March Madness
March has begun, now begin the madness: Today's RPI Rankings
My predictions for #1 seeds are KU, Illinois, Wake, & UNC
Sched SS Wtd
Rank Team W L Strg Rk RPI
1. Kansas 21 4 .6569 1 .6775
2. Illinois 28 0 .5570 54 .6644
3. Oklahoma St. 19 5 .6285 2 .6580
4. Wake Forest 24 4 .5872 13 .6560
5. Boston College 23 2 .5628 44 .6540
6. Washington 22 4 .5870 14 .6536
7. North Carolina 24 3 .5701 34 .6519
8. Duke 21 4 .6029 8 .6514
9. Arizona 24 5 .5911 12 .6423
10. Gonzaga 22 4 .5751 26 .6398
11. Kentucky 22 3 .5571 53 .6363
12. Villanova 19 6 .6134 4 .6273
13. Southern Illinois 23 6 .5735 28 .6228
14. Alabama 20 6 .5810 18 .6188
15. Wisconsin 18 7 .5915 10 .6167
16. Michigan St. 20 5 .5507 63 .6138
17. Cincinnati 22 6 .5855 16 .6136
18. Oklahoma 21 6 .5706 33 .6119
19. Utah 22 4 .5300 99 .6109
20. Connecticut 19 6 .5776 24 .6092
21. Syracuse 24 5 .5380 86 .6049
22. Pacific 23 2 .5006 163 .6049
23. Vermont 21 6 .5359 90 .6048
24. Louisville 22 4 .5335 95 .6018
25. Miami-OH 16 8 .5665 39 .5989
26. Charlotte 21 4 .5079 142 .5951
27. LSU 17 8 .5782 23 .5945
28. Nevada 21 5 .5351 93 .5926
29. St. Mary's 22 7 .5313 97 .5904
30. Mississippi St. 20 8 .5471 67 .5894
31. UCLA 16 9 .5826 17 .5891
32. Florida 18 7 .5569 55 .5867
33. Texas Tech 17 8 .5626 45 .5861
34. Wichita St. 19 7 .5229 117 .5850
35. Stanford 16 10 .5682 36 .5830
36. Texas 18 8 .5458 69 .5807
37. Holy Cross 22 5 .5047 152 .5807
38. Old Dominion 24 5 .4844 198 .5803
39. Akron 16 8 .5442 73 .5787
40. Maryland 16 10 .6036 7 .5779
41. DePaul 18 7 .5242 112 .5777
42. Buffalo 18 7 .5201 122 .5772
43. Northern Iowa 19 9 .5403 80 .5751
44. Arkansas Ltl Rock 15 9 .5552 60 .5738
45. Georgia Tech 16 9 .5661 41 .5738
46. Kent St. 16 10 .5578 51 .5732
47. Minnesota 19 9 .5556 59 .5711
48. Davidson 17 7 .5387 84 .5707
49. Northeastern 19 8 .5270 104 .5693
50. Notre Dame 16 9 .5581 50 .5689
51. UTEP 21 7 .5069 145 .5686
52. Louisiana-Lafayette 16 10 .5382 85 .5686
53. West Virginia 18 8 .5238 115 .5671
54. Pennsylvania 17 8 .5058 147 .5654
55. Boston University 20 7 .4935 177 .5650
56. Western Kentucky 19 7 .4852 195 .5638
57. Arizona St. 18 11 .5646 43 .5635
58. UW-Milwaukee 20 5 .4585 259 .5615
59. Virginia 13 12 .6060 5 .5615
60. George Washington 18 6 .4878 187 .5611
61. Houston 18 10 .5256 109 .5608
62. Marquette 17 9 .5557 58 .5605
63. Miami-FL 16 10 .5763 25 .5596
64. Pittsburgh 18 7 .5207 120 .5595
My predictions for #1 seeds are KU, Illinois, Wake, & UNC
Sched SS Wtd
Rank Team W L Strg Rk RPI
1. Kansas 21 4 .6569 1 .6775
2. Illinois 28 0 .5570 54 .6644
3. Oklahoma St. 19 5 .6285 2 .6580
4. Wake Forest 24 4 .5872 13 .6560
5. Boston College 23 2 .5628 44 .6540
6. Washington 22 4 .5870 14 .6536
7. North Carolina 24 3 .5701 34 .6519
8. Duke 21 4 .6029 8 .6514
9. Arizona 24 5 .5911 12 .6423
10. Gonzaga 22 4 .5751 26 .6398
11. Kentucky 22 3 .5571 53 .6363
12. Villanova 19 6 .6134 4 .6273
13. Southern Illinois 23 6 .5735 28 .6228
14. Alabama 20 6 .5810 18 .6188
15. Wisconsin 18 7 .5915 10 .6167
16. Michigan St. 20 5 .5507 63 .6138
17. Cincinnati 22 6 .5855 16 .6136
18. Oklahoma 21 6 .5706 33 .6119
19. Utah 22 4 .5300 99 .6109
20. Connecticut 19 6 .5776 24 .6092
21. Syracuse 24 5 .5380 86 .6049
22. Pacific 23 2 .5006 163 .6049
23. Vermont 21 6 .5359 90 .6048
24. Louisville 22 4 .5335 95 .6018
25. Miami-OH 16 8 .5665 39 .5989
26. Charlotte 21 4 .5079 142 .5951
27. LSU 17 8 .5782 23 .5945
28. Nevada 21 5 .5351 93 .5926
29. St. Mary's 22 7 .5313 97 .5904
30. Mississippi St. 20 8 .5471 67 .5894
31. UCLA 16 9 .5826 17 .5891
32. Florida 18 7 .5569 55 .5867
33. Texas Tech 17 8 .5626 45 .5861
34. Wichita St. 19 7 .5229 117 .5850
35. Stanford 16 10 .5682 36 .5830
36. Texas 18 8 .5458 69 .5807
37. Holy Cross 22 5 .5047 152 .5807
38. Old Dominion 24 5 .4844 198 .5803
39. Akron 16 8 .5442 73 .5787
40. Maryland 16 10 .6036 7 .5779
41. DePaul 18 7 .5242 112 .5777
42. Buffalo 18 7 .5201 122 .5772
43. Northern Iowa 19 9 .5403 80 .5751
44. Arkansas Ltl Rock 15 9 .5552 60 .5738
45. Georgia Tech 16 9 .5661 41 .5738
46. Kent St. 16 10 .5578 51 .5732
47. Minnesota 19 9 .5556 59 .5711
48. Davidson 17 7 .5387 84 .5707
49. Northeastern 19 8 .5270 104 .5693
50. Notre Dame 16 9 .5581 50 .5689
51. UTEP 21 7 .5069 145 .5686
52. Louisiana-Lafayette 16 10 .5382 85 .5686
53. West Virginia 18 8 .5238 115 .5671
54. Pennsylvania 17 8 .5058 147 .5654
55. Boston University 20 7 .4935 177 .5650
56. Western Kentucky 19 7 .4852 195 .5638
57. Arizona St. 18 11 .5646 43 .5635
58. UW-Milwaukee 20 5 .4585 259 .5615
59. Virginia 13 12 .6060 5 .5615
60. George Washington 18 6 .4878 187 .5611
61. Houston 18 10 .5256 109 .5608
62. Marquette 17 9 .5557 58 .5605
63. Miami-FL 16 10 .5763 25 .5596
64. Pittsburgh 18 7 .5207 120 .5595
posted by DEW at 3/01/2005 09:48:00 AM
12 Comments:
Joe Lunardi's bracketology predicts the #1s as Illinois, Kentucky, Wake and UNC. Kansas gets the #2 spot in KY's region after 3 straight losses in the Big 12. The toughest team in that region other than the Cats would be the 3 seed, Louisville.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology
With all due respect to KU and their annual February/March collapse (lost 3 of the last 4), if Kentucky wins out, there is no chance Kentucky is not a #1 seed (seriously...not even one tenth of one percentage point chance)
Here's what they would have going for them:
Top 2-3 in both polls
27-3 overall
Regular season SEC Champion
SEC Tournament Champion
I think KU fans are putting a little too much stock in the RPI...let's analyze:
RPI Rankings:
Miami of Ohio - 25
St. Mary's - 29
Holy Cross - 37
Old Dominion - 38
Akron - 39
Pittsburgh - 64
That's the same RANKED Pittsburgh team who has won @ UCONN, beaten Syracuse twice, and just thrashed Boston College at BC by 22 points. The RPI sure makes sense.
BTW - Who is this "TIM" guy? I know a Timothy, but no Tim.
CBS Sportsline & CNNSI both have KU as a number 1 seed.
I know the SEC is weak, but UK will not win out, and any chance of a #1 seeding goes out the door. Their RPI is too weak. You couldn't put them ahead of UNC or KU, which beat UK or put them ahead of Illinois, and Wake is also a consensus #1 seed (and like KU, Illnois has the RPI to back it up).
DEW - I don't think you understand the meaning of the word "consensus"
I have to agree with TC and anonymous #1 on this one. First, Kentucky is currently a #1 seed. There is no doubt about that, although I don't think they have a very good offense. Also, ESPN, cbssportsline, and foxsports have kentucky as a #1. I don't know how that's not "consensus"
Kansas lost 3 out of its last 4 games. RPI is not as important as recent history. Plus, the Pittsburgh comment is valid and completely debunks DEW's RPI claim.
DEW may be drunk with Kansas ambitions now that BTK is captured and Wichita is no longer the vortex of evil it once was.
Perhaps, but how could anybody be proud of the fact that it took the local authorities 30 years to apprehend a dog-catcher?
For all you SEC bashers...
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?page=2005bubblewatch
To summarize, the SEC and the Big East are the only two conferences with 5 "locks" for the tourney.
Even A Moron Should Know 'Cats Own SEC
It is like those recurring nightmares of being naked in public, forgetting to study for your final exam or running in slow motion from a monster -- unable to hide, incapable of screaming for help.
Except my nightmare is real and it occurs every time Florida is about to play Kentucky in basketball. The monster is UK's Big Blue Basketball Nation, which, without fail, fires off a flurry of e-mails and letters just to remind me of how stupid I once was. And I can't run, can't hide, can't scream. I brought it all upon myself.
"Bianchi, it's that time again," wrote one UK fan this week as the Wildcats prepared for Sunday's Southeastern Conference showdown at Florida. "In case you forgot, I have copied the article you wrote in February of 2003 and included it at the bottom of this letter. I've been reading newspapers a long time, but I've never read any column that was so wrong."
There are other similar acknowledgements -- many others -- but I won't bore you with the specifics. The theme is constant: I am a moron.
See, I wrote this column two years ago on the day the Gators were voted No. 1 in The Associated Press media poll for the first time in school history. The gist of the article was how Florida had overtaken Kentucky as the premier basketball program in the SEC.
"Big Blue Nation, once the only basketball superpower in the SEC, now finds itself feeling a little like Great Britain," I wrote. "The basketball bluebloods now are taking orders from those horrid savages they used to rule. Once upon a time, they were the top 'Cats, but now they are trying to keep up with the big dogs."
Two nights later, Kentucky beat Florida by 15 points, and the Gators haven't beaten the Wildcats since. Kentucky has won 43 SEC titles and seven national championships; Florida has won three SEC titles and no national championships.
For the record, I was wrong, OK? Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Normally, this is when I recite the line from one of my old editors -- "Doctors bury their mistakes, we print ours" -- but what's the use? This mea culpa would never work with Kentucky basketball fans because Kentucky basketball fans are the most unwavering and unforgiving in all of sports.
They make over-the-top Florida football fans seem under control. They make obnoxious New York Yankees fans seem adorable. Even actress Ashley Judd, Kentucky's most famous fan, becomes arrogant when it comes to her beloved 'Cats.
A few years ago, when she was offered a University of North Carolina jacket on a chilly movie set, Judd replied: "I'd just as soon freeze to death."
When Rick Pitino was UK's coach, parents would send him sonograms of their unborn children so he could bless their embryonic "future 'Cats." Pitino once discovered a UK fan rummaging through his trash searching for mementos. And during the run for the 1997 national championship, a doctor who happened to be an avid Kentucky fan actually Fed-Exed Pitino a list of strategic tips to employ during the championship game.
Pitino wrote back: "Doctor, thanks for your help. After the season, I want to sit down and have a serious talk about how you're conducting surgery."
And speaking of surgery, who will ever forget the disturbing story of the lawsuit filed two years ago against gynecologist Dr. James M. Guiler who, when performing a hysterectomy on a woman, cauterized the initials of his alma mater -- "UK" -- on her uterus.
Well, at least my writings weren't nearly as idiotic as his.
Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
TC, good to see you jinxed the 'Cats. Keep it up.
Ouch, it happened again.
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