A short write-up about me and the site from Stephen Wiseman of The State in South Carolina.
http://www.thestate.com/sports/story/340709.html
It’s the time of year when brackets and bubbles are the hot topic of conversation among college basketball fans.
To have an informed opinion about which teams should make the NCAA tournament’s field of 65, fans can point and click their way around the Internet all day looking at projected brackets.
But there’s a way to postpone carpel tunnel syndrome and save yourself some time.
Three years ago, an unemployed Brian Phan turned his keen eye toward the plethora of brackets available. He started The Bracket Project to produce a place where all available brackets could be viewed at bracketproject.atspace.com/comparison.htm
“This was a nice time-killer while looking for jobs,” Phan said via e-mail this week.
Since the site went live in January 2005, it has grown into a must-click site for any college basketball fan.
Phan, 25 and working as a business analyst in California’s defense industry, saw the site draw its 500,000th hit on Feb. 27. It averages around 6,000 hits a day and climbing. It drew 11,000 hits last Monday and that figure will grow as Selection Sunday draws closer.
Simplicity and ease of use is what draws so many users.
Bracketproject.com’s front page has links to the 52 brackets Phan analyzes. They range from ESPN, Fox, CBSSports.com and Yahoo.com, to independent analysts like Jerry Palm (collegeRPI.com) and Warren Nolan (warrennolan.com/basketball).
He also differentiates between sites that act as if selection Sunday were that day, and the ones that project results to formulate their bracket.
Below that is the bracket matrix, which allows fans to get a quick view of where their teams stand.
The matrix shows the date when the various brackets were updated and shows where each team is seeded in that bracket.
The team’s name is listed, along with its conference, the average seed and the number of brackets that include that team.
Fans worried about where their particular team stands can look at how many brackets include them to ease or add to their worries.
Phan started the site when he attempted to project the brackets himself. But he said he quickly realized it needed a hook to attract attention. That’s when the bracket matrix was born.
By the time North Carolina was beating Illinois in the national championship game at St. Louis in April 2005, Phan had found a job and planned to put his bracketologist days in his past.
His growing legion of fans had other ideas.
“The next season,” Phan said, “I started getting e-mails asking when the site would start up again. I didn’t have plans to but the demand was there, so I did it again.”
As the site’s traffic has grown, Phan has sold some advertising. But he hasn’t quit his day job and doesn’t expect to.
“I didn’t do this for the money,” he said.
Phan doesn’t envision big changes to the site. He may switch to a different server. But the site’s main job is to be a one-stop for bracket information and that won’t change.
“The core of the site will remain,” Phan said, “since I’m sure that’s what the people want.”
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Championship Week Update Schedule
(Sigh) Championship Week. It's when I trade in my life to update this site. Here's how it's going to go down this week.
The bracket:
New brackets will be published Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday right before the selection show.
Doing brackets everyday this week seems like a waste of time since the big teams won't play until later in the week. Besides, I'll be busy with...
...the matrix:
From now until Friday, there will be two updates a day to the matrix, one before 3 pm ET/12 pm PT and one after the day's games have ended. On Monday and Friday, there will be a special update around 9 pm ET/6 pm PT to accomodate the number of brackets that are updated on those days.
On Saturday and Sunday, the matrix will be updated as championship games finish. With the Selection Show at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT, the last update will be published 30 minutes earlier.
Bracketologists please note: Though the last update to the matrix will be 30 minutes before the Selection Sunday show, you still have up to the start of the Selection Sunday show to publish your final bracket for inclusion into the final matrix. To make it easier for me to spot, please clearly denote that your bracket is FINAL or e-mail me saying so.
The final matrix will be updated Sunday night with results appearing right here on the blog with scoring calculated using methods by both Gary Parrish at CBS Sports (March 13th entry) and Paymon at PH Sports.
The bracket:
New brackets will be published Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday right before the selection show.
Doing brackets everyday this week seems like a waste of time since the big teams won't play until later in the week. Besides, I'll be busy with...
...the matrix:
From now until Friday, there will be two updates a day to the matrix, one before 3 pm ET/12 pm PT and one after the day's games have ended. On Monday and Friday, there will be a special update around 9 pm ET/6 pm PT to accomodate the number of brackets that are updated on those days.
On Saturday and Sunday, the matrix will be updated as championship games finish. With the Selection Show at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT, the last update will be published 30 minutes earlier.
Bracketologists please note: Though the last update to the matrix will be 30 minutes before the Selection Sunday show, you still have up to the start of the Selection Sunday show to publish your final bracket for inclusion into the final matrix. To make it easier for me to spot, please clearly denote that your bracket is FINAL or e-mail me saying so.
The final matrix will be updated Sunday night with results appearing right here on the blog with scoring calculated using methods by both Gary Parrish at CBS Sports (March 13th entry) and Paymon at PH Sports.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Bracket - March 7
Oregon's win over Arizona State creates a 3-team logjam for fifth place in the Pac-10 with the third team being Arizona. While Oregon moves back into the bracket, today's game against the Wildcats is a must-win for the Ducks. A loss by the Wildcats moves them precariously close to the cut line, only helped by the strength of their non-conference schedule.
St. Joseph's huge win over Xavier moves them to last team in. Idle Maryland becomes the last team out. Southern Illinois was one of the last 4 teams out in this bracket, however, its loss in Arch Madness places them out of the NCAA's for good. Joining the Salukis and Terps as the last teams out were Ohio State and Syracuse who scored season-saving wins this week but still need wins over Michigan State and Marquette respectively to put them back in.
Now the rundown...
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/030708.pdf
Multi-bid conferences:
Big East - 7, Pacific-10 - 7, Big 12 - 6, ACC - 5, SEC - 5, Big 10 - 4, Atlantic 10 - 3, Mountain West - 3, Missouri Valley - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
Oregon, St. Joseph's, UC Santa Barbara
Teams out of the bracket:
Florida, Maryland, Cal State Northridge
Last 4 Teams In:
Massachusetts, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, St. Joseph's
Last 4 Teams Out:
Maryland, Ohio State, Syracuse, Southern Illinois
St. Joseph's huge win over Xavier moves them to last team in. Idle Maryland becomes the last team out. Southern Illinois was one of the last 4 teams out in this bracket, however, its loss in Arch Madness places them out of the NCAA's for good. Joining the Salukis and Terps as the last teams out were Ohio State and Syracuse who scored season-saving wins this week but still need wins over Michigan State and Marquette respectively to put them back in.
Now the rundown...
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/030708.pdf
Multi-bid conferences:
Big East - 7, Pacific-10 - 7, Big 12 - 6, ACC - 5, SEC - 5, Big 10 - 4, Atlantic 10 - 3, Mountain West - 3, Missouri Valley - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
Oregon, St. Joseph's, UC Santa Barbara
Teams out of the bracket:
Florida, Maryland, Cal State Northridge
Last 4 Teams In:
Massachusetts, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, St. Joseph's
Last 4 Teams Out:
Maryland, Ohio State, Syracuse, Southern Illinois
Monday, March 3, 2008
Bracket - March 3
I'm sure by now you've read all about the weak bubble this year so I won't bore you with another recap.
The last time around, I singled out Arizona State and Ohio State as the last two teams in. So with the Sun Devils beating USC and the Buckeyes losing to Minnesota, Arizona State moves up to an 11 seed while Ohio State finds itself on the outside looking in.
(Speaking of Arizona State...why the heck does Joe Lunardi have them going to Phoenix? They're the host! They can't be in the Phoenix regional.)
Florida suffered a loss at home to Mississippi State but a team hurt even more by a home loss was Maryland, who was up by 20 over Clemson and still managed to lose by 9. Both are hanging by a thread along with the last team in, Virginia Tech. Realistically though, the Hokies probably need to sweep its last two games to have a shot of staying in the bracket.
I said I would wait until New Mexico's game with UNLV before deciding to let them in or not, but alas with the weak bubble, they get to move up all the way to an 11 seed. A loss to UNLV however will place them outside until I see their performance in the conference tourney.
Texas Tech's win over Texas placed them all the way to second team out at the time this bracket was released but tonight's 54-point loss to Kansas probably puts the kabosh on any at-large chances, depending on how the conference tourney goes.
Now the rundown:
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/030308.pdf
Multi-bid conferences:
Big East - 7, ACC - 6, Big 12 - 6, Pac-10 - 6, SEC - 6, Big 10 - 4, Mountain West - 3, Atlantic 10 - 2, Missouri Valley - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
American, Illinois State, NC-Asheville, New Mexico, Rider, Virginia Tech
Teams out of the bracket:
Loyola-Maryland, Navy, Ohio State, Southern Illinois, Syracuse, Winthrop
Last 4 Teams In:
Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, Virginia Tech
Last 4 Teams Out:
Southern Illinois, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ohio State
The last time around, I singled out Arizona State and Ohio State as the last two teams in. So with the Sun Devils beating USC and the Buckeyes losing to Minnesota, Arizona State moves up to an 11 seed while Ohio State finds itself on the outside looking in.
(Speaking of Arizona State...why the heck does Joe Lunardi have them going to Phoenix? They're the host! They can't be in the Phoenix regional.)
Florida suffered a loss at home to Mississippi State but a team hurt even more by a home loss was Maryland, who was up by 20 over Clemson and still managed to lose by 9. Both are hanging by a thread along with the last team in, Virginia Tech. Realistically though, the Hokies probably need to sweep its last two games to have a shot of staying in the bracket.
I said I would wait until New Mexico's game with UNLV before deciding to let them in or not, but alas with the weak bubble, they get to move up all the way to an 11 seed. A loss to UNLV however will place them outside until I see their performance in the conference tourney.
Texas Tech's win over Texas placed them all the way to second team out at the time this bracket was released but tonight's 54-point loss to Kansas probably puts the kabosh on any at-large chances, depending on how the conference tourney goes.
Now the rundown:
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/030308.pdf
Multi-bid conferences:
Big East - 7, ACC - 6, Big 12 - 6, Pac-10 - 6, SEC - 6, Big 10 - 4, Mountain West - 3, Atlantic 10 - 2, Missouri Valley - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
American, Illinois State, NC-Asheville, New Mexico, Rider, Virginia Tech
Teams out of the bracket:
Loyola-Maryland, Navy, Ohio State, Southern Illinois, Syracuse, Winthrop
Last 4 Teams In:
Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, Virginia Tech
Last 4 Teams Out:
Southern Illinois, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ohio State
Saturday, March 1, 2008
No mas!
As stated in my own matrix principles, no new sites will be added to the Bracket Matrix. This is for a variety of reasons. It helps me plan my schedule for the important last two weeks until Selection Sunday as well as make changes to the layout if necessary. It allows readers time to properly audit sites to find out which ones actually mean something and which ones are complete losers. And finally, aren't there enough sites already?
The growth in bracket sites surprised even me. When I started this 4 years ago, I didn't think I'd outnumber the Massey Ratings comparison table. Massey currently has 41 active computer rankings. When I started on that Geocities site in 2005 that was overwhelmed every day, there were only 14 sites tracked on the old "comparing the projected seeds". Then, there were 23 in 2006 and 30 in 2007. Now look, 50 sites active, 55 total.
Now, exceptions will be made to those sites that were featured in the year-end matrices for 2006 and 2007. They can still be added this year. Otherwise, lemme know about your site and I'll be sure to add it to next year's matrix, if I'm still standing.
Until then, onward to Selection Sunday!
Update: Court Visions added as an exception, bringing the number of brackets to 56. This bracket was supposed to be included last year.
The growth in bracket sites surprised even me. When I started this 4 years ago, I didn't think I'd outnumber the Massey Ratings comparison table. Massey currently has 41 active computer rankings. When I started on that Geocities site in 2005 that was overwhelmed every day, there were only 14 sites tracked on the old "comparing the projected seeds". Then, there were 23 in 2006 and 30 in 2007. Now look, 50 sites active, 55 total.
Now, exceptions will be made to those sites that were featured in the year-end matrices for 2006 and 2007. They can still be added this year. Otherwise, lemme know about your site and I'll be sure to add it to next year's matrix, if I'm still standing.
Until then, onward to Selection Sunday!
Update: Court Visions added as an exception, bringing the number of brackets to 56. This bracket was supposed to be included last year.
Bracket - February 29
Hey, if my site is mentioned on the Big Ten Network but nobody can get it, was it even mentioned at all?
On Wednesday, the Bracket Project passed 500,000 hits in its 4-year history so thank you.
For this bracket update, we look to the bubble where an ever-increasing amount of teams are making their case for an at-large bid.
With losses to top-notch teams, Arizona State and Ohio State move to the last two teams in. The Sun Devils have wins over Xavier and Arizona twice, but its RPI of 74 is troublesome as well as its 7-8 conference record. Its game vs. Oregon next week figures to eliminate one team from consideration. The Buckeyes have no wins of significance. Sure they're 8-7 in conference, but its best conference win was against Minnesota. With the schedule finishing up at home against Purdue and Michigan State, there is no room for error.
Maryland moves back into the bracket with its win over Wake Forest, which moves out. Also moving in is Kentucky, where a 10-3 SEC conference record can't be denied. It'll be interesting to see if they can stay afloat without Patrick Patterson on the court. Nobody else really passed the eye test, so Syracuse moves back in after not playing this week.
New Mexico is on the doorstep but needs to beat UNLV to get at least one top 50 win on its resume.
Now the rundown:
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/022908.pdf
Multi-bid conferences:
Big East - 8, Big 12 - 6, Pacific-10 - 6, SEC - 6, ACC - 5, Big 10 - 5, Atlantic 10 - 2, Missouri Valley - 2, Mountain West - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
Kentucky, Loyola-Maryland, Maryland, Navy, Syracuse
Teams out of the bracket:
American, Niagara, St. Joseph's, Villanova, Wake Forest
Last 4 Teams In:
Kentucky, Maryland, Arizona State, Ohio State
Last 4 Teams Out:
Illinois State, New Mexico, Oregon, Western Kentucky
On Wednesday, the Bracket Project passed 500,000 hits in its 4-year history so thank you.
For this bracket update, we look to the bubble where an ever-increasing amount of teams are making their case for an at-large bid.
With losses to top-notch teams, Arizona State and Ohio State move to the last two teams in. The Sun Devils have wins over Xavier and Arizona twice, but its RPI of 74 is troublesome as well as its 7-8 conference record. Its game vs. Oregon next week figures to eliminate one team from consideration. The Buckeyes have no wins of significance. Sure they're 8-7 in conference, but its best conference win was against Minnesota. With the schedule finishing up at home against Purdue and Michigan State, there is no room for error.
Maryland moves back into the bracket with its win over Wake Forest, which moves out. Also moving in is Kentucky, where a 10-3 SEC conference record can't be denied. It'll be interesting to see if they can stay afloat without Patrick Patterson on the court. Nobody else really passed the eye test, so Syracuse moves back in after not playing this week.
New Mexico is on the doorstep but needs to beat UNLV to get at least one top 50 win on its resume.
Now the rundown:
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/022908.pdf
Multi-bid conferences:
Big East - 8, Big 12 - 6, Pacific-10 - 6, SEC - 6, ACC - 5, Big 10 - 5, Atlantic 10 - 2, Missouri Valley - 2, Mountain West - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
Kentucky, Loyola-Maryland, Maryland, Navy, Syracuse
Teams out of the bracket:
American, Niagara, St. Joseph's, Villanova, Wake Forest
Last 4 Teams In:
Kentucky, Maryland, Arizona State, Ohio State
Last 4 Teams Out:
Illinois State, New Mexico, Oregon, Western Kentucky
Monday, February 25, 2008
Bracket - February 25
The demise of the bubble teams continues. The list is really long with only 3 weeks to go until Selection Sunday. Undeserving any other year, teams like Ohio State, Florida, and Wake Forest hang on to the bracket. New Mexico is building a good resume, but I'm waiting to see how it does against BYU and UNLV before passing judgment.
BracketBuster weekend was really good for the Missouri Valley with its 5 top teams all winning. It's set up a great battle between Southern Illinois, Creighton, and Illinois State which are all hovering around the bubble with the Salukis actually making it in this time.
Oregon and Arizona State switch spots in and out of the bracket with the Sun Devils picking up an important road win over Washington. Oregon has lost 3 straight, albeit to Wazzu, UCLA, and USC.
Maryland's losses to Virginia Tech and Miami really hurt. Their non-conference performance isn't anything to write home about, their RPI is in the iffy range and the goodwill they gained from beating UNC a month ago is pretty much gone. Their game against Wake Forest looms large.
I would write about the resurgence of Villanova but they lost after the bracket was published, so depending on the remaining games until Friday, they might not be in the bracket for long.
Remember when people were predicting the Atlantic 10 would get 5 teams into the NCAA's? Wouldn't it be crazy if they managed to get only one? Xavier's the only sure bet. St. Joseph's and Massachusetts are just inside the bubble and in the bracket while Dayton and Rhode Island are just outside.
And now the rundown...
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/022508.pdf
Multi-bid Conferences:
Big East - 8, Pac-10 - 6, Big 12 - 6, Big 10 - 5, SEC - 5, ACC - 5, Atlantic 10 - 3, Missouri Valley - 2, Mountain West - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
Arizona State, Morgan State, Southern Illinois, St. Joseph's, Wake Forest, Villanova
Teams out of the bracket:
Maryland, Mississippi, Norfolk State, Oregon, Rhode Island, Syracuse
Last 4 Teams In:
Massachusetts, Villanova, Wake Forest, Florida
Last 4 Teams Out:
New Mexico, Illinois State, Oregon, Syracuse
BracketBuster weekend was really good for the Missouri Valley with its 5 top teams all winning. It's set up a great battle between Southern Illinois, Creighton, and Illinois State which are all hovering around the bubble with the Salukis actually making it in this time.
Oregon and Arizona State switch spots in and out of the bracket with the Sun Devils picking up an important road win over Washington. Oregon has lost 3 straight, albeit to Wazzu, UCLA, and USC.
Maryland's losses to Virginia Tech and Miami really hurt. Their non-conference performance isn't anything to write home about, their RPI is in the iffy range and the goodwill they gained from beating UNC a month ago is pretty much gone. Their game against Wake Forest looms large.
I would write about the resurgence of Villanova but they lost after the bracket was published, so depending on the remaining games until Friday, they might not be in the bracket for long.
Remember when people were predicting the Atlantic 10 would get 5 teams into the NCAA's? Wouldn't it be crazy if they managed to get only one? Xavier's the only sure bet. St. Joseph's and Massachusetts are just inside the bubble and in the bracket while Dayton and Rhode Island are just outside.
And now the rundown...
http://bracketproject.atspace.com/022508.pdf
Multi-bid Conferences:
Big East - 8, Pac-10 - 6, Big 12 - 6, Big 10 - 5, SEC - 5, ACC - 5, Atlantic 10 - 3, Missouri Valley - 2, Mountain West - 2, West Coast - 2
New teams in the bracket:
Arizona State, Morgan State, Southern Illinois, St. Joseph's, Wake Forest, Villanova
Teams out of the bracket:
Maryland, Mississippi, Norfolk State, Oregon, Rhode Island, Syracuse
Last 4 Teams In:
Massachusetts, Villanova, Wake Forest, Florida
Last 4 Teams Out:
New Mexico, Illinois State, Oregon, Syracuse
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