Mid Range Report Bracketology 3/6/2017
With less than one week away, let's check out the current state of the bracket. But first, join me in a moment of silence for Monmouth and Belmont. So sad. So sad.
And the full S-Curve:
Some bracket notes:
- Creighton is in serious danger of falling to the 8-line. The Jays are 5-7 since Mo Watson went down with an ACL tear, and four of those wins came against DePaul (twice), St. John's, and Georgetown, the three worst teams in the Big East. I think the Committee is going to judge a Watson-less Jay squad very harshly come Selection Sunday.
- Wisconsin notched an enormous win over Minnesota on Sunday. The Badgers were previously in free fall, but now look to be a solid 7 or 8-seed. For now, I kept them on the 8-line due to the consistent play of teams in front of them. The Gophers stay on the 5-line for now, but Notre Dame, Saint Mary's, and Iowa State are knocking on the door.
- It's getting pretty hard to keep Purdue out of the top 16, but right now Virginia holds the narrowest of leads over the Boilermakers. Conference tournaments will be the difference here.
- Butler's resume remains pretty awesome, but eye test may come into play for the Committee leading them to put Duke or Arizona up on the 3-line over the Dogs. My guess is Duke, but there's ball left to be played.
- I can't believe Providence is in this field - pretty safely I may add - after finishing 3rd (!!!) in the Big East. Perhaps even more incredible, the Xavier Musketeers are in danger of not making the field. Xavier is 4-6 without Edmond Sumner - yes, two of those wins are against DePaul (eerily similar to Creighton).
- Wake Forest finally feels like a comfortable Tourney team. Good. The Deacons deserve it.
- The big question on Selection Sunday will revolve around the Illinois State Redbirds. I would love to see them make the Field, but it's tough to pick a team to kick out. The Committee has favored RPI Top 50 wins pretty heavily in the past. Illinois State has one of those. Kansas State has three, Rhode Island has two (both top 25), and Syracuse has six.
- WOW! Iowa is in the conversation! I am rooting hard for Peter Jok and I refuse to hide it.