Monday, March 25, 2019

Sweet 16: KenPom Edition

After the opening weekend, a few truths have emerged. The bubble was bad this year as we have the top 12 seeds advance to the second weekend for the first time since 2009. As the season progressed, it was obvious to me, the top 8-10 teams were leaps and bounds better than teams 10-40ish. For all the talk of depth in some of the major conferences, it was the top teams from those leagues that advanced. We were measuring depth in what was really mediocrity. That’s probably too strong a conclusion, but the top teams have been far better this year and the tournament has shown that.

1. Virginia - Final 4 or bust
2. Gonzaga - Incredibly talented team
3. Michigan State - On a collision course with Duke
4. Duke - Survive and advance
5. Michigan - Defense was suffocating, offense continues improving
6. North Carolina - Impressive against Washington
7. Texas Tech - Impressive against Buffalo
8. Kentucky - Strangled Wofford with great defense
9. Purdue - Whipped Villanova, if that offense shows again, tough out
10. Tennessee - Moments of brilliance, moments of indifference
11. Virginia Tech - Buzz will make a lot of $ at A&M
12. Houston - Looked pretty damn good this weekend
13. Auburn - Throttled Kansas, can play with UNC
14. Florida State - Been as impressive as any team thus far
15. LSU - Solid club but this is it
16. Oregon - Bit of luck to get here but good season recovery

Picks to come Wednesday and Thursday

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