bukie

Points makes things more exciting week to week, classic is a silly format but allows for quick catching up late in the season if you fall behind.

Forte already doing his best to promote the need to protect players heads.

They might have to wait longer than that. 10 teams is ideal for basketball (18 games, true home and home with everyone). Yeah, I hope the new Big East sticks with 10. They won't, of course. SLU and Dayton are probably going to the Big East in '14-'15. Agreed. I think they actually have to go to 12 to get the full $600 million. I think it was $500 million if they remain at 10 teams. So they literally gain no money by going to 12. I'm sure each school isn't getting $50 million, so I'm sure conference officials will gain money at some extent.

I created my ESPN entry, entitled "Go B1G or Go Home". If 7 B1G teams make the Elite 8, I'm going to win.

I don't know that I'd want Theo dabbling in the architecture of our new park. Just saying. I'd like the idea except I suspect he'd make it as bad for our current organization as possible in order to improve our draft position, plus he'd skimp on the expenses to try to save money for more bad Cuban pitchers. This is going to be your new thing now, then?

Needs more B1G.

There's a huge parking lot next to US Cellular field that isn't ever used.

SI's Luke Winn has 4 B1G teams in his Elite 8, and he has MSU being upset by Valpo.

And I'm going to be really disappointed when Illinois loses to Colorado Friday.

Add in that Illinois is the lowest 7 seed in KP, and the East has the lowest 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 seeds by KP.

And on IU's half of the bracket, they get the worst 8, worst 9, worst 5, worst 12, worst 13. Coupled with a weak crop of 16s overall this year and IU gets one of the play-ins, there's no excuse for IU not to make the Final Four from that bracket.

Did I mention I love that bracket? EDIT: Really, though, the worst 2, the worst 3, the worst 6, the worst 10, the worst 11...sure, they got the toughest 14 and 15, but, I mean, wow.

Going by KP, the 11 seeds are particularly underseeded this year. Except Bucknell.

Let the games begin. Tuesday, Mar. 19 (First-round games from Dayton) Both games: Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter) North Carolina A&T vs. Liberty, 6:30 p.m. ET (TruTV) Middle Tennessee State vs. Saint Mary's, 9 p.m. ET (TruTV) Wednesday, Mar. 20 (First-round games from Dayton) Both games: Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Clark Kellogg (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (reporter) LIU-Brooklyn vs. James Madison, 6:30 p.m. ET (TruTV) Boise State vs. La Salle, 9 p.m. ET (TruTV) Thursday, Mar. 21 (Second-round games from Lexington, San Jose, Salt Lake City and Auburn Hills) Valparaiso vs. Michigan State, 12:15 p.m. ET (CBS) (Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Rachel Nichols) Bucknell vs. Butler, 12:40 p.m. ET (TruTV) (Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce) Wichita State vs. Pittsburgh, 1:40 p.m. ET (TBS) (Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Jamie Maggio) New Mexico State vs. Saint Louis, 2:10 p.m. ET (TNT) (Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner/Marty Snider) Winner of Middle Tennessee State/Saint Mary's vs. Memphis, 2:40 p.m. ET (CBS) (Lundquist/Raftery/Nichols) Davidson vs. Marquette, 3:10 p.m. ET (TruTV) (Eagle/Spanarkel/LaForce) Southern vs. Gonzaga, 4:10 p.m. ET (TBS) (Dedes/Gottlieb/Maggio) Oregon vs. Oklahoma State, 4:40 p.m. ET (TNT) (Anderson/Bonner/Snider) Winner of North Carolina A&T/Liberty vs. Louisville 6:50 p.m. ET (TBS) (Eagle/Spanarkel/LaForce) South Dakota State vs. Michigan, 7:15 p.m. ET (CBS) (Lundquist/Raftery/Nichols) Belmont vs. Arizona , 7:20 p.m. ET (TNT) (Dedes/Gottlieb/Maggio) California vs. UNLV , 7:27 p.m. ET (TruTV) (Anderson/Bonner/Snider) Missouri vs. Colorado State, 9:20 p.m. ET (TBS) (Eagle/Spanarkel/LaForce) Akron vs. VCU, 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS) (Lundquist/Raftery/Nichols) Harvard vs. New Mexico, 9:50 p.m. ET (TNT) (Dedes/Gottlieb/Maggio) Montana vs. Syracuse, 9:57 p.m. ET (TruTV) (Anderson/Bonner/Snider) Friday, Mar. 22 (Second-round games from Philadelphia, Kansas City, Dayton and Austin) Albany vs. Duke, 12:15 p.m. ET (CBS) (Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller/Lewis Johnson) Ole Miss vs. Wisconsin, 12:40 p.m. ET (TruTV) (Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager) Temple vs. N.C. State, 1:40 p.m. ET (TBS) (Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson) Pacific vs. Miami, 2:10 p.m. ET (TNT) (Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Otis Livingston) Cincinnati vs. Creighton, 2:45 p.m. ET (CBS) (Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Johnson) Winner of Boise State/La Salle vs. Kansas State 3:10 p.m. ET (TruTV) Albert/Kerr/Sager) Winner of LIU-Brooklyn/James Madison vs. Indiana, 4:10 p.m. ET (TBS) (Nantz/Kellogg/Wolfson) Colorado vs. Illinois, 4:40 p.m. ET (TNT) (Brando/Gminski/Livingston) Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown, 6:50 p.m. ET (TBS) (Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Johnson) Iona vs. Ohio State, 7:15 p.m. ET (CBS) (Nantz/Kellogg/Wolfson) Villanova vs. North Carolina, 7:20 p.m. ET (TNT) (Albert/Kerr/Sager) Northwestern State vs. Florida 7:27 p.m. ET (TruTV) (Brando/Gminski/Livingston) Oklahoma vs. San Diego State, 9:20 p.m. ET (TBS) (Harlan/Elmore/Miller/Johnson) Iowa State vs. Notre Dame, 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS) (Nantz/Kellogg/Wolfson) Western Kentucky vs. Kansas, 9:50 p.m. ET (TNT) (Albert/Kerr/Sager) Minnesota vs. UCLA, 9:57 p.m. ET (TruTV) (Brando/Gminski/Livingston)

I mean, if predicting the Big Ten to go 26-6 is wrong, I don't want to be right.

There was one B1G team I just couldn't bring myself to pick to the Elite 8.

I don't get the Miami love. As an Illinois fan, Miami was the one team I desperately wanted the Illini in the same pod with among the top 2 seeds.

Butler beat the same 2. Butler is seeded too high. I agree, and there's a mini Maui retread going on in the bottom half of the East bracket.

Interesting thought, every single "snub" was a middling power conference team, and every one of the last 4 in were all mid majors (if that for MTSU).

Butler beat the same 2.

John Hollinger, of all people, is pitching a fit that Boise State got in over Virginia.

I just picked Illinois over Louisville. I may need to give this a day or two.

Was that stated somewhere? They're the 4 1 seeds in the NIT.

So the last 4 out were Kentucky, Virginia, Iowa and Tennessee.

Top 10 team when they feel like playing. Lot of size. Fortunately for other teams they haven't played with any urgency (outside of the IU game) in a month. Are they athletic? Rodney Williams is, and Mbakwe is a fantastic defender.