xubrew

-this past weekend was a HUGE weekend for college hoops. it's easily been the biggest weekend we've had so far and a lot of the games that were played will likely be looked at and talked about by the selection committee. the bracketology picture is kinda sorta starting to come together. it's still too early to do a full bracket, but analysis of each of the pods can be talked about.

-although the rpi is starting to come around, i'm still not giving it a whole lot of consideration at this point.


-INDIANAPOLIS. i can tell you who isn't looking good right now, and that is damn near every team from the state of indiana. illinois is clearly in the hunt for this pod. they already have big wins over gonzaga, wake forest and oregon. as far as the second team goes, it's hard to say. louisville and kentucky would benefit from the location. kentucky just won a big game this past weekend, but to be honest i really wasn't overly impressed with either team. i know it's early and kentucky will probably improve, but louisville just didn't look like a pod system team....yet. the kentucky loss is definitely a setback for them. another team that is playing well and has some big wins is iowa. cincinnati is still unbeaten, but they haven't really played anybody. however, wake forest, illinois, louisville and marquette are all on the horizon so they'll get their chances at high quality wins. the only question is whether or not they're good enough.

-NASHVILLE. this is about four hours south of indianapolis, so for louisville and kentucky, it's still a hot spot. alabama is going to contend for this pod as well. georgia tech isn't that far away either. this would probably be the best pod for mississippi state as well, so you're going to have some acc and sec teams competing for this spot. memphis had high expectations at the beginning of the season, but they've REALLY been blowing it. not only are they not looking like a pod system team, they're not even looking like an ncaa tournament team.

-CLEVELAND. this wouldn't be a bad location for cincinnati either. pittsburgh also isn't that far away. pitt has played no one except memphis, and there is question as to whether or not memphis is anyone. they'll have some big games once conference play starts, but until then it's cupcake city. i really think that the soft ooc schedule hurt the panthers last year. michigan state is also a frontrunner for this pod.

-TUSCON. unfortunately for arizona, they are hosting these games, so lute olson and company cannot be placed there. there aren't many teams that are looking all that good that would benefit from this pod. it's looking like tuscon may get pod system teams that were beat out of their preferred region by teams who were higher on the board. who knows where arizona is going to wind up. we've all heard about the east coast bias. well, this year there is a midwest bias. there are games in cleveland, indianapolis and nashville, all relatively close together. for the west, the next closest location for arizona is oklahoma city. speaking of that...

-OKLAHOMA CITY. oklahoma state is the definite frontrunner for this pod. texas and kansas are not far behind. all three teams along with oklahoma are in the same conference, and that is most likely what this pod is going to come down to. the big twelve standings will most likely determine which two teams get into this one. although this is probably the second best place it is unlikely arizona will get this pod even if they win out the season.

-BOISE. washington and gonzaga would appear to benefit from this pod the most, but arizona has got to go somewhere IF they are good enough to make the pod system (which is by no means a guarantee). however, at this point in time, i think those are the three teams that are competing for the two spots in boise.

-CHARLOTTE. the charlotte pod is to the acc (and specifically the state of north carolina) what the oklahoma city pod is to the big twelve. i will almost guarantee that two of the four carolina teams will be placed here. davidson is the host, so it's possible for charlotte to get this pod as well, but they would REALLY have to do something incredible to make the pod system. the acc standings will probably determine which of the carolina teams (duke, unc, nc state, wake) get this pod.

-WORCESTER. the big east teams will want into this one. west virginia is undefeated. uconn has one loss, but their best win so far has been against rice. pitt wouldn't mind being placed here and neither would syracuse. however, the CURRENT frontrunner is george washington by a long shot. they have better wins than any of the other teams contending for this pod. they have a game against west virginia coming up, but other than that there are very few teams left on their schedule that are as good as gw is. with the a-10 being down, gw may not lose more than three games all year...if that. if they can pull that off, one would have to think they would be placed in this pod. the weak schedule will hurt them, and it's unfortunate they weren't able to pull off a big win in the nit (lost to wake forest in the first game), but they do have two big wins already. any loss is a bad loss though.


OTHER POTENTIAL POD TEAMS:

-wichita state, yes, wichita state could make the pod system, but like gw, the margin for error is going to be very small. road wins are an emphasis this year and they've racked up a few of those. they also play in what is a very strong missouri valley conference this year. they are definitely on the outside looking in, but it is very possible. if they win 25, they'll probably be in the pod system.

-virginia and maryland will also compete for the worcester pod, but the leg up george washington has on maryland is that they beat them head to head on a neutral floor. boston college is also unbeaten and will be in the hunt for this pod if they can continue their winning ways in conference.




MORE NOTES:

-big games from this past weekend included kentucky's win over louisville. i didn't think either team played as well as they are capable of, but it was still a hugely important game. kentucky scored a HUGE win on the road in coming from sixteen down in the second half to win the game.

wake forest also got by texas, which is a big win for them. it basically solidifies that they will compete with the other three carolina teams for the charlotte pod.

arizona beat marquette in what was surprisingly a very low scoring game. it was a big road win for them, which was something they didn't get a whole lot of last year. it was marquette's first loss of the season.

gonzaga beat georgia tech for what looks to be their second quality win this season. their only loss on the year was to illinois. they have some more opportunities to get big wins coming up.



-the mid majors (hate that term, but it's appropriate for now i guess) continue to play as well as most of the majors. it's too bad that the voters aren't taking note. the missouri valley is still on fire and will probably send four teams to the ncaa. bradley beat a very good pepperdine team by the score of 76-58. it was a costly loss for pepperdine who sort of had at large hopes of their own (and still do, but this was a VERY costly loss). western kentucky continues to cruise. they are 7-1 and have three easy ones before they travel to virginia in what will be a HUGE game for them.



the thing about the mid majors is that they've played and won on the road more than most of the majors. at this point in time, many of them have played better teams. this could be a year where we see A LOT of non bcs teams in the tournament.



-congrats to longwood who won their first ever game as a div1 team over the weekend. they beat howard 75-69. utah valley state has actually managed two wins this year already. the other div1 newbies (northern colorado and savannah state) remain winless against div1 teams. sometimes the jump to div1 is like trying to jump ten feet when you're only able to jump five. those first years can be slow and agonizing. wisconsin milwaukee and iupui recently made the jump and have had a great deal of success, but they certainly paid their dues initially like these teams are doing now.


-as a xavier fan, i feel that i must say something about the atlantic ten. it still stinks.



-the first bracket will be posted sunday, january 9th.

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