Bracketology- February 24

March Madness is right around the corner, and many college basketball experts are starting to predict the seeding of teams in the Big Dance. Today, I will discuss who gets what seed (No. 1-9 today) and I will list the projected conference champions.

Projected Conference Champions- Vermont (America East), Cincinnati (American), St. Louis (A10), Virginia (ACC), FGCU (Atlantic Sun), Kansas (Big 12), Creighton (Big East), Weber St. (Big Sky), VMI (Big South), Michigan (Big 10), UCSB (Big West), Delaware (CAA), MTSU (Conference USA), Green Bay (Horizon), Harvard (Ivy), Iona (MAAC), Toledo (MAC), NCCU (MEAC), Wichita St. (Missouri Valley, clinched regular-season title), San Diego St. (Mountain West), Robert Morris (Northeast), Murray St. (Ohio Valley), Arizona (Pac-12), Boston U (Patriot), Florida (SEC), Davidson (Southern), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), Southern (SWAC), North Dakota St. (Summit), Georgia State (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (West Coast),  New Mexico St. (WAC)

Seed Projections:

No. 1 Seeds: Florida, Arizona, Wichita St., Syracuse

No. 2 Seeds: Duke, Creighton, San Diego St., Kansas

No. 3 Seeds: Cincinnati, Villanova, Michigan State, Louisville

No. 4 Seeds: Virginia, St. Louis, Wisconsin, Michigan

No. 5 Seeds: N. Carolina, Iowa St., Kentucky,  UCLA

No. 6 Seeds: Connecticut, Texas, Iowa, VCU

No. 7 Seeds: Missouri, Kansas St., Ohio St., Texas

No. 8 Seeds: Oklahoma St., Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga

No. 9 Seeds: Arizona St., Colorado, SMU, California

Bubble Watch- Feb. 17

Selection Sunday is just 4 weeks away, and many teams are trying to improve their resumes. Today, I will discuss teams that are squarely on the bubble watch, what their resumes are, and how they can improve them before the tournament.

 

Bubble Teams:

 

NC State (16-9, 6-6 ACC)

Best Win- at Tennessee

Worst Loss- NC Central

What they have to do: The Wolfpack need to win 20 games, finish in the top 5 in the ACC, and beat North Carolina and Pittsburgh.

 

Oklahoma State (16-9, 4-8 Big 12)

Best Win- Memphis

Worst Loss- at Texas Tech

What they have to do: The Cowboys need 20 wins, a .500 finish in the Big 12, and wins over Kansas and Iowa State.

 

Xavier (17-8, 7-5 Big East)

Best Win- Marquette

Worst Loss- Seton Hall

What they have to do: Xavier needs 22 wins, a semifinal finish or better in the Big East Tournament, and wins over Creighton and Villanova (both are home games)

 

California (17-8, 8-4 Pac-12)

Best Win- Arizona

Worst Loss- at UC Santa Barbara

What they have to do: The Bears need to beat UCLA, win 20 games, and finish at least in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament.

 

Missouri (18-7, 6-6 SEC)

Best Win- UCLA

Worst Loss- Georgia

What they have to do: The Tigers need to win 25 games, place in the semifinals of the SEC tournament, and beat Tennessee on the road.

College Basketball Bubble Watch

March Madness is only five weeks away, and games become much more valuable. Many teams are sitting on the bubble, and need huge wins to get off of it. We’ll go conference-by-conference to show who is on the bubble watch and how they can move away from it.

ACC

Locks- Syracuse, Duke, Pittsburgh, Virginia

On the Bubble:

North Carolina (16-7, 6-4 ACC)- The Tar Heels have been the most confusing team this season, with big wins (at Michigan State, vs. Kentucky) being cancelled out by embarrassing losses (at UAB, vs. Belmont).

What they have to do: North Carolina has many opportunities for more big wins, including Wednesday night’s battle with rival Duke at home. UNC needs to reach 20 wins and not lose more than 7 conference games to make the tournament.

Clemson (15-7, 6-4 ACC)- Clemson has been a good team this year, but their lack of big wins has put them in bad position. The Tigers have one signature win (vs. Duke), but no bad losses.

What they have to do: Clemson needs to beat Virginia and Pittsburgh at home to better its resumé. However, losses to either Notre Dame or Georgia Tech will kill their momentum.

Big 10

Locks- Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin

On the Bubble:

Minnesota (16-8, 5-6 Big 10)- Minnesota has had a solid first season under new coach Richard Pitino, including a huge win over Ohio State earlier this season. But, the Golden Gophers have two crippling defeats at Nebraska and at home against Northwestern.

What they have to do: Minnesota needs to beat Iowa at home, have at least 20 wins, and finish above .500 in Big 10 play.

Big 12

Locks- Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa State

On the Bubble:

Kansas State (16-7, 6-4 Big 12)- The Wildcats are proving they are among the conference’s elite after blowing Texas out of Manhattan on Saturday. Kansas State has more than enough opportunities to win big games.

What they have to do: Kansas State has three games left against ranked teams- two at home (Kansas, Iowa State) and one on the road (Oklahoma)

Oklahoma State (16-7, 4-6 Big 12)- The Cowboys have been on a free fall, losing five of six and losing Marcus Smart due to Big 12-mandated suspension.

What they have to do: Oklahoma State needs to hold serve while Marcus Smart is out, and they need to beat Kansas at home.

 

Super Bowl XLVIII Reaction

Last night’s Super Bowl rocked the football world, as the Broncos’ offense, which was lauded as the greatest in NFL history, came to a screeching halt at the Meadowlands.

Key Plays

1. The first-snap safety: My sister believes that this play was the turning point of the football game, and I concur. This play dropped Denver’s confidence level and gave Seattle the momentum.

2. The interception return TD: Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith intercepted Manning and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to put Seattle up 22-0 in the second. This play was key because the Broncos were working on a potential scoring drive which could have put them back in the game. But, Seattle had a huge point swing that continued their momentum.

3. The kickoff return TD: Denver knew it needed a stop on Seattle’s first drive of the second half. Russell Wilson and the offense didn’t need to step onto the field as Percy Harvin returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown, putting the Seahawks up 29-0. At this point, Seattle had full control of the game, and the Broncos were about ready to give up.

Why Seattle won: The Seahawks are taking home the Vince Lombardi Trophy because they played intense defense. They forced four turnovers, three by Peyton Manning, and held the Broncos to just 27 rushing yards. Seattle never let up defensively, staying aggressive the whole game.

Why Denver lost: They had no offensive rhythm. I never heard Manning say his now world-famous “Omaha! Omaha!” during the game. Denver had 4 drives end in turnovers, 2 end on 4th downs, 2 punts, and a safety compared to just one scoring drive. The defense was also a mess, allowing Seattle to convert 7 out of 12 third downs and allowing 8 yards per pass (not per completion).