Two of possibly the better teams in the West Bracket will do battle on Thursday afternoon when the fifth-seeded New Mexico Lobos meet up with the 12th-seed Long Beach State 49ers at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.
The fourth-seeded Cardinals have been ousted from the NCAA kingdom in a quick-one-and-done in each of the past two seasons, and will now aim to change all of that when they meet up with 13th-seeded Davidson in the West Regional on Thursday afternoon in Rip City.
The NHL season is about to enter the stretch run. Some teams are positioning themselves well heading into the most important part of the year while others are sputtering at precisely the wrong time. Get weekly NHL Handicapping tips from CappersPicks.com.
Are you ready for the stretch drive? It seems that some teams have already gone into playoff mode already. The Power Rankings reflect that notion.
There are some teams struggling to maintain their elite status this week and there are some climbing – looking for a little credibility.
Enjoy this week’s Dave B’s NHL Power Rankings – March 13, 2012– the number in brackets are where the team ranked two weeks earlier.
1. Blues 45- 18-7 (4) – The Blues have won five straight games and are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games and have given up just 14 goals over that span. Amazing. They have a four point lead in the overall standings are showing no signs of slowing down. Helping is their incredible 29-4-4 record at home.
2. Penguins 42-21-5 (3) – Pittsburgh is another team that is 9-0-1 in their last 10 games and have first in the East in their sights. Crosby could return this week and Chris Letang not far behind – yup, the Penguins are scary.
3. Rangers 43-18-7 (2) – still playing well – 5-3-2 in their last 10 games but their Eastern Conference lead seems a little more tenuous at the moment.
4. Canucks 42-19-8 (1) – The Canucks have gone 2-3-2 in their last seven games and have lost three of their last four games at home. The twins are a mess – they will get back on track at some point so they should be good to hold in to a top 5 position in the rankings.
5. Predators 40-21-7 (6) – Nashville just keeps getting it done – 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. They are tough to play against and are as balanced a team as there is in the NHL – 10 players with at least 10 goals. That’s three complete lines that can score.
6. Red Wings 44-22-3 (5) – The Wings slip out of the Top 5 on the heels of a 4-5-1 stretch. Pavel Datsuyk, Nik Lidstrom and Jimmy Howard have all been out of the lineup which doesn’t help. All are expected back soon.
7. Bruins 40-25-3 (7) – Boston are slipping fast – injuries and inconsistent play have them 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. They sure don’t look like the Bruins we have all come to expect.
8. Devils 40-24-5 (9) – Don’t look now but the Devils have won five straight games and are four points out of eighth in the East. Their offensive weapons have been just that and the defense has allowed just five goals in the last six games.
9. Senators 36-25-9 (12) – Continue to be one of the surprise teams in the NHL – 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. In their next four they play Montreal three times and the freefalling Leafs once. Ottawa should have a good week and could continue to climb the Rankings.
10. Stars 38-26-5 (13) – Dallas is another surprise team – on fire with a 9-0-1 record in their last 10 games. They have opened up a six point lead in the Pacific.
11. Flyers 39-22-7 (14) – Look out the Flyers are coming. They are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and Ilya Bryzgalov has three shutouts in his last four games. He has a 1.75 goals against average since the All-Star break – finally!
12. Blackhawks 37-25-8 (15) – Chicago is 4-1-1 in their last 10 games and are finally getting some decent goaltending. Jonathan Toews could be back soon making them a way better team.
13. Coyotes 34-25-10 (8) – Phoenix lost five straight before beating San Jose. The Coyotes are quickly fading.
14. Sharks 33-25-9 (17) – The Sharks are still a good team aren’t they? I am beginning to wonder. They are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. If they do nothing this week – they are out of the Top 20.
15. Panthers 32-23-13 (10) – The Panthers have hung around and are worthy of the top 15. They are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and are on top of the Southeast – barely! [ad-4437448]
16. Flames 32-25-12 (21) – 4-3-3 in their last 10 games and hanging around somehow. With teams around them struggling the Flames end up in the #16 position.
17. Avalanche 36-30-4 (11) – Colorado is also hanging around but the loss of Matt Duchene might be too much. They are still 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and deserve a Top 20 rank.
18. Kings 32-25-12 (16) – The Kings are far better than their average record – 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. They are struggling – no excuses!
19. Sabres 32-29-8 (24) – is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and they have climbed into a playoff position. Four points back and Ryan Miller finally living up to expectation.
20. Capitals 35-28-6 (20) – suddenly one point back in the Southeast having gone 6-3-1 record in their last 10 games. Washington is the most dangerous #20 ranked team in memory.
21. Jets 32-29-8 (19)
22. Ducks 29-30-10 (18)
23. Lightning 31-30-7 (22)
24. Canadiens 27-32-10 (27)
25. Hurricanes 26-28-15 (29)
26. Islanders 28-31-10 (28)
27. Maple Leafs 30-31-8 (23)
28. Oilers 26-35-7(25)
29. Wild 29-30-10 (26)
30. Blue Jackets 22-40-7 (30)
Dave B will analyze all the risers and the fallers for the rest of the season in his bi-weekly NHL Power Rankings.
There is a wide variety of teams that show up on the #13 seed line in the NCAA Tournament. Some of them seem to be there to have a good time, while others appear built to make a run.
Shaka Smart and the VCU Rams went from the First Four to the Final Four in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Wichita State was picked by many to be a mid-major team that had the potential to go deep in the tournament this season.
Connecticut cut down the nets at the end of the NCAA Tournament last year. It will take an even more miraculous effort from the Huskies to repeat in 2012.
In the play-in game for the Midwest Region Vermont faces Lamar and the winner will get to play top seed North Carolina in the next Big Dance game.
In a Midwest Region play in game between a couple of teams that were sitting on pins and needles on selection Sunday South Florida faces California.
The Atlanta Braves were in prime position to lock-up their second-straight wildcard playoff berth in the National League last season, but a complete collapse down the stretch paved the way for St. Louis’s amazing run to a World Series title.
The Philadelphia Phillies have ruled the roost in the NL East for the last five seasons, but this team was not put together just to win division titles.
The Colorado Rockies enter 2012 coming off a dismal 73-win season, and while they added to their somewhat already powerful offense, they failed to add any real assets to their questionable pitching staff that let them down after being pegged to win the division or wild card in 2011.
Coming off their most successful season since 2007, with a 94-68 record, good enough to steal the NL West from the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants who were eight games back, the Arizona Diamondbacks are poised to repeat as the NL West’s top team in 2012.
It feels like a bit of a setup having two schools better known for academics than hoops meeting in the first round.
The Big 12 was a very good conference this year. Kansas and Mizzou took #2 seeds with Baylor right behind them with a #3.
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The Syracuse Orange are looking to validate a great season that earned them the top seed in the East Region.
