Saturday, March 8, 2014

Mid-Major Conference Tournaments Might Have Eliminated One Of The Best Mid Majors

The big upset of the day was Green Bay's loss in the Horizon League tourney to Milwaukee. Not only did Green Bay lose to someone other than Cleveland State, they lost at home. Green Bay's at-large chances are shaky, at best. Some things are going to need to break Green Bay's way for them to squeeze in, but my instant reaction was out.

Friday, March 7, 2014

The Friday Appraisal: Welcome Back, Harvard! And Locked, Mixable, Prayer, or Gone?

Another Friday down and another look at the Bracket Briefer's renamed feature: Locked, Mixable, Prayer, or Gone? Teams are moving out of the middle and either up into Locked status or down to Gone status. See where your team is as well as Friday's massive action within the conference tournaments. That, and we have our first tournament automatic bid!

    Bracket Brief for March 7, 2014

    Seed West (1)
    Anaheim (Th/Sa)
    East (4)
    NYC (Fr/Su)
    Midwest (2)
    Indy (Fr/Su)
    South (3)
    Memphis (Th/Sa)
    Site
    1
    16
    8
    9
    San Diego (Fr/Su)
    Arizona
    Utah Valley
    Geo. Wash.
    Oklahoma State
    Buffalo (Th/Sa)
    Villanova
    Robert Morris
    Arizona State
    Baylor
    St. Louis (Fr/Su)
    Wichita State
    Weber St./TX So.
    Oregon
    SMU
    Orlando (Th/Sa)
    Florida
    Fla. GC/Coast. Car.
    Texas
    Pittsburgh
    Site
    5
    12
    4
    13
    Spokane (Th/Sa)
    UCLA
    BYU
    San Diego State
    Georgia State
    San Diego (Fr/Su)
    New Mexico
    Stephen F. Austin
    North Carolina
    Louisiana Tech
    Spokane (Th/Sa)
    Iowa State
    Prov./Stanford
    Michigan State
    North Dakota State
    San Antonio (Fr/Su)
    VCU
    Fla. St./So. Miss
    Cincinnati
    Toledo
    Site
    3
    14
    6
    11
    Buffalo (Th/Sa)
    Syracuse
    Iona
    Gonzaga
    Xavier
    Orlando (Th/Sa)
    Louisville
    NC Central
    Iowa
    Green Bay
    San Antonio (Fr/Su)
    Creighton
    Belmont
    Saint Louis
    Kansas State
    Raleigh (Fr/Su)
    Duke
    Delaware
    Oklahoma
    Tennessee
    Site
    7
    10
    2
    15
    Milwaukee (Th/Sa)
    Connecticut
    Harvard
    Michigan
    Vermont
    St. Louis (Fr/Su)
    Massachusetts
    Colorado
    Kansas
    Davidson
    Raleigh (Fr/Su)
    Ohio State
    Memphis
    Virginia
    Boston U
    St. Louis (Fr/Su)
    Kentucky
    Saint Joseph's
    Wisconsin
    UC Irvine

    Note: Through games of March 6, 2014 (High Point's loss on March 7 is included). Teams in italics below represent automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

    Thursday, March 6, 2014

    Thursday Night Didn't Have Bracket Movement But It Had Conference Tournament Drama

    Thursday night was pretty quiet in terms of bracket movement. There were no real upsets, though several teams, like Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss, kept their bracket hopes alive. A couple of games involved safe tourney squads, and those games were won expectedly by the home teams. But there was great drama in the conference tournaments, with Mercer needing double overtime at home just to advance to the Atlantic Sun final. The MAAC has an #11 seed alive, and the Missouri Valley and WCC have #10 seeds still going.

    Wednesday, March 5, 2014

    Another ACC Shocker and the A-10 Could Still Get 6 Bids

    Duke watched its bracket seeding take a major hit when it lost at Wake Forest. But Duke can still get to a #2 seed by Selection Sunday. We also watched Dayton take control of its at-large profile, and a number of Pac-12 games had a big impact.

    Bracket Brief for March 5, 2014

    Seed West (1)
    Anaheim (Th/Sa)
    East (4)
    NYC (Fr/Su)
    South (2)
    Memphis (Th/Sa)
    Midwest (3)
    Indy (Fr/Su)
    Site
    1
    16
    8
    9
    San Diego (Fr/Su)
    Arizona
    Weber St./UT Val.
    Texas
    Memphis
    Buffalo (Th/Sa)
    Villanova
    Robert Morris
    Arizona State
    Geo. Wash.
    Orlando (Th/Sa)
    Florida
    High Pt./TX So.
    Oklahoma
    Pittsburgh
    St. Louis (Fr/Su)
    Wichita State
    Davidson
    Oregon
    Oklahoma State
    Site
    5
    12
    4
    13
    Spokane (Th/Sa)
    New Mexico
    Stephen F. Austin
    Saint Louis
    Toledo
    Spokane (Th/Sa)
    Iowa State
    Fla. St./Tenn.
    Cincinnati
    North Dakota State
    Orlando (Th/Sa)
    Michigan State
    Green Bay
    Louisville
    Louisiana Tech
    San Diego (Fr/Su)
    VCU
    Prov./So. Miss
    North Carolina
    Iona
    Site
    3
    14
    6
    11
    San Antonio (Fr/Su)
    San Diego State
    Georgia State
    UCLA
    Xavier
    Milwaukee (Th/Sa)
    Michigan
    NC Central
    Gonzaga
    Colorado
    Buffalo (Th/Sa)
    Syracuse
    Delaware
    Connecticut
    BYU
    San Antonio (Fr/Su)
    Creighton
    Belmont
    Massachusetts
    Stanford
    Site
    7
    10
    2
    15
    Raleigh (Fr/Su)
    Ohio State
    Baylor
    Duke
    Mercer
    Raleigh (Fr/Su)
    Kentucky
    Harvard
    Virginia
    Boston U
    St. Louis (Fr/Su)
    Iowa
    Saint Joseph's
    Kansas
    UC Irvine
    Milwaukee (Th/Sa)
    SMU
    Kansas State
    Wisconsin
    Vermont

    Note: Through games of March 4, 2014. Teams in italics below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold below represent secured automatic bids. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

    Tuesday, March 4, 2014

    Panic in Central New York

    No, that is not a typo. Syracuse lost. To Georgia Tech. At home. Once a mortal lock for a #1 seed, Syracuse's season has taken a turn. That and more in Tuesday's recap, as teams prepare for the conference tournament (and in some cases, play in them).

    Monday, March 3, 2014

    March Madness Is in Full Swing!

    Conference tournament week is open, tonight starting with the Patriot League. We even had our first upset of the post-season! We also saw a Big East team fall closer to the bubble. Welcome to March Madness!

    Bracket Brief for March 3, 2014

    Seed West (1)
    Anaheim (Th/Sa)
    East (4)
    NYC (Fr/Su)
    South (2)
    Memphis (Th/Sa)
    Indy (3)
    Indy (Fr/Su)
    Site
    1
    16
    8
    9
    San Diego (Fr/Su)
    Arizona
    Weber St./UT Val.
    Pittsburgh
    Oklahoma State
    Buffalo (Th/Sa)
    Villanova
    Robert Morris
    SMU
    Geo. Wash.
    Orlando (Th/Sa)
    Florida
    Davidson
    Oregon
    Texas
    St. Louis (Fr/Su)
    Wichita State
    High Pt./TX So.
    Arizona State
    Harvard
    Site
    5
    12
    4
    13
    Spokane (Th/Sa)
    Saint Louis
    Green Bay
    San Diego State
    Toledo
    San Diego (Fr/Su)
    North Carolina
    Louisiana Tech
    UCLA
    Iona
    Spokane (Th/Sa)
    Michigan State
    Ark./So. Miss
    Cincinnati
    North Dakota State
    San Antonio (Fr/Su)
    VCU
    Tenn./Fla. St.
    Iowa State
    Stephen F. Austin
    Site
    3
    14
    6
    11
    San Antonio (Fr/Su)
    Louisville
    NC Central
    Iowa
    Saint Joseph's
    Orlando (Th/Sa)
    Michigan
    Georgia State
    Connecticut
    Colorado
    Milwaukee (Th/Sa)
    Creighton
    Vermont
    Kentucky
    BYU
    Buffalo (Th/Sa)
    Syracuse
    Delaware
    Gonzaga
    Baylor
    Site
    7
    10
    2
    15
    Raleigh (Fr/Su)
    Oklahoma
    Xavier
    Duke
    Boston U
    Raleigh (Fr/Su)
    Massachusetts
    Kansas State
    Virginia
    Mercer
    St. Louis (Fr/Su)
    Ohio State
    Stanford
    Kansas
    Belmont
    Milwaukee (Th/Sa)
    New Mexico
    Memphis
    Wisconsin
    UC Irvine

    Note: Through games of March 2, 2014. Teams in italics below represent projected automatic bids. Teams in bold below represent secured automatic berths. The rankings at the top of each column are based on the overall seeds of the top four teams, so the winner of the regional with the team seeded #1 overall would meet the winner of the regional with the team seeded #4 overall.

    Sunday, March 2, 2014

    Time Is Running Out and Teams Are Falling to the NIT

    Sunday was the last day before conference tournaments begin, and with it, a number of teams kept their tourney hopes alive or watched them go up in smokes. See who is still alive inside.

    Upset Saturday Follows Upset Thursday

    On the last full Saturday of the college basketball season, a huge number of teams saw their tournament hopes bolstered or fall apart. And a big number of the nation's top teams fell in a big fashion. Let's get into it.