Friday Bracketology

1. Auburn  vs  16. American/Southeast Missouri St.

1. Duke  vs  16. Nebraska Omaha/Southern

1. Alabama  vs  16. Bryant

1. Florida  vs  16. Quinnipiac

2. Tennessee  vs  15. Montana

2. Texas A&M  vs  15. Central Connecticut

2. Houston  vs  15. Cleveland St.

2. Wisconsin  vs  15. Norfolk St.

3. Iowa St.  vs  14. Utah Valley

3. Michigan  vs  14. Chattanooga

3. Purdue  vs  14. Towson

3. Kentucky  vs  14. Akron

4. Michigan St.  vs  13. South Alabama

4. Arizona  vs  13. Liberty

4. Texas Tech  vs  13. Lipscomb

4. Mississippi St.  vs  13. High Point

5. UCLA  vs  12. Yale

5. St. John's  vs  12. McNeese St.

5. Missouri  vs  12. UC San Diego

5. Marquette  vs  12. George Mason

6. Louisville  vs  11. Drake

6. Illinois  vs  11. Ohio St./VCU

6. Mississippi  vs  11. Wake Forest/Texas

6. Kansas  vs  11. Nebraska

7. Memphis  vs  10. Vanderbilt

7. Maryland  vs  10. BYU

7. Clemson  vs  10. Oklahoma

7. Saint Mary's  vs  10. West Virginia

8. Oregon  vs  9. Connecticut

8. New Mexico  vs  9. San Diego St.

8. Gonzaga  vs  9. Baylor

8. Utah St.  vs  9. Creighton

First Four Out - Arkansas

First Four Out - Xavier

First Four Out - Georgia

First Four Out - North Carolina

Next Four Out - Cincinnati

Next Four Out - SMU

Next Four Out - UC Irvine

Next Four Out - Pittsburgh

Also Considered - Boise St.

Also Considered - San Francisco

Also Considered - Indiana

Also Considered - Kansas St.

Wednesday Thoughts

Tuesday had some great games.  Uconn roared back and got a win over Villanova.  BYU destroyed Kansas and the Jayhawks are now a 6-7 seed line team.  Michigan State gave Purdue another loss and they are falling quickly from that 2 seed.  Lastly, Wisconsin continues to impress with a win over Illinois and they are clearly a 2 seed.

As for Wednesday night we have multiple games with bubble implications.

(11) VCU vs Umass - I've had VCU in for a couple weeks; everybody else is starting to catch up on them.  They have no room for error

(11) Nebraska at Penn State - Inversely, I have Nebraska lower than everybody else.  This would be a bad loss

(10) West Virginia vs Cincinnati - Cincy has fallen way off but can still get in with a run.

(FF) North Carolina vs North Carolina State - There are no gimme's in a rivalry game

(NF) SMU at Notre Dame - SMU has a nice record but no metrics behind it

(FF) Arkansas at Auburn - A win moves them in no matter what

Tuesday Bubble

Tuesday brings in a busy day with lots of good games, Illinois at Wisconsin, Purdue at Michigan State, and a lot of bubble action.  Let's dig deeper into the bubble games.

(9 seed) Connecticut hosts Villanova - Uconn needs to stop the bleeding.  A home game agaisnt a down Nova team sounds about right.

(10) Oklahoma at Florida - Oklahoma is reeling and Florida has been hot.  Classic let down game for the Gators

(9) San Diego St vs Fresno State - I'm more bullish on San Diego State then ESPN and CBS.  I think they are good but you don't want a bad loss right now. 

(11) BYU vs Kansas - BYU is one of the last 4 in and Kansas is not what the preseason polls thought they would be.  Would any outcome here really surprise anybody?

(FF) Xavier vs Butler - Xavier keeps playing around right at the cut level.  They need ot decide if they are good or not.  Butler will not be a pushover.

(NF) Pittsburgh vs Syracuse -  Pittsburgh is barely hanging on.  They need every win.

Bracketology

1. Auburn  vs  16. American/Southeast Missouri St.

1. Duke  vs  16. Central Connecticut/Southern

1. Alabama  vs  16. Bryant

1. Florida  vs  16. Quinnipiac

2. Tennessee  vs  15. Montana

2. Texas A&M  vs  15. Towson

2. Houston  vs  15. Cleveland St.

2. Wisconsin  vs  15. Norfolk St.

3. Iowa St.  vs  14. Utah Valley

3. Michigan  vs  14. Chattanooga

3. Purdue  vs  14. South Dakota St.

3. St. John's  vs  14. Akron

4. Michigan St.  vs  13. Arkansas St.

4. Marquette  vs  13. Jacksonville St.

4. Texas Tech  vs  13. Lipscomb

4. Mississippi St.  vs  13. High Point

5. UCLA  vs  12. Yale

5. Kentucky  vs  12. McNeese St.

5. Kansas  vs  12. UC San Diego

5. Arizona  vs  12. George Mason

6. Louisville  vs  11. Drake

6. Illinois  vs  11. Texas/VCU

6. Mississippi  vs  11. Wake Forest/BYU

6. Missouri  vs  11. Nebraska

7. Memphis  vs  10. Vanderbilt

7. Creighton  vs  10. Ohio St.

7. Maryland  vs  10. Oklahoma

7. Clemson  vs  10. West Virginia

8. Oregon  vs  9. Connecticut

8. New Mexico  vs  9. San Diego St.

8. Gonzaga  vs  9. Baylor

8. Utah St.  vs  9. Saint Mary's

First Four Out - Arkansas

First Four Out - Xavier

First Four Out - Georgia

First Four Out - North Carolina

Next Four Out - Cincinnati

Next Four Out - SMU

Next Four Out - UC Irvine

Next Four Out - Pittsburgh

Also Considered - Boise St.

Also Considered - San Francisco

Also Considered - Indiana

Also Considered - Kansas St.

Monday Night

No bubble action and a light night of basketball on Monday.  Duke plays Virginia and Arizona plays Baylor.  Good solid second game.

Friday Bracketology - New Format

 1. Auburn  vs  16. American/Southeast Missouri St.

1. Alabama  vs  16. Nebraska Omaha/Southern

1. Duke  vs  16. Bryant

1. Florida  vs  16. Merrimack

2. Tennessee  vs  15. Central Connecticut

2. Texas A&M  vs  15. Towson

2. Houston  vs  15. Cleveland St.

2. Purdue  vs  15. Norfolk St.

3. Wisconsin  vs  14. Utah Valley

3. Iowa St.  vs  14. Jacksonville St.

3. Michigan St.  vs  14. Northern Colorado

3. Kansas  vs  14. Akron

4. Arizona  vs  13. Arkansas St.

4. Marquette  vs  13. Chattanooga

4. Memphis  vs  13. Yale

4. St. John's  vs  13. High Point

5. Michigan  vs  12. Lipscomb

5. Kentucky  vs  12. McNeese St.

5. Texas Tech  vs  12. UC San Diego

5. Mississippi  vs  12. George Mason

6. Louisville  vs  11. Drake

6. Illinois  vs  11. VCU/SMU

6. Mississippi St.  vs  11. BYU/Georgia

6. UCLA  vs  11. Nebraska

7. Connecticut  vs  10. Vanderbilt

7. Creighton  vs  10. Ohio St.

7. Missouri  vs  10. San Diego St.

7. Clemson  vs  10. Oklahoma

8. Utah St.  vs  9. West Virginia

8. New Mexico  vs  9. Saint Mary's

8. Maryland  vs  9. Baylor

8. Oregon  vs  9. Gonzaga

First Four Out - Arkansas

First Four Out - Xavier

First Four Out - Kansas St.

First Four Out - Wake Forest

Next Four Out - Cincinnati

Next Four Out - Texas

Next Four Out - North Carolina

Next Four Out - Pittsburgh

Also Considered - Boise St.

Also Considered - UC Irvine

Also Considered - Indiana

Also Considered - San Francisco

Thursday

Light night of action with Maryland at Nebraska being the "marquee" game of the night.  Gonzaga also hosts San Francisco but I don't see much happening there.

AS for last night, my prediction of Villanova pulling off the upset came true.  Solid game from start to finish for both teams.  Biggest losers of the night are Wake Forest, who blew a 14 point lead and Oklahoma.  I think Oklahoma is safe but Wake may not be.  On the flip side VCU and Ohio State, 2 of my last 4 in got wins to stay ahead of the curve.

Tomorrow will bring a new bracket and I will be posting my 1 month before Selection Sunday Final Four predictions.  This year looks like it's going to be a heavy lean on Auburn, Duke, and Alabama but you have to bet at least 1 if not 2 of those teams get upset.  Then you have that fourth spot which is really up in the air.  Might be a good year for the 5-7 seed teams to get in!

Wednesday Notes

Before jumping into Wednesday night's games let look at the biggest winners and losers from Tuesday:

Winners:

BYU and SMU - My first two out get wins and one should be in with the next bracket

Kansas State - continues their hot streak with a win over Arizona.  They are getting close.

Michigan - Big W against Purdue will move them to the 3 seed line

Losers:

Michigan State - 3 losses out of the last 4 games

Pittsburgh - in complete freefall after a hot start to the season

Texas - golden opportunity against Alabama and lost

Wednesday Night Games:

St. John's goes to Villanova and this is a prime let down spot.  I think the upset happens.

Bubble Action:

1. 10 seed Wake Forest hosts Florida State

2. 11 seed Ohio State hosts Washington

3. Missouri hosts 10 seed Oklahoma

4. Next Four Out Arkansas looks to stay hot against LSU

Tuesday Notes

First off there will be some changes to how Bracketology looks going forward.  I've revamped the setup.  It shouldn't affect much but it will be formatted differently.

One thing that will change is North Carolina won't be in the bracket come Friday.  They got smacked by Clemson and probably need to win 2-3 to crawl back in.  In other Monday night actions Houston beat Baylor.

Tuesday Night is packed full of great games and bubble implications.  I won't go into detail on all of them but the night is highlighted by Florida at Mississippi State, Purdue at Michigan, and Connecticut at Creighton.  I suppose Tennessee at Kentucky is good too but they did just play.  Sneaky game of the night is Santa Clara at St. Mary's.  That one could surprise.

In Bubbleland, all 4 of my First Four are in action including two teams playing each other in Pittsburgh vs SMU.  BYU travels to West Virginia and Alabama goes to Texas.  Now is not the time to lose, especially with North Carolina's spot on the 11 seed open.  Kansas State hosts Arizona and if they can get another win they would definitely move up into the Next Four Out. 

Enjoy the games!

Monday Bracketology

 1 seed vs 16 seed

Auburn(SEC) vs American(Pat)/UALR(OVC)

Duke(ACC) vs Neb-Omaha(Smmt)/Southern(SWAC)

Alabama vs Bryant(Aeast)

Tennessee vs Merrimack(MAAC)

2 seed vs 15 seed

Florida vs CCSU(Neast)

Purdue(B1G) vs Towson(CAA)

Texas A&M vs Cleveland St(Hor)

Houston(B12) vs Norfolk(MEAC)

3 seed vs 14 seed

Wisconsin vs Utah Valley (WAC)

Michigan St vs Jax St(Cusa)

Iowa State vs No.Colorado(Bsky)

Arizona vs Akron(MAC)

4 seed vs 13 seed

Marquette vs ArkansasSt(Sbelt)

Kansas vs Samford(SoCon)

Memphis(AAC) vs Yale(Ivy)

St.John's(Beast) vs High Point (Bsouth)

5 seed vs 12 seed

Michigan vs Lipscomb(Asun)

Kentucky vs McNeese St(Sland)

Texas Tech vs UC-San Diego(Bwest)

Mississippi vs George Mason(A10)

6 seed vs 11 seed

Creighton vs Drake(Mvalley)

Miss St vs North Carolina/VCU

Louisville vs Ohio State/Georgia

UCLA vs San Diego St

7 seed vs 10 seed

Illinois vs Vanderbilt

Connecticut vs Nebraska

Missouri vs Wake Forest

Clemson vs Oklahoma

8 seed vs 9 seed

Utah State vs West Virginia

New Mexico(Mwest) vs St. Mary's(WCC)

Maryland vs Baylor

Oregon vs Gonzaga

First Four Out

BYU

SMU

Pittsburgh

Texas

Next Four Out

UCF

Arkansas

Cincinnati

Xavier

Also Considered

Kansas State

UC-Irvine

Villanova

USC

Arizona St

Boise State

Friday Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed

Auburn(SEC) vs American(Pat)/UALR(OVC)

Duke(ACC) vs Neb-Omaha(Smmt)/Southern(SWAC)

Alabama vs UNC-Ash(Bsouth)

Tennessee vs Quinnipiac(MAAC)

2 seed vs 15 seed

Florida vs CCSU(Neast)

Purdue(B1G) vs Bryant(Aeast)

Texas A&M vs Cleveland St(Hor)

Houston(B12) vs Norfolk(MEAC)

3 seed vs 14 seed

Kansas vs Towson(CAA)

Marquette vs Jax St(Cusa)

Wisconsin vs No.Colorado(Bsky)

Michigan St vs Akron(MAC)

4 seed vs 13 seed

Iowa State vs ArkansasSt(Sbelt)

Kentucky vs Samford(SoCon)

Memphis(AAC) vs Yale(Ivy)

Texas Tech vs Grand Canyon(WAC)

5 seed vs 12 seed

Michigan vs Lipscomb(Asun)

Arizona vs McNeese St(Sland)

St.John's(Beast) vs Drake(Mvalley)

Mississippi vs George Mason(A10)

6 seed vs 11 seed

Creighton vs UC-Irvine(Bwest)

Miss St vs BYU/Nebraska

Connecticut vs SMU/Vanderbilt

Missouri vs Georgia

7 seed vs 10 seed

Louisville vs Wake Forest

UCLA vs San Diego St

Illinois vs Ohio State

Clemson vs St. Mary's(WCC)

8 seed vs 9 seed

Oregon vs West Virginia

Utah State vs Gonzaga

New Mexico(Mwest) vs Baylor

Maryland vs Oklahoma

First Four Out

Pittsburgh

Texas

Arkansas

Xavier

Next Four Out

UCF

VCU

Boise State

Cincinnati

Also Considered

Iowa

Indiana

North Carolina

Northwestern

Villanova

USC

Arizona St

Wednesday SEC and ACC? Action?

 Tuesday was a tough night for some bubble teams as BYU, Iowa, USC, Pittsburgh, and Indiana lost.  Iowa and Indiana will no longer be monitored and those teams are done.

On the flip side Xavier, VCU, and Boise State all won and hang on to their slim hopes.

Tonight we have more team in bubble land in action.  Cincinnati goes to UCF, who both need wins here.  Arkansas plays at Texas and although I wouldn't say the Razorbacks are close, they can still make a run with every game in the SEC being a Quad 1 or 2.  Nebraska travels to Washington and look to stay hot after last week.  Finally Wake Forest plays "Atlantic Coast" foe Stanford to end the night.

Tuesday's Musing

 I wrestled with dropping Iowa State off the top seed line yesterday and it turns out I should off after another loss last night.  Tennessee is now a 1 seed and Iowa State is at a minimum a 2 but possibly a 3.

Tonight has a TON of solid games highlighted by Marquette at St. Johns and Kentucky at Mississippi State.

Other games of note specifically for bubble teams are Oklahoma at Auburn, Vanderbilt at Florida, and Arizona at BYU.

Sneaky great game of the night goes to Baylor at Texas Tech.  Both had big wins over the weekend and are hoping to avoid a letdown.

Monday Bracketology

 1 seed vs 16 seed

Auburn(SEC) vs American(Pat)/Morehead)OVC)

Duke(ACC) vs Neb-Omaha(Smmt)/Southern(SWAC)

Alabama vs UNC-Ash(Bsouth)

Iowa State vs Marist(MAAC)

2 seed vs 15 seed

Tennessee vs CCSU(Neast)

Marquette(Beast) vs Bryant(Aeast)

Florida vs Cleveland St(Hor)

Purdue vs Norfolk(MEAC)

3 seed vs 14 seed

Kentucky vs Towson(CAA)

Michigan St(B1G) vs Jax St(Cusa)

Texas A&M vs No.Colorado(Bsky)

Houston(B12) vs FGCU(Asun)

4 seed vs 13 seed

Kansas vs Akron(MAC)

Wisconsin vs ArkansasSt(Sbelt)

Memphis(AAC) vs Samford(SoCon)

Arizona vs Yale(Ivy)

5 seed vs 12 seed

Michigan vs Grand Canyon(WAC)

Miss St vs McNeese St(Sland)

St. John's vs Drake(Mvalley)

Illinois vs George Mason(A10)

6 seed vs 11 seed

Clemson vs UC-Irvine(Bwest)

Creighton vs SMU/UCF

Mississippi vs Georgia/Pittsburgh

Missouri vs Wake Forest

7 seed vs 10 seed

Louisville vs Gonzaga

Oregon vs Baylor

Texas Tech vs Texas

St. Mary's(WCC) vs San Diego St

8 seed vs 9 seed

UCLA vs Utah State

Connecticut vs New Mexico(Mwest)

West Virginia vs Vanderbilt

Oklahoma vs Maryland

First Four Out

BYU

Ohio State

Arkansas

Nebraska

Next Four Out

Xavier

VCU

Boise State

Arizona St

Also Considered

Iowa

Indiana

North Carolina

Northwestern

Villanova

Cincinnati