1 Seeds:
Auburn (2-0), Duke (2-0), Houston (2-0), Tennessee (2-0)
2 Seeds:
Florida (1-1), Michigan State (2-0), St. Johns (2-0), Alabama (1-1)
Finally! A shake-up in the top four seeds. Florida lost an easily winnable game against Georgia, moving them down to a two seed. Tennessee’s buzzer-beater against Alabama moves them up to the one seed line. Otherwise, Auburn, Duke, Houston, Michigan State, and St. John’s had great weeks. The field is starting to get finalized, so expect little movement from here on out.
3 Seeds:
Texas Tech (1-1), Wisconsin (1-1), Iowa State (1-1), Michigan (1-1)
4 Seeds:
Maryland (1-1), Clemson (2-0), Texas A&M (0-2), Purdue (1-0)
The three seed line had little movement, with all four projected teams going 1-1 with no real outliers. Michigan’s buzzer beater against Maryland moves them up even though they lost to Illinois. Clemson is hot, while Texas A&M is in freefall. Purdue finally stopped their skid, notching a solid win against UCLA. If there is any volatility from this grouping going forward, it’ll be from the conference tournaments that start next week.
5 Seeds:
Kentucky (1-1), Mizzou (1-1), Marquette (2-0), St. Marys (2-0)
6 Seeds:
Arizona (1-1), Louisville (2-0), Kansas (1-1), Oregon (1-0)
Kentucky and Mizzou are really proving to the world that the SEC loves going .500 in conference play. This weekend’s match up between the two will put the winner on the four seed line more likely than not. Marquette, St. Mary’s, and Louisville all beat teams they should have beaten, resulting in little movement. Kansas has two more games left against two of the better teams in the Big 12. If they can’t win at least one of those games, expect them to drop even more than they already have. Fire Self? (I’m joking, of course. Kansas Reddit might not be, though).
7 Seeds:
Vanderbilt (2-0), Gonzaga (2-0), UCLA (0-1), Miss State (1-1)
8 Seeds:
BYU (2-0), VCU (2-0), Ole Miss (1-1), Illinois (2-0)
Did you know that Gonzaga is 8th in the NET? I didn’t until today. I will keep them this low based on the empirical evidence, but don’t be surprised if they get a much higher seed than they deserve. Vanderbilt is solidly off the bubble now, thanks to two wins against much better SEC teams. BYU continues to rack up wins, also pushing themselves off the bubble. Illinois appears to be finally healthy and could be poised for a run, pending their draw in the tournament, of course. VCU continues to be the best mid-major team not in the WCC. If George Mason upsets them in the A10 tournament, expect a controversial outcome for the Rams come Selection Sunday.
9 Seeds:
Creighton (1-1), Memphis (2-0), Uconn (2-0), New Mexico (1-1)
10 Seeds:
Xavier (1-0), San Diego State (2-0), Georgia (2-0), Arkansas (1-1)
Creighton continues to disappoint in the Big East, while Xavier has slowly climbed the standings to have them in a good place on the bubble. New Mexico and San Diego State are looking to be the best two Mountain West teams, but there isn’t much separation between them and the other two. Coach Cal is teetering on the bubble, thanks to a disastrous loss to South Carolina. If Arkansas hopes to make the tournament, they need to win at least one of their final two games. Georgia is the big riser this week, going from just outside the bubble to a ten seed. Beating the 3rd best team in the country can do that to you.
11 Seeds:
Baylor (1-1), Ohio State (1-0), West Virginia (1-1), Utah State (0-2), Boise State (2-0), Indiana (2-0)
Baylor and West Virginia are both on the edge of the bubble and can’t string together enough wins to get off the bubble. Utah State and Boise State are both good teams that find themselves in the mess of the top of the Mountain West. No matter how it shakes out, I expect the Mountain West to get at least 3 tournament teams. Indiana finds themselves as a last four in thanks to some epic collapses from last week’s bubble teams.
12 Seeds:
UC San Diego (2-0), Drake (2-0), Yale (1-1), McNeese (2-0)
13 Seeds:
Akron (2-0), High Point (1-0), GCU (2-0), Liberty (1-1)
14 Seeds:
Arkansas State (2-0), Lipscomb (2-0), St. Thomas (MN) (2-0), Samford (1-1)
15 Seeds:
Towson (2-0), Robert Morris (2-0), Bryant (2-0), Central Conn State (2-0)
16 Seeds:
Northern Colorado (2-0), Quinnipiac (1-1), Norfolk State (1-0), SEMO (1-1), Southern U (1-1), Bucknell (1-1)
Again, minor changes here. St. Thomas in for South Dakota State after a weak week from the Jackrabbits. Omaha could also win the Summit, but for now, I will stick with the Tommies for their name alone. Northern Colorado replaces Montana in the Big Sky as well. This week is when the smaller basketball conference tournaments start. Expect our first tournament locks by the next bracket I write.
First 4 out:
North Carolina (2-0), Texas (0-2), Nebraska (0-2), Wake Forest (1-1)
Next 4 out:
North Texas (1-0), SMU (1-1), Oklahoma (0-2), Villanova (2-0)
Texas, Nebraska, Wake Forest, and Oklahoma all had terrible weeks, pushing them all off the bubble for now. Villanova and SMU both hold on by a thread. North Texas continues to impress but won’t have a chance to prove itself unless they face Memphis in their conference tournament. Like I’ve said before, North Carolina will live just off the bubble unless they can upset Duke in their last game of the season.
Want more Walk On Fan?
Check out our bracket update from last week or our Jack Janicki discussion.
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