Another Bracket Buster Weekend has come and gone, and handicappers should use what they learned this weekend as an aid for the postseason handicapping that lies just around the corner. Of course, as is the case with handicapping any other basketball game, the key is not just in charting the results, but interpreting why those results happened from a situational and fundamental point of view. For instance, some teams entered Bracket Buster matchups needing the game more than others, some came in off of a huge win or loss, some had more travel issues than other, etc. And then of course, the free throw line came into play, some teams had injury issues, etc. Use these conference-by-conference results as a guideline in determining conference strength, but don’t forget about the months of November and December, and handicap every team (or game result) individually as well. The Missouri Valley flexed its muscle in a big way this weekend, logging a 8-2 SU/7-3 ATS record, with Illinois St. winning but failing to cover by only 1 pt. against Wright St. on Sunday. Included in this group were some big performances by the league’s top 5, as Drake went to Butler and upset the Bulldogs, Southern Illinois destroyed Nevada at home, Creighton ended Oral Roberts’ undefeated home season, and Bradley won easily against Milwaukee Wisconsin, despite playing without two starting guards. The MVC may not quite be at the level it was two seasons ago, but I believe it is a better conference than last season. Early on many thought this conference was down, but it simply took us a while to catch up with the new face of Drake at the top, as well as an improved Illinois squad in the top 3. Bradley will be hurt by the loss of guards Ruffin (suspended indefinitely), and Andrew Warren, and it will be interesting to see how long those two are out of the lineup, as I believe the Braves were the MVC’s second best team. The most disappointing conference of the weekend had to be the Western Athletic. The WAC saw its conference leader Boise shredded on their home floor by Siena, as well as conference contenders Nevada and Hawaii failing to cover by 17 and 22 points respectively. For the weekend, the WAC logged a 3-6 SU/2-7 ATS record, although two of the ATS losses were by half a point and could have been pushes as San Jose and Idaho fell near the number in their losses. Below is the final tally for the remaining Bracket Buster conferences
America East: 2-1 SU/ATS
Atlantic Sun: 1-0 SU/ATS
Big Sky: 1-1 SU/ATS
Big South: 1-0 SU/0-1 ATS
Big West: 4-5 SU/ 6-3-1 ATS 3 ATS Wins by 9 or more points.
Colonial: 7-5 SU/5-7ATS Ugly performances by conference contenders William and Mary, George Mason (outscored 50-25 in second half by Ohio U!), and NC Wilmington.
Horizon: 4-6 SU/5-5ATS Mixed Results here in a conference where there is not a clear #2 team. However, kingping Butler going down to Drake on their home floor certainly doesn’t help matters. Bulldogs also went down at home to the top MVC team last season, Southern Illinois.
Metro Atlantic: 6-4 SU/ 5-5 ATS Watch this conference come postseason. 4 outright road upsets by conference frontrunners Rider, Niagra, Siena, and Fairfield could be a sign of things to come in Mid-March.
Mid American: 6-5 SU/ 5-6 ATS Have to respect Kent St. getting things done at St. Mary’s, although top-heavy, the MAC is better overall than in recent seasons. If Kent goes down in theMAC tourney, this conference should earn two bids.
Ohio Valley: 4-6 SU/ 5-5 ATS
Patriot: 1-1 SU/ 2-0 ATS
Southern: 1-3 SU/ATS
Summit: 0-1 SU/ATS ORU accounted themselves well against Creighton, but simply could not throw it in the ocean at 4-23 from 3FG.
West Coast: 0-1 SU/ATS Kent St. loss definitely stung, but was aided by Gael injuries.
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