Lunardi's latest

[drewm88]

Sorry if this was already posted, and I missed it. Lunardi has us in very familiar territory.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/ncbexperts/id/7334903/bracketology-kentucky-already-locked-no-1-seed


MIDWEST         WEST                  SOUTH           EAST
1-Kentucky        1-North Carolina   1-Ohio State     1-Syracuse
2-Baylor            2-Missouri           2-Louisville        2-Duke
3-Marquette      3-Connecticut      3-Kansas          3-Florida
4-Wisconsin       4-Alabama           4-Georgetown   4-Xavier

[brewcity77]

Saw this...here's a conference breakdown for the top four seed lines:

Big East -- 5
SEC -- 3
Big 12 -- 3
Big Ten -- 2
ACC -- 2
A-10 -- 1

So much for all that talk about the Big East no longer being the best conference in the country  and even if you take out Syracuse, we still have more bids in the top four seed lines than any other conference.

[4everwarriors]

I'm figurin' this was all done prior to the latest rash of injuries

[MerrittsMustache]

I'm figurin' this was all done prior to the latest rash of injuries

I don't think MU's current injuries would change anything.

[DCWarriors04]

Otule is important and I'm sure Juan's importance will grow as the season progresses, but at this time it's not like losing James a couple years ago or McNeal his sophomore year. I wouldn't worry too much about injuries until a key player gets hurt. Next 5 games will be great for the team, plus Buzz can still go 9 deep. How many other teams can do that this early in the season?

[robmufan]

Like it has been said earlier...this isn't a late season injury(ies) that are going to absolutely sink this team.  Sure some roles will change, but that is about it. 

Even if we were to lose to Vandy (i think we will still beat LSU) non conference wins over UW and UW are what we needed...and we got those!

Lets get healthy for BE play and move on...

[brewcity77]

Like it has been said earlier...this isn't a late season injury(ies) that are going to absolutely sink this team.  Sure some roles will change, but that is about it. 

Even if we were to lose to Vandy (i think we will still beat LSU) non conference wins over UW and UW are what we needed...and we got those

That Ole Miss win is looking better and better too. They haven't lost to anyone but us and are a strong bet for an at-large bid at the moment. As long as we don't lose any we shouldn't, we have a very strong non-con.

Go 12-1 and I figure a 10-8 record in conference would be a 6 seed. Each additional win improves the seedline by one. Just a guess, but seems close to right (though maybe needing an extra win to hit the top line).

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I'm figurin' this was all done prior to the latest rash of injuries

Every team has injuries. Get a grip.

[Coleman]

That Ole Miss win is looking better and better too. They haven't lost to anyone but us and are a strong bet for an at-large bid at the moment. As long as we don't lose any we shouldn't, we have a very strong non-con.

Go 12-1 and I figure a 10-8 record in conference would be a 6 seed. Each additional win improves the seedline by one. Just a guess, but seems close to right (though maybe needing an extra win to hit the top line).

10-8 in the Big East this year should get us in, but it certainly won't get us a 6 seed.

[DSEEagle]

Chris Otule is a key player... so we should be worried

[Hoopaloop]

Saw this...here's a conference breakdown for the top four seed lines:

Big East -- 5
SEC -- 3
Big 12 -- 3
Big Ten -- 2
ACC -- 2
A-10 -- 1

So much for all that talk about the Big East no longer being the best conference in the country  and even if you take out Syracuse, we still have more bids in the top four seed lines than any other conference.

The Big East is ranked anywhere from 4th to 6th right now.  Why do you think they are the best conference in basketball?  The Big Ten is the best this year.

4th in Sagarin  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc1112.htm?loc=interstitialskip

6th in RPI   http://www.rpiforecast.com/live-conf-rpi.html

5th in Ken Pom   http://kenpom.com/

[boyonthedock]

beast os 3rd in kenpom, per your link

[Coleman]

The Big East is ranked anywhere from 4th to 6th right now.  Why do you think they are the best conference in basketball?  The Big Ten is the best this year.

4th in Sagarin  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc1112.htm?loc=interstitialskip

6th in RPI   http://www.rpiforecast.com/live-conf-rpi.html

5th in Ken Pom   http://kenpom.com

If you take the top 4 teams in each conference, Big East is by far the best with Cuse, L'ville, UConn and Marquette. And Pitt and G-town are both very solid legitimate top 25 teams.

But I agree. Its our #8-#16 teams that are bringing us down this year.

[brewcity77]

beast os 3rd in kenpom, per your link

Hey! No need to let facts get in the way of the Interwebs!

[Hoopaloop]

Hey! No need to let facts get in the way of the Interwebs!

Thank you for the correction.  We're ranked 6th, 4th and 3rd, how is does that make this conference still the best if we aren't 1st in any of them?  No need to let facts get in the way of the Interwebs! 

[brewcity77]

Thank you for the correction.  We're ranked 6th, 4th and 3rd, how is does that make this conference still the best if we aren't 1st in any of them?  No need to let facts get in the way of the Interwebs! 

Because I look at the cream. I'll admit, I do discount teams like DePaul, Providence, Iowa, Nebraska, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and everyone in the ACC not named Duke or UNC when it comes to stuff like this.

Five teams in the top four seed lines. Pitt and West Virginia have also looked good. Seton Hall looks a lot better than most expected, and Cincy still has the talent to be a tourney team, if they don't all miss the season on suspension. The Big East will get 8-9 bids, the B1G will get about the same, but the cream at the top isn't as good. Sure, Wisconsin's okay and tOSU is fantastic, but are there any other teams that look capable of a Final Four? Maybe MSU, but they didn't impress in the two big games they played. The Big East has probably 5-6 teams with that capability. No one else comes close to that.

[MarquetteDano]

Because I look at the cream. I'll admit, I do discount teams like DePaul, Providence, Iowa, Nebraska, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and everyone in the ACC not named Duke or UNC when it comes to stuff like this.

Five teams in the top four seed lines. Pitt and West Virginia have also looked good. Seton Hall looks a lot better than most expected, and Cincy still has the talent to be a tourney team, if they don't all miss the season on suspension. The Big East will get 8-9 bids, the B1G will get about the same, but the cream at the top isn't as good. Sure, Wisconsin's okay and tOSU is fantastic, but are there any other teams that look capable of a Final Four? Maybe MSU, but they didn't impress in the two big games they played. The Big East has probably 5-6 teams with that capability. No one else comes close to that.

I agree if you look at the Top 4 teams the Big East looks good this year.  However, when people reference the best conference I think they usually mean from the top team to the worst team.  If you look that way the Big East is not the best this year.  Probably about 3rd/4th this year.  Big Ten is definitely better.  Then it becomes a little harder.

Big East beat the SEC 8-4 in the challenge and has beaten them outside of the challenge.  PAC-12 doesn't look as strong as the Big East.  ACC and Big Twelve are winning in all of the various rating systems over the Big East.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

There is no way the ACC is better than the Big East. After Duke and UNC, the conference BLOWS. Sure, Florida State and NC State are decent teams, but the rest of the conference flat sucks. PAC-12 is down. SEC is decent. Big 10 is good, but the bottom of that conference might be worse than the Big East.

[TheButlerDidIt]

According to the Bracket Matrix thingy, MU's getting a 2 seed.


http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm

[brewcity77]

According to the Bracket Matrix thingy, MU's getting a 2 seed.

http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm

That got me looking here...

http://seedmadness.home.comcast.net/~seedmadness/

They have Marquette as the overall #1 seed in the tournament, playing in the St. Louis regional. Of course, they also have our second round match-up as the winner of the #8-seed St. Mary's and #9-seed Kentucky Wildcats, so that might not be very realistic. Still, would be a fun regional, with us likely seeing Kentucky, Xavier, and possibly Indiana on our way to the Final Four.

[reinko]

That got me looking here...

http://seedmadness.home.comcast.net/~seedmadness/

They have Marquette as the overall #1 seed in the tournament, playing in the St. Louis regional. Of course, they also have our second round match-up as the winner of the #8-seed St. Mary's and #9-seed Kentucky Wildcats, so that might not be very realistic. Still, would be a fun regional, with us likely seeing Kentucky, Xavier, and possibly Indiana on our way to the Final Four.

I don't know which is more unlikely, UK being a 9, or us being a 1.  Weirdly, wouldn't be more likely for us to be the 9, and UK be the 1?

[brewcity77]

I don't know which is more unlikely, UK being a 9, or us being a 1.  Weirdly, wouldn't be more likely for us to be the 9, and UK be the 1?

Honestly, this year I can't see either. It would be more likely for us to be the 9, unfortunately, but unless we continue to get hammered by injuries, even a mediocre season from here on will lead to this team getting better than a 9-seed.

[Lennys Tap]

Hoopaloop says maybe 9 teams in for the ever so awesome Big 10. Softest bubble in history?

[brewcity77]

10-8 in the Big East this year should get us in, but it certainly won't get us a 6 seed.

With our non-conference, I think it would. Look at Cincy last year, 11-7 got them a 6, and they had a much weaker non-con than we do this year.

[MUVA]

Know it is early in the season but Lunardi has us as a #2 seed.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology