Back in Business
by Ken Pomeroy on Saturday, January 31, 2004
Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me regarding the tournament resume page. There were a few things wrong with it, mainly the fact that when some teams were selected, another team's data would pop up. It should be alright now.
In my last comment before I left everyone to fend for themselves, I mentioned how Utah coach Rick Majerus would not be too pleased if Air Force shot better than 50% from the field. Well, it turns out Air Force did, and Majerus took it worse than I thought. By now most people are aware that Majerus nearly had a heart attack on the Tuesday following the game. Majerus has announced his resignation following the season, although it's unclear whether he will return to the bench before the season ends. He needs to make shedding 100 pounds his top priority, so this is obviously a good decision. He'll be a very…
Hiatus
by Ken Pomeroy on Monday, January 26, 2004
Sorry, but there will be no daily updates this week. The next update will be on Saturday morning, 1/31. In other news, I have posted the "compare tournament resume" function on the RPI page. This feature allows you to compare two teams and get the basic information the committee will rely on to make its decisions on seeding and at-large selections. So all of you who dream of being Southern University AD (and committee member) Floyd Kerr can live out your fantasy. If you find any bugs with it, drop me a line.
Football on the Hardwood
Air Force hosts Utah tonight. The football version of this matchup resulted in a 45-43 victory for Utah. This game could end up with a similar score. However if it's going to be that high scoring, it's probably going to need 3 overtimes like the football game.
Air Force is coming off a game where they went 29 of 40 from the field. That's 72.5% - a season high for any team in a single game this year. If they crack 50% against Utah, Rick Majerus will kick at least 3 players off his team. So I expect this game to be real ugly.
Doubleheader on the Deuce
by Ken Pomeroy on Thursday, January 22, 2004
What a great pair of games tonight both filled with oddities.
In falling to Florida State, North Carolina did something they have never done before - blow a 24 point lead and lose.
In losing to Richmond, Kansas did something they haven't done in over a decade - lose a non-conference game to an unranked team at home.
(Corrected Kansas factoid on 1/23)
Dipping in to the e-mail bag
by Ken Pomeroy on Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Matt from Indiana offers this...
First of all, I love your site, keep up the good work. Secondly, it's been a rough year for Indiana fans this season. However, just when everyone was giving up, we have reeled off three straight wins. What will it take for the Hoosiers to get into the tournament? We have no huge wins, but three solid ones in ND, Xavier, Michigan, all away from Assembly Hall. 10-6 in the conference would get us to 16-11, if we can get one more in Big Ten tourney, 17-12. Would a 17-12 Indiana team make the tourney? Has a 10-6 Big Ten team ever been left out? IU is nowhere to be found on most site's bracket projections, but I think we really have a chance. Thanks.
See when you lose 3 games by 30 points or more before mid-January, I tend to lose interest in that…
Saint Joseph’s and the 11 Dwarfs
That would be my name for the Atlantic 10 this year. St. Joe's has a legitimate shot to enter the NCAA tourney unbeaten, partially because they are very good and partially because the rest of their conference is down this year. I wouldn't bet on the Hawks pulling it off, but their chances are much better than the other 2 unbeatens, Stanford and Cincinnati. Now that they have risen to #3 in both polls, if they do run the table they will certainly be #1 at the end of the year. However, even if they are unbeaten they might not be a #1 seed in the tourney. The committee has set the precedent with Gonzaga year after year with regards to seeding based on whom you've beaten. Right now SJU has 1 win against a definite tourney team (Gonzaga) and 1 win against a probable team (Boston College). The A10…
RPI FAQ
by Ken Pomeroy on Monday, January 19, 2004
I have added a page that answers some of the questions I routinely get on the RPI. See it here.
Friday Morning Update
by Ken Pomeroy on Thursday, January 15, 2004
I will not be able to update the ratings again until Friday morning 1/15 at approximately 9:30 AM EST.
Freaks and Frauds
I learned about two highly rated teams last night...
Cincinnati, in their first real test of the year and I think their first national TV appearance, shined on the road against Marquette. As usual the Bearcats are filled with a bunch of rail-thin athletes (except for Maxiell) that have 40" verticals and 6 foot long arms. In other words, freaks of nature. Next Wednesday they travel to Louisville for some must-see TV.
Oklahoma failed another road test miserably. Their only quality wins so far are close ones against Purdue and Michigan St. Those wins don't look nearly as impressive as they did at the time. Even against their fairly weak early schedule they were barely able to shoot 40% from the field, ranking a paltry 240th in D1 (Ok. St. was #1 going into last night). After getting pummeled by UConn and Oklahoma St., the Sooners game on Saturday…
3-pont line stays
by Ken Pomeroy on Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Andy Katz reported today that the 3-point line will remain at its current location for another year. The main reason is that there appears to be much reluctance to going with the international-style trapezoid lane.
It would be nice to see the data that came out of the exempt games this year where these rules were tried. Were fewer fouls called? To me, that should be the determining factor as to whether changes need to be made.