The bracket below is a CHECKPOINT based on what I think a team’s CURRENT MERIT is. It is not a prediction of what I think the actual committee will do in March. It is what I personally think the field should look like. If you want a bracket that tries to guess the actual committee check out Jon Teitel’s field –BY CLICKING HERE. He’s among the best in the country at guessing the committee.
OTHERS CONSIDERED: Texas A&M, Arkansas State, Dayton, Kansas State, Miami FL, Memphis, Ohio State, Houston, Georgetown, UCF, Auburn, NC State, Georgia, Nevada, California, Wake Forest, TCU, Boise State, Illinois State, Oakland, Charleston, Ole Miss
NOTES FROM DAVID
-Indiana’s RPI is in the 100s, and obviously if it’s still there at the end of the season they’ll be nowhere near the field, but we are still to a point to where some of the numerical rankings, particularly the RPI, are very erratic due to less than half the season being played. Their overall profile, and their team, is still really good. I know they’ve lost two straight, but losing to Louisville isn’t really damaging, especially when they have wins against Kansas and North Carolina on their profile.
-Nebraska on the #9 line may seem crazy, but out of all their losses only one was particularly bad so they hadn’t really sunk themselves prior to this week. So, when a team that’s been holding serve suddenly adds road wins against Indiana and Maryland to their profile, the value of their profile spikes big time.
And those who laughed at Tim Miles will be sorry!!!
-UCLA lost at Oregon, but Oregon has been tough at home, and it was on a last second shot, and if anything I think I was more impressed with UCLA’s team after the game than I was before the game. It’s a non-damaging loss, with the types of wins they have, particularly the win at Kentucky, their profile and team still warrant a #1 seed.
-I know Xavier is high in the rankings, and I don’t particularly feel they are overrated, but I just can’t seem to get them any higher on my seed list. They don’t have a win against a team that’s solidly in the field yet other than Clemson, who I have on the #7 line. If X is as good as I think they are, they’ll get the wins they need in Big East play in order to move up, but for now I have them on the #7 line.
NOTES FROM JOHN
-I applaud the Puppet for adding Florida State to protected seed territory – given the fact that the Mothership highlighted all 4 Tobacco Road teams losing on the same day, what was overlooked was the Noles going into Virginia and getting a signature win against Virginia.
-And speaking of the Hoos, I think they belong a seed line lower here. I understand that Florida State and West Virginia suddenly look a lot better, but they do have a win at Louisville to boast about. I don’t think that in and of itself merits a 2 at this checkpoint, at least.
-I know Griggs has a little difficulty in moving Xavier ahead on his seed list, but I’ll give you a few teams that are seeded a little high at the moment – USC and Purdue. The Trojans won at Texas A&M earlier this year, but even Tennessee has been able to accomplish that. I’m starting to wonder about Purdue given that their only real win of note is against Notre Dame. They’ve lost at home to Villanova and now Minnesota, and even Georgia State was not easy, either.
-Florida may seem to be overseeded at a 5, but I do give them credit for winning a lot of games of note away from home (particularly Seton Hall and Miami in the Advocare Invitational and Arkansas on the road).
-I’ll admit it, I am on the bandwagon for Nebraska and Tim Miles – at least as far as getting into the field. Their schedule is brutal, and winning at Indiana and Maryland is impressive. However, their scarlet letter this year will be the Gardner-Webb loss at home. (Also note that Tim Miles has gone radio silent on Twitter since that loss!)
-I will again ask what business Rhode Island has of getting into this field, much less being considered at all. All they have is a win against Cincinnati, but that’s offset by losses against Duke, Valpo, Providence and Houston away from home as well. The good news for them is that they have a chance to run up a nice record in the A-10, but I don’t think that’s enough. Marquette is another team that shouldn’t be in yet until they can actually close out another close game or two away from home. Beating Georgia and Vandy is nice and dandy, but had they been able to finish off either Pitt or Seton Hall, I’d like their chances a lot better right now.
-South Carolina has reinstated Sindarius Thornwell, so we’ll have to see if they can regain their form when they beat Michigan earlier this year. Losses to Seton Hall, Clemson and Memphis in and of themselves aren’t fatal, but they don’t signal a positive trend for a team about to begin SEC play. They certainly can’t be losing games like Missouri and Mississippi State again, nor can they be swept in 3 games by a team not named Kentucky.
COMMENTS FROM CHAD
– Chad is taking a sick day this week and will wait until next week to rip David apart.