East Region (New York, NY)
(1) San Diego State vs. (16) Radford
(8) Saint Mary’s vs. (9) Florida
(4) Michigan State vs. (13) Akron
(5) Butler vs. (12) Liberty
(6) Wisconsin vs. (11) Texas Tech
(3) Duke vs. (14) New Mexico State
(7) Marquette vs. (10) Arizona State
(2) Dayton vs. (15) South Dakota State
Notable Movers: Wisconsin and Texas Tech.
Wisconsin is currently riding a six-game winning streak in one of the toughest conferences in the country. As a result, it is easy to say that the Badgers are playing some of the best basketball in the nation at the moment. They have been scorching the nets from distance on high volumes during this stretch while taking down several quality opponents. Wisconsin is now 19-10 for the season and could continue to climb. If the Badgers’ hot shooting continues, they will be very dangerous.
Texas Tech, on the other hand, has not been as successful recently. The Red Raiders have never had a tremendous resume this season and have now lost three straight games to find themselves right in the bubble conversation. TTU’s NET and efficiency metrics are still excellent, but the fact of the matter is that winning quality games is an important factor in selection/seeding. Texas Tech is 18-12 on the season but eight of those victories came against Q4 opposition. The team is only 7-12 in Q1+2 games.
Last Four Byes: Providence, Indiana, Wichita State, Texas Tech
Last Four In: Rutgers, Richmond, Cincinnati, Utah State
First Four Out: Rhode Island, Texas, NC State, UCLA
Next Four Out: Arkansas, Mississippi State, Purdue, Alabama
Some others still worth monitoring (in NET order): Minnesota, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Memphis, St. John’s, South Carolina, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Clemson, and Stephen F. Austin.