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FBCB: Zeroed Out/All 1 Prestige Conferences/All Auto-Bids except Independents
Yes, I went through and set all schools to 0 prestige and all conferences to 1 prestige. What is this actually going to look like? Who knows!
I've created 34 year old Izulde Jestor as a Level 0 coach with the usual 50 Recruiting/10 Scouting/10 Coaching Offense/30 Coaching Defense buuuut I'm going to let him sit out the first 5-10 years while some history gets established first. Let's go! Well, not quite. I also went and deleted all of the preseason tournaments except 1, since it insists on having at least one preseason tournament. Fine. 16 teams, 1 prestige, no host school: the Midnight Madness Tipoff. We might follow (or attempt to follow) a few specific high schools if I'm able to access that data easily. I actually had to redo the start, because somehow I missed that Hofstra had 40 prestige and Penn State 9. The Pride was crushing everyone and actually had a Yellow/Yellow and Yellow/Green player. 2013 No recruits to follow from any of our selected focus schools. Wisconsin got hit hard - highest recruit is a 3*. 5* Recruits California: 3 Tennessee: 3 New Jersey: 2 Pennsylvania: 2 Texas: 2 Alabama: 1 Arkansas: 1 Iowa: 1 Indiana: 1 Illinois: 1 Florida: 1 Georgia: 1 Michigan: 1 Minnesota: 1 Spain: 1 Washington D.C.: 1 New York is shut out, and apparently the Volunteer State is the place to be if you want to see elite high school hoops action this year.  Gotta love parity After November: Code:
Top 25This is what parity gets you. The voters are strongly split on everything. Hilariously enough, there's two Green players in the universe right now and neither Akron nor UNC-Wilmington have so much as a single vote. Even funnier? Jacksonville State is #1 despite having one Orange guy and two players on academic suspension. December should normalize things one would hope. |
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Top 25Things are starting to smooth out now as of the New Year. Boston University is the first All-Red team in the Top 25, and like a lot of teams in the Top 25, they have yet to play a conference game. Southeast Missouri State is 3-0 in conference, Florida Gulf Coast is 5-0. 7 of the top scorers in the country are seniors and the only one averaging 20+ points is a chucker at sub-40% shooting (he's at 21.5 points by the way). Sure wish I could see where the top recruits committed, but there's no way for me to access that information without a human coach, so on we go to February. Code:
Top 25Boston University takes the #1 spot and then January 15th, they have two starters go out over 40 days with injury in the same game. The Terriers have now lost 3 of their last 4 games. Hard to feel bad for them though - they literally have an all-100s 34 year old coach. That's one thing I've noticed is somewhat annoying about this game - how many wunderkind young coaches there are who will win everything and gobble up all the records so no one else has any shot at beating them. Temple? 100 Coaching Offense/100 Coaching Defense and a much more reasonable 48 years old. Irony: Albert Hamlin, that senior from Michigan State whom I mentioned was a chucker? He finally is shooting north of 40% (barely at 40.4).. annnd... he drops below 20 PPG, now at 19.4. Still good enough to lead the country, but the lack of overall talent is indeed showing itself on the national stage. Year 1 seems to literally be about "Did you get lucky in the random coach distribution?" If yes, HAWK TUAH! JUST SPIT ON THOSE THANGS! That makes it a much less interesting exercise. I've moved on to March 1st, and 6 of the Top 25 teams have a coach who is not rated 80 or higher in coaching on one side of the ball or the other - many with both - which is 24%. I'm not going to zero out the coaches, though. That would take literally hours and hours of work, and I'd have to zero out the new coaches as they came in each year and that would be just too much hassle. But who knows? We'll see what the tournament brings when we get there. |
As of March 1st:
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Top 25The Owls of Temple have to be the odds-on favorites to win the whole thing. They're #24 nationally in offense, #12 in defense, and Top 5 in both fewest turnovers allowed and most turnovers forced. Point differential is also tops in the country. Also the first consensus #1 we've seen profiled, after they just missed out on the February 1st rankings. Bubble watch is brutal to Florida Atlantic. They have the #2 toughest schedule in the country, are 17-11... but their 8-7 conference record is dooming those lesser Owls. Also out is 16th strength of schedule Austin Peay, who are are 16-12 (10-7). SOS only gets you so far. But we'll see what happens. Oh, side note: The Big Dance is 64 teams, the NIT expanded to 40. I don't like the play-in game format personally, and like an NCAA ticket to really mean something. CBI and CIT are jokes, so they're not allowed. Some Conference Tournament Notes Temple is shocked, 46-45 by George Washington in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament and the Colonials are perfectly .500 at 16-16 (7-7) when they go up against UNC-Charlotte. They're promptly crushed by the 49ers and are out of postseason consideration. #1 seeds winning: Oklahoma (Big 12) Georgetown (Big East) Fairfield (MAAAC) (vs 2 seed) Akron (MAC) Maryland-Eastern Shore (MEAC) (vs 2 seed) Creighton (MVC) Santa Clara (WCC) (vs 2 seed) Conference USA had 1 seed Memphis against 2 seed UAB, with the Dragons winning 51-49, the exact same result of 1 seed Houston Baptist against 2 seed Utah Valley in the Great West, save that HBU scored 1 less point. UT-Chattanooga as a 2 seed beats top seed Elon in the Southern final. Makes me wonder if the Mocs will pull one of the 5* talents. Austin Peay advances to the conference tournament final, and though they lose, it's enough to punch their ticket to an at-large bid as a 12 seed. Poor Florida Atlantic. The lesser Owls get to the Sun Belt semi-finals and lose to the top seed, but they're still put as a 4 seed in the NIT. Albert Hamlin finishes as the national scoring leader at 19.6 points a game. No 20 PPG scorer this year. His Michigan State Spartans make it as a 12 seed though. NCAA Tournament Brackets  Yes, that's an Eastern seaboard team #1 in the West region. Hilarious. Hawks are #2 overall in the country. I really like Middle Tennessee here. The Blue Raiders have excellent coaching and were a combined 8-2 in Q1 and Q2 games.  Creighton gets a very tough draw. UAB is woefully underseeded and has a Top 25 defense, offense just outside the Top 100 (106), and are ranked #24 in the country. Should have been a 5-6 seed rather than 9. Senior Justin Talbert is one of the Green guys thanks to his 88/84 Passing/Handling and is the country's leading assists at 6.7 per game (no elite scoring talent = harder to get assists), and Akron was a perfect 4-0 in Quad 1 games. I foresee either the Blue Jays, Blazers, or Zips making it out of the quadrant.  UNC-Charlotte is my pick for the 12-5 Upset. 12th ranked defense in the country and a 100/100 coach (also 100 Recruiting fwiw). Nicholls State is another upset pick. #2 defense and a surprisingly solid record in all four quadrants. I actually think I like Richmond to come out of here, but overall, this feels like the softest region in the tournament.  Temple is still the easy money on who wins this whole thing, but a dangerous second round matchup with Pennsylvania awaits. Boston College/Lafayette and St. Francis (PA)/Austin Peay are great first round matchups to watch featuring four good teams. George Mason is the first 2 seed I've really liked and wouldn't be surprised to see in the Final Four. Elon was Top 90 on both sides of the ball and is a trendy upset pick. Savannah State has the #1 offense in the country at 68.6 points a game. All of which is to say, they stuffed the East with a lot of great teams and the committee is going to make the Best Owls earn their shot at the Final Four. Kind of sucks to be the top overall seed and then get put in the Region of Death, but it is what it is. |
West Region
My pick, Middle Tennessee gets upset in the first round. 14 seed Valpo and 11 seed San Francisco also provide upsets. It's now looking like Maryland-Eastern Shore's cakewalk to the Final Four. Second round sees Maryland-Eastern Shore advance, Indiana continue its Cinderella run by surprising 5 seed Southern Illinois, Oklahoma ensuring a chalk Elite 1-2 is still in play, and San Francisco manhandling Valpo in an all-Cinderella game. Big school bias as 13 seed Indiana throws out Maryland-Eastern Shore and 11 seed San Francisco (the only actual Western team in the West region) ejects 2 seed Oklahoma. Our only shot at chalk is pissed away. Disgusting. Midwest Region First season, first 16 over 1 as Creighton goes down at the hands of the Lobos. Didn't see that coming at all. Only five players total scored double-digits, and three of them were Blue Jays! Weird game. UAB's offense disappears in a 43-53 loss, and my only pick to advance was Akron. Michigan State lost to to Texas, which I figured. Boston College is the only other upset other than 16/1, the 11 seed stunning Wyoming. A degree of order was restored as South Alabama sent New Mexico home and will face Akron. Hofstra upsets Texas A&M, while Illinois restores the state's pride by advancing to the Sweet 16. Somewhere between a 3 and 8 seed will represent the region and go in as sizable underdogs most likely. Akron and Illinois restore geographical purity and ensure a Midwestern team will represent the Midwest, as well as an actual damn single digit seed. South Region 16 seed Quinnipiac takes down top seed James Madison, which doesn't shock me. What does is Richmond losing by 10 points to 14 seed Montana State. Not pulling off the upset: UNC-Charlotte. The South continues to prove my point about weakest region: 8 seed Northern Iowa, 5 seed Hawaii, 7 seed Kennesaw State, and 14 seed Montana State make up the regional semi-finals, as the Owls barely beat back the 2 seed Hurricanes 57-55, and the Bobcats are just going buck wild in besting 6 seed Northeastern. Hawaii you're our only hope as the Rainbow Warriors advance to face the 14 seed Bobcats after Montana State massacres those lone remaining Owls in another upset win. East Region Lafayette upsets Boston University by 20 (not a surprise to be honest), and Austin Peay continues their hot streak in their own upsetl. And of course George Mason is knocked out by 15 seed UNC-Asheville. At least my called Elon upset came in, and Pennsylvania's squash of Florida A&M was as expected. Remember how I said Pennsylvania was a dangerous matchup? They stun everyone but me in knocking out tournament favorite Temple 58-50. Lafayette leapfrogs Austin Peay in their All-Cinderella matchup, 15 seed UNC-Asheville shocks Elon and me, while 3 seed Georgia Tech ends the country's best-scoring offense in sending out Savannah State. Did Graham Sims start coaching Lafayette early? Because the 13 seed Leopards just stunned Pennsylvania, while 15 seed UNC-Asheville guarantees at least two double-digit teams in the Final Four in taking the sting out of the Yellow Jackets. Final Four West: San Francisco (11) Midwest: Akron (4) South: Hawaii (5) East: Lafayette (13) Honestly, the best result the committee could have hoped for. Montana State lost by just 2 points to the Rainbow Warriors. It's Hawaii vs San Francisco and Akron vs Lafayette. A Best Coast team is going to be in the championship, while the committee is praying for an Akron/Hawaii championship. They get it, and neither game was all that much in doubt. Championship Game   You look at the Rainbow Warriors' roster and you're just like, "...How did the team make it this far?" Frankly, a lot of luck. Upsets galore happening along the way Sure they won their conference on tiebreakers but the Big West was awful. The next-highest RPI to Hawaii's (#1 somehow) was 70th, and only one other team in the conference had an RPI in the Top 100. Digging deeper into the data: Code:
#16 AKRON ZIPS TEAM INFOCode:
HAWAII RAINBOW WAHINE TEAM INFOYeah, there's just no reasonable way Hawaii should even be here. Of course that means they'll probably win by like 20 or something stupid like that. Akron wins 62-61 to claim the first championship! Hawaii's junior C Jarvis Okelley should have won PotG (10 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal), but they award it to Akron's redshirt freshman reserve Jerry Lodge who only had 7 points, 6 rebounds, and a steal. Makes absolutely no sense unless it's a clutch plays factor. On to Year 2. |
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2013 OVERALL AWARDSThe awards are fine. Just noting for them for posterity. I'm really eager to see the recruiting classes and prestige movements, though. Code:
2013 Recruiting RankingsAccording to this, 12 of the 23 5* committed. But when you look at the top player rankings... Code:
2013 Recruiting Rankings...17 committed. And then I realize the problem - not all the 5* players were ranked in the Top 23 - some 4* players snuck in. That doesn't seem to square right with me - 4* should not be ranked higher than 5* or what even is the point of the system? Anyway, hell of a steal by Hawaii to land the #1 class after lucking into the Finals appearance. They yanked one of the California guys. Outside of that, biggest move away from home? A couple guys who have four drives (Texas to New Mexico; Minnesota to North Dakota) or about what the driving time is across the state of Wisconsin from Lake Michigan to the Minnesota border. In other words, those that failed to academically qualify said skip the terrible talent level in American college basketball - I'll just go play overseas. Next question is going to be conference prestige changes and movement. I have them both turned off as I prefer to do them manually. From my last Zeroed Out dynasty, too much wonkiness happens if you let things be set automatically. |
Because it's only one year of data, I don't want to be excessive in changing Conference Prestiges. A cap at an increase to 2, and only if a conference is worthy.
Notable Conferences ACC: 5 teams with 10+ Prestige Big 12: 3 teams ranked in the Top 10 at the end of the season CAA: 5 teams with 10+ Prestige, 2 teams ranked in Top 10 at end of season Seems pretty obvious here the the CAA deserves a bump up to 2 prestige. I'll hold off on the other two for now. CAA: 1 Prestige to 2 Movement Akron with 23 Prestige (highest in the country) is the only team in the MAC with 10+ prestige. Lafayette is in the same boat in the Patriot League. It's a simple swap to move the Leopards into the CAA and kick Old Dominion down to the Patriot League. And the Monarchs' recruiting class was ranked #300, so it makes a lot of sense. Done. But if the Zips move out, the MAC is no longer balanced and the lone divisions split in the country is destroyed. There's also the question of where to move Akron to. The Big 10 makes sense regionally, but the team getting booted out is Ohio State, which doesn't play at all football-wise, so it's a no go. The Missouri Valley has 3 teams with 10+ prestige and no one will complain about Wichita State moving to the MAC, except a Kansas team doesn't fit geographically with the rest of the conference. The Ohio Valley Conference can't resist the opportunity to add an actual Ohio team and is quite willing to kick out Morehead State. Perfect. The Eagles even slot neatly into the East Division, so I don't have to rearrange things there. School Movement Lafayette: Patriot to CAA Old Dominion: CAA to Patriot Akron: MAC to Ohio Valley Morehead State: Ohio Valley to MAC Coaching Movement 9 jobs open up, ranging from 0 prestige Maine and Boise State at the bottom to 10 prestige Coppin State.  Maine is the only reasonable demands opening at .500 in conference play. Everyone else is aspirational as hell. But I nope out when I see just about every coach in the conference is 100/100 Offense/Defense. Moving on! Everyone hires an assistant, including St. John's who ends up with a Level 0 coach. Midnight Madness Tipoff Teaser The top seeded team is 10 Prestige Chattanooga, but everyone is hyped to see CSU-Baskerfield's SF Dante Morton, the #2 recruit who is a Blue/Blue junior juco transfer. |
2014
5* Recruits New York: 3 Pennsylvania: 3 Texas: 3 Florida: 2 Illinois: 2 Maryland: 2 Arizona: 1 Germany: 1 Kansas: 1 Michigan: 1 Minnesota: 1 New Mexico: 1 Utah: 1 Washington: 1 Washington D.C.: 1 Wyoming: 1 25 5* Recruits, two more than last season. Streak of 2+ 5* Players: Pennsylvania, Texas (2) Streak of 1+ 5* Players: Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota (2) Interesting to see New York and California trade places. And how rich a hoops state is Pennsylvania? Texas you expect because it's the 2nd biggest state in population, but Pennsylvania is comparatively modest at 5th biggest in population. Minnesota and Washington D.C. are the two biggest surprises to have a streak going - 22nd and 50th in population respectively. No recruits from our featured high schools yet. Dante Morton Watch His Division I collegiate debut is 20 points, 14 rebounds, and a steal in CSU-Bakersfield's 65-55 Midnight Madness Tipoff first round win over Air Force. The single-game record for points scored is 36, by the way. But not even his 26 points, 17 rebounds, and block can save the Roadrunners against Florida Atlantic in the second round. Interesting that they've got him lined up at PF.  Remember last year when the 16 seed upset everyone and won the tournament? Didn't happen here. The Owls rode unheralded freshmen PF Dallas Pierce (3* - #345) and [b]SG Brian Call (1* - #922 with a wicked 3 point shot) to the title. Both Red/Yellow freshmen, to boot. Code:
Top 25Much more tame December 1st Top 25 polling than the first season. We're already starting to see a landscape develop after just one year. Intriguing data: Mercer at #8 is the first school to have a 5* recruit, though #3 Mississippi Valley State had a Top 29 class with no 5*. Very interesting indeed. But let's see how things look come January 1st. Code:
Top 25Mercer not only landed the #1 overall recruit in Sanford Boyd, they lucked into a 3* Green/Green Walk-On who was rated #465 in his class - Bobby Blakeney, who was a junior juco transfer who scared teams off with his complete lack of defense. Oh, and 2* Damian Stitt (#529) was a gem of a find - already Yellow/Green and an absolute unit as a shooter. IOW, the Bears have an ungodly talented roster well-deserving of their #1 ranking and undefeated record. How is Bradley also doing so great? Two underrated 3* PGs just outside the Top 100 giving them solid point guard player for the current level of this league for 40 straight minutes. Kris Fillmore is the starter and leading scorer at 16.5 points per game; [b]Kim Holmes[/b[ is the 6th man combo guard. Both are Orange/Blue. 8 guys are averaging 20+ points per game, and the leader shockingly isn't Dante Morton. It's true freshman Joseph Brack - a 2* walk-on at DePaul who is averaging 24.3 points and shooting 52.5% from 3 point range. Ridiculous. Just ridiculous. Even more ridiculous: there's a 4* New Jersey All-State player who was ranked #34 who walked on at Rutgers. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? I could understand maybe some 3* guys and sure some 2* guys walking on, but there's zero excuse for this. Which means the 5* guys who didn't commit? Maybe they fucked off to Europe, but they're probably hiding on a roster somewhere and I just haven't found them. Incredibly frustrating. And I found it because David Gregory is of course leading the country in blocks per game at this stage. So that's two major counting stats categories being led by walk-ons. Yes, I know. It's a function of the zeroed out prestige that HOPEFULLY SHOULD CORRECT ITSELF this year... but I'm not confident prestige levels are high enough to prevent it. |
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Top 25The wheels really fell off on Bradley in January. The Braves went 2-7 and there were no injuries at all. They just flat-out sucked. Mercer continues to be the class of the country. Army got a buttload of great walk-on freshmen, including 4*, #24 ranked Kelly Blessing who is Yellow/Blue. Stupid, yes. Can't wait for prestige to grow enough that we don't see that bullshit anymore. Anyway, Dante Morton has assumed command of scoring average lead with 22.3 PPG, Joseph Brack is second at 21.1, and Youngstown State junior juco transfer John Wilmot is right on the cusp at 20.2 points a game (He's Green/Green). Nothing appreciably insane in the first Bubble Watch this year. Akron and Lafayette are regretting their moves as they're bottom-tier right now in their respective conferences while Old Dominion is #2 in the Patriot behind lucky ass Army. Morehead State is a literal .500 MAC team, so the Eagles appear correctly positioned. Code:
Top 25Rough month for Mercer as they fall with some losses. The big story here is the Rainbow Wahine of Hawaii rising to the Top 10 for the first time all season. Evidently they woke up and remembered who they were - the team that made the title game last year (albeit thanks to fluke city) and brought in the #1 recruiting class. The Delta Devils are another team who had some solid walk-on luck, but Mississippi Valley State also pulled off the #27 recruiting class, headlined by 4* All-American Andres Knutson, and they convinced the best Mississippi talent to all stay home and attend their school rather than Ole Miss or Mississippi State. Dante Morton stands alone at 23.5 points per game. He's a shoo-in for the scoring title and the National Player of the Year for my money. CSU-Bakersfield is 18-10 as an Independent with the 22nd-best RPI and the Roadrunners were a bad 11-17 last season. What a masterful recruiting stroke by Jerry Harvey, who is a good recruiter and an excellent scout. Morton is also averaging 9.8 boards, so he could be the first 20/10 player. But I want to take a second to spotlight Robert Morris' 4*, #8 in the country (the rankings loved him, the scouts didn't) Louis Deacon, the Pennsylvania All-State freshman who might be the first recorded double-double guy at 15.5 points and 10.2 rebounds. The Colonials won all of 6 games last year, and are 17-12 this season (10-8 in conference play). They'll need a Cinderella conference tournament run to make the Big Dance, but it's still an impressive improvement. Conference Tournament #1 seeds Winning Big 12: Texas A&M (beat a 2 seed) Big East: Marquette Big West: Hawaii (by 2 points over a 2 seed. Luck continues) MAAC: Siena MAC: Miami-Ohio (Beat a 2 seed) Ohio Valley: Eastern Kentucky (beat a 2 seed by 2 points... said 2 seed beat Akron by 1 point in the semi-finals, dethroning the national champion) Pac-12: California SEC: Tennessee Southland: Southeastern Louisiana WCC: Pepperdine (beat a 2 seed) 1 vs 2 seed - 2 seed wins Big Sky: Montana State (Those assholes again) Big Ten: Purdue Great West: Texas Pan-American Patriot: American WAC: New Mexico State Much healthier chalk than last season. It's not enough to prevent Akron getting relegated to the 7 seed in the NIT. Oh hey, I didn't record who won the NIT last season. That's because no one cares who the 65th best team in the country is. Still that's better than Lafayette, who finished 2nd to last in the CAA, and San Francisco, who were an even .500. Yes, that means only Hawaii has a shot at putting together something resembling a dynasty. But we'll get to that in just a second.  Virginia is a paper tiger. #2 ranked offense but their defense is completely garbage. That said, they have a good shot at advancing to the Elite Eight because this region is total ass. That said, I really like Troy. The Trojans have great 3 point shooting wings and are a pretty balanced, efficient squad. North Dakota State is criminally underseeded at #10. They have a High School All-American 5* #10 overall recruit in PG Rayford Maxson and they're Top 50 on offense, Top 100 on defense. The Bison got dinged for a weak schedule - just 3 Quad 1 games, where they were 2-1.California doesn't have elite talent but they were Top 70 in both categories, and the Golden Bears could well walk out with the region. I'm annoyed to see Wichita State had a High School All-American walk on. Whatever. I'm moving on before I get mad again.  Fred Hargett (Green/Blue), Gene Everett (Yellow/Green), and David Hoke (Yellow/Green) form an elite freshman triumvirate for Hawaii who took a while to get respected, but that's an incredibly talented team, and the Rainbow Wahine boast the #16 offense with just outside the Top 50 defense. Heavy, heavy favorites to get back to the title game and win it this time. Delaware is without Robin Bowling, who was the nation's leader in steals and that really hurts the Blue Hens' opportunity for a massive upset. New Mexico State has Bertram Gross, the 5* recruit they stole from Texas, and a solid all-freshman backcourt, but I don't see the Aggies pulling off the upset in the second round against Hawaii. This isn't Pennsylvania/Temple from last season. Fuck USC for having their two best players be walk-ons, including another HS All-American. And Air Force is too inefficient to beat them. How the hell Marquette put together a 2 seed All-Red team with the #4 defense and 6-1 Quad 1 record I'll never know. Oh right. God-tier 100/100 coach. Bradley's PG pair studs should be able to knock them off in the second round, though. Sweetheart draw for Dante Morton's team - I could see them making it to the Elite 8 easily where they'll get squashed by Hawaii.  The committee screws over the #1 overall seed for the second year in a row. And Erich Battle, the Delta Devils' best player (Green/Green and a walk-on of course) is hobbled with an 80% injury. Fortunately it's a soft draw until Pepperdine in the Sweet 16 by my projections, the Waves having walked on the #20 player in the country. I really like UAB. The Blazers have a 5* recruit in HS All-American Charlie Meadors (#15 in the country), and a 1* Yellow/Yellow gem in Carlo Epifanio from Italy. You already know about Mercer, who should have been a 1 or 2 seed on pure talent. Great matchup against American, who has a 5* recruit in Gary Jung. I could possibly see an upset there, as stacked as the Bears are. Temple is again Top 62 on both sides of the ball, but the Owls' second-best player is out for the tournament, which will prevent their run. Any number of teams could make it out of this stacked region. It's easily the deepest group. I think I like Mercer most if they can get past American.  I don't blame you if you're like who the hell are these guys outside of Army? UNC-Greensboro worked the juco transfer circuit to bring in stifling defenders that are #6 in the country, and found Joshua Stillman, a 1* Yellow/Green stud there. But the Spartans' starting SF is out, and I still don't know how they have the 63rd best scoring offense in the country. These guys aren't that good. I swear almost the entire HS All-American team walked on, so fuck Siena for that. The Saints have arguably the best two-way player in the country in Charles Hamman, a juco transfer ranked #29 though. Savannah State went from the #2 offense last year to the #5 offense this year. Their actual talent sucks, though. Just about everyone in this region is dealing with injuries. It's pretty hilarious. Too bad Southeastern Louisiana has shit coaching that made them winless in Quad 1 games. There's a lot of talent on these Lions and I actually like them to upset the Tigers. Truth be told, every team in this region pretty much sucks outside of Siena and Southeastern Louisiana. And with all the injuries, this is definitely the worst bracket by far. The No-Name Region is well deserving of its pitiful, pitiful nickname. |
West Region
As predicted, Virginia swept to the Sweet 16, where they'll face off against 13 seed UW-Milwaukee, who upset Illinois, then beat Chattanooga in a second-around All-Cinderella contest. Remember how I said I really liked Troy and that North Dakota State was criminally underrated? They indeed met in the second round and it was a barnburner that left PilotMan happy, as the Bison advanced on a 56-54 edging. Rayford Maxson has scored 24 and 15 points in the first two games. California narrowly avoided the upset in Round 1, then got squashed by Baylor in Round 2. Here's to hoping for North Dakota State/Virginia matchup in the Elite 8. But unsung Kyle White has scored 17 and 19 points and won PotG in both the Panthers' wins. Yes, I know. Weird to call a 4* unsung, but he didn't stand out to me in initial team looks. UW-Milwaukee zooms into the Elite 8 with Kyle White doing his 17/8 thang, but even his 19/9 in the Elite 8 can't beat the far more talented Rayford Maxson and North Dakota State. Happy PM. Angst-ridden committee, which has done a shit job of seeding this tournament. Midwest Region Everything was chalk the first round except Dante Morton getting sent home by 11 seed UC-Davis, as he was completely shut down in a rout. But then chaos broke out when Cincinnati stunned Hawaii in the second round and shattered literally everyone's bracket. Bertram Gross chucked his way to a 4/16 night in New Mexico State's loss to the Bearcats in the first round. Walk-on Douglas Otte wins two straight PotG awards for USC. Marquette continues to win despite their shitty talent, and UC-Davis upsets Texas A&M. One of my favorite regions is suddenly trash. Can a meteor please hit the Midwest so I don't have to see any of these teams in the Final Four? Maybe Cincinnati would be okay - Pedro Wren is actually a solid player who doesn't get enough press. And of course the Bearkats bow out to USC, and the All-Red Marquette team somehow justifies their seeding by punching the Final Four ticket. HOW?! South Region 16 in the Sweet 16 as Radford takes advantage of the injury to knock off Mississippi Valley State and throw out a much more talented Georgia Tech by 2 in a fluke win. 3* SG Scott Pinkston has led the scoring in both stunners for the Highlanders and is having a coming out party. They'll face off against the team I really liked in UAB on the second weekend, as balanced offense gets the Blazers past the first round, and then Charles Meadors rips Pepperdine's face off for 24 points in the second round. Southeast Missouri State ensures chalk won't happen at all in eliminating Florida Atlantic, but I'm honestly not surprised. The Owls were vastly overseeded. It's like everyone just said yep they're good after they won the Midnight Madness Tipoff and didn't question it after that. Purdue took care of SEMO in the second round, though. Temple out-pointed Miami by 1, but lost in the second round for the second year in a row when Mercer, who has been steamrolling everyone and proving my predictions correct, dispatched those Owls with ease. 17 points and 11 rebounds by Scott Pinkston, who has made himself a household name, sends a 16 seed to the Elite 8, but Radford can't compete with stacked Mercer, which has been riding Bobby Blakney the walk-on, while #1 recruit Sanford Boyd, who has had a very quiet tournament. East Region Another 1 seed goes down to a 16 seed, but my predictions on Siena are looking good as the Saints smash their first two opponents. Charles Hamman is proving his highlight as he's destroying all comers with 18 points in the first round and a 17/10 double-double in the second. I'm delighted when UCF upsets Army, but Rutgers with two starters named David, has looked unstoppable the first weekend. I'm even more delighted when Southeastern Louisiana upsets Savannah State in another game where an over-seeded 2 is instantly dismissed, but the Lions fall to 10 seed Boston College, which has had serious horseshoe luck in winning both games by a combined 3 points. Montana lives up to their 3 seed billing in advancing to the Sweet 16, but nobody really knows who any of these Grizzlies are yet. The Davids top my favorite in Siena, and then take out still unheralded Montana to send the Scarlet Knights galloping off to the Final Four. Final Four 10 seed North Dakota State vs 3 seed Mercer 2 seed Marquette vs 4 seed Rutgers Damn. Wish NDSU and Mercer weren't playing each other. Oh well. It's All-Red Golden Eagles who beat Rutgers by a bucket against PilotMan's Bison, who crush the Bears on Rayford Maxson's 23 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals. COME ON BISON!!! I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT A 10 SEED WOULD WIN THE TITLE. Americo Caballero, a 1* walk-on ranked #1633 - exactly the type of player who SHOULD be a walk-on, went from sunny California to frigid ass North Dakota. He comes off the bench for 24 points, 6 rebounds, and a steal, walking in to Player of the Game honors and ensuring he'll never have to buy a drink in his college town as the Bison finally smash the talentless Golden Eagles 67-55 to be crowned national champions! |
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2014 OVERALL AWARDSNo real shocks here. A couple walk-ons made it which was disgusting. I'm a little surprised Gene Everett won Freshman of the Year. That should have gone to Everett Derose, an unheralded 2* who plays for USC Upstate, a mid-tier Atlantic Sun team that has literally gone 16-14 (11-9) both seasons. Not a good year for the 5* freshmen. Even Red/Orange Mitchell Andrews, a 1^ recruit in the Top 800, beat them out of the awards showings. Not a single glitzy 18/19 year old recruit cracked the national awards. Code:
2014 Recruiting RankingsY'all, the CAA ate! That's what happens when you're the only 2 prestige conference in town. I have some hilarious stuff to say about Towson and their class but that will wait until next post because the board tends to freak out over 3+ code entries. It's honestly one of the most mind-blowing things I've ever seen. Conference Movement Lots of shifting in prestiges here, so I'll record the conferences total of 10+ prestige teams and 20+ prestige teams. America East: 2 10+ Atlantic 10: 4 10+, 2 20+ ACC: 5 10+, 4 20+ Atlantic Sun: 5 10+, 1 20+ Big 12: 5 10+, 1 20+ Big East: 6 10+, 1 20+ Big Sky: 4 10+, 2 20+ Big South: 4 10+ Big Ten: 4 10+, 1 20+ Big West: 4 10+, 1 20+ (Hawaii is tops in the country at 29) CAA: 8 10+, 2 20+ Conference USA: 2 10+, 1 20+ Great West: 3 10+ Horizon: 3 10+, 1 20+ Independents: 3 10+, 1 20+ Ivy: 3 10+ MAAC: 2 10+, 1 20+ MAC: 3 10+ MEAC: 5 10+ Missouri Valley: 5 10+, 1 20+ Mountain West: 3 10+ Northeast: 5 10+ Ohio Valley: 4 10+, 2 20+ Pac-12: 5 10+, 1 20+ Patriot: 2 10+ SEC: 3 10+ Southern: 4 10+, 2 20+ Southland: 2 10+, 1 20+ SWAC: 4 10+ Summit: 4 10+, 1 20+ Sun Belt: 7 10+ WCC: 5 10+ WAC: 3 10+ [u]Conferences Under Consideration[/b] Atlantic 10: 4 10+, 2 20+ ACC: 5 10+, 4 20+ (Automatically granted) Big Sky: 4 10+, 2 20+ Ohio Valley: 4 10+, 2 20+ Southern: 4 10+, 2 20+ The ACC automatically gets the bump to 2 prestige because they have more than 2 20 prestige teams that the CAA has, which counterbalances the 8 10+ teams. And don't be surprised if the ACC ends up the first 3 prestige conference, but I want to keep things balanced for now. That makes Savannah State a very popular team right now and they find a quick fit in the Southern to push them up 2 prestige, too. Appalachian State is orphaned. The Big Sky gets there by snapping up defending national champion North Dakota State and evicting Northern Arizona, which wasn't a geographic fit with the rest of the conference anyway. It's a little surprising, as the 6 prestige Lumberjacks are by no means the worst. But it is what it is. Also with a national champion, the Ohio Valley takes on Southern Illinois as a perfect fit for them, the Salukis having won the NIT last year. No one is booted out, as they're fine being a 12 school conference. Th Atlantic 10 looks and realizes they have 14 schools and decides to put truth in their name, evicting the following: Dayton Duquesne Rhode Island St. Bonaventure Saint Louis Removing Duquesne opens up a slot for them to court a 20+ prestige team and Siena is a natural Catholic fit. The MAAC kicked out Quinnipiac, Marist, and Rider in the interests of forming a purely Catholic conference and invited Duquesne and St. Bonaventure. The poor Monarchs once again found themselves homeless, but quickly joined talks with Rhode Island and Appalachian State to form a new public schools conference. NJIT from the geographically stupid Great West volunteers to join, and Longwood from the independents quickly volunteers as well, giving the conference a much-needed 10+ prestige boost. Two 10+ teams were needed to earn an auto-bid, and Stony Brook volunteered to leave the America East to do so, giving the ECC six members to start. The America East responded by taking on Marist and Rider and swiped Monmouth from the Northeast to restore their auto-bid eligibility The NCAA ruled initially ruled that the six-member ECC was fine since the Great West only had 5 members initially, but now that it was a 4 team conference, they needed to either expand or dissolve. Dissolution was the option and Houston Baptist quickly convinced the southern Protestant Division I schools to form a new conference [b]The Southern Ten/b] Belmont Campbell Charleston Southern Gardner-Webb High Point Houston Baptist Liberty Oral Roberts Presbyterian Samford After the creation of these new conferences, the NCAA changed its autobid rules again and said that all conferences needed at least 8 members to qualify, in line with the Ivy League. This put the new ECC in need of 2 more members, the Patriot in need of 1, and the Big South completely decimated by the Southern Ten. Radford and Winthrop, being public schools, quickly jumped the sinking ship to the ECC. Then Coastal Carolina and UNC-Asheville realized they were public schools and the Big South officially passed away after just over 30 years of existence. East Coast Conference Appalachian State (NC) Coastal Carolina (NC) Longwood (VA) NJIT (NJ) Old Dominion (VA) Radford (VA) Rhode Island (RI) Stony Brook (NY) UNC-Asheville (NC) Winthrop (SC) As one journalist noted, "The race for increased prestige by a handful of conferences directly caused the demise of the Great West, which no one missed, and the Big South, which some secular alumni missed, but thrilled the evangelical Southerners who now had a conference of their very own they could root for on cultural and religious grounds." CSU-Bakersfield and Dante Morton found a home in the Big West, allowing private Pacific to flip to the better-fitting WCC. The Patriot got to 8 and preserved their service academies plus privates by convincing Marist to decline the America East invite and join their league instead. Conference Changes Not In Southern Ten/Big South Implosion Savannah State (Independents to Southern) North Dakota State (Summit to Big Sky) Northern Arizona (Big Sky to Independent) Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley to Ohio Valley) Siena (MAAC to Atlantic 10) Dayton (Atlantic 10 to Independent) Duquesne (Atlantic 10 to MAAC) St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10 to MAAC) Appalachian State (Southern to East Coast Conference) Rhode Island (Atlantic 10 to East Coast Conference) NJIT (Great West to East Coast Conference) Stony Brook (America East to East Coast Conference) Longwood (Independents to East Coast Conference) Old Dominion (Patriot to East Coast Conference) Saint Louis (Atlantic 10 to Independent) Marist (MAAC to Patriot) Rider (MAAC to America East) Monmouth (Northeast to America East) CSU-Bakersfield (Independent to Big West) Pacific (Big West to WCC) All that movement left 8 schools as independents, with conferences disinclined to invite any of them until they'd proven themselves. Head Coach Movement 6 schools had openings after retirements, including former independents Savannah State (21 prestige), Houston Baptist (16 prestige), and NJIT (9 prestige). The other three: North Carolina Central (2 prestige), Syracuse (4 prestige), and Detroit (6 prestige). Once again sitting out. The Big East is bloated at 16 teams and no interest in the other two schools. Scott Alacanter was hired by Savannah State from Marquette, the first time a head coach changed schools to get into a higher prestige conference. All the rest were assistant hires again. |
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2014 Recruiting RankingsWe once again are going to have a number of Top 25 players walk on somewhere, so the problem isn't eliminated yet, or even reduced frankly. Last year, 6 of the Top 25 were walk-ons. This year, it's 8. Anyway, the funny story about Towson. As you can see, they have the #1, #3, and #6 recruits. Their coach has a Recruiting ability of 5. And their assistant is the same ~30 as everyone else. Hilarious!  You might remember John Wilmot getting a mention last year as a challenger for 20+ PPG early on. His scoring is way down this season, but he's distributing the ball a lot more to start and the Penguins are playing the best they ever have. Code:
Top 25The Towson Tigers have 2 Green/Blue freshmen and a Red/Green one. They're one of the best 1-2 punches in the country (I haven't checked the other 341 teams of course) and have to be listed as title contenders on pure talent alone. They'll ride that duo for the next four years. Where did they get their 5* recruits? Maryland and DC both make sense, but they pulled Edgar Olson (the R/G) from Michigan somehow. We'll see if High Point can continue to make the Southern Ten proud in their debut year. Notably absent in the early going is the other new one - the East Coast Conference. |
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Top 25That Scott Alacanter hire has certainly paid off for the Tigers. Splashy headlines everywhere about "Is this the year Savannah State finally gets through to the second weekend?" Hard to argue that - he not only led an All-Red Marquette team to the championship last year, he took the Golden Eagles to the third round of the NIT in Year 1. Of course he's a 100/100 coach. Shoutout to Burt Morgan. Mediocre coach on paper (57-67 in all categories), but he helped build Savannah State with two years of high powered offenses and those two appearances before retiring. It's just an HBCU world and we're all living in it. 9 players averaging 20+ points a game right now and Dante Morton isn't one of them. I have to eat a little crow because I said Gene Everett didn't deserve National Freshman of the Year last season, and now he's leading the country in scoring at 23.3 points a game and averaging 9.4 boards besides. Code:
Top 25You're lauded and next thing you know, you lose a couple games and drop back. Fascinating thing about Miami: Every single player on the roster, whether scholarship or walk-on, is from Florida. Sunshine State pride for real! The initial Bubble Watch has a couple surprises too:  Yep, three Top 25 RPI teams are currently slated Out. I don't see how Michigan isn't in. The Wolverines have a solid resume, even though they're currently tied for 6th in the Big Ten, which may be what's keeping them out. Dante Morton has reasserted his scoring title and is averaging 22.5 points a game to lead the country. 9 players at 20+ PPG so there's been immense improvement in the quality of scoring basketball with two recruiting classes in play. He's also #3 in rebounds with 11.2 and has 1.7 blocks. Side note: Louis Deacon of Robert Morris averaged 15.4 points and 10 rebounds exactly last season, becoming the first noted double-double on the season player. He leads the country in rebounding this season so far with 11.7 boards. David Gregory is chasing the first 3+ blocks a season at 3.3, with original player David Coluombe of Florida A&M also at 3. No likely 3+ steals per game guys yet, but we'll see what happens. Evidently being named David increases your chances of being a Block Gawd. Trash Panda Conferences (Vast Majority of Teams +1 .500 or Lower Ivy (Every team is .500 or lower except Harvard, who is 2nd[/b] MAC (Only Central Michigan is above the .500 or lower mark) Northeast Patriot (Only Bucknell exceeds the standard) SEC (Every team is below .500 except Georgia, much to Jon's chagrin) The Ivy sucking athletically is on brand. Pennsylvania in the first season is the only team to have ever made it to the Sweet 16. Granted, it's only been two seasons, but yikes on bikes. |
Oops. I just realized I forgot to list the 5* recruit distribution. There's 24 this year.
5* Recruit Distribution Y3 Florida: 4 California: 3 Illinois: 3 North Carolina: 2 Texas: 2 Arkansas: 1 Colorado: 1 Georgia: 1 Iowa: 1 Kansas: 1 New Jersey: 1 Ohio: 1 Oregon: 1 Utah: 1 Virginia: 1 Streak of 2+ 5* Players: Texas (3) Streak of 1+ 5* Players: Illinois, Florida (3) I missed Washington D.C. on the streak of 1 5+ players last season. Oops. Anyway, there have been 26 states, Washington D.C., and two non-US countries represented in the 5* rankings through the first three recruiting classes. I'll update on the leaderboard once we've had our fourth class. I have no doubt we'll see some surprises Conference Tournament 1 Seed Wins Big East: Louisville MAAC: Fairfield (beat 2 seed) Northeast: St. Francis (PA) Pac 12: Washington Southern Ten: Houston Baptist (beat 2 seed) WAC: Texas State The worst showing by 1 seeds in universe history. 7 Year 1, 10 Year 2, and just 6 this season. It augurs a crazy Big Dance. 2 Seed Over 1 Seed ACC: Miami Big Sky: Montana Summit: UMKC  There's some serious Big Ten bias in the seedings this year as we'll see. Nothing about Purdue says #1 seed to me, and despite their record of 16-16, Alabama State has the talent to knock them off Poor Temple. Two straight years they've lost in the second round and they're primed to do so again this year. Top 40 on both sides of the ball the Owls are, and yet just like last season, Hawaii is absolutely stacked with talent and the Rainbow Wahine are my heavy favorites to make it out of the region. Don't discount Boston College and Texas A&M - especially the Aggies. Both schools have strong starting lineups. Also, fuck UC-Riverside for landing 4* and 5* walk-ons. Oh, and can't disregard Mercer either - Sanford Boyd is a Blue/Blue in just his sophomore season. This is an incredibly stacked region talentwise, and there's no way in hell the Boilermakers are going to drink Final Four success.  Yep, we're 2-2 for in undeserving Big Ten teams earning a #1 seed. The Badgers will have no trouble in their matchup though. Fairfield's weakness at center means Wisconsin has an easy road to the Sweet 16. Dante Morton's squad has a similar center problem, which is a shame because UMKC is another team blessed with walk-on luck. SMU is a dangerously talented 12 seed held back by a slick rick recruiting god coach who can't actually coach. Air Force is a 2 seed talent-wise and when everyone is healthy, but their two best players are out with injury and I think DePaul takes them out in the second round. Texas is a solid, but not flashy team that's Top 70 on both sides of the ball. I think the Longhorns can make an Elite Eight run at minimum if they get past Texas State's #2 offense. Overall this region is really weak. Wisconsin could very well win it due to Air Force's two players being out two weeks. Texas would not surprise as a region winner.  Miami comes in as the top overall seed. Center is a weak point, but at least the dude can play defense, which is fine for a fifth starter. James Madison got a 5* walk-on, so screw the Dukes. They're actually one of the most talented rosters outside of Hawaii, but haven't played like it despite having an excellent coach. Walk-oon lucky Wichita State gets a tough draw in Chattanooga, though like many teams, the Mocs have a weak center - probably the single worst one I've ever seen as a starter. We're 3-3 for in regions with a vastly overseeded Big Ten team, mediocre Michigan State it. Actually the Spartans aren't terrible, just not amazing. That Central Florida/Kennesaw State matchup is appointment viewing. Two closely matched, talented teams that have the ability to make some noise in this ho-hum region. Overall the Canes got a pretty good draw. It's not the Death Region of the West, nor is it the total creampuff of the Midwest. I like them to walk out of here, but there's enough good teams here to give them some potential trouble. Far better than the previous top overall seeds fared.  The Southern Ten are absolutely delighted they got a 1 seed in their first year of existence. But their backcourt is weak - 2 walk-on freshmen who aren't studs are starting for Houston Baptist. Northwestern State has more than enough talent to win in spite of the [b]Demons' terrible coaching. And even if Houston Baptist gets past the Demons, Savannah State is waiting in the second round. Scott Alacanter has done a masterful job of turning a roster of middling talent into Top 60 on both sides of the ball, and the Tigers are a legitimate Cinderella threat. Maryland is also Top 80 on both sides of the ball and their Scout Gawd (100) coach who can't recruit (2) has the Terrapins on the title contention list as he's done an amazing job unearthing underrated 3* gems. Also Top 60 on both ends: Louisville, who boasts the #2 recruit in the country in Jacinto Joslin, whom the Cardinals stole out of Florida. Joslin is Green/Blue as a freshman and an incredibly gifted young man. You already know my thoughts on Towson. So yes, we're 4-4 on overseeded Big Ten teams because Nebraska can't compete with this murderer's row of talent. This might be the biggest Region of Death I've ever seen. Mississppi Valley State was a 1 seed at some point this season too, I think, and the Delta Devils also have a superior roster. I honestly don't know who to pick in this region. My gut says Savannah State but I wouldn't Pikachu face at a lot of teams. Houston Baptist would be a surprise, however. The Tournament West Region This might be my most successful region picks yet. I called Alabama State and Mercer as upsets to happen, and that Temple would bow out in the second round to Hawaii. What I didn't expect: Texas A&M to fall to Montana, or New Mexico toppling High Point. You have to check out this first round game between the Rainbow Wahine and Creighton, though: Code:
Hawaii 110, Creighton 101{b]It's the first time we've had a team break 100 points in the tournament - let alone both teams. What an epic, epic matchup. Benoit Decourchelle has been an absolute unit this tournament, and the French juco transfer was quite the recruiting find. Robert Wong may not have the most exciting numbers, but he's consistent and the freshman's steady point guard play has carried Boston College to the Sweet 16, where they face Cinderella Alabama State, who stunned the more talented UC-Riverside. Hawaii gets the Mercer matchup I expected and you know everyone is going to have butts in the seats to watch that game of two star-studded teams go at it. A damn shame the Bears were so under-seeded. They've won both games by like 20-30 points. And Mercer keeps right on keeping on, Sanford Boyd putting up 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals in a 77-69 upset of Hawaii, but the Bears in turn are blitzed by Boston College, the Eagles holding them to 30.8% shooting to head to the Final Four. Midwest No good center did not doom Fairfield, as the Stags ran with Denny Linares, the #123 ranked recruit who has exploded for 21 and 15 points in winning Player of the Game both rounds and knocking off top seed Wisconsin in the second. Kid has only averaged a hair over 10 points a game this season, too, so what a time to come alive. Dante Morton is again a one and done, and it's a shame to see the most talented player in this young universe have nothing to show for it. The bullshit horseshoe walk-on luck backcourt from last season UMKC bounces the Roos past him and SMU (called that upset, too) into the Sweet 16. Injury woes did indeed send Air Force on the first flight home and Ohio State got the fluke 2-point upset over DePaul in the second round to suddenly find themselves in the Sweet 16. Texas can't shoot and loses a 47-49 game to Pacific as the Tigers suddenly discover God mode defense despite being mediocre in the regular season and a coach who is trash on the defensive side, knocking away Texas State and setting up a really gross 15/14 second weekend matchup. In fact, 8 seed Fairfield is the lone single digit seed in the Sweet 16. Absolutely disgusting. UMKC sneaks past Fairfield 62-60 and I don't care when Pacific tops the Roos for the Final Four spot. Awful. South A defensive performance that doesn't shock me is St. Francis (PA). The Red Flash were #16 in the country, and it's that calling card that leads them to upsets of Baylor and Wichita State. They'll face Miami in the Sweet 16, where I think the Canes are just too talented with too many weapons to try and cover. Michigan State's offense sure is a thing of beauty as they power past both opponents (VCU in the second round). I still think the Spartans are overrated as a 2 seed, but they've looked really good, and they draw Howard in the Sweet 16. The Bison narrowly won by 3 points in both contests, powered by studly center Kristopher Brenner. The sophomore had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks in the first round and keyed the second round victory over Central Florida with 15 points and 3 blocks. This is the closest we've ever come to all chalk in a region - the top 3 seeds and a tough 13 seed Cinderella. Miami has just enough firepower to put away pesky St. Francis (PA), but then can't stop Kristopher Brenner from 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal and that sends Howard to the Final Four. East Region I called it. Northwestern State topples Houston Baptist by a single point, then gets knocked out by Savannah State in the second. His numbers aren't flashy but the Tigers' Austin Powell is the type of steady point guard hand who knows how to run the system, and he wins Player of the Game in both contests. I'm displeased to see USC in the Sweet 16. Not surprised, mind you, but displeased all the same. Jacinto Joslin is such a god damn stud. 24 and 21 points in the first two rounds to put the Cardinal on his back, including a narrow 2 point win over promising Towson in the second round. The freshman point guard is arguably the most talented player in the country outside of Dante Morton. You've never heard of Ward Wenger. The 7', 240 pound senior center doesn't light up the scoreboard or post notable stats. But he goes 11/12 in the first two games, scoring 15 points in each to lead Harvard to shocking upsets of Mississippi Valley State and Nebraska in the first two rounds, giving the Ivy League just its second Sweet 16 team. And then they go further, toppling mighty Louisville through sheer defensive might. And after USC nips Savannah State by 1, the Crimson shock the Trojans, Ward Wenger winning Player of the Game with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and holding his opposing number to 0 points for an improbable Final Four appearance. Final Four Boston College (5) vs Howard (3) Pacific (14) vs Harvard (11) Gross. Better hope the Crimson win. Of note: Never has teen an HBCU to make it past the second round in real life, so we're definitely in uncharted territory here with Howard. 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks from Kristopher Brenner later, the Bison are in position to be the potential NCAA champions, facing off against Harvard, 1979 the last time an Ivy League team made it to the Final Four incidentally. 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks for Ward Wenger in that one, though Michael Espinoza's 18 points was PotG-winning. Code:
Harvard 81, Howard 77What a hell of a game. Ward Wegner has a Post Defense of 73 and he did a great job containing Kristopher Brenner. The Bison responded by distributing shots to all of their players but they just narrowly missed out as James Deanda took this game over, giving us an Ivy League national champion. |
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