We are officially less than five weeks from Selection Sunday. While there weren’t nearly as many upsets last weekend as we saw the week before, there was some intrigue at the top as the overall No. 1 and No. 2 teams lost.
That’s college basketball, though. The best teams don’t always win, which is why the NCAA Tournament itself is so much fun every year.
Without question, the biggest victory of the weekend was Florida’s triumph at Auburn. The Tigers had clearly been the best team in the country. Most importantly, the win positions Florida to be in the conversation for that final No. 1 seed. However, right now, five weeks out from Selection Sunday, Tennessee still gets the nod over the Gators in large part because it has twice the amount of Quad 1 wins on its resume. The Vols’ convincing win at Oklahoma didn’t hurt, either. My biggest takeaway from the weekend is that there is now a strong likelihood we are going to see three SEC teams end up as No. 1 seeds come Selection Sunday.
Here are a few other notes on today’s bracket:
- St. John’s is for real. We can finally say that as it knocked off Marquette and won at UConn this week. Quad 1 wins were the biggest thing missing from its resume and now it really has a profile that checks all the boxes. The Johnnies headed into last week as a projected No. 6 seed, but after those two huge wins, they were elevated all the way up to a No. 4 seed. That’s significant because the top four seeds get location preference. Which means St. John’s has a chance to play close to home in the East regionals at the Prudential Center in Newark.
- The bubble continues to be extremely weak. Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, BYU, Xavier, San Diego State, Pittsburgh and USC all lost over the weekend. Each of these teams is literally on the cut-line for a bid and nobody was able to take advantage and improve its stock. And because of that, the door remains open for teams we aren’t mentioning now to get hot and get themselves onto the bubble. Tourney expansion? Nah.
Bubble Watch: Arkansas Rises From the Ashes and Is on the Verge of the Tourney
Which conference teams have landed themselves a spot on the watch?- As it stands today, I have 14 teams from the SEC in the field. Yes, that’s an insane number, but remember, the selection committee compares individual resumes and does not care about what conference a team is in. Three of these SEC teams are in my “Last Four In,” so while it’s possible this conference breaks the all-time record for teams in the field, by no means is it a guarantee.
- Oregon is experiencing a tale of two seasons. The Ducks started the year with massive victories over Alabama, Texas A&M and San Diego State in the Players Era Festival out in Las Vegas. Then, it began its first season as part of the Big Ten and things have not gone as swimmingly. The Ducks are just 5-8 in conference play and have seen their projected seed drop all the way to a No. 8 seed. Barring a disaster, I don’t see Oregon’s tourney chances being in jeopardy. However, at the very least, this team needs to start taking care of business on its home court where it’s just 2-4 in conference play.
- Clemson notched a very important win on Saturday as it upset Duke 77-71. The Tigers had been trending towards bubble status after their triple overtime home loss to Georgia Tech, a team with a NET ranking of No. 127. It was a great bounce back win and what it does for Clemson is it moved it from a No. 9 seed up to a No. 7 seed. The Tigers should now feel pretty good about their chances of receiving an at-large bid. I’d still advise them to avoid any more bad losses.
- As of literally ten days ago, everyone thought Kansas State was finished. The Wildcats were just 7-11 on the season, but have suddenly pulled it together and won five in a row. Now, 12-11 isn’t anything to write home about, BUT who did they beat? Well, they won at Iowa State, at Arizona State and beat Kansas. That’s three very impressive wins. Kansas State still has plenty of work to do to get into the field, but these key victories suddenly makes this team relevant. Also, the bubble is weak. The Wildcats are now in my “Next 4 Out” grouping.
Last 4 Byes
Ohio State, Nebraska, Vanderbilt, San Diego State
Last 4 In
Wake Forest, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas
First 4 Out
BYU, VCU, SMU, Xavier
Next 4 Out
North Carolina, Pittsburgh, USC, Kansas State
Brad’s Bracket
East
-
1.
Duke
- 2.
Texas A&M
- 3.
Michigan State
- 4.
St. John’s
- 5.
Kentucky
- 6.
Missouri
- 7.
UConn
- 8.
Oregon
- 9.
Oklahoma
- 10.
Ohio State
- 11.
Drake
- 12.
UC Irvine
- 13.
Samford
- 14.
Lipscomb
- 15.
Bryant
- 16.
SIUE/SouthernSouth
-
1.
Auburn
- 2.
Florida
- 3.
Texas Tech
- 4.
Kansas
- 5.
Michigan
- 6.
Creighton
- 7.
Maryland
- 8.
Utah State
- 9.
West Virginia
- 10.
Vanderbilt
- 11.
Wake Forest/Arkansas- 12.
Arkansas State
- 13.
Akron
- 14.
Utah Valley
- 15.
Central Connecticut
- 16.
Norfolk State
Midwest
-
1.
Alabama
- 2.
Purdue
- 3.
Iowa State
- 4.
Wisconsin
- 5.
Memphis
- 6.
UCLA
- 7.
Clemson
- 8.
Louisville
- 9.
Gonzaga
- 10.
New Mexico
- 11.
Georgia/Texas- 12.
George Mason
- 13.
High Point
- 14.
Northern Colorado
- 15.
Towson
- 16.
Merrimack
West
-
1.
Tennessee
- 2.
Houston
- 3.
Arizona
- 4.
Marquette
- 5.
Ole Miss
- 6.
Illinois
- 7.
Mississippi State
- 8.
St. Mary’s
- 9.
Baylor
- 10.
Nebraska
- 11.
San Diego State
- 12.
McNeese
- 13.
Yale
- 14.
Jacksonville State
- 15.
Cleveland State
- 16.
American/Omaha - 2.
- 2.
- 2.
- 2.