MID-WEEK NOTES
Alabama fell again, this time to Mizzou on the road. The Tide remains a 1-Seed, but for the first time, they are heading West.
Houston is inching closer to both Tennessee and Alabama. The perfect 8-0 true road record is sparkling and shiny. As is the Cougars’ performance dominance. They have a case now, based on those two unique factors. The Tennessee/Bama duo out-number the number of quality wins by a decent enough margin to hold on.
Arizona’s bounce-back win at Baylor gets them comfortable as a 3-seed for now
Mizzou stays a 5-seed, but just barely. At #17 overall on the seed list as of this moment. The Tigers got the big home win, but still own a 3-5 record away from Columbia. A couple of road wins should put them up to a protected seed soon. They still play Arkansas, Vandy, and Oklahoma on the road to work on their road win percentage.
BYU seems safe at the moment, they still do not have a ton on the road to be proud of, however. The Cougars’ 5-6 road/neutral record includes wins over Wyoming and NC State on “neutral courts.” Another road win around the West Virginia level (which was key!) would help solidify BYU for good. They have the Arizona schools on the road next and have a home run opportunity at Iowa State at the end of the season.
VCU/George Mason will finally meet tomorrow in Richmond. VCU will be the heavy favorite to win that one based on how ridiculous the Rams have been all year at home. That would enter GMU into the at-large discussion for our bi-weekly bracket forecast exercise here. Both teams have collected road wins that are not exactly easy to win, and also not above the bubble level road wins either. They mean something. However, how much it means when compared to the power conference sludge controlling the bubble is more guesswork than surefire absolutes. Let’s see how this A10 showdown plays out, and take it from there.
FIELDING THE 68 SHOW LIVE
Back in the saddle today, join in for several layers bracket talk.
Begins Live February 21st at 5PM ET. Link will work for re-watching purposes as well. The panel, including me, will focus on mid-week changes and the bubble on today’s episode.
BRACKET
Bracket projections are based on the 2024-25 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: 1 (Atlantic-10): The Annual Average = 2.4 Bids taken per year.
FIRST FOUR OUT: Xavier, TCU, San Francisco, Ohio State
NEXT TEAMS OUT: Indiana, Georgia, UC Irvine, Arkansas
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