Friday, October 23, 2015

Post-Midnight Madness BP68

The thing with the college basketball offseason is that it feels so damn long and it always seems so far away from the first game... and then one day you wake up and the season is on your doorstep. And believe it or not, we are just three weeks from the opening night of college hoops.

There aren't too many changes since my July bracket projection. The biggest mover is SMU, since they were banned from postseason play (they had been a projected 3 seed). UConn has replaced them as my favorite to take the AAC, though it should be wide open with about five or six teams realistically in the mix. Replacing SMU in the projected field is Florida State. Tulsa is the first team out, for what it's worth.

With Kansas at #1, I'm obviously assuming Cheick Diallo is ruled eligible before any significant number of games are played this season. If he misses a significant chunk of this season, Kansas will fall in the projected bracket.

I'm not sure when daily blogging will resume. Probably around a week before the season starts.

For now, here's how I see things ending up on Selection Sunday 2016:

1. KANSAS (BIG 12)
1. NORTH CAROLINA (ACC)
1. KENTUCKY (SEC)
1. ARIZONA (PAC-12)

2. Virginia
2. MICHIGAN STATE (BIG TEN)
2. VILLANOVA (BIG EAST)
2. Maryland

3. Oklahoma
3. GONZAGA (WCC)
3. Duke
3. Iowa State

4. Purdue
4. Texas
4. WICHITA STATE (MVC)
4. Indiana

5. UCLA
5. Xavier
5. DAVIDSON (ATLANTIC TEN)
5. UCONN (AAC)

6. Wisconsin
6. Oregon
6. Baylor
6. Texas A&M

7. Cincinnati
7. Utah
7. Miami-Florida
7. California

8. Michigan
8. Georgetown
8. Louisville
8. NC State

9. Notre Dame
9. LSU
9. SAN DIEGO STATE (MOUNTAIN WEST)
9. Vanderbilt

10. West Virginia
10. Ohio State
10. Pittsburgh
10. Dayton

11. Providence
11. Illinois State
11. UNLV
11. BYU
11. Rhode Island

12. Butler
12. Florida State
12. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (SOUTHLAND)
12. VALPARAISO (HORIZON)
12. CENTRAL MICHIGAN (MAC)

13. UAB (CONFERENCE USA)
13. IONA (MAAC)
13. BELMONT (OVC)
13. UC-IRVINE (BIG WEST)

14. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (SUMMIT)
14. GEORGIA STATE (SUN BELT)
14. HOFSTRA (COLONIAL)
14. STONY BROOK (AMERICA EAST)

15. HARVARD (IVY LEAGUE)
15. WINTHROP (BIG SOUTH)
15. NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC)
15. MONTANA (BIG SKY)

16. NORTH FLORIDA (ATLANTIC SUN)
16. CHATTANOOGA (SOUTHERN)
16. LEHIGH (PATRIOT)
16. ROBERT MORRIS (NEC)
16. NORFOLK STATE (MEAC)
16. SOUTHERN (SWAC)

Teams seriously considered that just missed the cut:
Memphis, Temple, Tulsa, Syracuse, George Washington, Richmond, Marquette, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma State, TCU, Old Dominion, Northern Iowa, Boise State, Oregon State, Stanford, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pepperdine

Other teams with a decent shot to get onto the bubble:
Clemson, Georgia Tech, St. Bonaventure, VCU, Creighton, Seton Hall, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, UTEP, Akron, Kent State, Evansville, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State, Arizona State, Colorado, Washington, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Saint Mary's

Other teams I'm keeping my eye on:
Vermont, Houston, Boston College, Virginia Tech, La Salle, UMass, St. Joseph's, DePaul, St. John's, Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Hawaii, Northeastern, William & Mary, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Oakland, Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Monmouth, Siena, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Loyola-Chicago, Fresno State, Wyoming, Murray State, North Dakota State, USC, Washington State, Missouri, Portland, Santa Clara