Bracketology Projected Field: Ohio State, Butler among midweek risers

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Sean McDermott #22, Jordan Tucker #1 and Bryce Nze #10 of the Butler Bulldogs celebrate after their win over the Villanova Wildcats at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 05, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 79-76. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

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AMES, IA – JANUARY 29: Mitchell of the Bears shoots. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

South Region (Houston, TX)

(1) Baylor vs. (16) Prairie View A&M/Monmouth

(8) Houston vs. (9) Wisconsin

(4) Villanova vs. (13) New Mexico State

(5) Colorado vs. (12) Liberty

(6) Arizona vs. (11) Xavier

(3) Louisville vs. (14) Bowling Green

(7) LSU vs. (10) Stanford

(2) Maryland vs. (15) UC Irvine

Baylor just keeps handling its business as the top team in the country both with regard to bracketology and the AP poll. The Bears have only suffered one loss all season and it came in the second game of the campaign. They have been absolutely rolling ever since and have picked up a ton of high-quality wins along the way. Baylor is a ridiculous 13-1 in Q1+2 contests and it seems likely that this team will remain a No. 1 seed into Selection Sunday next month.

This group is showing no signs of slowing down and they could survive a loss or two and remain on the top line. Head coach Scott Drew’s team can light it up from three, rebound at an elite rate, and protect the paint defensively. All of the ingredients are there for this squad to potentially cut down the nets.

Maryland, on the other hand, has been steadily rising as of late and now finds itself sitting on my No. 2 seed line. The Terrapins entered this season with high expectations and they have pretty much met that bar despite not receiving a ton of national attention. Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith make up a dangerous star duo and the team’s defense is flat-out elite. Maryland has won five consecutive games (two on the road) and is now 10-4 in Q1+2 games while ranking in the Top 10 in every committee-used metric.

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