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Bracketology 2019: Projected field shows Villanova rising, Indiana dropping

By Lukas Harkins

VILLANOVA, PA - NOVEMBER 06: (L-R) Brandon Slater #3, Cole Swider #10, Joe Cremo #24, Saddiq Bey #15, and head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats react from the bench in the second half against the Morgan State Bears at Finneran Pavilion on November 6, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Wildcats defeated the Bears 100-77. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
VILLANOVA, PA - NOVEMBER 06: (L-R) Brandon Slater #3, Cole Swider #10, Joe Cremo #24, Saddiq Bey #15, and head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats react from the bench in the second half against the Morgan State Bears at Finneran Pavilion on November 6, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Wildcats defeated the Bears 100-77. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 21: Marquette Golden Eagles react. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 21: Marquette Golden Eagles react. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Midwest Region

(1) Michigan vs. (16) Texas Southern/Rider

(8) TCU vs. (9) Syracuse

(4) Auburn vs. (13) Old Dominion

(5) Marquette vs. (12) Texas/Minnesota

(6) Nebraska vs. (11) VCU

(3) North Carolina vs. (14) Loyola-Chicago

(7) NC State vs. (10) Florida

(2) Texas Tech vs. (15) Northern Kentucky

Michigan just continues to handle its business and therefore deserves a No. 1 seed. The Wolverines might not be ranked as highly as other teams in predictive metrics but they are one of the only undefeated teams left in the country and that means something. With an elite defense and a trio of strong scorers (Ignas Brazdeikis, Charles Matthews, Jordan Poole) leading the way offensively, this team has what it takes to accomplish their unfinished business from last year.

Next, both Marquette and Syracuse are quietly rising. For the Golden Eagles, they have won their last four games, including two on the road, after dropping their Big East opener. As long as Markus Howard recovers from his back injury quickly and returns to 100%, they should compete for the conference title and a high seed in the Big Dance. As for the Orange, they seriously padded their resume this past week by taking down Duke on the road. Head coach Jim Boeheim’s team is far from an NCAA Tournament lock but that win will go a long way.

To round out this region, Florida needs to figure out how to actually win games. Despite ranking extremely highly in just about every metric, the Gators stand at just 9-7 on the year. Regardless of what the metrics say, they need to start piling up some wins in order to remain in the Big Dance.

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