P.J. Carlesimo 1996-97 NBA Hoops #270

If there's a bigger loser than Joe Lunardi, I haven't run into him.  It's not that Joe projects NCAA brackets for a living.  That's awesome, and I would trade jobs in a heartbeat.  It's that Joe is a tool.  Worse, yet, he's not any good at his job.  If your going to be celebrated as "ESPN's resident Bracketologist" by all the talking heads on the station, at least be good at it.  And if your not going to be good at it, you better have a personality that doesn't remind everyone of brown-noser everyone hated in their 7th grade biology class.

Lunardi is always updating his last 4 in, first 4 out, ect., ect., after every game this time of year.  It's a stupid way to do it.  The way to predict whether a team will make the field of 68 is not to look at them in the aggregate as to where they drop on your "big board" against all the other teams at a given moment, but rather to go micro and focus just on the team in question.  Case in point, Seton Hall.  The Pirates sit at 18-9, 7-8 tied for 9th in the Big East.  Their RPI is a respectable 34 with a SOS of 31.  Lunardi has them as one of the "Last 4 in."  That's useless to me.   There are too many variables.  How many teams behind them could move pass them with a win?  And how about Maryland, they aren't even listed on his page.  They must be done right?  Nope, they're right in the thick of it.

If I were in charge, I'd simply list the teams in order, call just call the locks "locks," and give a break down for the bubble teams and my projected cut lines.
School - Rec - Games Remaining
1. Kentucky 26-1 @Miss St, Vandy, Georgia, @Florida "Lock 1-2 seed"
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39. Seton Hall 18-9  G'Town, Rutgers, @DePaul
Seton Hall needs to win at least 3 games, or 2 with a win over Georgetown.  2-1 one down the stretch leaves Seton Hall at 20-10, 9-9.  They will likely be an 8 or 9 seed in the Big East Tournament.  The Pirates may actually prefer the 9 seed, which would give them a winnable game against the 16th seed, before playing the 8 seed in the 2nd rd.
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81. Maryland 15-11 Miami, @G.Tech, @UNC, Virginia
The Terps are nowhere close now, but winning 3 out of 4 down the stretch would put them at 18-12, 8-8.  If one of those wins is @UNC, they'll be in the field.  If not, they would be well served to win at least one game in the ACC Tournament, likely a Clemson or Wake Forest.

As fan, I'd much rather know what my school has to do rather than if they're "in or out" at a given moment.