2024 NCAA Tournament Bracketology

[MarquetteMike1977]

ESPN Bracketology Updated Tuesday January 30th before the Marquette Villanova game by Joe Lunardi. Marquette is listed as a 2 Seed playing 15 Seed Quinnipiac in Pittsburgh. With the winner playing the winner of 7 Seed Northwestern and 10 Seed Texas A&M In the Midwest Detroit Region

[Scoop Snoop]

ESPN Bracketology Updated Tuesday January 30th before the Marquette Villanova game by Joe Lunardi. Marquette is listed as a 2 Seed playing 15 Seed Quinnipiac in Pittsburgh. With the winner playing the winner of 7 Seed Northwestern and 10 Seed Texas A&M In the Midwest Detroit Region

So maybe a chance to mess with Buzz's happy? Love it!

[IrwinFletcher]

Question for everyone. Would you rather be...

• 2-seed in the Midwest with Purdue as the 1, or...
  
• 1-seed in the West with Arizona as the 2

Those feel most likely if we land on those seed lines because of the seeding rules for the teams on the top two lines. Do we want to be closer to home with a more familiar but presumably better opponent, or further away with a less familiar but also presumably lower quality opponent?

Worth noting, it would be our first 1-seed. Also, the West plays into the East (Likely UConn as the 1) while the Midwest plays into the South (Likely Houston).

For obvious reasons, being in the Midwest is advantageous.  But we were in Columbus last year, relatively close and wound up playing MSU who is even closer, thus negating any perceived advantage we might have.

[MU82]

I choose whichever option that lets us play all of our NCAA tourney games at The Al.

[wadesworld]

For obvious reasons, being in the Midwest is advantageous.  But we were in Columbus last year, relatively close and wound up playing MSU who is even closer, thus negating any perceived advantage we might have.

MSU who is closer and has a much, much bigger student population and alumni base.

It's why Omaha is probably the best location for us.  Of course I say that and we'll wind up with Nebraska as our second round opponent.

[Galway Eagle]

MSU who is closer and has a much, much bigger student population and alumni base.

It's why Omaha is probably the best location for us.  Of course I say that and we'll wind up with Nebraska as our second round opponent.

Yeah this actually does make a lot of sense to me. Plus any casual basketball fans in the area are likely to be Creighton first and likely skew Marquettes way.

[MUbiz]

Yeah this actually does make a lot of sense to me. Plus any casual basketball fans in the area are likely to be Creighton first and likely skew Marquettes way.

I agree with this. CU fans will cheer for any BE team outside of BE conference play except Xavier from my experience.

[Its DJOver]

How far does Tenn fall after last night?  Their big thing was no losses outside Q1, and they don't have that anymore. They're 3-4 Q1, we're 5-4. They have more Q2 wins than us (5 to 3), but importantly we each have 1 loss. Common opponents, they won @ Madison when we lost, we each have a close loss on a neutral court to Purdue, they beat Illinois at home, we beat them on the road, they lost to Kansas on a neutral court, we beat them. I could see their slightly better computer number edging us if they only trailed us by 1 Q1 win, but we've got the edge by 2 Q1 wins now. I know we're biased here, but I would think we'd be ahead of both Tenn and Kansas on a S-Curve.

[HowardsWorld]

How far does Tenn fall after last night?  Their big thing was no losses outside Q1, and they don't have that anymore. They're 3-4 Q1, we're 5-4. They have more Q2 wins than us (5 to 3), but importantly we each have 1 loss. Common opponents, they won @ Madison when we lost, we each have a close loss on a neutral court to Purdue, they beat Illinois at home, we beat them on the road, they lost to Kansas on a neutral court, we beat them. I could see their slightly better computer number edging us if they only trailed us by 1 Q1 win, but we've got the edge by 2 Q1 wins now. I know we're biased here, but I would think we'd be ahead of both Tenn and Kansas on a S-Curve.

Tennessee still plays Kentucky twice, Auburn and South Carolina on the road. Marquette plays Uconn twice and Creighton so the schedules imo are pretty even. I would guess that Marquette will end up higher but its going to be very close.

[brewcity77]

How far does Tenn fall after last night?  Their big thing was no losses outside Q1, and they don't have that anymore. They're 3-4 Q1, we're 5-4. They have more Q2 wins than us (5 to 3), but importantly we each have 1 loss. Common opponents, they won @ Madison when we lost, we each have a close loss on a neutral court to Purdue, they beat Illinois at home, we beat them on the road, they lost to Kansas on a neutral court, we beat them. I could see their slightly better computer number edging us if they only trailed us by 1 Q1 win, but we've got the edge by 2 Q1 wins now. I know we're biased here, but I would think we'd be ahead of both Tenn and Kansas on a S-Curve.

Definitely still a 2. My general thoughts going into last night was that the four 1-seeds were clear, with UNC the most likely to fall off. Then there was a 5-team group of Tennessee, Arizona, Wisconsin, Marquette, and Kansas with UT being the closest to overtaking the 1-line and the others somewhat interchangeable.

I still think that group of 9 is solid, but while UNC is probably still the last 1, it's more a pool of 3 at the top and 6 teams that are very close after them. Depending on what happens this weekend, I could see quite a few teams having a claim at the last 1-seed come Monday, Marquette included.

[HowardsWorld]

I think a 1 seed is really out of the question specifically because of the Butler loss at home. If they were 17-4 right now they would be the final 1 seed imo. I really think the only scenario would be to win both games against UConn and either win or share the BIG EAST. I believe the tournament is irrelevant for the 1 seed.

I do believe it would take a meltdown for Houston, Purdue or Uconn to not get a 1 seed at this point. The only way Purdue doesn't is if they lose to Wisconsin 3 times over the next 6 weeks which I don't see happening. In this scenario the Badgers would move up to the 1 line.

Uconn would need to lose twice to Marquette and then a few more to get to the 6 loss marker. Neither of which I see happening.

Houston would need to lose both to Kansas and probably two more to get to 6 losses to get them off the 1 line.

I don't know how to rate Zona, they would be a 3 seed imo right now.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Definitely still a 2. My general thoughts going into last night was that the four 1-seeds were clear, with UNC the most likely to fall off. Then there was a 5-team group of Tennessee, Arizona, Wisconsin, Marquette, and Kansas with UT being the closest to overtaking the 1-line and the others somewhat interchangeable.

I still think that group of 9 is solid, but while UNC is probably still the last 1, it's more a pool of 3 at the top and 6 teams that are very close after them. Depending on what happens this weekend, I could see quite a few teams having a claim at the last 1-seed come Monday, Marquette included.

I agree with most of this but differ on S-Curve placement.  After scrubbing the top two lines this morning:

4. Arizona (5 Q1 wins/4 Q1A)
5. Wisconsin (6 Q1 wins/2Q1A)
6. Marquette (5 Q1 Wins/4 Q1A)
7. Kansas (5 Q1 Wins/3 Q1A)
8. UNC (4 Q1 Wins/2 Q1A)
9. Tennessee (3 Q1 Wins/3 Q1A)

The margin between 4 and 9 remains razor thin.  This weekend's games will have a huge impact an the S-Curve.  Monday, this order could be completely different.

[We R Final Four]

I agree with this. CU fans will cheer for any BE team outside of BE conference play except Xavier from my experience.

Why the X dislike?

[Its DJOver]

I agree with most of this but differ on S-Curve placement.  After scrubbing the top two lines this morning:

4. Arizona (5 Q1 wins/4 Q1A)
5. Wisconsin (6 Q1 wins/2Q1A)
6. Marquette (5 Q1 Wins/4 Q1A)
7. Kansas (5 Q1 Wins/3 Q1A)
8. UNC (4 Q1 Wins/2 Q1A)
9. Tennessee (3 Q1 Wins/3 Q1A)

The margin between 4 and 9 remains razor thin.  This weekend's games will have a huge impact an the S-Curve.  Monday, this order could be completely different.

AZ is the only one that has multiple losses outside Q1. Disqualifies them from the 1 line (for now) for me.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

AZ is the only one that has multiple losses outside Q1. Disqualifies them from the 1 line (for now) for me.

It is so razor thin that head to head plays a minor role as my very last criteria.

Arizona beat Wisconsin, Wisconsin beat Marquette, Marquette beat Kansas, Kansas and UNC both beat Tennessee.  Kansas has the edge over UNC due to a win against UConn, who UNC lost to.

While Tennessee does have a win at Wisconsin, losses to Purdue, Kansas, and UNC make it hard to justify them skipping them today.

But you can make a case for seeding 4-9 in any order.  There's really three 1 seeds and six 2 seeds.  But that means a 1 and a 3 seed has to come out of that second group.

[MUbiz]

Why the X dislike?

During the BET final last year, I was surrounded by CU fans cheering for MU over X.  CU and Xavier had been playing each other almost every year since 2001 before they both joined the BE in 2013.  Apparently there had been some bad blood that formed over that decade before both joined the BE.

[brewcity77]

I agree with most of this but differ on S-Curve placement.  After scrubbing the top two lines this morning:

4. Arizona (5 Q1 wins/4 Q1A)
5. Wisconsin (6 Q1 wins/2Q1A)
6. Marquette (5 Q1 Wins/4 Q1A)
7. Kansas (5 Q1 Wins/3 Q1A)
8. UNC (4 Q1 Wins/2 Q1A)
9. Tennessee (3 Q1 Wins/3 Q1A)

The margin between 4 and 9 remains razor thin.  This weekend's games will have a huge impact an the S-Curve.  Monday, this order could be completely different.

That's why I'm not scrubbing now. Will probably wait until the dust settles Saturday and then scrub for Sunday morning. I also hate head to head, though I get the logic you use when resumes are this close.

[We R Final Four]

During the BET final last year, I was surrounded by CU fans cheering for MU over X.  CU and Xavier had been playing each other almost every year since 2001 before they both joined the BE in 2013.  Apparently there had been some bad blood that formed over that decade before both joined the BE.

Thank you.

[MarquetteMike1977]

ESPN Bracketology Updated Friday  February 2nd by Joe Lunardi. Marquette is listed as a 2 Seed playing 15 Seed Colgate in Pittsburgh. With the winner playing the winner of 7 Seed Clemson and 10 Seed Nebraska In the Midwest Detroit Region

[Uncle Rico]

ESPN Bracketology Updated Friday  February 2nd by Joe Lunardi. Marquette is listed as a 2 Seed playing 15 Seed Colgate in Pittsburgh. With the winner playing the winner of 7 Seed Clemson and 10 Seed Nebraska In the Midwest Detroit Region

Pretty close to the Colgate campus

[barfolomew]

Pretty close to the Colgate campus

You need to brush up on your geography.


See? How hard was that?

[Uncle Rico]

You need to brush up on your geography.


See? How hard was that?

I don't brush.  I did my own research and found out toothpaste is owned by pharma.

6 hours and 14 minutes from Colgate to Yinzerville.  Two hours less than Marquette to Yinzerville.

Granted, MarquetteMike does have a dilemma on his hands with the regional in two cities

[wadesworld]

I don't brush.  I did my own research and found out toothpaste is owned by pharma.

6 hours and 14 minutes from Colgate to Yinzerville.  Two hours less than Marquette to Yinzerville.

Granted, MarquetteMike does have a dilemma on his hands with the regional in two cities

If dentists make money by having to fix your teeth, why are we using things that 9 out of 10 dentists recommend to keep your teeth healthy?

[Uncle Rico]

If dentists make money by having to fix your teeth, why are we using things that 9 out of 10 dentists recommend to keep your teeth healthy?

Cuz they're part of the big pharma con job

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If dentists make money by having to fix your teeth, why are we using things that 9 out of 10 dentists recommend to keep your teeth healthy?

Thanks Bill Nye