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Bracketology 2019: Duke, Kansas headline the projected field

By Lukas Harkins

DURHAM, NC - DECEMBER 08: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils goes up for a dunk against the Yale Bulldogs in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 8, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - DECEMBER 08: RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils goes up for a dunk against the Yale Bulldogs in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 8, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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ANN ARBOR, MI – DECEMBER 8: A general view of the pregame introductions. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI – DECEMBER 8: A general view of the pregame introductions. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

West Region

(1) Michigan vs. (16) Stephen F. Austin

(8) Iowa State vs. (9) St. John’s

(4) Virginia Tech vs. (13) Old Dominion

(5) Marquette vs. (12) New Mexico State

(6) NC State vs. (11) Northwestern/Florida

(3) Texas Tech vs. (14) Pennsylvania

(7) Villanova vs. (10) San Francisco

(2) Tennessee vs. (15) Northern Kentucky

Michigan has arguably been the most dominant team in the nation so far this season. With an incredible defense and a tremendous trident attack offensively (Jordan Poole, Ignas Brazdeikis, Charles Matthews), the team has been seemingly unstoppable. And the most important reason for this has been…you guessed it…coaching. John Beilein is simply one of the top-10 coaches in the entire nation and he is someone that you should absolutely never bet against.

Another team that I want to point out in this region has been San Francisco. In most years, the WCC is run by Gonzaga with BYU and St. Mary’s competing for second-place. That will not be the case this time around. Sure, the Zags are still the clear favorite to roll through conference play but San Francisco looks like a potential tournament team behind them. Over the first month of the season, the Dons have compiled a 10-1 record with a few strong wins on the resume. Their only loss came at a neutral-site against nationally-ranked Buffalo by four points.

Lastly, how could I write an entire bracketology piece without talking about Villanova? For the past three years, I have seemingly always written about how dominant the Wildcats have looked en route to a No. 1 or 2 seed in my projected field. This year, though, things have been much different. Head coach Jay Wright’s team has, for the most part, floundered in the early going this year and they are no longer the favorite to win the Big East. Villanova still has plenty of talent but will they put it together in time to land a strong seed or will they continue to slide?

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