2010 Tournament Brackets/Pod projections

[deanslist]

I was wondering what people thought on which bracket/region would be the most difficult? And which is the easiest?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I was wondering what people thought on which bracket/region would be the most difficult? And which is the easiest?

The only bracket that stands out against the rest is the WashU, IWU, Carthage, St. Thomas half - those are tough second round games.  I think Williams and VA Wesleyan have slightly easier paths to the final eight than most.

It's about as balanced a bracket as I've seen.

[Gregory Sager]

There's no flight for the second game anyway. Wheaton would remain in Texas if it wins.

That's still an expense, since the NCAA would have to pick up Wheaton's per diem. Of course, it's a lot cheaper than two separate flights.

[John Gleich]

I was wondering what people thought on which bracket/region would be the most difficult? And which is the easiest?

The only bracket that stands out against the rest is the WashU, IWU, Carthage, St. Thomas half - those are tough second round games.  I think Williams and VA Wesleyan have slightly easier paths to the final eight than most.

It's about as balanced a bracket as I've seen.

If you go by top 25 teams, the upper right has 8, lower right has 7, upper left has 3, and lower left has 6.

3 top 10 teams in the upper right, 1 in the lower right, 2 in the upper left and 4 in the lower left.

[Pat Coleman]

There's no flight for the second game anyway. Wheaton would remain in Texas if it wins.

That's still an expense, since the NCAA would have to pick up Wheaton's per diem. Of course, it's a lot cheaper than two separate flights.

They'd have to pick up Wheaton's per diem anyway, since they'd be traveling on Friday no matter what.

[John Gleich]

I was wondering what people thought on which bracket/region would be the most difficult? And which is the easiest?

I think the upper left would be the "easiest..." if you're Williams.  It's kind of the Williams invitaional from the looks of it.  They're a shoo-in (or is that shoe-in?  I don't remember what was decided earlier this year...) to host the sectional and wouldn't face Middlebury until the Elite 8.

Just one guy's opinion, though it would be tough to say their record didn't earn it.

We may need to wait until Salem to see if they're as good as their record, whereas the other three brackets have at least 4 or 5 teams minimum who could realistically win 5 or 6 in a row and take home the Walnut and Bronze.

[Titan Q]

If you go by top 25 teams, the upper right has 8,

And 3 of the better unranked teams I have to believe - Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton, and Hope.

[sac]

If you go by top 25 teams, the upper right has 8,

And 3 of the better unranked teams I have to believe - Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton, and Hope.

good point

[Knightstalker]

If you go by top 25 teams, the upper right has 8,

And 3 of the better unranked teams I have to believe - Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton, and Hope.

good point

Bottom right has six top 25 teams and one that is receiving votes.  This looks to be a highly competitive pod.

[Titan Q]

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb

Massey Ratings for the upper right bracket...

#1 - UW-Stevens Point
#2 - St. Thomas
#7 - Washington U.
#11 - Carthage
#14 - Carleton
#15 - Central
#22 - Illinois Wesleyan
#23 - St. Norbert
#26 - Wheaton
#27 - Texas-Dallas
#39 - Hope
#42 - Anderson
#47 - Mary Hardin-Baylor
#77 - Aurora
#158 - Westminster


Who ever wants to, jump in and do another...we'll get all 4 up here.

[John Gleich]

If you go by top 25 teams, the upper right has 8,

And 3 of the better unranked teams I have to believe - Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton, and Hope.

good point

Bottom right has six top 25 teams and one that is receiving votes.  This looks to be a highly competitive pod.

I count 7....

10. Willy Pat
11. Va Wes
13. MIT
14. St. Mary's
18. Randy Mac
20. F&M
21. Cabrini

[kiltedbryan]

Massey Ratings for the bottom left bracket...

#3 - Whitworth
#4 - UW-Whitewater
#5 - Guilford
#9 - Eastern Mennonite
#12 - Chapman
#17 - Wooster
#31 - John Carroll
#33 - Wilmington
#40 - Defiance
#41 - Maryville
#45 - Claremont-MS
#53 - Lycoming
#75 - Centre
#118 - Grove City
#178 - Christopher Newport

For comparison's sake...
Average rank for this bracket: 41.5
Average rank for upper right bracket: 31.9

[Knightstalker]

If you go by top 25 teams, the upper right has 8,

And 3 of the better unranked teams I have to believe - Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton, and Hope.

good point

Bottom right has six top 25 teams and one that is receiving votes.  This looks to be a highly competitive pod.

I count 7....

10. Willy Pat
11. Va Wes
13. MIT
14. St. Mary's
18. Randy Mac
20. F&M
21. Cabrini

Missed Cabrini

[fritzdis]

Does Massey have some sort of "recent play" factor?  Carleton at #14 seems really strange otherwise.

[Titan Q]

In just looking at the brackets, I'd rank them:

1. Upper Right
2. Bottom Left
3. Bottom Right
4. Upper Left


It's good to see the toughest two brackets on opposite sides.