First '13 College Basketball Rankings

Nope, no Super Bowl talk. Go Niners, win one for Aldon and Justin.

It's time for my first "bracketology" rankings. You know the drill, I rank 72 teams (to get a "first 4 out"), I include all conference leaders, all teams receiving votes in both human polls, and the top 50 in the RPI (using RPI to break ties in conference standings). I average the team's RPI, poll ranks, strength of schedule rank, offensive efficiency rank, and defensive efficiency rank. Here is how the tourney would shape up including last nights games.

1: Florida v. 16: Southern or Norfolk State
2: Syracuse v. 15: Northeastern
3: Indiana v. 14: Davidson
4: UNLV v. 13: Memphis or Arizona State
5: Marquette v. 12: Bucknell
6: NC State v. 11: BYU
7: Colorado v. 10: Oklahoma State
8: UCLA v. 9: Connecticut

1: Kansas v. 16: Robert Morris or Charleston Southern
2: Michigan v. 15: Florida-Gulf Coast
3: Gonzaga v. 14: Long Beach State
4: Cincinnati v. 13: Akron
5: Wisconsin v. 12: Indiana State or Notre Dame
6: Baylor v. 11: Iowa State
7: Belmont v. 10: Mississippi
8: Creighton v. 9: Kansas State

1: Duke v. 16: Montana
2: Miami (FL) v. 15: Stephen F. Austin
3: Michigan State v. 14: Stony Brook
4: Butler v. 13: Louisiana Tech
5: New Mexico v. 12: Southern Mississippi
6: Missouri v. 11: Villanova
7: VCU v. 10: La Salle
8: Colorado State v. 9: Oklahoma

1: Arizona v. 16: Western Illinois
2: Louisville v. 15: Niagara
3: Minnesota v. 14: Valparaiso
4: Ohio State v. 13: Harvard
5: Oregon v. 12: Middle Tennessee State
6: San Diego State v. 11: Georgetown
7: Wichita State v. 10: Illinois
8: Pittsburgh v. 9: North Carolina

Last Four In:
Indiana State
Notre Dame
Memphis
Arizona State

First Four Out:
St. John's
Wyoming
St. Mary's
Massachusetts

Playoffs Are Coming

The problem with having divorced parents, being married to a woman with divorced parents, and having an 18-month-old who's the only great-grandchild in 2 of the 4 sides of the family is that the holidays can be extremely busy and tiresome. If all the families lived in the same city or were willing to all be in the same room, it'd be easy; but not the case. I'm not blaming my family for being away from a computer last week to do my Week 17 picks, just giving it up as a reason. I tweeted them out, but I realize most of you don't follow me... as I have only 10 followers (although I might not even have that many readers), but here's a recap:

Broncos over Chiefs
Bills over Jets
Bengals over Ravens
Steelers over Browns
Saints over Panthers
Bears over Lions
Texans over Colts
Titans over Jaguars
Giants over Eagles
Buccaneers over Falcons
Packers over Vikings
Patriots over Dolphins
Chargers over Raiders
49ers over Cardinals
Seahawks over Rams
Redskins over Cowboys

Week 16: 12-4
Week 17: 13-3
Season: 169-85

Wild Card Picks:
Ravens over Colts - is Andrew Luck the Rookie of the Year? Well, he surpassed expectations by taking the league-worst Colts back to the playoffs in 1 year. He put together a couple of great games in which he willed his team to win. And he manages to be a stellar quarterback while looking goofier than hell. Yes, the Colts are a zillion times better this year, but they still didn't prove anything on the road. If they had just won in Houston, they'd be hosting the Bengals while simultaneously preparing for the Patriots. They have impressed everyone and they are riding a better string of games than the Ravens, but I can't pick a team who's is 4-4 on the road with wins against KC, Jacksonville, Tennesse, and Detriot.
Texans over Bengals - this game is essentially meaningless, either the Texans lose to the Patriots or the Bengals lose to the Broncos. Honestly, I can see my self cheering for 7 teams in the Super Bowl, and these are the only two in the AFC.
Packers over Vikings - the Packers appeared to be overthinking their possible match-ups last week. They were either going to get the Vikings, Bears, Giants or Cowboys, but the only way they could control that was by losing a close one and playing the Vikings again. A win meant meant either the Bears, Giants or Cowboys (would have been the Bears). There choices were essentially a terrible QB with superstar RB and a strong defense or a bad QB with no RB and a strong (but old) defense. They made the wrong choice, but still I can't go against Rodgers.
Seahawks over Redskins - I love watching RG3; I love that I was right about the Redskins making the playoffs when I picked them to win on Thanksgiving; I love the DC fans and their support of the team; unfortunately, I think the Seahawks are the more complete team.