In an overtime, down-to-the-wire, resume comparison battle, the Duke Blue Devils edged Villanova for the final No. 1 seed in today’s bracket update. Without taking you through all the nuances, Duke’s road wins at Wisconsin and Louisville ultimately trumped Villanova’s better “losses.” It was that close.
Looking ahead, it’s a challenging week for the Blue Devils. They begin a three-game road swing on Sunday that takes them through St. John’s, Notre Dame, and Virginia. In terms of Duke’s final bracket position, the next eight days could be huge.
Elsewhere, the week’s biggest climbers are Georgetown and Indiana. The Hoyas spliced together wins over Butler and Villanova, and the Hoosiers backed up a road win at Illinois by out-gunning Maryland Thursday night in Bloomington. Both are five-seeds today.
We still have a wide range of questionable resumes – both inside and just outside the bracket. Take, for example, Ohio State. While the Buckeyes’ worst losses are to Iowa (twice), OSU lacks an RPI Top 50 win as of this morning – and they have yet to beat a team that would currently qualify for an at-large bid. At some point, that will have to change.
Another good weekend of college hoops is almost here. Enjoy the ride.
UPDATED: January 23, 2015
Teams in CAPS represent the projected AUTOMATIC bid. In the event of a tie in the loss column, RPI is the first tiebreaker used. Exceptions are made for teams that use an abbreviation (UCLA, BYU, etc).
Several new bracketing principles were introduced last year. You can read them for yourself at http://www.ncaa.com. For example: teams from the same conference may now meet before a Regional final, even if fewer than eight teams are selected. The goal is to keep as many teams as possible on their actual seed line.
FIRST FOUR PAIRINGS – Dayton (First Round)
- Xavier vs. NC State | East Region
- George Washington vs. Syracuse | SouthRegion
- ALBANY vs. NEW MEXICO ST | East Region
- BUCKNELL vs. NO DAKOTA ST | Midwest Region
BRACKET PROJECTION …
MIDWEST – Cleveland | EAST – Syracuse | |
Louisville | Charlotte | |
1) KENTUCKY | 1) VIRGINIA | |
16) BUCKNELL / ND STATE | 16) ALBANY / N. MEXICO ST | |
8) Dayton | 8) Cincinnati | |
9) Michigan State | 9) Georgia | |
Portland | Jacksonville | |
5) Georgetown | 5) Indiana | |
12) WESTERN KENTUCKY | 12) Xavier / NC State | |
4) WICHITA STATE | 4) West Virginia | |
13) HARVARD | 13) WOFFORD | |
Louisville | Pittsburgh | |
6) Arkansas | 6) Baylor | |
11) TULSA | 11) Washington | |
3) Notre Dame | 3) Maryland | |
14) MURRAY STATE | 14) IONA | |
Omaha | Pittsburgh | |
7) Providence | 7) Northern Iowa | |
10) Stanford | 10) Miami-FL | |
2) KANSAS | 2) VILLANOVA | |
15) UL-MONROE | 15) HIGH POINT | |
SOUTH – Houston | WEST – Los Angeles | |
Charlotte | Seattle | |
1) Duke | 1) GONZAGA | |
16) NORTH FLORIDA | 16) ST. FRANCIS-BROOKLYN | |
8) SMU | 8) Iowa | |
9) LSU | 9) Oklahoma State | |
Seattle | Columbus | |
5) Oklahoma | 5) VCU | |
12) S.F. AUSTIN | 12) GREEN BAY | |
4) Utah | 4) Louisville | |
13) EASTERN WASHINGTON | 13) BOWLING GREEN | |
Columbus | Jacksonville | |
6) Butler | 6) Texas | |
11) Geo. Washington / Syracuse | 11) Old Dominion | |
3) Iowa State | 3) North Carolina | |
14) NC-CENTRAL | 14) NORTHEASTERN | |
Omaha | Portland | |
7) SAN DIEGO ST | 7) Seton Hall | |
10) St. John’s | 10) Ohio State | |
2) WISCONSIN | 2) ARIZONA | |
15) TEXAS-SOUTHERN | 15) LONG BEACH ST |
NOTES on the BRACKET: Kentucky is the overall No. 1 seed followed by Virginia, Gonzaga, and Duke. Next in line: Villanova, Kansas, Wisconsin, Arizona
Last Five teams in (at large): Old Dominion, George Washington, Syracuse, Xavier, NC State
First Five teams out (at large): Tennessee, Wyoming, Colorado State, Davidson, Kansas State
Next five teams out (at large): Alabama, Illinois, Ole Miss, Texas AM, BYU
Breakdown by Conference …
ACC (8): Virginia, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville, North Carolina, Miami-FL, Syracuse, NC State
Big 12 (7): Kansas, Iowa State, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State
Big East (7): Villanova, Georgetown, Butler, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Xavier
Big 10 (6): Wisconsin, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan State, Iowa, Ohio State
Pac 12 (4): Arizona, Utah, Stanford, Washington
SEC (4): Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU
Atlantic 10 (3): VCU, Dayton, George Washington
American (3): Tulsa, Cincinnati, SMU
Missouri Valley (2): Wichita State, Northern Iowa
Conference USA (2): Western Kentucky, Old Dominion
Mountain West (1): San Diego State
West Coast (1): Gonzaga
ONE BID LEAGUES: UL-Monroe (SBELT), Harvard (IVY), Eastern Washington (BSKY), Green Bay (HZN), S.F. Austin (SLND), Wofford (STHN), Long Beach State (BWEST), Bowling Green (MAC), Iona (MAAC), North Florida (ASUN), Murray State (OVC), Northeastern (CAA), High Point (BSO), NC-Central (MEAC), North Dakota State (SUM), New Mexico State (WAC), Albany (AEAST), Bucknell (PAT), St. Francis-NY (NEC), Texas-Southern (SWAC)