📄 2044 Dance Partners, Building a Better Bracket w/ EC Hood: Part 3 Mar 12th

Dance Partners, Building a Better Bracket. A bracketology presentation by EC Hood

It’s time for the final bracketology of the season, meaning we are one day away from Selection Sunday. CBGM has had some time off to enjoy the real life tournament, but now it’s time to get serious about what’s important.

This is going to end up being a tricky field to predict, ultimately. For one, Creighton sits on the bubble and is in the Big East championship game against Butler. The Bluejays are likely in a truly “win and you’re in, lose and you’re out” scenario. Florida, Old Dominion and Akron have cases but this committee, despite strong ties to the Zips, has placed them in the First Four Out along with Creighton. It’s plausible the game sees things differently, and teams like App State and UCLA should not feel totally safe. A Creighton win over Butler might just spell doom for UCLA.

App State might have been double gut-punched by its loss to Georgia Southern, which eventually went on to win the Sun Belt title. GSU, a perennial tourney team, only carries a 96 NET ranking despite a 24-8 record. The Eagles are definitely bid stealers, and might have knocked App State off the bubble in the process.

Alabama A&M has also messed things up for the bubble teams. With a 26-7 record and 18 NET ranking, the Bulldogs are safely in the field. Unfortunately, they lost early in the SWAC tournament to Alcorn State.

In this bracket, Baylor has jumped into a 1 seed on the assumption that it will win the Big 12 title over Colorado. Missouri has moved to the 2 line after a loss to Alabama. Mizzou could still get a 1 if Colorado wins, with Gonzaga (29-4) looming as a dark horse 1 seed.

Shout out to the Missouri Valley and their “Big 3”. Evansville, Murray State and Indiana State are all given 7 seeds here.

There are still teams that can help their seeding in addition to Creighton and Colorado. Illinois and Indiana are meeting in the Big Ten title game, and the Illini just upset Minnesota. Alabama is rolling after wins over Ole Miss and Missouri and meets Texas in the SEC championship. And Louisville faces off against our top overall seed, Notre Dame, for all the marbles in the ACC.

Good luck everyone. It’s gonna be a great tournament.

IN GAME DATE: Mar 12th