Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: Top 16 breakdown, belief in Maryland, and more weekly takeaways

By Brian Rauf

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Anthony Cowan Jr. #1 of the Maryland Terrapins celebrates against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second half at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - JANUARY 30: Anthony Cowan Jr. #1 of the Maryland Terrapins celebrates against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second half at Xfinity Center on January 30, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 9
Next
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 8: Led by committee chairman Mark Hollis (3rd from L), the NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 8: Led by committee chairman Mark Hollis (3rd from L), the NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /

1) NCAA Tournament bracket preview breakdown

For the most part, I think this 16 is about what we expected – which is a good thing. Baylor is a pretty convincing No. 1 overall seed at this point, Kansas has a better resume than Gonzaga, and Gonzaga has better wins than San Diego State. Those are the clear top four teams and were seeded as such.

The downside for San Diego State comes in being the final top seed, which would send them out East. With Duke earning the top No. 2 seed and also being in the East Region, it feels like the Blue Devils would have a major advantage in that scenario. It would almost benefit the Aztecs to lose a game in order to fall to a No. 2 seed and play out West, though I’m sure they’d prefer if Gonzaga lost instead.

One of the bigger surprises was seeing Dayton ranked No. 6 ahead of teams like Louisville and Maryland, and that shows us how the committee values Dayton’s lack of losses. Their only two defeats both came in overtime against Quad 1A opponents so, despite their best win being against Saint Mary’s, it’s clear the committee likes the Flyers.

To that point, it’s also clear the committee is valuing non-conference strength of schedule. Michigan State’s inclusion as the last No. 4 seed over a team like Penn State can largely be attributed to that, though those two may have flipped following Saturday’s results.

The same can be said for Maryland, who were the best No. 3 seed but may have jumped West Virginia after the Mountaineers’ loss to Oklahoma (though I doubt Terps fans would pass up a potential showdown with former rival Duke in the Sweet 16, as would be the case in the early reveal bracket).

Speaking of the Terps…

Home/NCAA Basketball News