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The bracket reflects games played through December 23rd.
I want everyone to understand what they are looking at. This is a CHECKPOINT of CURRENT MERIT. It is not a prediction of what I think the bracket will look like on Selection Sunday, nor is it a reflection of how good I think the teams are. It is just me asking the question how hard would it be for an average team to win the games that these teams have played, and then ranking them based on how they’ve done.
OTHERS CONSIDERED: Arkansas, Saint Louis, Iowa State, Purdue, Pittsburgh, UConn, Maryland, Fresno State, Northwestern, Murray State, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, Washington, Tulsa, Oregon, Florida, Alabama, Toledo, Davidson, UCLA, Liberty, UCF, Clemson, North Texas, LMU, Colorado
NOTES ON THE BRACKET
-As more and more games are being played, the more and more “normalized” my brackets are becoming.
-I realize that teams like Belmont and Lipscomb may seem to be seeded really high. I do really like both of those teams, and think both have a chance at making the field even if they don’t win their conference tournaments so long as they are able to blow through their conference regular seasons, but I don’t think either one will end up as far inside the bracket as where I currently have them.
-I’m not sure what to make of Saint John’s yet. In one sense, they’re unbeaten. In another sense, they’ve played a schedule that I think about fifty teams would be unbeaten against. We will see what they’re made of when Big East play starts. If they win their first four Big East games, then they’ll be up on at least the #3 line.
-Texas is one of the more schizophrenic teams this year. Their good wins are really good. Their bad losses are pretty bad, at least by NCAA Tournament standards. We always get a few of those every year.
-I know that Gonzaga has dropped in the rankings since losing back to back games against Tennessee and North Carolina. North Carolina was a true road game, and Tennessee is on the #1 line. They also beat Duke on a neutral floor. Two losses away from home, one of which was a true road game against a protected seed caliber team that is unbeaten at home, is not a reason to move them below Duke. I don’t think Duke has won a game that is as difficult to win as either of those two, and Gonzaga did beat them head to head on a neutral floor.
-A case could easily be made that Kentucky belongs a lot higher than where I have them considering how big their win was against North Carolina. Well, if they beat Louisville they’ll certainly jump into the protected seeded range. As for now, I just feel that the other teams have more good/decent wins at the moment. I also feel Kentucky has kicked it into gear and will be way up the seed list by the end of the season.
NEWS, NOTES, UPCOMING GAMES, AND HOLIDAY WISHES
-We at Hoops HD are basically going into Holiday mode. There are no games on Christmas Eve, or the day after Christmas. On Christmas Day we have the four Diamond Head Classic games. We’ll certainly be following those, so if you happen to be watching give us a shout on Twitter. Will Colorado’s train wreck continue to pile up by losing all three of their games? Will Bucknell get another nice win for a UTR team after some pretty good efforts recently? And, Indiana State vs TCU is actually a really good championship game. The Trees have played pretty well for most of the season, and TCU has just one loss and is adding some wins away from home to their resume.
On December 27th we have just one game, and that’s UMKC @ Creighton in a buy game.
On December 28th we have a smattering of what is mostly buy games. Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, NC State, Kent State, TCU (although their game is actually on the road against nondiv1 Hawaii Pacific), Marquette, Texas, Arkansas (who may get a halfway decent battle from Austin Peay), LSU, Gonzaga, Utah State, and LMU are all going to the bakery this Friday to get a tasty cupcake as a nice wrap up to their Christmas festivities, I guess. We will be back in full swing this Saturday for another busy day of college hoops. We are planning to record an Under the Radar podcast this Wednesday, although it may be a somewhat abbreviated version, so be on the lookout for that.
We hope everyone has a safe and happy Holiday Season!! I know for some people that is easier than others. If you have big plans then I hope you’re able to enjoy whatever it is that you’re planning to do. If you’re dreading the Holidays for whatever reason, then I hope you’re able to get through it and that things are back to normal for you soon. If you need to escape, then just tweet at us during the Diamond Head Classic. Truth be told there are years where stepping away and watching the Diamond Head Classic has been my favorite part of the Holidays, so we can kind of relate.