Bracketology: February 20

Latest prediction is below.  Michigan State and Gonzaga switch spots.  The Sycamores are out, Cal is in.  MU is knocking on the door of a 4-seed.  If they win on Saturday I'll slide them up.

1. Indiana, Miami (FLA.), Florida, Gonzaga

2. Duke, Michigan, Michigan State, Syracuse

3. Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, New Mexico

4. Kansas State, Ohio State, Butler, Georgetown

5. Marquette, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin

6. Minnesota, Notre Dame, Colorado State, San Diego State

7. North Carolina State, Oregon, Cincinnati, Missouri

8. UNLV, Virginia Commonwealth, Memphis, UCLA

9. Creighton, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wichita State

10. Illinois, North Carolina, Iowa State, Saint Louis

11. Mississippi, Belmont, Baylor, La Salle

12. St. Mary's (CA), Middle Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, California, Temple

13. Akron, Louisiana Tech, Bucknell, Stephen F. Austin

14. Valparaiso, Davidson, Florida Gulf Coast, Stony Brook

15. Montana, Harvard, Long Beach State, Western Illinois

16. Northeastern, Niagara, Norfolk State, Mercer, NC-Asheville, Southern

Bracketology, February 17

Ah yes, it's time once again for one of my favorite topics: bracketology.  Time for people to discuss world-changing topics such as who's going to win it all, potential 12-5 upsets, and who will be this season's George Mason.  We're a month away from the most unproductive time of year for the corporate world ("Gee, you've been looking at that same spreadsheet for the last 4 hours, what's so important about it?  And why does it say 'Click anywhere on this screen to return to cbssports.com?'").  We're also a month away from the greatest tv show of the year, Selection Sunday, and 6 weeks from another rendition of "One Shining Moment" by Luther Vandross.  Most importantly, we're a month away from the best post-season tournament in sports, period.

These picks will inevitably change completely over the next 4 weeks, but this will at least get the conversation started.  Once again, these picks will be posted on the Bracket Matrix for the rest of the season.  Check back every 2-3 days for updated picks.  MU starts out as a 5-seed.  If they win 4 of their last 6 Big East games they should move up to a 4-seed.  Enjoy.

1. Indiana, Miami (FLA.), Florida, Michigan State

2. Duke, Michigan, Gonzaga, Syracuse

3. Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, New Mexico

4. Kansas State, Ohio State, Butler, Georgetown

5. Pittsburgh, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin

6. Minnesota, Cincinnati, Colorado State, San Diego State

7. North Carolina State, Oregon, Notre Dame, Virginia Commonwealth

8. UNLV, Missouri, Memphis, UCLA

9. Creighton, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wichita State

10. Illinois, North Carolina, Iowa State, Saint Louis

11. Mississippi, Kentucky, Baylor, La Salle

12. St. Mary's (CA), Middle Tennessee, Belmont, Virginia, Indiana State, Temple

13. Akron, Louisiana Tech, Bucknell, Stephen F. Austin

14. Valparaiso, Davidson, Florida Gulf Coast, Stony Brook

15. Montana, Harvard, Long Beach State, Western Illinois

16. Northeastern, Niagara, Norfolk State, Bryant, NC-Asheville, Southern

Random Thoughts on the 2012-13 Season

As you've probably noticed, I've taken a long hiatus from adding material to Stuck in 1977.  Unfortunately I haven't had the time to put together any good posts, so to make up for lost time I'm just going to post my thoughts on the season thus far.  Check back soon, as I'll be posting my bracketology picks to The Bracket Matrix again.  Enjoy.


- Couple bumps in the road, but I'll take the season we've got so far.  There is a mess of teams at 4-3 and we're above the rest at 5-1, tied with 'Cuse in the loss column.

- While I love Ken Pomeroy's site, the problem I have found with relying heavily on stats is that certain stats don't pass the eye yest, and vice-versa.  This squad is playing great defense, but it doesn't necessarily show up in the "defensive efficiency" column.  This squad has been characterized by tough on-the-ball defense, excellent switches off of ball screens, and forcing turnovers.  I think this team has played the best defense of any that Buzz has coached so far.

- That being said, offensive efficiency is right on the money.  Buzz is right about playing every game tight down the stretch.  This team is not built to blow teams out, as it doesn't have the firepower from behind the arc or in transition to score in bunches.  It can be pretty frustrating to watch from Section 441 at times, but great defense has helped carry us through these struggles.

- Hello?  Student Section?  Do you still exist?

- We're 4 points away (Butler and UWGB) from being a top-15 team with aspirations of a 3-seed.  We're also 3 points away (Georgetown, UConn in regulation) from being 3-3 and defining the term "mediocre" in the Oxford Dictionary.  Just another ho-hum season in the Big East/Soon-to-be-Catholic-7/Whatever you want to call this league.

- The more I see of Steve Taylor Jr, the more I want to see.  This kid flew under the radar since he played on the same team as some kid named Jabari Parker, and is starting to show why teams should've given him a look too.  He's got a bit of Jae Crowder in him, knowing where to be under the hoop for the easy putback.  Heck, he even made a fantastic behind-the-back move at the end of the 1st half against Providence yesterday and nearly drained a 3-ball at the buzzer.  Very excited about this kid.

- Insert bat joke here.

- Is it just me or does anyone else cringe every time Chris Otule and Davante Gardner get into some type of collision?  I feel like they're always milliseconds from season-ending injuries.

- Juan Anderson has stepped up in a big way this season.  He's more aggressive on offense (two 3-pointers yesterday over the Friars), has had some huge rebounds, and is playing great defense.  He's on track to be a crucial player in the next 2 years.

- The game against Cincinnati is the first I can remember where Todd Mayo wasn't referred to as O.J. Mayo's younger brother.  Thanks ESPN, it only took you 18 months to finally drop that tired, tired phrase.

- We are going to be unbelievably good next year

- Students, for the love of Al McGuire, could you quit chanting "Automatic" when Gardner is shooting free throws?  So far it hasn't phased #54, but karma says it's going to cost us a W against Notre Dame on Senior Day.

- Of the teams leaving for the ACC, I'm going to miss playing Louisville the most.  We've had a long history with them, and their fans take basketball more seriously than the Fighting Irish.  That being said, I still hate them.

- This season has been quite the comedy of errors.  Missed game due to condensation against Ohio State, digging deep into the rules book to figure out how the refs screwed up in the UConn game, and of course yesterdays bat-brigade/Whitney Houston concert.  What's next, Buzz drops his pants at halftime?  Oh wait, that was already done.

                          View from Section 441 yesterday when they shut the lights off to get rid of a nocturnal mammal

- To go along with this team's lack of style points, White Sox fans like myself may have noticed it has been 30 years since the "Winning Ugly" season.  This year it's Marquette's turn.

- I figured out how we can beat a 2-3 zone.  We just need to clone Jamil Wilson 5 times.  The kid's 16-foot jumper will beat that zone every time.

- On a separate topic, the Badgers had no business beating Indiana down in Bloomington this season.  Just another example of how Tom Crean is a bad in-game coach.

- To the fellow Chicago Bears fans out there, you may recall the last time we won at the Zoo before this season was the same day the Bears beat the Saints in the NFC Championship.  I couldn't decide which game to be more excited about that day, both were huge (I suppose the Bears going to the Superbowl was a little bigger).

- Either bring in Xavier and keep it at 8, or bring in Xavier, Butler, and Dayton and cap it at 10.  Any other basketball schools may dilute the conference too much.

- Predictions for the end of the season:  11-7 conference record, 6-seed in the Dance.

MU Non-Conference Schedule Being Released Slowly But Surely

As is customary with the Marquette Athletics office, each year during July they release the non-conference schedule one game at a time.  As if the summer isn't slow enough for college hoops, MU somehow found a way to make it even slower.  As everyone should know by now, Marquette kicks off the season on November 9th against Ohio State on an aircraft carrier in Charleston, SC.  This event is very rare, especially for MU, who starts out against a cupcake pretty much every season.

The second and third games of the season have been released so far, and are pretty typical of a non-conference schedule:

November 11 - Colgate
November 13 - Southeastern Louisiana

Check back here for the rest of the non-conference schedule as it comes out at the rapid-fire pace of a snail on an off-day.

Final Bracketology - March 11

At last, Selection Sunday has come, which means bracketology predictions will be useless in about an hour.  My final predictions are below.  In the next day or two I'll do some analysis on how far off I was from the actual seedings.

1 Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, Michigan State
2 North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio State, Duke
3 Baylor, Marquette, Georgetown, Michigan
4 Louisville, Wisconsin, Florida State, Indiana
5 Vanderbilt, Florida, Wichita State, Murray State
6 Temple, UNLV, Gonzaga, New Mexico
7 Creighton, Notre Dame, San Diego State, St. Mary's (CA)
8 Iowa State, Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas State
9 Virginia, Purdue, Cincinnati, Harvard
10 California, Alabama, West Virginia, Southern Miss
11 Colorado State, BYU, Connecticut, Texas
12 VCU, Colorado, Xavier, South Florida, NC State, Seton Hall
13 Long Beach State, Detroit, South Dakota State, Davidson
14 St. Bonaventure, Montana, New Mexico State, Belmont
15 Ohio, Loyola-MD, Texas-Arlington, Lehigh
16 LIU-Brooklyn, Norfolk State, Vermont, NC-Asheville, Mississippi Valley State, Western Kentucky

Bracketology - March 10

Latest and greatest is below.  Note: These were put up pre-Big East Cahampionship.  Baylor slides up after a big win over Kansas.  NC State switches spots with Miami.  Enjoy.

1 Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, North Carolina
2 Michigan State, Missouri, Ohio State, Duke
3 Marquette, Baylor, Georgetown, Michigan
4 Louisville, Wisconsin, Indiana, Wichita State
5 Florida, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Murray State
6 Temple, UNLV, Gonzaga, New Mexico
7 Creighton, Notre Dame, San Diego State, St. Mary's (CA)
8 Iowa State, Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas State
9 Virginia, Purdue, Cincinnati, Harvard
10 California, Alabama, West Virginia, Southern Miss
11 Colorado State, BYU, Connecticut, Washington
12 Texas, Mississippi State, Xavier, South Florida, NC State, Seton Hall
13 Long Beach State, VCU, South Dakota State, Montana
14 Detroit, Davidson, Nevada, Belmont
15 Akron, Loyola-MD, Texas-Arlington, Lehigh
16 LIU-Brooklyn, Western Kentucky, Vermont, NC-Asheville, Mississippi Valley State, Norfolk State

Bracketology - March 9

Latest and greatest is below.  My final reason for keeping Northwestern from dancing came last night with a loss to the golden gophers.  Probably should have had Louisville as a 5-seed two days ago, but after beating MU they can stay on the 4-line.

1 Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, North Carolina
2 Duke, Michigan State, Missouri, Ohio State
3 Marquette, Michigan, Georgetown, Baylor
4 Indiana, Wisconsin, Louisville, Wichita State
5 Florida, Vanderbilt, Temple, Murray State
6 Florida State, UNLV, Gonzaga, New Mexico
7 Creighton, Notre Dame, San Diego State, St. Mary's (CA)
8 Iowa State, Saint Louis, Memphis, Kansas State
9 Virginia, California, Purdue, Cincinnati
10 Harvard, Alabama, West Virginia, Southern Miss
11 Colorado State, BYU, Connecticut, Washington
12 Texas, Mississippi State, Xavier, South Florida, Miami (FLA.), Seton Hall
13 Long Beach State, VCU, South Dakota State, Montana
14 Detroit, Davidson, Nevada, Belmont
15 Akron, Loyola-MD, Texas-Arlington, Lehigh
16 LIU-Brooklyn, Western Kentucky, Stony Brook, NC-Asheville, Mississippi Valley State, Norfolk State