The Top Seeds (1-4)
Kansas, yes Kansas, is the projected #1 Overall Seed in this year’s bracket. Kansas has an embarassment of riches talent-wise and are projected to win the toughest league and have a strong non-conference slate. Disclaimer: Going back through the past five years of seeding, only one B1G team has received a #1 seed and that was Wisconsin in 2015 (#4 on the seed list that season). The ACC has had a #1 seed every year during that span including THREE top seeds last season. That trend continues here for the #2 overall team, UNC. Michigan State, the team largely picked first in all polls, comes in as the third #1 seed. The Florida Gators are also the 1-Line as the fourth overall team. Florida has an incredible roster in place and should dominate many of their games. However, Kentucky is picked to win the SEC Auto-Bid.
Rest of Protected Seed Summary (Teams 5-16)
Kentucky, Duke, and Gonzaga have very strong arguments to be a preseason #1 seed and they fall here for initial projections. In the next tier, I really like what I’m seeing early from Ohio State. The Buckeyes have climbed this board consistently all offseason and landed at 10 to start the season. I see Texas Tech as being pretty strong by March but may have a few struggles earlier as they break in 11 newcomers. Fortunately they do not have a strong schedule and should have just enough juice to be a protected seed. Similarly, I see Oregon getting stronger as the season goes on. They figure to get N’Faly Dante back in mid-December and may not hit their full potential until January or February.
Middle of the Field (Teams 17-40)
Purdue and Florida State look to be right in the mix for protected seeds, I have them falling just shy. In the next tier, a lot more guesswork is happening. I think Baylor and Seton Hall have a little more risk to them this season than many are giving credit to, but both are still clear tournament teams. Houston and Ole Miss are two clubs that I’m very high on compared to the national consensus. Ole Miss has two dynamite guards in Tyree and Shuler, plus have a talented supporting cast. Houston got a nice boost with the news that Quinten Grimes was immediately eligible and I see them winning the AAC Tourney which moves to the state of Texas this year. Washington and Arizona also got boosts with recent waiver decisions for former Kentucky players Quade Green (UW) and Jemarl Baker (AZ). Those two squads can feel more comfortable for now in the “In Safely” column. Creighton was a team that recently dropped to #39 overall. They had been much higher prior to the recent injuries to Epperson and Mintz. Wishing them a speedy recovery. Wichita State is a team who ended last year on a high note and gained valuable experience, I have a good inkling about the Shockers this season.
Bubble Trouble (41-46, and Knocking on the Door)
Utah State has slipped down into the First Four with the recent news of Neemias Queta being out, potentially for a while. USU will need to build their resume during these next eight weeks and need all of their stars available. I am calling for New Mexico to steal the MWC Auto-bid, since the Lobos will not be At-Large worthy. I struggled for many days between Georgetown and Michigan as the final team in the field. I think Georgetown has slightly more chemistry with Ewing, but I like Michigan’s schedule more. So I’ll take Georgetown for now. Will be interesting to look back at this in five months. Missouri and TCU have really climbed the board based on some deeper research and for the Frogs beating both Mississippi State and Washington in Scrimmage play.
The Rest (49-68)
If you saw the Part 1 of the Bracket Preview , you will understand how these picks were made. In general, I think teams from ETSU all the way through Colgate on this list have a shot at advancing and maybe even to the second weekend. My personal hope is that we see some of these teams overachieve in non-conference play so we can flirt with more potential bid theives in March and get more wide-spread participation in the NCAA Tournament.
SEED LIST 1-68
