Bracketology 2020 Projected Field: Ohio State on top, Gonzaga proving

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 08: Joel Ayayi #11 and Filip Petrusev #3 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs celebrate after Ayayi hit a 3-point shot to put Gonzaga up by 6 pois in the 2nd half at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on December 8, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mike Tedesco/Getty Images) /

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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 03: Stevens of the Nittany Lions reacts. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

East Region

(1) Duke vs. (16) Eastern Washington

(8) West Virginia vs. (9) Washington

(4) Memphis vs. (13) Belmont

(5) Villanova vs. (12) Toledo

(6) Penn State vs. (11) Saint Mary’s/Georgetown

(3) Arizona vs. (14) Northern Kentucky

(7) North Carolina vs. (10) DePaul

(2) Maryland vs. (15) Colgate

Duke, even with its ugly home loss to Stephen F. Austin, has still earned a No. 1 seed to this point in the year. The Blue Devils already hold wins over the likes of Kansas, Georgetown, Michigan State, and Virginia Tech and every single one of those victories came away from home. This young team is already showing the poise needed to win on the road and that is a great sign moving forward. Star big man Vernon Carey Jr. has been exceptionally efficient in his role as the team’s leading scorer while Tre Jones is looking the part of being an elite point guard. Add in the fact that the Blue Devils currently boast three players shooting over 42.5% from three on more than two attempts per game and there is a lot to like about this team.

Moving forward, Penn State has been one of the most impressive teams of the first month of the season. Many people predicted that this could be the year that the Nittany Lions return to the NCAA Tournament and it is already starting to look as though that is likely. With Lamar Stevens leading the way and Mike Watkins anchoring the paint, Penn State is led by a superb senior duo. The Nittany Lions currently sit at No. 23 in the nation on KenPom with a 8-2 record. Even though they were blown out on the road by Ohio State, they responded in a big way by taking down top-5 Maryland at home in the following game.

Rounding out this region, Georgetown squeaks into the field this week following back-to-back impressive road wins over previously unbeaten teams in Oklahoma State and SMU. These two performances came on the heels of what was a headlining week for the team with James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc both announcing their intentions to transfer. I hesitate to say that the Hoyas are a better team without those two players but Terrell Allen has filled in quite nicely as the lead playmaker and Mac McClung is taking his scoring to the next level. Georgetown has already climbed 20 spots on KenPom in the past week and a half.

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