One of the the most important bracketology updates comes on MARCH 1. Yes, it’s finally March. Don’t tell my brother, whose birthday it is a week from today, but this is probably the best month of the year. Conference tournaments have started. The America East semifinals are Saturday. The Atlantic Sun sends everyone to the quarterfinals, which starts Thursday. Big South quarterfinals are tonight, which includes everyone. CAA first round and quarterfinals are this coming weekend.
Quarterfinals in the Horizon is Tuesday. One of the best conference tournaments every year is Arch Madness. The Missouri Valley first round is Thursday with the quarterfinals on Friday. Ohio Valley quarterfinals are Wednesday and Thursday. Patriot League first round is Wednesday with quarterfinals on Saturday. And Navy got the top seed, which means the Midshipmen are in my field. The SoCon first round is Friday with quarterfinals on Saturday. Summit quarterfinals are Saturday and Sunday. Sun Belt first round is Friday with the quarterfinals coming the next day. West Coast Conference first round is Thursday, but Gonzaga and BYU don’t play in the semifinals until Monday, March 8.
A lot of things happened over the weekend. Duke and Michigan State did not do themselves favors. Blue Devils lost to Louisville at home, and the Spartans fell on the road to Maryland. That really did help the Cardinals and Terrapins though. USC just lost its three seed from me. I was probably the only one who had the Trojans that high. North Carolina followed up its horrible loss to Marquette by beating Florida State to finally secure an at-large bid. The Seminoles lost their chance at a two seed.
Baylor lost its first game, but the Bears are clearly rusty after the Covid break. They will be fine. I think it’s safe to say West Virginia is elite. Kansas would like its name up there too because of beating Baylor, but the Jayhawks did just get swept by Texas. The Longhorns and Texas Tech are in the top 25 in the metrics but have low adjusted winning percentages. The Sooners have a better adjusted winning percentage but are barely in the top 30, and the metrics continue to hate Oklahoma State despite the Cowboys looking really good.
I like Purdue as a four seed, but not many do. Clemson continues to rise as Virginia and Virginia Tech fall. Creighton lost to Xavier, which really helps the Musketeers. Colorado I think is good now. We’re all calling BYU a lock. San Diego State got a very important sweep of Boise State. Aztecs are a lock, Broncos are square on the bubble and Colorado State holds the Mountain West lead by a hair. I think Oregon is back near a lock. Seton Hall continues to fall. Drake decided to lose again. Saint Louis got a very important win over Richmond, which really shot the Billikens up the bubble.
Ohio State is on a three-game skid. We’re splitting hairs between the Buckeyes, Alabama and Illinois for the final one seed. There are no wrong answers. Keep scrolling to see where I stand.
Here comes week one of Championship Week. We’re almost there. It’s going to be a fun two weeks.
As always, check us all out on the Bracket Matrix during this important home stretch.
Pod 1
1 Gonzaga
16 James Madison/NC A&T
8 Rutgers
9 Louisville
5 Texas Tech
12 Wichita State
4 USC
13 UCSB
6 Colorado
11 Boise State/Seton Hall
3 Kansas
14 Liberty
7 San Diego State
10 Xavier
2 Iowa
15 Texas State
Pod 4
1 Illinois
16 Navy
8 Virginia Tech
9 LSU
5 Texas
12 Georgia Tech/Colorado State
4 Purdue
13 Abilene Christian
6 Virginia
11 UConn
3 Houston
14 UMBC
7 Wisconsin
10 Oregon
2 Alabama
15 Siena
Pod 2
1 Michigan
16 E. Washington/PV A&M
8 St. Bonaventure
9 North Carolina
5 Oklahoma State
12 Western Kentucky
4 Arkansas
13 Belmont
6 Florida
11 Drake
3 Villanova
14 UNCG
7 Tennessee
10 Maryland
2 West Virginia
15 Bryant
Pod 3
1 Baylor
16 Grand Canyon
8 Missouri
9 UCLA
5 Clemson
12 Toledo
4 Oklahoma
13 Winthrop
6 Creighton
11 VCU
3 Florida State
14 Cleveland State
7 BYU
10 Loyola-Chicago
2 Ohio State
15 South Dakota State
Last four byes
Maryland
Xavier
UConn
VCU
Last four in
Boise State
Seton Hall
Drake
Georgia Tech
First four out
Saint Louis
Michigan State
Stanford
Duke
Next four out
Indiana
Utah State
Minnesota
St. John’s
Four more
SMU
Richmond
Memphis
Syracuse