***Official 2013 Bracketology Thread***
- Thread starter CarlHungus
- Start date
If that is accurate, you'd have to assume that a win would have given the a good chance of getting a bid.
I think they still would've been out on Lunardi's board even if they would've beat MSU. Look at Maryland. They beat Duke and they only climbed up 4 spots on Lunardi's board from 8th team out to 4th team out.
If you give Iowa a similar boost for MSU, they would've climbed from 6th team out to 2nd team out...basically right on the CUT line. Either way, it's a moot point, but at best a win today for the Hawks and loss tomorrow would've been a 50/50 shot at best.
Great last 4 in and last 4 out. He has 2 ACC teams (including Maryland) and 2 SEC teams (including Kentucky) the last 4 out, and has 2 mid-majors and a low-major as at-larges in the last 4 in. I doubt Lunardi sleeps much the next couple of days while trying to figure out if the committee puts in big names with big wins like Kentucky and Maryland over MTSU and La Salle.
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How accurate is Lunardi?
I mean does the selection committee communicate with him and all? What makes him the highest authority outside of the NCAA selection committee as to what's going to happen?
I mean does the selection committee communicate with him and all? What makes him the highest authority outside of the NCAA selection committee as to what's going to happen?
Of course the selection committee doesn't consult him. I think he is fairly accurate.
He doesnt communicate with them at all, but he's usually pretty accurate. Missing only a couple teams each year. Some years he gets all picks correct. The part the he struggles with is the exact seeding and locations/matchups. But as far as what teams make the tournament, hes pretty accurate. Although, if you sat down and predicted a bracket, most avid basketball fans would get at least 90-95% of the teams correct. There's really only 8 or so teams that could go either way.
Joe Lunardi
Joseph Lunardi is a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He was born in Philadelphia, he is a graduate of Haverford High School in Pennsylvania, and is a Saint Joseph's University alumnus. Lunardi currently lives in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.
My Bracketology after a crazy day around the bubble:
America East(1): Vermont- Plays Albany tomorrow for the auto bid.
ACC(5): Miami(FL), Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Maryland, Virginia- Huge win for Maryland against Duke today in the ACC tournament. A win vs. North Carolina tomorrow might put them in the field. Virginia is in trouble after losing by 19 to NC State today. Some decent wins, but way too many bad losses.
Atlantic 10(5): Saint Louis, VCU, Butler, Temple, La Salle, UMass- La Salle lost their first game vs. Butler today so they will definitely be sweating Selection Sunday out with only wins against Butler and VCU in their resume. However with other teams losing behind them they might squeak in. UMass picked up a huge win against Temple and now face VCU in what could be a play-in game for them. Charlotte is eliminated from any faint at-large hopes they had after losing to Saint Louis today.
Atlantic Sun(1): Florida Gulf Coast
Big 12(5): Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Baylor- Even with their loss to Kansas, Iowa State is still a lock into the NCAA tournament. Oklahoma should be fine especially with all of the bubble teams behind them losing. Baylor is likely finished after losing to Oklahoma State in heartbreaking fashion after trailing by 20.
Big East(8): Louisville, Georgetown, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Marquette, Cincinnati, Villanova- No bubble drama for the Big East as all of these teams will make the NCAA tournament.
Big Sky(1): Montana- Will face Weber State tomorrow for the auto bid.
Big South(1): Liberty
Big Ten(7): Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa- The Hawkeyes are likely NIT bound after blowing another opportunity against a quality B1G team in Michigan State. The only way they make the tourney is if the selection committee ignores the computer numbers and actually looks at the other statistics.
Big West(1): Pacific- Will face UC Irvine for the auto bid tomorrow night.
CAA(1): James Madison
Conference USA(1): Memphis, Southern Miss- Southern Miss has one more shot at Memphis tomorrow. If they win, Conference USA will be a two-bid league, if they lose, they likely have no shot at an at-large with zero top 50 wins, and Conference USA will be a one-bid league.
Horizon(1): Valparaiso
Ivy(1): Harvard
MAAC(1): Iona
MAC(1): Akron- Will face Ohio for auto bid tomorrow. It's auto bid or bust for both teams.
MEAC(1): North Carolina A&T- Faces Morgan St. for the auto bid tomorrow.
MVC(2): Creighton, Wichita State- Not much drama unless Vanderbilt steals a bid in the SEC or other carnage happens in other conferences to make Wichita State's position less secure.
Mountain West(5): New Mexico, UNLV, Colorado State, San Diego State, Boise State- The Broncos improved their position after bubble teams around them lost today. They still will sweat it out, but with an early season road win against Creighton and solid wins in their conference, they're in okay shape for the tourney.
Northeast
1): LIU-Brooklyn
Ohio Valley(1): Belmont
Pac-12(5): UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, California- With Oregon beating Utah tonight, that eliminates the possibility of a sixth Pac-12 team making the Dance so there will be 5 teams from the Pac-12 in the tourney.
Patriot(1): Bucknell
SEC(2): Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee- Ole Miss kept their at-large hopes alive by storming back to beat Missouri. Playing Vanderbilt is a lose-lose scenario because winning doesn't really do much, and losing likely knocks you out of the tournament. Alabama kept their at-large hopes alive while likely eliminating Tennessee. Beating Florida would potentially put them in even if they lose in the finals of the SEC Tourney. Kentucky is in major trouble after getting thumped by Vanderbilt. The Commodores have bid-stealing potential for those squarely on the bubble.
Southern(1): Davidson
Southland(1): Stephen F. Austin- Faces Northwestern St. for the auto bid tomorrow.
SWAC(1): Southern- Plays Prairie View A&M for the auto-bid and a likely First Four game.
Summit(1): South Dakota State
Sun Belt(2): Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State- The Blue Raiders were a huge winner today with all of the bubble drama today. They don't have any great wins, but it still might not matter with their strong computer numbers and non-conference SOS.
WCC(2): Gonzaga, Saint Mary's- The Gaels, with only a solid win vs. Creighton will be nervous on Selection Sunday, but still should get into the field.
WAC(1): New Mexico State- Faces UT-Arlington in what has been a wacky WAC tournament.
Last Four In:
La Salle
Boise State
Middle Tennessee State
Maryland
First Four Out:
Ole Miss
Virginia
Alabama
UMass
Next Four Out:
Kentucky
Iowa
Tennessee
Southern Miss
Impactful games on the bubble:
ACC:
Maryland vs. North Carolina- A win moves Maryland into a solid position.
A-10:
VCU vs. UMass- UMass could still sneak in as an at-large if they win tomorrow.
Conference USA:
Memphis vs. Southern Miss- If Southern Miss wins, they will shrink the bubble one spot.
SEC:
Florida vs. Alabama- The Crimson Tide can help their cause with a win.
Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt- If Ole Miss wins, they could move on the right side of the bubble. If Vanderbilt wins, Ole Miss is in at-large trouble and Vanderbilt brings the potential of a bid-thief.
America East(1): Vermont- Plays Albany tomorrow for the auto bid.
ACC(5): Miami(FL), Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Maryland, Virginia- Huge win for Maryland against Duke today in the ACC tournament. A win vs. North Carolina tomorrow might put them in the field. Virginia is in trouble after losing by 19 to NC State today. Some decent wins, but way too many bad losses.
Atlantic 10(5): Saint Louis, VCU, Butler, Temple, La Salle, UMass- La Salle lost their first game vs. Butler today so they will definitely be sweating Selection Sunday out with only wins against Butler and VCU in their resume. However with other teams losing behind them they might squeak in. UMass picked up a huge win against Temple and now face VCU in what could be a play-in game for them. Charlotte is eliminated from any faint at-large hopes they had after losing to Saint Louis today.
Atlantic Sun(1): Florida Gulf Coast
Big 12(5): Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Baylor- Even with their loss to Kansas, Iowa State is still a lock into the NCAA tournament. Oklahoma should be fine especially with all of the bubble teams behind them losing. Baylor is likely finished after losing to Oklahoma State in heartbreaking fashion after trailing by 20.
Big East(8): Louisville, Georgetown, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Marquette, Cincinnati, Villanova- No bubble drama for the Big East as all of these teams will make the NCAA tournament.
Big Sky(1): Montana- Will face Weber State tomorrow for the auto bid.
Big South(1): Liberty
Big Ten(7): Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa- The Hawkeyes are likely NIT bound after blowing another opportunity against a quality B1G team in Michigan State. The only way they make the tourney is if the selection committee ignores the computer numbers and actually looks at the other statistics.
Big West(1): Pacific- Will face UC Irvine for the auto bid tomorrow night.
CAA(1): James Madison
Conference USA(1): Memphis, Southern Miss- Southern Miss has one more shot at Memphis tomorrow. If they win, Conference USA will be a two-bid league, if they lose, they likely have no shot at an at-large with zero top 50 wins, and Conference USA will be a one-bid league.
Horizon(1): Valparaiso
Ivy(1): Harvard
MAAC(1): Iona
MAC(1): Akron- Will face Ohio for auto bid tomorrow. It's auto bid or bust for both teams.
MEAC(1): North Carolina A&T- Faces Morgan St. for the auto bid tomorrow.
MVC(2): Creighton, Wichita State- Not much drama unless Vanderbilt steals a bid in the SEC or other carnage happens in other conferences to make Wichita State's position less secure.
Mountain West(5): New Mexico, UNLV, Colorado State, San Diego State, Boise State- The Broncos improved their position after bubble teams around them lost today. They still will sweat it out, but with an early season road win against Creighton and solid wins in their conference, they're in okay shape for the tourney.
Northeast
1): LIU-BrooklynOhio Valley(1): Belmont
Pac-12(5): UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, California- With Oregon beating Utah tonight, that eliminates the possibility of a sixth Pac-12 team making the Dance so there will be 5 teams from the Pac-12 in the tourney.
Patriot(1): Bucknell
SEC(2): Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee- Ole Miss kept their at-large hopes alive by storming back to beat Missouri. Playing Vanderbilt is a lose-lose scenario because winning doesn't really do much, and losing likely knocks you out of the tournament. Alabama kept their at-large hopes alive while likely eliminating Tennessee. Beating Florida would potentially put them in even if they lose in the finals of the SEC Tourney. Kentucky is in major trouble after getting thumped by Vanderbilt. The Commodores have bid-stealing potential for those squarely on the bubble.
Southern(1): Davidson
Southland(1): Stephen F. Austin- Faces Northwestern St. for the auto bid tomorrow.
SWAC(1): Southern- Plays Prairie View A&M for the auto-bid and a likely First Four game.
Summit(1): South Dakota State
Sun Belt(2): Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State- The Blue Raiders were a huge winner today with all of the bubble drama today. They don't have any great wins, but it still might not matter with their strong computer numbers and non-conference SOS.
WCC(2): Gonzaga, Saint Mary's- The Gaels, with only a solid win vs. Creighton will be nervous on Selection Sunday, but still should get into the field.
WAC(1): New Mexico State- Faces UT-Arlington in what has been a wacky WAC tournament.
Last Four In:
La Salle
Boise State
Middle Tennessee State
Maryland
First Four Out:
Ole Miss
Virginia
Alabama
UMass
Next Four Out:
Kentucky
Iowa
Tennessee
Southern Miss
Impactful games on the bubble:
ACC:
Maryland vs. North Carolina- A win moves Maryland into a solid position.
A-10:
VCU vs. UMass- UMass could still sneak in as an at-large if they win tomorrow.
Conference USA:
Memphis vs. Southern Miss- If Southern Miss wins, they will shrink the bubble one spot.
SEC:
Florida vs. Alabama- The Crimson Tide can help their cause with a win.
Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt- If Ole Miss wins, they could move on the right side of the bubble. If Vanderbilt wins, Ole Miss is in at-large trouble and Vanderbilt brings the potential of a bid-thief.
A true Cyclone never roots for Iowa, just as a true Hawkeye never roots for Iowa State. That was written in stone a long time ago. I don't consider Hawkeyes to be Iowans anyway; they are more like illegal aliens.
Latest Palm bracket has ISU in the "all-revenge" bracket: as the 10 seed playing Creighton in Auburn Hills. If they win, there is a chance for payback vs. Michigan State on the floor of our most infamous tourney loss.
For those still worrying about us getting in...we actually moved up on the bracketology matrix from the 3rd 11-seed to the 1st 11-seed. In on 91 out of 91 brackets.
The Bracket Project's Bracket Matrix - 2013
The Bracket Project's Bracket Matrix - 2013
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Lunardi may be the most popular,but Patrick Stevens of USA TODAY is also very good and has a better track record than Lunardi.
Southern Mississippi tied in OT with Memphis. Alabama beating Florida at half by 3.
Update: Southern Miss now down by 2.
Update: Southern Miss now down by 2.
