Unfortunately, Curry decided that a transfer to Durham was the best fit for him.  Obviously he won't be available until the 2010-2011 season, and by then many will have forgotten he's on the roster, until that first three he pops. 

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Everyone by now has filled out their brackets.  It is a national pastime that usually leads to someone's girlfriend beating them because she picked teams based on their mascots or jerseys.  Its embarrassing, but usually happens.  Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how my night at the bar goes) I don't have a girlfriend, so there is no embarrassment in posting my 2009 Tournament picks.  However, to those of you with girlfriends, beware of the mascot trick.  It gets you every time.

Without further ado, here are my picks!

Now I know they may be hard to see.  Just click on the picture and it will blow up larger for you, if you're so inclined. 

Also, these are not the official Blogger So Dear bracket picks.  These are my own, which is why they differ.  The official picks were broken down region by region earlier today and yesterday.

Brief explanations after the jump...

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So I've been lazy this week.  I'm a couple of days late, but here it is, this week's mid-major roundup.  Again, we're doing something a little different this week.  I'm going to talk about ALL mid-major squads (which I haven't been doing recently), and give a final decision on the in-out for them prior to conference tournaments.  This week I'll be discussing the big names, in addition to a couple holdovers from my last few posts.

The teams I'll be discussing this week:

1) Gonzaga

2) Butler

3) St. Mary's

4) Creighton

5) Davidson

6) Siena

Discussion and final decisions after the jump.

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So I'm going to make a little change in the format and style of this column this week.  This weekend was a huge weekend for mid major programs trying to force their way into the At-Large bid conversation.  Also, I've listed nine teams already that are making tournament waves, and frankly, there aren't very many more that have a reasonable shot to get into the tournament outside of an automatic bid at this point.  Therefore, instead of giving you two new teams, I've decided to recap the teams I've listed up until this point, and give my opinion on their postseason hopes. 

Here's a reminder on the 9 teams I've discussed so far.  There's a possibility that next week I might go after three more, but who knows. 

Feb 3rd:  Cleveland State, Virginia Commonwealth, North Dakota State.

Feb 9th: Siena, George Mason, Creighton

Feb 16th: Miami (OH), Niagara, Illinois State

Recaps after the jump...

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This was a tough list to compile in that there really isn't a great crop of shooting guards this year. Most "shooting guards" that you think of that are good actually occupy the point guard position on their team.  So brace yourself America, here's my list of the top five shooting guards in the nation.  Again, these aren't rankings, just a list of the top five in no particular order.

1) James Harden

2) Jodie Meeks

3) Wayne Ellington

4) Wesley Matthews/Jerel McNeal

5) James Anderson

Explanations after the jump.

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So another week has gone by and we're getting closer and closer to Tournament time.  First, lets look at what last week's teams did:

Siena: The Saints did a good job of rebounding from their tough loss at Rider to win two easy home games against #218 Loyola MD (unlike another hot mid-major, they managed to top a Loyola this week) and #190 Manhattan (a nice win over the Jaspers).  That puts them at 20-6 overall and 14-1 in the MAAC.  They come in at #73 in the Pomeroy Ratings, up four spots from last week, and #31 in the RPI, down four spots from last week.  Take that as you will, I still see them in the tourney, as does Lunardi.  The difference is that he sees them as an autobid, which might not be the case.

George Mason:  The Patriots really are an enigma this year.  This week they lost to perennial CAA doormats Delaware, but then stepped up to beat then #1 (in the CAA) Northeastern.  They dropped to #74 in the Pomeroy Ratings, from #70.  They stayed steady at #57 in the RPI.  Unfortunately, the CAA's two-bid status from 05-06 and 06-07 is slipping, and only one team will make the tourney this year.  My pick is VCU, but keep an eye on Northeastern; they play the slow-tempo, stingy defensive type of ball that made UNCW a staple in the NCAAs.  That leaves Mason the odd team out.

Creighton:  The Jays had the best week of any of the three teams mentioned last week, knocking off #130 Bradley and winning at #146 SIU.  That puts Creighton at #57 in the Pomeroy Ratings, up from #66 last week, and #56 in the RPI, up from #60 last week.  However, Lunardi gives the conference to UNI.  Creighton finishes out the year at home against #143 Evansville, #74 George Mason in a very important Bracketbuster game, at #185 Missouri State, and then another important game at home against #79 Illinois St., who right now stands at 21-5 and 10-5 in the MVC.  If Creighton wins those games and makes it to the MVC final in St. Louis, but loses, there's a good chance that the two-bid MVC is back this year.

Also, last week I took Cleveland State off of the watch.  I'm going to add them back on after winning home games against the Wisconsin schools (#150 Milwaukee and #83 Green Bay).  IF, and only if, they can win out (including a win at Butler), which would put them at 23-8 (13-5), and make it to the conference championship, they are in the tourney.  Believe it or not, the Horizon is the 11th best conference in the country this year, so two teams in seems right.

Now onto this week's teams...

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So another week has gone by and we're getting closer and closer to Tournament time.  First, lets look at what last week's teams did:

Cleveland State:  They won two big road games within the Horizon League...knocking off #152 Illinois-Chicago and #229 Loyola Chicago.  Knocking off Loyola isn't much to speak of, but a win at UIC is a good step for this team considering they lost their last three road games at #75 Wisc-Green Bay, #151 Wisc-Milwaukee, and #217 Youngstown St.  Apparently south of Racine, WI they win on the road, but north of Racine they don't.  Despite those wins they have dropped from 58th in the Pomeroy to 61.  All this said, 86th in RPI means that a Horizon tourney win might be the only way in for them. 

VCU: So what does a loss to my alma mater do for your Pomeroy rating?  It drops you from #59 to #72.  UNCW is #300.  That makes me sad to write, but we are.  That said, unlike Cleveland State, I'm not dropping VCU from my watch, mainly because of Eric Maynor.  He's that good.  Also, Anthony Grant is a superb coach.  Continue to keep an eye on the Rams; at #73 in the RPI, there is no reason they can't win out and end up in the 40-50 range.

North Dakota State:  They came in last week at #67 in the Pomeroy, and now rank at #58, meaning they are the movers and shakers of this week.  They won two road games at #287 Western Illinois and #166 IUPUI.  That said, they are only #95 in RPI, so they might need to come off this list.  You will see them in the tourney though, but only as an auto-bid.

This week's 3 teams after the jump.

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I have decided to do a list.  A top 5 list that is.  Of who I consider the top 5 players at each position.  They are not ranked.  #1 is not better than #5....he COULD be, but he isn't necessarily better just because I put him at #1.  I will provide stats to back this up, but obviously this is entirely based on what I value in a PG...so I would love input from everyone else afterwards.  Hopefully this can spark up some good conversation.

1) Ty Lawson

2) Stephen Curry

3) Darren Collison

4) Jonny Flynn

5) Jeff Teague

Explanations after the Jump

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Yeah, this is a Wake Forest blog, and Wake Forest is nowhere near a mid-major, but it is also February, meaning that some mid-majors are going to be coming to the forefront and making some noise in about a month. 

From here on out, I'm going to try to have a quick, weekly update on some teams that I think could make some noise come March.  I think that it's important because, while we all know Wake is one of the top teams in the nation, we also all know that in March, anything can happen, and Wake's uptempo style of game provides more possessions for teams, which is something that could open the door for some squads with a little less talent, but are quick and can shoot.  I think Wake is too athletic and long for this to happen, but I still think its fun to hear about these teams first and to impress your friends in your bracket pools.

Check it out after the jump.

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    When I sat down to put together these teams I thought it was going to be much easier than it turned out to be.  We all know the big names: Hansbrough, Teague, Singler, Rice, Vasquez, etc.  Those guys, among others, are the guys you see on ESPN because of their play, their point totals, and their intensity (i.e. Vasquez).  That said, after sitting down and looking at each players efficiency ratings and the contributions they make to their teams, two of the players mentioned above didn't even make my 2nd team.  That said, I present to you my All-ACC Honors.  To be fair, efficiency ratings were taken from within the ACC schedule.

1st Team All-ACC

PG) Jeff Teague, Wake Forest

    We all know about Teague's spectacular shooting from beyond the arc and his impressive point totals, but what you may not know is how efficient a player he is.  He is the ranked 19th in offensive efficiency, with a value of 114.42.  His 20.9 PPG account for 25% of Wake's total scoring and he accounts for more than 21% of Wake's totals in FG made and attempted, FT made (31%) and attempted, 3pt FG made (40%) and attempted, assists, and steals.  He is 45th in the country in true shooting percentage, which is great considering how many shots he takes.  A 1.1 A/TO ratio isn't good, but for a player expected to score as much as he does, its manageable.  These numbers have pushed him past Lawson into his rightful role as a 1st team All-ACC PG and could be close to All-America honors.

SG) Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech

    Now here is a guy that has BURST onto the scene as, I consider easily, the best SG in the conference.  He is 3rd in the conference in offensive efficiency, with a value of 123.8.  He accounts for 7.5% or more of all of his teams important statistical categories, including 38.6% of their made FGs, 32,1% of their made FTs, 36% of their made 3pt FGs, 25% of their points, 27% of their assists, and 23.6% of their steals.  18.6 points, 3.7 assists, 4,3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals a game.  He's a great player and, with the help of Vassallo, is really carrying this team.

SF) James Johnson, Wake Forest

    The small forward crop is relatively weak this year in the ACC, with the exception of Johnson and Duke's Gerald Henderson.  I feel like James Johnson is the better of the two, and the numbers support that.  He's 10th in the conference in offensive efficiency at 118.24.  His 13.6 PPG accounts for 16.3% of Wake's production.  What is even more impressive is he accounts for 13% or more of all of Wake's important statistical categories, with highlights in blocks (26.5%), rebounds (17.5%), and steals (19%).  13.6 points, 8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.7 steals is just a stellar line.

PF) Kyle Singler, Duke

    Like Johnson, Singler is just another do-it-all forward that contributes all across the stat-line.  He ranks 21st in offensive efficiency at 113.13.  He also accounts for 18% or more of his teams production in EVERY important statistical category.  He highlights this in 3pt FG made (24%), points (21%), and rebounds (19%).  His 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 1.8 steals a game have been vital to Duke's success, and without him Duke would be middle of the pack in the ACC.

C) Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

    We all know about Tyler Hansbrough.  Many of you probably hate him.  I actually do not; I love his tenacity and the way he plays. It just won't translate to the NBA very well.  That said, there is sufficient reason to put him 1st team this year.  He is 11th in efficiency at 117.64 and accounts for 31.9% of his teams made FTs, 19% of UNC's points, and 16.6 % of their made FGs, which is high considering how many FTs he takes.  His 21.8 points, and 7.8 rebounds are down from last year, and he doesn't contribute much elsewhere, but he does enough to get first team All-ACC Center honors.

Second Team and All-Freshman after the jump...

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via media.gatewaync.com

    Yesterday I mentioned something about how I would like to see Ish start against Duke for defensive purposes.  While it of course didn't happen that way, I loved the way he was utilized tonight.  He is just the kind of player I love, an under-the-radar type of guy who's consistently doing the things that win games, even though he might be the guy that Raycom Sports interviews after the game, not ESPN.  Now don't get me wrong, I love Teague, and the ninja master JJ, but like the man represented in my profile picture, Willie Idlette, Ish is a guy that seems to poke his head out and make the big plays when it matters most.

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