Bracketology Dec. 12th.

[Wbbfan1]

Bracketology with Charlie Creme

Lady Vols are not in the tournament in Charlie's 1st Bracket. They're listed as one of the 1st four out.

Texas is not listed at all.

 

[tonehill68]

That Stockton regin would be interesting if that happened. Tennessee being in the First Four out is strictly based on the "Tennessee" name only.

 

[ochoopsfan]

List shows 9 Pac-12 teams in. Actually Cremes brackets list 10 teams in, with only Wash. State and Arizona not in it.
Saragin RPI has 11 of the Pac 12 teams in top 42, only Arizona is in the 90's.

Perfect time for UConn to open a campus out West and join the Pac 12.

 

[Kaizen]

Tenn is not in the bracket? Must be first time in history???

 

[bags27]

Really like USC buried in #2 in Stockton, but nervous about UCLA #2 in ours. Season is over: We are doomed!

 

[Carnac]

Two observations that jump out here,
1. Notre Dame is on UConn's side of the bracket (somebody has to be).
2. USF is NOT in UConn's regional (finally).

Tenn not making the tournament is one of many reasons why DeShields will not return for her senior year.

 

[VAMike23]

K-State will end up being a #4 or possibly a #5, I'll bet, rather than a #7.

They have size, including a skilled big in Lewis, and pesky talented guard with real moxie in Wesemann, and a pretty darned good 3-2 zone. Lastly, they are resilient, as evidenced by how they bounced back after a rough 1st quarter barrage.

These things alone make them Top 15-20, and on top of that I think their coaching is quite good. Their matchups with Baylor will be very interesting.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Charlie explains his Bracket: Tennessee, Texas absent from latest Bracketology

 

[CocoHusky]

Unbelievable & somewhere in MD I picture Brenda saying see- "Cupcakes are good for you".

" So how does a game that features two teams with a combined 13 McDonald's All Americans on the rosters fail to include at least one that is considered tournament-worthy at this point?
The easy answer: record."

Tennessee, Texas absent from latest Bracketology

 

[EricLA]

I think it's unlikely that Tenn misses the tourney. If you look at their schedule, it's likely the end the year 19-8 or 18-9. Either of those records would be good enough to get "Tennessee" into the tourney. It would not be enough to get most other teams in, but i would not be surprised to see Tenn "spring" an upset on Florida or Kentucky.

 

[SCspur]

Even though I wouldn't mind being a 2 seed I think we will eventually be a 1 seed. My only concern is if the committee ships us across the US to Stockton instead of Lexington. Other teams have more to worry about in their conference then we do IMO. ND could potentially lose to Florida St and Louisville as well as Miami and dark horse Virginia Tech. Maryland lost to Oh St twice last year and could slip again. Our RPI is stronger than both. I now ND is closer in proximity to Lexington than SC but in 2015 we received to best location and 2016 ND received it, I think it's time to return the favor to SC in 2017 and place us in Lexington and maybe send ND to OKC or Stockton lol.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Would take that draw any day. Big matchup issue teams like Baylor, FSU, perhaps SC and Maryland on the other side.

 

[mudcat]

I think it's unlikely that Tenn misses the tourney. If you look at their schedule, it's likely the end the year 19-8 or 18-9. Either of those records would be good enough to get "Tennessee" into the tourney. It would not be enough to get most other teams in, but i would not be surprised to see Tenn "spring" an upset on Florida or Kentucky.

I'll be surprised if TN gets more than 16 wins this season, based on how they've played so far this year (with that said, their best performance so far has been against TX, despite the loss).

 

[bballnut90]

I think it's unlikely that Tenn misses the tourney. If you look at their schedule, it's likely the end the year 19-8 or 18-9. Either of those records would be good enough to get "Tennessee" into the tourney. It would not be enough to get most other teams in, but i would not be surprised to see Tenn "spring" an upset on Florida or Kentucky.

I've love if Tennessee finished 19-8 or 18-9, but right now they're 4-4 right now and still have games against:
Stanford (home)
Kentucky (home)
Mississippi State (home)
Notre Dame (home)
Florida (away)
South Carolina (away)
Florida (home)
Mississippi State (away)

I don't see Tennessee going better than 2-6. All are top 25 teams, and Tennessee has shown nothing to prove they can hang with a top 25 team.

On top of that, Tennessee still has to face an SEC schedule filled with teams capable of beating them. Vandy, A&M, and Auburn are all capable of beating the Vols. Tennessee's only wins this year have been:
-Navy (7-3, RPI of 85)
-James Madison (5-3, RPI of 140)
-Tennessee State (2-5, RPI of 189)
-ETSU (6-5, RPI of 277)

RPI isn't significant at this point in the year, but it just provides a quick framework of how Tennessee's only wins are against extremely weak competition. They have the talent to turn it around, but their lack of depth and poor communication do not paint a bright picture. If they can knock of Stanford or Kentucky at home, I may change my tune, but it appears that Holly may take this team to a new low.

 

[Txhoopsalot]

Texas has 3 easy home games before Christmas to put the team at 6-4 to start the conference season. Then the pressure will be on. 2 games against Baylor. Tough games against WVU. I am really concerned about KSU and ISU. Texas has not been defending the three well and has rarely had teams that execute well against zone defenses. Oh, and the Horns play FSU in the middle of it all. Hope the team really did learn from the early losses!

 

[EricLA]

I've love if Tennessee finished 19-8 or 18-9, but right now they're 4-4 right now and still have games against:
Stanford (home)
Kentucky (home)
Mississippi State (home)
Notre Dame (home)
Florida (away)
South Carolina (away)
Florida (home)
Mississippi State (away)

I don't see Tennessee going better than 2-6. All are top 25 teams, and Tennessee has shown nothing to prove they can hang with a top 25 team.

On top of that, Tennessee still has to face an SEC schedule filled with teams capable of beating them. Vandy, A&M, and Auburn are all capable of beating the Vols. Tennessee's only wins this year have been:
-Navy (7-3, RPI of 85)
-James Madison (5-3, RPI of 140)
-Tennessee State (2-5, RPI of 189)
-ETSU (6-5, RPI of 277)

RPI isn't significant at this point in the year, but it just provides a quick framework of how Tennessee's only wins are against extremely weak competition. They have the talent to turn it around, but their lack of depth and poor communication do not paint a bright picture. If they can knock of Stanford or Kentucky at home, I may change my tune, but it appears that Holly may take this team to a new low.

Just my $.02 FWIW... and bear in mind Tennessee is the team I hate most in all of sports, but I say this with no malice - just trying to be objective.

They have a remarkable ability to play down to their competition (not a good thing). With Texas, they played "up" to the competition - cutting a 15 point deficit and actually taking the lead at one point. I agree with you that they have not shown they can string together even 2 consecutive well played quarters, a mystifying "achievement" given the talent Holly has to work with. Still, they only lost to UT by 5, and that was with good contributions from Nared and Deshields. If Russell can give equal contributions in a game (all 3), I could see them taking out "lesser" teams like Kentucky or Florida, and certainly aTm, Vandy and Auburn as you noted.

Florida IMHO should drop out of the rankings with the 2 losses since the last poll. But they enter the cream puff portion of their schedule and should enter conference play at 10-3. They have had a lot of "close" games against average competition. I think Tenn takes them out. Kentucky - not sure what to make of them. Played L'ville very close. But lost to unranked Colorado and ASU.

I do think Tenn will "steal" a win or 2 against ranked teams, but you are also correct - they could drop a mystifying game against an unranked team like they did vs. PSU or Va Tech (who is ranked now). Has Tennessee ever been dead last in the SEC? They are at the moment...

 

[Plebe]

Even though I wouldn't mind being a 2 seed I think we will eventually be a 1 seed. My only concern is if the committee ships us across the US to Stockton instead of Lexington. Other teams have more to worry about in their conference then we do IMO. ND could potentially lose to Florida St and Louisville as well as Miami and dark horse Virginia Tech. Maryland lost to Oh St twice last year and could slip again. Our RPI is stronger than both. I now ND is closer in proximity to Lexington than SC but in 2015 we received to best location and 2016 ND received it, I think it's time to return the favor to SC in 2017 and place us in Lexington and maybe send ND to OKC or Stockton lol.

ND only plays FSU and Louisville once each, and at home. And no disrespect to Virginia Tech, but unless another 4 or 5 ND players get injured, they ain't losing to VT. Tennessee missed about 20 layups against them and still just barely lost.

 

[wallman]

Who would have predicted Duke in the bracket and Tenn not. Texas should be in there.

 

[bballnut90]

Just my $.02 FWIW... and bear in mind Tennessee is the team I hate most in all of sports, but I say this with no malice - just trying to be objective.

They have a remarkable ability to play down to their competition (not a good thing). With Texas, they played "up" to the competition - cutting a 15 point deficit and actually taking the lead at one point. I agree with you that they have not shown they can string together even 2 consecutive well played quarters, a mystifying "achievement" given the talent Holly has to work with. Still, they only lost to UT by 5, and that was with good contributions from Nared and Deshields. If Russell can give equal contributions in a game (all 3), I could see them taking out "lesser" teams like Kentucky or Florida, and certainly aTm, Vandy and Auburn as you noted.

Florida IMHO should drop out of the rankings with the 2 losses since the last poll. But they enter the cream puff portion of their schedule and should enter conference play at 10-3. They have had a lot of "close" games against average competition. I think Tenn takes them out. Kentucky - not sure what to make of them. Played L'ville very close. But lost to unranked Colorado and ASU.

I do think Tenn will "steal" a win or 2 against ranked teams, but you are also correct - they could drop a mystifying game against an unranked team like they did vs. PSU or Va Tech (who is ranked now). Has Tennessee ever been dead last in the SEC? They are at the moment...

Strangely enough, I think you're taking the more optimistic approach for Tennessee while I'm taking the pessimistic one. I think Tennessee can beat some ranked teams (ex. Florida/Kentucky/even Mississippi State at home), but they'll also likely lose to some downright bad teams, especially on the road. At this point, I thinking Tennessee will likely find a way to sneak in, but it wouldn't shock me if they miss it either. Never thought I'd see the day where this would be a legitimate concern.

 

[Carnac]

Unbelievable & somewhere in MD I picture Brenda saying see- "Cupcakes are good for you".

" So how does a game that features two teams with a combined 13 McDonald's All Americans on the rosters fail to include at least one that is considered tournament-worthy at this point?
The easy answer: record."

Tennessee, Texas absent from latest Bracketology

From the believe it or not files: Some folks can injest large amounts of "sugar", and not experience any weight gain. So too can some women's college basketball programs like Baylor did last year. They played a very weak, OOC schedule laced with an extremely high caloric content, and still made the tournament with a #1 seed. Don't look over your glasses at Brenda too hard. She's only doing what other programs have done/are doing with some degree of success. If Kim did it (and got away with it), She can too. And Mulkey knows exactly what she's doing. The "end" justifies the means.

 

[SCspur]

ND only plays FSU and Louisville once each, and at home. And no disrespect to Virginia Tech, but unless another 4 or 5 ND players get injured, they ain't losing to VT. Tennessee missed about 20 layups against them and still just barely lost.

That is true but looking at the way Florida st played UCONN and how UCONN beat ND at home I think the seminoles could upset the Irish. They also could potentially face in the ACC tournament and upset there as well. Duke could upset as the game is in Durham and I could easily see the blue devils winning in that matchup at home. ND hasn't been playing well even against DePaul, they don't really strike fear in me as a team and Maryland is young I think they go as far as SWK and BJ are willing to take them because everyone else is young and inexperienced and the NCAA tourney is a whole different ball game.

 

[triaddukefan]

That is true but looking at the way Florida st played UCONN and how UCONN beat ND at home I think the seminoles could upset the Irish. They also could potentially face in the ACC tournament and upset there as well. Duke could upset as the game is in Durham and I could easily see the blue devils winning in that matchup at home. ND hasn't been playing well even against DePaul, they don't really strike fear in me as a team and Maryland is young I think they go as far as SWK and BJ are willing to take them because everyone else is young and inexperienced and the NCAA tourney is a whole different ball game.

Duke only plays ND once this year. . . In South bend near the end of January .

 

[bizarro aj]

This guy doesn't know about picking the brackets. Whats his reason that his final 4 last year had SC and ND and they both didn't make it. I wouldn't put much stock in anything he does as he's clueless.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

This guy doesn't know about picking the brackets. Whats his reason that his final 4 last year had SC and ND and they both didn't make it. I wouldn't put much stock in anything he does as he's clueless.

So UConn and SC, after both had monster regular seasons, were upset before the Final Four...and that proves he does not know anything, because is not Nostradamus?

As an aside, before the tournament, here were the predictions:

Final Four
Creme: UConn, Louisville, South Carolina, Notre Dame
Hays: UConn, Oregon State, South Carolina, Maryland
Voepel: UConn, Baylor, South Carolina, Notre Dame

All three had SC. Two had ND.
And all had UConn winning

 

[bballnut90]

This guy doesn't know about picking the brackets. Whats his reason that his final 4 last year had SC and ND and they both didn't make it. I wouldn't put much stock in anything he does as he's clueless.

Pretty sure about 90% of women's basketball fans had Notre Dame and SC going to the Final Four. Both teams were 1 loss schools, losing against Connecticut and dominated the rest of their opponents.