2020-21 Bracketology

[shoxlax]

Duke/UNC/UK takes their place.

I walked right into that one.

[pie n eye]

I don’t pay attention to bracketology but it was discussed on Sports Daily and Talk Angry today which piqued my interest. I assume we are securely on the outside looking in right now but are still within striking distance of an at large quality resume because we have no “bad losses” so far.

Our lack of marquee wins is holding us back but lucky for us we are in the American and still have some opportunities left. There are also plenty of landmines to avoid.

As of today, per Warren Nolan, we are 1-3 (Q1), 2-1 (Q2), 3-0 (Q3), and 1-0 (Q4).

Looking forward, the following opportunities remain:
Q1 - 2 games (@SMU, Houston)
Q2 - 3 games (@UCF, Memphis, SMU)
Q3 - 4 games (Temple x 2, @Tulane, USF)
Q4 - 3 games (Tulane, ECU x 2)

Ole Miss, our only Q1 win, is hanging by a thread. We need them to stay at or above their current NET of 75.

Tulsa could do us a huge favor if they improve their current NET of 87 to 75 or better which would give us one more Q1 and Q2 win.

If those two things happen (maybe it’s a long shot) and we split our remaining Q1 games, go 2-1 in Q2, 3-1 Q3, 3-0 Q4 do we have a good enough resume to get in? That scenario would put us at 3-3 (Q1), 5-2 (Q2), 5-1 (Q3), 4-0 (Q4).

That scenario would mean we go 9-3 down the stretch which seems like a very difficult task but at least there are a few different pathways, along with winning the conference tourney, to an NCAA berth.

Whether or not we’re good enough to make any of that happen remains to be seen.

[ABC]

Palm has WSU as the first one out. FWIW

2020 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions - Bracketology - College Basketball - CBSSports.com

[AZ Shocker]

Palm has WSU as the first one out. FWIW

2020 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions - Bracketology - College Basketball - CBSSports.com

I think he does that every year.

[Dan]

We can probably only afford one more loss against SMU or Houston

[Shockm]

I think if we don’t beat Houston, we are outside. SMU just isn’t good enough

[JVShocker]

Those games with Mizzou and OSU hurt looking at all of this. Maybe even more than the Memphis game which was a complete head scratcher.

[pie n eye]

Those games with Mizzou and OSU hurt looking at all of this. Maybe even more than the Memphis game which was a complete head scratcher.

Definitely would have been nice to play them at full strength, although really the only contributor we were missing was RC4. Porter didn’t play but he’s basically been a “go stand on the court and don’t turn it over while Gilbert gets a rest” guy more than a real impact player.

We probably get the OSU game at full strength but that’s still just a Q2.

[Kel Varnsen]

For what it's worth, Bart Torvik's Wins Above Bubble (WAB) has us as an 11 seed if the committee used his ratings system. This would certainly be a large upgrade over the selection committee as it exists currently, and I think this is generally correct.

https://barttorvik.com/personal_tran...&run=yes&now=1

[pie n eye]

For what it's worth, Bart Torvik's Wins Above Bubble (WAB) has us as an 11 seed if the committee used his ratings system. This would certainly be a large upgrade over the selection committee as it exists currently, and I think this is generally correct.

https://barttorvik.com/personal_tran...&run=yes&now=1

Kowabunga. I don’t know crap about bracketology but I still think the following resume at least gets us a look.

Q1 2-3
Q2 6-2
Q3 7-1
Q4 3-0

To get to that record would require us to go 9-2 down the stretch including a win against Houston. Split with SMU and lose one of the three remaining Q3 road games (@UCF, @Tulane, @Temple).

Not sure how much wiggle room we have outside of that path. Also not saying going 9-2 is remotely likely but the path is there even if it’s extremely narrow.

[pie n eye]

In a ridiculous but not unsurprising turn of events I heard Fraschilla (eye roll) mention that OSU is appealing their NCAA tourney ban and said he believes OSU will ultimately be allowed to play in the tourney.

What a crock of **** if that actually happens.

[Stickboy46]

In a ridiculous but not unsurprising turn of events I heard Fraschilla (eye roll) mention that OSU is appealing their NCAA tourney ban and said he believes OSU will ultimately be allowed to play in the tourney.

What a crock of **** if that actually happens.

Its a weird technical thing. Since they have appealed and the NCAA hasn't ruled on their appeal, they are technically eligible. That doesn't mean they will get out of their punishment if they decide in the spring to deny the appeal ... they will just not be eligible next year.

While I'm all for holding schools accountable .. I don't think current season bans are the way to go. It punishes the players who likely had absolutely nothing to do with the actions. They need to put it out a year or two, so that it will allow kids to choose not to go to a school that wont be eligible. That will be more likely to punish the school and not the players.

[pie n eye]

Its a weird technical thing. Since they have appealed and the NCAA hasn't ruled on their appeal, they are technically eligible. That doesn't mean they will get out of their punishment if they decide in the spring to deny the appeal ... they will just not be eligible next year.

While I'm all for holding schools accountable .. I don't think current season bans are the way to go. It punishes the players who likely had absolutely nothing to do with the actions. They need to put it out a year or two, so that it will allow kids to choose not to go to a school that wont be eligible. That will be more likely to punish the school and not the players.

You make an interesting point about the timing of the punishment.

I do think this appeal is unlikely to go in OSU’s favor and they probably know that but they have Cade Cunningham on the team this year and so both OSU and the NCAA stand to benefit from his participation. OSU in terms of chance to win games and NCAA in terms of interest in seeing a likely top 3 pick play in their tourney.

Feels like they’re just taking advantage of a loophole to me.

[Aargh]

Its a weird technical thing. Since they have appealed and the NCAA hasn't ruled on their appeal, they are technically eligible. That doesn't mean they will get out of their punishment if they decide in the spring to deny the appeal ... they will just not be eligible next year.

While I'm all for holding schools accountable .. I don't think current season bans are the way to go. It punishes the players who likely had absolutely nothing to do with the actions. They need to put it out a year or two, so that it will allow kids to choose not to go to a school that wont be eligible. That will be more likely to punish the school and not the players.

I like that idea a lot.

When all the crap at KU was coming down I was checking phog.net to see the reaction there. There were A LOT of threads about losing recruits they had been targeting. Now their on-court performance is showing what happens when future recruiting is affected. In an ironic twist, it's possible that the longer KU stalls their sanctions, it will hurt the program harder and longer.

[Shockm]

In a ridiculous but not unsurprising turn of events I heard Fraschilla (eye roll) mention that OSU is appealing their NCAA tourney ban and said he believes OSU will ultimately be allowed to play in the tourney.

What a crock of **** if that actually happens.

In the 60’s WSU hired a highly successful football coach named Boyd Converse. Jimmy Johnson was an Asst. Coach, and we spent a lot of money with the intent to become a football power. Our attempt was too robust at the time, and we were promptly were placed on 3 years of probation.

I think we we need to bring back football today. We now, would be able to compete by using the same methods we used on the 60’s. In addition, we could offer classes where students don’t have to attend (ala North Carolina), etc. In 1965, we were ahead of our time to compete in Div. 1 Football. Now we are ready.