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QT: Maui and Mississippi State
Creighton and San Diego State posted key wins at the Maui Invitational on Monday. The Bluejays passed their first test of the season against Texas Tech. The Aztecs took down Ohio State, adding the Buckeyes to an early victory list that includes BYU and Stanford. Today: Creighton squares off against Arkansas; SDSU gets Arizona.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech is now in an unenviable spot. By losing to Creighton, the Red Raiders face Louisville and the winner of Cincinnati-Ohio State on Wednesday. If it’s UC, TTU could end up facing two team with losing records.
Mississippi State, the final at-large team selection in Monday’s (way too early) bracket projection, edged Marquette to move to 5-0 on the season. MSU’s other notable win came against Akron in Philadelphia; the Zips throttled Western Kentucky Monday in Grand Cayman. The Bulldogs could well be 10-0 before their schedule picks up. Read more…
Bracketology: Gonzaga, Baylor against the Field
We are a month away from Selection Sunday, and as we sit today, it’s Gonzaga and Baylor against the Field of 68. The Zags and Bears remain perfect and are about as locked-in as the top two overall seeds as two teams can be. This morning, Michigan and Ohio State continue to occupy the other two slots along the top line. It will be interesting to see how the Selection Committee handles a team like the Wolverines, who have just one blemish and lead the Big Ten, but who haven’t played for two weeks. The Committee’s initial Top 16 seeds are revealed today.
Elsewhere, many eyes will be on the Missouri Valley as Drake and Loyola-Chicago lock horns for a back-to-back set this weekend in Des Moines. In a weird way, it would help the MVC if the teams split those games. The bubble is as fluid as ever; we’ll start taking a closer look there after what figures to be a critical weekend for many teams.
Bracketology: Ohio State moves to top line
With its nation-leading eight Quadrant 1 wins, including four in the upper tier of that grouping, Ohio State moves to the top line in this morning’s bracket update. Within the rugged Big Ten, the Buckeyes own road wins at Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. The other three teams on the No. 1 seed line remain in place – Gonzaga, Baylor and Michigan. Alabama is now next in line.
The bubble extends into the nine-seed line, and there are an array of questionable profiles. The variations between them are minimal and it depends on how you dice them apart. Enjoy a busy Saturday of college hoops and the Super Bowl.
Seed List: Ohio State vaults to No. 1
Anyway you slice it, Ohio State has been impressive. Unblemished at 9-0, the Buckeyes are riding a two-game high that includes a 25-point road win at North Carolina and a 32-point home win over Penn State. Couple those with a 25-point victory over Villanova and a season-opening win over Cincinnati, and it’s easy to vault OSU into the pole position on the Seed List.
Next is Kansas, which has been impressive, too, since its turnover-laden opening night loss to Duke. Louisville falls to third after dropping its first game – which vaulted Texas Tech back up the Seed List a bit. Gonzaga, fresh off a strong road win at Washington, grabs the final top-line position.
After a relatively quiet week, hoops revs up again this weekend. It’s hard to believe we’re quickly approaching 2020.
Bracketology: Cards, Buckeyes lead at opening turn
At the quarter-turn of our race to Selection Sunday, the Louisville Cardinals lead Ohio State by a nose for the No. 1 overall seed. Close behind are Michigan, Kansas, Gonzaga and Maryland. The Buckeyes and Wolverines are the surprise entries among that group, although both have earned their positions with impressive performances out of the gate.
While the first turn provides a quick glance at the Field, we still have three-quarters of the race to run – including a daunting backstretch and the turn for home known as conference play. Those grueling furlongs tend to separate the pretenders and contenders.
Early brackets are notoriously fluid; margins between teams are thin. Early projections also tend to produce some quirkiness – especially related to conference balance. Keep those things in mind. By next month we could see a lot of changes.
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