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Bracketology: Updated projected field for the 2018 NCAA Tournament (Week 15)

By Lukas Harkins

CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 03: Members of the Xavier Musketeers celebrate after a four point play to tie the game against the Georgetown Hoyas at Cintas Center on February 3, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 03: Members of the Xavier Musketeers celebrate after a four point play to tie the game against the Georgetown Hoyas at Cintas Center on February 3, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 04: Powell
PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 04: Powell /

South Region

(1) Virginia vs. (16) North Carolina A&T/Arkansas-Pine Bluff

(8) Seton Hall vs. (9) Houston

(4) Tennessee vs. (13) South Dakota State

(5) West Virginia vs. (12) Loyola-Chicago

(6) Miami vs. (11) Kansas State

(3) Michigan State vs. (14) College of Charleston

(7) Texas A&M vs. (10) Texas

(2) Cincinnati vs. (15) UC-Santa Barbara

Trending up: Houston

This season, Wichita State and Cincinnati have received the majority of the attention from the American Athletic Conference. While this is well-deserved, it is important to take note of what the Houston Cougars have done recently. Behind the play of All-Conference guard Rob Gray Jr. (17.7 points per game), the team has jumped out to a relatively quiet 19-5 record. Their strength of schedule might not jump off the page but the team holds quality wins over Providence, SMU, and Wichita State.

Houston is currently riding a three-game winning streak and has a huge opportunity coming up with a home game against Cincinnati. A win over the Bearcats would solidify the Cougars position the field and they could easily start to move up the seed lines with a reasonably straightforward schedule to end the season. This is a team that nobody will want to see in their bracket.

Trending down: Seton Hall

The top four in the Big East has separated themselves from the rest of the conference. However, Seton Hall does not appear in that group. Villanova, Xavier, Creighton, and Butler have pulled away in recent weeks while the Pirates have fallen behind. Seton Hall has dropped five of their last seven games and is slipping down seed lines in a hurry. For the majority of this slide, I was not worried about the Pirates.

Yet, after back-to-back losses to Marquette and Georgetown, the team has fallen dramatically. On the plus side, there is a big opportunity coming up as they go on the road to face Xavier. On the downside, their next game is road battle with Xavier. This game can bring this team back up to relevance or continue to push the team further down.

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