There were 19 games in Division 1 College Basketball on Monday with a majority of them coming from the Mid-Eastern Conference, the Southland Conference or the SWAC. We did have three games involving teams that are in discussion for high seeds or for the bubble.
Our first highlighted game took place in Atlanta, Georgia between the Louisville Cardinals and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Cardinals escaped with a 52-51 victory that looking very much in doubt as they trailed by as many as 13 points in the final quarter of the game.
Terry Rozier scored 22 points including the go-ahead basket late to secure the win. A win which puts a little bit of breathing room for Louisville in this week’s Bracketology. Louisville is still a #3 seed according to our formula with their win adding .003 points to their total. That brings their slim lead over Northern Iowa to .004 and over Utah to .007 for the final #3 seed.
Our second highlighted game took place in Manhattan, Kansas where the Kansas Jayhawks were looking to take the win over rival Kansas State on Monday. The Jayhawks have struggled away from Allen Fieldhouse this season, all five of their losses have come on the road or on a neutral floor. Make that six.
The Kansas State Wildcats got a big 20 point effort from Nigel Johnson off the bench as they upset the 8th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks 70-63. Johnson hit 8-of-11 shots including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Kansas State will need to win their conference tournament for any chance at a spot in the Dance.
The loss puts Kansas at the bottom of the #2 seeds. Thankfully for them, the distance between the top eight schools and the next 16 schools is pretty wide. Kansas at the #8 overall spot currently holds a rating of 0.717, Iowa State and Maryland are tied for the #9 overall spot with a rating of 0.655. They would both need another huge win coupled with a Kansas loss to even put significant pressure on the seeding of the Jayhawks.
Our final highlighted game was a big bubble showdown between the Xavier Musketeers and the St. John’s Red Strom from the World’s Most Famous Arena. D’Angelo Harrison and Sir’Dominic Pointer combined for 39 points as the Red Storm beat Xavier 58-57. Xavier completely dominated on the glass with a 47-27 rebounding advantage. St. John’s won despite missing 9-of-15 free throws on the night.
The win was huge for St. John’s as they move into the #9 seed window at 19-9. Xavier falls back into the Play-In Games with the loss though it could have been worse for the Musketeers. Xavier’s fall boosted the Saint Mary’s Gaels into the main draw of the tournament, avoiding the play-in round.
Here is a list of the games we will be watching ahead of Wednesday’s Bracketology:
Texas @ West Virginia, 7 pm ET
Central Michigan @ Eastern Michigan, 7 pm ET
Providence @ Villanova, 7 pm ET
Wisconsin @ Maryland, 7 pm ET
NC State @ North Carolina, 8 pm ET
Syracuse @ Notre Dame, 8 pm ET
Texas A&M @ Arkansas, 9 pm ET
If you have any questions about how the formula works or would like some clarification from the creator feel free to e-mail [email protected]. You can follow along with the calculation of the numbers at our VAVEL Bracketology page right here.
(Records updated through Monday, February 23rd)
We will start with a look at the play-in games taking place in Dayton, Ohio on March 17th and 18th.
Team (Record, How They Made the Tournament)
Tuesday, March 17th
Midwest #16 Seed
Lafayette (16-11, Patriot League Champion)
Texas Southern (15-12, SWAC Champion)
West #12 Seed
BYU (21-8, At-Large)
Davidson (19-6, At-Large)
Wednesday, March 18th
East #16 Seed
New Mexico State (19-10, WAC Champion)
St. Francis-NY (20-9, Northeast Champion)
East #11 Seed
Xavier (18-11, At-Large)
Pittsburgh (18-10, At-Large)
Midwest Region (#1; Cleveland, Ohio)
March 19th in Louisville, Kentucky
#1 Kentucky (27-0, SEC Champion)
#16 Winner of Lafayette/Texas Southern
#8 Indiana (19-9, At-Large)
#9 Texas (17-10, At-Large)
March 19th in Portland, Oregon
#4 Utah (21-5, At-Large)
#13 Stephen F. Austin (23-4, Southland Champion)
#5 Wichita State (25-3, At-Large)
#12 Murray State (24-4, Ohio Valley Champion)
March 20th in Columbus, Ohio
#3 Notre Dame (24-4, At-Large)
#14 High Point (21-7, Big South Champion)
#6 Providence (19-8, At-Large)
#11 Saint Mary’s (20-7, At-Large)
March 20th in Omaha, Nebraska
#2 Kansas (22-6, Big 12 Champion)
#15 South Dakota State (21-8, Summit League Champion)
#7 Michigan State (19-8, At-Large)
#10 Georgia (17-9, At-Large)
East Region (#2; Syracuse, New York)
March 20th in Charlotte, North Carolina
#1 Virginia (25-1, ACC Champion)
#16 Winner of New Mexico State/St. Francis-NY
#8 Ole Miss (19-8, At-Large)
#9 Oregon (20-8, At-Large)
March 19th in Jacksonville, Florida
#4 Baylor (20-7, At-Large)
#13 Central Michigan (20-5, Mid-American Champion)
#5 Virginia Commonwealth (21-6, Atlantic 10 Champion)
#12 Old Dominion (20-6, Conference USA Champion)
March 20th in Columbus, Ohio
#3 Maryland (22-5, At-Large)
#14 Georgia State (19-8, Sun Belt Champion)
#6 Oklahoma (19-8, At-Large)
#11 Winner of Xavier/Pittsburgh
March 19th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
#2 Villanova (25-2, Big East Champion)
#15 Eastern Washington (20-7, Big Sky Champion)
#7 Colorado State (23-5, Mountain West Champion)
#10 LSU (19-8, At-Large)
South Region (#3; Houston, Texas)
March 20th in Omaha, Nebraska
#1 Wisconsin (25-2, Big Ten Champion)
#16 North Carolina Central (21-6, Mid-Eastern Champion)
#8 San Diego State (22-6, At-Large)
#9 Oklahoma State (17-10, At-Large)
March 20th in Seattle, Washington
#4 Northern Iowa (26-2, Missouri Valley Champion)
#13 UC Davis (21-4, Big West Champion)
#5 North Carolina (19-8, At-Large)
#12 Valparaiso (25-4, Horizon League Champion)
March 19th in Louisville, Kentucky
#3 Iowa State (20-6, At-Large)
#14 Iona (23-6, Metro Atlantic Champion)
#6 SMU (22-5, American Champion)
#11 NC State (16-11, At-Large)
March 20th in Charlotte, North Carolina
#2 Duke (24-3, At-Large)
#15 Florida Gulf Coast (21-7, Atlantic Sun Champion)
#7 Butler (19-8, At-Large)
#10 Purdue (18-9, At-Large)
West Region (#4; Los Angeles, California)
March 20th in Seattle, Washington
#1 Gonzaga (28-1, West Coast Champion)
#16 Albany (19-8, America East Champion)
#8 Texas A&M (19-7, At-Large)
#9 St. John’s (19-9, At-Large)
March 19th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
#4 West Virginia (21-6, At-Large)
#13 Wofford (23-6, Southern Champion)
#5 Arkansas (22-5, At-Large)
#12 Winner of BYU/Davidson
March 19th in Jacksonville, Florida
#3 Louisville (22-6, At-Large)
#14 Harvard (19-5, Ivy League)
#6 Georgetown (18-8, At-Large)
#11 Iowa (17-10, At-Large)
March 19th in Portland, Oregon
#2 Arizona (24-3, Pac-12 Champion)
#15 Northeastern (19-10, Colonial Champion)
#7 Ohio State (19-8, At-Large)
#10 Dayton (20-6, At-Large)
LAST FOUR IN:
Xavier (18-11)
Pittsburgh (18-10)
BYU (21-8)
Davidson (19-6)
FIRST FOUR OUT:
Illinois (17-10)
Miami-Florida (17-10)
Temple (19-9)
Tulsa (19-7)
NEXT FOUR OUT:
Rhode Island (19-6)
Boise State (20-7)
Stanford (17-9)
Cincinnati (18-9)
TEN MORE TO WATCH:
UTEP (19-7)
Wyoming (21-6)
Toledo (18-9)
UCLA (16-12)
Green Bay (21-7)
TCU (16-11)
Buffalo (17-9)
Memphis (17-10)
Louisiana Tech (21-7)
Kent State (19-8)
BRACKET CHANGES:
At-Large Out:
None
At-Large In:
None
Conference Champions Out:
None
Conference Champions In:
None