The best game of the weekend was St. Mary’s beating Gonzaga in overtime, cementing their place at the top of the WCC this year. The Gaels were looking shaky after a 6-3 start but now have top 10 computer metrics everywhere and after a 12 game winning streak they enter the protected seeds for the first time all year.
There are always a few teams whose resume looks a lot better than their computer numbers do. Often these teams fall off in the second half of the season and we’re seeing it here- Missouri has slid from a 5 seed to an 11 seed in recent weeks and Arizona State is almost totally out of the tournament picture.
1: Purdue, Alabama, Houston, Arizona
2: Kansas, Texas, Tennessee, UCLA
3: Baylor, Iowa State, Xavier, Marquette
4: Kansas State, St. Mary’s, Virginia, Miami (FL)
5: Indiana, TCU, Rutgers, Connecticut
6: Gonzaga, Duke, Iowa, San Diego State
7: Auburn, NC State, Illinois, Providence
8: New Mexico, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas, North Carolina
9: Michigan State, Kentucky, Creighton, West Virginia
10: Maryland, Nevada, USC, Boise State
11: Utah State, Oklahoma State, (Northwestern/Pittsburgh), (Missouri/Clemson)
12: VCU, Charleston, Oral Roberts, Akron
13: Southern Miss, Utah Valley, UC Santa Barbara, Liberty
14: Iona, Southern Illinois, Princeton, Furman
15: Vermont, Colgate, Youngstown State, Eastern Washington
16: UNC Asheville, Norfolk State, (Northwestern State/UT-Martin), (Grambling State/Fairleigh Dickinson)
First Four Out: Memphis, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Texas A&M
Next Four Out: Seton Hall, Florida, Wisconsin, Penn State
Also Considered: VCU, Oregon, Michigan, North Texas, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Charleston