Before you go any further, I want to make sure everyone knows what they are looking at. They way I build my bracket is that it is CHECKPOINT of CURRENT MERIT. This IS NOT a prediction of what I think the Selection Committee will do in March, nor is it a ranking of how good I think the teams actually are. It’s really just based on the quality of everyone’s CURRENT resume. If you see things that seem to make no sense, such as North Carolina not being in at all, and Sam Houston being a protected seed, that doesn’t mean I think it’ll end up that way, but at this point in time Sam Houston has won at Utah and at Oklahoma, and North Carolina really hasn’t won anywhere against anyone that’s all that good.
OTHERS CONSIDERED: Nebraska, Saint Mary’s, Memphis, Nevada, Colorado, UAB, North Carolina, Texas Tech, James Madison, Penn State, Saint John’s, NC State, Charlotte, Towson, Butler, Ole Miss, Clemson, UCF, Marshall, San Francisco, Seattle U, Iona
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-I don’t think Sam Houston will end up as a protected seed in March, but it’s about damn time people started giving them some respect and acknowledge what they’ve done this year. The first edition of the NET came out today, and they are #7. They won at Utah, and won at Oklahoma. Arizona did not only not win at Utah, they were blown off the floor. So when you look at what they’ve done as far as winning games that are hard to win, 7th really isn’t that far off!
-Houston is probably the best overall team if I’m filling out this bracket as far as who wins and advances, but Houston doesn’t quite have the quality of wins that the teams ahead of them have.
-Northwestern State has the big win at TCU, but they have a smattering of other good wins as well. They just beat Southern Miss (who was previously unbeaten, and who has some nice wins of their own), so that’s why they’re currently on the #6 line.
-Northwestern not only belongs in the bracket right now, but they are a team that people need to watch out for. They just won at Michigan State, and they damn near beat Auburn earlier this year. One good game can be an anomaly, but when you play well on multiple nights, that’s more than just a fluke. This may be a dangerous team for the rest of the season.
-I love how bracket gurus post their brackets, and then in their notes list who their “Last Four In” were. I see no need to do that. Anyone with half a brain can look at any bracket and determine on their own which four teams were the last ones in.
-The other staff members can list any comments below if they’d like. If they say anything that criticizes or that is in disagreement with anything I have done…THEY ARE WRONG!!!