ohio State, Kansas State, Georgetown

The 3s
Temple, Villanova, New Mexico, Pittsburgh

The 4s
Wisconsin, Purdue, Baylor, Tennessee

The 5s
Michigan State, Maryland, Butler, Texas A&M

The 6s
Vanderbilt, Richmond, BYU, Xavier

The 7s
Gonzaga, Texas, Oklahoma State, Northern Iowa

The 8s
Clemson, Notre Dame, Marquette, San Diego State

The 9s
Florida State, Missouri, St. Mary's, California

The 10s
UNLV, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Old Dominion

The 11s
Washington, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, UTEP

The 12s
Louisville, Mississippi State, Cornell, Siena

The 13s
New Mexico State, Murray State, Oakland, Houston

The 14s
Wofford, Sam Houston State, UC-Santa Barbara, Ohio

The 15s
Montana, Morgan State, North Texas, Vermont

The 16s
East Tennessee State, Robert Morris, Winthrop, Lehigh (Play-In Game), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Play-In Game)

The Bracket
(Bracket courtesy Matt Reeves)

Questions? Comments? E-mail Bracketology 101 at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com

B101's Sunday Morning Thoughts

2010-03-14T09:42:00.004-05:00

We are currently in lockdown mode in the Bracketology 101 War Room with "One Shining Moment" playing on a continuous loop in the background.

Yesterday's results were nothing short of chaotic, and they caused a huge shake-up amongst the teams on the bubble. Here is how we see things heading into today's games:

1. We think Utah State and UTEP both deserve at-larges, but we also wouldn't be surprised if one of the two gets left out (especially if Mississippi State wins today).

2. We can't see Minnesota getting left out now. They dominated Purdue yesterday, and the Big Ten title game is so late in the day that it is really to the Gophers' advantage.

3. We think Mississippi State probably still needs to win today to get in.

4. Two of the following three teams will not make it: Virginia Tech, Illinois, and Florida. We are going to be picking apart each of their resumes all day today. If Mississippi State wins, they all might be out.

5. The last 2 seed is really tough to fill right now. Is it Temple (with a win today)? Is it Georgetown (despite their loss last night)? Is it Pittsburgh, who finished three games better than Georgetown in conference?

6. If Duke loses the ACC final, they may also lose their 1 seed to West Virginia.

We have release our Final Field of 65 betwee 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET today. Until then, we will check the comments section periodically to answer any questions.

***NOTE***: FOXSports is having some "technical difficulties" with posting our updated bracket and it's all messed up. Check in HERE (Bracketology 101) for our official, up-to-date bracket.

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2010-03-14T01:16:00.008-05:00

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