2025 Bracketology

[BrewCity83]

All this chatter but nobody's talking about the coveted 1 Seed?!?

[tower912]

Expected all along.   Cool and all, but a lot of ball to be played.

[Scoop Snoop]

All this chatter but nobody's talking about the coveted 1 Seed?!?

Good point. After all, if Lunardi predicts that we will be a #1 seed, it simply HAS to be true, even though there is still a little bit of the bball season left.

My all-time favorite clip of Lunardi was when Bill Walton asked him why he was spending so much time talking about the little "truck stop" conferences. 

[GoldenEagles03]

How long until Marquette will be able to play in Milwaukee for NCAA Tournament games?

Absolutely stupid that if given a top seed, we can't play at Fiserv for opening rounds.

[Newsdreams]

How long until Marquette will be able to play in Milwaukee for NCAA Tournament games?

Absolutely stupid that if given a top seed, we can't play at Fiserv for opening rounds.

I'm pissed

[GoldenEagles03]

I'm pissed

Your sarcasm aside, it actually is really stupid.

How many times have we had to play a team in their home state while it is an impossibility for us even if we earn a top seed?

[tower912]

Write a letter to the NCAA and see if they will change.

[Newsdreams]

Meh, Florida is closer for me.

[brewcity77]

How long until Marquette will be able to play in Milwaukee for NCAA Tournament games?

Absolutely stupid that if given a top seed, we can't play at Fiserv for opening rounds.

Never, unless the NCAA changes the rules.

You shouldn't be upset with the NCAA, but upset with Wisconsin for not hosting at the Kohl. Even if they didn't host the first round, they have hosted second weekend games before but choose not to do so. Would be nice now that we're getting protected seeds.

[K1 Lover]

Never, unless the NCAA changes the rules.

You shouldn't be upset with the NCAA, but upset with Wisconsin for not hosting at the Kohl. Even if they didn't host the first round, they have hosted second weekend games before but choose not to do so. Would be nice now that we're getting protected seeds.

Why do they elect not to?

[ATL MU Warrior]

Why do they elect not to?

They hate Marquette

[brewcity77]

Why do they elect not to?

Not sure. They last hosted a regional in 2002 to celebrate the opening of the Kohl, but did not continue to do so. As a city, I'm not sure Madison has enough hotels to support hosting a first weekend (8 fanbases take up space) but 4 that quickly winnows to 2 they can and have handled.

[MU82]

How many times have we had to play a team in their home state while it is an impossibility for us even if we earn a top seed?

Several times. But we've never had to play a team on its home court.

As others have said, blame your school.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This made me curious what sites we will be hoping for in March. First weekend? Cleveland or Lexington are the closest at about 7 hour drive each, woof.

But second weekend? Indianapolis would be nice.

[MU82]

This made me curious what sites we will be hoping for in March. First weekend? Cleveland or Lexington are the closest at about 7 hour drive each, woof.

But second weekend? Indianapolis would be nice.

I'd say Seattle for the first weekend but that would be selfish because it would probably mean we weren't a protected seed.

For the second weekend, Indy would be draw the largest MU fan contingent so that would be sweet. But if it's not Indy for some reason, San Francisco. Atlanta wouldn't bum me out, either.

[brewcity77]

This made me curious what sites we will be hoping for in March. First weekend? Cleveland or Lexington are the closest at about 7 hour drive each, woof.

But second weekend? Indianapolis would be nice.

Definitely hoping for Cleveland. Even though an 8/9 Big 10 team could be a problem, getting to Cleveland means we got our first pick, which is what typically happens for 1-seeds.

Then hoping for Indy. Nice and close.

[forgetful]

I'd say Seattle for the first weekend but that would be selfish because it would probably mean we weren't a protected seed.

For the second weekend, Indy would be draw the largest MU fan contingent so that would be sweet. But if it's not Indy for some reason, San Francisco. Atlanta wouldn't bum me out, either.

I'm already booking hotel rooms for April 4th-8th in San Antonio.

[GoldenEagles03]

Several times. But we've never had to play a team on its home court.

As others have said, blame your school.

Blame your school?

It has nothing to do with Marquette. It is the rules that prevent them from playing on their home floor.

[MUMountin]

This made me curious what sites we will be hoping for in March. First weekend? Cleveland or Lexington are the closest at about 7 hour drive each, woof.

But second weekend? Indianapolis would be nice.

Full list for easy reference:

First/Second    Lexington, KY    Rupp Arena   
First/Second    Providence, RI    Amica Mutual Pavilion   
First/Second    Seattle, WA    Climate Pledge Arena   
First/Second    Wichita, KS    Intrust Bank Arena   
First/Second    Cleveland, OH    Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse   
First/Second    Denver, CO    Ball Arena   
First/Second    Milwaukee, WI    Fiserv Forum   
First/Second    Raleigh, NC    PNC Arena   

East Regional    Newark, NJ    Prudential Center   
West Regional    San Fran, CA    Chase Center   
South Regional    Atlanta, GA    State Farm Arena   
MW Regional    Indi, IN    Lucas Oil Stadium

[CountryRoads]

Definitely hoping for Cleveland. Even though an 8/9 Big 10 team could be a problem, getting to Cleveland means we got our first pick, which is what typically happens for 1-seeds.

Then hoping for Indy. Nice and close.

I'm for sure going to either Cleveland or Lexington. Negligible difference in distance. My only thought regarding Cleveland is won't they try and schedule us on the opposite day of when we are hosting? Cleveland plays the same day as Milwaukee so wondering if they put us in Lexington (assuming we finish with a protected seed of course). Could be wrong.

[MU82]

Blame your school?

It has nothing to do with Marquette. It is the rules that prevent them from playing on their home floor.

No - blame YOUR school. The one in Madison.

[StillAWarrior]

This made me curious what sites we will be hoping for in March. First weekend? Cleveland or Lexington are the closest at about 7 hour drive each, woof.

But second weekend? Indianapolis would be nice.

Cleveland is about 40 miles closer than Lexington (as the crow flies) and about 30 miles closer if driving. I'm certainly hoping for Cleveland; I bought tickets a couple months ago. I'm obviously hoping they follow the "nearest site" rule for protected seeds very literally (and that MU will be a protected seed).

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Per NCAA only North Carolina teams have to play games in-state during the tournament.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Marquette's main competition for Cleveland will be SEC team #5, and maybe Pitt. The B1G teams near Cleveland (Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana) don't look like they are in Marquette's seeding range.

Let's look at the 5 SEC teams in the top 10 of NET.

Auburn
Tennessee
Kentucky
Florida
Alabama

Two of these teams will be in Lexington, but not the host Wildcats. Kentucky is likely in Cleveland, their 2nd closest site.

Florida's closest site is Raleigh, 2nd closest is Lexington.  Auburn, Tennessee, and Alabama are closest to Lexington, then Raleigh. Cleveland is 3rd in line for all of these schools.

So we're looking at:

Raleigh - Duke & SEC team
Lexington - SEC & SEC
Cleveland - SEC & Marquette/SEC #5/Pitt

The rest of the high seeds have other closer sites. Milwaukee and Wichita will grab Big 12 and B1G teams that have Cleveland as their 2nd or 3rd closest site. Gonzaga and Oregon have Seattle.  Teams from the Northeast (Maryland) will head to Providence.

If Marquette doesn't get Cleveland, Lexington will be full. Marquette would then go to Wichita. If Wichita is full, then Marquette is stuck with either Providence or Denver, since Raleigh will be full.

Seattle is almost impossible. Marquette would have to fall way down the S-curve and Seattle would still have to have an opening. If Marquette falls to a 4 seed, it's very likely Gonzaga and Oregon are already placed in Seattle anyway.

Edit: I forgot about Clemson. They could sneak up into the Raleigh, Lexington, Cleveland picture.

[DoctorV]

Nice, run that again Jan 12, Feb 12, and March 12