Bracket Notes:
- What a weekend we had across College Basketball. A weekend that saw 10 of 32 conference leaders lose. A weekend that saw the maximum of three #1 seeds losing, due to two of them facing each other. Maryland also lost, and knocked themselves out of the opportunity to get onto the top line. The new #1 overall spot belongs to the Kansas Jayhawks after the major payback win in Waco over Baylor.
The comparison between the two resumes (KU and Baylor) is close. Baylor has the slightly better record, but Kansas has the 11 wins over the field compared to eight for the Bears and the much stronger out of conference schedule. They are virtually even in most other areas. Kansas by a nose here.
Dayton was pursuing the top line after San Diego State’s stunning home loss to UNLV. It turned out that the Aztecs prevailed as the fourth #1 seed due to having a stronger overall body of work. Surging Creighton is really helping the SDSU cause actually, Iowa and BYU are helping tremendously as well. This really establishes SDSU still as more deserving than Dayton for now, another loss would perhaps tip the scales for the Flyers.
As for the Blue Jays, they have not lost since the Bracket Reveal Show (5-0) with wins at Seton Hall, at Marquette and over Butler. Creighton was in consideration for a four-seed on the show, but has seen several teams above them fall during their win streak. The overall body of work compares favorably by a slim margin over Maryland and Florida State.
- Ohio State and Michigan have had rollercoaster campaigns in 2019-20, but have recently stepped up their play. The Buckeyes beat up Purdue over the weekend and Michigan took care of Indiana with ease. The Wolverines also had the majority of their struggles without Isaiah Livers, losing five of those ten contests. Could be a factor in the committee discussions.
- Arizona State, has made an exceptional jump to first place in the Pac-12 Conference. ASU’s resume is improving after each win, which now has them as the top eighth seeded team. The final 8-seed came down to Saint Mary’s and Indiana. The Gaels have done significantly more than the Hoosiers away from home in an otherwise tight comparison. Interestingly enough, the two will face each other in today’s projected bracket.
- Providence is not only a projected tournament selection today for the first time all season, but they really jumped up on the seed list with their now five total wins over Top 21 teams on the seed list. The sweep over Georgetown doesn’t hurt either. Friars are up to a 10-seed today, but need to be continue winning going forward. They are 16-12 today and need to stay a couple of games over .500 to stay in the field at minimum.
- UCLA is another team skyrocketing up the Big Board. The Bruins stayed red hot over the weekend by completing the very rare sweep over the mountain schools. The final at-large bid came down to a very close four-way race between Memphis, Stanford, Oklahoma, and UCLA. The Sooners have played themselves into a rough position after being safe most of the year. They currently have just one win over the projected field (West Virginia at home) and that win is losing weight too. OU has just a 5-9 Away/Neutral record and they are also 8-11 against the top two quadrants. Trouble in Norman. UCLA has easily the strongest wins among the quartet, a sweep over Colorado and a win in Tucson are under their belt. However, the Bruins non-conference strength of schedule is a risky 215. Stanford also is a risky 214. That ended up being the ex-factor to select Memphis as the final team in today. The Tigers, coming off an important win over Houston on Saturday, also have a 7-5 record against the top two quadrants and a .500 record (5-5) in games away from FedEx Forum.
New Conference leaders since previous bracket. Represented below as Automatic Bids:
AAC - Cincinnati
Big XII - Kansas
MEAC - North Carolina A&T
OVC - Belmont
Pac-12 - Arizona State
Noteworthy projected matchups:
(2) Dayton - (15) Wright State: Battle of Dayton to be played in Cleveland.
(8) Texas Tech - (9) Houston: Lone Star State showdown in Spokane.
(3) Villanova - (14) Hofstra: Jay Wright against his former school.
(7) Wisconsin - (10) Florida: Rematch of 2017 Sweet 16 matchup won by Gators on Chris Chiozza buzzer beater
(7) Arizona - (10) Providence: Rematch of OT thriller in 1997 Elite Eight.
Bracket projections are based on 2019-20 NCAA Committee Principles and Selection Process. Projected Conference Champions are based on projected Auto-Bid winners.
At-Large Bids Stolen: 1 (Cincinnati)
FIRST FOUR TEAMS OUT: Stanford, Oklahoma, UCLA, Richmond
NEXT FOUR TEAMS OUT: UNC-Greensboro, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgetown
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