It was quite an interesting week in college basketball, as several teams vying for positioning couldn’t get out of their own way. A few teams on the outside of the bubble fought themselves in, but all that did was muddle the middle of the field even more. Here’s this week’s projection:
DUKE AGAIN? Yes, the Blue Devils are back on the 1-seed line, although that’s more due to the teams above them (Kansas and Missouri) faltering. At this point you have to like the Blue Devils’ resume, although if everything holds as it is now, it will be interesting to see if the committee actually gives the fourth one-seed nod to Duke. While they have obviously put together an impressive group of wins, there’s a definite perception around this team that they’re not as strong as those in the same conversation. Their KenPom defensive efficiency numbers are decidedly un-Duke like, and the aforementioned perception might end up dropping them to the 2 or 3 line.
WHEN MID-MAJORS ATTACK: There is a growing core of mid-major teams in the top 25 of the S-Curve who could make for some interesting seeding once Selection Sunday rolls around. UNLV, Creighton, Wichita State, San Diego State, St. Mary’s, Gonzaga, and Murray State are all jockeying for position, and teams like UNLV and Creighton are definite threats to make the top three lines.
DON’T HIT THE PANIC BUTTON: A lot of fans out there (and media, for that matter) have started acting nervous and jumpy about their respective teams’ NCAA tournament chances after a bad loss or two. In Indiana, it got so bad that the Indianapolis Star went to the trouble of running a story that worriedly indicated that the Hoosiers’ date with the tournament wasn’t a done deal yet. Well, folks…yes, yes it is. One of the benefits of doing bracketology in January is that you become very familiar with the resumes of all the possible tournament entrants, and the Hoosiers (and the Bearcats, and UConn, and the Illini, and…you get the idea) are all still safely in. So don’t panic, unless you root for Northwestern or a Pac 12 team.
