College Basketball

Bracketology: Edition 1 – November 30, 2016

After a 2015-16 season hiatus, The Nickel Dimer is back! Due to life and work complications, I unfortunately had to take off the 2015-16 season from blogging about college basketball and bracketology. Not so this year, as I’m excited to blog, forecast, and tweet about college basketball all season long.

Let’s kick this off with my first bracket projection for the 2017 NCAA Tournament. I thought this window after Feast Week and all of the holiday tournament but before the end of non-conference play was a good time to drop the initial bracket. This first bracket edition is tough, because it’s an undefined combination of preseason expectations, early season results, and early season analytics (Kenpom, Sagarin, etc.). Because of that, there will be some teams that are seeded higher than their resume would deem worthy.

Think West Virginia and Purdue. Those two squads do not currently have 5-seed resumes as the committee would view it, but based on their talent, advanced metrics, and what we all thought of them preseason, I have them as 5-seeds.

You can think the inverse with Baylor. Will Baylor end up as a 2-seed? I don’t know, I guess they theoretically could. It would surprise me. I’d expect them to fall into that 3-5 seed range. But based on their current resume and the quality of the teams they have beaten, I think they are worthy of a 2-seed.

So I guess you could say I am rewarding teams for having obviously strong resumes thus far, but not punishing teams we all thought would be good if they have not yet had the opportunity that Baylor has had to record quality wins.

Let’s move on to the first bracket projection for the 2016-17 season. Each bracketology edition, I will post the projected bracket with match-ups, pod locations, and all the other things a bracket would have. I will also post the seed list 1-68 as well as the breakdown of bids by conference (for conferences that receive multiple bids). Here we go.

The Bracket

bracketology-nov-30

Seed List

  • 1 – Kentucky, Villanova, North Carolina, Kansas
  • 2 – Duke, Virginia, Baylor, Xavier
  • 3 – Louisville, Gonzaga, Indiana, Creighton
  • 4 – Wisconsin, UCLA, Butler, Iowa State
  • 5 – West Virginia, Florida, Arizona, Purdue
  • 6 – Syracuse, St. Mary’s, Notre Dame, Oregon
  • 7 – South Carolina, Michigan, Wichita State, Cincinnati
  • 8 – Miami (FL), Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rhode Island
  • 9 – Virginia Tech, USC, Michigan State, VCU
  • 10 – Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Colorado
  • 11 – Texas Tech, Dayton, Florida State, Seton Hall, SMU, Northwestern
  • 12 – San Diego State, Valparaiso, Chattanooga, UNC Wilmington
  • 13 – Ohio, Princeton, Monmouth, UT-Arlington
  • 14 – UAB, Florida Gulf Coast, Belmont, Lehigh
  • 15 – North Dakota State, UC Irvine, CSU Bakersfield, Winthrop
  • 16 – Vermont, North Dakota, Wagner, North Carolina Central, Texas Southern, Stephen F. Austin
  • Last 4 IN: Florida State, Seton Hall, SMU, Northwestern
  • First 4 OUT: Clemson, California, TCU, Stanford
  • Next 4 OUT: Maryland, Kansas State, Utah, NC State

Bids by Conference

  • ACC: 10
  • Big 12: 7
  • Big Ten: 7
  • Big East: 5
  • Pac-12: 5
  • SEC: 4
  • Atlantic 10: 3
  • American: 2
  • West Coast: 2

This bracket will be added to the Bracket Matrix when the site does its next update. Always check it out to see how The Nickel Dimer compares.

Bracketology – March 15, 2015 – FINAL EDITION

Here is our final bracket before the bracket is revealed in about an hour. I’d like to personally (sarcastically) thank the Big Ten and American conferences for both holding their tournament finals far too late in the day. It sure does make trying to complete the final bracket before the Selection Show starts quite difficult. But nonetheless, the final bracket is below!

Below is the link to the bracket, as well as the usual seed list, bubble teams, and conference breakdown.

Bracket – March 15 – Final Edition (PDF Link – CLICK HERE)

  • 1 – Kentucky, Villanova, Wisconsin, Duke
  • 2 – Virginia, Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas
  • 3 – Iowa State, Notre Dame, Maryland, Baylor
  • 4 – Oklahoma, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Louisville
  • 5 – West Virginia, Utah, Arkansas, SMU
  • 6 – Wichita State, Providence, Georgetown, Michigan State
  • 7 – VCU, Butler, San Diego State, Oregon
  • 8 – Xavier, Iowa, Dayton, Cincinnati
  • 9 – St. John’s, Ohio State, Davidson, NC State
  • 10 – Oklahoma State, Colorado State, Texas, BYU
  • 11 – Georgia, Boise State, LSU, Purdue, Ole Miss, Temple
  • 12 – Wofford, Buffalo, Stephen F. Austin, Valparaiso
  • 13 – Wyoming, Harvard, Georgia State, Eastern Washington
  • 14 – UC Irvine, Northeastern, North Dakota State, Belmont
  • 15 – New Mexico State, UAB, Lafayette, Albany
  • 16 – Texas Southern, Coastal Carolina, North Florida, Manhattan, Robert Morris, Delaware State
  • Last 4 IN: LSU, Purdue, Ole Miss, Temple
  • First 4 OUT: Indiana, UCLA, Miami (FL), Old Dominion
  • Next 4 OUT: Tulsa, Richmond, Murray State, Iona

Breakdown by Conference:

  • Big 12: 7
  • Big Ten: 6
  • Big East: 6
  • ACC: 6
  • SEC: 5
  • Mountain West: 4
  • Pac-12: 3
  • Atlantic 10: 3
  • American: 3
  • Missouri Valley: 2
  • West Coast: 2

As always, check out The Bracket Matrix after the tourney field is revealed to see how we score compared to the rest of the matrix.

Bracketology – March 15, 2015 – Early Morning Edition

Here’s our new bracket following Championship Saturday, which was just a superb day of games.

If you read our post from Saturday morning, you’ll notice a big change on that 1-seed line. Despite my writeup in that post, I’ve switched Duke with Virginia and made the Blue Devils the final 1 seed. I still am very unsure about this, and it’s entirely possible I could switch back to Virginia tomorrow. It’s that close between the two teams. I moved Duke up to a 1-seed based on their big wins, specifically their road wins. I think those wins will be overwhelmingly impressive to the committee. Or I’ll completely change my mind again on a night of sleep and think Virginia should be the final 1. We’ll see!

Here’s the bracket. Below is the link to the bracket, as well as the usual seed list, bubble teams, and conference breakdown.

Bracket – March 15 – Early Morning Edition (PDF Link – CLICK HERE)

  • 1 – Kentucky, Villanova, Wisconsin, Duke
  • 2 – Virginia, Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas
  • 3 – Iowa State, Notre Dame, Maryland, Oklahoma
  • 4 – Baylor, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Louisville
  • 5 – West Virginia, Utah, Arkansas, SMU
  • 6 – Wichita State, Providence, Georgetown, Michigan State
  • 7 – Butler, VCU, San Diego State, Oregon
  • 8 – Xavier, St. John’s, Dayton, Iowa
  • 9 – Cincinnati, Ohio State, Davidson, NC State
  • 10 – Oklahoma State, Colorado State, BYU, Texas
  • 11 – Boise State, LSU, Purdue, Georgia, Ole Miss, Temple
  • 12 – Wofford, Buffalo, Stephen F. Austin, Valparaiso
  • 13 – Wyoming, Harvard, Georgia State, Eastern Washington
  • 14 – UC Irvine, Northeastern, North Dakota State, Belmont
  • 15 – New Mexico State, UAB, Lafayette, Albany
  • 16 – Texas Southern, Coastal Carolina, North Florida, Manhattan, Robert Morris, Delaware State
  • Last 4 IN: Purdue, Georgia, Ole Miss, Temple
  • First 4 OUT: Indiana, UCLA, Miami (FL), Old Dominion
  • Next 4 OUT: Tulsa, Richmond, Murray State, Iona

Breakdown by Conference:

  • Big 12: 7
  • Big Ten: 6
  • Big East: 6
  • ACC: 6
  • SEC: 5
  • Mountain West: 4
  • Pac-12: 3
  • Atlantic 10: 3
  • American: 3
  • Missouri Valley: 2
  • West Coast: 2

As always, check out The Bracket Matrix to see all the brackets across the web heading into Selection Sunday tonight.

Bracketology – March 14, 2015

Here’s our new bracket following Friday’s amazing day of games.

For the first time in a couple of weeks, we have some real re-shuffling in the bracket due to losses by Virginia and Duke. The fight for the last two 2 seeds should be compelling. Kentucky is obviously a lock, and at this point, it seems like Villanova is as well as long as they take care of Xavier on Saturday night in Madison Square Garden. But those final two spots on the 1 line? It seems like it’ll come down to Wisconsin, Virginia, Duke, and Arizona. If Wisconsin wins the Big Ten tournament, I believe they are a lock for the 1 line.

Then it’ll come down to Arizona vs. the ACC duo of Virginia and Duke. Arizona’s 3 losses to teams outside of the top 100 may be the difference here. If that’s the case, the Virginia vs. Duke argument is virtually a coinflip in my mind. Duke has better wins; Virginia has better losses. Duke has a tougher SOS, but Virginia has the regular season ACC crown. The committee has said in the past that winning your conference does not matter, but in the past, they have continually put conference champs above those who did not. So until they prove me otherwise, I have Virginia as that last 1-seed.

Below is the link to our bracket, as well as the usual seed list, bubble teams, and conference breakdown.

Bracket – March 14 (PDF Link – CLICK HERE)

  • 1 – Kentucky, Villanova, Wisconsin, Virginia
  • 2 – Duke, Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas
  • 3 – Maryland, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma
  • 4 – North Carolina, Baylor, Northern Iowa, Louisville
  • 5 – West Virginia, Utah, Arkansas, SMU
  • 6 – Wichita State, Georgetown, Butler, Providence
  • 7 – VCU, Michigan State, San Diego State, Oregon
  • 8 – St. John’s, Xavier, Dayton, Iowa
  • 9 – Cincinnati, Ohio State, Davidson, Colorado State
  • 10 – NC State, Oklahoma State, BYU, Texas
  • 11 – Purdue, Georgia, Boise State, Temple, LSU
  • 12 – Indiana, Ole Miss, Wofford, Buffalo, Stephen F. Austin
  • 13 – Valparaiso, Harvard, Georgia State, Eastern Washington
  • 14 – UC Irvine, Northeastern, North Dakota State, Belmont
  • 15 – New Mexico State, UAB, Lafayette, Albany
  • 16 – Texas Southern, Coastal Carolina, North Florida, Manhattan, Robert Morris, Delaware State
  • Last 4 IN: Temple, LSU, Indiana, Ole Miss
  • First 4 OUT: UCLA, Miami (FL), Tulsa, Old Dominion
  • Next 4 OUT: Richmond, Murray State, Iona, Texas A&M

Breakdown by Conference:

  • Big 12: 7
  • Big Ten: 7
  • Big East: 6
  • ACC: 6
  • SEC: 5
  • Pac-12: 3
  • Mountain West: 3
  • Atlantic 10: 3
  • American: 3
  • Missouri Valley: 2
  • West Coast: 2

As always, check out The Bracket Matrix to see all the brackets across the web heading into Selection Sunday.

Bracketology – March 13, 2015

Here’s our new bracket following Thursday night’s games and heading into Friday’s slate.

Below is the link to our bracket, as well as the usual seed list, bubble teams, and conference breakdown.

Bracket – March 13 (PDF Link – CLICK HERE)

  • 1 – Kentucky, Virginia, Duke, Villanova
  • 2 – Arizona, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Kansas
  • 3 – Maryland, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Baylor
  • 4 – Notre Dame, Northern Iowa, North Carolina, Louisville
  • 5 – Utah, West Virginia, Arkansas, SMU
  • 6 – Wichita State, Georgetown, Butler, Providence
  • 7 – VCU, St. John’s, Michigan State, San Diego State
  • 8 – Cincinnati, Iowa, Ohio State, Dayton
  • 9 – Colorado State, Oregon, Xavier, LSU
  • 10 – Davidson, Oklahoma State, NC State, Georgia
  • 11 – Boise State, BTU, Texas, Purdue, Temple
  • 12 – Indiana, UCLA, Wofford, Buffalo, Stephen F. Austin
  • 13 – Louisiana Tech, Valparaiso, Harvard, UC Davis
  • 14 – Georgia State, Eastern Washington, North Dakota State, North Carolina Central
  • 15 – Northeastern, Belmont, New Mexico State, Lafayette
  • 16 – Albany, Texas Southern, Coastal Carolina, North Florida, Manhattan, Robert Morris
  • Last 4 IN: Purdue, Temple, Indiana, UCLA
  • First 4 OUT: Ole Miss, Miami (FL), Tulsa, Richmond
  • Next 4 OUT: Old Dominion, Murray State, Iona, Stanford

Breakdown by Conference:

  • Big 12: 7
  • Big Ten: 7
  • Big East: 6
  • ACC: 6
  • SEC: 4
  • Pac-12: 4
  • Mountain West: 3
  • Atlantic 10: 3
  • American: 3
  • Missouri Valley: 2
  • West Coast: 2

As always, check out The Bracket Matrix to see brackets all across the web during the week heading up to Selection Sunday.