Hoops HD Staff Bracket – Friday, January 3rd

Today, it is our colleague John Stalica’s turn to project what he thinks the bracket should look like through games played today. This is not a forecast as to how the season finishes; we’ll see that type of bracket on Sunday when our colleague Jon Teitel releases his first bracket of the season. Without further ado, here is the bracket:

COMMENTS FROM JOHN:

• For now, I will go with Auburn over Tennessee as my overall #1 with the sheer volume of wins in Tier 1. They have 6 wins on neutral courts in Tier 1, although Tennessee’s 3 Quad 1 wins (2 of which were on the road) were nothing to sneeze at.

• In many cases, teams like Mississippi State, Pittsburgh and Utah State were rewarded for records and number of wins against the Top 2 quadrants. I even debated on whether or not to have Houston in my field, for example. I do think they (and Arizona for that matter) will eventually finish higher than where they are (or aren’t in the case of Arizona) right now.

• I’m more inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to teams like UC-Irvine and St. Bonaventure right now than teams like Cincinnati and Texas Tech. I know colleagues like Joby are especially critical of Tech’s lack of substance against the Top 2 tiers.

• What Memphis has done in their out-of-conference schedule is insane and what you’d typically expect of a team like Houston. Now comes their coal walk through the American where they have to keep bad losses to a minimum the rest of the way.

COMMENTS FROM THE REST OF THE STAFF:

COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:

• I like that Stalica has UC San Diego inside his bubble, and right now the 10 line feels about right. I actually think they are that good and will be inside the bubble come March.

• Creighton on the 10 line is interesting given that they are only 9-6 and have yet to win a true road game. I know many won’t agree with that selection, but I actually kinda do. They recently had a nice win against Saint John’s, most of their losses aren’t all that damaging, and after being so competitive against Marquette last night, you start to look at their upcoming schedule and realize they should be able to win 7 of their next 8.