Archive
Bracketology: Battles brewing throughout the Field
We are less than a month from Selection Sunday. Battles are brewing throughout the Field. While Alabama, Kansas, Purdue and Houston retain No. 1 seeds this morning, several other contenders remain in the mix: UCLA, Texas and Baylor among them. It’s also too early to eliminate Arizona or Tennessee.
Battles are also brewing along several seed position junctures, including coveted spots among protected three and four seeds. Bubble teams continue to percolate. A trio a Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams are among the final byes and First Four participants.
A couple of reminders:
1) Every year more more teams tend to play their way out of contention rather than in;
2) We are likely to lose a couple of bracket positions due to upsets in conference tournaments. It’s plausible that someone other than Virginia, Miami, Duke, Pittsburgh or NC State will win the Atlantic Coast Conference tourney. It’s also plausible that Florida Atlantic could win its remaining games but lose in the Conference USA final to a solid North Texas or UAB team. How would the Committee view an Oral Roberts team that keeps rolling but loses a close game in the Summit League finale?
If your favorite team is currently seeded as a seven seed or lower, there’s work to finish. Yes, that includes teams like Duke, Illinois, Rutgers, Auburn, Arkansas and Pittsburgh. Simply trying to slide to the finish line can sometimes be costly. Buckle up!
Kansas rejoins No. 1 seeds + BIGs
After a brief, three-game blip, Kansas has regained its traction and rejoined the No. 1 seed line. With a month to go – and numerous Quad 1 opportunities still ahead – there’s little ceiling for the Jayhawks on Selection Sunday. Purdue remains No. 1 overall and will stay there regardless of its outcome this weekend at Indiana.
It’s been a wild week along the bubble and Thursday’s results will go a long way toward finalizing the First Four and Next Four Out when a fresh bracket arrives Friday morning.
Thursday’s Bracket Impact Games (BIGs): Read more…
Bracketology: Purdue leads Field of 68 into home stretch
Combined with Alabama’s loss at Oklahoma, Purdue’s victory over Michigan State on Sunday firmly entrenches the Boilermakers as the No. 1 overall seed entering the home stretch toward Selection Sunday. It also creates a rather nifty routing through Columbus and Louisville.
Alabama stays put at No. 2 overall, followed by Arizona and Tennessee, which helped its case Saturday night by taking care of Texas in Knoxville. Kansas’ victory at Kentucky moves KU back into the No. 5 seed list position, with Houston next in line.
The bubble continues to percolate, and that scenario us unlikely to change. As March approaches it’s worth this reminder: one or two at-large positions will likely disappear as conference tournaments unfold.
Bracketology: Arizona, Tennessee join No. 1 seeds
With some immense battles ahead this weekend during the Big 12/SEC challenge, Arizona and Tennessee join Purdue and Alabama as No. 1 seeds in today’s bracket update. Both Purdue and Alabama are firmly entrenched and a loss would not alter either’s positioning. The current race for the Boilermakers and Crimson Tide is the right to lead the South Region in Louisville.
Arizona claims its spot due do its impressive 5-0 record against the upper tier of Quad 1 (Quad 1A). Those wins include: UCLA, Tennessee, Indiana and San Diego State. Tennessee has more work to do to hold its position, although the Volunteers’ metrics are impressive, including No.2 ratings in the NET and predictive metrics. They get a huge opportunity to impress (or disappoint) when Texas arrives on Saturday.
A tight race is underway in the Big 12. It’s a rare occurrence, but today’s bracket features five Big 12 teams among the four seed lines. Thus, you will see more than one Big 12 team in a region within those parameters. This would be an authorized exception to bracketing principles of separating teams from the same conference among the top four seeds.
Bracketology: Purdue back at No. 1 overall
It turned out to be good week for Purdue. The Boilermakers escaped East Lansing on a last-second bucket, pounded Minnesota as expected and watched Kansas fall by two points at Kansas State. That trifecta pushed the Boilermakers back into the No. 1 overall seed list position, routing them through Columbus and Louisville in the South Region.
Kansas hosts TCU this weekend with a chance to solidify its position at No. 2 overall. Alabama is firmly entrenched at No. 3 and can only move up. Houston holds at No. 4, leading the West Region. Next in line is UCLA, which took down Arizona State in Tempe on Thursday night. If the Bruins also collect a road win at Arizona on Saturday, the West Region will be a close call on Monday.
Bracketville 
Comments