Busting Brackets
Fansided

Bracketology 2020 Projected Field: Wichita State, Seton Hall rising

By Lukas Harkins

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 30: Jared Rhoden #14 and Myles Cale #22 of the Seton Hall Pirates celebrate the win against the DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on December 30, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 30: Jared Rhoden #14 and Myles Cale #22 of the Seton Hall Pirates celebrate the win against the DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on December 30, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 16: An Aztecs cheerleader performs. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 16: An Aztecs cheerleader performs. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

West Region

(1) San Diego State vs. (16) Rider

(8) Florida vs. (9) Saint Mary’s

(4) Villanova vs. (13) Charleston

(5) Penn State vs. (12) Yale

(6) Creighton vs. (11) Virginia Tech/Indiana

(3) Oregon vs. (14) New Mexico State

(7) Oklahoma vs. (10) Xavier

(2) Gonzaga vs. (15) Colgate

San Diego State deserves a No. 1 seed. Not only are the Aztecs undefeated so far this season but they have also collected a ton of high-quality wins. Victories over BYU, Creighton, Iowa, Utah, and Utah State are all worth mentioning. Even though SDSU might not have a true signature win (and it will never get one in the regular-season), its domination of the teams on its schedule deserves to be recognized. It also helps that they are ranked second in the NET and first in SOR. The Aztecs have emerged as the clear-cut favorite in the Mountain West and are a viable contender for a No. 1 seed.

Moving a bit further down the region, is Florida starting to turn the corner? The Gators entered this season as a Top 10 team in the country but quickly fell out of the rankings after a poor start. Looking back, though, losses to Florida State and Butler are not worth being upset about – both are highly-regarded opponents. Florida is currently 10-4 (2-0 SEC) for the season and quietly has a fairly decent resume. In what appears to be a down season for the SEC, the Gators might emerge as one of the dark-horse contenders.

Switching to the complete opposite side of the spectrum with regard to preseason expectations, not many people would have predicted Virginia Tech to be in the bubble hunt by January. The Hokies were projected to be one of the bottom-feeders in the ACC this season but have posted a solid season to this point. Head coach Mike Young deserves a ton of credit in his first season at the helm as the Hokies currently sit at 11-4 (2-2 ACC). Virginia Tech is yet to suffer a bad resume loss (on paper, at least. Their loss to UVA was really ugly to watch) and they can boast a neutral-site win over Michigan State.

Home/Bracketology