Today’s Bracketology for February 26, 2021
Notes from Yesterday:
- Michigan trounced Iowa by 22 points clamping tightly to a 1-seed and closing the gap to #2 overall Baylor. Impressive performance from Franz Wagner.
- In another eye opener in the Big 10, Michigan St continued its rise from the dead by defeating Ohio St. That’s two top-10 wins in a row for Sparty as it claws and scratches its way back onto the Bubble.
- Colorado secured an excellent 18-point home win over USC, while Oregon went to Stanford and won by 3, firming up its own Tournament resume while adding to the precarious Bubble position of Stanford.
- In the MWC battle for supremacy, San Diego St. won round 1 defeating Boise St in overtime. These two will meet again tomorrow.
- Minnesota saw its Bubble hopes take a turn for the worse by losing at home to Northwestern. Elsewhere, Western Kentucky saw any roads to the Tournament outside of winning the CUSA tournament dashed by a 24-point loss at Houston, and Belmont’s wildest dreams of any at-large consideration were dashed by Eastern Kentucky.
- Good wins for teams currently in the field included UCLA winning by 15 at Utah, the aforementioned Houston Cougars over Western Kentucky, BYU gutting out a 6-point win over San Francisco, Illinois winning over Nebraska without the injured Ayo Dosunmu and Gonzaga rolling right along with another double digit win, this time over Santa Clara.
- Special shout to Detroit’s Antoine Davis for putting up 46 points including 10-13 from 3 in Detroit’s Horizon League tournament opened vs. Robert Morris.
Bracket Updates:
- No changes to the top 2 seed lines. On the 3-seed line, Iowa drops back behind Florida St after Iowa’s loss to Michigan.
- Arkansas moves up to the 4-seed line with USC dropping back to the 5-seed line, just behind Colorado which moves up after last night’s victory over USC.
- Some scrubbing around the Bubble has Wichita St., Xavier, and Michigan St. in the field while Seton Hall, Indiana, and Minnesota drop out of today’s bracket.
At-Large Bracket Games for 2/26/21:
George Washington at St. Bonaventure (10-seed, #39) – presumptive A-10 autoqualifiers and a Bubble team, the Bonnies aim to hold serve at home
Drake (11-seed, #43) at Bradley – Drake will want to keep the ship steady on its last four byes-worthy resume
Purdue (6-seed, #22) at Penn St. – could be a tough one for the Boilermakers on the road in Happy Valley, as Penn St. has inexplicably strong NET and computer ratings for a team that is 4 games below .500
Richmond (first four out, #71) at Saint Louis (next eight out, #73) – game of the night in the A-10 as each of these teams came into the year with high hopes and pauses have weakened their at-large resumes; any path into the field requires a win tonight
Southern Illinois at Loyola-Chicago (7-seed, #25) – we are higher on the Ramblers than many, and a loss here would justify the skepticism many pundits have in terms of just how good this team is – we believe.
Nevada at Utah St. (next eight out, #80) – might be too little too late for Craig Smith’s squad in terms of an at-large possibility, but getting back to winning ways after being swept by Boise St and losing 4 of 6 would be a welcome development.
Dubz on Hoops 