I should be working on my bracketology page. I keep telling myself that I should try to build a model to predict who the Selection Committee will take based on 2019’s tournament. I then realize that I have tried to do that in the past and it never ended well. At a minimum, I should be looking at resumes of bubble teams. Does Xavier’s loss knock them out? Does Syracuse’s win get them in? I think the answer to both of those questions are yes – but it is really anyone’s guess at the moment. Only the Selection Committee really knows for sure – and they are not talking to anyone (well – at least I think they are not. Maybe that is how Lunardi and Palm do so well each year – maybe they get to talk to the committee…..)

That is not completely fair – I don’t know what access the journalists (or bracketologists) get to the Selection Committee…. But I sure think it would be fun to be a fly on the wall and see what gets discussed.

Anyways, I might listen to North Carolina and Notre Dame play as I pretend to work on my bracketology. But since I have a busy day at work tomorrow – and they likely isn’t going to be a lot more eventful basketball tonight, I should at a minimum give the Thursday Viewing Guide!!!!

Thursday is moving day for many of the conferences. Those that have Saturday championships get to see their top seeds open up their Championship Week. But truthfully, the games to tend to watch are those interesting 4 vs 5 matchups. The Big 12 is the perfect example – remember they have 5 teams in the top 13 of the AP Poll. So, we open the day at 11:30 am in the Big 12 tournament with #10 West Virginia (the 4 seed in the Big 12) playing #12 Oklahoma State.

Here are the other games of interest – especially on the bubble:

11:30 am – Big 10 2nd Round – Michigan State (15-11) vs Maryland (15-12). Who would have thought a few weeks ago that the Spartans have more of a chance than the Terrapins to survive a first round loss. Unfortunately, when you close your season out losing to Northwestern and Penn State, you find yourself in a do or die situation. This game really could be an elimination game for the loser.

Noon – ACC Quarterfinals – Virginia (13-4) vs Syracuse (16-8). If Syracuse plays as well as they did today, this should be a fantastic game.

2:30 pm – ACC Quarterfinals – Georgia Tech (15-8) vs Miami FL (10-16). This was a bad break for a bubble team like Georgia Tech. They were expecting Clemson, a team that would be great if they win, but likely wouldn’t hurt your profile if you lose. Instead you get the Hurricanes who know their only chance to keep playing is to keep winning – and a team backed into a corner like that can be a dangerous team – ask Clemson.

3pm – Big East Quarterfinals – St. John’s (16-10) vs. Seton Hall (13-12). Another game that a bubble team like St. John’s might not be able to afford to lose. But Seton Hall certainly is good enough to win this game.

5:30 pm – Pac 12 Quarterfinals – UCLA (17-8) vs Oregon State (14-12). UCLA is like Georgia Tech. They might be able to survive an opening round loss and still make the tournament. But they certainly don’t want to find out.

5:30 pm – Mountain West Quarterfinals – Boise State (18-7) vs Nevada (15-9). Boise State is one of the interesting possible bubble teams from the Mountain West. Nevada is outside the bubble, but obviously at 15-9, they are not a pushover. Should be a good game.

6:30 pm – ACC Quarterfinals – Florida State (15-5) vs Duke (13-11). Can the Blue Devils continue their improbable run to the dance? Can the Seminoles bounce back from their surprising loss to Notre Dame to end the season?

6:30 pm – Big 12 Quarterfinals – #11 Kansas (19-8) vs the winner of the #25 Oklahoma (15-9?) / Iowa State game. OK – this goes off the viewing guide if Iowa State wins their third game of the season tonight. But if everything goes as expected, we have two top 25 teams playing – fun!!!!

6:30 pm – Conference USA Quarterfinals – Western Kentucky (18-6) vs Texas-San Antonio (15-10). This is really a callout to the entire Conference USA tournament. They have 5 teams ranked between 73 and 86 – including Western Kentucky. In other words, 5 teams all evenly matched that could win a conference tournament in a likely single-bid conference. To be honest, some of the other quarterfinals might end up being better – but since the only one that is fully scheduled at this point is this one and it is between two teams with winning records. We will go with it.

7 pm – SEC 2nd Round – Missouri (15-8) vs Georgia (14-11). Missouri looked like they were solidly in – at some point, they were ranked 10th in the country. Then they lost 5 of their last 7 games. And are looking at a Georgia team that knows they have to win the SEC tournament to likely get to the dance. Tough game for a team who desperately needs a win.

9 pm – ACC Quarterfinals – #22 Virginia Tech (15-5) vs the winner of North Carolina / Notre Dame. Quite honestly, the ACC is going to really be a fun tournament. The ACC might not be having a super strong year like normal, but that makes their conference tournament super interesting to watch. Lots of bubble drama – and all the games look like they could be closely matched – you really probably can’t do worse as a basketball fan on Thursday by tuning into the ACC tournament and just watching all 4 games.

9 pm – Big East Quarterfinal – Connecticut (14-6) vs the winner of Providence / DePaul. Connecticut has been super hot – Providence with a win will move to 14-12 and trying to make their way onto the bubble.

9:30 pm – Big 12 Quarterfinal – #13 Texas (17-7) vs #20 – Texas Tech (17-9). OK – I might have spoke too soon on keeping the TV on the ACC Tournament all day. The Big 12 will have three games where both teams are in the top 25 (assuming Oklahoma wins tonight). And the 4th game has #2 Baylor in it. If you want to watch some bubble intrigue with a few top tournament teams mixed in, go to the ACC. But you can watch 7 of 8 teams that all could go deep in the NCAA tournament playing each other on Thursday in the Big 12……

11:30 pm – Pac 12 Quarterfinal – #23 Colorado vs the winner of Stanford / California. If you are still up this late, and looking for something to watch, you must either be on the West Coast or as insane as the Crazed Lunatic. Get your sleep on Thursday night – save sleep deprivation for the tournament. But if you are awake, Colorado is one of the top teams from the Pac 12, and they are one of those teams that most of us on the East Coast never get to watch.