BBFMM Transaction List - Pre-tournament

Not that anyone should ever have to make drops or adds before the games even start, but we have one anyway:

Team Jay
Drop G Allen Crabbe, Cal
Add F Noah Hartsock, BYU

Chris' March Madness Bracket Picks

I've always filled out a bracket, and this year is no different.  I was going to post a little segment of why I picked who I picked, but that's a lot of games and I'm a lazy guy.  I'll give you my Elite Eight, and break down who gets into the Final Four and ultimately wins.

South Region:
I struggled mightily with the top seeds in this bracket.  I'm a Duke fan, and I've never taken anyone but Duke to win the tournament before.  Ever.  Until this year.  They're just not that good.  I have them getting to the Elite Eight against Kentucky, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were to get bounced by Baylor.  Baylor's extremely athletic, and they would be a real tough matchup for the Blue Devils.  I think Kentucky steam rolls through this region, and if they played Duke they might win by 35.

West Region:
I love Missouri in this region.  I think they'll beat Louisville in the Elite Eight, as I think Louisville can give Michigan State a lot of trouble.  I think due to their style they can play with the Spartans and stay in the game.  If they're close late in the game they can win it, and I think they will.  Missouri is just too balanced between their bigs and their guards, and they also have a real nice mix of athletes and skilled players.

East Region:
I'll just point it out, I think Syracuse has a real tough matchup against Kansas State.  They have enough size to own the glass against the poor rebounding team that is Syracuse.  Wisconsin will beat Kansas State and then fall to Ohio State in the Elite Eight.  Ohio State worries me a hair due to the fact that they're exactly the same team as they've been all year.  The name of the game is peaking at the right time, and I can't say Ohio State is doing that, as they haven't peaked all year.  That being said, I think they're the most solid and consistent team in this region.

Midwest Region:
Outside of Kentucky, Carolina is the most talented team in the country.  They're truly unbelievable, and as much as it pains me, nobody's beating them in this region.  They'll top Kansas in the Elite Eight, but they're the better team.  I think North Carolina State will be a surprise in this region, I really like the way they've been playing, they gave Carolina a run for their money in the ACC Tournament.  I think they'll beat Belmont who will upset Georgetown, and then eventually fall to Kansas.

Final Four:
The Kentucky-Missouri game will be an instant classic.  Both of these teams are athletic enough to play at a high paced, frenetic game, but they're also skilled enough to put up points in the half court.  I think Kentucky wins this, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit if Missouri were to win that game.
The Carolina-Ohio State game will not be an instant classic.  Carolina has too much size inside, especially if Henson is able to play, and Sullinger will have trouble putting up his usual monster numbers against Zeller and Henson.  Throw in the fact that Kendall Marshall has the best vision, and is the best point guard in college basketball, and Harrison Barnes is probably the second most NBA ready player in the NCAA.  Carolina will win this game fairly easily.

Finals:
This game, much like Kentucky-Missouri, will be one of the best games in a long time.  Both of these teams have immense talent, athleticism, and length.  They're by far the best two teams in the country.  However, Carolina will ultimately win the game.  Not only are they by far the more experienced team, but they're deeper, and they have the better in-game coach in Roy Williams.  Calipari is a fantastic recruiter, but he's an average coach when it comes to making adjustments during the game.  Roy Williams is fantastic, and he'll surely have an impact on this game.  I just don't see anyone stopping Carolina, and this is coming from a life-long Duke fan.

BBFMM Chris vs. Mark

In the spirit of March Madness, I couldn't stop at one fantasy draft.  Mark wanted to get in on the brilliant idea that is taking over the country by storm, Bullets Blog Fantasy March Madness.  We decided to have a draft this morning and this is how it turned out.

Round 1:
Mark - Anthony Davis, F, Kentucky, Tier 1
Chris - Thomas Robinson, F, Kansas, Tier 2

Round 2:
Mark - Kendall Marshall, G, North Carolina, Tier 1
Chris - Jared Sullinger, F, Ohio State, Tier 2

Round 3:
Mark - Phil Pressey, G, Missouri, Tier 2
Chris - Will Barton, G, Memphis, Tier 3

Round 4:
Mark - Perry Jones, F, Baylor, Tier 2
Chris - Garrett Stutz, C, Wichita State, Tier 3

Round 5:
Mark - Kevin Jones, F, West Virginia, Tier 3
Chris - J'Covan Brown, G, Texas, Tier 4

Round 6:
Mark - Doug McDermott, F, Creighton, Tier 3
Chris - Keith Appling, G, Michigan State, Tier 1

Round 7:
Mark - Jason Brickman, G, LIU-Brooklyn, Tier 4
Chris - C.J. Leslie, F, North Carolina State, Tier 4

Round 8:
Mark - Kyle O'Quinn, C, Norfolk State, Tier 4
Chris - Tyler Zeller, F, North Carolina, Tier 1

I tried out a new method of drafting today, and I think I executed it relatively well.  I call it the charge method.  I tried to beat him to the spot on the 2-4 Tier players, so that I would be left searching for two Tier 1 players as opposed to drafting in the same Tier as Mark each round.  I'm not positive I made the best choices, but I executed the draft strategy pretty well, and I like my team a lot.  I really like C.J. Leslie, I think NC State is playing great ball right now, and they could win their first round game.  Mark made a great pickup in Kevin Jones, he's a stud and if West Virginia wins a couple games, he's going to put up monster numbers.  Also, McDermott dropped far, and again he'll put up great numbers if Creighton can advance.  Kyle O'Quinn, the player with the highest BBFMM Points Per Game throughout the season, finally got an opportunity to play somewhere, and I'm unbelievably curious to see how he does in the first round.  He averages 15.9 Points, 10.4 Rebounds, and 2.7 Blocks Per Game.  I want to see how he does against the first real team he plays, Missouri.

So to recap:

Mark
Guards - Kendall Marshall, Phil Pressey, Jason Brickman
Forwards - Anthony Davis, Perry Jones, Kevin Jones, Doug McDermott
Center - Kyle O'Quinn

Chris
Guards - Will Barton, Keith Appling, J'Covan Brown
Forwards - Thomas Robinson, Jared Sullinger, C.J. Leslie, Tyler Zeller
Center - Garrett Stutz

It'll be interesting, that's for sure.  There will be plenty to watch, starting tonight.

BBFMM Draft Recap - Team Jay

I'm going to be honest. I think Toph did better in the draft then I did. But I'm not really worried, because March Madness is 10% skill and 90% luck anyway.

Round 1: Draymond Green, F, Michigan State (1)
He was the top player on my board, which used an equation something along the lines of:

((Seed)/16)*2*(PPG+RPG+APG+SPG+BPG)

No word yet on if that makes any sort of sense. It's supposed to take into account the player's likeliness to play more than one game in addition to their per-game statistics. Four players on my board (five if you count John Henson, who neither of us decided to take a risk on due to injury) scored above 50. Green led the way with 64.8 and he's the best player (by far) on a #1 seed that could make a deep run. It seems like Tom Izzo finds his way to the Final 4 every Spring. 

Round 2: Harrison Barnes, F, North Carolina (1)

Barnes was the top player on my "eye test" board, as Jay Bilas might say. Watching him, at times, is like watching a symphony on the basketball court. He's just so smooth. Plus he averages 25 fantasy points a game. We all knew he was going to end up on my roster at some point. But thinking back, I really should have grabbed a second-tier player and just come back to the first tier because Toph couldn't take any more. Shit. 

Round 3: Jared Sullinger, F, Ohio State (2)

He's definitely played like the second-best Tier B forward (behind Thomas Robinson) but I get the feeling that Sullinger's quietness all season will be thrown aside as he tries to prove himself to pro scouts - remember that this is a guy who was going to be a lottery pick if he declared for the draft after last season. He's probably still going to be a lottery pick, and this tournament is his way to solidify that on a national stage. 

Round 4: Tyshawn Taylor, G, Kansas (2)

Without Robinson, I was happy to snag Tyshawn from a Kansas team that could do really well but could totally flop. In a tournament like March Madness, you really want to avoid having more than one person per team. You've heard the expression, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket"? Well in this case just don't put more than one egg in a basket. Or something. 

PS - A good sign that my formula was accurate: the four players taken from Tier B were the top four on my board

Round 5: Doug McDermott, G, Creighton (8)

Even when you factor in that Creighton is an 8 seed, McDermott's scoring numbers still put him towards the top of the Tier C players. The only downside is he's limited to play 2 games, maximum. If they get past Alabama (likely) they have to face UNC (impossible). But I still aim to get 50-55 fantasy points out of him. 

Round 6: Jeffrey Taylor, G/F, Vanderbilt (5)

I like this pick because Vandy has a fairly easy draw in Harvard, Wisconsin, and Syracuse. Add in that Taylor can play both positions (giving me a lot of roster flexibility) and it's a nice complimentary pick. 

Round 7: Brandon Davies, C, BYU (14)

There was a little controversy as to his position, but we said that our official source of stats and positions was ESPN and there was an article I found that referred to him as "BYU center Brandon Davies" so he counts (link here). If you click the link, you'll be reminded that he's the guy who got kicked off the team last year because he had sex with his girlfriend. Plus BYU is in a play-in game so he's likely to get two games. 

Round 8: Allen Crabbe, C, California (12)

Another play-in game means another shot at a team playing three games before even making it to one of the top four seeds. I like those odds. I've actually never heard of or seen Crabbe before, but California is a nice state. 

BBFMM Team TOPH Draft Recap

So, as I'm sure you're all well aware, Me and Jay's fantasy league for the NCAA Tournament begins on Tuesday, with the Selection Sunday taking place only hours ago.  Shortly after, we did a draft, and I'm pretty excited to see how Team TOPH does.

Round 1: Thomas Robinson, F, Kansas
As the overall number one pick, I had no problem taking Robinson as I thought he was a steal of a second tier player.  He averages 18 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1 block per game, giving him a total of 33.8 BBFMM Points Per Game.  Throw in the victory one point bonus that he'll surely get being on Kansas, and we've got ourselves off to a nice start.

Round 2: Anthony Davis, F, Kentucky
He's the best player in the country, playing on the best team in the country.  He's averaging 31.3BBFMM Points Per Game, and I was able to get the top two players on my board.

Round 3: Tyler Zeller, F, North Carolina
This was a tough pick, as he was high up there on my draft board too, although after drafting two forwards already, I really wanted to take a guard.  After looking at the players still undrafted, there were a lot of good guards in the second tier of players, and not many in the first tier.  That meant it made the most sense to pass on Jared Sullinger, and fill that final Forward and first tier spot with Zeller as a guard would be available later.  Plus if Henson comes back, Carolina's a damn good team.

Round 4: Marcus Denmon, G, Missouri
I love Missouri.  he was the second highest rated guard on my board, behind Tyshawn Taylor, but I didn't want to get bogged down with having too many players from the same team.  Denmon actually had the second highest BBFMM Points Per Game among guards playing in a major conference with 26.6, trailing only J'Covan Brown who averages 28.5.

Round 5: Will Barton, G, Memphis
Barton's fresh.  He held the highest BBFMM Points Per Game among guards playing for a team that I knew played in Division 1.  31.2 is a crazy high number for a guard, as only C.J. McCollum from Lehigh (35), and Nate Wolters from South Dakota State (34.3), averaged more points.  It was the fifth round, and I went with the best player on my board.  Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.  But you've got to spend money to make money, for lack of a better term.

Round 6: Garrett Stutz, C, Wichita State
It was a steal getting him in the sixth round.  They got screwed over getting a six seed and having to play VCU, but I think they could win a couple games.  Stutz averages 24 BBFMM Points Per Game, and since I wasn't aware until after I made this pick that Brandon Davies was a center, Stutz was third in centers behind Gorgui Dieng (24.1), who I will never take because that Louisville game was so hard to watch, and Kyle O'Quinn who posted a blistering 31.6.  Unfortunately, Norfolk State didn't draw a play-in game, which would have increased his value exponentially, so I had to go with Stutz on the basis of he's played better competition and has the potential to log more minutes.

Round 7: J'Covan Brown, G, Texas
How the guard playing in a major conference who posted the highest BBFMM Points Per Game lasted until the seventh round is beyond me.  Plus, throw in the fact he's on a team that's certainly been competitive all season, playing against a Cincinnati team that's painful to watch, with a second round matchup against a team that blows out nobody in Florida State looming.  Brown could be the best fourth tier player in this draft, and if Texas can win a couple games that gives him fantastic value from that fourth tier position.

Round 8: Scott Machado, G, Iona
To be honest, I had no idea his stats until 2 minutes prior to picking him, if that.  He averages 13.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 9.9 assists a game.  Plus he's playing in a play-in game, so if Iona can beat a mediocre BYU team he can log me some precious minutes.  I look at getting more than one game from a fourth tier player as a bonus, so hopefully he can work a little overtime for me, give or take.

Team TOPH Roster
Guards: Marcus Denman, Will Barton, J'Covan Brown
Forwards: Thomas Robinson, Anthony Davis, Tyler Zeller
Center: Garrett Stutz
Utility: Scott Machado

Bullets Blog Fantasy March Madness

Selection Sunday is 3/11 - First Round Starts 3/14 - Championship Game is 4/2

Toph and I had lunch today, and our goal was to come up with a new way to enjoy March Madness. Don't get me wrong - the typical bracket-filling-out, giant group of people style of play has no problems. But it feels like every year we each do like six of those and they all blend together and get stale. So we wanted to spice it up, Bullets Blog style. We went fantasy draft style, because if you know anything about the blog then you know that we love fantasy drafts. Here's the details:

• First, you need a group of friends (or strangers) ranging in size from 2 up to 4 (if you're looking for an easy time) or like 8 or 10 (if you're really really into gambling and college basketball)
• Draft. However you want to do it: auction, alternating, snake, whatever. Our setup allows us to trade draft picks. All that really matters is that each player has a roster to fill that consists of:
• 3 guards
• 3 forwards
• 1 center
• 1 utility/flex/wild card (we're still looking for an official name for this)
• The following statistical categories each count as one point:
• points
• assists
• rebounds
• blocks
• steals
• At the end of the tournament, whoever's team's players combine for the most points is the winner

That seems fun and new, right? Well, we decided to get a little more creative because we have a lot of free time and we really like fantasy sports. We understand if you decide to leave these out of your own version. No hard feelings. 

The Pyramid

For the next few rules, you'll want to reference this pyramid of point distributions. It will all make sense in a minute:

Extremely crude, but it gets the job done. 

The Draft Restrictions

To fill the eight roster positions, two players from each level of the pyramid must be drafted. That means you can only draft two players total from the four #1 seeds combined. 

• For example: let's assume that the four #1 seeds are going to be Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, and North Carolina. You can draft, say,  Harrison Barnes and Scoop Jardine, but you can not draft any other players from any of these four teams in addition to them. 

The Drop/Add Rules

After a round of the tournament is completed, you may drop a player (for any reason: injury, elimination, you don't actually need a reason at all) and replace him with a player from a lower level of the pyramid. 

• For example (continuing on the example from above): if Syracuse is a #1 seed and they lose in the first round, I could replace Scoop Jardine with a player from any level of the pyramid. 
• Another example: if a player from a #7 seed's team is eliminated, you can drop him and replace him with a player from the lowest level of the pyramid. You have to move down. Unless you are utilizing the....

Wild 4's Clause

To display how much we really devote ourselves to fantasy sports, we added in a clause that says:

• You may drop a player from a 1, 2, or 3 seed and replace him with a player from a 4 seed. 

This sidesteps the whole "you have to move down" part and could end up benefiting us if a team like Notre Dame (are they going to be in the 4-seed range? I have no idea but roll with it) makes a deep run. Again, these transactions must be made in between rounds. 

And now, for the most ridiculous, nerdy addition to the BBFMM rule book:

The Caramello Combination Clause

All you need to know about the name is that Caramello bars are delicious. Basically, this states:

• You may trade in two players from the same tier in exchange for one player from the tier above that, if and only if both players in the lower tier have been eliminated from the tournament. 
• See the pyramid for other combinations of trades. For example:
• Two bottom level (1 point each) for a C-level (2 points)
• Two C-level (2 points each) for a B-level (4 points)
• Two bottom level (1 each), a C-level (2), and a B-level (4) for a top level (8)

The point of this clause is to allow for roster turnover, so that nobody is ever actually eliminated from fantasy play. However, it still makes much more sense to just draft the guys that you think are going to contribute the most for the teams that are going to be around the longest. 

Jay Hawks Week 9 Update

The Jay Hawks got back to dominating form again this past week.