The Bubble
Last four in
The first game set for Dayton and the First Four is a pair of No. 11 seeds Creighton and Nebraska facing off in an in-state rivalry for the right to face No. 6 Pittsburgh in Wichita in the Midwest region. The other game is Vanderbilt taking on SMU as No. 12 seeds with the winner heading to Denver to take on No. 5 Houston in the South region.
First four out
The first four teams just missing the field include surprise two SEC teams, Missouri and LSU, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and a rebounding Louisville Cardinals team. With 12 teams from the SEC in this version of the field and two more just on the outside looking in, it illustrates how dominant the league has been in the first two months of the season. Louisville finished 2024 with an 8-5 record which may not sound like much but it matches their total of all of last season and doubles their total from 2022-23.
Next four out
The next group out of the field is Saint Bonaventure, Penn State, Washington State, and BYU. A couple of interesting things in this group are that the Bonnies are 12-1 entering their league opener with VCU on 12/31 and making a statement that they are contenders for the A10 title.
The other thing is with Washington State and Oregon State playing a WCC schedule, expect the Cougars’ win total to grow and games against the top of the league will become even more important.