Bracketology: Purdue, Virginia strengthen No. 1 seed positions

After surviving a game-worthy bunch of Michigan Wolverines on Thursday, the Purdue Boilermakers have only two games remaining against currently-projected NCAA teams: Ohio State at home, Michigan State on the road.  At this point, a split would do nothing to change Purdue’s trajectory as a potential No. 1 seed.  Which means, unless the Boilers trip a couple of times on their way in, a top seed is likely their’s for the taking.

Bracketology    |    Seed List

The same holds true for Virginia, who pulled away from Clemson this week. The Cavaliers, much like Purdue, benefit from an uneven league schedule.  They only play North Carolina and Duke once, and they’ve already beaten the Tar Heels.  Their game with Duke is Saturday.  And while the result matters, of course, UVA is blessed with a two-game lead.  Looking ahead, the ACC is vastly superior to the Big Ten, so it’s not like trips through Florida State, Miami-FL, or Louisville will be easy.  But the Cavaliers’ defense has been dominant enough to think they’ll still have the inside track to an ACC title regardless of Sunday’s outcome.  If Virginia beats Duke, the race could be over.

Advertisements

Quick Takes: Kansas offers a Big 12 reminder

About those 13 straight Big 12 titles: Kansas isn’t conceding No. 14.  Down double-digits at halftime in Morgantown, the Jayhawks rallied to beat West Virginia, and in the process, remind us that the road to a Big 12 title still runs through Lawrence.  There’s this, too: while he played limited minutes, Silvio De Sousa made his Jayhawks’ debut, adding a much-needed body to a thin front line.  As a whole, the Big 12 is as good as its ever been, so one win doesn’t guarantee anything.  But if you had decided, “this was the year,” for Kansas to relinquish its crown, let’s hope you wrote it in pencil.

Other Quick Takes from Monday:

Quick Takes: Early sunshine in the Sun Belt

Early in the afternoon on Monday, the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana upended Iowa at the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic.  Beyond the outcome itself, the victory was another early ray of sunshine for the Sun Belt Conference.  Just over a week into the season, Louisiana has its win over Iowa, UT-Arlington has a win at BYU, and Georgia-Southern has a win at Wake Forest and another over Missouri State, a favorite in the Missouri Valley.  How these early successes end up impacting future resumes remains to be seen, of course.  But it’s worth a mention, regardless.

Other Quick Takes from Monday’s action:

Quick Takes: Five tasty weekend matchups

Between Thursday and Friday, three eleven seeds won.  We also had the usual 12 over 5-seed.  And yet, the first two days of the 2017 NCAA tournament feel rather chalky.  Maybe that’s because the twelve seed, Middle Tennessee State, was actually favored to win its matchup with Minnesota.  Also, were we surprised to see Xavier beat Maryland? Or Rhode Island trip up a less-than-healthy Creighton?  If there was a surprise, it’s USC.  The Trojans rallied from double-digit deficits twice, beating Providence in the First Four, and then SMU on Friday.

While the results might leave us a little hungry, the Round of 32 looks might tasty. My Quick Takes on the weekend’s top five matchups …

Gonzaga vs. Northwestern – We could rename this game: Ultimate Underdog vs. New Kids on the Block.  While Gonzaga is respected for its consistent excellence, the Bulldogs have never reached a Final Four and remain many people’s pick as first No. 1 seed to lose.  Thus, the pressure is squarely on the Zags, who struggled to score against South Dakota State (shooting 39 percent overall and 27 percent from 3).  The good news: Gonzaga no longer relies on its offense to carry the day.  Flipping the page, Northwestern might be the feel good story of the year. They survived a late rally by Vanderbilt to win their first-ever NCAA tournament game in their first-ever appearance. And who doesn’t enjoy those sidelines shots of Doug Collins and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, right?

Quick Takes: Monmouth captures MAAC title

In the spirit of March, congratulations to the Monmouth Hawks, the first NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball team to clinch a regular-season conference title (MAAC).  By do so, the Hawks guarantee themselves a post-season berth. They narrowly missed the NCAA tournament last year as an at-large team. Motivation will be high at the MAAC tournament with another Dance card at stake.

Quick Takes from Thursday:

• Michigan grabbed a critical home win against Wisconsin.  The Wolverines close with 4 of 5 on the road, where they’ve managed a 1-6 record.
• Wisconsin likely needs to find wins over Maryland and Purdue down the stretch (including B10 tourney) to secure a Top 5 seed.  Otherwise, the Badgers’ top-end profile could relegate them to a slightly lesser seed on Selection Sunday.
• Smooth night out West as Gonzaga, Oregon, and Arizona all roll to wins.

Seed List update: St. Bonaventure, VCU slide into Field

For different reasons, St. Bonaventure and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) join the Field of 68 in today’s Seed List update.  In the case of VCU, the Rams own the Atlantic 10 lead and thus have a reserved spot as an automatic qualifier (AQ).  As for the Bonnies, their win at Saint Joseph’s moved them ahead of Tulsa.  Alabama falls out following its home loss to Arkansas.  It’s worth noting that Tulsa was actually bumped by VCU regaining the AQ, as it took one at-large spot away.  It’s a good illustration of how the process works during Championship Week.

Seed List

Joining St. Bonaventure in the First Four: Butler, Cincinnati, and Michigan.  The four just above them (final byes) are Vanderbilt, USC, Oregon State, Connecticut.  The margin (if any) between these eight is very small.  It remains true: teams from the 7-line on down still have work to do to reach a safety zone.

The SEC tournament figures to be huge for Vanderbilt, Alabama, Florida, and LSU.  It’s unlikely that more than two from that group will make the final bracket.  On a similar note, the Atlantic 10 tourney could prove decisive for St. Bonaventure, VCU, George Washington, and even Saint Joseph’s.  Without a “bad” loss on their resume, the Hawks are in overall better shape, but if they were to lose to Duquesne and also their first A10 tourney game, it could get a little more interesting. We’ll see.

 

Bracket Bits: Resume games this week

After another busy weekend of college hoops, here’s a quick peek at the upcoming week’s (Monday – Thursday) notable “resume” games …

Oklahoma vs. Villanova  – Pearl Harbor, Honolulu |  Both teams are in line for a high seed come March.  The winner will have an extra notch on its seed line belt.

West Virginia vs. Virginia – Jimmy V Classic, New York  |  This is the type of non-conference victory that pays dividends.  As for Virginia, the Cavaliers would love to ease an early loss at Geo Washington by stamping a marquee win on its pre-ACC resume.

Maryland vs. Connecticut – Jimmy V Classic, New York  |  After dropping close games to Syracuse and Gonzaga at the Battle 4 Atlantis, a win here would put some beef on the Huskies’ non-league slate.