College Basketball Field of 68 Bracket (Feb 11, 2014)

I missed the Monday update rush, but that allowed me to incorporate Monday’s action while also doing a full sweep of the seeds and adjusting where needed.  Here are a couple topics in support of my bracket this morning.

Big Ten and Big 12

In the past few years, it has been the Big East that ruled the College Basketball world and would beat up on each other for 4 months.  Those teams would in turn be seeded higher than teams in other conferences with similar win-loss records due to SOS and quality wins.  This season, the Big Ten and Big 12 have taken the torch and are similarly beating each other up to the point where some people are dropping the conferences from the top 2 seed lines altogether.  In my bracket, you will still find Michigan State and Kansas as #2 seeds.  I have Duke as my #9 team in the seed listing, but they are sitting 3rd in the ACC.  If the committee met today, I believe strongly the Big 10 and Big 12 Champion would be awarded a #2 seed.  I might also be a bit higher on the seeding of other teams in these conferences…Michigan and Wisconsin as 3’s, Texas as a 4 and Kansas State as a 6.  

The Wildcats were big movers in this update, as their 6 RPI Top 36 wins is enough for me to offset a bad loss to Northern Colorado and a 1-4 road record.  Also, every time I compare Texas and Kentucky’s resumes, I come up with Texas, despite the 17 spot RPI difference.  I am not sure the committee will see it the same way.  Kentucky will have their chance if they can beat Florida Saturday, but if not, they could finish the regular season without an RPI Top 25 win.  Top 4 seeds usually have at least one, typically more (Louisville could also ascend to the Top 25, which would give them one as well).

Last 4 in, Others Considered

The bottom of the bracket continues to see a constant shuffle and there are several spots waiting for a hot team to steal them.  Florida State and Missouri are now absent from this bracket, replaced by Georgetown and St. Joseph’s.  The Last 4 in are Providence, LSU, St. Joseph’s and Oregon.  The Ducks remain in the field despite a 3-8 conference mark based upon their entire resume.  I also looked at their schedule and see them getting to 8-10 as a real possibility.  If they drop one of the 5 games I think they should win, that will likely put them on the other side of the bubble.  Other teams in consideration are Florida State, Missouri, Mississippi, West Virginia, St. John’s, Richmond, BYU and Clemson.  In the next group are Dayton, Baylor, Indiana, NC State, Maryland, Arkansas and Louisiana Tech.

East

(1)  Syracuse
(16)  Robert Morris/Coastal Carolina
BUFFALO, NY
(8)  Memphis
(9)  VCU

(5)  UCLA
(12)  Toledo
SAN DIEGO, CA
(4)  Texas
(13)  Mercer

(6)  Oklahoma
(11)  Oregon/LSU
SAN ANTONIO, TX
(3)  Wisconsin
(14)  Iona

 (7)  Massachusetts
(10)  SMU
BUFFALO, NY
(2)  Villanova
(15)  Boston U.

West

(1)  Arizona
(16)  Utah Valley
SAN DIEGO, CA
(8)  Gonzaga
(9)  New Mexico

(5)  St. Louis
(12)  North Dakota State
SPOKANE, WA
(4)  Virginia
(13)  UCSB

(6)  Kansas State
(11)  Georgetown
RALEIGH, NC
(3)  Michigan
(14)  Belmont

(7)  North Carolina
(10)  Stanford
SPOKANE, WA
(2)  San Diego State
(15)  North Carolina Central

Midwest

(1)  Wichita State
(16)  Weber State/Southern U.
ST. LOUIS, MO
(8)  Oklahoma State
(9)  Arizona State

(5)  Kentucky
(12)  Southern Miss
SAN ANTONIO, TX
(4)  Iowa State
(13)  Green Bay

(6)  Louisville
(11)  Minnesota
MILWAUKEE, WI
(3)  Creighton
(14)  Stephen F. Austin

(7)  Pittsburgh
(10)  California
MILWAUKEE, WI
(2)  Michigan State
(15)  Vermont

South

(1)  Florida
(16)  Davidson
ORLANDO, FL
(8)  George Washington
(9)  Colorado

(5)  Ohio State
(12)  Providence/St. Joseph’s
ORLANDO, FL
(4)  Cincinnati
(13)  Harvard

(6)  Iowa
(11)  Tennessee
RALEIGH, NC
(3)  Duke
(14)  Delaware

(7)  Connecticut
(10)  Xavier
ST. LOUIS, MO
(2)  Kansas
(15) Georgia State