Franketology: February 14, 2025
Wow, Valentine’s day already. only 6 games left in the regular season for my beloved Johnnies and most of the Big East. Let’s talk about a couple college basketball things I love.
Most of all, I love the Big East. The greatest basketball conference man (and God) hath ever assembled. “Old Big East,” “New Big East,” doesn’t matter. It’s all elite. The rivalries. The Twitter community, the greatest conference tournament of them all on the floor of the World’s Most Famous Arena. The history. The coaches. Ohhhhhhh the coaches. The Big East was a league built on monster personalities: JT, Looooooie, Rollie, Boeheim, Calhoun, Pitino, Raftery, Carlesimo, and more recently with guys like Jay Wright, Kevin Willard, Ed Cooley, Shaka Smart, Sean Miller, Danny Hurley and Rick Pitino (again). These guys, be it the 80’s guys or the recent guys got “it”. Danny Hurley gets “it”, Rick gets “it.” Most of the coaches do. What is “it”? The understanding that being a part of a Big East basketball program is about more than just coaching basketball. It’s about a community of die hards and passionate fans that help to make this league what it is. It’s about putting on a show. It’s about entertainment. Play fun basketball. Give good quotes. Provide bulletin board material. Manufacture bulletin board material from innocuous nothingburgers. Whatever it takes to draw eyeballs top the conference.
I love the SJU fanbase specifically. I’ll die on the hill that we’re among the best fan bases in the sport. So many of us were here through thick and thin, so many more than were ever warranted the last 25 years. A fanbase that can take a player’s frown over missing 2 clutch FTs, and turn it into a smile and a laugh with a cheer. A fanbase that has its team’s back no matter what.
As for the bracket…I think it’s an interesting one. Looking at BracketMartix.com, no one seems to have Kansas State in their bracket yet. I for one think they stack up favorably against the bubble. They have 4 wins vs. the field, aare 3-5 in Q1A and 4-5 in Q1; 6-9 in Qs1&2. Among the expanded bubble (the 27 teams I had from Last 4 Byes through every team I considered for the final at-large spots) Kansas state has the 3rd highest win percentage (.444) behind only 2 teams in the “last 4 byes” category (SDSU-.571 & WVU-.455), and their 4 wins vs. the current Bracket Matrix at-large field is T2nd with WVU and Arkansas, trailing only Oklahoma’s 5 (because almost every SEC game is vs. an NCAAT team lol). Their resume metrics average, 55.5 is not great, and they have 2 Q3 losses dragging them down.
Compare that to my first team out, BYU, who has only 2 wins vs. the at-large field, and 3-5 in Q1, but 0-4 in Q1A. BYU’s resume metrics average is 52, so basically the same as Kansas St. BYU’s resume outpaces Kansas St. on the predictive metrics average, with BYU sporting a 30.67. However, for inclusion in the field quality wins are far more valuable than predictive metrics, which is why I gave the edge to Kansas St. Not to mention, aside from quantity, Kansas St. has the best wins among the 2, winning at Iowa St. and vs. Kansas & Arizona, versus BYU’s best wins being home v. Baylor and at WVU (K-State beat WVU in the Little Apple). In other words, Kansas State has the 3 best wins between these 2 teams.
The good news. This was merely an academic exercise. These two teams will meet tomorrow at 9pm ET in Provo. This game certainly feels like a bubble eliminator. This is especially true for Kansas State, as their resume lacks opportunities to make a real impact until the last game of the season when they host Iowa St. BYU on the other hand has it all in front of them and controls their own destiny to an extent. Win tomorrow, get 2 games from: v. Kansas, at Arizona, v. WVU and at Iowa St., and take care of business at ASU and vs. Utah, and they should find themselves on the right side of the bubble. A tall ask nonetheless, but it starts by bursting Kansas St.’s bubble tomorrow.
Without further ado, let’s get to the bracket:
Direct link to the spreadsheet.
True Seed List
Auburn
Duke
Alabama
Tennessee
Florida
Houston
Purdue
Iowa St.
Illinois
Texas A&M
Kentucky
Texas Tech
Arizona
Kansas
Maryland
Wisconsin
St. John's
Missouri
Michigan St.
Ole Miss
Marquette
Michigan
Saint Mary's (CA)
UCLA
UConn
Creighton
Gonzaga
Mississippi St.
Clemson
Louisville
Ohio St.
Memphis
Utah St.
Oregon
Baylor
Nebraska
New Mexico
Last Four Byes
San Diego St.
West Virginia
Georgia
Texas
Last Four In
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Vanderbilt
Kansas St.
UC San Diego
Drake
Arkansas St.
VCU
McNeese St.
Yale
Liberty
High Point
Grand Canyon
Samford
Lipscomb
Akron
UNCW
South Dakota St.
Northern Colo.
Central Conn. St.
Norfolk St.
Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern U.
Bryant
Quinnipiac
Little Rock
Bucknell
First Four Out
BYU
Indiana
Southern California
Arizona St.
Next Four Out
Xavier
UCF
Pittsburgh
Boise St.