Won't you take me to, Bracket Town

Ok, so it's really really early, but since we finally got through the two big December non-conf matchups (UW-Pitt and UF-OSU) that both went big to the home squads, I think it's time to start looking at what the bracket might look like come March.

A couple of notes before hand:

The 4 regions are East Rutherford (East) San Jose (west) STL (Midwest) and San Antonio (South) From now on we'll just refer to them directionally. In addition both Chicago and Columbus are hosting 1st and 2nd round matchups.

I'm going to do the top 8 seeds in each region, that is hard enough to predict right now.

Right now as I see it the four #1 seeds will be UNC, and then either one of these conference combos: UW or OSU, AZ or UCLA, UF or Bama. Fair enough, right? So for argument purposes lets go with Ohio State, Arizona (who I think are very underrated right now) and the defending champs.

Let's start with Wisconsin's region, which I say will be the West:

WEST:

1. Arizona
2. Wisconsin
3. Oklahoma State
4. Wichita State
5. Michigan State
6. Nevada
7. Tennessee
8. Air Force



Midwest:

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Kansas
4. Washington
5. Connecticut
6. Oregon
7. Southern IL
8. Texas


SOUTH:

1. Florida
2. UCLA
3. Memphis
4. Duke
5. Butler
6. Notre Dame
7. Nevada
8. Illinois


EAST:

1. UNC
2. Pittsburgh
3. Alabama
4. Texas A&M
5. Marquette
6. Clemson
7. Florida State
8. Georgia


More comments later, but that is my guess right now

Happy Times Are Here Again

Puff piece on the state of the UW athletic dept. with the football and basketball teams both ranked in the top five, and fresh off the heels of two hockey titles. Parallels to 2000 abound. Let's hope a bowl win over Arkansas and a trip to Atlanta is in the mix for 2007.

One comment about the latter. ESPN.com has the Badgers as a #1 seed in its power 16, but skepticism abounds. Based on the current mix of teams, a spot in the Midwest regional appears likely assuming OSU would be shipped to the East.

The Dayne Train

This from the UW Athletic Dept.:

Since taking over as the featured running back for the Texans three weeks ago, Dayne has rushed for 276 yards on 57 attempts, making it the finest stretch of his career. Dayne also found the end zone three times during his recent run of success.

In a career first struck by lightning (Tiki Barber), then a backfield by committee (Denver), perhaps the alltime NCAA rushing leader will finally get a crack as a lead back on a Texans team with other offensive weapons (WR Johnson, TE Daniels, QB Carr).

Badger Bob, Mark, and now...

Patrick Johnson. The Madison Memorial graduate and current USHL star committed to the UW hockey team for the 2007-2008 season. He is the grandson of Coach Johnson who won three NCAA titles at UW, and son of Mark, perhaps the best player in the program's history.

Cluing in on the Experts

The JS analyzes the ballots that resulted in the Badger's #4 ranking, #5 in the AP poll. Three ranked UW as high as #2. Tucker was named BT Player of the Week.

Soaring to New Heights

The Badger men's basketball team earned its highest ranking ever, coming in at #4 in the just-released AP poll. OSU occupied the #2 spot. The highest previous ranking occurred in 1962 when they rose to #6.

On a side note, Georgia (7-1) beat Gonzaga over the weekend, making the NYE game a bit more daunting than it first appeared.

Also, time for a little respect for the Big Ten. Purdue played Butler tough and will challenge the top half of the league all season long. MSU, on the back of Drew Neitzel, is better than anticipated. We should've learned not to doubt Tom Izzo long ago (2nd best coach in the league next to Ryan). Indiana won't score a ton of points, but they will compete with the top teams as evidenced by last night's win over Southern Illinois. Michigan, Penn State and Illinois will also figure into the mix, leaving only Iowa (lost to Drake on Saturday), the Goofers, and Northwestern to feed on the Big Ten bottom.