2013 Bracketbuster

[tpsjugglerdude]

Well its Bracketbuster time since they announce the pairings tomorrow. I'm basing my guess off of the RPI and not the BPI since that is what they have historically done.

Home Teams:

Wichita State (16) (Already played Creighton)

Belmont (20) (Already played South Dakota State, EKU)

Indiana State (55 ) (Already played Creighton)

St. Mary's (59)

Akron (72) (Creighton, Detriot)

Valparaiso (89)

Murray State (93)

UIC (99)

Road Teams:

Creighton (31)

North Dakota State (64)

South Dakota State (65)

Eastern Kentucky (76)

Stephen F. Austin (81)

Detriot (89)

Ohio (98)

My predictions:

Wichita State- North Dakota State

Belmont- Creighton

Indiana State-Eastern Kentucky

St. Mary's- South Dakota State

Akron-Stephen F. Austin

I think Ohio gets Valparaiso

[GoZips]

Well its Bracketbuster time since they announce the pairings tomorrow. I'm basing my guess off of the RPI and not the BPI since that is what they have historically done.

Home Teams:

Wichita State (16) (Already played Creighton)

Belmont (20) (Already played South Dakota State, EKU)

Indiana State (55 ) (Already played Creighton)

St. Mary's (59)

Akron (72) (Creighton, Detriot)

Valparaiso (89)

Murray State (93)

UIC (99)

Road Teams:

Creighton (31)

North Dakota State (64)

South Dakota State (65)

Eastern Kentucky (76)

Stephen F. Austin (81)

Detriot (89)

Ohio (98)

My predictions:

Wichita State- North Dakota State

Belmont- Creighton

Indiana State-Eastern Kentucky

St. Mary's- South Dakota State

Akron-Stephen F. Austin

I think Ohio gets Valparaiso

Since vALPO uses their own referees, Ohio gets an automagic loss

[wadszip]

Excuse the poor formatting, didn't quite turn out like I was hoping, but here is a breakdown of the teams ranked in the top 120 in either Pomeroy, BPI and RPI, just to give people an idea of how each system views the teams.

Home Pomeroy BPI RPI

Wichita State 21 13 16

Belmont 29 41 23

St. Mary's 33 43 60

Akron 47 47 72

Northern Iowa 68 68 92

Valpariasio 79 73 86

Indiana State 84 70 51

Western Michigan 111 131 102

Fairfield 112 165 154

Murray State 120 103 88

Davidson 106 111

Oral Roberts 115 97

Loyola (Md) 118 95

Tennessee State 89

Western Illinois 120

Road

Creighton 13 11 27

Denver 51 84 116

North Dakota State 53 69 56

Stephen F. Austin 60 82 69

Detroit 64 91 101

Ohio 72 77 107

Illinois State 75 67 139

Weber State 105 105 147

South Dakota State 106 124 67

Canisius 108 114 117

Evansville 109 109 99

Green Bay 113 139 168

Eastern Kentucky 114 118 63

Pacific 118 117 119

Iona 102 113

Illinois-Chicago 112

Since these won't change from here until tomorrow, I'll make another guess on the matchups. I'll weight RPI the highest since that has tended to be the biggest factor in the past, second by BPI (since it's an ESPN system and ESPN picks the TV matchups) and lastly weight Pomeroy (though the best system, something that probably won't be much of a consideration).

1. Creighton-Belmont - This matchup hasn't changed, about the only lock out there.

2. Wichita State-North Dakota State - North Dakota State has the top RPI and BPI for Wichita State to be matched with (both are Central time zone teams to boot).

3. St. Mary's-Ohio- This is a double-edged sword for Ohio. The good is the Bobcats get a marquee matchup. The downside is they will have to go out West, play a tough matchup, then come home and have to get ready for Akron.

4. Akron-Stephen F. Austin- St. Mary's vs. Stephen F. Austin makes the most sense based strictly on the overall rankings. And this may be wishful thinking that Ohio passes up SFA in to land St. Mary's (though OU has much more of a name than SFA). If ESPN matches up St. Mary's and SFA, then Akron is really screwed, as Illinois State (who Pomeroy and BPI like, but RPI hates), Eastern Kentucky (who Pomeroy and BPI hate, but RPI likes) or South Dakota State (who Pomeroy and BPI hate, but RPI likes) are the most realistic options.

Why St. Mary's-Ohio and Akron-Stephen F. Austin makes sense is because it creates two compelling matchups for ESPN. St. Mary's, Ohio and Akron are three of the more high-profile teams left in this setup. St. Mary's is obviously a huge-name mid-major and Ohio has the Sweet 16 (near Elite 8 run) to fall back on. Both have large fanbases. St. Mary's would probably want this game more than SFA anyway, since the return trip is going to involve travel regardless. So, St. Mary's gets a better game, and Ohio (outside the bad travel schedule) gets a marquee opponent.

Akron-Stephen F. Austin isn't a great matchup for Akron, but better than the alternatives (and it's been apparent since I started this thread a couple weeks ago that Akron wasn't getting the matchup we were hoping for entering the season). At least SFA is between 60-82 on all three rankings. The fact that this is an Ohio vs. Texas matchup (two of the largest states), it has the potential to draw decent TV ratings, though unlike Akron (which is in Ohio's largest market), SFA is in no-man's land in Texas (but it is pretty much is between Dallas and Houston, so maybe close enough to draw some interest in those markets).

5. Northern Iowa-South Dakota State - Northern Iowa is pretty consistent in the rankings, while South Dakota State has a big gap, but since RPI likes SDSU (and due to proximity, I think this will happen)

6. Valparaiso-Illinois State - Like Northern Iowa, Valpo's rankings are consistent. Illinois State is hated by RPI, but strong enough in BPI to offset it (and it's a regional matchup).

7. Indiana State-Eastern Kentucky - Again, Indiana State is pretty consistent, and EKU is hated by two of the three systems. But the one it is high in is RPI, so they fit in here.

8. Murray State-Canisius

9. Western Michigan-Evansville

In a perfect world, Murray State-Evansville and Western Michigan-Canisius are the more ideal matchups, but Murray State and Evansville have already played. So, I'll flip these. Murray State will get a TV game due to Isiah Canaan and Cansisus (which is consistently ranked in the 108-117 range) gives the event a much-needed Eastern team ... something that is lacking.

Western Michigan has the RPI (and recent solid play) to land the final TV game against Evansville (which being an MVC team, will get a TV game), though Davidson could sneak into this game instead of WMU. Though, I think the MAC's behind the scene political pull (all of the MAC teams are playing in this vs. only four Southern Conference teams) should be enough to beat out Davidson's allure of drawing in the Charlotte market.

It also wasn't by accident that I have all six MVC schools that are ranked high landing TV games. The MVC is by far the most high-profile league that has all its teams participating. They will be rewarded for that.

Finally, if the top three MAC schools (Akron, Ohio and Western Michigan) all get bad matchups (or no TV), you really have to question the leadership in the MAC. Even though this is a down year overall, the league still has three teams that you can argue belong in one of the 9 TV games, especially since the competition is against other Mid-Major leagues. If the league can't help get the two teams that are locks for a TV games solid matchups, and can't get WMU a TV game in general, the MAC's clout (or the schools' willingness to play the best possible competition) is severely lacking.

[jc125409]

Excuse the poor formatting, didn't quite turn out like I was hoping, but here is a breakdown of the teams ranked in the top 120 in either Pomeroy, BPI and RPI, just to give people an idea of how each system views the teams.

Home Pomeroy BPI RPI

Wichita State 21 13 16

Belmont 29 41 23

St. Mary's 33 43 60

Akron 47 47 72

Northern Iowa 68 68 92

Valpariasio 79 73 86

Indiana State 84 70 51

Western Michigan 111 131 102

Fairfield 112 165 154

Murray State 120 103 88

Davidson 106 111

Oral Roberts 115 97

Loyola (Md) 118 95

Tennessee State 89

Western Illinois 120

Road

Creighton 13 11 27

Denver 51 84 116

North Dakota State 53 69 56

Stephen F. Austin 60 82 69

Detroit 64 91 101

Ohio 72 77 107

Illinois State 75 67 139

Weber State 105 105 147

South Dakota State 106 124 67

Canisius 108 114 117

Evansville 109 109 99

Green Bay 113 139 168

Eastern Kentucky 114 118 63

Pacific 118 117 119

Iona 102 113

Illinois-Chicago 112

Since these won't change from here until tomorrow, I'll make another guess on the matchups. I'll weight RPI the highest since that has tended to be the biggest factor in the past, second by BPI (since it's an ESPN system and ESPN picks the TV matchups) and lastly weight Pomeroy (though the best system, something that probably won't be much of a consideration).

1. Creighton-Belmont - This matchup hasn't changed, about the only lock out there.

2. Wichita State-North Dakota State - North Dakota State has the top RPI and BPI for Wichita State to be matched with (both are Central time zone teams to boot).

3. St. Mary's-Ohio- This is a double-edged sword for Ohio. The good is the Bobcats get a marquee matchup. The downside is they will have to go out West, play a tough matchup, then come home and have to get ready for Akron.

4. Akron-Stephen F. Austin- St. Mary's vs. Stephen F. Austin makes the most sense based strictly on the overall rankings. And this may be wishful thinking that Ohio passes up SFA in to land St. Mary's (though OU has much more of a name than SFA). If ESPN matches up St. Mary's and SFA, then Akron is really screwed, as Illinois State (who Pomeroy and BPI like, but RPI hates), Eastern Kentucky (who Pomeroy and BPI hate, but RPI likes) or South Dakota State (who Pomeroy and BPI hate, but RPI likes) are the most realistic options.

Why St. Mary's-Ohio and Akron-Stephen F. Austin makes sense is because it creates two compelling matchups for ESPN. St. Mary's, Ohio and Akron are three of the more high-profile teams left in this setup. St. Mary's is obviously a huge-name mid-major and Ohio has the Sweet 16 (near Elite 8 run) to fall back on. Both have large fanbases. St. Mary's would probably want this game more than SFA anyway, since the return trip is going to involve travel regardless. So, St. Mary's gets a better game, and Ohio (outside the bad travel schedule) gets a marquee opponent.

Akron-Stephen F. Austin isn't a great matchup for Akron, but better than the alternatives (and it's been apparent since I started this thread a couple weeks ago that Akron wasn't getting the matchup we were hoping for entering the season). At least SFA is between 60-82 on all three rankings. The fact that this is an Ohio vs. Texas matchup (two of the largest states), it has the potential to draw decent TV ratings, though unlike Akron (which is in Ohio's largest market), SFA is in no-man's land in Texas (but it is pretty much is between Dallas and Houston, so maybe close enough to draw some interest in those markets).

5. Northern Iowa-South Dakota State - Northern Iowa is pretty consistent in the rankings, while South Dakota State has a big gap, but since RPI likes SDSU (and due to proximity, I think this will happen)

6. Valparaiso-Illinois State - Like Northern Iowa, Valpo's rankings are consistent. Illinois State is hated by RPI, but strong enough in BPI to offset it (and it's a regional matchup).

7. Indiana State-Eastern Kentucky - Again, Indiana State is pretty consistent, and EKU is hated by two of the three systems. But the one it is high in is RPI, so they fit in here.

8. Murray State-Canisius

9. Western Michigan-Evansville

In a perfect world, Murray State-Evansville and Western Michigan-Canisius are the more ideal matchups, but Murray State and Evansville have already played. So, I'll flip these. Murray State will get a TV game due to Isiah Canaan and Cansisus (which is consistently ranked in the 108-117 range) gives the event a much-needed Eastern team ... something that is lacking.

Western Michigan has the RPI (and recent solid play) to land the final TV game against Evansville (which being an MVC team, will get a TV game), though Davidson could sneak into this game instead of WMU. Though, I think the MAC's behind the scene political pull (all of the MAC teams are playing in this vs. only four Southern Conference teams) should be enough to beat out Davidson's allure of drawing in the Charlotte market.

It also wasn't by accident that I have all six MVC schools that are ranked high landing TV games. The MVC is by far the most high-profile league that has all its teams participating. They will be rewarded for that.

Finally, if the top three MAC schools (Akron, Ohio and Western Michigan) all get bad matchups (or no TV), you really have to question the leadership in the MAC. Even though this is a down year overall, the league still has three teams that you can argue belong in one of the 9 TV games, especially since the competition is against other Mid-Major leagues. If the league can't help get the two teams that are locks for a TV games solid matchups, and can't get WMU a TV game in general, the MAC's clout (or the schools' willingness to play the best possible competition) is severely lacking.

Very likely we could see Ohio and Akron get TV games. Ohio will get it based off of last year. Most marketable team in the Bracket buster.

[plowerman78]

waiting another week now...The BracketBusters announcement is set for Monday, Feb. 4, at 6:30 pm ET live on ESPNU

[jeaglet1]

waiting another week now...The BracketBusters announcement is set for Monday, Feb. 4, at 6:30 pm ET live on ESPNU

It also says some games will be announced on Jan 28th on the same page, way to go ESPN

[Aaron]

Maybe I'm wrong, but if the list of games posted here is correct:

http://espnbracketbusters.com/site/about/tv-schedule?id=12

It would mean that Akron, Ohio, and Buffalo all will get TV games?

[jc125409]

Maybe I'm wrong, but if the list of games posted here is correct:

http://espnbracketbusters.com/site/about/tv-schedule?id=12

It would mean that Akron, Ohio, and Buffalo all will get TV games?

Those are from last year.

[akronad]

Those are from last year.

They need to get to the webmaster! Match-ups are form last year but are using 2013 header.

[Dave in Green]

Ken Pomeroy has named the SFA loss to Northwestern State as his #1 Craziest Comeback of the Week:

1) Northwestern State (1.8%) over Stephen F. Austin. (Saturday) Stephen F. was in line to be one of just three one-loss teams nationally, but they failed to protect a 57-50 lead with 2:38 remaining. On the final five possessions of the game, the Demons outscored the Lumberjacks 11-0 to win 61-57 [70].

[wadszip]

Very likely we could see Ohio and Akron get TV games. Ohio will get it based off of last year. Most marketable team in the Bracket buster.

I already said Akron and Ohio will get TV games (and in fact, I think OU will get a game better than their rankings deserve). But you are a serious homer if you think OU is the "most marketable" team in the event. No way is Ohio more marketable than Creighton, Wichita State or St. Mary's. Ohio arguably is no more marketable than Akron. OU has the Sweet 16 to play on, but Akron has Zeke and "Keith Dambrot used to coach LeBron" to play on. And if you don't think that has an affect, you obviously don't watch any game Akron plays on ESPN. As an Akron fan, that line is worn out, but always comes up ... 5 times a game ... but it is what it is, and good pub doesn't hurt.

Ohio is a nice program, and OU, as a school, is more high-profile than Akron. But as a basketball team, you and other OU fans are funny. You guys aren't any more special than anybody else in the MAC, especially Akron. Unlike Ohio, Akron is in the middle of the largest media market in Ohio. OU is an afterthought in Cleveland, where as Akron is a big deal here. OU is also an afterthought in Columbus, regardless of what Kitty fans want to portray. Athens is more than an hour away to begin win, and Columbus is all about Ohio State anyway. OU is also an afterthought in Cincinnati (UC, Xavier) and an afterthought in Dayton (UD).

As big as OU fans think their program is, the school doesn't even come close to controlling any major market in Ohio (and while Akron is No. 2 in Cleveland behind OSU, it's presence here is still bigger than OU in Columbus ... OU's most realistic big market).

It's also funny, since I do go to bobcatattack, that Akron fans don't flood that site with how great their program is, but OU fans, like you, seem to flock here trying to tout how great the Bobcats are .. talk about insecurity.

Trust me when I say this, the Akron fans that post here, know how good OU is. We don't need Kitty fans getting on their high horses trying to pump up their program's "marketability"

[Bubba4three]

I already said Akron and Ohio will get TV games (and in fact, I think OU will get a game better than their rankings deserve). But you are a serious homer if you think OU is the "most marketable" team in the event. No way is Ohio more marketable than Creighton, Wichita State or St. Mary's. Ohio arguably is no more marketable than Akron. OU has the Sweet 16 to play on, but Akron has Zeke and "Keith Dambrot used to coach LeBron" to play on. And if you don't think that has an affect, you obviously don't watch any game Akron plays on ESPN. As an Akron fan, that line is worn out, but always comes up ... 5 times a game ... but it is what it is, and good pub doesn't hurt.

Ohio is a nice program, and OU, as a school, is more high-profile than Akron. But as a basketball team, you and other OU fans are funny. You guys aren't any more special than anybody else in the MAC, especially Akron. Unlike Ohio, Akron is in the middle of the largest media market in Ohio. OU is an afterthought in Cleveland, where as Akron is a big deal here. OU is also an afterthought in Columbus, regardless of what Kitty fans want to portray. Athens is more than an hour away to begin win, and Columbus is all about Ohio State anyway. OU is also an afterthought in Cincinnati (UC, Xavier) and an afterthought in Dayton (UD).

As big as OU fans think their program is, the school doesn't even come close to controlling any major market in Ohio (and while Akron is No. 2 in Cleveland behind OSU, it's presence here is still bigger than OU in Columbus ... OU's most realistic big market).

It's also funny, since I do go to bobcatattack, that Akron fans don't flood that site with how great their program is, but OU fans, like you, seem to flock here trying to tout how great the Bobcats are .. talk about insecurity.

Trust me when I say this, the Akron fans that post here, know how good OU is. We don't need Kitty fans getting on their high horses trying to pump up their program's "marketability"

DJ Cooper is known nationwide. Zeke Marshall is not.

[ZachTheZip]

DJ Cooper is known nationwide.

No he's not.

[wadszip]

DJ Cooper is known nationwide. Zeke Marshall is not.

That didn't take long. Haha, like I said, insecure much?

[jc125409]

n

[zippy5]

Who's dj cooper? Is he that kid in the bra?

[jc125409]

n

[zestycoyote]

He is much more well known. The MAC POY as of right now. Will be the only player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, 650 rebounds and 300 steals. Zeke just hit 1,000 points. Always known as underachiever.

Pretty easy to get to 2,000 points when you take 30 shots a game for 4 years...

Shall we compare DJ Cooper's FG% to some MAC players? He's hit some big shots throughout his career, but after this year he as no future in organized basketball.

[Dr Z]

DJ Cooper is known nationwide. Zeke Marshall is not.

Yeah, but really now, Zeke is okay with it!?!

[Zipgrad01]

Yeah, but really now, Zeke is okay with it!?!

They really should have a huge sign of that picture in the student section Saturday.

[Zipgrad01]

What a come back! No argument about his talent, so pictures! And every student section has it and he doesn't care. I tend to like the picture of Stevie Taylor showing off to the Akron bench as we drilled you and any picture of Zeke Marshall whining.

Can I please ask why you have to act like this on an opposing teams board? It doesn't speak well of you or your school.

[wadszip]

I grew up in Cleveland. Akron is an after thought to OSU unless they make some kind of run in the tourney (never do) and even that is somewhat a novelty. Nobody really cares unless you went there. Almost kind of a joke because of how easy it is to get in. Akron is the laughing stock of NCAA football which doesn't help you very much. Dambrot coaching LeBron does not beat a Sweet 16 team from last year that returns everyone. BTW, I never see Zeke as a finalist for top awards or ranked as a top center in the country? Oh yeah, overrated whiner.

It must be Kitty week on ZNO. This will get good. We'll get to hear all about that Sweet 16 run (which we know about and respect), and how bad Akron sucks at football all week (though Ohio as recently as five years ago sucked even more than Akron.)

#insecurity

That is the OU motto.

For those who don't read the CNS MAC board, it's quite funny. An OU fan posted a thread about a "MAC arms race" because OU is finally going to get an indoor facility. Needless to say, that thread is getting beat down in a major way.

It's just too funny reading these OU fans pump their university up like it's God's gift.

P.S. good for you, you are also from Cleveland. Maybe your relatives will forward you the 5-minute piece Channel 3 did on Akron basketball yesterday. Good luck OU getting that type of coverage in the state's largest market.

[ksu sucks]

Two things:

1. Not that any of you care, but our resident troll "jc" can be found here.

2. Ohio U is a public school in Appalachia. Please don't come here and pretend like there is some giant "prestige" gap between the two schools. Besides, it makes your school look bad when a journalism student is spending all of their free time posting rambling sentences with subpar English on an opposing schools forum.

[ZachTheZip]

Can we please just focus on BG?

[ksu sucks]

#insecurity

I think you're right. I've been considering changing my username for a while now. While Akron/Can't is still a rivalry, OU has some of the most retarded fans I've come across in the MAC. I truly feel sorry for the few reasonable OhioU fans out there, because the overwhelming majority that I've come across(in person and online) were absolute boneheads.