Bracket Projection – Hoops HD Staff Bracket

This week, it is staff member John Stalica’s turn to do the weekly staff bracket. This is not an ultimate projection of what the bracket will be (as that is the expertise of our colleague Jon Teitel), but rather a checkpoint of where we stand through games of Sunday the 15th of December. And here is the bracket:

First Four Out: Xavier, Utah State, LSU, Seton Hall

COMMENTS FROM JOHN

– Once again, there is no clear cut team for the #1 overall slot. I was set to put Ohio State in that spot after what they did to Cincinnati, Villanova, North Carolina and Penn State. Losing at Minnesota stings, but it’s very odd that home teams are a perfect 13-0 in the B1G so far this season.

– Gonzaga is once again looking like a team that will be seeded #1 in the West Region. The Bulldogs have beaten two of the top teams in the Pac-12 all on the road and also beat Oregon down in Atlantis last month. If they finish noncon play without any further slipups, there’s a very good chance of Gonzaga running the table the remainder of the season.

– Memphis is also showing that they can win games of significance without James Wiseman. Winning at Tennessee is not only good for the profile, it’s a big boost for the fanbase that hasn’t had a team this solid since the days of Calipari (even if the NCAA insists on a “Vacant” entry or two in the record books.

– There is a team from the Keystone State that is a protected seed this week not named Villanova. Penn State has shown that they can win games of significance both home and away, and beating Maryland had to be a feather in their cap. The Nittany Lions are now ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since the 1990s.

– Northern Iowa is a team that can potentially get above the First Four later on in the season. Their best wins are against South Carolina down in Cancun and at Colorado. Their only loss is against West Virginia, and it’s possible they could have an at-large case depending on whether or not they’re able to win the regular season crown in the Missouri Valley.

COMMENTS FROM THE STAFF

FROM DAVID -I agree that it is tough to pick the overall #1, but I also think that Stalica got it right in Kansas.  A rarity!  He did something right!  Kansas played Duke in their first game and turned it over about once a minute, which is bad.  But, they still nearly won the game despite not playing well, and they haven’t lost since.  They also have a really nice win against Dayton (more on them in a second), and a profile that looks pretty good.

I’m also really impressed with what Gonzaga has done, and agree that they should be on the #1 line.  I could see putting them even a little higher up than 4th on the seedlist.

I like Dayton a lot more than Stalica.  I know that their profile shows no wins over ranked teams, so if you’re going strictly off of merit one could argue that the #5 line is where they belong.  But, this is a team that’s only loss to Kansas is in overtime, and that has blown everyone else they have played off of the floor.  I think they are easily one of the best 15 teams in the country, and perhaps even one of the 10 best teams in the country.  I’d have them as a protected seed.

Rutgers makes the field!!  An argument can definitely be made.  I’d like to see them win at least one game away from home, though.

I like Penn State, but not THAT much!!!  Sheesh Stalica!!

Something I don’t understand.  Butler has one loss, by one point, at Baylor, who Stalica has up on the #2 line.  He has Butler down on the #5 line.  How does a team that loses by just a point on the road, IN THEIR ONLY LOSS, MIND YOU!, end up seeded three lines below the team that barely beat them?