(March 23, 2024) A heartbreaking loss in the Pac-12 tournament put the Buffalos into the first four game were they would have to earn their way onto the bracket vs Boise State. They came away from Dayton with a 60-53 point victory over Boise State and more importantly 10 points. Colorado advanced to a matchup against the Florida Gators which turned into one of the more entertaining games of the first round. Florida was up 10 points in the first half, but Simpson's step back at the buzzer tied the score up a 45 each heading into the locker room.  Florida coach Todd Golden got a technical called against him with 7:44 left which turned into a 5 point play putting the Buffalos up ten points. They stretched the lead to 94-81 with 4:28 remaining, but then thing unraveled as Walter Clayton Jr took over the game. He scored the last 16 points down the stretch including 3 three pointers in the last 1:12 to tie up the score. However, it was KJ Simpson again, rattling in a baseline shot with 2 second left to win a thriller 102-100. It has been more than a decade since both teams have topped the century mark in a NCAA tourney game. 

The win doubled up Colorado's tourney points to 20 entering the round of 32. This is important as if you look at the march2madness standings, the top 20 all have Colorado as their shake-it off team. Colorado was also selected as a Cinderella in a handful of entries. Larry Prine has made the move to the top of everchanging leaderboard. It should be a fun second round. Let's see if other surprise teams such as Yale, Duquesne, Grand Canyon, and Oakland can continue their Cinderella runs. I was surprised by Yale's comback against Auburn as they looked dead in the water. Oakland's win over UK may have surprised a few, but fans in Lexington were not and are angry after the Wildcats continue their run of poor tournament performances. 

Take a look at the scoreboard and enjoy this weekend's second round action. I think the Dayton Flyers will give Arizona all they can handle today, sending the Wildcats packing. UNC vs Michigan State seems like a good matchup, but both teams are capable of laying an egg. I don't know who wins, but I would not expect a close game.

1) Mountain West/Best/Mess: The Mountain West conference has six teams ranked inside the Top 35 in the NET rankings, matched only by the Big 12. Boise State survived overtime last night vs SDSU to pull within a half game of conference leader Utah State. The Aggies need a win today to be crowned regular season champs, but that will not be easy against a Lobos team that beat them by double digits at The Pit back in February. A loss could also pave the way for Nevada or UNLV to sneak into a three way share of the Mountain West Title. Those two red-hot teams will face off against each other tonight. 

2) The Rivalry: Duke will try to avenge their February loss to UNC at 6:30EST inside Cameron Indoor. The Cameron Crazies will be rocking the house, as a victory over the Tar Heels will pull them into a share of the ACC title. 

3) 3-Pointers: Purdue, St Mary's, UConn, Tennessee, Arizona, and a few others have all earned 3 points for winning their conference already. Those points will be awarded on the standings board and posted on Monday night. The ACC, A-10, Big 12, and Ivy league titles will be decided today.

4) Running of the Bulls: The American Athletic Conference has a new look this year, but everyone expected FAU, Memphis, and SMU to battle it out. However, it is Amir Abdur-Rahim's South Florida Bulls that ran away with the conference. On a 15 game win streak, and 16-1 in the AAC.

5)Bubble Watch: Teams that need to win today to keep their bubble from popping include Villanova, St Johns, New Mexico, Utah, Northwestern and a trio of ACC teams in Virginia, Wake Forest, and Pittsburgh.

With the Oscars taking place tonight, I thought I would hand out my season hoops awards.

Best Picture: This has to be the UConn Huskies (27-3). It is not easy to defend a national title, especially with a different cast of characters, but Dan Hurley's squad has made it look easy this season winning the Big East by 4 games. 

Best Actor: Zach Edey is another repeat winner averaging 24 points, 11 boards, 2 assist and 2.2 blocks in his senior season.

Best Actress: Caitlyn Clark has people tuning into the girls game. Amzaing shooter.

Best Director: Randy Bennett took St Mary's from 3-5 to a West Coast title, with a 16 game win streak along the way. Others considered were TJ Otzelberger (Iowa State), Amir Abdur-Rahim (South Florida) and Bryce Drew (Grand Canyon) and Will Wade (McNeese State).

Best Makeup: Alabama is not 2-7 against ranked opponents. The Tide has taken advantage of beating up on lesser opponents to get to 20-10. 

SNUBBED: Houston we have a problem. The Cougars can make me pay for the snub with a Championship run.

(December 16, 2023) The past two weeks have been a little light when it comes to quality matchups. I think several schools keep a light schedule to correspond with finals week. None the less, I have updated the march2madness results, and to my surprise there has been plenty of movement. Like last season, Nelson Prosper has jumped up to the top of the leader board. We will see if he free falls like last year or not. Justin Malzhan, Mark Arnold, and Kevin Klear are hot on his tail, just 1.5 points back. All of these top selections have one thing in common, and that is CLEMSON. Lead by center, PJ Hall, the Tigers are one of only 7 remaining undefeated teams. The others are Arizona, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, James Madison, Baylor and Houston. 

I have posted all payments now, please take a look at both your entry and pay status and let me know if anything looks incorrect. For those of you who have not marked paid, you can send me a check or make payment via PayPal link that is displayed on the the SCOREBOARD page. Also, to view the scoreboard in full view, there is an arrow in the top right hand corner. Click on that arrow and you will find easier viewing of the results.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

(December 16, 2023) After a couple of slow weeks, college basketball will take center stage today with several marquee games on the slate. Kentucky and North Carolina will resume their annual meeting with a 5:30 tip-off in Atlanta. There should be plenty of blue in the crowd. Both Coach Cal and Coach Davis are looking for consistency from their rebuilt squads. They have both looked like Final Four teams at times this season, to looking like a one and done team the next game. Let's hope they both play at the top of their game today and we are treated a holiday viewing treat. If not the blue bloods, their is plenty of other action today. The best game of the day will be in Indianapolis, where former Tar Heel, Caleb Love will lead his undefeated and #1 ranked Arizona team up against #3 Purdue Boilermakers. Zach Edey is dominating to the tune of 25 points and 11 rebounds a game. However, Arizona will counter with Ourmar Ballo and a 7'2" freshman with the nickname of Mount Krivas. If you like Big Boy basketball, this is the game for you. Tip-off is 4:30pm.  CBS tips-off the day at 12:30 game from Assembly Hall with Kansas and a surprisingly good Hoosier team. Michigan State will have a "neutral site" game at 2pm on Fox against Baylor. The Spartans are now 4-5 and in need of this win. Fox also gives us a prime time game today with Alabama visiting Creighton should be a fast pace game. Let's not forget, this really got started last night, as UConn traveled out to Seattle and muscled up against Gonzaga, beating the Bulldogs by 11 points. Enjoy!!!

 The football record of the four Big 12 expansion teams was 18-30 and none of them had a winning record. With no bowl games on the horizon, Houston (8-0), BYU (7-0), Cincinnati (7-0) and UCF (5-2) have proven their worth on the hardwood.  Houston, coming off a Final Four run has capitalized on a soft schedule, with A&M the only challenge they should before Big 12 opener vs West Virginia. The Cougars could easily enter 2024 as #1 team in the country. BYU has climbed into the Top 25 with wins over NC State, SDSU, and Arizona State, topping the century mark twice. These Cougars have already sank 89 threes. This year's Bearcats have averaged 85 points to date, with wins over smaller but perennial tournament teams in NKU, Howard, Eastern Washington, and FGCU. However, the best win might have been a 89-54 victory over Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have since beaten Duke and Miss State.  BYU and Cincinnati will open Big 12 play against each other.  UCF looks much closer to a Big 12 roster than they did a season ago. However, the Knights soft schedule could build some confidence before the onslaught of teams they will face to open the conference play (Kansas State, Kansas, BYU, Texas, Houston).

James Madison was the most popular wildcard team, edging out Liberty 47-45. The Dukes are undefeated, in the top 25, scored 100+ three times already, and might have played the game of the year holding off Kent State 113-108 in double overtime. Other popular wildcards include Drake, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, BYU, and Colorado State. Overall, there were 33 different wildcard teams selected.

The first set of results are posted under "SCOREBOARD" in the menu. Click the results to expand. Please double check your entry to make sure it is correct. I will have the PayPal payments posted to the results in next week's edition. I have also added the STATS tab in the menu that shows the selection percentage of each category. Kind of interesting and quick to view.

(February 25, 2023) The calendar hasn't flipped to March let, but for several mid-majors, their madness starts next week. That also mean that today is the final conference game for many of them. Two conferences in particular are up for grabs today in the Missouri Valley and West Coast.  Both these contest will be aired nationally, both have Bulldog mascots represented, and both will have impact in the march2madness standings. Drake (24-6)  enters today's 4 pm contest (ESPN2) with a ten game win streak, but face a Bradley team that has won nine in row. The winner will be the Valley's conference champ. Tucker Devries, the Bulldogs 6-7" sophomore guard may be the best player in the mids. He is an elite shooter with a NBA wingspan,  knocking down 78 threes on the season, shoots 45% from the field, and 84% from the stripe. In fact, the Bulldogs have three starters shooting over 80% from the charity line. That gives Bulldogs the upper hand when finishing games. 

The ESPN nightcap (10pm EST) will be Gonzaga and St Mary's, with the West Coast title on the line. The Bulldogs have been playing hungry since the loss to St Mary's at the beginning of the month. They have scored 99, 88, 108, 97, and 92 since that OT thriller. The tough part in beating St Mary's this year is they have a top defense, and they always seem to hit clutch shots. I personally think too many people are on the Zags bandwagon today, and although the Kennel will be rocking, the Gaels find a way to fly out of Spokane with the win.    

(February 25, 2023) Talking about UK on the outside of the bubble just a couple weeks ago, Big Blue has moved up to third place in the SEC and a victory today (4pm CBS) against Auburn will put them in the drivers seat for a guaranteed spot in the SEC quarterfinals. This run kind of reminds me of UNC last season. Another blue blood who started putting it all together this time last season and made a run as an 8 seed in the tournament. I know I wouldn't want to be the #1 or #2 seed with if the Wildcats currently sitting in that 7-10 seed range. 

After a couple lackluster Saturdays, today's schedule should get us ready for March.

#8 Texas vs #9 Baylor - These two started off the week in a three way tie with Kansas. Baylor lost a big lead on Kansas to drop 1 back. Texas finishes Big 12 play against Baylor, TCU and Kansas. 

#17 Indiana vs #5 Purdue - Battle of the best two players in the Big 10 / country? 

#18 UConn vs St John's - The Johnnies had their way with UConn in the first matchup. The Huskies have flipped the switch again, looking more like an Elite Eight team again.

Arizona St vs #7 Arizona - The Sun Devils couldn't have shot the ball worse in the first matchup.  ASU is now in desperation mode and need a big win for their resume. Knocking off an in-state rival to do so would be very satisfying for their fans.  

Arkansas vs #2 Alabama - The Tide will have to play better than they did against South Carolina, were they barely escaped with the OT win. Arkansas is another one of those teams who are dangerously desperate for a resume builder.

(February 4, 2023) It's time for another ranked matchup between two bitter rivals with fan bases that hate each other. But before we get to St Mary's and Gonzaga, I would like to first talk about Duke / Carolina.  Today's matchup will not have Coach K, Dean, or Roy on the sidelines for the first time since 1961. Yes, it has been over sixty years since one of those three hasn't been on the court for this rivalry. Of course it didn't have the wow factor associated with it until Coach K arrived at Cameron in 1980.  Over his illustrious career, Coach Kryzewski went 50-50 against the Heels, but today the Blue Devils will look to avenge Coach K's two most embarrassing losses, final game at Cameron and Final Four, both losses to an underdog UNC team. That task will be left up to the new man in charge, long time assistant John Scherer. Across the court from him will be second year coach, Hubert Davis, who comes into today's game 2-1 vs Duke. Like last season, Carolina has a veteran squad but lack consistent play and a young Duke squad, who look like Final Four team for 10 minutes and an NIT team for 10 minutes each half. If either of teams figure it out, watch out. Today's matchup will be on ESPN at 6:30.

Okay, let's get to the Rivalry game that is for first place. St Mary's host Gonzaga tonight as a favorite, yes that is correct, a three point favorite. The Gaels are 9-0 in the West Coast Conference, a one game lead over the Bulldogs, a better record but 6 spots below them in the latest national rankings (#18 vs #12). The winner will put themselves into position for a #2 seed come March.

Pictured above is Coach Oates when asked how many teams are undefeated in conference play this season.  While Alabama and St Mary's are the only two he could come up with, there are actually five, and that's this week's starting five.

1. ALABAMA: Not only is the Crimson Tide the top team in the SEC (9-0) but one could argue the best team in the country (19-3).  Nate Oates team just came off a 101-44 pounding of Vanderbilt. A solid team with the FOY in Brandon Miller leading the way. To go undefeated in conference play, they will have to navigate three tough road games in LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee.

2. ST. MARY'S: The Gaels go into today's matchup with Gonzaga on top of the West Coast standings for a change. St Mary's comes into today's contest on an 11 game win streak, with last weekend's BYU game they only matchup they struggled with. Do we have a new sheriff in town? Find out tonight at 10:30 EST on ESPN.

3. ORAL ROBERTS: At 11-0 and a four game lead in the Summit, Oral Roberts is looking for a date to the dance for the second time in three years. Even if they mess up in the conference tournament, the Golden Eagles have a NET ranking of 44. Senior guard, Max Abrams (22 ppg) has helped Oral Roberts top the century mark three times this season.

4. EASTERN WASHINGTON:  The Eagles are flying high in the Big Sky again this season going 11-0 and riding a 13 game win streak.  Long time assistant David Riley took over the Eagles program a season ago and looks for his first trip to the NCAA tourney.

5. COLGATE: The Raiders were sitting at 6-7 back in December, but the Patriot League has been very good to them, winning all 11 games to get to 17-7.

(January 14, 2023) Rather it be Tyger's flowing locks, Jacquez Jr's head band, Adam Bona's emergence, or Cronin's temper tantrums, the UCLA Bruins are a fun team to watch. This week they easily handled Utah to run their win streak to 12 games as they climb to number 7 in the national rankings. The win streak has had a couple close calls as they blew a huge lead to USC but hung on to a 2 point victory. A week earlier they escaped Pullman, WA with a 1 point victory over WSU. The second longest win streak in the country will be on the line today as they host Colorado. The top win streak belongs to Charleston. The Cougars are rolling through the Colonial Conference and should advance to 17 straight as they take on a 2-15 Elon team today. A few entries took Charleston as their wildcard, including our new points leader Mike Kammerer.  FAU is another team with 12 game win streak but no one selected the Owls. The other two teams with double digit win streaks are Gonzaga and Xavier, both with 10 in a row. It still seems like UConn is getting all the media love in the Big East, but as the Huskies have loss 3 of 4, the Musketeers are rolling lately with three straight wins over UConn, Creighton, and Villanova.  Another tough matchup tomorrow as X takes on Marquette. Shaka has coached up the Golden Flash and they go into tomorrow's matchup at  6-1 in Big East play. Gonzaga took on a tough preseason schedule and came out with just a few knicks and cuts. The Zags bandaged up those wounds and look for another undefeated walk through in the Big West. Gonzaga can sure put up the march2madness points for the regular season, but the question is always what will they do when it comes time to dance. 

This week I will rank the best basketball conferences for 2023. This is my personal rankings based on talent level, coaching, competition from top to bottom, and most importantly, the watchability factor. 

1. BIG EAST: I definitely think Fox Sports got it right picking up mid-week doubleheaders in the Big East. I find myself watching at least one of these games each week. Xavier and UConn give the league two complete teams, talented enough to reach the Final Four. Marquette and Providence are quite assassins and legit second weekend teams. Villanova has the talent but for the first time in along time, maybe not the coaching. 

2. Big 12: From Top to bottom this is the best league, just sometimes sloppy to watch. When the bottom of your conference is Texas Tech and West Virginia, two teams that have been in the Top 25, then you know the conference is loaded. Currently, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State are undefeated in league play.  Kansas will play Iowa State today and Kansas on Tuesday. 

3. SEC: Alabama and Tennessee are both in my top four teams, especially after Bama destroyed Arkansas earlier this week. However, this conference goes as Kentucky goes, as that is currently on a downward slide. Tennessee vs UK today!

4. B1G: The Big Ten will probably put the most teams in the NCAA tournament, but they will also likely have the most first round defeats. Right when you think a team like Michigan State is putting it together they lay a turd at Illinois.  Can't figure these teams out. 

5.  ACC:  Clemson and Pitt have been a pleasant surprise but Duke and UNC have been major let downs. 

My apologies that I haven't watched any Mountain West games this season, I would expect they have a claim to the Starting Five this season.

(January 7, 2023) I was planning on doing an article this week about the two remaining undefeated teams, but then Purdue loss to Rutgers. So a Lonely Lobos article was on tap, then New Mexico loss to Fresno State. I now have to pivot and talk about surprise teams that are undefeated in conference. I will start with the most impressive win of the week, and that was K-State (13-1) putting up  116 points against #6 Texas. That is the most points scored on the road by an unranked team over a Top 10 team. The Longhorns scored 103 points and still loss by double digits as Tyrese Hunter and Marcus Carr combined for 56 pts.  They are now 2-0 and in a tie atop the Big 12 with three other teams including another surprise in Iowa State (11-2).  Only 8 sheets have K-State as their wildcard pick, while 18 selected the Cyclones.  The B1G had several teams capable of winning the conference this season, and seven of them made it on the sheet, and seven is the number of teams that took Wisconsin (11-2) who was not on the sheet. The Greg Gard's balance attack has the Badgers tied with Michigan atop the B1G standings. Duke, UNC, Virginia, maybe a hot start Miami, FL. All teams that you may think are leading the ACC. Nope, it's Clemson and Pittsburgh.  These two teams definitely were not on the radar as they garnered no wildcard selections. On top of the Big East is the last team I left off the sheet back in November. The Providence Friars (13-3) were an obvious team for the Funky Monks, but I thought they had to replace too much talent missing from last year's squad. Ed Cooley has done another masterful job, and has the Friars on the cusp of the Top 25 rankings again this season.  Chris York was the lone entry to select Providence.  The last team I would like to discuss is Pac-12 co-leader, Utah (12-4). Most of the Utes wins have came over weaker competition but they are the lone team to knock of Arizona this season.  While a few people selected Utah State, Anthony Nichols pick of Utah is by itself.  

Why you wait patiently today to see if I jinxed these teams, check out the updated standings. Also, make sure if you have paid that you have PP (PayPal) or pd (check) next to your name. If you  have not paid, there is a PayPal link on the scoreboard page to do so. Enjoy this week's action.

Above is a picture from a pre-season rankings article. And you can see that like myself, there were quite a few whiffs in the projections. I try my best to come up with competitive categories, but their are always let downs (UNC, UK) as well as pleasant dominance (UConn, Purdue) that makes this impossible to predict. Below are my starting five surprises in the march2madness contest.

1. Higher Ground: this was suppose to be the category that lifted championship trophies this season. However, these six come into play today with 17 losses. However, selections of Houston and Gonzaga should net you some points the rest of the way with their softer conference schedules. 

2. All Big10 schools outside of Purdue:  I knew this conference was going to be tough to navigate this season but did not see all the bad losses these teams would put up prior to conference play. Pre-season selection Indiana loss their first conference game to Rutgers, and all though the Scarlet Knights are playing good basketball, the Hoosiers shouldn't have loss by 14.  I threw Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan all in the same Under The Bridge category thinking they would have around the same record. 10-4, 10-4, 9-5, yes I hit that prediction. Iowa(9-6) was surprising good last season winning the Big 10, this year they have started 1-3.  The Illini(9-5) look mediocre this season and now their top recruit, Skyy Clark, has stepped away from the team.

3. Blue Bloods: Blue may not be the color of the year. Duke(11-4). N Carolina (10-5), Creighton(9-6), Villanova(8-7), Kentucky(10-4). Looks like orange and red are this year's fashion trends.

4. Purdue and UConn: These were two clubs I struggled with the most when it came time to put them a category. I knew both were well coached and improving, I could not imagine just how good they have become. Watching the Boilermakers last season, I thought they were a better team Zach Edey on the bench. This year, the 7-4 center is my POY, averaging 21 points and 13 rebounds a game. You can't even do the "Hack-a-Shack" to him, as this season he shots 72% from the charity stripe. The best decision UConn ever made was returning to the Big East to help Dan Hurley with recruiting and it has paid off big in a short time. The Huskies have their hands full in a loaded Big East, but probably have the best roster.

5. Villanova, Florida, and Oregon: All teams I put on the list who have less than 5 points in the contest. Sorry Folks!

(December 17, 2022) Exam week always brings a slow down to the action on the hardwood, but Saturday's slate of hoops kicks off the holiday week in style. We have 5 games with both teams ranked and every TOP 25 team in action. The one I am intrigued the most by is  Houston at Virginia. This battle of two top 5 teams will likely come down to Houston's dominance on the glass. If Virginia can keep the rebounds in check, the Cavaliers could keep their perfect record in tack. This one tips off today at 2pm on ESPN2. A 1pm tip-off in Birmingham is another fun one to watch as Bama's Brandon Miller looks to improve his FOY status against Gonzaga. These two teams are sure not dodging anyone this year. Strength of Schedule will not be a problem for either of these teams come Selection Sunday.  A noon tip off of two Scar Tissue teams will pair #14 Indiana at Allen Fieldhouse vs #8 Kansas. The PHOG will be rocking and if Indiana doesn't get back freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino for this one, it could get ugly quick. However, the place to be today will be Madison Square Gardens for the CBS Sports Classic. It will start at 3pm with UNC vs Ohio State and following is Kentucky vs UCLA. Two 9-1 teams in Tennessee vs Arizona is the nightcap. Enjoy the action and Merry Christmas!

(December 17, 2022) Maybe a down year for Alabama on the gridiron (2 losses?) but not on the hardwood as the Tide is riding the wave of newcomer and freshman of the year candidate Brandon Miller. The freshman sensation is averaging 18.5 ppg and grabbing 8+ boards. This past week he scored 32 points in the All-American (AAC) sweep of #1 Houston and Memphis. The record pulls Nate Oats team to 9-1 and Top 10 status.  The schedule doesn't get easier as today's matchup is against a hungry ZAGS team looking to get on a role. Then the brutal SEC schedule starts. 

The second march2madness results are up and I will try to get them out every 7-10 days from here until the tournament starts.  Then they will be updated each round. Larry Brock currently leads the way and like so many other entries up top, he did not miss with his wildcard team.  UNLV has got off to a hot 10-0 start under second year head coach, Kevin Kruger.  Two other Mountain West teams have gotten off to undefeated starts. Several selections took Utah State (9-0) but we all missed on New Mexico (10-0). These three teams are going to make it difficult on SDSU (8-3) the Mountain. Mississippi State (10-0) is the other undefeated Wildcard selection.

(December 10, 2022) Everything seems right this year with the Houston Cougars. Kelvin Sampson's Cougars are undefeated at 9-0, injury free, and currently ranked number 1 in all the polls. There has been a lot of talk about an undefeated season, and that will be put to the test over the next two Saturdays. Today they will square off against #8 Alabama in a game featuring a healthy Marcus Sasser, their senior floor general who is scoring 17 minutes a game and The Tides Brandon Miller, a likely one-and-done NBA Lottery pick who is averaging 20 ppg. If the Cougars can get pass this one and next Saturday's game vs #3 Virginia, then we can start talking undefeated. 

Today is the first Saturday without college football, outside of "The Game". It is time for the college hoops action to take priority. A couple big games on tap today as #1 Houston plays #8 Alabama, #10 Arizona vs #14 Indiana, an interesting march2madness matchup of St Mary's and SDSU. Then their is #6 Kansas, who will travel into Mizzou Arena to take on a surprising Missouri team who is 9-0 on the season. Enjoy the HOOPS!

(December 10, 2022) Today, I will be attending the Skyline Crosstown Shootout in person. The annual matchup of two teams, a few miles apart that truly do not like each other.  This will be the first battle of the Millers. Both teams come into this one at 6-3. The Bearcats are in a slight rebuild under second year coach Wes Miller and despite their loss to NKU and an uninspiring trip to Maui, the Bearcats come into this one on a three game win streak where they scored 80 points and won by 20+.  This year's Muskies have brought back Sean Miller and are one of the favorites in the Big East,  There three losses are to Duke, Gonzaga and Indiana. All top 15 teams and the Indiana game went down to the wire.  This should be a fun one to attend. I see this one coming down to Xavier's 3-point shooting. The Bearcats defense, although improving, will give the Musketeers some open looks, will they knock them down? 

While there were several selections for Xavier in the Funky Monks category, only Dan Aelker selected Cincinnati as his wildcard. The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 3pm today.

(November 29, 2022) The deadline has passed and we had 169 entries entered online. I have another 50 emails to sort through, so the final tally should be around 225 march2madness entries.  I will have those tallied and run a story on the selection percentages before the weekend. Until then, get your hoops fill with some exciting ACC/BIG10 matchups. Ones involving march2madness matchups include Virginia vs Michigan, Ohio State vs Duke, Michigan State vs Notre Dame, and UNC vs IU.  However, the best game of the week may be on Thursday when #7 Creighton squares off against #2 Texas at the Moody Center. It has not taken Chris Beard long to make the Longhorns relevant again. Hunter, Carr, and Rice gives the Longhorns three guards on the court that can score. Each of them are shooting 37% from behind the arc and can drive to the hoop when necessary. 

march2madness is back for a 21st season and this year's edition pays tribute to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Generation X remembers them from their 1991 alblum Blood Sugar Sex Magik where Millennials cherish the 1999 release of Californication.  Another generation gets a taste of Peppers funk rock style with the 2022 release of Return of the Dream Canteen.  The march2madness contest is up and running with the categories of Higher Ground (teams expecting to be up on the podium), Scar Tissue (teams with some noticeable problems), Funky Monks (religious institutions), Give It Away (teams who lost 1st round of tournament last season), Under The Bridge (schools that reside next to rivers), By The Way (schools that reside next to highways), and Around The World (teams with multiple international players). 

The contest deadline is Monday, November 28th at 5 pm. Below is a quick review of each category. To enter see "Rules and Entry Form" . The "Study Hall" link is also back to give you some different website views and prepare your picks.

Caleb Love scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half including the nail in the coffin three to send Duke back home to tobacco road. It was another instant classic to the Duke/UNC rivalry, one which the Tar Heels provided Coach Krzyzewski with his final dance.  The Blue Devils talent kept shining throughout the night with NBA first rounders Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin and Mark WIlliams providing timely buckets, but Love was in the air and unstoppable in the second half. Throw in a couple big shots from Davis and Manek, and the night again belonged to the Tar Heels "Iron Five" who played 187 minutes.  An unlucky 13th trip for the Blue Devils, but lucky 21st appearance for the Tar Heels. That 21 is also the total rebounds for Armando Bacot on this night.

North Carolina has now scored 65 tournament points and 89 points overall if you took them in the MINING category.  The Top 10 entries all have UNC.  Next up KANSAS on Monday Night. Larry Brock is all smiles tonight.

I considered Kansas as the favorite to win this tournament as soon as Remy Martin got back on the floor and started resembling his Sun Devil self. This Jayhawk team seems to flow offensively when he is on the court. In Nola, the Jayhawks turned to All-American Ochai Agbaji. He had struggled for much of the tournament making only four of his 3-point attempts. Tonight her sparked the Jayhawks, hitting 6 of 7 from behind the arch and led them to the title game with 21 points. David McCormick was also a Saturday Night Special, scoring 25 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.  The matchup of McCormick and Bacot will be front and center on Monday.  This was Jay Wright's fourth trip to the Final Four were he had won the previous two. Like all Wildcats, when they were beat down they fought back. Pulling to within 6 with 5 minutes to play, but a couple key buckets from Braun put them away.

Matt Wells is 55.5 points back and can sneak into the money with a Jayhawks win.

Thursday, March 17, 2022  Well it took 2 OT, 17 lead changes and for the clock to flip over to St Patrick's Day before Paul Atkinson put back the game winning shot as Notre Dame and the Luck of the Irish defeat Rutgers 89-87. This was a tremendous battle as Ron Harper Jr and Geo Baker did everything they could to hit big shots for Rutgers. However, it was a lack of defense and not getting key rebounds that cost Rutgers in closing out the Irish. In the end, Rutgers was just unlucky. 11 points to those with the Irish with 12 going to the Indiana after the Hoosiers beat Wyoming on Tuesday. I think this is just the beginning of an overtime laden tournament so enjoy the madness. I have most of the Cinderella picks but if you haven't turned them in, you have until noon. I will have the first round results posted Saturday morning.

Happy St Patrick's Day! 

The brackets were revealed and as expected, Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas, and Baylor are on the top lines. All of these teams except Kansas have enjoyed time at #1 this season with Gonzaga holding down the spot for several weeks now. Baylor and Gonzaga were in this spot last season and faced off in the the Championship game. That road seems to be tougher for both this season. Gonzaga could face Memphis in round 2, with Arkansas, UConn, Texas Tech and Duke all lurking in the West Region. Baylor could face a talented UNC team in the second round, and have UCLA to beat just to get into the Elite 8. The bottom half of the East bracket I see Purdue and UK, each talented enough to win it all, along with a Virginia Tech team that no one wants to play right now. Baylor vs Gonzaga in a Final Four matchup looks unlikely. Tommy Lloyd has to like the South region as it appears the easiest road to the Final Four of any of the #1 seeds. Bill Self cannot be as thrilled with Iowa, Auburn, Wisconsin, USC, Providence, Creighton and yes South Dakota State all capable of Final Four runs.

The Big 10 did not get a #1 seed but they did put 9 teams into the tournament.  That is three more teams then any other conference. Indiana, Michigan, and Rutgers all snuck in with the Hoosiers and Scarlet Knights playing in Dayton in the Opening Round. 

Then their is Coach K making his 36th and last appearance in the tournament. The legendary coach won the National Title in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 and will be searching for number six as they open up against Cal State Fullerton. I have not seen the schedule yet but Saturdays in March have not been kind to the Blue Devils. First losing Coach K's final home game vs UNC and then this past Saturday they get rolled by a thirsty Virginia Tech team in the ACC Championship. Little doubt Coach K has the most talent on the floor but can he get them to come together as a team for a final run. 

Kentucky is listed as a #2 seed but have the #1 player on the court with Oscar Tshiebwe. When Oscar is on the floor the Wildcats grabbed 40% of their miss shots. Those second chance points drain their opponents. This team along with fellow SEC teams Tennessee and Auburn have legit shots at cutting down the nets in NOLA.

Which team is this year's Cinderella? Well that is for each of you to decide. Remember, the tournament scoring is based on the seed of the team. For each line Gonzaga advances, they receive 1 point where Michigan can tally 11 points with each time they advance. There are also bonus points given for advancing to the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four, etc... The other thing that will throw the contest upside down are the Cinderella teams. This season we are back to ONE Cinderella. Each entry is allowed to replace one of their teams that did not make the tournament with a Cinderella team (#5 - #16 seed). So if you have three teams that did not make the tournament, you can only replace one of them. If each of your teams made the tournament, you have the option to still replace one of those teams for a Cinderella team if you choose. There is quite the selection of Cinderella teams this season including the ACC, Big Ten, and A-10 tournament champs. First Four teams are always an interesting play for some cheap and quick points. Having Indiana, Wyoming, Notre Dame and Rutgers available is a pleasant surprise for those entries 30+ points off the lead. Several interesting conference winners are available as well. #13 South Dakota State, #14 Colgate, #16 Norfolk State, #13 Vermont, and #13 Chattanooga all won their conference and tournament titles. The only team no one will have is Providence. The Friars did not make a bitcoin category, did not get selected as a wildcard team, and cannot be selected as a Cinderella since they are a #4 seed. Remember, there is still around 40% of the total points to be awarded during March Madness and strange things happen. Here is the tournament scoring:

NCAA TOURNAMENT SCORING (includes “First Four” games)

+Seed number for each NCAA Tournament win (if #6 seed wins three games=18 points)

+5    Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final Four Appearances

+10 Final Four Win

+25 NCAA Tournament Champ

+15 NIT Champion

You can email me at march2madness@gmail.com with your Cinderella selection starting tonight, but I would ask you to consider holding off until the COVID-19 replacement deadline which is Monday at 10pm. The current order of replacement teams, according to the Selection Committee is Dayton, Oklahoma, SMU, and Texas A&M (however, I think we are good). 

The deadline for submitting the Cinderella selections will be noon on Thursday 3/17/22. If picking a First Four team then they need to be delivered before tip-off of that game on Tuesday/Wednesday. I will try to send out an email on Tuesday night to remind everyone. Good luck with your selections. 

March 7, 2022 Championship week is here and the tournament field will be revealed next Sunday at 6pm EST. There will be some exciting basketball played between now and then with bubbles bursting, buzzer beaters, and nets being cut down. Today I updated the march2madness standings to include 3 bonus points to the regular season conference champ (split if co-champs).  This week conference winners will receive 5 points for the automatic berth while at-large bids get 3 points. After the tournament draw on Sunday, each of you can substitute ONE of your teams with a Cinderella team. This will be a team seeded between 5-16 and I will post more on that next Sunday. Enjoy an exciting week and get ready to dance.

(February 19, 2022) We are only a month out from the first weekend of the NCAA tournament and teams on the bubble need to start putting together some quality wins. This weekend we will concentrate on those bubble teams playing each other, "Dubble Bubble" games. The ACC likely has three teams already in with Duke, Notre Dame and Wake Forest (later two play today), a down year by the ACC, the following teams need a win on this Dubble Bubble Saturday. UNC(18-8) had their first "bad loss" of the season this week losing to Pitt, however, they also do not have any Quad 1 wins on the season. They get that opportunity today to pick up a quality road win as they travel to Blacksburg to take on Va Tech(16-10). Virginia Tech received a lot of love in the preseason but struggled when ACC play started. They have righted the ship lately winning 6 straight and getting back into the bubble conversation. Miami (19-7) was winning the ACC at one time coming off a win over Duke. Since then it's been a rollercoaster ride and they currently sit in third place. Today Coach Larranaga's team host a Virginia (16-10) team that has won 4 of 5 including a 71-58 win over the Hurricanes two weeks ago. In the Big East, Fox Sports will air a noon tipoff in Storrs were a struggling Xavier (17-8) takes on  UConn (18-7).  Xavier has loss on it's home court the past couple weeks to both DePaul and St John's. The Musketeers will need to repeat their efforts from a week ago when the beat the Huskies 74-68. Dan Hurley's team looks to be on the right side of the bubble but have a stretch against X, Nova and Creighton on the horizon. In the West Coast Conference, St Mary's (21-6) will host BYU (19-8) in the nightcap on ESPN2. If you watch this game, pay attention to two of the best 3-point shooters in the country. Cougar guard Alex Barcello has been lighting it up for a couple seasons now shooting 47% from behind the arc. The Gaels also can light it up with guard Tommy Kuhse, who shots it at 45%. On Sunday, there is a battle to see who is the front runner for the American's second team in. Memphis (15-8) has won six straight since I put them on the most disappointing teams a few weeks back. SMU (18-6) sits in second place and looks to finish off it's competition in this two bid league. The Big10 and SEC has bubble teams playing against ranked opponents today. In the Big 12 TCU, OK State, Iowa State, Oklahoma and West Virginia have been mentioned as bubble teams. Well they all have losing conference record and I am a long time believer that if you can't go .500 in conference play, you don't deserve to be in the tournament field.

Below is the list of mid-major teams that I think could pose a threat to the big boys in March. Much of this list is based on the NET rankings as last season the top 41 NET teams made the NCAA tournament.

1. Murray State (25-2): The Racers have snuck up on a again. At 25-2 they have the best record in the country and appear on exactly ZERO march2madness entries. They may no longer have Ja Morant but they do have a NET ranking of 23. They have knocked off mid-major competition in beating Middle Tennessee, Chattanooga, and Belmont along the way. Even if Belmont upsets them in the Conference Finals, Murray State should find themselves dancing. 

2. Loyola-Chicago (20-5): Yes the Fighting Sister Jeans are still around. This year Drew Valentine took over for Porter Moser and took on some mid-tier majors this season. Loyola has wins over Arizona State, Vanderbilt, DePaul, and San Francisco. This has helped them to a NET ranking of 28.

3. Colorado State (21-3): Yes the Rams are in third place in the Mountain West, but they are on a five game win streak, NET ranking 25, and have David Roddy. Roddy is a dynamic player averaging 20 pts, 8 boards, and can dish the ball when needed. The Ram's junior guard could be the top mid-major player in the country and will be playing in a NBA arena near you. Colorado State controls it's own destiny with upcoming games against UNLV, Wyoming, and Boise State. 

4. South Dakota State (23-4): The Jack Rabbits are popping out wins again this season. They join Murray State and Gonzaga as the only teams without a conference loss this season. That would be 15 straight W for the Jack Rabbits. They maybe be dominating the Summit but stand only 72 in NET ranking. However, if they finish with their streak intact, then they could end up a 12 seed and we know no one wants to face a 12 seed.

5. Iona (21-5): Rick Patino's squad already beat Alabama this season, defeated Liberty in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge, and looks to wrap up the MAAC next week. Currently the Gaels have a 3 game lead and look to wrap it up against last place teams next week. Iona has a high RPI but a low NET rank. As in the past, this will come down to another Sienna vs Iona MAAC final to decide who goes dancing.

The following march2madness teams have been a major disappointment this season. They have a little over a month to get things moving in the right direction.

1) Memphis Tigers(11-8) Even Little Penny isn't happy with the Tiger's performance this season. Vegas had Memphis with a win total of 30 this season, but this young team finds themselves in sixth place in the American. That includes losses to SMU, Tulane, ECU and UCF. They still have to play Houston twice. This AltCoin team is certainly bringing you down in the standings,  The Tigers have won two in a row, let's see what they have next Thursday as they travel to play the Bearcats.

2) Syracuse (9-11) The Orange are the only team in all the m2m groupings with a losing record.  This team is having a tough time shooting and defending, not a good combination. This was highlighted a couple weeks ago when Miami put up 58 pts in the second half.

3) Louisville (11-9) The Cardinal had loss 5 of 6 coming into today's contest with Duke. However, the big difference will be on the sidelines as Mike Pegues takes over for the departed Chris Mack. 

4) Maryland (11-9) Another team with a new interim coach this season. The Terrapins were loved by the poles in the preseason, but their Big10 woes continue.  Currently ninth in the standings at 3-6, they have Indiana, MIchigan St, Ohio St, Iowa, and Purdue upcoming. This could get real ugly for Danny Manning's squad.

Virginia Tech (10-10) Not that I ever bought into the preseason buzz, but I did think they would be much better than 2-7 and last place in the ACC. This is one I certainly have to apologize for including on the sheet. The Hookies have no chance of playing in March.

We are now down to three undefeated teams. Baylor (14-0) is ranked #1 and USC (13-0) is #7.  Colorado State (11-0) is getting little love at #20.  With an undefeated record and wins over Mississippi St, St Mary's, and Creighton, the Rams should feel disrespected entering their national broadcast today on CBS at 4 pm vs San Diego State.  The Rams will need a big showing from leading scorer David Roddy in order to knock of the Aztecs in this Mountain West Showdown.  Today's CBS triple header gets started at noon with Wichita St vs Houston, and Texas vs Oklahoma St is the middle game at 2pm. Good to see plenty of hoops action on the networks this weekend. The only game today between two ranked teams is Tennessee vs LSU tonight on ESPN2. This contest will have some impact on the march2madness contest as our top two (Jerimiah Turner and Brian Paschen) both have the LSU Tigers as their wildcard team. Behind them are three Silvio Bohannan entries. The California native has three entries with the only difference the wildcard team. Somehow, all three wildcards (New Mexico St, South Dakota St, and Iona) have scored 10 points on the season. I have not updated the PayPal payments since last week. These payments will be posted on the next update. 

Here is a list of the Top Wildcard teams to date:

Auburn (13-1) 12.5 pts

Iowa State (13-1) 12.5 pts

LSU (13-1) 12.5 pts

UAB (13-3) 11.5 pts

Wisconsin (12-2) 11 pts

Chattanooga (12-3) 10.5 pts

Louisiana Tech (12-3) 10.5 pts

St Mary's (12-3) 10.5 pts

Wake Forest (12-3) 10.5 pts

Coach K has embarked on his final run through the ACC arenas and this week's starting five looks at the coaches likely to replace the legendary Coach K as the Face of College Basketball.

1. Mark Few (Gonzaga): Like Duke, Gonzaga was not a basketball powerhouse prior the Coach Few's Advancing to the NCAA Tournament in all 21 of the team’s eligible seasons (2019-20 NCAA tournament was canceled due to COVID-19), he led Gonzaga to two NCAA National Championship appearances (2017 and 2021), four Elite Eight appearances (2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021), and 10 Sweet 16 appearances (2000, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021).  This year he was named assistant coach for TEAM USA.

2. Scott Drew (Baylor): BIG12 basketball was all about Kansas for 14 seasons.  The Big12 smelled blood when that streak came to an end and Baylor has taken grasp of that opportunity. With a national title last season, followed up with a (13-0) start and #1 ranking this season, Scott Drew is now in every Coach of the Year discussion.

3. Jay Wright (Villanova): Villanova has defeated UNC (2016) and Michigan (2018) in National Title Games, The slick dressing Wright has his Wildcats ready each season to be Big East favorites and a Top 10 program.

4. Coach Calipari (UK): Kentucky and Duke have went back and forth over the year's in top recruiting classes.  Coach Cal has won six SEC titles and one National Championship since arriving in Lexington in 2009. Always a fun interview, but we will see how successful he is as the SEC has turned into the gauntlet the ACC was during Coach K's success.

5. Tom Izzo (Michigan State): Izzo squeezes into #5 over Beard, Self, and Bennett because he is a media hound. Like Coach Cal, he is never afraid to take the microphone and talk about the state of the game and hype up his Spartans.

There are currently more than 40 teams on a COVID Pause bringing the total of teams effected by COVID protocals this season to 70. This has lead to many cancelled games, some delayed, some forfeit, some just no contest. As far as the march2madness scoring, we will go by the win/loss total from NCAA.com per the contest rules. I am hoping that these cancellations will peak this week or next and games will start getting regularly played as conference games begin.  There are a couple nice match-ups still scheduled for this week. UConn will travel to the Queen City to take on Xavier at the Cintas Center at 7pm on Tuesday. With the struggles of Villanova, this contest will result in a Big East favorite. Seton Hall and Providence say don't forget about us. They will also battle in a Big East match-up on Wednesday.  Wednesday also provides a couple games involving ranked SEC opponents. #19 Tennessee will take on #10 Alabama while #17 LSU will take their perfect record up against #12 Auburn. That leaves us with the most exciting game of the week, as #6 Arizona vs #5 UCLA will air 9pm EST on ESPN2 on Thursday. 

I am heading to Dallas on New Year's Eve to watch Cincinnati vs Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. The next contest update will be posted on January 2nd or 3rd.  

Happy New Year!

Going into the final week of 2021 there are still five undefeated teams.

1. Baylor (11-0): It didn't take the champs long to get reclaim #1 in the polls.  Scott Drew has these new look Bears already playing at a high level and freshman Kendall Brown is a nightly highlight reel.  Baylor already has blowout wins over Villanova, MIchigan State and Stanford.

2. Iowa State (12-0): The Cyclones are the only undefeated team that I missed on the m2m sheet. That's partly due to their 2-22 record last year. Well this year's squad has already beaten Xavier, Memphis, Creighton, and Iowa.  This remarkable turnaround will get test as they start Big 12 play on New Year's Day vs Baylor. 

3. USC (12-0): The Trojans will once again battle UCLA for the PAC-12 crown. Andy Enfield's team is currently on COVID Pause but should be back on Sunday as they now open league play against a dangerous Arizona squad.

4. Colorado State (10-0): The Rams are also on of the over 40 teams currently on COVID pause, but they have already soundly defeated St Mary's, Creighton, and Mississippi State.  Too bad the game against Bama was cancelled. That would have been a good measuring stick for CSU heading into Mountain West play.

5. LSU (12-0): The Tigers have played the softest schedule of the undefeated bunch with wins against Liberty and Belmont, and an overtime win against Penn State. They may be a NCAA team but I am interested to see if they go .500 in the SEC.

It was the first time in history for Purdue to be ranked #1 on the AP Top 25. They looked like the complete package over the first month of the season. They Boilermakers had decisive wins over North Carolina, Florida State and Villanova. However, this is college basketball and like Duke the week before they were #1 and done. This is because they ran into a buzz saw by the name of Ron Harper Jr.  The  senior guard hit the go ahead shot with under 10 seconds, however, Purdue went down the court and retook the lead with 3.4 seconds on a Trevion Williams turnaround in the paint.  The Scarlet Knight's wasted no time in getting the ball in the hands of Harper Jr. and he split a double team at half court and launched a buzzer beater from the "R" logo to stun the top ranked team in the country.  Ron Harper, Jr. finished the game with 30 points and 10 rebounds. This was a much needed game for Rutgers who came into the game at 4-4 with losses against Depaul, Lafayette, and UMass.  

Purdue's loss leaves us with just eight undefeated teams. Which of the following deserve the #1 spot in the Top 25 next week?

San Francisco (10-0), Arkansas (9-0), Colorado State (9-0), USC (9-0), Iowa State (9-0), Arizona (8-0), Baylor (8-0), and LSU (8-0).

The obvious answer is Baylor if the reigning champions can take care of business against Villanova on Sunday. That game will be played at 3pm on ABC.