January 18, 2014 Midday update

Just a quick midday update while I'm watching Kansas beat up on OK State.  I'll do another either Sunday evening or during the day Monday.

1 seeds: Arizona, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Villanova

2 seeds: Massachusetts, Wichita State, Michigan State, Kansas

3 seeds: Florida, San Diego State, Iowa State, Pittsburgh

4 seeds: Oklahoma State, Creighton, Ohio State, Cincinatti

5 seeds: Saint Louis, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado

6 seeds: Toledo, Gonzaga, Iowa, Oklahoma

7 seeds: UCLA, George Washington, Kentucky, Harvard

8 seeds: Duke, Xavier, Louisville, Kansas State

9 seeds: Minnesota, Green Bay, California, Virginia

10 seeds: Missouri, Memphis, SMU, Baylor

11 seeds: Texas, Florida State, New Mexico, Michigan

12 seeds: VCU, Dayton, Illinois, Arizona State, Indiana, Providence

13 seeds: North Dakota St, New Mexico State, UC Santa Barbara, Belmont

14 seeds: Southern Miss, Stephen F. Austin, Manhattan, Mercer

15 seeds: Boston University, Delaware, Georgia State, North Carolina Central

16 seeds: Stony Brook, Northern Colorado, Saint Francis (NY), Elon, Radford, Alabama State

First Four Out: Saint Mary's College, Stanford, Wake Forest, Arkansas

Also, quick update on my upset alerts from yesterday:

-Pitt leads Cuse by 3 with 4:00 to play

-Texas leads Iowa State by 9 with 4:30 to play

-Kansas leads Oklahoma State by 6 with 11:30 to play

-Oklahoma beat Baylor by 2.

-Kentucky topped Tennessee by 8.

So, one upset in the books already and 3 more in the making. Michigan St/Illinois, Louisville/UConn, & Minnesota/Iowa still to come.

I'm now on Bracket Matrix

I just got my bracket added to the Bracket Matrix.  It will be awesome to be able to compare my predictions against 45 other professional (Joe Lunardi - ESPN, Jerry Palm - CBS, etc) and amateur bracketologists.  On the Matrix, my picks are under "Drew".

Currently, each of my predictions are within 3 seed lines of the Bracket Matrix consensus, with the exception of Kentucky (BM:4, Me:8) and George Washington (BM:10, Me:6).

January 17, 2014 Update

The Gophers took big advantage of Ohio State's downward spiral in a 10-point win over the #11 ranked Buckeyes last night.  That victory bumped Minnesota's RPI to #30, and will most likely garner some AP/Coaches votes next week, depending on what happens in Iowa City on Sunday.  The Gophers would really solidify a selection with a win in either that game, or against Wisconsin next Wednesday.  After that it will be crucial to protect their standing with wins over four lower ranked teams.

In other recent games, Texas Tech knocked off Baylor to drop them a few spots on the selection ladder, and UConn beat #17 Memphis on the road to significantly boost their resume.

There are several huge matchups this weekend to keep an eye on.  I predict that at least FIVE of these eight games will result in an upset.
-#22 Pitt heads to the Carrier Dome to try and hand #2 'Cuse their first loss of the season.
-#4 Michigan State plays a tough road game against a now unranked Illinois team coming off back-to-back dissapointing losses.
-#8 Iowa State will try to stop their bleeding against an underrated Texas team in Austin.
-#9 Oklahoma State travels to Lawrence to face the #15 Jayhawks in the game of the weekend.  Look for Kansas to dominate this one!
-The #25 Sooners play at #12 Baylor - both teams looking to rebound after disappointing losses.
-Tennessee will try to work their way onto the bubble on the road against an overrated #13 Kentucky squad that just lost to another bubble team in Arkansas.
-#18 Louisville goes on the road to face UConn (hardly an upset call here...the Cards' RPI is #43, Huskies are #16).
-And finally, the Gophers will try to launch themselves into the top-25 with a big win at #14 Iowa.

Alright, without further ado, here are the updated standings.  Stay tuned for the next update as I'm sure there will be some major shake-ups!

1 seeds: Arizona, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Villanova

2 seeds: Massachusetts, Wichita State, Michigan State, Florida

3 seeds: Kansas, San Diego State, Iowa State, Pittsburgh

4 seeds: Oklahoma State, Creighton, Ohio State, Cincinatti

5 seeds: Saint Louis, Connecticut, Oregon, Gonzaga

6 seeds: Iowa, UCLA, Colorado, George Washington

7 seeds: Harvard, Baylor, Oklahoma, Xavier

8 seeds: Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, Florida State

9 seeds: Minnesota, California, Kansas State, Memphis

10 seeds: Missouri, Green Bay, Texas, Dayton

11 seeds: Virginia, New Mexico, Michigan, VCU

12 seeds: SMU, Illinois, Arkansas, Arizona State, Georgetown, North Dakota State

13 seeds: New Mexico State, UC Santa Barbara, Belmont, Toledo

14 seeds: Southern Miss, Manhattan, Stephen F. Austin, Mercer

15 seeds: Boston University, Delaware, Georgia State, North Carolina Central

16 seeds: Northern Colorado, Stony Brook, Saint Francis (NY), Elon, Radford, Alabama State

First Four Out: Saint Mary's College, Indiana, Providence, Wake Forest

January 15, 2014 Update

A couple more big upsets last night shook things up a bit in the quest for a tournament selection.

Indiana's win at home over Wisconsin moved them onto the bubble as one of my first last four out.  With that big win, a .500 record in their remaining Big Ten games should move the Hoosiers into the field as the 8TH Big Ten team!  This game also bumped the Badgers off of their #1 overall spot, but their top-5 SOS keeps them on the 1-seed line, and my pick to win the Big Ten.

In the SEC, Arkansas beat Kentucky in Fayetteville to move them into my final At Large slot.  That being said, in a bit weaker conference, the Razorbacks will likely need 9 or 10 more conference wins to lock up a selection.  The result of the Wildcats' 4th loss is a drop from a 5- to 7-seed.  A few more losses like that could send Calipari to his second straight NIT.

Lastly, before we get to the updated predictions, the Cyclones' second consecutive loss drops them down another spot to a 3-seed.  Mayor Freddie will need to figure things out in a hurry, as their schedule doesn't ease up for a few more weeks.  They're just three games into an eight game stretch against tournament teams which includes a road rematch against the Jayhawks on the 29th, and a home rematch against the Sooners on February 1st.

1 seeds: Arizona, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Massachusetts

2 seeds: Villanova, Wichita State, Michigan State, Florida

3 seeds: Kansas, Iowa State, San Diego State, Pittsburgh

4 seeds: Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Creighton, Baylor

5 seeds: Colorado, Cincinnati, Iowa, Saint Louis

6 seeds: Oregon, Gonzaga, George Washington, Memphis

7 seeds: Connecticut, Missouri, New Mexico, Harvard

8 seeds: Kentucky, Oklahoma, UCLA, Louisville

9 seeds: Duke, Kansas State, Xavier, Illinois

10 seeds: Florida State, California, Southern Miss, Green Bay

11 seeds: Virginia, Minnesota, VCU, Texas

12 seeds: Michigan, Dayton, Georgetown, SMU, Arizona State, Arkansas

13 seeds: New Mexico State, Ohio, North Dakota State, Belmont

14 seeds: UC Santa Barbara, Manhattan, Stephen F. Austin, Mercer

15 seeds: Boston University, Northern Colorado, Louisiana-Lafayette, Delaware

16 seeds: North Carolina Central, Radford, Saint Francis (NY), Stony Brook, Elon, Southern

First Four Out: Saint Mary's College, Indiana, Missouri State, Stanford

January 13, 2014 Update

My Gophers lost another very close game after taking Michigan State to OT.  That continues Minnesota's streak of consecutive Big Ten games within 3 points (in regulation), now at four to start conference play.  It doesn't get much easier now, as the Gophers have Ohio State, @Iowa, and Wisconsin next.  It'll take at least one win out of those three games to remain in the runnings for Tournament selection.  Iowa shook things up with a convincing win over Ohio State over the weekend, bumping the Hawkeyes up to a 5-seed and the Buckeyes down to a 4-seed in the newest predictions.

1 seeds: Wisconsin, Arizona, Syracuse, Villanova

2 seeds: Iowa State, Massachusetts, Wichita State, Michigan State

3 seeds: Florida, San Diego State, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh

4 seeds: Kansas, Ohio State, Creighton, Baylor

5 seeds: Colorado, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Iowa

6 seeds: Oklahoma, Saint Louis, Oregon, Missouri

7 seeds: Memphis, Gonzaga, Connecticut, Harvard

8 seeds: New Mexico, UCLA, George Washington, Louisville

9 seeds: Virginia, VCU, Xavier, Illinois

10 seeds: Florida State, Duke, Green Bay, California

11 seeds: Kansas State, Minnesota, Dayton, Georgetown

12 seeds: Michigan, Texas, SMU, Arizona State, Saint Mary's College, New Mexico State

13 seeds: Ohio, North Dakota State, Belmont, UC Santa Barbara

14 seeds: Southern Mississippi, Manhattan, Stephen F. Austin, Mercer

15 seeds: Drexel, Boston University, Northern Colorado, Louisiana-Lafayette

16 seeds: North Carolina Central, Saint Francis (NY), Radford, Stony Brook, Elon, Alabama State

January 10, 2014

With four crazy hard games against the top four Big10 teams coming up (Michigan St, Ohio St, Iowa, Wisconsin), today might be the highest projection for the Gophers for the rest of the season, so I wanted to document.  Maybe, just maybe Minny can pick up a win or two in this four-game stretch and maintain their position.

1 seeds: Wisconsin, Iowa State, Syracuse, Arizona

2 seeds: Villanova, Massachusetts, Ohio State, Michigan State

3 seeds: Wichita State, Colorado, San Diego State, Oklahoma State

4 seeds: Pittsburgh, Oregon, Kansas, Baylor

5 seeds: Florida, Creighton, Cincinnati, Illinois

6 seeds: Xavier, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Oklahoma

7 seeds: Duke, Memphis, Iowa, New Mexico

8 seeds: Minnesota, Saint Louis, Southern Mississippi, Missouri

9 seeds: Harvard, Connecticut, Kansas State, Louisville

10 seeds: UCLA, Dayton, Virginia, George Washington

11 seeds: VCU, Florida State, Arizona State, California

12 seeds: SMU, Michigan, Georgetown, Texas, Green Bay, North Carolina State

13 seeds: Ohio, New Mexico State, UC Santa Barbara, North Dakota State

14 seeds: Belmont, Manhattan, Stephen F. Austin, Mercer

15 seeds: North Carolina Central, Drexel, Boston University, Northern Colorado

16 seeds: Louisiana-Lafayette, Saint Francis (NY), Radford, Stony Brook, Elon, Jackson State

January 5, 2014

After one week of conference play, here are my updated Bracket seeding projections:

1 seeds: Wisconsin, Iowa State, Syracuse, Ohio State

2 seeds: Arizona, Villanova, Oregon, Massachusetts

3 seeds: Michigan State, Wichita State, Colorado, Kansas

4 seeds: Baylor, Oklahoma State, Illinois, Pittsburgh

5 seeds: Missouri, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Florida

6 seeds: Creighton, San Diego State, Iowa, Cincinnati

7 seeds: Xavier, Louisville, UCLA, George Washington

8 seeds: Kentucky, Southern Mississippi, Duke, Saint Louis

9 seeds: North Carolina, Dayton, Minnesota, Georgetown

10 seeds: Memphis, Kansas State, New Mexico, Texas

11 seeds: Connecticut, SMU, VCU, Saint Mary's

12 seeds: Boise State, Virginia, LSU, California, North Dakota State, Green Bay

13 seeds: UC Santa Barbara, New Mexico State, Drexel, Belmont

14 seeds: Harvard, Toledo, Manhattan, Stephen F Austin

15 seeds: Mercer, Louisiana-Lafayette, Boston University, NC Central

16 seeds: Northern Colorado, Bryant, Albany, Elon, Jackson State, UNC Asheville