It is January, which means Chad is finally going to be taking his normal spot in the rotation posting the weekly Staff Bracket. Below is his current bracket through all games of Sunday, January 8. After the Bracket is Chad’s comments as well as potentially a few from other members of the HoopsHD staff.
CHAD’S NOTES
– Despite their home loss to Rutgers (R!U!), Purdue is still the #2 overall team. Four tier 1A wins, all of which are away from home, is just way too impressive at this point in the season.
– Has any team this season, or honestly in recent memory, had a better first week of January than Kansas State did? The Wildcats turned a mediocre profile whose best highlight was only one loss into my #5 overall team by winning at Texas and at Baylor. That is a pair of 1A road wins, 4 Tier 1 wins overall, a 6-1 road/neutral record, and only one loss back in November. K State was not ranked in either national poll heading into the week, but I don’t care. I simply love their profile right now.
– Despite suffering a weak loss at Georgia Tech, Miami is still a protected seed and my highest rated ACC team. The ‘canes actually benefitted from Rutgers win at Purdue, making their home win over the Scarlet Knights look even better. Plus, they have already defeated the ACC’s second best team, Virginia.
– There are five Big 12 teams on the top 4 seed lines, which is why TCU and Kansas ended up in the same region.
– Another team that notched a huge week was NC State. I would not have had the Wolfpack in last week, but beating Duke and winning at Virginia Tech this week boosted them not only into the field, but all the way up to an 8 seed.
– I have not heard a lot of talk about Oklahoma’s profile, but they have 5 wins in the top two tiers, all of which were away from home. The Sooners are one of 8 Big 12 teams currently in my field.
– The ACC also got 8 teams in, but the Big 10 leads the way with 10 teams. Northwestern has wins at Indiana and at Michigan State to go along with a home win over Illinois and no bad losses. The Wildcats are IN as of right now.
– The ACC’s 8 teams were not solidly in by any means. Pittsburgh and Wake Forest were the last two teams above the First Four and Clemson is in the First Four.
– My top four teams out, in order, were Penn State (Big 10 team #11!), Utah, Boise State and New Mexico. The next four out were LSU, Virginia Tech, Creighton and UCF. Also considered were UNLV, Utah Valley, North Texas, Kentucky, UNC-Wilmington, BYU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, USC, Santa Clara, Texas Tech and Utah State. Yes, Kentucky is on the “Also Considered” list. They are not in. They are not in the top four or even top 8 out. They just got a passing consideration and nothing else. I personally like Utah Valley’s profile better than UK’s!
– Among the auto-bid winners, I choose my personal highest rated team in each league, which is not necessarily the league leader, for the auto bid. That is why Sam Houston is in for the WAC, for example. I have both Florida Atlantic and Charleston inside the bubble and in position for at-large bids right now. Kent State is close, but did just barely fall below my First Four.
– Finally, a quick shout out to one of our favorite conferences here at HoopsHD, the Northeast. As of Sunday, only one NEC team is ranked in the top 300 of the NET, and that is Stonehill (290), a team that is ineligible for postseason play as a transitional school. We may be able to ink the NEC champion not only into the First Four, but maybe even into the #68 spot on the final seed list. Yet, despite all of this, I can’t get enough of watching these teams! #NECFOREVER!!!!!
COMMENTS FROM JOHN:
– Kansas State has had quite the meteoric rise thanks to the aforementioned pair of road wins at Texas and at Baylor. I don’t know if it will last, nor do I know that they should be on the doorstep of a #1 above Alabama and UConn.
– Mississippi State turned out to be part of a better-than-expected exempt event that included wins against Marquette and Utah. It’s a good thing, because they’ve started to get exposed a bit by Drake (not to mention a pair of heavyweights in Tennessee and Alabama). With a nonconference SOS of 294, it is not recommended that they acquire too many strikes in the SEC.
– The Clemson test could be applied to see how many strikes are acceptable for them in the ACC – their nonconference SOS of 343 and pair of Tier 4 losses (Loyola-Chicago and South Carolina) means that they best not be a bubblish team when the Hoops HD Selection Committee meets in a couple of months to assemble their bracket.
– UAB had a real missed opportunity this week to make some noise for their own at-large case. Missing an opportunity to knock off Florida Atlantic was bad enough, but notice that Chad did not consider them after they lost against FIU. 100% agree that North Texas deserves consideration instead.
COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:
-I don’t know if I’d have Kansas State as high as the#2 line, but I’d definitely have them as a protected seed, and the #2 line is not overshooting it by that much (if at all). Their resume is amazing, and what they did this past week is more than what a lot of teams do in an entire season.
-I also agree with Florida Atlantic and Charleston being inside the bubble, and Florida Atlantic actually being ranked higher.
-I know Iowa just won a big game at Rutgers, but I’m still not sold on them being in the field at all, much less being in the top half of it. They also have a loss on their resume that’s so bad that I’d venture to say that no one has ever been seeded 8th or better with a loss that bad in the history of the tournament, and I look at some of the teams on his 10, 11, and even 12 line and think to myself that those teams are better than Iowa.
COMMENT FORM JON:
#1-seeds do not lose at home…with a healthy roster…to an opponent that entered the game 6-10 including a double-digit loss to Prairie View: #sorrywildcats
COMMENTS FROM DAVID DORMAN:
You have Fran McCaffrey sitting comfortable as an 8 seed. I have Iowa right on the cutline as my last team in the field. The Hawkeyes have plenty of work ahead of them starting with two big home games this week, Michigan & Maryland.
I like the Hurricanes getting a 3 seed, Miami is very deserving. My concern is the front court where they are not big and not deep. To make a March push they will need to shoot light’s out from the perimeter and Isaiah Wong can catch fire.
I can live with Tennessee as a 3 seed but I think they are closer to the 1 line than the 3.
I love the inclusion of NC State, they are playing terrific as of late. Recently hammering Duke at home and winning on the road at Va Tech are solid resume builders. I can see the Wolfpack in the Sweet 16 if they continue to develop under Kevin Keatts.
I like this year’s Cyclone team but I do not have them with a protected seed as of today. Iowa State’s road win at TCU this weekend was huge but I have them on the 7 line today.
Did Chad move to Iowa recently?
I still have Illinois safely in my field but a 5 seed is too high with their inconsistency. The Illini’s last 2 road/neutral games have both been blowout losses to Northwestern and Mizu.
You have Florida Atlantic and College of Charleston bracketed right where they should be. I have them both receiving at large bids if needed. “Needed” meaning as of today the Cougars & Owls are both in my bracket even if they don’t win their respective Conference Tournaments.
Nice work Chad & enjoy Iowa!
