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Old 07-22-2024, 11:39 PM   #1
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
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 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Jacksonville State (31) 6-0 1201 1 Ohio Valley Conference 2. Charleston Southern (1) 4-1 949 NR Big South Conference 3. Youngstown State (8) 4-0 929 NR Horizon League 4. Howard (6) 4-1 881 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 5. Liberty (1) 4-0 871 NR Big South Conference 6. SIU Edwardsville (1) 3-1 852 NR Ohio Valley Conference 7. Creighton 3-1 792 NR Missouri Valley Conference 8. Xavier 3-1 732 NR Atlantic 10 Conference 9. UAB 3-1 715 NR Conference USA 10. Pepperdine (10) 2-1 681 23 West Coast Conference 11. Norfolk State 3-0 641 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 12. Stanford 2-1 593 NR Pacific-12 Conference 13. Providence 2-0 522 NR Big East Conference 14. Maryland (1) 3-1 503 NR Atlantic Coast Conference 15. Southeastern Louisiana 2-1 481 NR Southland Conference 16. Florida State 2-1 404 20 Atlantic Coast Conference 17. Northern Colorado (1) 2-0 397 14 Big Sky Conference 18. St. Peter's 2-2 391 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 19. Butler (1) 2-0 368 NR Horizon League 20. Seattle 2-2 318 NR Independent 21. Hartford (1) 3-0 317 NR America East Conference 22. USC 2-1 301 NR Pacific-12 Conference 23. Oregon (2) 4-0 278 NR Pacific-12 Conference 24. Purdue 2-2 262 NR Big Ten Conference 25. Austin Peay 2-2 251 NR Ohio Valley Conference Others Receiving Votes: Michigan State 2-1 250 Big Ten Conference Santa Clara 2-1 239 West Coast Conference Elon 3-1 233 Southern Conference Missouri State 3-0 225 Missouri Valley Conference North Dakota 3-1 220 Big Sky Conference Boston University 4-0 219 America East Conference North Texas 4-0 218 Sun Belt Conference San Jose State 2-0 208 Western Athletic Conference UNC Greensboro 3-1 207 Southern Conference Pacific 3-0 194 Big West Conference James Madison 2-1 193 Colonial Athletic Association Toledo 4-0 187 Mid-American Conference # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida International 3-1 187 Sun Belt Conference Gonzaga 2-2 187 West Coast Conference Tennessee Tech 2-2 183 Ohio Valley Conference Mississippi 3-2 176 Southeastern Conference Chicago State 2-2 164 Great West Conference Wichita State 2-1 162 Missouri Valley Conference Georgetown 3-0 158 Big East Conference Oklahoma State 3-0 152 Big 12 Conference Binghamton 2-1 149 America East Conference Washington 2-0 149 Pacific-12 Conference Belmont 3-1 146 Atlantic Sun Conference Portland State 1-2 145 Big Sky Conference Army 2-1 140 Patriot League Texas 2-1 139 Big 12 Conference UNLV 2-1 139 Mountain West Conference San Diego State 1-1 138 Mountain West Conference Temple 3-0 134 Atlantic 10 Conference Columbia 2-1 131 Ivy League UCLA 1-1 127 Pacific-12 Conference Kansas State 3-0 125 Big 12 Conference Mercer 2-1 121 Atlantic Sun Conference Auburn 1-1 118 Southeastern Conference Saint Mary's 1-1 116 West Coast Conference Houston 2-1 114 Conference USA Fairleigh Dickinson 2-2 114 Northeast Conference Utah 1-1 107 Pacific-12 Conference San Francisco 1-1 105 West Coast Conference Colorado 1-1 104 Pacific-12 Conference Ohio 1-2 102 Mid-American Conference Texas Tech 2-2 101 Big 12 Conference Harvard 1-0 91 Ivy League Georgia Tech 3-0 90 Atlantic Coast Conference East Carolina 2-0 85 Conference USA Yale 2-1 84 Ivy League Massachusetts 2-1 83 Atlantic 10 Conference Florida Gulf Coast 2-1 83 Atlantic Sun Conference Colorado State 2-0 81 Mountain West Conference Maryland-East Shore 2-0 80 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Bowling Green 2-1 77 Mid-American Conference St. Francis-NY 2-0 75 Northeast Conference # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High Point 2-1 72 Big South Conference Lafayette 3-0 69 Patriot League Wyoming 1-1 65 Mountain West Conference Connecticut 2-0 63 Big East Conference UNC-Charlotte 1-1 58 Atlantic 10 Conference Clemson 2-1 53 Atlantic Coast Conference Oklahoma 2-0 53 Big 12 Conference West Virginia 1-1 53 Big East Conference Jackson State 2-1 47 Southwestern Athletic Conference Texas State 2-0 46 Western Athletic Conference Drake 2-1 43 Missouri Valley Conference Mississippi State 1-1 43 Southeastern Conference Mississippi Valley State 2-0 41 Southwestern Athletic Conference Sam Houston State 2-0 39 Southland Conference Texas A&M-CC 1-1 37 Southland Conference North Carolina State 2-1 36 Atlantic Coast Conference Texas Southern 1-1 35 Southwestern Athletic Conference St. Francis-PA 2-0 33 Northeast Conference Texas-San Antonio 0-0 33 Western Athletic Conference Western Illinois 3-1 29 Summit League Pennsylvania 2-0 26 Ivy League Marquette 2-1 24 Big East Conference Central Michigan 2-0 24 Mid-American Conference Denver 1-0 23 Western Athletic Conference Richmond 2-0 22 Atlantic 10 Conference Illinois 3-0 22 Big Ten Conference South Alabama 2-1 22 Sun Belt Conference Pittsburgh 2-1 17 Big East Conference UW-Green Bay 1-2 15 Horizon League New Mexico State 1-0 14 Western Athletic Conference Mount St. Mary's 1-1 12 Northeast Conference Florida Atlantic 2-1 12 Sun Belt Conference Rutgers 2-0 11 Big East Conference North Dakota State 0-1 10 Summit League Western Kentucky 2-0 8 Sun Belt Conference Monmouth 1-1 5 Northeast Conference

This 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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Old 07-23-2024, 01:33 AM   #2
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Southeast Missouri State (48) 11-2 1732 2 Ohio Valley Conference 2. Florida Gulf Coast (14) 11-1 1715 4 Atlantic Sun Conference 3. Boston University (8) 10-1 1631 1 America East Conference 4. Illinois (1) 10-1 1545 8 Big Ten Conference 5. Temple 11-1 1520 10 Atlantic 10 Conference 6. Richmond (1) 10-1 1493 3 Atlantic 10 Conference 7. Georgia Tech 10-1 1413 6 Atlantic Coast Conference 8. Harvard 8-1 1324 13 Ivy League 9. Marist 10-3 1195 14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 10. Texas A&M 9-2 1130 11 Big 12 Conference 11. Portland 9-2 1079 9 West Coast Conference 12. USC 8-2 1024 12 Pacific-12 Conference 13. Oklahoma State 8-2 949 7 Big 12 Conference 14. Wyoming 8-2 880 NR Mountain West Conference 15. Utah 8-2 792 NR Pacific-12 Conference 16. Virginia 9-3 508 NR Atlantic Coast Conference 17. Gardner Webb 9-3 436 NR Big South Conference 18. James Madison 8-3 378 17 Colonial Athletic Association 19. SIU Edwardsville 9-3 375 15 Ohio Valley Conference 20. St. Francis-PA 7-3 263 NR Northeast Conference 21. North Carolina 8-3 243 NR Atlantic Coast Conference 22. Oklahoma 7-3 218 NR Big 12 Conference 23. Memphis 8-3 146 NR Conference USA 24. Akron 8-3 137 NR Mid-American Conference 25. Houston Baptist 9-3 87 NR Great West Conference Others Receiving Votes: San Francisco 7-3 87 West Coast Conference Maryland-East Shore 8-4 81 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Colorado 7-3 80 Big Sky Conference Youngstown State 9-3 80 Horizon League Middle Tennessee 9-3 77 Sun Belt Conference Texas-Arlington 8-4 72 Southland Conference Maryland 8-3 64 Atlantic Coast Conference Hawaii 6-3 63 Big West Conference Pacific 7-3 63 Big West Conference Coastal Carolina 9-3 61 Big South Conference Connecticut 7-3 46 Big East Conference UAB 8-3 46 Conference USA # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Texas 8-3 45 Big 12 Conference Mount St. Mary's 7-3 44 Northeast Conference Oregon 7-3 42 Pacific-12 Conference Dartmouth 6-4 40 Ivy League Creighton 8-3 40 Missouri Valley Conference VCU 8-3 31 Colonial Athletic Association Michigan State 8-3 29 Big Ten Conference Butler 7-3 19 Horizon League Samford 8-3 19 Southern Conference Colorado 6-4 15 Pacific-12 Conference Texas State 7-3 13 Western Athletic Conference Colorado State 7-3 12 Mountain West Conference Northwestern 7-3 9 Big Ten Conference George Mason 7-3 7 Colonial Athletic Association Mississippi State 6-4 2 Southeastern Conference

Things 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 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Temple (71) 18-1 1799 2 Atlantic 10 Conference 2. Boston University 17-4 1664 1 America East Conference 3. Southeast Missouri State (1) 18-4 1628 3 Ohio Valley Conference 4. Georgia Tech 14-5 1553 8 Atlantic Coast Conference 5. Portland 15-5 1462 7 West Coast Conference 6. Illinois 15-4 1402 9 Big Ten Conference 7. Richmond 14-5 1400 10 Atlantic 10 Conference 8. James Madison 17-4 1285 12 Colonial Athletic Association 9. Florida Gulf Coast 17-5 1206 14 Atlantic Sun Conference 10. Virginia 13-6 1135 6 Atlantic Coast Conference 11. Oklahoma State 14-6 1079 5 Big 12 Conference 12. Southeastern Louisiana 13-6 985 16 Southland Conference 13. Hawaii 14-5 922 18 Big West Conference 14. Creighton 16-4 867 19 Missouri Valley Conference 15. Houston Baptist 15-4 813 15 Great West Conference 16. USC 13-6 751 22 Pacific-12 Conference 17. Elon 17-5 594 NR Southern Conference 18. Texas 14-6 459 11 Big 12 Conference 19. Northern Colorado 14-6 372 4 Big Sky Conference 20. Sacred Heart 13-7 357 NR Northeast Conference 21. St. Francis-PA 15-5 276 NR Northeast Conference 22. Texas A&M 15-5 230 NR Big 12 Conference 23. Mount St. Mary's 14-6 227 NR Northeast Conference 24. Florida A&M 15-5 218 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 25. Louisiana Tech 13-6 118 NR Western Athletic Conference Others Receiving Votes: Michigan State 13-6 89 Big Ten Conference Alabama 13-6 80 Southeastern Conference LSU 14-5 66 Southeastern Conference Mississippi Valley State 13-7 66 Southwestern Athletic Conference Wyoming 14-5 59 Mountain West Conference Oregon 13-6 48 Pacific-12 Conference High Point 15-7 38 Big South Conference Akron 15-6 37 Mid-American Conference Harvard 11-6 28 Ivy League Arizona 14-5 22 Pacific-12 Conference Oklahoma 13-7 17 Big 12 Conference Missouri 12-8 15 Big 12 Conference # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Mexico State 12-7 15 Western Athletic Conference Cal Poly 13-6 11 Big West Conference South Alabama 15-6 4 Sun Belt Conference Middle Tennessee 16-6 2 Sun Belt Conference Sam Houston State 12-7 1 Southland Conference

Boston 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.
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Last edited by Izulde : 07-23-2024 at 01:34 AM.
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Old 07-23-2024, 04:31 PM   #3
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
As of March 1st:

Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Temple (72) 24-2 1800 1 Atlantic 10 Conference 2. Houston Baptist 23-4 1699 4 Great West Conference 3. Texas A&M 21-6 1609 6 Big 12 Conference 4. Creighton 22-5 1530 2 Missouri Valley Conference 5. Wyoming 21-5 1442 8 Mountain West Conference 6. St. Francis-PA 21-6 1392 5 Northeast Conference 7. Florida A&M 20-6 1370 7 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 8. Elon 21-6 1252 9 Southern Conference 9. Southeast Missouri State 22-6 1250 10 Ohio Valley Conference 10. Florida Gulf Coast 21-8 1139 13 Atlantic Sun Conference 11. Maryland-East Shore 20-6 1045 17 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 12. UAB 19-7 1021 18 Conference USA 13. Illinois 20-6 944 16 Big Ten Conference 14. James Madison 21-7 895 3 Colonial Athletic Association 15. Virginia 18-8 810 20 Atlantic Coast Conference 16. Georgia Tech 19-7 728 21 Atlantic Coast Conference 17. Army 21-7 635 23 Patriot League 18. Boston University 20-8 563 11 America East Conference 19. Oklahoma 19-8 419 NR Big 12 Conference 20. Richmond 17-9 407 14 Atlantic 10 Conference 21. Hawaii 18-8 266 19 Big West Conference 22. Texas 18-8 253 NR Big 12 Conference 23. Middle Tennessee 20-8 215 NR Sun Belt Conference 24. Mount St. Mary's 17-10 141 NR Northeast Conference 25. Savannah State 20-8 97 15 Independent Others Receiving Votes: Michigan State 17-9 84 Big Ten Conference Santa Clara 19-8 77 West Coast Conference Miami 18-8 60 Atlantic Coast Conference South Alabama 19-9 41 Sun Belt Conference Georgetown 17-9 37 Big East Conference Akron 18-10 37 Mid-American Conference George Mason 18-9 29 Colonial Athletic Association Montana 19-8 18 Big Sky Conference USC 17-9 18 Pacific-12 Conference Dartmouth 17-8 17 Ivy League Arizona 18-8 14 Pacific-12 Conference Southern Illinois 17-10 13 Missouri Valley Conference # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kennesaw State 17-10 9 Atlantic Sun Conference Pittsburgh 17-9 7 Big East Conference Drake 17-10 6 Missouri Valley Conference Boston College 16-10 3 Atlantic Coast Conference High Point 18-10 3 Big South Conference Cal Poly 16-10 3 Big West Conference Youngstown State 18-10 1 Horizon League Pennsylvania 16-8 1 Ivy League

The 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.
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Old 07-23-2024, 06:40 PM   #4
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
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 INFO Current Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Prestige: 0 Record Vs 1-50: 7-0 Poll Rank: #16 Season Record: 29-10 Record Vs 51-100: 5-3 RPI Rank: #2 Conference Record: 11-5 Record Vs 101-200: 7-5 Home Record: 7-5 Record Vs 200+: 10-2 Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points 64.4 1 2 Points 57.7 11 297 Points 6.7 1 8 O.Reb 7.5 9 306 O.Reb 11.5 12 334 O.Reb -4.0 12 342 D.Reb 21.9 2 91 D.Reb 19.8 3 59 D.Reb 2.1 1 36 Rebounds 29.4 7 215 Rebounds 31.3 8 247 Rebounds -1.9 8 245 Assists 14.8 1 1 Assists 9.9 8 272 Assists 4.9 1 1 Steals 4.6 4 94 Steals 4.0 4 104 Steals 0.6 4 71 Blocks 1.8 3 66 Blocks 1.4 5 128 Blocks 0.4 2 60 Turnovers 11.1 1 13 Turnovers 13.2 4 83 Turnovers -2.1 1 19 Fouls 20.2 10 248 Fouls 19.5 7 174 Fouls 0.7 9 228 FG% .500 1 1 FG% .415 3 96 FG% .085 1 1 FT% .727 2 13 FT% .649 1 57 FT% .078 1 6 3P% .268 7 138 3P% .264 6 173 3P% .004 7 146 PPS 1.35 1 7 PPS 1.19 3 119 PPS .154 1 10 Adj. FG% .516 1 1 Adj. FG% .443 2 115 Adj. FG% .073 1 3

Code:
HAWAII RAINBOW WAHINE TEAM INFO Current Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Prestige: 0 Record Vs 1-50: 5-2 Poll Rank: NR Season Record: 25-10 Record Vs 51-100: 6-3 RPI Rank: #1 Conference Record: 13-5 Record Vs 101-200: 8-3 Home Record: 15-1 Record Vs 200+: 6-2 Team Stats CR NR Opp. Stats CR NR Margin CR NR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points 56.8 3 78 Points 53.2 5 112 Points 3.6 1 45 O.Reb 8.4 8 239 O.Reb 8.2 3 84 O.Reb 0.2 5 153 D.Reb 22.3 4 65 D.Reb 20.2 1 85 D.Reb 2.0 1 39 Rebounds 30.7 7 129 Rebounds 28.5 1 74 Rebounds 2.2 3 75 Assists 9.7 5 119 Assists 9.6 5 214 Assists 0.1 6 152 Steals 4.1 7 204 Steals 4.1 3 117 Steals 0.0 4 168 Blocks 1.3 8 199 Blocks 1.7 5 264 Blocks -0.3 7 266 Turnovers 12.6 5 169 Turnovers 13.1 4 101 Turnovers -0.5 4 137 Fouls 19.9 6 225 Fouls 20.9 2 32 Fouls -1.0 2 81 FG% .448 1 25 FG% .413 5 77 FG% .035 2 25 FT% .691 2 79 FT% .654 2 79 FT% .037 2 55 3P% .235 5 236 3P% .261 8 150 3P% -.026 5 212 PPS 1.30 1 21 PPS 1.19 5 114 PPS .111 2 34 Adj. FG% .463 1 82 Adj. FG% .441 6 101 Adj. FG% .022 3 76

Yeah, 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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Old 07-24-2024, 12:36 AM   #5
Izulde
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Code:
2013 OVERALL AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: SR SG Albert Hamlin Michigan State 19.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.7 APG 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR SF Henry Slocum Illinois 9.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.4 APG 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG Coach of the Year: Nolan Guevara Temple 27 - 5 (12 - 2) All-league 1st Team: C JR Clarence Suttles North Carolina 13.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.1 BPG PF JR Pierre Mitchell Temple 13.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.1 BPG SF SR Robert Marable Savannah State 16.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Albert Hamlin Michigan State 19.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Justin Talbert Akron 8.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 6.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C SR Joseph Caston Texas A&M 15.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG PF SR Marvin Gwinn Texas 11.4 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG SF SO Parker Lovely Virginia 14.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Sterling Gatto Coppin State 16.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG SR Chas Melanson UNC Wilmington 15.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C SR Chuck Galvez Marquette 10.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.9 BPG PF SR David Jameson Binghamton 8.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.5 BPG SF SR Rey Emmert Nebraska 13.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG SR Lucius Bonilla Wyoming 14.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG SR Phillip Branham Middle Tennessee 9.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 5.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR John Portis Missouri 7.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.6 BPG PF FR Kristopher Shuman Siena 7.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF FR Henry Slocum Illinois 9.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG FR Douglas Dixon Central Michigan 10.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG FR Frances Rice USC 6.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG

The 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 Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Hawaii Big West SF Fred Hargett ***** 1 0 2 0 1 2. Cornell Ivy League PG Josiah Maggio ***** 1 1 1 0 1 3. Cal State Bakersfield Independent SF Dante Morton ***** 1 0 1 0 2 4. North Dakota State Summit PG Rayford Maxon ***** 1 1 0 0 1 5. Mercer Atlantic Sun PG Sanford Boyd ***** 1 0 0 1 1 6. DePaul Big East PF Bobby Wilbur ***** 1 0 1 1 0 7. Georgia State CAA SG Albert Casias **** 0 1 1 0 2 8. New Mexico State WAC SF Bertram Gross ***** 1 0 1 2 0 9. VCU CAA SG Jere Holmes **** 0 2 1 0 0 10. Tennessee State Ohio Valley C Jess Harville **** 0 2 0 0 1 11. Texas A&M-CC Southland SG James Pagano ***** 1 0 1 0 0 12. Southern Methodist Conference USA PG Bradley Tindle *** 0 0 3 0 1 13. Jacksonville State Ohio Valley PG James Jensen *** 0 0 3 0 1 14. Arkansas-Pine Bluff SWAC PF Robert Darnell **** 0 1 1 0 0 15. Northern Illinois MAC SG Ahmed Fuqua ***** 1 0 0 0 1 16. Wichita State MVC C Tristan Egger **** 0 1 1 1 1 17. East Tennessee State Atlantic Sun PF Douglas Cho **** 0 1 2 0 0 18. Charleston Southern Big South PF Joe Mason **** 0 1 1 0 2 19. Delaware CAA SG Richard Hernandez **** 0 1 1 0 1 20. Florida International Sun Belt PF Walter Veloz **** 0 1 1 0 0 21. Kent State MAC PF Marvin Gale **** 0 1 1 1 0 22. Rice Conference USA SG Alvin Pound **** 0 1 1 1 0 23. Western Carolina Southern PF Dusty Davis ***** 1 0 0 0 1 24. Loyola Marymount WCC PF Thad Brown *** 0 0 4 0 0 25. San Diego WCC SG Don Holmes **** 0 1 1 1 0 26. Howard MEAC PF Kristopher Benner **** 0 1 1 0 0 27. Mississippi Valley State SWAC SG Andres Knutson **** 0 1 1 1 0 28. American Patriot League PF Gary Jung ***** 1 0 1 0 0 29. UAB Conference USA SF Charles Meadors ***** 1 0 0 0 2

According to this, 12 of the 23 5* committed. But when you look at the top player rankings...

Code:
2013 Recruiting Rankings # Player Pos Ht Team Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Sanford Boyd PG 6-3 Mercer Atlantic Sun Conference 2 Dante Morton SF 6-7 Cal State Bakersfield Independent 3 Fred Hargett SF 6-7 Hawaii Big West Conference 4 Ahmed Fuqua SG 6-4 Northern Illinois Mid-American Conference 5 Bobby Wilbur PF 6-5 DePaul Big East Conference 6 Dusty Davis PF 6-7 Western Carolina Southern Conference 7 Robert Guyer SF 6-4 8 Louis Deacon PF 6-7 Robert Morris Northeast Conference 9 Richard Geist PF 6-8 NON-QUALIFIER 10 Rayford Maxon PG 5-9 North Dakota State Summit League 11 James Pagano SG 6-3 Texas A&M-CC Southland Conference 12 Arthur Kirksey SG 5-10 13 Albert Casias SG 6-2 Georgia State Colonial Athletic Association 14 Pepe Velasco C 6-7 15 Charles Meadors SF 6-7 UAB Conference USA 16 Gary Jung PF 6-7 American Patriot League 17 Robert Darnell PF 6-7 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Southwestern Athletic Conference 18 Joe Mason PF 6-6 Charleston Southern Big South Conference 19 Bertram Gross SF 6-6 New Mexico State Western Athletic Conference 20 David Woodland SF 6-5 21 Eloy Baker SF 6-6 22 Harold Drummond SF 6-5 Belmont Atlantic Sun Conference 23 Josiah Maggio PG 6-0 Cornell Ivy League

...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.
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Old 07-24-2024, 02:20 AM   #6
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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.
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Old 07-25-2024, 01:52 AM   #7
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Join Date: Sep 2004
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 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Florida Atlantic (36) 6-0 1625 1 Sun Belt Conference 2. Bradley (9) 6-0 1502 7 Missouri Valley Conference 3. Southeast Missouri State (1) 4-0 1323 3 Ohio Valley Conference 4. Mississippi Valley State (1) 4-0 1313 NR Southwestern Athletic Conference 5. Miami 4-0 1213 9 Atlantic Coast Conference 6. Northeastern (5) 4-0 1202 13 Colonial Athletic Association 7. Pittsburgh (2) 4-0 1200 18 Big East Conference 8. Mercer (1) 4-0 1152 5 Atlantic Sun Conference 9. Houston Baptist (1) 4-0 1074 4 Great West Conference 10. Utah Valley 4-0 945 8 Great West Conference 11. California (7) 4-0 941 6 Pacific-12 Conference 12. North Dakota 4-0 853 NR Big Sky Conference 13. Hawaii (2) 3-0 826 NR Big West Conference 14. Michigan State (1) 4-0 820 NR Big Ten Conference 15. Jacksonville 4-0 705 NR Atlantic Sun Conference 16. Virginia (1) 3-0 625 11 Atlantic Coast Conference 17. UNLV 4-0 585 NR Mountain West Conference 18. Grambling State (1) 3-0 575 21 Southwestern Athletic Conference 19. South Dakota 3-0 457 15 Summit League 20. Southeastern Louisiana 3-0 454 NR Southland Conference 21. Oregon State (2) 3-0 359 NR Pacific-12 Conference 22. Rutgers 3-0 343 NR Big East Conference 23. Winthrop (1) 3-0 308 NR Big South Conference 24. San Jose State 3-0 287 NR Western Athletic Conference 25. Indiana State 3-0 240 20 Missouri Valley Conference Others Receiving Votes: Washington 3-0 239 Pacific-12 Conference UNC Wilmington 3-0 222 Colonial Athletic Association Jackson State 3-0 218 Southwestern Athletic Conference South Carolina 2-0 182 Southeastern Conference Nebraska 3-0 173 Big Ten Conference LSU 2-0 168 Southeastern Conference Fordham 3-0 158 Atlantic 10 Conference Ball State 3-0 156 Mid-American Conference Michigan 2-0 140 Big Ten Conference Delaware State 2-0 130 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Providence 2-0 125 Big East Conference Miami-Ohio 2-0 125 Mid-American Conference # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Towson 2-0 116 Colonial Athletic Association Georgetown 2-0 111 Big East Conference Texas Christian 2-0 110 Big 12 Conference Wichita State 2-0 100 Missouri Valley Conference

Much 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 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Mercer (63) 12-0 1791 1 Atlantic Sun Conference 2. Bradley (9) 13-0 1737 2 Missouri Valley Conference 3. Elon 10-1 1637 7 Southern Conference 4. Mississippi Valley State 9-1 1563 5 Southwestern Athletic Conference 5. Illinois 9-2 1495 9 Big Ten Conference 6. Rutgers 9-1 1411 11 Big East Conference 7. Grambling State 8-2 1395 12 Southwestern Athletic Conference 8. Cornell 8-3 1294 13 Ivy League 9. Southeast Missouri State 10-2 1091 17 Ohio Valley Conference 10. UAB 9-2 1086 4 Conference USA 11. North Dakota State 10-2 940 21 Summit League 12. Siena 10-2 911 16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 13. Virginia 10-2 852 19 Atlantic Coast Conference 14. Ball State 8-3 823 8 Mid-American Conference 15. Winthrop 10-2 801 NR Big South Conference 16. La Salle 11-2 660 23 Atlantic 10 Conference 17. Kent State 9-2 637 20 Mid-American Conference 18. UNC Greensboro 11-2 585 NR Southern Conference 19. Hofstra 8-3 465 6 Colonial Athletic Association 20. Northern Colorado 8-2 393 NR Big Sky Conference 21. Oklahoma 8-3 364 NR Big 12 Conference 22. Dayton 8-3 272 NR Atlantic 10 Conference 23. Louisiana Tech 7-3 226 NR Western Athletic Conference 24. Texas-Pan American 9-3 187 NR Great West Conference 25. Central Florida 7-3 164 10 Conference USA Others Receiving Votes: San Jose State 8-3 152 Western Athletic Conference USC 8-2 149 Pacific-12 Conference Utah 7-3 90 Pacific-12 Conference UMBC 8-3 86 America East Conference Michigan State 7-3 80 Big Ten Conference Georgetown 7-2 46 Big East Conference Florida Atlantic 10-3 10 Sun Belt Conference Miami 10-3 6 Atlantic Coast Conference Houston Baptist 10-3 1 Great West Conference

Mercer 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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Old 07-26-2024, 02:48 AM   #8
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Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Mercer (63) 18-2 1785 1 Atlantic Sun Conference 2. Army (5) 19-3 1682 5 Patriot League 3. Rutgers 17-2 1604 4 Big East Conference 4. Mississippi Valley State (1) 17-3 1574 7 Southwestern Athletic Conference 5. Miami 16-3 1484 10 Atlantic Coast Conference 6. UNC Greensboro (1) 18-3 1415 9 Southern Conference 7. Kent State (2) 16-3 1331 12 Mid-American Conference 8. Virginia 16-3 1287 13 Atlantic Coast Conference 9. Siena 18-4 1207 6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 10. Montana 17-4 1116 8 Big Sky Conference 11. North Dakota State 17-4 1056 15 Summit League 12. Pittsburgh 15-4 981 16 Big East Conference 13. Winthrop 17-4 966 2 Big South Conference 14. Illinois 15-4 861 3 Big Ten Conference 15. USC 15-4 843 11 Pacific-12 Conference 16. UNC-Charlotte 15-4 767 19 Atlantic 10 Conference 17. Savannah State 16-5 677 22 Independent 18. Florida Atlantic 17-6 560 20 Sun Belt Conference 19. UAB 14-5 504 14 Conference USA 20. Wichita State 16-5 433 NR Missouri Valley Conference 21. Loyola-IL 15-6 340 NR Horizon League 22. North Florida 14-6 246 NR Atlantic Sun Conference 23. Utah State 14-6 153 NR Western Athletic Conference 24. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 13-6 124 NR Southwestern Athletic Conference 25. Northeastern 15-6 59 NR Colonial Athletic Association Others Receiving Votes: San Jose State 14-6 57 Western Athletic Conference Ball State 13-6 51 Mid-American Conference Fairfield 14-7 39 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Hawaii 13-6 35 Big West Conference Central Florida 13-6 30 Conference USA Baylor 13-6 29 Big 12 Conference Houston Baptist 14-6 17 Great West Conference Georgia Tech 13-6 16 Atlantic Coast Conference Pepperdine 14-7 16 West Coast Conference UL-Lafayette 14-7 14 Sun Belt Conference San Diego 14-7 9 West Coast Conference Troy 14-7 7 Sun Belt Conference # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elon 14-7 6 Southern Conference Charleston Southern 14-7 4 Big South Conference Bradley 15-7 4 Missouri Valley Conference Purdue 13-6 3 Big Ten Conference Central Connecticut State 13-7 3 Northeast Conference California 12-7 2 Pacific-12 Conference Hartford 14-8 1 America East Conference Temple 13-6 1 Atlantic 10 Conference Central Michigan 13-6 1 Mid-American Conference

The 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 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Mississippi Valley State (69) 24-3 1797 1 Southwestern Athletic Conference 2. Virginia (1) 23-4 1724 2 Atlantic Coast Conference 3. UNC Greensboro (1) 24-4 1617 5 Southern Conference 4. Savannah State 22-5 1607 3 Independent 5. North Dakota State (1) 23-5 1484 6 Summit League 6. Mercer 23-6 1421 8 Atlantic Sun Conference 7. Montana 23-6 1312 12 Big Sky Conference 8. Army 23-6 1259 13 Patriot League 9. Hawaii 21-6 1228 15 Big West Conference 10. Illinois 21-6 1151 4 Big Ten Conference 11. USC 21-6 1091 9 Pacific-12 Conference 12. Miami 20-7 1033 7 Atlantic Coast Conference 13. Loyola-IL 22-7 896 17 Horizon League 14. Siena 22-7 845 14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 15. Troy 21-8 785 21 Sun Belt Conference 16. Winthrop 22-7 698 19 Big South Conference 17. Kent State 20-7 633 11 Mid-American Conference 18. UAB 19-8 609 24 Conference USA 19. Rutgers 20-7 451 10 Big East Conference 20. Marquette 20-7 440 18 Big East Conference 21. Temple 20-7 414 16 Atlantic 10 Conference 22. Ball State 19-8 302 NR Mid-American Conference 23. Pepperdine 20-8 260 25 West Coast Conference 24. Houston Baptist 19-8 165 22 Great West Conference 25. Texas A&M 19-8 77 NR Big 12 Conference Others Receiving Votes: Florida Atlantic 21-10 44 Sun Belt Conference North Florida 19-9 23 Atlantic Sun Conference Long Island 20-9 12 Northeast Conference Georgia Tech 18-9 9 Atlantic Coast Conference Northeastern 20-9 6 Colonial Athletic Association Elon 18-11 3 Southern Conference Bradley 20-9 2 Missouri Valley Conference California 17-10 2 Pacific-12 Conference

Rough 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.
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Old 07-28-2024, 01:15 AM   #9
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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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Old 07-29-2024, 03:01 PM   #10
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Code:
2014 OVERALL AWARDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player of the Year: JR PF Dante Morton Cal State Bakersfield 22.9 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.0 APG 0.4 SPG, 1.1 BPG Freshman of the Year: FR PF Gene Everett Hawaii 16.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.3 APG 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG Coach of the Year: Todd Alba VCU 23 - 12 (11 - 7) All-league 1st Team: C FR Everett Derose USC Upstate 18.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG PF JR Dante Morton Cal State Bakersfield 22.9 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.1 BPG SF JR Simon Smith Houston Baptist 17.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG SG JR John Wilmot Youngstown State 17.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG PG JR Bobby Blakney Mercer 15.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 2nd Team: C FR Michael Lott Illinois 13.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.2 BPG PF FR Gene Everett Hawaii 16.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Johnie Burrows Virginia 15.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Andres Knutson Mississippi Valley State 17.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG JR Charles Hamman Siena 18.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-league 3rd Team: C SR Chris Aguirre Bucknell 16.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.7 BPG PF FR Louis Deacon Robert Morris 15.4 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG SF FR Mitchel Andrews UC Davis 12.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Preston Eastwood Stony Brook 17.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG PG FR Douglas Otte USC 18.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG All-freshman Team: C FR Everett Derose USC Upstate 18.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG PF FR Gene Everett Hawaii 16.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG SF FR Johnie Burrows Virginia 15.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG SG FR Andres Knutson Mississippi Valley State 17.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG PG FR Douglas Otte USC 18.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG

No 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 Rankings # Team Conference Best Player Rtg 5* 4* 3* 2* 1* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Towson CAA C James Binkley ***** 3 0 0 0 0 2. Lafayette CAA SG Wesley Whitmer ***** 2 2 0 0 0 3. James Madison CAA SG Keith Vogt ***** 2 2 0 0 0 4. Hofstra CAA PG Andrew Helmick ***** 1 2 0 0 0 5. UNC Wilmington CAA SG Ike Negrete ***** 1 1 0 1 0 6. Louisville Big East PG Jacinto Joslin ***** 1 0 1 0 0 7. Northeastern CAA C Carlos Whisenant ***** 1 1 1 1 0 8. Quinnipiac Northeast PG Len Mayes **** 0 1 2 0 0 9. Southern Methodist Conference USA PF Michael Rosenblum **** 0 2 1 0 0 10. Washington State Pacific-12 C Leonard Ridley ***** 1 0 2 0 0 11. VCU CAA PG Desmond Swearingen **** 0 1 2 0 0 12. Illinois Big Ten SF Ronny Murphy **** 0 1 1 1 1 13. Saint Mary's WCC PG Derek Payne **** 0 1 3 0 0 14. San Diego WCC PG Charles Boss **** 0 1 2 0 1 15. Utah Pacific-12 PF Edward Davis ***** 1 0 0 0 3 16. UC Santa Barbara Big West C Williams Franz *** 0 0 3 0 1 17. Delaware CAA SG Joseph Deluca **** 0 2 0 0 2 18. Prairie View A&M SWAC SG Allen Leland **** 0 1 2 0 0 19. Oklahoma Big 12 PG Joe Meier **** 0 1 2 0 1 20. Air Force Mountain West PF Terrell Fecteau ***** 1 0 0 1 0 21. Alabama SEC C Clayton McAfee **** 0 1 2 0 0 22. Southeastern Louisiana Southland PF Galen Duval **** 0 1 2 0 1 23. Hawaii Big West PF Neville Gibbons *** 0 0 3 0 0 24. NJIT Great West SG Freddy Laplante **** 0 1 2 0 0 25. Jacksonville State Ohio Valley SG Darryl Zachary **** 0 1 1 0 0 26. Missouri Big 12 SG Tim Wampler **** 0 1 1 1 0 27. Mount St. Mary's Northeast PG Bruce Humphrey *** 0 0 3 0 1 28. DePaul Big East PG Joseph Cabral **** 0 1 1 0 1 29. Georgia Tech ACC C Gene Ratliff *** 0 0 3 0 0 30. Middle Tennessee Sun Belt C Ned Edwards **** 0 1 1 1 0 31. Buffalo MAC SG Eric Araiza **** 0 1 1 0 1 32. Northwestern State Southland PF Dominick Macklin ***** 1 0 0 0 1 33. Denver WAC PG Edmund Chavez ***** 1 0 0 0 3

Y'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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Old 07-30-2024, 01:57 PM   #11
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Code:
2014 Recruiting Rankings # Player Pos Ht Team Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 James Binkley C 6-9 Towson Conference USA 2 Jacinto Joslin PG 6-2 Louisville Big East Conference 3 Edgar Olson PF 6-5 Towson Conference USA 4 Walther Niess PF 6-5 5 Ike Negrete SG 6-1 UNC Wilmington Conference USA 6 Judson McCoy SG 6-1 Towson Conference USA 7 Terrell Fecteau PF 6-5 Air Force Northeast Conference 8 Brad Leslie PG 5-11 9 Edward Davis PF 6-9 Utah Patriot League 10 Gerardo Turner PG 6-2 11 Jake Blanco PG 6-0 12 Keith Vogt SG 6-2 James Madison Conference USA 13 Andrew Helmick PG 6-0 Hofstra Conference USA 14 Tom Troy PG 6-1 15 Wesley Whitmer SG 6-2 Lafayette Conference USA 16 Dominick Macklin PF 6-9 Northwestern State Southwestern Athletic Conference 17 Hoyt Gaskin PF 6-10 James Madison Conference USA 18 Ross Cano SG 6-3 19 Benito Soler C 7-0 20 Kip White C 6-9 Lafayette Conference USA 21 Edmundo Haber SG 6-5 22 Brad Dance SF 6-6 Lafayette Conference USA 23 Leonard Ridley C 6-10 Washington State Patriot League 24 Carlos Whisenant C 6-10 Northeastern Conference USA 25 Edmund Chavez PG 6-1 Denver East Coast Conference

We 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 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Youngstown State (26) 7-0 1542 3 Horizon League 2. High Point (14) 5-0 1443 NR Southern Ten 3. Texas (3) 5-0 1392 6 Big 12 Conference 4. North Dakota State 5-0 1344 2 Big Sky Conference 5. Air Force (9) 5-0 1220 9 Mountain West Conference 6. Troy (2) 5-0 1141 5 Sun Belt Conference 7. Towson (6) 4-0 1098 NR Colonial Athletic Association 8. Boston College (4) 4-0 1082 NR Atlantic Coast Conference 9. Texas-Pan American 4-0 1039 14 Independent 10. Savannah State 4-0 970 NR Southern Conference 11. Cal State Bakersfield (2) 4-0 881 NR Big West Conference 12. Wichita State 4-0 847 NR Missouri Valley Conference 13. La Salle (1) 4-0 823 NR Atlantic 10 Conference 14. Lipscomb 4-0 691 NR Atlantic Sun Conference 15. Pittsburgh 3-0 628 23 Big East Conference 16. Loyola Marymount (1) 4-0 624 NR West Coast Conference 17. Tennessee 3-0 605 NR Southeastern Conference 18. Texas A&M 3-0 520 NR Big 12 Conference 19. Mississippi Valley State (1) 4-0 519 NR Southwestern Athletic Conference 20. Providence 4-0 506 NR Big East Conference 21. Howard 3-0 498 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 22. Illinois (1) 3-0 420 NR Big Ten Conference 23. UAB 3-0 382 11 Conference USA 24. Oakland 3-0 376 NR Summit League 25. Louisiana Tech (1) 4-0 319 NR Western Athletic Conference Others Receiving Votes: Binghamton 3-1 250 America East Conference Northwestern 3-0 250 Big Ten Conference Saint Mary's 3-1 233 West Coast Conference Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2-0 231 Southwestern Athletic Conference Gonzaga 3-0 212 West Coast Conference Saint Joseph's 2-0 197 Atlantic 10 Conference Siena 2-0 191 Atlantic 10 Conference New Mexico State 2-0 177 Western Athletic Conference Baylor 2-0 167 Big 12 Conference UCLA 0-1 146 Pacific-12 Conference Central Michigan 4-0 132 Mid-American Conference Texas State 2-0 121 Western Athletic Conference # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indiana 2-0 111 Big Ten Conference Evansville 2-0 72 Missouri Valley Conference

The 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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Old 07-30-2024, 03:13 PM   #12
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Code:
Top 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Savannah State (72) 12-0 1800 1 Southern Conference 2. Miami 11-1 1662 8 Atlantic Coast Conference 3. High Point 12-1 1657 2 Southern Ten 4. Temple 10-1 1572 7 Atlantic 10 Conference 5. Texas A&M 10-1 1507 11 Big 12 Conference 6. Mississippi Valley State 10-1 1475 4 Southwestern Athletic Conference 7. Siena 9-1 1400 3 Atlantic 10 Conference 8. North Dakota State 10-2 1224 6 Big Sky Conference 9. Akron 9-3 1110 19 Ohio Valley Conference 10. Missouri State 10-2 1035 17 Missouri Valley Conference 11. Air Force 9-2 980 16 Mountain West Conference 12. UNC Asheville 9-3 893 NR East Coast Conference 13. Nebraska 10-2 830 NR Big Ten Conference 14. Louisville 10-2 790 9 Big East Conference 15. UAB 7-3 743 23 Conference USA 16. Loyola Marymount 11-2 673 NR West Coast Conference 17. Purdue 9-3 658 NR Big Ten Conference 18. Wisconsin 9-2 618 NR Big Ten Conference 19. Towson 9-2 538 NR Colonial Athletic Association 20. Baylor 8-2 506 5 Big 12 Conference 21. Gonzaga 10-2 380 12 West Coast Conference 22. Providence 8-3 355 NR Big East Conference 23. Howard 8-3 267 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 24. USC 8-2 251 NR Pacific-12 Conference 25. Texas State 8-2 161 NR Western Athletic Conference Others Receiving Votes: Michigan State 8-2 146 Big Ten Conference UC Riverside 8-2 127 Big West Conference Texas-Pan American 11-3 17 Independent North Florida 9-4 10 Atlantic Sun Conference Houston Baptist 12-3 9 Southern Ten Marist 10-3 6 Patriot League

That 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 25 # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Miami (68) 18-1 1796 3 Atlantic Coast Conference 2. Mississippi Valley State (1) 18-1 1695 2 Southwestern Athletic Conference 3. Savannah State 19-2 1681 1 Southern Conference 4. Louisville 17-2 1546 4 Big East Conference 5. Houston Baptist (3) 19-5 1454 21 Southern Ten 6. High Point 18-4 1444 6 Southern Ten 7. Missouri State 17-4 1260 5 Missouri Valley Conference 8. Wisconsin 15-4 1226 8 Big Ten Conference 9. Fairfield 17-4 1127 15 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 10. Michigan State 15-4 1037 10 Big Ten Conference 11. Purdue 14-5 988 NR Big Ten Conference 12. Central Florida 15-4 957 18 Conference USA 13. Loyola Marymount 17-4 875 19 West Coast Conference 14. Temple 15-4 823 20 Atlantic 10 Conference 15. USC 15-4 758 7 Pacific-12 Conference 16. Nebraska 15-4 662 11 Big Ten Conference 17. Maryland 15-4 617 23 Atlantic Coast Conference 18. North Dakota State 16-5 509 NR Big Sky Conference 19. Howard 15-4 509 24 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 20. Radford 16-5 438 NR East Coast Conference 21. Texas State 15-4 344 12 Western Athletic Conference 22. Texas A&M 15-5 328 17 Big 12 Conference 23. VCU 15-5 321 NR Colonial Athletic Association 24. Towson 15-5 143 16 Colonial Athletic Association 25. DePaul 14-5 141 NR Big East Conference Others Receiving Votes: Boston College 14-5 106 Atlantic Coast Conference Air Force 14-5 90 Mountain West Conference Washington 15-5 89 Pacific-12 Conference Texas 15-5 72 Big 12 Conference Siena 14-5 68 Atlantic 10 Conference Wofford 14-6 58 Southern Conference St. John's 14-5 53 Big East Conference Texas-Pan American 16-6 52 Independent Baylor 14-5 39 Big 12 Conference Hawaii 13-6 23 Big West Conference UAB 13-6 18 Conference USA Samford 14-8 18 Southern Ten # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Akron 15-6 15 Ohio Valley Conference Evansville 14-6 10 Missouri Valley Conference California 13-6 10 Pacific-12 Conference

You'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.
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Old 08-04-2024, 07:53 PM   #13
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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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Creighton (18-15, 8-8): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Rupert Gutshall C 30 3-4 1-2 3 7 2 5 7 Dennis Nobles PF 32 1-5 4-4 0 5 3 4 6 Andrew Boynton SF 34 9-17 6-8 0 3 3 2 24 J.C. Sumner SG 22 8-13 3-4 4 5 1 3 20 Wilbur May PG 35 4-7 5-6 1 4 4 4 14 Ruben Loera SG 32 5-9 4-9 3 5 0 4 14 Art Hernandez PG 9 1-3 1-1 0 1 1 0 3 Arlie Perez SG 10 2-4 0-1 0 1 0 2 5 Lee Sexton PF 11 2-4 0-0 0 0 1 1 4 Dennis Gasaway PF 1 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 Michel Schenk C 7 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 2 Turnovers: 14 (R.Gutshall 1, D.Nobles 1, A.Boynton 1, J.Sumner 3, W.May 7, M.Schenk 1) Blocked Shots: 4 (D.Nobles 1, A.Boynton 1, J.Sumner 1, A.Perez 1) Steals: 8 (D.Nobles 1, A.Boynton 2, W.May 1, R.Loera 3, L.Sexton 1) 3P FGs: 3-9 (A.Boynton 0-1, J.Sumner 1-3, W.May 1-1, R.Loera 0-1, A.Perez 1-3) Hawaii (23-10, 13-5): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Gene Everett C 21 4-8 7-11 1 1 2 4 15 B. Decourchelle PF 27 9-13 5-10 4 7 1 3 23 Fred Hargett SF 31 9-12 0-2 6 11 3 1 21 David Hoke SG 39 7-18 4-4 2 9 10 0 20 Will Fetter PG 40 2-4 2-2 2 3 6 4 7 A. Desplancques C 28 4-11 2-2 2 6 0 4 10 Reggie Stancil SF 12 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 5 2 George Thompson C 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 4 0 Jonah Pettway SG 9 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 4 James Balzer C 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 Robert Kropp SF 9 3-4 0-0 1 4 2 1 6 Turnovers: 13 (G.Everett 1, B.Decourchelle 3, D.Hoke 5, R.Stancil 3, R.Kropp 1) Blocked Shots: 1 (F.Hargett 1) Steals: 5 (B.Decourchelle 1, F.Hargett 3, W.Fetter 1) 3P FGs: 6-17 (F.Hargett 3-5, D.Hoke 2-9, W.Fetter 1-2, R.Stancil 0-1) Player of Game: SF Fred Hargett (HI)

{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 77 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harvard (26-9, 10-4): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Ward Wenger C 31 3-4 1-2 1 4 3 5 7 Augustus Greene PF 30 7-10 1-1 1 2 1 3 15 Michael Espinoza SF 23 2-3 0-1 0 1 2 5 4 James Deanda SG 35 6-12 4-6 2 6 6 5 18 Robbie Collins PG 33 4-10 3-4 0 4 2 2 14 Henry Fogg PF 14 1-1 2-4 0 4 2 2 4 James Brooks C 4 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 0 0 Refugio Bethel SF 11 3-3 1-2 0 2 0 3 7 Jack Siebert PG 12 3-6 4-6 0 0 1 2 10 Dana Kelly PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Lazaro Stout SG 4 0-1 2-2 0 1 0 0 2 Charles Infante SF 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Turnovers: 14 (A.Greene 2, M.Espinoza 2, J.Deanda 2, R.Collins 3, H.Fogg 1, R.Bethel 2, J.Siebert 2) Blocked Shots: 1 (A.Greene 1) Steals: 9 (W.Wenger 3, M.Espinoza 1, J.Deanda 3, H.Fogg 1, J.Siebert 1) 3P FGs: 5-14 (J.Deanda 2-5, R.Collins 3-7, J.Siebert 0-2) Howard (32-6, 15-1): Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts Kristopher Benner C 36 3-8 7-11 3 8 1 2 13 Tony Purser PF 35 4-8 5-6 1 13 1 3 13 Nathan Hand SF 26 4-7 2-4 1 2 2 4 11 Tony Gallman SG 30 4-8 2-7 2 5 1 4 11 Loyd Gonzales PG 31 5-9 5-5 0 1 2 5 15 Kip Alvey SG 16 4-5 2-2 1 1 0 5 13 Robert Chi PG 9 0-2 0-0 0 1 0 2 0 Ernie Shetler C 9 0-0 1-3 0 0 0 1 1 Justin Wills SF 6 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Antony Means SG 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Jeff Steger C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Turnovers: 19 (K.Benner 4, T.Purser 1, N.Hand 1, T.Gallman 4, L.Gonzales 1, K.Alvey 3, R.Chi 1, E.Shetler 2, J.Wills 1, A.Means 1) Blocked Shots: 5 (K.Benner 3, T.Gallman 1, L.Gonzales 1) Steals: 6 (T.Gallman 1, L.Gonzales 5) 3P FGs: 5-10 (K.Benner 0-1, N.Hand 1-2, T.Gallman 1-2, L.Gonzales 0-2, K.Alvey 3-3) Player of Game: SG James Deanda (HRVRD)

What 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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