College basketball is well underway this season and as we hit the conference season, many will play the role of Bracketologist predicting the field of 68. Tim Krueger, co-host of the Bluejay Banter radio show, is one such fan. Krueger has conducted his own bracket projections for years, even before ESPN’s Joe Lunardi gave such a practice the term Bracketology.
Leading up to Selection Sunday, Krueger will provide White & Blue Review his updated bracket predictions. Bluejay Banter can be heard every Monday from 6-7 PM on 590 AM, Omaha’s ESPN Radio, with podcasts of the show available via www.am590espnradio.com and the Bluejay Underground A/V room
The bracket as of 1/17/2012:
| EAST | SOUTH | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Syracuse* | 1-Duke* | |
| 16-Stony Brook/Texas Southern** | 16-LIU/Nor. ST** | |
| Pittsburgh (Mar. 15-17) | Greensboro (Mar. 16-18) | |
| 8-Virginia | 8-Purdue | |
| 9-Temple | 9-Memphis* | |
| 4-Michigan | 4-Uconn | |
| 13-Davidson* | 13-Akron* | |
| Columbus (Mar. 16-18) | Pittsburgh (Mar. 15-17) | |
| 5-Alabama | 5-Kansas St | |
| 12-Colorado St/Florida St | 12-Stanford/NC State | |
| 3-Missouri | 3-Georgetown | |
| 14-Nevada* | 14-Belmont* | |
| Portland (Mar. 15-17) | Nashville (Mar. 16-18) | |
| 6-Creighton* | 6-Mississippi St | |
| 11-BYU | 11-Harvard* | |
| 7-Louisville | 7-San Diego State | |
| 10-Murray St* | 10-Xavier* | |
| Columbus (Mar. 16-18) | Louisville (Mar. 15-17) | |
| 2-Michigan State* | 2-Ohio St | |
| 15-Middle Tenn St* | 15-Bucknell* |
| MIDWEST | WEST | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Kentucky* | 1-Baylor* | |
| 16-Texas Arlington* | 16-Mississippi Valley St* | |
| Louisville (Mar. 15-17) | Albuquerque (Mar. 15-17) | |
| 8-Southern Mississippi | 8-California* | |
| 9-Dayton | 9-West Virginia | |
| 4-Illinois | 4-UNLV* | |
| 13-LBSU* | 13-Iona* | |
| Portland (Mar. 15-17) | Albuquerque (Mar. 15-17) | |
| 5-St Marys* | 5-Gonzaga | |
| 12-Texas | 12-Northwestern | |
| 3-Marquette | 3-Indiana | |
| 14-Oral Roberts* | 14-UW-Milwaukee* | |
| Omaha (Mar. 15-17) | Nashville (Mar. 16-18) | |
| 6-Vanderbilt | 6-Seton Hall | |
| 11-New Mexico | 11-St. Louis | |
| 7-Wisconsin | 7-Florida | |
| 10-Wichita St | 10-Marshall | |
| Nashville (Mar. 16-18) | Greensboro (Mar. 16-18) | |
| 2-Kansas | 2-North Carolina | |
| 15-Weber St* | 15-UNC Ashville* |
* Indicate Conference Automatic Bid
Krueger’s notes on the Bracket:
Last four in: Stanford, Colorado State, Florida State, North Carolina State
First four out: Cincinnati, Oregon, Maryland, UCF
Next four out: Minnesota, Iowa St, Virginia Tech, Arizona
Frankly there are about four or five teams that don’t belong in this field but we gotta have 68 teams. Cincinnati is just one big win away from not only being in the field but being about a 10 seed. It shows how weak the bottom of the bracket is. Also, you could take the three through five seeds and juggle them around–not much separation there either.
As far as the Jays go I know a 6 seed is lower than most fans want. However other than the A-10, it is rare that a mid major is seeded above their RPI ranking (yes rpi is only a small part of the equation but it seems to work out that way every year.) To get a four seed the Jays would nearly have to run the table.