Bracket Notes: November 29th, 2023

Feast Week is over and there were a lot of results that will impact the bracket come March. Here are a few key takeaways

BIG 10 had a great week led by the Purdue Boilermakers winning in Portland. By defeating Gonzaga and Duke in the Phil Knight tourney, the Boilermakers take a huge leap up the rankings. Add these wins to the other positive results of the B!G 10 and the conference will be well represented in the big dance.

Ohio State wins two in the Maui Classic, Michigan State wins two in Portland, Wisconsin won two in the Bahamas. These results all will lift the key metrics used to select teams.

UConn is moving up the rankings. The Huskies won the other side of the Phil Knight tourney in Portland. They are now the likely favorite in the BIG EAST along with Creighton. St. John’s is undefeated and a team to watch, while Villanova has lost four straight games.

The ACC is struggling once again in the non-conference schedule. Duke and North Carolina have taken a few tough losses and teams like Florida State and Louisville are just bad right now. Virginia and NC State have solid starts to hold up the conference right now. Miami, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech all are teams that will be in the hunt.

The PAC 12 is also struggling to begin the season. Oregon, USC have taken some bad losses. Arizona and UCLA look to be the two best teams in the conference. Will anyone else rise up to join them in the tourney is the big question

BIG 12 is the best conference so far. Texas, Kansas, Baylor lead the pack so far. Texas Tech, Kansas State, West Virginia, Oklahoma all off to good starts. TCU and Oklahoma St have had bad losses but still remain competitive.

Houston may be the best team in the country. The rest of the American Conference is questionable at best. Memphis is likely to be ok. Cincinnati has lost a few games already

St. Louis and Davidson lead the A10 conference. VCU is dealing with some injuries and Dayton is off to a slow start. Can this league get 3 bids. We would like to believe so, but they need some wins quickly

Mountain West is a fun conference to watch. Wyoming is down and dealing with some key injuries. San Diego State is the best overall. Look to follow UNLV and Nevada to see if they can get back into the tourney.

Mid-Majors: Watch Sam Houston St play this year. Add Charleston to the must watch list

There is a lot of basketball to be played. We are noticing a few trends starting to take shape. The conference hierarchy is one. The BIG 12 & BIG TEN are shaping up to be the best leagues. This will show in number of bids at the end of the season.