I Bleed Blue and White

Fan-favorite Joe Lunardi held a Friday chat and talked about all things Bracketology. Below are a couple fo questions he answered today.

Nicole (Gilroy, NY): Joe, I see you have Nova at the Philly site, what are the chances they can stay at the Wachovia Center?

Joe Lunardi: Looking better all the time, Nicole. The two wins this week were extremely helpful for the ‘Cats.

Mike (NYC): Joe, You have Wake ahead of Nova on the S-curve, but have Villanova playing in Philly. With Wake geographically closer to Philly (and ahead on the s-curve), why are they not in that pod?

Joe Lunardi: Because the Villanova people kill me whenever I don’t slot them in Philly. Seriously? The committee is talking about keeping even more teams closer to home when possible. In this case, Wake has to fly either way (Philly or Miami), so why not be convenient for another team when you can?

First of all Joe, what Villanova people are you talking to? Who is “killing” you over putting Villanova in the Philly pod? Is it that outrageous?

If Villanova wins just 1 game in the BET, I’d be shocked if they weren’t in Philadelphia. Win 2 or more, and they’re a lock. There I said it. Lunardi does make a good point though. While the committee has publicly said that they won’t be keeping teams closer to home if another team is ranked higher, they will be keeping teams home if 2 teams such as Wake and Villanova are involved. There’s not way the committee is sending Wake to Philly and Villanova to Miami, Minneapolis or heaven forbid Portland if the two teams are basically at the same place on the S-Curve.

I didn’t even look at who else was playing last night, because when ‘Nova is on the floor, that is the only game that matters. If Villanova doesn’t win, everything else is a moot point. They did beat Rutgers last night, however, and they have a big date with Syracuse on Sunday afternoon at The Carrier Dome.

Gary Parrish of CBSSports and the ESPN staff each have articles up detailing what to watch this weekend. Hard to really argue with either of their columns, although ESPN barely mentions the Villanova-Syracuse game, while Parrish calls the matchup the “game worth watching on TV.”

“Further proof the Big East is ridiculous comes Sunday when one of the only two matchups of Top 25 teams features the schools that are currently fifth (No. 12 Villanova) and seventh (No.24 Syracuse) in the Big East standings. Meanwhile, the top four in the Big East — Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Marquette — are all ranked in the Top 10.”

Parrish also continues his insistence that Duke is a Top 10 team in his column.

…Gary, as you say yourself, they’ve lost 4 of their last 6…I don’t care who you are, that alone takes you out of the Top 10…

As for what I think you should be watching, 2 games strike me as games to watch. Clemson travels to Georgia Tech on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., but that conflicts directly with watching the Villanova game, so that’s out.

#11 Marquette at Georgetown (Saturday, 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN) – If the Hoyas want to make a late push for a Tourney bid, winning on Saturday would be a good way to start. They can be tough to play at home if the crowd is behind them. Rumors have been abound that there has been a lot of trouble in the locker room for Georgetown, so they’ll need to put that behind them if they want to beat a senior-laden Marquette team. For Marquette, this is the beginning of their brutal stretch to close the season. They don’t want to start on the wrong note.

#8 Wake Forest at #9 Duke (Sunday, 7:45 p.m. ET on FSN) – Both teams are fighting for a stronghold on the #2 spot in the ACC, and whoever wins this will have put themselves in very strong position for that honor. Wake is athletically superior to the Blue Devils, but have struggled with consistency all year. Duke will have the Cameron Crazies behind them for the primetime tip in what should be a pretty electric atmosphere.

…I think Georgetown has the style of play to knock off Marquette…if they get a big game from Greg Monroe it is possible for them…as for the 2nd game, it doesn’t really matter who loses, because Villanova will need to jump one or the other by the end of the year if they want to play in Philadelphia…

As part of Yahoo! Sports, Rivals.com writer Mark Huguenin has projected the NCAA field. As he notes, his analysis is not how it would look if the season ended today. In his article, Huguenin says Villanova will land a 2 seed (which would most likely put them in Philadelphia).

“The buzz: Louisville has lost two of its past four, but the Cardinals are in good position to win the Big East. Michigan State is 8-1 vs. teams in the RPI top 50, and a strong finish keeps the Spartans in the hunt for a No. 1 seed. Villanova has the third-best RPI in the Big East (ninth) and could win out in the regular season. Duke’s lack of an inside presence has manifested itself: The Blue Devils have lost four of their past six. Still, Duke is hoping to be able to play in Greensboro, N.C., in the first and second rounds.”

It’s important to note that he has UConn and Pittsburgh receiving #1 seeds, Louisville getting a 2 seed and Marquette receiving a 3 seed. Clemson and Wake Forest are also marked for 3 seeds.

…I don’t love ‘Nova’s schedule as much as Huguenin does, because there are some very dangerous games…but the possibility to win out is certainly there…At this stage, it’s almost not about what seed we get, because I think we’re pretty solid for a Top 4 seed, or at worst a 5…as much as it is finishing ahead of 2 of Duke, Clemson and Wake…

…I’d sign up for a 2 seed right now though…sheesh…

Man, I really hate these long layoffs. I love watching college hoops, don’t get me wrong. I can sit down and watch just about any game, but having not watched ‘Nova since last Friday is starting to get old. Thursday night, please come quickly. As for last night, things didn’t go as we hoped, but you can’t win them all.

Tuesday night recap:

#13 Clemson 93, Maryland 64 – I watched this game and Maryland scrapped with Clemson for most of the 1st half, but Clemson just demolished them after the break. Trevor Booker had 14 and 11, but it felt more like 25 and 22. He was all over the place. Clemson is a dangerous team. They shoot it well and they are fast and athletic. The 2nd half showed just how good Clemson can be, but their performances still vary too much from night to night.

#11 Marquette 79, Seton Hall 67 - This game was close and Seton Hall was actually winning at the half, but they couldn’t stop Marquette in the 2nd half. They did a nice job containing Jerel McNeal, but Wesley Matthews and Lazar Hayward burned them at opportune times. This would have been a nice upset that would have really helped Villanova.

Games to watch for Wednesday:

Providence at #7 Louisville (7:30, ESPN2) – Louisville rebounded nicely from the whooping that Notre Dame handed them last week by blowing out lowly DePaul by 45, but now comes another threat. Providence has now won two in a row and is searching for a quality win. A win at Freedom Hall would almost certainly get the Friars into the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday. The Friars will struggle against Louisville’s frontcourt, however, so their best chance is to win a shootout.

Georgia Tech at #8 Wake Forest (7:30) – Georgia Tech is in last place in the ACC with a 1-10 record. It’s an embarrassing season for them, but their lone victory was over the Demon Deacons. Wake is struggling to find consistency and will look to avenge their awful loss to Tech earlier this year. They are in a battle for the 2nd place spot in the ACC, and cannot afford another bad loss.

…Between me and everyone who reads this, I really don’t think that Providence or Georgia Tech have a prayer to win tomorrow…of the two, I think Providence is more likely, and I’ll spend some time watching that game…Louisville’s guards aren’t terribly special and the Friar guards have an advantage there but I don’t see anyone on PC that can match up with Samuels, Clark or Williams…

…As for Tech, they already did the unthinkable once this year…don’t count on it happening twice…

Joe Lunardi updated his Bracketology yesterday, and now has Villanova slotted as a 4 seed playing in Miami. Lunardi has 8 Big East teams, as well as 8 ACC teams, making the Tourney at this present time. Providence is part of the “Last Four In” group while Cincinnati and Georgetown are both in the “First Four Out” category.

In the Philly pod, where Villanova hopes to play, Lunardi has UConn as the #1 seed, along with Duke as the #3 seed. Needless to say, Villanova still has work to do if they want to get that coveted 3 seed in Philadelphia. Right now, Syracuse is the #6 seed in Philly, so if Villanova fades down the stretch there is the chance they could get to The Wachovia Center as a 6 seed.

…With Villanova’s remaining schedule, it is very possible that they can move up enough to get a 3 seed for the tournament, and if they do they will likely get sent to Philly…a lot of that has to do with Clemson, Duke and Wake Forest, and how their season’s end…right now I don’t see Duke finishing strong (unless they make a run in the ACC Tourney) but Clemson and Wake could prove to be bigger problems…