Hoops HD

So, you see a lot of brackets on this site, and I realize that at this time a year we have several people who only look at the brackets.  I want to make sure everyone knows what it is they are looking at.  This IS NOT an attempt to guess what the actual selection committee will do on Selection Sunday.  It also IS NOT an attempt to speculate what the real selection committee would do if today were Selection Sunday.  For the sake of this exercise, we do not give a damn about the actual Selection Committee.  We do have one of the best Selection Committee guessing experts in the world in Jon Teitel.  If that is what you’re looking for, then CLICK HERE for his latest projections.

What I am doing is laying out what I personally think the NCAA Tournament SHOULD look like if the season ended TODAY.  I’m not guessing the future.  I’m merely assessing what I’ve already seen.  I have some notes below the bracket that explain some of what I’ve done.  I assure you that everything I have written is pure genius.  If you disagree with it, then you are almost assuredly wrong.

You’ll also see some comments from other staff members at Hoops HD.  I don’t know why we even let them comment on the brackets that I make, because they are perfect and there is no point in letting them critique them.  Anything they say that disagrees with what I’ve done is also assuredly wrong!!

OTHERS CONSIDERED: Utah, Minnesota, Saint John’s, NC State, Georgetown, Providence, Santa Clara, Arizona State, Tennessee, Xavier, Virginia, TCU, VCU, Rhode Island, Texas, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Washington, Florida, New Mexico, Duquesne

NOTES FROM DAVID:

-Baylor is my overall #1 seed, and I don’t think that should even be controversial.  They’ve won at Kansas, they’re the only team that’s beaten Butler, they’re the only team that’s won at Texas Tech, and they’re the only team that’s beaten Villanova in a home/neutral game.

-The fact that Auburn is on the #4 line will probably make some people jump up and down.  When I look at their schedule, I just can’t help but think that while there are a lot of decent wins on it, there is nothing that is utterly fantastic on it.  Their best wins away from home are probably Saint Louis and Richmond, and while a win is a win, they didn’t exactly run away from either one of them until late in the game.  Now, they did blow out a pretty good Georgia team at home over the weekend, and I do think that when they start to play the tournament caliber teams in conference that their resume will start to go up, but when I look at all the other teams that I have on the top 5, and perhaps even top 6 lines, I think nearly all of them would have a very good chance of also being undefeated had they played that same schedule so far.

-I don’t have Louisville all that high either, at least not when compared to where they are in the polls.  It’s for the same reason.  I don’t think they’ve done anything that the teams that I have ahead of them would not have also been able to do.  Their best win is probably Michigan at home.  Michigan has yet to win a road game, and I do take things like that into account.

-I’m not sure what to do with Purdue.  Their ceiling is high, but their basement is deep.  While they do have seven losses, the loss to Nebraska is the only one that smells really bad, and some of their wins look pretty good, so the #10 line is where I ultimately put them.

-Oregon State’s profile has a lot of empty carbs on it, but they’ve avoided bad losses (with perhaps the exception of Texas A&M) and have added some meat to their resume in recent weeks.

-Northern Iowa is the only Under the Radar team that landed inside the bubble, and they are BARELY inside the bubble.  They are sandwiched in between the First Four.  Unfortunately I do not see that changing.  Perhaps Akron or East Tennessee State can play their way up if they blow through their conferences.  Liberty may get quite a bit of love from the actual committee if they win out, and they probably will win out, but to me they just don’t have any opportunities to make their resume any better.  They have virtually no one remaining that’s in the top 200, so all winning out really establishes is that they’re capable of beating teams outside the top 200.  That’s hardly distinctive when comparing them to other NCAA Tournament caliber teams because of course all of them can do that.

STAFF COMMENTS:

Comments from Chad:

– I am not going to complain about what David did on the top few lines, because quite frankly I am not offended by it.  I think Louisville should be a little higher, but not much.  And I fully understand the Auburn 4 seed argument, and the only way I justify them being higher is by arguing “hey they are undefeated.”

– My first big issue with David comes on his 6 line, when I see Texas Tech.  The Red Raiders beat Louisville (a team David ripped) on a neutral court and Oklahoma State (a team David barely even considered) at home.  Beyond that, they have done NOTHING.  This team may belong in a 6/11 game, but as the 11 seed!

– Georgia.  I think this is a solid Georgia team.  I do NOT think this team is an NCAA Tournament team right now.  Georgia won at Memphis.  Georgia has not beaten anyone else that is even coming close to sniffing a bid.  You do not get in the field with one win.  They do not belong.  Georgetown should probably be in, or maybe VCU, in their stead.  Of course, Florida should definitely be in and also did not make this field.

– All in all, David did a fair job.  But he is dead wrong on Texas Tech and therefore his bracket should be completely ignored.  #StupidPuppet

Comments from John:

– We saw a similar trend in the first Bracket Rundown show we had last week. I’m not going to nitpick the teams on the first five lines, but I do see question marks begin to shape up around the 6 line. Since Chad already questioned Texas Tech (which is more of a “projected” 6 than a “merited” 6 right now), I’ll ask the same question of Iowa. I think they’re a tournament team right now, but not one I’d be sure of as a first ballot team at this point. They could even be slotted in the opposite end of the 6/11 game.

– Illinois was probably the big winner last week – a win at Wisconsin and a home win against a hot Rutgers team helped fill a few holes in the Illini’s profile. Whether or not they sustain this remains to be seen.

– DePaul is barely hanging on by a thread, but when you’re 3-0 against B1G teams (including road wins at Iowa and Minnesota) and yet 0-3 against the Big East, it becomes a difficult profile to judge. I’d say they’re on their last legs right now.