The Bracket Preview Show, in which the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee’s top 16 teams are revealed weeks in advance of Selection Sunday, has been around since 2017. Things can certainly change from the time of the show to the official bracket selection, but for the most part, it has given an accurate idea of what’s to come for the final field.
This year’s reveal aired on Saturday with Bubba Cunningham, chair of the committee and the athletic director at North Carolina, talking through the selections. It featured a few Big East storylines, so here is an updated seeding prediction based on what we learned:
No. 10 St. John’s Red Storm
Projected seed: 4
Committee Top 16 seed (and overall ranking): 4 (11)
This week’s schedule: at DePaul Wed., vs. UConn Sun.
Does Sunday’s win over Creighton change anything for the committee? Potentially, but St. John’s was the lowest-ranked team in the field, and much of that probably had to do with its strength of schedule out of the Big East. The Red Storm may be a better team than this seeding indicates, but this is where the committee sees them for now.
No. 16 Marquette Golden Eagles
Projected seed: 5
This week’s schedule: vs. Seton Hall Tue., at Villanova Fri.
Marquette was one of two teams, along with Michigan State, that Cunningham mentioned as squads that nearly cracked the top 16. The Golden Eagles had a light week, only taking the court in a home win over DePaul on Tuesday. Cunningham’s nod shows the committee is ready to buy Marquette as one of college basketball’s true contenders with a little more proof.
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Connecticut Huskies
Projected seed: 6
This week’s schedule: vs. Villanova Tue., at St. John’s Sun.
There is no way around it: This is not close to the caliber of team UConn was putting on the court over the last few years. The Huskies went from winning at Creighton and Dan Hurley taunting Bluejays fans to losing as 13.5-point favorites at Seton Hall. UConn will get a chance at revenge on St. John’s this Sunday.
Creighton Bluejays
Projected seed: 7
This week’s schedule: vs. Georgetown Sun. (Peacock)
Losses to UConn and St. John’s were not nearly as terrifying as the site of Ryan Kalkbrenner lying on the floor holding his foot during the second half of Sunday’s game. The good news is that Kalkbrenner later returned and appears to have avoided a major injury. He has a whole week to recover for Creighton’s next game, although head coach Greg McDermott said the big man could experience lingering soreness.
