Hello everyone! Today's slate of games brought many changes in the bracket, including the top few seed lines and bubble hopefuls. There were a lot of games with great tournament implications, including three teams falling who were the #1 seed in their respective conference tournaments.
Bracketology Seeding list:
1: Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina, Gonzaga
2: Kentucky, Oregon, Baylor, UCLA
3: Duke, Arizona, Florida State, Butler
4: West Virginia, Florida, Louisville, Notre Dame,
5: Purdue, Minnesota, Virginia, Cincinnati
6: Iowa State, SMU, St. Mary's, Creighton
7: Wisconsin, Maryland, Miami, Michigan
8: Virginia Tech, Wichita State, Oklahoma State, Dayton
9: Arkansas, Seton Hall, Northwestern, South Carolina
10: Marquette, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, VCU
11: Xavier, Middle Tennessee, Providence, Kansas State/Wake Forest
12: Rhode Island/Syracuse, Nevada, UNC Wilmington, UT Arlington
13: Princeton, Vermont, Bucknell, East Tennessee State
14: Winthrop, Florida Gulf Coast, Akron, CSU Bakersfield
15: Iona, Northern Kentucky, Texas Southern, UC Irvine
16: Jacksonville State, South Dakota State, North Carolina Central/North Dakota, Mount St. Mary's/New Orleans
First Four Out: USC, Georgia, Iowa, Houston
Next Four Out: Illinois, Illinois State, TCU, California
Bid Thieves?
Normally, champ week is subject to one or two teams known as "bid thieves" that shock the top teams, win the conference tournament, and make the bubble shrink. Usually coming out of mid-major conferences, these teams are generally solid but not at-large worthy. Last year Northern Iowa was the lone bid thieve, yet Iona and Gonzaga could've been a part of that category. However, this year doesn't seem like there are any potential bid thieves, but there could be one if the NCAA tournament worthy team(s) falter in their conference tourney. For example, Marshall could be a bid thieve if they upset Middle Tennessee in the C-USA tournament final, as the Blue Raiders have a solid enough resume that a loss shouldn't take them out of the bracket. Their resume includes a 4-1 record against the top 100, a neutral court win over UNC Wilmington, a blowout victory over Vanderbilt, and road wins over Belmont and Ole Miss. The Sun Belt could also have a bid thieve, but UT Arlington's resume top to bottom makes it extremely difficult to put them in as an at large bid, for they will have four bad losses should they lose in the Sun Belt tourney. Finally, Nevada makes an interesting case for an at-large bid. If Colorado State/San Diego State defeats the Wolfpack in the finals, or Fresno State can knock them off in the semis, Nevada will at least be looked at by the committee on Selection Sunday. Despite no top-50 victories, they do boast 8 wins vs the top-100, which is more than USC or Cal, and the same as Wake Forest. The Wofpack have also proven their ability to win on the road against decent opponents and have avoided bad losses for the most part. I'm not saying it will happen, but if a team like Colorado State wins the Mountain West tournament, don't be surprised if there are multiple teams in the mountain west that will hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
First Four Out: USC, Georgia, Iowa, Houston
Next Four Out: Illinois, Illinois State, TCU, California
Bid Thieves?
Normally, champ week is subject to one or two teams known as "bid thieves" that shock the top teams, win the conference tournament, and make the bubble shrink. Usually coming out of mid-major conferences, these teams are generally solid but not at-large worthy. Last year Northern Iowa was the lone bid thieve, yet Iona and Gonzaga could've been a part of that category. However, this year doesn't seem like there are any potential bid thieves, but there could be one if the NCAA tournament worthy team(s) falter in their conference tourney. For example, Marshall could be a bid thieve if they upset Middle Tennessee in the C-USA tournament final, as the Blue Raiders have a solid enough resume that a loss shouldn't take them out of the bracket. Their resume includes a 4-1 record against the top 100, a neutral court win over UNC Wilmington, a blowout victory over Vanderbilt, and road wins over Belmont and Ole Miss. The Sun Belt could also have a bid thieve, but UT Arlington's resume top to bottom makes it extremely difficult to put them in as an at large bid, for they will have four bad losses should they lose in the Sun Belt tourney. Finally, Nevada makes an interesting case for an at-large bid. If Colorado State/San Diego State defeats the Wolfpack in the finals, or Fresno State can knock them off in the semis, Nevada will at least be looked at by the committee on Selection Sunday. Despite no top-50 victories, they do boast 8 wins vs the top-100, which is more than USC or Cal, and the same as Wake Forest. The Wofpack have also proven their ability to win on the road against decent opponents and have avoided bad losses for the most part. I'm not saying it will happen, but if a team like Colorado State wins the Mountain West tournament, don't be surprised if there are multiple teams in the mountain west that will hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
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