Bracketology 2019: Duke headlines, Florida on the rise in projected field
With the weekend complete, let’s check back in with our bracketology projected field of 68. Which teams made the field and where were they seeded this time?
After an exciting weekend in college hoops, I am back with another edition of my bracketology projected field! As always, there were plenty of games that resulted in some massive shifts in the field of 68 and the update in the NET also showed some shakeups. As always, my goal with this piece is to predict what the selection committee would do if Selection Sunday was right now. In order to avoid bias as much as possible, the initial scrub of my field is always done via blind resumes.
Among the most notable teams from this past weekend, Duke has emerged as the clear-cut No. 1 overall seed in recent weeks with their play. Given how electric the team is, this should come as no surprise but the fall of Tennessee certainly helped. Speaking of, Kentucky is knocking on the door as a potential No. 1 seed down the road as one of the rising national title contenders. Additionally, Florida picked up two vital wins during this past week to move into my projected field. Not many teams are consistently wins games on the bubble right now and that means there are plenty of opportunities to move into the “safe zone.”
Now, without any further ado, let’s jump into this edition of my bracketology projected field of 68.
Updated prior to games on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
East Region (Washington DC)
(1) Duke vs. (16) St. Francis-PA/Prairie View A&M
(8) Wofford vs. (9) Ohio State
(4) LSU vs. (13) Vermont
(5) Kansas State vs. (12) Butler/Clemson
(6) Virginia Tech vs. (11) UCF
(3) Marquette vs. (14) Northern Kentucky
(7) Ole Miss vs. (10) TCU
(2) Michigan vs. (15) Texas State
South Region (Louisville)
(1) Virginia vs. (16) Norfolk State/Sam Houston State
(8) Washington vs. (9) Oklahoma
(4) Iowa State vs. (13) New Mexico State
(5) Villanova vs. (12) Nebraska/Alabama
(6) Florida State vs. (11) Seton Hall
(3) Purdue vs. (14) UC Irvine
(7) Iowa vs. (10) NC State
(2) Kentucky vs. (15) Radford
Midwest Region (Kansas City)
(1) Tennessee vs. (16) Canisius
(8) St. John’s vs. (9) Texas
4) Nevada vs. (13) Hofstra
(5) Louisville vs. (12) Belmont
(6) Mississippi State vs. (11) VCU
(3) Kansas vs. (14) South Dakota State
(7) Cincinnati vs. (10) Syracuse
(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Loyola-Chicago
West Region (Anaheim)
(1) Gonzaga vs. (16) Bucknell
(8) Auburn vs. (9) Baylor
(4) Texas Tech vs. (13) Yale
(5) Wisconsin vs. (12) Lipscomb
(6) Maryland vs. (11) Florida
(3) Houston vs. (14) Old Dominion
(7) Buffalo vs. (10) Minnesota
(2) North Carolina vs. (15) Montana
State of the Bubble
Last Four Byes: Minnesota, UCF, Seton Hall, Florida
Last Four In: Alabama, Nebraska, Clemson, Butler
First Four Out: Temple, Utah State, Arizona State, Furman
Next Two Out: Davidson and Indiana
Next. Top-25 national power rankings. dark
That concludes this edition of my bracketology projected field. I hope that you enjoyed and that your favorite team was able to secure a spot. With now under a month to go until Selection Sunday, this is the time for teams on the outside looking in to make their moves. My next update to the projected field of 68 will come out on Friday, Feb. 22…so stay tuned!