The final weekend of the regular season is nearly upon us, and that means we’re down to nine days until Selection Sunday.
Starting this weekend, we’re quickening the pace of the March to Madness, with the next bracket updates coming Sunday morning, after all the craziness slated to go down Saturday.
And if this week is a harbinger of things to come, there will be plenty of movement in the brackets in the next few days.
With Indiana scalping its third win this season against a top-five opponent, the Hoosiers move up to a No. 3 seed. Their victim, Michigan State, slides down from a No. 1 seed to No. 2. Kansas takes the Spartans’ vacated No. 1 spot. Right now, those two teams are nearly interchangeable. And they could get some company, depending on the results of the North Carolina/Duke game Saturday night.
The Tar Heels aren’t a real contender for a No. 1 seed because they lack any elite wins. A victory in Cameron Indoor Stadium would go a long way to thrusting North Carolina into that conversation. In fact, a convincing win could vault the Tar Heels into the same stratosphere as Michigan State and Kansas, while Duke would slip from the third No. 1 seed to a No. 2 seed. In short, a North Carolina win would make the final two No. 1 seeds a gigantic mess heading into the major conference tournaments.
At the other end, a few teams continue to slide toward the bubble, namely Connecticut and Virginia. Both teams looked like locks for the tournament as recently as two weeks ago. But both teams have faltered, with the Huskies in a complete tailspin and the Cavaliers incapable of beating a good team. Neither team can afford a loss to an underdog opponent, especially if some of the mid-major locks stumble in their conference tourneys.
Let’s get to the brackets. To check out my fellow bracketologists’ predictions, go check out the matrix at the Bracket Project.
