The Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge Presented by Spike.com Rolls On

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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As you know, MSF was one of 32 blogs given the privilege of competing in the Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge Presented by Spike.com. Unfortunately, our official Morganette Erica lost in the first round of the the voting, so neither Griffin nor I will get to go to Las Vegas for the Elite 8. Boo to that.

However, I did receive a pretty nice little consolation prize over the weekend. Certified friend of MSF Christian Matthews, one of the many people in charge of managing this massive campaign, invited me along this past Saturday night to the Lakers-Mavericks game here in Dallas. The Captain was in attendance as part of Captain Morgan’s quest to donate $1 million for 1 million Captain poses, and I got to tag along, look like goofy in a few pictures, and enjoy a great Lakers-Mavs game from a kickass suite.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com


Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: bracketmaster challenge, captain morgan, kobe bryant

March Madness: President Barack Obama’s Bracket for 2011 NCAA Tournament Favors Men’s & Women’s Top Seeds

March 16, 2011 By 14 Comments
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One of the newest March Madness traditions since Barack Obama has been president is the annual unveiling of the President’s NCAA Tournament bracket. President Obama’s love for both playing and watching basketball is well known, and he even has NCAA hoops ties – his brother-in-law Craig Robinson is the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers.

The President’s official bracket will be revealed on ESPN later today, but the Worldwide Leader has already released a short behind-the-scenes video with Andy Katz and Doris Burke chronicling their trip to the White House.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com


Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 2011 ncaa tournament, barack obama, barack obama bracket, march madness 2011, President Obama

March Madness 2011 Bracket Predictions Based on KenPom Adjusted Offensive and Defensive Efficiency Metrics

March 15, 2011 By 5 Comments
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Earlier today, I wrote an article entitled “Using Advanced Metrics to Separate Contenders From Pretenders in This Year’s Tournament Field“. The article is based on: the thoughts of someone I trade sports debate emails with; Luke Winn; Ken Pomeroy; and, most specifically, the adjusted defensive (AdjD) and offensive (AdjO) efficiency metrics available at KenPom.com.

I think that there are a lot of relevant and illuminating tournament-relevant nuggets of information in the article, so I encourage you to read it; but if I were to boil the conclusion of the article into one sentence it would be this: the teams most likely advance furthest in the NCAA Tournament are those with low AdjO and AdjD numbers.

So, because I am obsessed with March Madness and the NCAA Tournament, I decided to put what I learned this afternoon into use and create an alternative bracket to compete with my official bracket predictions.

In this post, I’ll explain the simple bracket predicting methodology that I used, based on the KenPom AdjO and AdjD metrics, as well as show you the results of the bracket.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com


Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 2011 ncaa tournament, kenpom, march madness 2011, march madness bracket predictions

March Madness 2011: Using Advanced Metrics to Separate Contenders From Pretenders in This Year’s Tournament Field

March 15, 2011 By 5 Comments
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Writing a blog post based off the thoughts of one of the guys in my ever-ongoing sports email chain has proven to be a dicey proposition in the past, but I’m going to do it today anyway. (And why not? It’s not like I’m going to be “naming names” about anything…)

Earlier today, the following email was sent in our group in response to one guy wondering whether Utah State was a potential Final 4 team:

A little history on Elite 8 teams the past 6 years. The worst Kenpom offensive ranking seen in the Elite 8 was Butler last year at 50.  Utah St. is ranked 56…I’m thinking possible Sweet 16 run

The email was accompanied by a breakdown of each Elite 8 team since the 2003-04 season by their KenPom Adjusted Offensive Efficiency (AdjO) and Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (AdjD) rankings that season. The author of the email then provided a hat tip to this January 2009 article from the great Luke Winn of SI.com entitled “Using defensive efficiency to identify contenders and pretenders”, which used these KenPom rankings mid-season to identify who the best teams in the country are at that time.

This afternoon, I am going to apply this thinking to the 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket to provide a sense of which teams recent history suggests will go the deepest in this year’s tournament. Specifically, I am going to identify the teams in this year’s field that can make the Elite 8, the Final 4, the title game, and ultimately win it all, without going outside of the AdjO and AdjD rankings limits established since the ’03-’04 season.

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Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 2011 ncaa tournament, advanced basketball metrics, kenpom, march madness 2011, march madness predictions

March Madness 2011: Survivor Pool Tips & Rules For Winning – Plus a Strategy for 2011

March 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
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TheSportsMuse is a contributor to Midwest Sports Fans.  Follow him on twitter @TheSportsMuse.

Participating in bracket pools in March Madness is as old as, well, the event itself.  And let’s be brutally honest; one of the reasons that the NCAA Tournament enjoys such immense popularity is the fact that, whether your stakes are $1 or a considerably higher sum, most people in America love the madness at least in part because their wallet has a vested interest in the results.

Much like with the NFL season, I find that the most enjoyable pool associated with the NCAA Tournament is a survivor pool, or as the guy who runs mine calls it, the Win or Die.  The rules are pretty simple: pay an entry fee, pick one single winner each day of the tournament without regard to those annoying point spreads, pick any team no more than once during the whole tournament, win and advance to the next day, last one standing wins, winner take all.

Sounds easier than one of Charlie Sheen’s goddesses, right?

Well as those who have done it can attest, it’s brutal.  It is total strategy from Day 1, but you have to be able to adjust on the fly to account for the things you can never account for at the beginning of the tourney (like a #12 meeting a #13 for the right to advance to the second weekend, etc.).  And my pool has a tiebreaker that consists of the sum of all the seed numbers you picked correctly throughout the pool, so all correct picks, sadly, are not created equally.

I have studied, I have participated, I have lost on Day 1, and I have had heartbreaking defeats at the Final 4.  And now, I am ready to help you prepare your strategy to win your survivor pool.  And if nothing else, I am at least giving you somebody else to blame it on, in addition to the players, the coaches, the announcers, and the ugly lady rooting against your team in Row 1, who they keep showing on TV (yes, I am talking to you, Pacific fan, who had the audacity to root against St. Joe’s in 1997).

Here are the five golden rules to have a chance to win your survivor pool.

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Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 2011 ncaa tournament, march madness 2011, march madness survivor pool

Southeast Regional Bracket Breakdown: Picks, Tickets, TV Schedule, Announcers, and Spreads

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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As part of our annual March Madness coverage, we not only provide a complete NCAA Tournament bracket breakdown, but we also break down each individual region as well.

Below is everything you need to know about the Southeast Regional, including: ticket links and discount codes; the matchups, TV schedule, announcer assignments, and point spreads; and my predictions for how the bracket will play out.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com


Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 2011 ncaa men's basketball tournament, march madness 2011, march madness 2011 picks, southeast region, southeast region picks, southeast regional

Southwest Regional Bracket Breakdown: Picks, Tickets, TV Schedule, Announcers, and Spreads

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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As part of our annual March Madness coverage, we not only provide a complete NCAA Tournament bracket breakdown, but we also break down each individual region as well.

Below is everything you need to know about the Southwest regional, including: ticket links and discount codes; the matchups, TV schedule, announcer assignments, and point spreads; and my predictions for how the bracket will play out.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com


Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: march madness 2011, march madness 2011 picks, southeast region, southeast region bracket, southeast region picks

West Regional Bracket Breakdown: Picks, Tickets, TV Schedule, Announcers, and Spreads

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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As part of our annual March Madness coverage, we not only provide a complete NCAA Tournament bracket breakdown, but we also break down each individual region as well.

Below is everything you need to know about the West Regional, including: ticket links and discount codes; the matchups, TV schedule, announcer assignments, and point spreads; and my predictions for how the bracket will play out.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com


Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 2011 ncaa men's basketball tournament, march madness 2011, march madness 2011 picks, west region bracket, west regional, west regional picks, west regional tickets

East Regional Bracket Breakdown: Picks, Tickets, TV Schedule, Announcers, and Spreads

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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As part of our annual March Madness coverage, we not only provide a complete NCAA Tournament bracket breakdown, but we also break down each individual region as well.

Below is everything you need to know about the East Regional, including: ticket links and discount codes; the matchups, TV schedule, announcer assignments, and point spreads; and my predictions for how the bracket will play out.

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Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: east region, east region bracket, east region picks, east regional, march madness 2011, march madness 2011 picks, ncaa mens basketball tournament 2011

March Madness 2011: Four Upset Picks That Could Bust Brackets

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Selection Sunday has come and gone, and the madness is about ready to begin.

The brackets were revealed with an interesting panel that included the constantly smiling Seth Davis and the always honest Charles Barkley, and while watching the selection show, I saw four games that I believe can really shake up the brackets.

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Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: Georgetown, kentucky, march madness upsets, ncaa tournament, Oakland, Princeton, Texas, USC, Wisconsin

CBI Tournament appearance for Evansville a nice reward for an overachieving season

March 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
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Since its inception in 1938, the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) has gone from prestigious postseason tournament to consolation prize to fodder for student sections taunting struggling opponents. Next Monday, someone will notice that ESPN is airing college basketball games and say, “Hey! I didn’t think basketball was on again till Thursday.” A friend will respond, “That’s not real basketball. That’s the NIT.” “What does ‘NIT’ stand for?” “It stands for ‘Not Invited Tournament.’ ”

The last five years have seen the establishment of two postseason tournaments that are a tier below even the Not Invited Tournament. The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) populate their 16- and 24-team fields with teams that fail to secure an NCAA or NIT invitation. Why do we need two tournaments for teams that aren’t accomplished enough to earn one of 100 bids to play for either a national championship or an NIT title? I don’t know. We don’t, really.

But, this year, I’m glad we have the CBI.

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Filed Under: CBB, Mid-Majors Tagged With: cbi tournament, Evansville Aces

March Madness 2011 Picks: The Fun NCAA Tournament Bracket

March 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
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I just wrote an article about how to actually have fun with March Madness, and now I am going to put my money where my mouth is (so to speak) and take my own advice.

Now pay attention.  This IS NOT an expert’s bracket.  You can find those anywhere.  [Editor's note: including here!] Jerod and Ari from MSF know much more about college hoops than I do.  In fact, almost no research has gone into this bracket at all.  If I’m wrong about a few things, feel free to point them out in the comments section, but really, I don’t care.

However, if you are looking for something mildly entertaining with a few helpful insights on certain teams, this is your stop.

I present to you my 2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket.

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Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: march madness 2011, march madness bracket, march madness picks, ncaa tournament picks

First Four TV Schedule and Announcer Assignments – Plus a Final Word on Tourney Snubs

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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The new feature of this year’s tournament is the “First Four”. It was created to allow more teams into the tournament that theoretically deserved to be in it. It also serves to eliminate a few extra 16 seeds early on.

Supposedly, the addition of three new teams in the tournament was supposed to end the post-Selection Show ranting about teams that were snubbed. In reality, only controversy has resulted from these extra teams.

In the post, we provide the TV schedule and announcers assignments for the four “First Four” games and then take one final quick look at the biggest tourney snubs, with the benefit of 36 hours of perspective.

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Filed Under: CBB, March Madness, March Madness Viewing Schedule Tagged With: 2011 ncaa basketball tournament, Alabama, Clemson, Colorado, Snubs, USC, Virginia Tech

March Madness Advice: 3 Tips for How to Actually Enjoy the NCAA Tournament

March 14, 2011 By 9 Comments
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This is the most exciting time of year for hoops fans, and if you’re anything like me you’re already almost burnt out on it.

To this point, exactly 26 hours after the brackets were announced, I am fed up with the following: Duke; the Big East; Mid-Major Bashing; Committee Bashing; “Upset Specials”; “Fill your bracket out Here”; Jay Bilas; Talking Heads talking about all the parity and upsets and then picking four #1 seeds to the Final Four; etc…

Let’s get some things straight: I am a huge basketball fan; it is my favorite sport…but I’m an NBA guy first. I would consider myself to be very knowledgeable about the college game, but in no way am I an expert.

When I was younger, I would spend hours researching each team, and fill out my bracket with the utmost care. Then, I would cringe and groan my whole way through the tournament every time one of my picks was wrong. To be honest, the whole experience was quite stressful.

Then, I figured out the solution: if you don’t want to agonize over every pick; if you want to enjoy the hours of great basketball; if you want to maximize the amount of fun you could have with the tournament, follow these simple steps, and I promise you the 2011 NCAA Tournament will be unlike any sporting event you’ve ever experienced.

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Jon Washburn @The_Dr_Twitch

Filed Under: CBB, March Madness Tagged With: 2011 ncaa basketball tournament, duke, espn, March Madness, march madness advice, march madness tips

Women’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdown: Seeds, Pairings, Game Dates/Locations, TV Schedule

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Last night, the Men’s NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed with much fanfare on CBS. As I do every year, I was positioned right in front of the TV updating the info in real-time as the pairings were announced.

Tonight, as I also do every year, I will be doing the same thing for the 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament. The bracket for the ladies gets revealed tonight on ESPN at 7:00 ET, and I will updating the tables below as the information is announced.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com


Filed Under: CBB, Womens Basketball Tagged With: women's ncaa tournament bracket, Womens Basketball, womens ncaa tournament
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