Auburn is still the overall No. 1 seed in Monday’s updated NCAA Tournament projected bracket, but that is not the story with the Tigers. National player of the year candidate Johni Broome severely sprained his ankle in Auburn’s 66-63 win over South Carolina on Saturday and is expected to be out for at least the next two games. Those contests are at home vs. Mississippi State and at Georgia. The game after that is an important contest vs. Tennessee at home.
The selection committee often has to deal with injuries to important players of Broome’s caliber. The main thing to remember is that results are results. The committee is not going to ignore losses that Auburn suffers in Broome’s absence, should there be any. It also won’t pretend or guess that the Tigers would have won the game had Broome played.
What the committee members do is give a little more weight to how a team performed with the roster that is playing in the NCAA Tournament vs. any variations of it. Note the emphasis on “little.” You may not even notice the difference.
Texas A&M is in a similar situation with its star Wade Taylor IV. Taylor was injured during the Aggies’ win over Texas on Jan. 4. He missed both games last week, including a 94-88 loss to Alabama at home on Saturday. Next up for Texas A&M is a trip to Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky on Tuesday. It is still unknown if Taylor will be available for that contest..
Bracketology top seeds
Check out Palm’s bracket and full field of 68 at the Bracketology hub.
Big Bracketology games on tap
There are a couple of other big games in the SEC this week. That is pretty much unavoidable in that conference. On Wednesday, Georgia visits Tennessee in search of a big road win to fill a hole in their tournament profile. Tuesday also features Mississippi State at Alabama.
The biggest game of the week though is in the Big 12, where Kansas visits Iowa State on Wednesday evening. The Jayhawks are looking to reassert themselves in the Big 12 race and pick up a huge win as they chase a conference title and perhaps a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The top seven teams from Friday’s bracket are unchanged and there are still seven SEC teams in the top quadrant. The SEC and Big Ten have 11 teams each in Monday’s projection although the Big Ten only has three among the top 16.
How to evaluate Houston
Houston is in a unique situation, and I don’t mean that its NET rankings and resume don’t matchup. That happens a lot this time of year. What is unusual is that the Cougars no longer have any Quad 1 wins. BYU lost over the weekend and dropped down to a Quad 2 win for the Cougars. They are in the bracket still, of course, but at the end of the season, it would be unusual to see an at-large team with no Quad 1 wins. The highest seed ever for a team with no Quad 1 wins is No. 8. I am confident that Houston will come up with some between now and Selection Sunday.
Home game for Dayton?
Another oddity in the bracket is a game between Ohio State vs. Dayton in the First Four. As you recall, all First Four games are played at Dayton. The Flyers are the only team allowed to play NCAA Tournament games on their home floor. This would not be Dayton’s first trip to the First Four if it happens. The Flyers opened the 2015 NCAA Tournament with a win over Boise State in the First Four.
