Reseeding the Brackets

What would the brackets look like if reseeded by KenPom? Here's your answer.

East
1. Virginia
2. Villanova
3. Oklahoma
4. Northern Iowa
5. Michigan State
6. Louisville
7. Providence
8. Georgia
9. NC State
10. Boise State
11. Dayton
12. LSU

If you've looked, a lot of people filling out brackets see the East as the one that seems ripe for some chaos. Part of this is people are doubting Villanova and Virginia and the other part is there are some bracketing questions. Louisville is over seeded and Sparty is under seeded. Louisville is ripe for an upset and should be a popular upset pick. Michigan State has a chance to make it to the second weekend as their closer to Virginia than people probably think. I don't necessarily buy that. Michigan State had a good run through the Big Ten tournament but as we'll see later, Maryland is wildly overrated. If you've watched Sparty at all, they are prone to mind numbing moments of sloppy basketball. That won't fly against Virginia. At first glance, I thought Northern Iowa wasn't a crazy pick from here but I've rethought that idea. If you believe history, they are one of a few teams that could actually win it all. What should scare you is, they play so slow, it's unlikely they run from anyone. Wyoming is a tricky game. The Cowboys won't be afraid to play ugly and slow. In a 1-2 possession game, anything goes. Also, they'd be higher in KP had Larry Nance, Jr. not missed so much time. This also shows Dayton isn't that far from where they belong, though it would have them as the last 10 seed. LSU will be a trendy pick as they play up to their competition but Villanova should handle either them or NC State.

West
1. Arizona
2. Wisconsin
3. Baylor
4. North Carolina
5. Ohio State
6. Xavier
7. Arkansas
8. VCU
9. BYU
10. Oklahoma State
11. Ole Miss
12. Oregon
13. Georgia State
14. Harvard
15. Wofford

Ohio State as a 10 is too low. They perplex me as a team and everything I see when I watch them screams first round exit. If VCU had Briante Weber, I'd call it a lock. The numbers say Ohio State is the pick. Xavier gets the BYU/Ole Miss winner and that looks like BYU. That's a tougher game than a 6 should have. Only good news is the short turnaround time. Wofford will be a trendy pick to upset Arkansas. Wofford as a 12-seed tells us a lot of weak low majors made the field. Wofford profiles lower, as does Arkansas. The Razorbacks actually may catch a break getting the Terriers here. I've seen some talk of Georgia State over Baylor. Ryan Harrow isn't 100%. I don't see it. Oregon-OK State are over seeded in this region with the Cowboys profiling as the better club. I'd bet Oregon gets like 70-75% of the picks in brackets. Ohio State is a potential bracket disruptor if you buy the numbers over the eyes here.

Midwest
1. Kentucky
2. Notre Dame
3. Kansas
4. Wichita State
5. Texas
6. Butler
7. West Virginia
8. Maryland
9. Cincinnati
10. Purdue
11. Indiana
12. Buffalo
13. Valpo

My initial reaction to this bracket is Kentucky got the easiest draw they could to advance to Indianapolis. People love Notre Dame after their run through the ACC and it was impressive but i'm always leery of those teams. They still don't have a top-100 defense and there is no way they come out of a bracket with that profile. As for the reseeding, kansas and Wichita State are the losers. the Shockers are too low and Kansas could get a team that profiles as a 4 in the round of 32. FWIW, if a 15 were to win, New Mexico State is as good a bet as any. They're 88th in KenPom. That's the 2nd highest 15-seed ever. the highest? Lehigh at 82 in 2013. Texas is under seeded because they found ways to lose to inferior teams. That bides well for Butler who could be a target for an upset based on seeding. Maryland and West Virginia are also over seeded. The Mountaineers should really be a 6, so a 5 isn't terrible but for this region, they're too high. I've been harping on this all year, Maryland is way overrated. Can Valpo beat them? Sure. Will they? Eh, I don't know. It's probably closer than a 4-13 is, though. Kentucky should win this region by a combined 1,000 points.

South
1. Gonzaga
2. Duke
3. Utah
4. Iowa State
5. SMU
6. Georgetown
7. Iowa
8. San Diego State
9.. Davidson
10. Stephan F. Austin
11. UCLA
12. St. John's

Utah is under seeded but overrated. Make sense? Eye test overrules the numbers here. SFA beating them shouldn't surprise anyone. Iowa State is about where they belong. A Sweet 16 match up against Gonzaga would be a great game. Georgetown is over seeded and traveling across country isn't good. They'll be a trendy upset pick. Iowa-Davidson is a potentially great game with little to no defense being played. San Diego State should beat St. John's who is seeeded too high and will be without Chris Obepka who likes the weed too much. The Cyclones, Zags and Duke are a great top 3 but the rest of this bracket is pretty weak. Since I got harassed by a Hawkeye fan, my crush on Davidson is larger.