MBB bracketology - MSU a 6 seed

[ScoobaDawg]

In this weeks bracketology Joe has us sitting as 6 seed playing Indiana matched up playing Kansas vs Bowling Green.
Lot of basketball back.. What record do you think we need to climb to a 4 or 5 seed?
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

10 games left in the regular season. 2 I don't give us a shot at (Uk, UT) So we need to go 6-2 at worst against the rest i think.
Tomorrow nights game is the next in the line of really need to win to help make up for the USC and Bama loses.

[mstatefan91]

Either a winning record in SEC regular season play or a strong run in the SEC tournament. Do both and a 4 seed would look promising. Do that and knock off UT or UK and a 3 seed wouldn't be out of the question (although probably still unlikely)

[CadaverDawg]

I think we need to hold serve at home minus UK, and win road games vs Ark & UGA. Would put us 11-7 and I think that puts us on the 5 line...maybe 4, but I doubt it unless we beat UK

[sleepy dawg]

I don't think a loss to kentucky at home is a guarantee. If we play really good, we can win that game, and if we beat LSU tomorrow, the Hump is going to be rockin for that game. The Tennessee game on the road would be the only one I would call a for sure loss.

I think if we can go 7-3 down the stretch we could lock into a 5 seed with an outside shot at a 4 seed. We need our borderline quadrant 1 wins to stay that way. We can't have one of our losses be to Georgia or Texas AM either. I think a 3 seed is very, very unlikely. It's possible, but we'd have to pull off some magic. Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, and Arkansas are all potential Q1 wins. I think we'd need to win all of the games outside of those teams, plus 3 of those with one of those 3 being against Kentucky or Tennessee to even have a shot at a 3 seed.

Also, the NET ranking makes it a bit trickier than normal... Used to be RPI, then Quadrant 1 wins, now it's NET ranking. Each system is worse than the previous shitty system.

[MarketingBully]

This week is huge to help us move right on up. Need a big crowd at the Hump tomorrow but I think our fans oblige. I think an 11-7 SEC record is definitely doable if we can keep playing like we did Saturday. I think losses on the road to Tennessee, Auburn, and we drop one other game but the other games we can definitely win. Tennessee is just cruising right now and Auburn is tough as hell to beat on the road. I think we can beat Kentucky and it’s been one of those years where we have gotten wins that we haven’t gotten in a long time such as a win against Florida, a win at Ole Miss, and a win at Vandy. I think a win against Kentucky will just be another win we can add to the pile.

[MetEdDawg]

With 12 minutes to go the UK game was a 3 point game in Rupp arena. We hung with them for 32 minutes then got the doors blown off. In the Hump with a good crowd that could very much turn the tide against them.

We need 11-7 or 12-6 to think about a 5 seed. We can do it for sure because our schedule on the back end is significantly more favorable. What we do need though are teams like Auburn and our good non conference wins to have good end of the year stretches. Got to have some good wins on the schedule. We do, but I would love more in conference.

[MarketingBully]

With 12 minutes to go the UK game was a 3 point game in Rupp arena. We hung with them for 32 minutes then got the doors blown off. In the Hump with a good crowd that could very much turn the tide against them.

We need 11-7 or 12-6 to think about a 5 seed. We can do it for sure because our schedule on the back end is significantly more favorable. What we do need though are teams like Auburn and our good non conference wins to have good end of the year stretches. Got to have some good wins on the schedule. We do, but I would love more in conference.

I think 11-7 would get us to a 5 seed. That will be 23-8 before the SEC tourney and more then likely get us a four seed in the tournament and a double bye. If that 11-7 included wins against UK and LSU, I’d say a 5 seed is a given.

[CadaverDawg]

I think 11-7 would get us to a 5 seed. That will be 23-8 before the SEC tourney and more then likely get us a four seed in the tournament and a double bye. If that 11-7 included wins against UK and LSU, I’d say a 5 seed is a given.

If we beat LSU and UK, we should set our sights higher than 11-7. This team could go on a run now that we've figured out how to implement Perry and Woodard. I feel like minimum we need a split this week, but if we go 2-0, we will suddenly catch people's attention. Lot of "ifs" though. Big week at home

[msstate7]

If we beat LSU and UK, we should set our sights higher than 11-7. This team could go on a run now that we've figured out how to implement Perry and Woodard. I feel like minimum we need a split this week, but if we go 2-0, we will suddenly catch people's attention. Lot of "ifs" though. Big week at home

If we sweep this week, watch out. We may parlay it into a 3 seed

[MetEdDawg]

If we beat LSU and UK, we should set our sights higher than 11-7. This team could go on a run now that we've figured out how to implement Perry and Woodard. I feel like minimum we need a split this week, but if we go 2-0, we will suddenly catch people's attention. Lot of "ifs" though. Big week at home

Yeah sweeping this week would be huge. Would put two great wins on our resume and would hopefully elevate us out of the 6 team jumble that is 4-4 in conference.

[sleepy dawg]

If we beat LSU and UK, we should set our sights higher than 11-7. This team could go on a run now that we've figured out how to implement Perry and Woodard. I feel like minimum we need a split this week, but if we go 2-0, we will suddenly catch people's attention. Lot of "ifs" though. Big week at home

There are a lot of "ifs"... You know how it goes. We win a game and we're projecting the best case scenarios. We lose a game and there's a thread on what we have to do to miss the tournament.

[drunkernhelldawg]

I think we'll either go on an amazing run or fall apart totally. Amazing run we're 7-1 in those games. Fall apart and we're 3-5 or worse.

If I had to bet, I'd bet on the run.

[MarketingBully]

What was very encouraging on Saturday imo is Q was leading. He was leading fellas. Every chance he got he was talking to the guys and looked like he was giving instruction to players especially in the second half. To me, that’s what this team has been lacking all along.

[ScoobaDawg]

Some more notes...

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/25923557/welcome-start-madness

SECLocks: Tennessee (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/2633/tennessee-volunteers), Kentucky (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/96/kentucky-wildcats)
Should be in: LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn
Work to do: Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida


Should be inhttps://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/99.png?w=110&h=110
LSU Tigers (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/99/lsu-tigers)
Take one step forward if you predicted in the preseason that LSU would be in a second-place tie with tournament lock Kentucky, just a game in back of tournament lock Tennessee. Led by the ball-hawking of Tremont Waters (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4278080/tremont-waters)and Skylar Mays (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4066269/skylar-mays), this defense has recorded a big year-to-year improvement, one that's pointing toward a seed on the top six lines. Then again maybe that seed can improve as well. The next game for Will Wade's group is at Mississippi State. Not a bad Quad 1 opportunity there.
https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/344.png?w=110&h=110
Mississippi State Bulldogs (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/344/mississippi-state-bulldogs)
At the risk of overstating the drama of the moment, Ben Howland's tenure in Starkville has kind of been building to this next stretch of games. Mississippi State's being given the luxury of back-to-back home dates against LSU and Kentucky. The news is already good for the Bulldogs, of course, with a gaudy 6-2 Quad 1 record to their credit. Even so, wins against the Tigers and the Wildcats would be a giant leap forward.
https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2.png?w=110&h=110
Auburn Tigers (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/2/auburn-tigers)
Auburn has more potential to ascend from its current middle-seed portion of the bracket than its 3-4 record in SEC play might indicate. With the exception of a lopsided loss at Ole Miss in the conference opener, the Tigers have shown an uncanny knack for winning blowouts and losing nail-biters. This tendency most definitely includes AU's 82-80 loss at home to Kentucky in January. Make no mistake, Bryce Brown (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3908521/bryce-brown) and Jared Harper (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4066248/jared-harper) can score points in a hurry.
https://a.espncdn.com/i/mlb/infographics/greyline.png
Work to dohttps://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/145.png?w=110&h=110
Ole Miss Rebels (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/145/ole-miss-rebels)
The Rebels are demonstrating how persistence of vision manifests itself in tournament selection. Ole Miss has lost four straight and five of its past six, but good work done in November (neutral-floor win over Baylor) and especially in early January (beating Auburn in Oxford and Mississippi State in Starkville) is, for now, keeping Terence Davis (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/3919454/terence-davis) & Co. in projected single-seed territory. Barely.
https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/333.png?w=110&h=110
Alabama Crimson Tide (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/333/alabama-crimson-tide)
Welcome to the precarious far reaches of the tournament field. Indeed, if Selection Sunday were held today, Alabama would be one of those "could go either way" teams. Beating Kentucky in Tuscaloosa is a fine start to any r?sum?, surely, but that's kind of the point. Avery Johnson's men don't have much more to show aside from a home victory over Mississippi State. If they did, the Crimson Tide's position wouldn't be quite so tenuous.
https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/57.png?w=110&h=110
Florida Gators (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/57/florida-gators)

Speaking of could go either way, the Gators are right there with the Tide. Florida's win at Arkansas stands alone as its only Quad 1 victory. Then again, the SEC this season offers many chances to improve one's profile. For UF, those chances will take the form of games against Tennessee, Kentucky and Auburn -- all on the road -- as well as two shots at LSU.

[RocketDawg]

#9 Michigan State about to lose to unranked Illinois.