Bracketology Projected Field: Gonzaga, Dayton earn committee respect

East Region (New York, NY)

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

(8) Texas Tech vs. (9) Purdue

(4) Penn State vs. (13) Vermont

(5) Colorado vs. (12) Liberty

(6) Iowa vs. (11) East Tennessee State

(3) Seton Hall vs. (14) Bowling Green

(7) LSU vs. (10) Saint Mary’s

(2) Duke vs. (15) Murray State

While the rest of the bubble has seemingly collapsed, a couple of teams have been able to make serious movement up the seed lines. Purdue is perhaps one of the most notable. Once in danger of slipping below-.500 for the season, the Boilermakers now sit at 14-10 and belong safely in the field. They boast great metrics and are ranked in the Top 15 nationally in BPI, KP, and SAG. This season has turned on a dime for Purdue – what was once viewed as a somewhat lost campaign has been given new life. Head coach Matt Painter is once again pulling off an impressive midseason turnaround on the sidelines.

Additionally, East Tennessee State has launched itself into the at-large conversation. While the Buccaneers are holding the SoCon automatic bid in this projected field, they would still be one of my last teams in at this moment even if they were forced to be an at-large contender. ETSU’s resume metrics are all solid across the board an it’s hard to ignore that the team has only suffered four losses all season. While a Q4 loss is extremely detrimental to their resume at the moment, they are quietly 4-3 in Q1+2 games.

Last Four Byes: Saint Mary’s, Xavier, Florida, Stanford

Last Four In: VCU, Cincinnati, Indiana, Virginia

First Four Out: Arizona State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Georgetown

Next Four Out: Memphis, Alabama, NC State, Richmond