Happy Groundhog Day and happy new bracketology day. I see the rodent saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter. I live in Wisconsin. I never trust an animal to determine how much winter is left. I know there are over six weeks left of college basketball. Keep the faith.

This was one of the most difficult brackets I have put together all season. Michigan hasn’t played in almost two weeks. Alabama lost, Iowa lost, but Illinois still has an under five adjusted winning percentage. Texas dropped two in a row. Virginia lost. Tennessee won, but Kansas is spinning. After tough starts, Oklahoma and Texas Tech are rising to the top four of the Big 12 but played in one ugly game Monday night. Wisconsin is inconsistent but still has the same adjusted winning percentage as Purdue. No one knows what to make of Florida. Again. Colorado plays to the level of its opponents. San Diego State looks really good in the metrics but honestly could be the fourth best team in the Mountain West.

USC has a good adjusted winning percentage, average of metrics and SOS, but its best win is BYU and lost to Oregon State. We felt like the Cougars’ loss to Pepperdine was its last lost they could afford other than Gonzaga. But BYU has an over nine adjusted winning percentage, still a top-40 team in the metrics and is 2-1 vs. the top teams in the Mountain West. North Carolina is back to winning, but the ACC sucks. Stanford is winning without its best players. Saint Louis has played one game in 2021, and the ranking is based strictly on potential because its first game back against Dayton didn’t go well.

LSU and Arkansas don’t have good wins. Seton Hall has good wins but lots of losses. The Pirates though look Elite Eight good. If they can sneak their way into the tournament. I want to reward St. Bonaventure for its great adjusted winning percentage and for being right near the top of the Atlantic-10. And Syracuse continues to give bracketologists fits. I wanted to find a way to put Indiana and/or Maryland in but couldn’t. Loyola-Chicago needs to keep winning. The metrics hate Western Kentucky, but we all love them.

The rest of the bubble is just one big cluster. Keep watching games and hope the postponements get made up. And continue to hope conference tournaments go on as planned and no important teams opt out.

As always, check us out on the Bracket Matrix.

Pod 1

1 Gonzaga
16 PVAM/NCAT

8 Rutgers
9 Drake

5 Florida
12 Utah State/Seton Hall

4 Oklahoma
13 UAB

6 Colorado
11 Arkansas

3 Illinois
14 South Dakota State

7 Oklahoma State
10 BYU

2 Alabama
15 UC Irvine

Pod 4

1 Villanova
16 Northeastern

8 USC
9 Minnesota

5 Creighton
12 Belmont

4 Florida State
13 UNCG

6 Missouri
11 Colorado State

3 Texas
14 Cleveland State

7 UCLA
10 Clemson

2 Iowa
15 Montana State

Pod 2

1 Baylor
16 Long Island/North Alabama

8 Louisville
9 Stanford

5 Purdue
12 Syracuse/St. Bonaventure

4 Texas Tech
13 Colgate

6 Kansas
11 LSU

3 Virginia
14 Grand Canyon

7 Xavier
10 Oregon

2 Ohio State
15 Louisiana

Pod 3

1 Michigan
16 Iona

8 North Carolina
9 Boise State

5 West Virginia
12 Toledo

4 Wisconsin
13 Winthrop

6 Virginia Tech
11 UConn

3 Tennessee
14 Sam Houston

7 San Diego State
10 Saint Louis

2 Houston
15 UMBC

Last four byes

UConn
LSU
Arkansas
Colorado State

Last four in

Utah State
Seton Hall
Syracuse
St. Bonaventure

First four out

Maryland
Indiana
Loyola-Chicago
Western Kentucky

Next four out

Richmond
VCU
SMU
Providence

Four more

Georgia Tech
Michigan State
Memphis
Saint Mary’s

Photo courtesy of BaylorBears.com