College Basketball Rankings - 23 Mar

Here are my updated college basketball rankings, taking into account all games through March 22, but once again I will only list the teams that are currently alive and playing for the NCAA Championship. Rankings from the round of 32 are in parentheses.

1. Ohio State -21.19 (2)

2. Duke -19.26 (1)

3. Kansas -18.34 (3)

4. BYU -15.05 (10)

6. Kentucky -14.73 (9)

7. San Diego State -14.44 (8)

9. Wisconsin -14.15 (7)

12. North Carolina -13.11 (13)

16. Connecticut -11.98 (16)

19. Florida -10.88 (19)

20. Arizona -10.56 (24)

23. Marquette -9.61 (25)

27. Florida State -9.16 (34)

40. Butler -7.59 (45)

46. Richmond -7.05 (53)

60. VCU -5.10 (65)

Best Teams Who Went Home Early

5. Texas

8. Pittsburgh

10. Purdue

11. Washington

13. Syracuse

14. Belmont

15. Louisville

Of these teams, only Washington and Belmont lost to teams that are also listed among the top 16 currently, meaning that they had to play a highly-ranked team too early in the tournament. The other 5 teams all lost to teams from outside the top 16 who are still in the tournament.

Most Impressive Wins in Round of 32

The five most impressive wins in the last round, with difference between expected and actual results after the team's name.

1. VCU +29

2. Ohio State +21

3. Florida State +18

3. BYU +18

5. Richmond +13

Most Likely Sweet 16 upsets

1. BYU over Florida

2. UConn over San Diego State

3. Marquette over North Carolina

4. VCU over Florida State

NBA Player of the Day

Kobe Bryant - LAL - 42 pts, 12 reb, 9 ast, 15-31 FG, 3-5 3P, 9-11 FT

Kobe played 48 minutes in the Lakers' triple overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns, but his stats looked pretty good even at the end of regulation, when he had 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. He hit the shot that sealed the victory for LA with 12 seconds left as they continued their hot streak since the All-Star break.

Predictions - 23 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Nets at Cavaliers - Nets by 1

Hawks at 76ers - 76ers by 5

Pacers at Bobcats - Bobcats by 1

Grizzlies at Celtics - Celtics by 6

Heat at Pistons - Heat by 8

Kings at Bucks - Bucks by 8

Magic at Knicks - Magic by 2

Jazz at Thunder - Thunder by 7

Warriors at Rockets - Rockets by 8

Raptors at Suns - Suns by 9

Spurs at Nuggets - Nuggets by 1

Wizards at Clippers - Clippers by 8

Prediction Results - 22 Mar

NBA: 3-0 (1.000) 618-252 overall (.710)