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Getty Images     With conference play in full swing now. I though I would tackle predicting the field for the 2023 NCAA tournament.  Bracket as of 1/13  For the baseline I utilized the bracket from Bracket Matrix  and used information from Haslam and Kenpom and the NCAA's NET rankings to help fill the rest. With this bracket, I wanted to go over a few quick observation. The Big 12 is stacked this year fielding 8 teams as of now, which is 80% of their entire conference. I'm curious to see if they can maintain this as we head closer and closer to March given the depth that this conference has. It will a wild sprint for the B1G to see who can end up where. Purdue is a solid lock for a top 4 seed come March but the rest will probably play out like a chaotic game of musical chairs. Preseason favorites like Indiana and Michigan are nowhere to be found while the Illini are holding on. Penn St, Rutgers and Northwestern! are in with good wins against the likes of Indiana and Purdue. Don

Photo Courtesy of Joe Robbins/NCAA Photos What will Purdue do without Carsen? Purdue had one of their best season to date, so how will this season play out without Carsen Edwards? #23 Purdue v Green Bay Purdue losses a lot of production on offense especially when it comes to behind the arc. But the Boilermakers return almost everybody from last season and have plenty of options when it comes to the offense.  Haarms and Williams will be a threat from inside as well as Nojel Eastern.  From deep we have Stefanovic, Hunter, and Hunter Jr. who could be threats from deep, and that's not including what the freshmen and transfer Jahaad Proctor can do. And with Green Bay. Its very hard to believe that they had a pretty solid offense, but a defense that ranked near the bottom of the nation. This will merely be a tune up game for the Boilers before they face Texas on Sunday. Purdue

Photo Courtesy of Streeter Lecka  Who will win it all Iowa St. v Mississippi Valley St. Mississippi Valley weren't good last season averaging 38% from the floor and 31% from deep. Now add the departure of 8 seniors and those numbers are looking REALLY bad! The Cyclones on the other hand, averaged 48% from the floor and 36% from deep, and they are only loosing 2 seniors, so everybody on their roster is coming back. MVS is very bad and with the all of their seniors gone, this will be a very easy win for the Cyclones. Iowa St Marquette v Loyola (MD) Marquette has a good season, averaging 45% from the floor and 39% from deep. They have some good interior presence and are decent from deep since the departure of the Hauser brothers. and their playing against a decent squad in Loyola (MD). who averages 46% from the field and 34% from long range. The good news for the Greyhounds is that, they are bringing everyone back. The departure of the Hauser brothers will be huge, but

Photo Courtesy of Peter G Aiken More upsets happened this week, can we continue this streak heading into week 10 Syracuse v Boston College  This is a very interesting game, as Boston College does not have a very good passing game, giving up close to 300 yards through the air. And Syracuse doesn't run the ball too well, but they do have a decent run defense that can challenge Boston College's. While BC was able to handle a not very good NC St team last time I saw them without Anthony Brown. They won't be very lucky here. Syracuse  #11 Auburn v Ole Miss Auburn is not a pass first team, opting to run more than pass. But they do hold teams close to 100 yards rushing. Ole Miss has a pretty balanced offense but since they will be on the road to a ranked Auburn team. They don't stand a chance. Auburn  Washington v #9 Utah Utah and Washington have pretty similar offenses. But no one will get past this rushing defense, as the hold teams to under 60 yards a game.

Photo Courtesy of Charels Jischke and Mitch Eavey  It's time for the battle of the Purdue Cannon Purdue comes into this game with what could have been an upset of an ranked Iowa team, but instead face a Illinois team that is coming off of the upset of the 2019 season. Purdue v Illinois Purdue is averaging 325 passing yards but still has no run game, averaging 60 yards on the ground. The defense has continue to improve, holding teams to 275 yards through the air, and 157 yards on the ground. The Illini don't really have a great offense, averaging well under 200 in the passing game and under 150 in the run game. They have a decent pass defense, holding teams to 237 yards through the air, but  allow close to 200 yards rushing. I've had this as a Purdue win since the season began, Illinois is still a bad team and with Purdue playing better than their record suggest, the Cannon stays here in West Lafayette. Purdue

Photo courtesy of Brett Carlsen What a wild week 8 There were some really good games last week, can we see similar results for week 9? UNC v Duke UNC averages 275 yards through the air as well as 161 yards on the ground. They have a decent pass rush, allowing 215 yards through the air, but they don't have a great run defense, as they hold teams to 174 yards on the ground. Duke on the other hand doesn't have a too stellar offense, averaging under 200 in the passing game and around 175 yards on the ground. The have a good run defense, holding teams to 130 yards on the ground. But they hold teams to just over 200 through the air. I have the Tar Heels winning this one. UNC has more production on offense compared to Duke, and Duke is prone to turning the ball over. UNC Colorado v USC Colorado is averaging over 250 yards in the passing game and 154 yards on the ground. The one glaring weakness for the Buffaloes is in the passing game, as they allow 316 yards a game, but

Photo courtesy of Joe Robbins I was lazy this week. Yes I promised things would go back to normal, but I just didn't want to upload. so here's how my picks went. Boston College v NC St. Pick: NC St. Result: Boston College Maybe I underestimated BC, I thought that since their starter QB went down, they wouldn't be the same. well I was wrong. #3 Clemson v Louisville Pick: Clemson Result: Clemson Clemson was a bit shaky there in the first half, But they finally woke up in the second and blew out Louisville. #1 Alabama v Tennessee Pick: Alabama  Result: Alabama Another team that looked shaky, and I was surprised that They didn't put them away, but then I realized that Tua was out for most of the entire game, and with no timetable for his return, things could get interesting in the next couple of weeks. Cal v Oregon St . Pick: OSU Result: OSU Who in their right mind has Cal a 10 point favorite when looking at the stats OSU was a way bette

My busy schedule has led to no post the last couple of weeks, but Picks were made There was a lot of action this week, did any of my picks hold up? #9 Notre Dame v USC My Pick: Notre Dame Result: Notre Dame This was closer than I expected, but Notre Dame managed to stop a late push by USC to take home the win Illinois v #16 Michigan  My Pick: Michigan Result: Michigan Michigan offense seemed to finally wake up in this game, but nearly blew the game in the 4th quarter, but since Illinois is bad. Michigan was able to capitalize on their mistakes and get a road win. #17 Iowa v #10 Penn St My Pick: Penn St Result: Penn St Another one of those close games, but Penn St was able to use their defense to secure the victory, as well as Iowa's offense basically being non-existent foe the last two weeks. Arizona v Washington My Pick: Washington Result: Washington By Halftime, the Huskies were down by 4, until the offense woke up in the second half and completely

Photo Courtesy of Icon Sportswire Midweek Madness is back after a very brief Hiatus  We're back, sorry for the lack of posts last week, I had a lot of late nights and couldn't get around to it, but enough about my personal life, we're here for some football. Kansas v #6 Oklahoma  Kansas is not great when it comes to offensive production. Averaging just shy of 190 passing yards, and over 160 rushing yards a game. and their defense isn't great either, allowing teams to go 210 yards a game in both the passing and run games. Oklahoma on the other hand is a lot better than Kansas, averaging 375 passing yards and 300 rushing yards a game. And with the Sooner's defense holding teams under 200 yards in both the pass and run. As well as forcing an average of two turnovers a game. This will be a long day for the Jayhawks. Oklahoma  Kansas St v Baylor The Wildcats average 160 passing yards as well as 240 rushing yards a game. Their defense is decent holding teams