MID-WEEK REVIEW
A busy mid-week came and went, and now we are on the cusp of another loaded landscape of games across College Hoops. The significant results from the past week within the at-large pool:
Creighton’s convincing home win over UConn gave them a second high-end Q1A victory and placed the Jays comfortably into protected seed status after the likes of Illinois, Wisconsin, and San Diego State have all stumbled since the February 17th Bracket Preview presented by the selection committee.
Washington State rocked the Western world with the best road win money can buy in the West, at Arizona. For WSU, it is its eighth win in a row. The Cougars currently sit comfortably above .500 in every important category, including Away/Neutral games, and won a lot of comparisons to work up to a 5-seed this morning.
Michigan State’s home loss to Iowa is a yellow flag for now. Much scrutiny could be on deck for the Spartans with another home loss or loss in general to a team outside of the field. The win gave an actual path to seemingly-toast Iowa. The Hawkeyes still play Illinois twice and play at Northwestern. Of course, super challenging. However, having the opportunities is all that matters and they have got a crack to play into the picture now.
The rest of the recap and several of my opinions on teams were captured in yesterday’s Fielding The 68 Show. Here is the full episode from Friday:
BRACKET
Bracket projections are based on the 2023-24 NCAA Committee Principles and Selection Process. Projected Conference Champions are based on which team has the inside track to the top-seed within its conference tournament.
Forecasted At-Large Bids Stolen: 2: AAC (South Florida), A-10 (Richmond). The Annual Average = 2.3 Bids taken per year.
FIRST FOUR OUT: Ole Miss, Oregon, Butler, Wake Forest
NEXT TEAMS OUT: James Madison, Villanova, Drake, Texas A&M
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