The events of Tuesday Night required a quick reconstruction of the Big Board heading into Wednesday. We saw Purdue, Texas, Tennessee, and Rutgers walk away with significant wins. Marquette, Kentucky, Maryland, Penn State, and others had rough performances.
Board Shifts:
Rutgers continues to give me migraines on selection. I am going to slot them in today because they do have an impressive list of home wins. However, the Scarlet Knights are nowhere near safe. Major bubble game coming this weekend at Purdue
Purdue stays out of the projected field. There is no point in projecting both the Boilers and Rutgers into the field together. We know they face each other next and the loser of that game will likely be on the outside looking in. If the loser is Purdue, they are likely eliminated from at-large consideration. No team wtih 16 losses has been selected as an at-large in history.
Michigan State was a major mover again after winning at Penn State. Sparty comes in on the 3-seed line this morning. They are finally playing like the preseason #1 team. And their timing couldn’t be better. A regular season Big Ten Championship is within reach.
Texas enters the field after a major stunner in Norman last night. If you missed it, the clip is below. Matt Coleman banked in an off-balance three pointer to win the game. Both teams came in hot, and the Horns got a much-needed additional win over a team within the bubble and on the road.
Tennessee completely stunned Kentucky in Rupp. Major surprise on both ends - Kentucky was seemingly playing their best hoops of the year and the Volunteers were struggling most of the season. The Vols now get Auburn this weekend, and if they get that win they will start getting a serious look.
The bubble is messier than I remember it being all year. You’ll see on the board, from UCLA (41) down to Memphis (wrong side of bubble), there is a cluster of teams from varying backgrounds to choose from. Pay very close attention to these 15 or so teams from now until late next week, hopefully most of this will play itself out.
Here is where we stand heading into March 4th:
BIG BOARD
