Son of Bracket Musings

The more I look at the Tournament S-curve, the AP poll and the RPI list, the stranger it becomes. But I am not sure what is strange exactly. Given the "new" RPI gives alot of weight to road wins and kills you for home losses, what does this say?

1. Kansas got the shaft. I was wondering how UConn got to be a 2 seed and why - despite being ranked 13/14 in the AP/Coaches' Polls - most of the Expert Brackets I have seen (mine included) had UConn over Kansas. Four of KU's non-tournament losses came on the road and they played in a much deeper conference then Illinois or UNC. And their loss in the Big 12 was to OSU, another underranked team according to the RPI.

2. Washington is in way over their head. With only 2 teams in the AP Poll, how does the PAC 10 get a 1 seed? To my point above, the Big 12 deserved a #1 seed - to either Kansas or OSU.

3. Louisville got no respect. Blame it on the weak non-conference schedule and the (even) weaker CUSA. The Big East will lend more credibility to Louisville next year.

Finally, one last list. Jeff Saragin's Pure Points Predictor:

1. UNC
2. Duke
3. Illinois
4. OSU
5. Louisville
6. Wake
7. Florida
8. Washington
9. Oklahoma
10. Kentucky
11. Michigan State
12. Kansas
13. UConn
14. GT
15. Alabama
16. Villanova

(BTW, Gonzaga is ranked 35 in Saragin's Pure Points.) I would note that the difference between numbers 1 and 16 in Saragin's PP is 11.12 points, with the difference betwen 1 and 2 being 4.34! In other words, it's UNC's title to lose.

The polls and Saragin's PP each take into account the whole year. The Tournament Committee seem to really look at the last 10 games.

As always, it will be fun to watch.