Bracketology 2020 Projected Field: Colorado rises, Virginia plummets

East Region

(1) Duke vs. (16) Radford

(8) St. Mary’s vs. (9) Houston

(4) Maryland vs. (13) Louisiana Tech

(5) Villanova vs. (12) Yale

(6) Michigan State vs. (11) Texas Tech

(3) Memphis vs. (14) Georgia State

(7) Seton Hall vs. (10) Virginia

(2) Baylor vs. (15) UC Irvine

Duke, despite its loss to Stephen F. Austin a month ago, has earned a return to the No. 1 seed line as of late. Although their resume metrics might not be the best in the country right now, they rate extremely well in predictive rankings following their 10-1 start to the year. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team might be quite young but it is already defending both inside and out extremely well. Additionally, Duke boasts three reliable perimeter threats to help space the floor around star freshman Vernon Carey Jr.

It is important to mention, though, that Baylor is starting to make a bit of a case for a No. 1 seed as well. The Bears sit at 9-1 on the year and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak that includes victories over Villanova, Arizona, and Butler. There are not many teams that have played that level of top-level competition and come away with such a strong record. MaCio Teague and Jared Butler make up a dangerous backcourt while the frontcourt duo of Mark Vital/Freddie Gillespie is nearly impossible to beat on the glass.

To round out the discussion of this region, let’s talk about Houston. After entering this season with expectations of receiving another NCAA Tournament bid, the Cougars stumbled out of the gates a bit. The team started the year at just 2-2 but has now won eight of its last nine games to reach a 10-3 record. Additionally, they most recently defeated Washington in the Diamond Head Classic title game to move up the seed lines a bit.