:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45849226/KenPom_3-9.0.0.jpg)
It's that time of year again, finally. Conference tournaments have already begun to conclude, meaning we can ink in our very first qualifiers to the tournament (congrats Belmont, enjoy the NIT Murray State). Coastal Carolina also punched a ticket by knocking off the top KenPom team in their conference, meaning we're seeing some new names in here. In the meantime, here's where it stands.
First the s-curve:
| The | KenPom s-curve | 3/9 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KENTUCKY | ARIZONA | VIRGINIA | WISCONSIN |
| 2 | Utah | GONZAGA | Duke | VILLANOVA |
| 3 | KANSAS | Oklahoma | NORTHERN IOWA | Baylor |
| 4 | Notre Dame | North Carolina | Iowa St. | Wichita St. |
| 5 | Louisville | Iowa | Ohio St. | Texas |
| 6 | West Virginia | Butler | Michigan St. | Georgetown |
| 7 | DAVIDSON | SMU | Xavier | SAN DIEGO ST. |
| 8 | Maryland | Oklahoma St. | Arkansas | BYU |
| 9 | Cincinnati | St. John's | Boise St. | North Carolina St. |
| 10 | Vanderbilt | Georgia | VCU | Providence |
| 11 | Dayton | LSU | STEPHEN F. AUSTIN | Stanford |
| 12 | Purdue | Florida | Texas A&M | Mississippi |
| 12 | OLD DOMINION | BUFFALO | ||
| 13 | GREEN BAY | GEORGIA ST. | YALE | UC DAVIS |
| 14 | NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL | IONA | NEW MEXICO ST. | WOFFORD |
| 15 | SOUTH DAKOTA ST. | VERMONT | WILLIAM & MARY | NORTH FLORIDA |
| 16 | BELMONT | COASTAL CAROLINA | EASTERN WASHINGTON | ST. FRANCIS NY |
| 16 | COLGATE | TEXAS SOUTHERN | ||
| First 4 out | Oregon | Richmond | UCLA | Temple |
| Next 4 out | Illinois | Miami FL | Indiana | Alabama |
And the bracket itself:
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3485480/KenPom_3-9.0.jpg)
The SoCon, MAAC, and Colonial are all having their conference championships tonight, and all of them have their top KenPom teams in play. We'll preview those games a little bit later on tonight, but rest assured that they are all one-bid leagues both here and in real life. There is going to be plenty more to this week, so I'll update this piece again on Wednesday and Selection Sunday. Depending on how my week shakes out, I might also get one up on Friday. Godspeed.