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16 Days until Selection Sunday… 

*New Teams in the Bracks:  Florida, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Loyola (MD), Navy

*Teams Removed from the Bracks:  Villanova, St. Joseph’s, Wake Forest, Siena, American

*The Kentucky Wildcats make their 1st appearance in the Bracks this season.  After getting off to a horrendous start in the non-conference, including a loss at home to Gardner-Webb, Billy Gillespie and his Wildcats have done a complete 360 in SEC play.  They now stand at 10-3 in the league with a real money game this weekend at Tennessee.  No SEC team has ever missed the tournament after achieving 11 conference wins.  Kentucky is back on the map!

*Changing conferences but staying in the same state, the Louisville Cardinals might just be the hottest team in the country.  With their pretty convincing win last night over Notre Dame, I now have punched them in as a 2 seed, while sliding Stanford down to a 3.  Louisville now has 8 wins over the RPI Top 50 (a new stat listed in my facts), which is currently 3rd most in the nation.  Their final game of the regular season is at Georgetown, which most likely will be a battle for the #1 overall seed in the Big East tournament.  If either Louisville or Georgetown wins out the regular season and wins the Big East tournament, a 2 seed is what they can expect come Selection Sunday.

*St. Joe’s really hurt their chances of getting an at-large bid with a loss at home against St. Louis.  They still have a shot however.  They must now beat Xavier at home on March 6th to revive their hopes.

*Attention all bubble teams:  conference tourney play is right around the corner.  Here is who you need to win their conference tournament to keep open those extra spots at the bottom of the Bracks:  Drake, Butler, St. Mary’s or Gonzaga, South Alabama, Davidson, BYU, VCU, Kent St.

This is a potential 8 spots that could be jeopardized if these teams don’t win their conference tourneys.  In reality, South Alabama, Davidson & VCU may not get in if they lose early in their tournament, so it might just be 5 teams.  So, what does that mean?  That means Southern Illinois, Illinois State, UAB & Arizona State would be left out if they failed to win their conference tournaments.  We like to call these teams “fringe” teams(JS).  So, right now even though they are technically “in,” they’d likely be a casualty when at-large teams from mid-major conferences fail to win their conference tournaments.

*A hearty congrats goes out to Robert Morris.  With a huge win last night at Sacred Heart, the Colonials have clinched 1st place in the Northeast conference.  This means home court advantage throughout the tournament.  Robert Morris is currently 15-2 in conference play with 1 game remaining at LIU-Brooklyn.  Those 2 conference losses that they have came without leading scorer Jeremy Chappell, who was suspended for those 2 games.  Robert Morris now has the 2nd longest current win streak in the country (12).  With their outstanding 24-6 overall record, accompanied with a couple other teams taking over 1st place in their conference, Robert Morris has been elevated to a 14 seed.  The NEC is now the #23 rated RPI in the nation.  That may not sound great, but it sure is better than years past.  If Robert Morris is able to win their conference tournament, they should be considered a 14 seed, but they should probably expect a 15.  Either way, first year Head Coach Mike Rice and staff have done a tremendous job!

*And, today is the last day of February.  You know what tomorrow is, right?  Yeah, a little something called March Madness.  Conference tournaments start next week, and the Cornell Big Red should be the 1st official team in the field this weekend when they clinch the Ivy League title.  This is the time of the season where dreams can be fulfilled…or crushed!  Who will rise to the occasion?  Check out where your team stands in my FACTS & BRACKS.

next update: 3-3-08

And down the stretch they come. Can you believe that it is the final week of the regular season for many mid major conferences across the country. Cornell should wrap up the first NCAA bid this weekend. Championship week starts in 10 days! Didn’t the season just start last week? Anyway, here are some of my rambling thoughts from the last week.

*The Bracket Buster still works. Just ask Drake and Kent State! People in the media were all of a sudden starting to questions Drake’s resume. Well after their win at Butler, that nonsense has been put to rest. Kent State also played its way into the national polls and probably into the tournament. The MAC is better than a 1 bid conference. It has been for years. Unfortunately the NCAA selection committee has not seen it that way for a while. Kent has won 20 games for the 10^th consecutive year. That is impressive. Jim Christian seems poised to be the poised to follow Gary Waters and Stan Heath in parlaying his success at Kent into a bigger job and payday.

*The 1^st few minutes of the Tenn/Memphis game were awesome. Too bad they could not keep it up at anywhere near the same offensive execution after that. While it was a captivating game in the second half full of drama and twists and turns, it was not pretty offensively. Even the best 2 teams in the country played ugly Saturday. And I thought it was just the games that I have been doing lately.

*So much for as many as 5 teams from the A-10 making the tournament. Now the real question seems to be will they get three, and if so, who? If you think you know the answer to that question, you are crazy. How can you predict these games? Every time you think a team is dead and buried, they respond (UMASS). Every time you think a team is solidly in (St Joe’s), they lose to a team like LaSalle. Go figure. The A-10 tournament in Atlantic City should be crazy. I just hope people show up better than they did last year. The city, the arena and the games are well worth the trip.

*Could the administration at Indiana handled the Kelvin Sampson situation any worse? Since Sampson has not yet responded to the allegations, we cannot be certain as to his guilt in this case. The same cannot be said for Rick Greenspan. He is completely guilty of mishandling this from start to finish. It was a circus, a joke and a black eye for the University. Case closed!

*Now is the time that we all get ahead of ourselves in college basketball. We are all guilty of it. Who is in? Who is out? Who is on the bubble? Heck we have even spawned a cottage industry – bracketology. It is also the time where the media starts to speculate about coaching changes and job security. Who’s getting the LSU job? How about Indiana? Is this coach getting fired? Does he have to make the tournament to keep his job? Does he have to win a game in the NCAA’s? You know the routine. Every talking head has an opinion. Every blog has a coaches’ hot seat list. Heck it is its own cottage industry- hatchetology. The only question is who will be as smart as Joe Lunardi to actually cash in on this right of Spring?

*Lastly, let’s all stop getting ahead of ourselves. Let the season play out. Enjoy senior day at schools across the country. Enjoy February. Stop wishing for March. It will be here too soon. Just ask those seniors whose careers are coming to an end. It goes too fast. Slow down and enjoy the ride!

                                              

HERE’S THE DEAL

 

            This week we have two new entrants into “The Deal”. They are Norristown, Pa & Bethel, VA. Norristown, who had won 27 in a row, moves in on their big District I play-off win over Pennsbury. They then suffered their first defeat of the season, in the district championship, to Chester. We were impressed with the win over Pennsbury and not upset over the loss to Chester. Bethel won the Peninsula District Championship and is now on a 24 game win streak.

            The two teams that made room in the “Top Twenty-Six” were Christ the King, who lost to Holy Cross, and Charlestown, MA, who fell from the ranks of the unbeaten when they were stopped by East Boston.

            Others who lost this week include St Ray’s, who lost for the third time to Rice, when they fell in the Manhattan/Bronx “AA” Championship, and Mount St Joe’s when they lost to Towson Catholic in the Maryland Independent Athletic Association Championship. These two could turn around and meet next week in the Baltimore Catholic League Play-Offs.

            Also losing this week were Linden, to St Pat’s, in the Union County Finals, and Benedictine, to St Benedict’s in St Benedict’s final game of the year. Except for St Benedict’s everyone else is now either in a state or city tournament.       

And now onto the teams in question…Deal… or No Deal?

 

1	St. Anthony NJ	26-0
2	St. Benedict’s NJ	24-1
3	Chester PA	28-1
4	Gonzaga DC	30-1
5	St. Patrick NJ	23-4
6	Rice NY	23-3
7	Academy of the New Church PA	25-2
8	Lincoln NY	24-4
9	Oak Hill VA	31-4
10	Mount Vernon NY	20-3
11	Bishop Loughlin NY	20-5
12	Boys & Girls NY	23-4
13	St. Raymond’s NY	20-6
14	Windsor CT	21-0
15	Peekskill NY	22-0
16	Paterson Catholic NJ	22-4
17	Montrose Christian MD	20-3
18	Highland Springs VA	24-1
19	Bishop O’Connell VA	25-5
20	Reading PA	30-0
21	Norristown PA	28-1
22	Pennsbury PA	27-2
23	Mt. St. Joseph MD	26-3
24	Bethel VA	25-1
25	Linden NJ	20-6
26	Benedictine VA	23-6
	Close But “No Deal”
	Christ the King NY	20-5
	Charlestown MA	20-1
	Roman Catholic PA	18-5
	Communications Tech PA	26-3
	Holy Cross NY	18-8
	Strawberry Mansion PA	19-5
	Imhotep Charter PA	24-3
	Proctor NY	21-1
	Henninger NY	20-2
	Wilbur Cross CT	21-0
	Gwynn Park MD	22-0
	Poly Prep NY	21-0
	GW Danville VA	24-0
	Laurel MD	18-2

 

 

View my FACTS & BRACKS 

20 days until Selection Sunday… 

*Bubble Teams who improved their Selection Stock this weekend:  Kent State, Miami (FL), Drake, Villanova, Ohio, Kentucky, VCU, Baylor, Davidson, Southern Illinois

*Bubble Teams who hurt their Selection Stock this weekend:  Texas A&M, Dayton, Syracuse, Maryland, George Mason, Mississippi, Oregon, Rhode Island, Ohio State

*As I previously thought, Syracuse (17-11, 7-8) ended up losing 2 games this week @ Louisville and @ Notre Dame.  I said they needed to win 3 of their last 5.  They can still do that.  Their remaining regular season games are:  Pittsburgh, @ Seton Hall & Marquette.  This can be done…and might need to be done, accompanied by a win in the Big East tourney, in order for the Orange to make the NCAA Tourney.  They maintain a pretty good RPI, and a very good SOS, which are keeping them alive.  And, of course, the fact that they play in the Big East helps too.

*Congrats to Drake who came up with a huge win @ Butler on Saturday in the Bracketbuster.  This was the quality win they truly needed on their resume.  Now, barring a complete collapse, these Bulldogs will be dancing.  Their RPI is very strong and with the way the Missouri Valley Conference as a whole performed in the Bracketbuster games, Drake couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

*Don’t know if any of you stayed up till after 2am late Saturday night, but the Kent State Golden Flashes defeated Saint Mary’s (CA) in Cali.  In my opinion, if Kent State wins out and loses in the championship game of their conference tournament, they will still get in to the Big Dance.  Bottom line, a huge win for Jim Christian and Kent State.

*The Dayton Flyers got off to a very promising start this season.  They won @ Louisville and beat Pittsburgh.  But then, conference play began.  I know they’ve been experiencing some injuries, namely Chris Wright, but they are now a miserable 5-8 in the Atlantic 10.  They had a chance to make up for their recent woes yesterday against #11 Xavier, but they failed to do so.  I kept them in the Bracks last update on Friday, due to the fact that they had a really good RPI/SOs, plus very good non-conference W’s, and because they still had the opportunity to finish over .500 in conference.  Now, the best they can do in conference is 8-8.  Do the Flyers need to win the A-10 tourney to go dancing?  Most likely.  Can they still get in if they win out, but lose in the A-10 conference championsip game?  Eh, maybe.

*The big conference winners in the Bracketbuster were the Missouri Valley Conference and the Mid-American Conference.  The top 5 teams in the MVC went a combined 5-0.  Headlined with Drake’s big win @ Butler and Illinois State’s win vs Wright State (who had won 11 in a row), the MVC has now entered itself back in the conversation as a two bid league.   The MAC as well are back in the mix too with Kent State’s win @ St. Mary’s and Ohio’s victory over George Mason. 

*With Tennessee’s win, or should I say Tenne3’s win, at Memphis on Saturday night, the Volunteers have moved themselves up to the #1 overall seed.  This, however, may be short-lived as they have to go to Vanderbilt this week in a battle of another in state rival.  Let’s see how Tennessee reacts when they are the hunted.

Here are some tidbits: 

*Wondering which teams have the longest current win streaks in college basketball now that Memphis has finally lost?  Well, this is who it is:

  Davidson-17, Robert Morris-11, Cornell-11

*Wondering who has the best road records in college basketball?   Well…

North Carolina (10-0), Memphis (7-0), Tennessee (8-1), Indiana (7-1), UCLA (7-1), Robert Morris (12-2), Butler (11-2), Drake (10-2), Washington St. (9-2), Wisconsin (9-2)

…Or how bout who gives up the least amount of ppg in the nation?    Stephen F. Austin (55.0 ppg)

…And who scores the most ppg?  North Carolina (90.1 ppg)

…also, who has the best scoring margin?  Kansas (+19.9) 

*New Teams in the Bracks:  St. Joseph’s, Villanova, UAB, Illinois State

*Teams removed from the Bracks:  Ohio State, Florida, Dayton, Rhode Island

*NCAA selection committee chair and George Mason athletic director, Tom O’Connor, was interviewed yesterday and he said that the biggest thing the selection committee looks at is “quality” over “quantity.”  I completely agree with this statement.  He also said the committee will be arriving a day earlier than normal.  That’s also good news.  It’s very important to get it right.  O’Connor appears to be the right guy to get this done.

Enjoy my FACTS & BRACKS…they are continuously changing each and every day

next update 2-29-08 

VIEW my FACTS & BRACKS

*Don’t say I didn’t warn you Drake (23-3, 14-2)–however, you’re still in good shape though.   You have a huge Bracketbuster game on Saturday at Butler.  The Bulldogs vs the Bulldogs.  This game means more for Drake.  No, this is not lose and you’re out Drake.  No way. 

Drake’s 3 losses are by a combined 10 points.  Not too shabby.  But, Butler proved themselves in non-conference play.  They are in.  Drake needs a “quality” win.  A win over Butler will assure them a spot in the Big Dance.  A loss to Butler will drop Drake from “should be dancing” status to “might be dancing” status (see below).  They then play @ Missouri State and home vs Wichita State.  What happens if they lose to Butler?  Then the pressure mounts, and maybe then ”experts” will realize that Drake is in fact a bubble team and will need some more wins in their conference tournament to secure a spot.

Remember when George Washington of the A-10 finished the season 26-2?  Everyone thought for sure they’d be a top 5 seed.  Instead, they came up as a 9 seed on Selection Sunday.  Don’t get me wrong I am not rooting against Drake, nor do I have any hatred towards that team.  I am merely telling them to just keep winning because a few more losses may spell disaster. 

*If the season ended today, here are my top 10 nominees for National Coach of the Year(in no particular order):

1) Keno Davis - Drake

2) Matt Painter- Purdue

3) Scott Drew - Baylor

4) Sean Miller - Xavier

5) Mike Brey - Notre Dame

6) Trent Johnson - Stanford

7) Randy Bennett - Saint Mary’s (CA)

8) Jon Calipari - Memphis

9) Bruce Pearl - Tennessee

10) Dino Gaudio - Wake Forest

*Hey, Bubble teams, we’ve now entered the last week in February so you may want to keep an eye out and root against the following teams in the Bracketbuster this weekend (in order of importance):

1) You want St. Mary’s (CA) to beat Kent St. 

2) You want Butler to beat Drake 

3) You want Winthrop to beat Davidson

4) You want Akron to beat VCU

5) You prefer Ohio to beat George Mason

6) You want Creighton to beat Oral Roberts

By the way, bubble teams, make sure you take care of business and win your own games, first and foremost, or else all this stuff will be meaningless.

Here is a brief overview of where teams are currently at:

*We WILL be Dancing (locks for the NCAA’s–and by lock i mean these teams can lose the majority of their games and are still in):  Memphis, Tennessee, Duke, Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina, Texas, Stanford, Wisconsin, Xavier, UConn, Georgetown, Louisville, Indiana, Michigan St., Butler, Purdue, Washington St., Notre Dame, Marquette (20)

*We SHOULD be Dancing (teams who are in good shape and who just need steady wins in order to be elevated to lock status):  Kansas St., St. Mary’s (CA), Pittsburgh, Clemson, Vanderbilt, USC, Arkansas, Oklahoma, BYU, Gonzaga, Drake (11)

*We MIGHT be Dancing (teams who need another big win to elevate them to “Should be Dancing” status, it is imperative as well that they finish at .500+ in their conference):  Arizona, Baylor, Maryland, Texas A&M, West Virginia (5) 

*We’re doing the Jitterbug (teams who are on the bubble–you can find a deficiency in the numbers which each team listed here, that is why they are on the bubble–Teams listed here…Prove to me in the next 2-3 weeks as to why you should be dancing…Who will separate themselves?):  Rhode Island, Mississippi St., UMass, Kent St., Syracuse, VCU, Dayton, Arizona St., Ohio St., Florida, UNLV, Wake Forest, Miami(FL), St. Joseph’s, South Alabama, Oregon, Ole Miss, UAB, Kentucky, Houston, Villanova, George Mason, California, Virginia Tech, Western Kentucky, Ohio (26) 

*New Teams in the Bracks:  Miami (FL), UMass, South Alabama

*Teams Removed from the Bracks:  St. Joseph’s, Syracuse, Western Kentucky

VIEW my FACTS & BRACKS–next update 2-25-08

They say Friday is moving day at The Masters. Well, February is moving month in college basketball. Look at all of the teams across the country that have moved in and out of the projected tournament brackets since December. Some are gone for good- Virginia, Providence, Florida State and others. Others can’t make up their mind which way they are going- Mississippi, Arkansas, Villanova, Syracuse, the Atlantic 10, to name a few. There are still more that weren’t on the initial guest list but now are- Drake comes to mind. That’s what is great about college basketball. All of us talking heads can yap all we want, but in the end, it is generally the games that determine the invites. Here are my rambling thoughts for this past week:

*Lance Stephenson is the real deal. I had Lincoln 2 weeks ago in Trenton and saw him again Sun at LIU vs St Ray’s. Even though he did not have one of his best games, he still had a double double and rimmed out a 3 at the end of overtime that would have won it. Physically, he is a man amongst boys. He has the body of an NBA guard and the skill set to match. Credit Oliver Antigua and the Ravens for neutralizing him. Truck Bryant, Omari Lawrence and Kevin Parrom all played well in the win.

*Sunday was the first time I have been to LIU’s new facility. It is a great atmosphere for basketball and Juniors’ is still just around the corner with the best cheesecakes around.

*The NYC playoffs should be great. Just when everyone thought Boys and Girls vs. Lincoln was a given in the Garden, Jefferson upsets B & G. And who is the favorite in the catholic league? Rice is based on seeding and what they have done all year, but St Ray’s, Christ the King, Holy Cross and Bishop Loughlin are all capable of pulling off the upset.

*VCU’s Eric Maynor would start ANYWHERE. He is special. He has great quickness, skills, feel and that something extra. Whatever his team needs, he does. He is a great passer, ballhandler and defender. He keeps you honest with his jumper and finishes at the rim with deceptive strength. But the thing that separates him from most is his unflappable demeanor on the court. He never seems to get rattled and exudes a quiet confidence that is contagious. He is an extention of his head coach, Anthony Grant, who has many of those same qualities. Together they upset Duke in last year’s tournament and they are capable of more of the same this year. That is if they can get there out of the balance and tough CAA.

*Now is the time of the year when everyone starts talking about coaches on the hot seat. While it is at time unfair, it is clearly part of the business. You see, it is a BIG business now and with that comes risk and rewards. If you have big rewards- million dollar contracts, posh offices, chartered flights, etc, then you have greater risks- getting fired quicker. You can’t have one without the other.

*There are some whacky league races across the country, but none are as crazy as the MAAC. After last night’s losses by Siena and Rider, they find themselves in a 4 way tie for the league lead along with Loyola and Niagara with only 2 league games to play. Surging Fairfield also stayed alive in the race with a wild 2OT win over Marist. Imagine this: they are in 5^th place at 10-6, but only 1 game out of first.

*Officials have been in the news lately all over the country. From the Villanova-Georgtown foul 85 ft from the basket, to the timing error in the Tennessee-Rutgers women’s game, to the Penn-Princeton foul fest, to the end of game sequences in the Marist-Fairfield game. In each of these games, the technical merit of the calls can probably be defended on some level. I am not an official and don’t pretend to be one. They have a difficult job that they perform well almost every night. I know how tough it is when I am reffing at camp. I can’t imagine what doing a Big East game with Jim Calhoun in one ear and Rick Pitino in the other must be like. But the common problem in each case, in my opinion, was a lack of “feel” by each of the officials. We talk about players and coaches having a “feel”, well officials need the same. Don’t tell me that the call on Villanova was technically correct. Who cares about technically? It was a bad call at that time and score. Ask any official and they will tell you the same thing. If you call a technical foul when 2 players are jostling for position at midcourt, when there are 9 seconds left in a 3 point game, and the ball is being inbounded at the opposite end of the floor after a timeout, it is a bad call. When you call a technical on a player who fouls a 3 point shooter, and is complaining to you about a “no call” in the paint that left him bleeding profusely from an elbow to the mouth, it is a bad call. Good officials don’t just know the rule book, they know the game!

*Lastly, it seems that everyone has an opinion on Kelvin Sampson and the Indiana situation. Almost all of these opinions have already fired him in the arena of public opinion. They all talk about “major” violations. To me, “major” violations are not extra phone calls. “Major” violations are when a kid is getting paid, his family is getting paid, his coach is getting paid, his family is moved to town, his mom gets a new job for 10 times what she was making, you get the idea. That is cheating and it is certainly going on. It just doesn’t seem to have been going on at Indiana. There is a big difference between CHEATING and violating NCAA rules! Why does it always seem that the NCAA catches the guys who violate their rules, and never catch the guys who are cheating?

                                                 

 

HERE’S THE DEAL

 

            The top five continued to roll as they all looked quite invincible. The biggest challenge to the Friars of St Anthony will be the pending matchup with St Patrick in the North Jersey Parochial “B” final. The Grey Bees of St Benedict’s last big challenge could well be a matchup this Thursday with Richmond Benedictine. Chester is into the Pennsylvania District I playoffs and is looking for a top seed in the upcoming state tournament. Gonzaga has to navigate the ever dangerous Washington DC Catholic League playoffs, while St Patrick has the obvious match up with No. 1 St Anthony.

            Congratulations goes out to Lincoln as they won the Brooklyn Borough Championship again, but then had a bit of a let down as they lost to powerful St Raymond’s. They are looking to win their sixth PSAL Championship in the last seven years. Rice rebounded from their loss two weeks ago to Lincoln, and is the top threat to win the New York Catholic Title. There will, however, be several top flight teams they will have to get by. Boys & Girls, who finally beat Lincoln last week, fell in the Brooklyn Semis to Thomas Jefferson.

            Bishop O’Connell lost a regular season game to league foe Paul VI. Benedictine suffered their second loss of the season to Highland Springs. Roman Catholic was stunned, in the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs by St Joe Prep, and only has the Alhambra Tournament in Western Maryland next month left on their schedule. This is the last year a Philadelphia Catholic League team can play in the Alhambra as they will be full members of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association starting next year.

            By next week, everyone will be in the precarious position of “Win or go Home”.

 And now onto the teams in question…Deal… or No Deal?

 

 

1	St. Anthony NJ	24-0
2	St. Benedict’s NJ	22-1
3	Chester PA	26-1
4	Gonzaga DC	27-1
5	St. Patrick NJ	21-4
6	Rice NY	21-3
7	Academy of the New Church PA	23-2
8	Lincoln NY	23-4
9	Oak Hill VA	28-4
10	Pennsbury PA	26-1
11	Mt. St. Joseph MD	26-2
12	St. Raymond’s NY	19-5
13	Mount Vernon NY	18-3
14	Boys & Girls NY	22-4
15	Windsor CT	18-0
16	Peekskill NY	21-0
17	Paterson Catholic NJ	19-4
18	Bishop Loughlin NY	18-5
19	Montrose Christian MD	16-3
20	Highland Springs VA	21-1
21	Christ the King NY	20-4
22	Charlestown MA	19-0
23	Bishop O’Connell VA	23-5
24	Linden NJ	20-5
25	Reading PA	28-0
26	Benedictine VA	22-5
	Close But “No Deal”
	Roman Catholic PA	18-5
	Bethel VA	21-1
	Holy Cross NY	16-7
	Nansemond River VA	20-2
	Strawberry Mansion PA	19-4
	Imhotep Charter PA	24-3
	Proctor NY	19-1
	Henninger NY	19-2
	Wilbur Cross CT	19-0
	Xavier CT	16-3
	Hillhouse CT	16-3
	Gwynn Park MD	20-0
	Poly Prep NY	20-0
	GW Danville VA	22-0
	Laurel MD	16-2
	Norristown PA	27-0
	McKeesport PA	19-3
	Central Catholic PA	21-4
	Schenley PA	24-2

 

Folks, there are now 27 days till Selection Sunday…the Facts & Bracks are gettin’ interesting 

*All four #1 seeds remain the same as they did last week.  Memphis and Tennessee both played games down to the wire.  Both on the road.  But, both prevailed.  Memphis, after being down 7 with two minutes to go to UAB, won on a basket and a foul call by Chris Douglas-Roberts to win by 1.  Tennessee staved off a missed 3 pointer at the buzzer by Georgia to continue their hot streak.  Duke, however, had no such luck at Wake Forest.  The Blue Devils had 5 players foul out of this game.  All 5 were starters.  Nonetheless, a huge win for the Demon Deacons to put them over .500 in the ACC.  Duke still remains a 1 seed.  Kansas had a flawless week, so they also hold that final 1 spot.

*Drake lost their first conference game this week to eventual conference tourney champ Southern Illinois.  That’s right, I think the Salukis end up getting the automatic bid out of the conference.  What does that mean for Drake if this happens?  Well, it could mean an at-large bid.  Everyone in the world feels that they are a “lock.”  I disagree.  Yes, right now they have an RPI of 10, but who have they beaten?  Right now, they have beaten zero teams who are in my Bracks.  Be careful Bulldogs, don’t listen to all those prognosticators that are already declaring you as being in the NCAA tourney.  Don’t fall into that trap or you’ll be disappointed.  You did, however, clinch a postseason berth.  If things do fall apart, you are guaranteed a spot in the NIT.  For most schools, the NIT is known as the “Not Interested Tournament,” but for a team like Drake it’d be an honor.  But, as long as we don’t see a collapse, we should be seeing them in the Big Dance.

*With all the chaos surrounding Kelvin Sampson and the Indiana Hoosier program, let’s give props to the team for sticking together and coming out and pummeling Michigan State at Assembly Hall.  A nice resume building win.

*Texas has moved up the Bracks and is now a #2 seed.  How are these for marquee wins this year:  Tennessee, @ UCLA & Kansas.  Not bad, right?  An interesting note however, two of their 4 losses are to Big Ten schools (Wisconsin & Michigan State).

*So, who’s tumbling?  Ole Miss kept dropping in the Bracks week after week.  They started off the season 13-0.  A sure lock, right?  Well, they are now 3-7 in SEC play.  They were a 6 seed on January 21, they are now out of the Bracks.  Things can change real fast if you don’t keep winning.  The Rebels will need a big turnaround in conference play to have a fighting chance.  And, they don’t have any games left against Tennessee or Vanderbilt, arguably the two best teams in the league, so they don’t have much opportunity for resume building W’s.  They play Mississippi State at home and at LSU this week.  These are 2 must wins.  That is a fact.

*Syracuse truly got a season saving win on Saturday when they beat the Hoyas of Georgetown at the Carrier Dome.  They had lost at South Florida earlier in the week, a team that took UConn to overtime, and a loss to G’town would have put the Orange under .500 in the Big East with a tough stretch ahead.  Now, if the Orange (17-9, 7-6), can win 3 out of their last 5 games in the regular season and 1 in the Big East tourney, they will be dancing.  If they don’t get in this year, they will only have themselves to blame, not the committee.  They finish up @Notre Dame, @Louisville, Pittsburgh, @Seton Hall & Marquette.  I would suspect that they’ll lose their next 2, but will have a chance to win their final 3.  Winning just 2 of 5 puts them squarely on the proverbial bubble and would probably warrant 2 Big East tournament victories in order to go dancing.

*Wake Forest won a monumental game on Sunday at home vs. Duke.  They are now at 6-5 in the ACC, and are attempting to be that 5th team in the conference to go to the NCAA’s.  The Demon Deacons now have 3 solid victories vs. BYU, Miami (FL) and Duke.  It will be tough for the committee to leave out a team over .500 in the #1 rated RPI conference in the country, right?  Wake Forest finishes with this:  @UNC, Maryland, @Georgia Tech, @Virginia Tech, NC State.  Three out of five is definitely in the realm of possibility.  Welcome to the Bracks, Wake Forest! 

*VCU and George Mason both hurt their chances at getting an at-large bid this week.  Both lost at home.  VCU to ODU and Mason to UNC-Wilmington.  VCU finds itself atop the conference and appears to be the best team in the league, but Mason beat them.  VCU beat Maryland earlier in the year, while George Mason beat Dayton & Kansas State.  Both teams also have a couple of questionable losses.  VCU lost @ James Madison(11-14, 4-11), George Mason lost @ Georgia State (7-18, 4-11).  Both teams lost to Old Dominion, a tournament team from a year ago.  Chances are, one of these teams will have to knock off the Monarchs to win the CAA tourney and guarantee themselves a spot.

*The University of Kentucky remains an interesting story.  They had a number of questionable losses at the beginning of the year.  They lost @ Vanderbilt this past week by about 40.  Yet, they are 7-3 in the SEC.  They have an RPI of 71 and a SOS of 25.  Their remaining schedule looks like this:  Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, @Tennessee, @South Carolina & Florida.  What happens if they take care of business at home?  That would put them at 17-12 (11-5).  I don’t think anyone is really sure how good the SEC truly is, but could the committee keep an 11-5 team from a major power conference out of the tournament?  Survey says, I don’t think so.  But, with the inconsistency this Wildcat team has been showing, who knows if they can even pull that off. 

*New teams in the Bracks:  Oklahoma, Arizona State, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky, Cal St. Northridge, Winthrop & Robert Morris

*Teams removed from the Bracks:  UMass, Mississippi, Creighton, South Alabama, NC-Asheville, Sacred Heart & Pacific

 

The stretch run has begun.  For the smaller conferences especially, home court advantage throughout their conference tournaments is very important.  Can the teams atop their leagues stay at the top and get that extra edge?  Only time will tell…but, for now, enjoy my FACTS & BRACKS.

                                               

HERE’S THE DEAL

 

            This is the time of the year when the good teams are playing each other, and taking turns beating each other. No less than ten teams in our Deal or No Deal Top Twenty-Six went down to defeat. Some then rebounded and defeated other quality opponents.

            The biggest game of the week, in our poll, saw Lincoln defeat Catholic League rival Rice to momentarily take over the top spot in all of New York City. This however they did after finally losing to Brooklyn arch rival Boys & Girls. Linden was on their way out of the Deal after losing to St Anthony, but much more importantly suffering a bad loss to Union. They got a last second reprieve, however, when they stunned St Raymond’s over the week-end. They are clinging to the last spot. Holy Cross had a good win over Bishop Loughlin, but then fell to Christ the King. We still believe they are a quality outfit, but yield to public opinion and drop them out on the sum total of seven losses. The lone newcomer to the Top Twenty-Six is Paterson Catholic. They come in on the strength of a resounding defeat of Montrose Christian.

            There are five undefeated teams in the “Close but No Deal” section and we are looking for a chance to move some of them up. However, none to our knowledge have that one signature win that we call a “Jewel”.     

 

1	St. Anthony NJ	20-0
2	St. Benedict’s NJ	20-1
3	Chester PA	24-1
4	Gonzaga DC	24-1
5	St. Patrick NJ	18-4
6	Lincoln NY	21-3
7	Rice NY	19-3
8	Academy of the New Church PA	21-2
9	Boys & Girls NY	21-3
10	St. Raymond’s NY	17-4
11	Oak Hill VA	28-4
12	Pennsbury PA	24-1
13	Mt. St. Joseph MD	24-2
14	Mount Vernon NY	17-3
15	Windsor CT	17-0
16	Peekskill NY	20-0
17	Bishop O’Connell VA	22-4
18	Paterson Catholic NJ	17-4
19	Montrose Christian MD	15-3
20	Bishop Loughlin NY	16-5
21	Highland Springs VA	19-1
22	Charlestown MA	17-0
23	Roman Catholic PA	17-4
24	Benedictine VA	21-4
25	Christ the King NY	19-4
26	Linden NJ	18-5
	Close But “No Deal”
	Reading PA	26-0
	Holy Cross NY	14-7
	Nansemond River VA	19-2
	Imhotep Charter PA	22-2
	Proctor NY	19-1
	Henninger NY	18-2
	Wilbur Cross CT	17-0
	Hillhouse CT	17-2
	Gwynn Park MD	18-0
	GW Danville VA	21-0
	Laurel MD	15-1
	Norristown PA	25-0

Saturday has traditionally been the biggest day of the Prime Time Shootout weekend. The top players from the east and beyond head to Trenton to play on the big stage. The top performers on the day from NJHoops.com

NJ Hoops
Lance Stephenson

Lance Stephenson

6-foot-6 Jr.

Lincoln NY

Uncommitted

33 points, 4 treys, 16 rebounds, 2 assists in a 75-68 win over Rice NY

On a day with many excellent performances he may have been the most impressive.

NJ Hoops
Greg Monroe

Greg Monroe

6-foot-10 Sr.

Helen Cox LA

Georgetown

24 points, 1 trey, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals in a 62-58 win over Whitney Young IL

Rivals.com #1 player proved his lofty ranking doing a little of everything.

NJ Hoops
Maalik Wayns

Maalik Wayns

6-foot-1 Jr.

Roman Catholic PA

Villanova

26 points, 7 treys, 1 rebound, 3 assists in a 74-73 loss to Mount Vernon NY

Got off to a blazing start hitting 5 treys in first quarter

NJ Hoops
Samardo Samuels

Samardo Samuels

6-foot-8 Sr.

St. Benedict’s

Louisville

25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists in a 77-63 win over Our Saviour New America NY

Post scored at will in the paint as he has done most of the season.

NJ Hoops
Lamont Jones

Lamont Jones

5-foot-11 Jr.

American Christian PA

Louisville

26 points, 7 treys, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals in a 73-48 win over Rancocas Valley

Lights out from deep some on passes from Tyreke Evans

NJ Hoops
Tamir Jackson

Tamir Jackson

6-foot-2 Jr.

St. Benedict’s

Uncommitted

26 points, 6 treys, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals in a 77-63 win over Our Saviour New America

Bounced back in a big way after a subpar outing on Friday night

NJ Hoops
Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones

6-foot-7 Sr.

Mount Vernon NY

West Virginia

27 points, 2 treys, 13 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal in a 74-73 win over Roman Catholic PA

Consistently puts up double/doubles and rebounds even more ferociously in fourth quarter.

NJ Hoops
Kemba Walker

Kemba Walker

6-foot-1 Sr.

Rice NY

UConn

22 points, 1 trey, 3 rebounds, 2 steals in a 75-68 loss to Lincoln NY

An absolute blur in the open court

NJ Hoops
Larry Loughery

Larry Loughery

6-foot-6 Sr.

Academy New Church PA

Uncommittted

23 points, 6-6 fg’s, 11-12 ft’s, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block in a 72-58 win over Timber Creek

Only missed one shot all day

NJ Hoops
Brandon Jennings

Brandon Jennings

6-foot-2 Sr.

Oak Hill VA

Arizona

27 points, 3 treys, 3 rebounds, 3 steals in a 63-55 loss to St. Patrick’s

Did most of his damage in the fourth quarter

More info on the top players at the Prime Time Shootout at www.njhoops.com.