MEN'S BB: Anthony Tucker and the Minnetonka Skippers go for the State Championship Tonight

Minnesota Boys Basketball AAAA State Championship

Listen to the Minnetonka vs. Henry Sibley.

Anthony Tucker and the #1 seed Skippers play at 8 PM.
MSBN Channel 1 is broadcasting.

http://www.mnsportsnetwork.com/#msbnchannel1

The game will be televised on Channel 45 in the cities.

If you are outside of the viewing area, you can pay $10 and watch the game online hosted by B2TV.com

Watch Online Here

Good luck to Iowa Hawkeye recruit, Anthony Tucker, and the Skippers of Minnetonka.

On a side note, I think I forgot to mention Tucker was awarded the Metro Player of the Year a few days ago.


Photo courtesy of the Star Tribune.

Tucker has the inside track to the state's Mr. Basketball, given out at the end of April. The metro players will all weigh heavily in the competition, however don't count out Cody Schilling from Ellsworth. Cody just broke the state record for most points by a prep in the state of Minnesota, a record that will likely fall again in a few years to Kevin Noreen (a sophomore from Transitions high school, who has over 1,800 points in just his sophomore year). Cody and Kevin square off at noon in the Class A championship game.

MEN'S BB: Listen Live - Minnetonka Opening Game of 4A Basketball State Tournament

Listen to the Minnetonka vs. B/K.

Anthony Tucker and the #1 seed Skippers play at 10AM.
MSBN Channel 1 is broadcasting.

http://www.mnsportsnetwork.com/#msbnchannel1

If you can't stream, there is a live score ticker at the top of the page.

Go Skippers!

MEN'S BB: Apparently ESPN thinks a 10 Seed Beating a 7 Seed is an Upset

Wha????

(Image is clickable)

MEN'S BB: Can a Triscuit Cracker Box Do Better than Me in the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament Challenge? The secret to filling out your bracket.

So just how much luck goes into filling out your bracket come March Madness? Could a monkey do better than most people? Perhaps. How about a Triscuit Cracker Box? (We're talking Original flavor, not that hoidy-toidy, prima donna Crack Pepper and Olive Oil flavor, mind you.) We shall find out.



I wrote the 64 teams on scrap paper (by scrap paper, I mean the torn up envelopes of junk mail sent out by companies wasting their time and money) and then loaded them into the Triscuit Cracker Box.



After the applicable shaking of the box, I blindly chose the 32 winners of the first round.

ADVANCING TO THE SECOND ROUND:


Ouch. UNC out, beaten by the always tough, "Play in Game Winner." Memphis takes it on the chin from the scrappy UT-Arlington team. The only 2 seed to survive the first round was Tennessee. Even more odd was three of the 8 seeds winning, which we know never happens.

Shaking of the box occurred again, at the same point I am sure I shook, as well.

ADVANCING TO THE SWEET SIXTEEN:


That UT-Arlington sure has one hell of a story going on right now. Cinderella story, Outta nowhere. A former sixteen seed, now, about to become the regional champion. It looks like a mirac... It's in the hole! It's in the hole! It's in the hole! The highest seed on the table is Tennesee, as UCLA and KU go down.

Time to shake again.

ADVANCING TO THE ELITE EIGHT:


Well, there went Tennessee. Damn. Good thing UT-Arlington is still around, though. Phew.

Queue 311, time to get the box all mixed up. Get it? All Mixed Up? Ah, forget it.

ADVANCING TO THE FINAL FOUR:


For the first time in the history of the NCAA Tourney, we have a 13, 12, 8, and 3 seed in the Final Four. How this "luck" thing working out? Hmmmmmmm........

Shaking the box, shaking the box, shaking the box....

ADVANCING TO THE FINALS:


Sun Belt and Mountain West representing! Should be a barnburner in San Antonio.

AND YOUR 2008 NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPION PICKED BY THE ONE AND ONLY TRISCUIT CRACKER BOX:


GO CRAZY, HILLTOPPER COUNTRY!!

The rest of the field can only stand by and think what might have been.



Here's the comparison of the brackets (images are clickable for higher resolution):


TRISCUIT



STORMINSPANK (Umm... did I take Cornell over Stanford solely because of Andy Bernard? Not solely, but it had a lot to do with it.)

Other than that, GO VOLS!!! Bruce Pearl for President.

MEN'S BB: A Look at the 2008 NCAA Tournament and My Bubble Team Analysis (RESULTS)

Seeing that Oregon was my last team, they would have been bumped for the SEC Tourney Champs, Georgia. That would have sunk the Bubble Teams to 10, eliminating Oregon.

Looking at my predictions, I went 64/65 in my picks.

ONE INCORRECT PICK: Illinois State was OUT, and Oregon was IN.

Here are my 4 year totals: 255/260 (.981)

MEN'S BB: A Look at the 2008 NCAA Tournament and My Bubble Team Analysis (Final Prediction)

STORMINSPANK'S BRACKETOLOGY

Big Movers this Update -
UP: Arkansas, St. Joe's, Virginia Tech, Temple
DOWN: Ohio State, UMASS

Changes: Ohio State and UMASS are OUT. St. Joe's is IN. Temple winning the A-10 snags another at-large bid.

Updated Look at Bubble Teams for 2008 and Projecting the NCAA Tourney Field

NOTE: IF ILLINOIS WINS THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP, OREGON IS OUT.

TEAMS THAT I THINK ARE LOCKS/AUTOBIDS (parenthesis contain total number of bids for the conference; the first number is the locks and the second number is the total bids the conference will get as of right now)

LOCKS

NUMBER ONE SEEDS: NORTH CAROLINA, MEMPHIS, UCLA, TENNESSEE

Am East (1/1) - UMBC
ACC (3/4) - UNC, Duke, Clemson
A. Sun (1/1) - BELMONT
A-10 (2/3) - TEMPLE, Xavier
Big East (7/8) - PITTSBURGH, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, UCONN, Marquette, West Virginia
Big Sky (1/1) - PORTLAND STATE
Big South (1/1) - WINTHROP
Big Ten (4/4) - Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State
Big 12 (5/6) - Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Baylor
Big West (1/1) - CAL STATE FULLERTON
CAA (1/1) - GEORGE MASON
CUSA (1/1) - MEMPHIS
Horizon (1/1) - BUTLER
Ivy (1/1) - CORNELL
MAAC (1/1) - SIENNA
MAC (1/1) - KENT STATE
MEAC (1/1) - COPPIN STATE
MVC (1/2) - DRAKE
MWC (2/2) - UNLV, BYU
NEC (1/1) - MOUNT SAINT MARY'S
OVC (1/1) - AUSTIN PEAY
Patriot (1/1) - AMERICAN
Pac-10 (4/6) - UCLA, Washington St., Stanford, USC
SEC (3/5) - Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State
Southern (1/1) - DAVIDSON
Southland (1/1) - UT ARLINGTON
Summit (1/1) - ORAL ROBERTS
SWAC (1/1) - MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
Sun Belt (1/2) - WESTERN KENTUCKY
WCC (2/3) - SAN DIEGO, Gonzaga
WAC (1/1) - BOISE STATE

CAP/BOLD TEAMS WON THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

BUBBLE TEAMS

So here's who I have on the Bubble...

11 spots are up for grabs

Those teams IN are noted with an asterisk (*).

BUBBLE TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:

ACC:
Miami *
Maryland
Virginia Tech
Florida State

A10:
UMass
Dayton
St. Joe's *
Rhode Island

BIG EAST:
Syracuse
Villanova *

BIG TEN:
Ohio State

BIG XII:
Texas A&M *

CAA:
VCU

C-USA:
UAB

HORIZON:
Cleveland State

MVC:
Illinois State *
Creighton
S. Illinois

MWC:
New Mexico

PAC-10:
Arizona *
Arizona State
Oregon *

SEC:
Arkansas*
Kentucky *
Mississippi
Florida

SUN BELT:
South Alabama *

WCC:
St. Mary's *

RANKING OF BUBBLE TEAMS:

Ranking of the Bubble Teams (As of 3/16/2008)
New Rank	Prev. Rank	+/-	Team	Overall	Conf	RPI	SOS	L10	Top 50 Record	Prev RPI	RPI Diiff
1	3	0	Arkansas*	22-10	9-7	26	20	5-5	6-4	41	-15
2	1	0	Miami *	21-1	8-8	34	41	7-3	3-3	26	8
3	4	0	Texas A&M *	23-10	8-8	41	51	4-6	5-7	44	-3
4	2	0	Kentucky *	18-12	12-4	57	22	7-3	4-6	47	10
5	6	1	Illinois State *	23-9	13-5	33	73	8-2	2-5	33	0
6	6	0	St. Mary's *	24-6	12-2	36	136	7-3	2-3	36	0
7	7	0	South Alabama *	24-6	16-2	37	127	8-2	3-2	34	3
8	16	8	St. Joe's *	21-12	9-7	45	53	5-5	5-6	50	-5
9	10	1	Villanova *	20-12	9-9	51	48	6-4	4-7	51	0
10	11	1	Arizona *	18-14	8-10	38	2	4-6	5-8	39	-1
11	12	0	Oregon *	18-13	9-9	58	37	5-5	4-9	56	2
12	25	12	Virginia Tech	19-13	9-7	53	38	6-4	1-7	59	-6
13	5	-6	Ohio State	19-13	10-8	49	17	4-6	2-10	46	3
14	9	-5	UMass	21-10	10-6	43	71	7-3	1-5	43	0
15	13	-2	Dayton	21-10	8-8	32	34	5-5	4-4	32	0
16	14	-2	Syracuse	19-13	9-9	55	9	4-6	3-8	52	3
17	15	-2	Arizona State	19-12	9-9	83	77	5-5	5-7	81	2
18	17	-1	Florida State	19-14	7-9	59	15	6-4	3-6	62	-3
19	19	0	Creighton	20-10	10-8	47	66	6-4	1-6	49	-2
20	22	2	Mississippi	21-10	7-9	46	64	5-5	5-3	48	-2
21	21	0	VCU	24-7	15-3	54	160	8-2	0-2	55	-1
22	20	-2	S. Illinois	17-14	11-7	62	16	6-4	5-7	61	1
23	23	0	UAB	22-10	12-4	56	95	7-3	1-2	54	2
24	24	0	Florida	21-11	8-8	72	87	3-7	2-7	72	0
25	26	1	New Mexico	24-8	11-5	58	159	8-2	1-4	58	0
26	27	1	Cleveland State	19-12	12-6	64	88	7-3	1-4	64	0

Devan Bawinkel Commits to the Iowa Hawkeyes

It was reported last night in The Clubhouse on Hawkeyenation.com that Devan Bawinkel had committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Today, other sources are confirming the commitment.


(photo courtesy of Scout.com)

Devan Bawinkel - Winnebago, IL (played at Highland CC in Freeport, IL last season and was a three year all-stater at Winnebago) - 6'5", 185 lbs. He boasted a 4.0 GPA in high school to boot.

With the commitment, Todd Lickliter has bolstered the roster with another versatile wing with a great shooting touch.

Bawinkel was a top player in the state of Illinois in the Class of 2006, and finished 4th in the state's Mr. Basketball. Steve Alford recruited Devan, had him in for an unofficial visit and offered him a ride to play for the Hawks at the time. After receiving interests from other schools such as Georgetown, West Virginia, Michigan State, DePaul, Ohio State, Wisconsin, North Carolina State, Butler, Notre Dame, Miami, and plenty more, Bawinkel decided to sign on with John Beilein at West Virginia. Midway into his freshman season, Devan sustained an injury that cost him a substantial amount of time on the court. Fast forward to the end of the season, Beilein heads to Michigan, (t)Huggins comes into West Virginia. To say the new staff and Bawinkel didn't click is an understatement, and Bawinkle decided to go the JUCO route.

Devan just finished up an MVP campaign at Highland Community College (click on the link for a short vid, as well). He has what has been described as a "lightning quick release". He is a very versatile player with a sound knowledge of the game. Here's a look at the company Bawinkel kept in 2005.

He will have two years of eligibility at Iowa.

A recap of this year's recuits:
Matt Gatens - 4 star SG out of Iowa City, IA; #13 SG in the nation (will play 2-3 for Iowa)
Anthony Tucker - 3 star PG/SG out of Minnetonka, MN; #35 PG in the nation (will play 1-3 for Iowa, has shot Mr. Basketball in state of MN and becoming a 4 star)
Andrew Brommer - 2 star PF/C out of Rosemount, MN (will play the 4-5)
Jermain Davis - 3 star SG JUCO out of Plymouth, MN (two years eligibility)
Aaron Fuller - 2 star PF out of Mesa, AZ (under the radar, better than his star ranking)
Devan Bawinkle - 3 star SG JUCO out of Winnebago, IL (two year eligibility)

Iowa still has over a month to sign additional recruits, and I would not be surprised to see Lick and Co. get one more guy into the system... preferably a JUCO big.

MEN'S BB: A Look at the 2008 NCAA Tournament and My Bubble Team Analysis (Friday Update)

STORMINSPANK'S BRACKETOLOGY

Well, Bubble Teams didn't help themselves last night.

Villanova, Dayton, UAB, Arizona State, Arizona, Houston, Florida, Oregon, UMass, Maryland, New Mexico, Texas Tech, Nevada, Rhode Island all lost.

Big Movers this Update -
UP: Florida State, Temple, St. Joe's, Utah State, Villanova
DOWN: Syracuse, UAB, Florida, New Mexico, UMass, Arizona, Oregon, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Maryland, Texas Tech

At the time of the update, though, only two teams have swapped places. Syracuse is out, Villanova is in. Western Kentucky moves off the bubble and into the locks by winning their conf. tourney.

Updated Look at Bubble Teams for 2008 and Projecting the NCAA Tourney Field

TEAMS THAT I THINK ARE LOCKS/AUTOBIDS (parenthesis contain total number of bids for the conference; the first number is the locks and the second number is the total bids the conference will get as of right now)

LOCKS

NUMBER ONE SEEDS: TENNESSEE, NORTH CAROLINA, MEMPHIS, DUKE

Am East (1/1) - UMBC/Hartford
ACC (3/4) - UNC, Duke, Clemson
A. Sun (1/1) - BELMONT
A-10 (1/2) - Xavier
Big East (7/8) - Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, UCONN, Marquette, West Virginia, Pittsburgh
Big Sky (1/1) - PORTLAND STATE
Big South (1/1) - WINTHROP
Big Ten (4/5) - Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State
Big 12 (5/6) - Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Baylor
Big West (1/1) - CONF WINNER
CAA (1/1) - GEORGE MASON
CUSA (1/1) - Memphis
Horizon (1/1) - BUTLER
Ivy (1/1) - CORNELL
MAAC (1/1) - SIENNA
MAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER (If Kent St loses, they will be added to the Bubble)
MEAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER
MVC (1/2) - DRAKE
MWC (2/2) - UNLV, BYU
NEC (1/1) - MOUNT SAINT MARY'S
OVC (1/1) - AUSTIN PEAY
Patriot (1/1) - CONF WINNER
Pac-10 (4/6) - UCLA, Washington St., Stanford, USC
SEC (3/5) - Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State
Southern (1/1) - DAVIDSON
Southland (1/1) - CONF WINNER
Summit (1/1) - ORAL ROBERTS
SWAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER
Sun Belt (1/2) - WESTERN KENTUCKY
WCC (2/3) - SAN DIEGO, Gonzaga
WAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER

CAP/BOLD TEAMS WON THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

BUBBLE TEAMS

So here's who I have on the Bubble...

12 spots are up for grabs

Those teams IN are noted with an asterisk (*).

BUBBLE TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:

ACC:
Miami *
Maryland
Virginia Tech
Florida State

A10:
UMass *
Dayton
Temple
St. Joe's
Rhode Island

BIG EAST:
Syracuse
Villanova *

BIG TEN:
Ohio State *

BIG XII:
Texas A&M *
Texas Tech

CAA:
VCU

C-USA:
UAB
Houston

HORIZON:
Cleveland State

MVC:
Illinois State *
Creighton
S. Illinois

MWC:
New Mexico

PAC-10:
Arizona *
Arizona State
Oregon *

SEC:
Arkansas*
Kentucky *
Mississippi
Florida

SUN BELT:
South Alabama *

WCC:
St. Mary's *

WAC:
Utah State
Nevada

RANKING OF BUBBLE TEAMS:

Ranking of the Bubble Teams (As of 3/14/2008)
New Rank	Prev. Rank	+/-	Team	Overall	Conf	RPI	SOS	L10	Top 50 Record	Prev RPI	RPI Diiff
1	1	0	Miami *	21-9	8-8	26	32	7-3	3-3	27	-1
2	2	0	Kentucky *	18-11	12-4	47	13	8-2	4-7	48	-1
3	3	0	Arkansas*	20-10	9-7	41	42	5-5	4-5	42	-1
4	6	2	Texas A&M *	22-9	8-8	44	58	5-5	4-6	47	-3
5	7	2	Ohio State *	19-12	10-8	46	17	4-6	2-9	49	-3
6	9	3	Illinois State *	23-9	13-5	33	72	8-2	2-5	35	-2
7	11	4	St. Mary's *	24-6	12-2	36	139	7-3	2-3	38	-2
8	12	4	South Alabama *	24-6	16-2	34	125	8-2	3-2	37	-3
9	4	-5	UMass *	21-10	10-6	43	64	7-3	1-4	40	3
10	13	3	Villanova *	20-12	9-9	51	43	6-4	3-7	56	-5
11	5	-6	Arizona *	18-14	8-10	39	2	4-6	5-8	29	10
12	8	-4	Oregon *	18-13	9-9	56	22	5-5	4-9	53	3
13	14	1	Dayton	21-10	8-8	32	29	5-5	3-4	34	-2
14	10	-4	Syracuse	19-13	9-9	52	9	4-6	3-8	46	6
15	15	0	Arizona State	19-12	9-9	81	71	5-5	5-7	76	5
16	22	6	St. Joe's	20-11	9-7	50	62	5-5	3-4	55	-5
17	27	10	Florida State	19-13	7-9	62	23	6-4	3-5	64	-2
18	25	7	Temple	19-12	11-5	60	51	8-2	3-4	60	0
19	18	-1	Creighton	20-10	10-8	49	69	6-4	1-6	51	-2
20	20	0	S. Illinois	17-14	11-7	61	12	6-4	5-7	62	-1
21	24	3	VCU	24-7	15-3	55	159	8-2	0-2	54	1
22	17	-5	Mississippi	21-10	7-9	48	65	5-5	5-4	43	5
23	19	-4	UAB	22-10	12-4	54	92	7-3	1-2	50	4
24	21	-3	Florida	21-11	8-8	72	86	3-7	2-8	65	7
25	26	1	Virginia Tech	18-12	9-7	59	52	6-4	0-6	57	2
26	23	-3	New Mexico	24-8	11-5	58	159	8-2	1-4	52	6
27	31	4	Cleveland State	19-12	12-6	64	88	7-3	1-4	71	-7
28	33	5	Utah State	23-9	12-4	67	177	7-3	0-1	72	-5
29	34	5	Nevada	20-10	12-4	71	143	8-2	0-2	77	-6
30	32	2	Houston	22-9	11-5	78	137	5-5	1-4	66	12
31	30	-1	Rhode Island	21-11	7-9	77	104	2-8	1-5	67	10
32	29	-3	Maryland	18-14	8-8	82	25	4-6	1-5	69	13
33	28	-5	Texas Tech	15-15	7-9	65	4	4-6	4-9	59	6

All the losses that happened yesterday really help teams like S. Alabama, St. Mary's, VCU, and Illinois St. They moved up without even playing.

JAKE KELLY: #1 All-Time Freshman 3-pt Shooter in Iowa History

Jake Kelly stands #1 in the All-Time Iowa Freshman Record Book in regards to 3 pt %

3-Point Field Goal Percentage (1 att/game)*
1. .434 (30-69) JAKE KELLY, 2007-08
2. .396 (19-48) Ryan Luehrsmann, 1996-97
3. .381 (16-42) Jess Settles, 1993-94
4. .373 (47-126) Brody Boyd, 2000-01
5. .359 (14-39) Kevin Smith, 1990-91
6. .321 (44-137) Chris Kingsbury, 1993-94

I am looking forward to 3 more seasons with Jake in the Old Gold and Black.

Men's BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines - Rubber Match in the Big Ten Tournament

VS.

GAME INFO: Thu., March 13th, 2008 - 11:05 A.M. CST - Conseco Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, IN
IOWA: 13-18 (6-12); RPI: 184 / Michigan: 9-21 (5-13); RPI: 181

TV COVERAGE: Big Ten Network - DirecTV (Ch. 206) / DISH Network (Ch. 140) - Wayne Larrivee and Shon Morris will call the action.
OFFICIAL GAME NOTES - VIEW HERE
LINE - Iowa is a 1.5 point favorite at the neutral site; 112.5 is the over/under.

Three weeks ago Michigan was the team "nobody wanted to face in the Big Ten Tournament" per the boys at the Big Ten Network studios. Since that analysis, Michigan has lost 4 out of 5 (including 3 in a row). Losses were to Northwestern at home, at Minnesota, at Penn State, and Purdue at home.

Iowa can't puff its check out, however, as the Hawks have lost 6 out of their last 8, with the only wins coming against Northwestern.

But, hell, scrap all that junk. This is the Big Ten Tournament, at one point almost renamed the Steve Alford Tournament, Iowa has done well in this tournament. They'd need to win 4 in 4 days to have any sort of postseason hopes. It's been done before... by Iowa. Let's not fool ourselves, though, this team doesn't look anything like the team that gave Steve Alford his infamous extension with Iowa. There's no Recker. There's no Evans. And that run in the tournament was done in the United Center, not the Conseco Fieldhouse. Yeah, but besides Illinois, Iowa is the team that has had the most success in the Big Ten Tournament. What does this all mean? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Coach Lickliter says, "We're planning on winning it," in regards to the Big Ten Tournament. Why not? I believe him. It starts with Michigan.

KEYS TO THE GAME:
1.) Somehow, someway get more than one player "on" during a game. Freeman, Kelly, Tate, Johnson, Gorney all have had great games during the season. I have a had time remembering when 2 or more of them did it in the same game. I'd like to see that.
2.) Extend the defense. Don't let DeShaun Sims and Anthony friggin' Wright hit treys on you all night. Pressure D on Manny Harris, as well. Iowa hasn't played good D in awhile, hence the losses.
3.) Hit the gaps, find the open man, work the clock on offense. And for God sakes, when Tate is posting up down low, get him the damn ball.
4.) Control the tempo.
5.) Attitude goes a long way with this team. The Hawks need the right one today.

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 64
Michigan - 59

MEN'S BB: 2008 Big Ten Tournament Prediction

----------------------------------------------

IOWA beats Michigan
PENN ST beats Illinois
MINNESOTA beats Northwestern

----------------------------------------------

IOWA beats Wisconsin
OHIO STATE beats Michigan State
PURDUE beats Penn State
INDIANA beats Minnesota

----------------------------------------------

OHIO STATE beats Iowa
INDIANA beats Purdue

----------------------------------------------

OHIO STATE over Indiana

----------------------------------------------

MEN'S BB: A Look at the 2008 NCAA Tournament and My Bubble Team Analysis

STORMINSPANK'S BRACKETOLOGY

Updated Look at Bubble Teams for 2008 and Projecting the NCAA Tourney Field

TEAMS THAT I THINK ARE LOCKS/AUTOBIDS (parenthesis contain total number of bids for the conference; the first number is the locks and the second number is the total bids the conference will get as of right now)

LOCKS

NUMBER ONE SEEDS: TENNESSEE, NORTH CAROLINA, MEMPHIS, DUKE

Am East (1/1) - UMBC/Hartford
ACC (3/4) - UNC, Duke, Clemson
A. Sun (1/1) - BELMONT
A-10 (1/2) - Xavier
Big East (7/8) - Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, UCONN, Marquette, West Virginia, Pittsburgh
Big Sky (1/1) - CONF WINNER
Big South (1/1) - WINTHROP
Big Ten (4/5) - Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State
Big 12 (5/6) - Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Baylor
Big West (1/1) - CONF WINNER
CAA (1/1) - GEORGE MASON
CUSA (1/1) - Memphis
Horizon (1/1) - Butler
Ivy (1/1) - CORNELL
MAAC (1/1) - SIENNA
MAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER
MEAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER
MVC (1/2) - DRAKE
MWC (2/2) - UNLV, BYU
NEC (1/1) - CONF WINNER
OVC (1/1) - AUSTIN PEAY
Patriot (1/1) - CONF WINNER
Pac-10 (4/6) - UCLA, Washington St., Stanford, USC
SEC (3/5) - Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State
Southern (1/1) - DAVIDSON
Southland (1/1) - CONF WINNER
Summit (1/1) - CONF WINNER
SWAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER
Sun Belt (1/2) - CONF WINNER
WCC (2/3) - SAN DIEGO, Gonzaga
WAC (1/1) - CONF WINNER

CAP/BOLD TEAMS WON THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

BUBBLE TEAMS

So here's who I have on the Bubble...

12 spots are up for grabs

Those teams IN are noted with an asterisk (*).

BUBBLE TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:

ACC:
Miami *
Maryland
Virginia Tech
Florida State

A10:
UMass *
Dayton
Temple
St. Joe's
Rhode Island

BIG EAST:
Syracuse *
Villanova

BIG TEN:
Ohio State *

BIG XII:
Texas A&M *
Texas Tech

CAA:
VCU

C-USA:
UAB
Houston

HORIZON:
Cleveland State

MVC:
Illinois State *
Creighton
S. Illinois

MWC:
New Mexico

PAC-10:
Arizona *
Arizona State
Oregon *

SEC:
Arkansas*
Kentucky *
Mississippi
Florida

SUN BELT:
South Alabama *
Western Kentucky

WCC:
St. Mary's *

WAC:
Utah State
Nevada

RANKING OF BUBBLE TEAMS:

Ranking of the Bubble Teams (As of 3/11/2008)
Rank	Team	Overall	Conf	RPI	SOS	L10	Top 50 Record
1	Miami *	20-9	8-8	27	33	6-4	3-3
2	Kentucky *	18-11	12-4	48	12	8-2	4-7
3	Arkansas*	20-10	9-7	42	40	5-5	4-5
4	UMass *	21-9	10-6	40	66	7-3	2-2
5	Arizona *	17-13	8-10	29	2	3-7	5-7
6	Texas A&M *	21-9	8-8	47	57	5-5	4-6
7	Ohio State *	19-12	10-8	49	21	4-6	3-9
8	Oregon *	18-12	9-9	53	30	6-4	4-8
9	Illinois State *	23-9	13-5	35	69	8-2	0-5
10	Syracuse *	19-12	9-9	46	7	5-5	2-8
11	St. Mary's *	24-6	12-2	38	137	7-3	2-3
12	South Alabama *	24-6	16-2	37	127	8-2	3-2
13	Villanova	19-11	9-9	56	56	6-4	4-6
14	Dayton	20-9	8-8	34	41	5-5	4-5
15	Arizona State	19-11	9-9	76	77	5-5	5-6
16	Western Kentucky	24-6	16-2	44	150	9-1	0-4
17	Mississippi	21-9	7-9	43	61	5-5	5-4
18	Creighton	20-10	10-8	51	72	6-4	0-6
19	UAB	22-9	12-4	50	93	7-3	1-2
20	S. Illinois	17-14	11-7	62	13	6-4	4-6
21	Florida	21-10	8-8	65	87	3-7	2-8
22	St. Joe's	18-11	9-7	55	59	4-6	3-4
23	New Mexico	24-7	11-5	52	151	8-2	1-4
24	VCU	24-7	15-3	54	155	8-2	0-2
25	Temple	18-12	11-5	60	43	7-3	2-3
26	Virginia Tech	18-12	9-7	57	46	6-4	0-6
27	Florida State	18-13	7-9	64	20	5-5	4-5
28	Texas Tech	15-14	7-9	59	3	4-6	4-9
29	Maryland	18-13	8-8	69	17	5-5	1-5
30	Rhode Island	21-10	7-9	67	105	3-7	3-4
31	Cleveland State	19-11	12-6	71	97	7-3	1-5
32	Houston	22-8	11-5	66	141	6-4	1-5
33	Utah State	22-9	12-4	72	175	7-3	0-1
34	Nevada	19-10	12-4	77	138	5-5	0-2

Championship Week will undoubtedly change this list and the dozen Bubble Teams.

I have a hard time putting St. Mary's, S. Alabama, W. Kentucky, et al. into the tournament as at-large bids. I think they might get the Missouri St/Air Force treatment of 2007. Good win totals, good RPI, but conference killed them. Yet somehow last year Stanford got in with an 18-12 record, 65 RPI, 32 SOS, and going 4-6 their last 10. One thing is for sure, the selection committee is consistently inconsistent when it comes down to the last 2 or 3 teams getting into the Dance. I wouldn't doubt that S. Alabama falls off the bubble at some point and time; I have a VERY hard time putting 3 WCC teams in the tournament, as well. That will probably change, too. I think either Syracuse or Villanova gets in, I can't see 9 Big East teams getting in.

Updates will happen throughout the week. Final picks set on Sunday.

MEN'S BB: March Madness: Bubble Watch 2008 - A look back at years past

Over the past three years (and the original reason I set up this blog) I have made my predictions on who gets in and who stays home on Selection Sunday. During Championship Week, I usually unveil who I think is in/out. Before I start this year's predictions, I thought I'd look back at the past predictions.

2007 - 63 out of 65 teams correctly picked. (96.9%, .979 overall)
2006 - 63 out of 65 teams correctly picked. (96.9%, .985 overall)
2005 - 65 out of 65 teams correctly picked. (100%, 1.000 overall)

2008 picks to be released sometime today.

MEN'S BB RECRUITING: Royce White Has Been Dismissed from DeLaSalle

Royce White (photo courtesy of Scout.com)

I would expect Lickliter to pull the scholarship offer.

With the transfer rules in Minnesota, his prep basketball career in the state of Minnesota is most likely over. However, rumors are now flying that both Williams and White might go the prep school route.

Other sites confirming the dismissal:
Down with Goldy: Royce White Kicked Out of DeLaSalle!
Twin Cities Boys Hoops: My thoughts on Royce White's dismissal from DeLaSalle
Star Trib: DeLaSalle, White part ways

Men's BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern (Take Two)

VS.

GAME INFO: Tues., Mar. 4th, 2008 - 8:05 CST - Welsh-Ryan Arena; Evanston, IL
IOWA: 12-18 (5-12); RPI: 184 / Northwestern: 7-19 (1-15); RPI: 200

TV COVERAGE: Big Ten Network - DirecTV (Ch. 220) / DISH Network (Ch. 439) - Mel Proctor and Jimmy Jackson will call the action.
OFFICIAL GAME NOTES - VIEW HERE
LINE - 1-15 in conference Northwestern is a 1.5 favorite at home / 115 is the over and under

By all intents and purposes Iowa should have lost this game in Carver last time out. They escaped in one of the ugliest games I have watched in a long time. A looooong time.

I really don't want to get into the keys of the game, analysis, etc... The bottom line is whether or not this team cares enough to show up. They've regressed as of late and you can strategize all you want, but if you don't have the killer instinct, you aren't going to get it done. This team doesn't have the talent to have an off-night.

I want to pick Iowa in this game, but I just haven't seen the right thing for a while.

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 47
Northwestern - 52

Prove me wrong, Hawks.

MEN'S BB: The Scholarship Situation Facing Lickliter

A lot of rumors flying around the Hawkeye Universe in regards to who is losing a scholarship, who is going to be asked to leave, who is going to leave on their own, etc... How many scholarships does Iowa have to give? Are they going to go after one, possibly two, JUCO bigs to fill out the roster? What's the coaching staff thinking?

Here are my assumptions at this point and time... I am not saying they are right or wrong, just what I think. Clearly this year was not ideal in regards to personnel (talent and/or numbers). Lickliter wants to have 15 on his team like most programs.

2008-09

Scholarship:
Freeman, SR
Tate, SR
Davis, JR
Palmer, JR *
Kelly, SO
Peterson, SO
Cole, SO
Tucker, FR
Gatens, FR
Fuller, FR
Brommer, FR

Walk-ons:
Lickliter, FR
Bohall, JR

Departures:
Johnson, Gorney, Looby, Angle**

* This scholarship could open up
** Graduates in four years and doesn't play in his fifth year.

At this point, I see there being 1, probably 2 scholarship left for a big and a wing with the possibility of 1 more depending on Palmer's status. As of right now, I'd say he is going to be in an Iowa uniform next year (that can change).

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: One to three available. If Iowa can sign the right guys, they will make moves accordingly to make room.


2009-10

Scholarship:
Davis, SR
Palmer, SR *
Kelly, JR
Peterson, JR
Cole, JR
Tucker, SO
Gatens, SO
Fuller, SO
Brommer, SO
Cougill, FR

Walk-ons:
Lickliter, SO **
Bohall, SR

Departures:
Freeman, Tate

* This scholarship could open up
** This may go from walk on to scholarship

Again, this depends on Palmer's status, but Iowa has at least 2 to work with.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: At least two, maybe three available.

MEN'S BB: Mesa High's Aaron Fuller Commits to the Hawkeyes

On the front page of Van Coleman's website, he is reporting that Aaron Fuller has committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Aaron Fuller has decided to be a Hawkeye!

March 4, 2008
Aaron Fuller is headed to the Big Ten...
By Van Coleman van@hoopmasters.com

Todd Lickliter and his Iowa staff have received a commitment from fast rising Arizona combo forward Aaron Fuller...

Reports were that Aaron really enjoyed his visit at Iowa this past weekend. Other Iowa recruiting sites are confirming the commitment. Hawkeyenation had been discussing Fuller for a while now.

Terrific get for Lickliter and the Hawkeyes. Fuller is very much under the radar.

Here a few links on Fuller...

Fuller Sets School Record in Win - January 15, 2008
Aaron Fuller broke the school record with his for single game high with 46 points and he also grabbed 16 rebounds.
Season Recap


Fuller, Mesa get best of Pinnacle


Mesa's Fuller brushes aside lack of interest from colleges


Mesa boys hoops heating up


ESPN Aaron Fuller | Power Forward

MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Illinois Fighting Illini

Enroute to Iowa City, no game notes for this one.

PREDICTION:

Iowa - 65
Illinois - 62