November 29, 2006

5 Things - 11/29/06

Last night was the slighty delayed real start of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. After North Carolina State came back on Michigan, and then held them off on Monday night, the real action got started. A lot of close games later and one slight blow out, and the ACC has a 4-2 lead in the contest, meaning they are well on their way to their 8th win in the series.

At the Indiana-Duke game last night, some creative Blue Devil fans painted their stomachs with "ACC>Big 10". Creative, though not as daring as when you are outside doing the same thing in 30 degree weather at a football game. Still in honor of the Duke students, we celebrate today's 5 things with a look at inequalities:

1. #1: ACC>Big 10, but only slightly - I thought I would start with the one that everyone will be thinking of. There are still 5 games to play, but you could almost make the case that the ACC is favored in all of them. And even if they aren't, the close games are all on the ACC home court, which should make things better for them. The margin between the conferences is closing. When this contest first started, there was no challenge for the ACC. Now, other than Wisconsin taking out Florida State by 15, every other game was less than a 10 point victory. The sum total of the scores gives a +3 point advantage to the ACC. That is down from a +21 margin in the first year. Tonight's games should be just as exciting as last night, and I look forward to the Ohio State - UNC game as the capper.
2. #2: Auburn > Nicholls State - Going into last night's games, Nicholls State was the worst team in the MRI. Auburn, though, needed overtime to squeak out a five point win. This doesn't say much for Auburn's chances of finishing in the top half of the SEC this season.
3. #3: Florida >> Southern - I don't think it was too much of a surprise that Florida won its game against Southern University. What was shocking was the score: 83-27! Southern was able to get double digits in both halves but this was a rout that we normally only see in women's basketball. The Gators put up 83 without Corey Brewer who is out indefinitely with mono. I had mono last year. It isn't fun. It could be a while before we see him again at top form. Just how bad was it for Southern? The leading scorer on the Gators was Marreese Speights, with 12 points. Speights is usually lucky to see the court for double digit minutes and yet turned in a double double against the Jaguars, who are now 0-6.
4. #4: UMass > Savannah State - Massachusetts is not what it was when John Calipari was the coach there. And there will never be a greater post game show than when they played Temple and John Chaney came barging in after Calipari. However, they had no trouble with lowly Savannah State on Tuesday. Savannah State pumped up their record by playing a number of non-D-I teams to start the season. They even got two wins against D-I teams. Things however are reverting back to form for the Tigers. They have dropped four straight including last night, and are headed back down the MRI towards the bottom ranks. The good news for them at this point? They still have a positive MRI score.
5. #5: Furman > Vanderbilt?? - Trust me, I didn't believe it either. But prior to last night's games, I was entering the MRI's picks on FanIQ, and that is what I saw. Furman was going to beat Vandy according to the bucket of chips in front of me. It was only a 51.48% chance, but it was better than half. And Furman did just that, beating Vanderbilt in Vandy. Honestly, this is the only one of five games in that 50-50 range that the computer has gotten correct over the first two days of tracking performance. However, that was sure one to get right. And obviously, at 50-50, that was not the biggest upset of the year in the computer's eyes. That belongs to Md.-Eastern Shore, who defeated Stony Brook at Stony Brook last night, 64-58. The computer is off to a 73.42% start this season, which is better than its lifetime average of 72%

That's it for 5 Things. If you have any tips from the day of basketball, be sure to send them on.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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November 23, 2006

5 Things - 11/23/06

Today's Five Things? 5 More reasons why pre-season rankings are silly.




So without further ado, 5 Things:

1. Reason #1: North Carolina - A team featuring as many young players as North Carolina was bound to lose games early. That would happen no matter how talented those players are together. That is part of the reason why I didn't have them #2 in my Sweet 16. Pittsburgh had the older, more experienced team, and therefore was in better position to do well. Of course, North Carolina might just be the #2 team in the country this year, but it is more likely that as the pre-ACC season goes on, we will see them falter, especially against more experienced squads like Gonzaga.
2. Reason #2: Gonzaga - I can't remember that far back, but this might be the first time in the last six years that Gonzaga did not make the pre-season rankings. Although they are constantly replacing the parts, the whole seems to succeed each season. Gonzaga deserved at least to be in the #20-#25 range, just based on talent returning and the ability to win under coach Mark Few. The Zags showed that again on Wednesday night, taking down what will now be former #2, North Carolina.
3. Reason #3: Boston College - The Eagles fell to 1-2 after losing to Providence on Wednesday night. Not exactly soaring high. Boston College was supposed to be the #2 or #3 team in the ACC this season. And yet, their season so far consists of losses to Providence, a team that can only hope to reach the top half of the Big East, and Vermont, from the America East conference, one of the bottom five conferences last season. And the loss last night comes with 6-10 Sean Williams back in the middle for BC. Not a great beginning for a team which began the season ranked #15 and now will most likely be unranked come Monday.
4. Reason #4: Butler - Here's a case for the mid-majors to get some respect in the pre-season rankings, if they are going to exist. When the season started, the only three ranked teams outside of the Big 6 conferences were Memphis, Creighton, and Nevada. Now Butler, who didn't even receive one vote in either poll before the season will be playing for the NIT pre-season title. This is after knocking off Notre Dame, Indiana (who did receive votes), Tennessee (#25 pre-season, and #21 now). And now they get to face Reason #2, Gonzaga. Just for making New York, Butler gets to take home almost 9% of the revenues from the tournament. They might just be adding a banner and a Top 25 rankings.
5. Reason #5: Not every team was scheduled to play a "real" game until yesterday - The preseason ratings came out almost a month ago. And yet, not every Division I team played a game against another Division I opponent until Cal State Fullerton and Grambling played their games last night. So, basically, you set up expectations that couldn't even be proved partially incorrect until almost a month later. In the meantime, you had three weeks worth of games, with teams moving the rankings, and yet not every team played. Sounds like there is a flaw in there somewhere.

The MRI numbers filled in this morning. The first release of the MRI rankings will be on Monday, right on time. As of right now, a certain scarlet and grey team leads, just like in that other sport the MRI covers. I guess some things never change.

That's it for 5 Things. If you have any tips from the day of basketball, be sure to send them on.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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November 22, 2006

5 Things - 11/22/06

Another Five Things we should have learned last night in college basketball.




So without further ado, 5 Things:

1. IUPUFW and Western Illinois Are Tired - Five overtimes will do that to a team. I am sure that both are taking a big nap today before taking a Turkey induced nap on Thursday. Fort Wayne's boys won 97-95 over the home Western Illinois after five extra periods. Both teams were tied at 58 following the first 40 minutes. This is the longest game in the nation this year so far. Chances are this will be the longest game all season.
2. Duke is Potentially Living on Borrowed Time - I put them high in my Sweet 16, but Duke can't have games where they turn the ball over 18 times. You can't win like that. With a young team, you are bound to have games like this. This is not the Duke team that we are used to seeing, no matter how good they looked in the first game of the tournament against Air Force. The big question will be if Duke is even in the top three in the ACC.
3. Marquette, As Much As This Hurts, Is Good - Marquette has the tools to win the Big East this season. That's right, I am saying that about the team whose fans gave me such a hard time. They have shooting, they have defense, and they just beat Duke. DUKE! Stay tuned on this team, especially point guard Dominic James. They are worth watching.
4. Huggins Can't Win Them All - The jury is still out on whether Manhattan, Kansas, will become a destination location for the country's elite players. We already saw Bob Huggins lose OJ Mayo to USC, even though there were many rumors saying that the Ohio native would be joining Cincinnati's old coach. But Huggins can coach, and he can find gems across the country, and many times from the junior college level. Huggins lost his first game as coach of the Wildcats on Tuesday, against New Mexico. It might be a few years in the making, but Kansas State will be a contender in the Big XII before long.
5. Bucknell Won't Lose Them All - At least I don't think they will. The Bison, one of the top mid-major teams last season is struggling this year to an 0-4 record. Three of the four have been on the road and so are their next two games. Still, this team is too talented, especially with guard Abe Badmus leading the way, to not get a win at one of those. Bucknell was picked early this season as one of the top mid-major teams again this year, just another example of why pre-season rankings mean little. Give them time and they might be, but not yet.

That's it for 5 Things. If you have any tips from the day of basketball, be sure to send them on.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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November 17, 2006

5 Things - 11/17/06

A new feature on MRISports this basketball season is "5 Things". This will cover five things that we should have all learned from the world of college basketball the night before. Since we are starting this now, the first installment will cover the season to date.

So without further ado, 5 Things:

1. Pre-season ratings tell us nothing - Other than putting unreasonable expectations on teams to begin the year, the ratings are no help to us. Already we have seen two teams in the top 10 lose (Arizona and Kansas), and others throughout the top 25 struggling. While pre-season rankings don't bias the final rankings and the championship race like in football, perhaps it would be a good idea to wait a few weeks until we have a better idea of team strength.
2. Mid-majors aren't going away - The names might change but the mid-major push we saw last year isn't over. With Oral Roberts taking out Kansas, Winthrop playing North Carolina to within six minutes of a big win, and Vermont taking out Boston College, we are in for another season of the smaller teams getting a leg up on the big boys. While we might not see another George Mason run to the Final Four from those teams, we will definitely see a few unfamiliar faces in the Sweet 16 again this year.
3. Kevin Durant - I think I said enough about him last night. He is the real deal.
4. Florida - The Gators shot 23 for 27 in the first half last night against Jacksonville and led 52-20 at halftime. The Gators are back from last season and are by far the best team out there right now.
5. Savannah State - They moved to 4-0 last night. Four wins is twice as many as they have had in two season combined. While I don't expect them to be shocking any major players, this is a huge improvement for a team that a lot of people questioned after they made the jump to Division I.

That's it for 5 Things. If you have any tips from a day of basketball, be sure to send them on.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com

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