WEEKEND REVIEW
It didn’t take long to get into the Bracketology flow around here. After releasing the first bracket on Friday, another set of results came in over the weekend. Friday’s post will go more in depth on seeding and selections, today is a fire drill with the debut of Fielding The 68, a live show on Monday’s and Friday’s beginning today. I will be joined by Lukas Harkins and Greg Waddell on today’s show, which starts at 5:30PM ET. Chances are pretty good we will discuss any of the teams in today’s bracket. More info in the tweet.
-A small change in one-seed order as North Carolina surpassed Houston to become the third-best profile. UNC is now 4-0 on the road after winning at Boston College. One of only three teams in the country to be perfect on the road and the only power conference team that can claim this. The other two are Saint Mary’s (5-0) and VCU (2-0).
-Kansas took a surprising road loss to West Virginia, yet didn’t drop much at all. The Jayhawks neutral court wins over Kentucky and Tennessee keep aging tremendously well, and you always have to keep in mind that one game is just a fraction of your body of work.
-Dayton is a two-loss team that has done a ton of winning this year. They’ve only lost to Houston and road Northwestern during the season’s opening week. The Flyers own the 6th best resume, per SOR, and have a dominant 6-2 record away from home. The win at SMU continues to age well.
-Kentucky is a team that would be discussed more than most with the recent birth of Zvonimir Ivisic to the chemistry. Ivisic was flat-out sensational in his debut vs. Georgia with 13 points in 16 minutes, three blocks, two steals, two assists, and five boards. Just made so many things happen. The rest of the season looks bright in Lexington at this point.
-Oklahoma was a difficult inclusion as the final 4-seed today. The Sooners’ road win at Cincinnati did them a great favor as OU’s good wins were on neutral courts or at home primarily until Saturday. Sooners now have the 10th-best resume per SOR. The decision was difficult because Alabama was still a really attractive option, despite falling at Tennessee.
-Duke’s stunning loss at home to Pitt sent the Blue Devils fading down to the 5-seed area and nearly to a 6-seed. The impact is the Blue Devils now own a third loss to a team in Quad 2B or worse (also at Arkansas and at G-Tech). Three losses in that column before January is over, is a sign of inconsistent play.
-Memphis fell twice in ice-cold fashion to both South Florida and at Tulane. In each loss, the Tigers could not make a shot in the final four minutes and change. They have now fallen to a six-seed for now. The Tigers’ great work from earlier this season is suddenly endangered. The American Conference has been rough on them.
-Princeton has been a model of consistency and they are super entertaining to watch. The Tigers have only lost once, but unfortunately, their opponents have all been inconsistent this year, which has resulted in zero Quad1 opportunities this season, amazingly. The Tigers would be safely in today, but navigating a brutal Ivy League won’t be easy. The other angle is to root hard for Rutgers to turn its season around to get a bit more credit for that opening-night victory.
-Nebraska won over Northwestern impressively without Juwan Gary. The Huskers now have four tourney-caliber wins to its credit. The win at Kansas State stands out and the Huskers are in as it stands now.
-TCU belongs out of the field with a 322nd-ranked schedule and no decent road wins. Frogs do have the nice home wins over Houston and Oklahoma, so if road wins arrive- things will reverse course immediately.
BRACKET
Bracket projections are based on the 2023-24 NCAA Committee Principles and Selection Process. Projected Conference Champions are based on projected Auto-Bid winners.
Forecasted At-Large Bids Stolen: 1 (IVY League, Yale. Annual Average = 2.2 Bids taken)
FIRST FOUR OUT: Nevada, Northwestern, Cincinnati, Gonzaga
NEXT TEAMS OUT: TCU, Virginia, Texas, Colorado
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