2-20-09 Bracketology

[avid1010]

Maybe I'm so biased that I can't have a decent thought about the Big Ten anymore, but how can he have the Big Ten with 8 teams in and Big East with 7.  Am I nuts to think that Georgetown and/or Notre Dame could win the Big Ten this year?

[ATWizJr]

Agree totally.  No way the Big Ten is a stronger conference than BE or ACC.  Lunardi has lost it.

[MU B2002]

He must be drinking the Kool Aid Lavin was dishing out last night.

Look at the first 4 out, Providence, Cinci, Georgetown, Miami.

No love for the Big East in Cracketology.

Maybe that 38-33 barn burner really convinced him how solid the Big Ten is.



But in the end isn't this better for us?  Less good teams to potentially face.  I would much rather play Penn State than any of those 4 in the tourney.

[KCWarrior]

I still don't understand how Kansas and Missouri are threes and Marquette is a four. I live in Kansas City and have seen both teams play several times. There is no way either has a winning record in the Big East. They'd be down with G-Town and Notre Dame. Maybe Cincy and WVU.

[ErickJD08]

This all gives me a headache.  Illinois, the third best team in that conference, hasn't put up more than 70 in over 6 weeks.  They have two games where they have scored 33 and 36.   Big Ten has one of the worst teams in college.  It has probably the worst team out of all the teams in major conferences (not sure).  Iowa is not that good either.  This is unreal.  

The Big Ten hard nose defense is really overrated.  I have watched a bunch of games and they are low scoring because most (not all) the teams are sloppy and they miss open jumpers.  

[esotericmindguy]

Yup and they'll continue to point at the NCAA tourney and how successful they have been in recent years.  8-5 in 07' and 5-4 in 08', the garbage basketball seems to work because teams don't know how to play against it.  The big ten is awful to watch, and if they send 8 teams I feel sorry for the middle Big East teams that actually have to score 70 points to win a ball game.  ND wouldn't win the Big Ten by the way, they are awful.  Prov GT and Cincy would all be towards the top IMO.

[mwbauer7]

Xavier a 4 seed (#15 on the S Curve), and MU a 4 seed (#14 on the S Curve).

Hmm... 9-3 in the A-10 vs. 11-2 in the BE...

[Norm]

And of course we go out West to play in Boise and then possibly Phoenix.

[Norm]

MU going out to Boise would stink, especially as he has #8 Ohio State playing in Dayton, #10 Davidson in Greensboro and #12 Florida in Miami.

[TallTitan34]

The Big Ten will not get 8 teams.

[Brewtown Andy]

I still don't understand how Kansas and Missouri are threes and Marquette is a four. I live in Kansas City and have seen both teams play several times. There is no way either has a winning record in the Big East. They'd be down with G-Town and Notre Dame. Maybe Cincy and WVU.

Kansas:  Good Wins
RPI 1-25: N-Washington, Tennessee
RPI 26-50: Temple, Siena, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State

Bad Losses
RPI 101-200: Massachusetts

Missouri:  Good Wins
RPI 1-25: Kansas
RPI 26-50: N-Southern California, California, @Oklahoma State, @Texas

Marquette:  Good Wins
RPI 1-25: Villanova, West Virginia
RPI 26-50: Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Georgetown

Bad Losses
RPI 101-200: @South Florida

[avid1010]

The Big Ten will not get 8 teams.

My biggest issue with this recent bracketology (and hopefully it changes drastically by tourney time) is that if the season ended right now, there's a GREAT chance Lunardi would be correct, as he has in the past.  I never hold it against him, as he clearly states they're not his picks, but simply how he figures the committee will pick. 

This winter I heard many sports reporters hoping for a Big Ten loses in football because they didn't want to see another BCS championship blow-out, and I'm getting to the point where I feel like it's simply money, money and more money for the NCAA.

[Avenue Commons]

Bad Losses
RPI 101-200: @South Florida

There is no escaping the South Florida loss. That one will hurt our ranking for the rest of the year and really weight us down for a seeding in the tourney. It's just a fact.

[BrewCity83]

There is no escaping the South Florida loss. That one will hurt our ranking for the rest of the year and really weight us down for a seeding in the tourney. It's just a fact.

True.  But the final five games plus the BET will help us in the RPI regardless of how many of the games we win.  If we do win 3 or so down the stretch, it will help in other ways beside the RPI.

[Pardner]

MU will be, most likely, 5-5 in the all important last 10.  While the RPI will be up, that record will not get us a higher seed.  We have to run the gauntlet at 3-2.  Louisville game will be key.  If not, we must rely on the BET.