1. How many years in a row are we going to see Syracuse consistently be perched on the right bubble and then make the tournament easily? What the heck is going on here? In 2016, they were supposed to miss the tournament and made it as a ten seed. In 2018, no one had them in field and they made the First Four. Now, they go 1-6 in Quad 1 in a bad ACC and somehow don't even make the First Four. I hate MSU as much as the next guy but how do you slot Syracuse ahead of MSU? MSU has wins over UM, OSU and Illinois and Syracuse's best win is....
2. I think the 8-9 seeds are for the most part more dangerous than the 7 seeds. When I look a the 8-9 seeds, there is one 8-9 matchup that is significantly weaker than the rest and that is Oklahoma - Missouri. A lot of people are remarking how dangerous the LSU-St. Bonny winner is, but Baylor is looking at UNC which has a lot of size (and Baylor doesn't), and Illinois is looking at potential top 10 KenPom opponent in the round of 32 with a huge chip on its shoulder playing the in-state stepchild role (what are the chances that Illinois would ever schedule Loyola).
3. As for B1G teams, I love the draw (unfortunately) for OSU. Baylor doesn't have the size to exploit OSU's main weakness down low, and the Bears are playing awful defense since the Covid pause. They also have two meh power conference teams as the 7-10 (Florida-Va Tech), and I'm not sold at all on Arkansas, which beat up on a bunch of bad SEC teams. I think OSU will make the Final 4, and a Gonzaga-OSU final wouldn't surprise me.
4. On the other hand, Iowa could be out again after the first weekend. Oregon is going to abuse Garza defensively. Altman is a terrible human being but a great coach, and I think he will come up with a bunch of creative defensive matchups to slow down Iowa. If that matchup happens, I expect Oregon to advance.
5. Overall, it really seems like the three seeds are pretty weak. Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and West Virginia have to be the weakest collection of 3 seeds that I've seen in some time.
6. Great draw for Gonzaga. Honestly if Mark Few could have created the bracket, would he have done this any differently? They get the easiest round of 32 opponents of the 1 seed (as they should given they are the top seed), and then the 2, 3 and 4 seeds in their region were teams they all defeated by double digits. Oh, and the 3 and 4 seeds have COVID issues. I remember in 1991 when UNLV went unbeaten and the committee went almost out of their way to stack the region because they didn't want Vegas to repeat (Georgetown in the round of 32 with Zo and Mutombo was their opponent). This is the opposite.
7. As for IU, I'd prepare yourself for Beilein to be named coach. Not because I know anything, but it makes sense. You don't fire Archie unless you have a big name lined up. I'm guessing that once Stevens turns them down, they'll go after Beilein. To me, it comes down to this. If Beilein wants to coach somewhere where he can win big, then this is his best spot. But, if he wants to coach at a place so that his son has a chance to rehabilitate his coaching career and succeed him than this is not the spot. I don't think IU would make Patrick Beilein coach under any circumstances in 5 years, and I don't see Beilein there more than 5 years. But if the rumors are true that Beilein turned down BC, then it seems he has made the decision that if he wants to coach it will be at a place where he can win at the same level he did before he left college.
2. I think the 8-9 seeds are for the most part more dangerous than the 7 seeds. When I look a the 8-9 seeds, there is one 8-9 matchup that is significantly weaker than the rest and that is Oklahoma - Missouri. A lot of people are remarking how dangerous the LSU-St. Bonny winner is, but Baylor is looking at UNC which has a lot of size (and Baylor doesn't), and Illinois is looking at potential top 10 KenPom opponent in the round of 32 with a huge chip on its shoulder playing the in-state stepchild role (what are the chances that Illinois would ever schedule Loyola).
3. As for B1G teams, I love the draw (unfortunately) for OSU. Baylor doesn't have the size to exploit OSU's main weakness down low, and the Bears are playing awful defense since the Covid pause. They also have two meh power conference teams as the 7-10 (Florida-Va Tech), and I'm not sold at all on Arkansas, which beat up on a bunch of bad SEC teams. I think OSU will make the Final 4, and a Gonzaga-OSU final wouldn't surprise me.
4. On the other hand, Iowa could be out again after the first weekend. Oregon is going to abuse Garza defensively. Altman is a terrible human being but a great coach, and I think he will come up with a bunch of creative defensive matchups to slow down Iowa. If that matchup happens, I expect Oregon to advance.
5. Overall, it really seems like the three seeds are pretty weak. Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and West Virginia have to be the weakest collection of 3 seeds that I've seen in some time.
6. Great draw for Gonzaga. Honestly if Mark Few could have created the bracket, would he have done this any differently? They get the easiest round of 32 opponents of the 1 seed (as they should given they are the top seed), and then the 2, 3 and 4 seeds in their region were teams they all defeated by double digits. Oh, and the 3 and 4 seeds have COVID issues. I remember in 1991 when UNLV went unbeaten and the committee went almost out of their way to stack the region because they didn't want Vegas to repeat (Georgetown in the round of 32 with Zo and Mutombo was their opponent). This is the opposite.
7. As for IU, I'd prepare yourself for Beilein to be named coach. Not because I know anything, but it makes sense. You don't fire Archie unless you have a big name lined up. I'm guessing that once Stevens turns them down, they'll go after Beilein. To me, it comes down to this. If Beilein wants to coach somewhere where he can win big, then this is his best spot. But, if he wants to coach at a place so that his son has a chance to rehabilitate his coaching career and succeed him than this is not the spot. I don't think IU would make Patrick Beilein coach under any circumstances in 5 years, and I don't see Beilein there more than 5 years. But if the rumors are true that Beilein turned down BC, then it seems he has made the decision that if he wants to coach it will be at a place where he can win at the same level he did before he left college.
