This week introduced a big shakeup to the No. 1 seeds in CBS Sports activities Bracketology as our mannequin reacted to Iowa State and Vanderbilt dropping for the primary time. Each the Cyclones and Commodores have been displaced on the highest line after taking lopsided street losses towards unranked convention foes.
Duke and UConn have risen to take their locations getting into one other massive weekend of convention motion round faculty basketball. The Blue Devils and Huskies aren’t essentially dominating the opposition, however they’re discovering methods to win.
UConn’s 13-game successful streak is tied with BYU’s for the longest of anybody except for the game’s three remaining unbeaten groups. Since falling to Arizona on Nov. 19, the Huskies have earned victories over Illinois, Kansas, Florida and Texas, as well as starting Huge East play at 7-0. Consequently, UConn is tops nationally in wins above bubble (WAB), which helps its case to be a No. 1 seed at this juncture.
Duke is true behind UConn at No. 2 within the WAB because the Blue Devils lead the nation in Quad 1 wins with seven. Amongst them was Wednesday evening’s win over Cal, which narrowly qualifies as a Quad 1 sport for now. Retaining their standing as a No. 1 seed will likely be a problem for the Blue Devils on Saturday as they tackle Stanford whereas finishing the second leg of their West Coast street journey.
Bracketology prime seeds
Try the complete discipline of 68 on the CBS Sports activities Bracketology hub.
Although it sits at No. 28 within the NET, Saint Mary’s is among the many First 4 Out within the CBS Sports activities Bracketology mannequin. That may change Saturday if the Gaels beat Santa Clara on the street. The 50-mile southward trek to play the Broncos brings simply the second Quad 1 alternative of the season for Saint Mary’s, which misplaced by 25 to Vanderbilt in its solely different Quad 1 sport.
At thirtieth in KenPom and with a 17-2 (6-0 WCC) file, the Gaels look the a part of an NCAA Event membership. However with 12 of these 16 victories coming in Quads 3 and 4, they want a resume increase, and a win over Santa Clara would do wonders. Our mannequin’s preliminary projection suggests a win would catapult Saint Mary’s probably as excessive as a No. 9 seed in Bracketology whereas doubling its choice share from 41.4% to 83%.
Our preliminary projection suggests a loss would go away the Gaels with simply an 16.2% likelihood of constructing the Huge Dance. Such a situation would connect huge stakes to 2 video games towards Gonzaga (Jan. 31 and Feb. 28) of their closing conferences as WCC foes earlier than Gonzaga leaves for the reforming Pac 12.
Stanford highlights ACC’s resurgence
One yr after inserting simply 4 of its 18 groups within the NCAA Event discipline, the ACC is having fun with a big resurgence. Coming into the weekend, 9 ACC groups are within the discipline, based on the CBS Sports activities Bracketology mannequin. One other two — Virginia Tech and Syracuse — aren’t far behind. Sturdy debut campaigns for brand spanking new coaches Jai Lucas (Miami), Will Wade (NC State) and Ryan Odom (Virginia) have helped breathe new life into the convention.
However nobody has been extra stunning than Stanford. Picked to complete seventeenth within the league’s preseason ballot, the Cardinal (14-4, 3-2 ACC) are as much as 4-1 in Quad 1 after upsetting North Carolina 95-90 on Wednesday. Now comes one other showcase alternative on Saturday towards Duke in a battle between two of the nation’s most enjoyable freshmen.
Three-star guard Ebuka Okorie is main the ACC in scoring at 22.9 factors for Stanford and simply torched UNC for 36 factors. However the Cardinal can have their palms full towards a Duke workforce led by five-star phenom Cam Boozer. The bruising ahead has led the Blue Devils to a 16-1 (5-0) begin and a spot on the No. 1 seed line in CBS Sports activities Bracketology.