Ranking The Regions - A Look At Each Corner Of The NCAA Tournament Bracket

Every year at this time there is chatter about who the committee stiffed, who was given the easy road (usually Duke), and what region of the bracket was unfairly overloaded.

I plan to answer all those questions for you this year, as I rank the regions in the 2015 NCAA Tournament bracket from strongest to weakest.

#1: EAST

There is no question that fans and even some “experts” undervalue Villanova.

But, the Wildcats are the second strongest 1 seed in the dance. They are playing better than anyone not named Kentucky and have won 15 straight Big East games (2^nd rated conference in the country) by an average of 17 points.

The 2 seed is a team many believed should have been a 1, in 29-3 Virginia.

Oklahoma is a team fully capable of making a deep run as a 3 seed, coming out of America’s best conference this season.

4 seed Louisville and their coach Rick Pitino are a team that I can guarantee no one wants to run into this time of year. Yes, they have struggled a bit, before and after the loss of Chris Jones, but if any coach can gather the troops and make a run, it’s Pitino.

That’s a tough 4 seed frontline, but it doesn’t stop there. Northern Iowa, Providence, and Michigan State are all teams that can play with anyone in the country and it should surprise no one if they go on a run.

#2: MIDWEST

Well, the best team in the country is here, so there’s that.

Kentucky of course is gunning to make history as the first undefeated team since the 1976 Indiana squad. It won’t be as easy as many think, particularly in this sneaky tough region.

Kansas, the 2 seed in this region, has been overlooked all season.

But, all they do is win.

Remember, the Jayhawks won the Big 12 (the #1 rated conference) again this season and actually come into the tournament with the most top 25 wins, at 9. There is no team more tested.

There is also no team that will have more incentive to beat Kentucky, considering the Wildcats drilled them by 32 for all the world to see, back in November.

Notre Dame is capable of beating anyone, with their high-powered offense, led by one of the best players in the country, Jerian Grant.

The 4 seed, Maryland, is a team many believed should have been a 3 seed, based on the Terps’ 27-6 record, high RPI, and the combination of Dez Wells and Melo Trimble.

This region also has the scariest collection of tough/gritty teams, with West Virginia, Butler, Wichita State, and Cincinnati inhabiting seeds 5-8.

#3: WEST

It’s hard to argue with the top two seeds in this region.

Wisconsin and Arizona are almost mirror images of each other. Both are super talented, experienced teams that dominated their respective weaker-than-usual conferences. But, both have shown unpredictable weakness here and there.

Baylor is an interesting 3 seed. Formidable, yes, but they feel more like a sleeper than a team to be counted on. The Bears have some big-time wins, but all within their conference.

North Carolina is similar to Baylor: dangerous, but hard to count on.

Arkansas, Xavier and VCU all seem capable of winning a game or two, max.

#4: SOUTH

I’ll start with the obligatory, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but…

On paper, it looks like the Committee was pretty, pretty kind to Duke (Larry David voice). The Blue Devils have been great, but a tiny bit fragile.

They are joined in the South by perhaps the weakest 2 seed – at least, resumé wise – in Gonzaga. The Zags have the fewest number of top 50 and top 25 wins of the 2 seeds.

Iowa State is a strong 3 seed that is capable of reaching the Final Four. But, Georgetown and Utah, have been up and down, more recently down.

6 seed SMU is a solid team with a nice story and Larry brown is a great coach. However, the Mustangs’ best wins this season came against AAC foes Temple and Tulsa; neither is in the field.

 This article first appeared at College Hoops Daily, The College Basketball Blog.

Top 25 - Week 10

Last week's notes:

- Kentucky and Virginia continued to separate themselves from the rest of the country, clearly taking their places as the top two teams in the country right now.

- Duke bounced back from back-to-back defeats to get an impressive win at Louisville, while Notre Dame just continued to win.

- Arizona jumped back into the top 10 with a statement win versus Utah.

- The Big 12 and Big East continued to eat their own.


1. Kentucky (17-0) [LW: 1] Last week: beat Missouri 86-37; won at Alabama 70-48. This week: Vanderbilt; at South Carolina.
2. Virginia (17-0) [LW: 2] Last week: beat Clemson 65-42; won at Boston College 66-51. This week: Georgia Tech; at Virginia Tech.
3. Gonzaga (17-1) [LW: 3] Last week: won at Pepperdine 78-76; won at Loyola Marymount 72-55. This week: St. Mary's; Pacific.
4. Villanova (17-1) [LW: 7] Last week: beat Xavier 88-75; won at Pennsylvania 62-47. This week: at Georgetown; Creighton.
5. Duke (15-2) [LW: 4] Last week: lost to Miami 90-74; won at Louisville 63-52. This week: Pittsburgh; at St. John's.
6. Wisconsin (16-2) [LW: 8] Last week: beat Nebraska 70-55. This week: Iowa; at Michigan.
7. Arizona (16-2) [LW: 12] Last week: beat Colorado 68-54; beat Utah 69-51. This week: at Stanford; at California.
8. Notre Dame (17-2) [LW: 9] Last week: won at Georgia Tech 62-59; beat Miami 75-70. This week:  at Virginia Tech; at NC State.
9. Louisville (15-3) [LW: 5] Last week: beat Virginia Tech 78-63; lost to Duke 63-52. This week: at Pittsburgh.
10. North Carolina (14-4) [LW: 10] Last week: won at NC State 81-79; beat Virginia Tech 68-53. This week: at Wake Forest; Florida State.
11. Utah (14-3) [LW: 6] Last week: won at Arizona State 76-59; lost at Arizona 69-51. This week: Washington State; Washington.
12. Kansas (14-3) [LW: 11] Last week: beat Oklahoma State 67-57; lost at Iowa State 86-81. This week: Oklahoma; at Texas.
13. Iowa State (13-3) [LW: 13] Last week: lost at Baylor 74-73; beat Kansas 86-81. This week: Kansas State; at Texas Tech.
14. VCU (15-3) [LW: 14] Last week: won at Rhode Island 65-60; won at Duquesne 70-64. This week: at Saint Louis.
15. Maryland (17-2) [LW: 15] Last week: beat Rutgers 73-65; beat Michigan State 75-59. This week: at Indiana; Northwestern.
16. Texas (13-4) [LW: 18] Last week: beat West Virginia 77-50. This week: at TCU; Kansas.
17. Wichita State (15-2) [LW: 17] Last week: beat Southern Illinois 67-55; won at Evansville 61-41. This week: at Missouri State; Drake
18. Northern Iowa (16-2) [LW: 19] Last week: won at Bradley 63-52; beat Missouri State 60-46. This week: Indiana State; at Illinois State.
19. Oklahoma (12-5) [LW: 16] Last week: lost at West Virginia 86-65; beat Oklahoma State 82-65. This week: at Kansas; at Baylor.
20. Dayton (15-2) [LW: 23] Last week: beat LaSalle 61-50; beat Saint Louis 61-45. This week: at Davidson; Richmond.
21. Iowa (13-5) [LW: NR] Last week: won at Minnesota 77-75; beat Ohio State 76-67. This week: at Wisconsin; at Purdue.
22. West Virginia (15-3) [LW: 20] Last week: beat Oklahoma 86-65; lost at Texas 77-50. This week: TCU.
23. Seton Hall (13-4) [LW: 21] Last week: lost to Butler 79-75 OT. This week: DePaul; at Butler.
24. SMU (13-4) [LW: NR] Last week: won at Temple 60-55; beat ECU 77-54. This week: at Tulane; Houston.
25. Georgetown (12-5) [LW: NR] Last week: won at DePaul 78-72; beat Butler 61-59. This week: Villanova; at Marquette.

On the outside looking in: Indiana (14-4); Baylor (13-4); Butler (13-6); Colorado State (16-2); Georgia (11-5); San Diego State (13-4); Stanford (13-4); Miami (12-5); Tulsa (12-4); Ohio State (14-5); Wyoming (16-3); Oklahoma State (11-5); Providence (14-5).

Dropped out: Arkansas (13-4); Providence; Michigan State (12-6).

Last Night's Recap - Tonight's Game To Watch

Last Night's Recap:

Big Wins:

St. John's at Providence, 83-70. - The Johnnies got their first Big East win of the season (now 1-3) and did so in a tough spot. Could this be the start of a Red Storm re-brewing?

Baylor vs. Iowa State, 74-73. - The Bears finally got that big win they were looking for, but it wasn't easy. They will need a solid road win or two to be considered a legitimate tourney team.

LSU at Mississippi, 75-71. - The Tigers, now 2-1 in the SEC, got their second league road win in a spot where they could have easily slipped up. LSU could be on the road to legitimacy.

SMU at Temple, 60-55. - The Mustangs have now won three straight and 11 of their last 12. They are 4-1 in the AAC and collected a nice road win over a fellow AAC contender.

San Diego State at Wyoming, 60-52. - The Aztecs are now 3-1 in the Mountain West, after a bit of a shaky stretch in November/December. They now may be able to lay claim to being the conference's best, after a nice road win versus an upstart.

Bad Losses:

Mississippi - Coming off of a strong performance in a loss at Kentucky and a nice win versus South Carolina, Ole Miss needed another solid home win to keep the momentum going. They could not get it done against LSU, a team in a similar position.

Wyoming - this was a bad loss only because they had a chance to claim legitimacy with a win over nationally respected SDSU. The loss throws shade on the Cowboys, who need to take advantage of their home opportunities versus tournament caliber opponents.

Tonight's Game To Watch:

Cincinnati (11-4) at Memphis (9-6) 7PM, Memphis, TN, ESPN2

There isn't much to choose from tonight, but this is a big game in the AAC. The Bearcats have won four of their last five, are 2-1 in league play, and can't afford to drop a game against a team they should probably beat, home or away. Memphis (2-2, AAC) has been shaky all season - by their standards - but has played slightly better of late. Prediction: Cincinnati 59, Memphis 54.

Other games of note...

Colorado (9-6) at #12 Arizona (14-2) 9PM, Tucson, AZ, ESPN2
Nebraska (10-6) at #8 Wisconsin (15-2) 9PM, Madison, WI, ESPN
#6 Utah (12-2) at Arizona State (8-8) 10PM, Tempe, AZ, FS1

Other Top 25 Games:

#3 Gonzaga (15-1) at Pepperdine (10-5) 10:30PM, Malibu, CA

Vegas Pick (4-3):

BYU -9 at Pacific 11PM

Half Marathon Recap

Yes, the college basketball season started Friday, but the official start was yesterday with the outset of the 29-hour marathon.

Yes, 29 hours.

It may be early, as in, the beginning, but all these games count and will have serious bubble and seeding implications.

Yes, seriously.

So, let’s take a look at some of the notable games that have taken place thus far and their serious implications.

Miami (2-0) 69, Florida (1-1) 67

The Hurricanes, who I projected would be one of the “first four out,” (2014-15 Preseason Bracketology) definitely helped their case with a road win over a Gator team that figures to be a tournament team. Miami can use the win as a confidence builder as well, as they head into the gauntlet that is the ACC.

Winthrop (2-0) 77, Clemson (1-1) 74

We figured Clemson would struggle to even gain sight of the bubble, but a home loss to a Big South team puts the Tigers even further behind the 8-ball.

Gonzaga (2-0) 72, SMU (1-1) 56

The Zags are stacked and expected to be one of the better teams in the country. They got off to a good start with an impressive win over an SMU squad many expect to be in the big dance.

Colorado (2-0) 90, Auburn (1-1) 59

Colorado is one of those teams most people are not quite sure about. But, the general feeling is they could and should be pretty good. That prognosis looked on point early this morning when the Buffaloes throttled Bruce Pearle’s Auburn team. Pearle will just try to establish some credibility for his new program this year.

UMass (3-0) 77, Manhattan (0-2) 68 OT

Massachusetts continued its strong start, holding on to beat a pesky Manhattan team in overtime. While still without a marquee win, the Minutemen avoided what would have been looked at as a bad loss.

Baylor (2-0) 69, South Carolina (1-1) 65

I had Baylor on the outside looking in in my tourney projections, but their play today may force me to reevaluate. The Bears looked solid in their road win vs. Frank Martin’s Gamecocks. It looks as if it may be a struggle for Martin to get South Kak back into the dance.