2011 NCAA Conference Previews Part 3

-Conference USA-

Predicted Finish
EAST

1.Central Florida
-UCF ended last year on a great note and i think that momentum along with the return of QB Jeff Goddfrey and RB Latavius Murray will help them win the East division.
2.Southern Mississippi
-I think Southern Miss has the potential to make some noise in this division and that has a lot to do with dual threat Quarterback Austin Davis. If the defense can improve, watch out for this team.
3.East Carolina
4.Marshall
5.UAB
6.Memphis

WEST

1.Tulsa
-I think this West division is full of good teams but i expect Tulsa to be the team to come out on top. This team returns QB GJ Kinne behind the entire offensive line from last year as well as All-American receiver Damaris Johnson. If the defense plays better than Houston's defense then this team will celebrating a conference title.
2.Houston
-It is not easy to pick against QB Case Keenum, a guy who puts up Heisman type numbers, but the departure of 3 offensive lineman and a defense that gives up too many big plays is the reason i have them at #2. Having said that, with good receivers and a star back in Bryce Beall, this Houston Cougars is more than capable of taking this conference.
3.SMU
4.Rice
5.Tulane
6.Utep

-Player of the Year-
QB Case Keenum, Houston

-Best Conference Games-
Tulsa @ UCF, November 5th
Houston @ Tulsa, November 26th

2011 NCAA Conference Previews Part 2

-Sun Belt Conference-

Predicted Finish

1.Florida International
-FIU returns all their offensive stars including Sun Belt Player of the Year WR TY Hilton and i expect that to make this team the favorite. It also helps that they face Troy at home this year
2.Troy
-I have this team finishing second but it is a squad that is more than capable to win the conference. Their starting QB returns and so do 8 defensive starters.
3.Louisiana Monroe
4.Arkansas State
5.Florida Atlantic
6.North Texas
7.Middle Tennessee State
8.Western Kentucky
9.Louisiana Lafayette

-Player of the year-
QB Troy Robinson, Troy

2011 NCAA Conference Preview Part 1

-Mid American Conference-

Predicted Finish
-East Division-

1.Temple
-The Temple Owls seem to be the leaders in a mediocre East division even after Coach Al Golden left for the Miami (FL) job. The Owls return 7 offensive starters and can rely on running backs Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown. Pierce alone has rushed for over 2,000 yards with 26 Tds over the last two seasons. They will go with a decent QB and the defense should be decent even after losing a few good players.
2.Miami (OH)
-The defending MAC Champs come into this season with a solid defense and some nice offensive pieces.
3.Ohio
4.Kent St.
5.Buffalo
6.Bowling Green
7.Akron

-West Division-

1.Toledo
-This Toledo team returns 9 starters on each the offense and defense, including offensive standout Eric Paige, and should be the favorite to win the West division.
2.Northern Illinois
-The biggest concern for this team will be the defense, which only returns two starters, but the Huskies might be able to overcome that if the offense comes through. Coming back is 2010 All-MAC QB Chandler Harnish protected by all 5 returning O-linemen, 3 of which were also All-MAC selections.
3.Western Michigan
4.Ball State
5.Central Michigan
6.Eastern Michigan


-Player of the Year-
WR/KR Eric Paige, Toledo

Official NCAA football preseason rankings

2011 NCAA Football Rankings - Preseason

-AP TOP 25-
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oklahoma (36)	0-0	1464
2	Alabama (17)	0-0	1439
3	Oregon (4)	0-0	1330
4	LSU (1)	0-0	1286
5	Boise State (2)	0-0	1200
6	Florida State	0-0	1168
7	Stanford	0-0	1091
8	Texas A&M	0-0	965
9	Oklahoma State	0-0	955
10	Nebraska	0-0	910
11	Wisconsin	0-0	900
12	South Carolina	0-0	848
13	Virginia Tech	0-0	821
14	TCU	0-0	690
15	Arkansas	0-0	686
16	Notre Dame	0-0	530
17	Michigan State	0-0	519
18	Ohio State	0-0	443
19	Georgia	0-0	369
20	Mississippi State	0-0	361
21	Missouri	0-0	258
22	Florida	0-0	228
23	Auburn	0-0	219
24	West Virginia	0-0	207
25	USC	0-0	160

-USA Today Poll-
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oklahoma (42)	0-0	1454
2	Alabama (13)	0-0	1414
3	Oregon (2)	0-0	1309
4	LSU (2)	0-0	1296
5	Florida State	0-0	1116
6	Stanford	0-0	1101
7	Boise State	0-0	1065
8	Oklahoma State	0-0	933
9	Texas A&M	0-0	885
10	Wisconsin	0-0	829
11	Nebraska	0-0	814
12	South Carolina	0-0	779
13	Virginia Tech	0-0	767
14	Arkansas	0-0	750
15	TCU	0-0	687
16	Ohio State	0-0	631
17	Michigan State	0-0	536
18	Notre Dame	0-0	440
19	Auburn	0-0	329
20	Mississippi State	0-0	301
21	Missouri	0-0	266
22	Georgia	0-0	260
23	Florida	0-0	240
24	Texas	0-0	162
25	Penn State	0-0	161

College Football is back and the blog is too!

With college football 6 days away and the NFL not too much longer than that, this blog will be back at 100%. Look for previews of NCAA and NFL football soon

NCAA Tournament Game Picks

Thursday March 17th

#13Clemson vs. #5West Virginia 9:15am
My Pick: Clemson
I'm gonna go with the underdogs on short rest for this game. West Virginia played in the tougher conference this season and will be well rested but i'm counting on Clemson having momentum to pull an upset to open the tournament.

#9Old Dominion vs. #8Butler 9:40am
My Pick: Old Dominion
The Butler Bulldogs were the darlings of the tournament last year, making it all the way to the title game, but i have them going out early this year. I see Old Dominion as not only good enough to beat Butler but to possibly advance further.

#13Morehead St vs. #4Louisville 10:40am
My Pick: Louisville
Some have Louisville on upset watch but i don't envision them having any problems in this one. I see Preston Knowles and Peyton Silva being able to lead this team far into the tournament.

#10Penn St vs. #7Temple 11:10am
My Pick: Temple
I want to pick Penn St. but i just cant see them being able to score enough points to stay with Temple.

#13Princeton vs. #4Kentucky 11:45am
My Pick: Kentucky
Many are writing Princeton off but i think this will be a hard fought game as Kentucky is pushed before pulling it off.

#16UNC-Asheville vs. #1Pittsburgh 12:10pm
My Pick: Pittsburgh
16 seeds have never won a tournament game. Enough said.

#12Richmond vs. #5Vanderbilt 1:10pm
My Pick: Richmond
I had no trouble picking the underdog in this one as i can see Richmond winning this game and possibly the next. This should be an exciting one.

#15N.Colorado vs. #2San Diego St 1:40pm
My Pick: San Diego St
Northern Colorado is looking for its first tournament win but so are the Aztecs of SDSU. State will be too athletic to lose this game, even if they dont play up to their potential.

#15UC Santa Barbara vs. #2Florida 3:50pm
My Pick: Florida
While i see Florida as overrated and over-seeded, I just can't see them losing to inconsistent UCSB in the first round.

#14Wofford vs. #3BYU 4:15pm
My Pick: BYU
A few are picking the upset but i have faith in the NCAA's leading scorer, BYU's Jimmer Fredette. Jimmer can hit from anywhere and if his teammates can play well, this team can make a run in this tournament.

#14Bucknell vs. #3UConn 4:20pm
My Pick: Uconn
Uconn is coming off 5 win in the Big East Tournament behind stellar play from guard Kemba Walker and i see them continuing there run here against Bucknell. If the game is close at the end, look for Walker to take over.

#13Belmont vs. #4Wisconsin 4:27pm
My Pick: Wisconsin
I am very tempted to pick Belmont in this game to pull the shocker but i will count on Wisconsin to control tempo and get a win in a good, close game.

#1oMichigan St vs. #7UCLA 6:20pm
My Pick: Michigan St
Michigan St has had an underachieving season but its tournament time and that's when they seem to play their best. This should be one of the day's better games.

#11Gonzaga vs. #6St.Johns 6:45pm
My Pick: St. Johns
I had a hard time picking this one as i can see how both teams could win. I decided to go with St.Johns, who have been battle tested in the Big East, over the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who seem to be playing there best ball right now.

11Missouri vs. #6Cincinatti 6:50pm
My Pick: Cincy
This game seems to be even all around so i just went with the team who played in the tougher conference.

12Utah St vs. #5Kansas St 6:57pm
My Pick: Kansas St
A lot of people are picking Utah St in this one but i'm gonna go with the team with better guard play and that's Kansas State behind Jacob Pullen

NCAA Tournament Field Is Set

A look at this years' NCAA Basketball Bracket

Here is the link: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/bracket