Seton Hall, West Virginia among biggest movers in January 9 bracket
Another week closer to Selection Sunday, and Seton Hall and West Virginia are the week’s biggest movers. Michigan State and Indiana also climb, anchoring 2-seeds in the East (Indiana) and Midwest (Michigan State). Our No. 1 seeds remain the same: Syracuse, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Ohio State. Baylor would be next in line.
Bracket Projection - January 9
Power 24 – January 9
Schedule of Key Games
The bracket is still very fluid. And there’s a very fine line between the final few teams selected, and those among the first teams out. One of the biggest factors used this week was non-conference strength-of-schedule and overall strength-of-schedule. Those number can play a key role among those final teams. So if you’re wondering why a team like Cincinnati remains out – besides a lack of quality wins – look no further than a non-conference SOS that ranks No. 317 – among the bottom 25 in college hoops. Other teams with that issue include Oregon State (No. 325) and Wyoming (No. 318). We’ll have more on that later during an Inside the Bracket column.
We’ll also talk more about the Pac-12, which retains three teams this week, but none higher than a 10-seed: Stanford. Arizona is among our Last 5 teams in. Could those teams win a game or two? Absolutely. Washington is very talented, too But the Huskies have to make the Field of 68 first.
The Big Ten remains the conference leader (No. 1 in the RPI) and has eight teams in the bracket today. Minnesota (now 0-4 in the Big 10) drops out; and Northwestern is just one line on the s-curve above the play-in games in Dayton. That’s largely due to an early win over Seton Hall and no bad losses. That said, the Wildcats will not make the NCAAs if they continue to lose home games.
Enjoy the latest bracket. More to come this week.




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