Monday, February 25, 2008

 

A Weekend of Changes

After the weekend's action, the top 16 in today's bracket are the same. There has been a bit of shuffling on the top two lines, however.

Change at the Top

Tennessee defeated Memphis in an entertaining, if not slightly sloppy game. The Vols now have the top overall spot, with the Tigers falling to second. Tennessee will go to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt tomorrow night, so it's possible their stay at the top will be a short one. North Carolina and Texas are new one seeds today, passing conference rivals. Duke and Kansas now find themselves on the two line, where UCLA is the lone holdover from Saturday. Xavier moves up from the three line.

The Musketeers' gain is Stanford's loss. The Cardinal are now a three seed, where they join holdovers Wisconsin and Louisville. Georgetown moves up from the four line, while Connecticut drops down after losing at newcomer Villanova Saturday. Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame stay as protected seeds in this bracket.

BracketBuster Recap

This weekend's BracketBuster games mean there's only one new team filling an auto bid today. Robert Morris easily defeated Wagner Saturday to take the lead in the Northeast Conference (as predicted here a few weeks ago). The Colonials are in the driver's seat to host the conference final at home. However, several teams' BracketBuster performances impacted their seedings today. Drake won at Hinkle Fieldhouse, meaning the Des Moines Bulldogs are now seeded ahead of Butler. This should remain the case the rest of the way. St. Mary's drops a line after losing to Kent State at home. The Golden Flashes, meanwhile, are on the 12-line. This means they have a good chance at getting an at-large should something happen in the always wild MAC tournament. Davidson's big win over Winthrop also gives the Wildcats some at-large insurance. Siena hammered Boise State on the Broncos' home court, meaning the WAC leaders drop down to the 15 line. (It's hard to believe that the WAC, usually a multi-bid league, will not only get just one team in this year, but that their entrant will be seeded below the 12 line.) Outside of the teams currently in the bracket, Southern Illinois destroyed Nevada in Carbondale. The Salukis are starting to pull things together just in time for Arch Madness. Remember, they were the first team to beat Drake in the league.

Slight Shifts on the Bubble

St. Joseph's and Villanova are the only two newcomers to the at-large group today. The Hawks beat Rhode Island Sunday to both move into sole possession of second in the Atlantic 10 and knock the Rams out of today's bracket. The Wildcats replace Syracuse. The Orange didn't get the split they needed at Louisville and Notre Dame, while Nova is winning again. The win over UConn was good, but their demolition of West Virginia on Wednesday night was downright shocking. Wake Forest stays in, despite the loss to North Carolina last night. Finally, Ohio State is a rare at-large 13 seed tonight. Kent State and Davidson both passed them on the S-curve. The Buckeyes wins over Syracuse and Florida are literally the only things keeping them in at the moment.

Conference Breakdown

Big East - 8
ACC - 6
Big 12 - 6
Pac 10 - 6
Big 10 - 5
SEC - 5
Atlantic 10 - 3
Mountain West - 2
West Coast - 2

New This Week
Robert Morris (auto)
Saint Joseph's
Villanova

Out of the Bracket
Rhode Island
Syracuse
Wagner (auto)


Last Four In

Florida
Maryland
Ohio State
Wake Forest

Last Four Out
UAB
New Mexico
Rhode Island
Syracuse

Next Four Out
California
Dayton
Illinois State
Virginia Tech

Also Considered
George Mason
Houston
Mississippi
Oregon
Southern Illinois
Western Kentucky

E-mail me with comments or questions.

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