A Comment on the Mountaineers Historic Night

On Monday, West Virginia forced Manhattan into 40 turnovers... yes, once per minute, a confused Jasper was making a poor decision to lead to points the other way.  Numerous folks were quick to laud Bob Huggins and his players for the accomplishment and what this performance could mean for them going forward.

Well, probably nothing.  23 minutes was the most minutes any player logged, which means that no singular player is responsible for the disruption Monday night.

The argument against this assertion is that they also forced 34 against New Hampshire, 26 against Mississippi Valley State, and 21 against Mount Saint Mary's.  While I like New Hampshire in a weak America East this year, that is a slate of crap to pray on at home.  They did a good job splitting their games over the break (blowing out Illinois isn't THAT impressive this year, and losing to Temple, eh?), but the real test will be this weekend in Charlottesville.  Without the benefit of home court whistles getting swallowed, my guess is that their insane 35% turnover per possession rate begins to regress toward the mean.  Right now, the Mountaineers shooting defense is just average and has relied on pure pressure and benefit of the doubt from officials.  A stronger team like UVA will not put themselves in those situations, and if they do, their is a good chance the whistle will bail them out.

I still like West Virginia for a high seed and are legitimately the second best team in the Big 12, but they have a lot of room for improvement.  The turnover rate is more indicative of the quality of opponent.

Butler wins again

It's no longer news that the Big East is better than most thought it would be.  A year after hangover would be excusable for Villanova, and Xavier already peaked.  Seton Hall and Creighton looked to be ascending, but were considered fringe 25 teams.  DePaul and St. John's are currently rebuilding and have no chance, and Providence is retooling and hoping to compete without any established or nationally acclaimed players.  That left Butler, Marquette, and Georgetown on the Bubble.  Butler, with much transition and tragedy the last 18 months, look like more of a long shot.

Thus far Nova has held serve, Xavier is reaching new heights, and Creighton looked to be making the step until the Hanson injury will force them to reevaluate the rotation.  Providence is exceeding expectations in the early going, playing tight in games they looked to be far outclassed.  Seton Hall and Georgetown scheduled the gauntlet, which has not phased the Pirates, though there is real reason for concern on the Potomac, and JTIII has to be feeling some heat.

Surprising and joining the Top 3 has been Butler, no longer looking like a bubble team but a legitimate major conference threat that could earn a top 4 seed.  They picked up an early win over fellow bubble denizen Northwestern, traveled to slay Vandy and Arizona, then capped it off with a road win at Utah, which is about as inhospitable conditions to play in as they come.  Rolling to 7-0 is solid, but the quality of wins already has them in the driver's seat against 3 conferences when pitting strength of schedule.  They still can grab two more big wins hosting Cinci and taking Indiana in Indianapolis.

Chris Holtman is actually creatively mixing small and big lineups to suffocate opponents.  Right now, Kenpom has identified that Kamar Baldwin may be warranting more minutes as a defensive specialist, and the ancillary shooters are hitting regularly enough that teams cannot key and pinch on Martin.  Other than height, the Bulldogs do not have a weakness that the big boys can exploit.  While there is no way they are going undefeated, they will be a tough out for the rest of the Big East.

Bracket Analysis

Made my first lock of the minute call earlier tonight.  Probably won’t use Twitter much more than a means to bitch about bad calls and bad end of game plays which pounding back beers at The Hatt.

Analysis by region:

East:

Keeping Villanova in this spot until proven otherwise.  They will draw the weakest play in game.  I split up Howard and Bryant (both those picks look dubious in the early going, but regular season results mean very little in one bid leagues) and the clearly next two weakest teams (New Hampshire and Liberty) will fill the 16 seed play-ins.  Balancing out the ACC, Big Ten, and Big East will prove difficult, which is why Louisville and UNC slip out of their S-Curve spots to steer clear of Duke and UVA.  I have Louisville I hair ahead of the Heels now, and sense that they will even out as the conference schedule shakes out.  Xavier also looks to be 2-seed worth again, but I have them solidly below UNC, Purdue, and all the other projected 2s for now.

With 2 Big East Teams, 1 ACC, 1 A-10, and 1 MVC team as the Top 5 seeds, this already has the perception of the “weak bracket” which would favor the overall 1 seed.  The Spartans are dragging ass in November, which is par for the course for them.  I find it hard to believe that they slip further south than a 6, even with 10 losses.  Southern Methodist is a total wild card down here, and could play a dark horse Sweet 16/Elite 8 here.  They look sharp early, but will not face the most trying conference slate… if they fall below 3^rd in that conference, I doubt they will get called again… they missed a couple years ago as a ranked team, which let’s you know what the committee thinks of the AAC.

BYU is already a candidate to slide out in favor of a fourth A-10 team (pushing Nevada this way) or an extra PAC-12 or ACC team (Colorado, Pittsburgh).  Florid Gulf Coast, Belmont, and Green Bay have to be happy with this draw.  Overall, neither the 8/9 seeds are a threat to Villanova (yeah, tell NCState that).  Other than that, this is wide open.

South:

Duke is the consensus #1 team until Monday, but they keep this spot until January.  They get the Kansas looks to surge to a high seed based on strength of schedule, but this is a 7-loss team.  Despite the highlight reels draft picks, this is probably not a top 10 squad.  Purdue gets a preferred seed to avenge last season’s disappointment.  They are a physical team and shouldn’t crap the bed again.  Gonzaga will waver between a 3 and 7 seed, depending on whose rankings you use.  Once again, they attract NBA caliber talent (or bodies at least) that will be imposing against any team.  They need a run to solidify nearly 2 decades of dominance in the regular season.  The Blue Jays will build an impressive resume, but this team looks like it will collect a couple questionable losses to keep them out of the elite.  Not sure about UCLA… they seem to have some chemistry issues, and while nobody will question Steve Alford’s coaching acumen, he may not have the personality for UCLA, where the expectations outweigh the atmosphere to win.

The way that this season is playing out, URI and Notre Dame can easily switch lines in this bracket.  A Duke/Maryland second round game would be bizarre on a couple fronts, and not really a matchup Duke wants.  Monmouth is holding a 12 seed, but that really requires nobody in the MAAC to suck ass and drive down their strength of schedule.  They have already missed a couple non-conference scalps as well, probably eliminating their at-large potential. Harvard is the projected winner based on potential, but if Princeton refuses to lose, they would demand a much higher seed.  Lehigh recruits well and gets the kinds of players that can make life difficult for any top seed.

MidWest:

Kentucky should run the table in the SEC, but with a young roster (again), expect some growing pains.  The strength of the SEC does them no favors.  4 big non-conference games will decide their fate as the number 1 overall or just a number 1.  The Big Ten, missing the 1 line, should get at least 1 2 seed, and Indiana is the second team drawn from the conference.  Typically, the committee avoids putting both the SWAC and MEAC in the play in games, and Texas Southern should compile the numbers to justify the 15 seed.  Fort Wayne has already taken down the Hoosiers and should roll to a huge opportunity against UNC.  Though this game is likely to end up in Greenville, could you imagine the upset potential if they end up in Indy?  Both Arizona and Miami are fine teams from strong conferences, but do they scare anyone?

Iowa State will get the misadventure of drawing the play-in winner, who will almost surely be favored.  So I do admit that Baylor, Florida, and Syracuse are making me look pretty stupid early on, and the presence of Georgetown over any of those 3 teams, amongst 20 other deserving teams early this season, takes away much of the validity of this projection.  For now, let’s just say Georgetown wins the Big East tourney.  South Carolina is one of my early season favorites to sneak into the Sweet 16.  Unlike the East Region, the 8/9 game provides a legitimate threat to Kentucky to bust the bracket.  Texas has some ground to cover, but Butler will give them fits.

The Aztecs are talented enough and play the opponents to get a better seed, but they are not the 2 seed of yesteryear.  In addition to Fort Wayne, Wilmington and Arlington will provide must see matchups regardless where they matchup, 11 to 15.

West:

The West always seems to grab the weakest sister of the 1 seeds.  This shouldn’t be an insult to UVA, because once again they are going to be lights out.  I am not sure how Tony Bennett squeezes the life out of every basketball game, and why it never works come March, but the results are on paper.  Bakersfield is game, but not putting up 50 against them.  Marquette can get after anyone when they go small, but is a long shot.  They should have the composure to survive a shootout with the Razorbacks..  Wisconsin can fall anywhere from 1 to 4, but they have the most talent and experience in the conference.  Oregon’s 2015 run may be written off as a fluke if they don’t repeat.  Still the most talented team in the conference, but there is some concern the tempo can only take them so far.  Bob Huggins has built a consistent winner in Morgantown and will draw an interesting regional rivalry game against Ohio.  The Bobcats have been strong for years.

The 12 seed play in game is one of the more exciting clashing of systems.  Both teams are methodical offensively, but use unique defensive solutions to limit points.  Michigan plays more high-level talent, but Northern Iowa has a pretty balanced roster 1-10 and can survive foul trouble and injuries.  Saint Mary’s could be crewed catching the winner of that game.   Cincinnati is the class of the AAC and will draw a decent, but overachieving Davidson team.  Seton Hall and Tech aren’t blowing anybody’s skirts up and have a lot to show to be considered contenders… as opposed to “just good enough.”

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This should get a good look over the next holidays with an update around New Year’s.  Expect to see some movement on the lower end at large teams… little on the one-bids.

Preseason Bracket- November 22, 2016

Fort Wayne, amongst the teams doing my preseason predictions proud.  Great win for a program that needed to prove they could do it before making their NCAA debut.

Not really going to let these early season result skew my preseason thoughts... Will include some analysis tomorrow.

The most difficult part, besides fitting the s-curve without disrupting conference parameters, regional opportunities, as seeding appealing matchups.  My 8/9 lines look like a Who's Who of December 27th bowl game participants.  It will be fun to see how this evolves.

Apologies to:

The first 5 out:
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Colorado

North Carolina State

Oklahoma State

Northwestern

Pittsburgh

The next 5 out

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Virginia Commonwealth

Syracuse

Texas Tech

Saint Bonaventure

Ohio State

Rough year for the MWC and MVC.  I knew that the MVC lacked depth behind Wichita State, but Northern Iowa again will have to play their way into the main field, barring a spectacular conference season (like 16-2) or a big surge from the bottom of the conference to drive up their strength of schedule.

Giving the regular season title and first round bye to Nevada, San Diego State will play their way in as well.  Steve Fisher finds a way to win games, but this looks to be a slightly down year.  The conference second tier schools just aren't bringing enough clout to even get to the final 24, which makes it difficult to objectively compare the Aztecs outside head to head.

I gave Michigan the nod over Ohio State and Northwestern.  They will finish .500 in league play, but will get the nod in all the metrics (Pomeroy, Sagarin, RPI).  I had to do some deep digging, and really feel any of the top 3 teams on the first 5 out list have earned it more, but I'll ignore week 1 results and give Georgetown the nod for the other slot.

I also just have no desire to put Syracuse in until they prove they aren't going to mail in the first four months again, but they could end up clowning me again.

Seeding the bracket tonight.

63 Teams for 47 spots

The MAC and Conference USA are 1 bid leagues, lucky to make the 13 line, unless somebody runs the table and loses in the conference finals.  Not very likely because these are pretty balanced leagues.

88 Teams for 49 spots

Now that 19 sure one-bid leagues have been identified, I am sorting through the numbers and rosters to get bead on where these teams will be in 4 months.

Big Dogs I don't see making it as far as public opinion or the numbers:
Clemson, Syracuse, Florida, Baylor, California, Texas A&M.

The goal is to narrow those 88 teams to about 60.  Per usual, it is a tight squeeze on the mid majors if the ACC and Big Ten claim 20 spots.  The Big 12 is unnaturally balanced this year.  Kansas isn't running away with this and could find themselves staring at 5-6 league losses.  There isn't a single team that is not a true bubble contender, and if parity does reign, we could be looking at a glut of 8-10 conference records with legit profiles.  I really think that Baylor is going to struggle on the road this year as you can only take those "No means no!" chants so long.

Initial Bracketing Insights: One Bid Leagues

The first thing that has really become apparent is that UNC Wilmington is trending the right way.  If we were to stage conference tourneys now, and they did not win, they would be on the bubble... probably in that first 8 out group.  Good for the overall health of the CAA after its mass exodus.

Bryant and Howard are significantly worse than the other one-bid champions I have identified.  November and December results do not make a season in these leagues.  That belongs to February and March.  Out of all my predictions, Bryant did have the furthest to go, as Wagner and Fairleigh Dickinson are more established.  Surprised by Howard's numbers, though.

2017 Predictions: The BCS teams

Despite my bias toward the Big East, Atlantic 10, Mountain West, and powers in the Missouri Valley and West Coast, I feel that it would be ignorant to state that these conferences are in the same class as the 5 BCS Conferences.  The Big East clearly has the talent to compete with any of these affiliations, and top to bottom, the A-10, MWC, and AAC have the horses to run with the PAC-12 and SEC this year.  It really comes down to resources, exposure, and the “self-licking ice cream cone.”

The resource gradient does not drive basketball as much as football, but at the end of the day, even your middling BCS program (say, Washington?) is spending so much more per student athlete.  It makes everything easier, from recruiting, training, and actually going to and playing the games.  Richmond and Saint Bonaventure just are not going to have those selling points.

Exposure has changed dramatically the last 15 years.  Back in the days of yore, dish was the only way to get out of region games, let alone mid-major and small conference games.  Now I can choose from any of about 6 to 20 games on any evening or weekend through FiOS (no, I am not trying to sell their service… it sucks, but is still better than cable).  This at least gives casual fans the opportunity to observe that Old Dominion may be legit.  However, when CBS advertises its game of the week, they never try to dig outside the BCS sandbox.  The Big East makes it difficult to ignore, but you are more likely going to be pimped Tennessee/Georgia or Oklahoma State/Oklahoma.

These first two discriminators do not necessarily give a school an advantage reaching the tournament through conference affiliation.  But the self-licking ice cream will do exactly that, giving mediocre teams more credit for getting their asses handed to them through mandatory conference games than rewarding excellence winning the games you should win.  I think the SEC is a prime example.  Outside Kentucky, there isn’t a true dominating national contender.  It is really them, 9 bubble teams, and 4 doormats.  Pretty much all 9 of those teams are going to log 17-22 wins of varying caliber.  The advantage is that they not only get the strength of schedule bump from playing Kentucky, but also all of their other conference opponents who have played Kentucky, even the doormats. 

So once upon a time, the commissioners in several of the “mid-major” conferences realized that they were never going to get the cherry home-and-home opportunities against the big schools, so they gamed the RPI formula.  First off, avoid games against the lower third of teams except for the ones you have to play in conference.  BCS conference teams were more than happy to buy those games anyways to drive toward 20 wins.  Second, find neutral site games and “preseason” tournaments to add additional games to the schedule that have the road/neutral bonus.  Finally, the “Bracket Buster” series was established to give these teams additional Top 50/Top 100 games to both their contenders, as well as the mid and lower conference teams.  The result has been frustration and consternation, and arguably the end of the RPI used as the basis for selection and seeding. 

Virginia Tech under Seth Greenberg was the example of how the system was being worked and how NOT to schedule.  It seemed every season, they would take advantage of their natural home court advantage and spoil a Duke, Maryland, or UNC, chalk up a few other Top 50 wins on their way to 23-9, lose early in the ACC tourney, then find themselves in the NIT because their schedule was fat on Campbell, Longwood, and VMI.  Now it is possible for a team to get screwed because after putting together a fair schedule, those opponents all just had a bad year, but Tech played some good teams… it’s just that the bad teams were always really bad.  Now the book out is that if you anticipate being in the bubble discussion, avoid those games and on the weak BCS teams, weak mid majors, or the best small conference schools.  This has made scheduling harder for the non-BCS conferences because they cannot offer their opponent the same resources or exposure.  Hence, the rich get richer through association, and the middle class fights the fight.

On to the predictions!

The ACC is a true dog fight.  5 elite teams, 7 legitimate bubble teams, 2 doormats, and 1 Clemson.  UVA and Miami have huge upside and downside, but I can’t see either falling below .500, even in this loaded conference.  Notre Dame and Florida State will likely get high seeds based on strength of schedule, and this conference will probably never get 12 teams in, but 10 is not out of the question.

The Big Ten is also loaded the same way with 3 legit final four players, the enigma that is Michigan State every year, 4 other teams that will have to play their way out at this point, four other bubble teams, and then the 2 doormats.  When I finished my predictions, I was surprised how low I had Michigan.  They seem safe, yet bottom half of the conference.  While there is much to like about the progress being made at Northwestern and Nebraska, it just seems that there is a chasm of talent between them and the next tier.  The other teams are all rebuilding, not reloading.

One through five in the PAC 12 are fairly interchangeable based on schedule, injuries, suspensions.  Utah has great upside, and USC is sneaky good this year and a fun Sweet 16 dark horse.  I’m betting on Cal and Washington stumbling this year before making moves next year, though Lorenzo Romar may not make it around if the Huskies are tanking winnable games.  People have shown that is possible to win in Pullman, but not this year… not sure that is the case in Tempe or Corvallis, as those teams never seem to play up to potential.

Texas returning to respectability ups the profile of this conference.  I don’t see a true front-runner, even if Kansas has the talent to do so.  Bob Huggins will beat and bruise and win 75% of his games.  The question is: “where is the fall off?”  There are strong teams here, but Oklahoma was a Buddy Hield force, but will show growing pains.  Brad Underwood has Oklahoma State trending the right way, but inherited a mess.  Baylor has talent, but man, that athletic program is a ticking time bomb.  Can Jamie Dixon turn TCU around, or was that Pitt program really Ben Howland and a house of cards that nobody knocked down?  This smells of a 4 bid league, but will probably get 6.

My thoughts on the SEC were pretty clear.  It is Kentucky and a bunch of 8-9 seed fodder.  I like South Carolina, but Frank Martin started with nothing there and is coaching up a bunch of 2 and 3 stars.  There are lots of good coaches down here, but the football drain on these programs seems to keep many dormant until after bowl games.  Texas A&M was a good story last year, but they are fringy at best.  Florida is not taking a step forward.  I am still not sure why Arkansas is getting so much love, but Mike Anderson at least plays exciting basketball.  The real wild card and potential west division anchor going forward could be Auburn and Bruce Pearl.  His ethics will always be questioned, but he does what Mike Anderson does, and he has typically had more success and consistency.

Now that this is complete, I should have a bracket out Wednesday.

2017 Predictions: The Majors

Yes!  The “Major” conferences.  These are the bread and butter to forecasting a good bracket.  The powers that be make it impossible to properly rate the BCS conference teams, watching middling teams get way over-seeded or included, while strong teams from this group regularly get the shaft.  It frustrates me to no end when I am championing two potential Cinderella teams and they get pitted against each in the 7-10 game, all the while boasting the profile of a 4-5 seed.  Meanwhile, some pluck BCS bubble team sneaks into their conference semifinals and is suddenly anointed champion of the hour.

Most of you will probably get a chuckle out of the likes of Texas San Antonio playing in a major conference, or being put in the same breath as defending champion Villanova.  However, even the MAC and Conference USA have the talent to be multi-bid leagues with a couple breaks.

The Big East should continue to roll deeper than most of the BCS conferences.  Nova is still deep, Xavier keeps getting better, and Seton Hall has recovered from 2 decades of apathy in a basketball-first environment.  If Greg McDermott has turned the corner in Omaha, this conference really has 4 teams looking at top 4 seeds.  Early results show that Marquette, Butler and Providence should compete well despite personnel losses.  DePaul and Saint John’s will continue to suck… more on those teams in another post.

That also brings me to a point.  Very few of my preseason previews will mention specific players.  And isn’t that I don’t or don’t care.  25 years of college basketball obsession have proven a few things.  The first is that players win games.  Supremely talented shooters, ball-handlers, and big men make plays that affect the outcomes of games.  However, good coaching wins championships.  Somebody who is thinking 5 steps ahead to make sure he is getting the most of each position on floor night after night is the biggest difference between the NIT and NCAA tourney for many of these teams.  When it comes down to projecting standings, players come, go, get hurt, get suspended.  A good coach deals with it all and adjusts.  On the list of NCAA tournament winning coaches, there are very few “interlopers”.  Kevin Ollie has yet to prove himself (and say what you want about these guys’ ethics… discussion for another time), but Jim Harrick is the only one who stands out in the last 30 years as being “wtf, how did he win?”  Buying into a coach’s system, process and character goes further than guess which of these 3, 4, and 5 star recruits will pan out.

The Atlantic 10 is the sleeping giant.  Because of the lack of football exposure, every year people ask me, “where is Saint Bonaventure?”  Dayton is back and Archie Miller should get them much deeper into the tournament.  Davidson has made the adjustment from the Southern Conference and continue to find talent other major programs pass on. I keep waiting for Richmond to turn the corner, but something seems missing from his Princeton-style attack.  VCU will probably take a step back from elite to just really good.  Shaka Smart’s coattails are only so long, and eventually will run out.  The real wild cards are the other Rams (URI) and the Bonnies.  Both look ready to make some noise this year.  So many schools in this conference in great recruiting areas so it is hard to imagine them not fielding good teams.

In the AAC, Southern Methodist has broken my heart enough the last couple years.  Larry Brown’s name was enough to get people interested in the program after a history of ineptitude.  They should be a Sweet 16 team this year.  Cincinnati is not going away, but Memphis may… not sure I buy this Tubby Smith experiment.  This may only be a 2 bid league unless somebody emerges from the Houston/Tulsa/UConn/Temple bubble.

Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s have reloaded… Saint Mary’s was violently screwed on selection Sunday and have a chip on their shoulder.  BYU always looks great on the court, then you blink and they have 9 losses.  Pepperdine may have the horse to sneak past them in the standings, but not enough to threaten the Top Dogs.  Santa Clara will slow it down this year and be a dark horse by the end of the season.

UNLV is a hot mess right now and I can’t that getting fixed before February.  Nevada has the depth to push ahead of San Diego State, and both are solid at-large teams.  Picking 3 through 7 here is a crapshoot, but New Mexico boasts the best home court advantage that will play out in the regular season.  There is a lot of talent in this conference, and is a year away from maybe getting 4-5 teams in.

Conference USA is full of teams that seem to covet the glory of major conference football, but have so little pedigree nobody is buying in yet.  MTSU is the best of the bunch, but the Monarchs and Blazers bring some tourney experience to the table.  Marshall and Charlotte will push the pace all season long, but neither are equipped to win regularly on the road (shoot, play D).

The MVC misses Creighton.  Northern Iowa is trying to play foil to the Shockers’ dominance, but after that the cupboard is pretty bare.  Barry Hinson looks to have SIU on the right track, and Illinois State is a solid 20 win team, but the lack of depth will keep this conference low in the RPI discussion, and anyone not named Gregg Marshall should expect to be forced to win Arch Madness to secure a bid in the Dance.

Buffalo (the house Reggie Witherspoon built) has been solid for the last 5+ years, but the test will be whether it can be sustained. Ohio and Toledo are fortunately n opposite sides of the conference as to not cannibalize each other.  Keno Davis will bring some excitement to Central Michigan.  The conference will need a few signature wins early to get into the 2 bid discussion.

2017 Predictions: The Mid-Majors

So maybe I don't follow the NCAA criteria for conference classifications... sue me.  I remember a time when the WAC was so big and powerful, they had a WAC-off to see which of the 16 teams could garner the at-large bid.  Unsure why the WAC became the AIDS of college conferences, but nobody wants to go near it... poor New Mexico State has been trying to escape for ages.  Typically they would be a lock to win, but Grand Canyon has been playing some good ball and should lock up the regular season title despite not being eligible for the NCAA tournament.

Monmouth should cruise this year, and there are a few other fringe Top 25 teams lurking in this group.  The Ivy League should be a dogfight at the top, and those 2 Harvard/Princeton games are must see TV, but nobody can sleep on Yale.  Same with Chattanooga and East Tennessee State atop the Southern, but Mercer is lurking as a dark horse.  Valpo will see a drop off that will allow Green Bay to get back to the Dance with its methodical approach.  UNCW is geared to repeat, but the seismic shifts in the CAA have left a power void that could be grabbed by anyone, but my guess would be Charleston or Elon.  Belmont continues to rule the OVC, but probably doesn't have the threats to sneak up to the 12/13 line, nor do they have the talent or depth to win from the 15 line.  My "so dark it may be invisible" horse would be Northern Arizona to find their legs and start laying the wood in Flagstaff again.

Anyways, here are the projected standings.

2017 Predictions: Small Conferences

The way I am building my bracket is maintain a tracker of each conference, top to bottom.  "Wow, that sounds like a lot of work."  Well so is playing basketball!

I strongly feel that much of my "expert" analysis come from understanding what is happening on the court, sometimes moreso than the players, coaches, and broadcast teams... actually, especially the broadcast teams.  With these teams, it is that much more difficult because despite dozens more coverage options, they are rarely on TV.  It's not like I can just roll on over to Bender Arena and catch a game any time, as my wife and kids would change the locks.

I have captured the screen shot so I can look back and compare results, as well as track standings, hot teams, and use this to populate the bracket.



These are clearly all one bid leagues that will typically have a great deal of entropy transitioning from non-conference to conference schedules, so it will be interesting to see who lives up to their billing.

What I am pretty sure of:
Long Beach State looks to be the class of the Big West, with recent losses at Irvine and Hawaii.  I can't imagine them losing more than 3 conference games.

Bryant will rebound in a big way.  The Northeast isn't very strong, which allowed a suspect Fairleigh Dickinson team to sneak through last year.

Stephen F. Austin will lose games in conference this year.  That hasn't always been a given, dropping a 53-1 spot the last 3 years... 12-6 looks about right, but could fall further if the new staff and team don't click right away.

Howard is a pick and roll away from being a dominant force in the MEAC, but right now rely too much on their guards' ability to get to the rim.  That ability is a great equalizer, but can be easy to stop when the calls are not going your way.

Not picking on any doormats either, but there will be some rough transition seasons out there.

How to Interpret November Results

The lock of last night was Baylor giving a point to a depleted Oregon squad.  Oregon, ranked in the Top 10, against Baylor, a promising, but frustrating team, in Waco.

Baylor rolled them like a sorority girl 66-49.  Hot takes abound!  Oregon is going to regress this season, struggle to make the tourney... Baylor has turned the corner and has erased the last two embarrassing season ending losses... Altman's tempo only works when shots are falling and the crowd is behind them.

There is so much too process, each for the players, coaches, analysts.  Coaches will not have a good feel for their line up or rotation for the first few games (unless they are returning everybody) and may not be able to reach potential.  Players coming off injury, suspension, transfer have little time in seat and are still getting their feet wet since official practices only started 3+ weeks ago.  And us... hell most of these guys are stat lines and bios until we see them on the floor.

Does my opinion change of Oregon after this loss?  No.

Does my opinion change of Duke after their loss?  No.

Michigan St after 2 losses?  No.

That is why I try not poll or rank every week, instead focusing on every month.  Sure, updated polls sell newspapers, but they really don't tell us anything other than who won or lost their last two games, which is a terrible sample size.  Let's look back on the 5th of December and see who the movers and shakers are.

Best win so far, and surprise, not an upset pick, was Villanova shaking off the hangover and winning a close one at Purdue.  They may not repeat, but will be a fun team to watch defend the title.  They keep the belt until a worthy opponent knocks them off the medal stand (which with the early Duke loss, could be in 2017).

Monmouth claims a great loss, dropping an OT game at South Carolina.  The SEC is Kentucky, South Carolina, and the bottom of the cage at the zoo.  Monmouth couldn't grab an at-large bid last season because of their conference affiliation, but went and stacked a non-conference slate that will set them up on the bubble again if they can get to 25 wins: USC, Syracuse, Memphis, Princeton, and UNC. Even 2-3 through that gauntlet and holding serve in the little MAAC should get them there... my guess is 3-2.

Hope to have some conference rankings out this week.

One and Done Versus the Alternative

Back in 1995, Kevin Garnett made a calculated decision to bypass his NCAA and head straight into the NBA.  Much to the dismay of some sports purists, he was drafted 5th overall and the TimberWolves were vindicated with an instant impact player.  The message to other promising prospects was clear as day- declare early and often, maximize your earning potential both on and off the court.  Prep to Pro success stories are there just as much as NCAA to Pro and FIBA to NBA, but teams and the media instead focused on the tragedies.  Too many busts... kids not being ready for life on their own... agents preying on talent and cutting them off once they got their cut.

It peaked in 2004 with 8 of the first 19 picks skipping college, and NBA teams beginning to show more restraint, using more second round picks on preps than the previous 10 years combined.  Much to the detriment of everyone involved, David Stern intervened and pushed the minimum age for the NBA draft back to 19, making it very difficult to forego the NCAA.

The impact is still currently hitting both franchises.  While the intent was to "protect kids from themselves" it really instead just shifted the role of the predator from agent to coach.  The NCAA basketball product was supposed to benefit from the availability of this youth, but most players only give a glimmer of potential while adjusting to the new game before realizing that NCAA eligibility is a pain in the ass and, well, declare early and often.

I admired Brandon Jennings taking off for Europe to not perpetuate the charade.  The experience may not have been embraced at the time, but he clearly came into the NBA a more polished player having not been the NCAA mealticket of a program for a year beating up on never-pro caliber talent in the PAC-10... err 12, whatever.

So while his idea may have been right, the execution of it in a foreign-speaking nation with financially-strapped teams in a win-now atmosphere may have put a depressing outlook on playing basketball.  A story coming out of Australia offers a different spin on the Prep to Pro transition, one of opportunity and reward. With so much scrutiny being paid toward NCAA finances and compensation, one thing has been sorely overlooked: the point of enrolling in college is not to play basketball and not to stay eligible.  It is to become educated and be able to positively contribute to the community/society, regardless of whether they intend to pursue basketball as a vocation.  If a recruit is really concerned about this, or really has no desire to further their education, they should not be forced into that situation.

Coaches should identify these players as "unrecruitable".  For instance, the Armed Forces actively recruits teenagers to enlist right out of high school.  Many kids want and need that opportunity.  Many, however, do not, as they may already have college, vocation, and life opportunities ahead of them.  Army recruiters can pitch patriotism, service, training, but bottom line, cannot improve your situation unless you WANT to be there.  And that is the problem.  So many of these kids get to school and go through the motions for 6 months, doing just enough to get an invite to the pre-draft camp, that none of the parties benefit from the deal.  Players don't gain the experience promised to improve much more than having gone straight from high school.  Coaches and schools have to deal with compliance, eligibility, and attendance for guys that don't really want to be there, and the NBA misses out on possible impact talent.  The NCAA gets to sell more ad space based on their likeness, so good deal for them, though.

One and done is the worst.  Schools paying players is not the answer, because that only wrecks the playing field further.  Open up the draft, open up the foreign market, and let the market dictate where the right talent goes.

Preseason Poll- 2016/17

1. Villanova (Always ride with the defending champ till they prove otherwise)
2. Duke
3. Wisconsin
4. Kentucky
5. Virginia
6. Louisville
7. Oregon
8. North Carolina
9. Indiana
10. Wichita State
11. Miami, FL
12. Purdue
13. Arizona
14. Gonzaga
15. Xavier
16. Kansas
17. UCLA
18. Michigan State
19. Creighton
20. Dayton
21. West Virginia
22. Cincinnati
23. Saint Mary’s, CA
24. Iowa State
25. Monmouth

Not much more to add for now.  Preseason polls are for the wolves anyways.

Change in Format

To go back to the start of this blog, I had to qualify my writing.  I was not a Nationals fan, but instead an A's fan trapped in DC who enjoys car accidents... an that is exactly what the Jim Bowden Nats were.  They were mildly entertaining, and I had just the menial job to allow me the time to create content and generate interesting research and analysis.

Then two things happened.  First, I was assigned to a much more challenging client and travelled extensively, and second, the Nats stopped sucking and there was much more attention paid to their trevails.

I few years have passed since I had taken the time to post, when I came across an opportunity to do analysis on college basketball.  I do not get the opportunity to watch games like I used to (12-20 games/ week) but have been looking for an excuse to start following again.  The caveat is that my school (BC) could be historically bad this year (like seriously, how do you dig deeper after 0-18?).

Plus, I have an opportunity to get to Vegas for March Madness.  Pardon the mess.

I hope to have a poll out tomorrow... BC will not be on it.