Bracketology 12/23/2020

Non-conference play is largely over, and while November and December were light on MTEs, we had plenty of interesting games that will shape the bracketology picture for the season to come. The Big Ten and Big 12 have distanced themselves from the rest of the country, with 11 of the 16 protected seeds coming from one of those leagues.

It’s becoming clear that at-large resumes are going to look a bit weird this year with COVID schedule changes. For example, would a Kentucky team that goes 12-6 in the SEC, but is 15-13 overall make the field? Normally 12-6 in a power league is more than enough (unless you’re 2018 Nebraska), but there’s very little precedent for bids for teams that are two games over .500. Modeling bracketology is a tricky task, but even more so this year where resumes will look different.

The next update will likely come on New Year’s Eve. From there, updates will be one to two times a week through the rest of January.

1: Gonzaga, Baylor, Villanova, Kansas

2: Wisconsin, Iowa, Texas, Tennessee

3: Houston, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Rutgers

4: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Clemson

5: Virginia, Missouri, Illinois, Duke

6: Oregon, Creighton, Indiana, Saint Louis

7: Colorado, Louisville, Florida State, Xavier

8: Providence, Florida, Purdue, North Carolina

9: Arkansas, San Diego State, Syracuse, UCLA

10: Stanford, LSU, Virginia Tech, NC State

11: Mississippi, Western Kentucky, Oklahoma, Connecticut

12: (Minnesota/USC), (SMU/Arizona), Loyola Chicago, Furman

13: Toledo, Wright State, South Dakota State, Winthrop

14: Vermont, Georgia State, New Mexico State, Liberty

15: Belmont, UC Santa Barbara, Abilene Christian, Hofstra

16: Colgate, Saint Peter’s, (Southern Utah/Bryant), (Texas Southern/North Carolina Central)

First Four Out: Maryland, BYU, Oklahoma State, Penn State

Next Four Out: Boise State, Richmond, VCU, Northwestern