SilverPhoenix

As much as I would love UAB to be in this tournament, it's not looking good for them at this point if you go by the numbers. Which look like these (and no, I'm not using the Sagarins, because come March 12th, they take a back seat to the RPI, even with all of its flaws.) Record (Includes Division I Competition only for wins): 19 - 5 Conference Record: 10 -2 OOC Record 9 - 3 Last 10 Games: 8 - 2 RPI (Official NCAA RPI/Warren Nolan RPI/ESPN RPI/Real Time RPI): 53/52/52/52 Conference RPI (Warren Nolan/Real Time RPI): 14/16 Overall SOS (Warren Nolan/ESPN/Real Time): 169/192/236 OOC SOS (ESPN): 179 Record Broken Down by RPI: 1 - 25: 0 - 1 26 - 50: 0 - 1 51 - 100: 5 - 3 101 - 200: 3 - 0 200+: 11 - 0 UABs biggest factor going aganist it is its RPI and SOS numbers. They are beyond the point of no return in the RPI which is 50, which is very bad number for any team looking for an at large bid, escpecially a Conference that is beyond 12 (the unofficial cutoff between one bid and multiple bid conferences). What is hurting UAB especially is Conference USA. If this were last year. UAB would be propped up by a stronger conference and a much better schedule. However, CUSA is nothing like it was last year. Gone are the Bearcats, gone are the Cardnials, gone are the Warriors/Golden Eagles and gone are the 49ers. What you get in their place are the Owls, the Mustangs, the Thundering Herd and the Golden Hurricane. What would be single and double digit RPI numbers are replaced by 212, 269, 225 and 196. After UTEP which is at 66 the highest ranking team is Tulsa is 196 which is 130 spots lower. 8 Teams in the conference or among the worst 140 Teams in College Basketball according to the RPI. For UAB to have any kind of security on Selection Sunday, the Memphis game at their home court is the hugest game of the year for them. This is UAB's last chance to distinguish itself and lock itself into a bid for the tournament. If it loses, than UAB has to reach the final to have any chance to make the tournament. Losing to anyone before that doesn't help their chances. And don't expect the committee to give this conference any pity and give UAB a pity bid to the tournament. They were far too quick to screw Louisville over seeding wise. They wouldn't give a second thought to leaving UAB out.

Monday ended with a shakeup in the Big East as Villanova defeated the number 1 Team in the Nation, to take sole possession of 1st Place in the Leauge. Also Bucknell has cracked the Top 25 in the first time in history. While all of this is happeneing, we have now reached a weeked that is more important than it has been in the past 3 editions. It is time for the Bracket Buster weekend. Everyone's favoriite Mid Major Love Fest comes back better than ever. This Year the Bracketbuster emcompasses 50 Out of conference Games, with 11 of them being shown on the ESPN family of networks. These matches carry even more signifance this year due to the weak Bubble Scene, and many of these games are now "make and break" ones for many of these teams hopes, escpecially for those lucky enough to get on television. I will be previewing all of the Television Games this week, and listing all 50 Bracket Buster Matchups.

HUGE Game tomorrow. Probably the biggest rematch in Big East Conference History since the St. John's/Georgetown Rematch in 1985. Villanova Vs. UConn in Connecuit. If Villanova somehow steals a win in this one, then Villanova becomes #1 hands down in my eyes. (*Avoids the Gunshot from Iggy*) But I'm looking for UConn to torture the Guards of Nova all night long. In local news. My Flying Dutchmen (Fuck this Pride Nonsense) beat our first ranked team (in the coaches poll, anyway) by taking down George Mason 77-66 at Hofstra Arena. Man, I know Dama has been to some historic places but the Arena is just an amazing place to play ball when it is full. It was rocking the whole entire time, and I don't think the Student Section sat down at all during game time. This gives Hofstra a signature win that it WILL need if it wants any shot at an at large..... We can't lose to Drexel or some other dreg like Deleware or James Madison. Though a run to the Garden for the NIT wouldn't be bad at all considering we are in New York.

Also....That hunk of burnt flesh on the road is the UNI Panther after Bradley just nuked him 71 - 49.

And that was after he was bashing Duke like a little child at the beginning of the half when they weren't playing any kind of defense. Georgia Tech is all kinds of bad this year with them blowing a double-digit point lead at home.

Saint Joes also had a very distinctive OOC number for the 03-04 season 1 That's right, Saint Joesph's had the best OOC schedule (by the numbers, at least) for that particular season. That's signifcant when you go 27 - 1 into the tournament. Had they won out and gone 30 - 0, then they would have an amazing case to be THE top #1 Seed for that year. There really wasn't any way or anyone else to take St. Joes 1 seed, escpecially after Pitt lost the Big East Final (and they would've gotten that seed too.) As for WKU....they have the indivivual RPI number and the SOS (40 and 109 respectively) to warrant a case....but there conference is ranked 18th out of 32 (counting Independents) in the nation...Like Hofstra's top 400 OOC SOS...That would be the easiest number to use to leave them out.

Again, my sleeper team comes out of Foggy Bottom which is reachable on the Orange and Blue Lines on the DC Metro. Which is the George Washington Colonials. The fun part of it all is that they're going to get a lower seed than they deserve because of their debacle of an OOC schedule. (Remember people, if you want on the 1-2 lines and you're not in a Big 6 Conference, you gotta play a top 100 OOC schedule. Not a Top 400 one.)

Yeah, they're quickly becoming the Abyss of the Big East. The Pac-10 is a fucking piece of shit, more so then the SEC this year, which is a pretty tall order. USC is a nice slab of garbage and UCLA should've eaten them. And to think I was buying into the team being a spoiler for the Final Four. Now, I see them losing to a Creightion in the second round. Texas losing on Sunday was not only extremely funny, it helped Memphis into a 1 seed that they deserve because of their ballsy OOC Schedule. Right now here are my 1 seeds. Duke Villanova UConn Memphis

8-8 is being optimistic at this point. This is there 4th Straight loss to one of the worst Major Basketball Programs on the Planet. Maryland has no fire at all, and UNC is going to run rings around them. I don't even think they'll beat Virginia at this point either, as Virginia REALLY wants to make the Tournament. As for Alabamba....they're done. Ranking them at the beginning of the season was a big joke.

And the new Top 25 Polls are out, and there is one big surprise. Bucknell is ranked 24 in the AP and Coaches Poll. AP Poll 1. Connecticut (67) 2. Duke (4) 3. Memphis 4. Villanova (1) 5. Gonzaga 6. Texas 7. Geo. Washington 8. Tennessee 9. Pittsburgh 10. Florida 11. West Virginia 12. Ohio St. 13. Boston Coll. 14. Illinois 15. UCLA 16. Michigan St. 17. Georgetown 18. Iowa 19. Oklahoma 20. Washington 21. N.C. State 22. Kansas 23. North Carolina 24. Bucknell 25. LSU Coaches Poll 1. Connecticut (22) 2. Duke (8) 3. Memphis (1) 4. Villanova 5. Gonzaga 6. Texas 7. Florida 8. Geo. Washington 9. Pittsburgh 10. Tennessee 11. West Virginia 12. Ohio St. 13. Illinois 14. UCLA 15. Boston Coll. 16. Michigan St. 17. Georgetown 18. N.C. State 19. Oklahoma 20. Iowa 21. Washington 22. Kansas 23. North Carolina 24. Bucknell 25. LSU

Edited for accuracy. In all honesty, what's the point of going to the WWE unless you're a Hoss, have a can't miss gimmick, or somehow make friends with "the good old boys club"? Cause even if you do what you're asked, and you can't get over because the gimmicks themselves are pure shit, and they still fire you. If I was someone in OVW, I would be scared of what they would do to me. And yes, I know the money is so much better than TNA/ROH/The Indies, and Japan, but what good is that cash if it is short term?

Dama: Question. Is there anywhere we can see your articles? I'm acutally quite curious (sincerly) Oh yeah, the Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder just resigned. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2326174

On the other side of this If Nova wins comfortably, then my preseason prediction (Villanova taking it all) is more likely to come true.

Seems like they saved the day in the end. They won by 13. Continuing Nova's "We'll spot you 7 - 19 points and still win the game in the end" season.

7) 5 Knuckle Shuffle 8) The FU itself (which is a symptom of the overall contrived and limited WWE moveset.) 9) How much the WWE has done to protect the guy who they think is the future, but is still getting exposed.

So I'm guessing I should definetely shell out for the replay?

Another Big Saturday of College Hoops. Here is what's on National TV. CBS #1 Vs. #22 at 1:00 PM ESPN Vs. at 12:00 PM Vs. #8 at 2:00 PM ESPN2 Vs. at 12:05 PM Vs. at 2:00 PM Vs. at 4:00 PM Vs. at 6:00 PM Vs. #7 at 9:00 PM Plus, whatever is on your Regional Networks.

I saw that game. It has gotta suck that Boston College couldn't even get the right call aganist Duke, even at home. However, Boston College really should've attempted the 3 Point Shot at that point, cause that ball wasn't going in after Sheldon Williams committed that foul. But seriously, Williams had ZERO Business on the Free Throw Line at that point. That, and the Villanova "Traveling" Call are the reasons why people accuse Refs of having an ACC Bias. Scratch that...More like a Tobacco Road Bias.

Of course a sweep like this helps Creighton, but with their numbers being where they are, they would still be in excellent shape for an At-Large bid even if they lost tonight. As long as they don't lose to Evansville or Indiana State, they would definetely make (and are most likely going to make) the big Dance. Well, Georgetown continues to roll, proving that the win the Duke was not a fluke at all, as it beats the living crap out of DePaul 64 - 44, proving that there are jobbers in this year's edition of the Big East, besides South Florida. To be honest with you, Georgetown reminds me of Villanova, of last year, not so much the guard play, as the way their season has played out. They like Villanova had the potential to be ranked, but were caught in a streak of mediorcity with a couple of losses they never should have gotten, but they somehow kept their record above .500, and continued to eek out wins where they could. Then they get to their Marquee game of the season, and kick ass, and have rolled ever since. One has to wonder can Georgetown put together a similar run this year.

Folks. It's is official. The Number 25 Spot on the AP Poll is cursed for the 2005 - 2006 Season. Nothern Iowa falls to Creighton by a score of 63 - 55. Now while Creighton is NOWHERE NEAR a Bad loss this year (or most years) it's got to be a humbling experience for the Panthers. Lets see how they respond to such with their next game.

With their resume at the end of season, I'm not so sure. They can't afford a single loss in conference play. I don't see them winning at Northern Iowa. I agree with you on this one Leena. The Patriot Leauge is miserable with an RPI of 22, and an OOC record Under .500 (40 - 57 making it approximately 41 Percent), that number right there is bad number, as it puts that Conference right on the 3rd Tier of the Conferences, which means that unless a fluke happens, one team is getting to the dance out of that conference. Not to mention that Bucknell has an RPI of 34, which usually means that if the sesason ended today they would go to the dance. But what happens when your Conference's second place team sports an RPI that is 138 below yours? (The Team with the next best RPI is 101 below that one, and would still be a bad loss if they lose to them) Yeah, I would cringe too. Bucknell still has half of its conference season to go. And look at the RPI numbers they will be facing in Conference 327 @ Army 283 @ Colgate 241 American 135 @ Holy Cross 242 @ Lafayette 172 Lehigh 327 Army These numbers are ghastly, overall. Just by having to play these teams they're subjecting themselces to an RPI Drain even if they do win. God forbid should they lose anyone on this list (Even Holy Cross is a bad loss, escpecially in Feburary), it may take away any at-large hopes Bucknell has. Not to mention that Bucknell still has the Conference Tournament it has to go through. Thankfully for them, they will have the Home Court Advantage by far, so that should make the games easy for them. However, it cannot be stressed enough how big the Northern Iowa game is for Bucknell. Should they win that game, as long as they don't lose their final 2 games at home, they're in the tournament. Otherwise, they better hope they run the table, so the selection committee can't somehow take it away from them.

Could someone change my name to SilverPhoenix, please? Thank you.

Something tells me that you, I and a whole bunch of other people are not going to be watching Wrestlemania.

For those of us who care (and I'm assuming all of the regular posters do.), the main Bracket Buster pairings have been announced. And this year's main event/feature match is between... #25 Vs. This matchup is probably going to be one of most underrated games of the year. Bucknell is looking to secure its NCAA Bid in a Conference that offers no gurantees. While Northern Iowa inside of a conference that its making its final push to finally become a Major Conference in the eyes of the America, is looking for another big win to improve its seeding aspirations (There is a distinict possibility that this team can make it up to the 4 Line.) Ironically enough with a Super Strong Big East that may take more than 25% of the 34 At-Large Bids, the non-Power Conferences are looking to snatch a big piece of the pie this year (escpecially since the SEC, Pac 10 and Big 12 may only take as little as 6 - 7 at large bids). When you take out the Atlantic 10 (1 - 2 At larges ) and the MVC (2 - 3 at Larges), there could be as many as 6 Bids up for grabs if eveything goes the way I think it may go (Big East plateaus at 7 At Larges, Big Ten gets 6, ACC gets 5, and everything else going as it should), the Bracket Buster weekend may become the critical weekend of the season if you're an Iona, George Mason, Old Dominion, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, what you do in this nationally televised game may become what gets you, or gets your heart broken. Now as for the other TV matchups. • Bucknell at Northern Iowa • George Mason at Wichita State • Missouri State at Wisconsin-Milwaukee • Louisiana Tech at Southern Illinois • Buffalo at Iona • Fresno State at Creighton • Akron at Nevada • Butler at Kent State • Marist at Old Dominion • Northwestern State at Utah State • Samford at Ohio • Albany at Virginia Commonwealth • Northern Arizona at Western Kentucky

Janurary is over, and Feburary begins in 2 short days. That means it is time for College Hoops to get really interesting (Not that is already hasn't) as Tournament hopes truly begin to get made, or begin to get truly broken (some already are, but we know that) for the Power, Major and even a Few Mid Majors (MAAC, CAA, for example), and a even a team from the Small Conference Level (Bucknell). So Feburary is definetely going to be a exciting month. Possibly the most exciting month in a great season. And without futher adue. Here are some numbers to look at. The RPI of Each Team (Since these Numbers now Matter) RPI of each Conference (Good numbers to look at, as well. Escpecially if you're rooting for a Bucknell, Iona, Hofstra, or UAB to get an At Large Bid) I'll soon post the Bracket Buster matchups as soon as I get my hands on them, since they're being released today.