The NBA Thread

[dave from knoxville]

OK, but I wouldn't trust the bad bad man.

1 Kansas 43.4
2 Ohio State 43
3 Duke 41.4
4 San Diego State 41
5 Pittsburgh 39.3
6 Brigham Young 38.7
7 Connecticut 38.4
8 North Carolina 38.2
9 Texas 37.9
10 Syracuse 37.9
11 Florida 37.6
12 Notre Dame 37.5
13 Kentucky 36.8
14 Louisville 36.8
15 Purdue 36.4
16 Old Dominion 35.7
17 Arizona 35.7
18 Utah State 35.2
19 Georgetown 35.1
20 George Mason 34.7
21 Wisconsin 34.6
22 Cincinnati 34.5
23 Xavier 33.8
24 UNLV 33.8
25 Temple 33.6
26 Vanderbilt 33.6
27 Richmond 33.6
28 Kansas State 33.5
29 St. John's 33.4
30 West Virginia 33.3
31 Texas A&M 33.1
32 Memphis 32.7
33 Missouri 32.2
34 Villanova 32.1
35 Belmont 31.9
36 Washington 31.7
37 Cleveland State 31
38 UAB 31
39 UCLA 30.9
40 Texas-El Paso 30.7
41 Tennessee 30.4
42 Georgia 30.4
43 Princeton 30.3
44 Butler 30.3
45 Penn State 30.2
46 Clemson 30.2
47 Harvard 30.2
48 Michigan 30.1
49 Marquette 30.1
50 Virginia Tech 30.1
51 St. Mary's 30
52 Virginia Commonwealth 30
53 Missouri State 30
54 Florida State 29.9
55 Wichita State 29.8
56 Illinois 29.8
57 Gonzaga 29.7
58 Boston College 29.7
59 Michigan State 29.5
60 Dayton 28.9
61 LIU-Brooklyn 28.8
62 Oakland 28.5
63 Alabama 28.4
64 Oklahoma State 28.4
65 Coastal Carolina 28.3
66 Colorado State 28.3
67 Marshall 28.2
68 New Mexico 28.1
69 Drexel 28.1
70 Colorado 27.8
71 Bucknell 27.6
72 Nebraska 27.6
73 Miami (Fla.) 27.5
74 Mississippi 27.5
75 College of Charleston 27.5
76 Southern California 27.4
77 Southern Miss 27.3
78 Minnesota 27.3
79 Washington State 27.2
80 Valparaiso 27.1
81 UCF 27.1
82 Fairfield 27.1
83 Northwestern 26.9
84 California 26.9
85 Hofstra 26.6
86 Maryland 26.6
87 James Madison 26.5
88 Kent State 26.3
89 Tulsa 26.3
90 Baylor 26.1
91 Vermont 26
92 Mississippi State 25.8
93 Rider 25.7
94 Rhode Island 25.7
95 Morehead State 25.2
96 Arkansas 25.2
97 Portland 25
98 Wofford 24.9
99 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 24.8
100 Iona 24.8
101 Akron 24.8
102 Duquesne 24.7
103 Indiana State 24.7
104 E. Tennessee State 24.6
105 Long Beach State 24.5
106 Murray State 24.4
107 American 24.4
108 Furman 24.2
109 Seton Hall 24.1
110 Quinnipiac 24.1
111 St. Bonaventure 24.1
112 Florida Atlantic 24
113 Rutgers 23.9
114 Northern Iowa 23.8
115 North Carolina State 23.8
116 Hampton 23.7
117 Providence 23.6
118 East Carolina 23.5
119 Northern Colorado 23.4
120 Virginia 23.4
121 Montana 23.2
122 Boise State 23.2
123 Iowa State 23
124 Wright State 23
125 George Washington 22.9
126 Creighton 22.9
127 South Carolina 22.9
128 Oregon 22.5
129 St. Peter's 22.4
130 Boston University 22.2
131 North Texas 22
132 Oklahoma 22
133 Miami (Ohio) 21.9
134 Air Force 21.9
135 Jacksonville 21.8
136 Hawaii 21.7
137 Oral Roberts 21.6
138 San Francisco 21.6
139 Stanford 21.5
140 IUPUI 21.5
141 Massachusetts 21.4
142 Santa Clara 21.3
143 Central Connecticut State 21.2
144 Detroit 21.2
145 Robert Morris 21.1
146 McNeese State 21.1
147 Utah 21
148 NC-Asheville 20.8
149 Western Michigan 20.8
150 Austin Peay 20.6
151 Buffalo 20.6
152 Georgia Tech 20.6
153 Ohio 20.6
154 Texas Tech 20.6
155 La Salle 20.6
156 Idaho 20.6
157 Lipscomb 20.4
158 Southern Methodist 20.4
159 Evansville 20.3
160 South Dakota State 20.1
161 Yale 20.1
162 Northern Arizona 19.9
163 Davidson 19.9
164 Santa Barbara 19.9
165 Liberty 19.9
166 Indiana 19.9
167 Delaware 19.8
168 IPFW 19.8
169 Arizona State 19.7
170 New Mexico State 19.7
171 Ball State 19.6
172 Columbia 19.4
173 Weber State 19.4
174 San Jose State 19.4
175 Western Carolina 19.4
176 Sam Houston State 19.3
177 South Florida 19.3
178 Bethune-Cookman 19.2
179 Pennsylvania 19
180 Tennessee Tech 19
181 Loyola-Chicago 19
182 Appalachian State 18.9
183 Texas-San Antonio 18.7
184 VMI 18.7
185 Arkansas-Little Rock 18.6
186 Stephen F. Austin 18.5
187 Rice 18.5
188 Loyola-Maryland 18.5
189 Western Kentucky 18.5
190 Saint Louis 18.4
191 Arkansas State 18.3
192 Texas Southern 18.2
193 Canisius 18.1
194 Iowa 18
195 Morgan State 18
196 North Florida 17.9
197 Green Bay 17.8
198 NC-Wilmington 17.7
199 Chattanooga 17.7
200 Pacific 17.6
201 UMKC 17.5
202 Lehigh 17.4
203 Northeastern 17.3
204 St. Francis (N.Y.) 17
205 Drake 16.9
206 Saint Joseph's 16.9
207 Wagner 16.9
208 Fresno State 16.8
209 Southern Illinois 16.8
210 Middle Tennessee 16.8
211 TCU 16.7
212 Oregon State 16.6
213 Tulane 16.5
214 Maine 16.5
215 Southeastern Louisiana 16.4
216 Albany 16.3
217 Nevada 16.3
218 Siena 16.3
219 Northwestern State 16.2
220 Nicholls State 16.2
221 Georgia State 16.2
222 Charlotte 16.2
223 Mercer 16.1
224 LSU 16.1
225 Coppin State 16.1
226 Presbyterian 16.1
227 Utah Valley 16.1
228 Louisiana-Lafayette 16
229 Cal Poly 16
230 Houston 15.9
231 North Dakota State 15.9
232 Winthrop 15.8
233 Cornell 15.7
234 New Orleans 15.7
235 Charleston Southern 15.6
236 Denver 15.5
237 DePaul 15.1
238 Texas State-San Marcos 15.1
239 Bradley 15
240 Brown 14.9
241 William & Mary 14.8
242 Stony Brook 14.8
243 Tennessee State 14.7
244 Auburn 14.6
245 Elon 14.5
246 North Carolina A&T 14.5
247 Wyoming 14.5
248 Bowling Green 14.4
249 North Dakota 14.3
250 Jackson State 14
251 North Carolina Central 14
252 South Alabama 14
253 Portland State 13.8
254 Illinois State 13.6
255 Eastern Kentucky 13.6
256 Wake Forest 13.5
257 Lafayette 13.3
258 Pepperdine 13.2
259 Texas-Arlington 13.2
260 Savannah State 13.1
261 Northridge 13
262 Mount St. Mary's 13
263 High Point 13
264 Louisiana Tech 12.8
265 Fordham 12.8
266 Montana State 12.7
267 Campbell 12.7
268 New Hampshire 12.6
269 Sacred Heart 12.6
270 Alabama A&M 12.6
271 California Irvine 12.5
272 Youngstown State 12.4
273 Mississippi Valley State 12.4
274 Lamar 12.4
275 Samford 12.2
276 Florida International 12.2
277 California Riverside 12.1
278 South Dakota 12
279 New Jersey Tech 12
280 Alabama State 11.9
281 Gardner-Webb 11.9
282 Southern Utah 11.9
283 Florida Gulf Coast 11.8
284 Army 11.7
285 Hartford 11.7
286 Loyola-Marymount 11.7
287 St. Francis (Pa.) 11.5
288 Bryant University 11.4
289 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 11.3
290 Troy 11.3
291 Cal State Bakersfield 11.1
292 Longwood 11.1
293 Illinois-Chicago 11
294 Monmouth 10.9
295 Idaho State 10.7
296 Cal State Fullerton 10.5
297 Navy 10.4
298 The Citadel 10.4
299 Eastern Washington 10.3
300 Holy Cross 10.3
301 Central Michigan 10.2
302 Tennessee-Martin 10
303 NC-Greensboro 10
304 California Davis 10
305 Niagara 9.7
306 Norfolk State 9.5
307 Northern Illinois 9.4
308 Delaware State 9.2
309 Florida A&M 9.1
310 Stetson 8.7
311 Eastern Illinois 8.7
312 Binghamton 8.7
313 Towson 8.6
314 San Diego 8.6
315 Dartmouth 8.4
316 Southeast Missouri State 8.4
317 Grambling 8.1
318 Maryland-Eastern Shore 8
319 Eastern Michigan 8
320 Kennesaw State 7.9
321 Colgate 7.8
322 Sacramento State 7.6
323 South Carolina Upstate 7.4
324 Manhattan 7.3
325 South Carolina State 6.7
326 Marist 6.7
327 Prairie View A&M 6.5
328 Radford 6.5
329 Maryland-Baltimore County 6.2
330 Howard 6.2
331 Fairleigh Dickinson 6.2
332 Western Illinois 6.1
333 Louisiana-Monroe 5.9
334 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 5.6
335 Central Arkansas 4.8
336 Alcorn State 4.4
337 Jacksonville State 3.9
338 Toledo 3.6
339 Georgia Southern 3.1
340 Chicago State 2.4
341 Texas-Pan American 2.1
342 Southern 0.7
343 Houston Baptist 0.6
344 Centenary 0

[Gilly]

How far would you drop BYU with Davies out?

[Gilly]

Yikes, I did a mock bracket with those results and it ends up pretty conservative. A couple 1st round upsets, but after that it's pretty much chalk.

[jbissell]

Wow, Richmond & Vandy have the same rating.

[Gilly]

I think I'm going to back off on using the rankings as the final say and use them as a guide Dave. Now watch,  this will be the year where no upsets occur.

[Gilly]

I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to college basketball this year. Other than BYU what other teams lost an important player recently?

[Greggulator]

I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to college basketball this year. Other than BYU what other teams lost an important player recently?

St. John's lost a key component.

I *HATE* my initial bracket. I think I picked all 1 seeds. That's not like me! Of course, I usually come in last place in every office pool ever.

[dave from knoxville]

13-Mar
1 San Antonio Spurs Home 33.9
2 Chicago Bulls Home 32.1
3 Denver Nuggets Home 29.2
4 Boston Celtics Home 29
5 Dallas Mavericks Home 27.5
6 Oklahoma City Thunder Home 26.2
7 Orlando Magic Home 26
8 Memphis Grizzlies Home 25.7
9 Miami Heat Home 25.4
10 Los Angeles Lakers Home 25
11 New Orleans Hornets Home 24.5
12 Portland Trailblazers Home 23.5
13 Philadelphia 76ers Home 23.4
14 Golden State Warriors Home 23
15 Los Angeles Clippers Home 22.3
16 Dallas Mavericks Away 22
17 Utah Jazz Home 21.7
18 Los Angeles Lakers Away 21.5
19 Phoenix Suns Home 21.3
20 Charlotte Bobcats Home 20.9
21 New York Knicks Home 20.8
22 Miami Heat Away 20.7
23 San Antonio Spurs Away 20.5
24 Houston Rockets Home 19.8
25 Milwaukee Bucks Home 19.5
26 Indiana Pacers Home 19.4
27 Atlanta Hawks Home 19.3
28 New Jersey Nets Home 18.7
29 Boston Celtics Away 18.7
30 Detroit Pistons Home 18
31 Oklahoma City Thunder Away 17.1
32 Orlando Magic Away 16.6
33 Chicago Bulls Away 15.6
34 Toronto Raptors Home 15.4
35 Phoenix Suns Away 15.3
36 Atlanta Hawks Away 15.2
37 Washington Wizards Home 14.7
38 Minnesota Timberwolves Home 14.1
39 New York Knicks Away 13.9
40 Houston Rockets Away 13.3
41 Utah Jazz Away 12.9
42 Portland Trailblazers Away 12.9
43 New Orleans Hornets Away 12.7
44 Denver Nuggets Away 12.5
45 Memphis Grizzlies Away 11.3
46 Sacramento Kings Home 11
47 Philadelphia 76ers Away 10.7
48 Cleveland Cavaliers Home 9.8
49 Milwaukee Bucks Away 8.9
50 Charlotte Bobcats Away 8.3
51 Golden State Warriors Away 7.6
52 Sacramento Kings Away 7
53 Indiana Pacers Away 6.5
54 Los Angeles Clippers Away 5.3
55 Toronto Raptors Away 5.1
56 Detroit Pistons Away 4.7
57 New Jersey Nets Away 4.6
58 Minnesota Timberwolves Away 4
59 Cleveland Cavaliers Away 3.7
60 Washington Wizards Away 0

[Gilly]

It's amazing how much home court really matters, but you look at the list and it does. I can see how it's different in baseball but the only things that are different in basketball is the travel and the fans... you'd think with all the advances in psychiatry that home/road splits should be closer to even these days.

[dave from knoxville]

It's amazing how much home court really matters, but you look at the list and it does. I can see how it's different in baseball but the only things that are different in basketball is the travel and the fans... you'd think with all the advances in psychiatry that home/road splits should be closer to even these days.

Unfortunately, if it's right, the playoff results are all but pre-destined. Thank God the better team only wins about 75% of the time, or sports would lose its, uhhhhhhh, mystique.

[fonpr]

It's amazing how much home court referees really matters

[Gilly]

It's amazing how much home court referees really matters

It's not really in the league's best interest to give teams like the Wolves home cooking.

[Gilly]

Belmont is the trendy upset pick, but I really like Wisconsin. They don't turnover the ball and they matchup really well against future round opponents if they get past Belmont. On paper they look like a team that can make at least a run to the elite eight but that first round matchup is going to scare a lot of people off.

[jbissell]

Belmont is the trendy upset pick, but I really like Wisconsin. They don't turnover the ball and they matchup really well against future round opponents if they get past Belmont. On paper they look like a team that can make at least a run to the elite eight but that first round matchup is going to scare a lot of people off.

I have 2 brackets in a pool, one with WI losing to Belmont, 1 with them in the final 4. But I only pay attention to college basketball during the tournament.

[dave from knoxville]

Belmont is the trendy upset pick, but I really like Wisconsin. They don't turnover the ball and they matchup really well against future round opponents if they get past Belmont. On paper they look like a team that can make at least a run to the elite eight but that first round matchup is going to scare a lot of people off.

The Dean of our English department is Kathy Byrd. Her father is veteran Hall of Fame sportswriter Ben Byrd. Her BROTHER is Rick Byrd, Belmont's coach. I wish him all the best.

Also, those Wisconsin fans overwhelmingly voted in that prick for Governor, so fuck them.