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BracketBusters 2011

bugregshu said:
Dave Snell said on the radio last game that he thought we would be playing UIC in the bracketbuster. They aren't listed on the VCU spreadsheet though, are they participating?
Click to expand...

UIC dropped out this year thinking they could schedule better on their own... they picked up a neutral floor game with UIUC instead... and won. :twisted:

j/k :lol:

But in all honesty here - UIC is NOT in the BracketBuster as far as I know. :biggrin:

I've been busy lately and hope to update the list of teams with rpi's for everyone soon.
 
Update with RPI from Jerry Palm's collegerpi.com site based on games played thru 1-17.

HOME
31 St Marys
35 Old Dominion
42 Wichita St
49 Valparaiso
61 James Madison
66 Drexel
79 Northern Iowa
84 Coll of Charleston
86 Long Beach St
102 UC Santa Barbara
107 Murray St
108 Wright St
114 Indiana St
122 Akron
129 Fairfield
135 UNC Wilmington
136 Presbyterian
145 Rider
147 New Mexico St
156 Liberty
157 Winthrop
158 Southern Illinois
162 Oral Roberts
166 Wofford
167 Siena
174 Buffalo
186 Western Michigan
187 Boston
188 Loyola
191 Morgan St
195 Montana St
200 Fresno St
203 Tennessee St
207 Cal Poly
209 UNC Asheville
213 San Jose St
220 Western Carolina
226 Nevada
236 Drake
246 Youngstown St
247 Louisiana Tech
255 Towson
257 Portland St
258 Northern Illinois
260 William and Mary
270 Stony Brook
275 Idaho St
281 Marist
287 UC Davis
293 Tennessee Tech
294 High Point
295 Niagara
309 UT Martin
324 SE Missouri
325 Eastern Washington
331 Eastern Michigan
332 Toledo

ROAD
30 Cleveland St
38 Missouri St
44 Utah St
50 George Mason
72 Vermont
74 VCU
77 Kent
88 Iona
89 Ball St
93 Miami (Oh)
97 Austin Peay
111 Hofstra
120 Montana
125 Creighton
130 Morehead St
133 Pacific
134 Delaware
137 Northern Colorado
143 Evansville
150 Idaho
152 St Peters
153 UW Milwaukee
161 UW Green Bay
169 Weber St
172 Boise St
175 Loyola (Md)
178 Detroit
182 Northern Arizona
183 Ohio
185 Northeastern
190 Davidson
194 Maine *
197 Georgia St
202 Charleston Southern
219 Appalachian St
223 Delaware St *
225 UC Riverside
229 Hawaii
231 Canisius
243 VMI
244 Illinois St
249 Loyola Marymount
253 Bradley
261 New Hampshire
266 Bowling Green
272 UC Irvine
273 Eastern Kentucky
279 Eastern Illinois
284 Gardner-Webb *
289 Central Michigan
302 Manhattan
304 CS Fullerton
305 Radford
306 Seattle
311 CS Northridge
342 Sacramento St
344 Jacksonville St

***Teams were said to be in the event, but they don't have BBuster on their schedule

We are easy to find in bold red.

IMO, potential opponents in maroon italics.
 
Sadly - it looks like we might get someone as low as SEMO for a draw... or maybe as high as Loyola.

Whatever the case, I hope Bradley, Coach, and fans don't make a big fuss about it.
 
It is finally the time to project some projections.

ESPN2

1) Utah St @ St Mary's - this has been a game before I think, and I'm pretty sure both schools would prefer other opponents, but I bet ESPN strongholds this into a primetime slot.

2) Missouri St @ Old Dominion - this is a bit tricky because ODU has slipped to 4th in the CAA, but there's power atop that league. I think as the best at-large resume outside of Utah St on the road side of the pool, I think they go ahead and give MSU best RPI opponent available.

3) Cleveland St @ Wichita St - CSU co-leads the Horizon. It's either this or a CAA team for Wichita at this point, and none of them are going to quite provide the at-large boost WSU needs.

4) George Mason @ Valparaiso - GMU is 1 GB in the CAA, Valpo co-leads the Horizon.

5) VCU @ College of Charleston - SoCon leader vs. CAA co-leader.

ESPNU

6) Ball St @ Drexel - Ball St leads the MAC, Drexel is fading.

*note: the pool of candidates falls off a cliff after this. There is zero at-large consideration to these.

7) Creighton @ Long Beach St - LBSU leads the Big West and Creighton is usually willing to make these trips.

8) Austin Peay @ Northern Iowa - meh

9) Hofstra @ Indiana St - Two teams near the top of their conference who have wretched at-large profiles. Natural fit

10) Northern Colorado @ James Madison - Big Sky runaway leaders vs. RPI Top 100.

11) Kent St @ Fairfield - Just to get the MAAC on the board

Break it down!
CAA 6
MVC 5
MAC 2
Horizon 2



As for Bradley, they're directly in Nevada's crosshairs in the RPI so that is by far and away the target. Other schools lurking in our target area are Niagara (for you squirrel ;) ), Western Carolina (oh wait), Northern Illinois (oh wait), and Youngstown St (oh no). Looking above, it's reasonable to think you can convince Loyola (Chi) to take a game against us. There's not much else in terms of local availability. There's some MAAC and OVC schools you don't want a part of nearby. Illinois State is in virtually the same boat as Bradley, so they'll provide an interesting contrast.
 
TheAsianSensation said:
As for Bradley, they're directly in Nevada's crosshairs in the RPI so that is by far and away the target. Looking above, it's reasonable to think you can convince Loyola (Chi) to take a game against us. There's not much else in terms of local availability. There's some MAAC and OVC schools you don't want a part of nearby. Illinois State is in virtually the same boat as Bradley, so they'll provide an interesting contrast.
Click to expand...

Obviously, Nevada would be a good draw for next year's return game. Selfishly, I'd like to see BU travel to Loyola - it's always fun attending a game at the Gentile Center with the majority being BU fans. And as I haven't been able to see my Braves live in person this season, I'd make the 20 min. drive to see the game - who knows - it could be our first win since the Detroit game. :badgrin: And let's face it - they could give us a good test next season at Carver. And if not, when's the last time we blew somebody out at home???
 
Update with RPI of games played thru 1-26 (RPI from Jerry Palm's collegerpi.com site)

HOME TEAM
31 Old Dominion
40 St Marys
43 Wichita St
58 Valparaiso
61 Drexel
64 Northern Iowa
71 James Madison
91 Coll of Charleston
103 Wright St
104 Long Beach St
110 Indiana St
115 Fairfield
127 UC Santa Barbara
130 Buffalo
142 Murray St
145 Liberty
148 Rider
153 Akron
156 New Mexico St
158 Wofford
167 Presbyterian
169 UNC Wilmington
171 Southern Illinois
177 Oral Roberts
181 Winthrop
183 Siena
184 Tennessee St
185 UNC Asheville
191 Loyola
192 San Jose St
197 Boston
198 Fresno St
201 Morgan St
205 Montana St
206 Cal Poly
207 Nevada
218 Western Michigan
227 Louisiana Tech
230 Western Carolina
231 Drake
252 Portland St
262 Youngstown St
263 Tennessee Tech
267 William and Mary
268 Towson
273 Stony Brook
277 Northern Illinois
279 Idaho St
280 High Point
290 UT Martin
294 Niagara
295 Marist
298 UC Davis
318 SE Missouri
325 Toledo
326 Eastern Washington
331 Eastern Michigan

ROAD TEAM
29 George Mason
33 Cleveland St
38 Missouri St
39 Utah St
60 VCU
82 Vermont
83 Kent
92 Hofstra
95 Iona
100 Miami (Oh)
101 Montana
119 Evansville
123 Morehead St
124 Austin Peay
131 Northern Colorado
132 Delaware
134 UW Milwaukee
136 UW Green Bay
137 Creighton
139 Ball St
144 St Peters
146 Pacific
149 Maine ***
154 Boise St
162 Idaho
168 Loyola (Md)
174 Northeastern
175 Detroit
188 Weber St
193 Hawaii
200 Northern Arizona
208 Canisius
209 Ohio
213 Delaware St ***
220 Charleston Southern
221 Georgia St
224 Davidson
225 Appalachian St
233 UC Riverside
236 VMI
239 Illinois St
244 Eastern Kentucky
245 UC Irvine
249 Bowling Green
261 Loyola Marymount
264 New Hampshire
270 Eastern Illinois
272 Bradley
274 Gardner-Webb ***
281 CS Fullerton
296 Seattle
308 Manhattan
309 Central Michigan
315 CS Northridge
316 Radford
342 Jacksonville St
343 Sacramento St

***Teams were said to be in the event, but they don't have BBuster on their schedule

We are easy to find in bold red.

IMO, potential opponents in maroon italics.
 
Looking at these match-ups (especially the televised ones), my first reaction was that this is not the year of the mid-majors. I cannot see any of these teams being a Cinderella story in the NCAAs this year.

But that made me wonder about a few other mid-majors that are on my radar as of late. Teams like San Diego State, BYU and UNLV for example. I can see them doing very well in the NCAAs. How come they don't participate in the bracketbusters tournament. Why don't some of the bigger names in the A-10 participate?
 
JBinPeoria said:
Looking at these match-ups (especially the televised ones), my first reaction was that this is not the year of the mid-majors. I cannot see any of these teams being a Cinderella story in the NCAAs this year.

But that made me wonder about a few other mid-majors that are on my radar as of late. Teams like San Diego State, BYU and UNLV for example. I can see them doing very well in the NCAAs. How come they don't participate in the bracketbusters tournament. Why don't some of the bigger names in the A-10 participate?
Click to expand...

Simple - they're too big for the contest. That's why Butler and Gonzaga don't participate. If there's so few impact teams in the event, there's no point for the MWC to join. Could you imagine the A-10 with Temple, Duquesne, Xavier, Richmond, and Dayton? They'd all be in the top 5 games and get zero resume help. Ditto BYU and SDSU.
 
Thanks A.S. I see what you are saying and it makes sense to me. But I still believe that some of those schools (e.g. in the MWC and A10) could benefit by being matched up against another strong non-conference opponent to bolster their resume. I doubt it would determine whether or not they make it into the NCAA, but it may help them get a better seed. Teams like Butler never get as high a seed as they deserve. I take it the lower level MWC and A10 teams don't participate either?

Thanks for helping me understand this better...
 
UPDATE
games played thru 1-30-11
rpi from jerry palm at collegerpi.com

HOME TEAM
31 Old Dominion
34 St Marys
49 Wichita St
53 Drexel
54 Northern Iowa
55 Valparaiso
66 James Madison
95 Coll of Charleston
99 Wright St
103 Long Beach St
111 Fairfield
115 Indiana St
126 Buffalo
130 New Mexico St
133 Rider
137 Murray St
141 Liberty
145 UC Santa Barbara
147 Wofford
159 Presbyterian
163 Akron
166 UNC Wilmington
169 UNC Asheville
173 Southern Illinois
178 Siena
182 Oral Roberts
187 Winthrop
189 San Jose St
194 Tennessee St
199 Loyola
201 Cal Poly
207 Boston
210 Nevada
214 Louisiana Tech
216 Western Michigan
218 Fresno St
219 Montana St
222 Western Carolina
229 Morgan St
238 Drake
242 Tennessee Tech
253 Towson
256 High Point
262 Portland St
265 William and Mary
270 Stony Brook
281 UC Davis
287 Northern Illinois
290 UT Martin
293 Youngstown St
302 Niagara
305 Marist
306 Idaho St
315 Eastern Washington
323 Toledo
327 SE Missouri
333 Eastern Michigan

ROAD TEAM
29 Cleveland St
30 Utah St
33 George Mason
45 Missouri St
51 VCU
78 Kent
85 Vermont
94 Montana
96 Hofstra
105 Miami (Oh)
108 Iona
109 Austin Peay
112 Morehead St
117 UW Milwaukee
118 Evansville
131 Creighton
134 Delaware
135 St Peters
138 Northern Colorado
139 Maine *
142 UW Green Bay
143 Pacific
162 Boise St
171 Idaho
172 Loyola (Md)
174 Northeastern
176 Ohio
181 Ball St
183 Weber St
184 Detroit
196 Northern Arizona
202 Davidson
203 Hawaii
208 Delaware St *
211 Canisius
224 Georgia St
231 Illinois St
232 Appalachian St
235 Charleston Southern
243 VMI
248 Eastern Kentucky
249 Bowling Green
258 New Hampshire
260 UC Riverside
266 CS Northridge
274 Bradley
278 UC Irvine
279 Loyola Marymount
280 CS Fullerton
282 Gardner-Webb *
292 Seattle
301 Manhattan
309 Eastern Illinois
318 Central Michigan
320 Radford
334 Jacksonville St
340 Sacramento St

*Teams were said to be in the event, but they don't have BBuster on their schedule

We are easy to find in bold red.

IMO, potential opponents in maroon italics.
 
JBinPeoria said:
Thanks A.S. I see what you are saying and it makes sense to me. But I still believe that some of those schools (e.g. in the MWC and A10) could benefit by being matched up against another strong non-conference opponent to bolster their resume. I doubt it would determine whether or not they make it into the NCAA, but it may help them get a better seed. Teams like Butler never get as high a seed as they deserve. I take it the lower level MWC and A10 teams don't participate either?

Thanks for helping me understand this better...
Click to expand...
The conference as a whole skips the event as far as the MWC and A-10 go.

And yes, they could benefit by being matched up against another strong non-con opponent. But the problem is they mostly won't. If the A-10 joined, for example, the pool of quality at-large worthy opponents would probably be about 50-75% A-10 teams!

They can already get quality games within the conference anyways - BB is designed to offer programs from lesser conferences (i.e. the Horizon, CAA, WAC) an extra chance at a better game.
 
The Valley's Top 3 drew some pretty good match-ups IMO, meaning these BB games could be criticial for an At-Large berth.

If UNI continues on their hot stretch, loses only 1 Valley game the rest of the way, and wins their BB game, they may have the best chance at an At-Large bid. It would be strange for UNI to come in 2nd in conference, yet beat out Wichita for an At-Large bid. Could happen if WSU goes 15-3 and UNI 14-4, with UNI winning in a rematch vs. Wichita this month, AND if UNI gets to the Valley Championship game, while Wichita St. does not. That would make UNI 26-8, and after making the Sweet 16 last season, it would be hard to shut them out from the Top 68 teams.

Too many scenarios, but UNI is still alive...but with little room for error...in tournament talk, aside from Arch Madness.

Missouri State needs to win the Valley outright, and win their BB game to have a shot, but their schedule looks to be in their favor.

Wichita State needs to do the same probably.
 
WSU got some help last night with Virginia winning over Clemson & Tulsa with a win at Memphis. Both wins were vs. teams with RPI's in the 70's.

If Tulsa finishes above .500 and VA finishes at .500, this could bode well for the Shockers' chances, provided they win the Valley and win their BB game vs. VCU.

The BB games are looming larger for WSU & UNI with each passing win.
Without O'Rear for the season, though, UNI's challenge will be VERY difficult.
Not impossible, but REALLY tough.

Realistically, I think each team can afford just 1 more loss until Arch Madness.
 
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