We thought that this would be the Puppet’s week to prepare the staff bracket this week, but due to incarceration instead our colleague John Stalica will do the bracket this week. This is not an attempt to guess the Selection Committee (as Jon Teitel does every Sunday), but rather what John feels the bracket should look like after today. Here goes:
First Four Out: Ohio State, Arkansas, TCU, Boise State
Worth a look: Xavier, SMU, North Carolina, VCU. UC-Irvine, San Francisco, Indiana, George Mason
COMMENTS FROM JOHN:
– One of the better memes during the past month is that the SEC is only .500 since conference play began in January. The ACC actually has a chance to finish over .500 in the same stretch since Duke will play a late non-conference game at Madison Square Garden against Illinois. It’s actually a pivotal matchup for both teams; Duke needs a win like this to stay on the 1-line and Illinois really needs a stabilizing win to stay in the top half of the bracket.
– The B1G has a vise grip on the 3-line since they don’t really have a clear cut favorite to win the league at this point. Michigan/Michigan State may offer a clue as to who will be at the top of the 3-line at the end of tonight.
– Kansas should be very thankful that they got neutral-court wins against Duke and Michigan State in the first month of the season; it’s the only thing (besides their name) keeping them in the top half of the bracket right now. In true road games, the Jayhawks are a very meh 3-7. By comparison, Xavier is also 3-7 in true road games (including a win at Marquette) and not in this bracket.
– Ohio State is officially in deep doo-doo after getting blown out at home by Northwestern. Now they have to go to the West Coast and get a sweep of both UCLA and USC to get back into the field. I don’t think a split would be enough even if the win comes at UCLA. Maybe they’ll enjoy the initial Crown Invitational in Vegas with a couple other friends from the B1G, Big East and Big 12.
– Boise State and TCU are both creeping closer to the cut line. TCU put themselves in position with a win at home against Texas Tech; getting a win at Cincinnati this weekend would also be a step in the right direction. Boise State now has 3 wins against the field (Clemson, Saint Mary’s and New Mexico) and will have one more opportunity with Utah State visiting the Broncos. Still, they’ll need a win or two in the Mountain West Tournament to demonstrate that they can win away from home.
– For a few weeks, we’ve had Cleveland State as the Horizon League champion, but now I feel that Morris Robert, ERRRR, Robert Morris may now be the team to beat in the league. RMU only trails CSU by a half-game and is on a roll since their wardrobe malfunction earlier this season.
– I initially forgot to mention this Friday, but I would initially have had BYU as my last #10 seed and Oklahoma as my top #11 seed. Both teams were swapped to ensure BYU didn’t get placed in a Sunday region.
STAFF COMMENTS:
From Chad:
– Kentucky is such a hard team to place right now. Their five wins (3 away from home) against top 10 NET teams could make the a 3 seed, but their 7-6 conference record and 8 overall losses also gives them a case for the 5 or 6 line where John has them. I would personally have them higher, but I see the argument for a 5 seed as well.
– Vanderbilt and West Virginia on the 9 line both seem a bit high to me. I would have them a lot closer to the First Four. Vandy does not have a win away from home against the field and played an AWFUL non-conference schedule. West Virginia has the high quality wins, but 10 overall losses is a lot right now, and they are only 7-8 in Big 12 play.
– Baylor I feel is under-seeded on the 10 line. The Bears are healthy again and, while they have a lot of losses, all but one of them are Tier 1A.
– I would not have Oklahoma in right now. The Sooners have lost 5 in a row and are below .500 against the top three tiers. They now also have a BAD loss, the home home game they completely blew against LSU last weekend. They may need to be booking their tickets to the Crown, but do have time to right the ship as they were my top team out. (Note from Stalica – The Crown is limited to the B1G, Big East and Big 12 this year. The SEC and ACC will still be part of the 2025 NIT – the top two teams from each conference not invited to the NCAA Tournament will be invited to the NIT, but they are not compelled to participate.)
– Georgia also does not belong in. They are 8-10 against the top three tiers and have only one true road win — at Georgia Tech.
– Pitt does not even belong in the NIT or the CBI. I can name a dozen teams not in John’s field that I like better than them. Not only do I not have the Panthers in my field, I don’t even have them on my Board for teams Under Consideration. Did you typo and mean someone else here John? That Panthers are not good.
– Drake should be a few seed lines higher. The metrics are solid for this team, and I really think the Committee will give them a 9 or 10 seed if they keep winning. If they can at least win out the regular season (including a huge game at Northern Iowa on Sunday), I don’t even think they will need the automatic bid.
– I would have two A-10 teams in right now. I would also still have two Big West teams in DESPITE UC-Irvine’s loss last night. The Anteaters would be my very last team in, but as long as they do not lose again until the Big West Tournament final (which they are very capable of doing), I still believe in the two bid Big West, especially given that the rest of the Bubble teams are almost guaranteed to keep losing games.
– All in all, John did a great job in my opinion, and most of my arguments are with him are around the bubble.
From David Griggs:
-Vanderbilt on the 9 line is higher than I would have them. I just don’t think they’ve done enough away from home to be seeded as good as that. Having said that, if I were guessing the actual committee and not doing my own bracket, my guess is that’s where the real committee would have them.
-Kansas on the 6 line may seem low, but I’d actually have them lower. I’d probably place them behind Louisville and Clemson right now. Perhaps even Memphis. Kansas has not won a true road game against anyone that’s in this field.
-BYU is getting a lot of love. Not just from Stalica, but from most people who follow and do bracketology. I think they have some nice wins at home and…well…I think they have some nice wins at home. A weak OOC schedule and a shoddy road record would have me leaving the Cougars out.
-COLUMBIA AT BROWN (Ivy League). Columbia could be eliminated if they lose and Cornell and Princeton both win
NEWS AND NOTES:
-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Selection Committee Member Keith Gill – CLICK HERE
-Ohio State is what Forest Gump would call a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. Last night they were blown off their own home cour, by Northwestern, 70-49. Ohio State may have the most convoluted tournament profile of all time. I’ve never seen a team with so many reasons to be selected all so have so many reasons to be left out.
-UC Irvine fell at home to Cal State Northridge 84-72, which all but ends their at-large hopes. They are still a good team and they are potentially a dangerous team in the Round of 64 if they can win the Big West Tournament, but I think the only way they can get into the Round of 64 is if they win the Big West Tournament.
-There were a few other Under the Radar upsets last night as Bryant couldn’t get it done at Vermont (I guess that’s not an upset, but it was a game we thought Bryant would win), Towson fell at Elon for just their second conference loss of the year, and Jacksonville State lost at home to New Mexico State in a bit of a surprise.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MARQUETTE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Marquette has bounced back with two straight wins and once again appears like they can end up as a protected seed. Nova is not an easy to team to beat on the road. They haven’t been consistently good enough to say they’re a solid tournament team, but they can be tough to beat.
-CORNELL AT YALE (Ivy League). It’s possible that Yale can clinch at least a share of the Ivy League title if they win and Dartmouth loses to Penn.
-CLEVELAND STATE AT DETROIT MERCY (Horizon League). Cleveland State has lost three of their last four, but they still have a one game lead in the HL Standings with just four games to go, and this should be a winnable road game.
-CANISIUS AT MARIST (Metro Atlantic). Marist is just a half game behind Quinnipiac for 1st place and Canisius is in last place trying to mathematically stay alive for the conference tournament.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). It’s a rivalry game between two teams that are having outstanding seasons and are both likely to end up as protected seeds. Michigan is a perfect 12-0 at home, but Michigan State has proven they can win on the road, so this one should be fun.
For those of you who cannot wait until Selection Sunday to find out what the Selection Committee is thinking, the top-16 teams were revealed in a sneak preview last Saturday. This is not a crystal ball showing exactly which schools will become protected seeds on March 16th…although 3 of the #1 seeds from last year’s preview DID end up as #1 seeds last Selection Sunday (Houston/Purdue/UConn). Rather, it served as a peek behind the curtain at what the committee was thinking and what criteria they were using in their analysis of everyone’s body of work. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Selection Committee member Keith Gill about the WAB (Wins Above Bubble) and what to do with all of those great SEC schools.
How many hours/day will you be working on selection stuff this month, and do you have any advice for your fellow committee members on how to maintain their sanity on Selection Sunday? All of us on the committee love basketball so we would be watching games even if we were not diving into the data, which means our love for the sport takes care of the sanity part. I spend on average about 2 hours/day doing some work related to the committee, but we just had our bracket reveal so I spent about 4-5 hours/day leading up to that.
Last Saturday the selection committee unveiled its top-16 teams: what has the reaction been like? I have not heard anything negative…so I assume the reaction was positive. We have 5 new committee members this year, so we went through a process like selection week where we bracket the entire tourney (rather than just an orientation). I felt good about our work.
What categories have the biggest impact on a team’s seed (big road win/bad home loss/other), and why are they more important than other categories? That is 1 of the unique things about the committee. The great thing about having 12 people voting on teams is that I might have a category which I find most important, but other voters might care about other categories to even that out. I care about who you played, how many games you won, and where was the game played. Those 3 are the crux of what we are trying to do, and they are weighted accordingly.
If a team wants to make the NCAA tourney, are they better off scheduling decent teams who they think they can beat, or great teams who they can only hope to upset, or a nice mix of both, or other? In my mind balance is always best, even as a general life premise! It is all about the results: if you do not win enough games then it does not matter how tough your schedule is. If you can win 80% of your games against a good schedule, that will keep you close.
The committee uses a 4-tier system that emphasizes the location of wins/losses: is there a specific quadrant that you are drawn to the most (lots of Quad 1 wins, any Quad 4 losses, other)? As you go through the bracket you are really looking at Quad 1/Quad 2 wins. Auburn has 18 wins across the top-2 quads, which is a ton of victories, and they still have many more opportunities leading into the SEC tourney. When you go down the bracket to select the last at-large teams, a bad loss could weigh heavily against you, so I think it is specific to the scenario you are looking at. Regardless of your seed, if you have a large # of Quad 1 wins, that will play well for the committee.
In addition to the advanced metrics already on the official team sheets (such as BPI/KPI/KenPom) the Committee received some new metrics for this season (Torvik/WAB): how have you made use of these metrics, and do you have a favorite 1? What is helpful about the WAB is that it helps you compare schedules/results. It is very beneficial to take a team with less Quad 1 opportunities and compare them to a power-conference team: if we did not have WAB then it would be like comparing apples and oranges.
The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) includes metrics such as net offensive/defensive efficiency: why should anyone care how efficient a team is as long as they are winning games? The way I think about it is that it gives you a sense of how teams play: do they have a dominant defense, are they very efficient on offense, or are they great at everything? The efficiency numbers give you the insight beyond whether a team won: it shows “how” a team won and whether that will “travel”, which is why I think they are very important. If you have a great margin of victory, then you are playing well on both offense/defense, and you will probably play well in the NCAA tourney.
I know that you try to spread out teams from the same conference into different regions, but what happens if the SEC ends up with 12/13/14 teams in the tournament? Our approach for teams who are on the top-4 seed lines is that we try to protect them: a perfect example is from our recent reveal. Auburn/Alabama/Florida/Tennessee were spread into different regions because they are all from the same conference. After that we use our normal seeding practices, which is why Texas A&M is in the same region as Auburn. There are only 4 regions so after you put 4 teams in there you will have to double/triple up.
In 2019 you became the 1st African-American commissioner of a NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision conference: how big a deal was it at the time, and has the trend continued or do you remain “1 of 1″? I am currently 1 of 1: I was 1 of 2 when Kevin Warren got hired by the Big 10, but he later became president of the Chicago Bears. It is a big deal because a lot of people sacrificed in the past, so I am resting on the shoulders of those who came before me. My mom grew up in South Carolina under Jim Crow, so I want to take advantage of the opportunities to open the pipeline for others in the future and ensure that I am just the 1st of many.
You have ties to several schools that are in the mix for a bid this March (you played football at Duke/worked as Senior Associate Athletics Director at Oklahoma/were Assistant Director of Athletics at Vanderbilt): does that make your life easier/harder? It just is. I wish all those schools well…but it does not impact my work on the committee. I take an objective approach so those teams will rise/fall without any regard to my own history.
-CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT WEST GEORGIA (Atlantic Sun). Both teams are tied for 10th place with just three games to go. This game could determine who gets the last spot in the conference tournament.
-CAL STATE FULLERTON AT UC SANTA BARBARA (Big West). Cal State Fullerton could be mathematically eliminated from the Big West with a loss in this game and/or a Cal State Bakersfield win at UC Davis
-EASTERN ILLINOIS AT SOUTHERN INDIANA (Ohio Valley). Eastern Illinois is eliminated with a loss. Southern Indiana would also be eliminated, but they are still a transitional team and already off the Survival Board anyway*
-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT SEMO (Ohio Valley). Western Illinois is eliminated with a loss*
*There are scenarios where Eastern Illinois and/or Western Illinois could be eliminated tonight even with a win — but the tiebreakers are too involved to describe here. Keep an eye on the Survival Board for updates!!
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NEWS AND NOTES:
-Auburn got a huge test on their home floor from Arkansas, but held them off 67-60 to hold their spot as the overall #1 team and continue to add to the most impressive tournament resume I think we’ve ever seen.
-Missouri sprinted ahead of Alabama in a high scoring affair. The halftime score was 59-46. Alabama just couldn’t catch up and they dropped their second straight game as Mizzou held on to win 110-98. After the game Missouri Head Coach Dennis Gates called timeout, got on the PA, and asked the fans not to storm the court. Clearly he was concerned that Chad Sherwood would disallow the win if there was a court storming.
-Nebraska, who had been looking very solid until recently, looked rather un-solid last night. Penn State dominated 89-72, and for much of the game it wasn’t even that close. This is a setback for a Nebraska team that’s still hovering right over the bubble.
-West Virginia is another bubble team. They came very close to blowing a 9pt lead in the last 7 seconds, but held on to win 62-59 after turning it over, giving Cincinnati an open 3 that would have tied the game, but having it rattle out.
-Oregon won their third straight game, but barely. They went on the road and beat the Hawkeyes 80-78, but it adds another road win to their resume, and helps stabilize it some.
-New Mexico had been flying high, but they couldn’t get it done at Boise State last night as the Broncos held them off 86-78. New Mexico is still safely inside the bubble, and Boise State is probably still outside of it, so the result of the game probably won’t be that pivotal to the bracket, but it does perhaps nudge Boise in the right direction.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NORTHWESTERN AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State is squarely on the bubble and like all bubble teams they need to be able to hold serve at home against teams that are nowhere near the field.
-USC AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). This should be a hold-serve game for Maryland. The Terps are looking like they have a shot at a protected seed if they can finish the season strong.
-UC SAN DIEGO AT CAL POLY (Big West). This is a game that UCSD should be able to win, but every Big West road game can be tricky. We keep saying this, but if UCSD wins out I think they make the field.
-CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE AT UC IRVINE (Big West). UC Irvine still has a really good shot at getting selected, but they need to win out to make it happen.
-PACIFIC AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). San Francisco is outside the bubble, but they are close enough to it to reach it if they can keep winning games.
UNDER THE RADAR WATCH:
-Eastern Kentucky @ Bellarmine (Atlantic Sun) – Eastern Kentucky is red hot and is just a game behind North Alabama in the standings
-UNC Asheville @ Radford (Big South) – UNC Asheville is tied with High Point and is trying to keep pace
-Central Connecticut @ Chicago State (Northeast Conference) – Central Connecticut can get within a game of clinching at least a share of 1st place, and home court advantage in the NEC Tournament with a win
-Bryant @ Vermont (America East) – Bryant can get within a game of clinching 1st place, and home court advantage in the conference tournament, with a win
-Towson @ Elon (Coastal Athletic) – Towson is the hottest team in the conference and while they have a bit of a tough road test, it’s a winnable game and they can get within a game of clinching at least a share of 1st place with a win tonight
–New Mexico State @ Jacksonville State (Conference USA) – Jax State has a one game lead in a very tight conference race with five games to go
-Lipscomb @ North Alabama – these are two of the top teams in the Atlantic Sun, which makes this a hugely pivotal game. Both can still finish 1st and clinch home court advantage
-Western Illinois @ SEMO (Ohio Valley) – whereas this game could eliminate Western Illinois, it could get SEMO one game closer to clinching 1st place
-Utah Valley @ Utah Tech (WAC, BeeHive) – Utah Valley has a 1 game lead over Grand Canyon and needs to keep winning to hold on to it
–SUN BELT – James Madison, Troy, and South Alabama are all within a half game of each other with just three games remaining. All are in action tonight.
Tonight’s feature conference is the Ohio Valley where SEMO appears to be the hottest team. They’ve strung together quite a few wins and have faulted themselves into 1st place. Little Rock and SIUE are also in the mix, and some teams at the bottom of the standings could be facing elimination this week.
After that, we run through the other 21 UTR conferences and discuss how Eastern Kentucky has caught fire in the ASun, Montana has won 8 in a row and passed Northern Colorado in the Big Sky, Towson has dominated the CAA, Yale is red hot in the Ivy League, UC Irvine and UC San Diego are still fighting to get inside the bubble out of the Big West, and Drake is trying to hold on to a spot inside the bubble in the Missouri Valley. We discuss all that, and more! And, as we do every week, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.
And, for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
If you want to win an NCAA title then you usually need a good coach, a great resume…and a McDonald’s All-American. Only 2 championship teams from 1979-2020 did not have such a player (2002 Maryland/2014 UConn), and while UConn won a title in 2023 without 1 they added McDonald’s All-American Stephon Castle before winning a 2nd title in 2024. The rosters for this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game were announced last month after selecting the 24 best players in the nation from a list of several hundred nominees. If you do not think these guys can make an immediate impact in the fall, just ask Coach Jon Scheyer how he likes having 2024 honoree Cooper Flagg at Duke! Unlike most years when 1 school stands out as the big winner with the most All-Americans, there are 2 different programs tied for the lead with 3 each (Duke/UConn) and 3 players who have not yet committed to a college. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Malachi Moreno about being named a McDonald’s All-American and seeing John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena in person.
Last season at Great Crossing High School you averaged 16 PPG/13 RPG/4 BPG: how big a deal was it to reach the Sweet 16 of the KHSAA state tournament for the first time in school history? It was a very big deal. The previous 2 years we had been upset in the regional tourney, but last year we were more experienced and were able to make it to the state tourney. It was a great steppingstone for both our players and our program.
You received offers from several great schools including Arkansas/Indiana/North Carolina but signed with Kentucky last August: was it an easy decision considering your high school campus is just 30 minutes from the Kentucky campus? I am a big relationship guy and developed relationships with all the coaches, but at the end of the day I could only pick 1 school. The things that Kentucky preached made my decision so much easier, plus the chance to be close to my family.
You got to attend the Arkansas-Kentucky game earlier this month: what was it like to see Coach John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena in person? It was something new. I heard some boos but a lot of applause as well because he created quite a legacy at Kentucky. I am sure that it was a surreal moment for both him and his players.
Coach Mark Pope’s team started this season 14-3 but is currently 17-8: how far do you think they will go in March? I think they will go as far as they want to go. They have been plagued with injuries but have depth/experience and nobody wants it more than them.
Last month you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot. You always set goals for yourself when you play a sport, and I put in a lot of work/prayer after setting that as 1 of my goals. Once I saw my name on the list, I felt very proud of myself. I found out while I was with my teammates, which made it a memory that I will never forget.
You are part of a great recruiting class that includes Jasper Johnson/Acaden Lewis: how well do you know your 2 future teammates? I have known/played against Jasper for a long time: we only live 20-30 minutes apart and have always been friends, and our relationship has only grown stronger once we both committed. Acaden happened to be on my team at a basketball camp last summer, and I knew that we would kill it once we all committed to the Wildcats!
You were also named a member of the 2025 USA Nike Hoop Summit team last month: any chance you can convince your future Hoop Summit teammates Nate Ament/Koa Peat to join you in Lexington next fall? I certainly hope they come to Lexington so I can try my hardest…but it is their decision at the end of the day.
I have seen you listed anywhere from 6’10 to 7’1”: what position do you play now, and what position will you feel most comfortable at in college? In high school I am a traditional center, which is what I have been my whole life. In college I am hoping to be a stretch 5 like Amari Williams: initiating the offense and making plays for your teammates.
Your brother Michael played basketball at Eastern Kentucky: who is the best athlete in the family? That is hard to decide. We have different builds, but I would not be who I am without him setting the path for me. It pains me to say it…but I would have to choose him!
I read that you want to major in education and become a teacher someday: how come? I have had many teachers during my life who have been great role models and helped me make sound decisions. I want to be a role model to students in the future and just ensure that they are happy.
Posted inNews and Notes|Taggedkentucky, Malachi Moreno|Comments Off on Less is More(no): HoopsHD interviews McDonald’s All-American Malachi Moreno
Hoops HD Staff Bracket – Friday, February 21st
We thought that this would be the Puppet’s week to prepare the staff bracket this week, but
due to incarcerationinstead our colleague John Stalica will do the bracket this week. This is not an attempt to guess the Selection Committee (as Jon Teitel does every Sunday), but rather what John feels the bracket should look like after today. Here goes:First Four Out: Ohio State, Arkansas, TCU, Boise State
Worth a look: Xavier, SMU, North Carolina, VCU. UC-Irvine, San Francisco, Indiana, George Mason
COMMENTS FROM JOHN:
– One of the better memes during the past month is that the SEC is only .500 since conference play began in January. The ACC actually has a chance to finish over .500 in the same stretch since Duke will play a late non-conference game at Madison Square Garden against Illinois. It’s actually a pivotal matchup for both teams; Duke needs a win like this to stay on the 1-line and Illinois really needs a stabilizing win to stay in the top half of the bracket.
– The B1G has a vise grip on the 3-line since they don’t really have a clear cut favorite to win the league at this point. Michigan/Michigan State may offer a clue as to who will be at the top of the 3-line at the end of tonight.
– Kansas should be very thankful that they got neutral-court wins against Duke and Michigan State in the first month of the season; it’s the only thing (besides their name) keeping them in the top half of the bracket right now. In true road games, the Jayhawks are a very meh 3-7. By comparison, Xavier is also 3-7 in true road games (including a win at Marquette) and not in this bracket.
– Ohio State is officially in deep doo-doo after getting blown out at home by Northwestern. Now they have to go to the West Coast and get a sweep of both UCLA and USC to get back into the field. I don’t think a split would be enough even if the win comes at UCLA. Maybe they’ll enjoy the initial Crown Invitational in Vegas with a couple other friends from the B1G, Big East and Big 12.
– Boise State and TCU are both creeping closer to the cut line. TCU put themselves in position with a win at home against Texas Tech; getting a win at Cincinnati this weekend would also be a step in the right direction. Boise State now has 3 wins against the field (Clemson, Saint Mary’s and New Mexico) and will have one more opportunity with Utah State visiting the Broncos. Still, they’ll need a win or two in the Mountain West Tournament to demonstrate that they can win away from home.
– For a few weeks, we’ve had Cleveland State as the Horizon League champion, but now I feel that Morris Robert, ERRRR, Robert Morris may now be the team to beat in the league. RMU only trails CSU by a half-game and is on a roll since their wardrobe malfunction earlier this season.
– I initially forgot to mention this Friday, but I would initially have had BYU as my last #10 seed and Oklahoma as my top #11 seed. Both teams were swapped to ensure BYU didn’t get placed in a Sunday region.
STAFF COMMENTS:
From Chad:
– Kentucky is such a hard team to place right now. Their five wins (3 away from home) against top 10 NET teams could make the a 3 seed, but their 7-6 conference record and 8 overall losses also gives them a case for the 5 or 6 line where John has them. I would personally have them higher, but I see the argument for a 5 seed as well.
– Vanderbilt and West Virginia on the 9 line both seem a bit high to me. I would have them a lot closer to the First Four. Vandy does not have a win away from home against the field and played an AWFUL non-conference schedule. West Virginia has the high quality wins, but 10 overall losses is a lot right now, and they are only 7-8 in Big 12 play.
– Baylor I feel is under-seeded on the 10 line. The Bears are healthy again and, while they have a lot of losses, all but one of them are Tier 1A.
– I would not have Oklahoma in right now. The Sooners have lost 5 in a row and are below .500 against the top three tiers. They now also have a BAD loss, the home home game they completely blew against LSU last weekend. They may need to be booking their tickets to the Crown, but do have time to right the ship as they were my top team out. (Note from Stalica – The Crown is limited to the B1G, Big East and Big 12 this year. The SEC and ACC will still be part of the 2025 NIT – the top two teams from each conference not invited to the NCAA Tournament will be invited to the NIT, but they are not compelled to participate.)
– Georgia also does not belong in. They are 8-10 against the top three tiers and have only one true road win — at Georgia Tech.
– Pitt does not even belong in the NIT or the CBI. I can name a dozen teams not in John’s field that I like better than them. Not only do I not have the Panthers in my field, I don’t even have them on my Board for teams Under Consideration. Did you typo and mean someone else here John? That Panthers are not good.
– Drake should be a few seed lines higher. The metrics are solid for this team, and I really think the Committee will give them a 9 or 10 seed if they keep winning. If they can at least win out the regular season (including a huge game at Northern Iowa on Sunday), I don’t even think they will need the automatic bid.
– I would have two A-10 teams in right now. I would also still have two Big West teams in DESPITE UC-Irvine’s loss last night. The Anteaters would be my very last team in, but as long as they do not lose again until the Big West Tournament final (which they are very capable of doing), I still believe in the two bid Big West, especially given that the rest of the Bubble teams are almost guaranteed to keep losing games.
– All in all, John did a great job in my opinion, and most of my arguments are with him are around the bubble.
From David Griggs:
-Vanderbilt on the 9 line is higher than I would have them. I just don’t think they’ve done enough away from home to be seeded as good as that. Having said that, if I were guessing the actual committee and not doing my own bracket, my guess is that’s where the real committee would have them.
-Kansas on the 6 line may seem low, but I’d actually have them lower. I’d probably place them behind Louisville and Clemson right now. Perhaps even Memphis. Kansas has not won a true road game against anyone that’s in this field.
-BYU is getting a lot of love. Not just from Stalica, but from most people who follow and do bracketology. I think they have some nice wins at home and…well…I think they have some nice wins at home. A weak OOC schedule and a shoddy road record would have me leaving the Cougars out.