I guess there's some interest for a second-annual bracket challenge here on BTD, so here it goes. Here's how it works:

• First, pick the winners of the 16 Regionals
• Second, pick the winners of the 8 Super Regionals
• Thrid, pick the two teams that will compete in the CWS Championship Series
• Finally, pick the CWS Champion

You will receive 1 point for each correctly picked Regional, 2 points for each Super Regional, 4 points for each CWS Series team, and 8 points for the champion. Standings will be updated at the end of each round. Below is a list of teams in each regional and their records. After listing the regional, I will state my pick.

In the comments section, it would be helpful for you to do it like this: Baton Rouge Regional-Oregon State

Gainesville Regional

1. Florida (42-18)
2. Georgia Tech (36-24)
3. College of Charleston (37-20)
4. Bethune-Cookman (34-25)

Pick-Florida

Raleigh Regional

1. NC State (39-17)
2. Vanderbilt (33-26)
3. UNC Wilmington (38-21)
4. Sacred Heart (25-30)

Pick-Vanderbilt

Charlottesville Regional

1. Virginia (38-17-1)
2. Oklahoma (38-22)
3. Appalachian State (39-16)
4. Oral Roberts (41-13)

Pick-Virginia

Columbia Regional

1. South Carolina (40-17)
2. Clemson (33-26)
3. Coastal Carolina (41-17)
4. Manhattan (33-25)

Pick-South Carolina

Eugene Regional

1. Oregon (42-17)
2. Cal State Fullerton (35-19)
3. Indiana State (41-17)
4. Austin-Peay (38-22)

Pick-Cal State Fullerton

Gary Regional

1. Purdue (44-12)
2. Kentucky (43-16)
3. Kent State (41-17)
4. Valparaiso (35-23)

Pick-Purdue

Houston Regional

1. Rice (40-17)
2. Arkansas (39-19)
3. Sam Houston State (38-20)
4. Prairie View A&M (28-23)

Pick-Rice

Waco Regional

1. Baylor (44-14)
2. Dallas Baptist (39-17)
3. Texas-Arlington (36-23)
4. Oral Roberts (37-23)

Pick-Baylor

Los Angeles Regional

1. UCLA (42-14)
2. San Diego (40-15)
3. New Mexico (36-22)
4. Creighton (26-28)

Pick-UCLA

Rest of my picks after the break

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Road to Omaha Selection Show - ESPNU - 9:00 AM Pacific

The Beavers enter NCAA Selection Monday pretty sure of their fate, for once. The Beavers will likely be a two seed out on the east coast, but they could also get sent to somewhere like Baton Rouge, Gary, Houston, Waco, or College Station. Receiving a National Seed or a one seed will not happen. However, while unlikely, a three seed is not out of the question either.

If you are here just because you are a fan of college baseball, click the jump to see some of my predictions for the entire field.

Here's the bracket.

Continue reading this post »

Thought Oregon State would be rewarded with a regional not located on the east coast for their strong finish? Five of the six major college baseball postseason projections disagree. Only Perfect Game has the Beavers staying off the east coast and away from an ACC-hosted regional. Here's how the other five break down:

The only site agreed on by two projections is Charlottesville, predicted by ESPN and Chasing Omaha. ESPN has Virginia as the one seed, St. John's as the three, and Manhattan as the four. Outside of the Cavaliers at one, Chasing Omaha sees it completely differently for the final two spots. They have a dangerous Louisville team at number three and Dayton at four.

Baseball America has the Beavers going down a state to Raleigh, with North Carolina State being the one, St. John's at number three, and Kent State at four. SE Baseball also projects us in the Tar Heel state, but instead traveling to Chapel Hill. I'm not gonna lie, I would be alright with this draw. The Beavers would likely meet North Carolina in a huge game sometime throughout the weekend, which would be pretty intense considering our history. The other two teams projected to that regional are Appalachian State as a three and Austin Peay at number four.

College Baseball Nation gives Oregon State the worst draw of all, sending the Beavers to Tallahassee in a regional hosted by number one overall seed Florida State. I just don't understand how this is possible. Or fair. That would make the Beavers one of the worst two seeds in the field, which is highly unlikely after just sweeping number six Oregon. The other two teams in the regional are Belmont and Prairie View A&M, at number three and four, respectively. CBN appears to be awarding the Beavers for having to deal with the Seminoles by giving them two less than stellar teams to fill out the regional, but it really doesn't make up for the fact that OSU would likely have to beat the best team in the country twice, on their home field, in order to advance.

Perfect Game is the only projection to have us staying off the east coast and away from ACC-territory, but their pick isn't much better. PG has the Beavers going to Baton Rouge, a place Beaver fans haven't inhabited since 2004. Unfortunately, this team is not led by Derek Anderson, but thankfully, they won't be going up against JaMarcus Russell and Joseph Addai. Oh wait, wrong sport. PG has LSU as the top seed, with SE Louisiana and Louisana-Monroe taking the final two spots. While this regional would be interesting, I don't like the idea of going to the deep south with basically no traveling party and having three separate Louisiana fan-bases waiting for us. Every game would basically be a road game, which shouldn't be fair in a regional round.

Meanwhile, all six projections have Oregon receiving a national seed, but only ESPN paired up the Eugene Regional with the one Oregon State is in.

Click the jump to breakdown possible opponents in an Oregon State regional

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I won two all-session tickets to the Legends Classic Championship Round (2 Semifinals, 1 Consolation, 1 Championship) for finishing 2nd in this contest:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150339152489135&set=pu.350881379134&type=1&theater

I can't go so if anyone wants these please email ConnorOSU@gmail.com to discuss prices. The tickets are in the "100" sections and will be left at WillCall in your name.

Thanks

I guess I need twenty more words so yeah, good luck against Vandy, That game should be closer than OSU-UT.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150339152489135&set=pu.350881379134&type=1&theater

I can't go so if anyone wants these please email ConnorOSU@gmail.com to discuss prices. The tickets are in the "100" sections and will be left at WillCall in your name.  

Thanks

I guess I need twenty more words so anyway, thanks for beating the Ducks last night! That was a fun game to watch.

I won two all-session tickets to the Legends Classic Championship Round (2 Semifinals, 1 Consolation, 1 Championship) for finishing 2nd in this contest:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150339152489135&set=pu.350881379134&type=1&theater

I can't go so if anyone wants these please email ConnorOSU@gmail.com to discuss prices. The tickets are in the "100" sections and will be left at WillCall in your name.

Thanks!

Whoops I guess I need twenty more words so anyway, I think the OSU-UT game should be close but the Horns will win. We just find a way to lose all of these games.

EDIT: This will be my final post on BTD for the foreseeable future, as I will now be co-managing the Pac-12 microsite at Rush the Court. I'm going to miss everyone here, but especially fanoverboard :) Now, on to the preview!

Here is the final part to my weekend college basketball preview, in which I will predict the conference standings, break down each team, predict the all-conference teams, and go over the must-see games. Enjoy!

Predicted Standings

1. California
2. Arizona
3. Washington
4. UCLA
5. Oregon
6. Oregon State
7. Stanford
8. Colorado
9. Washington State
10. USC
11. Arizona State
12. Utah

Team Breakdowns

1. California: The Golden Bears will be an interesting team to watch this year as they boast one of the best starting five's in the nation, yet their bench is a relative unknown. Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kamp should be able to lead this team on talent alone to the sweet sixteen, but I don't see the Bears advancing past there.

2. Arizona: If freshman Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson live up to expectations, the Wildcats can go ten or elven deep without worry. This kind of depth will be unrivaled in the Pac-12 this season and will allow them to compete with California for the conference crown.

3. Washington: The Huskies success in 2011-2012 will depend on guards Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten Jr. If they perform at the top of their potential and get some help down low from 7-footer Aziz N'Diaye down low, the Huskies could make some noise come March.

4. UCLA: The Bruins' season will come down to the play of their backcourt and how much they create and score. Senior Lazeric Jones will be expected to lead the team and be the primary ball-handler, but if he can improve on his 9.1 PPG mark from last season, it will take the pressure off some of the more inexperienced shooting guards. The post will be held down by junior Reeves Nelson and sophomore Joshua Smith.

5. Oregon: I hate it, but I really like Oregon's chances to have a great year. In my mind, they are a sure-lock for the NIT and maybe even the NCAA's if they pull a couple of big upsets along the way. Freshman shooting-guard Jabrai Brown, who spurned Connecticut to come out to Eugene, should take control of the Oregon offense from day one and give a new dynamic to the team that they haven't seen since Tajuan Porter's playing days.

6. Oregon State: The theme for the 2011-2012 Beavers is raw talent. The Beavers are full of it, in both the back and front courts, and if everything comes together at the right time this team can be very good. Junior guard Jared Cunningham is the only sure-fire guy on the roster, but if Roberto Nelson, Ahmad Starks, and Devon Collier all build on the good games they had at the end of last season, the Beavers are a good bet to make the NIT.

More previewing after the break

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All throughout the weekend here on BTD I will be focusing on previewing the college basketball season. Today: Predicting the Surprises of the Pac-12. Enjoy!

Arizona - In my opinion, the overreaction to the loss of Derrick Williams has been unnecessary. Yes, Williams was a force and he will be missed, especially on defense. But the Wildcats still return Kyle Fogg, Solomon Hill, and Jesse Perry, and with the additions of sure one-and-done point guard Josiah Turner and shooting guard Nick Johnson, I don't see how Arizona can be stopped on offense.

Besides for Turner and Johnson, Arizona also adds forward Sidiki Johnson and Angelo Chol, meaning this team can go ten or eleven deep comfortably, depending on the availability of Kevin Parrom. With that much talent, there is no way the Cats finish outside of the top two in the Pac-12.

Schedule Overview

I have Arizona going 23-6 this year, with their losses coming against Florida, Gonzaga, UCLA, Colorado, California, and Washington. They will miss duplicate games against the Oregon and Bay Area schools, which are usually good for two additional losses. In the end, I think Arizona finishes at a close-second behind California, with the defacto conference championship game coming on February 2nd in Berkeley.  

Oregon - Hopes are high in Eugene this season, with a sixth or seventh place finish in the Pac-12 being predicted by most people around the country. I actually think the Ducks will surpass those expectations, most likely finishing fifth, or possibly, even as high as fourth. Freshman guard Jabari Brown will need to make an immediate impact early on if the Ducks are to have a good year, andI do not see any reason why Brown can't make that impact.

Other impact players on this year's team will be senior forward Olu Asholu and junior forward E.J. Singler. Asholu comes by way of Louisiana Tech, who is able to play immmediatelyafter transferring last year since he has already graduated. To show you how talented he is, Olu averaged 14.2 PPG at LA Tech last year and was considering transferring to Texas or going to the NBA before finally deciding to Eugene. Also down low is Singler, who averaged 11.7 PPG last year and will be looked upon to lead this team in tough early season games against Vanderbilt, Nebraska, and BYU.

Schedule Overview

Oregon's toughest games of the eason will be their November 11th meeting with Vanderbilt in Nashville and their January 14th game in Tucson against Arizona. Those are almost sure-losses for the Ducks, but we will get to see just how talented they are when they match up against the BYU Cougars on December 3rd in Salt Lake City. The Ducks will miss the Arizona and Los Angeles schools in duplicate games this year.

My final surprise team is after the break

Continue reading this post »

All throughout the weekend here on BTD I will be focusing on previewing the college basketball season. Today: A Look at the Top Five Early-Season Events. Enjoy!

5. Carrier Classic

This classic takes place on November 11th in San Diego, California between Michigan State and North Carolina. The game was designed as a tribute to the US Navy on Veterans Day, but it also got a pair of top twenty teams to play in the game, making this is a must-see for everyone around the nation. The game will be televised on ESPN and will take place on the USS Carl Vinson. The Spartans come into the season ranked #19 in the Rivals.com preseason poll, but a win here would jump them into the top five and make them a serious final four candidate with forward Draymond Green leading the way.  

North Carolina comes in ranked third in the nation and for good reason. The Heels return forwards Harrison Barnes, John Henson, and Tyler Zeller, giving them by far the best front line in the nation. They also signed two five-star prospects in James McAdoo and P.J. Hairston, the ladder of which will be counted on early and often this season for a team that struggled from three-point land last year.

I expect this one to be tight all the way through with North Carolina pulling away in the final few minutes. In the end, Carolina is just simply more talented and deeper than the Spartans and they will prove that down the stretch.

Prediction: North Carolina 82, Michigan State 75

4. Orange Bowl Classic

This classic takes place on December 17th in Sunrise, Florida. There will be a doubleheader of action, with the first game featuring Miami (Florida) and Florida Atlantic. For the first time in a while in Coral Gables there are some big expectations for the basketball team, and for good reason.

The Hurricanes hired former George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga after Frank Haith left the Canes to take the job at Missouri, and Larranaga will be welcomed by two of the best guards in the ACC, Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott. Grant and Scott both averaged in double-figures for points last year. Florida Atlantic will be no pushover either though, as the Owls return four of their starters from last season's NIT club. In the end, I expect Miami to win this one, but don't be surprised if the Owls pull off the upset

Prediction: Miami (Florida) 70, Florida Atlantic 63 

The second game of the doubleheader is the feature, pitting #11 Florida against #13 Texas A&M. The Gators are incredibly talented this year despite the loss of power forward Chandler Parsons. The only problem is that they are very young, which could lead to a slow start. I like this Aggies team a lot. They return their top two scorers from last year, Khris Middleton and David Loubeau, and they also add Washington transfer Elston Turner at guard, traditionally a thin position for them.

While both of these teams have talented scorers, this will be a defensive battle. For some reason, I just love this Texas A&M team and I think they pull out an overtime victory against a future conference-rival.

Prediction: Texas A&M 67, Florida 66

3. Puerto Rico Tip-Off

This tournament takes place on November 17-20 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Alabama, Colorado, Iona, Maryland, Purdue, Temple, Western Michigan, and Wichita State are in this year's field. All games will be televised on the ESPN Family of Networks.

Best Set Matchup - Maryland vs Alabama (Nov. 17, 2:00 PM PT, ESPN2)

Many people around the country are predicting the Terripans to struggle this season in the first year of the Mark Turgeon era. They will most likely be right, but Maryland can prove everyone wrong with a win over the #18 Crimson Tide in this one. However, Alabama is going to be tough to stop this year with do-everything forward JaMychal Green back for his senior season. In the end, I think the Alabama offense comes alive and takes advantage of a weak Maryland defense. Both teams will put up points, but I'm picking Alabama for a 71-64 victory.

Best Potential Matchup - Temple vs Alabama

This would most likely be the championship game of the tournament, pitting the 14th ranked Owls and the aforementioned Crimson Tide. Temple brings in one of the most balanced attacks in the nation with Ramone Moore and Juan Fernandez at guard and Michael Eric down low. Because of this balance and Alabama's off-and-on struggles from three-point land, I'm taking Temple with a 77-67 win.

PREDICTIONS

Champion - Temple
Runner Up - Alabama
Third Place - Purdue

Click the jump for a look at the top two early-season events

Continue reading this post »

Here is my Week 8 BlogPoll Draft Ballot. Suggestions for changes are due by 9:00 PM Pacific tonight, at which time I will submit the final BTD Ballot. As in our previous posts, I'll defend my picks after the jump.

               Building the Dam Ballot - Week 8

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Oklahoma Sooners	--
3	LSU Tigers	--
4	Boise St. Broncos	--
5	Stanford Cardinal	--
6	Wisconsin Badgers	--
7	Oregon Ducks	--
8	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	--
9	Arkansas Razorbacks	--
10	Clemson Tigers	--
11	Nebraska Cornhuskers	--
12	Virginia Tech Hokies	--
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
14	Michigan St. Spartans	--
15	Georgia Bulldogs	1
16	Texas A&M Aggies	1
17	Texas Longhorns	-2
18	SMU Mustangs	4
19	West Virginia Mountaineers	5
20	Michigan Wolverines	-1
21	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	--
22	Kansas St. Wildcats	3
23	Illinois Fighting Illini	-5
24	Arizona St. Sun Devils	-4
25	Penn St. Nittany Lions	--
Dropouts: Florida Gators

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings

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The Oregon State men's basketball team held their annual media day on Thursday before practice starts on the 15th.

The point was made clear by head coach Craig Robinson that the main goal for this season is the NCAA Tournament:

"We are setting this program up to be a program that's like everybody else in the country. Our goal is to make the NCAA tournament. That's what we're trying to do. And we know that's putting pressure on us.

We know that not having an NBA season, there are more eyes on us. We would like to help the school in other areas. We want to pick up some of the slack for them and that's pressure. But how we're handling it, we're becoming a more focused team."

Junior forward Joe Burton reiterated the goal:

"We want to finish in the top-three of the Pac-12, go on and win the Pac-12 Tournament and then advance to the NCAA Tournament. That's what we all want so we will see what happens and see how the cards fold."

As did senior forward Kevin McShane:

"I think like coach said, it's a success if we can make it to the NCAA tournament and see what we can do there. It hasn't been done here for a while and I think for a lot of fans that would be successful. But for the team, from a personal standpoint, we want to keep playing until there's no more playing to be had and to keep going and see how far we can go."

Freshman guard Challe Barton was a hot topic:

"He is a great player. Coming from Sweden, it is going to be a different change of pace in the game for him but he should fit in real well. He has been doing really well in practice and weights and he really looks like a real Pac-12 player." - Junior guard Jared Cunningham

"Charles has come in and is learning really fast. He is knocking down his shots and he will be coming up with a lot this year." - Freshman forward Eric Moreland

Moreland also said that he can't wait for freshman forward Daniel Gomis to get back out there because he's a "defensive, high-energy player that can block shots and rebound." Gomis broke his leg during the summer and is questionable for the season.

Pretty much every player and coach was asked about the "excitement" for the season. Here are the responses:

"Well you know at the beginning of each season everybody's excited. I think for us though, this is a changing of the guard and we've got previous guys who had lost a lot of games that are now graduated. We have a group of guys who are used to winning a lot of games, used to playing hard and used to being focused. They have shown that focus early on here, in the workouts, in their individual workouts in the spring and over the summer they did a terrific job. There is a lot of excitement just based on the focus of this group." - Craig Robinson

"My take is that this team is unlike any other Beaver team that's been around the last two decades. Yeah, they've had some great success amongst some unsuccessful years but the whole feeling that we have as a team from the players, the coaches, the trainers, people over in the strength room, everything is just different. It's a great feeling and it's a great year to come out and support us." - McShane

"I'm really excited. We have all our guys on the same page. We have all been working hard putting in one day at a time and we are going to be ready for the season." - Cunningham

"I can't wait. It's been a long time and I feel like it's been years. Coming from UTEP and then getting hurt last year, I just want to help the team and I'm ready to get back out there." - Moreland

"I'm excited. Practice starts tomorrow so we are just going to get after it, work hard and we will see how the season unfolds." - Burton

More quotes after the break

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BYU comes into Corvallis this weekend with a 4-2 record. The Cougars have not looked very good so far this season, with losses to Texas and Utah and one possession victories over Mississippi, UCF, and Utah State. BYU's main problem has been their one-dimensional offense. 

They have not had any success whatsoever with their ground game and that has led to opposing defenses keying in on the pass. JJ Di Luigi, Joshua Quezada, and Michael Alisa have all split time at running back for the Cougars, but no one seems to have broken through. BYU is averaging 116 total rushing yards per game so far this season.

The main reason for the low yardage amounts are due to play calling. BYU's amount of passes has dropped in the past few games with the emergence of mobile quarterback Riley Nelson, but the Cougars were slinging the ball around much more with Jake Heaps under center. They almost pulled a Sean Mannion in their game against Utah in which they threw 56 times.

Continue reading this post »

Next week's BYU-Oregon State game has found a television home. The 1:00 PM kickoff in Corvallis will be carried on KBYU and Fox College Sports Pacific.

KBYU is on channel 44 on DTTV and is available in parts of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Fox College Sports Pacific is on channel 415 on Comcast, and is available in portions of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Hawaii, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.

Directv subscribers who have the Sports Pac also get Fox College Sports Pacific on channel 617.

The game will also be repeated at 7 PM on BYUtv, and at 7:30 on ROOT Sports Northwest.

--Connor