It was a relatively quiet week for the top 16 in the bracket, except of course, that the projected No. 1 and No. 2 overall seeds lost.
Auburn’s loss was the most surprising because it came at home. Florida handed the Tigers their second loss of the season 90-81. The Tigers will remain the overall No. 1 seed for now. Their resume is overflowing with 12 Quad 1 wins. Tennessee is the next closest with eight Quad 1 victories. The Tigers may be able to take another loss and still hold on to the top spot.
The previous No. 2 overall team, Duke, lost at Clemson on Saturday 77-71. Since the Blue Devils have to get most of their Quad 1 opponents from outside the league, they do not have as many as some of the SEC teams do. Of course, teams are evaluated on more than just Quad 1 wins.
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Duke is still a No. 1 seed, but now the No. 4 overall seed. Alabama and Tennessee have slid past the Blue Devils on the top line.
Clemson moved up one line to a No. 7 seed as a result of the win over Duke.
Florida and Texas A&M are right behind them, giving the SEC five of the top six teams in the bracket. That is likely to change as these teams beat up on each other over the last half of conference play and in the conference tournament.
Bracketology top seeds
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Red Storm is red hot
In the Big East, St. John’s continues to rocket up the bracket. The Johnnies won at UConn on Friday, giving them consecutive big wins in the Big East after beating Marquette earlier in the week. The Red Storm, which is riding a 10-game winning streak, already had a gaudy record, but nothing of significant quality in the win column. Last week changed that. St. John’s is a No. 4 seed in Monday’s bracket.
Marquette is heading in the opposite direction. The Golden Eagles were 18-3, in first place in the Big East and a No. 2 seed in the bracket at the end of January. They have not won since, losing their last three games and falling to a No. 5 seed. Marquette will try to turn things around when it hosts DePaul on Tuesday.
Arizona also moved up two seed lines with a win over Texas Tech and a little help ahead of it. The Wildcats are now a No. 3 seed, which is the highest they have been this season.
Kansas was one of the teams Arizona passed. The Jayhawks were the biggest faller in Monday’s bracket after losing 81-73 at in-state rival Kansas State on Saturday. Kansas the preseason No. 1 but certainly have not looked like it lately. The Jayhawks have now lost three of their last five games and have dropped down to a No. 5 seed.
Super Tuesday on tap
Looking ahead, Tuesday has the potential to shake things up at the top of the bracket. Seven of the top ten teams in the NET will be on the road in conference play. Most notably, Tennessee will visit Kentucky and Purdue makes a trip to Michigan.
The next bracket update will be Thursday instead of Friday this week as we prepare for the NCAA Bracket Preview Show on Saturday (12:30 p.m. on CBS). There will be another full bracket that day as well.