Livescore
A new bracket is up, and again there is a change on the top line.
Texas jumped both Kansas and Arizona to take over the third overall seed on the strength of a win at Kansas State on Saturday. The Longhorns are at Kansas on Monday night, so more change could be in the offing.
Texas now has eight Quadrant 1 wins, tied with Purdue for second most behind Kansas. Seven of those wins have come against teams currently in the bracket. All four of their losses have come to teams seeded No. 7 or better.
Arizona dropped down to fifth overall despite a win on Saturday over Oregon State.
Arizona has an odd looking resume. The Wildcats have some very nice wins, led by victories over Tennessee and UCLA. However, they also have an unusual collection of losses. All three of Arizona’s losses are to teams that are not currently in the bracket and only Oregon is a bubble team.
Purdue is still the overall No. 1 seed after a loss at Indiana on Saturday. The Boilermakers could still stay ahead of Alabama even with another loss, but that is no longer guaranteed. Purdue has Iowa at home on Thursday, followed by road tilts with Northwestern and Maryland, which almost won at Purdue on Jan. 22.
The Crimson Tide host Florida on Wednesday before a road trip to Auburn and Tennessee.
Bracketology top seeds
Check out Palm’s latest bracket, full field of 68 and all the teams on the bubble on the Bracketology hub.
Saint Mary’s and the metrics
Saint Mary’s picked up its best win of the season late Saturday night. The Gaels defeated conference rival Gonzaga at home in overtime to extend its lead in the conference to two games. That is their best win of the season and they are a No. 4 seed in the bracket.
The metrics love Saint Mary’s because it is one of the top teams in scoring margin. The NET, Kenpom.com and Sagarin’s rankings in particular rely heavily on scoring margin. However, margin of victory is more important to those metrics than it is to the committee.
When you hear someone from the committee talk about what is important to them, there is a stock answer: “Who did you play, where did you play them, who did you beat and who beat you.” They never say “how much did you win or lose by”.
So, if you see teams in the bracket and/or seeding that does not seem to match the metrics, go back to what committee members say is important to them.
Even records against teams in one of the quadrants can be deceiving. An overlooked factor that carries some weight with the selection committee is a team’s performance against other teams either in the bracket or under consideration. Not all Quad 1 opponents are of the same value.
What win vs. Purdue means for Indiana
The Hoosiers, a No. 5 seed, did not get much of a boost from the win over Purdue. Indiana is only 6-7 against teams in the top two quadrants. It is rare for a team to get a top-four seed with a record below .500 against that group of teams. Still, if the Hoosiers can continue their recent form, a climb up the charts will not be far away.
Note: A list of bubble teams will appear on the bracket page below the bracket Monday. The daily bubble watch column will debut Tuesday.
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