One month of hoops has gone by, and it has been a sensational start to the season. From top 5 matchups to shocking upsets, and massive blowouts, fans have seen it all to start the season. Many teams have established themselves as the best in the country, while others have a lot to prove for the rest of the season.
Although November just ended, it is never too early to be thinking about March. Charlie Creme released his second edition of bracketology. Let's highlight some of the main takeaways that we came away with in this newest release.
No surprises with the one seeds
Not many people should be surprised with the four one seeds, as they are the same four teams that have been in the top four from the preseason until now without changing. UConn takes the top overall seed after an 8-0 start, including two ranked wins over Louisville and Michigan.
Texas comes in as the second one seed after an incredible Player's Era Championship that saw them beat South Carolina and UCLA, the other two one seeds. The Gamecocks and Bruins have looked sensational all season long despite that loss to the Longhorns.
Many have argued that LSU should be a one seed given their incredible start to the season, in which it has scored over 100 points in all eight games. However, they have not played a ranked team this season, and most of their games have been against low- to mid-major schools. If they can put on the same showing against Duke on December 4, they may have a case. However, as of right now, the top seeds are accurate.
Only five schools from the Big Ten are expected to miss the tournament
The Big Ten Conference is expected to have the highest representation of all conferences in Division I with thirteen schools expected to make the tournament. Of the thirteen, five teams are expected to be top four seeds in UCLA (1), Michigan (2), Maryland (3), USC (4), and Iowa (4).
This is unsurprising, given that eight schools in the conference are in the top 25. Still, this bracketology release underscores that the Big Ten Conference is the most competitive and arguably the best in the country this season.
With big names like Lauren Betts at UCLA, Olivia Olson at Michigan, Ava Heiden at Iowa, and Jaloni Cambridge at Ohio State to name a few, this conference is full of stars that are going to make for great games, and opposing conferences will have a tough time guarding this conference's best players.
The movement of mid-major schools could indicate some upsets in March
Many people focusing on Bracketology will pay attention to the power-conference schools and who gets in and out. However, as in the men's tournament, there will be major upsets. With that said, mid-major schools should be looked at just as much as power schools.
Some of these schools have had some significant movement from the previous bracketology release. Princeton is a school many should look out for, as the Ivy League school sits with an 8-1 record and is projected as a seven seed. Despite their lone loss being a 16-point loss to Maryland, the Tigers have wins over several power schools, including Georgia Tech, Penn State, Villanova, and Seton Hall. With three players on the team averaging above 14 points per game, look for the Tigers to make some noise.
While projected as lower seeds, Tulsa and Howard University moved up from the previous bracketology release, going to 13 and 14 seeds respectively. Tulsa has had a solid 5-2 season thus far, with both losses within two possessions, and is led by Mady Cartwright, who averages 17.0 points per game. Meanwhile, the Howard Bison are sitting at 6-3 with a big win over Providence this season. A talented forward in Zennia Thomas leads the team with 16.2 points per game and nearly eight rebounds per game.
It would be wise for everyone to keep a close eye on the mid-major schools in Bracketology, as they have the talent to knock off some teams and make a deep run in the Big Dance.
Some surprising teams being on "first four out" list
Similar to Joe Lunardi's bracketology, Charlie Creme releases his teams that miss the cut for the Big Dance on his "First Four Out" list. The schools on this list surprised some people, as they have had solid starts to their seasons.
Kansas is the first school out, despite posting a 6-2 record. One of their losses came to an undefeated Georgia team, but they did have a bad loss to Dayton in the Fort Myers tip-off consolation game. However, they have a quality win over Minnesota, which is listed as a 10 seed in this bracketology. A talented guard also leads them in S'mya Nichols, who is averaging 20.1 points per game. Many think they should be in the tournament.
Following Kansas is California, sporting a 6-2 record, with Clemson (5-3) and BYU (7-1) rounding out the list. All three of these teams have had quality wins this season and are led by talented players. There are a few mid-major conferences with multiple schools that many argue shouldn't be there, so it will be interesting to see if these schools end up making their way into the tournament over these four.