A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Andy Bottoms analyzes college basketball year 'round for Midwest Sports Fans. His column, The Bottoms Line, features in-depth and advanced statistical analysis plus his podcast, which features expert guests from around the college basketball landscape. Follow Andy and The Bottoms Line on Twitter: @AndyBottoms | @TheBottomsLine
Bookmark this page and check back often during March. Midwest Sports Fans will have comprehensive coverage of March Madness 2012 throughout the month.
Friday proved to be yet another outstanding day of basketball, complete with the same level of unpredictability we’ve come to expect this season. With so many bubble teams losing, it turned out to be a good day to be idle as teams like Saint Mary’s and Middle Tennessee can attest.
Tuesday night’s slate looked to be an uneventful one, but two potential number one seeds wound up going down on the road, as Minnesota knocked off top-ranked IU while surging Tennessee took care of a short-handed Florida squad. Those two results, along with Memphis’ road loss at Xavier, produced a small shakeup in this week’s bracket.
Selection Sunday is now less than a month away, and the bracket remains as fluid as ever. Nearly every bubble team lost at least once last week, and at this point you can pretty much draw names out of hat once you get to the last eight or 10 teams being discussed.
The same kinds of upsets that are celebrated during the NCAA Tournament are somehow being used as an indictment of the 2012-13 season, but I have no complaints about such an unpredictable year. Well, maybe one.
Selection Sunday is less than six weeks away, and now that we’ve hit February I’m going to start doing weekly projections. The projections below take into account all games played through Monday, February 4th.
We’re now less than two months from Selection Sunday, so it’s time for another set of bracket projections.
This bracket projection below takes into account all games played through Monday, January 8th. You may think I don’t know what I’m talking about. You may be right. But it’s worth pointing out that I did finish second last season according to the Bracket Project. I fully plan on living off of that for the remainder of the year, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
In episode #6 of 2012, host Andy Bottoms is joined by John Gasaway of Basketball Prospectus and ESPN Insider.
Andy Bottoms is joined by Rob Dauster of College Basketball Talk on NBCSports.com. They touch on nearly every team in the Big Ten, including: uneven starts from teams like Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan State, and Wisconsin; the prospects of Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio State going forward; great starts from Indiana and Michigan.
In episode #4 of 2012, host Andy Bottoms is joined by Michael Rogner of Run the Floor and Tomahawk Nation. They discuss – what else? – all 12 games in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, including tonight’s tilt between Indiana and North Carolina.
2012 marks the 14th season of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and after losing the event’s first 10 matchups, the Big Ten is looking to make it four straight victories this year. And while the Big Ten is widely regarded as the nation’s best conference this season, the ACC boasts three teams in the most recent AP Top 25, including Duke who has compiled the country’s best resume so far this year.
In episode #3 of 2012, host Andy Bottoms is joined by Troy Machir of College Basketball Talk. They discuss the ESPN Tipoff Marathon, early impressions of the Big Ten, a look ahead to preseason tournaments starting this week, and this season’s All-Name Team.
Because Andy Bottoms is an overachiever (read: a college hoops-obsessed junkie who was excited to find the Louisville-Bellarmine game on TV Wednesday night), the more traditional Top 25 just wasn’t enough. He is his Top 30 heading into the season.
In episode #2 of 2012, host Andy Bottoms is joined by Joe Stapleton of UMHoops.com to talk about Michigan as well as the rest of the Big Ten.
Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State are all ranked inside of the Top 15 in both preseason polls, and I fully expect each one to spend their fair share of time in the Top 10 throughout the year.
