Bracketology 2/5/2021

There was some chaos at the top of the seed list this week, as both Villanova and Houston lost to teams outside the field. Houston’s loss to East Carolina hurts quite a bit more than Villanova’s loss to St. John’s, but they both opened up a gap for the last 1 seed. I considered Alabama and Villanova but ultimately Ohio State got it done with 7 Q1 wins, including 4 Q1-A win. Both of those marks lead the nation.

On the bubble, Oregon is out of the field for the first time all year after a tough loss to Washington State. The Ducks have not looked the same since their COVID pause and the Pac-12 is now down to just 3 bids with Oregon and Stanford just outside the field.

1: Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, Ohio State

2: Alabama, Villanova, Houston, Illinois

3: Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Texas

4: Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Texas Tech

5: USC, Oklahoma, Florida State, Purdue

6: UCLA, Kansas, Creighton, Xavier

7: Colorado, Virginia Tech, Drake, Clemson

8: Minnesota, Rutgers, Boise State, BYU

9: Oklahoma State, Florida, St. Bonaventure, Arkansas

10: Louisville, Connecticut, North Carolina, Loyola Chicago

11: San Diego State, VCU, LSU, Indiana

12; (Seton Hall/Colorado State), Toledo, (Richmond/Maryland), Western Kentucky

13: Winthrop, Wright State, Colgate, Belmont

14: UC Santa Barbara, South Dakota State, Vermont, Abilene Christian

15: Liberty, East Tennessee State, Siena, Grand Canyon

16: Louisiana, Bryant, (Northeastern/Montana State), (Prairie View A&M/North Carolina A&T)

First Four Out: SMU, St. John’s, Oregon, Stanford

Next Four Out: Penn State, Saint Louis, Western Kentucky, Georgia Tech