Just one more day until Selection Sunday! We are officially down to the wire for bracketology purposes. I’ll add that this is where I landed last night without seeing full metric numbers. Slight changes today. This is the last time I will pull metrics this year, and just make minor tweaks for some areas.
- First pinch point is MSU/Illinois/Purdue for the final 2 spot. I lean Michigan State, but will review today
- The final 3 and the 4 line
- Final 5 seed: St. John’s vs. Tennessee
- The 8/9 lines. Key area here, want to fully evaluate all 4 8’s, all the 9’s, and A&M/UCF for the final 9 spots.
- Of note, I flipped SMU/Texas. That area is a mess, and a bid thief would continue to move things. For now, I think the cut-line is clear.
- I am not sure where to put the CUSA AQ. It’s crazy that Liberty would’ve been a 12/13 and now we’re talking 15 seeded LA Tech.
Merch pick of the day: The NKY Bracketology Branded Hoodie! https://hdsans-shop.fourthwall.com/products/nky-bracketology-vintage-hoodie
Today’s Championship games
Big 12
Houston vs. Arizona – 6:00, ESPN
The Big 12 (despite the court), has shown out all week!
Big East
UConn vs. St. John’s. The teams split the regular season, SJU would go to a 5 with a win. UConn only has hope for a 1 with a win. 6:30, FOX. MSG. Does it get better than this?
ACC
Virginia vs. Duke tip off at 8:30 on ESPN. Duke is favored by 8.5 in what figures to be a really fun game. UVA – 3 with a win (most likely). Duke is 1 overall with a 1, but could fall no further than 3 overall with a loss.
America East
Vermont vs. UMBC – 11:00 tip for the title! ESPN2. Either winner is likely in Dayton.
MEAC
NC Central and Howard face off for the right to go play in Dayton! Winner gets a 16. Howard is favored heavily. 1:00, ESPN2
MWC
SDSU and Utah State battle for the MWC title at 6:00! This matchup is critical in the bubble picture as an SDSU win means a bid thief! USU is an 8/9. Utah State is an 8/9. SDSU I’m really not sure what to do with you. Will evaluate as we move through today.
SWAC
Prairie View A&M vs. Southern will tip off at 7:30 on ESPNU. Winner is a 16!
MAC
Toledo and Akron will tip off at 8:00 on ESPN2. Winner is a 12.
CUSA
Kennesaw State vs LA Tech – 8:30, CBSSN. It’s crazy to me that we went from Liberty projecting to be a 12 down to a 15/16 seed, but alas, we are here! This should be fun. Kennesaw State is favored by 1.5.
Big West
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine This should be an amazing matchup, and I’ve been looking forward to this one all year.
WAC
Cal Baptist vs. Utah Valley will tip off at midnight ET. This should be a great game, and a ton of different storylines this year in the WAC! Could this be the last WAC championship?
Today’s Semi-Finals
Big Ten
Michigan vs. Wisconsin will battle. Wisconsin is a 5 right now, while Michigan is a 1. This matchup will be great! Michigan is favored by 12.5, which feels like a lot of points. Purdue vs. UCLA is the later game. UCLA is a solid 8 right now. There’s a chance they move to 7 with a win. Purdue is a 3, 10 overall.
SEC
Vanderbilt vs. Florida tip off the SEC semis! This should be a high octane game, Florida is favored by 8.5. Ole Miss and Arkansas will play. An Ole Miss loss would remove the SEC from bid thief consideration. Arkansas is a 5 currently.
A-10
Dayton vs. Saint Louis will most likely produce an electric matchup! Dayton won their recent matchup.
American
Charlotte and South Florida kick things off, with USF being favored by 14.5. Tulsa and Wichita State will play after that, with Tulsa being favored by 1.5.
Ivy
Tipping at 11AM, we get some great games. Cornell and Yale will battle in Ithaca. Yale is favored by 3.5. Following that we get Penn and Harvard, Harvard is favored by 2.5. This tournament is always crazy!
