QT: Wild Saturday, Sunday’s Bracket Impact Games

Another tumultuous Saturday in college hoops.  Desperate for more victories, West Virginia and Wisconsin both lost a home.  Kentucky may have punched its ticket by sweeping Tennessee.  Clemson dropped a can’t-lose game at Louisville, a third Quad 4 loss. Utah State rallied and put away a critical home game against Nevada.  Illinois stumbled late at Indiana and missed a golden opportunity to firm up its seeding potential.

The list could go on-an-on …

Oh, and the Selection Committee revealed its initial Top 16, with Kansas fourth (beyond Purdue and Houston) despite having 12 (now 13) Quad 1 victories.  Things that make you go, hmm.  Purdue hosts fading Ohio State today and closes with three of four at home; the Boilermakers lone road trip is to Wisconsin.

Ahead to Sunday’s Bracket Impact Games:

North Carolina at NC State – If North Carolina is going to make a late push, it starts today in Raleigh.  NC State’s bracket status is okay this morning, but a late slide would not be advised.

QT: Rutgers protects the RAC; Some bad Ls

Rutgers held Indiana to 48 points, had guard Paul Mulcahy return from injury, and protected its home court on Saturday, beating IU for the sixth straight time.  Another reminder that Rutgers is a tough out at the RAC and road victories are hard to find.  From a resume perspective, it was the Scarlett Knights’ best victory of the season – by far.  Early losses include Temple and Miami.  Next up: a trip to Ohio State, the team’s lone remaining true road game before a visit to West Lafayette on January 2.

Three days after a rather surprising home loss to Wake Forest, Wisconsin upended Marquette on its own home floor Saturday.  Close games (and overtimes) seem to be an early mantra for the Badgers.  College basketball is nothing if not unpredictable.  In a three-day span – on the same floor – Marquette rolled Baylor and lost to its rival from Madison.  

Additional Quick Takes:

• A few teams absorbed what could be labeled “bad” (and surprising) losses on Saturday: Nevada (at Loyola-Marymount), Colorado State (Northern Colorado), Davidson (at Delaware), BYU (South Dakota)
• Texas AM is floundering.  The Aggies lost by double-digit at home to Boise State on Saturday.  They have also lost games to Murray State and Colorado.  AM’s best win: DePaul.  Time to get things figured out or it’s going to be a long season.
• Cam Whitmore made his debut for Villanova and the Wildcats knocked off Oklahoma.  We’ll see where this leads for both teams.
• In its last three games, Notre Dame has managed an interesting trifecta: losses to St. Bonaventure and Syracuse – and an 18-point home victory over Michigan State.
• Charleston moved to 8-1 (lone loss is at UNC).  The Cougars could well be 12-1 heading into an early Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) showdown at Towson on New Year’s Eve.

Seed List: Wisconsin moves to top line

The Wisconsin Badgers keep on winning and piling up resume-building wins.  The Badgers currently own 10 victories against Quadrants 1/2 of the NCAA’s NET ratings.  That’s the most of any team in the country.  They also co-lead the Big Ten and have played one of the strongest schedules in the nation.  As a result, Wisconsin moves into the No. 4 slot on the Seed List in our latest update.

Seed List

As conference play moves forward, we’ll continue learning more about teams whose non-conference slates were less than rigorous.  Also, keep an eye on leagues like the Mountain West and West Coast Conference.  Gonzaga may still run away with the WCC, but a lot remains at stake for squads from BYU, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s.

Bracketology: Auburn, Wisconsin move up

Fresh of a road win at Alabama – coupled with Baylor’s home loss to Texas Tech – the Auburn Tigers begin the weekend as the No. 1 overall seed in our latest bracket projection.  The Tigers’ resume features a 9-1 mark against Quadrants 1-2 of the NET ratings, combined with top billing in the Strength of Record (SOR) metric.  They are also 4-0 on the road.  Auburn’s lone loss came in overtime to Connecticut without Allen Flannigan, who averaged 14.3 points per game a year ago.   He’s working his way back into the rotation.

Bracketology
Seed List

By mileage, Chicago (Midwest) would be Auburn’s closest regional destination.  But the difference between a trip to the Windy City and Philadelphia (East) is minimal, giving the Committee (and Auburn) some flexibility in terms of regional routing.  Since no other eastern-based teams were in the No. 1 seed discussion this morning, Auburn goes East – allowing Arizona to grab the final No. 1 spot in Chicago.

Quick Takes: Wisconsin completes huge rally

Down more than 20 points in the first half and by a 42-25 margin at halftime, Wisconsin completed a monumental rally to beat Indiana at the Kohl Center.  The Badgers outscored the Hoosiers 39-17 in the final 20 minutes.  Energizing victory for the hosts.  A challenging loss for the guests.  To date, Indiana’s resume presents us with a two-point victory over St. John’s, along with losses to Syracuse and Wisconsin.  The Hoosiers get Notre Dame at the Crossroads Classic. The rest of their slate is a tray of Holiday treats until a visit to Penn State on January 2.  Overall, it’s been a rather mundane start for the Hoosiers – at least in terms of results.