So, with College Football over and the NFL coming to an end, personally, I turn to College Basketball to fulfill my sports appetite. Some would say, why not the NBA? Well, to me, the NBA is not very interesting until the home stretch of the regular season and playoffs (which is in April). I will do an All Star Game Review of the NBA. College Hoops, however, is unlike any other sport really. In fact, the reason why I started this blog is because I’ve run an NCAA Hoops Pool – the Wegs Pool for like 16 years. In doing my write ups of the games for my Poolsters, I’ve been told people like my writing. So, this site is really due to my passion for College Basketball and March Madness. Let me make the case for being a College Hoops fan.
College Hoops – Why Watch?
College sports, in general, puts teams that play their best in almost every game. After all, the players are kids, and they don’t know any better. Plus, the fan bases of the teams are completely into the game, even more so than the NFL fans. I love going to Bears games in Chicago, but I can only imagine going to Alabama to see the Crimson Tide play Auburn in football or watching a Duke vs. North Carolina game in basketball. Those fans live and die by their teams. However, for College Football, the best teams typically win the game. In fact, this year, Alabama played Clemson for the 4th consecutive year in the playoffs. That is why I love College Basketball. Yes, there are certain teams that are in the mix every single year. However, the most talented team can lose in any given game in College Basketball. So, like the NFL (Any Given Sunday), college teams can play an incredible game and take the giant down.
The best weeks of the year are in March known as March Madness. Unlike College Football, 68 teams make an open playoff bracket. It is a one and done format, so in order to win the Championship – one team has to win 6 straight games. That is earning it on the court. Even better than the NFL playoffs (which are incredible), March Madness pits these kids laying it all out on the line on Neutral Courts, and since basketball only involves 5 players on a team, really anyone can beat anyone else, like last year when a 16 Seed UMBC took out the top seeded Virginia Cavaliers.
So, if you don’t follow College Basketball, then I encourage you to start. Most fans put in a Bracket once the field is set (this year on Selection Sunday, March 17th). However, I would encourage you to start watching games now to have an opinion of the teams you select. I will do my best to guide you in your selections.
BRACKETOLOGY
For those familiar with March Madness and the NCAA Tournament, there are experts on the sports site that predict who will make the tournament or not. The study of this process is called Bracketology. One thing about College Basketball is they have a Selection Committee to decide who gets in “The Big Dance” or not. Here are some basics:
Conference Titles earn automatic bids. So, every Division I conference will send a team to the Tournament. Most conferences run a Conference Tournament after the regular season in early March. Those Tournaments effectively start March Madness because most Division I conferences only get that 1 team in every year. In fact, there are 32 conferences and typically 23-24 of those conferences only send 1 team each year. That leaves 36 “at large teams” which are the teams who will be selected to play due to their season’s work. That is why these Bracketologist get paid to speculate based on the current Selection Committee Criteria.
The other thing the Bracketologists do is project the Seed a team will be in the Bracket. Each team will be Seeded in the tourney 1 through 16. Obviously, the better teams will have a “higher seed” or lower number. The best teams are the #1s. Teams on the edge or “Bubble Teams” will be closer to 8-12 seeds. I like to see which teams on the Bubble will make it, so I track those teams intently. Also, I like to identify those smaller conference teams that can make some noise in the Big Dance in March, like Chicago’s very own Loyola University last year.
I take a look at the 2 big sites brackets (ESPN – Joe Lunardi and CBS – Jerry Palm) and compare them. Each week, I’ll put out the key differences in between the two – Teams In/Out and Big Seeding Discrepancies.
Week – January 14-20th Review
Joe Lunardi (JL) on ESPN goes a little more in depth than Palm in putting out the Bubble. His #1 Seeds are Duke, Virginia (UVA), Tennessee and Michigan. His last teams in are: Kansas State, Texas, Florida and Temple.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology
Jerry Palm (JP) on CBS has an index/analysis you can see. He has his #1 Seeds as Virginia, Kansas, Tennessee and Michigan. His last teams in are: Pitt, Arizona State, Arizona and Cincinnati.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/bracketology/
The key teams that they differ on in the field are: Pitt, (JL Out, JP In), Texas (JL In, JP Out), Florida (JL In, JP Out) and Arizona State (JL Out, JP In). The biggest disparities in Seeds are with Louisville (JL 7, JP 4), Auburn (JL 4, JP 7) and St. Johns (JL 10, JP 7).
I’ll report out on this weekly, and over time you will get to know the teams on the Bubble and top teams. I’ll put out some info on those teams as we go.
KenPom.com – Must for Any College Hoops Fan
For those who watch College Hoops and either do NCAA Hoops Pools or Bet on the games, Ken Pomeroy’s website is one of a kind. KenPom as it is known gives you detailed analysis if every team in Division I – Offensive, Defensive Efficiency, Strength of Schedule, etc. I’ve been using it for a few years in my Pools and have been able to pick the winner 5 of the last 6 years.
Each week I’ll talk about the most Under-Rated vs. Over-Rated teams based on the KenPom rating and their AP ranking. You would be surprised the difference. I’ll start this next week, but for now, check out KenPom and see where your team sits on the rating.
So, that was a lot for one day, but this introduction will hopefully get you to start your March Madness prep now. Next week I’ll preview a couple of key match ups to watch.
Wegs