For the first time this season, someone other than David Griggs will be putting together the weekly staff bracket this year. This is not the exercise that Jon Teitel does where he tries to forecast the Selection Committee, but rather how we feel the bracket should look like at this particular checkpoint.
And without further ado, here is the bracket:
COMMENTS FROM JOHN:
– This is one of the few times that we have a clear choice not only of the top overall seed, but the four #1 seeds as well. Gonzaga is playing as well as any team we’ve seen since 1991 UNLV and 2015 Kentucky when you consider how likely it is that they will end the regular season undefeated. Baylor and Villanova have also looked near invincible when playing, but both teams have had to hit the pause button because of COVID-19 issues this year.
– Right now, the Big Ten has a nice round ten teams in the field, and I suppose that cases could be made at some point that Purdue and Maryland could be in the field. Oh, and half of those ten teams are actually protected seeds right now.
– While Oklahoma State is ineligible for the tournament for now, I’m going to gamble and assume that they will be granted a waiver to play in 2021. They have wins at Texas Tech and at Marquette that are looking good, and a win at Wichita State might be good after all this season. (And yes, I think the Shockers are a tournament team at this checkpoint).
– Time will tell as to whether or not the ACC will be down or unproven this season. They have one protected seed and it is none of the usual suspects like Duke, Virginia, North Carolina or Louisville. It is – wait for it – Clemson. Six of their eight wins are against the KenPom top 100 (including Purdue, Alabama and Mississippi State on a neutral court and at Miami) and their only loss came at Virginia Tech.
– Hopefully in three weeks I’ll have a better gauge on ranking the UTR teams in the bracket. I think Western Kentucky is good enough to be above the First Four, for example, but losing more games like Charlotte isn’t advisable when their only win of note is at Alabama.
COMMENTS FROM THE STAFF
Coming soon