📄 2044 Dance Partners, Building a Better Bracket w/ EC Hood: Part 1 Jan 30th

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

With the release of DDSCB26 and the excitement and conversation around it, it can be easy to forget that we are in the heart of the current season, and just a month or so away from Selection Sunday. The game’s Bubble Watch will spawn in the next sim, so we figure we would get a jump on things and present the first Dance Partners of the 2043-44 season.

There are some very strong teams that aren’t in right now in my bracket. And with upsets all but guaranteed during Championship Week, these schools really need to finish strong in the next month. The last four teams in are Rhode Island, Alabama A&M, Oklahoma State and Michigan State. Alabama A&M is technically the favorite to win the SWAC, but currently have a worse league record than Alcorn State. Likely, A&M will win that tournament and this will be a one-bid league. Rhode Island, despite being run by a genius AD, has had a very up-and-down season. Five Quad 1 wins are too much to ignore and the Rams are in right now, but barely. Oklahoma State is 15-5 but has a Net ranking of just 56. This is a precarious spot on the edge of the bubble. Michigan State is now AI, so I have no idea what to make of this team. Here we root for human managers to make the dance, and many are close.

My first two out, however, are also AI: UCLA and Arizona State. After that, teams like UMass, Indiana State, Santa Clara, Michigan and Ole Miss are knocking at the door. There’s no reason they all can’t hop these AI teams in the next month and get in.

At the top of the seed lines we have Missouri, Notre Dame, Texas and defending champion VCU. Two SEC No. 1 seeds is impressive, but only three others from that league are safe, with Florida in a scary spot at 11-8. Notre Dame is No. 1 in the Net rankings and a clear national champion contender. But VCU looks like a juggernaut as well. We could be in for a tremendous tournament.

Things muddy up a bit on the 2 and 3 lines as losses could knock teams back easily. The ACC feels like the strongest conference, with five teams seeded 1, 2 or 3 right now.

Props to AI Green Bay, now 18-1 and an 11 seed here. The Phoenix are doing their best impression of real-world Miami (OH). Can they keep it up? And if they don’t win the Horizon tournament, will they be an at-large team?

It’s still too early to worry, but we’re still less than a week away in real time from all of this coming into focus and the real bracket breaking hearts.

IN GAME DATE: Jan 30th