I’ll try something new and add a little S-Curve for my seed list. It is my first attempt at this, so I hope it helps. Also, you might notice some big jumps and falls that occur based on results and wonder why the big reactionary fluctuations. I see 3 main reasons for this. (1) It is still relatively early in the grand scheme of the season, so individual results have a bigger overall impact on a resume. (2) There is a glut of teams clumped up right now and each result potentially separates a team from the glut in either a positive or negative manner. (3) Some of the non-conference stars (Wisconsin, Iowa State, Ohio State, Oregon, Baylor, etc.) are falling on harder times in the conference season. While not unprecedented, I do not remember this many teams struggling in early conference play after such good non-conference showings.
On to the list…
1. Arizona – PAC-12 is deep, but Wildcats may not have been properly tested in 2014 going into March.
2. Syracuse – ACC teams, meet the Syracuse zone. Good luck.
3. Michigan State – Must overcome another injury (Brandon Dawson).
4. Wichita State – As long as they are undefeated and bolster a top 10 RPI, they deserve this spot.
5. Florida – Didn’t the Gators beat Kansas? Then why does Kansas garner all the #1 seed talk?
6. Kansas – Yes, they are playing at the level of a #1 seed, but can’t ignore 4 losses.
7. Villanova – Don’t read much into a loss to a team that had a historic shooting night.
8. San Diego State – The RPI and KenPom don’t support a 2 seed, but the win at Kansas does (for now).
9. Wisconsin – Despite the 3 straight losses and horrid defense, the Badgers still have a top profile.
10. Creighton – This is why Dougy came back, to lead this team to heights they have never been.
11. Oklahoma State – Interior defense now a concern, but the Cowboys are still rock solid.
12. Michigan – The brackets high riser, not many playing better than Nik Stauskas and the Wolverines right now.
13. Iowa State – Need to stop the bleeding vs Kansas State Saturday or the losing streak might not end.
14. Iowa – A road blip at Michigan is not an awful loss, still a dangerous team.
15. Cincinnati – Bearcats play elite defense and have won 11 in a row, but last 5 against inferior teams.
16. Massachusetts – Best win is New Mexico, likely headed further down the seed list.
17. Duke – Finally got a road win and developing a decent tournament resume.
18. Kentucky – I see them much higher most places, but what jumps out on this resume? Exactly!!
19. Pittsburgh – Sometimes, a loss can be just as telling as a win. Case in point the loss at Syracuse.
20. Louisville – Rounding out the who’s who of #5 seeds with the defending champs.
21. Connecticut – I like the Huskies more than others right now. They have a nice group of wins.
22. Oklahoma – A team nobody is talking about, the Sooners continue to rise.
23. Virginia – Still lack that elite win, but sweep of Florida State and no bad losses is still a good start.
24. Minnesota – 3 top 25 wins will vault you up the seed list.
25. Ohio State – The Buckeyes finally got a win, hoping to start a new trend (although it wasn’t easy).
26. St. Louis – A Pitt-like resume…lacking good wins, but losses are to teams #4 and #9 above.
27. Xavier – The Musketeers are Sooner-like in hype, but their 9 top-100 wins is only one behind the top total.
28. Kansas State – Like the Gophers, K-State has 3 top 25 wins, 4 in the top 27.
29. Gonzaga – The WCC is a bit down this year, which isn’t helping the Zags.
30. Texas – A buzzer-beater vs K-State keeps the Longhorns climbing the list.
31. Florida State – All 5 losses are to teams in the top 25 of the RPI.
32. Memphis – Wins over Oklahoma State and at Louisville prop up the Tigers resume. All 4 losses to top 38.
33. UCLA – Finally another PAC-12 team. Best win is vs Dinwiddie-less Colorado.
34. Colorado – Speaking of Buffaloes, the jury is still out on how good they are without Dinwiddie
35. George Washington – The Colonials have that top-10 win vs Creighton and beat VCU.
36. New Mexico – A “nice” resume, but I actually thought they would be better this season.
37. VCU – All three top 100 wins are on the road. Have 5 home games remaining against top 100.
38. California – Two nice road wins and 2nd Place in PAC-12 headline the Golden Bears resume.
39. Baylor – The colorless Bears have zero road wins this season, but did beat Kentucky and Colorado.
40. Tennessee – The Volunteers have the best wins of the next grouping of teams.
41. SMU – The Mustangs need more quality wins, but others continue to fall around them.
42. Providence – The Creighton win will continue to look more impressive as March rolls around.
43. Oregon – The victories are not that great to offset a 1-5 conference start.
44. Missouri – The Tigers have played a bad schedule and have bad losses to boot.
45. North Carolina – The Tar Heels keep adding up the losses to go with their quality wins.
46. Stanford – The Cardinals have the good road wins, but they need more.
47. Arkansas – The Razorbacks have the best wins of the remaining teams, so I’ll go with them.
48. Southern Miss
49. Harvard
50. Green Bay
51. Toledo
52. North Dakota State
53. New Mexico State
54. Mercer
55. Manhattan
56. Belmont
57. Delaware
58. Boston University
59. Stephen F. Austin
60. Georgia State
61. UC-Irvine
62. Northern Colorado
63. Stony Brook
64. Robert Morris
65. Southern U.
66. UNC-Asheville
67. Chattanooga
68. Savannah State
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