Bracketology 2024: Arkansas, Michigan State, and St. John's in need of avoiding a bad loss
Welcome to the weekend watchlist. Each week I will look at five games or storylines that should be on everyone's radar for the upcoming weekend. Sometimes these games will be some of the most high-profile ones but sometimes they will be some games that have a big impact on a team's season as they look toward March. Every Selection Sunday, we as fans and members of the media alike often have immediate questions when it comes to the final bracket. Such as, why is Team X seeded above Team Y? Or why did Team A get sent to a particular region over Team B?
Over the last few seasons college basketball has put more of an emphasis on having some marquee matchups early in the year to try and generate more interest in the midst of college football season. It has worked two-fold for the sport, it has gotten the sport more early exposure without having to wait until January for more eyes to turn towards them. It also has begun to debunk the myth that the regular season in college basketball is meaningless, especially with more high-profile matchups early in the year that are looked at in March as games that can highly impact seeding.
Games from the first tip in early November until the last conference tournament champion is crowned, every game has ramifications in one way or another when it comes to a team’s chances to play in March. That is why, every week the weekend watchlist will look at the most important games from a bracketology standpoint and how they will impact the teams playing.
December is coming to a close and that means the time for non-conference resume-building is nearly over. Some teams have made strong cases for at-large berths, while others have faltered and put their hopes of a bid to the NCAA Tournament in jeopardy. Time is running out for those teams, and this is probably their last chance to make a statement. This week’s edition of the weekend watchlist looks at five games that could end the at-large hopes of those involved.