Baylor vaults to a 1 seed after wild weekend
The biggest winner following a wild weekend that saw all four projected No. 1 seeds in men’s college basketball go down was Baylor.
The Bears picked up another résumé-boosting victory at home versus Kansas and now have a nation-leading 11 Quadrant 1 victories to pair with a top-5 NET score.
Those overall credentials helped coach Scott Drew’s team leapfrog Auburn for a coveted No. 1 seed in the latest bracket projection.
While Gonzaga (lost to Saint Mary’s), Arizona (lost to Colorado) and Kansas all lost on Feb. 26, the Tigers’ overall credentials were weak enough to drop them a spot to the No. 2 line with their NET score outside of the top 10.
That makes Auburn the top No. 2 seed, ahead of SEC rival Kentucky, Duke in the ACC and Purdue in the Big Ten. Both the Wildcats and Boilermakers also lost Feb. 26, hurting their chances of vaulting ahead to the No. 1 line on Selection Sunday. Duke, dominant over Syracuse on the road this weekend, also has a shot at vaulting ahead to the No. 1 line, although it may take winning the ACC tournament to get there.
With just one week left in the regular season and championship week on tap the week after, we’ll have a down-to-the-wire race for a No. 1 seed among Kansas, Baylor, Auburn and Kentucky.
Should these team meet again in the Big 12 tournament or SEC tournament, a top seed could be on the line.
No. 1 seeds
Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas, Baylor.
Last four in
Indiana, Michigan, SMU, North Carolina.
First four out
Memphis, VCU, Saint Bonaventure, Rutgers.
Next four out
Oregon, Florida, Virginia Tech, Belmont.
Others considered atlarge bids: St John’s, South Carolina, Dayton.
On life support: Richmond, Mississippi State, Saint Louis,
for Virginia.
Multi-bid conferences: Big Ten (8), Big East (7), Big 12 (6), SEC (6), ACC (5), West Coast (4), Mountain West (4), Pac-12 (3), American Athletic (2).
Leaders or highest NET from projected one-bid conferences - (22 total): A10 - Davidson; America East - Vermont; Atlantic Sun - Liberty; Big Sky - Montana State; Big South - Longwood; Big West Long Beach State; CAA - Towson; C-USA - North Texas; Horizon
- Cleveland State; League - Princeton; MAAC - Iona; MAC - Toledo; MEAC - Norfolk State; Missouri Valley Loyola-Chicago; Northeast Wagner; Ohio Valley - Murray State; Patriot - Colgate; Southern - Chattanooga; Southland Nicholls State; SWAC - Texas Southern; Summit - South Dakota State; Sun Belt - Texas State; WAC - New Mexico State.
h Ineligible schools: Oklahoma State (banned), Cal Baptist, North Alabama, Merrimack,
Ivy
Dixie State, Tarleton State, Bellarmine, UC San Diego, St. Thomas.
NCAA Tournament language explainer NCAA
h NET stands for the Evaluation Tool, which is the barometer for the selection committee. It includes game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin (capping at 10 points per game), and net offensive and defensive efficiency.
h Quadrant 1 wins: Home games vs. 1-30 NET teams; Neutral-site games vs. 1-50 NET; Away games vs. 1-75 NET
h Quadrant 2 wins: Home games vs. 31-75 NET; Neutralsite games vs. 51-100 NET; Away games vs. 76-135 NET
h Quadrant 3 wins: Home games vs. 76-160 NET; Neutralsite games vs. 101-200 NET; Away games vs. 136-240 NET
h Quadrant 4 wins: Home games vs. 161-plus NET; Neutral-site games vs. 201-plus NET; Away games vs. 241-plus NET
Note: Most statistical data is used from WarrenNolan.com. The NET rankings (NCAA Evaluation Tool) also are a reference point.
About our bracketologist:
Shelby Mast has been projecting the field since 2005 on his website, Bracket W.A.G. He joined USA TODAY in 2014. In his ninth season as our national bracketologist, Mast has finished as one of the top three bracketologists in the past eight March Madnesses. He has predicted for The Indianapolis Star and collegeinsider.com and is an inaugural member of the Super 10 Selection Committee.
About our college reporter: Scott Gleeson has covered men’s college basketball for USA TODAY since 2012, contributing to bracketology and running Bubble Tracker before tackling everything March Madness following Selection Sunday.
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