dbacksfan414

Here are my NCAA Tournament Projections for the Week of January 21 (updated for games through Sunday). I will update them every week (if I have a chance to).

America East (1)

Current Leader: Binghamton
Conference Champ: Vermont
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Binghamton currently leads the conference with a 4-2 record. They are tied with Albany and Maryland-Baltimore County, but they beat both of them. Vermont has been a powerhouse in this conference over the last few years. Expect them to make a run.

ACC (4)

Current Leader: Duke
Conference Champ: North Carolina
At-large: Duke, Clemson, Miami
Bubble Watch: North Carolina State, Boston College, Maryland, Virginia

The ACC is a mess right now. North Carolina and Duke seem to be locks right now. Clemson is close to lock status, and Miami is falling fast after an 11-0 start (not including non-Division I games).

Atlantic 10 (3)

Current Leader: Xavier
Conference Champ: Dayton
At-large: Dayton, Massachusetts
Bubble Watch: Rhode Island, St. Joseph's, Charlotte

This league is returning to the glory days of the early 2000's. Xavier, Dayton, and Massachusetts are currently locks to get in. The A-10 looks like a 3-bid league right now with a chance at 4-5.

Atlantic Sun (1)

Current Leader: Jacksonville
Conference Champ: Belmont
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Belmont is consistently at the top of this league. They have wins at Cincinnati and at Alabama.

Big 12 (6)

Current Leader: Kansas/Baylor
Conference Champ: Kansas
At-large: Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma
Bubble Watch: Missouri, Nebraska

Kansas is undefeated at 3-0 in conference play and 18-0 overall. The Jayhawks go to Manhattan to play the Wildcats on January 30, where Kansas State looks for their first home win over the Jayhawks since 1983.

Big East (7)

Current Leader: Georgetown
Conference Champ: Georgetown
At-large: Pittsburgh, Marquette, Villanova, West Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame
Bubble Watch: Providence, Connecticut, Syracuse, Seton Hall

The Big East has the potential to get 8-9 bids this year. Louisville is on the rise, while Marquette cannot seem to win a road game anymore.

Big Sky (1)

Current Leader: Northern Arizona
Conference Champ: Northern Arizona
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Senior forward Kyle Landry is averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game for the Lumberjacks. Northern Arizona is 5-1 in conference play.

Big South (1)

Current Leader: UNC-Asheville
Conference Champ: Winthrop
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Winthrop will make a run at the Big South like they always do.

Big Ten (4)

Current Leader: Indiana/Wisconsin
Conference Champ: Indiana
At-large: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue
Bubble Watch: Ohio State, Minnesota

The Big Ten is not as strong as it usually is. Indiana and Wisconsin are tied atop the standings with a 5-0 conference mark.

Big West (1)

Current Leader: Cal-State Northridge
Conference Champ: Cal-State Northridge
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Cal-State Northridge is 5-0 in Big West play. They have a win at current Horizon League leader Cleveland State.

Colonial (2)

Current Leader: Virginia Commonwealth
Conference Champ: Virginia Commonwealth
At-large: George Mason
Bubble Watch: none

This league is not as strong is it usually is. Expect VCU and George Mason to be in the field in March.

Conference USA (1)

Current Leader: Memphis
Conference Champ: Memphis
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: Houston, UAB

Conference USA is averaging only 1.5 bids since they lost Marquette, Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Charlotte and Saint Louis. Assuming Memphis wins the conference tournament, this seems to be a one-bid league.

Horizon League (1)

Current Leader: Cleveland State
Conference Champ: Butler
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: Cleveland State

Butler is currently 6-2 in the conference. Cleveland State has wins at Florida State, at South Florida and Butler.

*Independents (0)

Current Leader: Chicago State
Conference Champ: Texas-Pan American
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

*The Independents do not get an automatic bid.

Nobody from this league will ever get in the field.

**Ivy (1)

Current Leader: Cornell/Yale
Conference Champ: Cornell
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

**The Ivy league does not have a conference tournament. The regular season champion gets the automatic bid.

Cornell is currently the only Ivy League team with a winning record.

Metro Atlantic (1)

Current Leader: Siena
Conference Champ: Siena
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

This league will be a one-bid league. Siena has a win over Stanford (Stanford did not have Brook Lopez that game).

Mid-American (1)

Current Leader: Akron
Conference Champ: Kent State
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: Akron

Akron is currently 4-0 in the MAC. They are looking to get in the field this year after being left out of the NCAA Tournament (and the NIT) last year with 26 wins. Kent State has wins over Illinois State, Saint Louis, George Mason and Cleveland State. Akron plays at Kent State on Wednesday.

Mid-Eastern (1)

Current Leader: Hampton
Conference Champ: Hampton
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Hampton is 4-0 in the MEAC. Senior guard Rashad West is averaging 18.2 points per game. They have a win over VCU on their resume.

Missouri Valley (2)

Current Leader: Drake
Conference Champ: Creighton
At-large: Drake
Bubble Watch: Illinois State

This league is also down from previous years. Creighton's experience will prove to be too much for the Bulldogs. Drake is 7-0 in league play.

Mountain West (2)

Current Leader: San Diego State
Conference Champ: BYU
At-large: New Mexico
Bubble Watch: UNLV, San Diego State

BYU is 6-4 in their last 10 after starting off 7-1. This league usually gets multiple bids, and it looks like they are going to get at least 2.

Northeast (1)

Current Leader: Quinnipiac
Conference Champ: Robert Morris
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

The winner of this league will most likely play in the play-in game. Robert Morris has a win over Boston College in Chestnut Hill.

Ohio Valley (1)

Current Leader: Austin Peay
Conference Champ: Austin Peay
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

The Governors beat Belmont twice this season. They are 8-1 in the Ohio Valley (12-7 overall).

Pac-10 (7)

Current Leader: UCLA/Arizona State
Conference Champ: UCLA
At-large: Washington State, Stanford, Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona, Southern Cal
Bubble Watch: California

Washington State is also tied for the conference lead, but they would lose the tiebreaker (loss to UCLA). The Pac-10 is the strongest conference in the nation, and they should get at least 6 teams (possibly 7) in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA beat Washington State earlier this season.

Patriot (1)

Current Leader: Lafayette/Bucknell
Conference Champ: Bucknell
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Bucknell usually ends up winning this fairly weak conference.

SEC (6)

Current Leader: Mississippi State
Conference Champ: Tennessee
At-large: Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi State, Arkansas
Bubble Watch: none

Tennessee is 3-0 in conference play, but Mississippi State leads the conference with a 4-0 conference record. Tennessee has road wins over West Virginia, Xavier and Gonzaga. They also beat Ohio State at home.

Southern (1)

Current Leader: Davidson
Conference Champ: Davidson
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

Davidson sits atop the Southern Conference with an 8-0 conference record. They really challenged themselves in the non-conference, but were unable to notch a marquee win. They are led by sophomore guard Stephen Curry, who is 5th in the nation in scoring (23.8 PPG).

Southland (1)

Current Leader: Stephen F. Austin/Northwestern State
Conference Champ: Sam Houston State
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: Stephen F. Austin

This league can get two bids if both Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State win every game (except when they face each other). SFA has a win at Oklahoma. Sam Houston State has wins over Texas Tech and Saint Louis (road).

Summit League (1)

Current Leader: Oral Roberts
Conference Champ: Oral Roberts
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

This league, once called the Mid-Continent Conference, is also a perennial one-bid league. Oral Roberts usually gets this bid, and I expect it no different this year. They have a win at Oklahoma State. Oral Roberts is currently 7-0 in league play.

SWAC (1)

Current Leader: Alabama State
Conference Champ: Alabama State
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

This league is probably the worst conference in the nation. Alabama State currently leads the SWAC with a 4-1 conference record. They are also the only team in the conference with a winning record.

Sun Belt (1)

Current Leader: South Alabama
Conference Champ: Western Kentucky
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: South Alabama

Even though South Alabama beat Western Kentucky, expect Western Kentucky to win this conference. This conference is one of the most underrated conferences in the nation. New Orleans can move into the bubble conversation with wins over Western Kentucky and at Florida International this week.

WAC (1)

Current Leader: Utah State
Conference Champ: Utah State
At-large: none
Bubble Watch: none

This league has been a major disappointment this season. At the beginning of the year, it looked like the WAC would get 2 bids (Utah State and New Mexico State). Utah State has a 4-0 conference record.

West Coast (2)

Current Leader: Gonzaga/St. Mary's (CA)
Conference Champ: Gonzaga
At-large: St. Mary's (CA)
Bubble Watch: none

Gonzaga and St. Mary's are tied atop the WCC with a 3-0 conference record. Gonzaga is a perennial contender in this conference, and St. Mary's is coming along also. Gonzaga plays at St. Mary's on February 4.

Last 4 in:

62. Southern Cal
63. Arkansas
64. New Mexico
65. George Mason

Last 4 out:

66. Rhode Island
67. Ohio State
68. Providence
69. Connecticut

Next 4 out:

70. North Carolina State
71. Boston College
72. Illinois State
73. Minnesota

Here are my Pac-10 Power Rankings for the week starting January 21.

1. UCLA (4-1, 16-2). I know that they lost at home to USC, but if you shoot 33% from the field, and you allow 60% for the other team, you are not going to win. UCLA had a nice win over Stanford this week. UCLA beat Maryland and Michigan State in the CBE Classic, but they lost at home against Texas after a comeback attempt came up short.

2. Washington State (4-1, 16-1). The Cougs came back strong in that game last night against Oregon. They swept the Oregon schools at home. They have wins at Baylor, Gonzaga and Boise State in the non-conference.

3. Stanford (4-2, 15-3). This team deserves a lot more respect than they get. They swept the Arizona schools at home (both of them are very good). I know this team lost to Siena out of conference, but they did not have Brook Lopez (academically ineligible). The best wins in the non-conference are at Texas Tech and at Colorado in a fairly weak non-conference schedule.

4. Arizona State (4-1, 14-3). There is no shame in splitting a Pac-10 road series, unless the win was against Oregon State. ASU kept battling Cal until they came out with a 99-90 win in double overtime. ASU played well in the first half against Stanford, but they collapsed in the second half. The Sun Devils have a win against Xavier to fall back on in the non-conference.

5. Arizona (2-3, 12-6). There conference record does not show it, but the Wildcats are a scary team. They also had a road split against the Bay Area schools, beating Cal, but losing to Stanford. The Wildcats are 1-2 in Pac-10 play without freshman sensation Jerryd Bayless (the only win was against Oregon State). Arizona has wins over Texas A&M, San Diego State, at UNLV and at Illinois. All three of their non-conference losses are understandable (Virginia, @ Kansas, @ Memphis).

6. USC (2-3, 11-6). USC started off Pac-10 play with a 3-game losing streak. Now, they are 2-3 in the conference after beating Washington and stunning UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. USC shot 60% from the field, and star freshmen O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson combined for 41 of the Trojans 72 points. USC did lose at home to Mercer, but that was without Davon Jefferson and Daniel Hackett. USC beat Miami (Ohio) and Southern Illinois in the Anaheim Classic. They also have a win over Oklahoma (with Blake Griffin).

7. Oregon (3-3, 12-6). Oregon was riding a 3 game winning streak heading into Washington to play the Huskies and the Cougars. They lost both games. Oregon has been very inconsistent this year. They beat teams like Utah and Kansas State (at K-State), but they lost to Oakland, who is 9-9.

8. Washington (2-3, 11-7). Washington got a nice win over Oregon on Thursday, and they backed that up with a win over Oregon State on Saturday to complete the weekend sweep over the Oregon schools. The Huskies have nice wins over Utah and at LSU in the non-conference. They also have losses to Syracuse and Texas A&M (both in the Preseason NIT) and Pittsburgh (which they should have won).

9. Cal (2-4, 11-6). Cal did get swept at home by the Arizona schools, but they played well in both games. Ryan Anderson leads the Pac-10 in scoring at 21.9 points per game. Ryan Anderson and DeVon Hardin are 4th and 5th in the conference in rebounding respectively. Cal just may have the best frontcourt in the Pac-10. Cal beat USC earlier in the year. They have a meeting with crosstown rival Stanford on Saturday. Cal has wins over Missouri and Nevada in the non-conference.

10. Oregon State (0-6, 6-12). Someone has to be here, and this year, it is Oregon State. They are struggling in all aspects of their game right now, which led to the firing of head coach Jay John earlier this morning. They do not have a good win out of conference, but they have plenty of bad losses (Tennessee Tech, Montana State, Alaska-Fairbanks, Colorado State). The Beavers showed something against Washington that leads me to believe that they will pull an upset later in the Pac-10 season.

Many ranked teams went down this past week in college basketball. Here is my college basketball top 25 for the week starting January 21, 2008.

1. Memphis
2. Kansas
3. Tennessee
4. Washington State
5. Duke
6. UCLA
7. North Carolina
8. Indiana
9. Michigan State
10. Georgetown
11. Wisconsin
12. Texas
13. Butler
14. Stanford
15. Dayton
16. Vanderbilt
17. Pittsburgh
18. Mississippi
19. West Virginia
20. Massachusetts
21. Arizona State
22. Xavier
23. Villanova
24. Drake
25. Clemson

The New York Giants beat the Green Bay Packers 23-20 at Lambeau Field to advance to the Super Bowl. This was the 10th consecutive road win for the Giants. The Giants had to win 3 straight road games in order to reach the Super Bowl.

The Giants will play the New England Patriots, a team that they lost to 38-35 in week 17, in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona on February 3rd.

Eli Manning had an efficient game, completing 21 of 40 pass attempts for 254 yards. He constantly put the Giants in good position to score throughout the game. Running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined carried the ball 37 times for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. The receiving leader for the Giants was Plaxico Burress, who caught 11 passes for 154 yards.

Legendary quarterback Brett Favre completed 19 of 35 passes for 236 yards. He threw 2 touchdowns, but he also threw 2 costly interceptions. Green Bay was unable to get the running game going all game; they combined for 28 yards on 14 carries. Donald Driver had 5 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Game Summary:

After 2 Lawrence Tynes field goals, Brett Favre hit Donald Driver for a medium range pass. Driver then won a footrace to the end zone for a 90 yard touchdown reception.

Mason Crosby later added a field goal near the end of the second quarter to put the Packers ahead 10-6. The Giants got the ball back, but were unable to score.

The Giants got the ball back for the second half. After a quick first down, the Giants were faced with a 3rd and 9 from their own 43. Eli Manning threw a pass intended for Plaxico Burress, but it was intercepted by Al Harris. Harris was called for an illegal contact penalty, which gave the Giants the ball back with an automatic first down. Later in the drive, the Giants had another 3rd down. The Packers made a stop, but Packers safety Nick Collins was called for roughing the passer, which gave the Giants 15 yards and another first down. The Giants then faced 3rd and 1 from the Packers 2 yard line. Brandon Jacobs received the hand-off from Manning, and he fumbled. Luckily, Kevin Boss, the backup tight end from Western Oregon who filled in for the injured Jeremy Shockey, recovered the fumble. After 2 offsides penalties to move the ball to the 1/4 yard line, Brandon Jacobs scored a TD to put the Giants ahead 13-10.

The Packers got the ball back in great field position after a great kick return by Tramon Williams. The Packers went down the field, and on a 3rd down stop, Sam Madison was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty to give Green Bay an automatic first down. The Packers scored a touchdown on the very next play.

The Giants marched right back down the field for a touchdown thanks to a 4 yard Ahmad Bradshaw run. That made it 20-17, Giants.

The Packers got the ball back, anxiously waiting to score. The Packers drove the ball into Giants territory, and Favre threw an interception. R.W. McQuarters, a long time 49ers and Bears cornerback/punt returner, fumbled the ball. The fumble was forced by former Giant Ryan Grant (I called that fumble by the way). This gave the Packers a new set of downs, and eventually set up a game-tying field goal by Mason Crosby.

The Giants got the ball back. They had the ball for about 5 minutes. They lined up for a Lawrence Tynes field goal attempt from 43 yards, but he missed it to the left.

After both teams punted again, the Giants stopped the Packers. R.W. McQuarters was back to field a punt from Jon Ryan. McQuarters muffed the punt, but a Giants player recovered. The first play from scrimmage after the punt was a draw play to Bradshaw out of the gun. Bradshaw took it to the house 49 yards, but the touchdown was nullified by a Chris Snee holding penalty. Eli did a good job of managing the clock, and led them to a 36 yard field goal attempt. Tynes missed from 43 yards earlier in the quarter, and he wanted to redeem himself. If he made this kick, the Giants would be heading to the Super Bowl. If he missed, they would go to overtime. Tynes missed way to the left, and the game went to overtime.

The Packers won the coin toss and elected to receive.After a modest return, the Packers started from their own 26. After a 2 yard Ryan Grant run on first down, Brett Favre threw a pass to the right intended for Donald Driver. Instead, the ball ended up in the hands of Giants cornerback Corey Webster. The Giants got the ball at the Packers 34. The Giants were only able to gain 5 yards, which set up another Tynes field goal attempt. This one was from 47 yards; he previously missed from 43 and 36. Tynes put the kick right down the middle. He had a few more yards on it, but that's all. The Giants won the NFC Championship Game, and were headed to Super Bowl XLII.

Keys to the Game:

I thought the keys to the game were costly penalties and turnovers. The McQuarters fumble after the interception allowed the Packers to tie the game at 20 with a field goal. If he had held on to the ball, who knows what would have happened. The penalties on the Brandon Jacobs TD drive killed the Packers. They had a total of 4 penalties for 21 yards, even though 2 of them were offsides penalties at the 1 yard line. The other 2 penalties on that drive were on 3rd down, and they both gave the Giants an automatic first down. The unnecessary roughness penalty on Sam Madison was... well, unnecessary. The Packers failed a 3rd down, but Madison shoved a Packers player to the ground, which gave Green Bay an auto-first. They scored on the very next play. Obviously, the most costly turnover of the game was the Favre INT in overtime.

Great game, and the Giants are headed to the Super Bowl!!!