How do you build a basketball court on a battle ship? Check out this video:

Floating venue presents some challenges (FOXSports.com)

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Oklahoma is No. 1 in the first BCS rankings, released Sunday night.

The Sooners (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) jumped up to No. 3 in the AP and Coaches' polls after blowing out Iowa State 52-0 on Saturday, and — in part because of previous AP/Coaches No. 1 Ohio State's 31-18 loss to then-No. 18 Wisconsin — hold the coveted top spot in the BCS rankings that determine postseason bowl placement.

Oregon sits at No. 2 in the BCS, followed by Boise State, Auburn and TCU in the top 5. LSU, Michigan State, Alabama, Utah and Ohio State round out the first top 10.

"I understand that the announcement of the poll makes for good conversation among media and fans, but two games into our conference season, it's too early for us to give it any attention," OU coach Bob Stoops told to the Oklahoma Daily. "At this point, it just speaks to the quality of the schedule we've played. And while I appreciate the caliber of those teams, our focus has to be on the games we have remaining. We're not talking or thinking about anything but playing Missouri."

How important is being in the top five of the standings? If history is a guide, 20 of the 24 teams to play in the title game were in the top five in the initial standings. No team has reached the title game from lower than 12th in the initial release (from ESPN.com)

COMPLETE RANKINGS

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The Final Four is set for this weekend:

SATURDAY, APR 3
6:07PM - #5 Butler vs. #5 Michigan State
8:47PM - #1 Duke vs. #2 West Virginia

Here's some great reads from around the web:

--Expect Duke To Prevail (Sporting News) - Senior writer Mike DeCourcy breaks down why he thinks Duke is an easy pick.

--A First Look At The Final Four (ESPN) - Andy Katz looks back and ahead with great depth.

--A Final Four Worth Watching, Barely (LA Times) - A look at how Duke and Michigan State saved CBS.

--Huggins Had Cal's Number (Courier Journal) - Rick Bozich talks about how Bob Huggins out coached John Calipari.

--MSU's Most Remarkable Final Four Yet (Detroit News) - .Bob Wojnowski believes this is the most amazing Spartans' run yet.

--Butler's Story More Than Cute (Indianapolis Star) - Bob Kravitz explains this team is far from being a cute story.

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Game of the Week:

Nebraska at Virginia Tech

This game looks to be the best one in a weekend that isn't that special for college football. Virginia Tech was able to go into Lincoln last year and put up a season-high 35 points and escape with a five-point win. This year the Huskers are looking to return the favor.

The key will be to see if Virginia Tech can get any balance on offense. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been more of a threat with his legs than his arm so far this season. They have Ryan Williams, David Wilson and Josh Oglesby in the backfield to go along with Taylor giving them a stable of runners, but they will need to prove that they can complete some passes and move the ball through the air. In two games (a rout over Marshall and a loss to Alabama), Taylor is 18-of-36 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Huskers' quarterback Zac Lee has looked unbelievable at quarterback, but don't expect his 73.7 completion percentage to continue. However, he has proved that he is a capable starting quarterback. It will be interesting to see how he performs in a big-time game against another ranked opponent.

Other Games to Watch:

Michigan State at Notre Dame

Michigan State has won the last six times they've played in South Bend, but they'll need to sure up their secondary if they want to come away with a win this year.

Boston College at Clemson

Boston College leads the ACC in scoring offense and scoring defense. This week however, they'll have to prove that they can do it against a decent opponent as opposed to the cupcakes they've been thrashing.

Cincinnati at Oregon State

This is a matchup between two of the top coaches in the country that don't coach at big-time BCS schools. This game will give both teams a good idea of how well they matchup against like competition.

Upset Pick of the Week: Florida State over BYU

 

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As we continue our series previewing the college football conferences here on GetSportsInfo, it's time to take a look at one of the most disappointing conferences in the NCAA.... The Big Ten.

Favorite: Penn State

Penn State has a great chance at repeating as Big Ten champs again this year. They lose three of the greatest wideouts in Penn State history and their sack leader from last season. However, Sean Lee should be a huge gain as he comes back from an injury to be a force at linebacker. Also, Daryll Clark returns as a heisman contender at quarterback and Evan Royster and Stephon Green look to increase their production. They also have the easiest non-conference schedule in the Big Ten (Akron, Syracuse, Temple, and Eastern Illinois.) The biggest concern will be trying to find production from the wide receiver position.

Sleeper: Illinois

Illinois gets the nod as my sleeper because of two major factors: 1. They have 18-of-22 starters returning in 2009. 2. I don't know that some of the teams expected to finish ahead of them can recover from key losses... (MSU-Javon Ringer). The most important returning member of the Fighting Illini is quarterback Juice Williams, who I fully expect to be one of the top QB's in the nation this year. His 138.09 QB rating from last year was outstanding and with four of five offensive lineman returning it should only get better. Williams also has the benefit of running back Jason Ford returning after a decent freshman campaign and the Illini don't lose a single receiver.


Overrated: Michigan State

The Spartans lose Brian Hoyer and Javon Ringer yet some are still picking them to battle it out at the top of the conference. The Big Ten is bad so that will help the Spartans stay in the thick of things, but I see the loss of their quarterback and their stud running back who carried the offensive load last seasont to be too much. Their defense is decent but not great. Look for the Spartans to falter early, especially as they look for someone to lead them on offense.

Final Take:

The Big Ten is one of the most disappointing conferences in football. Every year they have a few highly touted teams who are supposed to be tops in the nation. Except, when they actually play the top teams in the nation they always seem to lose. The Big Ten will continue to pick on non-BCS bowl-bound schools, but lose to the top teams in the nation once again this season. 

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With the last champion of the 2000s crowned, WhatIfSports.com ranks the decade's ten NCAA men's basketball tournament winners by "playing" the champs against one another 1,000 times each. Where do the Florida back-to-back champions rank? Were Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse lucky or good in 2003? Is a North Carolina or a Duke team on top? Check out the rankings to find out.

Very young and underwhelming during the season, this team was a bit of a flash in the pan come tournament time. A three seed, Syracuse was able to build on a regular season of experience for its talented freshman starters -- McNamara and Anthony -- and some fortunate tournament venues on its path to title.
Starters: Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany, Carmelo Anthony, Craig Forth, Hakim Warrick
Winning percentage from 1,000 WhatIfSports.com simulations against each champion of this decade: 29.8 percent

9. 2005-06 Florida Gators
As a three-seed, the 2005-06 Gators are only other team on this list to win the championship unexpectedly -- among the top eight on this list, only 2003-04 UConn, a two-seed, was not a one-seed in the tournament. Furthermore, similar to Syracuse, this young team almost seemed to win the title on accident without really knowing what it was doing. Lucky for Billy Donovan, all of the main pieces came back for another run at the title. (more on that later).
Starters: Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey, Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Joakim Noah
WhatIfSports.com simulation winning percentage: 32.9 percent

8. 2001-02 Maryland Terrapins
Head coach Gary Williams put together the most complete team of his Hall of Fame career with a good mix of heady players like Steve Blake and Lonny Baxter, defensive stoppers like Byron Mouton, freakish athletes like Chris Wilcox, and an all-around talent like Juan Dixon. Williams did not have to sweat too much over this team either, as it won all of its tournament games by double digits, except for an eight-point win over UConn.
Starters: Steve Blake, Juan Dixon, Byron Mouton, Chris Wilcox, Lonny Baxter
WhatIfSports.com simulation winning percentage: 33.3 percent

7. 1999-2000 Michigan State Spartans
Head coach Tom Izzo gets credit as a tough, defensive mastermind, but his true legacy may be in taking some of the region's best athletes and building them into smart, versatile basketball players -- it just took until the tournament for it to click. The best MSU squad since Magic Johnson, this team played ten guys more than ten minutes a game and seemingly every one of them could pass, defend, rebound and score at a high level.
Starters: Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, Morris Peterson, Andre Hutson, A.J. Granger
WhatIfSports.com simulation winning percentage: 35.7 percent

CONTINUE READING 

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OK, I have officially burned the my bracket and Oklahoma fell in my pool. I have nothing left except the idea of watching some good basketball. I was hoping for some great games over the past weekend and honestly was left a bit disappointed. Here are some final takes on the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 and some opening thoughts on the Final Four:

*TAR HEELS MY PICK - I tried to convince myself that Gonzaga and Oklahoma could challenge the Tar Heels and most of that was based off of their poor play on defense. However, they held Oklahoma and Gonzaga, two high-scoring teams, to 137 total points. The Tar Heels, who I argued all regular season were the best team, have once again convinced me that they are. I can't see them losing to anyone.

*WHAT SCANDAL? - All the talk of the potential black cloud hanging over Connecticut following the amazingly timed release of recruiting violations proved to be unwarranted. The Huskies are looking strong and really the only thing standing in the way on UNC for a national title. I would not be surprised if Jim Calhoun calls it quits at the end of the year with on-going health problems and a looming probation.

*BIG TEN SURPRISE - I am the first to admit that I've been a Big Ten basher for most of the season. While I am not prepared to revoke those comments, I am ready to eat some crow about Michigan State. I was impressed with the way they handled Missouri in the Sweet 16 and amazed at the way they shutdown Louisville altogether on Sunday. They made the Cards play a Big Ten-style contest and that won them the game. This may be Tom Izzo's best coaching job yet.

*'NOVA A CINDERELLA AGAIN - After knocking out perenial power Duke in the Sweet 16, Villanova exacted their revenge on Pittsburgh and knocked out their Big East Brothers to earn a spot in the Final Four. The two wins over higher seeds give the school 15 wins vs. higher seed all-time, the most of any school. They are the lowest seed of any team left standing, entering the Final Four as a No. 3.

*FINAL FOUR NOT IN THE CARDS - The Cardinals had so much going there way, but I am thinking the 39-point victory over Arizona might have made the boys a little too confident heading into their match-up with Michigan State. They weren't ready for that defensive intensity the Spartans brought to the table. What sealed their fate though was they couldn't set up their pass without making baskets. It's disappointing for Rick Pitino as this team could play with any in the nation, just not MSU on Sunday.

*PITT PLAYS WITH FIRE, GETS BURNED - After a few lackluster performances early in the tournament, the Pitt Panthers were finally exposed on Saturday night. I am still trying to figure out how in world Scottie Reynolds got all the way down the court nearly uncontested. The first thing I learned playing basketball was STOP THE BALL!!! The Panthers peaked a bit too early this year. They would have won it all if it was February Madness.

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Let the Madness begin! The brackets have been drawn and the guessing is over...or is it? Now comes the fun part, filling out the brackets. Here are some my opening observations....

*The No. 1 Seeds - The selection committee got it right here with Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Connecticut all getting tabbed with the honor.

*Big East Rocks - They didn't the mega seeds that many expected earlier in the season as only seven of the 16 teams made the tournament rather than the 8 or 9 some had speculated earlier. Still, three No. 1 seeds from the conference is quite a  statement.

*SEC Letdown - The conference had one of its worst years ever and only because Mississippi State made an improbable run to the conference tournament championship did it get three teams in. LSU and Tennessee earned at large bids, but only a No. 8 and and No. 9 respecitvely.

*Big 10 Overrated - Penn State didn't get in, but the Big Ten get seven teams in. Still, I don't think the conference is really that good. Outside of Michigan State I expect early exits for all of the teams and even the Spartans proved to be vulnerable.

*Conference Breakdown - ACC (7 teams in), Big East (7), Big Ten (7), Big 12 (6), Pac 10 (5), SEC (3), Atlantic 10 (3), Horizon (2), MVC (2), Moutain West (2), WCC (2)

*Buckeye Pride - Five of the 13 Division I schools in Ohio made the NCAA Tournament - Akron, Dayton, Cleveland State, Ohio State, and Xavier.

*Last At-Large Ins - Arizona (12 seed), Wisconsin (12), Dayton (11), Maryland (10), Michigan (10) and Minnesota (10)

*Notable snubs - San Diego State (35th in RPI), Creighton (40), Saint Mary's (48), Auburn (63), Penn State (70)

*Where are they now? - The tournament is missing some of its regulars this season. Amongst the casualties are Arkansas, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Florida, Indiana, Georgetown, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.

*Know Your Bracket - Understanding the history of the bracket could go long way towards helping you win your bracket. Consider a few of these numbers: six of the last eight final four teams were No. 1 seeds; Since 2000, only two teams that weren't a #1 or #2 seed have gone on to win a national championship (both No. 3 seeds - Florida in '06 & Syracuse in '03). Check out all of the TOURNAMENT HISTORY BY SEEDS and come up with your own trends.

*Local Love - Here's where the local teams are headed...
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (Play-in game): #16 Morehead State (19-15) vs. #16 Alabama State (22-9) - Dayton, OH
Thursday, 7:25 p.m. - #4 Gonzaga (26-5) vs. #13 Akron (23-12) - Portland, OR
Thursday, 9:55 p.m. - #5 Illinois (24-9) vs. Western Kentucky (24-8) - Portland, OR
Friday, 3:00 p.m. - #6 West Virginia (23-11) vs.#11 Dayton (26-7) - Minneapolis, MN
Friday, 7:10 p.m. - #1 Louisville (28-5) vs. #16 Morehead St/Alabama St winner - Dayton, OH
Friday, 7:25 p.m. - #4 Xavier (25-7) vs. #13 Portland State (23-9) - Boise, ID
Friday, 9:40 p.m. - #8 Ohio State (22-10) vs. #9 Sienna (26-7) - Dayton, OH

COMPLETE BRACKET

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It's Rivalry Week on ESPN.com, which leads us to which are the best rivalries in college hoops...

   1. Duke vs North Carolina - Always a classic and one of the best things about college basketball.

   2. Kentucky vs Louisville - The battle of Kentucky between a couple of basketball schools.

   3. Kansas vs Missouri - Kansas always seems to have a stacked team, but rivalries seem to see alot of upsets.

   4. Texas vs Texas A&M - A huge state known for its football doesn’t damper this heated college basketball rivalry. Look for both of these teams to do well the next few seasons.

   5. Duke vs Maryland - The ACC is full of fast paced, quick scoring teams. The Duke and Maryland rivalry has really been turned up the last couple of years.

   6. Indiana vs Purdue - A Classic Big Ten conference match up.

   7. Cincinnati vs Xavier - Its gotta be a rivalry when the schools are 10 minutes apart.

   8. Florida vs Kentucky - Kentucky has been the better team the last few decades, now its Florida’s time to rule.

   9. Arizona vs UCLA - Two big Pac 10 powerhouses who are historically successful.

  10. Michigan vs Michigan State - Even a better college football rivalry, this rivalry has moved down the list a bit due to a few poor seasons.

*from Campus Grotto

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The bowl games finally start this weekend. Fellow GetSportsInfo.com writer, Jeremy Fischer, and myself have put together our picks including how confident we are in them. In case you've never done a pick 'em game like this before, here's how it works. In addition to picking who you think will win the game, you assign a number to that pick as to how confident you think that pick is going to be right. There are 34 bowl games this year (way too many in most people's opinion, but that's beside the point), so the max number of confidence points you can give to one game is, yep, you guessed it, 34. The game you are least confident in you assign one point too, and fill in everything in between.

A lot of office pools are done like this and make it much more challenging than simply picking a winner for each game. As J-Fish states when it comes to doing a pick 'em game like this, "I have seen many strategies and I prefer the one that calls for using the higher confidence points on the bigger BCS games." He goes on to give his reasons as to why.

"Right or wrong, the larger conference teams get more coverage. The more information that is out there, the better informed pick you can make. The more informed you are, the more confident you'll be about a particular selection." Makes sense right? So picking the BCS bowl games really isn't as difficult as picking some of the more obscure games like the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl between Southern Mississippi and Troy that provide more difficulty in not only picking who will win, but deciding how confident you are in that pick.

J-Fish goes on to say, "Unless you fancy yourself as the next Jimmy the Greek, don't over analyze. The amount of games will definitely lead to paralysis-by-analysis." In my opinion, when it comes to picking some of the lower level bowl games, its almost more of a gut feeling when making that selection than anything else.

With all that said, let's get to the picks. What you'll find below is the bowl schedule starting with the first game on the docket all the way to the National Championship game on January 8th. With each pick you'll see both J-Fish's pick as well as my own with a little bit of analysis and how many confidence points (#) we have assigned to the pick we've made. Let's get to it with a look at the BCS games.

January 1st
ROSE - Penn State vs. USC
JFISH: USC (34) - Too much defense.
DICO: USC (32) - Too much USC! PSU hasn't seen anything like the Trojans this year. Ask OSU how things worked out for them. Plus this is a "home game" for the Trojans.

FEDEX ORANGE - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
JFISH: Cincinnati (22) - 1st BCS bowl berth will drive the Bearcats.
DICO: Cincinnati (10) - Special teams could be the difference in this game. Mardy Gilyard for the Bearcats is one of the best in the country in the return game. A chance to finish the season in the Top 10 will push the Bearcats to a win.

January 2nd
ALLSTATE SUGAR - Utah vs. Alabama
JFISH: Alabama (32) - Utah hasn't faced a defense like this.
DICO: Alabama (33) - See JFISH's comments...the Utes will have a hard time stopping the 'Bama offense as well.

January 5th
TOSTITOS FIESTA - Ohio State vs. Texas
JFISH: Texas (33) - Too much speed on defense, and the Horns will be playing angry because of the whole BIG XII, BCS screw job.
DICO: Texas (31) - QB Colt McCoy will be too much even for a good Buckeyes' defense. Terrelle Pryor will see what team speed on defense is all about against the Longhorns.

January 8th
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - Florida vs. Oklahoma
JFISH: Florida (26) - Tebow/Harvin will find a way.
DICO: Oklahoma (22) - Bradford leads the most potent offense in the country. Even with the loss of DeMarco Murray at RB, the Sooners won't miss a beat. Expect a high scoring affair.

COMPLETE PICKS (ALL 34 GAMES) 

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