2012 Bracket Busters Projections

[WuShock Reaper]

Todays (02/15/12) ESPN Bracketbuster Games of Note:

Wichita State (RPI #17) BB Opponent - at Davidson (RPI #70) WON vs. Samford (RPI #258)
at Illinois State (RPI #119) BB Opponent - Oakland (RPI #139) WON vs. Southern Utah (RPI #242)
at Evansville (RPI #158) BB Opponent - Western Illinois (RPI #206) WON vs. UMKC (RPI #224)
Southern Illinois (RPI #241) BB Opponent - at Ball State (RPI #233) LOST vs. Toledo (RPI #270)


Commentary:

These are the MVC Bracketbuster opponent(s) and we (the MVC) need each of the (bolded and underlined) team(s) to win today.

These are the last of the pre-bracketbuster weekend games.

[shocktheheart]

I have a question, Does Bracketology change every Monday, like the polls do?

Most sites are doing it twice a week now.

[kochHead]

If Davidson loses to Samford again, this really will be a **** BB game for us.

[KC Shox]

If Davidson loses to Samford again, this really will be a **** BB game for us.

It already is, but not because it's Davidson. The travel and game time already pose a challenge for the Shox. Regardless of how well Davidson performs, they are extremely tough at thome and this will be a great experience for the team playing in a challenging environment. I just hope the Shox come out ready to play and start a trend in winning these Bracketbuster games, gosh knows our history in this event plain stinks.

[pogo]

I don't think travel will be that telling on the team since it will be a two hour plane ride rather than 1 to 1 1/2. I think the early start time will be a factor since a noon start screws up the normal game day preparations. I think we will be wll represented since HCGM has said they are getting ticket requests from all sides from friends in the area (South Carolina). Our history does stink but lets hope it will start trending upward.

[WuDrWu]

Mason VCU game last night was a classic.

[shox1989]

Ken Pomeroy studied over 14,000 games to determine how much and what determines a home court advantage.

His results is that altitude and distance traveled are the 2 biggest factors in creating a home court advantage. The next is the "unfamiliar surroundings". Finally the least important factor is a rowdy crowd. He does say the best thing a rowdy crowd does is to improve recruiting. Which can help a lot more in the long run than a home court advantage.

I hope Davidson is not in the mountains, otherwise they might have all 4 factors going their way. They definitely have the lengthy travel and unfamiliar surroundings factors going their way. I also assume that they will also have a decent crowd.

Excerpts from Ken Pomeroy's blog on his study:

It appears there's at best a loose relationship between fan support and home-court advantage. That leads me to believe that from the road team's perspective, dealing with unfamiliar surroundings is just as difficult as dealing with hostile fans.
That's not to say that fans don't play a role, of course. Considering that altitude and lengthy travel are non-factors in most games and that the typical home-court advantage is around four points, an active crowd may control a point or two of home-court advantage. But the bigger impact of a rocking arena is simply making it a fun place for the home team to play, which undoubtedly influences the level of talent that can be recruited to join the team that plays there.
....... As silly as it sounds, the buildings providing the most advantage to their hosts are likely Magness Arena in Denver and the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah.
The lesson of this investigation is that while strong fan support surely has long-term benefits, the ultimate home-court advantage on game day resides in thin air and long distances traveled.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-coll...tucky-duke-ncb

[WuShock Reaper]

Ken Pomeroy studied over 14,000 games to determine how much and what determines a home court advantage.

His results is that altitude and distance traveled are the 2 biggest factors in creating a home court advantage. The next is the "unfamiliar surroundings". Finally the least important factor is a rowdy crowd. He does say the best thing a rowdy crowd does is to improve recruiting. Which can help a lot more in the long run than a home court advantage.

I hope Davidson is not in the mountains, otherwise they might have all 4 factors going their way. They definitely have the lengthy travel and unfamiliar surroundings factors going their way. I also assume that they will also have a decent crowd.

Excerpts from Ken Pomeroy's blog on his study:

It appears there's at best a loose relationship between fan support and home-court advantage. That leads me to believe that from the road team's perspective, dealing with unfamiliar surroundings is just as difficult as dealing with hostile fans.
That's not to say that fans don't play a role, of course. Considering that altitude and lengthy travel are non-factors in most games and that the typical home-court advantage is around four points, an active crowd may control a point or two of home-court advantage. But the bigger impact of a rocking arena is simply making it a fun place for the home team to play, which undoubtedly influences the level of talent that can be recruited to join the team that plays there.
....... As silly as it sounds, the buildings providing the most advantage to their hosts are likely Magness Arena in Denver and the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah.
The lesson of this investigation is that while strong fan support surely has long-term benefits, the ultimate home-court advantage on game day resides in thin air and long distances traveled.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-coll...tucky-duke-ncb

Davidson, North Carolina Elevation - 840 feet

Wichita, Kansas Elevation - 1,299 feet

[WSU757]

I knew a team that did very well in Greensboro, N.C. a few years ago!

[martymoose]

Travel distance is a problem maybe if you're riding a bus....but I can tell you if I'm taking a 2 hour flight or 3 hour flight, it's not going to make any difference. Plus all of our team’s flights are usually chartered, so they just pull up and hop on the plane.

[shox1989]

Another excerpt from Ken Pomeroy's blog on home court advantage (kind of sums it up).

First, let's consider what makes up home-court advantage. I think there are four things that give the road team a disadvantage: altitude, travel, unfamiliarity with the surroundings and hostile fans. Based on this study, I also think that's their order of importance.

[shox1989]

Davidson, North Carolina Elevation - 840 feet

Wichita, Kansas Elevation - 1,299 feet

I guess that means altitude shouldn't be a problem on Saturday.

[1972Shocker]

At least 3G will be very familiar with the surroundings.

With a few exceptions, I think attitude is more important than altitude and the Shocks have had a great road attitude the last couple of years.

Distance traveled is relative. In this specific instance whatever our flight time will be is worse than what Davidson's will be (which is none).

[WuShock Reaper]

Todays (02/15/12) ESPN Bracketbuster Games of Note: FINAL UPDATE

Wichita State (RPI #17) BB Opponent - at Davidson (RPI #70) WON vs. Samford (RPI #258)
at Illinois State (RPI #119) BB Opponent - Oakland (RPI #139) WON vs. Southern Utah (RPI #242)
at Evansville (RPI #158) BB Opponent - Western Illinois (RPI #206) WON vs. UMKC (RPI #224)
Southern Illinois (RPI #241) BB Opponent - at Ball State (RPI #233) LOST vs. Toledo (RPI #270)


Commentary:

These are the MVC Bracketbuster opponent(s) and we (the MVC) need each of the (bolded and underlined) team(s) to win today.

These are the last of the pre-bracketbuster weekend games.

[KC Shox]

At least 3G will be very familiar with the surroundings.

With a few exceptions, I think attitude is more important than altitude and the Shocks have had a great road attitude the last couple of years.

Distance traveled is relative. In this specific instance whatever our flight time will be is worse than what Davidson's will be (which is none).

I wonder if any representatives from South Carolina will make it known they are in attendance watching and chumming up to GM this Saturday?