Bracket Watch: Don’t overreact. However be careful for Vanderbilt and UAB

How a lot enjoyable has school basketball been the final two days? All-encompassing nice video games, dramatic NCAA tournaments and improbable outcomes. To borrow a non-basketball expression you’ll probably hear rather a lot just a few hours after Sunday’s choice present, it’s all in all places directly. Scorching canine.

The video games on Saturday and Sunday must also be a blast. We simply need to encourage you to do one factor: keep away from overreacting with regards to the influence of those outcomes on the brace.

That may be actually tough. These are high-profile post-season showdowns, and the development towards timeliness is tough to shake. However nothing that occurs between now and when Greg Gumbel begins doling out these candy, candy first-round pairings goes to trigger a lot motion on the seeding listing. A convention match win remains to be only one information level amongst greater than 30 outcomes, all of which rely equally. The hay isn’t solely within the barn, it has already been pressed by the choice committee. (Did that occur to the hay? We positive are city mice right here). Groups at massive not often transfer up or down a seed line, relying on what’s taking place at that time.

In fact, some issues stay at stake; why else would we watch? Listed below are three groups that may nonetheless make a formidable impression within the discipline of 68:

• Van derbilt. This provides us some critical 2022 Texas A&M vibes. The off-the-radar workforce is heating up late, racking up some stellar wins and making a run within the SEC match. Folks – particularly SEC media – are beginning to marketing campaign onerous to get a suggestion. Vandy isn’t fighting the identical deadline power issues that doomed the Aggies a 12 months in the past, however the Commodores are nonetheless making an attempt to make up lots of floor in a brief period of time. They began on Friday the 82nd in NET and the eightieth in KenPom, though the consequence metrics SOR (49) and KPI (39) have been a lot friendlier. We don’t suppose Vandy will probably be in it, however it’s one of many few bubble groups that may nonetheless pull off one other important win that might knock out a workforce like Arizona State or NC State. The following likelihood, mockingly, comes in opposition to Texas A&M on Saturday.

• Marquette. Now we have the Golden Eagles as our final #2 this morning after they beat UConn within the Massive East semifinals. Baylor and Gonzaga are additionally sturdy contenders for this spot. But when Marquette can safe the Massive East match title together with the regular-season crown, his case for the No. 2 line will turn out to be even stronger. And bear in mind, Baylor bought blown out earlier this season, in order that’s good.

• UAB. We’re a Blazers win away from getting Jelly Waker within the dance. We’re very a lot for it. UAB performs Florida Atlantic for the Convention USA title on Saturday. It was certainly one of solely two groups to defeat the Owls in league play that season. FAU has already sewn up a suggestion, so the Blazers may turn out to be our lone mid-major supply thief this March. Bubble groups will probably be cheering onerous for Dusty Could’s outfit.

Two extra notes on our newest bracket, now solely ONE DAY left till Choice Sunday…

• We wrote on Friday about Kansas deserving the #1 total rating. Effectively, the Jayhawks bought their seventeenth Quad 1 within the Massive 12 semifinals in opposition to Iowa State. It’s an absurd quantity, they usually’ve bought that one with out Invoice Self on the sidelines and with Kevin McCullar Jr., the glue workforce captain, lacking a lot of the second half. It doesn’t matter what occurs within the Massive 12 title sport or elsewhere, Kansas ought to simply high the committee’s seeding listing.

• Our Closing 4 pairings are Midwest vs. East and South vs. West primarily based on our seedings, that are under. The very best remaining seedlings in every Convention match are marked with an asterisk. Bracket Watch will reappear on Sunday morning, with a last replace earlier than the choice present if warranted.

Midwest (Kansas Metropolis)

Jap Area (New York Metropolis)

South Area (Louisville)

Conferences with a number of calls

seed listing

(Picture by UAB’s Eric Gaines: Chris Jones / USA At this time)

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