College Hoops Notebook (Jan. 20)

What's happened and what's ahead in the world of college basketball, along with a weekly "Field of 65" projection. Abbreviated version this week. All RPI rankings are courtesy of CollegeRPI.com.

Tracking My Preseason Final Four
1. Duke (16-1)
7. North Carolina (15-2)
12. Louisville (13-3)
25. Arizona State (15-3)

Joe Lunardi Bracketology Stuff
**In his latest bracket projection (Jan. 19), Mr. Bracketology has the Gophers as a #5 seed in the East Region playing #12 Mississippi State in Boise.

**Lunardi's projected matchups for the Metrodome. ... #2 Michigan State vs. #15 North Dakota State; #7 Baylor vs. #10 Florida State; #3 Marquette vs. #14 Portland State; and #6 Kentucky vs. #11 Utah.

BCS Conferences Head to Head
1. ACC (27-18)
2. Big Ten (19-17)
3. Big East (21-20)
4. Big 12 (19-21)
5. Pac 10 (13-17)
6. SEC (15-21)

Tracking the Gophers' Nonconference Opponents
12. Louisville (13-3, 4-0 Big East)
89. Virginia (7-7, 1-2 ACC)
102. Cornell (9-6, 1-0 Ivy)
136. North Dakota State (10-5, 7-1 Summit)
158. Colorado State (6-11, 1-3 Mountain West)
183. Eastern Washington (8-9, 3-3 Big Sky)
199. Bowling Green (6-8, 1-2 MAC)
265. South Dakota State (6-12, 3-5 Summit)
276. Southeastern Louisiana (3-9, 1-2 Southland)
281. Georgia State (3-13, 3-4 Colonial)
337. High Point (2-12, 1-6 Big South)

Gophers' Nonconference SOS = 239 of 343 (bottom 30.3%). Last week was #233.

Winning on the Road in the BCS Conferences
Here's the percentage of games won by the road team in the major conferences (conference games only).

1. ACC -- 10 of 20 (50%)
2. Pac 10 -- 13 of 27 (48.1%)
3. Big East -- 18 of 42 (42.9%)
4. Big 10 -- 11 of 29 (37.9%)
5. SEC -- 6 of 18 (33.3%)
6. Big 12 -- 4 of 17 (23.5%)

FIELD OF 65 PROJECTION (1/20/09)
America East (1): Binghamton (168)

ACC (6): Duke (1), North Carolina (7), Clemson (10), Wake Forest (11), Florida State (21), Miami-Florida (32)

Atlantic Sun (1): East Tennessee State (134)

Atlantic 10 (2): Xavier (5), Dayton (40)

Big East (9): Pitt (2), Georgetown (6), UConn (8), Louisville (12), Syracuse (14), Marquette (16), West Virginia (24), Villanova (30), Notre Dame (61)

Big Sky (1): Portland State (133)

Big South (1): VMI (116)

Big 10 (7): Michigan State (3), Wisconsin (17), GOPHERS (18), Ohio State (22), Illinois (23), Michigan (46), Purdue (52)

Big 12 (5): Oklahoma (4), Oklahoma State (19), Baylor (34), Texas (26), Kansas (36)

Big West (1): Long Beach State (108)

Colonial (1): George Mason (47)

Conference USA (1): Memphis (13)

Horizon (1): Butler (9)

Ivy (1): Cornell (102)

Metro Atlantic (1): Siena (28)

MAC (1): Western Michigan (252)

MEAC (1): Morgan State (157)

Missouri Valley (1): Northern Iowa (90)

Mountain West (3): Utah (20), BYU (33), UNLV (57)

Northeast (1): Robert Morris (129)

Ohio Valley (1): Austin Peay (114)

Pac 10 (5): Cal (15), Arizona State (25), Washington (38), UCLA (42), Stanford (43)

Patriot (1): American (93)

SEC (4): Florida (27), Tennessee (29), Kentucky (56), Mississippi State (92)

Southern (1): Davidson (31)

Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin (68)

SWAC (1): Alabama State (191)

Summit (1): North Dakota State (136)

Sun Belt (1): Western Kentucky (60)

West Coast (2): Gonzaga (35), St. Mary's (51)

WAC (1): Utah State (45)

Non-BCS At-Larges (4): BYU (33), Gonzaga (35), Dayton (40), UNLV (57)

Last 4 In: Stanford (43), UNLV (57), Notre Dame (61), Mississippi State (92)

First 4 Out: Mizzou (39), Texas A&M (44), Illinois State (48), Virginia Tech (53)

10 to Watch: Miami-Ohio (37), Temple (41), San Diego State (54), Arkansas (58), VCU (63), USC (65), Tulsa (75), Providence (82), LSU (86), South Carolina (87)