NCAA Tournament: Best & Worst of Each Seed

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:00:09 -0400

When ever two college basketball teams meet for one game, luck always plays a big part. The best team doesn't necessarily always win. Good players have off days and bad players get hot. Thus picking a perfect bracket, even if you legitimately know which teams are better, is impossible. But you can increase your chances of bracket success by avoiding some obvious pitfalls and nailing the underrated squads.

Best: Kansas

Kansas might not win it all, and it would be no fun if everyone picked them to win.. but if you pick against them, understand that they are simply the clear class of the country. They were 14-2 against Top 60 teams. Impressive.

Worst: Duke

Duke will certainly win their first couple of games, so don't go crazy picking them to lose early. But Duke is unproven against the country's best, with just 1 Top 25 win (and that as at home against Maryland, which isn't terribly exciting.)

Best: West Virginia

Having won the Big East Tournament, and finished with the #4 RPI, WVU arguably deserved a #1 seed. And not just over Duke, but over Syracuse as well.

Worst: Ohio St

Despite having a stud in Evan Turner, this is a flawed team that lacks depth and much on the interior. There best win in non-conference play was against Cal, by just 6 points. Yes, OSU's won 13 of 14 games, but only one of those games can be considered a quality win, at Top 50 Michigan St. The rest of the Big Ten teams they beat aren't terribly good.

Best: Georgetown

The Hoyas have beaten 6 Top 15 teams including Duke, Butler, Pittsburgh, Temple, Syracuse and Villanova

Worst: Pittsburgh

Pitt has a lot of weak results on the road (obviously the Cuse win being an exception), losing to the likes of Seton Hall, Indiana, South Florida and Texas by 16. Unfortunately for Pitt, the tourney isn't played on their home court. More like a 5 or 6 seed.

Best: Wisconsin

The 4s in general are extremely weak to me, but Wiscy is the best of this bunch because they own 5 Top 30 wins. Impressive.

Worst: Purdue

Everyone thinks Purdue is an easy upset target against Siena. I actually like the Boilers to pull the game out, but you can't argue that the loss of Hummel and facing such a good 13 seed is a bad combo.

Best: Texas A&M

The Aggies don't have a bad loss all year and have come close against Top 10-quality teams like KU, UNM, and Baylor.

Worst: Butler

I actually like all the 5 seeds better then the 4's (and all are arguably better then 3 seed Pitt too), so in a sense Butler is quite underrated despite the disrespect here. Still, they lost all 4 of their road games against quality opponents, and were unlucky to draw a Top 25-caliber team in UTEP.

Best: Xavier

Xavier's well-tested, having played an extremely challenging slate of road games. They have one of the country's unsung talents in Jordan Crawford.

Worst: Marquette

Marquette actually beat Xavier so its not like they're dog meat.. this seed group is probably the most even to me and was hardest to choose. If Marquette gets by Washington, they'd have to be feared in round 2.

Best: Oklahoma St

James Anderson is one of the best players out there and the Cowboys have shown they can play with anybody in the country when they're clicking.

Worst: Richmond

I actually like Richmond a lot, but the other 7's are solid.. so here they are in part because they're unlucky facing SMC, one of the best 10 seeds. Some of their early wins which seemed great at the time like Florida, Miss St, and Missouri don't seem as impressive now as those teams have struggled. Still, if they're hot from 3, look out.

Best: Texas

The Horns were 17-0 at one point and ranked #1. Are they that much worse now? A lot of their slide simply has to do with playing so many tough games in a tough league. 6 of their 9 losses are against Top 15 teams and they only have one real questionable loss all season.

Worst: Cal

Who has Cal actually beat this year?

Best: Northern Iowa

Despite a great record, the committee somewhat snubbed the UNI in their seed because they didn't play enough quality non-conference opponents. UNLV is certainly a beatable 8 seed, and UNI's style always causes problems for opponents.

Worst: Wake Forest

Wake certainly has talent, but they're a bit schizo at times and you can't ignore their late slide, losing 5 of 6 games.

Best: Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech still hasn't put it together and this is compounded by the fact their facing the best #7 seed in my opinion, Oklahoma St. Still, they're a class above the other 10's, just a little unlucky in their draw.

Worst: Florida

Florida has a couply name wins, but a ton of losses. They don't deserve to be in the Tournament, let alone a 10 seed. Their saving grace is that their opponent, BYU, is certainly beatable.

Best: Old Dominion

The 11 seeds seem quite even, and I only give ODU the edge because I like their first round matchup against Notre Dame the best.

Worst: Minnesota

The Gophers had a nice run the Big Ten tourney, but they do have some questionable losses that are hard to ignore.

Best: UTEP

Considering they were ranked last week, a 12 seed seems a bit harsh. They lost only 2 games to non-Tournament teams all year, at Texas Tech and at Ole Miss, and even they are in the NIT.

Worst: Utah St

This seems harsh, because I actually like Utah St and think they're under-seeded. The problem is that away from home, Utah St doesnt have the same magic, and I think their 1st round opponent is one of the better 5's.

Best: Siena

I wouldn't quite pencil in Siena over Purdue like many suggest, but there's no doubt this is an extremely dangerous considered their recent tourney success.

Worst: Houston

I think the 13 seeds are particularly solid this year, so Houston can still be dangerous against Maryland. Despite 15 losses, Houston only lost 2 of those games by 10+ and were competitive in almost every game.

Best: Ohio

Ohio lost a lot of really close games all season, so their run through the MAC Tournament was a matter of finally running into some luck. They did get crushed at Pitt in their lone foray into big-time basketball, so don't expect much here.

Worst: Oakland

Oakland's solid 52 RPI is boosted because they played #1 Kansas and #5 Syracuse. But they lost by 30 & 32 in those games, and also were blown out by Memphis & Wisconsin. With that said, I dont think Oakland will get crushed by Pitt like those early results.

Best: North Texas

If you take one extremely awful home loss to FIU, North Texas actually had a fine season. At two Big 12 tournament teams, Ok St and Texas A&M, they lost by only 14 and 10. That's a sign they can hang in with Kansas St for awhile.

Worst: Robert Morris

They should have been a 16 seed to me instead of Vermont. In 3 games against Top 50 teams, they lost by 40, 24, and 14. They can be pesky though.

Best: Vermont

A 117 RPI is unusually high for a 16 seed. They've only had 2 games all season that they weren't at least competitive and have one of the best players in low-major basketball, Marqus Blakely.

Worst: UAPB

They have no chance to beat Duke.

NCAA Bracket Contests: Top 16 to Enter

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:15:20 -0400

A little low on cash because of the struggling economy? Need a little economic stimulus? The NCAA Tournament is a good way to earn some back.. you could win up to $100,000,00 getting a perfect bracket (then again, the odds are a bazillion to one so you're better off playing PowerBall), thousands of dollars beating the masses in other games, or setting up your own pool and taking a cut of the action. Now matter how you do it, you need to play to win.

Here are 16 NCAA Tournament bracket games, pools, and contests to keep you busy during March Madness:

CHN's Bracket Contest - Our own standard contest, with some cool features and some cool prizes like an iPod Nano.

Yahoo: NCAA Tournament Pickem - Can't go wrong with any of Yahoo's fantasy offerings. $10,000 for the best bracket.

ESPN's Tournament Challenge - Prove yourself amongst the thousands, win $10,000 for 1st and $5,000 for 2nd place.

Bodog's Bracket Buster - Prizes totaling $25,000.. but this is money to spend at Bodog, not straight cash. Even 250th place can bet you $50.

Fanhouse.com - Besides a perfect bracket, they claim to be giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars of actual prizes.. this seems impossibly large unless I'm misreading something.

CollegeFanz.com - Win $25 million here.. the catch is you need to pick a perfect men's bracket, women's bracket, and give them your 2nd child. All kidding aside, there's a decent amount of prizes to win here, so check it out, but its not the biggest bracket event ever despite their claims.

CBS BracketChallenge - Similar to ESPN. Bonus that you can watch MMOD while following your bracket. The grand prize here is an Infiniti. The odd thing is you don't have to have the best score to win, it simply goes to a random person who finishes in the top 10% of the contest.

CBS RoundByRound Brackets - A good alternative for those who don't want to be eliminated by the first weekend. Prizes each round between $500 and $1500. Again, this is random drawing if you're in the top 10% of performers.

CBS BracketManager - Run your pool amongst friends. Beware all the AT&T ads.

FoxSports Bracket Challenge - Win a $1 million with a perfect bracket & various Hooters related prizes. Two people win a trip to Vegas which isn't bad, while others can win Hooters wings for a month.. I'd rather win a Hooters girl..

CBS Selection Sunday Challenge - A new offering from CBS, where you predict what teams make the Tourney. Since you missed this game.. remember it for next year.

Facebook - There's a handful of highly popular NCAA Bracket games on Facebook sponsored by various companies. The biggest is apps.facebook.com/bracket.

BracketBrains - An interesting product I've never tried that theoretically helps you do better in pools.

BracketContest.com - No clue about this site, but it ranks high on Google, and it looks like they legitimately give out cash.

NBCSports: It's Madness - Win a $2,000 from NBC. Come on NBC, you're NBC, give out some more dough. 2nd place gets a big TV.

ChampsSports.com - This is a round by game, with prizes like laptops, gift cards, etc.

NCAA Tournament on CBS: Announcer Ratings

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:24:04 -0400

When you watch as much of the NCAA Tournament as us die-hards do.. you inevitably form close bonds with the announcers on CBS. Some are strong congenial caring bonds.. others I could do without. Here is the CBS college basketball roster, including links to profiles on CBS.com, their role during the broadcast, and my rating of their recent work. (Check out my announcer rating from last year)

In 2009, we had huge changes as Clark Kellogg replaced Billy Packer as lead color-man alongside Jim Nantz. I was very down on that decision at the time as I find Kellogg to be on the low end of the announcing spectrum. The other big change was Greg Anthony moving into the studio, replacing Kellogg. This move, on the other hand, ended up being a great call by CBS. Anthony already trumps Seth Davis in the studio.

This year, there's not too much change, except for the addition of Spero Dedes getting some calls early in the tournament. Only 30, Dedes is an up-and-comer.

C is considered your run of the mill broadcaster, neither exceptional nor annoying. On the most part, CBS does a good job with their coverage, hence mostly respectable grades (as opposed to a similar report card I could do for ESPN...)

A Ian Eagle (Announcer)

A- Greg Anthony (Studio, Was New 2009)

A- Bill Raftery (Color)

B+ Jim Nantz (Announcer - FF)

B+ Jay Bilas (Color)

B Greg Gumbel (Studio)

B Kevin Harlan (Announcer)

B Gus Johnson (Announcer)

B Lesley Visser (Sideline)

B- Verne Lundquist (Announcer)

B- Spero Dedes (Announcer, New in 2010)

B- Len Elmore (Color)

C+ Stephen Bardo (Color)

C+ Dick Enberg (Announcer)

C Dan Bonner (Sideline)

C Tim Brando (Anouncer)

C Mike Gminski (Color)

C Jim Spanarkel (Color)

C Bob Wenzel (Color)

C Tracy Wolfson (Sideline)

C- Seth Davis (Studio)

D+ Clark Kellogg (Color - FF)

Notes:

Dedes grew up not to far from where I live and I'm more familiar with him then most around the country are. I think he'll prove to be a savvy choice by CBS. I still don't like Kellogg any more then I did last year.. and more and more I find I'm turned off by Seth Davis. On the flip side, Gus Johnson continues to grow on me, even if he is a one-man circus.

No Longer Part of CBS Team

C Carter Blackburn (Announcer, New 2009)

C Craig Bolerjack (Announcer, New 2009)

D Billy Packer (Retired)

B- Sam Ryan (Sideline)

These are my opinions of course, so how would you rate the CBS NCAA Tournament team?

CHN's Bracketology Nails More Teams Then Anyone Else!

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:37:45 -0400

As CHN readers know, I project the NCAA Bracket weekly. Here's how my final Sunday afternoon bracket did compared to reality. Out of 80+ bracketologists tracked by the Bracket Project, I nailed the most teams to their exact seed.. 36 out of the 65 teams! This is a whopping 9 more then Joe Lunardi and 5 more then Jerry Palm of CBS. According to Bracket Project, I was 4th out of the 80+ bracketologists, but I dominated all the name competition: CBS, ESPN, Rivals, SI, Yahoo were all left in the dust. CHN's own Jeff Borzello also had a good showing. This is 3rd time in the last 4 years I've been considered to have one of the top handful of brackets in the country (2009 was my lone dud.)

= nailed the seed

= I overrated the team by a seed

= I underrated the team by a seed

36 teams nailed on the seed

21 team off by one seed

6 teams off by 2 seeds

1 team off by 3 seeds

1 team missed

ONE

Kansas

Kentucky

Duke

Syracuse

TWO

West Virginia

Ohio St

Kansas State

Villanova

THREE

Baylor

Georgetown

Pittsburgh

New Mexico

FOUR

Temple

Purdue

Wisconsin

Tennessee

FIVE

Michigan State

Maryland

Butler

Vanderbilt

SIX

Richmond

Xavier

Texas A&M

Gonzaga

SEVEN

Northern Iowa

BYU

Oklahoma St

Notre Dame

EIGHT

Texas

UNLV

Florida State

Louisville

NINE

Marquette

Georgia Tech

Clemson

California

TEN

St. Mary's

San Diego St

UTEP

Old Dominion

ELEVEN

Missouri

Wake Forest

Washington

Cornell

TWELVE

Minnesota

Siena

Utah St

Illinois X Florida Instad

THIRTEEN

Murray State

New Mexico St

Oakland

Wofford

FOURTEEN

Ohio

Sam Houston St

Houston

Montana

FIFTEEN

North Texas

UCSB

Morgan St

Vermont

SIXTEEN + ONE

ETSU

Robert Morris

Lehigh

Winthrop / UAPB

Bracketology: Final NCAA Projection

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:56:19 -0400
This is the final Bracketology projection of the season.. its been a pleasure putting these articles together all season. Hope you enjoyed following them. The field below is not based on who I think deserves to be in, but a prediction of what the committee will do. Check below for commentary on the final changes.

Why should you care what I have to say? In 2007 & 2008, I was considered to have one of the Top 2 or 3 brackets amongst 53 national experts including Joe Lunardi, Gary Parrish and the like. (Admittedly my 2009 final bracket was rather weak.. not sure what happened. Can't win 'em all.)

Notes:

Arrows ( ) indicate movement by seed since yesterday's update (not the early morning version). Green font indicates new to the field this week. Conference champions are not my end of season predictions, but current leaders. Ties atop conference standings go to the higher RPI team. Check-mark () indicates automatic bid.

(Join our Selection Sunday chat to discuss the brackets.)



ONE

Kansas

Kentucky

Duke

Syracuse

TWO

West Virginia

Ohio St**

Kansas State

Villanova

THREE

Baylor

Georgetown

Pittsburgh

New Mexico

FOUR

Temple

Purdue

Wisconsin

Tennessee

FIVE

Michigan State

Maryland

Butler

Vanderbilt

SIX

Richmond

Xavier

Texas A&M

Gonzaga

SEVEN

Northern Iowa

BYU

Oklahoma St

Notre Dame

EIGHT

Texas

UNLV

Florida State

Louisville

NINE

Marquette

Georgia Tech

Clemson

California

TEN

St. Mary's

San Diego St

UTEP

Old Dominion

ELEVEN

Missouri

Wake Forest

Washington

Cornell

TWELVE

Minnesota

Siena

Utah St

Illinois

THIRTEEN

Murray State

New Mexico St

Oakland

Wofford

FOURTEEN

Ohio

Sam Houston St

Houston

Montana

FIFTEEN

North Texas

UCSB

Morgan St

Vermont

SIXTEEN + ONE

ETSU

Robert Morris

Lehigh

Winthrop / UAPB

** = Projected Automatic Bid

League Leaders/Winners (31)

- Leaders throughout the season are merely the first place team in the standings as of the update, and not projected winners. Ties go to the higher RPI team. New teams this week in green.

America East - Vermont

A-10 - Temple

ACC - Duke

Atlantic Sun - ETSU

Big 12 - Kansas

Big East - West Virginia

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio St

Big West - UCSB

CAA - Old Dominion

Conference USA - Houston

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Cornell

MAAC - Siena

MAC - Ohio

MEAC - Morgan St

MVC - Northern Iowa

MWC - San Diego St

Northeast - Robert Morris

Ohio Valley - Murray St

Pac-10 - Washington

Patriot - Lehigh

SEC - Kentucky

Southern - Wofford

Southland - Sam Houston St

SWAC - UAPB

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - North Texas

WAC - New Mexico St

WCC - St. Mary's

*** = Locked Up Automatic Bid

Last In: Illinois, Utah St, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Last Out: Virginia Tech, Mississippi St, Florida, Ole Miss

Further Four: Seton Hall, Rhode Island, Memphis, South Florida

Dropped Out Of Field (at-large): None Today

Also check out Sunday's NITology projections.

And join our Selection Sunday chat.

Bracketology: 2nd To Last Update

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:09:22 -0400
This is the 2nd to last Bracketology projection of the season.. its been a pleasure putting these together all season. The field below is not based on who I think deserves to be in, but a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand. The final Bracketology update will be on Sunday afternoon. Check below for commentary on today's changes.

Why should you care what I have to say? In 2007 & 2008, I was considered to have one of the Top 2 or 3 brackets amongst 53 national experts including Joe Lunardi, Gary Parrish and the like. (Admittedly my 2009 final bracket was rather weak.. not sure what happened. Can't win 'em all.)

Notes:

Arrows ( ) indicate movement by seed since yesterday's update (not the mid-afternoon version). Green font indicates new to the field this week. Conference champions are not my end of season predictions, but current leaders. Ties atop conference standings go to the higher RPI team. Check-mark () indicates automatic bid.



ONE

Kansas

Kentucky**

Duke**

Syracuse

TWO

West Virginia

Ohio St**

Kansas State

Villanova

THREE

Baylor

New Mexico

Michigan State

Georgetown

FOUR

Purdue

Pittsburgh

Wisconsin

Temple**

FIVE

Tennessee

Maryland

Butler

Vanderbilt

SIX

Richmond

Xavier

Texas A&M

Northern Iowa

SEVEN

BYU

Oklahoma St

Gonzaga

UNLV

EIGHT

Texas

Notre Dame

Florida State

Louisville

NINE

California

Marquette

Clemson

St. Mary's

TEN

Georgia Tech

UTEP

Old Dominion

San Diego St

ELEVEN

Washington

Missouri

Cornell

Utah St

TWELVE

Wake Forest

Minnesota

Siena

Illinois

THIRTEEN

Murray State

New Mexico St

Oakland

Wofford

FOURTEEN

Ohio

Sam Houston St

Houston

Montana

FIFTEEN

North Texas

UCSB

Morgan St

Vermont

SIXTEEN + ONE

ETSU

Robert Morris

Lehigh

Winthrop / UAPB

** = Projected Automatic Bid

League Leaders/Winners (31)

- Leaders throughout the season are merely the first place team in the standings as of the update, and not projected winners. Ties go to the higher RPI team. New teams this week in green.

America East - Vermont

A-10 - Temple

ACC - Duke

Atlantic Sun - ETSU

Big 12 - Kansas

Big East - West Virginia

Big Sky - Montana

Big South - Winthrop

Big Ten - Ohio St

Big West - UCSB

CAA - Old Dominion

Conference USA - Houston

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Cornell

MAAC - Siena

MAC - Ohio

MEAC - Morgan St

MVC - Northern Iowa

MWC - San Diego St

Northeast - Robert Morris

Ohio Valley - Murray St

Pac-10 - Washington

Patriot - Lehigh

SEC - Kentucky

Southern - Wofford

Southland - Sam Houston St

SWAC - UAPB

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - North Texas

WAC - New Mexico St

WCC - St. Mary's

*** = Locked Up Automatic Bid

Last In: Illinois, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Utah St

Last Out: Virginia Tech, Mississippi St, Florida, Ole Miss

Further Four: Seton Hall, Rhode Island, Memphis, South Florida

Dropped Out Of Field (at-large): Florida, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech

Also check out Sunday's NITology projections.

BubbleBoard: Selection Sunday Final

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:07:55 -0400
RPI #'s updated as of 3/14/10, 12:30 am.

The BubbleBoard returns again in 2010. CHN ranks at-large contenders using a variety of standard resume components. The BubbleBoard ranking is a modified RPI, that gives extra credit for success against Top 50 teams & games away from home. The purpose of the BubbleBoard is to weed out those teams that may have a high RPI due to playing a seemingly challenging schedule, but either a) lost almost all their challenging games, or b) have won a few challenging games at home but have been sub-par away from home. Ultimately the tourney should feature teams with a track-record of beating good teams on neutral or road courts. Note: The BubbleBoard is not a prediction of what the committee will do, but a ranking based on previous results.. which is arguably a suggestion for what the committee should do.

This is the final BubbleBoard update of the season!



Top 3 Rising teams*: Minnesota, Mississippi St, Georgia Tech

Top 4 Falling teams: UTEP, California, Illinois

*Based on difference between yesterday's BubbleBoard

Top 5 Faker teams*: California, Memphis, Rhode Island, Louisville, Florida

Top 5 Dangerous teams: Wake Forest, UNLV, UTEP, Florida St, Utah St

*Faker teams are those that have struggled most away from home & against Top 50 teams as compared to their RPI.

Today's BubbleBoard Additions/Subtractions:

San Diego St & Washington now auto-bids. Removed ASU, Charlotte, Cincy, UCONN, Dayton, Wichita St

Into/Out of Projected At-Large Bid:

In: Minnesota

Out: California



How The Yellow At-Large Field Is Projected:

The yellow shading represents teams who would fit into the bubble. The 16th-18th teams (Missouri, Cal, VT) represents the expanded list considering the committee will certainly not take VCU or UAB, and most likely isnt taking URI either. (Along with the 27 current champs, there are 23 other at-large locks (listed below), 4 other tourney champs from within that 23, leaving 15 spots remaining.

Team RPI SOS NCSOS Computer T50 W T50 L R/N W R/N L L100 L Bonus = Total = Was Dif

# Kansas 1 8 35 2 11 2 12 2 0 132 129 129 0

1 Wake Forest 37 23 75 24 6 4 6 8 0 42 18 19 -1

2 UNLV 49 111 233 41 5 4 12 5 3 37 -4 2 -6

3 Utah St 31 97 83 25 2 1 10 6 2 20 -5 -1 -4

4 Clemson 34 21 144 25 5 6 7 8 1 18 -7 -7 0

5 UTEP 39 108 186 34 2 1 11 4 2 26 -8 2 -10

6 Georgia Tech 33 16 143 24 5 6 8 9 2 13 -10 -14 4

7 Florida St 42 53 219 33 4 6 9 6 0 21 -13 -13 0

8 Notre Dame 44 37 214 33 5 4 5 8 3 14 -20 -20 0

9 Oklahoma St 29 25 132 22 4 7 7 9 1 0 -22 -22 0

10 UAB 46 98 105 34 1 3 11 5 2 3 -32 -32 0

11 Louisville 38 5 19 22 3 7 5 8 1 -14 -36 -37 1

12 Minnesota 58 49 63 37 5 6 7 9 4 1 -36 -53 17

13 Marquette 50 41 184 36 4 9 9 7 1 -3 -39 -39 0

14 VCU 65 134 84 46 3 2 7 8 4 4 -42 -42 0

15 Rhode Island 40 100 35 29 1 5 10 7 2 -15 -43 -36 -7

16 Missouri 45 49 191 34 4 7 6 8 3 -11 -45 -45 0

17 California 22 7 1 13 1 6 8 9 3 -34 -46 -37 -9

18 Virginia Tech 60 162 344 53 3 4 8 7 2 7 -47 -44 -3

19 Florida   54 34 120 36 3 8 8 8 1 -12 -48 -46 -2

20 Seton Hall 61 35 171 41 4 9 6 8 0 -7 -48 -48 0

21 Ole Miss 62 85 146 44 2 6 9 6 1 -5 -49 -47 -2

22 Mississippi St 56 114 220 44 2 4 11 7 4 -6 -51 -67 16

23 Memphis 53 68 53 35 2 5 7 6 4 -20 -55 -55 0

24 Illinois 75 39 130 48 5 9 7 10 2 -8 -55 -46 -9

25 South Florida 71 95 247 53 3 8 9 8 1 -9 -62 -61 -1

*Teams leading their leagues

Yellow = Approximate bubble cut-off

NC-SOS = Non-conference strength of schedule

Computer = Modified RPI taking into account SOS/NCSOS a bit more

Bonus = Modifications due to Top 50 & R/N success

R/N = Road/neutral

L100L = Lower than 100 losses

Lock Teams Not Listed (23): Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, Purdue, Georgetown, Michigan St, Kansas St, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio St, Temple, BYU, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Xavier, Maryland, Richmond

Today's BubbleBoard Thoughts:

Minnesota's rise is complete as the BubbleBoard now says their in. Quite a turnaround considering they were about 40th on the larger list just a week or two back. As usual, the computers still favor UAB, VCU, and Rhode Island so I've shown the expanded bubble. In reality, the final 2 spots in the field may come down to 2 of Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi St, and Virginia Tech. The BubbleBoard favors Minnesota & VT in that scenario. Cal & Missouri are barely hanging in, and may very well be over-seeded in the tournament.. the BubbleBoard says these 2 are overrated and potential 1st round tournament victims. Utah St & UTEP, who both lost yesterday, are still tournament worthy. UTEP's seeding definitely took a blow though, while the Utah St loss shouldn't effect things too much because NMSU is a quality opponent.

What do you think about the Bubble today?

NITology: Sunday Morning Update

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:54:49 -0400
In conjunction with the regular Bracketology articles, here's a projected look at the 2010 NIT field. Teams with a are guaranteed a bid. The regular-season champion from a league (depending on the league's tie-breaker system) automatically gets a bid into the NIT. In the NIT, the higher seed hosts, but teams are matched up within seed geographically as opposed to a snake order. Green = new team. Arrows represent change in seed since last update.

ONE

Virginia Tech

Mississippi St

Seton Hall

Florida

TWO

Ole Miss

Memphis

Rhode Island

UCONN

THREE

Arizona St

Wichita St

UAB

South Florida

FOUR

Cincinnati

NC State

Alabama

Dayton

FIVE

St. John's

William & Mary

Kent St

Marshall

SIX

Miami

Texas Tech

VCU

North Carolina

SEVEN

Illinois St

Coastal Carolina

Weber St

Troy

EIGHT

Jacksonville

Quinnipiac

Stony Brook

Jackson St

Next in Line:

St Louis, Nevada, Wright St, Portland, Northeastern

Last Into NCAA Tournament:

Illinois, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Utah St

Dropped Out:

St Louis

	Team	RPI	SOS	NCSOS	Computer	T50 W	T50 L	R/N W	R/N L	L100 L	Bonus =	Total =	Was	Dif
#	Kansas	1	8	35	2	11	2	12	2	0	132	129	129	0
1	Wake Forest	37	23	75	24	6	4	6	8	0	42	18	19	-1
2	UNLV	49	111	233	41	5	4	12	5	3	37	-4	2	-6
3	Utah St	31	97	83	25	2	1	10	6	2	20	-5	-1	-4
4	Clemson	34	21	144	25	5	6	7	8	1	18	-7	-7	0
5	UTEP	39	108	186	34	2	1	11	4	2	26	-8	2	-10
6	Georgia Tech	33	16	143	24	5	6	8	9	2	13	-10	-14	4
7	Florida St	42	53	219	33	4	6	9	6	0	21	-13	-13	0
8	Notre Dame	44	37	214	33	5	4	5	8	3	14	-20	-20	0
9	Oklahoma St	29	25	132	22	4	7	7	9	1	0	-22	-22	0
10	UAB	46	98	105	34	1	3	11	5	2	3	-32	-32	0
11	Louisville	38	5	19	22	3	7	5	8	1	-14	-36	-37	1
12	Minnesota	58	49	63	37	5	6	7	9	4	1	-36	-53	17
13	Marquette	50	41	184	36	4	9	9	7	1	-3	-39	-39	0
14	VCU	65	134	84	46	3	2	7	8	4	4	-42	-42	0
15	Rhode Island	40	100	35	29	1	5	10	7	2	-15	-43	-36	-7
16	Missouri	45	49	191	34	4	7	6	8	3	-11	-45	-45	0
17	California	22	7	1	13	1	6	8	9	3	-34	-46	-37	-9
18	Virginia Tech	60	162	344	53	3	4	8	7	2	7	-47	-44	-3
19	Florida	54	34	120	36	3	8	8	8	1	-12	-48	-46	-2
20	Seton Hall	61	35	171	41	4	9	6	8	0	-7	-48	-48	0
21	Ole Miss	62	85	146	44	2	6	9	6	1	-5	-49	-47	-2
22	Mississippi St	56	114	220	44	2	4	11	7	4	-6	-51	-67	16
23	Memphis	53	68	53	35	2	5	7	6	4	-20	-55	-55	0
24	Illinois	75	39	130	48	5	9	7	10	2	-8	-55	-46	-9
25	South Florida	71	95	247	53	3	8	9	8	1	-9	-62	-61	-1