ESPN College Hoops Analysts Pass The Tool Test, Fail Eye Test

. Which would be fine if they didn’t keep screwing it up.

The bobbleheads mention the Eye Test and then they start talking about a team’s numbers and resume. They talk about the overall record, conference record, RPI, strength of schedule and their record against the RPI Top 25 or Top 50. And they line all of those numbers up in a cute little graphic that makes the numbers look like they are actually on an eye chart.

Now, all of those tools are excellent indicators of a team’s tournament worthiness and they are worth discussion on a national forum. However, they are numbers. They are records and numbers that represent the data, on paper, that the selection committee uses to determine which teams make the NCAA Tournament. And that is THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE EYE TEST!

The term

Sweet 16 College Hoops Thoughts For Wednesday

By Robert Ferringo

One thing I’m going to try to do over the next few weeks and months is give some daily recaps, some quick-hit thoughts, from the mind of a college basketball handicapper. This stuff is my life and my profession so I feel compelled to share with those of you out there that are as interested/obsessed with college basketball and college basketball betting as I am.

Now, there’s pretty much no way I will be able to do it EVERY day. But I thikn I can mix in a little more commentary and insight into the twisted mind of a college hoops addict.

So here is the first installment of Sweet 16 Thoughts In College Basketball.

(And yes, this is the same concept as the former weekly article we used to have at The Mothership that was based on the NBA.)

16. I was pretty surprised that Penn State hit the jets like they did in the second half against Iowa. It is tougher than it seems for teams like that to transition from the big underdog role

Happy Holiday Hoops Hangover

By Robert Ferringo

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m still feeling the effects of the holiday weekend. There are the few extra disgusting pounds that I’m carrying from Thursday’s gluttony, the lingering slow-mindedness from a Friday full of binge drinking and gambling, and the sore muscles from Saturday’s annual football tournament (a five-team, four-man round robin street football tournament known as Bocci Bowl). Add all that up and one thing is for certain: it is Tuesday and I am still kind of a mess.

I think that similar lingering effects could impact tonight’s college basketball action. Whether it is the drain of playing in a high-octane tournament, the awkwardness of tough travel through one of the busiest weekends of the year, or the emotional letdown of a key nonconference clash or rivalry game, I am questioning the focus and mind frame of several teams that tip off tonight.

Here are a few teams in precarious situations that I am keeping my eyes on tonight, as well as some of the factors I considered while making my college basketball predictions:

Michigan Wolverines
I couldn’t find out definitively what Michigan’s travel itinerary was after they played on back-to-back nights in Atlantic City over the weekend in the Legends Classic. But it was one of two things. Either after their Saturday night loss they may have traveled back to Ann Arbor on Sunday. But that would have led to them having to hop back on a plane on Monday to head to South Carolina. Or they stayed over in Jersey and then went to Clemson and have been staying there the last two days. Either way, it is a somewhat trying and very unnatural schedule for a very young Wolverines team. This is also three games in five nights and after a weekend playing in a tournament (and losing both games) I wonder if the Wolverines are ready for the hostile environment that Littlejohn Coliseum produces.

Florida State Seminoles
On Sunday the Noles were upset on their home turf by in-state rival Florida in a game that I think probably meant more to them than tonight’s game against No. 2 Ohio State. Sure, FSU isn’t going to roll over for the Buckeyes. But it would have been nice to have the momentum of a big win over the Gators behind the Seminoles heading into tonight’s marquee clash. Is this team suffering a crisis of confidence? Are they just not very good? We can’t really tell.

Georgia Tech Yellowjackets
The Jackets are in a similar spot as Michigan since they both played in Atlantic City over the weekend. Tech played two games, beating UTEP before coughing up a second half lead against Syracuse in the tournament title game on Saturday. They now have to turn around quickly and head to Chicago. There a very rested and ready Northwestern team awaits. What makes Georgia Tech’s situation even more precarious is that they have a big rivalry game with Georgia up next.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Irish are suiting up less than 48 hours after winning the three-games-in-three-nights Old Spice Classic in Orlando. Their last time out they scored a comeback win over Wisconsin in the title game and now the Irish return home as conquering heroes and as a newly minted Top 25 team. But what is the motivation for them here? This is their fourth game in five days and their fifth in nine days. The Irish only play six guys, really, and only seven guys average over 12 minutes per game. That’s a lot of wear and tear.

Here are some others that maybe aren’t in as severe of a situation but are still worth keeping tabs on:

Tennessee