BRACKETOLOGY '08: ROUND 1

During March, much maligned March with its Ides, and with its brackets, I spend as much of my online time here, as I do here. When the courts are full nationwide, and the units begin to distinguish themselves through performance, bracketology of all kinds appeals!

The season-ending brackets for basketball will be determined well before they will be in color guard, so let's get a sneak peek at what's been going on tarp-top in the first five weekends of competition.

Round 1 today is all-inclusive, it divides guards into their natural scholastic and independent ranks so every unit has a chance at the spotlight. (You know, of course, that I will toss all of that aside when the Floor of 64 is revealed at month's end, then later with the Field&Floor Top 32, Sweet 16, Elite 8, and Final 4 the week following championships in Dayton.)

The seeding process here more closely resembles Mr. Lunardi's process on ESPN.com than in year's past, but again, it will give us a broader view of the year in competition, of the competitors themselves, and where, today -- Super Tuesday2, or as Keith Olbermann dubbed it last night: VOTR night, Vermont, Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island -- they stand. There are the five seeded levels, then Bubble units, units that have work to do to move up, and finally, the Last-In's, units that right now look to have finalist positions, but that could move up or down.

METHODOLOGY: The current top score for each unit has their 2007 Field&Floor placements added. For example, if a unit appeared on last year's Floor of 64 they receive 1 additional point. Then, if they showed up on the Top 32, they receive another point. Two points are added if they survived to the Sweet 16, 3 points for Elite 8 finishers, 4 points for each Final 4 unit, and 5 points for Field&Floor's 2007 Color Guard of the Year, Avon High School.

Tied for activity-wide top seeds: Avon High School and Fantasia, each with a more than two-point spread over the next highest units.

Congratulations on a half-season well played! The Floor of 64, those groups that, from this view, will have the best chance for success in Dayton and then right back here the week after, will be coming your way, Friday, April 4.

SCHOLASTIC BRACKETS
(All are high schools)

#1 SEEDS = 1-3 spots: Avon, Chino, Flanagan, Flower Mound, Northmont, Odessa
#2 SEEDS = 4-6 spots: Americas, Center Grove, Choctawhatchee, LaPorte, Marian Catholic, (TIE) Mt. Carmel/Wakefield
#3 SEEDS = 7-9 spots: Arcadia, Carmel, Collins Hill, Maconaquah, Pope, South Brunswick
#4 SEEDS = 10-12 spots: Cheshire, Crestview, Lassiter, Miamisburg, Oak Ridge, West Orange
#5 SEEDS = 13-15 spots: Colonial, Hinsdale Central, Lake Central, Mission Viejo, Rancho Bernardo, Shenendehowa
BUBBLE spots: Denham Springs, Kickapoo, Laurens Central, Northview, South Hills, Warren Central
WORK TO DO:  Beyer, King Philip Regional, Lake Park, Newton, Trumbull, West Carteret
LAST IN: Diamond Bar, Greater Johnston, Homestead, Oak Grove, Riverbank, Stoneman Douglas

INDEPENDENT BRACKETS

#1 SEEDS = 1-3 spots: Alter Ego, Capella, Black Gold, Fantasia, Pride of Cincinnati, River City
#2 SEEDS = 4-6 spots: The Academy, Bethel, Blessed Sacrament, Diamante, Interplay, Northeast Independent
#3 SEEDS = 7-9 spots: Ars Nova (A), Northgate, Onyx, Salem Blue, University of Alabama Alta Marea, Zydeco
#4 SEEDS = 10-12 spots: Ars Nova (O), The Cast, Corona, Eclipse, Fahrenheit (A), Santa Clara Vanguard
#5 SEEDS = 13-15 spots: Code Black, Juxtaposition, Phantom Regiment, Usurpation, Ventures, Wakefield
BUBBLE spots: Black Watch, Cascades, Fahrenheit (W), Pride of Missouri State, Top Hats, University of Louisiana
WORK TO DO:  Braddock, Etude, First Flight, Langham Springs, Sacred Heart, St. Ann's
LAST IN: Croatan, Emanon, In Motion, Mark of NSA, Patriots, Pride of the Netherlands

Alright, alright, and yes I do know: this is only halfway into the season, there have been no Power Regionals yet, and the judges are just getting their seats warm. These lists are worth the paper they are printed on. In that vein ... here are your BRACKET BUSTERS! Watch your back, groups above, for: Centerville HS, Cooper City HS, Dobyns-Bennett HS, Independence Open, Lealta, Lincoln-Way HS, Premonition, Rancho Cucamonga HS, Sarajevo, Signature, Sonnor, Valencia HS

See you at the Midwest Power Regional; I'll be reporting the results at wgi.org.