The Black & Gold Standard is an all-new VandyRadio Blog featuring general commentary and advanced statistical breakdowns following every Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball game. Robbie Weinstein of The Homefield Advantage (along with, on occasion, Max Herz and Dan Helinek) will be bringing you the best analysis of Commodore basketball throughout the season as the team chases a postseason berth for the first time since 2012. Check out the Black & Gold Standard for all kinds of new content as the young ‘Dores fight through the 2014-15 schedule.

Last year, I made my first attempt at predicting the NCAA tournament bracket, an art form known as “Bracketology.” After scoring surprisingly well and outperforming prominent Bracketologists such as ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBS’s Jerry Palm, I figured I’d try my hand once again this year. Here is my midseason Bracketology, with the following caveats:

– At this point in the year, many power conference teams have not played a strong schedule and as a result have very few, if any, good wins. Ohio State, TCU, and Notre Dame are among the teams who should make a jump as they get more opportunities for quality wins during their respective conference seasons. Currently, however, I have to evaluate the teams as they currently stand, so there isn’t a whole lot of quality around the bubble right now.

– Similarly, numerous teams from outside the power conferences play difficult nonconference schedules every year in order to put together a strong enough résumé to compete with the big boys come March. These teams get a temporary because they’ve simply played better teams and gotten better wins to this point in the season. Examples of these teams include Colorado State, Temple, and Green Bay.

I will be releasing at least two more editions of my Bracketology: one midway through SEC play and one just prior to the NCAA tournament selection show. Vanderbilt has some work to do and I did not seriously consider them for a spot due to the Commodores’ weak strength of schedule and lack of quality wins.

Projected conference champions listed in all caps, and tournament sites are listed above the games they correspond with. I will release my “S-curve” (my ranking of all 68 teams) on Twitter via @robsw4.

Midwest

LOUISVILLE

1 KENTUCKY

16 TEXAS SOUTHERN/NEW MEXICO ST

 

8 Dayton

9 Providence

 

JACKSONVILLE

4 Texas

13 EASTERN WASHINGTON

 

5 Maryland

12 GEORGIA ST

 

OMAHA

3 KANSAS

14 MURRAY ST

 

6 Arkansas

11 Minnesota

 

COLUMBUS

7 George Washington

10 Georgetown

 

2 Louisville

15 LBSU

 

East

CHARLOTTE

1 UVA

16 COASTAL CAROLINA/DENVER

 

8 Colorado St

9 Byu

JACKSONVILLE

4 Iowa St

13 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN

 

5 Seton Hall

12 Illinois/Georgia Tech

 

SEATTLE

3 Utah

14 HOFSTRA

 

6 North Carolina

11 GREEN BAY

 

OMAHA

7 Unlv

10 St. John’s

 

2 WISCONSIN

15 NC CENTRAL

 

South

CHARLOTTE

1 Duke

16 AMERICAN

 

8 Baylor

9 Stanford

 

PORTLAND

4 Washington

13 HARVARD

 

5 SAN DIEGO ST

12 Miami/Tcu

 

PITTSBURGH

3 OLD DOMINION

14 WOFFORD

 

6 WICHITA ST

11 Penn St

 

PORTLAND

7 Iowa

10 TEMPLE

 

2 ARIZONA

15 FGCU

 

West

PITTSBURGH

1 VILLANOVA

16 VERMONT

 

8 Notre Dame

9 Oklahoma

 

LOUISVILLE

4 WICHITA ST

13 BUFFALO

 

5 West Virginia

12 Cincinnati

 

COLUMBUS

3 VCU

14 IONA

 

6 Lsu

11 Indiana

 

SEATTLE

7 Georgia

10 Butler

 

2 GONZAGA

15 ST. FRANCIS (PA)

Last four in: Illinois, TCU, Miami, Georgia Tech

First four out: Syracuse, NC State, Xavier, California