Road to Selection Sunday (Week 1)

[SelectionSunday]

This will typically run on Mondays (with a couple breaks), but I'll put the first one out a few days early.

This Week in the Big 10
Monday
Alcorn State at Ohio State (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic)

Thursday, Nov. 12
James Madison at Ohio State (Coaches vs. Cancer Classic)

Friday, Nov. 13
Cal State Northridge at Purdue
Florida Gulf Coast at Michigan State
Howard at Indiana
Northern Illinois at Northwestern
Penn at Penn State
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at Illinois
Tennessee Tech at Minnesota

Saturday, Nov. 14
Northern Michigan at Michigan

Sunday, Nov. 15
IPFW at Wisconsin
Texas-San Antonio at Iowa (CBE Classic)

Games to Keep An Eye On
Friday, Nov. 13
Bradley at BYU
Niagara at Auburn (Glenn Wilkes Classic)
Rider at Mississippi State
Wright State at Washington (Athletes in Action Classic)

Saturday, Nov. 14
Cornell at Alabama
Creighton at Dayton

Sunday, Nov. 15
Oregon State at Texas Tech (Duel in the Desert)

Upset Special (0-0): Niagara over Auburn

Deep Thoughts (by Jack Handy): Before the season starts, I gotta' throw out a few predictions, see if any of them stick on the wall:

(1) Most Likely to Disappoint (considering positive pub they're getting): Oregon State, Siena
(2) Under the Radar from a Major Conference: Seton Hall, Vanderbilt
(3) Under the Radar from a Non-BCS Conference: LaSalle, Niagara
(4) Final 4: Kansas, Michigan State, Villanova, West Virginia
(5) National Champion: Kansas

These are some other "staples" I'll try to include every week, beginning on the 16th:

(1) Weekly updating of all non-BCS wins over the 6 major conferences
(2) Wins of note (wins that could end up looking good on a NCAA resume)
(3) My own Big 10 power rankings
(4) Big 10 teams in the RPI (where they all rank)
(5) Big 10 teams' (nonconference) schedule strength in the RPI
(6) Gopher nonconference foes in the RPI
(7) The 6 major conferences head to head

Enjoy the journey, destination NCAA Tournament.

Next RTSS: Monday, Nov. 16

 

[Southpaw]

Looking forward to your weekly updates, SS. However, I noticed that you didn't include Minnesota in your Final 4 prediction - perhaps you can correct that oversight next time.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Thanks Southpaw. Actually, I was thinking of listing the Gophers as one of the "most likely to disappoint" because of the events of the last several days, but in the end I think White & Bostick will be back shortly and we'll still have most of our team. Not that I would agree with White coming back in short order (he shouldn't play until -- at minimum -- after the Miami game), but I think that's what'll happen.