Back on Friday afternoon I tried to project the BracketBusters as best I could. Well, now that we’re just a few hours away from the actual announcement and have some better data to work with according to RPI – and rumors – it’s time to make some final guesses about who will be on TV and who will be playing where.
Iona:
The Gaels will be playing a televised home game on ESPN2. There’s no way that ESPN is going to pass up the opportunity to showcase Scott Machado against a high-profile opponent. Who that opponent will be though is a whole different matter. In an ideal world Iona would get one of the Top 4 away teams (St. Mary’s, Wichita State, Long Beach State or Northern Iowa). The problem it seems is that two of those teams are from the West Coast. Will ESPN for Iona to bite the bullet and give a return game to LBSU at some point? If so it’d be a great get for Iona. The 49ers are currently 34th in RPI. So even a home win for Iona would be huge.
If Iona was to turn down LBSU, so travel reasons it gets a bit trickier. The next three options are Northern Iowa, Akron and Drexel. None of them are even in the Top 50 in RPI. They would be a big downgrade in competition. I guessed that Akron might be the call in the first place. If Iona ends up playing the Dragons, who are a decent, but not great CAA team, something went wrong in this whole process.
Manhattan:
Even after sweeping their tour of western New York this weekend the Jaspers look to be on the outside looking in for a televised BracketBuster home game. Loyola (MD) plays in the same conference, with a similar rising from the ashes story and a personable head coach in Jimmy Patsos. The Greyhounds’ RPI is also 27 places higher and they beat Manhattan head-to-head. (On a last-second shot.) For those reasons I see Loyola getting a televised game and Manhattan playing a good team, but not someone too thrilling. My best guess are Old Dominion, Youngstown State or Wofford. I said I thought Penguins would be the best bet. I still feel that way.
Stony Brook:
After a big win on Friday night the Seawolves are the class of America East. I bet if Stony Brook were a designated home team they’d be an attractive candidate because of the ability the athletics department has shown to energize the fan base. The Red Out looked great on ESPNU. But SBU must go on the road. Northeastern and Georgia State seem to be logical landing places for the Seawolves, but we’ll see.
The actual announcements are made later tonight.
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