Latest bracket: Miami moves to No. 1 in the East
Healthy and playing some sugar-sweet basketball, the Miami Hurricanes are the latest team to grab a No. 1 seed in our bracket. Miami sits atop the East Region. Despite a last-second loss at Illinois, Indiana remains the No. 1 overall seed thanks to an impressive road win at Ohio State on Sunday. Michigan and Duke are the other top seeds. Based on recent history, however, the race for the top line is far from over. Arizona, Florida, Gonzaga, and Michigan State are in the mix, too. And it’s not too late for Syracuse to move back up. Then there’s Kansas, which put together an impressive bounce-back against rival Kansas State on Monday.
February 12 Bracket Projection
Bracket rules what they are, there are a few quirks in this edition – such as potential third-round rematches between Illinois and Gonzaga and Kentucky and Duke. While the Selection Committee tries to avoid such rematches in the first two/three rounds, it’s not a hard-and-fast rule. In these cases, other conflicts created the rematch scenarios. In fact, Illinois is one a few teams that moved a seed line to avoid bracket conflicts. A true nine seed (s-curve No. 36), the Illini couldn’t be placed in the top half of any region because of other Big Ten opponents. Such moves are not uncommon.
As for the bottom of the bracket – or the bubble – Baylor, Temple, La Salle, Saint Mary’s, and St. John’s are the last five teams in today. One could make a case for a handful of others. Virginia is a particularly challenging case and is the first team out. The Cavaliers are 6-0 vs. Top 100 RPI teams – including a win at Wisconsin. But they also have several troubling losses – none more than Old Dominion at home. UVA also has a very weak non-conference strength of schedule. It’s hard to be confident in the Cavaliers’ profile given the above scenario.
We have a long way to go. Other teams knocking on the door? Villanova, Arizona State, Massachusetts, Boise State, and Stanford. And that might change by midweek. It’s been one of those seasons. Enjoy another great week of hoops.
Miami has been vastly underrated for most of the season. Charlotte was 11 and 0 going into Coral Gables and they dismantled us. I think they have the ability to go all the way due to their size, number of upper vlassmen, and coaching. Laranega is great. Do you think they are a championship caliber team? -Ben