Bracketbuster

[valpotx]

I am guessing that we will get Ohio, and I would like that matchup as well.  It would give us another NBA prospect to beat :-) (GA Southern's Ferguson, Murray State's Canaan, and Ohio's Cooper)

[bbtds]

Illinois State is 12-10, but 3-7 in the MVC.  They will NOT be placed against the HL leader, regardless of RPI

I keep hearing these statements about how ESPN would never do this or that with certain teams in the bracketbuster. The truth is that ESPN is dropping the bracketbuster because they can no longer get the match-ups that they truly want. So many good teams are dropping out of the bracketbuster that it has become particularly hard to match teams that are equivalent in rank. This is the last year of the bracketbuster and Valpo may not get the opponent they want so we'll have to make the best of it and win the added game to our schedule.

[valpo84]

Ohio presents a terrific match up. Storylines-- #maction v Horizon leaders. NBA prospects and conference POY candidates Broekhoff and DJ Cooper, FAMILY (Drews,  Steinbrechers).

[valpo84]

Also under family, Nick Kellogg, son of Clark. And both teams with a bunch of transfers, including from SLU.

[VULB#62]

ESPN reports that tonight's Ohio-EMU game has been postponed because a gunman on campus has not yet been apprehended.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8898057/ohio-bobcats-vs-emu-eagles-game-postponed-due-armed-individual-campus

[historyman]

Akron, Belmont, Indiana St, Northern Iowa, St. Mary's and Wichita St

Tue-
Indiana St  68, Wichita State 55
N.Iowa 51, Evansville 54

Two of the teams lost. Of course Wichita St & Indiana St are two of the teams Valpo is chasing.

[vuweathernerd]

Akron, Belmont, Indiana St, Northern Iowa, St. Mary's and Wichita St

Tue-
Indiana St  68, Wichita State 55
N.Iowa 51, Evansville 54

Two of the teams lost. Of course Wichita St & Indiana St are two of the teams Valpo is chasing.

certainly isn't helped by the fact that we lost tonight

[valpocleveland]

On a positive we will probably now play a team with a higher RPI (isn't that what we wanted...). Might have even been the same team if selected this past Monday but now our RPI is lower because of the loss :/

[agibson]

We're not doing as badly in the Bracketbuster as I'd feared... yet.  At RPI 92 we seem to currently be #7 on the home side.  Ahead of where we were two weeks ago.  But, there's a fair chance UIC will pass us on the home side.  And, Detroit will almost certainly go ahead of us on the away side (RPI 71 currently!).

If we somehow lose to Milwaukee, we could be in jeopardy - the 13th slot will likely be somewhere in the 105-115 range. 

I'm just hoping we stay away from ESPNU and their blackouts.

[valpo84]

Andy Katz with his proposed schedule. Folks, rpis are only one factor. Intriguing TV matchups are also important. He has Valpo hosting Pacific. Not sure why they would give us another west coast team, but makes for a nice road trip next season and can maybe pair with a bigger program for a longer trip.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/8903127/indiana-state-sycamores-hope-bracketbrusters-help-march-goals-college-basketball

[valpotx]

I have said all along that it is not just RPI as well.  If we are leading the HL, we will receive a better opponent than Detroit IMO

[vu72]

If we get Pacific I'll be disappointed. First, they are well behind us in the Sagarin's (we are at 94 and they are at 138) plus the trip distance is silly.  There has to be a better regional team for us.  No doubt the loss at YSU may have knocked us out of a tv game.

[valpo84]

Agree that Pacific is not ideal. If I could flip a few, I'd have Detroit at Indiana State, Ohio at Wichita St, and ND State or SD State v us. The problem is I don't like that return game because you can't pair it with much (Minnesota maybe). The problem this year are the away teams. We will have a TV game basesd on Katz' rankings, which network and what time depend on us defeating UWM tonight convincingly and another good crowd showing off the atmosphere (so we need all the students out and to be "rowdy.") (With LMU last year and Pacific proposed this year, does ESPN want us to start playing out west or think we are out west since we are west of the Appalachia. (SI))

[agibson]

On Valpo's win over Milwaukee Valpo's RPI falls to... 98 (from 91).  Milwaukee's RPI... held steady at 311 on the loss.

UIC at 94 and will sit ahead of us on the home team roster, unless they fail to hold court against Cleveland State tomorrow.

[talksalot]

I just updated the rankings based on the Nolan RPI, with all Friday night games final

Home Teams
1  Belmont #15  (Home to Tennessee Tech #270)
2  Wichita State #24  (@ Northern Iowa #109)
3  Indiana State #38  (@ Drake #147
4  St Mary's #57 (Home to Portland #228)
5  Akron #67  (Home to Ohio #97)                 Could Flip/Flop with St. Marys
6  Western Michigan #85  (Home to Buffalo #292)  Could Drop below Valpo with loss
7  UIC #95   (Home to Cleveland State #211)    Could Drop below Valpo with loss, UIC Already Played Iona this year (and beat them)
8  Valpo #98   Done Until Pairings
9  Murray State #99  (Home to Austin Peay #341)   Will drop regardless
10 Tennessee State #100  Done until Pairings   
11 Niagara #101  (Home to Loyola-MD #122)    May pass Valpo with win
12 Oral Roberts #102  (Home to Southeastern Louisiana #216)

Now, the Away Teams
1 Creighton  #30    (Home to Bradley #161) Tied with Wichita State 8-2, first in the Valley
2 North Dakota State #65  (Home to South Dakota #237)  8-2 Tied with SD State and WIU,
3 South Dakota State #66  (Home to UMKC #273)  8-2 Tied with ND State and WIU
4 Detroit #70  Done until Pairings
5 Stephen F Austin #72  (@ Lamar #322)  8-1, Tied with Oral Roberts for lead in Southland
6 Eastern Kentucky #91  (@ Southeast Missouri State #241)  6-3 in OVC-East, 3rd place
7 Iona #96  (@ Canisius #115)  Gaels are 8-3 in conference 2nd place to Niagara
8 Ohio #97  (@ Akron @67)  6-0 in MidAmEast; Akron is 7-0 in MidAmEast
9 Northwestern State #106  (Sunday @ McNeese State #242)
10 Evansville #107  (@ Missouri State #213)  6-4, 4th place in Missouri Valley
11 Denver #111  (@ Texas State #268)  8-2, T-2 in Western Athletic Conf
12 Pacific #114  (Home to UC Davis #248)  6-2, 2nd place in Big West behing LBState

So, Now you have a reason to watch the scroll-bar on ESPN tomorrow all day !!!  To be Honest, I really never thought the Northwest State game at McNeese State would really ever matter to me.

[valpotx]

I imagine that we will get a better opponent than UIC regardless of RPI.  I don't want to play Iona again, so I am hoping for beating another MAC team in Ohio!

[valpocleveland]

I added overall records against Div 1 opponents to your list. I think the Horizon will get 2 TV games (us and Detroit). Ohio might be paired with a higher RPI team especially if they beat Akron today. Eastern Kentucky is a possible opponent that people have not been talking about.

Home Teams
1  Belmont #15 16-4 (Home to Tennessee Tech #270)
2  Wichita State #24 19-3 (@ Northern Iowa #109)
3  Indiana State #38 13-7 (@ Drake #147
4  St Mary's #57 17-4 (Home to Portland #228)
5  Akron #67 15-4 (Home to Ohio #97)                 Could Flip/Flop with St. Marys
6  Western Michigan #85 12-7 (Home to Buffalo #292)  Could Drop below Valpo with loss
7  UIC #95 13-8 (Home to Cleveland State #211)    Could Drop below Valpo with loss, UIC Already Played Iona this year (and beat them)
8  Valpo #98 16-6  Done Until Pairings
9  Murray State #99 13-5 (Home to Austin Peay #341)   Will drop regardless
10 Tennessee State #100 11-10 Done until Pairings   
11 Niagara #101 14-8 (Home to Loyola-MD #122)    May pass Valpo with win
12 Oral Roberts #102 12-8 (Home to Southeastern Louisiana #216)

Now, the Away Teams
1 Creighton  #30 19-3 (Home to Bradley #161) Tied with Wichita State 8-2, first in the Valley
2 North Dakota State #65 15-5 (Home to South Dakota #237)  8-2 Tied with SD State and WIU,
3 South Dakota State #66 14-6 (Home to UMKC #273)  8-2 Tied with ND State and WIU
4 Detroit #70 13-8 Done until Pairings
5 Stephen F Austin #72 13-2 (@ Lamar #322)  8-1, Tied with Oral Roberts for lead in Southland
6 Eastern Kentucky #91 15-6 (@ Southeast Missouri State #241)  6-3 in OVC-East, 3rd place
7 Iona #96 14-8 (@ Canisius #115)  Gaels are 8-3 in conference 2nd place to Niagara
8 Ohio #97 15-5 (@ Akron @67)  6-0 in MidAmEast; Akron is 7-0 in MidAmEast
9 Northwestern State #106 9-6 (Sunday @ McNeese State #242)
10 Evansville #107 12-9 (@ Missouri State #213)  6-4, 4th place in Missouri Valley
11 Denver #111 12-8 (@ Texas State #268)  8-2, T-2 in Western Athletic Conf
12 Pacific #114 10-8 (Home to UC Davis #248)  6-2, 2nd place in Big West behing LBState

[talksalot]

LIke I said, Murray State, winners in OT vs. Austin Peay... RPI drops from 99 to 107... to about 15th place in home games...

Adam Amin had that game on the U, a few toooo many mentions of the 117th meeting between the two schools, but a nice comeback for the racers.  Now, if only the ramblers could come back against the phoenix...GB up 8 with 14 to play...

[talksalot]

oh, and that win, moved Valpo from 98 up to 97.  Might be fun to watch the Nolan today with virtually every team in playing...

I'm still thinking Valpo get's Iona and UIC gets Ohio, Detroit already Played Akron (and beat them)...

[zvillehaze]

I'm hoping for Northwestern State, just so I have a reason to wear my favorite shirt.  Vic the Demon is my favorite mascot in college!   

[agibson]

A few games final.  Others in progress.  RPI's and records updated, below.  I didn't check to see if any #13's etc. may have moved up.  (I suppose we'll want at _least_ 13 teams home and away?  Maybe more like 18? If we want to cover the TV matchups).

Home Teams
1  Belmont #15 16-4 (Home to Tennessee Tech #270)
2  Wichita State #25 19-3 (@ Northern Iowa #109)
3  Indiana State #46 13-7 (@ Drake #147)
4  St Mary's #58 17-4 (Home to Portland #228)
5  Akron #66 15-4 (Home to Ohio #97)                 Could Flip/Flop with St. Marys
6  Western Michigan #86 12-7 (Home to Buffalo #292)  Could Drop below Valpo with loss
7  UIC #91 13-8 (Home to Cleveland State #211)    Could Drop below Valpo with loss, UIC Already Played Iona this year (and beat them)
8  Valpo #96 16-6  Done Until Pairings
9 Tennessee State #98 11-10 Done until Pairings   
10 Oral Roberts #100 12-8 (Home to Southeastern Louisiana #216)
11?  Murray State #111 14-5 (beat Austin Peay #341)   
12? Niagara #113 14-9 (lost to Loyola-MD #122)   

Now, the Away Teams
1 Creighton  #28 20-3 (Beat Bradley #161) Tied with Wichita State 8-2, first in the Valley
2 North Dakota State #62 15-5 (Home to South Dakota #237)  8-2 Tied with SD State and WIU,
3 South Dakota State #64 14-6 (Home to UMKC #273)  8-2 Tied with ND State and WIU
4 Detroit #71 13-8 Done until Pairings
5 Stephen F Austin #74 13-2 (@ Lamar #322)  8-1, Tied with Oral Roberts for lead in Southland
6 Eastern Kentucky #88 15-6 (@ Southeast Missouri State #241)  6-3 in OVC-East, 3rd place
7 Ohio #92 15-5 (@ Akron #67)  6-0 in MidAmEast; Akron is 7-0 in MidAmEast
8 Iona #94 14-8 (@ Canisius #115)  Gaels are 8-3 in conference 2nd place to Niagara
9 Northwestern State #106 9-6 (Sunday @ McNeese State #242)
10 Denver #107 13-8 (beat Texas State #268)  9-2, 2nd place in Western Athletic Conf
11 Pacific #113 10-8 (Home to UC Davis #248)  6-2, 2nd place in Big West behing LBState
12? Evansville #129 12-10 (lost to Missouri State #213)  6-5, 4th place in Missouri Valley

[agibson]

I think the Horizon will get 2 TV games (us and Detroit).

We might get a better game than UIC, maybe.  But, I don't think they'll get left out.  Certainly not if they beat Cleveland State.  Three TV games for us.

[agibson]

A couple more final.  Northern Iowa's win over Wichita State pushes them... past Valpo.

Loyola (MD)'s win over Niagara brought them onto the list too.  And I added a few more teams on each side (maybe still not list of everybody who's going to get a TV game, depending on wins and losses...). 

Home Teams
1  Belmont #16 16-4 (Home to Tennessee Tech #270)
2  Wichita State #27 19-4 (lost to Northern Iowa #109), 8-3, second in the valley
3  Indiana State #41 13-7 (@ Drake #147)
4  Akron #56 16-4 (beat Ohio #97), 8-0 in MidAmEast
5  St Mary's #60 17-4 (Home to Portland #228)
6  Western Michigan #85 12-7 (Home to Buffalo #292)  Could Drop below Valpo with loss
7 Northern Iowa #91 11-11 (beat Wichita State) 5-6, tied for 5th in Valley
8  UIC #93 13-8 (Home to Cleveland State #211)    Could Drop below Valpo with loss, UIC Already Played Iona this year (and beat them)
9  Valpo #96 16-6  Done Until Pairings
10 Tennessee State #101 11-10 Done until Pairings   
11 Oral Roberts #102 12-8 (Home to Southeastern Louisiana #216)
12 Long Beach State #110 10-8 (Home to Cal Poly #200, in progress)
13 Niagara #111 14-9 (lost to Loyola-MD)   
14 Vermont #113 14-7 (done until pairings)
15 Murray State #114 14-5 (beat Austin Peay #341)   
16 Davidson #117 13-7 (at Wofford #259, in progress)
17 Utah State #125 14-5 (at Seattle University #283)
18 Western Illinois #133 15-5 (done until pairings), 9-2 tied with SD State for Summit 1st


Now, the Away Teams
1 Creighton  #28 20-3 (Beat Bradley #161) 9-2, first in the Valley
2 North Dakota State #63 15-5 (Home to South Dakota #237)  8-2 could tie with SD State and WIU,
3 South Dakota State #67 15-6 (beat UMKC #273)  9-2 Tied with WIU for Summit 1st
4 Detroit #72 13-8 Done until Pairings
5 Stephen F Austin #75 13-2 (@ Lamar #322)  8-1, Tied with Oral Roberts for lead in Southland
6 Eastern Kentucky #88 15-6 (@ Southeast Missouri State #241)  6-3 in OVC-East, 3rd place
7 Ohio #92 15-6 (lost at Akron #67)  6-1 in MidAmEast; Akron is 8-0 in MidAmEast
8 Iona #94 14-8 (@ Canisius #115)  Gaels are 8-3 in conference 2nd place to Niagara
9 Loyola (MD) #106 16-18 (beat Niagara)
10 Northwestern State #107 9-6 (Sunday @ McNeese State #242)
11 Denver #108 13-8 (beat Texas State #268)  9-2, 2nd place in Western Athletic Conf
12 Pacific #112 10-8 (Home to UC Davis #248)  6-2, 2nd place in Big West behing LBState
13 Canisius #115 14-8 (home to Iona #94, in progess)
14 Montana #118 13-4 (at Eastern Washington #325)
15 Savannah State #122 10-9 (done until pairings)
16 Evansville #128 12-10 (lost to Missouri State #213)  6-5, 4th place in Missouri Valley
17 Weber State #136 12-5 (at Northern Colorado #321)
18 Illinois State #140 13-10 (done until pairings)

[agibson]

Amazing that some teams can have played only 15 D1 games, and other 23.

[talksalot]

and the sun rises... and the numbers shifted a little bit... following the late night west coast games... Using Nolan... we did pass Northern Iowa, Valpo #93, UNI #94.

Using the Nolan RPIs... here are the matchups...

1   Belmont   Hosting   Creighton   
2   Wichita State   Hosting   North Dakota State   
3   Indiana State   Hosting   South Dakota State   
4   Akron   Hosting   Detroit   
5   St. Mary's (Calif.)   Hosting   Stephen F. Austin   
6   Western Michigan   Hosting   Eastern Kentucky   
7   Valparaiso   Hosting   Ohio   
8   Northern Iowa   Hosting   Iona   
9   Tennessee State   Hosting   Loyola (Md.)   
10   Oral Roberts   Hosting   Northwestern State   SAME CONFERENCE -
11   Long Beach State   Hosting   Denver   
12   Vermont   Hosting   Canisius   

AND THE OTHER HORIZONE LEAGUE TEAMS
16   UIC   Hosting   Evansville   
20   Fairfield   Hosting   Green Bay   
22   Youngstown State   Hosting   Bradley   
24   Wright State   Hosting   Idaho   
27   Toledo   Hosting   Cleveland State   
29   Loyola (Ill.)   Hosting   Cal State Northridge   
56   Eastern Washington   Hosting   Milwaukee   

AND THE WORST TWO TEAMS ... BOTH FROM THE "Big South" Conference...so they can't matchup...
61   Presbyterian #343 Hosting Longwood  #344 

Using the Sagarins...  Very interesting shifts at the top of the poll!

1   St. Mary's (Calif.)   Hosting   Creighton   (St Marys Sagarin 42, RPI 59)
2   Belmont   Hosting   Detroit   (Belmont's Sagarin is 45, RPI 19)
3   Wichita State   Hosting   North Dakota State   
4   Akron   Hosting   Ohio                            SAME CONFERENCE - NEED TO SHIFT
5   Northern Iowa   Hosting   Denver   
6   Valparaiso   Hosting   Stephen F. Austin   
7   Indiana State   Hosting   Illinois State   SAME CONFERENCE - NEED TO SHIFT
8   Davidson   Hosting   South Dakota State   
9   Murray State   Hosting   Iona   
10   Utah State   Hosting   Weber State   
11   Western Michigan   Hosting   Green Bay   
12   Long Beach State   Hosting   Evansville   

19   Youngstown State   Hosting   UC Irvine   
21   Wright State   Hosting   Charleston Southern   
24   Loyola (Ill.)   Hosting   Idaho   
29   UIC   Hosting   Cal State Northridge   
30   Buffalo   Hosting   Cleveland State   
48   Northern Illinois   Hosting   Milwaukee   

61   Lamar   Hosting   Longwood