March 11, 2023

PiRate Ratings Conference Tournament Schedule

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: ACC, America East, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC, WAC — piratings @ 7:30 am

Saturday, March 11, 2023 All Times Eastern Standard

America East Conference — Higher Seed Hosts

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN2) 11 AM

#2 UMass Lowell (26-7) at #1 Vermont (22-10)

American Athletic Conference — Fort Worth, TX

Semifinals (ESPN2)

#1 Houston (30-2) vs. #4 Cincinnati (21-11) 3 PM

#2 Memphis (24-8) vs. #3 Tulane (20-10) 5:30 PM

Atlantic 10 Conference — Brooklyn

Semifinals (CBSSN)

#1 VCU (25-7) vs. #4 Saint Louis (21-11) 1 PM

#2 Dayton (21-11) vs. #3 Fordham (25-7) 3:30 PM

Atlantic Coast Conference — Greensboro, NC

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN) 8:30 PM

#3 Virginia (25-6) vs. #4 Duke (25-8)

Big 12 Conference — Kansas City

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN) 6 PM

#1 Kansas (27-6) vs. #2 Texas (25-8)

Big East Conference — New York

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (Fox Sports) 6:30 PM

#1 Marquette (27-6) vs. #2 Xavier (25-8)

Big Ten Conference — Chicago

Semifinals (CBS)

#1 Purdue (27-5) vs. #13 Ohio St, (16-18) 1 PM

#3 Indiana (22-10) vs. #10 Penn St. (21-12) 3:30 PM

Big West Conference — Henderson, NV (Las Vegas)

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN2) 9:30 PM

#2 UC Santa Barbara (26-7) vs. #4 Cal St. Fullerton (20-12)

Conference USA — Frisco, TX

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (CBSSN) 8:30 PM

#1 Florida Atlantic (30-3) vs. #3 UAB (25-8)

Ivy League — Princeton, NJ

Semifinals (ESPNU)

#1 Yale (20-7) vs. #4 Cornell (17-10) 11 AM

#2 Princeton (19-8) vs. #3 Penn (17-12) 1:30 PM

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — Atlantic City, NJ

CHAMPIONSHIP (ESPNU) 7:30 PM

#1 Iona (26-7) vs. #11 Marist (13-19)

Mid-American Conference — Cleveland

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN2) 7:30 PM

#1 Toledo (27-6) vs. #2 Kent St. (27-6)

Mideastern Athletic Conference — Norfolk, VA

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN+) 1 PM

#1 Howard (20-12) vs. #3 Norfolk St. (22-10)

Mountain West Conference — Las Vegas

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (CBS) 6 PM

#1 San Diego St. (26-6) vs. #3 Utah St. (26-7)

Pac-12 Conference — Las Vegas

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN) 10:30 PM

#1 UCLA (29-4) vs. #2 Arizona (27-6)

Southeastern Conference — Nashville

Semifinals (ESPN)

#1 Alabama (27-5) vs. #4 Missouri (24-8) 2 PM

#2 Texas A&M (24-8) vs. #6 Vanderbilt (20-13) 4 PM

Southwestern Athletic Conference — Birmingham, AL

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPNU) 5:30 PM

#2 Grambling (24-8) vs. #8 Texas Southern (13-20)

Western Athletic Conference — Las Vegas

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN2) 11:30 PM

#3 Southern Utah (22-11) vs. #5 Grand Canyon (23-11)

Dance Tickets Punched

Atlantic Sun: Kennesaw St.

Big Sky: Montana St.

Big South: UNC Asheville

Colonial: Charleston

Horizon: Northern Kentucky

Missouri Valley: Drake

Northeast: Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley: SE Missouri St.

Patriot: Colgate

Southern: Furman

Southland: Texas A&M-CC

Summit: Oral Roberts

Sun Belt: Louisiana

West Coast: Gonzaga

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March 10, 2023

PiRate Ratings Conference Tournament Schedules

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: AAC, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, CUSA, MWC, Pac-12, SEC, WAC — piratings @ 7:45 am

Friday, March 10, 2023 All Times Eastern Standard

American Athletic Conference — Fort Worth, TX

Quarterfinals

#1 Houston (29-2) vs. #9 East Carolina (16-16) 1 PM (ESPN2)

#4 Cincinnati (20-11) vs. #5 Temple (16-15) 3 PM (ESPN2)

#2 Memphis (23-8) vs. #7 Central Florida (18-13) 7 PM (ESPNU)

#3 Tulane (19-10) vs. #6 Wichita St. (17-14) 9 PM (ESPNU)

Atlantic Coast Conference — Greensboro, NC

Semifinals (ESPN2)

#1 Miami (Fla) (25-6) vs. #4 Duke (24-8) 7 PM

#2 Virginia (24-6) vs. #3 Clemson (23-9) 9:30 PM

Big East Conference — New York

Semifinals (FS1)

#1 Marquette (26-6) vs. #4 Connecticut (25-7) 6:30 PM

#2 Xavier (24-8) vs. #3 Creighton (21-11) 9 PM

Big Ten Conference — Chicago

Quarterfinals (Big Ten Network)

#1 Purdue (26-5) vs. #9 Rutgers (19-13) 12 PM

#4 Michigan St. (19-11) vs. #13 Ohio St. (15-18) 2:30 PM

#2 Northwestern (21-10) vs. #10 Penn St. (20-12) 6:30 PM

#3 Indiana (21-10) vs/ #6 Maryland (21-11) 9 PM

Big West Conference — Henderson, NV (Las Vegas)

Semifinals

#1 UC-Irvine (23-10) vs. #4 Cal St. Fullerton (19-12) 9 PM (ESPN+)

#2 UC Santa Barbara (25-7) vs. #3 UC Riverside (22-11) 11:30 PM (ESPNU)

Conference USA — Frisco, TX

Semifinals (CBSSN)

#1 Florida Atlantic (29-3) vs. #5 Middle Tennessee (19-13) 12:30 PM

#2 North Texas (26-6) vs. #3 UAB (24-8) 3 PM

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — Atlantic City, NJ

Semifinals (ESPNews)

#1 Iona (25-7) vs. #5 Niagara (16-14) 6 PM

#10 Saint Peter’s (14-17) vs. #11 Marist (12-19) 8:30 PM

Mid-American Conference — Cleveland

Semifinals (CBSSN)

#1 Toledo (26-6) vs. #5 Ohio U (19-13) 5 PM

#2 Kent St. (26-6) vs. #3 Akron (22-10) 7:30 PM

Mideastern Athletic Conference — Norfolk, VA

Semifinals (ESPN+)

#1 Howard (20-12) vs. #4 Maryland Eastern Shore (18-12) 6 PM

#2 North Carolina Central (18-11) vs. #3 Norfolk St. (21-10) 8:30 PM

Mountain West Conference — Las Vegas

Semifinals (CBSSN)

#1 San Diego St. (25-6) vs. #5 San Jose St. (20-12) 9:30 PM

#2 Boise St. (24-8) vs. #3 Utah St. (25-7) 12 AM

Pac-12 Conference — Las Vegas

Semifinals

#1 UCLA (28-4) vs. #4 Oregon (19-13) 9 PM (Pac-12 Network)

#2 Arizona (26-6) vs. #3 Arizona St. (22-11) 11:30 PM (ESPN)

Southeastern Conference — Nashville

Quarterfinals

#1 Alabama (26-5) vs. #9 Mississippi St. (21-11) 1 PM (ESPN)

#4 Missouri (23-8) vs. #5 Tennessee (23-9) 3 PM (ESPN)

#2 Texas A&M (23-8) vs. #7 Arkansas (19-13) (SEC Network)

#3 Kentucky (21-10) vs. #6 Vanderbilt (19-13) (SEC Network)

Southwestern Athletic Conference — Birmingham, AL

Semifinals (ESPN+)

#5 Alabama A&M (15-17) vs. #8 Texas Southern (12-20) 3 PM

#2 Grambling (23-8) vs. #3 Jackson St. (14-18) 9:30 PM

Western Athletic Conference — Las Vegas

Semifinals (ESPN+)

#1 Sam Houston St. (25-6) vs. #5 Grand Canyon (22-11) 9 PM

#2 Utah Valley (25-7) vs. #3 Southern Utah (21-11) 11 PM

Dance Tickets Punched

Atlantic Sun: Kennesaw St.

Big Sky: Montana St.

Big South: UNC Asheville

Colonial: Charleston

Horizon: Northern Kentucky

Missouri Valley: Drake

Northeast: Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley: SE Missouri St.

Patriot: Colgate

Southern: Furman

Southland: Texas A&M-CC

Summit: Oral Roberts

Sun Belt: Louisiana

West Coast: Gonzaga

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March 9, 2023

PiRate Ratings Conference Tournament Schedule

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: AAC, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, conference tournaments, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC, WAC — piratings @ 7:06 am

Thursday, March 9, 2023 — All Times Eastern Standard

American Athletic Conference — Fort Worth, TX

1st Round (ESPNU)

#8 South Florida (14-17) vs. #9 East Carolina (15-16) 12:30 PM

#7 Central Florida (17-13) vs. #10 SMU (10-21) 2:30 PM

#6 Wichita St. (16-14) vs. #11 Tulsa (5-24) 7 PM

Atlantic 10 Conference — Brooklyn

Quarterfinals (USA Network)

#1 VCU (24-7) vs. #8 Davidson (16-15) 11:30 AM

#4 Saint Louis (20-11) vs. #5 George Mason (20-12) 2 PM

#2 Dayton (20-11) vs. #10 Saint Joseph’s (16-16) 5 PM

#3 Fordham (24-7) vs. #11 La Salle (15-18) 7:30 PM

Atlantic Coast Conference — Greensboro, NC

Quarterfinals (ESPN or ESPN2)

#1 Miami (Fla) (24-6) vs. #9 Wake Forest (19-13) 12 PM

#4 Duke (23-8) vs. #5 Pittsburgh (22-10) 2:30 PM

#2 Virginia (23-6) vs. #7 North Carolina (20-12) 7 PM

#3 Clemson (22-9) vs. #6 North Carolina St. (23-9) 9:30 PM

Big 12 Conference — Kansas City

Quarterfinals (ESPN or ESPN2)

#4 Baylor (22-9) vs. #5 Iowa St. (18-12) 1:30 PM

#1 Kansas (25-6) vs. #8 West Virginia (19-13) 4 PM

#2 Texas (23-8) vs. #7 Oklahoma St. (17-14) 8 PM

#3 Kansas St. (23-8) vs. #6 TCU (20-11) 10:30 PM

Big East Conference — New York

Quarterfinals (FS1)

#1 Marquette (25-6) vs. #8 St. John’s (18-14) 12 PM

#4 Connecticut (24-7) vs. #5 Providence (21-10) 2:30 PM

#2 Xavier (23-8) vs. #10 DePaul (10-22) 7 PM

#3 Creighton (20-11) vs. #6 Vilanova (17-15) 9:30 PM

Big Ten Conference — Chicago

2nd Round (Big Ten Network)

#8 Michigan (17-14) vs. #9 Rutgers (18-13) 1 PM

#5 Iowa (19-12) vs. #13 Ohio St. (15-18) 3:30 PM

#7 Illinois (20-11) vs. #10 Penn St. (19-12) 7:30 PM

#6 Maryland (20-11) vs. #14 Minnesota (9-21) 10 PM

Big West Conference — Henderson, NV (Las Vegas)

Quarterfinals (ESPN+)

#1 UC-Irvine (22-10) vs. #8 Cal St. Bakersfield (11-21) 3 PM

#4 Cal St. Fullerton (18-12) vs. #5 Hawaii (22-10) 5:30 PM

#2 UC Santa Barbara (24-7) vs. #10 Cal Poly (8-24) 9 PM

#3 UC Riverside (21-11) vs. #6 Cal Davis (18-13) 11:30 PM

Conference USA — Frisco, TX

Quarterfinals (ESPN+)

#1 Florida Atlantic (28-3) vs. #8 Western Kentucky (17-15) 7:30 PM

#4 Middle Tennessee (18-13) vs. #5 Charlotte (18-13) 8 PM

#2 North Texas (25-6) vs. #10 Louisiana Tech (15-17) 10 PM

#3 UAB (23-8) vs. #6 Rice (18-14) 10:30 PM

Tournament uses two courts separated by giant curtain

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — Atlantic City, NJ

Quarterfinals (Day 2) (ESPN+)

#3 Quinnipiac (20-11) vs. #11 Marist (11-19) 7 PM

#4 Siena (17-14) vs. #5 Niagara (15-14) 9:30 PM

Mid-American Conference — Cleveland

Quarterfinals (ESPN+)

#1 Toledo (25-6) vs. #8 Miami (O) (12-19) 11 AM

#4 Ball St. (20-11) vs. #5 Ohio U (18-13) 1:30 PM

#2 Kent St. (25-6) vs. #7 Northern Illinois (13-18) 4PM

#3 Akron (21-10) vs. #6 Buffalo (15-16) 6:30 PM

Mideastern Athletic Conference — Norfolk, VA

Quarterfinals (Day 2) (ESPN+)

#4 Maryland Eastern Shore (17-12) vs. #5 Morgan St. (15-15) 6 PM

#3 Norfolk St. (20-10) vs. #6 Coppin St. (9-22) 8 PM

Mountain West Conference — Las Vegas

Quarterfinals (CBSSN)

#1 San Diego St. (24-6) vs. #8 Colorado St. (15-17) 3 PM

#4 Nevada (22-9) vs. #5 San Jose St. (19-12) 5:30 PM

#2 Boise St. (23-8) vs. #7 UNLV (19-12) 9 PM

#3 Utah St. (24-7) vs. #6 New Mexico (22-10) 11:30 PM

Pac-12 Conference — Las Vegas

Quarterfinals (1st 3 games Pac-12 Network/Game 4 ESPN)

#1 UCLA (27-4) vs. #9 Colorado (17-15) 3 PM

#4 Oregon (18-13) vs. #5 Washington St. (17-15) 5:30 PM

#2 Arizona (25-6) vs. #10 Stanford (14-18) 9 PM

#3 USC (22-9) vs. #6 Arizona St. (22-9) 11:30 PM

Southeastern Conference — Nashville

Quarterfinals (SEC Network)

#8 Florida (16-15) vs. #9 Mississippi St. (20-11) 1 PM

#5 Tennessee (22-9) vs. #13 Ole Miss (12-20) 3 PM

#7 Auburn (20-11) vs. #10 Arkansas (19-12) 7 PM

#6 Vanderbilt (18-13) vs. #14 LSU (15-18) 9 PM

Southwestern Athletic Conference — Birmingham, AL

Quarterfinals (Day 2) (ESPN+)

#3 Jackson St. (13-18) vs. #6 Prairie View A&M (13-18) 9:30 PM

#4 Southern (15-16) vs. #5 Alabama A&M (14-17) 3 PM

Western Athletic Conference — Las Vegas

Quarterfinals (ESPN+)

#1 Sam Houston St. (24-6) vs. #8 Cal Baptist (17-15) 3 PM

#4 Seattle (20-11) vs. #5 Grand Canyon (21-11) 5:30 PM

#2 Utah Valley (24-7) vs. #7 Tarleton St. (17-15) 9 PM

#3 Southern Utah (20-11) vs. #11 Utah Tech (14-18) 11:30 PM

Automatic Qualifiers

Atlantic Sun: Kennesaw St.

Big Sky: Montana St.

Big South: UNC Asheville

Colonial: Charleston

Horizon: Northern Kentucky

Missouri Valley: Drake

Northeast: Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley: SE Missouri St.

Patriot: Colgate

Southern: Furman

Southland: Texas A&M-CC

Summit: Oral Roberts

Sun Belt: Louisiana

West Coast: Gonzaga

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March 8, 2023

PiRate Ratings Conference Tournament Schedule

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: ACC, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Sky, Big Ten, Mountain West, Pac-12, Patriot, SEC — piratings @ 7:05 am

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

All Times Eastern Standard

Atlantic 10 Conference – Brooklyn

2nd Round (USA Network)

#8 Davidson (15-15) vs. #9 St. Bonaventure (14-17) 11:30 AM

#5 George Mason (19-12) vs. #12 Richmond (15-17) 2 PM

#7 George Washington (16-15) vs. #10 Saint Joseph’s (15-16) 5 PM

#6 Duquesne (20-11) vs. #11 La Salle (14-18) 7:30 PM

Atlantic Coast Conference — Greensboro, NC

2nd Round

#8 Syracuse (17-14) vs. #9 Wake Forest (18-13) 12 PM (ESPN)

#5 Pittsburgh (21-10) vs. #13 Georgia Tech (15-17) 2:30 PM (ESPN)

#7 North Carolina (19-12) vs. #10 Boston College (16-16) 7 PM (ESPN2/ESPNU)

#6 North Carolina St. (22-9) vs. #11 Virginia Tech (19-13) 9:30 PM (ESPN2/ESPNU)

Big 12 Conference – Kansas City

1st Round

#8 West Virginia (18-13) vs. #9 Texas Tech (16-15) 7 PM (ESPN2/U)

#7 Oklahoma St. (17-14) vs. #10 Oklahoma (15-16) 9:30 PM (ESPN2/U)

Big East Conference – New York

1st Round (FS1)

#8 St. John’s (17-14) vs. #9 Butler (14-17) 3 PM

#7 Seton Hall (17-14) vs. #10 DePaul (9-22) 5:30 PM

#6 Villanova (16-15) vs. #11 Georgetown (7-24) 8 PM

Big Sky Conference – Boise, ID

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN2)

#2 Montana St. (24-9) vs. #9 Northern Arizona (12-22) 11:30 PM

Big Ten Conference — Chicago

1st Round (Big Ten Network)

#12 Wisconsin (17-13) vs. #13 Ohio St. (13-18) 6:30 PM

#11 Nebraska (16-15) vs. #14 Minnesota (8-21) 9 PM

Conference USA – Frisco, TX

1st Round (ESPN+)

#8 Western Kentucky (16-15) vs. #9 UTEP (14-17) 6:30 PM

#7 Florida Intl. (14-17) vs. #10 Louisiana Tech (14-17) 9 PM

#6 Rice (17-14) vs. #11 UTSA (10-21) 9:30 PM

CUSA uses a 2-court setup where two games can be played simultaneously

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Atlantic City, NJ

Quarterfinals Day 1 (ESPN+)

#1 Iona (24-7) vs. #8 Mount St. Mary’s (13-19) 7 PM

#2 Rider (16-13) vs. #11 Marist (13-19) 9:30 PM

Mideastern Athletic Conference – Norfolk, VA

Quarterfinals Day 1 (ESPN+)

#1 Howard (19-12) vs. #8 South Carolina St. (5-25) 6 PM

#2 UNC Central (17-11) vs. #7 Delaware St. (6-23) 8 PM

Mountain West Conference – Las Vegas

1st Round (Mountain West Network)

#8 Colorado St. (14-17) vs. #9 Fresno St. (11-19) 2 PM

#7 UNLV (18-12) vs. #10 Air Force (14-17) 4:30 PM

#6 New Mexico (21-10) vs. #11 Wyoming (9-21) 7 PM

Pac-12 Conference – Las Vegas

1st Round (Pac 12 Network)

#8 Washington (16-15) vs. #9 Colorado (16-15) 3 PM

#5 Washington St. (16-15) vs. #12 California (3-28) 5:30 PM

#7 Utah (17-14) vs. #10 Stanford (13-18) 9 PM

#6 Arizona St. (20-11) vs. #11 Oregon St. (11-20) 11:30 PM

Patriot League – Colgate Hosts

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (CBSSN)

#1 Colgate (25-8) vs. #6 Lafayette (11-22) 7:30 PM

Southeastern Conference – Nashville

1st Round (SEC Network)

#12 South Carolina (11-20) vs. #13 Ole Miss (11-20) 7 PM

#11 Georgia (16-15) vs. #14 LSU (13-18) 9 PM

Southland Conference – Lake Charles, LA

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (ESPN2)

#1 Texas A&M-CC (22-10) vs. #2 Northwestern St. (22-10) 5 PM

Southwestern Athletic Conference – Birmingham, AL

Quarterfinals Day 1 (ESPN+)

#2 Grambling (22-8) vs. #7 Bethune Cookman (12-19) 3 PM

#1 Alcorn St. (18-12) vs. #8 Texas Southern (11-20) 9:30 PM

Still to Come: Updated Bracketology

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August 15, 2022

Pac-12 Preview

Filed under: College Football — Tags: Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Pac-12, Realignment, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington — piratings @ 3:00 am

With apologies to William Shakespeare, Alas poor Pac-12. I knew the league, football lovers. No, this conference hasn’t been dead for many years like Yorick in Hamlet, but the league isn’t far from having last rites administered if it cannot find a way to partly replace UCLA and USC when the two most important members leave for the Big Ten.

San Diego State and Fresno State might stop some of the leakage. There has been talk that the league might go after Houston and SMU to get some of the Dallas and Houston markets, but neither team commands huge numbers of the two largest cities in the Southwest.

What this league must worry about is that potentially eight of the remaining teams could try to leave this league.

2022 might produce some irony. In recent seasons, there has been too much parity to produce one undefeated team. In fact, there has never been an undefeated Pac-12 team in the regular season, not even in conference play only. The last time a team ran the table in the league and in the regular season, the league was the Pac-10, when Oregon played Auburn for the National Championship in 2010.

There is a team capable of ending that 12 year drought. Read on to see which team it is. The other big news is that the league has eliminated the two divisions.

Preseason PiRate Ratings For Pac-12 Conference

Team	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Average
Utah	116.4	114.9	118.3	116.5
Oregon	111.6	111.3	110.8	111.2
U C L A	108.5	108.4	110.1	109.0
Oregon St.	107.1	106.5	107.7	107.1
U S C	105.3	106.1	106.1	105.8
Washington	104.1	104.9	105.4	104.8
Arizona St.	104.0	104.0	105.3	104.4
Stanford	103.7	100.9	101.7	102.1
Washington St.	100.9	101.5	101.7	101.4
California	97.6	98.0	99.0	98.2
Colorado	98.4	96.6	97.6	97.5
Arizona	94.0	94.0	93.9	94.0

Pac-12	104.3	103.9	104.8	104.3

Pac-12 Official Preseason Media Poll

		Votes
#	Team	1st Place	Overall
1	Utah	26	384
2	Oregon	2	345
3	USC	5	341
4	UCLA	0	289
5	Oregon St.	0	246
6	Washington	0	212
7	Washington St.	0	177
8	Stanford	0	159
9	California	0	154
10	Arizona St.	0	123
11	Arizona	0	86
12	Colorado	0	58

The PiRate Ratings are designed to look at just the next week’s schedule of games and not to use to look forward. Nevertheless, here are the predicted won-loss records for the league.

Predicted Won-Loss Records

Pac-12	Conf	Overall
Utah	9-0	13-0
Oregon	8-1	10-3
UCLA	7-2	10-2
USC	6-3	8-4
Washington	5-4	7-5
Oregon St.	5-4	8-4
Washington St.	4-5	6-6
Arizona St.	4-5	6-6
Stanford	3-6	4-8
California	1-8	3-9
Arizona	1-8	2-10
Colorado	1-8	1-11

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August 8, 2022

The PiRates Are Leaving The Port For 2022-23

Filed under: College Football — Tags: Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Big Ten, College Football Preview, NBC Sports, Notre Dame, Pac-12, Realignment, SEC, USC — piratings @ 6:18 am

It’s Football Time In Tennessee! Actually it’s football time everywhere, but when you live in the Volunteer State and spent 30+ years listening to the radio play-by-play GOAT, John Ward, say that phrase 11 or 12 times a season, it becomes the adrenaline boosting tagline to put one in the mood for “THE SPORT” that matters.

College football as we know it has reached the dawn of evolutionary change. Massive restructuring of the game is forthcoming, and some of that change will be apparent this season, as the Sun Belt Conference has more teams at the expense of Conference USA. With Texas and Oklahoma possibly becoming SEC members as early as next season, and USC and UCLA making the move to the Big Ten, there are a couple more major dominoes that could fall and send the conventional football alignment falling en masse.

I have tried to stay in the loop with more than a dozen insider contacts developed from my years in sports journalism in radio, TV, and in print. There are many differing opinions about what could happen and what they have heard is in the works. However, nearly every one of them agree on one thing: everything is in a holding pattern concerning the move beyond 16 teams in the Big Ten and SEC, until Notre Dame learns what their potential media contract will be and what the Big Ten media contract will be.

Notre Dame is getting $22 million from NBC and $12 million from the ACC. Next year, the final year of that contract with NBC, it will rise by $2.5 million. The Big Ten is being rumored to distribute possibly $1.2 billion in media revenue share. Notre Dame is seeking $75 million a year from NBC to renew the contract. If the offer is not in that ballpark, the Irish are likely to bite the bullet and join the Big Ten. One or two Southern insiders believes Notre Dame has not completely eliminated the possibility of seeking SEC membership, but my Midwest contacts say that their fan base will demand Big Ten membership so that travel will be minimized.

Let me address something else that has come to my attention. In various ways, I receive comments from others asking what I think about the big conferences forcing the small private schools out of their leagues. It usually goes something like, “Why does the SEC allow Vanderbilt to remain in the conference, when they sponge millions of dollars and don’t contribute much to the total pot?”

Three private schools have departed the SEC through the last eight decades. Sewanee, Georgia Tech, and Tulane left on their own account. Tech and Tulane would gladly return to the league today if they could. Vandy is not leaving the SEC, and the SEC is not kicking the Commodores out either. Even though all this realignment and expansion is 100% about football, and Vanderbilt football is basically a perpetual expansion team, their value to the conference comes in multiple essential ways. First, the league now considers Nashville their most essential city in their footprint. The 2023 Football Media Days will relocate from Atlanta to the Music City. The league’s annual postseason men’s basketball tournament is under contract for Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for many years to come. Yes, the Tennessee Vols are the top college team in the city, but Knoxville is 185 miles to the east.

There is another major reason that every conference wants to have a private school as a member. When every conference member is a public institution, then the entire league is subject to open records laws. With just one private school in the league, that school closes those records. The SEC isn’t going to give up their covert operating methods.

Now for the real reason that 99% of you come to this site to read. Beginning Tuesday, August 9, 2022, the annual PiRate Ratings’ Conference Previews will begin posting here one league at a time, debuting in order of lowest-ranked conference to highest-ranked conference.

Here is the schedule for each preview:

August 9: Conference USA

August 10: Mid-American Conference

August 11: Sun Belt Conference

August 12: Mountain West Conference

August 13: FBS Independents

August 14: American Athletic Conference

August 15: Pac-12 Conference

August 16: Atlantic Coast Conference

August 17: Big 12 Conference

August 18: Big Ten Conference

August 19: Southeastern Conference

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March 12, 2022

PiRate Ratings College Basketball–Saturday, March 12, 2022

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: ACC, Atlantic 10, Automatic Bids, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Bracketology, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC — piratings @ 5:24 am

Saturday’s Conference Tournaments

America East Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Higher Seed at Home
Home	Visitor	Spread
Vermont	Maryland Baltimore Co.	14.3


American Athletic Conference–Semifinals
Fort Worth, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Houston	Tulane	12.5
SMU	Memphis	-2.7


Atlantic 10 Conference–Semifinals
Washington, D.C.
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Davidson	Saint Louis	0.2
Dayton	Richmond	2.1


Atlantic Coast Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Brooklyn
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Duke	Virginia Tech	5.6


Big 12 Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Kansas City
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Kansas	Texas Tech	1.1


Big East Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
New York
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Villanova	Creighton	7.2


Big Sky Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Boise, ID
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Montana St.	Northern Colorado	3.4


Big Ten Conference–Semifinals
Indianapolis
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Iowa	Indiana	5.6
Purdue	Michigan St.	5.4


Big West Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Henderson, NV
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Long Beach St.	Cal St. Fullerton	-0.5


Conference USA–CHAMPIONSHIP
Frisco, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
UAB	Louisiana Tech	4.8


Ivy League–Semifinals
Boston
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Princeton	Cornell	5.8
Yale	Penn	3.6


Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Atlantic City, NJ
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Saint Peter’s	Monmouth	1.8


Mid-American Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Cleveland
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Kent St.	Akron	0.4


Mideastern Athletic Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Norfolk, VA
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Norfolk St.	Coppin St.	8.1


Mountain West Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Boise St.	San Diego St.	-1.4


Pac-12 Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Arizona	UCLA	2.5


Southeastern Conference–Semifinals
Tampa
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Arkansas	Texas A&M	5.3
Tennessee	Kentucky	-1.8


Southland Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Katy, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Southeast Louisiana	Texas A&M-CC	-1.6


Southwestern Athletic Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Birmingham
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Texas Southern	Alcorn St.	4.5


Western Athletic Conference–CHAMPIONSHIP
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
New Mexico St.	Abilene Christian	3.1

Dance Tickets Punched
1	Murray St.	Ohio Valley	27-2
2	Longwood	Big South	26-6
3	Loyola (Chi.)	Missouri Valley	25-7
4	Chattanooga	Southern	27-7
5	Georgia St.	Sun Belt	18-10
6	Jacksonville St.	Atlantic Sun	21-10
7	Bryant	Northeast	22-9
8	Delaware	Colonial Athletic	22-12
9	Wright St.	Horizon	21-13
10	South Dakota St.	Summit	30-4
11	Gonzaga	West Coast	26-3
12	Colgate	Patriot	23-11

Hunkered Down In The Hull

The PiRates have had their tea and bickies and swabbed the deck. It’s time to head down to the hull and hunker down with typical PiRate ship tools. We have no torpedos and no swords. Our weapons are power ratings, strengths of schedule, quad ratings, and strengths of record. We will be carefully perusing the field to see which team to pillage and which team to let pass into the Dancing waters.

The Florida Gators have been scuttled and sunk to the bottom where they have met the sandy silt known as NIT. Texas A&M just might pass through if the Aggies can fire more shots at the SS Razorback today then they take on.

With a late Winter storm plunging most of the Eastern half of the nation back into January-like weather, this is a good day to stay indoors and watch teams qualify for the Big Dance. We will be looking at a lot of Bubble teams as well as teams that can greatly alter our Bracketology.

Our final Bracketology prediction will be published here tomorrow afternoon. Depending on the games to be played after 1 PM EDT (yes, remember it will be D and not S tomorrow), we may have to have two different brackets prepared and waiting to use one over the other depending on the outcome of the final games. Fortunately, almost all the Cinderella teams that could only get into the Field of 68 by qualifying automatically lost yesterday. Colorado, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, and Central Florida helped teams like Wake Forest, BYU, and Xavier feel a little better when they bowed out of their tournaments. Indiana probably worked their way into the field by topping Michigan and Illinois, so the Hoosiers can win or lose today and tomorrow and not change the teams getting bids.

There are still some potential bid-stealers where the top seed could lose and still get an at-large bid, but if the top seed wins, the conference in question will not receive the extra bid. In the Atlantic 10, Davidson is now a lock to make the field without winning their tournament. If Saint Louis wins today, or if today’s Richmond-Dayton winner beats Davidson tomorrow, the A-10 will get one extra team in the field, and one bubble will burst. In the American Athletic, should Tulane upset Houston today and then beat the winner of today’s SMU-Memphis game, the AAC will receive an extra bid, and another bubble will burst. If Tulane is put out of the tournament today, then the only game that will affect the 68 teams tomorrow would be the A-10 Championship Game. That game should end between 2:45 and 3:00 PM EDT, so our final projections should publish soon after the conclusion of that game and possibly earlier if this game is a blowout.

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March 11, 2022

PiRate Ratings College Basketball–Friday, March 11, 2022

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: ACC, Atlantic 10, Automatic Bids, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, conference tournaments, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC — piratings @ 3:50 am

Friday’s Conference Tournament Games

American Athletic Conference–Quarterfinals
Fort Worth, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Houston	Cincinnati	12.2
Temple	Tulane	-1.8
SMU	Tulsa	8.5
Memphis	Central Florida	7.1


Atlantic 10 Conference–Quarterfinals
Washington, D.C.
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Davidson	Fordham	10.0
St. Bonaventure	Saint Louis	-1.9
Dayton	Massachusetts	9.8
VCU	Richmond	2.7


Atlantic Coast Conference–Semfinals
Brooklyn
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Duke	Miami (Fla.)	9.0
North Carolina	Virginia Tech	0.9


Big 12 Conference Semifinals
Kansas City
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Kansas	TCU	7.9
Texas Tech	Oklahoma	6.2


Big East Conference–Semifinals
New York
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Providence	Creighton	2.3
Villanova	Connecticut	2.5


Big Sky Conference–Semifinals
Boise, ID
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Montana St.	Weber St.	1.0
Northern Colorado	Portland St.	2.4


Big Ten Conference–Quarterfinals
Indianapolis
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Illinois	Indiana	3.9
Rutgers	Iowa	-8.8
Wisconsin	Michigan St.	0.2
Purdue	Penn St.	9.4


Big West Conference–Semifinals
Henderson, NV
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Long Beach St.	UCSB	-2.8
Hawaii	Cal St. Fullerton	0.4


Conference USA–Semifinals
Frisco, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
North Texas	Louisiana Tech	3.4
Middle Tennessee	UAB	-6.6


Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference–Semifinals
Atlantic City, NJ
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Monmouth	Rider	4.6
St. Peter’s	Quinnipiac	6.4


Mid-American Conference–Semifinals
Cleveland
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Toledo	Akron	6.3
Kent St.	Ohio	-1.5


Mideastern Athletic Conference–Semifinals
Norfolk, VA
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Norfolk St.	Morgan St.	6.9
UNC Central	Coppin St.	1.9


Mountain West Conference–Semifinals
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Boise St.	Wyoming	2.2
Colorado St.	San Diego St.	-1.4


Pac-12 Conference–Semifinals
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Arizona	Colorado	11.8
UCLA	USC	6.5


Southeastern Conference–Quarterfinals
Tampa
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Auburn	Texas A&M	9.2
Arkansas	LSU	-0.2
Tennessee	Mississippi St.	6.8
Kentucky	Vanderbilt	10.9


Southland Conference–Semifinals
Katy, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Nicholls St.	Texas A&M–CC	3.8
Southeast Louisiana	New Orleans	-1.6


Southwestern Athletic Conference–Semifinals
Birmingham
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Alcorn St.	Alabama A&M	4.6
Texas Southern	Grambling	6.9


Western Athletic Conference–Semifinals
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
New Mexico St.	Grand Canyon	0.5
Seattle	Abilene Christian	-0.9

Dance Tickets Punched
1	Murray St.	Ohio Valley	27-2
2	Longwood	Big South	26-6
3	Loyola (Chi.)	Missouri Valley	25-7
4	Chattanooga	Southern	27-7
5	Georgia St.	Sun Belt	18-10
6	Jacksonville St.	Atlantic Sun	21-10
7	Bryant	Northeast	22-9
8	Delaware	Colonial Athletic	22-12
9	Wright St.	Horizon	21-13
10	South Dakota St.	Summit	30-4
11	Gonzaga	West Coast	26-3
12	Colgate	Patriot	23-11

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March 10, 2022

PiRate Ratings College Basketball–Thursday, March 10, 2022

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: ACC, Atlantic 10, Automatic Bids, Big 12, Big Ten, conference tournaments, CUSA, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC — piratings @ 4:31 am

Thursday’s Conference Tournaments

American Athletic Conference–1st Round
Fort Worth, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Cincinnati	East Carolina	6.1
Wichita St.	Tulsa	5.9
Central Florida	South Florida	10.1


Atlantic 10 Conference–2nd Round
Washington, D.C.
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Fordham	George Mason	-4.6
Saint Louis	La Salle	12.0
George Washington	Massachusetts	-2.3
Richmond	Rhode Island	3.9


Atlantic Coast Conference–Quarterfinals
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Duke	Syracuse	9.9
Miami (Fla.)	Boston College	6.5
Notre Dame	Virginia Tech	-1.6
North Carolina	Virginia	4.2


Big 12 Conference–Quarterfinals
Kansas City
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Texas	TCU	4.4
Kansas	West Virginia	9.1
Baylor	Oklahoma	8.1
Texas Tech	Iowa St.	7.1


Big East Conference–Quarterfinals
New York
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Providence	Butler	7.8
Creighton	Marquette	-2.6
Villanova	St. John’s	7.1
Connecticut	Seton Hall	2.2


Big Sky Conference–Quarterfinals
Boise, ID
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Montana St.	Sacramento St.	9.9
Weber St.	Montana	3.3
Southern Utah	Portland St.	5.7
Northern Colorado	Eastern Washington	0.8


Big Ten Conference–2nd Round
Indianapolis
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Michigan	Indiana	1.3
Iowa	Northwestern	8.1
Michigan St.	Maryland	3.1
Ohio St.	Penn St.	5.0


Big West Conference–Quarterfinals
Henderson, NV
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Long Beach St.	Cal St. Bakersfield	5.2
UC-Irvine	UC Santa Barbara	0.9
Hawaii	UC Riverside	0.6
Cal St. Fullerton	UC Davis	2.0


Conference USA–Quarterfinals
Frisco, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
North Texas	Rice	10.4
Western Kentucky	Louisiana Tech	-1.2
Middle Tennessee	UTEP	3.6
UAB	Florida Atlantic	7.3


Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference–Quarterfinals Continue
Atlantic City, NJ
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Siena	Quinnipiac	-0.3
Monmouth	Niagara	2.2


Mid-American Conference–Quarterfinals
Cleveland
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Toledo	Central Michigan	18.1
Akron	Buffalo	-2.4
Kent St.	Miami (O)	6.3
Ohio	Ball St.	8.9


Mideastern Athletic Conference–Quarterfinals Continue
Norfolk, VA
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Morgan St.	South Carolina St.	2.5
UNC Central	Maryland Eastern Shore	2.0


Mountain West Conference–Quarterfinals
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Boise St.	Nevada	6.9
Wyoming	UNLV	2.1
Colorado St.	Utah St.	0.9
San DIego St.	Fresno St.	4.9


Pac-12 Conference–Quarterfinals
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Arizona	Stanford	16.0
Colorado	Oregon	-0.7
UCLA	Washington St.	7.8
USC	Washington	7.3


Southeastern Conference–2nd Round
Tampa
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Texas A&M	Florida	-1.4
LSU	Missouri	12.8
South Carolina	Mississippi St.	-3.7
Alabama	Vanderbilt	5.4


Southland Conference–Quarterfinals
Katy, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Texas A&M–CC	Houston Baptist	6.4
New Orleans	McNeese	3.5


Southwestern Athletic Conference–Quarterfinals Continue
Birmingham
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Southern	Grambling	6.4
Florida A&M	Alabama A&M	1.9


Western Athletic Conference–2nd Round
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Grand Canyon	Sam Houston	4.0
Stephen F. Austin	Abilene Christian	1.0

Dance Tickets Punched
1	Murray St.	Ohio Valley	27-2
2	Longwood	Big South	26-6
3	Loyola (Chi.)	Missouri Valley	25-7
4	Chattanooga	Southern	27-7
5	Georgia St.	Sun Belt	18-10
6	Jacksonville St.	Atlantic Sun	21-10
7	Bryant	Northeast	22-9
8	Delaware	Colonial Athletic	22-12
9	Wright St.	Horizon	21-13
10	South Dakota St.	Summit	30-4
11	Gonzaga	West Coast	26-3
12	Colgate	Patriot	23-11

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March 9, 2022

PiRate Ratings College Basketball–Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Filed under: College Basketball — Tags: ACC, Automatic Bids, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, CUSA, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC, WAC — piratings @ 5:56 am

Wednesday’s Conference Tournaments

America East Conference–Semifinals
Higher Seed at Home
Home	Visitor	Spread
Vermont	Binghamton	18.7
Maryland Baltimore Co.	Hartford	6.3


Atlantic 10 Conference–1st Round
Washington, D.C.
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
La Salle	St. Joseph’s	-3.2
Rhode Island	Duquesne	8.9


Atlantic Coast Conference–2nd Round
Brooklyn
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Florida St.	Syracuse	0.7
Wake Forest	Boston College	9.3
Virginia Tech	Clemson	5.1
Virginia	Louisville	5.9


Big 12 Conference–1st Round
Kansas City
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Kansas St.	West Virginia	1.2


Big East Conference–1st Round
New York
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Xavier	Butler	8.5
St. John’s	DePaul	6.4
Seton Hall	Georgetown	12.4


Big Sky Conference–1st Round
Boise, ID
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Sacramento St.	Idaho	3.3
Portland St.	Idaho St.	6.5
Eastern Washington	Northern Arizona	8.9


Big Ten Conference–1st Round
Indianapolis
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Northwestern	Nebraska	5.4
Penn St.	Minnesota	3.2


Conference USA–2nd Round
Frisco, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Charlotte	Rice	3.1
Louisiana Tech	Marshall	9.2
UTEP	Old Dominion	3.0
Florida Atlantic	Southern Miss.	12.9


Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference–Quarterfinals
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Iona	Rider	10.1
St. Peter’s	Fairfield	4.7


Mideastern Athletic Conference–Quarterfinals
Norfolk, VA
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Norfolk St.	Delaware St.	12.1
Howard	Coppin St.	5.8


Mountain West Conference–1st Round
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Nevada	New Mexico	4.0
Utah St.	Air Force	13.6
Fresno St.	San Jose St.	10.7


Pac-12 Conference–1st Round
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Arizona St.	Stanford	3.5
Oregon	Oregon St.	11.6
Washington St.	California	7.2
Washington	Utah	2.3


Patriot League–CHAMPIONSHIP
Higher Seed at Home
Home	Visitor	Spread
Colgate	Navy	4.6


Southeastern Conference–1st Round
Tampa
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Missouri	Mississippi	-3.6
Vanderbilt	Georgia	10.2


Southland Conference–1st Round
Katy, TX
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Incarnate Word	Houston Baptist	-3.8
Northwestern St.	McNeese	-1.1


Southwestern Athletic Conference–Quarterfinals
Birmingham, AL
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Texas Southern	Jackson St.	5.9
Alcorn St.	Prairie View	2.6


Western Athletic Conference–1st Round
Las Vegas
Higher Seed	Lower Seed	Spread
Sam Houston	California Baptist	3.3
Abilene Christian	Utah Valley	0.4

Dance Tickets Punched
1	Murray St.	Ohio Valley	27-2
2	Longwood	Big South	26-6
3	Loyola (Chi.)	Missouri Valley	25-7
4	Chattanooga	Southern	27-7
5	Georgia St.	Sun Belt	18-10
6	Jacksonville St.	Atlantic Sun	21-10
7	Bryant	Northeast	22-9
8	Delaware	Colonial Athletic	22-12
9	Wright St.	Horizon	21-13
10	South Dakota St.	Summit	30-4
11	Gonzaga	West Coast	26-3

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