The Horizon League was supposed to slip a little bit this season without Butler, but really the league has survived and thrived even. Horizon teams are a combined 47-4 at home this season and the league has a number of quality teams, including Valparaiso and Detroit. While it’s a one-bid league, the team that gets the bid will be battle tested. Continue reading “10,000 Sims: Horizon League Is Wide Open” →

While we concentrate on the mid-majors here at Big Apple Buckets, there are going to be some excellent conference races in the BCS conferences. Two of the best are in the Big East and the Big Ten. Even though Ken Pomeroy’s top two ranked  teams (Indiana and Louisville) play in those leagues, neither has better than a 49% chance of winning the league title outright. Continue reading “10,000 Sims: Big East and Big Ten” →

The Missouri Valley is the elite of the mid-major leagues this season (depending on your feelings about if the A-10 qualifies). There are three Top 50 Pomeroy teams that should battle it out for the league title. Creighton is the favorite, but a few other teams have legitimate shots. Continue reading “10,000 Sims: Missouri Valley Conference” →

A number of conference races are kicking off this week and next. One of the first is the Summit League. The league will be adding Denver in the near future, but right now this is North Dakota State’s league to lose. The Bison are ranked 52nd in Pomeroy and are overwhelming favorites. Continue reading “10,000 Sims: Summit League” →

This is why we love college basketball. When the curtain is drawn and the games start absolutely anything can happen. Who cares what the numbers say? Let’s play the games. And Friday’s beefy 123-game slate provided an awesome start.

Continue reading “Surprises abound on opening night” →

Because I write part of it, I’m obviously biased, but the best college basketball preview in the country, College Basketball Prospectus 2012-13, came out today. It’s also probably one of the best bargains in the country as the PDF is only $9.94. Inside you’ll find awesome tempo-free analysis of every team in the country. There’s also an essay section where people like Dan Hanner and John Gasaway (and me!) talk about important statistical topics. To give you a taste of the content you’ll see, here’s the beginning of my essay on transfers in college basketball.

Continue reading “Sneak Peak Into College Basketball Prospectus 2012-13” →

Now that you know all about the money that separates mid-major and major conference teams and the top players and teams to watch, maybe I should tell you why all of it matters.

Continue reading “The State of Mid-Major Basketball: Part III” →

Yesterday we looked at the state of financials and competitive balance in mid-major hoops. Today lets look at some of the top story lines as we enter the 2012-13 season. Here are the top players, teams and conferences to look out for this season. Continue reading “The State of Mid-Major Basketball: Part II” →

Nobody likes to talk about money. But that’s where this conversation has to start. Being a mid-major basketball team is all about resources. Chances are you don’t play in an NBA arena. You also don’t have millions to criss-cross the country in recruiting. If you’re successful your head coach is probably going to find a bigger payday somewhere else.
Continue reading “The State of Mid-Major Basketball: Part I” →

College basketball season is upon us! The festivities kick off Oct. 12 – the official start of practice. You can watch coverage from around the country on ESPNU starting at 5 p.m., or you can go to one of these live events. Manhattan, Fordham, St. John’s and Wagner are holding events that are open to the public in the city tomorrow night, there’s a lot of events occurring during the preseason. Here are some dates to keep in mind as we approach Nov. 9.

Continue reading “Basketball season kicks off tomorrow” →