Two more days! Games have already started today, but this update is through games played last night, 3/9/17 (click top photo for an enlarged version):
Here's the bubble:
And the full S-Curve:
As always, some thoughts:
1. I wanted to exclude Syracuse's gross resume, I really did. But after last year, I'm gonna stare the committee in the eye and dare them to blink. Prove me wrong, leave the Orange out of it, I'd be happy to be wrong on this one. I just don't think the committee has it in them to stand up to Boeheim.
2. So much for Butler finishing ahead of Kentucky or Louisville and getting a spot in Indianapolis...a home loss to Seton Hall and a quarterfinal loss to Xavier ended any hope of that. Milwaukee ain't a bad consolation prize, though!
3. Would love to see 7-Wisconsin against 2-Kentucky - those squads have given us two amazing tournament games over the past five years, though the other meetings were in the Final Four. Other potential matchups that excite me: Notre Dame/Purdue, Maryland/Duke (renew the ACC rivalry!), Virginia/West Virginia (the rematch), Kansas/Northwestern (if the Purple Cats took down the Jayhawks, my love for them would be sealed forever), and Wichita State/Baylor (can the Shockers take down another Big 12 2-seed?).
4. I was pretty surprised at Oklahoma State's lackluster resume - 3-10 vs the top-50, 6-11 vs the top 100 - I just hadn't realized their splits were that weak. If they got dropped to a 9 (or even a 10?), it wouldn't surprise me, but I think the perception value with them keeps them at an 8 for now.
5. Kudos to Xavier and Creighton, who got major stabilization wins in the Big East quarterfinals. Xavier in particular really helped themselves with the neutral win over Butler, as it showed they can beat good teams without Edmond Sumner. They're safely in the field now.
6. I wouldn't mind a couple bid-stealers (someone from the A-10 and/or C-USA, perhaps?). I would hope that it's at the expense of the Orange, though I do fear for Kansas State and Wake Forest as well.
7. Speaking of the Wildcats of K State, they got a colossal win over Baylor, and getting another vs West Virginia would do wonders for their security. Never want to overreact to conference tournaments, but that would be massive.
8. Villanova may have locked up the #1 overall seed with KU's quarterfinal loss to TCU; of course, the committee has an out if they still want to put the Jayhawks there (Josh Jackson's suspension), but it'd be pretty dumb to quasi-reward a team for a suspension.