Who Wants to be Number 1?

A couple weeks ago the 4 number 1 seeds looked set with Ohio St., Kansas, Pitt, and Texas. But fast forward to the present and at least 2 of those number 1 seeds are still up for grabs. Kansas and Ohio St. have righted the ship and look to be in good position for now. But Texas has now lost twice to middle of the pack Big 12 teams and Pitt has lost twice to better teams. It appeared Duke was going to sneak in and get one until their nightmare in Blacksburg last night. Speaking of, congratulations to Seth Greenberg's Hokies for finally getting a big win. Now they have a legit shot of an at-large barring another bad loss. So with all these losses for the top 5 teams in recent weeks is BYU a candidate for a number 1 after their impressive sweep of San Diego St? Jimmer Fredette's Cougars have just 2 losses and are number 2 in the rpi. Memphis was the last non BCS team to get a number 1 back in 2007, but it appears BYU has a great chance for a top seed if they can win out. It will be fun to watch. Championship Week begins Saturday! The Ides of March are upon us!
As mentioned Va Tech has put themselves back in the bubble conversation with the big win over Duke. They appeared dead in the water after losing to Virginia last week, but took advantage of a great opportunity and now it will be a matter of building on it. Duke beat Temple before the loss to Tech and still have a shot at a 1 seed depending on how things play out. North Carolina got wins over NC St. and Maryland this week and look to be a 4 or 5 seed. BC and Florida St. both loss during the week to Miami and Maryland respectively, but recovered with wins this weekend. Both teams are still on the bubble.
Syracuse had a great week winning at Villanova and Georgetown. They were sliding some, but are back on track for now. A team that is really fading is Villanova. They have not played well since the 4 point play Rutgers had to beat them a couple weeks ago. They also lost to St. John's at home who also beat DePaul. They continue to be one of the hottest teams in the country. Georgetown didn't just lose 2 games at home this week, the other was to Cincy, they also lost maybe their best player in Chris Wright. He could be out for the year. Cincy should be in now even with the loss to UConn today. UConn lost at home to Marquette earlier in the week. Marquette really helped themselves with that road win and are right in the middle of the bubble talk. Louisville really helped their seeding potential by knocking off Pitt in ot, they also won at Rutgers. Pitt finished off the sweep of rival West Virginia earlier in the week. West Virginia rebounded with a win at Rutgers. And Notre Dame continues to be a candidate for a 2 seed as they won both games this week.
Kansas St. had a good week winning at Nebraska and beating Missouri. They should be safely in now. Nebraska couldn't sustain the momentum from the big win over Texas as they also lost at Iowa St. They have some work to do. Missouri blew out Baylor who just won't go away as they came back to beat Texas A&M this weekend. They still have work to do I think though. Kansas won both games this week and Colorado had the big win over Texas to keep themselves in the conversation for an at-large berth.
It could have been a huge week for Tennessee as they started by finishing the sweep of Vandy, but lost at home to Mississippi St. Vandy blew out LSU to keep the 2nd seed in the East as Kentucky lost yet another road game this time at Arkansas. Kentucky was able to continue the home win streak by beating Florida to avenge their earlier loss. Florida beat Georgia, but Georgia should still be safe as they avoided a bad loss by beating South Carolina. Alabama escaped a disastrous loss to Auburn, but lost at Ole Miss. They have a very small margin for error so we shall see how much that loss affects their at-large hopes.
Minnesota continues to falter losing at home to Michigan and Michigan St. It's not looking good for Tubby's boys. Michigan just missed a huge week as Wisconsin got a buzzer beater to knock them off. Michigan St. was blown out by Purdue, but they are still safe with the weak bubble. Ohio St. got blow out wins over Illinois and Indiana to maintain a number 1 seed. Purdue also beat Indiana and look to be a 2 seed right now. Illinois could use a good win to boost their resume. They have not played well lately.
UCLA knocked off Arizona St. and Arizona. They are now tied for 1st with Arizona and they look to be safely in. Arizona also lost at USC. So after their big win against Washington they had a let down and their seeding could be affected. Washington is currently being blown out at home by Washington St. The Huskies should still be in, but they do have some bad losses.
San Diego St.'s bid for a 1 seed is probably out the window now as they were swept by BYU. They should still be a 2 barring any upset loss. As mentioned BYU could be a candidate for a 1 seed now. UNLV had a good week winning twice with one of those being in The Pit something BYU could not do. And that win over Kansas St. is looking better and better. They are playing for seeding. Colorado St. suffered a devastating loss to Air Force after playing BYU close. That loss could keep the Rams out.
Temple lost at Duke, but they are in along with Xavier who won both games this week including at rival Dayton. The Flyers could have got in the bubble conversation with a win over Xavier. Richmond has an outside shot at an at-large.
St. Mary's woes continued as Gonzaga came to town and beat them in ot. Gonzaga is playing better, but it will be hard for either of these teams to get an at-large. St. Mary's does have a win over St. John's though. Memphis beat Houston but was blown out at UTEP. Tough to figure out this team. UAB is in the conversation, but not much there. Old Dominion and George Mason continue to win. I think both of these teams are in as of now.
Blind resume time: Team A 20-9 (13-5) rpi 45 sos 80 top 50 record 3-3 Key wins Florida St. and Cleveland St. twice Bad losses Evansville and Wright St. Team B 20-9 (11-3) rpi 63 sos 78 top 50 record 2-5 Key wins Marquette and Xavier Bad losses Santa Clara and San Francisco Team C 19-8 (9-5) rpi 64 sos 110 top 50 record 2-5 Key wins Florida St. and Duke Bad losses Georgia Tech and Virginia. What do you think? Any of these look like tourney resumes?





Team A Butler Team B Gonzaga Team C Virginia Tech

That's Why They Play the Game

Last week I wrote that if the season ended today the 4 number 1 seeds would be Ohio St., Kansas, Texas, and Pitt. Well all 4 teams lost this week (albeit on the road) so does that change anything? Not really. I still think when the season ends those 4 will be the 1 seeds, but Duke now has a chance to sneak in and get one if they run the table. And that's possible with the weakened state of the ACC. This is why you always have to add that clause, "If the season ended today." But as it is now, I don't see any other team grabbing a 1 seed. I think it will be a combination of 4 of those 5. So this week is further proof that there is major parity in college basketball and anyone can lose on any given night. As they say, that's why they play the game.
This was bracketbuster weekend so let's take a look at the winners and losers. The big winner was the CAA as all 3 of their at-large contenders won. VCU won a crazy game at Wichita St. George Mason continued the nation's longest win streak (Coastal Carolina had it until they loss to Gardner-Webb) at N. Iowa and Old Dominion knocked off Cleveland St. As of now, George Mason and Old Dominion look to be in and VCU, despite the big win, probably needs to win the CAA tourney. They did get blown out at home to George Mason and ODU in the 2 games prior to the win at Wichita. Another winner was Utah St. as they got a coveted Top 50 rpi win at St. Marys. If Utah St. wins out until the WAC tourney they should be good. And how about Norris Cole of Cleveland St. A week after making headlines for having 40+ points and 20+ rebounds in a game he didn't disappoint on national tv against ODU. Even thoguh his team lost, he played great scoring 35 and making a name for himself. For the losers we will start with the MVC. As mentioned above Wichita St. and No. Iowa lost at home. No. Iowa didn't have a chance for an at-large, but Wichita did and that may now be in jeopardy. And the other team from the MVC who had a shot at an at-large, Missouri St., was beat at Valpo badly. Speaking of Valpo, that was a good win and could push them into the bubble talk if they win out. Remember, its a very weak bubble. St. Marys didn't do themselves any favors by being dominated in the 2nd half at home on the heels of losing to lowly San Diego. I think they're still safe, but better not lose again. A home game against Gonzaga is on the horizon.
Just another day at the Garden as St. John's knocked off another top 10 opponent in Pitt. It was a great game and great finish with clutch shots and a controversial no call as Hardy may have stepped out of bounds before hitting the game winning shot. St. John's continues to work their way up the seed line. Syracuse, Villanova, and Cincy all avoided upsets by winning in ot. Cincy nearly gave back the big win they had over L'ville by losing to Providence. Cincy really needed that top 50 win. And Syracuse almost did the same after beating West Virginia then needing ot (and lots of foul shots) to beat Rutgers at home. L'ville followed up the loss at Cincy with a win at home against UConn. Speaking of UConn, they were able to end Georgetown's win streak. West Virginia got a top 10 win over Notre Dame to boost their resume.
Kansas St. got a much needed top 5 win against Kansas to help their at-large chances. And just win Baylor was working their way back into the bubble picture they lose at home to Texas Tech. Missouri finally got a road win beating Iowa St. And winning at home against Texas Tech. Oklahoma St. Blew a chance for a big win to get them in the bubble conversation against Texas A&M, they play Kansas next. Texas A&M also beat Iowa St. And Nebraska beat Texas to give them a chance to be on the bubble at least for a week.
Arizona had a good week sweeping the Washington schools. The Arizona/Washington game was one of the best I have watched all year. Washington St. Was starting to get talked about until they were swept by the Arizona schools. Arizona St. Is really bad so Washington St. is out of the conversation now. UCLA keeps hanging around with a win at Stanford and a chance to win at Cal tonight.
Georgia got a much needed road win at Tennessee after blowing a big opportunity at home against Vandy. Vandy also beat Auburn. Tennessee did beat South Carolina, but plays at Vandy this week. Their losses keep piling up. They have enough big wins so far to keep them in, but unless they win at Vandy, they aren't as safe as one might think. Kentucky swept their home games this week, but remain behind Vandy for the 2nd bye in the East for the SEC tourney. Florida won their only game and Alabama won both of their games this week to stay in the hunt for an at-large bid.
Purdue had a good week as they beat Wisconsin and Ohio St. Purdue is looking at 3 or possibly a 3 seed. Michigan St. missed an opportunity against Ohio St., but followed it up with a home win against Illinois. Speaking of Illinois they escaped Michigan, but they and the Spartans could be sweating it out Selection Sunday. When Big 10 play started we couldn't imagine Minnesota missing the tourney. But Tubby's boys are in danger of missing the NCAA's after another loss, this one to Penn St. A key injury and transfer has hurt the Gophers.
The last couple of years we have gotten use to hearing Seth Greenburg explain why he thinks his Hokies should have been in the tourney instead of being left out. The reason was the weak non-conference schedule and inability to win big games and close out games they should win. Well book your interviews now because Virginia Tech had a terrible loss at Virginia. They aren't completely done especially with an opportunity against Duke on the horizon, but after missing chances against Kansas St. and Purdue their resume isn't looking too good. North Carolina and Duke continue to win. It will be interesting to see how well Carolina plays Duke at home at the end of the year. BC missed a chance to get a signature win losing a close one to Carolina. Florida St. beat a bad Wake Forest team without Singleton, but how will they fare against good teams without him. Remember they lost to Auburn this year.
Xavier and Temple continue to win and should be in now. Colorado St. missed an opportunity for a big win losing to fellow bubble team UNLV. The Rebels resume is better than the Rams so they really good have used that one. Memphis got a big win over UAB, but then lost to Rice. They will be tough to figure out if they don't get the automatic bid. UAB rebounded from the Memphis loss with a a win.

Now time for blind resume: Team A 14-11 (7-7) rpi 42 sos 5 Top 50 record 4-8 key wins are Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois bad loss to Iowa.
Team B 18-8 (7-5) rpi 38 sos 30 top 50 record 3-8 key wins UAB, Kentucky, and Tennessee no bad loss.
Team C 17-8 (8-4) rpi 47 sos 43 top 50 record 2-4 key wins So. Miss, UNLV bad losses Sam Houston St. and Hampton.





Answers are: Team A Michigan St. Team B Georgia Team C Colorado St.

Where Art Thou Mid Majors?

When the NCAA decide to expand the tourney to 68 teams it was debated whether that would help the mid majors or just send a few more middle of the pack bcs teams dancing. Well, so far this year the mid majors aren't helping their case that they deserve more at large bids. The usual suspects Memphis, Gonzaga, Butler, and Xavier have struggled. Although Xavier did get a big road win at Georgia and took sole lead in the A10 with their win at Duquesne today. The other programs have missed opportunities for signature wins and even took some bad losses in conference. They all may need to win their conference tourneys if they want to go dancing. And no other programs have stepped up to fill their shoes. No, I don't count BYU and San Diego St. as mid majors. Teams like St. Mary's, Wichita St., Utah St. and Old Dominion have failed to capitalize on the missteps of the aforementioned teams. Utah St. has dominated the WAC, except for the road loss to Idaho this week, and St. Mary's won at Gonzaga, but we will have to see if that will be enough to get at large bids this year with the expanded field and weak bubble. If I were them though I wouldn't leave it to chance. Bracketbuster weekend is this weekend and the St. Mary's Utah St. game could be the best of the bunch. The winner could put themselves in the best position to earn an at large berth from the mid major pool. It was a big week for Pitt as they knocked off West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and cross state rival Villanova both on the road. Pitt is making their case for a number 1 seed. Speaking of 'Nova, it was a bad week. Losing to Pitt is one thing, but giving up a 4 point play to Rutgers to lose that game really hurt. Ohio St. finally lost, blowing a big lead in the 2nd half in Madison. Really no harm done here though as they are still a number 1 seed and legit title contender. Notre Dame continues to stay hot with an ot win over Louisville and a blowout at S. Florida. They remain in the 3 seed range. Georgetown continues to beat hot too as they won at Syracuse and knocked off Marquette today. They are in the 3 seed range as well. Speaking of Syracuse, they continue to nose dive. Losing to Louisville Saturday after the home loss to Georgetown. You have to wonder how good they are because the did not challenge themselves out of conference. Tennessee missed 2 opportunities for big wins losing at Kentucky and Florida. Tennessee has some big wins on their resume, but needs to start winning again or they could be in danger. Kentucky's road woes continue as they went on to lose at Vandy so Florida is in the driver's seat now for the East title. Vandy also added a home win over Bama who continues to lead the West. Texas and Kansas continue to impress as they would be my other 2 choices for number 1 seeds and Texas A&M got 2 big road wins in ot to stop their losing ways. St. John's made their case to be off the bubble even better this week by demolishing UConn and winning at Cincinnati. Duke beat Carolina but I still see them as a 2 seed for now. BC beat Maryland in an important bubble game in the ACC. UNLV missed a chance to pad their resume with a home loss to San Diego St. and Jimmer Fredette did his thing as BYU beat rival Utah. He is good. Well there is the week in review if I missed something important to you let me know. Now time for blind resume. Team A 19-6 (7-3) RPI 32 SoS 48 Top 50 record 3-3 Top 50 wins: So. Miss (2) UAB Bad Losses: SMU. Team B 16-8 (8-2) RPI 85 SoS 118 Top 50 Record 2-2 Top 50 wins: Kentucky and Tennessee Bad losses: Iowa, St. Peters, Providence, and Arkansas. Team C 17-8 (6-7) RPI 37 SoS 22 Top 50 record 3-6 Key wins: North Carolina, West Virginia, Purdue Bad losses: Virginia and Indiana. The source I use for this data is realtimerpi.com. So if you had 1 spot left and it was down to these 3 teams who would you put in? This is just some of the data we look at when we are completing our tourney field. When it comes down to the final few teams its like splitting hairs. A lot of debating, arguing, and number crunching takes place in the wee hours of Sunday morning. The teams are: Team A Memphis Team B Alabama and Team C Minnesota. Good night.

A Little History...

Hi, my name is Jonathan and this will be a blog about college basketball. Each Sunday I will review the week that was as it pertains to the all important month of March. I will also include a blind resume and reveal the teams at the end of that week's post. The reason I'm starting this blog goes back a few years. My buddy, Josh and I are big college basketball fans and decided to get together the weekend of Selection Sunday and put together the field of 65 just to see how close we could get to the Selection Committee. Well we did pretty good (only missed 3 teams) so decided to do it every year. We got better (only missed 1 team in each tourney the following 2 years) and then last year we went 65 for 65. We also added my brother, whose name is also Josh, hence the Triple J for the title. We started taking it more serious after the first couple of years because we realized how good we were at doing this. We try to take the same steps as the actual committee so we don't miss anything when it comes to filling out the field of 68 and then seeding them. So, I hope we get a lot of followers and comments over the next few weeks. Then everyone check the blog the afternoon of Selection Sunday before the committee releases their field and see how we fared. We plan on going 68 for 68 this year because we consider ourselves just as good, if not better, than the analysts on tv.