NCAA Tournament Crystal Ball
by Dan Hauptman and Michael Protos
March 2, 2007
Remembering back to high school math, the underrated and underutilized Law of Syllogism works as follows: If p is greater than q, and q is greater than r, then logically, p is greater than r. Using this theorem, the lowest team in the RPI (No. 336 Northern Colorado) is greater than the No. 1 team in the RPI (UCLA). The proof is in the hoops results.
- Jan. 11: Northern Colorado def. Northern Arizona 88-86
- Nov. 13: Northern Arizona def. Arizona State 75-71
- Feb. 18: Arizona State def. USC 68-58
- Feb. 22: USC def. Stanford 69-65
- Jan. 28: Stanford def. UCLA 75-68
As you can see, Hoopville genies Dan Hauptman and Michael Protos would favor the other UNC in a No. 336 vs. No. 1 game against UCLA. Forget about the 11 national titles won by the Bruins, or UCLA’s impressive 26-3 record, Hauptman and Protos like UNC’s chances, despite the 4-24 record that the Bears posted in their just-completed fourth season in Division I.
Anything can happen in the third month of the year, hence the March Madness moniker. To help sort out the craziness, Hauptman and Protos peeked into Hoopville’s Crystal Basketball and fortunately, a solid picture is coming into focus. For the first time in the history of the Crystal Basketball, Hauptman and Protos saw identical visions for the teams in the field. The placement of those teams crosses a range of seeds. But Hauptman and Protos saw a synchronized vision in which the bubble favors Alabama, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Missouri State, Oklahoma State, Syracuse and West Virginia. Hauptman and Protos see Purdue, Clemson and Drexel immediately on the wrong side of the bubble, lingering in the discussion.
Even before the conference tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla., the ACC is epitomizing the chaotic course of March. Just one day into the greatest month of the year, the ACC has produced an upset of the conference’s highest rated team that likely vaults the victor into the NCAA Tournament. Georgia Tech had been on the wrong side of the bubble until Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Hauptman and Protos agree that North Carolina’s two-game losing streak at the wrong time of the season has cost the Tar Heels a No. 1 seed. Hauptman prefers to give that vacant spot to Florida, which joins UCLA, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Protos, on the other hand, likes Kansas to move up into that spot, possibly ending a two-year run of first-round exits for the Jayhawks. Or it sets up the most monumental first-round upset – a No. 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 seed – in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to Georgia Tech’s upset of North Carolina, Virginia avenged a hideous performance in Blacksburg by taking out Virginia Tech, which previously had the inside track to the ACC title. Now the regular-season title is the Cavaliers’ to lose. Virginia gets Wake Forest to end the season. Who would’ve thought that would happen? Ah, March.
Let’s take a look at the rest of field, as seen by Hauptman and Protos.
Hauptman’s Hoops Horoscope | Protos’ Prognostications |
---|---|
Ohio State UCLA Florida Wisconsin |
UCLA Ohio State Wisconsin Kansas |
Kansas North Carolina Memphis Texas A&M |
Florida North Carolina Texas A&M Georgetown |
Georgetown Washington State Southern Illinois Pittsburgh |
Pittsburgh Memphis Washington State Southern Illinois |
Texas Virginia Tech Nevada Tennessee |
Maryland Tennessee Texas Virginia Tech |
BYU Maryland Oregon Butler |
Kentucky UNLV Duke Marquette |
Duke Kentucky Virginia Arizona |
Nevada Butler Arizona BYU |
Boston College Vanderbilt UNLV Notre Dame |
Villanova Vanderbilt Boston College Virginia |
Marquette Texas Tech Creighton USC |
Oregon Indiana Michigan State Stanford |
Villanova Air Force Louisville Indiana |
USC Notre Dame Air Force Louisville |
Syracuse Michigan State Stanford Gonzaga |
Creigthon Xavier Texas Tech Syracuse |
Georgia Tech Illinois Old Dominion Oklahoma State |
Oklahoma State Missouri State Alabama Winthrop |
Xavier Winthrop West Virginia Missouri State |
Georgia Tech Gonzaga VCU Illinois |
Alabama Davidson Akron Holy Cross |
Davidson West Virginia Holy Cross Akron |
Long Beach State South Alabama Penn Oral Roberts |
Vermont Oral Roberts Penn Texas A&M – Corpus Christi |
Vermont Austin Peay Marist Weber State |
Marist Long Beach State South Alabama Austin Peay |
Texas A&M – Corpus Christi East Tennessee State Central Connecticut State Delaware State Mississippi Valley State |
East Tennessee State Delaware State Central Connecticut State Weber State Mississippi Valley State |
Last 4 In: Oklahoma State West Virginia Missouri State Alabama |
Last 4 In: Alabama Georgia Tech Illinois West Virginia |
Last 4 Out: Purdue Clemson Drexel Kansas State |
Last 4 Out: Purdue Clemson Drexel Florida State |
Shooting Stars: Maryland Texas Tennessee Georgetown |
Shooting Stars: Maryland BYU Tennessee Louisville |
Sinking Ships: Oklahoma State West Virginia Alabama Air Force |
Sinking Ships: Air Force Oklahoma State Butler Indiana |
Conference Breakdown: Big East: 8 ACC: 7 Pac-10: 6 Big 12: 5 Big Ten: 5 SEC: 5 Missouri Valley: 3 Mountain West: 3 23 one-bid conferences |
Conference Breakdown: Big East: 8 ACC: 7 Pac-10: 6 Big 12: 5 Big Ten: 5 SEC: 5 Missouri Valley: 3 Mountain West: 3 23 one-bid conferences |
Check back throughout the next week, as Hauptman’s and Protos’ visions for the Big Dance become clearer as the days until Selection Sunday count down.
Whose field looks more accurate to you? Or are both Hauptman and Protos off target? E-mail us your comments on the Crystal Basketball or give us your own NCAA Tournament prognostications. The calendar reads March. Madness ensues.