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6 responses to “Bracketology: March 1st Edition”

  1. KQ

    i actually agree with you on this, but its not that hard because espn analysis guys in my opinion come up with their theory or whatever they call them but they always leave out atleast one key factor in their decisions and in total do a poor job

    i only take opinions mostly from the people on around the horn(although some stink) and pardon the interuption(unless tony or wilbon isnt there)

  2. dj0081

    So, why is a loss to USC embarrassing? USC has not only beaten St. Mary’s but UNLV and Tennessee as well. All of the teams in the Pac 10 are athletic and erratic. It’s a joke that the Pac 10 only has one team in Lunardi’s and other projections. It’s only exacerbated by the fact that Cal, which just won the conference title by beating AZ st by 16 garners only a 9 seed in most projected brackets.

    See the rest of my story at:

    http://bleacherscreech.typepad.com/bleacherscreech/2010/03/pac-10-better-than-votes-and-polls-indicate.html

    1. Bob Long

      The USC loss is embarrassing because USC is 16-12 with losses to Loyola Marymount, Stanford, Oregon (twice), Oregon State (twice), and Washington State (twice). USC’s best win was over Tennessee, who has been the most inconsistent team in the country this year and played terribly. That was the only win over a ranked team all year, and other than that USC hasn’t beaten a sure-fire tournament team. Basically, this means that they are nothing more than a mediocre team, and a loss to USC by a bubble team is a bad loss come Selection Sunday, there are no two ways about it.

      Cal is 20-9 and hasn’t beaten an NCAA tournament team to this point. The best win for the Bears is against Arizona State. Therefore, this record is upheld by a bad conference this year (sorry, no true powerhouses, and the traditional Pac-10 powerhouses, [UCLA and Arizona] stink this year). In addition, their best non-conference win is against Iowa State, and beyond that, I don’t even know (Princeton maybe??). The point is, Cal isn’t a sure fire autobid team because, just like the teams I mentioned above, they haven’t played anyone!

      As to the rest of your article, I don’t see how you say that Arizona is good or talented (the are 14-14). Portland sucks, by the way. They are 20-9, third place in the West Coast Conference as you mentioned, with the best win coming against Minnesota, and beyond that it is anyone’s guess as to who they have beaten. So don’t tell me Washington has quality wins over Texas A&M and Portland. Face it, they got 1 good win, and that is Texas A&M. No way that is close enough to getting them in when Notre Dame has 3 wins over top 25 teams and even more against NCAA tournament caliber teams.

      Overall, your article seemed to be a stretch that you were trying to make work. You seem to be a Pac-10 proponent, and gave little or no facts with regard to the teams in general, but instead claimed that, for example, Arizona is a good team, when in fact they are terrible (14-14 as I mentioned). The Pac-10 is a 1 bid league unless Cal goes deep in the Pac-10 tournament but then loses. Anything less and it is a 1 bid league.

      1. dj0081

        You seem to hone in on the fact that I mention that a .500 major conference team is good. Which may be a stretch. My problem lies with teams like San Diego State, which Arizona St beat and Rhode Island. Also a major problem with the West Coast Conference. If St. Mary’s deserves to be the 2nd team in from what I regard as a weak West Coast Conference, how can Portland suck? They must be good, because St. Mary’s has beaten no one this year. Still contend that if UCLA or Arizona were in the shoes of Washington and Arizona St there would be 2 Pac 10 teams in the projected brackets. Cal ran into a non-conference buzz saw this year. Lost to Kansas and New Mexico on the road and Syracuse and Ohio St at home. Didn’t really play anyone of note out of conference they could beat. Still doesn’t make them a #9 seed. USC beat UNLV, St. Mary’s and Tennessee. St. Mary’s should be so far off the bubble it would need a bus ticket to get to the bubble.

        Really think the Pac 10 has a lot of better than average to average teams from 6 to 10. Just a lot of good teams with young, raw talent and no one to take charge of the conference.

        At any rate, why I write. Love sports. Thanks for taking the time to read the piece.

      2. Bob Long

        I wasn’t trying to say that you thought all .500 major conference teams were good. I mentioned Arizona because you specifically said that they were talented, which they have proven that they are not.

        To San Diego State, I wrote in this article specifically that they have no place in the tournament, so I agree with you on that.

        And to your St. Mary’s comment, they haven’t done anything either. They lost their two biggest games of the year, Gonzaga twice. In my book you have to beat someone before you call yourself an NCAA tournament team, you can’t just post a good record against unproven talent in a “bad” conference (ie. Northern Iowa).

        Should be a fun week and a half though, I just hope the committee takes all the right factors into consideration.

    2. Bob Long

      TCU almost got New Mexico at home tonight. TCU (13-17) was within 3 points with under a minute left. The Horned Frogs have won exactly 3 games in over a month and a half, and they almost beat a projected 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Would Pittsburgh or West Virginia have allowed TCU to stay that close? No way in heck. They haven’t been in a truely close game against as bad of a team as TCU is all year. Why not? Because they are much more talented and much better than New Mexico. I’m sorry, but the Lobos haven’t proved anywhere near enough for me to believe they are a legitimate contender.

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