Mike On Sports Bracketology 165 – Feb 29th Edition

Mike On Sports Bracketology is proud to be featured on The Bracket Project 

NEW BRACKET (FRIDAY 2/29) IS UP. HERE’S THE LINK.  Next Bracket: Monday, March 3rd.

Story-lines from Today’s Bracket:

Memphis regains the top overall seed following Tennessee’s loss at VanderbiltSpeaking of the Commodores, they’ve cracked “Power 16″ with their win on Tuesday. Vandy was clearly this bracket’s big winner.

Rhode Island are this bracket’s biggest loser. After looking like a sure thing, the Rams have dropped four straight and aren’t even in the picture right now.

St. Joe’s and Wake Forest juuuuuuuust make the cut following losses this week. They’ll both need strong finishes to make the field.

Kentucky has earned it’s way into the field of 65 with a win over Ole Miss (remember them?). Still a lot of work to do for the ‘Cats to assure themselves a spot.

Ohio State has dug themselves quite a whole with their 3 game skid. The Buckeyes need a strong Big Ten Tourny showing to make the dance.

Speaking of conference Tournaments, they’re just around the corner. The Big South, Horizon, and Ohio Valley all begin tournament play Tuesday. Remember, Mike On Sports is your conference tourny HQs, with in-depth previews of every conference tournament the day they kick off!

Back to business, Navy took the lead in the Patriot league via tie-breaker, and makes their first appearance of the season.

Southern Illinois strong play lately (which ways big with the committee) helped the Suluki’s make the field as the MVC’s second bid. Saturday’s showdown with Illinois State is HUGE for both teams. The winner should have a spot in Monday’s bracket.

Cornell could be the first team to lock a position in the field via automatic bid tonight with a win over Dartmouth.

And finally, congratulations to Alabama State, who moved out of the play-in game for the first time this season!

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when viewing the bracket:

I operate under a “if the season ended today” scenario. 

Teams that would currently be the #1 seed in their conference tournament are awarded the automatic bid in that conference.  Those teams are listed in ALL CAPS in the bracket.

I do my damndest to abide by the NCAA official bracketing guidelines.

Per those guidelines, teams can be swapped one seed in order to a) avoid conference rematches prior to the Elite 8, or b) to keep teams closer to their natural home area.  So the following swaps were made: West Virginia and Arizona swapped 9/10 seeds to help avoid a Big East rematch; Austin Peay and Boise State swapped 13/14 seeds to keep both teams closer to home.

tHe BrEaKdOwN:

LAST FOUR IN: Wake Forest, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, St. Joseph’s

FIRST FOUR OUT: Villanova, UAB, Western Kentucky, Syracuse.

NEXT FOUR OUT: Western Kentucky, Stephan F. Austin, Oregon, Ohio State

Conference-by-Conference (*=Automatic bids. All teams, including autos, are placed where they would be if not protected by an automatic bid):

Big East (8 bids)

Locked In: *Georgetown, Louisville, UConn, Marquette

Nearly Locked In: Notre Dame

Solidly In: Pitt, West Virginia

On the Bubble, but in:

On the bubble, but out: Villanova, Syracuse

Big 12 (6 Bids)

Locked In: *Texas, Kansas

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In: Texas A&M, Kansas State, Oklahoma

On the Bubble, but in: Baylor

On the Bubble, but out:

Pac-10 (6 Bids)

Locked In: *UCLA, Stanford,

Nearly Locked In: Washington State

Solidly In: USC, Arizona

On the Bubble, but in: Arizona State

On the Bubble, but out: Oregon

SEC (6 Bids)

Locked In: *Tennessee, Vanderbilt

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In: Mississippi State

On the Bubble, but in: Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky

On the Bubble, but out:

Big Ten (4 Bids)

Locked In: *Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In: Michigan State

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: Ohio State

A10 (3 Bids)

Locked In: *Xavier

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in: UMass, St. Joe’s

On the Bubble, but out: Rhode Island, Dayton

Missouri Valley (2 Bids)

Locked In:

Nearly Locked In: *Drake

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in: Southern Illinois

On the Bubble, but out: Illinois State, Creighton

Mountain West (2 Bids)

Locked In:

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:*BYU, UNLV

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: New Mexico

West Coast (2 Bids)

Locked In:

Nearly Locked In: *Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out:

Conference USA (1 Bid)

Locked In:*Memphis

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in:

On the Bubble, but out: UAB, Houston

Sun Belt (1 Bid)

Locked In:

Nearly Locked In:

Solidly In:

On the Bubble, but in: *South Alabama

On the Bubble, but out: Western Kentucky

The One-and-Done Conference Leaders

Locked In:

Nearly Locked In: Butler

Solidly In: Kent State

On the Bubble, but in: Davidson

On the Bubble, but out: Oral Roberts, VCU

Gotta win the tournament: Belmont (Atl. Sun), Portland State (Big Sky), Winthrop (Big Sky), Colonial (VCU), Niagara (MAAC), Morgan State (MEAC), Robert Morris (Northeast), Austin Peay (Ohio Valley), Patriot (Navy), Lamar (Southland), Alabama State (SWAC), Boise State (WAC)

Check out Tuesday’s Bubble-Buster Breakdown, Wednesday’s Mid-Week Peek, and Thursday’s State Power Rankings. The past Monday’s edition of Bracketology is still available HERE. The weekend recap will be up Sunday night, and a new bracket will be out on Monday. Conference tournament breakdowns begin on Tuesday!

Questions, Comments, Concerns? Email Mike HERE.

State-by-State Power Rankings – 2/28 Edition

 

When I was young, I always thought it was cool when the state of Michigan would get three, four, or sometimes five teams in the big dance. I would always brag to my friends how much better basketball was in Michigan then their crappy state. Times have since changed, as now MSU seems to be Michigan’s only reliable D1 team.

So, based on Monday’s bracket, I’ve broken down this week’s State-by-State Power Rankings. Once again, Tennessee, California and Maryland/Washington D.C. continue to battle it out for the lead. Total, 32 tate are represented thid week’s edition of the rankings, but who’s on top?

The Mid Week Peek – 2/27 Edition

Before we dive into the mid-week peek, it’s time to shamelessly sell Mike On Sports a little bit: Why should you make Mike On Sports one of your Bracketology bookmarks the next two and a half weeks? The reasons are simple:

-More Updates; Mike On Sports will be updating our bracket twice a week (Monday and Friday), and will update it DAILY the week leading up to selection Sunday.

-Mike On Sports is your Conference Tournament Headquarters; M.O.S. will preview every conference tournament the day they kick off. You’ll know each conference’s favs, the sleepers, and what each and every team must do in their tournament to make the dance.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog entry:

Here’s a look at the story lines that have developed through this week’s action, heading into Friday’s Bracket.
Monday:

Villanova really needed the win against Marquette to follow up their upset of UConn. Blowing a 9 point lead on their home court moves the Wildcats back on par with Syracuse for a possible 8^th Big East bid.

Morgan State re-took the MEAC lead by a game and a half with a win over Hampton, coupled with Norfolk State’s loss to Winston-Salem.

Alabama State is threatening to move out of the play-in game with another solid win over Southern. The Hornets are now 11-3 in SWAC play, with their magic number at 3 for the SWAC’s #1 seed.

Texas’ road win over Kansas State solidifies their place as a #1 seed. K State is in danger of dropping to the bubble if they don’t get it together soon.

Saint Mary’s got back on the right track, beating a dangerous San Diego team and staying on track for Saturday’s showdown with Gonzaga. The Zags picked up an easy win by downing Portland on the road to keep pace.

Tuesday:

Bubble Buster – 2/26 Edition

 

Here’s hoping that this year’s bubble teams decide to start sorting themselves out. The bubble is such a mess, there’s currently about 14 teams with a ligament argument for the last 5 spots in yesterday’s bracket. So what do those teams need to do to solidify their spots in the Tourney? Let’s take a look:

Note= The “Magic Number” is the projected number of wins (including their conference tournament) a team needs to clinch a spot in the tourney. One less than the MAGIC NUMBER will put that team on the bubble come selection Sunday. Two less and they’ll have a lot more time to study for finals. Wins against teams considered “Locks” may knock 2 wins off your magic number

. A10

Locks: Xavier

Bubble Teams-

St Joe’s: The Red Hawks are in for now, but not by much. With Xavier on the docket, they can afford one loss in their remaining 4 game to make the cut. A 4-0 finish will solidify their spot regardless of their A10 Tournament showing. A 2-2 finish and they’ll need to make a run in the A10 tourney. MAGIC NUMBER: 4

UMass: Right now, UMass may be the most solid of the A10 bubble teams. That can change quickly however if they drop one of their three remaining games. MAGIC NUMBER: 4

Rhode Island: The Rams lost five of six and have gone from solidly in to a very risky bubble situation. In the mess that was this week’s bubble, they just made the cut. Hard charging teams like Kentucky and Southern Illinois could easily pass the Rams with strong finishes. MAGIC NUMBER: 5

Dayton: The Flyers have gone from solidly in the field to the outside with a horrendous February showing. Three games under .500 in A10 play they’ll need a heck of a strong finish to make the dance. MAGIC NUMBER: 6

ACC

Mike On Sports Bracketology 165 – Feb 25th Edition

Mike On Sports Bracketology 165 is proudly featured on THE BRACKET PROJECT 

 

This bracket’s major storylines:

-With almost every other bubble team playing their way out, Villanova’s win over UConn on Saturday get’s them in today’s bracket

-After a sub-100 loss to Michigan, Ohio State couldn’t hold on to it’s lead at home against Wisconsin. The loss knocks the Bucks out of today’s bracket. It will be an uphill climp to get in, with Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan State remaining. A 3-1 finish will help the Buckeyes from needing a run in the Big Ten Tournament

-After spending some time “solidly-in” Maryland is back on the bubble after their loss to Miami. Sitting in an 11 seed, they Terps were the weekend’s biggest loser, and are now fighting for their tournament lives

. -Kent State was the weekend’s biggest winner. The Golden Flashes’ road win over Saint Mary’s moved the MAC leaders from an 11 seed to an 8. It will also be much harder to keep Kent State out of field of 65 should they falter in the MAC tournament.

-Texas makes their first appearance as a one seed. After Kansas’ loss to Oklahoma State, the Longhorns are now the team to beat in the Big 12.

-The bubble teams right now are a complete mess. The already elderly selection committee might age another 20 years trying to select the field of 65.

Some guidelines to keep in mind when viewing the bracket:

-I operate on a “if the season ended now” scenario.

-I do my damndest to follow the NCAA’s official guidelines.

-According to the guidelines, teams are allowed to be swapped one seed in order to a)avoid conference rematches before the Elite 8, or b) to keep teams closer to their natural home area. For that reason, the following teams were swapped in the bracket: West Virginia and St. Joe’s swapped 9/10 seeds to avoid a Big East reamatch; Villanova and Maryland swapped 11/12 seeds to avoid a Big East rematch; Baylor/Umass swapped 10/11 seeds to avoid a Big 12 rematch; Boise State/American swapped 14/15 seeds to keep both teams at home; Lamar/Morgan State swapped 15/16 seeds to keep both teams at home.

THE BREAKDOWN:

LAST FOUR IN: Villanova, Florida, Arizona State, Rhode Island

FIRST ROUR OUT: Ohio State, Houston, Southern Illinois, Ole Miss

NEXT FOUR OUT: Western Kentucky, Syracuse, Southern Illinois, Oregon

Conferene-by-Conference (*=automatic bid. Automatic qualifiers are placed where they would be if NOT protected by their automatic bid)

Wild Weekend- What this weekend’s results mean for tomorrow’s bracket

 

Before the new bracket is unveiled Monday, let’s take a look at another stunning week in college basketball. It was a hectic weekend, on and off the court. Let’s look at this weekend’s most intriguing happenings.

WEEKEND RECAP:

-After threatening to boycott the remaining games if Calvin Sampson was fired, Indiana’s players realized they would be throwing away the chance of a lifetime. Together, every single Hoosier loaded the bus and headed to Northwestern. It wasn’t pretty, but they managed to clip Northwestern by 3. For a team that’s played faced Xavier, UConn, and the meat of the big ten, Saturday’s win may have been the toughest this season.

Mike On Sports Bracketology 165 – Feb 22nd Edition

There will be some changes with bracketology for the rest of the season. As stated in the Mike On Sports Weekly Newsletter, I’m going with a twice-a-week bracket blitz from here until Selection Sunday. I’ll start releasing them on Monday and Friday. The NCAA Top 25 will be moved to either late night Sunday, or Tuesday, the jury’s still out on that. 

Feel like being lazy?  Sure, go ahead and skip everything and check out today’s bracket .  But first, let’s break things down a bit…

Dayton became the second team to fall victim to LaSalle this week, and are sent to the NIT. Also out this bracket is Western Kencucky, Oregon, Arizona State, and Syracuse. Returning to the bracket is Miami (Fl), Florida, Ole Miss and St. Joe’s. Making thier first appearance of the season is Wake Forest.

Duke’s back-to-back losses moves them off the top line, as UCLA returns to a top spot in the bracket.  All signs show that the second Duke-UNC showdown will noto only be for the ACC crown, but for the right to play in the Charlotte regional as well

Before we get to business, there a couple things you should know.

-The bracket is operated under a “if the season ended today” procedure.  Teams that would currently be the top seed in thier conference tournament are awarded the automatic bid.  Those teams are listed in ALL CAPS in the bracket

-As always, I did my damndest to abide the the NCAA’s official guidelines 

The following teams were swapped in the bracket one spot to either avoid conference rematches or to help keep in them in their home area, if possible: -Ole Miss and Rhode Island swapped 9/10 spots to keep Ole Miss from a SEC re-match with Tennessee

-St. Mary’s and Notre Dame swapped 5/6 seeds to stay in thier home area

-BYU and Mississippi State swapped to keep both teams near thier homes.

THE BREAKDOWN:

The Mike On Sports Weekly Awards – 2/22 Edition

 

Plenty of competition this week again for this weeks’s awards. In all, 11 people earned nominations for the No Class Jerk of the Week, and three for the Mike’s Grandma Classy Nice Person of the week. In another hotly contested week full of Jerks, and Nice Guys, who came out on top?  Check it out in this week’s awards:

The Mike ON Sports NBA Power Poll – 2/21 Edition

The Pistons returned Physically from the break, but not mentally, losing back-to-backs games and falling out of the #1 spot.  The new #1?  New Orleans, who hopes to have better luck than their previous appearence in the top spot, when they lost three straight. 

1 (3) New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets jump to the top spot after whooping the Mavericks in their return from All-Star weekend. In the process, Chris Paul made sure Jason Kidd was aware as to who’s the West’s best PG.

Mike On Sports NHL Powerless Poll – 2/20 Edition

For the first time in a while, there’s some real competition in the NHL Poll. The Stars remain on top, with New Jersey moving into the 2 spot. But where do the rest of the contenders fall in? Check it out in this weeks Mike On Sports NHL Powerless Poll:1 (1) Dallas Stars: Marty Turco is playing great between the pipes, highlighted by a shutout win over Detroit on Sunday.

2 (3) New Jersey Devils: The Devils took down Ottawa twice in route to a 3-1 week last week.

3 (5) Detroit Red Wings: The Dead Things 6 game era finally game to an end with a 4-0 shutout over Colorado. However, another star goes down as captain Nick Lidstrom is set to have an MRI today. Will they be able to keep things going. On their Canadian west coast swing?

Mike On Sports Bracketology: 165 – Feb 19th Edition

Literally minutes after I finally settled on my field of 65 last night, St. Joseph’s decided to lay an egg and let LaSalle start bombing threes, losing to a sub-100 team on their home court. That loss sends them to the NIT this week, but who takes their spot? Is Wake Forest in after their upset over Duke? Is Duke still a top seed? Check it out in this week’s edition of Mike On Sports Bracketology: 165

When To Rush: The Mike On Sports Official Field/Court Rushing Rules

Watching the Michigan-Ohio State game on CBS yesterday, I like many Michigan fans, got a little emotional to see this team finally get a big win under John Beilein. Finally, it looks as though the corner has been turned. While its much to late to salvage anything out of this season, if the Wolverines can improve on their recent three game winning streak, they will have something very valuable going into the off-season; confidence.

With that being said, as the broadcast came to a close, the final shot left me bewildered. Members of the Maize Rage had stormed the court. Was it a big win? Of course it was.  Was it an emotional win? Yes. Was rushing the court a gargantuan overreaction to a win over a team widely considered – especially after yesterday’s loss – to be on the NCAA bubble? You betcha.

According to one Maize Rager, “it started with just a few dozen ‘fans’ spilling on the court. and I think most people had the reaction ‘well, it’s gonna look like shit if only a few people are on the court… so I’m going too”. That’s basically what I expected, that the people who began rushing the court are the same guys who TiVo-ed the game for the sole purporse of watching themselves a good 50 times, calling a different friend each time they hit the rewind button.

There is a place in sports for rushing the court. Yesterday was not one them. But when is an acceptable time to rush the court, or field? Mike On Sports helps you out with the official Cout-Rushing Rules:

The 2/18 Mike On Sports NCAA Top 25

Memphis saw their undefeated lives flash before their eyes before escaping with a win over UAB over the weekend. Then, Duke got embarrassed Sunday with a loss at Wake Forest. With plenty of shake-up, what’s this week’s Mike On Sports NCAA Top 25 look like? Check it out…

The Mike On Sports Weekly Awards – 2/15 Edition

Once again, there were plenty of reader nominations and competition for this week’s No Class Jerk of the Week and the Mike’s Grandma Classy Nice Person of the Week. However, through the thick stack of police blotter, one story has dominated the sports headlines this week: Liar-gate. But in that mix, just who is the Jerk?

NO CLASS JERK OF THE WEEK: WHOEVER’S LYING IN THE CLEMENS McNAMEE SHOWDOWN

You’re a Liar! No, YOUR A LAIR! The Clemens/McNamee Showdown

Today, while many guys try to come up with new ways to profess their love for their significant others, one thing is certain; there’s no love lost between former friends Brian McNamee and Roger Clemens. There’s little doubt that the U.S. House claimed it’s fifth victim yesterday – after Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Rafeal Palmairo, and Bud Selig. But the question is who. After over 7 hours of questioning yesterday on Capital Hill, who should we believe? Mike On Sports breaks it down:

Point #1: Clemens wanted to testify.

In his opening statement, Rep. Henry Waxman told the world he was all for canceling the hearing and issuing written reports. However, Clemens’ camp demanded the hearing went forth. The good news for Roger: He’ll get a forum to voice his defense. The bad news: He just pissed off the guys who will be asking the questions. Regardless, after hiding for the first couple days, this was a good move by Roger.

EDGE: Clemens (Rocket 1-0)