Bracketology Projected Field: Gonzaga, Dayton earn committee respect

TUCSON, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 14: Filip Petrusev #3 and Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs high five on the court during the second half against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on December 14, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

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AUBURN, ALABAMA – FEBRUARY 08: Doughty of the Tigers reacts. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

South Region (Houston, TX)

(1) Baylor vs. (16) North Carolina A&T/Robert Morris

(8) Rhode Island vs. (9) Rutgers

(4) Villanova vs. (13) North Texas

(5) Michigan State vs. (12) Yale

(6) Arizona vs. (11) Stanford

(3) Auburn vs. (14) Wright State

(7) Illinois vs. (10) Wichita State

(2) Louisville vs. (15) Hofstra

Auburn heard its name called during the Bracket Reveal over this past weekend as it has put itself in strong positioning to land a Top 4 seed in a month. The Tigers might not boast the most overwhelming resume in the country but have only suffered two losses all season long and it is easy to be enamored with their winning percentage. Auburn is an impressive 11-2 in Q1+2 games and has steadily moved up in most committee-used metrics. Auburn is the top-seeded SEC team in my projected field and I don’t think that will change in the next month.

Rhode Island is similarly relying on strong resume metrics (SOR + KPI) to rise up seed lines at this moment. The Rams are currently in the midst of a huge winning streak and have asserted themselves as a future at-large team. I have pegged Rhody as a No. 8 seed in this particular field as this team has consistently won games over the past month – something not many others can say. While one might criticize the low intra-conference SOS in the Atlantic 10, winning 10 straight is always impressive and they did complete a season sweep of VCU.

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