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“The Bracket: What to Know” is brought to you by our good friends at Gator's Bayou. If you are looking for a real, authentic Cajun restaurant in Lubbock complete with a fun, Louisiana-style atmosphere, Gator's Bayou is the place to go!
Welcome to the first bracket watch thread of the 2019-2020 season. Here is where things stand as of today among many of the national outlets. We excluded CBS (last bracket update was 2/3) and Fox Sports (couldn’t find a recent projection for this season).
Texas Tech definitely has some work to do but they are in decent shape right now sitting alone in 4th place in the Big 12 with a 5-4 record. Historically, a 9-9 Big 12 record would get you into the dance, but there have been a handful of Big 12 teams in the past that made it in with an 8-10 record. It just all depends on the strength of the bubble, and the parity in college basketball has been unreal this season. Recently, Joe Lunardi was asked about the number of Big 12 wins Texas Tech would need to make the tournament – he said 10 would be safe:
ESPN (updated 2/7/20)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
Baylor: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 2 (Cleveland)
Texas Tech: 8 (Spokane)
Oklahoma / Virginia: 11 (Greensboro)
Texas: Next Four Out
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
ESPN Bubble Watch
Big 12
Locks: Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia
Work to do:
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Amaze friends who are overly reliant upon simplistic program stereotypes: Texas Tech has been the most accurate team from the field by a significant margin in Big 12 play. Then again, these Red Raiders give the ball away on occasion and, more surprisingly, aren't defending the rim all that well against conference opponents. Add it all up and the men from Lubbock are clinging somewhat tenuously to the projected field with a double-digit seed. It sounds precarious -- and perhaps it is -- but bear in mind that this appears to be the worst case for the Red Raiders as a program in any given season. Chris Beard, the Watch salutes you.
Oklahoma Sooners
Lon Kruger's group is closer to No. 50 on the NET, while aforementioned Texas Tech is nearer to No. 30. Otherwise, these two teams share a good deal in common in profile terms. Both the Sooners and the Red Raiders would likely land in the bracket as double-digit seeds or close to it if the season ended today. Both figure to be .500-ish finishers in a Big 12 that's preposterously strong at the top yet not quite as deep as what we've seen in recent years. Like Texas Tech (2-8), Oklahoma sports a so-so record against Quad 1 (2-7) but will have several chances to improve that mark.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology
USA Today (updated 2/6/20)
Baylor: 1 (St. Louis)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 3 (Cleveland)
Oklahoma: 8 (Spokane)
Texas Tech: 9 (Sacramento)
Texas: N/A
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
Others considered for at-large bid (in no particular order): Richmond, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Miami (Fla.), St. Johns, Minnesota, Duquesne, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Tulsa, Providence, SMU, TCU, DePaul, Alabama, Minnesota, South Carolina, Oregon State, Saint Louis, Clemson, UNC-Greensboro, Oklahoma State, Utah, Virginia Tech, Furman, Washington, Texas, Utah State.
On life support (in no particular order): Kansas State, Mississippi, North Carolina, Iowa State, Washington State, Connecticut.
Multi-bid conferences: Big Ten (11), Big East (6), Pac-12 (6), SEC (5), Big 12 (5), ACC (4), American (3), West Coast (3), Atlantic 10 (2).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...arch-madness-bubble-watch-big-ten/4677018002/
Bracket Matrix (updated 2/6/20)
Kansas: 1.01
Baylor: 1.01
West Virginia: 2.43
Texas Tech: 8.97
Oklahoma: 10.38
Texas: Next Five Out
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
http://bracketmatrix.com/
Bracketville (updated 2/7/20)
Baylor: 1 (Omaha)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 3 (Tampa)
Texas Tech: 8 (Spokane)
Oklahoma: 11 (Greensboro)
Texas: First 4 Out
Kansas State: OUT
Iowa State: OUT
Oklahoma State: OUT
TCU: OUT
https://bracketville.wordpress.com/bracketology/
The Athletic (Updated 2/7/20)
Baylor: 1 (Omaha)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 2 (Cleveland)
Texas Tech: 8 (Spokane)
Oklahoma: First Four Out
Texas: N/A
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
First four out: Cincinnati, Oklahoma, MississippiState, Tulsa
Next four out: Georgetown, Syracuse, Richmond, Utah State
Last four in: VCU, Virginia, Minnesota, Xavier
Last 4 byes: BYU, USC, Memphis, Florida
https://theathletic.com/1590385/202...nd-who-is-next-in-line/?source=shared-article
The Athletic - Bubble Watch:
Big 12
We keep waiting for something crazy to happen in the Big 12. A string of upsets, one of the top three going on a weird dip in form that helps sprinkle a few marquee wins around the bubble (or beyond), stuff like that. So far, nothing. Kansas, Baylor and West Virginia just keep winning. Which, hey, good for them and all, but … yawn.
Locks: Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia
Work to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas
Texas Tech (14-8, 5-4; NET: 25, SOS: 54): To be fair to the Red Raiders, they’ve been pretty entertaining for most of the season, and particularly over the past couple weeks, when they went to overtime with Kentucky, upended West Virginia and played Kansas to a bucket at Allen Fieldhouse. Most recently, they handled Oklahoma at home, which wasn’t the greatest game of all time or anything but did remind us of a quote Chris Beard gave to Brian Hamilton in the offseason, about the positive power of fear: “I have all sorts of fear in me,” Beard said. “Every time we get on the court, I think we’re not going to play well, we’re not going to be prepared and Lon Kruger is about to stick it up our ass.” Tech still has one more regular-season game against the Sooners, but thankfully — for all involved, really — Beard’s fears have so far gone unrealized.
Oklahoma (14-8, 4-5; NET: 57, SOS: 56): Which is to say: Oklahoma gonna Oklahoma. The Sooners played well enough at Texas Tech on Tuesday night, scoring 61 points in 63 trips against a very good defensive team, while allowing 69. It wasn’t terrible. But it would have felt like the shock of the season for OU to go on the road, at Texas Tech — a good team, but a totally beatable one too — and do something even mildly surprising. The Sooners now rank fifth in per-possession offense in Big 12 play … and fifth in defense. They are a walking mean.
Texas (14-8, 4-5; NET: 62, SOS: 24): Wait, Texas is back?! Let’s not get too carried away. This is a fringe entry. Still, give the Longhorns credit: We assumed the 97-59 loss to West Virginia on Jan. 20 was about to make Texas tuck its whole season in. Instead, Shaka Smart’s team nearly knocked off LSU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge a few days later, then won at TCU and beat Iowa State last week, and then gave Kansas (69-58) a decent run at the Phog on Monday night. (The Jayhawks never really looked at risk of losing the game, but still: respectable.) There’s a bit of momentum here, and Texas will need it, because Texas Tech arrives on Saturday, followed by Baylor on Monday. These could be a defining 72 hours for the Longhorns, in a season that might not be dead just yet.
https://theathletic.com/1588821/202...d-what-might-have-been/?source=shared-article
Big 12 NET Rankings (as of games played through 2/6/20)
2. Baylor
4. Kansas
9. West Virginia
25. Texas Tech
59. Oklahoma
62. Texas
73. TCU
75. Iowa State
78. Oklahoma State
81. Kansas State
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings
The NET, explained: NCAA adopts new college basketball ranking
“The Bracket: What to Know” is brought to you by our good friends at Gator's Bayou. If you are looking for a real, authentic Cajun restaurant in Lubbock complete with a fun, Louisiana-style atmosphere, Gator's Bayou is the place to go!
Welcome to the first bracket watch thread of the 2019-2020 season. Here is where things stand as of today among many of the national outlets. We excluded CBS (last bracket update was 2/3) and Fox Sports (couldn’t find a recent projection for this season).
Texas Tech definitely has some work to do but they are in decent shape right now sitting alone in 4th place in the Big 12 with a 5-4 record. Historically, a 9-9 Big 12 record would get you into the dance, but there have been a handful of Big 12 teams in the past that made it in with an 8-10 record. It just all depends on the strength of the bubble, and the parity in college basketball has been unreal this season. Recently, Joe Lunardi was asked about the number of Big 12 wins Texas Tech would need to make the tournament – he said 10 would be safe:
ESPN (updated 2/7/20)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
Baylor: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 2 (Cleveland)
Texas Tech: 8 (Spokane)
Oklahoma / Virginia: 11 (Greensboro)
Texas: Next Four Out
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
ESPN Bubble Watch
Big 12
Locks: Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia
Work to do:
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Amaze friends who are overly reliant upon simplistic program stereotypes: Texas Tech has been the most accurate team from the field by a significant margin in Big 12 play. Then again, these Red Raiders give the ball away on occasion and, more surprisingly, aren't defending the rim all that well against conference opponents. Add it all up and the men from Lubbock are clinging somewhat tenuously to the projected field with a double-digit seed. It sounds precarious -- and perhaps it is -- but bear in mind that this appears to be the worst case for the Red Raiders as a program in any given season. Chris Beard, the Watch salutes you.
Oklahoma Sooners
Lon Kruger's group is closer to No. 50 on the NET, while aforementioned Texas Tech is nearer to No. 30. Otherwise, these two teams share a good deal in common in profile terms. Both the Sooners and the Red Raiders would likely land in the bracket as double-digit seeds or close to it if the season ended today. Both figure to be .500-ish finishers in a Big 12 that's preposterously strong at the top yet not quite as deep as what we've seen in recent years. Like Texas Tech (2-8), Oklahoma sports a so-so record against Quad 1 (2-7) but will have several chances to improve that mark.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology
USA Today (updated 2/6/20)
Baylor: 1 (St. Louis)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 3 (Cleveland)
Oklahoma: 8 (Spokane)
Texas Tech: 9 (Sacramento)
Texas: N/A
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
Others considered for at-large bid (in no particular order): Richmond, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Miami (Fla.), St. Johns, Minnesota, Duquesne, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Tulsa, Providence, SMU, TCU, DePaul, Alabama, Minnesota, South Carolina, Oregon State, Saint Louis, Clemson, UNC-Greensboro, Oklahoma State, Utah, Virginia Tech, Furman, Washington, Texas, Utah State.
On life support (in no particular order): Kansas State, Mississippi, North Carolina, Iowa State, Washington State, Connecticut.
Multi-bid conferences: Big Ten (11), Big East (6), Pac-12 (6), SEC (5), Big 12 (5), ACC (4), American (3), West Coast (3), Atlantic 10 (2).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...arch-madness-bubble-watch-big-ten/4677018002/
Bracket Matrix (updated 2/6/20)
Kansas: 1.01
Baylor: 1.01
West Virginia: 2.43
Texas Tech: 8.97
Oklahoma: 10.38
Texas: Next Five Out
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
http://bracketmatrix.com/
Bracketville (updated 2/7/20)
Baylor: 1 (Omaha)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 3 (Tampa)
Texas Tech: 8 (Spokane)
Oklahoma: 11 (Greensboro)
Texas: First 4 Out
Kansas State: OUT
Iowa State: OUT
Oklahoma State: OUT
TCU: OUT
https://bracketville.wordpress.com/bracketology/
The Athletic (Updated 2/7/20)
Baylor: 1 (Omaha)
Kansas: 1 (Omaha)
West Virginia: 2 (Cleveland)
Texas Tech: 8 (Spokane)
Oklahoma: First Four Out
Texas: N/A
Kansas State: N/A
Iowa State: N/A
Oklahoma State: N/A
TCU: N/A
First four out: Cincinnati, Oklahoma, MississippiState, Tulsa
Next four out: Georgetown, Syracuse, Richmond, Utah State
Last four in: VCU, Virginia, Minnesota, Xavier
Last 4 byes: BYU, USC, Memphis, Florida
https://theathletic.com/1590385/202...nd-who-is-next-in-line/?source=shared-article
The Athletic - Bubble Watch:
Big 12
We keep waiting for something crazy to happen in the Big 12. A string of upsets, one of the top three going on a weird dip in form that helps sprinkle a few marquee wins around the bubble (or beyond), stuff like that. So far, nothing. Kansas, Baylor and West Virginia just keep winning. Which, hey, good for them and all, but … yawn.
Locks: Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia
Work to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas
Texas Tech (14-8, 5-4; NET: 25, SOS: 54): To be fair to the Red Raiders, they’ve been pretty entertaining for most of the season, and particularly over the past couple weeks, when they went to overtime with Kentucky, upended West Virginia and played Kansas to a bucket at Allen Fieldhouse. Most recently, they handled Oklahoma at home, which wasn’t the greatest game of all time or anything but did remind us of a quote Chris Beard gave to Brian Hamilton in the offseason, about the positive power of fear: “I have all sorts of fear in me,” Beard said. “Every time we get on the court, I think we’re not going to play well, we’re not going to be prepared and Lon Kruger is about to stick it up our ass.” Tech still has one more regular-season game against the Sooners, but thankfully — for all involved, really — Beard’s fears have so far gone unrealized.
Oklahoma (14-8, 4-5; NET: 57, SOS: 56): Which is to say: Oklahoma gonna Oklahoma. The Sooners played well enough at Texas Tech on Tuesday night, scoring 61 points in 63 trips against a very good defensive team, while allowing 69. It wasn’t terrible. But it would have felt like the shock of the season for OU to go on the road, at Texas Tech — a good team, but a totally beatable one too — and do something even mildly surprising. The Sooners now rank fifth in per-possession offense in Big 12 play … and fifth in defense. They are a walking mean.
Texas (14-8, 4-5; NET: 62, SOS: 24): Wait, Texas is back?! Let’s not get too carried away. This is a fringe entry. Still, give the Longhorns credit: We assumed the 97-59 loss to West Virginia on Jan. 20 was about to make Texas tuck its whole season in. Instead, Shaka Smart’s team nearly knocked off LSU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge a few days later, then won at TCU and beat Iowa State last week, and then gave Kansas (69-58) a decent run at the Phog on Monday night. (The Jayhawks never really looked at risk of losing the game, but still: respectable.) There’s a bit of momentum here, and Texas will need it, because Texas Tech arrives on Saturday, followed by Baylor on Monday. These could be a defining 72 hours for the Longhorns, in a season that might not be dead just yet.
https://theathletic.com/1588821/202...d-what-might-have-been/?source=shared-article
Big 12 NET Rankings (as of games played through 2/6/20)
2. Baylor
4. Kansas
9. West Virginia
25. Texas Tech
59. Oklahoma
62. Texas
73. TCU
75. Iowa State
78. Oklahoma State
81. Kansas State
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings
The NET, explained: NCAA adopts new college basketball ranking
