Bodog Bracketology - Get em in now!

[Spearit]

Have 20 of us lined up - Mean as they come.
Yep- We have 20 good cappers to bring in the prize.
I have the bracket filled out for the first round- not sure if they want it all at this time.
Keep in touch here on our picks, strategy, ideas, confusion, rallys and celebration ($10,000)
DEADLINE Thursday 9 AM.

[Spearit]

OK all done!
I realize there will be more upsets than I can throw out- I am taking the Salukas as my best bet to move along on the unheralded page of things.
In the big 4- I have Louisville, Georgetown, Florida and UCLA!!!
I wanted Kansas but felt UCLA had the experience.
Make selections now- because tomorrow- Thursday at 9 am is cut off- all picks must be in- can change throughout the day but locked at 9am tomorrow.

[Spearit]

NCAA Injury Report

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Charles Thomas left early in the first half of the Hogs’ game against Florida with a sprained ankle. The 6-foot-8 forward is the team’s third leading scorer and leading rebounder despite playing just 23.8 minutes per game. His status for Arkansas’ Round 1 game against the USC Trojans is unknown. The Razorbacks are a 1 ½-point underdog.

Kansas Jayhawks forward Darrell Arthur was walking gingerly Monday according to the Kansas City Star. Arthur received a knee to the pelvic bone early in the second half and was limited to just 12 minutes. He is expected to play for Kansas against the winner of Tuesday’s play-in game. Arthur is a key player off the bench for the Jayhawks, averaging 10.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-high 1.4 blocks per game.

Prospects of Marquette Golden Eagles guard Jerel McNeal playing in Tuesday’s game against the Michigan State Spartans went out the window Tuesday night when it was reported that he will miss the entire tournament with a thumb injury. McNeal recently won the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award and is second on the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game. Marquette is a 1 ½-point underdog against MSU.

Starting guard Kyle Shiloh could miss the rest of the postseason for the Nevada Wolf Pack. Shiloh suffered a hamstring injury in Nevada’s March 8 game against Idaho and has missed the last four games. Nevada is 2-2 straight up and 1-3 against the spread since Shiloh went down. Nevada is a 1-point favorite over the Creighton Blue Jays in Round 1.

Stanford Cardinal leading scorer Lawrence Hill received a negative x-ray on his back after leaving Thursday’s game against USC on crutches, according to The Mercury News. Hill will be ready to play in Stanford’s first-round game against the Louisville Cardinals, where Stanford is a 6-point underdog.

Villanova Wildcats guard Mike Nardi is the team’s third leading scorer, and more importantly, a senior leader on the floor. A sprain in his lower left leg limited him to just 13 minutes in Nova’s two conference tournament games and zero points. He is expected to see more time in the Wildcats’ first game against the Kentucky Wildcats after a bone scan on Tuesday came back negative. Villanova is a 1-point favorite.

[weazel079]

good luck with your bracket spearit. I used four different handicapping approaches to come up with 4 different brackets. Now I just got a find the best one to use for the contest.

[Spearit]

Thanx Weazel
More info for your use!

Know Your Seeds

The first step in filling out your bracket is to understand the importance of seeding. Unless you are a complete novice to the religion that is March Madness, you know that in general the better the seed, the better the team. There are of course exceptions to this rule. At times the committee loses its mind, but in general the seeding is a fairly accurate representation of the quality of the teams. Here is how the seeds have performed on a round by round basis over the past 14 years.

First Round

The following are the won-loss records of the better seeds in Round One (1992-2006):

Seed Record Win Pct
1 60-0 100%
2 57-3 95%
3 52-8 87%
4 48-12 80%
5 38-22 63%
6 45-15 75%
7 33-27 55%
8 27-33 45%


Number one seeds are 60-0 over the past 14 years and a perfect 88-0 since the tournament went to 64 teams in 1985
Number two seeds are nearly as strong, winning 95% of first round games since 1992
The #13 and #14 seeds have had some success in the first round, winning 20 of 120 games (17%).
In the past two years, a total of four 13/14 seeds have won in the first round.
Interestingly, #12 seeds have performed better than #11 seeds (37% vs 25%)
The #7 and #8 seeds are 60-60 against the #9 and #10 seeds since 1992