NCAA Bracketology - The Week of February 18th

[Dan]

Illinois a 6 seed in Yahoo.

Illinois fans, if the Madness started today have 6-seeded Illini playing winner of 11-seed play-in game between 'Nova/Ole Miss. Come far.

http://twitter.com/YahooNoise

Bracket Big Board: Rite of spring, Izzo has Spartans vying for top seed

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-...20--ncaab.html

[Illwinsagain]

http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm

In case anyone wants to see all of them at once. Illinois, averaging about 9 across 77 brackets.

[AHSIllini32]

How in the world we are averaging a 9 seed is beyond me.

[FeelYourPaign]

Originally Posted by Illwinsagain

http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm

In case anyone wants to see all of them at once. Illinois, averaging about 9 across 77 brackets.

Love that site. Very convenient.
Results about same as last week. Think that last week we were not the best of the 9 seeds, but that is by memory, so not sure of it. Very encouraging to hold serve. Maybe this week we move up a bit.

[Dan]

Selection committee faces interesting cases come March

Illinois: I went into the week thinking that Illinois was in the field but at best a No. 9 or No. 10 seed. As we kept comparing the Fighting Illini, though, it was clear they had a better resume than most teams. They have five top-50 wins, with all five coming against the top 30. There are road wins (Gonzaga and Minnesota), neutral wins (Butler) and marquee victories (Indiana). Given their solid computer numbers, it's easy to overlook the losses to Northwestern and Purdue.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...ses-come-march

[justsomedude]

Originally Posted by Illwinsagain

http://bracketproject.50webs.com/matrix.htm

In case anyone wants to see all of them at once. Illinois, averaging about 9 across 77 brackets.

I think a lot of people who do brackets do them like AP rankings. They take a deep look once, and then move teams based on what they did that week instead of taking a deep, side by side, look at 64 teams every week.

I think the process last week showed when you take a fresh look at resumes, the Illinois wins jump out and you have a top 20 - 25 seed. Fortunately, the committee will be taking a fresh look. Let's hope that the guys add a few more big wins and no more bad losses by that time.

[Illwinsagain]

Originally Posted by justsomedude

I think a lot of people who do brackets do them like AP rankings. They take a deep look once, and then move teams based on what they did that week instead of taking a deep, side by side, look at 64 teams every week.

I think the process last week showed when you take a fresh look at resumes, the Illinois wins jump out and you have a top 20 - 25 seed. Fortunately, the committee will be taking a fresh look. Let's hope that the guys add a few more big wins and no more bad losses by that time.

the other issue with the ranking is that not all of the sites have updated.

[KansasIllini]

Originally Posted by AHSIllini32

How in the world we are averaging a 9 seed is beyond me.

On that site, many of the mock brackets that are used for the average are from last week, dating back to 2/11. If you look at the 20 mocks on there that are from today, we're averaging a 7 seed (6.9 average). So, as we already knew, the moral of the story is that we're doing nothing but trending upwards at the moment.

The fact that we're even debating and arguing about potential seeds right now just makes me . Yes, that should be the expectation every year, but considering the past few seasons, this is a very, very pleasant step.

[Calvin]

A 6 seed seems entirely reasonable to me, and I think we could realistically pass another seed or two worth of teams to get to a 4 seed if things break well for us. Still a lot of basketball left to play when you're talking seeding. If we wind up a 6, I'll still be happy.

[MA Illini]

I was just about to post the same thing. Just glancing at the list, it is obvious that the brackets that were last updated on 2/11 don't have us seeded as high. They average a 9.5 seed. I suspect most of those brackets will get updated tomorrow and we will have a better snapshot of where we sits on a boarder scale. I think finishing 8-10 or 9-9 IN B1G will put us as 6 or 7 seed provided we win 1 BTT game. I think it will be hard to get to the 5 line unless we beat OSU or UM. At Iowa is a tough game but I dont think it will buy us much seeding-wise. It will be just another top 100 win which are great for getting into the tournament, but nothing that will bump our seeding significantly.

Go Illini!

Originally Posted by KansasIllini

On that site, many of the mock brackets that are used for the average are from last week, dating back to 2/11. If you look at the 20 mocks on there that are from today, we're averaging a 7 seed (6.9 average). So, as we already knew, the moral of the story is that we're doing nothing but trending upwards at the moment.

The fact that we're even debating and arguing about potential seeds right now just makes me . Yes, that should be the expectation every year, but considering the past few seasons, this is a very, very pleasant step.

[WizardBill]

Originally Posted by MA Illini

I was just about to post the same thing. Just glancing at the list, it is obvious that the brackets that were last updated on 2/11 don't have us seeded as high. They average a 9.5 seed. I suspect most of those brackets will get updated tomorrow and we will have a better snapshot of where we sits on a boarder scale. I think finishing 8-10 or 9-9 IN B1G will put us as 6 or 7 seed provided we win 1 BTT game. I think it will be hard to get to the 5 line unless we beat OSU or UM. At Iowa is a tough game but I dont think it will buy us much seeding-wise. It will be just another top 100 win which are great for getting into the tournament, but nothing that will bump our seeding significantly.

Go Illini!

We just beat the #1 team in the country. We are playing great. We should win at least one if not both of those games. Pessimism is still supreme here, I see.

I expect to win 5 or 6 more BEFORE the BTT.

[IlliniBob89]

Originally Posted by WizardBill

We just beat the #1 team in the country. We are playing great. We should win at least one if not both of those games. Pessimism is still supreme here, I see.

I expect to win 5 or 6 more BEFORE the BTT.

Love the optimism, hate the math skills. There are 5 games left before the BTT.

[OrangeAndBlue217]

Originally Posted by IlliniBob89

Love the optimism, hate the math skills. There are 5 games left before the BTT.

Hes trying to get a late schedule game with KSU in so we can tack on another easy win!

[JSpence]

And the biggest news : Illinois is now projected as IN on every collected bracket projection.

Kentucky has dropped three spots and is now projected as a 6 here:
http://nropp.com/archive.html

[illinifan3923]

Originally Posted by JSpence

And the biggest news : Illinois is now projected as IN on every collected bracket projection.

Kentucky has dropped three spots and is now projected as a 6 here:
http://nropp.com/archive.html

Do they even watch college basketball?

[jrichisamazing]

Can some one on here explain to me how the committee decides which team's get to play where? What are our chances of being in the Midwest?

[AHSIllini32]

Originally Posted by KansasIllini

On that site, many of the mock brackets that are used for the average are from last week, dating back to 2/11. If you look at the 20 mocks on there that are from today, we're averaging a 7 seed (6.9 average). So, as we already knew, the moral of the story is that we're doing nothing but trending upwards at the moment.

The fact that we're even debating and arguing about potential seeds right now just makes me . Yes, that should be the expectation every year, but considering the past few seasons, this is a very, very pleasant step.

That makes more sense. I just really wanna stay away from the 8/9 line.

[AHSIllini32]

Originally Posted by WizardBill

We just beat the #1 team in the country. We are playing great. We should win at least one if not both of those games. Pessimism is still supreme here, I see.

I expect to win 5 or 6 more BEFORE the BTT.

As much as I love the optimism, let's not label others as being pessimistic for not expecting to win if not both of those tough games on the road. I think we have a legit chance in each one especially OSU, but there's a fine line between optimism and insanity.

[peace davids]

Originally Posted by illinifan3923

Do they even watch college basketball?

Apparently not. They must be looking at BPI.

39 Kentucky SEC 4 76.5 In - Projected At Large
55 Illinois Big Ten 8 72.0 Out

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ype/tournament

Obviously, we are way too excited with this low of a BPI

[JoeJ]

I am not worried about seeding, I will be happy if we are in. Besides, if we get an 8/9, Let's win that game. Then bring on IN again. We beat them once. Or the Zags! I am thrilled we turned this around, after last year. Gives us all much more faith in JG. Let's beat PSU first . My son in law went there. Never here the end of it if we lose that.

Cheched out the aggregate, we are 7.7 seed.

GO ILLINI!

[UofIChE06]

Originally Posted by JoeJ

I am not worried about seeding, I will be happy if we are in. Besides, if we get an 8/9, Let's win that game. Then bring on IN again. We beat them once. Or the Zags! I am thrilled we turned this around, after last year. Gives us all much more faith in JG. Let's beat PSU first . My son in law went there. Never here the end of it if we lose that.

Cheched out the aggregate, we are 7.7 seed.

GO ILLINI!

This actually brings up a good point. The committee typically avoids rematches in the first two rounds at pretty much any cost. Should MSU, IU, and/or Gonzaga end up on the 1 line, you can pretty much guarantee UI won't be an 8/9.

This really shouldn't matter since their trajectory is for a higher seed than that right now anyways. I still believe a 3 seed is in play. Can really see anywhere from a 3-7 depending on how the last 5 play out and the BTT. Win 4 of 5 and go 2-1 in the BTT and a 3/4 wouldn't be a big surprise. 3-2 and 1-1 and I see a 5/6.

[AHSIllini32]

Originally Posted by peace davids

Apparently not. They must be looking at BPI.

39 Kentucky SEC 4 76.5 In - Projected At Large
55 Illinois Big Ten 8 72.0 Out

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ype/tournament

Obviously, we are way too excited with this low of a BPI

The BPI is a crock of you-know-what.

[orangeBlue]

Originally Posted by Calvin

A 6 seed seems entirely reasonable to me, and I think we could realistically pass another seed or two worth of teams to get to a 4 seed if things break well for us. Still a lot of basketball left to play when you're talking seeding. If we wind up a 6, I'll still be happy.

Still a lot of basketball to play.

Exactly right

at Iowa, at Michigan and at Ohio State, all potentially winnable and loseable games.

Iowa dismantled Minn pretty easily at home, would not be suprised if their zone gives us problems.

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

Originally Posted by jrichisamazing

Can some one on here explain to me how the committee decides which team's get to play where? What are our chances of being in the Midwest?

They try to keep the protected seeds (1-4) close to home if possible. Obviously they can't do that for all the seeds, but your chances are better if you're a top seed.

[FeelYourPaign]

Originally Posted by orangeBlue

Still a lot of basketball to play.

Exactly right

at Iowa, at Michigan and at Ohio State, all potentially winnable and loseable games.

Iowa dismantled Minn pretty easily at home, would not be suprised if their zone gives us problems.

I am disappointed to see that Mich does not play during the week this week.

They've been sort of bad (for a top 10 team) lately. I've seen what JG can do with an extra few days of practice and I assume that the days off will benefit scUM, who will be just that much tougher. Oh well, once we take care of PSU, hope we have enough time to be ready for the Blue.