|
-PREMIUM MEMBER-
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: cincinnati
Age: 29
Posts: 2,250
Rep Power: 9
|
highlighted matchups for january 21....
***bracket projections will be posted tomorrow afternoon, but they will not include these games.***
-ARKANSAS AT AUBURN. auburn needs a win to continue to climb the bracketology ladder. their rpi is at 51, but they are on a two game losing streak.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT DAYTON. despite being 14-3 overall dayton's schedule have kept their numbers down. their current rpi is in the low 50s, their sos is in the 150s and they only have 1 quality win. they are on a 4 game winning streak and if they continue to win those numbers will rise, but a loss could really create havoc on their resume.
-MANHATTAN AT FAIRFIELD. manhattan, yes ladies and gentlemen, manhattan has won 6 straight games, 3 of which were on the road, and have their rpi down around the mid 40s (11-3 overall). they have no quality wins and play no one in the rpi top 100 the rest of the year, but if they can win out they should be in a position to get an at large bid if they happen to slip up in the regular season. their last two losses were both on the road to penn and syracuse, and were by a combined total of only 8 points.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT FLORIDA (***pod system spotlight game***). after playing a relatively weak ooc schedule, mississippi state continues to play well in conference. their rpi and national ranking will continue to rise so long as they continue to win. playing at florida will not be an easy assignment. florida has a current top 10 rpi, but they still only have one quality win on the year and are coming off of a bad loss to vanderbilt. if they want to get into the orlando pod, they need to win games. otherwise, they could find themselves out of the pod system and one of the teams that may be there to take there place is mississippi state. HUGE game tomorrow night in the sec. both teams have high resumes that could be similar at the end of the year. therefore, the head to head competiton could be the deciding factor in who gets placed higher on the board.
-ALABAMA AT GEORGIA. georgia has put together the most scattered resume in all of college basketball. their rpi is 39 and their sos is in the 20s, which would put them in prime position for an at large bid IF they are cleared by the ncaa. they have a bad loss to winthrop and have lost 3 of their last 5 all convincingly, but they have 3 quality wins and 2 of those are high quality wins. believe it or not, they have a solid ncaa resume and are likely to get in when i do my projections tomorrow. one way to make it even more solid would be to beat alabama. alabama is having a far better year than most people expected. they are 10-4 overall with an rpi hovering between 10 and 15. their sos is 3. they have 3 quality wins and after losing a close one at lsu, they have won their last two. this would be a quality road win for them which would help sustain their resume. the one thing they don't have is recognition from the coaches' poll.
-PENN STATE AT ILLINOIS. for illinois, it is very simple. they have dropped some pretty bad games and have put some real blemishes on their current resume. their rpi is 50 and they lost a bad one at northwestern. this would be another blemish that they cannot afford.
-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT ILLINOIS STATE. southern illinois has a solid resume. their rpi is in the high 30s and they have plenty of road wins to go along with it. however, their margin for error is not that big and they really cannot afford too many setbacks.
-IOWA AT IOWA STATE. this game probably has more of significance off paper than on. however, iowa state has an rpi hovering around 50 and could be considered a bubble team if they are able to get some quality wins in conference. they could use a win here as well.
-WESTERN MICHIGAN AT KENT STATE. remember when western michigan's rpi was in the low 20s?? well, although they have continued to win, it is now around 40. why?? ipfw and eastern michigan that is why. however, people are too easily alarmed with numbers. the fact that their rpi has dropped does not change anything as far as what they need to do to get an at large bid, and that is continue to win. kent state is 9-3, and a win over them will once again lift their rpi.
-CINCINNATI AT LOUISVILLE (***pod system spotlight game***). this will be the game of the day. cincinnati is undefeated and louisville has won 13 straight. the winner will be in control of their own destiny for the #1 seed in the midwest and have a big lead in the race for the columbus pod. cincinnati has not been tested and as a result they currently only have 1 quality win. also, word from their neck of the woods is that some of the players will not be 100%. louisville, on the other hand, has been tested and will be tested again. these two will meet later in the season, but i think the pressure is more on louisville. they have had trouble winning up at cincinnati and if they lose twice, forget the #1 seed if cincinnati continues to win like they have been.
-DUKE AT MARYLAND. maryland has played great at home. duke has played...well....great everywhere they've played. since losing to purdue, they have racked up 6 quality wins and have yet to win by less than 18 points. they are clearly the current frontrunners for the #1 seed in the south. however, this is probably the toughest environment they have played in all year, but based on how well they've been playing, it is going to be extremely difficult for maryland.
-RUTGERS AT MIAMI FL. rutgers is 9-5, but their schedule strenght is tough. their current rpi is 26 and a road win would be a nice addition to their already solid resume.
-LSU AT MISSISSIPPI. lsu is an impressive 12-2 overall with an rpi in the low 20s and 3 quality wins to go along with it. a road win would be a nice addition to their already solid resume. however, they need to be careful. along with the 3 quality wins, they also have a bad loss at houston. mississippi's rpi is currently below 100 and is not likely to finish above 100, so this would be their second bad loss if mississippi were to win.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT NORTHWESTERN. don't look now, but as poorly as michigan state has played, they are back on the bracketology map. their sos is #1 and their rpi is in the low 40s. if they can avoid losing to northwestern, consider them back on the bubble. i'm not kidding. they have no quality wins, but with an sos of #1 and an rpi in the low 40s, chances are a few more wins puts them back in the picture. they may even get in to the projections tomorrow, but i'll have to see.
-COLORADO AT OKLAHOMA STATE. the cowboys are on a roll. after losing convincingly to texas tech, they have won their last two (albiet barely at kansas state). their rpi is in the 30s and will continue to rise as they continue to win.
-VILLANOVA AT PROVIDENCE. providence probably has the most impressive resume out of all the unranked teams. their rpi and sos are in the low teens. they have 4 quality wins and are 4-2 on the road. not only that, playing in the big east will match them up against the teams they need to beat to make the pod system. villanova is not one of those teams contending for the pod system, but it is still a team they need to beat. this is an excellent providence team. 2 of those 3 losses came on last second shots, one of which was at the last millisecond.
-MINNESOTA AT PURDUE. purdue has a very unusual resume. their sos is in the 120s and their rpi is in the 60s. they have 5 quality wins, 2 of which are high quality wins, and 2 bad losses. not a whole lot of consistency there. they need consistency (so long it is consistently good). they are 12-4 overall, have won their last two wins, both of which were against rpi top 50 teams and this is yet another big game for them.
-UMASS AT SAINT JOSEPH'S. saint joseph's needs to win out the regular season and i think the #1 seed in the east is theres. it is hard to tell because the big east matches quality teams up against each other and if a clear frontrunner emerges, they may take it from them, but no other conference that looks like it will produce a #1 seed looks like it will have more than 1 frontrunner. in other words, i don't look for 2 #1 seeds to come from the same conference. if EVERYONE in the big east beats up on each other, even if it is just a little bit, i think the #1 in the east goes to saint joseph's if they win out. that being said, every game is a big game for them, even the little ones like this one.
-CREIGHTON AT WICHITA STATE. the last time creighton played on the road, they lost to northern iowa, a sub 100 rpi team. even though they are 13-1, they currently have no quality wins and an rpi in the mid 40s. that is low. the one thing they do have is recognition in the coaches poll, and the nabc rankings can offset the low rpi and low sos a little bit. however, even with the good overall record, a second road loss would not be good.
-MICHIGAN AT WISCONSIN. for michigan, they are looking to get onto the bubble. their rpi is 54 and they have lost 2 straight games. for wisconsin, they do not want to lose their grip on the milwaukee pod. they are coming off a loss to purdue, and they need to get it done at home against michigan.
__________________
IT'S MILLER TIME!!!
|
highlighted matchups for january 21....
Linear Mode
