The calendar has reached the middle of February, so that means bracketology is heating up. Let’s see where things stand.
My bracket is part of the bracket matrix under entry RWX. It is my 5th year doing a bracket and you can see my ranking here. I’m sharing my bracketology here on TheSabre.com.
For my fellow UVA fans, the Hoos lost a golden opportunity Monday to pick up a Q1 win. With how the bubble has played out this week, that would have probably put them in my first four out. Oh well, they still moved up to the 8th team out from the 10th team out on Monday. Despite the loss to VT, UVA did see a Q3 loss disappear for now as NC State moved into the top 135.
I rank UVA ahead of the Hokies because they have more quality wins than VT and have overall played a little tougher schedule. In fact, Virginia’s strength of record (SOR) is a little better at 66 vs VT’s 68. I still think if the Cavaliers can win their last 4 they will be in the field heading into the ACC Tournament. Avoid a bad loss there and they are likely in good shape. A split in the next 2 and 3-1 finish would have them on the 1st or 2nd line out heading into the ACC Tournament and likely in need of a trip to the semis to be in contention for a bid. Losing the next 2 and finishing 2-2 would likely require a trip to the ACC Championship Game to have any shot. Of course, this is all speculation and will depend on other teams as well.
In terms of the other projections:
Here’s the bracket as of Friday, Feb. 18:
| Seed | Power | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Gonzaga |
| 1 | 2 | Auburn |
| 1 | 3 | Arizona |
| 1 | 4 | Kansas |
| 2 | 5 | Purdue |
| 2 | 6 | Baylor |
| 2 | 7 | Kentucky |
| 2 | 8 | Villanova |
| 3 | 9 | Wisconsin |
| 3 | 10 | Texas Tech |
| 3 | 11 | Tennessee |
| 3 | 12 | Duke |
| 4 | 13 | Providence |
| 4 | 14 | UCLA |
| 4 | 15 | Illinois |
| 4 | 16 | Ohio St. |
| 5 | 17 | Texas |
| 5 | 18 | Michigan St. |
| 5 | 19 | UConn |
| 5 | 20 | LSU |
| 6 | 21 | Marquette |
| 6 | 22 | Houston |
| 6 | 23 | Alabama |
| 6 | 24 | Southern California |
| 7 | 25 | Colorado St. |
| 7 | 26 | Iowa St. |
| 7 | 27 | Saint Mary's (CA) |
| 7 | 28 | Xavier |
| 8 | 29 | TCU |
| 8 | 30 | Murray St. |
| 8 | 31 | Arkansas |
| 8 | 32 | Wyoming |
| 9 | 33 | Notre Dame |
| 9 | 34 | Miami (FL) |
| 9 | 35 | Seton Hall |
| 9 | 36 | Boise St. |
| 10 | 37 | Loyola Chicago |
| 10 | 38 | Creighton |
| 10 | 39 | Davidson |
| 10 | 40 | Wake Forest |
| 11 | 41 | Indiana |
| 11 | 42 | San Francisco |
| 11 | 43 | Rutgers |
| 11 | 44 | Michigan |
| 12a | 45 | Memphis |
| 12a | 46 | BYU |
| 12b | 47 | VCU |
| 12b | 48 | Iowa |
| 12 | 49 | Iona |
| 12 | 50 | North Texas |
| 13 | 51 | Chattanooga |
| 13 | 52 | South Dakota St. |
| 13 | 53 | Ohio |
| 13 | 54 | Vermont |
| 14 | 55 | Wagner |
| 14 | 56 | Seattle U |
| 14 | 57 | Long Beach St. |
| 14 | 58 | Texas St. |
| 15 | 59 | Montana St. |
| 15 | 60 | Yale |
| 15 | 61 | Cleveland St. |
| 15 | 62 | Jacksonville St. |
| 16 | 63 | Norfolk St. |
| 16 | 64 | Longwood |
| 16a | 65 | UNCW |
| 16a | 66 | Colgate |
| 16a | 67 | Southern |
| 16a | 68 | New Orleans |
- Last Four In: Iowa, VCU, BYU, Memphis
- First Four Out: Kansas State, Oklahoma, WVU, San Diego State
- Next Four Out: St. Bonaventure, SMU, UNC, Virginia
- Next Four Out: Oregon, Belmont, Florida, Virginia Tech
- Next Four Out: Dayton, Stanford, South Carolina, Mississippi State
Notes on my selection process:
- I don’t create matchups. My goal is to match the NCAA S Curve and select the right teams. Honestly the bracketing procedures are too tedious.
- Conference champions in the pre-conference tournament brackets are picked by the team with the highest conference winning % at time of bracket creation. If there is a tie, the team with the highest NET is picked.
- Brackets will be updated at least on Monday and Friday. As we get closer to the end of the season and during conference tournament weeks, it will be updated every day.
