Tag: seeding

Saints need a win in Week 18 and a lot of help to clinch a playoff berth

Winning their remaining games won’t be enough to clinch a Saints playoff berth. They need a lot of help from other teams:

The New Orleans Saints took an important step toward reaching the playoffs by beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, but that alone won’t get them over the hump. Neither will a win in the regular-season finale next week against the Atlanta Falcons.

Because they tripped up and lost games to other teams in the wild-card race earlier this year, like the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, the Saints are not in control of their own fate. So how can they get into the playoffs?

They’ll need a lot of help. As has been the case all year, their easiest path runs through the NFC South. The Saints must defeat the Falcons next week and hope for a Carolina Panthers upset over the Bucs. That’s easier said than done — this same Panthers team got shut out 26-0 by the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17.

So what if the Saints don’t win the division? Could they still get in as a wild-card team? Technically, yes, but that window is rapidly closing and becoming less likely by the minute. The Rams survived a comeback effort by the New York Giants, so they’ll win any tiebreaker with the Saints at the end of the season. That means the Saints need the Seattle Seahawks to lose twice (to the Pittsburgh Steelers today and against the Arizona Cardinals next week) while also getting some help from the NFC North. And if the Seahawks beat the Steelers on Sunday afternoon, all of this is moot.

Whichever team wins on Sunday night — the Packers or Vikings — would be in conflict with the Saints in Week 18, and they each own head-to-head tiebreakers over New Orleans. So the winner of Sunday night’s game must lose next week, with the Seahawks also losing, while the Saints beat the Falcons team that got the better of them earlier this season. The Packers will host the Chicago Bears, while the Vikings visit the Detroit Lions.

If all three of those levers are pulled, the Saints will clinch the seventh playoff seed in the NFC. So it’s possible. It could happen. Stranger things have happened before in the NFL. But it isn’t likely given all of the different factors at play and each team’s schedule. The Saints made this bed for themselves. Now they have to sleep in it.

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Saints, Rams on collision course to compete for NFC’s 7th playoff seed

The Saints and Rams are on a collision course to compete for the NFC’s 7th playoff seed on Thursday night:

So much talk about the New Orleans Saints’ playoff hopes have centered on the NFC South title, and that’s easy to understand. Whichever team wins the worst division in pro football will secure a home playoff game, so it’s seen as the Saints’ easiest path forwards.

But it’s not the only road they can take. There’s a non-zero chance of the Saints reaching the postseason as the final wild-card seed in the NFC playoff picture. It’s just a significantly more challenging journey to take. The first step: beating the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.

The Rams are slotted in just ahead of the Saints in the NFC playoff standings; if the postseason started today, Los Angeles would round out the playoff picture as the No. 7 seed, with New Orleans watching from home at No. 8. A win at SoFi Stadium on Thursday wouldn’t clinch anything for the Saints, but it would be a powerful statement that their playoff ambitions are just as legitimate as the Rams’ are.

And of course it’s the Rams. They’re one of the Saints’ oldest rivals, dating back to their shared history in the old NFC West. New Orleans has logged more wins (35) and losses (43) against the Los Angeles than many other teams even if they aren’t playing each other as often as they used to. It’s almost karmic that they are the hurdle between the Saints and a playoff berth.

But again, a win on Thursday night won’t seal the deal. It would certainly bode well for what comes next, with New Orleans headed for rematches against the same Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons teams that beat them earlier this year.

Three of the seven playoff seeds are already accounted for: the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers have all clinched postseason berths already. The Saints are likely going to have to take it down to the wire in Week 18, but they’ve got a chance to make the cut. They just need to keep winning. Let’s see if they have it in them.

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Saints can get their first win against a team with a winning record in Week 10

The Saints can get their first win against a team with a winning record in Week 10. Taking down the Vikings would mean a lot in the NFC playoff race:

We’re going to learn a lot about the New Orleans Saints in their Week 10 game with the Minnesota Vikings — especially with both squads in the thick of a crowded NFC playoff picture. Both teams are 5-4. This is the type of opponent the Saints could expect to host in the first round of the playoffs, should they hold onto their lead in the NFC South.

If not the 5-4 Vikings, it could be the 5-3 Seattle Seahawks or 5-3 Dallas Cowboys coming to town. A good (not great) team presenting unique challenges with a competitive talent level. The Saints need to show they can take care of business and rise to the occasion after they fell down to the quality of their opponent last week in a tight win over a 2-7 Chicago Bears team.

And, critically for the Saints, this is the chance to get their first win over a team with a winning record this season.

  1. Tennessee Titans (3-5): Win
  2. Carolina Panthers (1-7): Win
  3. Green Bay Packers (3-5): Loss
  4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5): Loss
  5. New England Patriots (2-7): Win
  6. Houston Texans (4-4): Loss
  7. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2): Loss
  8. Indianapolis Colts (4-5): Win
  9. Chicago Bears (2-7): Win

Look at that again. Just one of the teams the Saints have played so far currently has a winning record, and New Orleans lost that game. The Jaguars are nipping on the heels of the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens (both 7-2) for the first seed in the AFC. They have different goals this season than the Saints.

To be frank, they’re a better-coached team than the Saints with greater aspirations. Jacksonville is a Super Bowl contender. The best the Saints can realistically hope for is a home playoff win and a dignified exit in the second round, which would be a better finish than anything fans have experienced in the last three or four years. At the same time, anything can happen in the postseason. We’ve certainly seen it all when the Saints and Vikings are matched up: a Super Bowl berth, a crushing last-second loss, and a stunning upset after a 13-win season.

Minnesota presents a team in similar circumstances with more-comparable goals. If the Saints can leave town with a clean win and improve to 6-4 before their bye week, fans should feel optimistic about what’s ahead for them. Proving they can hang with another team with a winning record would be highly encouraging. And look at the schedule ahead: just one of the seven games remaining after their bye week will be against a team that currently owns a winning record (the 6-2 Detroit Lions). 10 or 11 wins are very much in reach for this Saints team, but they must prove they’re up to the task against the Vikings on Sunday.

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How much does playoff seeding matter for the Boston Celtics?

The Boston Celtics are currently looking at a three-way push for the best seeding possible in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

The Boston Celtics are in a three-way battle for the best seeding possible in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The Celtics are within a few games of both the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks. For the moment, the Bucks have the upper hand with a few games’ lead on Boston for the top spot, and the Sixers in third place but are breathing down the Celtics necks.

The race for No. 1 is going to intensify because all three clubs play one another near the end of the season. Just how important is the seeding they are fighting for in the first place?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Vitamin Cs” podcast recently debated how much (and how deep) home court advantage is for the Celtics in the 2023 NBA playoffs, as well as where they think the Celtics should aim to finish.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Who needs the East’s top seed more – the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks?

Could Milwaukee actually be worse off for the effort? Or is it critical for Boston to not find itself in the position it did in the FInals against the Golden State Warriors yet again?

As the 2021-22 NBA season inched toward its end, the Boston Celtics fought hard for the Eastern Conference’s top seed and did not get it, that honor instead fell to the Miami Heat. As a result, the Celtics had an arduous path to the 2022 NBA Finals, one that likely cost Boston much of its energy later in the postseason.

Now, the Celtics find themselves trailing a Milwaukee Bucks club that appears immune to losing. Is it worth it for Boston to chase the East’s top seed? Or do the Bucks need it more than the Celtics do this season?

Could Milwaukee actually be worse off for the effort? Or is it critical for Boston to not find itself in the position it did in the Finals against the Golden State Warriors yet again?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “A-List” podcast recently talked it over.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say about the East’s top seed and who needs it more.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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CFP Rankings Projection: All four semifinalists should be easy selections

The question isn’t who is 1-4, but instead which order should those four appear?

Ladies and gentlemen, let me make something perfectly clear to you.

There is no debate. There is no drama. There is no on the fence regarding the College Football Playoff on Saturday night. None whatsoever, regardless of what a certain head coach wants you to think during halftime of the Big Ten championship game Saturday night.

In the history of the College Football Playoff, I have trouble remembering a year where the four selections were as obvious as they are in 2022. Outside of Georgia and Michigan, there are no perfect candidates to fill out the four playoff spots but there are two that are clearly the most deserving.

Here is our projection of the top 10 in Sunday’s College Football Playoff rankings:

Twitter reacts to Auburn being a No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament

Here were some of the top reactions.

Despite their disappointing performance in the SEC Tournament Auburn is set to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers will be in the Midwest Region with No. 1 seed Kansas.

Auburn is set to face in-state Jacksonville State (21-10) in their first-round game on Friday in Greenville, South Carolina.

Auburn spent most of the season as a potential 1 seed but stumbled during the final weeks of the season, going 3-3 in their last six games. They finished 27-5 overall and were the outright champions of the regular season.

While their struggles are real, Auburn still has one of the best duos in the country with Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler. Also, when their guards are hot the Tigers are capable of beating anyone in the country and can make a deep run in the tournament.

Here is how Twitter reacted to their seeding.

ACC basketball tournament seedings as of today

Could it get any better for the Irish than this?

We’re quickly approaching the end of college basketball’s regular season which means conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament are just around the corner.

In what has been an epic turnaround for Notre Dame under Mike Brey, the Fighting Irish are within shouting distance of winning an ACC regular season title.  Now that would likely requiring winning their final three contests of the regular season (vs. Georgia Tech, at Florida State, vs. Pitt) and would mean Duke has to lose one of their remaining three as well, all of which the Blue Devils will likely be heavy favorites in (at Syracuse, at Pitt, vs. North Carolina).

It would require work and a little help for the Irish to pull it off but hey, stranger things have happened.

As for where Notre Dame sits in the conference standings, the two-seed certainly wouldn’t be all that bad.  Entering the weekend the ACC Tournament would look as follows:

Getting on the other side of the bracket than Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest and only having to to play one of Miami or Virginia would be about as good as Notre Dame could possibly ask for.  It certainly wouldn’t be a free path to the final but it would be as good of situation as Notre Dame could hope for.

The ACC schedule this weekend is as follows:

North Carolina at North Carolina State – 2 p.m. ET
Virginia Tech at Miami – 3 p.m. ET
Clemson at Boston College – 3 p.m. ET
Florida State at Virginia – 4 p.m. ET
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame – 5 p.m. ET
Duke at Syracuse – 6 p.m. ET
Louisville at Wake Forest – 7 p.m. ET

 

Tiger Bracketology: How LSU stacks up after the loss to Alabama

Looking at LSU’s bracketology resume

LSU lost a tough one in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night. They showed fight, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an offense that sputtered for most of the night.

It was the second loss in a row for the Tigers and dropped LSU to just 3-3 in SEC play and 15-3 on the year.

It was a loss, but it was a respectable one. Despite not being ranked, Alabama is a good team, one that probably should be ranked. In addition, LSU remained without Xavier Pinson and lost Darius Days early in the night with a sprained ankle.

A week ago, LSU was firmly in contention as a one seed. After the back-to-back losses, they aren’t there anymore but they aren’t entirely out of it. LSU now sits at No. 9 in the NET rankings, just one spot below their previous ranking. ESPN has them No. 8 in the strength of record.

Those are encouraging numbers that would suggest if the tournament started tomorrow, LSU would still have a pretty good shot at a number two seed. Certainly, they’d be no lower than fourth.

The first few weeks of conference play have gone a long way to helping LSU’s strength of schedule. The Tigers are No. 21 in KenPom’s SOS and No. 18 in ESPN’s.

One of the most important factors helping to determine the NET rankings is which quadrant wins come in. LSU is currently 4-2 against quad one opponents. A win on the road against Alabama would have made that 5-1.

In quad two, LSU is 4-1. That lone quad two-loss came at the hands of Arkansas on Jan. 15th.

A combined 8-3 record against quad one and two is a strong record. Due to the 8-1 start, LSU could afford the losses to Arkansas and Alabama without it causing any real long-term damage.

LSU will have another opportunity to add to the quad one category in Knoxville on Saturday. It’s still not clear whether LSU will have Pinson or Days available. If not, it could be another rough day for the LSU offense.

The good news is that if it comes down to it, the selection committee may take into account that LSU was without Pinson for this stretch of games. Especially if he comes back and seems to make a large difference in LSU’s offense.

After Tennessee, LSU’s schedule becomes a world easier. The Tigers won’t face a top 40 team again until Kentucky on February 23rd.

Easier opponents mean an opportunity to get healthy, regroup, and figure out the offense. The flip side to that is if LSU loses any of those games against lesser opponents, it shows up as a bad loss on the resume. A win against Tennessee would go a long way to giving LSU some room for error down the stretch.

Saints eliminated from playoff contention after Rams lose to 49ers

The Saints left with a win against Atlanta, but got no help from the Rams, whose loss to the 49ers eliminated them from playoff contention:

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Well that’s disappointing. The New Orleans Saints took care of their business against the Atlanta Falcons, beating their little-brother rivals by a couple of scores (a 30-20 victory, to be clear), but they didn’t get any help from the drama queens out west.

It wasn’t enough to crush the Falcons. The Saints needed a Los Angeles Rams win over the San Francisco 49ers to qualify for the playoffs. And L.A. responded by blowing a 17-point lead and allowing the 49ers to take them to overtime. Matthew Stafford sealed it with an interception in their 27-24 loss.

You know, it was kind of on-brand for the Saints this year. They did enough to win and still lost due to factors outside their control — injuries, COVID-19 outbreaks, and another team’s shortcomings in tiebreaking procedures.

We don’t know for sure yet where the Saints will pick in the 2022 NFL draft (it could be as high as 16th, depending on which teams qualify for the AFC bracket). But that’s obviously not as pressing a concern. The fact that the Saints were able to end their season with a winning record and a comfortable victory over their oldest rival is impressive in its own right. Let’s see where they go next.

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