Predict the Field

[Professor Chaos]

Who's the best bracketologist on AGS? Give your projection of the field on this thread and let's see who matches the committee the best. I'll keep track of everyone's submission and sometime tomorrow or Monday I'll tally the scores.


I'll give one point for each correct at-large prediction (14 possible points).

I'll give one point for each correct seeded team predicted and a bonus point for each team that you predict at the right seed line (16 possible points).

Put the first round matchups together and I'll give you 1 point for each correct first round matchup (8 possible points).

Match up your first round pairings with a seed and I'll give you a half point for each first round team you pair with the right seed so you can get a full point if you have the right first round matchup with the right seed (8 possible points).


As a reminder here are the autobids:

Big Sky: Weber St
Big South: Monmouth
CAA: James Madison
MVFC: North Dakota St
NEC: Central Connecticut St
OVC: Austin Peay
Patriot League: Holy Cross
Pioneer League: San Diego
SOCON: Wofford
Southland: Nicholls

[Professor Chaos]

Here's my shot at it:

At-large bids: Sac St, Montana St, Montana, SDSU, UNI, UCA, SEMO, Illinois St, UND, SLU, Villanova, Furman, Albany, SIU

Seeds:
1. NDSU
2. JMU
3. Weber St
4. Sac St
5. Montana St
6. Montana
7. UCA
8. Wofford

The bracket:

SDSU/UND to #1 NDSU
UNI/Furman to #8 Wofford
Illinois St/SEMO to #5 Montana St
SELA/San Diego to #4 Sac St
CCSU/Nicholls to #3 Weber St
Albany/Holy Cross to #6 Montana
Austin Peay/SIU to #7 UCA
Monmouth/Villanova to #2 JMU

[skinny_uncle]

Here's my shot at it:

At-large bids: Sac St, Montana St, Montana, SDSU, UNI, UCA, SEMO, Illinois St, UND, SLU, Villanova, Furman, Albany, SIU

Seeds:
1. NDSU
2. JMU
3. Weber St
4. Sac St
5. Montana St
6. Montana
7. UCA
8. Wofford

The bracket:

SDSU/UND to #1 NDSU
UNI/Furman to #8 Wofford
Illinois St/SEMO to #5 Montana St
SELA/San Diego to #4 Sac St
CCSU/Nicholls to #3 Weber St
Albany/Holy Cross to #6 Montana
Austin Peay/SIU to #7 UCA
Monmouth/Villanova to #2 JMU

Looks reasonable to me.

[TheKingpin28]

SDSU @ UND VS #1 NDSU
Albany @ Villanova VS #2 JMU
Holy Cross @ Central Connecticut State VS #3 Weber State
Austin Peay St @ Southern Illinois VS #4 Sacramento St
Wofford @ Kennesaw St VS #5 Montana State
Monmouth @ Nicholls St VS #6 Montana
Southeast Missouri St @ Illinois St VS #7 Northern Iowa
San Diego @ Southeastern Louisiana VS #8 UCA

6 bus trips in the 1st round
1 bus trip for sure in the 2nd round
3 potential bus trips in the 2nd round

I'll take that

[ming01]

Albany at Holy Cross vs 1. NDSU
SE Missouri St at Illinois St vs 8. Central Arkansas

SIU at UNI vs 4. Sacramento State
Monmouth at C. Conn St vs. 5. Villanova

Austin Peay at Furman vs. 3. Weber St
UND at SDSU vs 6. Montana St

San Diego at Nicholls vs 7. Montana
SELA at Wofford vs 2. James Madison

Yes that lower half is loaded.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

1. NDSU
2. JMU
3. Weber State
4. Northern Iowa
5. Sacramento State
6. Wofford
7. Montana State
8. Central Connecticut State

First Round
San Diego vs Central Arkansas/#1 NDSU
Holy Cross vs Albany/#8 Central Connecticut State
Nicholls State vs Furman/#5 Sacramento State
Southern Illinois vs Austin Peay/ #4 Northern Iowa
Southeast Missouri State vs Illinois State/#3 Weber State
Montana vs North Dakota/#6 Wofford
Villanova vs Monmouth/#2 James Madison
Kennesaw State vs South Dakota State/ #7 Montana State

[Bear84]

Albany/CCSU to #1 NDSU
Monmouth/Villanova to #2 JMU
San Diego/Nicholls to #3 WSU
UCA/SEMO to #4 SacSt
SDSU/UND to #5 UNI
SLU/Holy Cross to #6 Mont. St
ISUr/APSU to #7 Mont
Furman/SCST to #8 Wofford

[footballer23]

Albany/Holy Cross @ #1 NDSU
Illinois State/Austin Peay @ #8 UNI
Monmouth/CCSU @ #5 Wofford
SDSU/Nicholls @ #4 Montana State
Central Arkansas/San Diego @ #3 Weber State
SEMO/SELA @ #6 Sacramento State
Villanova/SIU @ #7 Montana
Furman/Kennesaw @ #2 James Madison

[Preferred Walk-On]

Austin Peay/Southern Illinois to #1 North Dakota State
Illinois State/Southeast Missouri State to #8 Wofford
Albany/Central Connecticut State to #5 Sac State
Central Arkansas/Furman to #4 Montana State
Nicholls State/San Diego to #3 Weber State
Villanova/Southeastern Louisiana to #6 Montana
North Dakota/South Dakota State to #7 Northern Iowa
Monmouth/Holy Cross to #2 James Madison

1st round = 5 bus trips
2nd round = Potentially 2 bus trips

I think 2nd round bus trips are thrown out the window if 4 Big Sky seeds, since really no teams would meet the criteria for traveling by bus for these matchups.

Also, given that NDSU played both SDSU and UND during the year, if UNI is a seed, this matchup might get funneled here, given that UNI did not play UND and​ SDSU is a bus ride.

[Professor Chaos]

Also, given that NDSU played both SDSU and UND during the year, if UNI is a seed, this matchup might get funneled here, given that UNI did not play UND and​ SDSU is a bus ride.
I really would like it if they bracketed to avoid 2nd round rematches but they don't have to and in this case it would potentially cause an extra flight so I doubt they would do it.

[Preferred Walk-On]

I really would like it if they bracketed to avoid 2nd round rematches but they don't have to and in this case it would potentially cause an extra flight so I doubt they would do it.

Just a gut feeling. One can hope. I feel like the committee has been a bit more front-and-center this year with interviews and podcasts leading up to Selection Sunday. In these interviews, they have been pressed a bit on regionalization. This could be a year where they make a point to emphasize minimizing 2nd round rematches over trying to make one (and maybe only one) guaranteed bus ride in the 2nd round, given that there will be very few opportunities for this with the non-NDSU matchups. Bus rides will definitely be maximized in the 1st round to compensate for this, but in the end, I feel like this may be the year SDSU does not automatically get funneled through NDSU early (that is if they can get by UND).

[Chalupa Batman]

For some reason I just don't think the Big Sky is going to get 4 seeds, even though they should

SDSU/UND @ #1 NDSU
Albany/Holy Cross @ #8 CCSU
UCA/Austin Peay @ #4 Sacramento State
SLU/Montana @ #5 Montana State
Nicholls/San Diego @ #3 Weber State
Furman/SCSU @ #6 Wofford
Monmouth/Villanova @ #2 JMU
Illinois State/SEMO @ #7 UNI

[Preferred Walk-On]

SDSU @ UND VS #1 NDSU
Albany @ Villanova VS #2 JMU
Holy Cross @ Central Connecticut State VS #3 Weber State
Austin Peay St @ Southern Illinois VS #4 Sacramento St
Wofford @ Kennesaw St VS #5 Montana State
Monmouth @ Nicholls St VS #6 Montana
Southeast Missouri St @ Illinois St VS #7 Northern Iowa
San Diego @ Southeastern Louisiana VS #8 UCA

6 bus trips in the 1st round
1 bus trip for sure in the 2nd round
3 potential bus trips in the 2nd round

I'll take that

Was trying to figure out that 6th bus trip. Then realized you had Kennesaw State in. Will be interesting to see if that comes to fruition, since that seems to be the consensus first out/last in based on the predicted brackets thus far.

[BisonBacker]

Albany at Holy Cross vs 1. NDSU
SE Missouri St at Illinois St vs 8. Central Arkansas

SIU at UNI vs 4. Sacramento State
Monmouth at C. Conn St vs. 5. Villanova

Austin Peay at Furman vs. 3. Weber St
UND at SDSU vs 6. Montana St

San Diego at Nicholls vs 7. Montana
SELA at Wofford vs 2. James Madison

Yes that lower half is loaded.

Nope

[CopperCat]

1. NDSU
2. JMU
3. Weber State
4. Northern Iowa
5. Sacramento State
6. Wofford
7. Montana State
8. Central Connecticut State

First Round
San Diego vs Central Arkansas/#1 NDSU
Holy Cross vs Albany/#8 Central Connecticut State
Nicholls State vs Furman/#5 Sacramento State
Southern Illinois vs Austin Peay/ #4 Northern Iowa
Southeast Missouri State vs Illinois State/#3 Weber State
Montana vs North Dakota/#6 Wofford
Villanova vs Monmouth/#2 James Madison
Kennesaw State vs South Dakota State/ #7 Montana State

Your seeds are all kinds of messed up. There is no way Montana State will be seeded behind UNI or Wofford.

[ming01]

Nope

You should look at past brackets. They avoided UNI at Sdsu last year. Richmond & Nova werent sent to JMU in 16. Even SDSU wasnt matched up with NDSU in 13.

My reasoning is 4 west seeds need to be filled out.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Just finished my FCS Playoff projection.

* Monmouth as 7 seed
* South Carolina State in
* Southeast Louisiana out

https://www.college-sports-journal.com/fcs-playoffs-til-i-die-final-playoff-picks-11-23-2019/

[TheKingpin28]

Was trying to figure out that 6th bus trip. Then realized you had Kennesaw State in. Will be interesting to see if that comes to fruition, since that seems to be the consensus first out/last in based on the predicted brackets thus far.

I do not think they should be in, and I want to believe the committee ignores the bus trip notion until they select, but getting that 6th bus trip was too enticing for me to leave out.

[WileECoyote06]

SDSU @Montana to #1 NDSU
Holy Cross @Albany to #8 Central Connecticut State
San Diego @Nicholls to #4 Sacramento State
Austin Peay @Kennesaw State to #5 Northern Iowa
Villanova @Monmouth to #2 James Madison
SEMO @U of Central Arkansas to #7 Illinois State
SELA @ Wofford to #3 Weber State
SCSU @Furman to #6 Montana State

[FargoBison]

Holy Cross at Albany vs 1. NDSU
UND at SDSU vs 8. UNI

USD at Nicholls St vs 4. Sac State
CCSU at Monmouth vs 5. Montana State

Austin Peay at SIU vs 3. Weber State
SEMO at ISUR vs 6. UCA

SLU at Villanova vs 7. Montana
KSU at Wofford vs 2. JMU

[MTfan4life]

Just a gut feeling. One can hope. I feel like the committee has been a bit more front-and-center this year with interviews and podcasts leading up to Selection Sunday. In these interviews, they have been pressed a bit on regionalization. This could be a year where they make a point to emphasize minimizing 2nd round rematches over trying to make one (and maybe only one) guaranteed bus ride in the 2nd round, given that there will be very few opportunities for this with the non-NDSU matchups. Bus rides will definitely be maximized in the 1st round to compensate for this, but in the end, I feel like this may be the year SDSU does not automatically get funneled through NDSU early (that is if they can get by UND).

There were ZERO second round rematches last year. UNI could have been sent to either SDSU or NDSU and it didn't happen. Montana State could have been funneled to EWU and that didn't happen either. Kent Haslam made it seem like they have changed the guard on that front. Of course now that I say that, it will be like 2015 all over again where 7 of the 8 games had a chance to be rematches. However, I made my bracket as if they kept the same process as last season.




1 North Dakota State


CCSU



Monmouth




8 Central Arkansas


Wofford



Kennesaw




4 Weber State


Nicholls State



Southern Illinois




5 Montana State


Northern Iowa



SEMO




2 James Madison


Austin Peay



Illinois State




7 Villanova


Holy Cross



Albany




3 Sacramento State


San Diego



Southeastern Louisiana




6 Montana


South Dakota State



North Dakota





Last two in: Southern Illinois and Kennesaw State

First four out: Eastern Washington, Furman, Sam Houston State, and South Carolina State
Next team out who will probably get in and maybe get a seed: New Hampshire

[RabidRabbit]

UND @ SDSU to 1) NDSU
MONMOUTH @Villanova to 2) JMU
CCSU @ Albany to 3) Weber
SEMO @ IL St to 4) UNI
San Diego @ UCA to 5) Sac St
Holy Cross @ SE LA to 6) MT ST
A PEAY @ SIU to 7) MT
Furman @ KSU to 8) Wofford


Sent from my SM-P580 using Tapatalk

[NDSUKurt]

Holy Cross @ Central Conn State versus 1 NDSU

Albany @ Villanova versus 2 James Madison

Austin Peay @ Illinois State versus 3 Weber State

Southern Illinois @ Southeast Missouri State versus 4 Central Arkansas

Furman @ Southeastern Louisiana versus 5 Sacramento State

San Diego @ Montana versus 6 Montana State

Nicholls State @ South Dakota State versus 7 UNI

Wofford @ Kennesaw State versus 8 Monmouth


Disclaimers:

A. Last 2 teams were the hardest for me. I went with Southeastern Louisiana and Furman.

B. My first 2 teams out are UND and Towson, with South Carolina State considered as well.

C. Selecting the 8th seed was hard for me. I went with Monmouth because they won their conference, but I could see Wofford here as well.

D. Southern Illinois/SEMO is a rematch from opening weekend. However, the Committee can make rematches for opening weekend if it was an out of conference game.

E. I know it looks like I am hateful towards the Colonial, but: Albany and Villanova did not play this season, so that game can happen in the opening round, and it is a bus trip. Then, when looking at second round matchups, it is one of the closest to Harrisonburg.

F. Having so many western teams seeded this year will mean lots of flights for the first few rounds all across the board.

G. This is NOT my "I wish bracket" for NDSU, but I can see how some may think that is what I did. I mapped it out and there are 5 bus trip games in the opening round, and that played a big part in my selections after I selected my top 8.

[Professor Chaos]

D. Southern Illinois/SEMO is a rematch from opening weekend. However, the Committee can make rematches for opening weekend if it was an out of conference game.

The committee is supposed to avoid first round OOC rematches unless it adds an extra flight. Austin Peay is within bus distance of of SIU and Illinois St is within bus distance of SEMO so they do have options here.

[NDSUKurt]

The committee is supposed to avoid first round OOC rematches unless it adds an extra flight. Austin Peay is within bus distance of of SIU and Illinois St is within bus distance of SEMO so they do have options here.

Yeah, I thought about those. It was a hard decision.

[Reign of Terrier]

I can't. As many hot takes I produce, I don't know who on the bubble will get in.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Schism55]

There were ZERO second round rematches last year. UNI could have been sent to either SDSU or NDSU and it didn't happen. Montana State could have been funneled to EWU and that didn't happen either. Kent Haslam made it seem like they have changed the guard on that front. Of course now that I say that, it will be like 2015 all over again where 7 of the 8 games had a chance to be rematches. However, I made my bracket as if they kept the same process as last season.




1 North Dakota State


CCSU



Monmouth




8 Central Arkansas


Wofford



Kennesaw




4 Weber State


Nicholls State



Southern Illinois




5 Montana State


Northern Iowa



SEMO




2 James Madison


Austin Peay



Illinois State




7 Villanova


Holy Cross



Albany




3 Sacramento State


San Diego



Southeastern Louisiana




6 Montana


South Dakota State



North Dakota





Last two in: Southern Illinois and Kennesaw State

First four out: Eastern Washington, Furman, Sam Houston State, and South Carolina State
Next team out who will probably get in and maybe get a seed: New Hampshire
This bracket is so dope, from your fingers to the committee's ears xthumbsupx Look at all that new blood in new places.
Also LOL at the New Hampshire comment.

[melloware13]

San Diego @ South Dakota State -> 1. North Dakota State

Central Connecticut State @ Villanova -> 8. Monmouth

Southeast Missouri State @ Central Arkansas -> 4. Sacramento State

Kennesaw State @ Furman -> 5. Montana State

Holy Cross @ Albany -> 2. James Madison

Towson @ Nicholls -> 7. Northern Iowa

Austin Peay @ Illinois State -> 3. Weber State

Wofford @ Southeastern Louisiana -> 6. Montana

[santosballnewhampshire]

Those picking Towson over UNH, why? Don't say just 7 wins vs. 6.

UNH finished third outright in the CAA ahead of Towson and common foes relate to UNH beating Nova and Elon, Towson didn't. It literally makes zero sense to have Towson over UNH.

[F'N Hawks]

Strong rumors this morning about UND and SDSU in first round. It's what was predicted but seems to be real....

[GreatGreatGreat]

Sagarin ratings for UM, WSU, Sac and Montana State are 95, 96, 97 and 100 respectively. That’s crazy

[100%GRIZ]

Strong rumors this morning about UND and SDSU in first round. It's what was predicted but seems to be real....
Seams pretty realistic w/ ND playing a Big Sky schedule for this last time this year!

[Professor Chaos]

Here's how everyone shook out:






At-large



Seeds



Seed lines



1st round



2nd round




Username



Right



Wrong



Right



Wrong



Right



Wrong



Right



Wrong



Right



Wrong



Total



FargoBison



13



1



7



1



5



3



3



5



5



11



30.5



TheKingpin28



13



1



7



1



7



1



2



6



2



14



30.0



Preferred Walk-On



13



1



6



2



4



4



4



4



4



12



29.0



ming01



13



1



7



1



5



3



2



6



2



14



28.0



MTfan4life



13



1



7



1



7



1



1



7




16



28.0



Professor Chaos



13



1



7



1



6



2



1



7



2



14



28.0



NoBowls.com



14

0


6



2



6



2




8



3



13



27.5



melloware13



13



1



6



2



6



2




8



2



14



26.0



Chalupa Batman



13



1



5



3



5



3



1



7



3



13



25.5



RabbidRabbit



13



1



6



2



3



5



2



6



2



14



25.0



Bear84



13



1



6



2



4



4



1



7



1



15



24.5



NDSUKurt



13



1



6



2



3



5



1



7



2



14



24.0



Go Lehigh TU owl



13



1



5



3



3



5



1



7



2



14



23.0



WileECoyote06



13



1



5



3



4



4




8



2



14



23.0



footballer23



13



1



6



2



3



5




8



1



15



22.5



Lehigh Football Nation



12



2



5



3



3



5



1



7




16



21.0




Congrats to the #1 bracketologist on AGS FargoBison! How he nailed that Villanova/SLU first round matchup to Montana I'll never know but it put him over the top. :)

I also docked RabidRabbit a point a on the at-large total since he didn't include Nicholls in his bracket (he did have all 14 at-larges in there but also had SIU with that extra spot).

Let me know if you see a mistake (wouldn't be surprised since I cruised through it pretty quick).

[TheKingpin28]

.5 off, damn.

Thanks for this!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I went out on a limb and it broke. xdrunkyx

[F'N Hawks]

Anybody have a link to the 2nd half of the selection show where they interview Seitz?

[Preferred Walk-On]

Here's how everyone shook out:





At-large


Seeds


Seed lines


1st round


2nd round




Username

Right


Wrong


Right


Wrong


Right


Wrong


Right


Wrong


Right


Wrong


Total



FargoBison

13


1


7


1


5


3


3


5


5


11


30.5



TheKingpin28

13


1


7


1


7


1


2


6


2


14


30.0



Preferred Walk-On

13


1


6


2


4


4


4


4


3


13


28.5



ming01

13


1


7


1


5


3


2


6


2


14


28.0



MTfan4life

13


1


7


1


7


1


1


7



16


28.0



Professor Chaos

13


1


7


1


6


2


1


7


2


14


28.0



NoBowls.com

14

0

6


2


6


2



8


3


13


27.5



melloware13

13


1


6


2


6


2



8


2


14


26.0



Chalupa Batman

13


1


5


3


5


3


1


7


3


13


25.5



RabbidRabbit

13


1


6


2


3


5


2


6


2


14


25.0



Bear84

13


1


6


2


4


4


1


7


1


15


24.5



NDSUKurt

13


1


6


2


3


5


1


7


2


14


24.0



Go Lehigh TU owl

13


1


5


3


3


5


1


7


2


14


23.0



WileECoyote06

13


1


5


3


4


4



8


2


14


23.0



footballer23

13


1


6


2


3


5



8


1


15


22.5



Lehigh Football Nation

12


2


5


3


3


5


1


7



16


21.0




Congrats to the #1 bracketologist on AGS FargoBison! How he nailed that Villanova/SLU first round matchup to Montana I'll never know but it put him over the top. :)

I also docked RabidRabbit a point a on the at-large total since he didn't include Nicholls in his bracket (he did have all 14 at-larges in there but also had SIU with that extra spot).

Let me know if you see a mistake (wouldn't be surprised since I cruised through it pretty quick).

Hey Professor. Sorry, I did not understand 2nd round right/wrong. Could you please explain? Thanks.

[Professor Chaos]

Hey Professor. Sorry, I did not understand 2nd round right/wrong. Could you please explain? Thanks.
Yeah, kinda hard to illustrate that in the table. That's just the tally for how many first round teams you had "podded" to the right seed (the right seed based on the team not the seed line). You got a half point per team so if you had the exact right first round matchup going to a seeded team you got a point for that but if you only had one team right in the first round matchup going to the right seeded team you got a half point.

[ming01]

Bison fans dominate the bracketology haha

[Preferred Walk-On]

Congrats to the #1 bracketologist on AGS FargoBison! How he nailed that Villanova/SLU first round matchup to Montana I'll never know but it put him over the top. :)

Actually, I had Villanova/Southeast Louisiana going to #6 Montana (Fargo Bison had the correct matchup, but going to wrong seed line #7).

[Professor Chaos]

Actually, I had Villanova/Southeast Louisiana going to #6 Montana (Fargo Bison had the correct matchup, but going to wrong seed line #7).
Show me where you two hid the bug in the committee boardroom! :D

[Preferred Walk-On]

Yeah, kinda hard to illustrate that in the table. That's just the tally for how many first round teams you had "podded" to the right seed (the right seed based on the team not the seed line). You got a half point per team so if you had the exact right first round matchup going to a seeded team you got a point for that but if you only had one team right in the first round matchup going to the right seeded team you got a half point.

I believe that my tally should have been 9 then. But I might be missing something.

[Preferred Walk-On]

I believe that my tally should have been 9 then. But I might be missing something.

I had four pods perfectly correct and correct seed line. Then one additional team (Furman) to correct seed line.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Show me where you two hid the bug in the committee boardroom! :D

What, and ruin it for next year? xlolx

[Professor Chaos]

I believe that my tally should have been 9 then. But I might be missing something.
I think you're calculating it as going to the right seed line not the right seeded team. I did short you one though. You should have 4 of those potential 2nd round matchups right with SLU and Villanova to Montana and then Monmouth and Holy Cross to JMU. Not sure how I could've screwed that up but I did. I'll fix it in the standings table.


I had four pods perfectly correct and correct seed line. Then one additional team (Furman) to correct seed line.
Yeah, that's what I figured. To me that's more evident of luck (no offense) to go to the right seed line whereas predicting it to the right seeded team shows you were more in line with what the committee was thinking since they set up pods based on geographic proximity to the seeded team not on any particular seed line.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Who's the best bracketologist on AGS? Give your projection of the field on this thread and let's see who matches the committee the best. I'll keep track of everyone's submission and sometime tomorrow or Monday I'll tally the scores.


I'll give one point for each correct at-large prediction (14 possible points).

I'll give one point for each correct seeded team predicted and a bonus point for each team that you predict at the right seed line (16 possible points).

Put the first round matchups together and I'll give you 1 point for each correct first round matchup (8 possible points).

Match up your first round pairings with a seed and I'll give you a half point for each first round team you pair with the right seed so you can get a full point if you have the right first round matchup with the right seed (8 possible points).


As a reminder here are the autobids:

Big Sky: Weber St
Big South: Monmouth
CAA: James Madison
MVFC: North Dakota St
NEC: Central Connecticut St
OVC: Austin Peay
Patriot League: Holy Cross
Pioneer League: San Diego
SOCON: Wofford
Southland: Nicholls

I think matching with the seed (as you worded above) is probably more important than matching with the 2nd round team (seeded incorrectly). If it is a matchup with the "seeded team", then one gets penalized twice for not having the correct team with the correct seed. It's your game, so I defer to you, but I was just stunned that I managed to have not only four 1st round matchups completely correct, but all of them in the correct spot in the bracket. No worries either way.

[Professor Chaos]

I think matching with the seed (as you worded above) is probably more important than matching with the 2nd round team (seeded incorrectly). If it is a matchup with the "seeded team", then one gets penalized twice for not having the correct team with the correct seed. It's your game, so I defer to you, but I was just stunned that I managed to have not only four 1st round matchups completely correct, but all of them in the correct spot in the bracket. No worries either way.
Yeah, I should've worded that better in the OP. I explained my reasoning in the edit to my post above this one. You're right that it does give the potential to penalize you twice for the same mistake but that happens in other areas too. For instance if someone had Kennesaw out of the field and Wofford unseeded they lost the point for missing on Kennesaw on an at-large but then they also probably lost a point on that first round game since they'd have to ship Wofford off somewhere else whereas if you did have Kennesaw in the field pretty much everyone paired them with either Furman or Wofford.

That is pretty remarkable though that you had half of the first round matchups not only right but also in the exact right spot in the bracket. If you just would've tweaked those seeds a bit you would've blown us all away. ;)

[Preferred Walk-On]

I think you're calculating it as going to the right seed line not the right seeded team. I did short you one though. You should have 4 of those potential 2nd round matchups right with SLU and Villanova to Montana and then Monmouth and Holy Cross to JMU. Not sure how I could've screwed that up but I did. I'll fix it in the standings table.


Yeah, that's what I figured. To me that's more evident of luck (no offense) to go to the right seed line whereas predicting it to the right seeded team shows you were more in line with what the committee was thinking since they set up pods based on geographic proximity to the seeded team not on any particular seed line.

No offense taken, but I disagree. This is bracketology, and placing teams in the proper half of the bracket going to the proper seed is no small feat (I am curious how everyone would have scored in this scenario, scored as worded in instructions).

With 4 Big Sky seeds, it is difficult to predict pods based on geographic proximity to the seeded team. As for the other 4, since two are Dakotas, and the others are over 400 mi away, regionalization is somewhat null (if you gotta fly anyway, why is there a limit to distance?). I actually have a 2nd round matchup possible by switching UNI and SDSU, but I cannot get credit for this, as SDSU was the seed. Penalized also for switching Sac State and Montana State, even though when considering who will go to either of those, there is no rhyme or reason (i.e., it is guessing, even if you match the teams correctly).

I guess the point is that this year, any way you slice, it is luck (matching seed lines or matching seed teams, even if you have them incorrectly seeded).

Again, no worries about the outcome, but I think that your statement of "more evident of luck (no offense)" does not hold water, at least this year. All that said, I do appreciate you taking the time to have this contest, as it really made me think about matchups (and even who should be in). I should have gone with Kennesaw and not taken a chance on Southern Illinois. However, I still would have been screwed, as I had Wofford as the #8 seed, and wouldn't have been able to pick this obvious 1st round matchup (penalized twice for incorrect seeds). So it goes. xdontknowx

[Preferred Walk-On]

Yeah, I should've worded that better in the OP. I explained my reasoning in the edit to my post above this one. You're right that it does give the potential to penalize you twice for the same mistake but that happens in other areas too. For instance if someone had Kennesaw out of the field and Wofford unseeded they lost the point for missing on Kennesaw on an at-large but then they also probably lost a point on that first round game since they'd have to ship Wofford off somewhere else whereas if you did have Kennesaw in the field pretty much everyone paired them with either Furman or Wofford.

That is pretty remarkable though that you had half of the first round matchups not only right but also in the exact right spot in the bracket. If you just would've tweaked those seeds a bit you would've blown us all away. ;)

There's always next year! ;)

[Professor Chaos]

No offense taken, but I disagree. This is bracketology, and placing teams in the proper half of the bracket going to the proper seed is no small feat (I am curious how everyone would have scored in this scenario, scored as worded in instructions).

With 4 Big Sky seeds, it is difficult to predict pods based on geographic proximity to the seeded team. As for the other 4, since two are Dakotas, and the others are over 400 mi away, regionalization is somewhat null (if you gotta fly anyway, why is there a limit to distance?). I actually have a 2nd round matchup possible by switching UNI and SDSU, but I cannot get credit for this, as SDSU was the seed. Penalized also for switching Sac State and Montana State, even though when considering who will go to either of those, there is no rhyme or reason (i.e., it is guessing, even if you match the teams correctly).

I guess the point is that this year, any way you slice, it is luck (matching seed lines or matching seed teams, even if you have them incorrectly seeded).

Again, no worries about the outcome, but I think that your statement of "more evident of luck (no offense)" does not hold water, at least this year. All that said, I do appreciate you taking the time to have this contest, as it really made me think about matchups (and even who should be in). I should have gone with Kennesaw and not taken a chance on Southern Illinois. However, I still would have been screwed, as I had Wofford as the #8 seed, and wouldn't have been able to pick this obvious 1st round matchup (penalized twice for incorrect seeds). So it goes. xdontknowx
I get what you're saying but I still think there's more skill involved with pairing the right first round teams with the right seeded team than there is with the right seed line so we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

Honestly the entire bracketing is a crap shoot. You could put those 5 northeast unseeded teams names into a hat and draw them out and pair them up that way and have just as good of a shot at getting them right as someone who tries to put some logic behind it (the only one that couldn't happen was Monmouth/Albany I believe). It probably would've been better to weight the at-large picks and the correct seeds/seed lines heavier than the correct bracketing (maybe 2 points each for those rather than one). Or maybe it would've been better to just leave the bracketing points out??? I do like seeing what everyone builds for a bracket though just to look at the hypothetical draws and I think it's interesting to the fans of teams who are relatively new to the playoffs.

Oh well, I guess there's improvements to be made if I do it again next year. :)